Thugs have today broken into the house of Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga’s sister, making off with valuables.

According to police sources, the burglars made away with the Kisumu county deputy governor Ruth Odinga’s electronics after gaining entry into her Nyahera home.

Earlier on Wednesday, an armed gang also raided Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti’s home and stole valuables. They also made away with KSh 400,000 in the 8 pm incident.

Police said the gang masqueraded as Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers before they entered the home.

The governor’s two employees were arrested for allegedly colluding with the gang.

Meanwhile, January 26, gangsters also broke in to Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi’s house and stole electronics and documents while the entire family was asleep.

According to Kingi, the thieves scaled his perimeter wall and broke into his main house, claiming this occurred because his house is not under protection as the government withdrew his security.

Investigations into the three incidents are ongoing.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the East Africa Community (EAC) have signed a US$ 440,000 Grant Agreement to promote urban and rural agriculture and agribusiness to improve youth employment in the region for one year.

The agreement, which took place on the margins of the 28^th African Union Summit themed “Harnessing Africa’s Demographic Dividend by Investing in Youth”, was signed by Amb Libérat Mfumukeko, the Secretary General for EAC and Dr. Patrick Kormawa, the Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the AU and UN Economic Commission for Africa. The EAC Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs, Mr. Charles Njoroge accompanied Amb. Mfumukeko during the brief ceremony held at the AU Headquarters.

The agreement allows FAO and EAC to find a path for young people to secure decent work opportunities, as well as explore innovative e-business models in the agricultural sector.

In his remarks Amb. Mfumukeko highlighted the positive impact of the agreement, saying “the cooperation with FAO was long overdue, and the current support will go a long way in addressing pertinent issues in East Africa where agriculture is the way of life.”

Despite relatively high economic growth in the Partner States of the East African Community (EAC), youth unemployment remains a great concern for the region, as it slows down economies and causes social problems.

The two institutions have the tools to respond to unemployment in the EAC region. FAO has developed the expertise on youth, agriculture, livelihoods and migration.  EAC, on its part, has prepared its Youth Policy, a corner stone for many emerging public and private initiatives.

Dr. Kormawa, in his address, emphasized the role of the partnership on youth. “This Technical cooperation project (TCP) addresses one of the most pressing issues of job creation for youth in the sub region, we at FAO believe that youth employment in agriculture and agribusiness is a way of lifting a significant number of youth out of unemployment and poverty”, he stated.

The agreement aims to enhance the capacity of the target countries and the EAC Secretariat to develop and implement youth-in-agriculture initiatives and to improve the East African youth’s access to information, resources and employment opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Key activities of the new intervention would include the development of a sub-regional strategy and country action plans for promoting decent employment for youth in the agricultural sector; the elaboration of a framework for sustainable youth employment initiatives, the dissemination of best practices, business models and opportunities for youth, and the support to scaling e-business models in agriculture.

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Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the main opposition leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has died in Brussels aged 84.

Tshisekedi was set to take the top post in a transitional council agreed in December under a deal that would pave the way for President Joseph Kabila to leave power in 2017 and refrain from running for a third term.

His death deprives the opposition of its principal figurehead as talks over implementation of the December accord falter.

His son, Felix, is tipped to be named prime minister in a forthcoming power-sharing government.

The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party said he went to Brussels last week for a medical check-up.

Tshisekedi stood up to Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country then known as Zaire, for decades before being overthrown by Rwanda, Uganda and other forces.

He was also the most prominent civilian opponent of Laurent Kabila, who took power in 1997, and his son, President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001.

As such, he was a pivotal figure in DRC, a country whose history has been marked by foreign intervention, civil war, coups and authoritarian rule.

Tshisekedi served as a minister under Mobutu before helping found the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party (UDPS), the first organised opposition platform in Zaire, in 1982.

He was named prime minister four times in the 1990s as Mobutu contended with pro-democratic currents in the country, but Tshisekedi never lasted more than a few months as he repeatedly clashed with the autocrat.

He finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 presidential election. International observers said the vote was marred by fraud and Tshisekedi’s supporters have referred to him ever since as the ‘elected president’.

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