Riots In Kenya
Stand-off at Kenya's parliament. Arguments over the constitution have led to riots Policemen have surrounded parliament in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, wanting to arrest two MPs holed up inside. The two men are accused of sparking a brawl between rival supporters on Wednesday, which police broke up. Several violent incidents have been reported in tense campaigning ahead of a referendum on a new constitution. International donors have condemned the violence between the two rival camps and called for a campaign free from violence and intimidation.
The wanted men, Reuben Ndolo and David Mwenje, are members of President Mwai Kibaki's ruling Narc coalition opposed to the new draft constitution. Police want to talk to them in connection with violence at a meeting on Wednesday convened by Deputy Minister Maina Kamanda to drum up support for the proposed constitution. "I have no regrets," Mr Mwenje told the BBC's Focus on Africa from within parliament. "It was an illegal meeting."
On Wednesday, diplomats from 25 countries said in a joint statement that they wanted to see a campaign "not marred by violence or its incitement, physical intimidation or financial manipulation". They also urged that members of government and government officials "refrain from any inappropriate use of public resources for political purposes". Opponents of the draft want a new constitution to curb presidential powers President Kibaki's government is leading the "Yes" campaign under the symbol of a banana, while the opposition and a party within the ruling coalition have teamed up to campaign against with their symbol of an orange.
If the new constitution is approved on 21 November, it would be the first major overhaul of Kenya's constitution since independence from Britain in 1963. Critics of the draft say it fails to establish a strong prime minister's post, which they say would prevent the president abusing his powers. Instead, the premier is appointed and can be dismissed by the president. Earlier on Thursday, two Kenyan journalists were charged by police over an article a magistrate said was "likely to cause fear and alarm to the public". The opinion piece about Kenya's draft constitution was called "Coups in Africa do not occur out of nothing".
Sunday Times Managing Editor Onyango Omollo and Staff Writer David Ochami pleaded innocent.
BBC News Report.
Posted by: Mara at September 29, 2005 23:56 |
link | comments |
africa
Murder or Hijack?
S African mining magnate murdered.
Controversial South African mining magnate Brett Kebble has been shot dead and found in his car in Johannesburg. Police are investigating whether the shooting of Mr Kebble, 41, was a deliberate targeted killing, as his legal representative believes. He was well known in South Africa as the sponsor of major arts award as well as for his political connections. Mr Kebble contributed to the governing ANC's coffers and had business links with the ANC Youth League. He is also believed to have been a benefactor of ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who is charged with corruption.
Mr Kebble's body was discovered at the wheel of his car on Tuesday evening in Johannesburg's Melrose suburb, on a bridge crossing the main Johannesburg-Pretoria motorway. Police said he had been shot "more than once". Mr Kebble's advocate, Willem Heath, told a local radio station that it looked as though his client had been deliberately murdered. Police spokesman Chris Wilken said the motive for the killing was uncertain. "There are two possibilities: Either it was a direct attempt on his life or it was a hijack attempt," Mr Wilken told Reuters news agency. The hijacking of expensive cars is not uncommon in Johannesburg.
Posted by: Mara at September 28, 2005 23:07 |
link | comments |
africa
People problems for Ethiopian game park
By Martin Plaut - BBC News, Ethiopia.
Nech-Sar borders two volcanic lakes. The commercial company that has taken over the management of one of Ethiopia's most beautiful game reserves has found that keeping the local people happy is more difficult than looking after the animals. Seven months ago, African Parks took over the Nech-Sar National Park, 500 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa. It borders two volcanic lakes, linked by mountains called the "Bridge of God" by local people. Its mature trees tower 30 metres above the river that waters them. And its grasslands and marshes boast more than 300 species of birds.
Mateos Ersado, who has spent some 20 years in the Ethiopian conservation services, is now in charge. But he admits that animals are the least of his problems. "We have a number of communities who have come to depend on the park, and we need to take into account their needs," he says.
In recent years these communities have encroached on the park. Some have cut firewood inside the park to sell in the adjacent town of Arba Minch.
Others, like the Kore, live in the mountains that border on the park and walk through it to get to the town. And the Guji-Oromo have used the park to graze their cattle. Local residents are being paid to clear thickets in the park .Each group will require a specific solution, and African Parks is making a fund available that will have $4,000 a month to help the communities.
But Mateos Ersado has begun with the men and women who have made a living from cutting wood. The men have been allowed to continue collecting wood in the park for a limited period. They are currently being paid 8 birr (about $1) a day to hack out thorn thickets that have grown up in areas that were overgrazed by cattle. The wood they provide is then collected by the women, who sell it in town. In the longer run, African Parks is committed to finding alternative sources of fuel.
Posted by: Mara at September 27, 2005 23:17 |
link | comments |
africa
WORTH
NOTHING IS WORTH MORE THAN THIS DAY
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Dear Family and Friends,
It was cause for great sadness to watch Zanu PF MP's clapping, dancing and
singing in Zimbabwe's parliament this week after the announcement that
their two thirds majority had secured the latest amendments to our
country's constitution. The rights of individual Zimbabweans are being
systematically stripped away and for this the ruling party cheer - as if
the country was theirs alone, for all time. The latest amendments allow
government to withdraw passports from people whose travel is deemed to be
against the national interest. A 65 member Senate is to be reintroduced
even though the economy is shrinking and Ministers say that 90% of their
annual budgets are needed for wages and allowances.
The constitutional amendments also forbid citizens whose land was seized
by Zanu PF from having their grievances heard in court. The Minister of
Justice, being interviewed by a South African television programme,
insisted that this latest prohibition on seeking legal recourse was aimed
at white skinned Zimbabweans only. The wording of the constitutional
amendment however, does not mention skin colour at all, so one can only
wonder how long it will be before this same provision is used against
other out of favour Zimbabwean farmers. However, according to the
propaganda, this was the end, once and for all, of white farmers and for
this "achievement" Zanu PF MP's and even the Vice President, danced in
the aisles of parliament.
One after another a string of "analysts", "commentators" and "experts"
have been paraded on state owned TV to praise the constitutional
amendments. None have questioned why there was not a referendum or if this
is what 11.6 million Zimbabweans really want. The government says that
this now brings "finality" to five years of land seizures and that all
agricultural land belongs to the state.
Most ordinary Zimbabweans have got absolutely no idea what is going on on
the farms anymore and they are not alone in their confusion. Every season
the government announces they are conducting an "audit" of who is on which
farm as if they don't know themselves. They say they are investigating why
production continues to fall monstrously short of national requirements.
The few commercial farmers still left operating after five years of utter
mayhem are permanently sea sick as the orders from officials change
literally by the week - get off your farm, stay on it, give up half of the
farm, have an unwritten lease but give us the title deeds, oops we changed
our minds and want it all, put your crop in we'll protect you, get out by
tomorrow, this is our farm and our crop. And so Zanu PF MP's might be
dancing in the aisles and congratulating themselves but it doesn't
actually change a thing. People are tired, hungry and destitute, inflation
is soaring and it is as uncertain as ever on the farms. Just weeks away
from the main planting season there is little sign that anything is about
to change anytime soon - regardless of the constitutional changes or the
skin colour of the Zimbabwean out there on the farm. I am going to take a
break from this letter for a few weeks but please keep watching and caring
about Zimbabwe and until next time, thanks for reading, with love, cathy.
Copyright cathy buckle 3rd September 2005
http://africantears.netfirms.com
My books "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available from:
orders@africabookcentre.com
My Trip to China.
I have just returned from China, on a Cultural Exchange Trip through my T'ai Chi class.It is taking me quite some time to take in all that I did, saw, ate and visited whilst I was there.
First thing one notices is that China is HUGE. We flew into Beijing airport and we were all collected and taken to an hotel, where we stayed for 5 nights. Our hotel was spotless, our room had everything one could possible need, and once one mastered the art of eating with chop sticks, there was always enough food to feed an army at meal times.The weather was hot and rather humid, so we had a great deal of mist, dust particles and pollution about. Beijing is well spread out, has to be with 14 million people living there! One does not get the feeling of being closed in by skyscrapers, as there are not that many of them just now.
There is a continual buzz night and day as the roads which are massive expressways with traffic in one direction 6 lanes wide. There are still a large number of cyclists and everyone dodges everyone else with the help of their hooters on the inner roads, where one literally takes ones life in ones hands just trying to cross a road at the traffic lights, and the occasional traffic attendant making things even worse!!! You see no one really pays any attention to road signs, lights or anything else for that matter, but they just veave their way through the traffic even going over the central dividing line and into on coming traffic, before everyone has to swerve to let them in. Not to mention of course people crossing on foot and all the bikes going up the road the wrong way as well. One really does need eyes in the back of ones head to drive there. We were assured that there was a very hard indeed Driving Test needed to be passed to be let loose on the roads. Beats me how they have a population problem! The Chinese people seem very friendly and although we could not talk and be understood by language, sign language worked pretty well all the same. I had thought all signs would be in Chinese, but quite a number also had English as well ( I think!)
I will come back with more thoughts soon.............
Posted by: Mara at September 21, 2005 19:12 |
link | comments (1) |
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Dear Family and Friends,
I was at the counter in a small shop in Marondera this week when an
elderly woman came in clutching two bags of white sugar to her chest.
"Please help me" she said to the shop attendant. "Can you spare me an old
newspaper or a brown paper bag to put my sugar in. It is not safe for me
to walk like this." A few doors down, a small supermarket had received a
truck load of sugar and people had been queuing on the pavement for most
of the night. As opening time approached, so did the bully boy queue
jumpers and people who were cold, tired and hungry surged forward to try
and protect their place in the line. Within minutes an orderly line had
degenerated into a seething mass of pushing, shoving and shouting and then
the police were there too, trying to keep order. By mid morning the
pavement was completely clogged and swarming with people and the police
were still there but a few at a time some were getting the chance to buy
two bags of sugar. The elderly woman said that some people had been beaten
and two had been hurt but there was nothing anyone could do and she was
just grateful that she had got to the front and got her two precious bags
of sugar.
Can you imagine not feeling safe to be seen carrying a bag of sugar
through the streets? How absurd that life should have degenerated to
this, just five months after Zanu PF said they had won the people's
mandate to rule Zimbabwe for their 25th year.
This little example is a very representative picture of life here today.
Everywhere people are on some sort of a desperate mission in order to
survive and whole days and nights or more are sacrificed in an attempt to
make the smallest of gains - a bag of sugar, litre of fuel or bottle of
cooking oil.
There is now an overwhelming "us and them" existence in Zimbabwe. While
luxury double cabs and top of the range Mercedes cruise our highways,
ordinary family cars sit standed in unmoving fuel queues. In most fuel
lines lately, the cars no longer park one behind the other, now they park
side by side at an angle to stop the bully boys from pushing in. The
vehicles are filthy, covered in dust and almost always driverless, guarded
by youngsters who wait for days at a time on the off chance of a delivery.
Again I end on a sad note by reporting that the 37 tonnes of humanitarian
aid donated by South African churches on the 1st of August remains blocked
by Zimbabwean officials. Until next week, with love, cathy.
Copyright cathy buckle 27th August 2005 http://africantears.netfirms.com
My books "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available from:
orders@africabookcentre.com ; johnmreed@johnreedbooks.com.au
www.exclusivebooks.com
DARFUR'S NOMADS FEAR.
Darfur's nomads under threat.
|
|
By Jonah Fisher - BBC News, Darfur.
|
The two-and-a-half year war in the western region of Darfur is threatening the way of life for Sudan's Arab nomads.
The nomads ride on top of the camels' hump on saddles
|
Most people are familiar with the story of Darfur's war, with reports of government-backed Janjaweed militia rampaging through villages - burning, killing and looting. More than 100,000 people have been killed and another 3m displaced from their homes in the conflict and overcrowded refugee camps are full of the people who fled. For the most part, these people are black Africans. But the cycle of revenge attacks and rebel banditry has left many of Darfur's Arab population destitute as well.
The last month has brought rain to Darfur and the rugged dry landscape has been transformed into a vivid green.
Some groups have been forced to settle down
|
More than 250,000 Arab nomads in Darfur are continually on the move in this terrain, and it is a challenge to track any of them down. Travelling in north Darfur, we eventually found a group atop a small hill with their belongings scattered across the ground. The nomads usually spend two or three nights in each place they stop and put up colourful dome-shaped tents. They travel in long trains of camels, riding on top of the camels' hump on beautifully made saddles. All their belongings are stored in pockets carried by camels at the end of the line.
The reason they are constantly on the go is because of their livestock - be it camels, cows or goats.
Camels like fresh grass, but if they get too wet they get diseases. So it's a delicate balancing act. The migration routes the nomads follow are from north to south. Before the conflict started two years ago, some groups travelled very long distances. Now it is dangerous for them to cross rebel-held territory, so they find themselves confined in smaller areas. "We just travel from Nerteti to Kutum. It's not a long distance. Some people used to go as far south as the Central African Republic but it's just not possible for us," one nomad told me.
It has been a difficult couple of years for the nomads. One man we spoke to has 12 wives. He inherited 10 of them when six of his brothers were killed in a rebel attack.
Nomads are continually on the move to find new grazing
|
After this meeting, we travelled north to meet another group of nomads. Strictly speaking they are ex-nomads. A year-and-a-half ago they were attacked by rebels, lost most of their animals and stopped travelling. "Everything was taken in attacks by the rebels in 2004. We had large herds of camels, cows, sheep, goat and even donkeys," the group's religious leader Khatir Idriss said. "We are now three different nomad tribes come here to live together and provide ourselves with some safety."
I asked him if they were armed. "Some of us who still have some animals have guns so we can protect ourselves," he replied. And this is the essence of these ex-nomads problems: an Arab on camel or horseback sporting a Kalashnikov has become the symbol of Darfur's evil - the Janjaweed, blamed for driving people from their villages. If these ex-nomads tried to go to an organised camp they would be seen as the enemy. Conflict between nomads and farmers has long existed in Darfur. But this war has destroyed any sense of normality for both communities.
|
Posted by: Mara at September 01, 2005 17:58 |
link | comments |
africa
