Archive for April, 2008
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April 29th, 2008
Kenya’s newly appointed Prime Minister Raila Odinga has made a special appeal to African leaders to act swiftly and resolve the Zimbabwe post election crisis.
“African heads of state should use force if necessary to remove people like Mugabe from power, especially those who do not want to respect the people’s decision through the ballot,” Odinga said while speaking at a dinner party organized to celebrate his appointment for his new position.
Odinga was quoted by the local media as saying that, “age of dictators was long gone” and urged Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe to stop interfering with the release of the election results which have been withheld for almost three weeks now.
Odinga promised to play a key role in letting Mugabe unite his people.
He said that democracy in Kenya had been made possible by the citizen’s resistance of bad governance.
April 21st, 2008
Tuesday, 08 April, 2008
The historic India-Africa summit that is aimed to reinforce the multidimensional relations existing between the two continents- Africa and Asia has started today in New Delhi India. Leaders attending the two-day summit will also share the benefit from the rich historical background as well as natural resources of both Africa and India.
Africa-India forum summit will create an opportunity to give a new dimension of the Africa-India cooperation through a concrete plan of action and declaration to be adopted during the summit in New Delhi. The action plan is likely to include closer partnership in all these areas and an intensification of economic and strategic ties, with India focusing on technology transfers and human resource development aimed at empowering African countries.
Leaders from 14 African countries are expected to attend in what is said to be India’s most important diplomatic event of the year. India-Africa summit also seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the resource-rich continent-Africa.
Among those attending the two-day summit are African heavyweights like South African President Thabo Mbeki, Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Burkina Faso Prime Minister Tertius Zongo, Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila Kabange, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor, and Senegal President Maitre Abdoulaye Wade. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki cancelled attending the summit at the last minute since he is attending important issues at home.
The summit will focus on forging a more contemporary partnership in key areas like trade and investment, energy, and cooperation on global issues like the UN reforms, terrorism and climate change in the light of political and economic changes that have transformed India and African countries over the last two decades ago.
This partnership will not be about grand-sounding slogans and buzzwords, but about people-to-people-centred development and cooperation between India and African countries in areas like education, technology and human resource, a senior official was heard saying.
It will be a partnership, based on a shared struggle against apartheid and colonialism in the past, between a rising India and a resurgent Africa, and open new pathways of cooperation between them, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said, setting the tone for the summit.
With Africa emerging as a new global oil hub and the economies of African counties growing on the back of vigorous reforms and robust commodity prices, the intensification of economic and energy ties between the two sides will be high on the agenda.
And so will be connectivity and collaboration in areas like infrastructure development, education, technology and IT that are essential to realize the potential of partnership.
In fact, energy security is going to be a key thrust of India’s approach to Africa, especially in view of China’s expanding presence in key oil-producing countries in the continent. Bilateral trade between India and Africa is estimated to be over $25 billion, which is about half of that between China and Africa.
African countries are looking at India as an emerging Asian power and as a role model of democracy. African countries are also seeing India as a knowledge power with its globally recognized prowess in IT, which is epitomized by the India-assisted pan-Africa e-network that seeks to digitally connect 53 AU countries.
April 8th, 2008
Ashad SENTONGO
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
Tuesday, 08 April, 2008
IUIU Administration Building
I READ about Mr. Koire’s allegations concerning the Islamic University in Uganda in Sunday Monitor ofMarch 2, 2008 with outright discomfort. Particularly towards the way he expressed himself and handled his exit from the University, seeking to use his leverage in knowledge about the university to ferment hate, discourage and obstruct pursuit of utmost academic potential and aspiration for those at the University and others intending to join the celebrated IUIU.
I WRITE this letter with great pride because, as was mentioned in the article, I was one of the 80 students who started IUIU in 1988, and I was the 1st President of the Students Guild. The founding spirit, commitment and ethical paradigms which defined the University’s academic and non-academic interactions at the time continue to shape and can be traced in the majority of graduates in their service to Uganda and around the world. I find it obnoxious that this happens to be a consequence of a tradition of nepotism, discrimination, sexual exploitation and manipulation of academics, as Mr. Koire would want the unsuspecting readers of his said “dossier” to characterize this great institution.
EQUALLY detestable is Mr. Koire’s convenient but given appeal to religious discrimination in an Islamic University. A very unyielding claim which since our time has failed to stand solid because many non-Muslims have not only graduated, but are also gainfully employed and serve well within the Uganda government, and in many parts of the world like here in USA, France, UK, South Africa etc. I am sure that a discrepancy on a transcript does not mean ‘no transcript’, and this has happened to many certificates of Muslims and non-Muslims in government and private institutions around the country. Like in other management aspects at the University, in no doubt there may be disgruntled non-Muslim students, but there may also be Muslims who assert that the University is too Islamic, while others argue that it is not Islamic enough.
TO CALL the character and record of IUIU into question is to erode the persistence, resolve and achievements staff and students have demonstrated over the years.
When we arrived at the University in 1988, beds, chairs and many other facilities, which have made Mr. Koire comfortable and gave him a platform to inappropriately castigate others, were not on sight.
Looking back at that time, I am very grateful that we lived in a near bush, slept on the floor for almost a month and had our first days of class standing with Dr. Sengendo, Dr. Badrudiin, Dr. Karim, Miss Tembe, Miss Muwonge, Mr. Ssamaali and many others respectfully, but also ate the same food from the same dining hall. What I see in IUIU is precisely what kept us going and I am glad that those who followed us
stayed put inspite of it all. Can it be better, you bet it is and definitely will. And except in Koirism, many of us can never demand or even expect a 50 year record from a 19 year old institution.
UNFORTUNATELY, the framing of such rhetoric and timing of the allegations, in this case after resignation, tends to obscure even the most genuine claims. Dr. Sengendo often reminded us of Albert Einstein statement that “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school.” Instead, Mr. Kiore’s handling of his grievances demonstrates a great deficiency in his intellectual orientation. Part of which should entail realizing that when such issues are presented to management in an institution, unlike in his own home, there are processes which have to take their course. And the academic registrar’s explanation precisely and appropriately shows part of this process, which appears to be continuing and must not be taken hostage by those bent to doing the University harm.
REGRETTABLELY, such Koirism fails to realize that governments and other institutions around the world have faced similar allegations even from within their own ranks. Because individuals are different from the institutions they serve, each one handles its people the best way it knows how. The wisdom demonstrated by Hon, Kivejinja sums up a familiar approach IUIU has employed to handle similar problems in the past, “we don’t normally run to papers to announce what we do”.
Many of us engaged similar ‘prophets of doom’, tempting us to cause abandonment of the ship, right in the turmoil of the sea, but sanity prevailed and we stood our ground because such things happen when you are that good. We always sought, as many still do, to explore and expand the enormous opportunities and various avenues our intellectual environment challenged us to utilize, to address our problems with less excitement and much emphasis on purpose and progress. Undoubtedly not a preference to Koirism and the likes of it.
I AM glad that the system ejected Mr. Koire and like-minds should follow, because from my best knowledge and record of association with the University and its products, such disappointing intelligence which seeks entrepreneurship from sour grapes definitely has no place at IUIU. Certainly Mr. Koire will continue to gamble for survival and in catastrophic proportions, by claiming to “stand by his words’ and defend similar mindsets which occasion such Koirism to advance their elitist opportunism. But the founding commitment, aspirations of all your individual-selves and wisdom of our good leaders, administrators, lecturers and students will continue to listen, identify and duly address these and other challenges, in your own time and priorities, to protect and enhance the greatness of IUIU.
To this end you are all well represented and, in a greater part, many of us credit our accomplishments to your very evident and continued good standing as a Great Islamic University in Uganda.
I wish you all the best.
Sentongo Ashad
MA Coexistence and Conflict
Brandeis University
Massachusetts, USA
April 8th, 2008
The East African Tribune
Monday, 07 April, 2008
Kenya’s president Mwai Kibaki
The East African Tribune learned that, Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki has cancelled a trip to India on today to try to finalize a deal on a power-sharing cabinet with his main rival after they failed to reach agreement at the weekend.
President Kibaki had been due to join other African leaders at a two-day Africa-India summit starting in New Delhi on Tuesday. But since president Kibaki’s presence is much more needed in the country, he will therefore be represented by the foreign minister Moses Wetangula.
The joint cabinet is the key part of an accord brokered in February to end the East African nation’s worst political crisis — a post-election spasm of riots and ethnic attacks that killed at least 1,200 people and displaced 300,000 more.
The new cabinet line-up was initially due to be announced on Sunday, but Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga failed to agree on dividing up ministries. They said they still expected a deal on Monday after making “substantial progress” in talks.
In a joint statement issued by both Kibaki and Odinga, appealed to Kenyans to stretch more patients as the cabinet row would soon be resolved.
Talks were due to resume later on Monday.
Both sides have been under intense local and international pressure to break a month-long deadlock over the cabinet. On Thursday they said they had agreed on how to share 40 ministerial jobs, but bickering broke out immediately.
Sources on both sides said most of the disagreement involved just a few ministerial posts. Each side will get 20.
One post not in dispute is finance, which means current Finance Minister Amos Kimunya is likely to keep his job.
April 7th, 2008
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