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[Monitor] The governments and fighters in Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) member states killed 10,000 citizens in 2020 alone, translating into 27 deaths a day.
Critics have called it a stunt to invite sympathy. Yet Amuriat says campaigning without shoes is a protest and that those who do not get its symbolism are missing a point.
Uganda is due to hold a general election on January 14. Amuriat and another opposition candidate, Bobi Wine have had their rallies violently dispersed by security forces or been arrested.
In mid-November, scores of people were killed as security forces attempted to quell protests against the arrest and detention of Bobi Wine.
Police has accused the candidates of addressing huge gatherings in contravention of regulations on COVID-19 prevention.
Swollen feet
In an interview with one of the dailies in Uganda, Amuriat said his feet hurt a lot and has to pour cold water on them in between campaign stops for some relief.
Doctors have cautioned him on the potential danger of contracting tetanus from cuts to his feet.
Yet Amuriat remains adamant. He says by refusing to wear shoes, he’s standing in solidarity with people whose wealth and opportunities have been stolen by the country’s longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
JUST IN: FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat has been arrested at the border of Rubirizi and Bushenyi districts. The reason for his arrest is yet to be known📹 @MukhayeD#MonitorUpdates#UGDecides2021 pic.twitter.com/xopK4FMoD0
— Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) December 4, 2020
Museveni, in power since 1986 is seeking a new term. In 2017, he changed the constitution to remove age limits that would have stopped him from seeking re-election.
FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.
A Senegalese court on Tuesday handed down jail terms to three fathers accused of pushing their sons to migrate to Europe by sea, sending them on a trip that left one of them dead, a defence lawyer said.
In a high-profile case, the trio were given two-year jail terms, 23 months of which were suspended, on a charge of \"placing the lives of others in danger,\" attorney Assane Dioma Ndiaye said.
They were acquitted of the charge of abetting migrant trafficking, the lawyer said.
The sons were with other migrants who boarded a canoe to make the crossing from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands, the first step in a plan to reach continental Europe.
But one of them, a teenager nicknamed Doudou, fell ill and died during the trip.
The fathers of the three, all of them fishermen in the coastal town of Mbour, were arrested a couple of weeks later.
Doudou's fate triggered uproar in Senegal, prompting debate about poverty, parental pressure and the allure of life in wealthy but distant Europe.
His father had paid 250,000 CFA francs ($460) to a smuggler, who was to take the boy to Spain. His destination after that was Italy, where he hoped to sign up for a football training academy.
A source close to the investigation said Doudou \"died after having problems eating\" during the trip.
Further details are unclear, as according to local media his body was tipped overboard after he died.
The children of the two other fathers survived the attempted crossing and returned home.
\"I wanted to open the doors of success to him,\" the father was quoted by a local newspaper as saying during the trial.
\"I took him to see the marabouts (witch doctors) so that they would pray for him. If I knew that he wasn't going to come back I would never have taken the risk.\"
He told the court: \"I am here before you today but my spirit has left me.\"
The prosecution had called for two-year terms against the three, while the defence had urged their acquittal.
The Canaries lie more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the coast of Africa at their closest point.
Over 500 people have died this year, mostly in October and November, according to the UN's International Office for Migration (IOM), compared to 210 fatalities for the whole of last year.
The pressure to migrate is especially strong among fishing communities. Coastal villages in Senegal have been badly hit by dwindling catches, and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Breakdancing is now an official Olympic sport.
Energy innovation in Israel’s Negev Desert. Photo courtesy of DeserTech Israel’s Negev desert has long attracted scientists, environmentalists and solar energy-tech enthusiasts seeking Israel’s know-how on combatting desertification. A new initiative, DeserTech, aims to transform [...]
THE National Social Security Authority (Nssa) says it plans to scale up it’s shareholding in the pan African development financial institution, Africa Import Export Bank (Afreximbank) by deploying funds generated when it hived off its shareholding in ZB Financial Holdings Limited (ZBFHL). BY MELODY CHIKONO In 2017, Nssa splurged US$20 million for a stake in Afreximbank, as part of a broad strategy that is meant to bolster the fund’s balance sheet through diversifying investments. A Nssa executive told NewsDay Business last week that the fresh investment into Afreximbank formed part for the State-run pay-as-you-go fund’s ambition to continue unlocking value for thousands of pensioners with savings under its stewardship. The authority recently offloaded its 37,79% stake in ZBFHL where it pocketed US$ 11,46 million in the deal. It was not clear if the entire package would be invested in Afreximbank. But the fund is also mulling to expand its pan-African holdings with an investment in the Lagos headquartered Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re). Africa Re is one of the region’s biggest reinsurers with a footprint in 41 Africa countries through approximately 107 insurance and reinsurance companies, which was founded on February 24 1976 in Yaounde, Cameroon, making it Africa's first continental reinsurer. It says it is continually combing through the markets to find the right assets to invest in. Nssa communications manager Tendai Mutseyekwa said the authority had pocketed US$1,18 million in dividends out of its Afreximbank investment and was determined to make fresh inroads into one of the region’s most influential financial institutions. “For our offshore investments, we are currently invested in Afreximbank, Quilter and Nedbank, which are both offshoots of Old Mutual,” Mutseyekwa told this paper. Quilter Plc, formerly known as Old Mutual Wealth Management Limited, is a financial services company formed to take over the United Kingdom wealth management business of Old Mutual Plc, after its separation of business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. “With these proceeds we are looking at enhancing our investments in Afreximbank because of the dividend and then also look at other equity investments. But mainly we want to shore up our investments with Afreximbank. We are actually trying to unlock value for the benefit of the scheme,” he said. Generally, Nssa’s investment portfolio is valued at $30,48 billion. It is spread across a wide spectrum of asset classes and industries including equities, properties, offshore investments and fixed income. These include investments in equities on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange valued at $19,1 billion, investments in shares of unlisted companies valued at $149 million and foreign investments valued at $1,9 billion. The authority’s fixed income is valued at $770 million. Nssa received more than $60 million in dividends from companies it invested in during the first half of this year. Follow Melody on Twitter @melodychikono
[Monitor] The race for a Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine is gaining momentum with the United Kingdom being the first country to approve a vaccine by Pfizer.
Eliminating fear among teachers and students has been vital to the reopening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, acting chief education officer, Dr Kasan Troupe, has reported. Troupe made that disclosure on Monday as 21 more schools reopened...
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen retired General Lloyd Austin, who oversaw U.S. forces in the Middle East under President Barack Obama, to be his defense secretary. Austin, who would be the first Black U.S. secretary of defense, was a surprise pick over Michele Flournoy, a former top Defense Department official who was considered the leading contender for the job. Flournoy would have been the first woman defense secretary. The news was first reported by Politico.
[Capital FM] Nairobi -- Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka has convened a special sitting on Wednesday to allow Senators decide how Governor Mike Sonko's ouster motion will be handled.
Rashida Jones, a cable news industry veteran, will be MSNBC's next president, NBCUniversal News Group Chair Cesar Conde said Monday.
[Cameroon Tribune] Some 28 players are training in Mbankomo ahead of the tournament that will run from January 16 to February 7, 2021 in Cameroon.
Analysis - Every day, dozens of media pieces and articles discuss China’s presence in Africa. The focus is usually on China’s strategic interests, responses by the United States and Europe, or the social and environmental issues of Chinese investment. However, these discussions do not often explore the most important questions: does engagement with China support African countries’ economic development? Does it contribute to generating jobs and to forming more diversified and resilient economic struc
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) said the 752.7km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, an electrified, standard gauge international railway linking Addis Abeba to Djibouti,was not performing to its potential due mainly to theft and vandalism. The railway has lost 114 million ETB in the first quarter of the current fiscal year only.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is pushing hard and headed to the Supreme Court to prove voter fraud impacted the... View Article
The post Texas contests election results in Michigan, Pennsylvania in new lawsuit appeared first on TheGrio.
Cricket Australia are still planning for the tour of South Africa to go ahead in February 2021, but are monitoring the health situation.
[New Times] The $35 fee paid by each truck entering Rwanda, from Tanzania, is for drivers accommodation in Covid-19 pandemic isolation centres so as to prevent the spread of the pandemic and \"is not a tax per se\", Manasseh Nshuti, Rwanda's Minister of State in charge of EAC affairs, has told The New Times.
[IPS] Nairobi -- 'A hungry man is not a free man. He cannot focus on anything else but securing his next meal.' So proclaimed the late Kofi Annan.
Hubs in the UK are starting the rollout by vaccinating the over-80s and some health and care staff.
[East African] One in every 50 detainees in Kenya's prisons is a migrant, largely from the East African region even though these countries have a joint deal on free movement of persons.
Tyronn Lue has taken the wheel of a team burdened with win-now pressure and is driving it toward an unprecedented season in the midst of a pandemic. Better believe he’s channeling his inner Phil Jackson and preaching adaptability. “The biggest word for us this season is to be able to adapt,” said Lue, who played […]
There has never been a second round in Ghanaian elections and the two parties have handed over power peacefully seven times since the return of democracy more than 30 years ago.
\"I'm feeling fine, happy that the process is going well and peacefully,\" the 76-year-old Akufo-Addo said.
Mahama, 62, of the National Democratic Congress party (NDC) was less gushing.
\"It’s too early to make an assessment, but I understand there have been a few hitches,\" Mahama said.
A few polling stations opened late and isolated cases of ballot tampering were reported by the electoral commission but there were no major incidents across the country's 38,000 polling stations.
-Symbolic peace pact -
The stability in Ghana contrasts with that of other countries in the region, with deadly unrest this year in Guinea and Ivory Coast.
EU's chief observer Javier Nart told AFP that in Ghana \"it's not the Kalashnikov that commands, it is the ballot box.\"
The two major parties have always pursued their grievances through the courts.
To ensure its continued tradition of peaceful polls, Akufo-Addo and Mahama on Friday signed a symbolic peace pact.
\"The one thing we think is worth laying emphasis on is the overall message by the major contesters that peace matters,\" former South African president and current head of the African Union observer mission, Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe told AFP.
\"There are lessons to be picked up, good practices to be shared with other African Union members.\"
The coronavirus pandemic has posed a challenge in this year's election, with 10,000 more polling stations than usual set up for the nation's 17 million registered voters.
Hand sanitisers were made available for voters, who underwent temperature checks before being let into polling stations.
[New Frame] The last in this three-part series looks at the cost of nuclear waste disposal, decommissioning power plants and accident clean-ups, and suggests a logical energy-generation alternative for the continent.
Not too long ago, current lame-duck president, and exiled New Yorker, Donald Trump, ridiculously claimed that NYC was a ghost town. adidas has teamed up with runner Kwasi Kessie for the perfect response.
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (CMC) - Two new reports have found that the novel coronavirus pandemic-related school closures risk pushing an additional 72 million primary school-aged children, including those in the Caribbean, into 'learning poverty', meaning that they will be unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10.
Kelly Rowland had her fans convinced on Dec. 2 that she carries her pregnancy well after the singer shared a video flaunting her two-piece workout […]
RESIDENTS in the resort town of Ocho Rios, St Ann, are excited for the free Wi-Fi hot spot which was commissioned into service on December 4.The installation was undertaken by the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, through the Universal Service Fund (USF).Following the launch of the service, scores of residents in the busy town centre stopped to connect their phones to the Wi-Fi system.
Rashida Jones will be taking over as president of MSNBC, making her the first Black executive to lead one of the major cable news networks
[Nation] Anne Lutowei has been selling fruits and vegetables for more than 10 years at Sogomo trading centre. The shopping centre is adjacent to the University of Eldoret. Like most traders, Ms Lutowei's business depended on the institution for survival, but since closure and subsequent slow reopening of learning institutions, she barely does any business.
[Monitor] Fufa take pride and rightfully so, in reviving youth football in the country.
Opposition Leader Mark Golding urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Monday to get cracking with outstanding justice reforms, including settling on the country’s final appellate court. The leaders were speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for the...
