21 September 2009

A secret document, made public this weekend by a South African newspaper, details the plans the government has sanctioned to intensify the forcible seizure of commercial land across the country.

According to the Sunday Times, recommendations for intensified farm attacks have been authored by Lands Minister Herbert Murerwa, who presented the document to cabinet last month. The document, which is in the Sunday Times' possession, said that the "government should continue to acquire land" from white farmers, and also recommended that the "prosecution of farmers resisting to move off the acquired land should be expedited."

"The refusal by these former farm owners to vacate gazetted farms has disadvantaged 251 (beneficiaries of the land grab) who hold offer letters," Murerwa reportedly said in the paper.

The document appears to confirm speculation that the new wave of farm invasions is the result of a directive from the top levels of the government, despite the Global Political Agreement that committed the government to "ensure security of tenure for all land holders." Such a document could also be the cause of the recent intensified attacks on farmers, both physically and in the courts. Just last week, tobacco farmer Murray Pott was brutally beaten by land invaders, while cattle farmer Mike Surtees was convicted after a lengthy court battle for 'failing to vacate' his farm.

The revelations of the cabinet document come after Robert Mugabe last week implored investors to plough cash into the country, saying at a mining indaba that "the sanctity of property rights and the rule of law in all its dimensions are fully respected." But it is obvious that Mugabe was merely trying to butter-up potential investors, as the secret cabinet document continued that "no foreigner should be allowed to own rural agricultural land," which "should be excluded from the protection afforded by the bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements."

The South African government meanwhile has made no move to protect their citizens in Zimbabwe, who have already lost farms or are facing imminent land seizure. South African farmer Louis Fick has been forced off his farm, where his livestock worth more than US$250 000 are now at risk of starving to death. Fick was evicted from his Friedawel Farm by Edward

Mashiringwani, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, who arrived on the farm with 15 'bodyguards' and started threatening and harassing Fick's staff. Fick has since been barred from entering the farm, and about 1000 pigs and 100 piglets are being left to starve. Local journalists who tried to gain entry to the farm over the weekend have reported hearing the "eerie squeals of hundreds of starving pigs."

Fick is one of 78 commercial farmers who won a landmark legal battle in the human rights court of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year. The Tribunal ordered the government to protect the farmers' rights to their land, and this year ruled the government in contempt for ignoring the earlier ruling. The government has since been in the process of 'pulling out' of the Tribunal, saying it will not respect any current, or future rulings of the court.

African lawyers have since warned that Zimbabwe's blatant disregard of regional court rulings was setting a bad precedence for respect of continental bodies and called on the African Union (AU) and SADC to take decisive measures to defend their institutions of justice, before they become irrelevant. Representatives of the African bar associations and rule of law organizations said in a statement that "failure by the SADC and AU leadership to vigorously defend regional and sub-regional judicial organs from such a blatant assault is likely to have a contagion effect throughout the continent."

allafrica

21 September 2009

Nairobi — The government on Monday admitted that it would not keep the promise it made to the International Criminal Court to set up a local tribunal by September 30.

Instead, it will write to the ICC asking for more time to pass the law which will set up the tribunal.

This is the third time the government is failing to honour deadlines in bringing to justice those who masterminded the violence that erupted after the 2007 presidential election...

allafrica

21 September 2009

Abuja — In spite of the alarm raised by concerned groups, the Federal Government might be unable to save 57 Nigerians facing the death row in different countries.

Besides, the Chinese government has requested the permission of Nigeria to cremate the corpses of about 30 Nigerians in that country.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi, told THISDAY that several efforts by the government at the bilateral level is unlikely to change the course of those governments regarding the accused.

"If you ask me whether I am optimistic that these Nigerians will find their way back home, the answer is no, I am not. I am talking about the Nigerians on death row in countries all over the world," said Keshi.

The ambassador stated that the government is "between the devil and the deep blue sea" because of the questionable conduct of some of its citizens abroad.

He explained that about 14 people in Libya are accused of murder, while 18 are facing the same accusation in Indonesia. In total, there are about 57 Nigerians facing the death penalty in Indonesia and China, he stated.

Keshi explained that the country is confronted with huge consular problems given the "problematic" nature of some of these immigrants. He explained that unlike the first and second wave of Nigerians that left the country, the third wave is more often than not unskilled, uneducated, and unaccustomed to rules in their host countries.

Consequently, the government is forced to deal with the high incidence of illegal immigration and unwillingness by some immigrants to adapt to the culture of the new environment, he argued.

"They do not understand the language and the culture. And to crown it all, they are not even ready to understand some of these things. Most of them have been lured into going abroad by syndicates with the promise of jobs and a better life abroad. Regrettably, apart from Edo where the issue is of the girls going into prostitution, the areas most affected are the Eastern state. Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia and a little bit of Ebonyi," he said.

He explained that many risk their limbs to cross the Sahara desert, sometimes ending up in Libya. Others that are desperate get involved in illegal drug trafficking, racketeering, and all sorts of crimes.

Part of the difficulties faced by the Nigerian authorities is that some of the immigrants use fake names unidentifiable by their relations. This problem has become so big that it is difficult to track people, he said.

As for China, he noted that the government is reluctant to allow the authorities over there to burn the corpses of Nigerians. He explained that the Chinese have decided to burn the bodies because their relations have not stepped forward to claim them.

"We are reluctant to burn these bodies but my fear is that we have to make the decision within the next few days because they have given us the last notice and if we cannot find relations, we are going to ask them to cremate the bodies and keep the ashes until some people begin to look for their fellows and we give them," he said.

Another hurdle in China is that the penalties for overstaying one's visa is severe, making it more difficult for offenders to pay up and leave the country voluntarily, he stated. Consequently, the Nigerian authorities have met with the Chinese government on how some of the rules could be relaxed to enable offenders leave the country.

However, some of them are not willing to leave, he added.

"But, then the most difficult thing is that the people we are trying to plead for are not even ready to go. It will be unfair for anybody to assume that government is not doing enough. That not withstanding, I am very confident that based on recent talks with some countries we will be able to find our way through," he said.

Commenting on the way forward, Keshi said the government should mount enlightenment campaigns across the country. Also, the state and federal governments need to provide opportunities for citizens, he said.

"The onus is on the state and federal governments to accelerate development, expanding this country's industrial and agricultural base in order to accommodate the growing population. Also, we have to look into seriously controlling our population," said he.

He disclosed that the government had negotiated a series of agreements with the British and other European countries to encourage voluntary repatriation. The problem with that policy is that many do not want to come back home, he said.

In his view, the immigrants are responding to the hostile environment back home, the reason why effort should be geared towards improving conditions at home.

Keshi further disclosed that Nigeria had entered into agreement with a number of countries with regard to prison transfer. No country will appreciate illegal immigrants roaming its streets and breaking its laws, he argued.

He explained that the government steps in once it is aware that Nigerians have been arrested for any reason. It tries to negotiate their release and encourages deportation, he said. However, there are legal processes for deportation in the countries concerned, he added.

Chairperson of House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa had raised an alarm on the plight plight of Nigerians on death row in Libya.

Since then, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) had asked the Libyan government to suspend their execution. It is not certain the course of action to be taken by Libya.

allafrica

21 September 2009

A Dutch-based oil trading company has offered to pay more than 30 million Euros (U.S. $48 million) to up to 31,000 Ivorians who said toxic waste dumped in Abidjan made them ill in 2006, reports the Dutch news agency, ANP.

However, the company, Trafigura Beheer BV, made the offer without admitting liability, and company director Eric de Turckheim asserted in a statement: "This settlement completely vindicates Trafigura.”

A separate joint statement agreed to by the company and the British law firm representing the Ivorians, Leigh Day and Co., said independent experts had been “unable to identify a link between exposure to... chemicals released from the slops [waste] and deaths, miscarriages, still births, birth defects, loss of visual acuity or other serious and chronic injuries.”

The statement went on to say that Leigh Day “now acknowledge that the slops could at worst have caused a range of short term low-level flu-like symptoms and anxiety.”

De Turckheim said the acknowledgement had opened the way to settlement talks. He said while Trafigura denied liability, it regretted the incident, which followed the dumping of toxic waste from a company vessel, the Probo Koala, by an Ivorian company, Compagnie Tommy.

“Trafigura… recognises that the slops had a deeply unpleasant smell and their illegal dumping by Compagnie Tommy caused distress to the local population,” said De Turckheim. “This settlement is the mark of a company that fully recognises its social and economic commitment to the region.”

No statement was published by Leigh Day. It said in the joint statement that it denied that any of its clients “made any deliberately false claims.”

Hundreds of Abidjan residents flocked to local hospitals three years ago, complaining of the effect of toxic fumes from waste dumps. Angry Ivorians barricaded roads and the country’s Cabinet resigned in response to the anger over the incident. In 2007, Trafigura was reported to have paid $198 million to the Cote d'Ivoire government, also without accepting liability.

allafrica

2009-09-21

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania will host the 2010 World Economic Forum on Africa which President Jakaya Kikwete says is an honor for the East African country, the local Daily News reported on Monday.

"It is an honor for Tanzania to host the 2010 World Economic Forum on Africa. We are looking forward to welcoming the community, which I am confident will continue to make important contributions in our collective quest for a better world," Kikwete was quoted assaying.

He noted that it is heartening to see the positive impact that the World Economic Forum has on key issues of global concern as the unique gathering regularly convenes a very diverse group of friends of the continent, who are united in their optimism of what Africa can, must and will achieve.

The gathering is scheduled to be held in Dar es Salaam from May5 to May 7, 2010, which makes Tanzania the first East African country to play its host, according to a statement released by the Swiss-based forum.

Andre Schneider, managing director of the World Economic Forum, said they are looking forward to holding the meeting in Tanzania at a time when the whole East Africa region is expected to experience stronger growth.

Katherine Tweedie, director and head of Africa at the World Economic Forum, placed the development in its historical context.

She termed 2010 as a special year for the community. "Not only will it be the 20th anniversary of the World Economic Forum on Africa, it is also the first time that the Forum's Africa meeting will be held in East Africa," she said.

The World Economic Forum on Africa takes place over three days and is renowned for its informal style that engenders frank and open discussions among the most influential leaders with a stake in the region.

The 2009 gathering was hosted in Cape Town by newly elected President Jacob Zuma of South Africa in June this year.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas, the report noted.

xinhuanet

2009-09-21

NAIROBI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government has appealed to the United Nations for the elevation of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Program (UNEP) into a fully fledged UN organization.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the world body will enable UNEP deal comprehensively with the emerging environmental challenges across the world.

Speaking during a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moonin New York late Sunday, the PM said the agency, which is struggling to stem the tide of environmental degradation, is however stifled by duplication and scattering of roles.

According to a statement issued here on Monday, Odinga said Africa has begun to feel the heat of global warming while it is least prepared to deal with it.

Odinga said strengthening UNEP will boost Africa's capacity to tackle global warming.

He asked the UN to help with environmental issues Kenya is grappling with adding that the collapse of the ecosystem in Kenya would have serious implications for the entire Eastern Africa and beyond.

Odinga said Kenya is making substantial contributions to reducing carbon emissions by restoring its forest and water towers and promoting green energy.

These efforts, the PM said, deserved the support of the UN.

The PM said Kenya is playing a leading role in rallying African states to take a united stand during the upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen.

xinhuanet

2009-09-21

MOGADISHU, Sept. 20, (Xinhua) -- The radical Somali Islamist rebel leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, on Sunday called for more suicide attacks against forces of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), days after deadly twin suicide car bombs targeted the troops' headquarters in Mogadishu.

Aways, who heads the armed opposition Islamist faction of Hezbul Islam, was speaking after a mass prayer on the outskirts of Mogadishu to celebrate Eid Ul Fidr festival marking the end of the month-long fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"I ask Somali Muslim people to carry out more suicide attacks against the African Union enemy forces in Mogadishu," Aweys told people at the annual gathering held in his group's stronghold of Elashabiyaha, 18 km west of Mogadishu.

The call comes less than a week after the AU forces was targeted by two suicide car bombs that left 21 people, including 17 peacekeepers, dead and wounding as many as 40 others.

The attack, strongly condemned by Somali government and the international community, was claimed by the other more hardline Islamist movement of Al-Shabaab which controls much of the south and centre of the war ravaged country.

Nearly 5,000 African Union peacekeeping forces from Burundi and Uganda are currently stationed in the Somali capital Mogadishu providing protection to senior Somali government officials and main installations in the coastal city including the sea and air ports, the presidential residence and the roads linking them.

Aweys, who is wanted by the Washington for links with terrorism, accused the U.S. of meddling in Somalia's affairs and of supporting what he calls "the apostate government" of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist who was once an ally of Aweys but broke ranks over reconciliation with the then former Somali government early last year.

The firebrand cleric condemned the recent killing by U.S. air raid in south Somalia, of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan national who was prominent member of Al-Shabaab but wanted by Washington for links with bombings in Mombasa, coastal city in Kenya.

Aweys, whose group is waging a deadly insurgency against Somali government and AU forces, reiterated his call for the African Union peacekeeping forces to leave Somalia, a country that lacked functioning government for the past nineteen years.

xinhuanet

21 September 2009
At least 17 people, mainly combatants, have been killed in clashes between the al Qaeda-inspired Al Shabaab militia and government forces in the town of Yet on the border with Ethiopia, local witnesses say.

AFP - Islamist insurgents battled government forces in western Somalia and at least 17 people, mainly combatants, were killed, elders said Monday, as both sides claimed victory.

The fighting broke out late Sunday when fighters from the Shebab, an Al Qaeda-inspired group that controls much of southern Somalia, attacked government forces in the town of Yet on the border with Ethiopia.

"We are getting that 17 people, mainly combatants, died in the fighting and some vehicles were destroyed," Ali Moalim Kerow, an elder in the nearby town of Rabdhure, told AFP.

A local aid worker speaking on condition of anonymity gave a similar death toll but warned that it could rise.

The Shebab claimed victory in their battle with government forces but local residents said Monday that it was unclear who controlled the town after the previous night's fighting.

"We took control of the town after defeating the remnants of the apostate government who were planning attacks against us," Sheikh Hassan Mohamed, a Shebab commander for Hodur district, told AFP.

"Many of their dead are strewn in the streets of the town and our forces pulled out this morning," he said.

The Shebab commander said insurgent forces attacked government troops that had previously retreated from the city of Baidoa, further south, where the transitional administration's parliament was based.

A government military official acknowledged the attack but claimed his forces had defeated the Shebab.

"They attacked us in the evening but with no success. They retreated and we killed more than ten of their fighters. Our forces are in full control of the town," Shine Moalim Nurow said.

The Shebab group and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys's more political movement Hezb al-Islam launched on May 7 a broad military offensive aimed at toppling Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

One front has focused on further boxing Sharif into a tiny perimeter in Mogadishu, where he owes his survival largely to the protection of African Union peacekeepers.

The other front has pitted the insurgents against government forces and their allies on the main arteries leading from the capital to the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia.

Since Ethiopia put an end to its two-year intervention in Somalia in January, the country's hardline Islamists have focused their rhetoric on the African peacekeepers, whom they accuse of being the foreguard of a Christian crusade.

At least 21 people, including 17 AU peacekeepers, were killed Thursday in twin suicide car bomb attacks on their headquarters at Mogadishu airport, the deadliest such attack since the AU force was deployed in March 2007.

france24

21 September 2009

More than 100 people were killed and many injured at the weekend in the latest series of violent tribal clashes in the southern state of Jonglei, according to a military spokesman.

AFP - More than 100 people were killed in weekend clashes in the troubled Jonglei state of south Sudan, where the rate of violent deaths has overtaken that of Darfur, a military spokesman said Monday.

"There is a total of 102 killed, including 51 civilians and 23 of the attackers, and 46 injured," Major General Kuol Diem Kuol of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) told AFP.

Kuol told AFP earlier, when the known death toll stood at 76, that 11 SPLA soldiers and 11 other troops were among the dead.

"This is not a raid for cattle but a militia attack against security forces," he said.

Tribesmen from the Lou Nuer ethnic group raided the Dinka Hol village of Duk Padiet in Jonglei state on Sunday morning, forcing a company of SPLA soldiers based there to flee.

More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan.

A reconciliation conference between the main tribes of Jonglei state was planned for September 30 but has been postponed, a local source told AFP.

Clashes between rival ethnic groups in southern Sudan erupt frequently -- often sparked by cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources, while others are in retaliation for previous attacks.

However, a series of recent raids has shocked many, with an apparent sharp rise in attacks on women and children, as well as the targeting of homesteads.

Kuol had earlier said he suspected that the raiders on Sunday were backed by supporters of northern Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

NCP officials have repeatedly denied such accusations. North-south tensions remain high, with Sudan still divided by the religious, ethnic and ideological differences that fuelled a 22-year civil war which ended in a 2005 peace deal.

Under that deal, the south has a six-year transitional period of regional autonomy and takes part in a unity government until a 2011 referendum on self-determination.

The north and south have agreed on 10 key areas to work together, including upcoming elections next April, peace efforts in Darfur, demarcating the north-south border and power-sharing.

However, two other issues remain: the referendum, and census results rejected by the south but which are seen as key to the upcoming elections.

The north's NCP wants a 75-percent threshold for the south's independence to be recognised while the SPLA says a simple majority of voters in the referendum would be enough.

france24

20 Sep 2009

The African Union envoy to Somalia has urged the international community to provide forces fighting the country's militants with weapons.

Nicolas Bwakira made the appeal on Saturday, two days after twin suicide bombings by al-Shabaab militants in Mogadishu killed 17 African peacekeepers, including the deputy commander of the AU force in Somalia.

"If we go after Shabaab, we'd destroy them in no time," Bwakira told journalists in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, but added that fighting with 'enemies' required arms superior to the capacity of al-Shabaab's.

He highlighted the African Union (AU) mission was determined to uproot violence in Somalia, noting that the deadly bombings had not demoralized the force, despite more threats coming from al-Shabaab.

Bwakira said the attacks should not prevent countries from keeping their promises to beef up the AU force in the war-torn Horn of African nation.

The AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) currently operates with 5,000 soldiers as Nigeria and Ghana have so far failed to deploy their pledged troops, leaving the force 3,000 shy of the intended 8,000.

The United Nations has said it will take over the peacekeeping force in the central-African nation, but has not specified the date.

There is currently an arms embargo on Somalia, where al-Shabaab and its allies control most towns and cities across the country, whereas the government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed rules over just parts of Mogadishu.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991, which has resulted in a state of anarchy and a complete breakdown of law and order in the country, leaving some three million people in dire need of food aid.

presstv

20 September 2009

The African Union (AU) has called on the international community to provide more weapons to the Somalia Western-backed government to battle Islamist militants.
somalia refugees
The envoy of the AU to Somalia, Nicolas Bwakira, told reporters on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya that: "If we go after Al-Shabaab, we'd destroy them in no time." He added that rebels have been trying to oust the UN- recognized government.

The announcement for more weapons follows suicide bombings on Thursday at the headquarters of the AU peacekeepers in Mogadishu which left more than eight peacekeepers dead, including senior officials.

The AU plans to deploy 8,000 peacekeeping troops in Somalia but at the moment there are about 5,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi. Nigeria and Ghana have promised troops already but so far these pledges remain unfulfilled, AfricaNews reporter said.

Since being deployed in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2007, the African Union peacekeeping has lost 34 troops. Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

africanews

20 September 2009

he Mai Mai militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo are demanding the resignation of information minister, Lambert Mende, for insulting them. However, the Kabila government has denied the charge against its member.
joseph_kabila_gbgm-umc
The armed group has therefore threatened to soon take drastic action if the President Kabila administration does not heed to their call.

Mende is alleged to have described members of the armed group as terrorists who killed innocent Congolese and destroyed properties. The spokesman of the Mai Mai militia, Didier Bitaki, is quoted as saying they would no longer tolerate the minister’s insults.

He said the information minister's action undermines the authority of President Kabila.

Bitaki said his group is demanding the immediate resignation of the information minister. The Mai Mai say before talking to the government, the minister must resign and have warned the government of a possible insurgency if the minister is not removed.

"Our combatants are still waiting here so if the minister does not take back his word, we are going to ask the president that we cannot continue to work with people who don't have any respect for us," Bitaki said.

But Information Minister Mende has dismissed the call for his removal as infantile. He is quoted as wishing the rebels good luck, adding that he has no comment to say “on such childish statement”.

“Nobody consulted them for me to be appointed as a member of government following my election in my constituency. And nobody will ask them for me to be removed from office," Mende said.

He said the armed group took advantage to attack innocent civilians. "We know how they went to the bush. They took opportunity from some disturbances that were created by other people. They are not the ones that created the disturbances," he said.

africanews

20 September 2009

Madagascar's disputed head of state would be addressing the United Nations General Assembly next week. Andry Rajoelina, 35, would also attend the summit on climate change in the US, according to a statement released on Saturday by his interim authority in Antananarivo, the Island's capital.
Andry Rajoelina
The statement said Rajoelina was going "following the invitation of the United Nations Secretary General to heads of state and government on the occasion of the summit on climate change."

He would speak at the UN on Thursday, the statement added, ignoring the fact that Rajoelina is not internationally recognized as Madagascar's head of state, AFP said

He will be accompanied by his foreign, energy and environment ministers. Rajoelina ousted elected president, Marc Ravalomanana last March in a military showdown and has been striving to obtain international recognition.

The African Union suspended Madagascar from membership following the coup, and has threatened sanctions if he fails to implement an accord to form an accepted interim government.

The August 9 accord brokered in Mozambique by the international contact group was foiled by Rajoelina's unilateral appointment of an interim government which was rejected by three other factions.

The contact group is due to meet again in Antananarivo on October 6.

africanews

19 Sep 2009

Kenya has been reelected to join the board of directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after an absence of 26 years.

A strong team led by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Higher Education Minister Sally Kosgei lobbied for Kenya's membership at the 53rd IAEA conference.

Musyoka, who addressed the congress on Monday, asked member states to consider the country's application to join the board.

"We continue to have serious power shortages and because of climate change, every indication is that we must move away from dependency on hydro-electric power if we are to become self-sufficient. Nuclear energy will be essential for our development in future," Musyoka said.

Kenya was a board member of the 35-member agency in 1983. Cameroon was also readmitted to IAEA on Friday.

presstv

19 September 2009
Five students have been killed in Cameroon by thunder which struck their school. The thunder is reported to have struck Government Secondary School, Mbetpaw in Bamali, Ndop Centre in the Ngokentunjia Division, in the North West Region of Cameroon killing the five students and injuring over 35 others.
cameroon map
According to a local newspaper, the incident occurred at about 9 am on Tuesday. The Deputy Mayor of Ndop, Someta Amour Amanbeh, is quoted by the newspaper as confirming the story in a telephone chat.

According to the Mayor, he was in his house when he saw people running towards the school. He said he also decided to join them to the scene.

On arriving at the scene, he found ten students struck but not yet dead .He said he was later joined by the Mayors of Bamali and Bamunka who rushed the victims to the hospital.

Five of them died immediately after being transported to the hospital, while
35 others were also later taken to the hospital.

Reports say those who sustained slight injuries were treated and discharged from the hospital a few hours later.

Eyewitnesses say it happened so suddenly and swiftly that it has overwhelmed the resident of Ndop with surprise.

Other eyewitness accounts claimed that only a few seconds before the incident, a dog was seen around the scene and it is believed that it had something to do with the thunder.

An eyewitness who refused to be named said such a thing has never happened in his entire stay in the division. To him it was pure witchcraft.

Indigenes of the area, resident in other parts of the country, particularly in the political capital, Yaounde are reported to have been rushing home to see things for themselves and to find out whether their relatives were involved in the mishap.

The Minister of Secondary Education is equally reported to have sent a high powered delegation to Ndop to assess the situation.

africanews

Saturday 19 September

Catholic missionaries working in the northern part of Kenya are appealing for food aid from government, international and local donors to feed famine stricken people in the arid area of Maralal northern Kenya.
aid
Yarumal Missionary, Fr Vitner Vidal Marting of Barsaloi Parish in Maralal diocese said that two boys died two months ago because of hunger in Mairimirimo an outstation of Barsaloi parish. He said the situation is so desperate and insecurity has increased in the last few days and called on the government to do something to help the situation before more people die.

“As we speak people there are walking for long distances begging for food and water in the parishes and outstations,” he said in an interview.

Fr Marting said that the situation has forced them to give food to only pregnant women, children and the poor, “even what we give is not enough and our food reserves are completely empty.”

He said that it is a very sad situation where they are forced to send hungry people back home without food.

Fr Marting told this reporter that humans and animals are fighting for the same water points in order to survive. He mentioned that a place called Lulu used to have plenty of water but has completely dried up and people are climbing mountains to cut trees to feed their animals which are a source of their livelihood.

He warned that there is likelihood of the place becoming a desert because the people are not replacing the trees they cut.

“Migration of people to search for food and water and pasture for their animals is also causing a lot of conflict among the Samburu, Pokot and Turkana communities,” he said.

He mentioned that the government gave only 12 bags of maize three weeks ago but that has not helped the situation and the diocese is completely overwhelmed by the demand for food.

The World Food Programme which had promised to give food every week has failed to do so and people keep waiting in parishes and outstations for food but they have still not come to aid the hunger stricken.

Fr Marting said that they have not had heavy rains in that area since last year. Early this week, some 33 people, 40 cattle, 20 goats and 30 sheep were killed by cattle rustlers in the Laikipia North District. The drought has forced the Samburu and Pokot communities to migrate in search of greener pasture.

africanews

19 September 2009

The cloud of suspicion hanging over Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade's third term race settled when he announced on Voice of America (VOA) that he would contest in 2012. Senegal's constitution allows only two terms for a president and Wade is currently serving his second which expires in 2012.
Wade
"I will be a candidate in 2012, if God gives me a long life," Wade said in remarks aired by the Voice of America's French service.

There has been speculation that Wade's 40-year-old son Karim, a government minister, would be the ruling party's presidential candidate in 2012.

But the president’s pronouncement comes to calm agitations for succession within his own party, PDS.

The country’s major opposition parties say the president’s 2012 ambitions are unconstitutional, but Wade insists that “nobody has the right to stop me from contesting. It is left for the Senegalese people to decide who they want. The game shall be open to all.”

Wade, who was elected in 2000, would be 86 in 2012. He was guest of the VOA on the occasion of the signing of a $540 million aid granted to the West African nation by Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which took place in New York.

Senegal, according to the MCC officials, was selected because of its strong economic growth potential, good governance and commitment to open markets and long-term investment.

However, critics contend that Wade’s presidency has been marred by corruption, nepotism and constraints on freedom of the press and other civil liberties.

africanews

19 Sep 2009

Three people have been reportedly killed and several others wounded after police opened fire on demonstrations held in support of Palestinians on the annual Qods Day.

The attack happened as hundreds of people came to the streets of Zaria in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria on Friday. It was not clear what provoked the fighting.

Sheik el-Zazky, a Muslim leader, said his followers reported three people were killed and 12 wounded. Several demonstrators have also been arrested.

"They began stoning the police and then the trouble erupted. The police used firearms in self-defense," Assistant Police Commissioner Abubakar Danmalam said.

More than 200 ethnic groups generally live peacefully side by side, although civil war left one million dead between 1967 and 1970.

This comes after a leaked intelligence report detailed possible government plans to attack Members of an Islamic Movement in Nigeria called Boko Haram. The group had organized the rallies.

Security forces had been stationed in and around Zaria since last week.

The group alleges the Nigerian government had decided in a high level security meeting to "phase out" its top members.

presstv

19 Sep 2009
The Somali Defense Ministry claims it has information that more suicide attacks have been planned to be carried out on 8 bomb-laden vehicles carrying UN logo.

In a press conference in southern Mogadishu, the ministry confirmed that the Somali government has been informed about al-Shabaab's plans for conducting new suicide attacks on AMISOM troops inside Somalia by using eight stolen cars belonging to the United Nations, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The Somali government has tightened the security measures ahead of planned attacks on AMISOM troops.

In the meantime, a senior al-Shabaab member said that false information have been given to the Somali government.


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Black smoke rises from inside AMISOM base in Mogadishu after two powerful explosions rip through AU peacekeepers force commander building in Somalia on Sept. 17.

18 Sep 2009

The UN condemns a twin suicide bombing in war-torn Somalia while the African Union's (AU) special representative to Somalia calls for more international support in the country.

President of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly Ali Treki, a Libyan, who took over the post on Tuesday, said a brutal attack on Thursday, that killed 21 people, including 17 Burundian and Ugandan forces, was 'unacceptable' from terrorist groups operating in Somalia.

He said the UN "will recognize the (Somalia's) legitimate government and will continue supporting them," adding that he hoped the attack would not make Africans weak in front of aggression.

Meanwhile, AU's special representative to Somalia, Nicolas Bwakira addressing a press conference in Nairobi on Friday, September 18, called for more support by the international community to the pan-African bloc's embattled peace force in war-ravaged Somalia.

Only Burundi and Uganda currently contribute to the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The UN official also said that al-Shabaab, who claimed responsibility for
the attacks, used two cars with UN logos to hit the African Union's main base in Mogadishu on Thursday (September 17). He said they showed their ability by striking at the heart of the peacekeeping mission.

The insurgents announced that they launched the attack to avenge the killing on Monday (September 14) of one of the continent's most wanted al-Qaeda suspects in a helicopter raid by US commandos.

Both nations, Burundi and Uganda, say they want AMISOM's (African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia) mandate toughened. The force was supposed to be 8,000-strong, but only has about 5,000 troops only from Uganda and Burundi.

After Thursday's attack, Nigeria and Djibouti agreed in principle to send soldiers to reinforce AMISOM.

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