Tunisian opposition member shot dead in Tunis

Tunisian opposition member Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead outside his home in the capital on Thursday, a political source and local radio said.

Mohamed Brahmi

Mr Brahmi, 58, led the nationalist Movement of the People party.
It is Tunisia’s second assassination of an opposition party leader this year.
In February, prominent secular politician Chokri Belaid was also shot outside his house in Tunis. His murder sparked angry protests and prompted the resignation of PM Hamadi Jebali.
“Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead outside his home in Ariana,” state television and the official TAP news agency reported.
Gunmen on a motorbike killed Mr Brahmi in front of his wife and daughter on Thursday morning, Movement of the People party officials told local media.
It is not known yet who is behind the attack.
Mr Brahmi was a member of the National Constituent Assembly, which is drafting a new constitution.
He founded the Movement of the People party after the Arab Spring uprising ended the 23-year-rule of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
Mr Brahmi was not as big a political figure as Mr Belaid, but he too was a leftist critical of the governing Islamist Ennahda party, which came to power following Mr Ben Ali’s overthrow.
After Mr Belaid’s assassination in February, many Tunisians accused Ennahda of not doing enough to stamp out a rise in Islamist violence, with some critics saying the party was actively fomenting it, correspondents say.

How CORD and Jubilee Leadership loose every Opportunity for Unity in the Wake of Tragedy in Kenya

In the aftermath of the Colorado movie theater shooting in the United States, the two leaders, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, who at that time were locked in the most heated campaigns, suspended their campaign evens called on all Americans to came together and show their good heart and love.

There was no political signage or euphoria but rather silent reflection. Romney in a statement said “I stand before you today not as a man running for office, but as a father and a grandfather, a husband, an American”. President Obama on his part said, “ there are going to be other days for politics, this, I think is a day of prayer and reflection” The same united front has been evident whenever tragedy strikes in the U.S, be it a hurricane or a tornado, terrorist attack or killing of twenty helpless school children in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Kenya has had its share of tragedies too. But the one on the minds of many Kenyans is the tragic loss of 15 school children from the same county in a grisly road accident. This is a tragedy that hit at the heart of a nation. The frantic efforts by medical personnel to save lives, the airlifts of those critically injured and government waiver of hospital and funeral expenses as well as the outright concern from every corner of the country brings home the point that although tragedy may bring grief and even helplessness, there can be those who offer comfort to those who are suffering and mourn with those who mourn.  Who better can comfort and rally a stunned nation than leaders from opposite political spectrum?
If the events at the mass funeral service for the 15 departed young children in Kisii are to go by, Kenyan leaders have once again failed to rise above political mediocrity in the wake of a national tragedy.  A tragic event that called for reason from all leaders was lost inchaos of hysteria and opportunism as a solemn moment of reflection turned into divisive political platform. Cheered on by a frenzied almost fanatical crowd, those who project themselves as unbending fighters for progress scrambled for microphones to rip their political opponents.
The grief and sorrow notwithstanding, this tragedy exposes the ugly underbelly of politics in Kenya. The complete lack of civility and decency at this mass funeral service reflects the repulsive form of inter-party relations and regional politics. As the entire country was mourning over the tragic loss of young lives, the lack of decorum that has been rife in exchanges between CORD and the Jubilee government at national level was evident as people in Kisii came face to face with an abhorrent form of regionalism that poses a great danger to national unity. One wonders which one of this is a greater tragedy – It is the continued loss of lives of Kenyans or the lack of national unity and absence of civilized conduct among Kenyan politicians.
If the news reports are to go by, nothing seemed to have been said about uniting in tragedy by either the CORD leadership or Jubilee government. The CORD leadership which enjoys the goodwill of people in this area failed to defend the freedom of speech for the government officers send to deliver the president’s speech.One would have thought that the former Prime Minister, a crusader of the rights of the people, and a darling of crowd at hand would borrow from the famous quote by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, who said in her biography on Voltaire that “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Instead he sat in bemused silence while the government officials were humiliated and denied their right to speak.
The fact that the president’s speech was never delivered by extension denied the rights of those families that were grieving their fundamental right to public information. The government stood with these families throughout the tragedy. Personal intervention by the president through an executive order for airlifts, medical and funeral expenses showed a unity of purpose on the part of government.Therefore these grieving families had the right to know what the president had to say to them.  Unfortunately, their rights to public information were denied in the presence of those who purport to be the custodians and champions of human rights.
Playing politics as the blood of innocent Kenyans flow on depleted roads is worse than pointing fingers at a corrupt traffic officer. Preaching vengeful and divisive politics where hearts are breaking with sadness of unspeakable tragedy is worse than skipping the event all together. This day was no longer about politics. This was a day to seize the opportunity and stand before the broken hearted not as Jubilee or CORD, but as parents, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. This was the day to offer comfort to those affected by this tragedy and mourn with those who are mourning.

Tsuma Clive Katiba PhD
cktsuma@yahoo.com
Faculty, Public Policy and International Relations
Research Fellow, International Center for Information Development (ICITD)
USA

It’s Prince GEORGE of Cambridge! Kate and William proudly announce the name of their baby 50 hours after his birth

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their son George Alexander Louis, Kensington Palace has said.

The Prince of Cambridge – Reuters

George had been the bookmakers’ favourite for the first name of the prince, who is third in line to the throne.
He will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
They are currently at the duchess’s family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, after spending a night at Kensington Palace.
The Duke and Duchess had been expected to pick a traditional royal name for their son, who was born at St Mary’s Hospital in London on Monday at 16:24 BST, weighing 8lbs 6oz.
Royal infants usually have historical names which are passed down through the generations.
This is a relatively quick announcement of a name compared to previous royal babies.
It was seven days before the name of a newborn Prince William was announced in 1982, and there was a wait of a month following the Prince Charles’s birth in 1948.
All births in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, regardless of parentage, must be registered within 42 days at the hospital before leaving or a register office.

ICTR transfers last detainee to Rwanda

 

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) yesterday transferred to Rwanda Genocide suspect Bernard Munyagishari from its custody in Arusha, Tanzania.

The former head of the genocidal party MRND in former Gisenyi prefecture, was in pre-trial detention and his transfer is part of the court’s completion strategy. He was the last suspect in the custody of the UN-backed court.

Munyagishari’s transfer came after he lost a petition for a stay of his transfer from ICTR to Kigali.
He was arrested in May 2011 in DR Congo and charged with conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, complicity in genocide, as well as murder and rape as crimes against humanity.
A seemingly pensive Munyagishari arrived at the Kigali International Airport aboard a commercial RwandAir flight from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, at around 5p.m, under the custody of ICTR officials.
He was then delivered to Rwandan prosecutors, who, in turn, handed him over to designated judicial police officers.
The suspect under tight security, was paraded before journalists for about 30 seconds and later whisked off to the special transit facility at Kigali Central Prison. He joins former Pastor Jean Uwinkindi, who was transferred by the ICTR in April last year but whose trial is yet to start in substance.
“We would like to thank the ICTR generally for the significant vote of confidence it has given to the Rwandan justice system, and for the smooth execution of this transfer. What happens next is following the Rwandan laws, particularly the law on transfer of Genocide suspects from ICTR and other jurisdictions,” said the spokesperson of the Rwandan Prosecution, Alain Mukuralinda.
Munyagishari will be under police custody for a maximum of five days before being handed to Prosecution. Prosecution could request for 30 days from the judiciary to prepare his dossier as stipulated by the law. ICTR Spokesperson Roland Amousouga said the transfer process is part of the ICTR completion strategy.
“The opinion of the judges at the ICTR is that Munyagishari will get a fair trial in Rwanda and the court will monitor the case the same way it is doing in the case of Uwinkindi…we are confident that the trial process will go smoothly,” said Amousouga.
The ICTR approved a prosecution request for Munyagishari’s transfer on June 6, 2012 and confirmed it on appeal on May 3 this year.
In a last-ditch appeal filed three days later, Munyagishari asked the Tribunal to stay his transfer until he had received the French versions of the Appeals Court decision and his amended indictment. He also sought information about the setting up of a mechanism to monitor his trial and prison conditions in Rwanda.
But on May 30, ICTR Appeals Court president Theodor Meron noted that the accused received his amended indictment in French on May 10, and was only waiting for the translation of the decision confirming his transfer. Meron then ordered that Munyagishari’s transfer be effected not less than three days after he had received the French version of the Appeals Court decision. The suspect’s request for information about a monitoring mechanism was rejected.
During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Munyagishari, 53, was general secretary of the then ruling party, National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), in Gisenyi prefecture and president of the Interahamwe militia.
His indictment says due to his rank in both the MRND and the militia, Munyagishari exercised effective control and authority over the Interahamwe militants operating under the Intarumikwa and the Impuzamugambi militia groups, in Gisenyi and its surroundings. He is accused of killings at St Fidele College and the Catholic Church, convent in Nyundo parish in Gisenyi, now Rubavu District. Also, at the beginning of 1994, Munyagishari received a list of Tutsis to be killed in the town of Gisenyi and its surroundings, according to the ICTR charge sheet .
After the assassination of former president Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, Munyagishari organised a house-to-house search for Tutsis to be eliminated, the charge sheet says.
In addition, from April 7 to July 17, 1994, he is accused of having supervised roadblocks in Gisenyi, particularly the notorious la cornice roadblock and its surroundings, and ordered the pogrom, the indictment adds.
According to the prosecution, Munyagishari is further alleged to have conspired with then high ranking military commanders, including Colonel Anatole Nsengimana, Augustin Ngirabatware, and Joseph Nzirorera all of whom have been tried by the ICTR. The ICTR has also confirmed five other case transfers to Rwanda, but they all concern suspects who are still on the run. They include, Lieutenant-Colonel Phénéas Munyarugarama, former mayors Charles Sikubwabo, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, Aloys Ndimbati and former judicial police inspector Fulgence Kayishema
Apart from Rwanda, the only other country to which the ICTR has transferred cases is France. Two cases have been transferred there.
These transfers are part of the closure strategy of the ICTR, which must complete its work by December 2014 at the latest, according to the UN Security Council.
The ICTR has already started transferring some of its functions to its eventual successor organ – the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).

Kikwete presides over Heroes Day in Bukoba

 

Bukoba. President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to preside over the commemoration of National Heroes Day that will be marked at the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) barracks at Kaboya, Kagera Region, today.

However, President Kitwete, did not deliver an address at Kaitaba Stadium yesterday as earlier scheduled, prompting a large crowd that had gathered to disperse.

But President Kikwete inaugurated the Kagera Cooperative Union (KCU 1990) building as scheduled.

Contacted for clarification, State House spokesperson Salva Rweyemamu said he was forced to reschedule his public address to July 28 because it was late and most of the people were fasting.

“He explained when launching the building that other commitments delayed his arrival and he couldn’t address the masses in the evening because many people were fasting,” he explained.

Before his departure to Kaboya today, the Head of State officiated the inauguration of the High Court building in Bukoba.

Kagera Regional commissioner Colonel Fabian Massawe told journalists that among other activities, the President was expected to lay a foundation stone at Bukoba airport which is undergoing major renovations including upgrading it to a tarmac runway.

According to the RC, after attending the National Heroes Day, President Kikwete will proceed to Karagwe District where he will take part in two different events including official launching of 19 newly demarcated districts which will be representatively held in Kyerwa.

The other event involving President Kikwete will be the official launching of the Rural Electrification project to be held at Nyaishozi in Karagwe.

'Gun maker’ operated near military training field

Acting Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Ally Mlege(center) and other official police, displays guns impounded by police at Kawe Mzimuni in the City at special operation.
Dar es Salaam. The suspect of illegally making guns in his house in Dar es Salaam lives near an open field used for military training.

The Citizen confirmed that the house from where the suspect was picked up is a stone’s throw away from a training ground for the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF). The field is used by soldiers from Lugalo Barracks.

A spot check yesterday revealed that only one house stands between the suspect’s family home and the TPDF training ground, about 200 metres away. It is also a few metres from Kawe Primary School.

It is from this abode, in the city’s Kawe suburb, that on July 18 the police seized the suspect and his wife after stumbling on what appeared like a crude gun manufacturing plant. Seven arms of different calibres were found.

The couple and four other accomplices are still being held at the central police station as investigations continue.

Neighbours yesterday expressed shock at the developing story of a neighbour they described as “polite and well behaved.” He worked as a locksmith in the area and cooperated with other neighbours in various socio-economic activities.

At the deserted home itself, a woman there said to be a relative to the suspect declined to speak to Journalists. “I have nothing to say to you. If you want anything please speak to the police,” said the unidentified woman before slamming the door of the fairly big house.

Neighbours who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said the house was owned by the suspect’s father who also lives there. The suspect, they said, has a wife and several children who put up in another house nearby.

According to a source, who lived a few metres from the suspect’s house, they never suspected anything fishy was going on. “Those living there are just normal people like us and many other Tanzanians.”

“I was just surprised when the police raided the house around 11am. I never thought anything as illegal as what we later come to discover was going on inside that house,” said the neigbour.

According to the source most of the people living in the neighbourhood were surprised as much as he did after the police raided the house and left with the suspect and his wife as well as some equipment.

“People in this neighbourhood referred to him as a lock smith and the house is also referred to as locksmith’s…we always took our keys and locks to the house when we wanted them to be repaired,” said another source. According to Acting Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Ally Mlege, the suspect was arrested following information provided by four armed robbery suspects.

Sitta: Govt probing theft of Sh8 billion during conference

East African Cooperation minister Samuel Sitta addresses a meeting of the Tanzania Youth Council in Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam. East African Co-operation minister Samuel Sitta said yesterday the government was investigating the embezzlement of Sh8 billion, allegedly by officials entrusted with organising the recent Smart Partnership Dialogue.

“Eight billion was pocketed by unscrupulous officials who created ghost companies to benefit from the meeting and now investigations are ongoing,’’ Mr Sitta told journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam.

He spoke during the official opening of a three-day meeting of the Tanzania Youth Council at Rombo Green View Hotel in Sinza. The meeting, attended by 120 youth from 50 districts, was to discuss the new draft constitution and make recommendations.

Pressed for more information, Mr Sitta said the investigations would show how the suspected officials colluded to siphon the money. “We are tired of probe teams because each time you wake up you are told we have formed a team to investigate scandals but the outcome of investigation is always zipped and kept in shelves,” the vocal minister said. “This is unacceptable.’’

It was the first time a senior official was speaking on the matter almost a month after the three-day conference that coincided with US President Barack Obama’s visit.

But Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Permanent Secretary John Haule dismissed Mr Sitta’s claims as “allegations aimed at seeking cheap popularity” and said there was no grain of truth in the allegations.

Mr Haule added: “There have been such allegations from a section of cabinet ministers and even the police and Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) have gone yonder to inquire into the matter, but I can assure you that there is not even a single cent that was misused. There is no probe team in my ministry that is investigating the said embezzlement.”

The PS confirmed, though, that there was a team reviewing how money allocated to the conference was spent. The host committee included officials from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. The review team, according to Mr Haule, is working under the Chief Secretary Mr Ombeni Sefue’s direction. A report will be handed to him as the chairman of the organising committee not later than July 30.

According to Mr Sitta, the “scandal” was a sign that some public officials and leaders were a greedy lot who worked to enrich themselves even as many Tanzanians continued to languish in abject poverty.

The minister spoke of a trend in which dishonest leaders create ghost companies that are given big government tenders with a view to swindling cash that ends up in their pockets.

Mr Sitta now wants clauses in the new constitution that will cover leadership ethics and integrity. “You are not elected to enrich yourself and your family or stash the tax payers’ money in Swiss banks,” he added. “I wonder when I hear of someone hiding staggering amounts of our cash overseas.”

The minister, who is also Urambo East lawmaker, took a swipe at leaders who have been dishing out huge amounts of cash at religious events. It was difficult to tell whether that money was genuinely theirs or was stolen, he added.

“You see someone donating millions in less than two weeks--which raises questions as to where the money is coming from,” he said without naming anyone.

Mr Sitta reiterated his objection to a three-tier government in the draft constitution, saying it would cost the country should the people give it the green light in the new mother law. He dismissed it as a plot by “selfish leaders” to create unnecessary positions for their benefit.