Monday 27 October 2014

LAKE ZONE: Chadema gives party officials new motorbikes

LAKE ZONE: Chadema gives party officials new motorbikes

By  Florence Focus,The Citizen Correspondent
  • Speaking shortly after handing the bikes to the beneficiaries, the Chadema Mara regional secretary, Mr Chacha Heche, told them that the bikes  should act as a motivational factor for working hard in the upcoming elections.
SHARE THIS STORY
MUSOMA.The main opposition party, Chadema, has provided eight motorbikes, worth Sh16 million to secretaries of all constituencies in Mara Region to facilitate their transport when coordinating party activities.
Speaking shortly after handing the bikes to the beneficiaries, the Chadema Mara regional secretary, Mr Chacha Heche, told them that the bikes  should act as a motivational factor for working hard in the upcoming elections.
He said more efforts were needed for the party to grab victory.
The regional leader said the motorcycles had been bought from the subsidy obtained from the government, saying leaders from other regions will also be given the facilities.
 “More efforts are required to achieve our ultimate goal of removing the ruling CCM from power…we want to ensure that Tanzanians get true peace not mere words,” noted Mr Heche.
Musoma Urban secretary for Chadema, Mr Hamisi Tumbo, commended the act, saying the bikes would be used as weapons against their opponents in the forthcoming elections.
“To start with the coming civic elections at the end of this year, I will ensure that my party gains a landslide victory,” said Mr Tumbo.

Ukawa sign MoU to field one candidate against CCM

Ukawa sign MoU to field one candidate against CCM

Opposition leaders, from left, James Mbatia (NCCR-Mageuzi), Prof Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF), Freeman Mbowe (Chadema) and Emmanuel Makaidi (NLD) sign the MoU to bind their parties in unity for the Katiba “No” campaign and the 2015 General Election, at Jangwani grounds in Dar es Salaam yesterday.  PHOTO | RAFAEL LUBAVA 
By Songa wa Songa,The Citizen Reporter
In Summary
  • Ukawa move for unity is reminiscent of their Kenyan Opposition counterparts whose ‘Rainbow Coalition” endorsed a single presidential candidate who defeated Daniel Arap Moi’s Kanu candidate Uhuru in 2002.
  • Four opposition parties—Chadema, CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi and NLD— signed a pact to field one candidate in all levels, in a bid to “unseat CCM” in next year’s polls.
SHARE THIS STORY
0
Share
Dar es Salaam. It is now official. The political marriage that was triggered by Opposition’s  rejection of the constitution making process was yesterday formalised after four parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to field and support one candidate at all levels including the presidency in 2015 General Election.
 The move, similar to what transpired in Kenya in 2002 during the famous Rainbow Coalition, which brought the “Kibaki Tosha” project, is aimed at defeating the ruling CCM.
In Kenya, alarmed by the draconian and corrupt regime, the Opposition united in July 2002 to support one candidate for the presidency, a move that finally led to the defeat of Daniel arap Moi-supported “project”, Uhuru Kenyatta, ruling Kanu’s flag bearer in the race to Ikulu.
Some analysts say the opposition unity also expect to get a boost next year, should top leaders within the ruling party defect, in a protest of presidential  candidate nomination process, scheduled in May, 2015.
 There are unconfirmed reports that some top CCM leaders plan to abandon the party, if the nomination process would be seen as rigged in favour of a candidate who is believed to enjoy the backing of current administration.
  In Dar es Salaam, yesterday, four opposition parties—Chadema, CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi and NLD— signed a pact to field one candidate in all levels, in a bid to “unseat CCM” in next year’s polls.
The MoU was signed publicly by chairpersons and secretaries-general of the parties that are members of the Coalition of Defenders of People’s Constitution (Ukawa) during a mammoth rally held at the Jangwani grounds.
The pact contains seven key areas of action before civic election slated for December and General Election next year. These are:  are harmonisation of parties’ policies with the view to find common ground as Ukawa; field one candidate in all levels; mode of cooperation to be formulated and circulated to leaders of the parties; a joint ‘No Campaign’ against the referendum; create common front with issues of national interest and to defend the union and to work with like-minded groups.
Two messages dominated speeches by leaders of the parties who, one after another, took the podium to address the gathering: The key message was: no vote to the April 2015 referendum on the proposed new constitution and onslaught on CCM for “sabotaging   the peoples’ will” expressed in the Warioba Draft.”
CUF secretary-general and first Zanzibar Vice President Mr Seif Sharrif Hamad accused CCM of rigging the vote that passed the proposed new Katiba in the national assembly, asserting that the “Yes” won the two-third majority dubiously.
“Our own audit revealed that there was a dirty game; they didn’t get the two-third fairly.” He said and announced: “We are now waiting for them in the referendum and I urge to vote no.”
He went on to say that for Zanzibaris, the verdict is clear in the coming referendum; no, and urged what he called Tanganyikans to let the country down by passing “Chenge and Sitta’s constitution”.
The party’s chairman Prof Ibrahim Lipumba termed the coming together of the four parties which is reminiscent of the formation of Kenya’s ODM which transformed from no campaign for the proposed Katiba, as the beginning of the end of the road for CCM.
“The phantom of CCM is beginning to crumble,” announced Prof Lipumba to a thunderous applause.
He said the proposed Mother Law would nurture corruption and added that it should be rejected by Tanzanians during the referendum.
Chadema chair Freeman Mbowe called the unity a God’s plan to liberate Tanzanians from CCM. But warned people over likely moves to sabotage Ukawa, claiming that with the huge step that the coalition took yesterday, there would be efforts from political enemies to undermine it.
The coalition was born out of the constitution-making process. The quest for a new Katiba has been an opposition agenda for two decades. Knowing that the ruling CCM was against the main proposals in the Second Draft Constitution—including the establishment of a federation with three governments—the opposition parties formed a coalition to counter CCM’s dominance.
Yesterday’s agreement becomes Ukawa’s second main act the coalition has managed to pull off so far. The first that sent shockwaves on the political scene was the walkout at the Constituent Assembly back in April on the grounds that it didn’t respect the wishes of Tanzanians that were documented in the Second Draft Constitution. The coalition accused CCM of using the second draft to protect its interests.

GET HOT NEWS OF TODAY.

..........Image00036.

Escaping Boko Haram: How three Nigeria girls found safety

Escaping Boko Haram: How three Nigeria girls found safety

Hajara and her family after her escape


The story of three Nigerian girls who escaped Boko Haram
For six months the world has waited for news of the fate of more than 200 girls abducted by Nigerian militant group Boko Haram. As the Nigerian government insists a deal to release the "Chibok girls" is being negotiated, three girls who escaped their captors have told their story to BBC Hausa.
Lami, Maria and Hajara were at school in Chibok, north-eastern Nigeria, when they were kidnapped in April. Best friends Lami and Maria escaped by jumping from the back of a truck. Hajara was taken to a camp but later fled with another girl.
To protect the girls' identity we have portrayed their story as an animation, and provided an edited transcript of their account below.
The girls' names have been changed for their protection.
Animation by Luis Ruibal.
Night scene
Lami: It was Monday night. We had exams the following day. Then we started to hear shootings in the town. So we went out. We phoned our parents to tell them what was happening in the town. They told us to run away when we got the chance. We told them that the town was already surrounded so there was no way we could run.
Maria: Lami woke me up saying: "Maria didn't you hear what's happening? Haven't you heard sounds of shooting from the town?"
I said we should climb the wall and run away. She said: "No. No-one has run away. We should gather in one place and wait to see what's going to happen."
Other girls said nothing would happen to us. "We're girls. They don't do anything to girls. We should wait and see what God would do."
Lami: We were at the school when suddenly three Boko Haram members entered.
They said: "If any of you attempt to leave we'll kill all of you." When we went out they were everywhere. They gathered us where we have our school assembly. As we were there they kept burning the school. They burnt everything.
Burning library
Hajara: They asked us to get out of the gate, saying that when we were out they would let us go back to our homes. They said whoever did not have a headscarf or shoes should go and get them. They then asked us to climb on to a lorry, on top of the food loaded in it. The lorry was so high that we couldn't easily climb on.
Maria: They said to us: "You're only coming to school for prostitution. Boko (Western education) is haram (forbidden) so what are you doing in school?"
We kept quiet. I think there could have been about 100 Boko Haram members - they were all over the school. They outnumbered us. They took us away in their vehicles. We were sitting on oil drums in the vehicle. Our vehicle was really overloaded. We were saying to one another that we should throw away our shoes and scarves so that if our parents came they would know the road we had taken.
still
Hajara: The vehicle became full before I could get on. There were about 100 of us walking. We stopped at one town and people brought us water. I saw one of those who brought us water changed his clothes and joined the Boko Haram men. They then put us in other vehicles.
They put the rest in the boots of cars. Some of the Boko Haram members were so small that if I were to grab their necks I could break them. Some couldn't even carry their guns properly.
Maria: We were wondering where we were being taken to. When we entered the vehicle, Lami said to me: "Shouldn't we jump out of the vehicle here so that we may possibly escape? There are no other vehicles close by."
Hajara: I thought, it's preferable to have these people shoot me as I run than have them humiliate me. They kept saying to us: "Make sure you put on your scarves. Make sure you put on your scarves. We'll shoot any girl we see without a scarf. And any girl who jumps out will die."
I was about to jump out when one girl held me back and said they'd shoot me if I did.
"What's the difference," I said. "Is it not to the same death we're going? They should shoot me here and let my corpse be collected."
I was crying and praying until we reached the camp.
Lamia and Maria jump from the truck
Lami: There was a lot of dust on the road, they couldn't see us. When we jumped out, we started to run. We were running without shoes. We found other people. We started to run away from them thinking they were Boko Haram. But they too had run from the town.
Hajara: Boko Haram gathered us in a forest around noon. Some of the girls were tired and were lying down. But I couldn't lie down. The spirit of God was asking me to go. It was telling me: "Get up and go. Get up and go."
So I went. Another girl followed me. When we were going I saw some of them [Boko Haram members] performing ablutions. We stooped as if we were trying to pull out thorns from our shoes, as if we were just going to wee. We'd walk a little then bend down for a little while as if we were looking for something we'd lost.
After walking for a while they couldn't see us properly since it was forest. We then started to run. After we had run for a short distance, we heard them saying "catch those girls." We kept running. Whether they came after us not, we didn't know.
Hajara: We kept going and our shoes were ripped. We found a house, where a girl could speak Hausa. Her parents gave us a place to sleep. We reached the Chibok area in the morning. A man looking for a relative among the missing girls drove us on motorbike into town.
When I saw my elder and younger brothers, I fell to the ground crying. My mother and father were crying and all members of my family cried. Before I reached home it was as if there was a death in the house. Mats were spread. People were consoling my father and mother thinking that I had died.
line
Who are Boko Haram?
Animated Boko Haram members
  • Founded in 2002
  • Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
  • Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
  • Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
  • Some three million people affected
  • Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
Who are Boko Haram?
Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
Will 'truce' with Boko Haram free Chibok girls?
line
Still
Lami: The people we met said: "Your town is far away. You can't go there now. Come here and wait until morning when we'll take you into the town to get transport back home." We stayed there till morning when they asked us to get up so that we go to the town. We couldn't walk. Our feet were full of thorns.
They said: "Let's go find a vehicle to take you home."
Maria: The men who helped us took us to Chibok, and I cried. It was the second time that something like that had happened to me. My dad was a pastor; Boko Haram went to our house and killed him. They also shot my mum in the stomach; they gave her 2,000 Naira ($12) to have the bullet.

Lami: My parents warmed up water and cared for my feet. I was taken to the hospital and it was two weeks before I could stand up.
Maria: I continued to live with the thought that Boko Haram members were coming to get me. I couldn't sleep.
Hajara: I was having nightmares every day. There was even a day when I dreamed that they gathered all of us who fled in one place, and said to us: "You girls have defied us and fled. We're now going to burn you alive."
I haven't forgotten about the other girls who are still in the hands of those people. I keep praying for them.
Lami: God will never make us meet these people again. And for our sisters who are still in the forest, may God help them. And may the whole world cry out for these girls to get out so that we continue with our education in school again.
Maria: They should pray to God to forgive them their sins. I'd also ask them to bring back the girls they have kidnapped because their parents are in distress. Some of the parents of the girls have already died. It was the thought of their girls that killed them.
Hajara: God will do what he wills, but I don't want to look at them because of what they have done to my life. They think they've ruined me, but God willing, they haven't ruined me. I'll continue with my education.
Hajara and her family after her escape

South African footballer shot dead

 
 
A reward of about $14,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of Senzo Meyiwa's killer
 

    Senzo Meyiwa wakati wa uhai wake

 South Africa's football captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has died after being shot, South African police say.
The incident reportedly happened at Meyiwa's girlfriend's house in Vosloorus, south of Johannesburg.
The 27-year-old played for Orlando Pirates and had played in South Africa's last four Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
On Saturday, he was in action for his club, when they progressed to the semi-finals of the South African League Cup.
Orlando Pirates beat Ajax Cape Town 4-1.
Reward offered In a statement, the South African Police Service said two men had entered the house, around 20:00 (18:00 GMT), while a third man remained outside.
All three fled after shots were fired, in what local media reports say was an attempted burglary.
A reward of about $14,000 has been offered for information leading to the suspects' arrest.
Meyiwa was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
He started playing for Orlando Pirates, based in the Parktown district of Johannesburg, in 2005.
"This is a sad loss whichever way you look at it, to Senzo's family, his extended family, Orlando Pirates and to the nation.'' said Pirates' chairman Irvin Khoza.
Last year, the Pirates were runners-up in the CAF Champions League. losing 3-1 on aggregate to Al Ahly of Egypt.