"Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum"

KENYA: Elections were free and fair, judges say

By PAUL OGEMBA.


The Supreme Court has paved the way for transition from the coalition government by upholding the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya’s fourth president.

The six judges, in a unanimous judgment, said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission conducted the elections in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner and that the elections were indeed conducted in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws.

“As to whether the elections held on March 4 was conducted in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner in compliance with provisions of the constitution and relevant laws; it is the decision of the court they were indeed conducted in compliance with the constitution and the law,” said Chief Justice Willy Mutunga who read the judgment on behalf of the bench.

The judgment delivered within five minutes sparked celebrations among a team of lawyers representing the IEBC, Mr Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto while casting gloom among Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s supporters who camped outside the Supreme Court for hours.

The judges dismissed Mr Odinga and Africa Centre for Open Governance (AFRICOG) calls for fresh election on grounds that the elections were flawed.

On the question of including rejected votes in calculating the final percentage of total votes garnered by presidential candidates, the judges ruled that the rejected votes ought not to have been included in calculating the final tallies in favour of each of the eight presidential candidates.

They, however, declined to order for the re-computation of the final percentages saying that was not within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

The brief, concise and straight to the point judgment marked the end of a gruelling 14-days legal battle, with the judges saying they will give a detailed judgment containing the reasons for their decision within two weeks.

Other judges who sat on the bench were Justices Jackton Ojwang’, Philip Tunoi, Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung’u.

The CJ took time to appeal for calm, saying they had done their part and it was up to the country to pick up and continue with their daily businesses.

“At this historical moment, the Supreme Court has done its part. It is now upon the people of Kenya and its leadership to ensure peace and stability prevails thereafter,” said Mutunga.

Mr Odinga sought the invalidation of Mr Kenyatta’s win based on five grounds claiming that the IEBC failed to carry proper and valid voter registration in accordance with the Constitution and Elections Act.

He also argued that the presidential elections were not conducted in accordance with the Constitution; that IEBC failed to carry out a transparent, verifiable, accurate and accountable election; that IEBC announced the results without proper verification and that results were inconsistent where some areas had number of votes cast surpassing those of registered voters.

He was joined by AFRICOG which argued that the failure of the IEBC to use electronic transmission of results compounded the credibility of the result transmission process and contravened the Constitution by using a manual system to tally the votes and ignoring the fact that voter turnout in many constituencies was recorded as being higher than those registered.

IEBC, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto put up a spirited defence of the conduct of the elections, urging the judges to dismiss the petitions.

The commission, through lawyer Kamau Karori, denied claims that it altered results in some areas and defended the use of the green book saying it would have been unfair to deny anybody whose details were not captured in the electronic register to vote.

On Mr Odinga’s claims that IEBC colluded with Mr Kenyatta to rig the votes, Mr Karori submitted it was difficult to believe who is telling the truth since Mr Kenyatta had also alleged that Mr Odinga colluded with IEBC in purchasing the electronic kits.

He argued that the IEBC conducted its constitutional mandate in good faith and that Mr Odinga’s call for a fresh election was not only impractical but also untenable.

After the judgment, Dr Mutunga singled out Attorney General Githu Muigai for praise in his role as amicus curiae during the petitions’ hearing.

“You were extremely superb, you helped us come up with some great reasoning and we pray that you continue being a mentor to the young advocates,” said the CJ to Prof Muigai who passed a vote of thanks on behalf of the lawyers.


Source: Sunday Nation (31/03/2013): http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Court-says-yes-its-Uhuru/-/1064/1735028/-/u831ne/-/index.html

Tanzania: Half of juveniles grow up in single parent households

Written by MASEMBE TAMBWE.

MORE than 50 per cent of children locked up in juvenile confinements are raised in single parent households, evidence shows.

The caretaker of Upanga Children’s Remand Centre, Ms Margaret Minja told the ‘Sunday News’ that hardships and life constraints experienced in single parent households causes many children to find themselves behind bars.

“Between 270 and 300 children pass through this centre annually and half of the number end up being convicted after committing offences as their mothers could not keep an open eye on the children due to the fact that they are too busy making ends meet,” Minja explained.

Ms Minja said on many occasions, children from Mwanza, Mbeya, Arusha and Moshi search for their fathers in Dar es Salaam and end up stranded at Ubungo Bus Terminal and fall prey to destitution. She said that the centre is staffed with clinical officers for medical care for the children, social workers for counselling, caretakers who teach them different chores like cleaning and guards to ensure their safety.

“As professionals we strive at helping the children trace their parents with the help of other centres and try and reunite them. However, university students who often come here for internships do a better job as the task is part of their internship requirements so they follow it through to the end,” she said.

Ms Minja voiced that at least a quarter of the total annual intake of children at the centre end up rejoining their parents. “There was a time when we used to receive requests from at least three to four parents a month for their children to stay at the centre for a couple of weeks because their children are so stubborn and unruly but now we hardly get any requests,” she observed.

Ms Minja said that it is alarming to see parents ready to pay money simply because they are either too busy or always travelling and prefer to have their children at the centre for other people to do their job for them. “UNICEF estimates that 100 million children are growing up on streets around the world.

However, the exact number of street children is impossible to quantify, but the figure almost certainly runs into tens of millions across the world. It is likely that the numbers are increasing,” she added.

According to the Consortium for Street Children annual report for 2009, the survey confirmed that the key factors that lead children to the streets include family breakdown as a result of violence, lack of love/ care and positive guidance, alcoholism, conflict and economic issues like hunger, supporting the family, school fees and accommodation.

“One of the most striking responses is that reunification with family is the second lowest priority for the children surveyed. Equally striking is the fact that the majority of children surveyed are 15 years old and above,” the report read in part. The report stated that there were an estimated 437,500 street children in Tanzania. Many face daily abuse on the streets from the police, sex tourists and even from each other.

Source: Daily News (31/03/2013): http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/16008-half-of-juveniles-grow-up-in-single-parent-households

INDIA: Bombay High Court relies on dog's evidence, upholds conviction


MUMBAI.

Relying on a police dog's evidence, the Bombay High Court has held a man guilty in a robbery and murder case and upheld the life sentence given to him by a lower court. 

Another person was held guilty on the basis of witness identification parade, while three others were acquitted. 

Division bench of Justices P D Kode and V K Tahilramani last week upheld the conviction of Ejabool Jan Mohammed Shaikh and Kathalya alias Ramesh Raja Chavan on the basis of identification parade and 'dog tracking evidence', respectively, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. 

Upholding his conviction, the High Court said, "It is scientifically accepted that dogs are rated as extremely intelligent animals and that some of their sensibilities are very highly developed and are extremely reliable." 

Manojkumar Gupta, Ashok Chavan and Chandya Pawar were acquitted. 

All the accused had been convicted by Sewri Sessions Court here in 2007, and were given life imprisonment. 

The prosecution's case was that in the early hours of January 19, 2003 the accused entered the ground-floor house of Vishal Mehta at Mamta Cooperative Housing Society in suburban Ghatkopar. They killed Vishal's father Nautam, mother Hansaben and brother Jay in sleep by hitting them with an iron rod. 

Before entering the house, they had also murdered the watchman in the building compound. 

Some residents who lived upstairs saw a group of men standing in the compound. When they raised alarm, the men ran away and police were informed.

Source: Times of India (31/03/2013): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/HC-relies-on-dogs-evidence-upholds-conviction/articleshow/19304358.cms

Dar es Salaam: Police issue stern warning against drug dealers

BY GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY CORRESPONDENT.


Head of the Anti Drugs Unit (ADU), Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP), Godfrey Nzowa has warned individuals involved in drugs business, stating that their properties would be confiscated if found guilty before the court.

He told The Guardian on Sunday this week that despite efforts made to fight trafficking and peddling of drugs, the illegal business still flourishes in the country. The government is drafting a new Bill expected to be tabled in Parliament this year to step up war against the offense, he said.

The current anti-drugs law is known as The Drugs and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Drugs Act No. 9 of 1995, which the police commissioner said is not adequate given the changing environment and nature of the war against the vice.

Nzowa said government’s anti-drugs units will now target border as crossings, airports and other similar places are where trafficking and peddling of drugs is conducted.

November last year the government presented an annual report on drugs, revealing that cases of drugs trafficking appeared to be on the increase with the number of drugs abusers going up as well.

The statistics issued showed that in 2011 the anti-drugs unit impounded a total of 264.3 kilogrammes of heroine involving 20 suspects compared to 185.8 kilogrammes impounded in 2010 involving 15 suspects.

As for cocaine, a total of 126 kilogrammes were seized in the same year compared to 63 kilogrammes impounded in 2010.

Nzowa said sometimes drugs are sold in the in Dar es Salaam, mainly Mafia and Mizizini streets and called on good Samaritans to help the police by identifying drugs dealers’ hideouts in the fight against the crime.

SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY (31/03/2013): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=52963

KENYA: Mathare youths protest court ruling, destroy properties

By NATION REPORTER and AFP.


Several properties in Mathare North were on Sunday morning destroyed by rowdy youths who said they were unhappy with the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya's fourth president.

A storeyed building and several business premises were burnt as the youth engaged in looting.

Police arrived at the scene and managed to contain the situation.

"We want Uhuru to know that we are not happy with the court ruling," they said.

Cord's presidential candidate Raila Odinga had challenged the result of the March 4 poll hoping for a rerun but while he begrudgingly accepted the Supreme Court's decision on Saturday, youths in his strongholds were enraged.

Riots broke out immediately after the ruling, leaving two dead and seven wounded in the city of Kisumu, Joseph Ole Tito, police chief for the western Nyanza region, said.

Many shops remained boarded up Sunday, their owners fearing fresh looting. There were few cars on the roads with residents preferring to walk to church after several vehicles were damaged Saturday by stone-throwing youths.

"In Kisumu ... the situation has been contained and business is resuming to normal," Kenya's police chief David Kimaiyo told AFP.

"We have an adequate number of police officers in all parts of the country including in those troubled areas," he said.

The gunshots that had rung out sporadically for much of Saturday evening in Kisumu died down around midnight, residents said.

There were no reports of casualties in Nairobi where Odinga supporters had lit bonfires and tried to block roads in some slum areas on Saturday.

"There were confrontations in Kibera and Mathare but we were able to contain the situation and we have sent more officers there," Nairobi police chief Benson Kibui said.

The six judges of Kenya's top court dashed Odinga's last hopes of victory by unanimously ruling that the March 4 election had been fair and credible and that Kenyatta and his running mate had been "validly elected".

The ruling paves the way for Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first president and one of Africa's richest men, to be sworn in as head of state on April 9.

Odinga, who argued that the ballot had been marred by widespread irregularities, said he accepted the court's ruling and wished his rival well.

"The court has now spoken," Odinga said, adding that while he might not agree with all its decisions his faith in the constitution "remains supreme".

The announcement of his defeat in the last elections in 2007, when he ran against the now outgoing president Mwai Kibaki, led to Kenya's worst violence since Independence, with more than 1,100 dead and several hundred thousand forced to flee their homes.

Kenyatta for his part thanked his rival and said the court ruling was "a victory for all the Kenyans" who turned out to vote on March 4.

The White House, Britain, France and the European Commission all congratulated Kenyatta on his victory.

Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto both face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity over their alleged role in planning the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

Official results showed the president-elect won 50.07 percent of the votes -- just making it over the 50-percent threshold needed to avoid a second-round ballot by some 8,000 votes.

Kenyatta will become only the second sitting head of state, after Sudan's Omar al-Beshir, to face charges at the ICC.

Analysts have argued that, far from being a handicap, the international court case helped him by providing his camp with a victimisation narrative and keeping the campaign's focus away from his rivals.


Source: Sunday Nation (31/03/2013): http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Mathare-youths-protest-court-ruling-destroy-properties/-/1056/1735214/-/swpnrj/-/index.html

Prosecutors question Egypt satirist Bassem Youssef


Prosecutors in Egypt are questioning the popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef over allegations of insulting Islam and President Mohammed Morsi.

Mr Youssef arrived at the public prosecutor's office on Sunday morning, a day after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He has faced several complaints over his show El Bernameg (The Programme), which satirises many public figures.

The case has highlighted worries about press freedoms in Egypt.

At one point during his arrival at the prosecutor's office Mr Youssef donned an oversized academic hat, mocking one which Mr Morsi wore recently when he received an honorary doctorate in Pakistan.

In a statement sent out on his Twitter account as he arrived, he said that lawyers and policemen at the office wanted their picture taken with him, and joked that this was perhaps the real reason for his summons.

'Super Morsi'

Bassem Youssef is a doctor who shot to fame after winning a large number of followers with his witty lampooning of public figures in amateur videos posted on the internet following the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's rule in February 2011.

He became a household name when his satirical show - likened to Jon Stewart's The Daily Show in the US - began to be broadcast three times a week on one of Egypt's independent satellite stations.

But sketches in which he portrayed Mr Morsi as a pharaoh, calling him "Super Morsi" for holding on to executive and legislative powers, and, separately, putting the president's image on a pillow and parodying his speeches angered one Islamist lawyer, whose formal complaint resulted in the investigation.

As well as insulting Mr Morsi and Islam, Mr Youssef is also accused of "spreading false news with the aim of disrupting public order".

Mr Youssef's case is also seen as the latest in a string of prosecution actions against opponents of the president and the movement that supports him, the Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this week, Egypt's top prosecutor ordered the arrest of five political activists, among them a leading blogger, on suspicion of inciting aggression against the Brotherhood.

Many journalists have criticised the Islamist-backed constitution which came into force earlier this year, arguing it does not offer enough guarantees for a free media.

The constitution also sparked protests from opponents who say it favours Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians.

Source: BBC News (31/03/2013): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21986436

Germany: Ankara 'requests' Turkish media access to NSU trial


Turkey has made a formal appeal to Germany for Turkish media to be granted access to the murder trial of alleged neo-Nazi terrorist Beate Zschäpe. Eight of ten victims were of Turkish origin.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was reported to have telephoned his German counterpart on Saturday to request that Turkish media be given access to the forthcoming trial, which will examine a string of neo-Nazi murders.

The German Sunday newspaper "Bild am Sonntag" reported that Davutoglu also asked German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to allow Turkish members of parliament to be present.

However, the newspaper said that, while Westerwelle had expressed his understanding for the request, he had also cited the independence of Germany's justice system from the government.

A spokesman from Germany's Foreign Ministry did not comment when asked about the call, the report said.


Given that the majority of the murder victims were of Turkish origin, there was surprise when no Turkish publication was given accreditation for a permanent place in the courtroom. The Munich court argues that it allocated places for the 50 journalists attending the trial, which begins on April 17, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Zschäpe is accused of involvement in the 10 murders carried out by the neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU). Among the victims of the group were eight ethnic Turks, a man of Greek origin and a German policewoman.

Alleged accomplices charged

Two other members of the group died in late 2011 - when the case came to light - in an apparent murder-suicide that followed a failed bank robbery attempt. Zschäpe is also accused of torching the group's shared apartment in the city of Zwickau, in a bid to hide evidence. Four men accused of being accomplices to the group also face legal proceedings.

One advocate for the NSU victims, Barbara John, was reported last week as saying that it was "not only desirable but important" that Turkish media be able to report the proceedings. Many people of Turkish origin read Turkish newspapers or watch Turkish television," she told the daily "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung."

The government's integration commissioner Maria Böhmer has urged a rethink on media access to the trial. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken a more cautious line, pointing out the independence of the courts.

rc/kms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Source: DW (31/03/2013): http://www.dw.de/ankara-requests-turkish-media-access-to-nsu-trial/a-16711223

French actress sues over Hollande mistress rumours

French actress Julie Gayet, 40, has filed legal action over online rumours that she is the mistress of President François Hollande, her lawyer said in a statement on Thursday.


French actress Julie Gayet has filed legal action over rumours that she is the mistress of President François Hollande, her lawyer said in a statement on Thursday.

Judicial sources said Gayet, 40, who appeared in one of Hollande's 2012 campaign commercials, filed a complaint on March 18 with Paris prosecutors for breach of privacy.


The move came after numerous blogs and Websites alleged that she was pursuing a relationship with Hollande.

Gayet's lawyer Vincent Toledano denied the rumours in a statement.

"The actress Julie Gayet has instructed my chambers to take legal action over the rumour, widely disseminated on the internet, suggesting, with no foundation, that she has a romantic relationship with the president of the republic," he said.

“Nothing to justify” claims

"She expects her right to a private family life to be respected as there is nothing to justify these claims."

Hollande, 58, lives with his girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist. He had a previous relationship with fellow Socialist politician and onetime presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, who is the mother of his four children.

Source: FRANCE 24 (29/03/2013): http://www.france24.com/en/20130329-french-actress-files-suit-hollande-mistress-rumours-gayet

KAMPALA: Man charged over beheading wife

By ANDREW BAGALA.


Police have preferred two charges of murder against a man who allegedly beheaded his wife and daughter. Amos Abbo, a resident of Bigiri District, reportedly accused his wife of having an extramarital affair.
Abbo, who admitted to beheading his wife, Akiro Nafula, 24, and her two-year old daughter, Naome Ayo, is in detention at Bugiri Police Station.

Mr Sam Lubega, the police spokesperson for Busoga sub-region, said they are done with gathering evidence and that the suspect would be taken to court probably on Tuesday. Mr Lubega said evidence so far gathered, links the killing to Mr Abbo.

Court appearance soon

“Firstly, we are going to take him to the court to record an extrajudicial statement and later present him to court,” he said. The incident comes at the time when the Marriage and Divorce Bill, which women activists say is aimed at solving marriage and domestic violence problems, is before Parliament.

It is alleged that Abbo suspected his wife, Nafula, of having an extramarital affair with a man in the neighbouring village. He claimed that the man also fathered a child with her. On March, 26, Abbo allegedly picked a machete and hacked to death the wife and a child he claims was not his.

“He cut of their heads and private parts. He put them in a sack and dumped them near the home of the man he suspected to have an extramarital affair with his wife,” Mr Lubega said. He said after the incident, Mr Abbo fled the area but they looked for him and arrested him. “He, however, didn’t kill one girl he believes to be his daughter,” he said.

Source: Sunday Monitor (31/03/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Man-charged-over-beheading-wife/-/688334/1734764/-/jye5vyz/-/index.html

Kenya Court upholds Kenyatta poll win


Kenya's Supreme Court has upheld the result of the country's March 4 presidential poll, won by Uhuru Kenyatta, the country's chief justice has announced.

The six-member bench was hearing legal challenges to Kenyatta's win lodged by the opposition, led by Raila Odinga, the former prime minister who finished second in the poll.

The country's outgoing president called for calm ahead of the decision that confirmed the victory of Kenya's richest man Kenyatta, and precluded the possibility of a runoff vote. 

Defeated candidate Raila Odinga said the March 4 poll was marred by technical problems and widespread rigging. Both politicians have promised to abide by the court's final word.

"It is the decision that the third and fourth respondents were validly elected," Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said in court, referring to Kenyatta and his running mate and deputy president William Ruto.

The court said that the bench hearing the case was unanimous in its decision to declare that the elections had been conducted in a "free, fair, transparent and credible" manner.

Saturday's verdict - following a drawn-out court case - means that Kenyatta will be sworn in as president early next month.

He will become the second sitting president in Africa to face charges at the International Criminal court. He and Deputy President-elect Ruto both face charges related to post-election violence in 2007 and 2008. Both deny the charges.

Ruto's trial is due to begin in late May, and Kenyatta's in July. The president-elect has pledged that he will face the charges at The Hague.

Source: Aljazeera (30/03/2013): http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/03/201333014952119486.html

Police arrest purported Zanzibar priest killer

BY MWINYI SADALLAH.


Police in Zanzibar say they have arrested one Omar Mussa Makame (35) in connection with the killing of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Evaristus Gabriel Mushi on February 17 – who was shot dead as he approached his church at the suburban Mtoni area.

Zanzibar Police Commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa told reporters yesterday that Omar Mussa Makame was arrested at Kariakoo area following “an intense police patrol” carried out by its detectives.    

… the person behind the killing of Father Mushi has been arrested and identified by eye witnesses … ,” Commissioner Mussa noted.

The reported arrest comes just two days after Dar es Salaam  Archbishop Polycarp Cardinal Pengo accused police of shoddy performance and failure to arrest the killers.

Acting Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Isaya Mngulu reacted a day later to Caridinal Pengo’s observations that the perpetrators were not ‘mere sheep tied on a tree’ awaiting capture – by the police hopefully.  
     
Commissioner Mussa said the file containing details of the suspected killer had already been submitted to the Zanzibar Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Ibrahim Mzee for legal action and that the purported killer would be arraigned in court next week – a man they identified as Omar Mussa Makame, a Carpenter who lived at Mwanakwerekwe locality.

Mussa added that his office was working hard to ensure that all behind the killings were arrested.

Police offered a 10m/- award for information that would lead to the capture of the alleged killers, according to Commissioner Mussa.  
  .
He intimated that local police and investigators from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had worked tirelessly to accomplish the assignment.

The purported killer is said to have once contested a political post of House of Representatives during the 2010 general election.     

Father Evaristus Mushi was blocked by two young men at the entrance of the church, where he was shot in the head, according to Mohammed Mhina, the police spokesman in Zanzibar. 

Three people were later arrested in connection with the killing, according to police top boss Said Mwema. President Jakaya Kikwete said he was "shocked and saddened" by the attack. 

"This is a deplorable incident and must be condemned in the strongest of possible terms... all those responsible must be brought to justice," President Kikwete said in a statement.

On Christmas Day, gunmen shot and seriously wounded a Catholic priest as he returned home from church. 

It remains unclear if the two attacks were linked, or religiously motivated.  

Mussa also said police were also holding people behind the arrest of people who ‘dusted’ acid in the face and chest of the private secretary to the Zanzibar Mufti, Sheikh Fadhil Soraga and the shooting Father Ambrose Mkenda. 

However, Mussa declined further details but intimated that the alleged persons would soon appear.

In the meantime, Easter mass will be held in the morning and afternoon only and no mass will be conducted at traditional night hours due to fear of planned attacks to Christian leaders.

This reporter has observed that prayers had been rescheduled, and some of the followers were attending masses at different churches during daytime.

The most notable cases were at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) – but Roman Catholic priest Cosmas Shao urged  believers to adhere to set schedules.

 SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (30/03/2013): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=52928

KENYAN ELECTION: Tight security ahead of Supreme Court ruling

By ZADOCK ANGIRA.


Police have heightened security in Nairobi as the country awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling expected in the next few hours.

All roads leading to the Supreme Court have been closed.

A contingent of armed GSU, administration and regular police have sealed the junctions of Wabera and Mama Ngina streets, City Hall Way, Parliament Road, and Taifa Road.

However, traders at the Maasai market situated at the Supreme Court’s parking lot have been allowed to sell their wares.

Nairobi deputy police boss Moses Ombati visited the market Saturday morning and assured the traders that their security was guaranteed.

He warned that police officers had been deployed at the market to deal with those who may take advantage of the situation to cause chaos.

On Friday, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo vowed a crackdown on illegal demonstrations ahead of the landmark ruling.

Mr Kimaiyo said crowds would not be allowed to mill around the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will deliver a historic judgment that will either clear the way for the swearing in of Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya’s fourth President, a run-off pitting Mr Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, or a fresh election.

Source: Saturday Nation (30/03/2013): http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Tight-security-ahead-of-Supreme-Court-ruling-/-/1064/1734516/-/qebhti/-/index.html

UGANDA: Government faces court for closing Lands office

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi.


Land dealers have served the Attorney General with a letter of intention to sue the government over the losses they say they have suffered because of the closure of the registry at the Ministry of Lands late last year.

Tax payers could lose billions of shillings if the government is compelled to pay compensation to the land dealers as a consequence of the legal action. Uganda Property Developers Association is being represented by Alfred Okello-Oryem and Kituma Magala Advocates in the matter which Mr Anatoli Kamugisha, the chairperson of the association, says was caused by a “reckless” decision.

“When you close off the Land Office you have closed my office,” Mr Kamugisha says. He says the concerned ministry should have learnt from how other institutions like banks and Uganda Revenue Authority, which have computerised before, went about it.

The “practical” option, he observes, should have been to let the manual system continue running while the computerisation process is underway. From December 15, 2012, the Land Registry was closed for an initial period of one month to allow for the installation of computerised record-keeping system. But the highly awaited reopening of the registry on January 15 did not happen, leaving land dealers and their agents unable to transact business.

For three months, industry sources said, one could not conduct a search on a plot of land, acquire a title or transfer land ownership. Planned construction works stalled, dealers lost land deals, lawyers and other property consultants lost revenue while land buyers failed to secure bank loans to settle their commitments.

Ministry of Lands and Urban Development spokesperson Dennis Obbo tells the Saturday Monitor that the ministry was aware that “business for individuals, companies and even government” has been affected by the closure of the land office. “But this is something that we have to do to sort out this problem,” Mr Obbo says.

Reason for closure
The closure was to enable the ministry to “carry out the crucial operations under the computerisation exercise of the registry,” ministry Permanent Secretary Gabindadde Musoke said when announcing the closure last December. The affected offices were the Department of Land Administration at the Ministry and the Registries at the Land Offices in Masaka, Mukono and Mbarara.

Mr George William Alenyo, a lawyer in Kampala, says he was contacted by people at the end of last year and the beginning of this year who wanted services for different land transactions but he could not move. Mr Alenyo says the government chose the worst possible time to close the registry. “Some people spend the whole year saving and others send money from abroad to buy plots in town but this process was hampered by the closure (of the registry at the end of the year),” Mr Alenyo says.

Effects of closure

Another lawyer, Mr Ambose Tibyasa, says he is currently handling a “protracted” misunderstanding arising from the closure of the land office. Shortly before the closure, Mr Tibyasa says, one of his clients sold a piece of land in Kampala and received part payment, with the buyer promising to complete payment after securing a bank loan using the piece of land as security.

This transaction stalled since the land office was closed shortly afterwards. The seller agreed to wait for the one month the office was to be closed, but he became impatient when it was not opened thereafter.
Another developer who had secured funds to start a construction project on Kampala Road was delayed by a discovery that someone else had put a caveat on the land.

The developer’s project could not proceed,” his consultant, former Chua MP Livingstone Okello-Okello says, because the caveat could not be removed since the land office was closed. Streamlining of operations at the land registry has been a long and winding process.

The manual filing system which the ministry has been using has been blamed for much of the mess where people have complained about missing titles while some other titles are duplicated and others allegedly change ownership without the owners’ knowledge. But in as much as the current process is aimed at cleaning up the mess, Mr Okello-Okello still has doubts whether the rot will be eliminated from the office.

Kampala factor

Mr Obbo now says the five zonal offices have re-opened, but with only the ones at Kampala Capital City Authority and the headquarters still closed. Sources say the opening of the zonal office at KCCA has been delayed in partly because of a misunderstanding between the Authority and the Ministry of Lands over staffing.

KCCA has hired seven registrars and was only prepared to accommodate two from Lands, a move that threatens to render some the support staff at the Land Office redundant. Mr Obbo says “the benefits of the smooth service the public will enjoy after the computerisation outweigh the costs of waiting for those months.”

Source: Saturday Monitor (30/03/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Government-faces-court-for-closing-Lands-office/-/688334/1734142/-/qu4m8bz/-/index.html



RWANDA: Legislators debate proposal to slash marriage age to 18

By James Karuhanga.


Legislators on Political Affairs and Gender committee are wrapping up a nationwide consultation on the Bill governing persons and family, before tackling amendments in the 1988 law, which are meant to align it with the Constitution and current realities.

MPs have traversed 16 districts [out of the targeted 19] in the four provinces, to consult the population because, according to MP Alfred Rwasa Kayiranga, the Chairperson of the Committee, people’s views will, “without doubt,” be decisive. 

One proposed amendment is slashing marriage age from 21 to 18 years.

Kayiranga said, “It is clear that the general view is that 21 years should be maintained considering the standpoint of having children continue with higher education so that they can later be able to compete effectively.”

He added; “What is in the Bill is just a proposal. Things can change! We shall put all views and these other issues into consideration when discussing the Bill.”

There is also a sense of unease over the proposal’s possible impact on the country’s population dilemma. Some fear it could jeopardise the family planning campaign championed by Parliament.

Genesis

The suggestion, according to Jean Pierre Kayitare, the assistant Attorney General in charge of Legislation Drafting Services in the Ministry of Justice, is due to the fact that the Ministry of Justice is overwhelmed by continuous applications from people under 21, requesting ‘special’ marriage approvals.

Between July and December 2012, the minister received about 40 applications.

“Those are just from the very few people who are aware that they have to make the request, and are as well able to. Others deep there in rural areas don’t bother coming to Kigali. You can imagine what the real situation is,” Kayitare said on Monday.

Seven years ago, the ministry contracted the Faculty of Law in the National University of Rwanda (NUR), to conduct a countrywide study about marriage age.

Its 2005-2006 report, among others, suggested that given the hardships experienced as a result of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, “children in Rwanda turned out to be very responsible adults even before reaching 18 because of the difficulties of life they went through,” Kayitare said, reading from a section of the report.

“The report indicates that many doubted the logic of 21 years as marriage age – the penal code has 18 as age for criminal liability, and the labour code recognizes age of 16. People highlighted this discord,” Kayitare said.

“If there were, in reality, responsible family heads at 14 years of age, why wait till one is 21 to permit marriage yet the truth is that at a younger age, people are already mature enough and responsible? Under the civil code, when under 21, one cannot be allowed to sign any contract – be it in business or marriage. This is a big issue!”

Public reaction

Aimable Nkuranga, a father, is among those in the public well acquainted with the trend set by the consequences of the Genocide.

Nkuranga said: “As a parent, I would maintain 21 as a marriageable age. However, you can’t ignore the fact that many orphans have problems in host families and would welcome the opportunity for founding their own homes early. Just as we lowered majority age for one to engage in business, to 16, I wouldn’t be against 18 as a marriageable age.”

Emmanuel Mugisha said: “Family and social responsibility is what awaits both males and females in marriage. Physical maturity at 18 does not necessarily mean character and intellectual maturity! My worry is not the age factor but the perception people carry when planning to get married. Age won’t save us from social problems resulting from unhealthy marriage relationships. Even at 40, people are failing!”

Annick Rudakemwa, a mother, is of the view that at 18, a boy or a girl is still in school and should remain there, if they have the means to.

“You need life experience before decisions like these are made. Here, we need to be really careful and have a look at our culture and context. I am sure that all Rwandans don’t share the same view on this. I am worried that if the age of marriage is put at 18, students will drop out of school,” she said.

Demographic and health surveys conducted in the region lend credence to the belief that education is the number one factor that will influence when women get married and when they start bearing children. Early marriage is, among others, linked to higher maternal mortality.

Marriageable age varies with countries, but it is generally set at 18 and some countries allow marriage at slightly younger age with parental and/or judicial approval, or in case of pregnancy.

Source: NT (30/03/2013): http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15312&a=65466

WAR CRIMES: 'Monster of Grbavica' handed maximum sentence


A Sarajevo court has sentenced a former commander of a Serb paramilitary group to 45 years in jail for a series of crimes committed during the Bosnian War. It was the longest-ever sentence handed down by the court.

Presiding judge Zoran Bozic told the court on Friday that 43-year-old Veselin Vlahovic had been found guilty of "horrid, cruel and manifold criminal acts" committed between May and July of 1992 in the Serb-controlled Sarajevo districts of Grbavica and Vraca.

"During systematic repression against the non-Serb population he participated in expulsion of his victims, he committed murders, he tortured, raped and imprisoned his victims," Bozic said.

Among the crimes the court convicted Vlahovic of were the murders of 31 people, the rapes of at least 13 women, as well as the torture and robbery of dozens of civilians.

Vlahovic, who became know by his victims as the "monster of Grbavia", had pleaded not guilty when the trial started in April 2011.

The prosecutor in the case called for the maximum sentence of 45 years for the native of Montenegro, which was still joined with Serbia as part of the former Yugoslavia at the time the crimes were committed.
"Such a sentence would be the most just, but even that one will still be insufficient to heal the suffering of the victims," Behaija Krnjic said.


While Vlahovic, showed no reaction when the verdict was announced, it drew applause from members of victims' associations who were present in the courtroom.

This is not the first time Vlahovic has been convicted of a crime. Following the Bosnian War he was convicted of armed robbery in Montenegro.

He was extradited to Bosnia from Spain after being arrested in connection with a number of burglaries there in 2010.

This was the longest sentence handed down by the Sarajevo war court since it was set up in 2005 to ease the workload of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. The previous longest sentence was 43 years, handed to Bosnian Serb Sanko Kojic for his role in the 1995 massacre of around 8,000 boys in the eastern town of Srebrenica.

pfd/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Source: DW (29/03/2013): http://www.dw.de/monster-of-grbavica-handed-maximum-sentence/a-16709346

KAMPALA: ‘280 inmates locked up without sentences’

By EPHRAIM KASOZI.


About 278 condemned prisoners are incarcerated without sentences, four years since their punishments were commuted by the Supreme Court, a High Court Judge has said.

Justice David Wangutusi of the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court said following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Susan Kigula case in 2009, only 40 convicts have had their death sentences mitigated, while a larger number of approximately 278 remain incarcerated. He said this during the roundtable on Parliament and Penal Reform in Kampala.

“Some trial judges left the High Court either due to death, retirement, others on official duty or elevation to higher bench. So mitigation and re-sentencing arising from their decisions can only be handled by reallocation,” Justice Wangutusi said.

On proposed law

Rights advocacy body, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), in partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK organised the roundtable with a view of discussing a strategy to support the private member’s Bill to enforce the Supreme Court’s directions to abolish the death penalty.

Mr Livingstone Ssewanyana, the FHRI executive director, said the proposed law seeks to reflect on the number of cases that attract death sentence to be reduced and scrap the mandatory death penalty. According to Mr Ssewanyana, the imprisonment of people without a punishment is a violation of the rules of natural justice.

Source: Saturday Monitor (30/03/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-280-inmates-locked-up-without-sentences-/-/688334/1734176/-/gmsqab/-/index.html

Indian-American sentenced to 24 months in US


WASHINGTON.

An Indian-American along with two others from Alabama have been sentenced for their roles in an identity theft and tax fraud scheme, the US Justice Department has said.

While Indian-American Narendra Kumar Patel was sentenced to 24 months in prison, the two other co-conspirators Mary Bennett and Eugenia Burks have been sentenced to 75 and 18 months respectively.

Bennett had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft, while Burks also had pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Patel pleaded guilty to forging state securities. According to court documents, the defendants were part of a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain both federal income tax refunds as well as state income tax refunds from several different states by using stolen identities to file false tax returns.

Fraudulently obtained refund checks were mailed to various addresses used by the conspiracy, while other refunds were obtained through direct deposits into numerous bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy, prosecutors alleged.

Bennett admitted to being the one responsible for actually filing the false tax returns and also to storing stolen identity information at her home.

Some of the checks obtained by the scheme were cashed by Patel, the former owner of a check-cashing business, who admitted that he knowingly cashed the forged checks and shared in the proceeds.

Source: Times of India (29/03/2013): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/other-news/Indian-American-sentenced-to-24-months-in-US/articleshow/19271911.cms

DAR ES SALAAM: High Court judge to preside over Lwakatare`s case

BY KARAMA KENYUNKO.


Judge Lawrence Kaduri is set to preside over the hearing of the case facing the Director of Defense and Security for Chadema, Wilfred Lwakatare and his co-accused Joseph Ludovick at the High Court.

The move follows an application filed by Lwakatare’s defense team which includes: Peter Kibatala, Tundu Lissu, Nyaronyo Kicheere and Prof Abdallah Safari seeking for an order for revision of the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s court proceedings, whereby on Tuesday this week, the High Court called the application ready for revision.

In their application they stated that, “any delay in determining this application will result in the continuation of illegalities complained of which will result in a derogation of the independence of the judiciary and ultimately Lwakatare’s right.”

In an affidavit to support the application, advocate Kibatala, stated that, on March 18 this year, Lwakatare and Joseph Ludovick were arraigned by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s court on charges of terrorism in Preliminary Inquiry (PI), criminal case number 37of 2013.

The charges allegedly committed on December 28, last year at King’ong’o, Kimara Stop Over area in Kinondoni District, were linked with harming a journalist named, Denis Msacky.  After having entered plea to the charges, Lwakatare’s advocates requested the court to grant him bail.

The court was set to deliver its ruling on March 20, this year but on the same day the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) dropped the charges.

Senior Resident Magistrate Emmilius Mchauru subsequently set free both the accused after having received a ‘nolle prosequi’ certificate entered by the DPP.

Nevertheless, thereafter the duo was rearrested and the prosecution charged them with similar offences in PI No. 6 of 2013. In the application, Lwakatare’s advocates asked the High court to revise and or quash The Nolle Prosequi and the order determining the proceedings in PI Criminal case number 37 of 2013.

They also sought for orders that the ruling scheduled to be delivered by Mchauru which was irregularly pre-empted by the DPP’s nolle prosequi be delivered as scheduled.

Lwakatare’s defense team further asked the court to enter a finding that the procedure adopted by the DPP in entering a nolle prosequi when ruling was pending in the case No. 37 of 2013 was illegal, irregular and mounted to an abuse of judicial processes.

According to advocates, decision made by DPP was “an abuse of the prosecutorial powers and a derogation of the independence of the judiciary.”

 Lwakatare and Ludovick are charged with conspiracy to commit offences of maliciously administering poison and kidnapping as well as arranging and participating in a terrorist meeting. Lwakatare is facing an additional count of allowing his house to promote terrorism.

Both the accused are remanded at Segerea Prison and the case has been set for mention before Resident Magistrate Aloyce Katemana On April 3, this year.

 SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (29/03/2013): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=52905

KENYA: Vote recount shows anomalies- lawyers

By ANTHONY KARIUKI.


Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the civil society have said the re-tallying of votes show discrepancies in the presidential results as declared by the electoral commission.

Mr Odinga's lawyer George Oraro told the Supreme Court that Forms 36 contain "grave errors".

"There are huge discrepancies in Forms 36 used in tallying final results," said Mr Oraro Friday.

"The re-tallying shows there was addition of 6,139 votes and a subtraction of 12, 530 votes when figures are tallied," he said.

He was responding to the report of the scrutiny of results from 22 polling stations ordered by the Supreme Court.

Lawyer Kethi Kilonzo for the Africa Centre for Open Governance (Africog) said, according to the report, Forms 34 were missing in 10 constituencies.

She said that in Laikipia West constituency, party agents carrying the vote recount were unable to verify the number of votes cast.

Ms Kilonzo said president-elect Uhuru Kenyatta got 76,760 votes, yet this could not be verified.

She said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairman Issack Hassan announced the final results prematurely.

"The Returning Officer of the presidential election (Mr Hassan) made the final announcement without all the results," she said.

According to the report, these are: Kilifi North, Kapenguria, Loima, Magarini, Matuga, Narok West, Kuresoi South, Likuyani, Kabondo Kasipul, Mwingi North.

Aggregate results of Form 36 registered voters from 75 constituencies were missing, the report says.

For instance, in Mvita constituency there was no aggregate provided for votes cast. In Ganze, there were two Forms 36. In Githunguri, the two Forms 36 indicated different numbers of votes cast. In Malava, the Form 36 was incomplete.

In rebuttal, IEBC lawyer Nani Mungai said the commission had responded to the the discrepancies.

"We provided thousands of green books for scrutiny to address the allegations of having more votes that registered voters," he told the judges.

He said there was "no mischief at all" on the part of the IEBC in conducting the General Election.

Mr Kenyatta's counsel Fred Ngatia conceded there were "clerical errors" but maintained this could not affect the final results.

"There may have been clerical errors here and there but no mischief can be attributed to this at all," he said.

"There may have been clerical errors here and there but no mischief can be attributed to this at all," he said.

He said that in Mugumoini polling station, the wrong Form 36 was used in the re-tallying of votes.

Lawyer Katwa Kigen for Mr Ruto said the scrutiny does not point to any wrongdoing on IEBC's part.

He said the "errors and oversights are expected in any human endeavours".

Form 34 is a legal document that shows the votes obtained by each of the candidates at a polling centre, and the contenders’ agents are required to sign it after establishing that the results are accurate before it is forwarded to the national tallying centre.

Form 35 shows the results for governors, senators, county and women’s representatives while Form 36 gives a summary of the votes obtained by all candidates in constituencies.


Source: Daily Nation (29/03/2013): http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Lawyers-say-vote-recount-shows-anomalies/-/1064/1733762/-/oqmpymz/-/index.html

RWANDA: Media stakeholders discuss Access to Information Law

By Doreen Umutesi.


A workshop by various partners was held Tuesday to discuss the content of the Access to Information Law, which came into force recently.

The law that eases access to public information, whether held by public or private institutions, saw Rwanda becoming the 11th African country with that kind of legislation that seeks to ease the work of media practitioners. 

The meeting discussed drafts of several ministerial orders that will complement the law, including the confidentiality clause. It was organised by the Rwanda Governance Board and chaired by the Ombudsman’s office, which will oversee its implementation. 

Other orders include the proactive disclosure by State organs, the time limit for such disclosures and the charges where necessary.

Speaking after the meeting, Xavier Mbarubukeye, the permanent secretary in the Ombudsman’s office, said the discussions were timely. 

“Through these meetings, we are gaining knowledge and borrowing ideas on how we will operate and implement the law,” Mbarubukeye said. 

Henry Maina, the director of the media watchdog Article19 Eastern Africa, who also attended the meeting, said it is crucial that after the law was gazetted, the ministerial orders are being drafted to ensure expeditious implementation. 

“With some of the draft ministerial orders, more work have to be done, like the one talking about fact disclosure or lack of security. If you look at the one of proactive disclosure, the main challenge is that there is no clarity on the procedure to be taken by each agency or organisation to be allowed to develop its own procedure. That could be dangerous because there won’t be uniformity in what is being done,” Maina revealed. 

He said Rwanda could borrow from the Liberian Freedom of Information Act, which is clear on what can be done on the proactive disclosure. 

“Given the histories of the two countries, then there wouldn’t be much to be changed that’s within an African context and a country in transition from an unfortunate historical moment,” he said.

Representatives of security organs promised to work with relevant drafting organs to define what was restricted, or confidential information.

Source: NT (29/03/2013): http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15311&a=65443

Shoe thrown at Musharraf in a Pakistan court

KARACHI.

A man lobbed a shoe at former President Pervez Musharraf when he appeared in a Pakistani court here on Friday, but it did not hit him.

The unidentified man hurled the shoe towards Musharraf while he was leaving the Sindh high court this morning after obtaining a 15-day extension of his pre-arrest bail in a series of cases.

The shoe fell a few feet in front of the 69-year-old former military ruler, who was surrounded by security personnel and TV cameramen.

Footage on TV showed the shoe flying through the air and landing in a group of people in front of Musharraf.

It could not immediately be ascertained whether the man was detained.

Musharraf, who recently returned to Pakistan after nearly four years of self-exile, went to the court to seek extension of his pre-arrest bail. A bench extended the bail by 15 days.

This was not the first time that a shoe was hurled at Musharraf. In 2011, a man tried to hurl his shoe at him when he was addressing a gathering in Britain.

Angry scenes were witnessed in the court complex as a group of lawyers shouted slogans against Musharraf. There were heated exchanges between lawyers and Musharraf supporters.

Musharraf's security guards rushed him out of the court complex.

Source: Times of India (29/03/2013): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Shoe-thrown-at-Musharraf-in-a-Pakistan-court/articleshow/19274325.cms

MBEYA: Man murders, buries daughter in home

Written by MERALI CHAWE in Mbeya .


A MAN is alleged to have killed his three-year old daughter and buried her in his living room after a disagreement with his estranged wife.

Speaking to our reporter, the Mbeya Regional Police Commander, Diwan Athuman, said that the man, Riziki Said (27), a resident of Isange village in Rungwe district, committed the offence after a disagreement with his wife.

He said that for a long period of time the man and his wife Esther Mwambeja (23), have been facing marital conflicts which forced them to separate.

The RPC said that soon after the couple parted ways, a new conflict emerged when they disagreed on who should stay with the daughter, three-year old Debora Riziki. Elaborating further, RPC Athuman said that on November 28th last year, the accused went to his former wife’s house and forcefully took his daughter from the care of her mother.

“The conflict between the couple was based on custody of the daughter, and on March 27 this year, the father decided to kill her instead of letting his wife keep her, and went ahead and buried her in his living room,” said the RPC.

He said that the police managed to arrest the culprit and will soon be brought in a court of law to answer murder charges. The Mbeya Regional Social Welfare Officer, Aika Temu, when contacted by this reporter said that according to the laws of the land, a mother is allowed to stay with the child if she is below seven years old.

Source: Daily News (29/03/2013): http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/15944-man-murders-buries-daughter-in-home

S. Africa: Oscar Pistorius granted permission to travel abroad


A South African judge has ruled that Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend, may leave the country. The eased bail restriction now means he can compete in international track meets.

The ruling Thursday in North Gauteng High Court upheld the Paralympic athlete's appeal against some of his bail restrictions.

Judge Bert Bam said that Pistorius, who is charged with murder in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, must travel under certain conditions.

In order to leave the country, Pistorius must provide an itinerary of his travel plans at least one week before he is to leave. Furthermore, his passport will be held by a court while he is in South Africa.


The ruling now means that the 26-year-old Paralympic champion, who is facing a life sentence if found guilty of murder, can race in international competitions again. Pistorius rose to international fame at the London Olympics and Paralympics of 2012. He was the first double amputee ever to compete in the summer games, with the assistance of his carbon fiber prosthetics.

Although Pistorius' lawyers said the athlete had no immediate plans to compete, he would likely need to return to track in the future to "to earn an income," they said. Pistorius did not attend the court session.

"He has no desire to compete now but it might change and it will change," defense lawyer Barry Roux told the judge. Roux assured that Pistorius would not try and dodge trial if he is allowed to travel internationally.

Pistorius says he killed Steenkamp accidentally when he fired shots through his locked bathroom door on Feb. 14, fearing there was an intruder in his house. However, prosecutors say he shot the model and reality TV star intentionally after they argued, and have charged him with premeditated murder.

The judge also ruled in favor of Pistorius on several other conditions. He no longer has to be regularly supervised by a probation official and is now allowed to return to his house, where he shot Steenkamp. He also no longer has to report regularly to a police station.

Pistorius' next court appearance is June 4, when chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court his team aims to serve indictments.

hc/mkg (Reuters, AP, AFP)

Source: DW (28/03/2013): http://www.dw.de/pistorius-granted-permission-to-travel-abroad/a-16705232

Pope Francis washes prisoners' feet on Maundy Thursday


Pope Francis has washed the feet of prisoners in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday service.

The Christian ritual takes place on the Thursday before Easter to commemorate Christ's Last Supper.

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are arriving in Rome to attend ceremonies during the holy week ahead of Easter.

In a homily, the Pope earlier urged priests to do less "soul-searching" and engage more with parishioners.

"It is not in soul-searching... that we encounter the Lord," he told hundreds of cardinals, priests and bishops in St Peter's Basilica.

"We need to go out... to the outskirts where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters."

Worshippers should "leave Mass looking as if they had heard good news", he added.

Gesture of humility

During Thursday's intimate service, the Pope washed and kissed the feet of 12 young detainees to replicate the Bible's account of Jesus Christ's gesture of humility towards his 12 apostles on the night before he was crucified.

The 12 inmates included two girls, one Italian Catholic and one of Serbian Muslim origin, local prison ombudsman Angiolo Marroni said ahead of the ceremony.

Some of the prisoners volunteered to have their feet washed, while others were given an invitation to help them overcome their embarrassment, the Catholic News Agency quoted the prison chaplain as saying.

In total, around 10 girls and 40 boys from different nationalities and diverse religious confessions were taking part in Thursday's Mass at Casal del Marmo on the outskirts of Rome.

The new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican, reports the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

He has broken with tradition for the foot-washing ceremony, which is normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the centre in 2007, but not for the Holy Thursday Mass. Only for the first two years of his pontificate did he perform the feet-washing himself, after which the task was delegated to priests.

Easter is the most important festival in the calendar of the Catholic Church.

On Good Friday evening the Pope will carry a wooden cross and pray at a ceremony at Rome's ancient amphitheatre, the Colosseum, commemorating Jesus' crucifixion.

On Saturday evening Pope Francis will celebrate the main Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter's Basilica.

And on Easter Sunday morning, the new Pope will deliver his first "Urbi et Orbi" message to the city of Rome and to the world.

During his inaugural general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis called for an immediate political solution to the conflict in the Central African Republic after last weekend's coup.

Source: BBC News (28/03/2013): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21963105

DAR ES SALAAM: Manji, Mwalusako appear in court

Written by FAUSTINE KAPAMA.


YOUNG Africans top officials, Yusuf Manji and Lawrence Mwalusako, appeared before the High Court’s Labour Division to explain why they should not be imprisoned for failure to deposit in court 100m/- payments for two ex-players.

The two, who are Chairman and General Secretary, respectively, had responded to a summons given by the Registrar of the Court, Mohamed Gwae, in execution proceedings involving the club and its two former players, Steven Malashi and Malawian Wisdom Ndlovu.

However, the two could not account for their failure to honour the order of the court dated February 5, this year, because the original case file has been taken to the Court of Appeal for hearing and determination of an application for revision filed by the club.

“The case has been adjourned sine die and the parties would be notified on how to proceed with the matter after determination of the application pending before the Court of Appeal,” the Registrar said.

On Monday (March 25), Yanga filed the application before the Court of Appeal under certificate of urgency since the Chairman and General Secretary of the club were at risk of being arrested for failure to comply the order in question.

In the application, Yanga is asking the judges of the highest temple of justice in the country to call for and examine the records and proceedings of the High Court with a view of satisfying itself as to its correctness, legality and propriety or otherwise.

The club’s General Secretary Lawrence Mwalusako has sworn an affidavit to support the application, stating that the award that gives rise to the proceedings was delivered by an arbitrator, Alfred Masey, at the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA) on July 25, last year.

After the delivery of the award, he states, Yanga filed an application for revision and application for stay of the award on October 11, last year. But on February 5, this year, the Registrar of the High Court delivered his ruling and ordered Yanga to deposit in court 106,300,000/-.

Mwalusako alleges that execution against Yanga was made contrary to standing procedures whereby the mediator failed to consider the locus standi of the club. The two players went to the CMA against Yanga for breach of contract. They had requested for payments of signing fees, salaries for two seasons and damages for loss of opportunities and frustrations.

They had been recruited by Yanga as players on two year agreement on March 18, 2010. But on July 16, 2010, being on preparations for the new season, the then team coach, Kostadin Papic, at Rose Garden in Kinondoni District, allegedly informed them that they are no longer team members.

It is alleged that in terms of the agreement, Yanga was duty bound to communicate to them on the decision to terminate the contract with seven days before the date set by Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) as the date for premier league clubs to submit the drop list of players.

The players had claimed that they went to the CMA as last resort as efforts to resolve the matter with Yanga leadership and TFF proved futile. After hearing their case, the CMA ordered Yanga to pay Ndlovu 57m/- as salaries for two seasons, 1.8m/- transport allowances back to Malawi and 20m/- damages for loss of opportunities and frustrations.

The club was also ordered to pay Malashi 18m/- being signing fees and salaries for two years, 10m/- being damages for loss of opportunities and 500,000/- as balance of signing fees for season 2009/2010.

Source: Daily News (28/03/2013): http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/sport/15920-manji-mwalusako-appear-in-court

DAR ES SALAAM: Deci scheme case ruling date to be set in May

BY KARAMA KENYUNKO.


The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam will on May 10, this year set a date on which it will rule on the famous case of five Deci pastors who were allegedly involved in organising a pyramid scheme.

After both prosecution and defence had submitted their cases, the presiding Resident Magistrate Stuwart Sanga found the accused do have a case to answer. The prosecution provided 16 witnesses in the case that was held on July 17, last year.

The accused clergy are, Jackson Mtares, Dominic Kigendi, Samuel Mtares, Timotheo ole Loitingye and Arbogast Francis all pastors from different churches.

According to the charge sheet it was alleged that on different dates between 2007 and March 2009 at the Deci headquarters in Mabibo, Dar es Salaam, the five collected money from people whom they promised huge repeated returns in the form of interest on “seed money sown”.

The prosecution further alleged that, on the same date and place the accused accepted deposits from the public knowing well that it was illegal to do so because they had no license contrary to Section 911 8(2) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act number 5 of 2006.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (28/03/2013): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=52874

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