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It is the time to bring Kiir, Machar to order

By
Julius Mwesigye
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The guns that had gone silent for about one year in South Sudan have once again roared to life, claiming about 200 lives in just four days of raging exchange of fire.

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, was due to celebrate its 5th Independence Anniversary on July 11, but the day instead turned into one of fighting as troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and his First Vice President Dr Riek Machar, started shooting at each other on Thursday following a ‘minor’ disagreement.

The implementation of the peace process is one of the pillars that will help ensure the return of normalcy in South Sudan, and the two men should be made to understand this unconditionally since it seems dialogue is not the pill that will help solve the crisis.

This therefore, means that Kiir, Machar and any other parties that are participating in the current mayhem should be held responsible for the renewed fighting and one of the measures to bring to a halt their misadventures is to effect sanctions including an arms embargo and travel restrictions.

Indeed, the UN Security Council has discussed these measures before and this should be the time to act before the blood of more innocent South Sudanese souls is lost.

Meanwhile, in the foregoing, it is worth noting that that all the stakeholders like the African Union (AU); the Inter-governmental Agency for Development (Igad) and the ‘troika’ of the US, UK and Norway that supported the peace process have come up, condemned the fighting and also called for dialogue between the belligerent factions.

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IGAD summons meeting in response to fighting in Juba

By
Agencies
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War in South Sudan.

In response to the escalation of violence in South Sudan, Foreign Ministers from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries will hold a meeting in Nairobi on Monday.

They will be joined by members of the TROIKA that manages the Southern Africa Development Community organ on Politics Defense and Security as well as other members of the international community.

In a statement, the IGAD secretariat which, “continues to demand for a total cessation of hostilities and a return to normalcy in South Sudan,” said the meeting had been called to take stock of the deteriorating situation and to decide on the way forward including holding those responsible accountable.

It comes as global leaders expressed alarm at the escalation of violence in the young nation.

On Sunday, President Uhuru Kenyatta weighed in on the fighting urging that troops and heavy weaponry be removed from civilian spaces.

His spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the President had spoken to President Salva Kiir and urged both him and former rebel leader Riek Machar to act swiftly and restore peace to the capital of Juba.

Over 200 deaths have so far been reported in the fighting that began Friday the United States has also called for an immediate end to the violence.

The battles are the first between the army and ex-rebels in Juba since rebel leader Machar returned in April to take up the post of first vice president under wartime enemy President Kiir, following the three-year conflict that has killed thousands and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

The US State Department said it was ordering all non-essential personnel out of the country.

Washington pressed both leaders and their political allies and commanders to immediately restrain their forces from further fighting, return them to barracks and prevent additional violence and bloodshed

 

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Burundi peace talks resume tomorrow

By
Agencies
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Inter-Burundi Facilitator, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa.

The second round of the inter-Burundi Dialogue resumes tomorrow following a series of meetings convened by the Mediator, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and the Facilitator, former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa with different stakeholders.

A cross section of the delegates to the Inter-Burundi Dialogue: (Front line)-Ministers representing Government of the Republic of Burundi.
A cross section of the delegates to the Inter-Burundi Dialogue: (Front line)-Ministers representing Government of the Republic of Burundi.

According to a release by the East Africa Community (EAC), a number of issues including  the status and implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi, the Constitution of Burundi, the security situation, political and democratic space, state of economy and the role of the East African Community member countries as well as other neighbors, were discussed.

The July 12-14 meeting will be held at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

‘There is therefore, the need to discuss substantively and, more importantly, to agree on a common basis for stability, development and the future of Burundi. In this regard, the objective of the forthcoming discussions will be to validate these findings, to prioritize them, and eventually set the agenda for a meaningful dialogue,’ the release states in part.

Mr Museveni and president Mkapa have since met representatives of the Government of the Republic of Burundi, Former Heads of State, representatives of Political Parties, Religious Leaders, Civil Society Organizations, Women and Youth, Chamber of Commerce and the Burundi society in the diaspora.

 

 

 

 

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Ugandan troops ready ‘to cross Sudan border’

By
Stephen Muneza
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Uganda’s military has been deployed to prevent the conflict in neighbouring South Sudan from spreading to its territory.

Army spokesman Lt.Col. Paddy Ankunda is addressing journalists about the fighting in Juba at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala and said UPDF was already at the border to ‘prevent a spillover’.

“If the UPDF is to deploy in South Sudan there are procedures to follow and let there be no speculation on UPDF deployment in South Sudan,” Ankunda has said.

“We are concerned about the escalating insecurity in South Sudan and Uganda is already experiencing an influx of refugees,” Ankunda added.

Ugandan state minister for foreign affairs Henry Okello Oryem and his colleagues from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states are currently in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, holding an emergency meeting on the fast deteriorating security situation.

The fighting has forced IGAD, the regional body that brokered the peace deal between the two warring forces to immediately start looking for a fresh solution which is most probably asking Uganda to deploy in Juba once more.

“We hope the IGAD extraordinary session on South Sudan will take position on what to be done,” Ankunda said.

The IGAD decision aside, the United States representative at the UN Security Council said they have called for regional countries led by Uganda to begin preparing troops for possible deployment into South Sudan.

Ambassador Samantha Power said the Council expressed its readiness to enhance the UN Mission in South Sudan’s role in responding to the crisis.

The recent violence in the world’s youngest country represents yet another blow to a shaky peace deal that has so far failed to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his rival Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

Relations between the two men have been fractious since South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011, and rival troops loyal to both Kiir and his first Vice-President Machar began shooting at each other on the streets of Juba last week.

Their forces have fought a civil war. But despite a peace deal last year ending the conflict, both sides retain their military capabilities and have continued to accuse each other of bad faith.

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Al Shabaab attack Somali military base, kill 10

By
Agencies
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Members of the Islamic terrorist group Al Shabaab. Photo credit/wsj.com

Al Shabaab Islamist militants have rammed a car packed with explosives into a Somali army base southwest of the capital and stormed inside, killing at least 10 soldiers, the group and a military officer said.

“A suicide car bomb rammed into the base and then al Shabaab fighters stormed it. At least 10 soldiers died,” Major Ahmed Farah said from the nearby town of Afgooye.

An al Shabaab spokesman said its fighters were behind the raid and said 30 soldiers had been killed. The group often cites a higher death toll than official figures.

Meanwhile, the Somali National Army had conducted raids on al Shabaab camps in the lower Shabelle region over the weekend, seizing weapons and other equipment used by the militants, local media reported quoting a statement from the defense ministry.

Bases of the AU-backed mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been a regular target of the al Shabaab militant group which seeks to topple the Western-backed government.

AMISOM fights the Islamists alongside the Somali National Army.

In January, the al Shabaab militia launched an early morning attack on an AMISOM base in the town of El-Adde, near the Ethiopian border. More than 100 Kenyan soldiers were reportedly killed in the dawn attack.

 

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Riek Machar condemns killings in South Sudan, attacked

By
Stephen Muneza
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South Sudan rebel leader Dr Riek Machar

Embattled South Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar has spoken out about the hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.

The fighting has stopped flights to and from Juba airport but according to UPDF spokesperson Paddy Ankunda, Ugandan troops will soon be deploy in South Sudan upon official request from the government there.

Dr. Machar is hiding at the residence of France ambassador in Gudelle West of Juba city, reports Sudan Tribune.

On Monday afternoon, EagleOnline’s reporter in Juba said heavy gunfire and large explosions could be heard all over the city; he said heavy artillery was being used.

Dr Machar then took to his Twitter account to react to the fighting, and his posts showed a fierce leader shaken.

“I urge calm and restraint throughout these skirmishes. I’m safe. No one should take laws in their own hands to destabilise this country,” Machar wrote.

Another tweet said: “In the last 2 hrs, we went through heavy bombardments by President Kiir helicopters. This tells that our partner is not interested in peace.”

“In all these, I’ve hope that we’ve a future as a country. We came to Juba knowing that a country needs all of us. I’ve not lose that hope,” he added.

As expected, some civilians questioned his commitment to stopping the killings. One Taban Alex Donato ‏@tabanDona1 told off Machar saying South Sudan’s future are children being denied inalienable rights to live in peace and questioned who is responsible for their deaths in the last 48 hours.

A Kenyan blogger Jackson Muigai had a sterner accusation on his twitter handle:”@drriekmachar you make people die in Juba while you hide your family in Nairobi? Shame.”

Riek MacharThe situation in South Sudan has echoes of the days before the civil war began, in December 2013, when skirmishes between troops loyal to Mr Kiir and Mr Machar escalated into a national bloodbath, killing tens of thousands and displacing two million.

As artillery fire rings out in the capital Juba and a helicopter gunship buzzes overhead, desperate work is under way to try to calm the situation and to prevent the clashes from spreading.

But huge distrust remains between Mr Kiir and Mr Machar and between their forces. The leaders may even be struggling to control their own troops.

Relations between the two men have been fractious since South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011.

Their forces have fought a civil war. But despite a peace deal last year ending the conflict, both sides retain their military capabilities and have continued to accuse each other of bad faith.

A number of peace deals have been signed – so far, none has led to lasting stability.

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A night in the life of Tanga Odoi

By
Our Reporter
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Dr. Odoi during a media interview, photo credit, NBS Television.

TANGA Odoi might be known for his mischievous acts during the National Resistance Movement party elections. But little is known about his life when the sun sets down. When the darkness rises, he is relieved from the pressures of press phone calls and NRM operatives who want ‘math to overshadow luck’ during their nominations for various seats and positions.

Dr.Odoi is known to carry a heavy security detail wherever he is travelling mostly because of the ‘threats’ he fears during the day. But at night he ditches his security because the only threats he faces at night are eyes, ears and cameras.

Tanga Odoi disregards his residence and drives alone to a popular hotel in Kisaasi where he has made special arrangements for his room and entrance. He uses a route through the basement which few guests know of.

He then joins fine young female company in the privacy of one of the rooms. They order for a few drinks which they either drink in a dim lit corner or take to their room upstairs.

He then leaves the hotel with a security aide who comes in slightly later than him. The security aide then hands him his phones and they leave in the same car with the lady. The car is parked swiftly at the front so that no one sees him exit the hotel.

On busy weekends, his car is parked on an access road next to the hotel and Tanga slowly walks to the hotel so that his car is not noticed by the public and the car returns to pick him when he is ready to leave.

Tanga is driven to several posh locations to enjoy finer meals or meet with top NRM executives to discuss what he thinks are important issues.
On many nights, Tanga Odoi is seen returning to this very hotel on an almost daily basis either alone or with a lady. He has turned this into a second home of sorts. One is left wondering whether its thirst for change in sleeping location or thirst for salty tasting juices that has made Tanga Odoi resort to qu

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Two Ugandans killed in Juba, UPDF set to redeploy

By
Stephen Muneza
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Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) soliders in Bor, Jonglei State, South Sudan before they left last year.

Two Ugandan nationals working in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, have been killed, according to reports.

Their identities are yet to be known but minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Hon. Amelia Kyambadde is expected release a statement about the plight of Ugandan traders in Juba on Tuesday.

Over the past days, hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those supporting Vice-President Riek Machar.

Ugandan traders, UN compounds and civilians have also been targeted, something the Security Council said could constitute a war crime.

The fighting has stopped flights to and from Juba airport and a fresh UPDF return now seems inevitable.

Meanwhile Uganda Peoples Defence Forces spokesperson Paddy Ankunda has revealed that Uganda will only deploy in South Sudan upon official request from the government.

If Uganda sends its troops in, it will be in line with African Union’s tenet of protecting governments in power in accordance with a country’s constitution.

This comes moments after fighting has broken out again, hours subsequently the UN Security Council called for an end to the violence.

“We’re concerned about situation in South Sudan, given likely repercussions, but that’s all. We’re not deployed there,” Ankunda told NBS TV on Monday.

Uganda hasn’t deployed soldiers in South Sudan yet following heavy gunfire, he insisted but with Ugandans traders and expatriates trapped in the highly volatile youngest African nation and uncertain of what will happen next if the fighting intensifies, UPDF could step in and save the day.

There have, however, been UPDF forces in South Sudan’s Western Equatorial region, where they have been stationed to pursue and combat the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

EagleOnline however understands that deployment of armed personnel at border with South Sudan was completed on Sunday evening.

Kampala first sent columns of between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers into its neighbor in late 2013 to prop up the government of President Salva Kiir soon after clashes erupted with troops loyal to South Sudan’s sacked vice president Riek Machar. Most of the troops were posted around South Sudan’s capital Juba.

Ugandan troops voluntarily withdrawal from South Sudan last October because of a key demand of rebels loyal to former vice president Machar during peace negotiations to end the nation’s conflict but opposition faction of the SPLA-IO accused the UPDF of instead taking side in the internal war and prolonging it.

Kiir an acquaintance to Museveni briefly resisted the rebels’ demands, citing a government-to-government agreement between the administrations in Juba and Kampala that necessitated the presence of the Ugandan troops in South Sudan.

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Ministers head to Kyakwanzi for Cabinet retreat

By
Our Reporter
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President YK Museveni pose for a group photo with the then Presidency Minister and Resident District Commissioner at a previous retreat.

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni will lead his Ministers and top government bureaucrats for a one week retreat at Kyakwanzi.

According to sources within the Presidency, Gen. Museveni wants all ministers and top bureaucrats to   be at per when it comes to the Vision 2020 when Uganda is supposed to attain a lower middle income status.

“It is true, all Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other senior government officials are going for a one week retreat for harmonization of all policies so that we are able to achieve the president target of our Uganda attaining a middle income country” a source to EagleOnline on request of anonymity.

The retreat starts on July 26, 2016 and will preceded by one of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs).

This will be the first of its kind to have ministers at the National Leadership Institute (NALI). It also comes at a time when President Museveni has opposition and independent figures in his cabinet and these will greatly benefit at the retreat since they are likely to be reoriented into National Resistance Movement (NRM) Ideology so as to implement the 2016-2021 NRM manifesto.

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State demands proof that Besigye is 60 years old

By
Shawn Davis Kawalya
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Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) former presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, was on Monday denied bail at High Court in Kampala. Besigye had fronted advanced age as top ground for bail.

Dr Besigye’s lawyer, Ernest Kalibbala told court that the opposition leader’s  advanced age, the fact that he will to comply with bail terms, has a permanent place of aboard, uncertainty on treason trial commencement and that he had complied on previous occasions.

The state, however, objected to Dr. Besigye’s request to be released on non-cash bond saying bail is not automatic and also demanded proof that Dr Besigye is 60 years old.

“Being 60 years old is not an exceptional circumstance for him to be released on bail,” the  Principle State Attorney Florence Akello retaliated infront of Judge Musane.

“He can be cross-examined for confirmation,” Dr Besigye’s lawyer Kalibbala said on State’s request for evidence on client’s age.

State went ahead to insist that the suspect (Besigye) carried on with defiance campaign activities, a total disregard of a court order.

Besigye had presented sureties among them; FDC president Mugisha Muntu, Rukungiri MP Roland Mugume, Budadiri West MP Nathan Nandala Mafabi, Rubaga’s Joyce Sebugwawo and Francis Mwijukye.

Presiding Judge, Masalu Musene, adjourned the bail application until the 12th July when he will make a ruling.

However, Dr Besigye said whether court grants him bail or not, he will be released because treason charges will be dropped. He said the DPP should expedite investigation process.

He was speaking to a team of 14 FDC supporters and leaders from Kabarole District who visited him at Luzira prison on Friday afternoon.

Besigye who is charged with treason, said he wants the law to take its course.

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