Friday 18, October 2024 {HMC}  The man who was the face of the Kenyan government in the aftermath of the police’s deadly crackdown on recent anti-tax protests is set to become the country’s next deputy president.

Parliament has approved the nomination of the softly spoken Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacant role, after senators ousted Rigathi Gachagua in a dramatic series of impeachment votes on Thursday.

The 52-year-old former law professor has been serving as President William Ruto’s interior minister for the last two years.

In charge of the security services, he oversaw the response to the wave of protests that began in June.

More than 40 people died in clashes with the police and at least 300 others were wounded, but Kindiki lauded the officers for exercising “restraint” while enforcing law and order. He also denied any shoot-to-kill orders were issued.

His stance was met by public anger, with rights groups demanding justice for victims as well as individuals abducted under mysterious circumstances.

In his response to the demonstrations, Kindiki burnished his credentials as a supporter of the president and survived a cull of ministers.

This was not a surprise as he had long been a close ally of the president, having served as his lawyer more than a decade ago during a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ruto, then an MP, had been accused of crimes against humanity over the violence that followed the 2007 election in which more than 1,200 people died.

The case was eventually dropped because of insufficient evidence, but prosecutors argued that witnesses had been intimidated.

Kindiki is, like Gachagua, from the Mount Kenya region and will be able to shore up the president’s support in that area in the wake of the impeachment.

Always smartly dressed with a neat close-cropped haircut, the father-of-two honed his deliberative style of speaking in the courts, but he also worked in academia.

With a master’s degree and a PhD from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, he has authored more than 30 publications – including books and articles in academic peer-reviewed journals, both locally and internationally.

He has vast experience in public policy, governance, public administration, law-making, constitutional affairs and giving legal advice at various levels.

He began his political career in March 2013 when he was elected senator for Tharaka-Nithi county and served as the Senate majority leader for five years.

Re-elected in 2017, he went on to serve as the chamber’s deputy speaker until 2020.

When Ruto won the 2022 presidential election, he appointed Kindiki to his first cabinet.

Since that time, he was seen representing the authorities during some traumatic incidents.

Last year, hundreds of bodies of people who had starved to death were uncovered in a remote forest. It is alleged that self-styled pastor Paul Mackenzie had encouraged them to stop eating. Currently on trial, he denies the charges.

In the wake of the grim discovery of the bodies, Kindiki was on site and describing the incident as a “massacre”.

Last month, he was at a school where 17 pupils had died after a dormitory fire. The minister promised “full accountability for all whose action or inaction contributed to this tremendous loss”.

In 2022, there were some who thought Kindiki would be named as Ruto’s deputy, but Gachagua clinched the position as he brought with him considerable influence and wealth.

Ruto later said that he “missed the chance to be deputy president by a whisker”.

For now the Nairobi High Court has suspended Kindiki’s swearing-in until it hears a case questioning Gachagua’s swift removal from office.

However should Gachagua’s sacking be upheld, Kindiki is likely to prove a more loyal deputy who will toe the line.

SOURCE BBC

Friday 18, October 2024 {HMC} A stable job with a new cleaning company in Galkayo, central Somalia’s Mudug region, has put widowed Farhia Omar Warsame into a solid position to support her seven children on her own.

Since she was employed by the firm Degan-dhowr in May, she has been on a monthly salary of $200-250, with an extra $20 for her coordination of a cleaning team of 10 other women employees.

Having struggled on as little as $3-5 per week from her efforts at small business, this new job means that her children no longer go to bed hungry. Since her husband, who was a truckdriver, died five years she has been the sole breadwinner for her family.

“Today, I feel empowered. My children are getting an education, and I hope they will help me in the future. We couldn’t get loans or even aid, but now I am working in a place where I am physically and mentally capable – this job has given me peace of mind,” Farhia told Radio Ergo.

Farhia set up a clothing shop after borrowing $150 in 2021 and supplemented it by selling cooked food in the evenings to earn extra income. However, she didn’t earn enough and accumulated debts of $300 that hung over her.

“Back then, I used to make flatbreads in the morning and sell clothes in the afternoon to get by. It was difficult. But today, I am proud to be a working woman who can plan her finances,” she said.

She is happy that her new income allows her to pay $80 a month to send five of her children to school and Koranic classes. She has also rented a two-room house for $60 per month.

Another widow and mother of four, Deqo Abdulahi Shire, has also been employed by Degan-dhowr company as a cleaner in a hospital.

She moved to Galkayo from Mogadishu in 2021 because living in the capital city was so expensive. She worked irregular odd jobs for three years and is happy to have a stable income now with a $200 monthly salary that covers her basic needs, such as food, water, and electricity.

“This job has greatly improved my life. Now, I have enough money every month to pay for our essentials. I get food from a store that gives me credit, and I can pay off my debts bit by bit. Life is much better now compared to two years ago when I had no work,” Deqo said.

She learned about the job from other women in the company. She used to go door-to-door, asking for cleaning work in different homes. It was difficult it was to find decent-paying work.

“Sometimes, I’d clean entire houses for just $30 or $35 a month, and I would get work on some days but on other days I wouldn’t get any jobs at all,” she said.

Deqo has managed to pay off $150 of her $400 worth of debts and is working hard to clear the rest.

In June, she was able to re-enroll three of her children in school after a long break caused by the loss of her husband, who had been covering their school fees. She now pays $43 per month for her children’s school fees and Koranic lessons.

To manage her tight budget, Deqo walks 40 minutes to work every day to save money on transport. She hopes her salary will be increased in future so she can save up to build her own home and no longer pay rent.

The director of Degan-dhowr, Yusuf Mohamed, explained that the company targets poor and vulnerable women, aiming to offer them jobs whilst contributing to environmental sanitation. They employ 200 women to work on cleaning contracts in hospitals, offices, restaurants, and residential homes in Galkayo.

Many of the women employed are the sole providers for their families, and some have been promoted to leadership positions within the company due to their hard work and commitment.

“Most of the people who come to us for jobs are extremely poor, often the most vulnerable in society. They are mothers who have no one to support them, no jobs, and no advocates. When they come to us, we assess their suitability for the work and prioritise those most in need,” said Yusuf.

Degan-dhowr started operations in Galkayo in early 2023. This year it began a significant recruitment of women, after the company had established itself.

SOURCE

Friday October 18, 2024
By Ahmed Asmar

Iran is on high alert in anticipation of Israeli military response to Oct. 1 missile attack by Tehran

The chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened Thursday to strike Israel again in response to any Israeli military action against Tehran.

“Do not repeat your mistake,” Gen. Hossein Salami said at a funeral ceremony held for Abbas Nilforoushan, an IRGC commander, who was killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

“If you misbehave, if you strike anything of our targets either in the region or in Iran, we will again hit you painfully,” he added as cited by Iranian media.

The Iranian commander said that the Oct. 1 missile attack against Israel was the “tiniest” in Iran’s military capabilities.

“We do know the enemy’s (Israel) weakness,” Salami added.

Salami’s warning comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is visiting Egypt on Thursday as part of diplomatic efforts to prevent any Israeli attack against Iran.

Iran is on high alert in anticipation of an Israeli military response to the Oct. 1 missile attack by Tehran, which said the attack was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

Israel has threatened a “lethal, precise, and especially surprising” retaliatory attack against Iran.

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 42,400 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,500 people and injured over 4,500 others since last month.

Friday  18,  Oct 2024 {HMC} South Africa has ordered Taiwan’s representative office to relocate outside of the capital, a Taipei Foreign Ministry official said Friday, blaming Chinese pressure for the decision.

China considers self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has sought to whittle down the number of countries that recognize its claim to statehood.

“We have been asked to move our representative office out of the capital [Pretoria],” an official from Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Our reasonable conclusion is that it is part of a series of actions by China to suppress Taiwan,” the official said. “We are still negotiating with South Africa in the hope that there will be room for change.”

The official did not say when Pretoria issued the order or when the deadline was for Taiwan to move its office.

South Africa’s Foreign Ministry defended the decision in a statement, saying it had been “mischaracterized” and was meant only to reflect Pretoria and Taipei’s “nonpolitical and nondiplomatic” relationship.

The Taipei Liaison Office, which is set to be rebranded as a trade office, “will be appropriately placed in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub,” said Chrispin Phiri, South Africa’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

“This also aligns with standard diplomatic practice that capital cities are the seats of foreign embassies and high commissions,” he said.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the South African Liaison Office in Taipei will also rebrand as a trade office.

Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency said Thursday that South Africa issued the order on October 7 and gave the representative office until the end of the month to move.

According to Pretoria, Taipei was given six months.

China said Friday that South Africa had made the “right decision.”

“Taiwanese independence advocates do not enjoy popular support and are doomed to failure,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

Taiwan has 12 diplomatic allies, with most nations, including South Africa, instead recognizing Beijing.

In 2017, Nigeria ordered Taiwan to shut down its trade office in its capital, Abuja, in what Taipei said was an attempt by Beijing to push it out of the country.

Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been fraught for years and have spiked since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May. Lai is more outspoken than his predecessor in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, with Beijing calling him a “separatist.”

On Monday, China deployed fighter jets, drones and warships to encircle Taiwan in the fourth round of large-scale military drills in just over two years.

Taipei condemned Beijing’s actions as “irrational and provocative,” and the island’s key backer and biggest arms supplier, the United States, called them “disproportionate.”

Beijing said the drills were a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces.”