Extension of TFP Term heralds catastrophe for Somalia
Listen Two days after IGAD’s public declaration, the Parliament approved three year term extension easily with 97 % yes (435 present). It’s interesting to witness the intense vilification of the International Community (IC) by Ethiopia and Members of the Djibouti Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP-D) after the IC objected the three-year- extension of TFP-D’s tenure from [...]
S. Sudan govt elites enjoy luxuries as citizens live in poverty
Listen Juba (Alshahid) -Are Southern Sudanese Government officials trying to make up for lost time? Top of the range four-wheel drive vehicles, including the fuel-guzzler Hummer, are the only cars they are driven in. Their offices are air-conditioned and flashy, with wall-to-wall carpets. The men prefer neatly cut and well-pressed suits of the designer type, [...]
Kenyan PM flies to Cote d’Ivoire for mission impossible
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid) -Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is on the way to Abidjan for ‘last-chance’ diplomatic efforts to end an election crisis that left Cote d’Ivoire with “two presidents”. The announcement by the African Union came a day after Laurent Gbagbo rejected a deadline set by his rival for him to leave office, saying [...]
Kenya Police stop generation change rally over US envoy link
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid) –A public prayer rally organized by Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and former Mungiki sect leader Maina Njenga in Nairobi’s Kamkunji was violently dispersed by police who claimed “orders from above”. The charismatic and eloquent Eugene Wamalwa is fast becoming a preferred candidate for the now politically active massive voting block of youths [...]
Kenya: Experts welcome counter-human trafficking law
Listen Mombasa-Nairobi (Alshahid) – Counter-trafficking specialists say a law recently passed in Kenya which, for the first time, legally defines and recognizes trafficking in persons as a crime, will help protect the vulnerable and assist survivors, while serving as a deterrent to perpetrators. “This legislation represents a significant new tool for Kenya in counter-trafficking law [...]
Pirates’ Catch Exposed Kenya Route of Arms to volatile Sudan
Listen Khartoum (Alshahid) — It was September 2008 and a band of Somali pirates made a startling discovery. The Ukrainian freighter they had just commandeered in the Gulf of Aden was packed with weapons, including 32 Soviet-era battle tanks, and the entire arsenal was headed for the regional government in southern Sudan. The Ukrainian and [...]
Kenya Rights body admits paying witnesses for ICC against former minister
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid) – The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) on Friday confirmed that it had been housing two witnesses who allege they were paid off and coached to give evidence incriminating Eldoret North MP William Ruto. Commissioner Hassan Omar Hassan said they are mandated by law to give protection to witnesses, but [...]
The nomad’s way of doing business: A guide to Somali commerce
Listen By ABDI LATIF DAHIR: You step off the brightly-coloured matatus (minibuses); music is blaring and the touts are shouting for more passengers. Immediately you alight, a blast of hot air flashes across your face, then a wave of choking dust quickly replaces it. While you try to comprehend it all, drivers shout from their [...]
Will Somalia President Sharif’s PM choice antagonize Puntland?
Listen By Hanad Haidar: One of Somalia’s newspapers has reported that H.E. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed will appoint a new Prime Minister this week. According to Mogadishu Times, in article dated 6 October 2010, the new Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) will be Mr. Saa’id Farah “Shirdon” – a relatively unknown politician from [...]
Draft Constitution will deepen Somalia’s crisis
Listen While the persistent political squabbles among the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) are the hallmark of dysfunctional and corrupt regime, the ongoing dispute over the Draft Constitution deserves attention, scrutiny and comment. The externally-driven Constitution-Making Process will deepen the Somali crisis, will perpetuate the chaos and massacre in South Central [...]