Monday November 17, 2025 {HMC} Health CS Aden Duale on Sunday said that residents of the North Eastern region and the entire Muslim community are not taking for granted the initiatives President William Ruto has implemented since assuming office, promising to “pay back” through the ballot.

He said the community will overwhelmingly support Ruto’s re-election in the 2027 polls.

Speaking in Wajir town during the historic coronation of Sultan Abdirahman Sultan Hussein, where he was the chief guest, Duale praised the President for what he described as a historic policy shift that has eased access to identification documents for residents of Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, and other parts of the country.

Duale said that for many years, communities along border areas had faced endless bureaucracies, suspicion, discrimination, frustrations, unnecessary vetting, and prolonged delays in acquiring fundamental documents, portraying them as second-class citizens under successive governments.

In February, President William Ruto signed a decree eliminating vetting requirements for residents of Northeastern Kenya applying for national identification documents.

Before the decree, certain Kenyans from specific regions, ethnic groups, or religious backgrounds had to undergo additional scrutiny, appear before vetting committees, provide extra documentation, and meet extra conditions.

Duale said the policy shift demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving the lives of marginalised people, fostering a stronger and more united Kenya.

“Mr. President, your administration is the first one that has listened to the cries of our people and acted decisively. You brought back our dignity to the people of North Eastern Kenya, the wider Muslim community, and all Kenyans by ending a discriminatory system that made us feel like second-class citizens,” Duale said.

Accompanied by several political leaders, the CS urged residents to seize the ongoing voter registration exercise by the IEBC and register in large numbers, noting that increased voter registration will strengthen the region’s voice in national politics.

“It is for this reason that we are telling our people to register en masse so that we can pay back for the dignity you brought back to our communities as Muslims and as the Somali community,” he added.

Duale also hit out at President Ruto’s critics, emphasising that the administration’s agenda to move Kenya from a third-world to a first-world nation remains on course.

He highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects, affordable housing, universal healthcare, progress in agriculture, job creation, and the new education model as initiatives transforming Kenyans’ lives.

“Those opposing the president are doing so for the sake of it. They don’t have an agenda or manifesto. Kenyans, however, have decided to stand with President Ruto’s government, which means well for them,” he said.

He also called on residents who have not yet registered under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) to do so, noting that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is not just a moral imperative but a strategic investment in the nation’s health and future.

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Monday November 17, 2025 {HMC} The United States has carried out its latest military strike against an alleged drug boat off Latin America, as US President Donald Trump raises pressure on Venezuela with a major military buildup in the region.

The US military struck a vessel believed to be transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people on board, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” US Southern Command said in a social media post.

The announcement of the strike came hours after Washington’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, arrived in the Caribbean Sea.

The deployment of the carrier has raised fears that the Trump administration could be readying itself for imminent military action against Venezuela.

While the Trump administration has cast the military actions in the region as an effort to counter illicit drug flows, Caracas sees the moves as a pretext to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

Trump, who said last week he had “sort of” made up his mind on the possibility of military action against Venezuela, on Sunday suggested that his administration could hold talks with Maduro.

“We’ll see how that turns out. But they would like to talk,” Trump told reporters.

Earlier on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would designate Cartel de los Soles, a criminal organisation that the Trump administration claims is headed by Maduro, a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO).

“Headed by the illegitimate Nicolas Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” Rubio said in a post in X.

Rubio did not provide evidence for his claims.

The US has conducted at least 21 military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, killing some 80 people.

International law and human rights experts say the attacks amount to extrajudicial executions, even if those targeted are suspected of drug trafficking.

The Trump administration has so far provided no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were “narcoterrorists.”

‘Operation Southern Spear’
On Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported that senior Trump administration officials held three meetings at the White House this week to discuss options for possible military action against Venezuela.

The reported meetings come as the Trump administration has continued to significantly expand the US military’s presence in Latin America, deploying F-35 aircraft, warships and a nuclear submarine.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon said the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group, which includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier, had arrived in the Caribbean with at least 4,000 sailors and dozens of “tactical aircraft” on board.

There are now about 12,000 US sailors and Marines in the region, in what US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday formally named “Operation Southern Spear”.

Under the US Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war.

But Trump has said that he would not “necessarily ask for a declaration of war” in order to continue killing people “that are bringing drugs into our country.

Rear Admiral Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warships to “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere”.

In Trinidad and Tobago, which is located just 11 kilometres (seven miles) off the Venezuelan coast, officials said troops had begun training exercises with the US military.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s strikes, said the exercises were the second such drills in less than a month and would help address violent crime linked to the country’s status as a stopover point for drug shipments.

Venezuela, which has cast the drills as an act of aggression, has yet to comment on the arrival of the US aircraft carrier.

Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the US, has accused the US government of “fabricating a new eternal war” against him and his country.

On Sunday, Maduro wrote on his Facebook page that the Venezuelan people are “ready to defend their homeland against any criminal aggression”.

Last week, Venezuela’s government announced a “massive” mobilisation of troops and civilians to defend against possible attack by the US.

Source Al-Jaziira

Monday November 17, 2025 {HMC} Kenya has committed to helping Uganda access the Indian Ocean, downplaying President Yoweri Museveni’s recent threats of war over access to the sea.

Speaking during a media press briefing on Kenya foreign policy, Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi said it is in Kenya’s strategic interest to move more cargo to neighbouring states.

Mudavadi said Kenya is aware of international conventions on landlocked countries, and what it must do is to assist landlocked countries.

“Kenya is a responsible member of the international community, and it is in our interest to facilitate any landlocked country that wishes to use the port of Mombasa,” Mudavadi said.

Mudavadi, who ranks third in the Executive, added that Kenya has not denied any landlocked country that access.

“And, in any case, what would be the value of the port if it does not generate revenue?” he asked.

Responding to a question on Nairobi’s rection to Museveni’s threat, Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’oei had said, “I believe very much that he has a fairly great understanding of our rights with respect to our natural resources, and his rights with natural resources in Ugandan territory.”

Last Sunday, Museveni sparked alarm when he warned of future wars over access to Indian Ocean n for economic and defence reasons, saying the ocean “belongs to me.”

Foreign Affairs chiefs in Nairobi, however, appeared to manage the situation, emphasising on Nairobi’s commitment to peaceful diplomacy and regional cooperation.

They said that that despite the fiery rhetoric, Kenya is guided by legal frameworks, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Under the international framework, landlocked states such as Uganda have a right of access to the sea, but the convention also recognises the sovereignty of transit states.

Article 125 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea grants landlocked states the right of access to and from the sea for exercising their rights.

It guarantees freedom of transit through the territory of transit states via all means of transport, but this must be agreed upon through bilateral or regional agreements between the states.

While landlocked states have this right, the transit states retain full sovereignty and can take necessary measures to protect their legitimate interests.

Foreign policy analyst Gordon K’achola adds that the law does not create a right to sovereign territory on the Coast.

“In practice, the legal protection is mainly about transit rights and negotiated access — ports, customs, transport corridors. The courts have never created judicially enforceable duties requiring a coastal state to cede sovereignty or territory. A case in point is when the ICJ refused to compel Chile to negotiate sovereign access to the Pacific for Bolivia,” K’achola said.

The analyst said that if President Yoweri Museveni is seeking exclusive footholds on bases and de-facto control, this may be perceived as territorial encroachment and prompt strong reactions from the neighbouring state claiming sovereignty, be it Kenya or Tanzania.

“This can easily cause war as he rightfully put it. A proper diplomatic engagement can guarantee Uganda easy and favourable access to the sea instead of threatening war,” K’achola added.

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