Vessel runs aground, briefly blocking Suez Canal

SUEZ CANAL, Egypt

An oil tanker ran aground Wednesday in Egypt’s Suez Canal, briefly blocking traffic in the global waterway before it was freed, the canal’s authority said.

The Singaporean-flagged Affinity V vessel had become wedged in a single-lane stretch of the canal, the Suez Canal Authority’s head Osama Rabie said in a statement issued by the body.

He said that five of the authority’s tug boats managed to get the vessel floating again in a coordinated operation. He said a technical failure in the boat’s steering mechanism caused it to hit the bank of the canal, and that navigation for other ships passing through the canal had returned to normal.

A spokesman for Suez Canal Authority told the government-affiliated Extra News satellite television channel that the ship ran aground around 7.15 p.m. local time, and was floating again some five hours later.

Geroge Safwat said the vessel was part of a convoy heading south to the Red Sea. Two convoys transit through the Suez Canal everyday; One north-bound to the Mediterranean and the other south-bound to the Red Sea. The man-made waterway divides continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula, and provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo.

The ship was built in 2016 with a length of 252 meters (827 feet) and a width of 45 meters (148 feet). It sailed from Portugal and its destination was the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to the spokesman.

Wednesday’s incident was not the first to block the crucial waterway. Buffeted by a sandstorm, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, had crashed into a bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal in March 2021.

The Japanese-owned Ever Given blocked the canal for six days before being released in a massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats. That created a massive traffic jam that held up $9 billion a day in global trade and strained supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.

In September 2021, another large shipping vessel ran aground before authorities managed to free it within hours.

Following the March 2021 incident, canal authorities began working to widen and deepen the waterway’s southern part where the Ever Given ran aground.

About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a pivotal source of foreign currency to Egypt. Authorities said 20,649 vessels passed through the canal last year, a 10% increase compared to 18,830 vessels in 2020. The annual revenues of the canal reached $6.3 billion in 2021, the highest in its history. - AP

 

Angola’s main opposition party challenges election results

LUANDA, Angola

Angola’s main opposition party on Tuesday submitted a legal complaint challenging the electoral commission’s finding that the governing party won last week’s election, Reuters reported.

After the most closely fought election since independence from Portugal in 1975, the commission declared the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) the winner, prolonging its nearly five decades of uninterrupted rule and handing President Joao Lourenco a second term.

The commission said Lourenco and the MPLA won 51 percent of the vote.

Opposing party UNITA leader Adalberto Costa Junior has repeatedly said in the past few days that he does not recognise the results of the vote and that complaints have been filed.

"UNITA reiterates that it will not recognise the results announced by the National Electoral Commission until the complaints already in its possession are resolved,” the party said in its Tuesday statement.

Under Angola’s rules, if UNITA wishes to challenge the results it must first lodge a complaint with the commission. If that is rejected, the party can take the matter to the Constitutional Court, which must rule within 72 hours.

Angola’s Constitutional Court is led by Laurinda Cardoso, a former MPLA member who was appointed by Lourenco in August 2021. Analysts say the MPLA controls the court but Lourenco says it exercises its powers independently.

Former Constitutional Court President Manuel Aragao resigned last year after he voted against constitutional amendments which he described as the “suicide of the democratic rule and law”.

Angolan political analyst Edmilson Angelo said UNITA was likely to eventually accept defeat but would continue to reject the gap in votes.

"This will allow them to be coherent with their position on the electoral process while at the same time soften the feeling of disruption which may erupt,” Angelo said.

Analysts say any dispute could ignite street protests but that has not happened so far.

The MPLA and UNITA, formerly anti-colonial guerrilla groups, were on opposing sides of the post-independence civil war that lasted until 2002 when Angolan troops killed UNITA’s rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi.

Lourenco has pledged to press on with reforms in his second term, including privatising poorly run state assets and continuing to clean up corruption after investigating wealthy and powerful members of the dos Santos family.

The MPLA’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Spain in July, had ruled Angola from 1979 until 2017 when he handed power to Lourenco.

Lourenco’s reforms have so far failed to create a fairer distribution of Angola’s vast oil wealth – it is Africa’s second-largest producer – which remains mostly in the hands of a few well-connected MPLA officials.

Kenya election court battle: President-elected 4,463 additional votes

By Brian Wasuna, NAIROBI Kenya

Julie Soweto, a lawyer in Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s legal team, has alleged that 4,463 votes were deducted from her client and added to Kenya’s President-elect William Ruto in Bomet, Kiambu, Kakamega, Nairobi and Baringo Counties.

In submissions made at the country’s Supreme Court Wednesday, she also argued that there were inconsistencies in 41 Forms 34A from Bomet, Kiambu and Kakamega given to agents and what is in the IEBC portal, adding that what was submitted at the national tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya was different.

"IEBC procured two sets of forms 34A. It was intended that only booklet 1/1 would be used at polling stations while 2/2 would be stored in a tamper-proof envelope. Celestine Anyango's affidavit shows deliberate mischief in the use of forms. The forms that agents have and forms in the portal are the same in all features (serial numbers, stamps, signatures). However, the figures in the forms have been tampered with and are different," she said.

Before her, Senior Counsel James Orengo, also in Mr Odinga's legal team, argued that the IEBC is dysfunctional and cannot carry out an election. He also argued that the forms were tampered with.

"In totality, the discrepancies accounted for more than 140,000 votes. That has an impact on the results of the elections as declared," he said.

In asking the court to nullify the election outcome announced by IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati, he also brought up the matter of the national voter turnout as announced by the electoral agency. 

"In this exercise I invite your lordships to look at the affidavit of Edgar Otumba. He swore two affidavits. He did assist this court in 2017. He states that on August 9, Mr Chebukati issued a communique that the total voter turnout at 4pm nationwide was at over 56 percent. At the close of voting, IEBC issued a statement that the total voter turnout was over 65 percent," he said.

Mr Orengo also argued that affidavits sworn by Mr Otumba show that even with the disputed IEBC figures, there is no way Dr Ruto garnered more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast as required by the Constitution. 

"We want to persuade you that William Ruto never attained that Constitutional threshold (50% + 1)," he added.

1st Ukraine grain ship for Horn of Africa reaches Djibouti

NAIROBI, Kenya

The first ship carrying grain from Ukraine for people in the hungriest parts of the world has docked at the Horn of Africa port of Djibouti as areas of East Africa are badly affected by deadly drought and conflict.

Brave Commander is the first vessel specially chartered by the UN to unblock food shipments stuck after Russia’s invasion.

Food security experts call it a drop in the bucket for the vast needs in the worst-hit Horn countries of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, the nation where this first shipment is going. But the flow of grain from Ukraine for other hungry parts of the world is expected to continue, with another ship departing Tuesday for Yemen. The U.N. World Food Program has said it is working on multiple ships.

WFP says this first shipment of grain will be shipped overland to northern Ethiopia, where millions of people have been affected by the country’s Tigray conflict, which has now flared up again.

How any of the grain will reach Tigray is now in question as humanitarian deliveries by road and air have been suspended amid the fighting that sparked again last week between Tigray forces and Ethiopian ones. But Ethiopia’s neighboring Amhara and Afar regions also are expected to benefit.

WFP has said the 23,000 metric tons of grain on the first ship are enough to feed 1.5 million people on full rations for a month. But the U.N. has said 2.4 million in Tigray alone are severely food insecure and that 20 million people across Ethiopia face hunger.

Millions of other people in the Horn of Africa region are going hungry because of drought, and thousands have died. Somalia has been especially hard hit because it sourced at least 90% of its grain from Ukraine and Russia before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Food security experts have said it will take weeks for people in African countries to see grain from Ukraine arrive and even longer to see it bring down high food prices that have been a source of despair and protests in multiple nations.

Far more ships carrying grain from Ukraine have been going to richer places like Europe as existing business contracts are fulfilled. - AP

At least 15 killed amid fighting in Iraqi capital

BAGHDAD, Iran

At least 15 people have been killed as clashes between Iraqi security forces and supporters of a powerful Shia cleric continued in Baghdad overnight.

Officials say dozens more were injured after protesters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the presidential palace.

The violence was sparked after Mr Sadr announced his retirement from politics.

Iraq's caretaker prime minister has called for calm and the military has declared a nationwide curfew after unrest in several other cities.

Street fighting erupted overnight, as fighters exchanged gunfire and tracer rounds illuminated the night sky in some of the worst violence to hit the Iraqi capital in recent years.

Much of the fighting has been concentrated around the city's Green Zone, an area that houses government buildings and foreign embassies.

Security officials said some of the violence was between the Peace Brigades, a militia loyal to Mr Sadr, and members of the Iraqi military. Videos shared on social media appeared to show some fighters using heavy weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

Iran has closed its borers with Iraq amidst the fighting, and Kuwait has urged its citizens to leave the country immediately.

Medics said 15 supporters of Mr Sadr had been shot dead and about 350 other protesters injured, according to AFP news agency.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was alarmed by events and called for "immediate steps to de-escalate the situation".

And Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the interim prime minister and an ally of Mr Sadr, has suspended cabinet meetings and has pleaded with the influential cleric to intervene and stop the violence.

A senior aide to Mr Sadr later told Iraq's state news agency INA that he had announced a hunger strike until the violence and use of weapons stopped.

It followed a day of violence sparked by Mr Sadr's announcement that he was withdrawing from political life - a move he blamed on the refusal of rival Shia leaders and parties to reform the Iraqi political system.

In October, candidates loyal to Mr Sadr won the most seats in Iraq's parliament, but he failed to secure enough seats to form a government. He has since refused to negotiate with Iranian-backed Shia groups, sparking almost a year of political instability.

Mr Sadr said in a statement: "I had decided not to interfere in political affairs, but I now announce my final retirement and the closure of all [Sadrist] institutions." Some religious sites linked to his movement will remain open.

Mr Sadr, 48, has been a dominant figure in Iraqi public and political life for the past two decades. His Mehdi Army emerged as one of the most powerful militias which fought US and allied Iraqi government forces in the aftermath of the invasion which toppled former ruler Saddam Hussein.

He later rebranded it as the Peace Brigades, and it remains one of the biggest militias which now form part of the Iraqi armed forces.

Although the Mehdi Army had links to Iran, Mr Sadr had latterly distanced himself from Iraq's Shia neighbour and repositioned himself as a nationalist wanting to end US and Iranian influence over Iraq's internal affairs.

The rival Shia political bloc, the Coordination Framework, with which Mr Sadr's bloc has been at loggerheads, mainly includes Iran-backed parties.

Mr Sadr, one of Iraq's most recognisable figures with his black turban, dark eyes and heavy-set build, had championed ordinary Iraqis hit by high unemployment, continual power cuts and corruption.

He is one of a few figures who could quickly mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters onto the streets, and draw them down again. Hundreds have been camped outside parliament since storming it twice in July and August in protest at the deadlock.

Angola ruling party wins election

By Arnaldo Vieira, LUANDA Angola

Angola’s ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), has won the August 24 general election with 51.17 percent of the votes, handing the incumbent a second term.

“João Lourenço is declared president of the republic, while Ms Esperança da Costa is the country’s deputy president”, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) head Manuel Pereira da Silva announced Monday.

MPLA also got 124 legislators in Parliament.

According to CNE, the opposition coalition led by MPLA’s historic rival, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), was second with 43.95 percent of the votes and 90 MPs.

The Unita-FPU (United Patriotic Front) coalition included independent candidates from other opposition parties and formations.

Other parties that contested the polls were the Social Renovation Party (PRS), which got 1.14 percent, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) garnered 1.06 percent, while the Humanist Party of Angola (PHA) got 1,02 percent of the votes. The three parties had each two MPs elected to Parliament.

Broad convergence for the Salvation of Angola (Casa-Ce), Angola Patriotic Alliance (APN) and Pjango got 0.76, 0.48 and 0.42 percent of the votes, respectively, Mr Silva declared.

Unita, PRS and Casa-Ce said they would contest the election results.

The vote was the tightest in Angola’s history.

The MPLA has traditionally wielded control over the electoral process and state media, and opposition and civic groups have in recent days raised fears of voter tampering.

The MPLA, a former liberation movement, has ruled Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975.

But it has seen a steady decline in support over recent elections.

Mr Lourenco, a 68-year-old former general, educated in the Soviet Union, was first elected in 2017, winning 61 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, the US said Monday it noted the broad participation of Angolans in the August 24 elections.

“We will continue to closely follow the electoral process”, the US Department of State said in a statement adding: “We call on all parties to express themselves peacefully and to resolve any grievances in accordance with applicable legal processes under Angolan law”.

Former Mozambique president Joaquim Chissano praised the Friday poll exercise and encouraged candidates to look at the results “with serenity” and to complain through legal channels if unsatisfied.

In a joint statement with former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, the two former heads of state, who were election observers, stressed that the vote was conducted “in a free, fair and transparent manner”.

“We can safely say that Angola is on the right path towards the consolidation of democracy,” they said in a joint statement read by Mr Chissano in Luanda.

Madagascar: police open fire on civilians, 14 dead and 28 injured

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar

Fourteen people were killed and 28 wounded Monday in Madagascar after gendarmes opened fire on angry residents over a murky kidnapping case, local and medical sources told AFP.

"The gendarmes (...) fired on the crowd," said Jean Brunelle Razafintsiandraofa, MP for the eastern district of Ikongo, where the incident took place.

"Nine people died on the spot," said Tango Oscar Toky, chief physician at the local hospital. And out of 33 injured people received in the morning, five died in hospital, he added.

At around 08:00 GMT, gunfire rang out in Ikongo. Since last week, the small town is under shock: a child, an albino, disappeared and the authorities suspect a kidnapping.

On the large Indian Ocean Island, people with albinism are regularly the target of violence. More than a dozen abductions, attacks, and murders have been reported in the past two years, according to the United Nations.

Four suspects have been arrested by the gendarmes. But the residents are determined to take justice into their own hands.

In the morning, they went to the gendarmerie barracks and demanded that the four suspects be handed over, according to Razafintsiandraofa.

According to a gendarmerie source, at least 500 people showed up, some with "white weapons" and "machetes.

"There were negotiations, the villagers insisted," said the source. The gendarmes then decided to throw smoke bombs to disperse the crowd and fired a few shots in the air.

But the residents continued to try to force their way into the barracks. "We had no choice but to defend ourselves..." said the same source.

The Malagasy police are regularly singled out by civil society for human rights violations, which are rarely prosecuted. - AFP

Tanzania fires national team coach following 1-0 defeat to Uganda

By Osoro Nyawangah, MWANZA Tanzania

The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has appointed former Namungo Football Club head coach, Honour Janza, as interim head coach of national team, Taifa Stars following termination of long serving manager, Kim Poulsen on 29th August.

New Taifa Stars head coach, Honour Janza

Poulsen first came to Tanzania in 2011 as Academy manager, then became national team manager between 2012-2014. He was again appointed as Academy manager in 2016 until 2018 after which he went home to train FC Sönderborg then came back to Tanzania in 2021.

The Federation confirmed the development in a press statement issued 29th August, signed by the federation’s communication officer, Cliford Ndimbo. 

The Zambian national who previously managed the Zambian national team, Chipolopolo between 2014-2015, takes over from Poulsen who has had his contract terminated following the Taifa Stars’ 1-0 defeat to Uganda in the 2023 CHAN qualifiers last Sunday in Dar es Salaam.

“Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has decided to withdraw coach Kim Poulsen with his subordinates from Taifa Stars’ technical bench.” Reads the press statement adding that the federation has appointed Honour Janza to head the technical team with Meck Maxime as assistant coach and Juma Kaseja as goalkeepers’ coach.

Kim Poulsen 

Ndimbo further revealed that Poulsen will remain as youth national team coach until the end of his contract.

The Danish tactician signed a three-year contract with TFF in February 2021 as the head coach of the national football team replacing Burundi coach Etienne Ndayiragije who also replaced Nigerian coach Amunike after parting ways with TFF following failure of the team to do well in the 2019 Africa Nations Cup (Afcon) held in Cairo, Egypt.

Janza’s first engagement could come soon as Tanzania faces Uganda in the second leg of the CHAN Qualifiers on 3rd September. 

The Taifa Stars will be hoping to overturn a 1-0 defeat to qualify to the championship to be hosted in Algeria next year.

Janza is the last coach to have qualified the Chipolopolo to the Africa Cup of Nations back in 2015; he holds a Uefa ‘B’ coaching licence, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) ‘A’ licence and is an elite coach’s instructor for the continent’s governing body. - Africa

Eminent African Judges arrive in Kenya to scrutinize election petition

By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya

A delegation of Seasoned Judges from across Africa have arrived in Nairobi Kenya to carefully scrutinize the ongoing election petition at the country’s Supreme Court.

The Jurists are Members of the Africa Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF).

The Trial Observation Mission is headed by the Retired Chief Justice of Tanzania Mohammed Chande Othman.

The delegation is composed of Lady Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza of the Supreme Court of Uganda, Lady Justice Ivy Kamanga from Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, Justice Moses Chinhengo from Court of Appeal, Lesotho, and Justice Henry Boissie Mbha, President Electoral Court of South Africa.

The eminent jurists will attend all Supreme Court hearings, monitor and document the presidential election petition based on International human rights standards of fair trial standards, analyse the role and independence of the Judiciary in examining the electoral disputes and review the socio-political climate in the run-up to the Petition.

At the end of the trial observation, the observers will develop a comprehensive report aiming at contributing to a more professional, independent, impartial, and accountable Judiciary, a more independent legal profession, and better adherence to the rule of law and international legal standards concerning the resolution of electoral disputes.

The Observation Mission will include bilateral meetings before the hearings with the Parties to the Petition, including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), and the Attorney General.

The meetings aim to introduce the eminent jurists to the stakeholders of the Petition and make them aware of the process and its modalities. - Africa

Two Air France pilots suspended after fight in cockpit

PARIS, France

Two Air France pilots have been suspended after physically fighting in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight in June, an Air France has official said on Sunday. The flight continued and landed safely, and the dispute didn’t affect the rest of the flight, the official said, stressing the airline’s commitment to safety.

Switzerland’s La Tribune reported that the pilot and co-pilot had a dispute shortly after take-off and grabbed each other by their collars after one apparently hit the other.

Cabin crew intervened and one crew member spent the flight in the cockpit with the pilots, the report said.

News of the fight emerged after France’s air investigation agency, BEA, issued a report on Wednesday saying that some Air France pilots lack rigour in respecting procedures during safety incidents.

It focused on a fuel leak on an Air France flight from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris in December 2020, when pilots rerouted the plane but did not cut power to the engine or land as soon as possible, as leak procedure requires. The plane landed safely in Chad, but the BEA report warned that the engine could have caught fire.

It mentioned three similar cases between 2017 and 2022, and said some pilots were acting based on their own analysis of the situation instead of safety protocols.

Air France said it was carrying out a safety audit in response. It pledged to follow the BEA’s recommendations, which include allowing pilots to study their flights afterward and making training manuals stricter about sticking to procedure.

The airline noted that it flew thousands of flights daily and the report mentioned only four such safety incidents.

Air France pilots unions have insisted that security is paramount to all pilots and defended pilot actions during emergency situations.

The BEA also investigated an incident in April involving an Air France flight from New York’s JFK airport that suffered flight control problems on approach to its landing in Paris.

Kenya electoral agency's servers were breached, forensic analysis shows

By Vincent Achuka, NAIROBI Kenya

The three Venezuelans who were arrested upon landing in Nairobi two weeks before the General Election had not been contracted by the electoral commission but had access to its servers five months before the disputed polls, a forensics analysis shows.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati (centre) with IG Hilary Mutyambai (left) and DCI boss  George Kinoti outside Jogoo House, Nairobi 

The analysis, of computers confiscated from Salvador Javier, Jose Gregorio and Joel Gustavo by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), shows that the three were among dozens of non-Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) staff who had extensive access to the agency’s servers, the Nation understands.

This access, granted through a company linked to a senior politician from North Eastern, is currently among various electoral fraud matters being investigated by the DCI, whom the Azimio coalition wants to be summoned to the Supreme Court to testify in their petition.

It was not clear last evening if the investigations agency would testify, but the Nation learnt that the DCI wanted to arrest the foreigners but was held back by the assurances of Mr Wafula Chebukati, the beleaguered IEBC chairman.

Mr Chebukati, in a meeting held on July 28, assured DCI George Kinoti and Police Inspector-General Hillary Mutyambai that IEBC’s systems were impenetrable and that it is only accredited employees who had access to it.

Mr Chebukati also told the DCI and IG during the meeting at Jogoo House that the three Venezuelans had been contracted by IEBC to provide support on behalf of Smartmatic International, the company contracted to provide electoral management technology by the commission.

Detectives who have been on the case since July now believe that was not the case, and that the three worked for a different entity linked to the North Eastern politician.

Meanwhile, as detectives last evening pondered their next move, a separate forensic analysis by the East African Data Handlers (EADH) on the six data transmission servers used by IEBC showed that several unauthorised individuals gained access to the system.

There were also several successful attempts to download Form 34C, which was used by Mr Chebukati to announce the winner of the presidential election.

Form 34C is a summation of all forms 34B which contain tallies from each of the 290 constituencies. The forms 34B were to be generated by tallying the results of the presidential poll from polling stations through forms 34A.

An analysis on IEBC’s systems by EADH shows that there was a backward tallying of the presidential results where Form 34C was edited several times in order to correspond to forms 34B and 34A, which the audit shows were being intercepted and edited too.

“It is obvious the downloading and the translation of Forms 34B and Forms 34C indicates that the process was not forward tallying on the designed tallying chain— 46,232 forms 34A create 290 forms 34B and they create the final 34C,” says a report on the analysis.

“In this case, the data seem to be working from forms 34C that are seemingly being downloaded into a .csv file, modified or edited and transmitted,” it further states.

A CSV file, is simply a text file whose information is separated by commas. Hackers prefer to use it because its contents can be edited by anyone who has access to the system using programmes that don’t have to direct communicate with each other, which makes it difficult for investigators to trace the source of the intrusion.

Despite IEBC insisting its systems were foolproof, the analysis by EADH shows that there was not only multiple access to the servers by unauthorised persons, but also that they could intercept communication between the Kiems kits and the presidential tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya.

The level of interception was so grave that a number of forms 35, which were used for the parliamentary elections, found themselves inside the servers used for tallying the presidential poll.

“It seems as though there was a middleware that was intercepting, receiving, and/or sending information between the Kiems kit or the county tallying servers and the presidential tallying server and verification of specific forms,” says the analysis. For example, on August 12, one of the IEBC’s servers was accessed remotely using IP address 10.13.0.49 at 12.16pm.

“The connection was disconnected at 1:27pm and reconnected at 4:13pm, which was terminated almost immediately and then reconnected at 4:47pm,” the report states.

Such connections were being made by persons who had not been gazetted as IEBC officials for the elections, including a login by the name Dickson Kwanusu that not only modified data in the system but on several occasions downloaded Form 34C.

“All the IEBC officials for the 2022 General Election were published in the Kenya Gazette. Dickson Kwanusu does not appear as one of the officials on the documents yet he appears multiple times making and executing requests in the election verification process,” says the investigation.

The login trail by Kwanusu, the report states, on August 14 at 4.29pm made an ambiguous and intentional modification on the system to override the whole tallying process in order to generate a Form 34C. This was a day before Deputy President William Ruto was declared the president-elect as tallying was still ongoing.

The investigation shows there were 27 attempts to generate Form 34C between August 12 at 3:48pm and the time winner was declared on August 15.

Ideally there should have only been one attempt to generate Form 34C after tallying of the votes in all polling centres and constituencies had been completed. The big question investigators are now trying to answer is what was the need to generate all those forms 34C.

Apart from Kwanusu, others who logged into the system despite not being accredited include Abdi Hadir Abdi who performed verification of 659 forms 34A, Harun Gathiru, Mohamud Mohamed and Isaiah Khuyole.

Forensic analysis findings by EADH correspond to those of the DCI, which has separately said Salvador Javier, Jose Gregorio and Joel Gustavo, the three Venezuelans who were arrested on July 21, were also accessing IEBC’s systems before, during and after the polls.

Gregorio was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after arriving from Istanbul, Turkey. His arrest, which also led to the apprehension of his colleagues Javier and Gustavo from an apartment in Riverside, Nairobi caused a brief stand-off between the IEBC and the police before Mr Chebukati intervened.

While demanding their release, Mr Chebukati is said to have assured the DCI and the IG that the Venezuelans had no access at all to IEBC servers. Investigations however show that it could have been a smoke screen as the three had in their computers almost everything on IEBC’s systems.

Tanzania appeals for China debt relief

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Tanzania has applauded an initiative by the Chinese government to write off a series of interest-free loans to African countries, saying if Tanzania is among the beneficiaries, then money freed by debt relief, will be routed to the country’s development.

Tanzania president, Samia Hassan (L) in a discussion with Minister for Finance and Planning, Mwigulu Nchemba

Announcing the initiative, Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi said his country would forgive 23 matured interest-free loans for 17 African nations, though Yi neither disclosed the nominated countries nor criteria in which countries are to be chosen.

Responding to a query by The Citizen on whether Tanzania was among the benefited countries, Japhet Justine, Commissioner responsible for Sovereign Debt Management at the Ministry of Finance and Planning said: “It is a good move for the indebted countries, we are yet to be informed.”

Justine, who was responding on behalf of Mwigulu Nchemba, the Minister for Finance and Planning, explained that the initiative was commendable, and that he will confirm the matter with his colleague at the Tanzania-China desk, for more details.

“Tanzania has been doing well in servicing its external debt, committed to improving revenue collection, public spending, transparency in public accounts and a stronger anti-corruption framework, therefore, to encourage such moves, Beijing should consider Tanzania on its list,” he appealed.

It is said that Beijing made the announcement of the new debt relief plan on August 18 during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as it seeks to boost ties with its African allies.

According to the Central Bank (BoT) – Monthly Economic Review (MER) for July this year, it is suggested that, as of April 2022, the national debt had reached $29,184 million out of which 32.21 percent represented the external debt.

On the other hand, the review indicated that by June this year, the disbursed outstanding debt by currency composition is estimated at Chinese Yuan 1,462.6 million (equivalent to Sh498.64 billion) which is 5.8 percent share of the external debt.

ALSO READ: Tanzania may join Kenya in missing out on China debt relief plan

Moreover, MER disclosed that in 2021, the country’s risk of external debt distress had increased to moderate, mainly owing to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on exports which weakened Tanzania’s ability to service its external debt.

According to the review, the multilateral institutions and commercial creditors have been identified as the main lenders, accounting for 80.4 percent of external debt.

Consequently, the government plans to spend an estimated $3,900 million on external debt servicing during the current fiscal year, this is up from $1,431.2 million allocated in the previous financial year.

But on the other hand, in the financial year 2020/21, Tanzania benefited from the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to the tune of $102 million of which China was part of the initiative.

According to the IMF, China is now the largest official bilateral creditor in more than half of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) countries and will, therefore, play a key role in debt restructuring for those economies.

Beijing has enhanced its engagement with Africa through cooperation in infrastructure development and clean energy. In East Africa, China financed or built-up 50 percent of the construction projects in the region in 2021.

President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative and announced that China will upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and further replenish the Fund.

China has started developing a pool of global development projects with a keen interest on African countries with prospective projects. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) mechanism has travelled a journey of over two decades playing a positive role in charting the right course for international cooperation with Africa.

In his speech when presenting government estimates on revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2022/23, Nchemba analysed the country’s external debt sustainability saying the public debt stock as of April 2022 was 69.44 trillion shillings equivalent to 14.4 percent increase as compared to 60.72 trillion shillings in April 2021.

According to him, the said amount includes domestic debt of Sh22.37 trillion equivalent to 32.2 percent of the debt stock and external public debt was Sh47.07 trillion, equivalent to 67.8 percent of the debt stock.

Adding: “The stated amount for external public debt, covering external non-concessional loans amounting to 14.27 trillion shillings equivalent to 30.3 percent of the debt stock. This means that a large portion of the external public debt is concessional.”

Furthermore, the minister responsible with finance and planning said: “The government conducted the Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), which revealed that debt burden indicators are within sustainability thresholds that are internationally acceptable during short, medium and long term.”

According to him, the analysis revealed that: the present value of public debt to GDP was 31.0 percent which is less than a threshold of 55.0 percent and while, the present value of external debt to GDP was 18.8 percent as compared to the established benchmark of 40.0 percent, the current value of external debt to export was 142.4 percent as compared to the cut-off threshold of 180 percent. – The Citizen

Pakistan flooding deaths pass 1,000 in ‘climate catastrophe’

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Deaths from widespread flooding in Pakistan topped 1,000 since mid-June, officials said Sunday, as the country’s climate minister called the deadly monsoon season “a serious climate catastrophe.”

Flash flooding from the heavy rains has washed away villages and crops as soldiers and rescue workers evacuated stranded residents to the safety of relief camps and provided food to thousands of displaced Pakistanis.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority reported the death toll since the monsoon season began earlier than normal this year — in mid- June — reached 1,061 people after new fatalities were reported across different provinces.

Sherry Rehman, a Pakistani senator and the country’s top climate official, said in a video posted on Twitter that Pakistan is experiencing a “serious climate catastrophe, one of the hardest in the decade.”

“We are at the moment at the ground zero of the front line of extreme weather events, in an unrelenting cascade of heatwaves, forest fires, flash floods, multiple glacial lake outbursts, flood events and now the monster monsoon of the decade is wreaking non-stop havoc throughout the country,” she said. The on-camera statement was retweeted by the country’s ambassador to the European Union.

Flooding from the Swat River overnight affected northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where tens of thousands of people — especially in the Charsadda and Nowshehra districts — have been evacuated from their homes to relief camps set up in government buildings. Many have also taken shelter on roadsides, said Kamran Bangash, a spokesperson for the provincial government.

Bangash said some 180,000 people have been evacuated from Charsadda and 150,000 from Nowshehra district villages.

Khaista Rehman, 55, no relation to the climate minister, took shelter with his wife and three children on the side of the Islamabad-Peshawar highway after his home in Charsadda was submerged overnight.

“Thank God we are safe now on this road quite high from the flooded area,” he said. “Our crops are gone and our home is destroyed but I am grateful to Allah that we are alive and I will restart life with my sons.”

The unprecedented monsoon season has affected all four of the country’s provinces. Nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed, numerous roads rendered impassable and electricity outages have been widespread, affecting millions of people.

Pope Francis on Sunday said he wanted to assure his “closeness to the populations of Pakistan struck by flooding of disastrous proportions.” Speaking during a pilgrimage to the Italian town of L’Aquila, which was hit by a deadly earthquake in 2009, Francis said he was praying “for the many victims, for the injured and the evacuated, and so that international solidarity will be prompt and generous.”

Rehman told Turkish news outlet TRT World that by the time the rains recede, “we could well have one fourth or one third of Pakistan under water.”

“This is something that is a global crisis and of course we will need better planning and sustainable development on the ground. ... We’ll need to have climate resilient crops as well as structures,” she said.

In May, Rehman told BBC Newshour that both the country’s north and south were witnessing extreme weather events because of rising temperatures. “So in north actually just now we are ... experiencing what is known as glacial lake outburst floods which we have many of because Pakistan is home to the highest number of glaciers outside the polar region.”

The government has deployed soldiers to help civilian authorities in rescue and relief operations across the country. The Pakistani army also said in a statement it airlifted 22 tourists trapped in a valley in the country’s north to safety.

Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif visited flooding victims in city of Jafferabad in Baluchistan. He vowed the government would provide housing to all those who lost their homes.

Tanzania may join Kenya in missing out on China debt relief plan

BEIJING, China

Tanzania could join Kenya on a list of countries that will be left out of the Chinese debt relief deal at the end of this year by virtue of their lower-middle-income status even as the East African nations grapple with a growing debt burden.

Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi has announced that the world’s second-largest economy would forgive 23 matured interest-free loans for 17 undisclosed African nations that are classified as least developed countries (LDC).

Last week Chinese authorities in Nairobi said Kenya, which is struggling with a debt of over Ksh8.6 trillion ($72.26 billion), was left out of the deal as it is classified as lower-middle-income.

Tanzania also transitioned from low-income to lower-middle-income status in July 2020 after experiencing over 20 years of sustained economic growth.

Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are classified as LDCs.

Tanzania’s national poverty rate fell from 34.4 to 26.4 percent between 2007 and 2018 while the extreme poverty rate dropped from 12 to eight percent, according to the World Bank.

Kenya joined the league of the world’s lower-middle-income nations in 2014, having crossed the UN’ $1,045 gross domestic product per capita threshold after rebasing its economy.

Beijing made the announcement of the new debt relief plan on August 18 during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as it seeks to boost ties with its African allies.

According to IMF, China is now the largest official bilateral creditor in more than half of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) countries and will, therefore, play a key role in debt restructuring for those economies.

About 60 percent of the 73 countries that were eligible for DSSI are at high risk of or are already in debt distress.

About 20 other countries have demonstrated significant breaches of applicable high-risk thresholds, half of which also have low reserves, rising gross financing needs, or a combination of the two in 2022.

Beijing has enhanced its engagement with Africa through cooperation in infrastructure development and clean energy. In East Africa, China financed or built up 50 percent of the construction projects in the region in 2021.

President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative, and announced that China will upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and further replenish the Fund.

China has started developing a pool of global development projects with a keen interest on African countries with prospective projects.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) mechanism has travelled a journey of over two decades playing a positive role in charting the right course for international cooperation with Africa. - AFP

Macron to conclude Algeria visit with ‘new pact’

 ALGIERS, Algeria

French President Emmanuel Macron meets athletes and artists in Algeria’s second city Oran on Saturday before concluding his visit with a “new pact” aimed at healing ties with the former French colony.

The three-day visit has aimed to turn the page on months of tensions with the North African country, which earlier this year marked six decades of independence following 132 years of French rule.

It also comes as European powers scramble to replace Russian energy imports — including with supplies from Algeria, Africa’s top gas exporter, which in turn is seeking a greater regional role.

Macron is set to visit a hilltop chapel and an iconic record shop in Oran, the spiritual home of Rai music, before meeting young people and athletes and watching a breakdancing performance.

He and his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune are later set to sign “a joint declaration for a renewed, concrete and ambitious partnership”, according to the French presidency.

On Friday evening, Macron had dinner with Algerian writer Kamel Daoud and other Oran personalities.

He also announced that an additional 8,000 Algerian students would be admitted to study in France this year, joining 30,000 already in the country.

Macron had proclaimed a “new page” in relations on Thursday, after meeting Tebboune and announcing the creation of a joint commission of historians to examine the colonial period and the devastating eight-year war that ended it.

But in France, both left and right-wing politicians were angered by the suggestion.

Socialist party leader Olivier Faure noted that Macron in 2017 had called French colonialism a “crime against humanity”, then later questioned the existence of Algeria as a nation prior to the colonial period.

"The lightness with which he deals with the subject is an insult to wounded memories,” Faure tweeted.

Far-right leader Thomas Menage tweeted that Algeria should stop “using its past to avoid establishing true, friendly diplomatic relations”.

Macron’s visit was not universally welcomed by Algerians either.

"History can’t be written with lies… like the one that Algeria was created by France,” read an editorial in the French-language Le Soir newspaper.

"We expected Macron to erase this gross untruth during this visit,” it said, criticising him for a “lack of courage… to recognise his own faults and those of his country”.