Africa

11, November 2024

Putin offers African countries Russia’s ‘total support’ ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered what he called “total support” for Africa, including in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.

The speech was read out at a summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to his African counterparts.

Several African governments have cut ties with traditional Western allies and are looking to Moscow for help in tackling frequent attacks by jihadists.

During the summit, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said Russia was a more suitable international partner than the former colonial power, France.

It is a view shared by several of France’s former colonies – and was reiterated by Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, who contrasted the Kremlin’s “sincere” partnership to the “neo-colonial” relationship of Western powers.

He said that as well as military co-operation, Mali was exploring other joint projects in the energy, telecommunications, technology and mining sectors.

“Russian companies are working in all these areas with the Malian government and [private] partners in Mali to provide solutions to the challenges facing the Malian people. The two parties have agreed to step up the pace to ensure rapid results,” he said on the second and final day of the conference of African foreign ministers.

Wagner mercenary fighters – now rebranded under the Africa Corps banner by Russia’s defence ministry – were the preferred choice for the military leaders who ordered French and UN troops to leave.

Russia’s help, often in exchange for access to raw materials, also comes with a promise that there will be no meddling in a country’s internal affairs or lessons on how to run an election.

However, Russia’s military expeditions to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have helped protect the junta leaders there, but have failed to make much progress in the fight against Islamist militants.

Nonetheless, the Kremlin is trumpeting about these new-found friends, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying the conference had dashed Western hopes for Russia’s isolation.

The conference taking place on Saturday and Sunday comes after two Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023

And Lavrov said Russia’s relations with Africa were strengthening “more and more” with progress “on all axes”.

Putin’s speech underlined this point.

“I would like to reiterate that our country will continue to provide total support to our African friends in different sectors: ensuring sustainable development, the struggle against terrorism and extremism, combating epidemics, food problems and the consequences of natural disasters,” it said.

Emanuela Del Re, the EU special representative for the Sahel region of West Africa, told the BBC the West needed to accept the shifting sands of allegiances.

While Russia was “certainly a very malicious actor”, the Italian diplomat explained it had a strong bond with Africa going back to before independence and was not alone in its interest in the Sahel.

“It’s largely a desert but in reality the region is very crowded: because at the moment you see Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran… all member states of the EU and the UK,” she said.

In fact, African leaders were pragmatic about their need to “diversify their partnerships”, Ms Del Re said, adding it was not a time for the EU to abandon what she called the “three difficult countries” of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have all experienced coups in recent years.

Her point was that it should not be seen as a competition.

Rwanda, which has strong ties with the UK and the West, is one of several African countries that have already signed deals with Moscow to get help building a nuclear power plant.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, who is also in Sochi, told the AFP news agency hundreds of Rwandan students had graduated from Russian universities, including “those who specialise in nuclear science”.

“We hope to be able to train a certain number of scientific managers specialising in this field,” he added.

Five years ago, Putin promised to double trade with Africa – this has not happened.

But using other means, which the West sees as destabilising the continent, Russia’s influence has grown significantly.

Source: BBC

3, October 2024

4 Cameroonians in court for falsifying Zimbabwean passports ⁰

Four Cameroonian nationals appeared in court on Saturday facing charges of falsifying information to obtain Zimbabwean birth certificates and passports. The accused – Duma Ebako Christiana Boyombe (39), Yvette Kum Noam (24), Marvel Ngeyi Tegha (28), and Emile Muya Muya (23) – were remanded in custody by Harare magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni until October 2, pending a bail application.

They face charges of bribery and violating the Birth and Death Registration Act.

Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti told the court that between July 7 and September 16 this year, the accused sent US$3,200 from Cameroon through Western Union to bribe officials at Zimbabwe’s Registrar-General’s Department. The alleged bribe was facilitated with the help of a Zimbabwean, Tafadzwa Chiundiza, who is currently on remand for the same offense.

Chiundiza, working with Leona Patience Funga and an individual known only as Jeff, allegedly paid US$440 to Tawanda Wanira, an employee at the Mt Darwin Registrar-General Department, to fraudulently process birth certificates for the four Cameroonians. The certificates bore fake Zimbabwean names – Christiana Mhereyenyoka, Marvel Chimbwanda, Yvette Maini, and Emile Chingwaru – listing non-existent parents.

The money was reportedly sent to Wanira’s EcoCash account via an agent, who distributed US$90 to Mike Kudzai Chikumba and Titos Mutandwa to expedite the issuance of identity documents at the Epworth Sub-Office in Harare.

Using these fraudulent birth certificates, the four Cameroonians applied for Zimbabwean passports on September 17, which were issued two days later.

Their scheme unraveled when they were arrested at Beitbridge Border Post, attempting to cross into South Africa with the fraudulent documents.

Meanwhile, three officers from the Epworth Registrar’s Office, who allegedly assisted the Cameroonians, are also in custody facing charges of criminal abuse of office.

Source: Bulawayo24

26, September 2024

UN Conference on diversity holds in Nairobi ⁰

A UN conference on climate diversity and desertification, held on the theme “Greening the African Horizon” took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 17 September 2024 with Africa taking center stage in efforts to restore degraded landscapes, protect biodiversity and build sustainable livelihoods for its citizens.

Dubbed as the GLF Africa 2024 hybrid conference greening the African Horizon, the event brought together thousands of participants from local communities, indigenous peoples, youth leaders and policy makers, as well as innovators to showcase Africa’s immerse potentials.

Speaking at the event, the CEO of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Eliane Ubalijoro, said that the event was designed to showcase Africa’s immense potential to construct a resilient equitable future through its landscape.

“Together, we have the power to green Africa and beyond- for food securing livelihoods, food security, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation. Land and community are the common denominators for achieving these goals. Though the climate crisis presents immense challenges, Africa holds immense potentials of rich and local indigenous knowledge, innovative solutions, youth leaders, brilliant minds and emerging technologies,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, Elijah Mboko, National Technical Specialist at FAO Kenya said that “As we bring in new tools and approaches, we should look at how to best integrate them into the existing functional systems so that we don’t start from zero to distort what is ongoing on the land. We don’t want to work in isolation; we want to strengthen that system.”

By integrating local knowledge with cutting-edge technology and the latest science, the GLF is creating an AI hub to promote community-driven AI solutions that challenge the status quo. It will connect landscape actors and create interdisciplinary alliances to foster collaboration, innovation and inclusive knowledge.

Catherine Nakalembe, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland and Africa Program Director at NASA Harvest, who also attended the event pointed out that Africa needed to design systems that fitted the African context.

“We need to design systems that are appropriate for the context of Africa. We need data from the places that we’re trying to understand to build better models. Let’s say, foe Western Kenya, we need a context-aware model that can interpret intercropping in small-scale practices,” she said.

A key aspect of restoring forest is planting trees, which in turn requires effective tree seed and seedling delivery systems. During a session hosted by CIFOR-ICRAF, panelists and participants emphasized the need to develop a market for demand-driven native tree species to engage communities through participatory approaches and to share knowledge and resources broadly through stakeholder networks such as the nascent Transformative Partnership Platform (TPP).

Also present at the event, the Senior Manager for the Youth Leadership Program at the African Wildlife Foundation, Simangele Msweli, underscored that youths made a critical mass of the population. “70% of the African population is under the age of 35. Youths make up a very critical mass of the population. The biodiversity and climate crisis requires a whole-of-society approach-everyone must take action,” he said.

“There is a need to decolonize how we do climate justice and land restoration. Whatever has happened on other continents, whatever the donors and the granters are saying might not be the solution for Africa. There is a need for Africa to come up with African solutions. There is a need for women to be involved in coming up with solutions to land issues that are upon them,” said Deborah Oyugi, English Countries Manager and Safeguarding Lead at Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (Yilaa).

By Cecilia M. Manjang

24, September 2024

8 passport officers arrested in Zimbabwe over dodgy documents issued to 4 Cameroonians ⁰

Police have arrested eight employees of the Registrar General’s department at the passport office in Harare after four Cameroonian nationals were intercepted at Beitbridge trying to enter South Africa using freshly issued Zimbabwean passports.

Romeo Shonhiwa, 44, of Eastview Phase 2 in Harare, Marrian Roman, 40, of Glaudina Park, Lackmore Chinokokora, 34, of Eastview Phase 4, Grace Kapungu, 35, of Glen View 1, Chiedza Hlomani, 34, of Marlbereign, Maureen Natasha Munemo, 32, of Glen View 1, Tanaka Magaya, 28, of Sunningdale 3, and Edith Moto, 38, of Ruwa have been charged with criminal abuse of office as public officers for their roles in the issuing of the passports.

The arrests came after four citizens of Cameroon were arrested at Beitbridge with newly issued Zimbabwean passports indicating Shona names, although none of the four could speak the language.

The four suspects who are charged with fraud identified on the passports as Emile Chingwaru of Matare Village under Chief Magonde in Mount Darwin; Christiana Mhereyenyoka of Arcadia Village in Mount Darwin; Yvette Maini of New Pfura in Mount Darwin and Marvel Chimbwanda also of Mount Darwin.

Police investigations have established that the four Cameroonians were first issued with birth certificates in Mount Darwin, before they went to the registry office at Market Square in Harare where they claimed to have lost their identity documents in order to obtain replacements.

On September 17, they went to the passport office in Harare where they each paid $170 for an ordinary passport.

The passports, which should typically take seven days, were printed and collected just two days later on September 19.

Police now believe a racket involving officials from the Registrar General’s office and cleaners took large sums of cash from the four Cameroonians to facilitate the corrupt issuance of the passports.

Two general hands Neria Sombi and Trymore Chipanga, employed by Andivest, have also been spoken to by police after a review of CCTV showed them taking the suspects through the entire passport application processes.

The video footage, according to police, also shows Accused 7, Tanaka Magaya, being handed money by a woman also suspected to be part of the racket.

The Cameroonians have told investigators they paid US$1,500 each for the passports.

Police say the suspects said they intended to use the passports to enter South Africa from where they would seek passage to the United Kingdom.

Source: Zimlive

20, September 2024

Major jihadist attack in Mali’s capital killed more than 70 ⁰

A jihadist attack in the Malian capital targeting a military police training camp and airport left more than 70 people dead and 200 wounded, one of the highest tolls suffered by the security forces in recent years.

A security source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that 77 people had been killed and 255 wounded in Tuesday’s attacks in Bamako.

An authenticated confidential official document put the toll at around 100, naming 81 victims.

Thursday’s edition of Le Soir daily reported that the funerals of around 50 military police students would take place that day.

Mali’s military-led authorities have so far not released a precise death toll from the attacks, claimed by the al Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

The operation was the first of its kind in years and dealt a forceful blow to the ruling junta, experts say.

The Malian capital is normally spared the sort of attacks that occur almost daily in some parts of the West African country.

The general staff admitted late Tuesday that “some human lives were lost”, notably personnel at the military police centre.

JNIM claimed that a few dozen of its fighters had killed and wounded “hundreds” from the opposing ranks, including members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.

The attack came a day after junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked a year since the creation of their breakaway grouping, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trio, which have been under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, have broken ties with former colonial ruler France and turned militarily and politically towards other partners including Russia.

The Sahel states in January said they were turning their backs on regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Mali has since 2012 been ravaged by different factions affiliated to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

‘Condolences’ and condemnation

Volleys of gunfire interspersed with explosions broke out in Bamako at around 5:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday.

JNIM fighters attacked a military police school and stormed part of the nearby airport complex, where a military facility adjoins the civilian one.

The jihadist group broadcast images showing fighters strolling around and firing randomly into the windows of the presidential hangar and destroying aircraft.

Bamako has not seen such an operation since 2016, when gunmen attacked a hotel housing the former European training mission of the Malian army, with no casualties reported among the mission staff.

The flow of information is restricted under the ruling junta and details on how Tuesday’s attack was carried out and its impact are sketchy.

Mali’s neighbour Senegal and African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday condemned the attacks.

The French embassy in Bamako offered its “condolences to the government of Mali”.

Jean-Herve Jezequel, Sahel project director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP one possible hypothesis could be that “the jihadists are trying to send a message to the Malian authorities that they can hit them anywhere and therefore that the big cities must also be protected”.

He said the aim could be to force the state to concentrate its resources in populated areas and have fewer troops in rural areas “where these jihadist groups have established their strongholds”.

Experts say the attack undermines the junta’s military strategy and breakaway rhetoric, which claims the security situation is under control despite jihadists roaming the Sahel region for years.

Tuesday’s events have largely prompted condemnation and calls for unity within Mali.

Against a backdrop of severe restrictions on freedom of expression under the junta, virtually no public figures have spoken out against the apparent security lapse.

The daily Nouvel Horizon, a rare dissenting voice, wrote on its front page that it was “time to apportion blame at all levels”.

Many Malians have taken to social media to call for those responsible for the security breach to be punished.

The events have also raised fears that certain communities could be targeted in retaliation.

Source: AFP

10, September 2024

Chad: Floods have killed hundreds of people and affected 1.5 million ⁰

Every single one of Chad’s provinces have been hit by intense floods brought on by severe rainfall that have left 341 dead and affected a total of 1.5 million inhabitants since July, the UN said on Monday.

Weeks of severe flooding in Chad have left 341 people dead and some 1.5 million affected since July, the United Nations said Monday.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the flooding had hit all of the country’s 23 provinces.

It cited government data which said some 164,000 houses had been destroyed and almost 70,000 heads of cattle lost with 259,000 hectares (640,000 acres) of fields ruined.

The government has yet to publish a breakdown of the damage wrought by the deluge which has broken over the nation of some 16 million.

Last week, 14 students and their teacher died when a school collapsed after torrential rains battered the province of Ouaddai in the semi-arid east.

By mid-August, at least 54 people had lost their lives in flooding in Tibesti province, in Chad’s desert far north.

Typically, “rainfall hardly reaches 200 mm per year” in the mountainous region, but severe rainfall does occur “every five or 10 years”, according to Idriss Abdallah Hassan, director of meteorological observation and forecasting at Chad’s National Meteorological Agency.

The UN warned last week of the impact of “torrential rains and severe flooding” in the region generally, particularly in Chad, while urging immediate action and funding to tackle the climate crisis.

More than 700,000 people have been affected by severe flooding in South Sudan, according to a September 5 OCHA tally.

This summer has been the hottest ever recorded globally with a slew of record temperatures, heatwaves, drought and severe flooding.

Source: AFP

30, July 2024

Obasanjo says Africa is on the edge of chaos ⁰

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that the African continent was on the edge of chaos.

“All over Africa, we are… sitting on a keg of gunpowder,” he said in a recent interview with CNN affiliate Citizen TV.

“There’s virtually no exception (country) in Africa where the youth are not angry. They are unemployed… unempowered and they see nothing other than hopelessness,” he said.

Obasanjo warned that “if no adequate attention is paid to the needs of the youth in Africa … it will be very ugly for all of us.”

In some of Africa’s major cities, young people are experiencing a summer of discontent as anger and frustration erupt over corruption, the soaring cost of living, and widespread unemployment.

The protests began in Kenya last month, where young people – particularly Gen Z – engaged in six weeks of demonstrations over an unpopular bill that sought to raise taxes. At least 50 people died as a result.

President William Ruto retracted the bill and announced a shake-up of his cabinet following pressure from demonstrators who remained on the streets, saying they were unhappy about alleged corruption and police brutality in his government. There have been some calls for him to resign.

Kenya, East Africa’s dominant economy, has grappled with escalating living costs that have spiked food prices and other commodities, amid a rising unemployment rate among the country’s youth. The nation also owes billions of dollars in foreign and local debts, spending a sizeable chunk of its revenue repaying its creditors.

The unrest swiftly spread to neighboring Uganda, where citizens attempted to march to the parliament in the capital, Kampala, on July 23 and 25. Security forces responded with a heavy clampdown, detaining more than 100 people, according to police reports.

Those protesting are angry about widespread government corruption in the country, which loses an estimated Sh. 10 trillion ($2.7 billion) in public funding to graft annually, according to Ugandan anti-corruption body the Inspectorate of Government (IG).

Radio host Faiza Fabz, who joined the protests, said on social media that the demonstration was an “opportunity to change the course of our nation” and “force the leaders to finally listen to us and demands of the people.”

Some of those demands include “auditing the lifestyle” of MPs “and publicizing it,” and the resignation of lawmakers involved in corruption scandals, according to a newspaper front page she shared on social media platform X. Fabz was among the demonstrators detained by the Ugandan police.

Uganda has witnessed some stability in its economy following “an oil-related construction boom and robust growth of agriculture,” according to the World Bank.

But it has also grappled with endemic corruption, scoring 26 last year on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries on a scale of zero to 100, with zero meaning “highly corrupt” and 100 signifying that a country is “very clean.”

Several high-profile Ugandan politicians were sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for corruption earlier this year, including the speaker of the country’s parliament, Anita Annet Among, whom the protesters called on to resign.

President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist for nearly four decades, warned the protesters they were “playing with fire,” and later praised the security forces for “foiling” the protests, and claiming without evidence that they were orchestrated with “funding from foreign sources.”

‘Reality check for African leaders’

In Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, young people are also planning an “end bad governance” march on August 1.

Young Nigerians calling for protests want a respite from the country’s economic woes as inflation skyrockets to more than 34%, its highest level in nearly 30 years, causing one of the nation’s worst ever cost-of-living crises. Unemployment in the West African nation has also been on the rise, its data office said in its most recent report, in February.

They also want the country’s security problems curbed amid a rise in kidnappings for ransom, among other demands, which include “reducing the cost of living, curbing insecurity, reducing the cost of governance, electoral reform, judicial reform, and constitutional reform,” according to a signed statement from a group of civil society organizations.

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said in an interview with Arise Television on Sunday: “People are tired, people are hungry…. Why does the president have to wait till the 1st of August? He can start this moment to effect the changes that people are asking for.”

The last time a major protest occurred in Nigeria, security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters who were peacefully demonstrating against alleged police brutality, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Fearful of a repeat of the 2020 #EndSARS protests, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called for calm and implored citizens not to take to the streets.

He warned that the planned protest “could degenerate into violence and set the country backwards,” alleging that the upcoming march was being instigated by citizens with dual nationality.

“The sponsors of protests do not love our country … They do not understand citizenship. They have alternative passports. They are in different parts of the world holding meetings virtually,” the president said.

A Nigerian defense spokesman said the planned protest could replicate deadly demonstrations in Kenya.

“The context of this planned protest is to shadow what is happening in Kenya … and … what is happening in Kenya … is violent … and remains unresolved,” spokesman Edward Buba said at a press conference, adding that “the military will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation.”

For Gift Mugano, an adjunct professor of economics at South Africa’s Durban University of Technology, the youth uprisings are “a reality check for African leaders.”

“It’s like a protest contagion because the Kenya Gen Z movement is stimulating the momentum in other African countries,” Mugano told CNN.

He added that “as long as there are no economic opportunities, and governance and rule of law are not at their best, we will not have stability in the continent.”

Mugano advised African governments against cracking down on protesters, telling them to instead “attend to issues affecting the continent, create economic opportunities and improve governance.”

A ‘growing discontent’

Senegalese political analyst Mamadou Thior echoed this sentiment, telling CNN that the rising dissatisfaction among Africa’s youth could lead to unrest across the continent.

“There is a growing discontent among young people (in Africa) and those who are in charge should pay attention to this movement,” Thior said.

He added that “young people are impatient, and they want things to change at a very rapid pace.”

According to Thior, who leads the Senegalese media ethics organization CORED, youth activists across the continent are connected through social media, “and that’s why what is happening in Kenya can affect people in Uganda and even here in West Africa.”

Youth-led uprisings against corruption and bad governance have also erupted in other parts of Africa, including Senegal and Ghana, in recent months.

Uganda’s President Museveni warns citizens they are ‘playing with fire’ over planned protests

Protests broke out in Senegal in February after its then-president Macky Sall announced a delay in the country’s scheduled elections. Following demonstrations that left at least three protesters dead, Sall backtracked on the delay after the Senegalese constitutional council ruled against his decision to postpone the vote.

The ruling coincided with the release of many political detainees, including current President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was released just a little over a week before the election.

In the preceding months, Ghana, Senegal’s fellow West African state, saw days of anti-government protests as demonstrators railed against economic hardships and unemployment.

Source: CNN

8, July 2024

Liberian president cuts his salary by 40% ⁰

Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has announced that he will slash his salary by 40%.

His office said he hoped to set a precedent for “responsible governance” and demonstrate “solidarity” with Liberians.

Government salaries have been under intense scrutiny recently as Liberians complain about the rising cost of living. Around one in five people live on less than $2 (£1.70) a day in the West African state.

Mr Boakai revealed in February that his annual salary was $13,400. The cut will bring it down to $8,000.

Mr Boakai’s move echoes that of his predecessor, George Weah, who took a 25% cut in his salary.

Some in the West African nation have hailed Mr Boakai’s decision, but others wonder whether it is truly a sacrifice given that he also receives benefits like a daily allowance and medical cover.

The presidential office’s budget is almost $3m this year.

Anderson D Miamen, from non-profit organisation the Centre of Transparency and Accountability in Liberia, said the president’s pay cut is “welcoming”.

“We just hope that the public will clearly see where the deductions will go and how they will be used to positively impact the lives of the people,” he told the BBC.

W Lawrence Yealue II, whose organisation also campaigns for government transparency, described the president’s decision as “very commendable” and said that “leadership has to be provided from the top”.

He added that hoped Mr Boakai’s benefits would be reviewed in the budget for the next financial year.

As well as reducing his salary, Mr Boakai has pledged to “empower” Liberia’s Civil Service Agency to make sure public servants “receive fair compensation for their contributions to the country”.

Last week a group of lawmakers complained they had not received their official cars, which they needed to perform their duties.

As a form of protest, they turned up to parliament in tuk-tuks, known locally as keh keh, a common mode of transport for ordinary Liberians.

Mr Boakai took office in January after defeating Mr Weah in a run-off election.

He vowed to tackle corruption and financial mismanagement.

As well as declaring his assets since taking office, Mr Boakai has ordered an audit of the presidential office. The results have not yet been released.

Mr Boakai has also beefed up the General Auditing Commission and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.

Mr Weah’s government was plagued by allegations of corruption, and lavish spending, which triggered mass protests as the cost of living spiralled for ordinary people.

Source: BBC

20, June 2024

Thousands of young Kenyans protest tax hikes ⁰

Thousands of mostly young demonstrators took to the streets across Kenya on Thursday to protest tax hikes, blowing whistles and chanting slogans in a vivid show of anger by Gen-Z protesters against the government.

Police in the capital Nairobi fired tear gas and water cannon against groups of protesters near parliament, but apart from isolated scuffles earlier in the day, the action — dubbed “Occupy Parliament” — remained mostly peaceful.

Led largely by young Kenyans, the demonstrations began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading nationwide on Thursday.

They have galvanised widespread discontent over President William Ruto’s economic policies in a country already grappling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Hours after Tuesday’s demonstrations, which saw hundreds of youth face off against the police, the cash-strapped government agreed to make concessions, rolling back several of the tax hikes laid out in a new bill.

But the government still intends to go ahead with some tax increases and has defended the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

On Thursday, protests were held across Kenya, with thousands assembling across Nairobi, the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa, the Rift Valley city of Nakuru and the opposition bastion of Kisumu, according to AFP reporters and images broadcast on TV.

Isolated scuffles broke out in Nairobi between protesters and police, who used tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators gathering near the parliament, which began debating the bill on Wednesday.

Despite a heavy police presence and roadblocks erected along several roads leading to parliament, hundreds of protesters gathered in groups, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas, waving placards and chanting: “Ruto must go”.

Ivy, a 26-year-old job seeker dressed in a T-shirt and leggings, told AFP she was prompted to protest for the first time on Thursday because she was “scared” for her future.

“This bill cannot pass. This bill is going to finish us. We don’t have jobs… we can’t even open businesses, we can’t do anything in this country,” she said.

Another first-time protester, Bella, said she had showed up “to make sure the finance bill is rejected.”

The 22-year-old university graduate told AFP she was “not impressed” with the government’s concessions earlier this week.

‘Lying to us’

The presidency on Tuesday announced the removal of proposed levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, prompting a warning from the treasury of a 200-billion-shilling shortfall as a result of the budget cuts.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already battling high inflation.

“They are just trying to lie to us, the taxes that they have removed on bread they have added somewhere else,” Bella said, describing it as a tactic to “blindfold” citizens.

A parliament source told AFP that a vote on the proposals was expected on June 27, three days before the deadline for passing the bill.

The taxes were projected to raise 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 percent to 3.3 percent of GDP.

High inflation

The protest in Nairobi on Tuesday saw black-clad protesters forced into cat-and-mouse chases with police who fired volleys of teargas.

At least 335 people were arrested, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the human rights commission, KNCHR, and Amnesty Kenya.

“We have changed tack. Today we will be in colourful and defiant clothing to avoid a repeat of them arresting everyone in black,” said an organiser of the march, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

Overall inflation has remained stubbornly high, at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in May, while food and fuel inflation stood at 6.2 percent and 7.8 percent respectively, according to central bank data.

Source: AFP

13, June 2024

Kenyan policeman shoots magistrate in open court ⁰

A senior Kenyan police officer has been shot dead after he opened fire at a magistrate in court in the capital, Nairobi.

The chief inspector opened fire on Makadara Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti shortly after she made a ruling in a case reportedly involving his wife.

The officer is said to have been angered by the court’s decision to cancel her bail after she had absconded.

The officer, identified as Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, who is in charge of a police station in Londiani in western Kenya, then pulled out a gun and shot the magistrate, injuring her.

Other officers in court responded immediately, with one of them shooting the offending policeman and killing him.

In the process, three other officers were injured, a police report said.

The magistrate and the injured officers are being treated in hospital.

The judiciary said the magistrate had “cancelled the bond for an accused person who had jumped bond and had failed to offer satisfactory explanations for jumping bond”.

“Immediately this decision was pronounced, a person shot at the magistrate and injured her on the hip,” it said in a statement.

It noted initial reports that indicated “that the shooter is a police officer who is married to the suspect”.

The national police service said the officer was in the court for “unknown reasons”.

Investigations are continuing to establish the circumstances that led to the shooting, it said.

The incident inside a courtroom has come as a shock to Kenyans.

The police have often been accused of being involved in extra-judicial killings but no such incident has been reported inside court.

The judiciary has said it will enhance security measures and has assured judicial staff and other court users of their safety and security.

“As the judiciary family, we wish our colleague a quick recovery. We also send our condolences to the family of the officer who lost his life in this unfortunate incident,” said chief registrar of the judiciary Winfridah Mokaya.

Source: BBC