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[Monitor] Finance minister Matia Kasaija was last night on the defensive following accusations that he irregularly dangled a top government job to secure the exit of his opponent in a parliamentary contest.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga resigned in September 2008, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by Adolphe Muzito.
Presidential elections were held in November 2011. Incumbent Kabila faced opposition leader and former prime minister Étienne Tshisekedi. The International Crisis Group deemed the election unruly and chaotic and other international observers said the vote was irregular and flawed. Nearly 20 people were killed in election-related violence. Nevertheless, Congos election commission ruled in December that Kabila prevailed, 49% to 32%. In the run-up to the election, Kabila—perhaps sensing a threat from the opposition and popular dissatisfaction with his rule—amended the constitution to do away with a second round of voting and stacked the electoral commission.
In March 2012, Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito resigned. His resignation came a little over three months after the violent presidential elections. Deputy Prime Minister Louis Koyagialo was appointed to temporarily replace Muzito. On April 18, 2012, former Minister of Finance Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon was named prime minister.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the MPs in the deal will sooner or later receive another Shs60m each as a token for last week's resolution in which Parliament appreciated Mr Museveni for fighting Covid-19.
Many of the MPs had not followed Mr Museveni's directive, which the High Court reinforced, to refund the Shs20m each got in that appropriation until the Clerk to Parliament, Ms Jane Kibirige, gave them a deadline of May 27 to file accountability for the cash.
Addressing a press conference at Parliament on Friday, Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Kumi Municipality MP Monica Amoding, said they had been informed by their friends that money was being dished out but that they had failed to access the venues where the distribution was taking place.
Some of the NRM party MPs from Busoga Sub-region about two weeks ago accused the President of fighting Ms Kadaga when he castigated Parliament over the Shs20m.
During the press conference, Mr Ssewungu said the President aims to destroy the institution of Parliament by fighting the Speaker and the MPs.
In its 142-page decision the seven judges in Malawi's Supreme Court of Appeal, among them the Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda, are unanimous in upholding the finding of the Constitutional Court: the May 2019 elections failed in their aim of 'duly electing' a new President.
That's because the country's electoral commission, commenting on the Appeal Court decision, has suggested that it might not be possible to have the new President sworn in by the court's deadline if the original re-run schedule prevails.
In fact, it would be hard to read the Appeal Court's decision as anything other than a sharp rebuke to the commission about the way it handled matters, particularly as the votes were being collected and tallied, and then again when the validity of the polls was tested in court.
The position of Malawi's courts had been that if the results were not affected by irregularities, the elections should stand.
Stating its revised position on the matter, the judges said that it would be hard for a court in Malawi to uphold an election where its conduct was 'largely compromised', especially since voting numbers in such a case could be the result of flouting electoral law.
[Monitor] By Rajab Mukombozi
A human rights activist yesterday petitioned the Constitutional Court in Kampala, seeking its orders to, among others, compel the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to pay out each of its members atleast 20 per cent of their savings to mitigate the pressures brought about by Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Morrison Rwakakamba states that the Covid-19 pandemic forced President Museveni to issue various directives that made many NSSF members to close their operations resulting in loss of money .
\"Court should give an order directing the second respondent (NSSF) to pay out at least 20 per cent to each of its members whose lives have been affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic,\" reads in part Mr Rwakakamba's petition.
Mr Rwakakamba contends that the efforts by government to distribute food to its citizens have not yielded much since members of NSSF are discriminated against for not being among the vulnerable who deserve the government hand-outs.
The petition against the NSSF and the Attorney General, comes at the time when there are numerous calls to the Fund to pay its members atleast 20 per cent of their savings to cushion themselves against the economic hardships brought about by Covid-19 pandemic.
The National Assembly and the Senate have differed over the number of persons to be appointed to a panel that will fill four vacancies at the electoral agency.
On the morning of November 3, opposition presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat left his home to go to his party’s headquarters in the south of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. ¨
From there, he planned to join his supporters and party officials in a procession to a venue where the electoral commission was conducting nominations for presidential contenders.
But before he could, the police pounced and violently arrested him. They then whisked him off to the nomination venue in the east of Kampala.
When he emerged from the police car, a visibly traumatized Amuriat was without his shoes.
‘Rich in symbolism’
Since November 3, the candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has never been seen in public with shoes. At campaign events, he shows up barefooted.
Hi @Johnlaban256 atleast this time ask for retweets so that the police brings back POA's shoes.Please laban have mercy. pic.twitter.com/uPTtJNSyDk
— MUZZUKULU WA KISOLO 🐺 (@DoniJohn3) November 3, 2020
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.
President Museveni yesterday told Parliament that after analysing the 2020/2021 Budget, they found a lot of wastes, which will necessitate a review to align the expenditure to the country's priorities.
we are coming back to engage our people,\" Mr Museveni said during the 2020/2021 televised Budget address at State House, Entebbe.
Mr Kasaija is going to review the Budget,\" the source said.
Presenting the Budget from Parliament, Mr Kasaija said the interventions for the pandemic came in after the Budget was approved.
Consequently, the budgets of all ministries, agencies and local governments will be revised to align them with the nine strategic priorities and fourteen production lines.
President Museveni has appointed former deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma as the new board chairman of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
\"It is true cabinet on Monday, approved Justice Kavuma as the board chair for Civil Aviation Authority for a three-year contract,\" Ms Nabakooba said by telephone on Wednesday morning.
Ms Kiryabwire and Mr Kubeketerya were retained from the old board.
The core mandate of the board members of CAA is to give an oversight role to the country's aviation activities.
When contacted over the phone, the former deputy Chief Justice welcomed the appointment, \"I am feeling great as this is another opportunity for me serve my country again and also internationally.\"
Malawi's parliament has endorsed June 23 as the date for the presidential election re-run after a court annulled last year's vote over irregularities, a lawmaker says.
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Kumi Municipality MP Monica Amoding last week during a press conference said they had been informed by their friends that money was being dished out but that they had failed to access the venues where the distribution was taking place.
The two were joined by Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga and Kalungu West MP Joseph Ssewungu who attacked NRM MPs for wasting taxpayers' money.
Addressing a press conference yesterday at Parliament, the ruling party MPs accused the above mentioned MPs of hiding under immunity of Parliament to blackmail their colleagues.
\"Any person who said that I was giving out money to NRM MPs was under the influence of drugs.
\"I have never received or distributed any money to any MP.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has issued routes and numbers for commuter taxis to ensure there is no congestion in the city centre as public transport resumes today.
Taxis, with route numbers from 31 to 58, operating in the New Taxi Park will use Mackay Road, Berkley (Bakuli) Road to exit and enter the city.
Public transport operators from Kisenyi Park (route number 59 to 73) will use Kisenyi, Ssemugooma, Rubaga Road and Berkley (Bakuli) Road for exit and entrance.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Mr Patrick Onyango, said yesterday an inter-security agency committee was still holding a meeting with KCCA officials on how they will manage traffic in the city since one of the largest transport terminal point, the Old Taxi Park, is under renovation.
Transport operators with buses and omnibuses plying long routes such as Kampala-Gulu, Kampala-Mbale and Kampala-Soroti, may not be able to make return journeys as they will have to beat the curfew time.
The observers recognise that an electoral system governed by a whole series of constantly changing pieces of legislation \"responds to the outcome of political dialogue between the main parties, Renamo and Frelimo, rather than taking a holistic review of the electoral framework.\"
Stop the inclusion of fraudulent results: Under Renamo pressure, the parties agreed an electoral court system which could intervene to redress misconduct and errors by election commissions, STAEs, and polling stations.
Civil society members to be non-partisan
Members of the National Elections Commission (CNE) \"do not represent the public or private institutions or political or social institutions they come from, and defend the national interest\", says the electoral law.
For the 2008-9 elections, parliament (AR) agreed a dramatic change - a majority of CNE members, including the chair (presidente) were nominated by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to try to force some independence and neutrality.
But this agreement between Frelimo and Renamo to select party aligned CSO members is not specified in the electoral law and clearly goes against the spirit of the law.
With popular frustrations running high, and opposition leader Agathon Rwasa warning that he will not accept a \"stolen\" election, fears are mounting that a contested poll could lead to violence along the lines of what the country saw in 2015, when Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term prompted street protests, a failed coup, a crackdown and the exodus of over 400,000 people.
It now also appears that the EAC will be unable to send an observation team in time for the elections; Burundi's authorities have cited the COVID-19 outbreak as a reason to quarantine the observers for fourteen days upon arrival, though it is unclear whether the decision was genuinely made for legitimate public health reasons, given that the government has otherwise played down the outbreak.
Ruling-party nominee Ndayishimiye and long-time opposition leader Rwasa, who both fought as rebels in Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, are the clear front runners, and emblematic of the former fighters' continued influence in national politics.
They say Nkurunziza, who pushed for the selection of his ally Pascal Nyabenda, the president of the National Assembly (the lower chamber of Burundi's parliament), only agreed to Ndayishimiye's candidacy after intense lobbying by generals.
While Rwasa has announced that he will not allow the election to be \"stolen\", CNDD-FDD officials believe that their party structures and ability to register and mobilise voters across the country cannot but deliver victory.
Some governments across the African continent are cautiously coming out of Covid-19 lockdown, such as Nigeria, which on Tuesday reopened churches and mosques, with social distancing restrictions in place.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni announced that schools for final-year students would be postponed one more month as not enough test kits are available to test students every two weeks as proscribed.
Boda boda's employ over 1.2 million youths in Uganda, their source of income provides a livelihood to over 6 million Ugandans,how will they survive if they are to wait for the Covid pandemic to subside, President Museveni should rethink his decision #WhatIMissAboutMyBodaGuy pic.twitter.com/p8ZnXBISFu
- Nick Spartan (@nicksakwa) June 2, 2020
Part of the government concern is the slight spike in coronavirus cases over the weekend, with 84 new infections.
Nigeria returns to places of worshippers
While churches and mosques in Uganda remain shut, Nigeria has decided to open all places of worship on Tuesday as part of lifting its Covid-19 restrictions.
Surge in Covid-19 cases in Africa after lockdowns lifted in some countries
Nigeria needs to increase food production to feed itself, experts say
The coronavirus task force stipulated that only regular religious gatherings would be possible, and social distancing necessary in order to keep the churches and mosques open.
[Nation] The government has released Sh6.3 billion to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to provide a comprehensive medical scheme for all public servants, including healthcare workers.
[Monitor] President Museveni has directed the Covid-19 National Taskforce to discuss reopening of schools across the country in a phased manner starting with candidate classes.
A law expert has said the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah just weeks into a crucial presidential election has plunged the country into yet another electoral crisis.
Justine Dzonzi: Fresh elections are court sanctioned polls therefore do not disrupt the electoral process
Justin Dzonzi of Justice Link says it will not be possible for a new commission to hold an election in two weeks' time.
The term of office for Ansah--a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal--was set to expire in October this year while that for her eight commissioners is ending on June 5 this year
\"This means in two weeks' time, we will have no commission at all.
\"Take into account that we will have an election on 23 June, this is an electoral crisis,\" he said.
The judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal, the country's top judicial authority, after an appeal by Mutharika and the electoral body.
VIDEO
Confirmed cases = 18,630
\t
\t\tActive cases = 4,467
\t\tRecoveries = 14,046
\t\tNumber of deaths = 117
Ghana Health Service stats valid as of July 1, 2020
June 25: 15,473 cases; mask arrests, apex court ruling
\tCase load as of today hit a total of 15,473 cases with 11,431 recoveries and 950 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Confirmed cases = 15,473
\t\tActive cases = 3,947
\t\tRecoveries = 11,431
\t\tNumber of deaths = 95
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 12, 2020
June 22: 14,154 cases; how recoveries jumped
\tGhana recorded a boom in recoveries over the weekend as over 6,000 patients were added to the tally which now stands at 10,473 according to authorities.
Confirmed cases = 14,154
\t\tActive cases = 3,596
\t\tRecoveries = 10,473
\t\tNumber of deaths = 85
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 21, 2020
June 15: 13,203 cases; law enacted to penalize mask flouters
\tCase load hit a total of 13,203 cases with 4,548 recoveries and 70 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Total confirmed cases = 12,193
Total recoveries = 4,326
Total deaths = 58
Active cases = 7,809
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 16, 2020
June 15: 11,964 cases; schools reopen, masks obligatory etc.
Confirmed cases = 11,964
\t\tNumber of deaths = 54
\t\tRecoveries = 4,258
\t\tActive cases = 7,652
\tJohn Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 14, 2020
June 13: 11,118 cases, NDC advocates mass testing
\tGhana’s case load as of this morning stood at 11,118 cases with the disclosure of 262 new cases.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo has said her office was reluctant to sanction charges of being a nuisance against former Makerere University Research Fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi last recently.
Counsel Walubiri had argued that it was high time the office of the DPP withdrew cases that have over stayed in the justice system like the treason case against Dr Kizza Besigye.
\"Perhaps, this is the time for the office of the DPP to weed out some files that have been pending in the criminal justice system for long as the same are clogging the system for no good reason,\" Mr Walubiri said.
DPP Abodo said she is determined to weed out undeserving cases from the justice system starting with those arrested during the ongoing lockdown.
Ms Winfred Adukule, the executive director of Freechild Uganda, urged the office of the DPP and the Judiciary not to forget about the juvenile justice in this Covid-19 lockdown.
[RFI] At least three people have been killed and several others wounded on the streets of Guinea's capital Conakry after main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo declared himself the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
CHIVHU district development coordinator (DDC) Michael Mariga yesterday stripped two MDC Alliance councillors of their posts and barred them from attending council meetings after they defied orders to resign from the civil service following their victory in the 2018 harmonised elections. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA Edwin Maseva (ward 11) and Emmanuel Punungwe (ward 10), who are both primary school teachers, were stripped of their titles just before the beginning of the Chikomba Rural District full council meeting. Addressing other councillors during the meeting, Mariga said Maseva and Punungwe had failed to comply with a directive from the Public Service Commission (PSC), which ordered them to resign from the civil service 30 days following 2018 their electoral victory or stop serving as councillors. According to a letter dated April 15, 2020, written by the PSC secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe, which Mariga read out to councillors, civil servants serving as councillors would be violating the Constitution and the Public Service Regulations Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 as stated in Circular 10 of November 2018. “Given the fact that it is a misconduct to engage in any other employment or service for remuneration without the written consent of the commission, it is advisable that you act immediately to correct the situation,” the letter read. “For avoidance of doubt, the commission hereby directs that as a civil servant, you should cease to serve as a councillor with immediate effect. Failure to comply with this directive will result in disciplinary action taken against you.” Maseva said Mariga had misdirected himself by relying on an old prohibition order which had been overtaken by events. “We are still in talks with the PSC on this issue and we have also engaged lawyers. As it is right now, the DDC’s dismissal is null,” Maseva said. Punungwe described the decision by PSC to dismiss them from council as part of political persecution of opposition officials. “This is a selective application of the law aimed at pushing certain agendas. I wonder why PSC decided to fire us from council instead of the civil service,” he said. Following the PSC directive, three Zanu PF councillors in Buhera Rural District Council who were also teachers, resigned recently from the civil service to continue serving in council. Follow Florence on Twitter @FloMangwaya
