KENYAN REPORTER CHARGES DROPPED!
Protests against the raids were held outside the Standard offices.Prosecutors in Kenya have dropped charges against three journalists accused of publishing false information with the aim of causing alarm. The men were arrested in February over a story alleging that President Mwai Kibaki had secretly met a key opponent.
Armed police later raided the premises of their newspaper, the Standard, and its sister television station, KTN. Thousands of copies of the paper were burned in the raids, which provoked strong international criticism. It was the first time that any Kenyan government had shut down the operations of a major media company. No reason was given for the dismissal of the charges against Standard editors Chacha Mwita, Dennis Onyango and reporter Ayub Savula.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
South Africa's post-apartheid struggle
By Peter Biles - BBC News, South Africa.
South Africa's voice of conscience, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has questioned why respect for the law, and even life, is missing in a country still struggling to move on from the days of apartheid.As if to reinforce his message, the country's annual crime statistics have shown a sharp rise in some areas of violent crime.
Forty years ago this September, I set foot here for the first time. My parents had chosen to leave Britain and move to South Africa. Nelson Mandela had only just begun serving his long prison sentence then. But I knew nothing of that as our ship passed Robben Island on its way into Cape Town on a fine spring morning.
It had taken two weeks to sail from Southampton, and the voyage had not been without drama. While we were at sea, news reached the ship that the South African Prime Minister - Hendrik Verwoerd - one of the key architects of apartheid, had been assassinated in parliament. He was stabbed to death by a deranged messenger. It was not - so it appeared - a political killing.
A memorial service was immediately held on board the ship, and as the South African passengers proudly and robustly sang their national anthem - Die Stem - I had my first taste of what it would be like growing up in white South Africa. The late 1960s was a time when opposition to apartheid had been well and truly crushed by the state.
Mandela and his colleagues were languishing in jail, or in exile. Most white South Africans cared little about the morality of segregation. For that was the way it had always been - and the way it would stay for the foreseeable future. Whites were concerned though, when international sports boycotts began to cast them into isolation. Sport had always mattered far more than politics.
This should have been a deeply impressionable time for a teenager. But I cannot over-emphasise the degree of insulation that there was then. The apartheid state was at its zenith. Whites and blacks were not meant to mix. The state wanted recent history forgotten, and so it was that as I entered university, I'd never heard of Nelson Mandela or the Sharpeville Shootings of 1960. Unbelievable now, but not unusual then.
So let's fast forward to the present.
South Africa's democracy is now 12 years old, still young and somewhat fragile. Apartheid is history, and Nelson Mandela, has overseen one of the most remarkable periods of political transition anywhere in the world. The former president and master of reconciliation is now 88 years old and enjoying a happy retirement.
But for another South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, all is not well in the new South Africa. When I met him a few months ago, he told me of his concern about the demeaning levels of poverty that many people still face. This - he said - was a powder keg. And many white South Africans did not realise how lucky they were.
Now, Desmond Tutu has raised new issues.
He is worried about crime - the high murder rate, the rape of children, and the cold-blooded, gratuitous killing of motorists whose cars are hijacked. "What's happened to us?" he asked. "Perhaps we didn't realise just how apartheid damaged us so that we seem to have lost our sense of right and wrong." As a result perhaps, it is easy to take for granted, the rather extraordinary surroundings in a big city like Johannesburg.
For those who can afford it, there are high walls and electrified fences around their properties. Alarm systems and armed response teams supposedly provide another layer of protection against the criminals. People drive with their car doors locked and their windows closed. The other day, we had a major power-cut across northern Jo'burg. As traffic lights failed, and queues began to build up, a local radio station gave a timely warning about the increased danger of "smash and grab" incidents at road intersections.
As I went into my local bank this week, I was struck by the way in which South Africa still reverses the norms of society. Yes, there are two security doors on the way in, but you often have to queue to get out of the bank. For all the obvious reasons, only one person at a time may leave the building. I am relieved to say that crime is no longer the first topic of conversation at suburban dinner tables, as it was a decade ago.
But it is undoubtedly, a big problem, and the police are struggling. Many white South Africans, in particular, continue to whinge about it. In parliament recently, the Safety and Security Minister controversially told some of the "whingers" - in this case, a group of opposition MPs - that they could leave the country if they did not like it. Of course, black South Africans were the victims of crime, long before it reached the white suburbs. Add to that the domestic violence against women and children, that is still one of the most alarming facets of daily life here.
So Desmond Tutu's latest remarks about the state of the nation have certainly struck a chord, giving cause for concern about the future. He makes it clear he thinks South Africa is a wonderful country, but says: "We are a scintillating success, waiting to happen".
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 30 September, 2006 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
S.A. CRIME 'DETERS FOREIGN FIRMS'!
South African police officers have a dangerous job.South Africa's high levels of crime are continuing to deter foreign investors, a business group has warned.
The comments of Johannesburg-based Business Against Crime group come after the country's latest crime figures showed a sharp rise in armed robberies. Although rape and murder rates had fallen, the organisation said the overall crime rate had to be reduced, especially ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu warned this week that the country had lost its way.
The South African Police Service said that attacks on cash delivery vans had increased by 74% between April 2005 and March 2006, while armed robberies of shopping malls and other retail outlets had jumped 32%.
"I have a real feeling that the growth in criminal activity will keep rising," said Business Against Crime chief executive Siphiwe Nzimande. "If that continued to be the pattern over some years it means South Africa [would] become a less safe place to do business. We need to fix it." This week alone, there was a shootout between robbers and security guards at the upmarket Cresta Shopping Centre in Johannesburg.
"There is an increase in crime, but people are always talking about it," said Pablo Tesoriero, the owner of a women's clothing store. "Especially with the World Cup coming here in 2010, we don't want to push away tourists."
BBC NEW REPORT.
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Dear Family and Friends,
Within a fortnight or so the rainy season will begin in Zimbabwe. For the
seventh year in a row, we are going into the season under the most dire
circumstances. Hyper inflation is out of control. Fuel (for transporting
seed and fertilizer and for ploughing) is near impossible to find. The
World Meteorological Organization have warned that an El Nino is developing
across the Pacific and weather experts meeting in Harare have predicted a
below normal to normal first half to our rainy season. The few commercial
farmers left on their land are continuing to be thrown off their farms with
50 new eviction notices having been served in recent weeks. Two of the
country's biggest wheat, maize and tobacco farmers are due in court this
week for refusing to get off their farms. One of these farmers is thought
to be the biggest maize producer in the country and has just delivered 1000
tons of grain to the GMB. One commercial farmer in Masvingo recently got a
letter from the provincial Governor which said: "Your farm has just been
acquired by the government and we therefore request you to wind up your
business before the start of the rainy season. You are advised to comply
with this order since you risk being forcibly removed if you fail to
comply. We also take this opportunity to tell you that you are not allowed
to move out with any of your farming equipment." When faced with such a
diabolical situation there are few, if any, words.
Also this week came the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Bill. This
will give any farmer who has received a Section 5 Notice of Acquisition at
any time in the last 6 years, just 45 days to get out of his house and off
his land. Any farmer without an offer letter or lease from the government
will face criminal charges with a penalty of 2 years in prison. We aren't
talking here of squatters, invaders, occupiers, settlers or whatever other
polite term is currently in fashion, we are talking of men and women who
paid for their land, built their houses and hold the Title Deeds. Men and
women and perhaps one hundred thousand farm workers who have tried, against
all odds, under extreme circumstances to keep food on our tables. As one ex
farmer wrote this week, after the Bill is promulgated: "the ethnic
cleansing will be complete."
I close this letter with a truly shocking report which has appeared in an
independent newspaper this week. Journalist Mavis Makuni reported that
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made has blamed a monkey for the shortage of
fertilizer needed for the coming season. Answering questions in Parliament
as to why precious foreign currency was being used to import fertilizer,
Minister Made said: "Our investigations have shown that a monkey caused
damage to a transformer, thereby sabotaging our preparations for the coming
season. If it were not for that monkey, the situation was not going to be
as bad." And this is the man in charge of food security in Zimbabwe.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy.
Copyright cathy buckle 30 September 2006.
http:/africantears.netfirms.com My books 'African Tears' and 'Beyond
Tears' are available from: orders@africabookcentre.com
NIGERIA VICE-PRESIDENT SUSPENDED !
Atiku Abubakar helped thwart a third term for President Obasanjo. Nigeria's ruling party has suspended the vice-president from its ranks for three months over corruption reports. Atiku Abubakar denied the claims, saying they were politically motivated.
He hopes to contest next year's general election and backed a campaign to prevent President Olusegun Obasanjo from seeking a third term.
Mr Abubakar will remain vice-president but his suspension means he will not be eligible to seek the ruling PDP's presidential nomination. He condemned the decision of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as an "evil plot" to keep him out of the 2007 race. "By the grace of God, this sinister plot will fail," he said in a statement.
The suspension is the latest blow to Mr Abubakar's presidential ambitions, the BBC's Alex Last reports. He is already feuding with the president over corruption allegations which could bar him from contesting next year's elections, our correspondent notes.
The PDP is the largest party in Nigeria, has the most money and, more importantly, is in power, so it is viewed as the best place to be if running for office, says our correspondent.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
KENYA ACCUSED OVER RWANDA SUSPECT !
There is a $5m reward for Kabuga's capture. The Kenyan authorities have denied shielding the man alleged to have financed the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
The Rwanda tribunal's persecutor said Kenya had made no progress in hunting down Felicien Kabuga and they believed he was still in Kenya.
But a government spokesman said they had no reason to shield Mr Kabuga - who has a $5m bounty on his head.
"As far as the government is aware, Kabuga is not in Kenya," Alfred Mutua told local media.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has grown increasingly frustrated with Kenya for its failure to arrest the wealthy 71-year-old Hutu businessman.
Felicien Kabuga is accused of paying for machetes, food and other equipment used by Hutus in their massacres, and by providing money for the Mille Collines radio station which incited people to kill Tutsis.
Bribes
Speaking after two days of talks with officials in Nairobi, ICTR chief prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow said their information showed "he visits or he resides and carries out business in this country".
He said Mr Kabuga had undoubtedly been given protection by some officials from Kenya's former government under Daniel arap Moi.
Mr Kabuga was reportedly tipped off in 1998 by police just before a raid on a house in Nairobi. Kenya's government deny they are still protecting him.
"Making allegations that the wanted war criminal has bribed officials to hide him is simplistic," said Mr Matua.
Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in just 100 days.
The ICTR has tried 31 people alleged to have been involved in the genocide; five have been acquitted and 26 convicted.
It is due to be disbanded in 2010.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ASAMU URGES S.A. TO SEEK HELP!
Adamu urges SA to seek help
Oluwashina Okeleji - .BBC Sport, Lagos.
Adamu says South Africa should ask for help in organising the World Cup. South Africa needs African support to stage a successful World Cup, says Fifa executive committee member, Amos Adamu.
After Germany's impressive show this year, most pundits say South Africa has a tough act to follow in 2010.
Adamu says in order to stage a "truly African World Cup", South Africans must not be too proud to seek help.
"South Africa needs Africa's help because the 2010 World Cup is for Africa," said Adamu, Nigeria's voice on Fifa's so-called football parliament.
He added: "South Africa needs manpower to help in building the required facilities and they also need help in terms of security.
"The African media must also play its part and portray a positive picture for 2010 because the world's image of the African continent is mostly negative."
Adamu, who recently caused a stir by calling for a radical change in Fifa's attitude towards government involvement in football affairs, insists that involving other nations is South Africa's best option.
"It's very important for the South Africans to reach out to the rest of the continent, like the Germans did for their World Cup," said Adamu, who also sits on the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football.
He told BBC Sport on Wednesday: "Germans got a lot of help from Uefa [Europe's governing body] due to the fact that the 2006 World Cup was in Europe.
"We believe that 2010 is not just a South Africa thing but an African project, so if it looks bad, then we all look bad.
"Despite our problems, I believe Africa as a whole has great personnel," said the chairman of the organising committee of the 2003 All Africa Games held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
"We're not saying that South Africa cannot do it alone but together we can make it that much better."
BBC SPORTS NEWS!
DIRTY WATER 'KILLS 1.5M CHILDREN' !
Dirty water 'kills 1.5m children'
More than 1.5m children under five die each year because they lack access to safe water and proper sanitation, says the United Nations children's agency. In a report, Unicef says that despite some successes, a billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water from protected sources.
More than 1.2 billion people have gained access to safe water since 1990.
But sub-Saharan Africa remains a major area of concern, especially countries affected by conflict.
A Unicef deputy-director, Vanessa Tobin, gave the example of Niger, where only 13% of the population has access to toilets of an acceptable standard, or better.
She said it "certainly is a contributing factor in the cholera outbreaks" in Niger.
Progress slowed
The UN hopes to halve the number of people without access to clean drinking water and sanitation by 2015.
But progress has slowed due to population increases and unexpectedly high migration to urban areas, say the World Health Organisation and Unicef.
Ms Tobin said improving sanitation was key to helping prevent the spread of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea-related illnesses.
"If we have clean water by itself without having sanitation and hygiene, we won't get the health impact."
The Unicef report says that children's education suffers because they have to walk long distances to fetch water, and that girls especially are deterred by the lack of separate and clean toilets in schools.
Diarrhoea-related diseases in young children could be cut by more than a third in young children by improving sanitation facilities, it adds.
The report picks out South Asia as a success story by prioritising sanitation. Access to improved sanitation facilities more than doubled in the region between 1990 and 2004.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ZIMBABWE INTERNET LINK RESTORED!
Few emails were sent or getting through during the outage. Zimbabwe's internet services have been fully restored after a $700,000 debt was paid to restore the satellite link.
Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank bailed out telephone operator TelOne, which owed the sum to Intelsat.
The disconnection earlier this month cut surfing and e-mail activities by 90%, Zimbabwe's ISP association said. But TelOne is warning that they remain saddled with other debts and face severe shortages of foreign currency so problems could reoccur.
The firm wants diplomatic missions and internet service providers to pay their monthly subscriptions in foreign currency.
ZIMBABWE CRISIS
Life expectancy 30 years
High dependency on food aid
20% adult HIV prevalence
Shortages of basic foodstuffs
High unemployment
Inflation 1,200%
New high for inflation
Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic crisis, with 1,200% inflation, 80% unemployment rates and shortages of basic goods like fuel and maize. Earlier this year, Zimbabwe knocked three zeros off the denomination of its banknotes in an effort to contain inflation.
The opposition says President Robert Mugabe has destroyed one of Africa's most developed economies through his policies.
He blames the problems on a western plot to remove him from power.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
S. AFRICA IS LOSING ITS WAY - TUTU
Tutu has long spoken out against injustices in South Africa.Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu has warned that South Africa is in danger of losing its moral direction. He said it had failed to sustain the idealism that ended apartheid and warned of growing ethnic divisions.
Referring to South Africa's high murder rate and the rape of children as young as nine months, he said the African reverence for life had been lost.
The former Anglican archbishop opposes ex-Vice President Jacob Zuma becoming president due to his "moral failings".
Mr Zuma's presidential aspirations received a major boost earlier this month after corruption charges were dropped against him. He was acquitted earlier his year on a rape charge.
Respect
Archbishop Tutu said the country had achieved a remarkable degree of stability in 12 years of democracy despite problems poverty, Aids, corruption and crime.
But delivering the Steve Biko memorial lecture at University of Cape Town, he questioned why a respect for the law, environment and even life, were missing in South Africa.
Zuma's comments on HIV during his rape trial shocked Aids activists.
"What has happened to us? It seems as if we have perverted our freedom, our rights into licence, into being irresponsible. Rights go hand in hand with responsibility, with dignity, with respect for oneself and for the other.
"The fact of the matter is we still depressingly do not respect one another. I have often said black consciousness did not finish the work it set out to do," he said.
He said government officials often acted like former officials during the apartheid era - treating people rudely.
He said South Africa should oppose xenophobia and act sensitively when place names were being changed rather that appearing to gloat and ride roughshod over the feelings of others.
He also made a plea for people to pick up litter, to care for their own environments and for their fellow citizens.
"Perhaps we did not realise just how apartheid has damaged us so that we seem to have lost our sense of right and wrong, so that when we go on strike as is our right to do, we are not appalled that some of us can chuck people out of moving trains because they did not join the strike, or why is it common practice now to trash, to go on the rampage?
He said that South Africa remained a wonderful country that had produced outstanding people - such as Steve Biko, the anti-apartheid leader who died in police custody in 1977.
"The best memorial to Steve Biko would be a South Africa where everyone respects themselves, has a positive self image filled with a proper self esteem and holds others in high regard."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ARISTROCRAT IN COURT OVER SHOOTING!
Thomas Cholmondeley is heir to a 100,000-acre Rift Valley farm The trial has opened in Nairobi of a UK aristocrat accused of murdering a black Kenyan man he suspected of poaching on his family's 100,000-acre estate. Thomas Cholmondeley, 38, great-grandson of one of Kenya's first white settlers, Lord Delamere, denies the murder of 37-year-old stonemason Robert Njoya. It is the second murder charge the divorced father-of-two has faced.
He admitted shooting a Maasai ranger but denied murder last year. The case was dropped, sparking national outrage.Reports say the court was packed to overflowing as the state prosecutor outlined the case against Mr Cholmondeley. He was led, handcuffed into court, and while surrounded by photographers and television cameramen, sat impassively waiting for the trial to begin.
His father and mother, the fifth Baron, Lord Delamere and Lady Delamere, sat in the court room, surrounded by friends and family, and the family of Mr Njoya were also in court. Keriako Tobiko, Kenya's director of public prosecutions, offered revenge as motive for the killing, dismissing claims Mr Cholmondeley feared for his safety. "The accused attacked the deceased and his companions as retaliation or revenge for trespassing and poaching," he told the court. "The accused was not under any attack or threat from the deceased or any of his companions. "In an attempt to conceal his crime or hinder investigations the accused tampered with the scene after shooting the deceased and two dogs."
The court was told that Mr Njoya was hit in the pelvis by a bullet and died later from his wounds. BBC correspondent Adam Mynott said the court also heard from one of the two fellow poachers, Peter Gichuhi. He described how the three men had walked deep into the estate belonging to the Delamere family when suddenly shots rang out. Mr Gichuhi said he dropped a large blade and a Thomson's Gazelle that they had found trapped in a snare and fled on foot, but never saw Mr Njoya alive again.
Correspondents say this case is likely to spark more controversy in the central Rift Valley where resentment still rankles with the region's Maasai community over the dropping of the last case. The old Etonian could face the death penalty if convicted. Mr Cholmondeley and a friend were arrested in May after he phoned the police to tell them about the incident. He told police that the man had three companions and a pack of dogs and he suspected them of poaching a gazelle. He said he shot at the group after they set their dogs on him, hitting the man, who died later on the way to hospital, and killing two dogs.
Last year, Mr Cholmondeley admitted shooting Maasai ranger Samson Ole Sisina, but said he acted in self-defence mistaking the warden for an armed robber. That case highlighted the security fears of landowners and the resentment of the local Maasai population in the Rift Valley region.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ZUMA AIDE'S GRAFT APPEAL STARTS!
Shaik's trial raised questions about Zuma's conduct .A South African court has begun hearing an appeal by the former financial advisor to ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Schabir Shaik. Shaik was last year sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud.
At the time judge Hilary Squires said Shaik's relationship with Mr Zuma, who is seen as a possible future president, was "generally corrupt".
This prompted President Thabo Mbeki to sack Mr Zuma. He, too, was then charged with corruption but cleared last week.
Mr Zuma was also acquitted on separate rape charges earlier this year - his supporters say there is a political vendetta against him, designed to remove him from the race to succeed Mr Mbeki in 2009.
Shaik's lawyers argued that his guilt had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions, Cosatu, last week said Mr Zuma should be reinstated as deputy president, after his acquittal.
The case was thrown out because the prosecution said they were still not ready to start the trial more than a year after he was charged.
Mr Zuma and Shaik were both charged over a 1999 arms deal.
The prosecution, however, say they may still press new corruption charges against him.
Unless this happens, Mr Zuma would be free to contest next year's leadership contest of the ruling African National Congress.
Whoever is elected to head the ANC would be favourite to become South Africa's next president.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ZIM UNION MEN 'DESERVED BEATING'!
Zimbabwean union leaders who claim they were assaulted and tortured by police deserved their treatment, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has said.
Lawyers claim that police assaulted at least a dozen union members before a planned protest on 13 September.
"When the police say move, move," Mr Mugabe told the official Herald newspaper. "If you don't move, you invite the police to use force."
He said the protesters were trying to attract US and British attention.
The planned demonstration over Mr Mugabe's handling of the economy was called off after at least 50 people were arrested before the protest.
'A revolt'
Lawyers for the arrested union leaders say that at least 12 of them were left needing hospital treatment by police, with Zimbabwe Council of Trade Unions Secretary General Wellington Chibebe suffering a broken arm while in custody.
Mr Mugabe said the demonstration had been intended to bring about "regime change" through attracting the support of non-governmental organisations, "stupid" journalists, and the US and British governments.
Zimbabwe's inflation is the highest in the world at more than 1,200%
"We cannot have a situation where people decide to sit in places not allowed and when the police remove them, they say no. We can't have that, that is a revolt to the system," the Herald quoted him as saying.
He said that police had been right in dealing sternly with the protestors: "Some people are now crying foul that they were assaulted, yes, you get a beating."
Zimbabwe has been gripped by an economic crisis for more than six years, with unemployment now running at 80% and inflation at more than 1,200%.
Mr Mugabe's critics blame the situation on his mishandling of the economy and a plan to redistribute white-owned farms to black Zimbabweans.
The government argues that the woes are the result of international sabotage and sanctions aimed at removing Mr Mugabe from power.
'Draconian' restrictions
The 82-year-old has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, and is due to retire in 2008.
ZIMBABWE CRISIS
Life expectancy 30 years
High dependency on food aid
20% adult HIV prevalence
Shortages of basic foodstuffs
High unemployment
Inflation 1,200%
New high for inflation
But his Zanu-PF party has said it is looking at delaying the presidential poll until 2010 so that it would coincide with planned parliamentary elections.
Critics claim that regulations on public demonstrations and media activities in the country have stifled democracy and consolidated Mr Mugabe's hold on power.
Monday saw lawyer accuse the government of abusing the legal system for its own political ends after a case against one of the country's two independent radio stations was dismissed by a local court.
Three journalists and seven trustees of Voice of the People radio were arrested nine months ago for possessing unlicensed radio transmitters.
Magistrates ordered the case to be dropped after the government asked for a fourth adjournment to assemble their case.
The radio station circumvents media restrictions by broadcasting using short-wave transmitters based outside the country.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
OLABA TO COACH KENYA IN ANGOLA !
Olaba to coach Kenya in Angola
By Piers Edwards.
Deputy Kenya coach Tom Olaba will take charge of next month's Nations Cup qualifier in Angola after Bernard Lama decided not to return to his post.
Frenchman Lama, who only took charge of the Harambee Stars in July, finally lost patience with the Kenya Football Federation (KFF) at the end of last week.
"Bernard Lama has decided not to come back," KFF secretary-general Dan Omino told BBC Sport.
"With the time left between now and the match with Angola (on 6-8 October), it does not give us enough room to consider the option of a new coach.
"A number of coaches, who followed the Lama situation, have sent in their CVs but as of now, we are concentrating on preparation for the match.
"Tom Olaba, who was recently appointed deputy coach, will finalise the preparation for the match against Angola."
The KFF will consider Lama's replacement as head coach only after the Group 6 qualifier in Luanda.
The former French international, who lost his only competitive match at home to Eritrea earlier this month, left Nairobi on 6 September, saying he would not return unless issued with a contract to sign by the KFF.
"I have had enough," Lama told BBC Sport from his home in Paris on Sunday.
"Two days ago, I talked with my friends and family and decided that my role with Kenya was over because the KFF had made no move to get me back.
"I may go back to Kenya in future on holiday or to do some academy work, because Kenya has good football but I will never do anything with the KFF."
"I don't think the future for Kenyan football is bright with this administration."
Lama, who co-founded the Diambars academy in Senegal with Patrick Vieira, plans to go back to his businesses, which also include the creation of a water factory in French Guyana.
The Frenchman, who won 44 caps and the World Cup with his home nation, was heavily critical of the KFF during his brief and ill-fated tenure.
He never signed an official contract and said that he did not have the right conditions to work - citing a lack of budget and the necessary criteria for success.
The Frenchman was stunned when Cameroon, who were en route to Rwanda, were allowed to use Kenya's best training pitch the day before the Harambee Stars played Eritrea in their opening Group 6 clash.
Kenya's defeat in that match leaves them a tough task to qualify from the group, which also includes Swaziland and 2006 World Cup finalists Angola.
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
DR CONGO CHILDREN HELD AFTER RIOT !
DR Congo children held after riot .
By Arnaud Zajtman -BBC News, Kinshasa.
Those detained complain they are not getting enough food and water.More than 800 street children and beggars have been arrested in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo since riots on Wednesday. Some had protested against the burning of a TV station owned by a candidate in next month's presidential elections.
After three days in custody in Kinshasa some 200 children were released. But more than 500 adults, including women with their babies, are still being detained in the courtyard of a police station. They complain that they are not getting enough food or clean water to drink and that they have no shelter from the heavy rain.
The head of Kinshasa's police said that the suspects were being investigated in relation to what he termed "criminal activities". But the arrests took place only one day after Kinshasa's street children and unemployed took to the streets in protest.
They were angry about a fire that had destroyed a television station owned by Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former rebel leader who is President Joseph Kabila's only challenger in the upcoming presidential elections.
They threw stones at the police and UN forces and managed to bring life to a standstill in Kinshasa's business district. But they were quickly dispersed by police firing tear gas and live rounds of ammunition.
Jean-Pierre Bemba is in the run-off for the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for October.
But in recent weeks, he had his helicopter destroyed and his house attacked by soldiers loyal to President Kabila. His supporters have accused the government of being behind the fire that destroyed Mr Bemba's television and radio stations.
A Congolese human rights activist said that the arrest of Kinshasa's street children and beggars meant that a segment of Kinshasa's society was being deprived of its right to protest.
But analysts say that the arrests deprive Mr Bemba, who is popular in Kinshasa, from potential support from the streets of Kinshasa.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
"Very Soon" !
Dear Family and Friends,
Every day things in Zimbabwe get just a little bit harder and while
ordinary families stagger from one crisis to the next, the country's
leadership seem to be completely bereft of ideas. The latest phrase from
government officials and ministers is "Very Soon". It's never completely
clear if 'very soon' is a threat or a promise but the litany is faithfully
regurgitated at every occasion. 'Very Soon' we will have petrol they say;
'Very Soon' we will grow enough food; 'Very Soon' we will drive out every
white farmer; 'Very Soon' we will turn around the economy and 'Very Soon'
we will change the currency again, this time with just one day of warning.
This week the threatened promise is that 'Very Soon' corrupt cabinet
ministers and members of parliament will be arrested. Somewhere along the
line, however, instead of arresting corrupt leaders, police this week
arrested top company directors. All accused of increasing prices without
government approval, the CEO's of Dairibord (milk), Lobels (bread),
Saltrama (plastic), Windmill (chemicals), ZFC (fertilizer) and Circle
(cement) were arrested. It is not clear how any business can maintain
prices when inflation is officially reported to be 1204% but is crystal
clear that when the ideas run out it is easier just to arrest and detain.
The arrests of people trying to express their dissatisfaction at events in
Zimbabwe also continued this week. At least 140 NCA members were arrested
as they marched in protest over the recent abuse and torture of union
leaders demonstrating in Harare. The NCA members were arrested in Masvingo,
Gweru, Harare and Mutare in a clear sign that unrest is spreading in the
country.
And in between the arrests there has been a whole rash of absurdity that
leaves you just shaking your head in wonder. This week email and internet
service was all but impossible in the country. Zimbabwe's Internet Service
Providers said that there had been a 90% drop in internet traffic and that
it was a situation of "virtual standstill." The state owned telephone
company Tel One apparently owes a massive seven hundred thousand US dollars
to a satellite company and were appealing to the central bank to bail them
out of the debt. At one point in the week a major ISP put out an email to
all its subscribers asking if anyone had a connection in high up places
that may be able to intervene in the crisis. Towards the end of the week
Tel One posted an advert in the state owned press saying that with
immediate effect the cost of internet services had increased by two
thousand seven hundred percent. Nothing is done in measured steps in
Zimbabwe. The Big Stick comes out, threat/promises of Very Soon are uttered
and prices are backdated by years not months.
The irony of arresting the baker for increasing the price of bread by 50%
but ignoring the government owned phone company for increasing internet
prices by 2700% is absolutely bone shaking. Until next week, thanks for
reading, love cathy.
Copyright Cathy Buckle, 23 September 2006.
http:/africantears.netfirms.com
My books "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available from:
orders@africabookcentre.com
PIRATES BEHIND COUPLE'S DEATH !
A British couple wanted for stealing a yacht in Cornwall may have been killed by pirates off the west African coast. The bodies of Peter Clarke, 49, and his partner Sharon Arthurs-Chegini, 46, are reported to have been found in a boat drifting off the coast of Senegal.
The authorities in Senegal believe the couple were killed by pirates.
The pair were wanted by Devon and Cornwall Police for the theft of a yacht from Mylor harbour near Falmouth, Cornwall last year. The Foreign Office confirmed that two bodies had been found, but that formal identification was yet to take place.
Ms Arthurs-Chegini's father Terence has been reported as confirming the deaths from his home in south London. Devon and Cornwall Police said they were awaiting confirmation that the couple had been killed.
Ms Arthurs-Chegini is known to have an address in Falmouth.
An inquest is expected to be held once the bodies are formally identified and returned to the UK.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
BLATTER FIRES KENYA WARNING!
Blatter says action will be taken by 18 Ocotber. Fifa has ordered Kenya to implement agreements reached on preventing governmental interference in the sport or face sanctions next month. Kenya were banned from all football activity in 2004 and were again threatened with a suspension in October 2005 because of government involvement in the running of the game in East African country.
But three months later a 28-point memorandum was agreed between Fifa, Caf, Kenya's sports minister Maina Kamanda as well as officials of the Kenya Football Federation (KFF) in Cairo to ensure the FA's independence. Fifa says, while it has fulfilled its part of the agreement by resuming financial assistance to the KFF, the FA is yet to implement its part of the bargain.
"There has been limited or no implementation at all of the huge majority of the 28 points agreed upon in Cairo," Fifa president Sepp Blatter said in a letter addressed to KFF president Alfred Sambu. "We would like to receive urgently the confirmation, in writing and in acts that the KFF will implement the 28 points negotiated in Cairo. "This has to come before we take the case of the KFF to the Fifa Associations Committee scheduled to meet on 18 October."
Blatter also expressed concern over recent developments in Kenyan football, such as the "worrying situation" of the national team, as well as the organisation of club competitions in the country. Sambu defended the KFF, saying it had implemented the major points of the pact.
"We're putting up structures in place and building the infrastructure ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa," Sambu said. "We're running a professional league, we have set up an independent company - KFF PL - to market and run it. "The majority of its shareholders are Premier League clubs. What more do they want?," he asked.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
GAMBIANS VOTE WITH THEIR MARBLES !
Voters post their marble into the different coloured drums. Gambians are voting for their president with a unique marble system.
Voters enter a booth and pop a clear glass marble into one of three drums representing the candidates, instead of a putting a ballot paper into a box. As the marble falls into the drum, it hits a bell so officials can tell if anyone votes more than once.
"It's a unique system introduced in 1965 because of Gambia's high illiteracy," Gambia's chief electoral officer Kawsu Ceesay told the BBC. The bell resembles a bicycle bell so bicycles are banned from around polling stations to avoid any confusion.
"Three drums representing the three presidential candidates will be in the compartment attached to one another so they can't be lifted to see which is heavier," he says. "The drums are painted in the colour of the candidate's party and have their photograph and party symbol."
Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh's drum is green and his rivals Ousainou Darboe and Halifa Sallah are yellow and grey respectively.
Sand or sawdust is also put into the bottom of the drum before it is inspected by party agents and shut with numbered seals so that a second sound is not heard. Afterwards voters have their finger dipped in indelible ink. Marbles have to be posted through a pipe at the top of the drum and those left on top are regarded as spoilt ballots.
"The system also makes the counting process much more transparent," Mr Ceesay says. The marbles are placed into trays with either 200 or 500 holes - similar to a solitaire board - which makes it easy for officials to verify numbers.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
U.N. CALLS FOR AFRICAN AID RETHINK!
UN calls for African aid rethink
By Martin Plaut -Africa editor, BBC News.
Unctad says aid agencies need to streamline their work. The United Nations has called for the majority of African aid to be channelled through a single UN agency. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said Africa suffered from chaotic aid delivery, with too many competing organisations. Unctad was reacting to a decision by the West to double aid to Africa. It estimates there are around 75 agencies now providing help, and these generate a staggering 200-300 missions to Africa each year.
The UN is highly critical of the way aid is currently being handled. Each agency demands its own analysis of how the money is spent, and its own systems of accounting. African governments, many of them with few resources, are groaning under the weight of this scrutiny.
And the UN accuses the West of politicising aid, by insisting on their own priorities before releasing funds. The answer, says Richard Kozul-Wright, who wrote this report - is to provide a central, United Nations body to handle the money. "We are looking for a more streamlined system, a more focused system. "In particular in the case of the commitment to the doubling of aid, we would like to see a lot more of that aid specifically channelled through a fund explicitly focused on African development under the auspices of the UN," he said.
But the idea of establishing a new UN fund to handle Africa's funds is highly controversial. The Overseas Development Institute, a respected British think-tank, has criticised this approach. It says the UN must earn its right to administer a larger share of aid. It must prove it can do a better job than the World Bank, and this is presently not the case.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
