News & Announcements

The Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles will on Sunday be among the first African countries to begin vaccinating its population against Covid-19.

Health Minister Peggy Vidot said Thursday that the country had received a donation of 50,000 doses of a vaccine made by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm, from the United Arab Emirates.

“The vaccination campaign will start on Sundaywith the leaders of the country so that the population can see them leading by example,” she told a press conference.

The archipelago of 115 mostly uninhabited islands and islets, has a population of 98,000, and initially appeared to have staved off the pandemic, initiating a swift lockdown in April last year which was lifted a month later with only 11 cases recorded.

However, cases have jumped since December, with a total of 420 now recorded, one of which was fatal.

“People must see this vaccination as one of the best ways to combat Covid-19,” said Vidot.

After the country’s leaders receive their shot, health workers will start being vaccinated on Monday, and then people aged over 65, followed by distribution to the rest of the population.

Seychelles hopes to vaccinate 70 percent of its population within two to three months at a rate of 1,000 per day, with hopes of getting more doses of a second, as a yet unnamed vaccine.

While several vaccines were trialed in African countries, most countries on the continent are lagging far behind the developed world in procuring the sought-after drugs.

South Africa announced Thursday it would receive the first batch of vaccines this month.

In West Africa, Guinea has begun administering a small batch of Russia’s controversial Sputnik V vaccine on a trial basis.

Mick Mulvaney, a former chief of staff in Donald Trump’s White House, announced Thursday he has quit his diplomatic post to protest mob violence by the president’s supporters at the Capitol.

“I can’t stay here, not after yesterday. You can’t look at that yesterday and think I want to be a part of that in any way, shape or form,” Mulvaney told CNBC television.

Mulvaney, who had been moved from the chief of staff to special envoy for Northern Ireland said he told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo he was resigning.

“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” he told CNBC, indicating that other White House staff were eying the exits.

“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in,” he said.

On Wednesday, thousands of Trump supporters left a rally with the president, then stormed into Congress, temporarily halting proceedings to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the November presidential election.

Immediately after the violence, which Trump has still failed to condemn, deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger resigned.

Another departure was Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary now working as a spokeswoman for First Lady Melania Trump.

US media reported that Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence had been blocked from entering the White House — apparently in retaliation for Pence’s decision to ignore Trump’s demand that he block the certification of Biden.

The outrage across Washington at the day’s events fed growing speculation that more senior Trump administration figures maybe leaving.

Biden will take over the presidency when he is sworn in on January 20.

Since the approval of its first home-grown coronavirus vaccine, China is in full swing to vaccinate 50 million people ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities.

As part of the national inoculation programme, the state-owned manufacturer Sinopharm’s vaccine will be rolled out to front-line workers within the health-care sector, delivery workers, public servants and people whose jobs require international travel.

“The vaccination site started operation on January 1 and about 1,500 people were vaccinated in the first two days of this year,” said Zhang Yu, director of the Urban Management Office of Chaoyang District.

Sinopharm’s vaccine, which has a 79.3% efficacy rate, was approved on Wednesday, December 30, and will be free for all recipients within the inoculation programme and thereafter for general public use.

The Lunar New Year celebrations, which take place from February 11 to 17, are also known as the world’s largest annual gathering. Last year, around 1.5 billion trips were made during this period.

Chinese authorities are under pressure to ensure safe holiday travel as, for many many who work abroad, the Lunar New Year is a time when they reunite with their families.

Sinopharm has come under criticism for releasing minimal information about its phase 3 clinical trials, while countries such as Egypt and Pakistan has said they will purchase it for emergency use.

An Algerian supporter of the Hirak protest movement was sentenced to three years in jail Monday for satirical social media posts mocking the government and religion, a campaign group said.

Walid Kechida, 25, was accused of insulting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and “offending the precepts” of Islam in internet memes and other online posts, said Kaci Tansaout, from the CNLD prisoners’ rights group.

“Walid Kechida is sadly sentenced to three years in prison with a fine,” Tansaout said, adding that lawyers would appeal. Lawyer Moumen Chadi confirmed the sentence.

The public prosecutor in Algeria’s northeastern Setif the province had called for a five-year sentence, and Kechida has already spent eight months in detention awaiting trial.

Algerian authorities have arrested and prosecuted several activists in a bid to stem the Hirak protesters.

The CNLD says over 90 people, including activists, social media users and journalists are currently in custody in connection with the country’s anti-government protest movement or individual liberties — mostly for dissenting social media posts.

Tebboune last week signed Algeria’s new constitution into law, a change the government hopes will turn the page on the long-running Hirak mass protest movement.

The Hirak first launched vast street demonstrations in early 2019 to oppose then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office.

Following his resignation that April, the Hirak kept up the pressure to demand a full overhaul of the ruling system in place since the North African nation’s 1962 independence from France.

A November referendum to approve the constitutional changes received the backing of less than 15 percent of the electorate, in a vote overshadowed by the novel coronavirus pandemic and Hirak calls for a boycott.

A prison warder on January 3, 2021, shot a policeman dead and then killed himself in a suspected love triangle at Mwea GK Prison staff quarters in Kirinyaga County reports Nation of Kenya. The 9.30 pm incident on Sunday, the paper reports, left everyone in the prison shocked.

According to witnesses, the police officer, based in Kianyaga, went to the prison to visit his estranged wife and found the warder with her.

The enraged police officer then attacked the warder and a fight broke out.

One witness said the policeman found his estranged wife having supper with the warder, a sergeant at the prison.

They exchanged blows and the warder was over-powered. It was then that the warder grabbed his Ceska pistol and shot the policeman twice in the head, killing him on the spot, and then turned the weapon on himself.

Efforts by the woman to save her former husband, with whom she had separated, were unsuccessful.

Following the incident, the policeman’s wife dashed out and informed the prison authorities and the matter was reported to Wang’uru Police Station.

The bodies of the two officers were taken to Mwea Mission Hospital mortuary. Mwea East police boss Daniel Kavita said investigations had started.

Mr. Kavita declined to release the names of the two as their next of kin had not been informed.

A sorrowful mood engulfed the prison as the bodies of the two officers were removed.

Residents said gunshots were heard three kilometres away from the scene.

“I was at home when the sounds of gunfire hit my ears. Moments later, I learned two law enforcement officers had died in a fight,” one of the residents, John Kangangi, said.

The officer in charge of the prison identified only as a Mr. Ruto, could not be reached for comment as his phone went unanswered.

Kenya will on Monday evening assume its position at the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, six months after winning the seat.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said that the country’s flag will be hoisted at the UN headquarters in New York at 8 pm Kenyan time, signalling the beginning of Kenya’s two-year term at the UN’s most powerful organ.

“Flag raising ceremony for new UNSC members, including Kenya will be held today at 12pm NY time and 8 pm Kenya time,” the statement said.

Kenya won the seat in June last year after beating its the closest rival for the seat Djibouti 129 votes to 62, after months of intense lobbying and campaigns across the continent and globally.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said the win, which saw the country return to the UN body after 23 years, was a demonstration of the country’s growing profile and influence in the community of nations.

“Kenya will endeavour to consolidate and voice Africa’s position in the Security Council and will advance its 10-point agenda as outlined during the campaign period,” Mr. Kenyatta said in a statement released after the win.

Kenya, working with the five permanent members of the council – Russia, UK, US, China, and France – all who enjoy veto powers, will join nine other non-permanent members and could get a chance to preside over the Council’s sittings, a significant opportunity to influence agenda.

The entry to the Council also serves to assure the world of the legitimacy of the African Union (AU) in endorsing candidates from member states to “act in its name”.

The AU had endorsed Kenya for the seat, but Djibouti rejected this decision and went ahead to conduct parallel campaigns for the only seat allocated for Africa, a position which, in some ways, exposed the fractures within the 55-member AU.

Djibouti and its supporters fought to the very end in defiance of the continental body’s endorsement of Nairobi’s sole candidature.

Kenya will now be part of key decision making on global peace and security.

Some of the decisions may include sanctions, authorising the use of force to preserve peace as well as electing judges of the International Court of Justice.

President Kenyatta said Kenya will “voice Africa’s position in the Security Council”.

Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh had last year congratulated Kenya on its win, saying that he hopes Nairobi will bring “valuable debate” to the Council.

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine on Tuesday vowed to press on with campaigns ahead of next week’s presidential elections despite intimidation by the police.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is the main challenger of President Yoweri Museveni in the January 14 poll and has accused the Ugandan President of employing guerrilla tactics to intimidate and harass the opposition into submission.

On Tuesday, Wine, through his official Twitter handle, said the arrest of his supporters and human rights activists in the country will not stop his resolve to change the leadership in Uganda.

“Torture of prisoners is commonplace in Uganda. For political prisoners, there is a small clique of officers who impose the punishment with precision. On January 14, Ugandans will vote to end these egregious violations,” Wine said.

Wine, according to The Nation, spoke amidst growing tension in the East African country ahead of the polls, as protesters and the international community continued to pile pressure on the government to stop the arrests.

Last week, 11 top human rights experts at the United Nations issued a joint statement expressing concern at the pre-election violence and “the increasing crackdown on peaceful protesters, political and civil society leaders and human rights defenders”.

“The prosecution of Nicholas Opiyo and other lawyers, as well as the judicial harassment of those who express dissent, appear to be strictly related to the electoral context, and fictitious charges being used to justify them,” the statement read.

Opiyo, an internationally-recognized human rights campaigner and outspoken government critic, was arrested on charges of money laundering, drawing condemnation from around the globe and calls for his immediate release.

His arrest had been seen as politically motivated by many, leading to protests from the most youthful population that has become popular with Wine.

The courts, however, called for his release, after Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga rejected a case made by state prosecutors and granted the lawyer bail.

“We are glad that our client has been granted bail,” Opiyo’s lawyer David Mpanga told journalists outside the court.

“Nicholas is eminently qualified to be released on bail, there is no danger that he’ll abscond, there is no danger that he’ll interfere with the investigation, indeed, he’ll be in court whenever the court needs him.”

Diplomats from the US embassy in Kampala and several European missions were present in court for the bail hearing, which Opiyo attended via video link from a prison outside Kampala where he had been held since his arrest on December 22.

“Civil society actors and human rights defenders play a vital role in educating the citizenry and must be allowed to carry out their work free from harassment,” US Ambassador Natalie Brown posted on Twitter in welcoming Opiyo’s release on bail.

Wine, a popular figure among the vastly younger population – and who is banking on his star power to change the country’s fortunes – has likened Mr. Museveni’s leadership to that of present and past rulers were known for their autocratic leadership, and a firm grip on power.

“We are supposed to be celebrating Independence but Ugandans have nothing to celebrate. President Museveni is very scared of the ideas that we represent. He believes by blocking us from communication, by stopping us from enjoying our rights, he is going to disempower us, he is going to demotivate us,” he said.

President Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for 35 years, is seeking a sixth term in office.

A pastor in Kenya, on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing and putting his two underaged daughters in family ways in an act that is purely incest.

The man committed the offenses between June 2019 and August 2020 in Ndia Constituency, Kirinyaga County.

The 51-year-old, the Nation reports, stunned the public when he admitted that he had sex with his daughters, believed to be 14 and 16 years old.

“It is true I slept with my daughters,” he said when the charges were read to him by the court clerk.

Consequently, Senior Principal Magistrate Anthony Mwicigi entered a guilty plea against the accused.

The man, who was taken to court under tight security, was unrepresented.

The Baricho court conducted proceedings under a tree at the nearby Baricho police station to ensure physical distancing, which is one of the requirements for curbing the spread of Covid-19.

Prosecutor Patricia Gikunju urged the court to have the man locked up to allow the acquisition of the minors’ birth certificates to ascertain their age.

“We are yet to be furnished with the birth certificates. We need time to get the documents,” Ms. Gikunju said.

The magistrate granted the prosecution’s request and ordered the man taken back to Sagana police station until Thursday. He added that the accused will use the time to reflect on what he said while taking the plea.

The accused had been on the run since last December but was flushed out of his hideout in Mbeere South on Sunday and taken to  Sagana police station.

He disappeared immediately after he learned that police were looking for him in connection with the sexual offenses.

Reports indicate that one of the girls has given birth while the other has about three months to go.

Relatives said the man warned the minors of dire consequences if they reported him.

Recently, two Woman Representatives led a major demonstration demanding the arrest and prosecution of the accused.

Kirinyaga’s Wangui Ngirici and Uasin Gishu’s Gladys Shollei said they will not rest until justice is served.

The MPs said that the lives of the two primary school children were destroyed by a man they described as evil and dangerous.

They said defilement cases are on the rise in the region and asked police to protect children and punish the criminals.

The New York Stock Exchange abandoned plans to delist three state-owned Chinese telecom companies on Monday, reversing a decision that further dented already strained relations between the world’s two superpowers.

In a brief statement, the stock exchange said it “no longer intends to move forward with the delisting action” for China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.

No detailed reason was given for the sudden reversal but the exchange said it came after “further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities”.

Shares in the three state-owned telecoms firms jumped on the news.

In Hong Kong trading on Tuesday morning, China Unicom lept eight percent, while China Mobile and China Telecom each rose more than six percent.

The reversal comes just four days after the NYSE said it was ending trading in the companies to comply with an order by the Trump administration barring investment in firms with ties to the Chinese military.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in November banning Americans from investing in Chinese companies deemed to be supplying or supporting the country’s military and security apparatus, earning a sharp rebuke from Beijing.

The order listed 31 companies it said China was using for the “increasing exploitation” of US investment capital to fund military and intelligence services, including the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction.

It was one of a series of executive orders and regulatory actions that have targeted China’s economic and military expansion in recent months.

Trump’s order prohibits US companies and individuals from owning shares in any of the companies, which also include video surveillance firm Hikvision and China Railway Construction Corp.

National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said at the time the order would prevent Americans from unknowingly providing passive capital to Chinese companies — listed on exchanges around the world — that support the improvement of Beijing’s army and spy agencies.

Under his “America First” banner, Trump has portrayed China as the greatest threat to the United States and global democracy, pursued a trade war with it, harangued Chinese tech firms, and laid all the blame for the coronavirus pandemic at Beijing’s door.

China had criticized the moves to delist its companies and threatened countermeasures.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has reached 2,854,971 as of Tuesday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll from the pandemic had reached 67,986 as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, also said that a total of 2,361,900 people infected with the virus have so far recovered.

The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, figures from the Africa CDC showed.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases at 1,113,349. The country also has the highest number of deaths from the disease at 30,011 according to the Africa CDC.

Last week, the AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat called on the African continent to ensure economic recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as the new year begins.

“As we mark the end of the year 2020, we also mark the end of one of the most extraordinary and challenging years in living memory,” the chairperson of the 55-member pan-African bloc said in a statement.

Mahamat warned that “the challenging task of protecting our health and livelihoods, while ensuring recovery of our economies, still lies ahead as we begin a new year”.