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Eleven people earmarked for the first deportation flight to Rwanda staged a hunger strike to protest about their forced removal, according to a report from an independent watchdog. The annual report from the Independent Monitoring Board for Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre highlights grave concerns about how the Home Office managed the process of attempting to remove people to Rwanda, a controversial policy which the government says will deter small boat arrivals.

That first flight was cancelled shortly before it was due to take off from Boscombe Down Ministry of Defence site in Wiltshire after a last-minute intervention by the European court in June. The Court of Appeal found the Rwanda policy to be unlawful but government is due to appeal against that ruling in the supreme court in October. The report issues a series of warnings for government about its Rwanda policy.

“The board remains concerned that if this policy is fully implemented and men are detained prior to removal there is a high likelihood of real harm,” it states, adding that the process of removing people to Rwanda was “inadequate, resulting in unacceptable compromises to the men’s safety”.

One hundred people who were held in the Gatwick detention centre received notices of intent letters from the Home Office that there were plans to forcibly remove them to Rwanda

It has been reported that 128 people received notices for the inaugural flight – 28 at Heathrow immigration removal centre and the rest at Gatwick. Just one person from the Gatwick centre was taken to the airport in preparation for removal. The report found that he suffered a severe panic attack. 

A total of seven asylum seekers were taken to Boscombe Down for the aborted flight, six of whom were staying at the Heathrow immigration removal centre.

The report also raises concerns about the time removal directions were issued to those the Home Office hoped to remove to Rwanda. These removal directions were issued on 30 May, the queen’s jubilee weekend, when it was harder for people to access lawyers.

An earlier report from the IMB’s charter flight monitoring team published in June 2023 found that two of the seven people the Home Office tried to put on the flight to Rwanda were on constant observation due to their risk of suicide, with one put into a waist restraint belt.

Three of the seven were subjected to use of force. One person was not offered access to paramedics when he needed it. One man started praying on the airfield believing the plane would take off imminently while the report stated “two started to scream out their fear and distress, each trying to hurl his torso and head backwards and forwards”. Both were put into waist restraint belts.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the wellbeing and safety of those in our care incredibly seriously and have dedicated welfare teams across all sites who can escalate any instances of mental health or illness.

“There are also robust safeguarding measures in place to ensure everyone within our care, including vulnerable people, is treated with dignity and has access to the support they need including legal advice while in detention.”  By Diane Taylor, Guardian

Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya analysing damage to his vehicle during the Wednesday, July 132 demonstrations. PHOTO SHABAN MAHOKHA
 

The former governor was grilled by officers from the EACC at the Integrity Centre in Nairobi.  

ODM, however, did not divulge further details about the case, including the reason for the arrest and whether his lawyers were already en route to seek his release. 

"Our DPL Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has been arrested by officers from the DCI. Oparanya together with his wife Madam Priscillah are currently at the EACC offices at Integrity Centre," ODM said in a statement.

"No information has been given as to why they have been arrested & why they are being questioned," ODM, a party under the Azimio coalition, added. 

Oparanya, who is also ODM's deputy party leader, served as Kakamega governor for two terms from 2013-2022.  

He has supported opposition chief Raila Odinga consistently, backing him even after the August 2022 election loss, which saw some leaders shift allegiance. 

This is the second time the former governor has been arrested this year. Oparanya, in July, was arrested after being accused of organising anti-government protests in Western Kenya.

On Wednesday, he was among the leaders missing as opposition politicians commemorated the 20th anniversary of the death of former Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County. 

The area governor, alongside Eugene Wamalwa, Kijana Wamalwa's brother and DAP-K party leader, renamed the Trans Nzoia County Teaching and Referral Hospital to the Wamalwa Kijana Teaching and Referral Hospital in honour of the deceased.  

"At the late Vice President Michael Wamalwa's residence in Milimani Kitale, paying our respects before the Holy Mass. Joining the family in celebrating the life of this great leader, who steadfastly championed democracy, ensuring a level playing field in politics," Natembeya stated. 

George Wajackoyah, Roots Party leader and 2022 Presidential candidate and his Usawa kwa Wote Party counterpart Mwangi wa Iria were also present at the event. 

The timing of Oparanya's recent arrest also comes ahead of President William Ruto's Western Kenya tour from August 27-30.

More to follow... By Edwin Austin, Kenyans.co.ke

Presidential, parliamentary, and local elections have kicked off in Zimbabwe, SABC radio reported.

The authorities fear possible provocations by radical activists of the opposition.

There are 11 candidates, including incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, running for the office of President of Zimbabwe. 

If none of the candidates gets 50 percent of the votes plus one vote in the first round of presidential elections, a runoff will be held on October 2.

Both chambers will be elected during parliamentary elections. The ruling party, whose leader is Mnangagwa, aims to maintain its parliamentary majority. News.am

 

TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) – The United Nations has said at least 60 people were killed, and 250 others injured during the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, western Sudan.

According to Xinhua, preliminary reports indicated that approximately 10,000 families, about 50,000 people, fled their homes, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update.

It noted that a Turkish Hospital in Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur State in western Sudan, that treats the wounded, which is already understaffed, is reportedly struggling to cope with the influx of wounded people.

The OCHA added that there were concerns that the continued fighting will exacerbate the already precarious humanitarian situation and heighten the health, nutrition, sanitation, and food security needs of the vulnerable.

According to the UN, an estimated 401,000 people live in Nyala, and about 95,000 needed humanitarian assistance even before the conflict.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly armed clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which left over 3,000 people killed and more than 6,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 4 million people have fled from their homes -- 3.2 million people were displaced internally and close to 900,000 have crossed the border into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and other countries, according to the latest UN estimates. MEHR Agency 

The ODM Party has maintained that it will not walk away from the bipartisan talks attacks from Kenya Kwanza politicians.

ODM Secretary Edwin Sifuna in a statement on Wednesday August 23 said they will use the negotiation platform to address their concerns.

The Nairobi Senator went on to say the bipartisan talks are not about them but about the people whose interests they are representing.

“We will keep pushing the remaining issues, especially on the cost of living. Now that we dragged the ostrich to the table, we will not allow it to leave until it hears us out. 

“They will throw snide remarks and insults to try and trigger us, but because this isn’t about us we will trudge on and make sure YOUR message is delivered. Sort out Mwananchi issues and you are welcome to insult us all day,” he stated. 

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday said the talks between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio are a waste of time and nothing will come out of the dialogue.

He claimed that Azimio leader Raila Odinga already  made his agenda clear on what he wants during his private meeting with President Ruto last month. 

“Nothing will come out of those talks. It is a waste of time. I’m telling you as deputy president of the Republic of Kenya. So nyinyi wakamba mngojee mazungumzo mtakuja kututafuta sisi because there will be nothing,” said the DP. 

“Ile mazungumzo Kalonzo ametumwa, hapo hakuna kitu ya kuzungumza. Raila tayari alisema mambo yake. Alimalizia Mombasa. Hii ni mambo tu ya kuzungusha wakenya. There is nothing. Na ndio maana umeona sisi tumetuma Kimani Ichung’wa, Cheruiyot, Mbarire Mimi na Rais tuko kazini.” By Ezra Nyakundi, KDRTV

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