Politics

Trump thanks Putin for kicking out US diplomats

11, August 2017

Trump thanks Putin for kicking out US diplomats 0

US President Donald Trump has thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for kicking out hundreds of American diplomats, because the United States is “trying to cut down [its] payroll.” “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll … I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll,” Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf club on Thursday.

“There’s no real reason for them to go back,” he added. “I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’re going to save a lot of money.” It is however unclear how President Putin’s booting out American diplomats would remove them from the US payroll.

The Republican-controlled Congress approved the new sanctions package last month against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The bill was passed with overwhelming margins, eliminating the prospect of a presidential veto. The legislation is particularly aimed at punishing Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and the reunion of Crimea with Russia.

Russia responded by saying the sanctions amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration. President Putin ordered 755 US diplomats to leave the country after Congress passed the sanctions bill.

The Trump administration, which had sought better relations with Russia, described the Russian move as another setback. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that “this had created serious mistrust,” adding that the United States would respond to Moscow’s decision.

Trump’s desire for better ties with Moscow has been hampered by accusations from US intelligence agencies that Russia operated a series of high-profile cyber attacks to change the outcome of the November 8 presidential election in favor of Trump.

A special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, as well as several congressional committees are investigating whether the Russian government coordinated with Trump’s associates during the 2016 campaign and transition. Trump denies any collusion by his campaign and Moscow denies any meddling.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a security briefing on August 10, 2017, at his Bedminster National Golf Club in New Jersey. (Photo by AFP)

 

Trump has voiced his criticism about that the probe, but he he said on Thursday he will not fire Mueller. “I want them to get on with the task,” Trump said, despite the fact that Mueller is investigating “something that never happened.”

Trump said Democrats are the ones who should be investigated for collusion, not him. “There was no collusion between us and Russia. In fact, the opposite,” Trump said. “Russia spent a lot of money on fighting me, and if you think about it, I want a strong military — you see our budget is up by — it will be hundreds of billions of dollars soon. Our military budget. Russia doesn’t like that. Hillary was going to cut the budget substantially — the military budget. Russia — is very important for Russia — oil. Oil and gas. We are now an exporter because of an incredible six months that — an exporter of oil and gas. That’s bad for Russia.”

“I don’t think Russia wants me because I want a strong military and I want low energy prices. Energy is a disaster, low energy prices is a disaster for Russia,” he added. Trump has previously said Russia would have preferred a weak American leader, like his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Source: Presstv



Kenya: Opposition claims ‘vote fraud after hack,’ rejects results

9, August 2017

Kenya: Opposition claims ‘vote fraud after hack,’ rejects results 0

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has claimed “massive fraud” in the general elections, rejecting the preliminary results, which have put his longtime rival, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, in the lead.

According to the official website of Kenya’s election commission (IEBC), Kenyatta was holding on to a commanding lead with 54.8 percent, while Odinga has only secured 44.4 percent after nearly 13 million ballots were counted from more than 35,000 of the 40,833 polling stations.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Odinga claimed that the results of Tuesday’s general elections are not reliable as the election commission’s voting systems had come under cyberattack, leading to “massive and extensive” vote fraud.

“Hackers gained entry into our election database” and “created errors,” Odinga said. “You can only cheat the people for so long,” the opposition leader said. “The 2017 general election was a fraud.”

He called on his supporters to maintain calm, but said “I don’t control the people.” Odinga’s deputy, Kalonzo Muyoka, also made a similar call, adding, however, that the opposition might urge “action” at a later date, without elaborating.

The opposition figure had earlier in the day decried the tallying process as a “sham.” Odinga alleged that the IEBC had not provided documents showing how the tallies were obtained, saying “it is the machine that has voted. These results are wrong.”

The hacking claims prompted Kenya’s election commission to react and counter the allegations, assuring Kenyans that “all is well.” Despite Odinga’s call for calm, a group of his supporters took to the streets to protest the results, chanting “No Raila, no peace.”

The protest, however, turned violent after police forces intervened and fired tear gas at the crowd. At least one protester was killed as riot police opened fire during the clashes in Kisii County, said Leonard Katana, a regional police commander.

Anti-riot units of the Kenyan Administration police are positioned outside a police station on the outskirts of Kibera in Nairobi, on August 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

 

Kenyatta, 55-year-old son of Kenya’s first president after independence from British colonial rule, campaigned on a record of key infrastructure projects — many backed by China – while claiming strong economic growth. Odinga, who is also the 72-year-old son of a leader of the independence struggle, presented himself as a champion of the poor as well as a fierce critic of corruption in the country.

Many voters, however, were expected to vote along ethnic lines. Kenyatta is broadly regarded as the candidate of the nation’s largest ethnic group of Kikuyu, while Odinga is affiliated with the Luo voting bloc, which has never won a presidential race.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to the media after voting at a polling station during the August 8, 2017 presidential election in Gatundu, Kiambu county. (Photo by AFP)

 

The top opposition candidate, who is making his fourth presidential run, has further accused his rival of stealing victory from him through rigging both in 2007 and 2013 polls. In 2007, the disputed election led to two months of ethnically-driven political violence that killed nearly 1,100 people and displaced 600,000 others.

The challenged poll in 2013 was referred to the courts, and ended largely peacefully even though Odinga emerged defeated. Tensions have been high leading up to this year’s election since late last month, when Chris Msando, a key administrator of the biometric voting system, was murdered.

“We fear that this is the precise reason why Mr. Chris Msando was assassinated,” Odinga emphasized, pointing to his allegation of fraud. However, IEBC appeared undeterred by Odinga’s statements.

Commissioner Roslyn Akombe said despite a request by an unnamed political party to halt releasing preliminary results the body has decided to “continue to display the results.”

Source: Presstv


Nigeria: Protesters demand Buhari return or resign

7, August 2017

Nigeria: Protesters demand Buhari return or resign 0

Nigerian protesters have demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari, receiving treatment in London for an undisclosed ailment for more than three months, either return or resign. Buhari left for the British capital on May 7 on what is his latest medical trip, appointing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to act on his behalf.

Dozens of protesters marched in heavy rain to the presidential villa in Abuja with banners urging that the 74-year-old retired general, who headed a military regime in the 1980s, return.

“Resume or resign, Nigerians say enough is enough,” one said, with others stating: “If president Buhari cannot return to Nigeria after 90 days, then he should resign and go home”, and “Buhari, where are you? Nigerians want full disclosure. What is wrong with our president?”

The peaceful march was organized by a coalition of civil society groups under the supervision of security agents. “We are here today because the president of Nigeria has absconded from duty,” said Deji Adeyanju, one of the organizers.

Protesters carry placards to demand that ailing President Mohammadu Buhari resume work or resign in Abuja, on August 7, 2017. (Photo by AFP) 

 

“He has not only absconded, he has continued to lie to us. This year alone the president has been away for 144 days. “He was away for 52 days in January and he has been away again today for 92 consecutive days. This cannot continue.”

Buhari has been dogged by speculation about his health since June last year when he first went to London for treatment of what the presidency said was a persistent ear infection. He then spent nearly two months in London in January and February and said on his return in early March that he had “never been so ill”.

Last month, members of the ruling party and the opposition went to see him in London and even took pictures in an attempt to douse public anxiety. The health of Nigeria’s leader has been a sensitive issue since the death in office of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 after months of treatment abroad.

Buhari’s main opponents in the 2015 election that brought him to power claimed he had prostate cancer. He denied the claim.

(Source: AFP)



Mandela’s grandson urges Israeli envoy’s expulsion from S Africa

6, August 2017

Mandela’s grandson urges Israeli envoy’s expulsion from S Africa 0

The grandson of South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, Nelson Mandela, has called on South Africa’s government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Pretoria and sever all diplomatic and business relations with the Tel Aviv regime.

On Sunday, Mandla Mandela, who is a member of parliament for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), urged ANC caucus in legislature to pressure the government to send Arthur Lenk out of the country, and recall South Africa’s Ambassador to Israel Sisa Ngombane, and cut all ties, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported.

“History calls upon us to take similar measures to those taken by freedom, justice and peace loving communities that supported the global anti-apartheid movement against the brutal and illegitimate South African regime,” he said.

Mandela also praised the decision made by a group of ANC lawmakers to turn down an Israeli delegation’s request to meet. “Parliament has stayed true to Nelson Mandela’s commitment to stand by the Palestinian cause until Palestine is free,’’ he said in a statement.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) also welcomed the measure. “Cosatu joins solidarity organizations, human rights bodies and other groups in welcoming the decision by the parliament of South Africa to turn down a request to meet with a visiting delegation from Israel,” the group said in a statement.

South Africans march in solidarity with the besieged Gaza Strip, in Cape Town on August 9, 2014.

Most South Africans have historically supported the Palestinians due to similarities between the Israeli occupation and South Africa’s apartheid era. Mandela said in 1997 that “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in 2002 that his trip to Palestine had reminded him “so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.” The Israeli regime on the one side and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on the other fought the Six-Day War on June 5-10, 1967.

At the end of that war, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds, the Gaza Strip, and parts of the Golan Heights. Israel later withdrew from Gaza but has kept the coastal enclave under a crippling siege since 2007.

Palestinian authorities want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along pre-1967 boundaries, but Israeli officials have so far refused the call.

Source: Presstv


TB Joshua: How to know your CPDM political leader uses witchcraft

4, August 2017

TB Joshua: How to know your CPDM political leader uses witchcraft 0

If you see a rich CPDM politician such as Hon. John Ebong Ngolle or Minister Atanga Nji Paul emerging from a funny nasty building or location, putting on African attire, or if you watch them address the masses in a specific coat and regularly pats their shoulder that is witchcraft in action.

We had witnessed many of the above scenarios in the early days of multiparty politics when the Right Hon. Simon Achidi Achu had control of the North West province and the Maradona of South West politics, John Ebong Ngolle was still in active service.

During the 1990s, an election was the season of harvest for witch doctors, and if Southern Cameroons history is anything to go by, politicians were seen trooping to dusty huts in droves to ‘bewitch’ voters, their opponents or to simply arm themselves with talismans to ward off juju.

When party nominations or news of a new cabinet appeared to be just around the corner, witch doctors were raking in cash by the truckload. CPDM politicians even accused opponents in the SDF of visiting witch doctors at night while joining congregations in Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches on Sunday mornings.

Some years ago during the violent demonstrations that were caused by food shortage, President Biya in a statement, made a mockery of his opponents within his ruling CPDM party that they were visiting some weak and inefficient sorcery dens to boost their chances of ousting him. Biya did not name the said politicians but we now know them from the lists of those in the Kondengui High security prison.

While some CPDM politicians visit native doctors to win elections, others outsource them to eliminate rivals. In Manyu Division, elderly women were paid millions to dance on the streets naked so that no CPDM candidate could lose a seat in the National Assembly.

To win a ministerial seat, many from Southern Cameroons had to visit the twin lakes in the Kupe Muanenguba constituency while many others traveled to neighboring Nigeria. A parliamentary seat required some nights with the chief priest at a cemetery. To be a governor, the stakes were even higher including numerous trips to the Pigmies in the East and to Oku in the North West. The witch doctors in some occasion accepted installment payments. One had to pay a reasonable amount before the elections and the rest after winning.

For instance, when the CPDM wins, the cabinet minister pays more and part of the extra is burnt and is mixed with special ointment. The Minister had to apply this oil on his seat in his office to enable him stay in the Biya cabinet. A witch doctor revealed that he gave CPDM politicians ‘special spices’ to rob on their manhood and make love to young girls recruited from nearby high schools.

The spices were added to the food served to the girls during the reception after the rallies. The concoction worked like magic, noted one of the South West CPDM regime. “It hardly backfires and you were assured of a lucrative position in government.”

The CPDM clients must undergo a special ‘cleansing’ ceremony. The big men and women had to drop a 500 frs coin in a calabash for greeting the spirits then proceeded for body anointment, similar to a massage, using oil and fresh herbs. This was aimed at ensuring the client’s body responds to the so-called medication. After this, you were ready to receive the juju powers.

Affluent people who are predominantly in the ruling CPDM have a lot to lose if things don’t go their way. So, for them, if it’s witchcraft that can make sure they are comfortable in their positions, they will go for it. Poor people have little to lose and their solution is usually fervent belief in Jesus Christ. So, many CPDM politicians are engaging in witchcraft despite being active in their professed religions, and this is worrying.

John Ebong Ngolle, seen recently at TB Joshua in Nigeria was a youthful administrator very much loved by Prime Minister A.N Jua and was appointed Senior Divisional Officer by Jua in 1965. He served in all divisions in the South West and North West provinces and in some cases twice. His last SDO position was in Ndian Division from where he was appointed Governor of the South West Province in 1989 to replace Magloire Ngemba who was transferred to Bamenda.

Just over a year later, he was appointed to the North West Province. He played his political cards very well and helped get the CPDM all the 20 parliamentary seats in the North West that made Achidi Achu prime minister and head of government.

He became a cabinet minister in 1992 and was given additional responsibilities as board chair of Sonara and CPDM political bureau member. His other administrative colleagues (Majority of blessed memory) served honorably and died peacefully. Joseph Mbassi Ngoh, Bambot Sickot, Tabi Arram Mpey, Akoto Ndang. Today, here is the biological son of a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC rolling on the floor in a black church in Nigeria with a pastor pushing his head like a common sinner.

Another pathetic CPDM case is that of Oben Peter Ashu! The late arrogant administrator was Senior Divisional Officer for Ndonga Mantung and many Southern Cameroonians have opined that he masterminded the ‘Ndu Masacre’. With the help of John Ebong Ngolle, the then Minister of Territorial Administration, Gilbert Andze Tchoungui appointed Oben Ashu as Governor of the South West province to replace Etame Massoma who was moved to the West.

Governor Oben Peter Ashu instituted his famous “Come No Go” policy and targeted the grass field people. Oben was dropped by the Biya regime and on retirement in Buea he worshiped at St Martin Catholic Church in Bokwango Buea. He met HIM and openly asked for God’s forgiveness.

Chief Inoni Ephraim had a meteoric rise in the system and it was believed he had the best juju man that the CPDM leadership could rely on. President Biya even spent a night at his residence in Bakingili when he visited the volcano eruption site.

He has been everything in the regime including prime minister and head of government. Recently, he told some Supreme Court judges that he has met HIM and he was now at peace with Jesus Christ.

We all know that Ebong Ngolle did not go to TB Joshua for healing. He went there to destroy the pact he had signed with the devil over the years. Our Southern Cameroons politics needs hygiene.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Cameroon Concord News Group


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Anglophone Crisis: The failure of the Centralist project pursued by the Biya Francophone regime

4, August 2017

Anglophone Crisis: The failure of the Centralist project pursued by the Biya Francophone regime 0

The Anglophone problem, which has intensified since last October with the paralysis of the North-West and South West Regions on the backdrop of federalist claims, even secessionist, is the consequence of a colonial legacy and a failure of the “centralist project” pursued by the power of Yaoundé, according to the terms of a report published Wednesday by the NGO, International Crisis Group.

The current crisis, with its political, economic and social dimensions, has amplified exponentially the demand by the majority of the population seeking federalism and dissolution, a configuration that illustrates how profound the Anglophone problem is.

The Anglophone problem, as analyzed by this NGO, plunges its roots into a poorly conducted reunification, based on a centralist and Assimilationist project as well as an economic and administrative marginalization in addition to the ambitions and the personal and ethnic rivalries of elites that have not always been able to make a common front to defend an increasingly heterogeneous cause.

Taking advantage of the situation, secessionist groups have multiplied since January to radicalize the population with the support of a part of the Anglophone Diaspora.

“If the risk of partitioning the country is very low, that of a medium-term resurgence of the problem in the form of armed violence is high, because some of these groups now call for violence.”

Contrary to a widespread idea, International Crisis Group believes that the English-speaking Diaspora has not driven this crisis, contrary to previous challenges, since its role became paramount only after the arrest of the Civil society Consortium officials on 17 January 2017.

Unfortunately the government measures, taken since March, are late and have had little effect, the international community’s response was rather limited, although they had enabled them to adopt the said measures: “Without a firm, persistent and coordinated pressure from the international partners in Cameroon, it is unlikely that the government will move towards substantive solutions.”

For International Crisis Group, which also reports at least three deaths and dozens of arrests recorded, the resolution of the Anglophone problem goes through a firmer international response and the restoration of confidence, through coherent appeasement measures that respond to the demands of the lawyers ‘ and teachers ‘ guilds, causing the malaise.

Source: CIN



US: Staff removal shows chaos in Trump administration

2, August 2017

US: Staff removal shows chaos in Trump administration 0

US President Donald Trump has dismissed his recently appointed communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. The abrupt removal of the controversial figure after some 10 days of a crude verbal tirade against other senior staff indicates the tensions rising within Trump’s inner circle.  Brent Budowsky, columnist of The Hill,  believes the recent staff removal shows that there is “chaos” in Trump’s administration, adding that his presidency is in “big trouble.”

“So what you have is a sequence of firings and removals – the national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, the communications director, the press secretary, there have been a lot of them,” he said.

The analyst further praised the appointment of John F. Kelly as the White House Chief of Staff, expressing hope that he will succeed in bringing back some order out of the chaos and imposing some discipline that would be very valuable and helpful to Trump and to the United States.

He also opined that Anthony Scaramucci was an “absolute epic disaster” as communications director, reasoning that attacking other people in the White House as he did with former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, is not acceptable.

This file photo taken on July 21, 2017 shows Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

Elsewhere in his remarks, Budowsky noted that Washington generally has a problem with conflict of interests, asserting that Trump is taking it to “new epic heights” which is going to get him in a lot of trouble.

He also emphasized that the Trump administration should stop attacking former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton all the time, arguing that what it is doing right now is “wrong and silly”. The analyst concluded by saying that America’s political system is “dysfunctional”, stating that the American people in large numbers have rejected Trump politically and that they want change now.

However, Sameera Khan, the other panelist on the program, maintained that what is actually in chaos is the mainstream media which creates “an absolute frenzy” whenever the president fires one of his staff members. She also noted that the media as well as the Democratic elites want to portray Trump as “uniquely nefarious” which is the reason why they focus mostly on personality rather than policy positions.

The analyst further criticized the removal of Scaramucci, arguing that he was dismissed from the administration because of being a loud mouth, not his problematic policy positions. According to the analyst, the “US political discourse has been reduced to celebrity gossip” and that the basis of media coverage is not pro-facts or pro-objectivity.

Culled from Presstv



Syria: President Assad says will of Syrian people, army defeated terrorists

31, July 2017

Syria: President Assad says will of Syrian people, army defeated terrorists 0

President Bashar al-Assad has praised the Syrian people and army, saying their will has defeated terrorism in the country. “The will of the Syrian people and their determination as well as the heroism of the Syrian Arab Army” are the most important reasons that have helped the country defeat foreign-backed militants, Assad said on Monday.

Assad also appreciated the Syrian people, saying they did not allow terrorist groups and their backers to halt their daily activities. He made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Tunisia’s General Labor Union (UGTT), headed by its Assistant Secretary General Bu Ali Mubaraki, in the capital Damascus, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

During the meeting, Assad stressed that the delegation’s visit carried many messages to the world as it “reflects the pulse of the Arab public opinion and its orientations.” In turn, members of the Tunisian delegation confirmed that they came to Damascus to convey a message of support for the Syrian people.

The Syrian people have showed matchless support for their leadership and army, which are defending the dignity of the Arab nation, the delegation said. The Tunisian delegation stressed that the West does not want Syria to play any role except according to what they dictate.

The delegation said the West has targeted Syria because of its fair stance towards regional developments. The delegation also described Syria as a state which remains at the forefront of the campaign against terrorism. “If what is planned against Syria succeeded, the chaos would have prevailed throughout the Arab region. Therefore, defending it is defending all the Arabs.”

Syrian government forces inspect an area recently recaptured from the Daesh terrorist group in a mountain range near the village of Khanasir, in Aleppo province, on July 2, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning UGTT is known to many Tunisians for the role it played in the North African country’s historic revolution of 2011. Syria has been gripped by a deadly conflict since March 2011. The government has repeatedly blamed certain foreign countries for the spread of the devastating militancy in the country.

Over the past few months, Syrian forces have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements, which have in turn increased their acts of violence across the country. Tunisia, too, has experienced violence since the 2011 uprising that ousted the country’s dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was in power for over two decades. The country has also been affected by the growing instability in neighboring Libya, which has been in chaos since former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and later killed in 2011.

During the past six years, Tunisia has witnessed multiple terrorist attacks. Tunisia is among the countries with the highest per capita number of extremist militants operating in other countries. Thousands of Tunisians have reportedly left their country since 2011 to fight alongside extremist groups in Iraq and Syria.

The gloomy status quo of Daesh has growingly worried Tunisians who fear that many militants would return to the North African country. Late last year, Tunisian authorities warned about the return of thousands of Takfiri militants, calling for “exceptional measures” to combat the phenomenon.

Source: Presstv



Senegal: Ruling coalition claims election landslide in parliamentary vote

31, July 2017

Senegal: Ruling coalition claims election landslide in parliamentary vote 0

The ruling coalition of Senegal’s President Macky Sall has won a widely expected landslide in a legislative election, his prime minister says, bolstering Sall’s prospects for re-election in 2019.

The Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) coalition swept all except three of the country’s 45 electoral departments, said Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, speaking to the public Senegalese press agency APS ahead of the official release of results.

The ruling coalition “emerged victorious” following the vote on Sunday, Dionne said, while the turnout was 54 percent among Senegal’s 6.2 million registered voters, an increase on voting in 2012.

Dionne said opposition coalition lists were likely to be ahead in the departments of Kedougou, Saraya and possibly Mbacke, but otherwise the BBY list of candidates “had been voted in by the Senegalese people.”

The official results are expected later this week. Some complained of being left off the electoral rolls on Sunday, and there were delays to voting in several places, partly due to bad weather.

Members of the election commission put up a placard at a polling station in Dakar on July 30, 2017 during Senegal’s legislative election. (Photo by AFP)

Sall’s main threat to increase his power in parliament was posed by ex-leader Abdoulaye Wade, 91, who was aiming to drum up support for his own list of candidates and his son, Karim, who is not on the ballot but has ambitions for the presidency.

His other serious opponent, Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall (no relation), is in jail awaiting trial for what supporters say are politically-motivated embezzlement charges, and headed a list while campaigning from his jail cell.

The mayor had been seen as a key contender for 2019 and a potential threat to the president in parliament until he was charged in March with allegedly misappropriating 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million, 2.7 million euros) in city funds.

There were a record 47 lists of candidates contesting the election, with 165 lawmakers due to take seats in parliament. Police fired tear gas and arrested dozens during at times violent campaigning that left several injured in a country normally known for its peaceful democratic traditions.

Controversy also erupted over the failure to deliver enough new biometric ID cards needed to vote, which hundreds of thousands of Senegalese did not receive in time.

(Source: AFP)



Kenya: 2 killed in attack on deputy president’s home

31, July 2017

Kenya: 2 killed in attack on deputy president’s home 0

Two people have been killed in an attack on Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto’s residence, police say, days before the African country’s next presidential election on August 8.

A gunman and a police officer were killed on Saturday night after police engaged in a shootout with the attacker outside Ruto’s house in the western town of Eldoret, a senior administrator said Sunday. The attack left another guard injured.

Police said Ruto, who is the running mate of President Uhuru Kenyatta in the upcoming vote, and his family were not home during the gunfire.

“From the exchange of fire we thought it was more than one attacker, because he used different firearms, but after we subdued him, we found only one man dead, plus our officer who he had killed,” Rift Valley regional coordinator Wanyama Musiambo, told reporters.

Further investigation showed that the attacker was unarmed first but was able to use a range of weapons by breaking into the police armory after making his way into the compound.

“After the operation we discovered that it was one gunman, but because he was inside there, he could change position and firearms because he had access to the guns. And the guns he was using were ours,” Musiambo said.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta (R), flanked by Deputy President William Ruto, gestures during the unveiling of the Jubilee Party’s manifesto in Nairobi, June 26, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Police were still looking for more clues to see whether the attacker was alone or had help, the official noted. Ruto addressed the attack in a tweet, offering condolences to the family of the fallen guard. Police had initially said that the attacker was wielding a machete and holed himself up in an outbuilding after injuring one police officer. Kenyatta’s office said in a statement that Ruto had spent the day campaigning with the president.

Decades-long power struggle

The August 8 election will see Kenyatta and the ruling Jubilee Party defend their throne against Raila Odinga, who was Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Odinga has been endorsed by the National Super Alliance (NASA), a group of five opposition parties.

The Odinga and Kenyatta families have been involved in a power struggle since 1966, three years after the country’s independence from the UK.

 

Source: Presstv



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