ANTHONY KITIMO

CCM nominates Deputy Speaker Tulia Ackson to replace Ndugai

Thursday January 20 2022

Tanzania's Deputy Speaker Tulia Ackson who has been nominated to be the next Speaker of Parliament. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN | NMG

Summary

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6, 2022 following pressure over statements he made questioning the country’s borrowing.
The CCM Central Committee said Dr Ackson’s name will be tabled in parliament for a vote.
The next step will somewhat be a formality, especially since the party itself controls nearly everything in the House.

By THE CITIZEN

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By APOLINARI TAIRO

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The top organ of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has proposed Deputy Speaker Tulia Ackson to be the next Speaker of Parliament.

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6, 2022 following pressure over statements he made questioning the country’s borrowing.

The CCM Central Committee said Dr Ackson’s name will be tabled in parliament for a vote.

Dr Ackson is currently the Mbeya constituency Member of Parliament.

CCM’s Ideology and Publicity Secretary, Shaka Hamdu Shaka, told a press conference in Dodoma, Tanzania’s administrative capital, that the Central Committee had approved Dr Ackson's name out of 70 CCM members who had applied for the job.

“From Friday January 21 to 30 CCM MPs will vote for a candidate to be elected as next Speaker of the National Assembly,” he said.

As is tradition, CCM, Tanzania’s absolute majority party, had to nominate a name before it is tabled on the Floor of the House for approval.

The next step will somewhat be a formality, especially since the party itself controls nearly everything in the House.

The election of the Speaker will be the first order of business when Parliament resumes its next session in Dodoma in February.

Dr Ackson will replace a Speaker who had been mostly supportive of the executive before he began criticising the government for binge borrowing.

Once approved by Parliament, Dr Ackson will face a litmus test on loyalty to the party, as well as the government.

Shortly after Ndugai resigned, President Samia Suluhu also made minor changes to the cabinet, dropping some names in what was seen as a further clearance of those perceived to be hurdles to her administration.

Dr Ackson faced tough competition for the party's nomination from former Pan-African Parliament vice-president Stephen Masele, former attorney general Andrew Chenge, and former CCM Women's Wing chair-person Sophia Simba, among others, in the February 1 poll.

Seventy (70) CCM members had taken forms, seeking the Central Committee’s selection to pick one among them.

The 2020 to 2025 Parliament is made up of 393 sitting MPs out of whom, 362 are from CCM and 31 other MPs representing Chadema, Civic United Front and ACT-Wazalendo opposition parties.

In the headlines

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Al-Shabab leader arrested in Mozambique

Thursday January 20 2022

Mozambican soldiers in Pemba, Cabo Delgado province. The Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) say they have arrested a senior leader of Al-Shabab, the terror gang that is responsible for the insurgency in the country’s Cabo Delgado province. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

Identified only as Ali, 39, the Tanzanian national was arrested in Nangade district along with six other militiamen, according to information provided by the security forces, and which was also reported by local media on Tuesday.
Nangade district was over the weekend attacked by the Al-Shabab armed group and at least five people were killed and 200 others injured.
Last week, Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed to extend its Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) by three months to help the southern African country fight against terrorism in a $29.5 million budget endeavour.

By ARNALDO VIEIRA

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The Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) say they have arrested a senior leader of Al-Shabab, the terror gang that is responsible for the insurgency in the country’s Cabo Delgado province.

Identified only as Ali, 39, the Tanzanian national was arrested in Nangade district along with six other militiamen, according to information provided by the security forces, and which was also reported by local media on Tuesday.

Mozambique has been battling Al-Shabaab terrorists, whom the US has designated as Islamic State affiliates.

Northern Mozambique is seen as the latest haven for terrorists from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

“In addition to directing attacks, the arrested leader managed recruitment actions through which he incited extremism”, the forces’ statement said.

Nangade district was over the weekend attacked by the Al-Shabab armed group and at least five people were killed and 200 others injured.

Apart from Nangade, other districts in Cabo Delgado province have witnessed terrorist attacks, including Macomia, Mucojo, Muera and Mocímboa da Praia.

Since October 2017, Al-Shabab rebels have attacked numerous villages and destroyed extensive civilian property and infrastructure, including schools and health centres in Cabo Delgado province.

An estimated 3,000 people were killed and 820,000 displaced.

Apart from Cabo Delgado, the terrorists have also advanced their heinous attacks to Niassa province.

Last week, Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed to extend its Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) by three months to help the southern African country fight against terrorism in a $29.5 million budget endeavour.

SAMIM has deployed 1,500 troops in the troubled Cabo Delgado province since July 2021.

"The budget was also approved and promulgated and most of the countries during the session said they will comply with the stipulated deadline," President Filipe Nyusi said Wednesday after the SADC Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in Malawi.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Uganda, Tanzania resume talks over non-tariff barriers

Thursday January 20 2022

Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen Jeje Odongo, and Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Amb Liberata Mulamula, in Kampala on January 20, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

A joint permanent commission of ministers, permanent secretaries and government technocrats has for nearly four years held meetings to iron out issues affecting the trade between the two neighbours.
In a 2019, in a Tanzania-Uganda business summit held in Dar es Salaam, former Tanzanian president John Magufuli said that the barriers making Uganda uneasy “can be solved” while Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said “those putting the barriers don’t understand the importance of trade.”

By JONATHAN KAMOGA

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Uganda and Tanzania have resumed talks aimed at eliminating trade barriers, a major hindrance to the smooth flow of trade between the two countries.

During a Joint Permanent Committee meeting held in Kampala, officials from both countries also agreed to continue pursuing joint infrastructure projects.

Uganda has over the years blamed Tanzania of instituting several non-tariff barriers that have thwarted seamless trade between the two countries.

Uganda's trade volumes have been affected by the non-tariff barriers imposed by Tanzania. These include restrictions on exports such as sugar, milk and movement on Ugandan trucks.

For example, Ugandan trucks entering Tanzania are charged road user fees of up to $500 from Mutukula border to Dar es Salaam, yet the country charges a flat rate of $152 for trucks from other countries.

Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, who led the Tanzanian delegation, said the two countries were committed to working closely for the betterment of their people through trade and infrastructure development.

“I am comfortable that our Governments are several miles ahead to kick-start the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) and the operationalisation of the Murongo/Kikagati Hydro Power Project along Kagera River, just to mention a few,” she said.

During the meeting, the countries agreed to appoint focal points for all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the two countries who will coordinate and follow up on issues to ensure quick and full implementation on what has been agreed.

A joint permanent commission of ministers, permanent secretaries and government technocrats has for nearly four years held meetings to iron out issues affecting the trade between the two neighbours.

The issues of non-tariff barriers between Uganda and Tanzania, against the EAC common market protocol, has been persistent over the years. Whereas there have been several efforts to curb this, no concrete solution has been reached.

In a 2019, in a Tanzania-Uganda business summit held in Dar es Salaam, former Tanzanian president John Magufuli said that the barriers making Uganda uneasy “can be solved” while Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said “those putting the barriers don’t understand the importance of trade.”

“I am delighted to learn that both delegations have heeded to the call by our two Heads of State to work together to eliminate all Non-Tariff Barriers to facilitate trade between our two countries. Trade is an important element for our mutual growth and prosperity,” said Okello Oryem, Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Okello Oryem.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Colourful window into the world of artist Mary Collis

Thursday January 20 2022

Lifting the Day cover jacket. PHOTO COURTESY

Summary

Ill health forced me to seize the benefits of enforced idleness and how delightful it was, with Netflix and U-Tube providing an ideal background to lounging on the sofa, drugged and drowsy.
While Covid meant that many continued to be stuck at home with nothing to do, others wisely used the downtime to advantage, getting to grips with a foreign language or a musical instrument, studying through distance learning, making art or writing a book.
The book format is a painting on each page, occasionally spreading to the facing sheet with the commentary alongside. One day, one drawing, painting or print; overwhelmingly paintings, with a little side step into glass moulding, Perspex and dark painted strips of plywood, representing deep musical chords.

By FRANK WHALLEY

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Title: Lifting the Day

Author: Mary Collis

Publisher: Unicorn Publishing

No. of words: 750 words

Panel or cut-out

Price: Ksh4,200

Like the English House of Peers in the comic opera Iolanthe, I have been doing nothing in particular and doing it very well.

Ill health forced me to seize the benefits of enforced idleness and how delightful it was, with Netflix and U-Tube providing an ideal background to lounging on the sofa, drugged and drowsy.

But being blissfully lazy — physically by circumstance; intellectually by choice — is not for everyone.

While Covid meant that many continued to be stuck at home with nothing to do, others wisely used the downtime to advantage, getting to grips with a foreign language or a musical instrument, studying through distance learning, making art or writing a book.

And in the case of the Kenyan artist Mary Collis, both making art and writing a book titled Lifting the Day. In it Collis, renowned for her bright garden scenes and wildly colourful abstracts, reveals her command of a far greater range of subjects, styles and media.

The book format is a painting on each page, occasionally spreading to the facing sheet with the commentary alongside. One day, one drawing, painting or print; overwhelmingly paintings, with a little side step into glass moulding, Perspex and dark painted strips of plywood, representing deep musical chords.

Each day of the lockdown, Collis posted on Facebook one of her artworks spanning some 50 years of creativity.

They range from notes on the formal qualities of each work, including materials and methods — to memories of places that inspired the works, friends whose houses and gardens she painted, people who bought the pieces and the collections, worldwide where they hang.

The gentle persuader

Thus the late Erica Boswell, the fashion icon who owned a dress shop in Nairobi in the 1960s and 1970s and whose garden in Karen triggered a five-year series of lyrical canvases.

And so too a host of others; the Collis family, friends and collectors in a book that is an open window on her life.

Even I do not escape. I feel fortunate to own seven of Collis’s paintings, three of which are illustrated in this book.

I like her work when it is pared down, lean and tough; but her more florid paintings sometimes strike me on an empty stomach as like a bunch of overblown roses. These are, however, bold, bright and cheering… and as the French Symbolist painter Odilon Redon put it, “a flower is most beautiful the moment before it dies,” so who am I to talk?

There are plenty of those in this book and Collis included a couple of her drawings. The assertive web of lines in Lamu (Day 30) is a delight, her invaluable aside is that “the messy palm tree gives some relief from the line”, as is the searching charcoal of Life Drawing (Day 81).

Her heroes, are, among others, Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly – three Abstract Expressionists, minimalists who changed our ways of seeing.

That struck me as a fascinating and revealing aside by an artist known best as the colourist on record as saying, “I paint my life and all that surrounds me.” Everything grows from its base, in this case an overarching respect for the importance of composition learnt from American minimalists’ work she loves.

What Collis rarely does is to shock — the sort of jolt that Kelly, Rothko and Twombly gave the art world, helping to change its direction. But Collis is a gentle persuader as is seen clearly in this book in her selection from the hundreds of traditionally Expressionist oil paintings of False Bay, near Cape Town, where she has a second home. So many moods, colours, textures of one scene.

So surprise, yes; but shock, no.

There are 244 days in all and sunshine on nearly every one of them.

Lifting the Day is a small book (18.5cm by 13cm) but a hefty 3.5cm thick. Like a brick, as Collis had said. But what it might lack in dimension it more than makes up for in variety and quality of its content.

More for the bedside than the coffee table but none the worse for that.

A little art to send us sweetly to sleep.

That is probably why they are her heroes.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Zanzibar fashion fete blends culture, arts, and style

Thursday January 20 2022

The Runway Bay held its second Zanzibar International Fashion Festival in December. PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

The Runway Bay held its second Zanzibar International Fashion Festival from December 26 to 29, despite news of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus.
The fashion fete was part of the Runway Bay Fashion Week and as Irene Isaya of Dar es Salaam described it, “It was different, good and inclusive, having models of all ages on the runway.”
The sound of the ebbing sea gave a unique background and the theme of "Utamaduni sio ushamba" (Culture is not backward) celebrated and embraced different communities and the music and arts of the Spice Island.

By BEATRICE MATERU

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Zanzibar marked the end of 2021 with a bigger and better fashion week that highlighted emerging trends inspired by the island's culture.

The Runway Bay held its second Zanzibar International Fashion Festival from December 26 to 29, despite news of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus.

The fashion fete was part of the Runway Bay Fashion Week and as Irene Isaya of Dar es Salaam described it, “It was different, good and inclusive, having models of all ages on the runway.”

The festival featured runways in several locations around Stone Town, including a large-scale indoor and outdoor fashion show in the Old Fort and at the Forodhani outdoor food court.

The sound of the ebbing sea gave a unique background and the theme of "Utamaduni sio ushamba" (Culture is not backward) celebrated and embraced different communities and the music and arts of the Spice Island.

The four days and nights of the festival were not short on style and entertainment. They were graced by 12 renown fashion designers, local and from Botswana, Eswatini, the US and the UK.

Zanzibar's up-and-coming designers showcased designs made with kanga and other African materials to promote the island's culture to the tourism industry, on which the economy largely hinges.

Waiz Shelukindo, founder of the Runway Bay Fashion Week Festival, said the festival aimed at pushing forward the artistic dialogue between art, dance, music, African culture and creation and create bridges between the disciplines.

“Designers often owe much to those who, although in the shadows, accompany them, like the hairdressers, makeup artists and stylist,’’ he said.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Showmax new Kenyan series explores female friendships

Thursday January 20 2022

"Single-ish", a 13-part drama series that will premiere on Showmax, January 20, 2022 follows the lives of three women in Nairobi — Sintamei (played by Gathoni Mutua), Mariah (Minne Kariuki) and Rebecca (Faith Kibathi). PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

It follows the lives of three women in Nairobi – Sintamei (played by Gathoni Mutua), Mariah (Minne Kariuki) and Rebecca (Faith Kibathi) — as they deal with the challenges that marriage, relationships and their careers throw at them.
It also explores the strong bond of friendship that these women share, knowing that they will always have each other even when the world crumbles around them.
Single-ish becomes the second Showmax Original series in Kenya after the Kalasha-nominated police and legal drama Crime and Justice.

By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

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African streaming service Showmax has announced its next original series in Kenya, Single-ish, a drama adapted from the hit South African series Unmarried.

The 13-part series will premiere today on January 20. It follows the lives of three women in Nairobi – Sintamei (played by Gathoni Mutua), Mariah (Minne Kariuki) and Rebecca (Faith Kibathi) — as they deal with the challenges that marriage, relationships and their careers throw at them.

It also explores the strong bond of friendship that these women share, knowing that they will always have each other even when the world crumbles around them.

Sintamei is an overachieving, career-focused brilliant lawyer who seems to have the life that any woman would dream of — she’s on track to making partner in a prestigious law firm and has been happily married for 10 years to the man of her dreams. Or so she thought.

“Other than the fact that it’s a show about women, Single-ish has this chic yet nostalgic old-school girlfriends vibe that takes the drama a notch higher without feeling like the friendship will fall apart,” Gathoni (This Is Life) says of what drew her to the project.

Minne Kariuki (Ma’Empress) plays the sassy Mariah, a woman with a taste for the finer things in life, who uses her looks to get whatever she wants.

“She (Mariah) is a modern-day slay queen who pretends to afford a lavish lifestyle and flaunts it all on social media because she wants to keep up with the trends,” Minne says, adding that Single-ish doesn’t shy away from capturing the struggles of modern women.

Faith Kibathi (This Is Life) plays the humble and down-to-earth Rebecca, a housewife and a mother of two who has lived with her high school sweetheart for nine years despite not being officially married.

“It’s an honour to get to play Rebecca as she explores motherhood and failures of her relationship,” Faith says, “Single-ish is different because it’s very relatable and has a touch of the actual dating experiences in Nairobi. It also shows the beauty of reliable female friendship, especially when things get bad.”

Other actors

The series also stars Brian Abajah (Sincerely Daisy), Michael Munyoki (A Grand Little Lie), Lucarelli Onyango (Crime and Justice), Mburu Kimani (Nairobi Half Life), Lenana Kariba (Selina), Dora Nyaboke (Crime and Justice) and Jacky Kaboi (Bait).

Single-ish is produced by Insignia Productions, the studio behind popular shows Changing Times and New Beginnings, with Philippe Bresson and Grace Kahaki co-directing alongside Robby Bresson (Simiyu Samurai).

“I think for the first time we are able to depict real life in an unfiltered way. To me this is real film making — when you are able to tell the story as it should be so even as the viewer watches it, they will be surprised, shocked and will fall in love with how we tell the story. I don’t think there's been any other show that has pushed the boundary in terms of women’s issues as we have,” Philippe says.

Single-ish becomes the second Showmax Original series in Kenya after the Kalasha-nominated police and legal drama Crime and Justice.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Ironman 70.3 Triathlon launched in Rwanda as country prepares to host race in Rubavu

Thursday January 20 2022

The launch of the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, or the Half Triathlon, in Rwanda on January 20, 2022. The race will be hosted in Rubavu District, Rwanda, in August 2022. PHOTO | ANGE ILIZA | NMG

Summary

The event comes as Rwanda positions itself to become Africa’s sports tourism hub.
In July 2021, Rubavu also hosted FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for both men and women after Rwanda hosted the Basketball Africa League in May.
The country has also won the bid to host the 2025 World Road Cycling Championships, the first time it will be held on the African continent.

By Ange Iliza

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The Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, launched on Thursday, has been added to Rwanda’s global sports events list to be hosted in 2022.

Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, or the Half Triathlon, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races considered among the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

The Ironman 70.3 Triathlon this year will be held in Rubavu, Rwanda, in August 2022.

The launch follows a meeting between President Paul Kagame and Serge Pereira, CEO of insurance firm Starstone, and Cindy Descalzi on Wednesday, who the Presidency said were in the country to launch the Ironman Triathlon.

Launch of Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, or the Half Triathlon, in Rwanda.

Officials at the launch of the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, or the Half Triathlon, in Rwanda on January 20, 2022. The race will be hosted in Rubavu District, Rwanda, in August 2022. PHOTO | ANGE ILIZA | NMG

Organised by the World Triathlon Corporation, Ironman events have a limited time of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, depending on the course.

The "70.3" in the Half Triathlon refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run.

Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments in the Half Triathlon is half the distance of that segment in an Ironman Triathlon.

The Ironman 70.3 series culminates each year in a World Championship competition, for which competitors qualify during the 70.3 series in the 12 months prior to the championship race.

Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraints is designated an Ironman.

The event comes as Rwanda positions itself to become Africa’s sports tourism hub.

In July 2021, Rubavu also hosted FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for both men and women after Rwanda hosted the Basketball Africa League in May.

The country has also won the bid to host the 2025 World Road Cycling Championships, the first time it will be held on the African continent.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Diaspora voter registration will run from January 21 to February 6, and those visiting Kenya can also register in Nairobi.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Kenya to start registration of diaspora voters

Thursday January 20 2022

IEBC clerks register students during the launch of voter listing of college students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, on October 13, 2021. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Summary

The commission targets to register an additional 4.5 million eligible voters in its second phase of registration.
In East Africa, Tanzania will have two voter registration centres—one in Arusha and Dar es Salaam—whereas registration in Uganda will be in Kampala, while Rwanda’s will be in Kigali, Burundi’s in Bujumbura and South Sudan’s in Juba.
Other countries that have been included in diaspora registration and voting include South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Qatar, UAE and Germany.

By ANTHONY KITIMO

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Kenya has gazetted 18 diaspora polling centres where the country will undertake a voter registration exercise starting this week ahead of the August 9, 2022 General Election.

In the diaspora voter registration, which will run from January 21 to February 6, Kenyans living within the East African Community (EAC)—Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan—will for the first time use their identity cards as proof of their citizenship to register for the election, instead of passports.

In the gazette notice, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, said the second phase of the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration will ensure those in diaspora are registered.

Mr Chebukati said the commission targets to register an additional 4.5 million eligible voters.

The Commission rolled out Phase I of Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise from October 4- November 5, 2021, where 1,519,294 eligible Kenyans were registered as new voters out of the targeted 6 million.

“The right of Kenyans to register as citizens residing out of the country will be based on the presence of a Kenyan embassy, high commission, or consulate and this is in accordance with regulation 34(2) of the registration of voters regulation 2012,” said the chairperson.

Registration centres

In East Africa, Tanzania will have two voter registration centres—one in Arusha and Dar es Salaam—whereas registration in Uganda will be in Kampala, while Rwanda’s will be in Kigali, Burundi’s in Bujumbura and South Sudan’s in Juba.

Other countries that have been included in diaspora registration and voting include South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Qatar, UAE and Germany.

“The commission will avail a Biometric Voter Registration BVR kit at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi for Kenyans who may be here and live abroad to come and register and that will enable them to vote when they are outside the country,” said Mr Chebukati.

“Previously, a voter registered in Kenya but wishing to be in the diaspora during election could only register in their preferred registration station to be allowed to vote and vice versa, but the Nairobi station will ease the procedure.”

Diaspora registration will be conducted during official working hours in embassies and consulates in the said countries and those who register will vote only in the presidential election.

Voter register audit

Once the registration is done, an audit of the voter register will be done after which inspection and verification of the register will be done.

On audit of register of voters, the chairman said Section 8A of the Elections Act 2011, requires the Commission to engage a professional reputable firm to conduct an audit of the Register of Voters at least six (6) months before the date of a General Election, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the register, recommending mechanisms of enhancing the accuracy of the register, and updating the register.

“Commission is in the process of procuring a firm to undertake the audit exercise with the firm expected to give a report within a period of thirty (30) days where the commission would implement the audit report recommendations within thirty (30) days,” said Mr Chebukati.

The IEBC also gazetted Mr Abdidahir Maalim Abdi as the registration officer to oversee the diaspora registration and Mr William Tumaini Kahindi as his deputy.

The election commission has assured Kenyans that it is on course with preparations for the August 9 polls.

Presidential hopefuls

Many individuals, including governors, former presidential aspirants, speakers and diplomats, have set their eyes on the presidency.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has intensified his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as he makes his fifth attempt at the presidency, while Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto is also seeking to be the fifth president.

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, and Mukhisa Kituyi, former secretary general of The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), have also expressed interest in running for president.

In the headlines

CCM nominates Tulia Ackson for Speaker

Dr Ackson will replace Job Ndugai, who resigned on January 6 over statements he made questioning the Dar’s borrowing.

Uganda, Tanzania top as Kenya’s tourist sources

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

DRC police arrest suspected diplomat killers

RwandAir resumes passenger flights to Dubai

EAC loses $3.4b to Covid-19 measures as trade declines

Sudan: UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA

Thursday January 20 2022

Peacekeeper troops from Ethiopia deployed under the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) patrol outside Abyei town, in Abyei state, on December 14, 2016. UN agrees to replace Ethiopian soldiers in UNISFA with other UN troops upon Sudan's request, Khartoum announces. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

Earlier, Sudan demanded replacement of the Ethiopian forces within the UNISFA in the wake of a border dispute with Ethiopia.
The UNISFA was established in 2011 by the UN Security Council to monitor the Abyei border. It is mainly composed of Ethiopian forces of around 4,200 troops and 50 police personnel.
Later, the size of the forces was increased to 5,326, all of whom are from Ethiopia.

By XINHUA

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The United Nations has agreed to replace thousands of Ethiopian forces within the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) with other UN forces, Sudan announced Wednesday.

Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, received a phone call from Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations, in which the two sides discussed arrangements for replacing the Ethiopian forces upon Sudan's request, the sovereign council said in a statement.

Al-Burhan promised to remove all barriers and challenges facing the mission.

Lacroix said the replacement operations would begin in February and last until March 2022.

Earlier, Sudan demanded replacement of the Ethiopian forces within the UNISFA in the wake of a border dispute with Ethiopia.

The UNISFA was established in 2011 by the UN Security Council to monitor the Abyei border. It is mainly composed of Ethiopian forces of around 4,200 troops and 50 police personnel.

Later, the size of the forces was increased to 5,326, all of whom are from Ethiopia.

Sudan-Ethiopia relations have been strained by rising tensions, including deadly skirmishes, along the border between the two countries since September 2020.

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