Kenyans charged over Uganda blasts

July 30th, 2010

BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE- —-07/30/2010

 

  

 

 

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KAMPALA, Uganda, Jul 30 – A Ugandan court on Friday charged three Kenyans with 76 counts of murder, the first such cases opened against suspects in the July 11 suicide attacks in Kampala.

Hussein Hassan Agad, Mohamed Adan Abdow and Idris Magondu were charged before a Kampala magistrates court, but did not enter a plea.

They face 61 counts of murder for those killed while watching the World Cup final at the Kyadondo Rugby Club in the east of the Ugandan capital and 15 counts for those killed at an Ethiopian restaurant.

Chief Magistrate Deo Sejjemba said the accused were not allowed to enter a plea because the court does not have jurisdiction over the crime of terrorism.

The three will reappear at the magistrates court on August 27, but will not be permitted to plead to the charges until Uganda’s Directorate of Public Prosecutions decides the case is ready to move to the High Court.

The three men were remanded to prison.

The charge sheet identified Agad as “a preacher of Islam,” while Magondu was identified as an employee of a trading company in Nairobi.

Asked by AFP on his way out of the court room if he was involved in the attacks, Magondu smiled and said “no.”

These are the first individuals charged in relation to the twin blasts that have been claimed by Somalia’s Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab Islamists.

Police have previously said there is “very strong evidence” that the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

National police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told AFP earlier on Friday that several Pakistani citizens are still being held for questioning in connection with the blasts, but they have not been charged with any crimes.

At least one of the Pakistani individuals was identified in email obtained by police as the Kampala-based coordinator for the Shebab.

Somalia’s Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab insurgents claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were to punish Uganda for sending troops for the African Union mission in the Horn of Africa country.

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Death Announcement Of Mzee Dominic Muburi Muita

July 30th, 2010

                                07/30/2010

The Mission regrets to inform that Mzee Dominic Muburi Muita, dear and beloved father of Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Z. D. Muburi-Muita, unfortunately passed on in Nairobi on 29th July, 2010. The death followed a long period of hospitalization which led to astronomical medical bills.

 An organizing committee has been formed to reach out to friends and relatives for assistance to defray both medical and funeral expenses. In this regard, a prayer ceremony and a fundraiser will be held on Sunday, 1st August, 2010 at the Ambassador/Permanent Representative’s residence located at 5275 Arlington Avenue, Riverdale, NY 10471 from 3:00 to 6:30 pm.

 Please feel free to circulate this mass email to other friends who may not be in this communication.

 For further details, please contact:

 1.     Mr. Joshua Mugodo

Tel:     212-421-4740

          Cell:     646-284-4817

 2.     Col. Robert Kabage

Tel:     212-421-4740

          Cell:     646-922-2212

3.     Alice M. Nderitu

Tel:     212-421-4740

          Email:  info@kenyaun.org
Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations
866 UN Plaza Suite 304
New York, NY 10017
Ph. +1(212)-421-4741
Fax. +1(212)-486-1985

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Kenyan man gets 14yrs for bestiality

July 28th, 2010

BY CORRESPONDENT–CapitalFM

                 
 

 

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NAROK, Kenya, Jul 28 – A man has been sentenced to 14 years in jail by a Narok court for having sex with a donkey.

30-year-old Stephen Kipkemoi Rono pleaded guilty to having an unnatural act with the beast of burden when he appeared before Principal magistrate Alfred Kabiru.

He was charged that on July 22 at Tebeswet village of Narok South district, he had carnal knowledge of an animal, namely donkey, which is against the order of nature.

In mitigation, Mr Rono pleaded for leniency claiming that he had been deceived by the devil. He told the court that his wife had left him and married another man. He was therefore deprived of sex, leading him to the act.

Mr Rono said he was remorseful of the act.

The father of two now has 14 days to appeal against the sentence
 

 

  
 

  

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A Kenyan dies in North Carolina

July 28th, 2010

07/28/2010
http://www.diasporamessenger.com/
The late Samuel Njenga Njuguna

 

Mr. Samuel Njenga Njuguna passed away suddenly in North Carolina on Tuesday July 20th 2010 after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Esther, his children Diana, Ann-Brenda, and Brian.
Samuel was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in August of 2009. He received treatments from Regional Cancer center, with multiple hospitalizations between Durham regional and Duke Hospitals in the past year. He has borne the diagnosis with great endurance and his faith in God as well as tremendous support from his Durham Dayspring fellowship church and the Kenyan community. On July 20th, he went to meet his maker and was healed of all of the earthly suffering and pain.
He was brother to Joseph Gitu, Priscilla Njeri, Geoffrey Waihenya, Margaret Wanjiru Wakaba, Beth Wairimu, Paul Kamau, Ibrahim Macharia, and Jane Njoki all in Kenya. He has many aunties, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces and grand-children in Kenya and other countries.
He was born in Nyanduma location in Kiambu district to the late Paul Njuguna Gitu and Late Hannah Nyambura Njuguna.  He was educated and brought up by his uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Githu Waihenya. He attended Nyeri high school and Kenyatta University.
He has worked as a teacher at Gathaithi secondary, Kinale high school, and Githiga high school at different capacities. He relocated to the US in 2003 where he has lived and worked until his passing.
Family and friends are meeting in Durham NC in preparation for funeral arrangements. Donations towards this may be sent to Acc# given below. Burial will take place in Durham NC on July 30th starting at noon to 4pm.
He will be greatly missed by his family and all who came into contact with him. Sam loved to make jokes and help others. He was easily liked by those who interacted with him. He is also credited for being a hard worker and committed to the welfare of his immediate and extended family and community. Again for this, he will be greatly missed. God gives and God takes away. MAY HIS NAME BE PRAISED.
Contact information:
Esther Njenga: 919-4795168
Acc# 1000114299349 (SunTrust Bank)
Routing No. 053100465
Account name: Esther Njenga

http://www.diasporamessenger.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=291&Itemid=385

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Pre-Wedding Party/Fundraiser –Don’t Miss This One!

July 27th, 2010
                                     07/27/2010
Andrew Seremani and Londa Charles

Andrew Seremani and Londa Charles

The Organizing committee and the Families of Dj Bob (Andrew Seremani) and Londa Charles

Cordially Invites you to attend their Pre-Wedding Party and Fundraiser  on 

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Time:     7:00 PM

Place:  179 Duncan Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306

Contacts:
Clement Onyono  551-208-9428
George Omburo   201-774-4351
Ruth Asiago         201-921-4372
Jeff Moitui           201-320-3264
Sailas Miroro       201-936-0057
Douglas Sarara    201-780-0753
Jerusha Okwoyo   551-556-7859
Francis Ogada                      862-235-9456
Olewe                                   609-724-6128
Ramuya International           845-721-8135             
Dj Bob (Andrew Seremani)   908-531-6644
Londa Charles                      848-702-9195

 

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Why Kenya Police Need Remedial Attention

July 27th, 2010

By James Shikwati —-07/27/2010

 

Armed plainclothes police officers disrupt a serene lunch time environment in a popular restaurant in Upper Hill area of Nairobi. 

Youthful fellows who had been having tea and were just about to drive off turned out to be dangerously armed criminals wanted for carjacking. I had gone out for lunch with a friend when this unpaid for drama unfolded. It is the comments that followed after the police had efficiently executed their arrest strategy that caught my attention. 

“I am sure the police will drive out with those fellows and shoot them elsewhere,” a lady patron observed. “I think those criminals are lucky they were caught here, those policemen didn’t look like they wanted to arrest them – they simply wanted to shoot them,” another said. 

I was not privileged to hear the popular lawyer’s refrain of “due process of law!” The public view of policemen armed with guns is all about flying bullets. The recent surge of bombs and terror attacks in the region has put police training on the spotlight. Why do the police prefer the option of shooting? One may accuse them of being trigger happy – but it could be a pointer to a failed and inefficient justice system in the country.  

Sometime last year, I had the misfortune to interact with Kenyan police for over 3 months following a burglary to my office. The state of police equipment, working schedule, morale and the dangers they are exposed to left me more sympathetic to their woes than to my loss. I recall that a police officer investigating our case disappeared for a month; he had been a matatu-jacking victim. On realizing that he was a police officer, the car-jackers decided to break his legs, hands and left him for dead. In his one month stay in Kenyatta hospital, the poor man from Meru ceased to be a police officer to me – but a friend. I empathized with the wife and family. 

I came across another officer whose schedule would drive a normal person mad. He was charged with investigations but his specialty appeared to be murder and homicide. It was heart chilling to note that murders take place every other day – the officer was too busy to even engage in a meaningful investigation. It was clear to me that such an officer lacked sufficient time and resources to deliver water tight documentation to facilitate prosecution of criminals. The police stations do not have stationery, their filing system is wanting, the fingerprint department is understaffed – ever wondered why it is just one guy who appears in media pictures dusting crime scenes in a city of over 3.6 million people?  

Out of curiosity, I requested a lawyer friend to allow me join him in one of the court cases he was working on. I could not believe my eyes and ears. The court room was too small and crowded. The lady magistrate was muttering things to herself. I wondered how suspects get to know what she saying before they plead guilty or not. The police prosecutor’s turn came. He had charged some young house help for destroying a landlord’s tree. When asked to provide evidence of the tree, the police prosecutor presented two logs of what must have constituted the original tree. The learned magistrate went into a tirade – lecturing the police officer on the difference between logs and trees. 

The Kenyan police should be well equipped and retrained in matters of law. The law enforcers’ choice of bullets as opposed to due process is indicative of a collapsed justice system.  

Mr. Shikwati james@irenkenya.org is Director, Inter Region Economic Network.

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African Union pledges to reinforce its Somalia force

July 27th, 2010
27 July 2010

Al-Shabab fighters prepare to fire artillery in Mogadishu (file photo) Al-Shabab has vowed to step up their attacks on the AU force

African Union leaders have agreed to reinforce the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia to tackle al-Shabab militants.

At a summit in Uganda, they approved a request to send 2,000 more troops to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Rules of engagement are to be changed to allow the troops to fire first if they are facing imminent attack.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had wanted a tougher mandate to “eliminate” the al-Qaeda linked group that allowed forces to go on the offensive.

He told the BBC that AU peacekeepers were “confused” by the current mandate.

“They don’t understand what they are doing. So they need a robust answer, a robust incisive answer,” he said.

Dozens of people were killed two weeks ago in twin bomb attacks in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, which al-Shabab said it had carried out.

Analysis

Continue reading the main story

Will Ross BBC News, Kampala

With a limited mandate the AU peacekeepers have almost been sitting ducks because they could respond only after being attacked by al-Shabab and other insurgents.

Angered by the bomb attacks in Kampala, President Yoweri Museveni wanted the green light for an all-out offensive.

The AU heads of state have chosen the somewhat safer middle ground; the peacekeepers can carry out pre-emptive attacks but there will be no change of mandate.

This decision is unlikely to make a significant difference on the ground but should help shore up the transitional government, especially if more equipment and troops arrive soon.

However the presence of more foreign troops in Somalia and the deaths of more civilians could well play right into the hands of al-Shabab.

It wants to paint the AU mission, like the earlier Ethiopian intervention, as a foreign invasion and in so doing gain more support from Somalis and possibly jihadists way beyond the country’s borders.

  • Doubts over Uganda’s role in Somalia

    • Mr Museveni’s call for the AU force to be able to go on the offensive against al-Shabab was not taken up by the African Union leaders, but the force will now be able to carry out pre-emptive attacks against the hard-line Islamist insurgents.

    The summit also approved requests for new equipment for the force.

    Troops from Uganda form a large part of the AU’s 6,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Burundi is the only other country to contribute to the force, known as Amisom.

    BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the extra 2,000 troops are likely to come from Guinea and Djibouti – as previously announced – but precise numbers and dates for their deployment remain unclear.

    Before the Kampala summit, Somalia’s embattled UN-backed government had asked for troops from Muslim countries to prevent al-Shabab portraying the AU force as “infidels”.

    Both Guinea and Djibouti have Muslim majorities.

    The government, backed by the AU, controls only a few parts of the capital, Mogadishu, while al-Shabab and its allies run much of southern Somalia.

    The African leaders gathered in Kampala amid tight security and a heavy military presence.

    They observed a two-minute silence for the victims of the 11 July bomb attacks, which targeted people who were watching the football World Cup final at a Kampala restaurant and a sports ground.

    Mr Museveni told AU delegates that “many of the organisers” of the attack had been arrested and their interrogation was “yielding very good information”.

    In a statement released before the meeting, Mr Museveni said the attacks would worsen al-Shabab’s situation.

    “These reactionary groups have now committed aggression against our country,” the statement said. “We have a right of self-defence. We shall now go for them.”

    Our correspondent says there is concern that any offensive against al-Shabab could increase the number of civilian deaths and make the AU mission extremely unpopular with the Somali population.

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    Unexpected passenger aboard Kenya Airways flight

    July 27th, 2010

    July 26, 2010

    Caption: Baby Zahra, her mother and KQ officers soon after her birth aboard a Kenya Airways flight Caption: Baby Zahra, her mother and KQ officers soon after her birth aboard a Kenya Airways flight 

    Kenya Airways in flight crew found itself being called to extraneous duties as they assisted a woman passenger deliver a baby girl.

    The woman developed labour pains during the KQ 317 flight from Dubai via Muscat to Nairobi on Thursday and the officers led by KQ Nurse Juliana Maithya had to create a makeshift delivery room in the aisle in the economy class to enable the woman deliver the baby once the plane landed.

    The officers who also included Flight Purser Josephine Towett, flight attendants Oscar Heho, Mitchell Ongeso, Anthony Kuria and Muriithi, Captain Hamdan and First Officer Muiruri said both the baby and the mother were ‘doing fine’.

    The Captain and First Officer waited for the baby to be born before disembarking.

    Speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya Airways Chief Operating Officer Bram Stellar said this was the first time that such an event has occurred not only for the crew, but for Kenya Airways.

    “It was already a packed flight from Muscat to Nairobi but passengers and crew were more than happy to make room for one extra person when the lady gave birth to a baby girl, whom we promptly named Zahra,” he said.

    “Within 15 minutes the baby had been born. We are happy that the birth was normal and the mother and baby are fine,” he added.

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    11 Somali pirates get decade in Seychelles prison

    July 27th, 2010

    The Associated Press
    Monday, July 26, 2010

     NAIROBI, Kenya — The island nation of Seychelles says it has prosecuted and convicted Somali pirates for the first time.

    The office of the president said Monday that a Seychelles court sentenced 11 Somali pirates to 10 years in prison each for their attempt to hijack the Seychelles coast guard patrol boat Topaz last December.

    Eight of the Somalis were convicted of piracy, and three of them of aiding and abetting pirates.

    Somali pirates have expanded their range in response to patrols by international warships and now regularly prey on ships near Seychelles.

    There are 29 other suspected pirates in Seychelles awaiting trial or awaiting transfer to Somalia.

    The international community helps fund trials in the Seychelles and Kenya.

    (This version Corrects that there are 29 other suspects, not 38, according to an update from the Seychelles)

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    Death Announcement Of Mzee Johnson Omwega Omwoyo

    July 27th, 2010

                                               07/27/10

    The Late Mzee Johnson Omwoyo Omwega

    The Late Mzee Johnson Omwoyo Omwega

    We Are Saddened to announce the death of Mzee Johnson Omwega Omwoyo of Nyachogochogo Nyamira, Husband to Mary Nyaboke and Father to Tom Omwega of East Orange and Marcella( Veronicah) of Jersey City. Other siblings are:Fred, Jacky, Peter, Mathew, Robert, Joshua, Rose and Richard.

    Mzee Johnson Omwega Omwoyo passed on 07/26/2010 at Kenyatta National Hospital after fighting with a long illness. Family, friends and relatives are meetin at 505 South Clinton Street, East Orange NJ 07018.  

    ThoSe who cannnot make to East Orange are kindly requested to go to 12 Mersecy street, basement in Jersey City, NJ.
     Contact:
    Tom Omwega-973-204-3889
    Veronicah-201-208-4074
    Bitengo Kiage-973-204-3579
    Richard Tuvaco-973-760-2379
    Bilha Ongiri-201-238-9315
    Pr. Camera Okumu-201-207-4898

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