RDC: Declaration de Presse du Vice-Premier Ministre (17.10.2018)

World Health Organization calls crisis meeting over deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo (16.10.2018)

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called an Emergency Committee meeting on the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has already claimed around 130 lives.

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 16, 2018 – The WHO has assessed the national and regional risk of the current Ebola outbreak in DRC as “very high,” although the global risk remains low and, so far, the UN’s health watchdog has not called for any trade or travel restrictions to be imposed.

The Emergency Committee, scheduled for Wednesday at WHO headquarters in Geneva, will decide whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage the spread of the disease.

This outbreak, the tenth to hit the DRC over the last four decades, was declared in North Kivu Province on 1 August, this year and, based on the worsening security situation in and around the city of Beni, WHO elevated the risk from “high” to “very high” on 28 September.

The agency identified 39 new confirmed cases were reported between 1 and 11 October, 32 of which are from Beni.

The DRC Ministry of Health, WHO and other partners have been responding to the outbreak with teams on the ground, but WHO has warned that continuing insecurity severely affects both civilians and frontline workers, forcing the suspension of the response for several days in late September, and raising the risk that the virus will continue to spread.

More than 20 civilians in Beni were killed in the incident that provoked the suspension, which came on the heels of multiple attacks in previous weeks. It’s estimated by the UN that more than a million civilians under threat from armed groups, are internally-displaced in North Kivu; around 500,000 this year alone. The eastern region is close to the border with Uganda, and Rwanda.

Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that one month after the beginning of the school year, 80 per cent of school-aged children have returned to school in Beni and Mabalako health zones, the two epicentres of the Ebola outbreak.  UNICEF has identified more than 1,500 schools in the areas affected by the epidemic.

RDC: Declaration Politique e l’Opposition (11.10.2018)

32 Years of Recycling: The Vital Moments of Uganda at 56 Celebration in the words of Bosco!

Well, there wasn’t much news or much breaking news in the midst of this Independence Day Speech. However, when it comes to Bosco or Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, he is the king of recycling. I will not even go into that. I don’t have the time or the bother to address it. We want to live and breathe too. Museveni is himself to a T, but that is not securing the state, but solidifying his position. He is really showing his revenge and his wish for all control in this speech. This wasn’t a speech of statesman or a father of a nation. Not that he is either of those, he is the guy that made a coup d’etat and wasted what he inherited by the ones he overcome.

So, with that in mind, Yoseri from Ankoli, what’s up?

A Snippet of the Independence Day Speech:

On the side of stability, I want to assure Ugandans of their security. The country is generally secure and peaceful, save for the persistent threats and incidents as well as violent criminality. Uganda had a lot of challenges even after the NRM took power. Eventually, by 2007, the UPDF totally defeated Kony, ADF, the other rebel groups and disarmed the Karimojong. Some of the terrorists of ADF as well as other criminal elements, seeing that they could not survive in the rural areas, infiltrated into the towns where we had not fully focused in terms of developing intelligence capacity. As a consequence, we had 7 Sheiks assassinated as well as Major Kiggundu, Joan Kagezi, AIGP Kaweesi Susan Magara, Abiliga and Kirumira of recent” (Museveni, 09.10.2018).

That he said he has defeated Kony and LRA is not true, they are just not in his territory. The LRA are still existing to a degree and causing havoc in the Central African Republic. Neither is the destruction of the ADF, which he always blames for crimes and terrorism in the Republic. They are even blamed for the death of Kirumira and who knows for Abiriga, when that comes up. ADF are still in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Therefore, these security measures are not fulfilled, secondly all these assassination and killings are not proving that the Republic is safer, but otherwise. Certainly, no one can say that Operation Thunder in the DRC in 2008 was a success, only if you rewriting history and forget losing a military helicopter over nothing.

An extract of what was said at the CCTV Launch:

These killers must be afraid that Uganda is rising, which is why they are murdering our people to scare us. However, we shall defeat them. People who trust God like me are never shaken by lice. When you want to wage war, you should come and declare. The Killers have touched the Leopard’s tail and the will see. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water. They came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”…But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” The killers in town do not have the capacity to fight, but to hide like mosquitoes. This forced us to install cameras, to be our nose, ears and eyes. I was even able to see those who eat sugar canes and litter the streets.” (Museveni, 09.10.2018).

Certainly, he pounds on security and today he unveiled the CCTV Cameras and the Surveillance Centre of the state, which was new on Independence Day. It is a nice effort after promising for dozens of elections and plenty of rallies over the years. That he finally could show it off. However, this is not the ones that solves all crimes. If so, in the city of most CCTV Cameras there wouldn’t be crimes committed or even unsolvable crimes, alas, there is and the Kampala Metropolitan Police should co-operate with London Metropolitan Police to learn from their years of experience and how to use the CCTV. Because they are the city with the most cameras.

Clearly, this has all hurt his pride, as he knows these killings are leaving a deadly stench on his hands. As the old sins are buried, but not forgotten, however, easier to get away with. Now, the fresh wounds are in the open and these mechanisms can make him look a bit good, however, that train is a bit late. The flight has already taken-off and his time is over. It is just like he doesn’t accept that, as the President thinks he can still micro-mange things. Nevertheless, he cannot, because he even back-talk what people are doing.

He even talked down people eating sugarcane and if your complaining about littering and garbage in the streets, why haven’t you made a substantial budget, put in the efforts to give money and polices to clean Kampala and secure that the waste is already gone? You haven’t even invested in bins or garbage trucks. So, let this people eat their sugarcane, not like you cared before you watched for a hot minute today on the screens.

Bosco, should get serious, but that opportunity has left us a long time ago. He is just winging it and hoping it doesn’t fail him. Spending on cronies and wasting government funds like there is no tomorrow. Peace.

RDC: Communique Officiel de la Presidence de la Republique (06.10.2018)

RDC: Memo de l’Opposition Politique de la RD Congo a l’Intention des Members du Conseil de Securite des Nationes Unies (04.10.2018)

RDC: Pour son soutien apporte aux femmes victimes des violences sexuelles, le Docteur Mukwege prime a Oslo par le “Prix Nobel de la Paix 2018” ce vendredi 05 octobre 2018 (05.10.2018)

RDC: CLC – Campaigne Nationale Contre la Machine a Voter et le Fichier Electoral – Dix raisons Pour Dire Non a la Machine a Voter (Octobre 2018)

Red Cross volunteers injured during Ebola burial in Democratic Republic of the Congo (04.10.2018)

 

Two of the volunteers were seriously wounded and are now receiving medical care for their injuries.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 4, 2018 – Three Red Cross volunteers were injured Tuesday (2 October) when they were attacked while carrying out a safe and dignified burial in the city of Butembo in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Two of the volunteers were seriously wounded and are now receiving medical care for their injuries.

DRC Red Cross teams have faced incidents of violence and aggression from communities resisting safe burial protocols since the start of the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu. In September, one Red Cross volunteer was injured when people threw stones at a vehicle transporting a safe burial team. However, Tuesday’s attack has been the most violent incidence of community resistance to date.

Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Regional Director for Africa said:

“This is an awful reminder of the dangers that these volunteer safe and dignified burials teams face. While we categorically denounce the attack on our colleagues, we understand the fear and frustration that many communities in North Kivu feel right now. People are scared and there are many rumours circulating that only serve to heighten the sense of fear and distrust.

The body of a person who has died from Ebola is highly infectious and if not handled properly can contaminate others. In previous Ebola outbreaks, these safe and dignified burials have been critical to stopping the spread of the disease.

“Every day, our teams are doing what they can to build trust, to provide information, and to help people understand the risk that Ebola presents. They can do this because they come from these communities themselves. They speak the language and understand the customs and traditional beliefs,” said IFRC’s Dr Nafo-Traoré.

The Red Cross has dispatched trained specialists to Butembo to provide immediate psychosocial support to those impacted and is working to improve the safety and security of volunteers.

Grégoire Mateso Mbuta, the President of the Red Cross of the DRC said:

“We call upon the communities in North Kivu to cooperate with volunteers and health workers who are giving their time to ensure that communities are protected from the Ebola outbreak. Local volunteers are critical to stopping the spread of disease.”

Since the beginning of the outbreak, more than 180 specially trained Red Cross safe and dignified burial volunteers have carried out 162 burials in North Kivu.

RDC: CENI Lettre du President de l’Assemblee Nationale Kinshasa – “Concerne: Precessus Electoral” [Confidentiel] (18.08.2018)