The use of Kiswahili in East Africa has got a shot in the arm, as members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) are currently undergoing a capacity building course in the widely spoken language, ‘to shore up their efforts in sensitising the citizens in the region’.

At the five-day workshop, the EALA members will also focus on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and auditing in a bid to strengthen the oversight function of the assembly.

According to the EALA, its committees on accounts and general purpose, called for the enhancement of capacities in order to improve on their oversight role.

“As the integration deepens and specifically with the Common Market Protocol in effect, it is important for all EAC citizens to speak Kiswahili to avoid lagging behind. It is also expected to serve as an important tool in forging the much awaited Political Federation in the region“, EALA Speaker, Rt. Hon Daniel Fred Kidega said adding that Kiswahili is “a key uniting factor for the region and in strengthening the integration process.”

Kiswahili is the lingua franca of the Community as envisaged under Article 137 of the EAC Treaty, with a Kiswahili Commission established as an institution of the EAC and is based in Zanzibar.

“As an Assembly, we also have no choice but to perfect our Kiswahili.  Already many of us are quite comfortable with Kiswahili, but this is no excuse for we need to be articulate, knowledgeable and fluent if we are to fully sensitise the citizens of this great region“, the Speaker added.

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Presidential guard officers in Burkina Faso have seized power in a coup, with reports of more than 10 deaths amid protests in the capital, Ouagadougou.

A close ally of former President Blaise Compaore has been named the country’s new leader, state television reports.

French President Francois Hollande condemned the coup in the former French colony.

Those killed were shot dead by presidential guard forces in the capital, a civil society group said.

• Burkina Faso: Live updates
• What is behind the coup?

The claim by the influential Balai Citoyen group could not be independently verified.

Other reports said protesters had been assaulted and detained.

The coup leaders have imposed a night-time curfew across the West African state, and have ordered the closure of land and air borders, AFP news agency reports.

‘Sequestrated’

The headquarters of Mr Compaore’s Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) party were ransacked in Ouagadougou as news of the coup spread, it adds.

Mr Hollande called for the immediate release of interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida, who were detained at a cabinet meeting in the president palace on Wednesday.

Their transitional authority was due to hand power to a new government after elections on 11 October.

• It is one of the world’s poorest countries – its main export is cotton
• A former French colony, it gained independence as Upper Volta in 1960
• Capt Thomas Sankara seized power in 1983 and adopted radical left-wing policies – he is often referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara”
• The anti-imperialist revolutionary renamed the country Burkina Faso, which translates as “land of honest men”
• Mr Compaore took power in the coup that killed Mr Sankara, and ruled for 27 years, until he was ousted last year following street protests
• People in Burkina Faso, known as Burkinabes, love riding motor scooters
• It is renowned for its pan-African film festival, Fespaco, held every two years in Ouagadougou

The ‘heroes’ of Burkina Faso’s revolution

The rise and fall of Blaise Compaore

Guide to Burkina Faso

Mr Compaore was ousted in a popular uprising last year after 27 years in power, and is currently in exile.

He was accused of committing widespread abuses, and trying to change the constitution to extend his term in office.

Some of his key allies had been barred from contesting the election.

A statement issued by the coup leaders said the West African state would be led by Gen Gilbert Diendere, Mr Compaore’s former chief-of-staff.

An earlier announcement on state television said wide-ranging talks would be held to form a new interim government that would organise “peaceful and inclusive elections”.

Transitional parliamentary speaker Cheriff Sy said the move was “clearly a coup”.

He said the presidential guard had “sequestrated” the interim government, and he urged people to protest on the streets.

“We are in a resistance situation against adversity,” My Sy added.

The elite presidential guard has been trained, in part, by the US. It is the most powerful armed group in Burkina Faso and often disrupted the activities of the transitional government as it tried to cling to the privileges it enjoyed under Mr Compaore’s rule.

It is seen to be close to him, and is not popular on the streets. So its seizure of power could be a recipe for serious violence.

The transitional government might have made two mistakes – preventing politicians loyal to Mr Compaore from running in next month’s elections and allowing the Reconciliation Commission, formed to heal wounds after the end of his authoritarian rule, to release a report calling for the presidential guard to be disbanded.

Some argue that a newly elected president would have had greater legitimacy to take such action.

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Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag bearer for presidency Dr Warren Kizza Besigye has been forced to abandon a meeting he was engaged in with officials of The Democratic Alliance.

According to sources, Besigye was called out of the meeting by his staunch supporters including MPs Geoffrey Ekanya, Odonga Otto and Hassan Kaps Fungaroo among others, and whisked away to the FDC party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, where he was asked to brief them on the developments at the TDA headquarters in Naguru.

This follows fears that the TDA has bent backwards and made decisions that seem to favour another opposition challenger, Amama Mbabazi.

Indeed, party theorists have hinted at money changing hands, allegedly to Dr Besigye’s detriment.

Mbabazi (Independent), Dr Besigye (FDC), former Vice President Prof. Gilbert Balibaseeka Bukenya (Independent) and Norbert Mao (Democratic Party) have been cleared by the TDA to contest for presidency under its banner, but by press time today it had emerged that Mbabazi and Dr Besigye were the choice contestants of members attending a retreat at the Silver Springs hotel in Bugolobi, a Kampala plush suburb.

Prof. Bukenya, a former Vice President, Mbabazi, a former Prime Minister and Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), and Dr Besigye have their political roots partially attached to the ruling party, but while Mbabazi joined the opposition TDA recently, after the summit members endorsed his candidature last week, while Dr Besigye has opposed the current government under President Yoweri Museveni since 1999.

Besigye has also run for presidency against Museveni three times, losing in the three elections, albeit with him claiming the elections were not free and fair or rigged for that matter. For Prof Bukenya, he fell out with the ruling NRM in 2011.

Meanwhile, the TDA is set to announce the joint opposition flag bearer tomorrow, amid speculation that Mbabazi has emerged the choice candidate of the loose alliance that seeks to end Museveni’s nearly 30-year presidency.

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Defence Minister announces more tests to ascertain cause of death

Although the ministry of health has announced heart attack as the cause of Gen Aronda Nyakairima’s death, more tests will be carried out  on some of his body parts

While eulogizing the 56-year-old former army Commander and Internal Affairs Ministers, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, the Minister of Defence said that although government is contented with the pathology report released by the Ministry of Health, some fluids and body party will
still be examined.

“We want to remove any possibility of suspicion and that is the reason we have decided to do more examination in case something was missed,”he said.

Kiyonga eulogized Aronda as a selfless and disciplined “son of Uganda” who should forever be remembered by Ugandans for the contribution he made to the country.

“Death makes a mistake when it picks the young ones when the old ones are there. I think this has been a mistake that death has made. We should struggle to continue with what Aronda fought for instead of inciting the public on social media,” he said.

The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), who also worked with him while fighting rebels in West Nile, Katumba Wamala described him a workaholic and focused army officer whose death has left a big gap in the institution.

“We will miss you Gen. Aronda. To the family, although he has not left any material wealth, he has left a name. That name will open doors for you and you will never suffer,” he said.

The Leader of Opposition Wafula Oguttu, praised the late as a corruption and scandal free government official who dedicated his life to serving the country and bringing about development.

However, Mr Wafula used the eulogy platform to call for the withdrawal of government forces from South Sudan and Somalia.

“We have been fighting wars for the last thirty years. We have been involved in too many wars. Let us recall our army from Somalia and South Sudan”.

Gen. Aronda died last weekend aboard an emirates aircraft en route to Uganda as he was returning from official duties in South Korea.

Aronda, who is being given a state funeral, lay in state at Parliament foyer before being eulogized by the whole House. He will be laid to rest on Sunday at his ancestral home in Rukungiri after a national official ceremony at Kololo tomorrow.

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