A roadside bomb blast has killed one African Union peacekeeper and injured another in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia. The AU force now stands at 3,600,has been frequently targeted by Islamist insurgents with the latest attack bringing the number of AU troops killed in Somalia to nine in two years. - According to the spokesman for the AU force the incident took place on the outskirts of Mogadishu, when a convoy of peacekeepers was hit by an explosive device. The incident is likely to increase pressure on the UN to deploy peacekeepers in the war-torn country after the AU threatened to withdraw its force from Somalia unless it was beefed up. The call to revamp the peacekeeping force in Somal…

Ethiopian troops on Friday began withdrawing from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, eye witnesses say. - Some residents said at least 28 vehicles carrying Ethiopian troops and some equipment arrived in Afgoye town, located about 30 kms South of Mogadishu, but they were not sure whether the troops were actually withdrawing, or relocating to another part of the country, Reuters said. However the Ethiopian government confirmed on Friday that the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia had indeed started. The troops had been in Somalis since December 2006 where they have been propping up the transitional government against an Islamist insurgency. "We are now implementing the withdrawa…

New reports have revealed that the LRA fighters killed more than 400 civilians in several Congolese villages in synchronized massacres conducted on Christmas Day and two days later. - Caritas International said in a statement on Tuesday that the simultaneous attacks carried out in Orientale province were evidenced by bloody killings, looting, abductions and torching of villages all of which bear a trademark of the LRA rebels. Uganda’s New Vision newspaper on Tuesday quoted the Director of Caritas Dungu- Doruma as saying that the massacres were horrific adding that on Christmas Day the rebels attacked people who had attended a concert organized by the Catholic Church in Faradje city…

Kenya's annual inflation rate slowed nearly two percentage points in December due to lower fuel and electricity prices, but concerns about the rising cost of food persist in east Africa's biggest economy. - Official data published on Wednesday showed prices rose 27.7 percent in December compared with the same month a year earlier, down from 29.4 percent in November. Core inflation, which excludes food, slipped to 10.6 percent from 12.3 percent, Reuters business report said. "We are still in a frighteningly high inflation scenario," said Robert Shaw, a Nairobi-based economist. "The main concern now is rain deficiency. In many areas, harvests may be non-existent and…

Tanzania's ministry of agriculture, Food and Cooperatives has warned farmers about the possibility of an outbreak of army worms, advising them to inspect their farms regularly and report to authorities any signs of the pests. - Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mohamed Muya, said in a statement that Tengeru Institute of Agricultural Research in Arusha region, Northern Tanzania had predicted the outbreak citing maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat and barley as crops that are vulnerable to be attacked on the first phase of the outbreak. Armyworms have also been known to attack leguminous plants such as beans, peas and groundnuts and indeed all green plants. “The government h…

The Uganda army has accused rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) of killing dozens of people who were attending a church service on Boxing Day in Doruma, a remote village in Congo, witnesses said. The attackers are said to have used machetes and others to kill scores of people in the church. - There are varying reports on the number of people who died in the massacre. While a European aid worker told Associated Press that the number stood at 100, the Congolese military put it at between 120 and 150. U.N.-run Radio Okapi quoted the governor of Congo's Oriental Province, Medard Autsai Senga, as saying the death toll had surpassed 75 bodies and more were still being discovered…

Ethiopia will withdraw its forces from Somalia in December, a move that would force the AU to implement its plan to send an 8,000 peacekeeping force to the war ravaged nation. It would also exert pressure on the UN to scale up efforts to restore peace in Somalia before lawlessness reaches a tipping point. - Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the government had written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chairman of AU Commission Jean Ping on Tuesday to inform them of its decision to withdraw its troops. No reasons for the withdrawal have been advanced but Ethiopia feels “betrayed” by the West after the latter backed the sending of Ethiopian troops to …

The leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony is expected to sign the peace deal on Saturday after several months of unfulfilled promises. He was earlier expected to sign the peace agreement in April this year but failed because he was unsure of the status of his arrest warrant from the ICC. - It is hoped that signing of the peace deal on Saturday would bring to an end the Uganda civil war which has run for two decades, killing millions of people and displacing many others. Chief mediator Dr Riek Machar told a press conference in Juba on Wednesday that there is every indication Kony will sign the peace deal this time around. Dr Machar is the Vice President of South Sudan…

Two former Tanzanian government ministers Daniel Yona and Basil Mramba have appeared in court in Dar es Salaam charged with 13 counts of abuse of office and illegally exempting tax to private companies, thereby causing loss to the government to the tune of 11 billion Tanzanian Shillings (about $11 million). - The two prominent former cabinet ministers had served under Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete respectively. Mramba had also served under President Mkapa in the third phase government as Finance Minister while Yona had served as Minister for Energy and Minerals. Mramba was reappointed by President Kikwete to serve as Minister for Infrastructure Development but was dropped earl…

- By Deodatus Mfugale Two former Tanzanian government ministers on Monday appeared in court in Dar es Salaam charged with 13 counts of abuse of office and illegally exempting tax to private companies, thereby occasioning loss to the government amounting to 11 billion Tanzanian Shillings (equivalent to about USD 11 million). The two prominent former cabinet ministers, Daniel Yona and Basil Mramba had served under Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete respectively. Mramba had also served under President Mkapa in the third phase government as Finance Minister while Yona had served as Minister for Energy and Minerals. Mramba was reappointed by President Kikwete to serve as Minister…

Senior officials from Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are meeting in Cairo, Egypt to find out ways of dealing with piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the Horn of Africa. Piracy is currently on the increase hence the need to find a long lasting solution to the problem. - The meeting is taking place as piracy is escalating in the area with the latest major event being the hijacking of a Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star. The ship with its 25 crew is now anchored off Eyle in Somalia and the pirates are said to demand a ransom of $25 million. Media reports quoted the spokesman for Vela International Marine Ltd., the tanker's owner, as having neither denied no…

- By Deodatus Mfugale A meeting that has drawn senior officials from Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan is underway in Cairo to find out ways of dealing with piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The meeting by representatives of nations adjacent to the Red Sea is taking place as piracy is escalating in the area with the latest major event being the hijacking of a Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star, on Saturday. The ship with its 25 crew is now anchored off Eyle in Somalia and the pirates are said to demand a ransom of USD 25 million. The media have quoted the spokesman for Vela International Marine Ltd., the tanker's owner, as having neith…

The Saudi crude oil supertanker, Sirius Star, which was hijacked by Somali pirates early this week, is reportedly anchored off Eyl, a remote coastal village used by the pirates as a hideout for hijacked ships. It is the second biggest pirates' "catch" after a Ukrainian ship early this year with tanks. - Coordinator of the East African Seafarers Association in Kenya, Andrew Mwangura, said on Tuesday that some residents had spotted an unusually big vessel near the small port of Eyl, indicating that it could be the Sirius Star. “But they would probably dock it about eight miles off Eyl,” Mwangura had told Reuters. The tanker with a cargo of crude oil worth about US…

Islamist insurgents on Friday moved close to a checkpoint manned by Ethiopian soldiers, in a small town located near Mogadishu. The move has rekindled fears of renewed fighting among residents particularly bearing in mind that Al Shabaab insurgents began moving towards Mogadishu almost unchallenged. - Al Shabaab fighters, one of the strongest rebel groups, early this week moved from Sinkadheer to Elasha town where Ethiopian forces are based. This left them a distance of only 15 kilometres to Mogadishu. Islamist insurgents have recently made their presence felt in southern Somali where they have chased away government and Ethiopian troops, occupying many areas. In the past week alone, …

- By Deodatus Mfugale Somali gunmen on Monday kidnapped two Italian nuns when they raided a remote Kenyan border town of El Wak, witnesses have said. A resident in the small town said that the kidnappers used grenades and rockets to immobilize a Kenyan police post before they whisked away the nuns. Reacting to the incident the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that it was working with local authorities and the representative of the Vatican in Kenya. It did not give the identity of the kidnapped nuns. According to the Kenyan Red Cross Society, the kidnappers escaped in three stolen vehicles and it was most likely that they took the captives back to Somali…

- By Deodatus Mfugale The Congo crisis has set off international pressure on leaders of the Great Lakes Region to end the conflict and help the restoration of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the region in general. Speaking during the Great Lakes leaders summit held in Nairobi on Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon told presidents from the Great Lakes region and other international delegates that time had come to intervene into the crisis with the aim of finding an amicable solution. In particular, the UN chief persuaded rebel leader Laurent Nkunda to stop making new attacks and instead pullback to the position where his forces had stood at the beginning of this y…

Congolese Tutsi rebels have made fresh advances and captured several villages in the eastern part of Kivu province ahead of a summit of Great Lakes' leaders scheduled for today. The meeting is to discuss the Congo crisis. - The move has jeopardized the ceasefire announced by renegade commander of the rebel forces Gen. Laurent Nkunda early this week, according to UN military spokesman. Thousands of civilians who fled from Kiwanja area accused pro-government Mai-Mai militiamen for attacks but the North Kivu government army commander said that government forces are respecting the ceasefire. The new offensive has happened when plans have been finalized for a meeting by government leaders…

- By Deodatus Mfugale Relatives and neighbours in the ancestral home of USA President elect, Barack Obama, took to the streets and danced with joy on Wednesday to celebrate the victory of their son who has written a new chapter in history as the first Black American President. The festivity that gripped most African countries was not only to celebrate Obama’s victory, but it was also a manifestation of expectations that the continent has that the Black American President would deal with the continent’s persistent problems of poverty and disease. As part of the celebrations, President Mwai Kibaki announced a public holiday for Kenyans on Thursday. Many Africans see Obama a…

At least 28 people have died after suicide bombers attacked northern Somalia, jeopardizing the peace agreement reached between the Somali interim government and Islamist groups on Sunday. The parties had agreed to a ceasefire to be effective from November 5, 2008 ahead of withdrawal of Ethiopian troops. - The new wave of bombings is also likely to unsettle the meeting taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, between interim government leaders and regional leaders which was called to discuss, among other things, how to help to restore peace in Somalia. The Iraq style attacks bore al Qaeda trade marks comprising five simultaneous blasts which killed 25 people in Hargeisa and three others in Bosasso.…

Ethiopia has given its total support to the ceasefire agreement reached on Sunday between the Somali transitional government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). It said it would respect a UN - brokered peace deal for Somalia requiring the gradual withdrawal of its troops. - “The agreement reached in Djibouti by the two parties is in line with our policy of orderly withdrawal,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wahade Belay on Monday. He added that Ethiopia would implement the decisions reached by the two parties in Djibouti. However, some sections of the opposition have rejected the agreement, saying that it will not be able to bring peace and understanding…

The albino community in Dar es Salaam on Saturday took to the streets to protest against the killing of their members and urged the government to do more to protect them. - Killing of albinos of all ages is taking roots in the country as 30 of them have lost their lives within the past 12 months, with the highest number of killings taking place in the lake regions of Mwanza, Mara, Kagera and Shinyanga. Isolated cases have also been reported from Mbeya region. The killings are spurred by superstitious beliefs of making quick money as witchdoctors advise their clients to get organs and body parts from albinos so as to become rich. Crime scenes are very gruesome - legs, hands, lips, fingers …

Ethiopian troops in Somalia are stay in that country until the AU deployed its full peacekeeping force. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament in Addis Ababa. The African Union plans to send 8,000 peacekeepers but currently there are just about 3,000 of them from Uganda and Burundi. - The AU hopes that other countries would send their soldiers to make up the AU planned force have started to fade away as insurgents have recently been targeting the peacekeepers. Ethiopian soldiers have been in Somalia since December 2006 supporting the interim government but Islamist insurgents have been waging running battles against the government and its ally, making it difficult to instit…

The Tanzanian government has suspended the weekly Mwanahalisi newspaper in that country for three months, accusing its editor of publishing seditious articles. However, the Editors Forum has said the government's action is unfair and is meant to curtail press freedom in that country. - The suspension was announced by the Minister for Information Culture and Sports Development, George Mkuchika, who said that the newspaper had in its October 8, 2008 issue run a story purporting that there was a plot to “push” President Jakaya Kikwete out of power so that he does not win a second term in the 2010 elections. He said that the story breaches the Newspaper Act of 1976 which proh…

- By Deodatus Mfugale Tanzania’s potential as a coveted investment destination has not fully been exploited because the country has unreliable power supply, investors and economists attending the Economist Conferences’ Business Roundtable discussion said in Dar es Salaam on Monday. During the discussions most of the delegates acknowledged that Tanzania has some of the best investment attractions in the region highlighting peace, political stability and a fast growing economy but decried the erratic electricity supply which often interferes with industrial production and quality service delivery. Unreliable electricity supply has been a major setback to investors in Tanzania…

- A bill signed into law by USA President George Bush on Friday last week has raised apprehension among Uganda army senior officers as it has paved way for their arrest and subsequent trial in USA for recruiting child soldiers. Although signed in the USA, the Child Soldiers' Accountability Act of 2008 covers all countries whose armies have at times used child soldiers in wars between 2004 and 2007. The UN and Human Rights Watch cites such countries as including Uganda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Sudan. The law would also affect the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) some of…

- By Deodatus Mfugale At least 20 children died on Wednesday in Tabora Municipality in the western part of Tanzania after suffocating in a disco hall. 19 children died in the hall while one died in hospital on Thursday. The children aged between 7 and 18 were celebrating Eid El Fitr in a famous disco hall in the municipality, Bubbles Disco Hall. The hall is owned by the National Social Security Fund. Among the dead, nine were boys and 11 were girls. Many children had attended the disco dance which had started at 2.00 pm and packed the hall to beyond capacity. By 5.00 pm tragedy struck as the children started to suffocate, the younger ones being affected first. ” I arrived at t…

The World Food Programme (WFP) has cut food aid to HIV/AIDS sufferers in Uganda due to shortage of funds. The situation would affect 1.5 million people in a country whose efforts to combat the pandemic has reportedly slackened in recent months. School children are also to be affected because of a cutback in the school feeding programme. - WFP representative in Uganda, Stanlake Samkange told the media on Monday that the HIV positive who are internally displaced, children in the vulnerable region of Karamoja and new mothers and their babies are among those who would continue to get food supplies from the UN organization, which has been providing food aid to about 173,000 HIV-positive people in…

Somali pirates who seized a Ukrainian ship off the coast of Somalia are demanding a ransom of $35m (£19m) before they would release the vessel and its crew. They have warned against any attempt to rescue the crew or cargo of the MV Faina, which is carrying 33 T-72 battle tanks destined for Kenya. - The Kenyan government said it has no knowledge of the ransom demands, the BBC reported. A Russian Navy vessel is heading to the region and the US has said it is also monitoring developments in the area. Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, said he was concerned by the seizure of the military supplies on board the Ukrainian ship. "They could be used to destabilize the region, and …

- By Deodatus Mfugale At least 15 people have been reported dead following clashes between AU peace keepers and Islamist insurgents that erupted on Tuesday this week. Several others were wounded and thousands have reportedly fled the city. The death toll excludes the one that was recorded on Monday which stood at 30. The battle, which observers rank as the most fierce this month started after Islamist insurgents shelled AU peacekeepers positions and the latter responded with equally heavy fire from tanks and artillery. Only Uganda and Burundi have troops in the AU peace keeping force which stands at about 2,000, well below the required number of 8,000. Clashes pitting Islamist insurge…

- By Deodatus Mfugale Islamist insurgents on Monday night made simultaneous attacks on two African Union( AU) peace keepers bases, pounded Bakara market area and shelled Mogadishu airport and government targets in an operation that killed at least 23 people and left scores injured. Witnesses said that nine people from one family were among the dead but other sources put the figure at six.Residents in Bakara told the media that the overnight attacks began on Sunday and continued until Monday morning as government forces backed by Ethiopian forces responded to the insurgent’s fire. “One of the missiles fired by members of the al Shabaab group landed on a house killing al its…

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has listed in its report more than 200 people high ranking Kenyans as having taken part in the planning and funding of the post-election violence in January. - The KNCHR says the list includes cabinet ministers and parliamentarians, senior police officers and businessmen though some of those mentioned in the report have since died. The Commission intends to publish the report in recognition of the existence of the culture of impunity in Kenya and the need to remove protection of the culprits. However, on Tuesday when the report was presented to the Commission of Inquiry into the Post-election Violence chaired by Judge Philip Waki, th…

On August 25 a milestone in Tanzania's recent history might be reached as the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania has announced a countrywide strike of all workers for three days. There has never been a nationwide strike in Tanzania since the country gained independence in 1964. - The strike announced in Dar es Salaam on Monday by the Secretary General of the Congress, Nestory Ngulla, is intended to pressure the government to pay civil servants outstanding arrears dating back to January this year, after the government made an upward adjustment on the monthly minimum wage rate. An earlier strike planned for May this year was called off after the government agreed to pay the arrears as soon …

A former Judge of Gisenyi in Rwanda's Western Province, Apolinaire Mizerero, is among ten people who were arrested last week by the police in Byumba, Gicumbi district in Rwanda on charges of treason, genocide denial and use of illegal national flags in Rwanda. - Other suspects include Gratien Mupenzi, the district President of Private Sector Federation (PSF)and Antoine Dukuzimana, a Catholic Brother working at a bookshop in Byumba town. The list also includes also includes the headmaster of APAPEB Secondary School, Emmanuel Karekezi, a taxi driver Jean Pierre Munyensanga, the officer in-charge of planning at Gicumbi district Emmanuel Akimanaizanye, Masista Murwanashyaka who owns …

Following frequent hijacking of ships carrying food aid to Somalia by pirates, the government of Canada has decided to deploy a frigate to escort World Food Programme (WFP) ships carrying aid supplies. - Canadian Defence Minister Peter Gordon Mackay said in a statement on Wednesday that food supplies are urgently needed in Somalia but deteriorating security has made delivery difficult by land and sea. "Canada is stepping in to arrest the situation by deploying a frigate, Ville de Quebec, which will escort World Food Programme ships to ensure their safe arrival at designated ports," he said. However the operation will only begin after it (Canada) gets formal approval from t…

African Union chairman and Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete has requested the UN Security Council to ensure that Sudan president Omar Al- Bashir is not worried by after ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has announced his plans to indict him for genocide. - Jakaya argues that Moreno’s move would hamper ongoing peace efforts in the war-torn Darfur region. Tanzaia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Bernard Membe told a press conference in Dar es Salam on Tuesday that being a signatory to ICC, the country does not condone violence and impunity but noted that indictment of Al-Bashir would be untimely and it would have serious negative consequences …

Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete is inaugurating today a biogas plant which feeds on sisal waste has been constructed in Hale township in Tanga region. This is part of In a bid to curb the problem of unreliable electricity which has affected industrial operation and stifled the economy. - The construction of the plant, billed to be the only one of its kind in the world, has been financed by Common Fund Commodities (CFC), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) and Katani Ltd, a company which deals with sisal farming and processing in Tanga region. The total cost stands at $1.5million. Experts in the energy sector say the plant will gener…

Five leaders from the East African Community member countries who are attending an investment forum in Kigali, Rwanda, have vowed to improve infrastructure and energy sectors in the block so as to attract new business in the region. - Five leaders from the East African Community member countries who are attending an investment forum in Kigali, Rwanda, have vowed to improve infrastructure and energy sectors in the block so as to attract new business in the region. Presidents Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya , Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and their host Paul Kagame of Rwanda were all present on the first day of the meeting to give it the importanc…

A UN report released on Wednesday alleges that the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) is recruiting young people from neighbouring countries although it has supposedly stopped recruiting children from Uganda. However, however, women and children are still among its fighters, the report notes. - UN Secretary General writes in the report that there have been no recent cases of recruitment and use of Ugandan children, or other grave violations against children attributable to LRA. “However, children and women are still present in the LRA ranks, and there has been no movement on their release,” he adds. The UN boss notes there are reports alleging that the group has been recruiting …

Ethiopia will build a new cement plant in Derba, 70 kilometers north of the capital Addis Ababa, after a local industrial conglomerate known as Midroc signed a $200 million loan agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Wednesday. - Deodatus Mfugale Ethiopia will build a new cement plant in Derba, 70 kilometers north of the capital Addis Ababa, after a local industrial conglomerate known as Midroc signed a $200 million loan agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Wednesday. The total cost of the plant will be 351million USD, officials said. IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank. The rest of the money, 151 million USD, will come fr…

Tanzania will spend 7.22 trillion shillings (about 6.00 billion USD) in the coming financial year, 2008/09, with the donor contribution going down from 42 percent last year to 34 percent, finance minister Mustapha Mkulo has told the parliament. - Presenting the government budget for the coming fiscal year in the National Assembly in Dodoma, Mkulo explained that “the budget will carry no deficit”. Speaking on priorities in the budget, Mkulo said that roads, energy, health, education, agriculture and water have been allocated the biggest chunk of the budget- 64 percent of the total budget. The reduced budget support from donors, he said, is a result of the government’…

The leader of the Lord Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, is reportedly preparing a new offensive after refusing to sign a peace deal. Fighters from the rebel group are reported to have attacked South Sudanese forces, killing 13 troops and seven civilians. - Diplomats say the rebel army is forcibly recruiting fresh fighters and acquiring new arms in neighbouring countries and around 1,000 new recruits have been added to around 600 existing combatants. South Sudan has announced it will send more soldiers to the region bordering Democratic Republic of Congo to guard against further attacks by fugitive Lord's Resistance Army rebels, officials said on Monday. The SPLA already has 3,000 tr…

African presidents attending the 8th Leon H.Sullivan Summit in Arusha, Tanzania, have cited corruption and poor infrastructure as major obstacle in efforts to raise the quality of life the continent's people. - The six presidents are Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Armando Gebuza of Mozambique, Mohamed Abdulaziz of Sahrawi, Omar al Bashir of Sudan and their host President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania. Speaking during the presidential plenary session on tourism and infrastructure development in Africa, President Kikwete said that Africa will never attain speedy development without investing adequately in infrastructure development. “The continent must establish qua…