Incumbent Speaker of Somalia’s House of the People re-elected (11.01.2017)

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Mogadishu, 11 January 2017 – The incumbent Speaker of the federal parliament’s House of the People, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, was re-elected to another four-year term during voting that was held today in the Somali capital.

Mr. Jawari received 141 votes to defeat three other candidates for the key legislative post.
In his victory speech, Mr. Jawari appealed to his fellow members of parliament (MPs) to put aside their political differences for the sake of their constituents. “Today there is no winner or loser. It is the Somali people who have won,” he said.

The runner-up in the voting for the Speaker’s post was Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who garnered 97 votes, followed by Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim Geesey and Idriss Abdi Dhaqtar, who received 17 votes and two votes, respectively. Two ballots were spoilt.

“It was an honour for me to contest for the seat of Speaker of Parliament. Speaker Jawari is my friend and I congratulate him for the win,” said Mr. Hidig, who pledged to explore other avenues for serving the Somali people.

Members of parliament expressed confidence in Mr. Jawari’s leadership. “I look forward to his leadership, seeing him set up parliamentary structures. We have high expectations of him because he has the experience,” said Mariam Haji Abdi Gedi, an MP from Galmudug state.

Two hundred and fifty-nine members of the House of the People voted in the landmark election that was witnessed by representatives of the international community, key stakeholders and senior federal government officials.

Mr. Jawari was elected Speaker of the country’s ninth federal Parliament in 2012, after having previously served as a cabinet minister in the Siad Barre regime.

As Speaker of the House of the People, he will preside over the election of two deputy speakers later this week. Mr. Jawari will then join his counterpart as speaker of the Upper House in overseeing the upcoming presidential election in both houses of the federal parliament.

Amid dwindling donor support, one million displaced Somali refugees grow hopeless, UN agency warns (11.01.2017)

Dadaab Refugee Camp

The Somali refugee crisis is one of the longest-running in the world, with people who have been displaced for more than 20 years.

NEW YORK, United States of America, January 11, 2017 – More than one million Somali refugees who have been displaced from their homes for decades are becoming despondent as they continue to be unable to return home and donor support is growing fatigued, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

“There is a growing sense of helplessness in the camps because people are feeling forgotten,” said Mohamed Abdi Affey, the Special Envoy to the Somali refugee situation for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Somali refugee crisis is one of the longest-running in the world, with people who have been displaced for more than 20 years. Some one million live in camps throughout the Horn of Africa, while an additional 1.1 million are displaced within Somalia.

“There has been some real progress in Somalia over the past few months, including the successful organization of elections inside the country,” acknowledged the Special Envoy. “What’s needed now is to build up infrastructures across the country so refugees do not suffer when they go back.”

UNHCR is backing a regional summit, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, which will take place in March to determine lasting solutions for Somali refugees. A proposed regional response would provide continued protection to 262,000 Somali refugees in a camp in Kenya that has been hosting people for more than 20 years. When a decision was made last year to close the camp, UNHCR lobbied the government with a new plan of action and successfully delayed its closure.

“Nobody wants to be a refugee forever. A regional solution is the most viable solution for the Somali situation,” said Mr. Affey.

Mr. Affey, who previously served as the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister in Kenya, spoke in Geneva yesterday following a visit to Somalia and to refugee camps in Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, where 905,060 Somalis live – some since the 1990s. He also visited Yemen last month, where refugees face increasingly desperate conditions in a country torn apart by war.

Because of emergencies elsewhere – particularly in Syria and South Sudan – donors have been unable to continue their support.

“Meanwhile, hunger is growing; meanwhile, frustration is growing; meanwhile, desperation is setting in and people are becoming angry,” reported the Special Envoy.

In addition to dwindling food rations, Mr. Affey said that the ongoing drought in East Africa has led to further complications, including limited access to education and skills training, especially for young people.

“Refugees should be skilled enough, trained to prepare them for an eventual return so that they can participate in the reconstruction of their country. So that they don’t go back after 30 years without skills – within the camps we must create these conditions and possibilities.”

UNHCR began supporting the voluntary return of Somali refugees from Kenya in 2014. Since then, a total of 39,316 have returned. However, Mr. Affey noted that security and socio-economic conditions in many parts of Somalia are not yet where they need to be in order to support large-scale returns. He appealed to the international community to strengthen efforts to build stability in a country that has suffered under more than two decades of armed conflict.

Somalia: Madaxweynaha Dowlad Goboleedka Galmou – “Galmudug president declares a regional state of emergency following overwhelmingly losing a vote of confidence in parliament” (09.01.2017)

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UPDF: Appointments, Transfers and Promotions in the UPDF (10.01.2017)

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UNSOM: Somalia’s electoral process most discussed topic in public places (04.01.2017)

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MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – Somalia’s landmark electoral process has dominated discussions in public places across the Horn of Africa country over the past few months, as Somalis examine the democratic progress the country has made after years of civil war.

Scores of political analysts gather daily to debate and share views about the ongoing process, which will culminate in presidential elections later this month. Conversations are animated and go on for hours, with breaks only for meals or refreshments.

At a popular hotel in Mogadishu recently, newly elected member of the House of the People, Sadik Warfa, of Puntland state, expressed his thoughts on the electoral process to a group of colleagues.

Warfa described the delegates system, adopted by the National Leadership Forum to guide the electoral process, as an illustration of the country’s evolution towards representative governance.

“We have passed the era when elders picked MPs. I see it as a step in the right direction for the Somali people,” Warfa said.

The MP voiced his optimism about the post election period and looks forward to debate in parliament.

“When the House of the People holds its first sitting, the priority will be to hold the government accountable. It should have oversight responsibility to represent the views of the Somali people, ” Warfa told a keen audience, gathered around his table.

At another table, Liban Abdi Ali, a political analyst and former journalist, delved deeper into the issue of local media coverage of the electoral process.

“In my view, they (media) were focusing on conflict, like a candidate’s clan, which group he belongs to and such issues; although they are supposed to focus on each candidate’s experience, knowledge, achievements and political agenda,” Liban said.

He expressed disappointment at the media’s inability to organize political debates prior to the elections.

At the far end of the restaurant, author and political analyst Abukar Sheikh Ahmed questions the decision to push back universal suffrage until 2020, saying there was no public voting or campaign.

“Most of the candidates knew their target (delegates) and they were campaigning in parliament and within their clans,” Abukar argues.

Somalia’s electoral process, which is currently in its final stages, has seen voting taking place in five federal states and Mogadishu. At the conclusion of the electoral exercise, two hundred and seventy five members of the House of the People will have been elected from South West, Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubbaland and Somaliland states; and Banaadir region.

A further 54 members of the Upper House will also have been elected.

Uganda Chief of Defence Forces urges speedy security sector reforms in Somalia (02.01.2017)

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MOGADISHU, 02 JANUARY 2017 – Visiting Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), General Edward Katumba Wamala wants Somali leaders to fast-track implementation of security sector reforms and the rebuilding of the national army, to enable them effectively take over the country’s security from African Union troops.

The Uganda Chief of Defence Forces arrived in Mogadishu today for a three-day official visit to Somalia. “As you interact politically with whoever will take the chair, this should be among their priority area; to make sure that they address the issue of building their security apparatus,” he told a meeting of senior officials from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The Somali security sector reforms which are in line with AMISOM’s revised Concept of Operations (CONOPs) and its exit strategy, are aimed at building the capacity of Somali National Security Forces to take over the security of the country, when AMISOM troops begin drawing down in 2018.

Gen. Wamala praised the implementation of the quick-impact projects (QUIPs) by AMISOM, describing it is a big asset for the mission in its efforts to provide essential services to populations liberated from Al-Shabaab rule.

During the meeting, Hon. Lydia Wanyoto, the Deputy Special Representative of the of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) updated Gen. Wamala on the ongoing electoral process in the country and the security arrangements in place to ensure a smooth transition of power. “We are doing everything it takes to ensure that we give the support and that our offices are open 24/7 for supporting the troops for which your country contributes,” Hon. Wanyoto stated.

Earlier, military officers from AMISOM Sector One, briefed Gen. Wamala on the security situation in Lower Shabelle and Banaadir regions, which fall under the AMISOM Ugandan contingent’s area of responsibility . Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh, the AMISOM Force Commander said AMISOM troops continue to jointly conduct offensive and defensive operations aimed at improving the security situation in Somalia.

“The security situation in Mogadishu city has improved significantly, the city being a strategic value for the seat of power, with a high population density, good infrastructure and good for political and economic activities. Therefore the center of gravity plays an important role for the stabilisation of Somalia,” Lt. Gen. Soubagleh said. Gen. Wamala also held a meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Somalia, Michael Keating.

President Nkurunziza proves to the world that he has the Big-Man complex!

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“Although African villages are often models of democracy, the concentration of power at higher levels across much of the continent feeds the cult of personality and one-man rule” (Chicago Tribune, 2000 – link: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-08-28/news/0008280177_1_nigeria-transition-from-military-rule-president-olusegun-obasanjo)

Burundian government are really trying to show strength to their donors and within the foreign affairs. There reports that the Burundian Government thinking of leaving the AMISOM mission because of lacking funds from the European Union to their brigades in the Somalia Peacekeeping mission. Have you heard this before? Yes you have, they have come with the same sort of words when coming to the peacekeeping mission in the MINUSCA in the Central African Republic.

If there is no payment by January, Burundi will recall the more than 5,400 troops from the 22,000-strong regional force protecting Somalia’s weak government from al-Shabab extremist attacks, President Pierre Nkurunziza said” (…) “Burundi’s troops have not been paid allowances for 11 months amid a standoff between Burundi’s government and the EU after the EU accused Burundian authorities of human rights abuses” (New York Times, 30.12.2016).

The Burundian Peacekeepers have come under fire of late, with their neglect and their also past-history as human rights violation at home has come to surface. Therefore the European Union doesn’t want to pay and submit funds to a draconian government that let people vanish, tortured or assassinated. That is within doubt a noble quest, but still hard when the EU doesn’t want to commit to settle battle-torn areas of Central African Republic and the Federal Republic of Somalia.

Because as this action happens as the troublesome Inclusive Inter-Burundian Dialogue is stalled by their questioning of chief negotiator H.E. William Mpaka, the term of President Nkurunziza happens without questions as the Police and even Youth Party Members Imbonerakure are taking away men and woman who has “insulted the President”. That is the law now. So the dialogue between the fractions behind in Burundi where the Opposition is under leach, as it has been since the start of Nkurunziza’s third term. While he today has claimed it is the International Community and the International Mining Corporations fault for the troubles in his country.

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Nkurunziza said this today at his press conference:

“The crisis of 2015 was just related to the stakes around the minerals in Burundi. The mandate was just a pretext” (…) “Burundi has given the Waga-Nyabikere mines to the AMS consortium, with Europeans and Americans. But it was not enough” (…) “The Western powers behind the Burundi crisis in 2015 wanted to have the Musongati mining deposit” (…) “With this mining deposit of Musongati, it is not coltan that counts more. But iron and plutonium”(www.bujumburanewsblog.wordpress.com, 30.12.2016).

There might be some who would see it like this, others would say that he countered the constitution and used the courts to run for a sham election, that he won as the intimidation and the spark of violence erupted. There we’re no run for the mill for the mines or international community discussing the values of deposits except for the minor companies’ deals to the Government of Burundi. This is a valid display of trying to wash their hands of blood and blame others. A common strategy of the ones who are sanctioning the acts of atrocities, it isn’t new, it’s like saying it isn’t the drunk driving that is the cause, but the car-manufacture who didn’t have a alcohol lock on the door. The same is what the Burundian President trying to do.

He is blaming the European Union for their non-direct payment to his Government for the provided services in AMISOM mission, as they are trying to shift the funds directly and pay directly to the soldiers. That gives way for the Government to not handle the monies and the EU funds. So they cannot withhold or embezzle funds to other projects as the non-transparent entity of CNDD-FDD; who runs the country with machetes and violence.

Just as you thought that was enough the President continue to put blame on others:

“Kigali : This morning, during a public issue in the province of Rutana (South-East of Burundi), the President of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, took it out in Rwanda” (…) “According to SOS Médias Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza said that the “Burundi has never represented a threat to the security of Rwanda” and has “called the Rwandans to stop disrupting the safety in Burundi.” (Rwanda News Agency, 30.12.2016).

Early in 2016 the authorities of Burundi claimed that Rwandese guerrillas we’re trained in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo we’re coming in 2015 to have a coup d’état to oust President Nkurunziza. This was dined by the Rwandan Government at the time and they also offered to expel the Burundian Refugees if this sentiment continued. Still, after all that and a month after Nkurunziza continues to blame the Rwandese for interference. As even close connected to the government have had to flee.

We can now see that President Nkurunziza tries to show power and be grand. Be big and ambitious; try to show the European Union and the neighbours to show that he is the man. As his reputation and his holding abroad is shrinking as much as the donors and funds are also becoming meagre.

Nkurunziza is under-fire and righteously so after the fraudulent attempt of controlling the republic and taking a third term. Now he is speaking of a fourth term with ease and saying if “people want me too”. Just like he learned from President Museveni and others who has done the same trick; because they think with fear they can install themselves forever in power.

Even if he pulls the Burundian brigades from AMISOM and MUNISCA he still needs foreign exchange and other donor funds. The concern for the Nkurunziza should be to mend the fences and try to be nice, but that isn’t his character as he uses youths to scare the population and take the people who doesn’t follow his party line. Therefore people are fleeing and staying in refugee camps in Rwanda, Tanzania and the DRC.

The world shouldn’t give in to the threats of Nkurunziza as he thinks he can outsmart the AMISOM. The Big-Man complex comes to the surface and also to world. That he is the one-man to rule and to control the republic without interference. If the world is getting involved it has to be on his accord. Not on somebody else, it’s his watch and his words that matters. That the EU is trying to avoid paying the government is a disgrace to Nkurunziza and that Kagame is threat is known. So the response should be with caution and with knowledge of this. The International Community should be worried and know that CNDD-FDD are not a democratic party, but a front for a centralized and militarized government who only cares for ruler, that he can rule by all means. Peace.  

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Somalia (29.12.2016)

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NEW YORK, United States of America, December 29, 2016 –  The Secretary-General welcomes the inauguration of the new Federal Parliament of Somalia on 27 December 2016 and warmly congratulates the people of Somalia on this historic achievement in their quest for universal suffrage by 2020.

The Secretary-General urges the new Parliament to now maintain the momentum by moving swiftly to complete the electoral process, with the election of the Speakers of both houses and the Federal President. The Parliament should tackle urgent legislative priorities, including establishing a permanent Constitution of Somalia, in the larger interest of the people of Somalia.

The Secretary-General calls on the authorities to fill all remaining vacant seats in the Parliament expeditiously, while fulfilling their obligation to ensure that the seats reserved for women are filled by women. He emphasizes that any irregularity, abuse, or malpractice reported by the federal and state electoral bodies should be fully addressed to preserve the credibility of the process.

The Secretary-General commends the hard work of the Somali security forces and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in providing a secure environment for the 2016 electoral process in Mogadishu and in the regional capitals. The successful inauguration of the Parliament marks further progress in ensuring political stability and security in Somalia.

Opinion: Mwenda’s life shouldn’t be in focus, there are so many other important political questions unanswered right now in Uganda!

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I find it weird that the Facebook posts on Facebook are addressing the sexual preferences of Independent Magazine editor and owner Andew Mwenda, the man who has gone from a lone voice for the citizens to suddenly sounding like a regime imposter. Still, that is a another discussion than what has been on the web of late. Whatever sort of love-life he has is in my opinion his business, unless he marries and get wedded to the daughters of President Museveni or related to his kin. If so, than he is part of the Movement elite and the discussion of his “free” mind would be more in question, than it is already is after the revelations of late about his economic transgression with Rwandan Government and other questionable clientele.

Still, the bum-fun and the dirty dozen is the questions that are trying to figure out, instead of discussion needed political transgression that needs to be addressed, as of all of sudden in Masaka where there only green area that is saved the Masaka Golf Club, but the rest of land is grabbed by rich Chinese investors in haste that seems more like a heist than a power move from the buyers of the land. As they have sealed of land for banking business without proper titles or informed the other Central Government and not even the Local Government; the Local Council seems also boggled as much as the Masaka Golf Club who even written a letter to Central Government on the 27th December.

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This is interesting enough as the trial and imprisoned soldiers that came from the UPDF garrison in the AMISOM mission, that has already leaked pictures of torture where the fellow who are alleged for selling weapons and ammunition to Al-Shabaab warlords that the AMISOM mission tries to squash and get rid of, apparently have been mistreated by their own before a trial and proof of evidence. Soldiers and men who are serving the military and one apparent wrong to selling equipment while being on tour; still, the reason for these activities is that the UPDF and Ugandan Government haven’t paid steady salaries and the hungry fighting soldiers has to get funds to sustain themselves. Even stealing and selling ammunition to the ones they are trying to fight. That shows how wrong the systematic eating of the Central Government towards their own, how forgotten and how the mismanagement of funds from African Union and United Nation in the AMISOM army. They even torture their own who has done the last resort to pay themselves as the soldiers needs to eat food and send their family needed funds. That is why they signed up in the first place, not because all of them loves to shoot-to-kill. We already has seen during the years that the Ugandan Garrisons has sold gasoline and other equipment to sustain themselves, so that the soldiers goes to these extend says something about the arranged maladministration from the top to the bottom of the food-chain.

These two cases alone should be put on blast, more than the Mwenda’s troubles and that he cannot keep his house in order. That the land-grabbing happens as rampant that the commercial golf-course in Masaka reacts by the Chinese land-grab should put the fear in the locals and the ones who feels that the state shouldn’t just move people and take away land for a simple dime without consideration of the Local Council and Local Government, because the Central Government really needs funds. That is evident with the recent case of soon starting to print own monies that even the Bank of Uganda, fearing the inflation and devalued currency that could make the hyper-inflation as pure case for Uganda. So that President Museveni can follow the suits and shades of President Robert Mugabe who made it possible in 2007-2008. So the 50,000 note wouldn’t be biggest anymore after the start of printing. The Ugandan Citizens might have use 300,000 to buy a hand of tomatoes at the market and pay for a short ride on a boda-boda 100,000 instead of the about for instance 3,000 now. So the biggest note from the Central Government of Museveni will be after the deal is sealed is 500,000 or even a 1,000,000. That is if his business partners are lucky and get their hands in the cookie-jar while the citizens will struggle more to pay for ordinary products. That is the worst case scenario, but not far away from the regulated funds and monies in the market might be juked and fixed to the moment of brilliance of Museveni instead of technocrats that can keep the inflation at bay.

Still, people are more worried if the Mwenda has a gay-lover or more, if he has a girlfriend or even if has land overseas, as the editor is that special and needs to be discussed in this matter. Like Tamale Mirundi needs to explain how he orders tires to his taxis, buses and how make his wife happy. Instead of us hearing and understanding their machine mouths of ignorance, brilliance or nonsense depending on their day.

We should be worried of the debate, the level of what is important when the national dialogue goes on this while we haven’t gotten answers for the apparent violation of movement and religious activity as the Police Force and the other Security Organizations went into the Nakasero Mosque in the middle of the night without any pre-warning and raided the holy-house on non-existent intelligence during the Christmas Season.

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We are not to may days ago since the UPDF and Special Force Command burned the Bukihari Royal Palace in Kasese. The Kasese clashes and the deaths of several guards, police officers and soldiers during the bloody days of November 2016; this together with the aftermath where the Ombusinga bwa Rwenzuururu Charles Wesley Mumbere are lingering on treason charge at Luzira Prison while the state and security organization isn’t delivering any profile or case worth talking about. But they could pull the trigger and delete the existence of Royal Guards, kids and other bystanders as the UPDF, UPF and Special Force Command had no issues killing hundreds of people during 48 hours.

Still, a month after this we have no answers, a silent President Museveni who couldn’t care less about the killed and slaughtered citizens in Kasese and in the sub-counties close to Royal Palace. This done without precautions and done with purpose to unsettle the area and also keep people afraid of the Central Government as they can go in with all weapons and guns on civilians without any warrant. Just like they did at the Nakasero Mosque, we will see more of this as the NRM Regime doesn’t care about the loss of life and the viable aftermath after the violence. They are trying to shade over the deaths and move-on. Like they families of the dead can get a new father or mother. They just vanished in the middle of no time and without any charges except the bullets from security organizations from the NRM regime.

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When we have all of this, as much as we have a Parliament who are just thinking about themselves and not the public, why can I say that because the MPs are more important that the rest of the ordinary paying citizens who pays taxes on their salaries; something the MPs in Uganda doesn’t have to care about. While that is happening after all the newly created districts and new levels of MPs the old Parliament in Kampala is to small and doesn’t have enough facilities to the loyalist of Museveni. They need bigger space and that cost, so they can divert funds to fix the building and chambers to be filled with all of them, even if they are not always there and instead fixing suits, fixing fresh posh cars and other casual business. Like a MP who we’re caught during December that he wanted to pay over 1,5 million shillings for a three-some with two female Makererere Students while their University we’re closed. The disgraced MP has not answered after the leaked conversation came unto the web. Still, that discussion is more interesting than the bumping movements of Mwenda.

People shouldn’t dance easy just because these men are Honourable, they are MPs because they are “elected” by the people and they are paying for their existence. Still, they are fist eating without any courtesy and now their workplace get upgraded, while schools are falling apart, teachers payments are inadequate and they even has small farms to feed themselves; while the same teachers are seeing ghosts being paid to secure the local government needed funds to their post cars. Still, the MPs let them walk because the allocations are happening slow and never as much as the budget. They claim there trouble in the system, but not the people who are doing this to eat of it in the Central Government so that the ones in districts has less or nothing to eat off. That is the current state and in this state the MPs decided they doesn’t deserve to pay tax and secondly deserves a better working condition. This is disgraceful to all the diligent civil servants who doesn’t get their salary on time or getting needed funds to keep their buildings, schools and police station that are falling apart.

This is the reality of Steady progress, the proof that the Yellow Movement is a poof, it’s a created manufactured design to divert attention while the President is having a splendid time. Let you forget the torture, the mismanagement and the greed of the MPs. While the system are led by a party where the NRM EC Dr. Tanga Odoi has also been going unpaid and even Justine Kasule Lumumba had to go public and tell that the Movement we’re broke. So dope the Party running the country, the steady progress has let their men and woman go without payments for 6 months. As fresh funds has dwindled. NRM are like Central Government very broke and out of bound with reality. They are spending stupid and not caring about the consequences. Therefore the solution in the silence to print own currency together with a company that is inter-connected with the Museveni clan; that is double payment for the Executive while the citizens pays to pay for their money. A brilliant idea, but also a way of certify the inflation, if they are actually going through with this arrangement.

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Still, people care more about the donuts that Mwenda is eating. So beautiful way of spending Christmas season discussing the dumping grounds of a editor, instead of torture, ghost-salaries, land-grab or Parliamentary Mismanagement where the systemic idiocrasy of Museveni gets into the same speed as Lewis Hamilton on the Formula 1 race track in Dubai. That speed is so fast we cannot follow all of the curves as the track is burning after the wheels leave stains on the tarmac.

The same is happening with real news when the Editor is in focus for his love-life and not all of these government acts. The Ugandan President Museveni should be happy his family and elite can run their Wild West show and let a egocentric writer get all the attention. Still, the people and citizen should react to the UPDF; question the acts of Kasese and not forget together with all the other current events. Peace! 

Somalia: International Community Gravely Concerned Over Decisions Of National Leadership Forum On Electoral Process (27.12.2016)

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The United Nations, African Union, European Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States are gravely concerned over a number of decisions announced by the National Leadership Forum (NLF) in its communiqué dated 24 December 2016.

Today’s inauguration of the Federal Parliament represents a step forward in the electoral process. However, international partners wish to see the electoral process go forward with the existing 54 seats in the Upper House as stipulated under Somalia’s Provisional Constitution. Any further expansion of the Upper House should only be contemplated after the presidential vote has been held in the new federal parliament and implemented through a proper constitutional process.

International partners acknowledge the NLF’s communiqué of 26 December 2016 that designates five seats in the House of the People for undergoing a fresh round of voting. But this fails to address a number of other egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process, including seats reserved for women candidates only that were ultimately taken by male candidates.

The NLF’s decision to revoke all disqualifications of candidates made by the country’s electoral bodies for allegedly committing abuses and malpractices represents a blanket amnesty for some of the most blatant irregularities witnessed during this electoral process. It also contravenes the Federal Government’s solemn commitment to respect the rule of law.

If these candidates are allowed to take their seats in Somalia’s tenth parliament, it will bring into question the NLF’s expressed commitment to the principles of accountability and credibility that underpin the entire process. It will also undermine the electoral code of conduct signed by all parliamentary candidates in the spirit of leveling the playing field and ensuring the delivery of a credible process.

International partners strongly believe that elections must be re-run for seats where the voting outcomes were clearly distorted by violence, corruption, intimidation, the unauthorized substitution of electoral college delegates and a failure to set aside one of every three seats for exclusively female candidates. 

International partners call on the federal parliament to issue as soon as possible a timeline for the completion of the process in order to elect the Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the new federal parliament and the Federal President. This timeline should be strictly enforced to avoid yet another postponement in an electoral process that was supposed to have finished earlier this year. There is a particular need to conclude the process swiftly in light of the UN Security Council’s upcoming meeting on Somalia that is scheduled for 19 January 2017.

International partners believe that the integrity of the 2016 electoral process hangs in the balance. More delays and a failure to hold accountable those parties who have committed serious abuses and malpractices will compromise the international community’s ability and willingness to engage with Somalia’s next federal government.