East Africa

Details: East Africa; 12 March 2024; 267

Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on March 11, 2024 following gang violence in his country that demanded he quits. /FILE/Haiti Premature

Henry has been in power since 2021 when the country’s president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned amid deadly gang violence in the country even as Kenya plans to send police officers there.

His resignation was announced by Guyanese President Irfaan Ali who is also the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of transitional presidential council and naming an interim prime minister,” he said.

Henry has not set foot in his country since last month when he travelled to Kenya to sign a reciprocal agreement with President William Ruto who has agreed to deploy 1,000 police officers to the largely gang-controlled country.

Kenya and Haiti signed an agreement on the deployment of 1,000 police officers on March 1, 2024. The agreement was signed by security ministers from the two countries witnessed by President William Ruto and Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry. /PCS.

Heavily armed gunmen have since barricaded the main airport at the capital Port-au-Prince vowing to block his return.

This escalation of violence left the Prime Minister and other senior officials he had travelled with to Kenya stranded in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Following Henry’s resignation, a transitional presidential council was formed to name an interim prime minister.

The presidential council, Ali said, would have two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from several coalitions, the private sector, civil society and one religious leader.

The surprise resignation follows a meeting of regional leaders Monday in nearby Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition, which the U.S. has urged last week to be “expedited” as armed gangs sought to topple his government.

The status is as you know it. There was a small court matter which has been resolved. The court said we needed to have a reciprocal agreement with Haiti, that reciprocal agreement was signed more than a week ago.

In Kenya, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced Monday that the government was at the tail end on police deployment plans to Haiti.

“All the other programmes are in place including the status of forces agreement and the laws on detention arrests and other enforcement measures are now in place,” he said, “Kenya is the lead nation but there are so many nations that have pledged to contribute troops and this came from the mandate of the United Nations Security
Council so it is part of our international obligations.”

It remains unclear if Kenya will still send forces to Haiti following the Prime Minister’s resignation. By Laban Wanambisi, Capital News

Details: East Africa; 12 March 2024; 241

The 16 were allegedly involved in raising and laundering millions of dollars.[iStockphoto

The United States has sanctioned 16 companies including a Kenyan bus company for allegedly financing Al-Shabaab operations.

The bus company allegedly supported the militants' logistical operations, according to a statement from the US Department of Treasury.

The US has reiterated its commitment to working with regional partners to root out terror financing networks and entities.

“Today’s action is part of a multifaceted effort by Treasury to support the Somali government’s economic offensive against al-Shabaab - one of three pillars in their campaign to degrade this deadly terrorist group," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

The sanctioned individuals and entities were allegedly involved in the raising and laundering of millions of dollars through several businesses at the direction and in the interest of al-Shabaab.

"As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the individuals and entities named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)," read the statement. By Stephanie Wangari, The Standard

Details: East Africa; 11 March 2024; 235

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday participated in the African Union (AU) Commission strategic reflection meeting in Addis Ababa, to strengthen implementation of Cessation of Hostilities pact (COHA).

The AU High-Level Panel for the Ethiopian Peace Process also focused on mobilizing support for crucial aspects of the process, such as humanitarian assistance, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the region.

The strategic reflection meeting on COHA implementation brought together representatives from the Government of Ethiopia, the TPLF, members of the AU High-Level Panel on Ethiopia, as well as partners including IGAD, UN, EU, AfDB, US, and the AU Commission. Capital News

Details: East Africa; 11 March 2024; 269

Da’Vine Joy Randolph burst into tears on Sunday as Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o praised her Oscar-winning turn in The Holdovers.

“Da’Vine, my friend, your performance is tribute to those who have helped others heal in spite of their own pain,” Nyong’o said at the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

“It’s also a tribute to your grandmother, whose glasses you wear in the film. What an honour to see the world through her eyes and yours.”

A relative newcomer and fan favourite, Da’Vine Joy Randolph was named Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars – adding to her clutch of awards this season including a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice award. BBC

Details: East Africa; 11 March 2024; 266

Travellers at a terminal within the Heathrow Airport in London Copied to clipboard

Kenyan care workers are likely to face separation from their families as the United Kingdom (UK) announced that it had banned the migration of care workers’ dependants to the country effective, Monday, March 11.

The UK government announced the policy decision has been informed by its plan to reduce the number of migrants to the country, which the Home Office stated care workers' dependants account a huge percentage of.

In a statement, the UK Home Office stated that this would be part of the biggest-ever cut in migration.

“From today, care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas can no longer bring dependants," the UK government explained.

JONATHAN BRADY

Further, the Office clarified that in the year ended September 2023, care worker dependants accounted for 120,000 migrations.

James Cleverly, the UK's Home Secretary explained that this migration cut would also include raising the minimum income requirement for families to be granted visas in the UK.

Additionally, the Secretary also noted that in the series of migration cuts they had banned most overseas students from bringing their families to the UK.

“We are delivering on our plan for the biggest-ever cut in migration. Overseas care workers brought an estimated 120,000 dependants to the UK in the year ending Sep 23. Today we've put a stop to this, stated James Cleverly”

The ban was authorised by the UK parliament on February 19, 2024 after being announced in December 2023.

Data shared by Skills for Care, a workforce development and planning body for adult social care in England, showed that there were 1.64 million adult social care jobs(filled posts) in England in 2022/23, across 18,000 organisations.

However, despite the increase in the number of filled posts by March 2023, it was still estimated to be 45,000 below its pre-pandemic peak in 2020/21.

The move has faced both criticism and appraisal with critics citing that the move would discourage migration of care workers yet the sector was yet to achieve ideal staffing levels. By HELLEN NJOROGE, Kenyans.co.ke