More details about British captive held in central Somalia

 British woman, who was recently abducted from Kenya-Somali border by armed gunmen after killing her husband, has been transferred to Amara area in Galgudud region of central Somalia.

Local residents told Shablle Media Network that heavily armed Somali pirates with battle wagons spotted at Amara area, adding that the security of was tightened there.

Somali pirates holding Judith Tebbutt were not so far available to comment on the matter.

Tebbutt is believed to be in her mid fifties looked exhausted and weak, reliable persons told Shabelle.

Armed sea gangs had kidnapped a British couple from the border between Somalia and Kenya who had reportedly killed her husband David during in the kidnap.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday pledged to do everything possible to help find the abducted British woman.

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete at the 66th United Nations conference

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete (left) leads a preliminary meeting for the 66th United Nations conference at Jumeirah Essex House in New York City on Monday. (Photo by courtesy of the State House)

Two Chadema MPs released on bail

Chadema MPs Sylvester Kasulumbayi and Suzan Kiwanga flash the ‘V ‘sign before they were arraigned at the Tabora Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday. PHOTO | FIDELIS FELIX

Tabora. Two Chadema members of Parliament yesterday appeared before the Tabora Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Mr Sylvester Kasulumbayi (Maswa East) and Ms Suzan Kiwanga (Special Seats) appeared alongside another Chadema member Anwar Kashaga.

Before Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba, State Attorney Juma Massanda read three counts against all three accused persons while the fourth charge involved Mr Kasulumbayi only.

Mr Massanda alleged that the accused roughed up Igunga District commissioner Fatma Kimario who was doing her official duties at the Ward Executive office at Isakamaliwa Village on September 15 this year. He alleged that they also stole her mobile phone worth Sh400,000. And caused body injuries to her.

Mr Massanda told the court that the accused jointly assaulted Ms Kimario causing pains in her head, neck and chest.
Mr Massanda said the Maswa East MP was facing a charge of using abusive language to Ms Kimario. The prosecutor claimed that the whole incident breached peace at the area.

The three are also accused of confining Ms Kimario against her will for a period of time, an act which is a criminal offence.
The three accused denied all the charges and were granted bail. They were asked to have one surety each who would sign a Sh5 million bond and they all complied.

Mr Tundu Lissu, who is the Singida East MP on a Chadema ticket, is defending them.
Magistrate Simba adjourned the case until October 10 when it will come up for mention.
The case attracted the attention of hundreds of Tabora residents who thronged the court premises. Because there was an inadequte space in the courtroom to accommodate all of the people who wanted to hear the case, many followed the proceedings through the windows.

The suspects were brought to the court in a police Toyota Land Cruiser at around 9.30am before they were arraigned shortly after 10am. Speaking after the accused were granted bail, Mr Lissu thanked Chadema supporters and members for their solidarity.

He said that the case would cost the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi in the Igunga by-election as it would lose the seat.
“People have seen what has happened and we are glad that everyone now is aware of what the ruling party and the government have been plotting against the opposition ahead of the poll,” he said.

The jubilant opposition party supporters demonstrated for few metres after the accused were released. Later, Chadema leaders went straight to Igunga to continue with their campaigns.

The three were arrested on Friday in Igunga before they were transferred to Tabora at the weekend.

Source The Citizen

ZAMBIA goes to the polls on September 20.

ZAMBIA goes to the polls on September 20 for the fifth tripartite elections since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in 1991, amid calls for the electorate to cast their votes in a peaceful manner.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press (AP) has tipped President Banda to win the September 20 presidential polls, the Washington Post reported on September 19.
The AP analysis maintains that with Zambia’s booming economy, the incumbent is tipped to win.
This election will largely be a two horse-race between the ruling MMD and the Patriotic Front, followed by the United Party for National Development.
The election will see the MMD attempt to win a fifth term in office, the first under President Banda who took over the reins of power following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa in 2008.
Ten presidential candidates are vying for the top seat, with incumbent President Banda and PF’s Michael Sata viewed as the top contenders. The 10 parties will also be jostling for the 150 parliamentary seats and hundreds of local government positions.
It will again be a test of the popularity of the MMD, a party that has dominated Zambian politics since victory in 1991. The party has decisively won all five elections, winning 71.96 percent in 1991, 72.59 percent in 1996 and 29.15 percent in the 2001 election. The party was led into the 1991 election by the late president Frederick Chiluba.
Dr Chiluba left office in 2001 after serving his full constitutional two terms, and was succeeded by Dr Levy Mwanawasa, who remained in office until his death in August 2008.
Several opinion polls have tipped Mr Banda to win, while one gave Mr Sata an edge. Mr Sata, nicknamed ‘King Cobra’, rose through the ranks under Kenneth Kaunda, and joined the MMD just as then Mr Chiluba won the presidency.
The MMD has been a broad-based party with an array of sympathisers, some of whom, including Mr Sata, broke ranks after it became apparent that he was not the most favoured amongst many other MMD leaders in the party at the time.
The final straw which broke the Camel’s back was in 2001 when then MMD national secretary Mr Sata left the MMD after Dr Chiluba picked Mr Mwanawasa to be the party’s presidential candidate, a position generally considered a precursor to becoming republican President.
Mr Sata had before then allegedly fought and frustrated anyone perceived to have had an interest in the party presidency. His party takes a simple, populist approach which economists say is not backed by economic fundamentals.
Mr Banda is a consummate politician who has earned himself statesmanship status and has widely and comprehensively campaigned, in most cases using scientific tools, to impress on the electorate.
Mr Banda’s campaign was based on economic performance, with the country experiencing two consecutive bumper harvests in the agricultural sector.
He also put emphasis on infrastructure development which includes schools, hospitals and roads, and maintaining the country’s revenue base by opening up mines.
Under President Banda’s three years, the inflation rate has remained at single digit and economic growth at seven percent.
During his campaign launch, President Banda outlined a seven-point plan which includes increasing agricultural production to sustain food security for all Zambians, providing quality education to all children throughout the country and taking quality health services closer to the people.
The President also pledged to improve infrastructure, including roads to ease the movement of people and goods and communication.
The MMD government has committed itself to sustaining and strengthening democratic governance.
The UPND, whose president (Mr Hichilema) is exploiting his relative youth which he wants to use to his advantage in the election. He has also traversed the nation to sell himself to the expectant electorate.
Coming out not so long ago from an acrimonious engagement with the PF, in a pact that saw the most vicious war of the words yet, the two political leaders, Mr Hichilema and Mr Sata, rarely see eye-to eye.
Heritage Party president Godfrey Miyanda has been consistent with his participation in the elections, recording his strongest showing in 2001.
Newcomers National Restoration Party president Elias Chipimo Junior and Alliance for Democracy and Development president Charles Milupi have pledged to create not only one million jobs by promoting an energy superpower but create 10,000 new business owners in each province and ensure a shift from poverty and vices.
Others contesting the presidency are Edith Nawakwi (Forum for Democracy and Development), Zambians for Empowerment and Development’s Fred Mtesa, UNIP’s Tilyenji Kaunda and former Minister of Finance Ng’andu Magande, who is contesting on the National Movement for Progress ticket.
According to the ECZ voters’ register certified on July 28, 2011, about 5,167,154 registered voters are expected to vote. The constituency with the highest number of voters is Mandevu in Lusaka Province with 108, 978 registered voters.
Although this is a tight contest, analysts say Mr Banda and the MMD have an edge and are likely to retain power.
And the AP noted that since Mr Banda beat Mr Sata three years ago, 100,000 jobs have been created and the government has built bridges, airports and hospitals with revenue from a copper boom.
This puts President Banda in a strong position.
In 2008, when copper prices were lower and concerns about the economy were high, then-vice-president Banda won a special by-election after the death of Dr Mwanawasa, who had suffered a stroke. Mr Banda beat Mr Sata by 35,000 votes.
President Banda has presented a four-year infrastructure development programme which began this year.
He pledges to repair, rebuild or upgrade more than 67,000 kilometres of roads and has already built more than 100 bridges and 27 hospitals.
“The new roads are here, the schools are here,” Moses Phiri, one of Mr Banda’s supporters, said.
Referring to Mr Sata’s supporters, Phiri added: “What more do these people want?”
The PF had gone to court to try to have Mr Banda disqualified, arguing he was ineligible for re-election because both his parents were allegedly born outside the country, but the Lusaka High Court dismissed the petition.
Mr Sata and his party then turned to the South African company Universal Print Group which printed the ballot papers, claiming it is corrupt and should not have been given the contract.
Both the company and the Electoral Commission of Zambia have denied the charges.
Inspector-General of Police Francis Kabonde has ordered extra patrols in volatile areas and banned street vendors from selling liquor and implements including shovels and axes that could be used as weapons.
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, President Banda warned those who might be planning violence: “Expect no mercy, expect no favour, expect only the full force of the law to come down on you.”

Jangwani area leased to developer for 99 years

CLAIMS by residents of Jangwani area (along the Msimbazi River valley) that the eviction order previously issued by Ilala district authorities carried ominous implications have prompted investigation into the matter.

The latest finding now is that the area has been sold to Khoja Shia Isthnaasher Jamaat of Dar es Salaam.

Related official documents under the title Certificate of Occupancy signed by the Commissioner for Land Use Development Services with Reference Number LD/147417/14/CCC dated December 06, 1991 reveals that the Jamaat Group have the right to occupy the land for 99 years.

"The land shall be used for Special Places of Assembly - Use Group 'J'. The occupier must pay further charges and refund any contribution in lieu of rates which may be paid by the government...

"The occupier shall be responsible for the protection of all beacons on the land throughout the term of tenancy," reads part of the document.

According to a survey map showed to the 'Daily News', the area has been divided up into 12 different plots of land. Plot number one up to number six, which cover about 80 per cent of the total area, have been given to Khoja Shia Isthnaasher Jamaat.

However, the local government chairman, Mr Christopher Rugemalila, accused Ilala Municipal Council of causing trouble to residents in the area, who, through their own initiatives, have decided to take precautionary measures to prevent floods.

He said that through self help initiatives they have introduced a routine clean-up using bare hands to remove dirt from the river course.

"We put debris on the river banks and remove sludge from the river course. Authorities don't seem to care about us. The Breweries creek should be opened. It is a breeding ground for mosquito," Mr Rugemalila said.

He added, "The area is already sold and the only thing authorities want to do is to make sure that we are out of here. We are not going anywhere and we are here to stay," Rugemalila insisted.

He commended the legislator for Ilala, Mr Mussa Azan Zungu, who defended the residents recently saying that the government should work out plans to control floods in the area instead of evicting the residents.

Rehema Zege (64) has been annoyed by the district authorities. She claimed that the authorities embrace rich people and forget about the majority low-income earners. Previously the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Prof. Anna Tibaijuka, advised dwellers in the valley to comply with legitimate government orders to vacate the area for safety reasons. The minister warned against repetition of the 2002 situation whereby sweeping floods caused losses to valley dwellers. Prof. Tibaijuka spoke about government plans to establish decent settlements around Dar es Salaam at affordable rents. The upshot is to accommodate low-income earners and others including those in low lying areas. The investigation further learnt about civil cases related to an eviction order dating back to 2001. For example, part of the ruling of Civil Case No 46/2001 at Ilala District Court with Mohamed Bendera Guga, Amina Abedi, Ally Hatha and 67 other residents of Jangwani as applicants and Ilala Municipal Council as respondent, the magistrate, Sg Kabuta on April 17, 2002 ruled out that: "The respondent should compensate the applicants and provide alternative plots of land as promised. I make no order as to cost. I so rule out." Since then there has been events of court injunctions. The respondent filed an appeal to the High Court as indicated in Civil Revision No 64 of 2004 and through an advocate from Taslima Law Chambers in a written submission presented on December 14, 2009. The residents of Jangwani partly responded as follows: "What is apparent here is that the land belongs to Khoja Jamaat and that they are the ones entitled to deal with whoever was found on the land. So the Ilala Municipal Council has no locus standi to go to court and claim that the residents are trespassers on their land unless they are working on instructions for the Khoja Jamaat." Earlier last week, the Acting Director General of the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA), Ms Agnes Kijazi, advised people living in low-land areas to take precautions as this year short rains might be above normal in some regions including Dar es Salaam.

Four charged over Zanzibar ferry disaster

Zanzibar. Four people including one of the owners, plus the captain of the ill fated ferryboat that capsized last week in the choppy Indian Ocean waters, were charged yesterday in a Zanzibar court with causing deaths of more than 200 people through negligence.The accused were quietly arraigned before the Registrar of the High Court Mr George Kazi at around 1pm but were not required to enter any plea on the joint charge against them.The first accused and ferry captain, identified as Mr Said Abdallah Kinyanyite, 58, was, however, charged in absentia as he had been at large since the disaster occurred.

Director of Public Prosecution Ramadhan Nassib told the court that the police were still on a manhunt for Captain Kinyanyite, whose vessel MV Spice Islander 1 went under, off the Nungwi village coastline on the fateful Friday night.

Others in the charge sheet were Mr Yusuf Suleiman Jussa, 47, reported as among the shareholder of the vessel, the first officer who assists the captain, Mr Abdallah Mohamed Ali, 30, and an official of the Zanzibar Ports Authority in charge of passenger inspection, Mr Silima Nyange Silima, 27.

They were driven in a police Land Rover to the court under tight security from Malindi remand prison where they were being held. Mr Nassib said the suspects’ negligence led to the sinking of the ferryboat and drowning of 203 men, women and children.

During the disaster, 619 people were rescued while hundreds more remain listed as missing persons by relatives, mainly in Pemba, where the ship was headed.

Mr Kazi who is empowered to preside over such a plea according to the law in the Isles sent the accused back to remand prison until Monday when their case, Number 18 of 2011, would be mentioned. The Registrar denied all the accused bail as applied by their advocate Mr Hamid Mbwezeleni, saying the case was sensitive and would be unwise to rush the decision.

Mr Mbwezeleni had argued unsuccessfully that his clients deserved bail considering the nature of the charge brought against them. A small group of relatives gathered at the court to get a glimpse of the unfolding case and conversed in hushed tones when their loved ones were being led away to the remand prison. A decision whether to grant bail will be determined on Monday.

According to the DPP, the accused allowed overloading of the ferryboat that is said to have carried more than double its capacity of 600 passengers and cargo. It sunk at 2am Saturday, less than three hours of sailing from Unguja to Pemba.

The arraignment of the four came only a day after the government of Zanzibar, through the Second Vice President Ambassador, Seif Iddi, announced on Thursday it had called off the search for more bodies along the vast coastline.

The government also said efforts to retrieve more bodies from the submerged ship believed to be lying more than 250 metres deep have been called off due to lack of suitable equipment.

South African divers who had been called in to help were set to leave for their country this weekend.

Source The Citizen

Burundi’s language bid in EAC fails

THE language factor may soon become another bone of contention among member states forming the East African Community (EAC).

Official reports have it here that Burundi had sent an official proposal to the EAC Council of Ministers' meeting which was held in Arusha last week, advocating for French to be included in the list of official languages of the community.

But the panel of ministers turned down the request and the country feels snubbed. "All I can say is that, Burundi was not snubbed, it is only that the issue is still being debated and the council of ministers' meeting did not reach any decision on it," said Ms Beatrice Kiraso, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of political federation.

But the Kenyan Assistant Minister for East African Co-operation, Mr Peter Munya, gave his own view, saying that since the EAC already has English as an official language there was "No need to add another colonial language in the list," he said.

According to Mr Munya, Tanzania has also sent an application wanting Kiswahili to be upgraded from its current status as "Lingua-franca" of the community and be made an official language.

"There is logic for Kiswahili to be an official EAC language because it is a local tongue and widely spoken across the five member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda," added Mr Munya.

But he pointed out that French was a foreign language and should not be promoted under regional co-operation. "I am surprised because at least Burundi should have advocated for Kirundi to be included in EAC not French.

"Our mandate should be to promote local languages not those which are foreign in nature and certainly, not those with strings attached to the dark colonial era in the region," maintained the Kenyan Deputy Minister of EAC.

Speaking in Arusha last week, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Mr Benard Membe, revealed that there are four other countries wishing to join the EAC but Article 137 of the Treaty states clearly that among the qualifications to be considered is that a member should have the ability to converse in Kiswahili (Lingua-Franca) and English (the official language of the EAC).

Experts: EAC likely to have single currency next year

Kigali. Financial experts from the East African Community (EAC) are optimistic that the establishment of the regional monetary union could be realised by next year.

In an interview with Xinhua, Dr Thomas Kigabo, chief economist of National Bank of Rwanda and chief Rwandan negotiator, pointed out that the remaining period is enough for the single currency to be achieved within the framework of the East African Monetary Union (Eamu).

Kigabo was speaking at the fourth meeting of the EAC's High Level Task Force (HLTF) which started on Tuesday in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting has attracted regional financial experts to negotiate the establishment of the bloc's monetary union.

The HLTF was inaugurated by EAC to negotiate the protocol to establish the Eamu, which is the third stage of the EAC integration process. The EAC integration process timetable shows that Eamu is supposed to be effective by end of 2012 following the EAC common market protocol that was effected on July 1, 2010 and the customs union in 2005.

Source The Citzen