Foreign ministers from across Africa met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to prepare for the February 2025 election of the new African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson. The 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council, included representatives from all 55 African Union (AU) member states, along with officials from AU bodies and key partners. Musalia Mudavadi, a top Kenyan official, attended to discuss the upcoming election to replace Moussa Faki, the current AUC Chairperson since 2017.
The focus is on establishing the election process for the new chairperson and leadership. Tanzania’s Foreign Minister, January Makamba, highlighted the desire for the next chairperson to be from East Africa. Kenya and Somalia have nominated candidates, with Kenya backing Raila Odinga, a prominent political figure who is rallying support across Africa. Odinga, with a history of serving the AU in infrastructure development, has garnered endorsements from several East African leaders, showcasing regional backing for his candidacy.
Rwanda President Paul Kagame has publicly announced his support for Raila Odinga in the race for African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.
Speaking to a local TV station, Kagame heaped praises on Raila, citing his previous work as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development.
“I respect Raila Odinga. I know his struggles. He did a good job (as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development). We give him our support and wish him well not only now but when he is there (as the chair) for Africa to succeed,” Kagame said.
However, Somalia’s entry into the East African Community introduces a potential challenge with its candidate, Fawzia Yusuf Adam, emphasizing governance, democracy, and human rights. The AUC’s leadership, including the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, is elected by the AU Assembly and the Executive Council, serving four-year terms that can be renewed once. Recent reforms aim to improve the selection process’s transparency and meritocracy, focusing on regional balance, gender equality, and attracting Africa’s best talents.
Chief Justice Martha Koome was on Friday night feted with the African Female Leader of the Year award 2023 at a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In her acceptance speech, CJ Koome emphasized that the honor was not solely for her achievement, but also symbolized the collective dedication and resilience of individuals striving for excellence throughout the continent.
“This award is not mine alone to claim. It is an accolade that I dedicate wholeheartedly to the institution I am privileged to lead, the Judiciary of Kenya. This recognition shines a light on our collective endeavor to establish a truly people-centered justice system. A system that is responsive and attuned to the needs, experiences, and expectations of the Kenyan people, especially those who are marginalized and vulnerable,” she said.
The Chief Justice stressed the importance of rededicating efforts to Africa’s development, fostering a culture of excellence, and establishing systems and institutions that serve the interests of all.
“This recognition spurs us to persist in our pursuit of leadership excellence and to relentlessly enhance the quality of service delivery by our institutions. It is a call to action for all of us to continue working tirelessly for the advancement of our continent and its people,” she emphasized.
She urged recommitment to the cause of Africa’s development, nurturing a culture of excellence, and building systems and institutions that truly work for the benefit of the people. “Together, we can forge a brighter, more prosperous future for Africa.”
The African Persons of the Year Awards celebrate individuals who contribute significantly to the continent’s advancement, inspire the future, and positively transform the continent’s image on the global stage.
CJ Koome was voted for her trailblazing leadership as the first female Chief Justice of Kenya, as well as accomplishments in the Judiciary, especially in improving access to justice, promoting gender equality within the legal system, and advancing judicial reforms to strengthen the rule of law in Kenya.
During Friday night’s ceremony, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete received the African Peace and Security Leader of the Year & Congressional Award while Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Group CEO of First Bank Nigeria Limited was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Banking.
The African Persons of the Year Ceremony is a flagship annual event of the African Leadership Magazine, which has been held consecutively over the past 12 years, convening policymakers, private sector leaders, civil society leaders, thought leaders, and all stakeholders from across Africa and the rest of the world to discuss issues bothering on Africa’s socio-economic growth and development.
Past winners of the African Persons of the Year Awards include former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Sudanese Businessman Mo Ibrahim, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organisation.
Ethiopia emerges as Africa’s leading wheat producer, thanks to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s push towards making Ethiopia a wheat-exporting nation.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that Ethiopia’s wheat production for the 2022/2023 season has increased by 27%, hitting a new high of 7 million tonnes. This significant rise from the previous 5.7 million tonnes results from favorable rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands. Following Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s March 2022 forecast of a 4 million tonnes harvest, Ethiopia’s wheat production now exceeds its domestic needs for the first time in decades, eliminating the necessity for imports and facilitating exports.
Positioned as the foremost wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with an annual demand of approximately 9.7 million tonnes, Ethiopia has embarked on substantial efforts to boost wheat production and reduce reliance on inconsistent imports. Initiatives include the Agricultural Businesses Corporation distributing 25,300 tonnes of disease-resistant seeds adaptable to various environmental conditions for the March season.
Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture advocates for cluster farming and offers subsidized fertilizers to increase production, aiming to meet local demands and extend supplies to neighboring countries. The USDA’s estimates are predicated on an 18% increase in the area cultivated, mainly under irrigation, now spanning 2.3 million hectares. Productivity is anticipated to climb by 8% from the previous year and 6% from the five-year average, reaching an unprecedented 3 tons per hectare. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has recently launched a national initiative in the Bale Zone, Oromia region, propelling Ethiopia into its wheat export phase, marking a significant step forward in the nation’s agricultural export goals.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s pivotal role in transitioning Ethiopia into a wheat-exporting country realizes a long-held aspiration. With successful off-season summer cultivation and cluster farming approaches, Ethiopia has begun its initial wheat exports, underscoring the nation’s commitment to enhancing its wheat production capabilities and establishing a landmark in Ethiopia’s agricultural progression.
Militants who last week abducted 286 schoolchildren and staff in northern Nigeria have demanded a total of 1 billion naira (Sh89,368,184) for their release, Jubril Aminu, the local counselor who acts as a spokesman for the families of the hostages told media.
“They made a total of a 1 billion [naira] ransom demand for all the pupils, students and staff of the school,” he said, as quoted by media.
The spokesman added that the militants have issued an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days of the March 7 kidnapping, or they will kill all the students and staff.
Another local official, Idris Ibrahim, an elected official from the Kuriga Ward municipal council, told the media that the militants were making demand calls from an unauthorized number, but authorities were working to identify it.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, told journalists a day earlier that President Bola Tinubu favored that security forces secure the release of the hostages without paying the kidnappers.
Nigeria has recently experienced security problems, with sporadic attacks and kidnappings by Islamic extremists.
On Monday, 61 people were abducted in an attack by gunmen on Budu, a community in Kaduna State. The abductees included women, children and a nursing mother, according to the locals.
In Nigeria, the terrorist group Boko Haram, which has been active in the West African country since 2002, has been known to kidnap and kill people. In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the terrorist group Daesh and changed its name to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). In 2016, however, Boko Haram redefined itself as a separate group.
Police in Zimbabwe say they have arrested a religious sect leader, Ishmael Chokurongerwa, at a farm about 34 kilometers (21 miles) north-west of the capital, Harare, where more than 250 children were allegedly used for forced labor.
The self-styled prophet was arrested alongside seven of his aides “for criminal activities which include abuse of minors,” the southern African nation’s police spokesperson, Paul Nyathi, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The authorities also discovered 16 unregistered graves, seven of them being those of infants, during the raid on the property in Nyabira on Tuesday, according to the statement.
“Police established that all children of school-going age did not attend formal education and were subjected to abuse as cheap labor, doing manual work in the name of being taught life skills,” Nyathi said.
Of the 251 children found, 246 had no birth certificates, he said, adding that more details regarding the case will be released “in due course as investigations unfold.”
Local media identified the religious group as Johane Masowe, a white-garment African church that has existed in Zimbabwe for decades.
On Thursday, state-run tabloid H-Metro reported that women and children evacuated from the church premises, which the believers described as “their promised land,” have been taken to the hospital for medical tests to determine whether some were sexually abused.
The news agency had earlier published a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing some of the female believers confronting the police and demanding the return of children who had been put in a waiting bus.
“Why are they taking our children? We are comfortable here. We don’t have a problem here,” one of the women in the video shouted.
One of Chokurongerwa’s aides also told the newspaper that “God forbids formal education because the lessons learned at such schools go against his dictates.”
“Our belief is not from scriptures, we got it directly from God who gave us rules on how we can enter heaven. God told us that it won’t rain if we send our children to school,” he said.
The Zimbabwean prophet’s arrest comes nearly a year after Kenyan police detained cult leader Paul Mackenzie for allegedly instructing followers to starve themselves to death so that they could “meet Jesus Christ before the end of the world.”
Last month, Mombasa court charged Mackenzie and 29 of his followers with committing acts of terror, child cruelty, and torture after 429 bodies, including those of 191 children, were exhumed in a forest near his church.
Rwanda President Paul Kagame has publicly announced his support for Raila Odinga in the race for African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.
Speaking to a local TV station, Kagame heaped praises on Raila, citing his previous work as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development.
“I respect Raila Odinga. I know his struggles. He did a good job (as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development). We give him our support and wish him well not only now but when he is there (as the chair) for Africa to succeed,” Kagame said.
This comes days after Raila met Kagame in Rwanda as he lobbied presidents to support his bid.
In a statement after the meeting, Raila said that they talked about regional and Pan-African ideals.
“Had an insightful conversation with President Paul Kagame in Kigali, diving into regional and Pan-African ideals. We are committed to African unity and solidarity for shared prosperity and progress,” Raila stated.
Previously, Raila has met President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, whom he said had endorsed his candidacy for the AU job.
Speaking days after meeting Museveni, Raila said that he was not totally exiting local politics, that he would be available when required.
“I am not going away. Addis Ababa is only two hours away from Nairobi. I am available, whenever I am called I will answer. I am ready to work with you people. We must ensure what we set out to do is eventually achieved,” Raila stated.
Raila has also received backing from Samia Suluhu of Tanzania and South Sudan’s Salva Kiir.
Raila candidacy for AU job
Raila declared his candidacy for the position on February 15, 2024, as he seeks to replace the incumbent, Moussa Faki.
Raila said he was the right candidate for the AU Commission chairmanship due to his experience in leadership.
“Today, I want to make it public that I am ready to go for the chairmanship of the Africa Union. I am ready and offer myself to be of service to this African content when called upon. I believe that Africa is playing in a league that it should not play in and that it deserves better,” Raila said on February 15, 2024.
Somalia enters the race
Somalia’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzia Adam has joined the race for the coveted seat, posing a direct challenge to Raila.
Fawzia confirmed to a local daily that she would be vying to succeed Moussa Faki at AUC as his term draws to a close.
The first female Foreign Minister in Somalia said her bid has the blessing of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is expected to lead the lobbying efforts.
She revealed that she hopes to use the position to amplify African voices and advance the African agenda on the global stage.
“I have a deep passion for Africa and a strong desire to contribute to the continent’s development and progress,” she told Daily Nation.
“By running for the chairperson of the AU, I aim to strengthen the bonds between African countries and work towards a more united and integrated continent.”
The campaign to replace the current AUC chair Moussa Faki is set to officially begin once all interested candidates submit their applications by May this year.
Suitable candidates are required to have a Master’s degree in a wide range of academic fields including Law, International Relations, Economics, Diplomacy, Management, Business Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences or a closely related field from a recognised institution.
According to the AU, a PhD in Law, International Relations, Diplomacy, Management, Business Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences or a closely related field from a recognized institution is an added advantage.
The AUC chair is elected on a four-year term renewable once and serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Legal Representative of the Union and the Accounting Officer of the Union.
The current AUC chair comes from Chad in Central Africa and there is a debate on electing the next Commission boss from East Africa.
◾ Former Tanzanian President knew he did not have long to live and wanted to be discharged from hospital so he could die peacefully at home
◾ The four-star general told his ailing Commander-in-Chief that he could not carry out his instructions against medical advice
◾ Magufuli summoned his Parish Priest and the Cardinal to perform the last rites on him just hours before his death
◾Senior cardiologist, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, who previously served as personal physician to President Jakaya Kikwete, was among doctors who tried desperately to save Magufuli’s life
New details have emerged about the final moments of former Tanzanian President John Magufuli, casting a revealing light on the circumstances surrounding his death three years ago today.
In a rare interview, the former Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Venance Mabeyo, told Daily News Digital how he was forced to disobey a direct order from the Commander-in-Chief.
In his final hours at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Magufuli knew he did not have long to live.
He gave the then CDF instructions to order the doctors to discharge him from hospital.
But the CDF was forced to disobey the order and assured Magufuli that he was in safe hands at the hospital, which is run by the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS).
“You are the CDF, why can’t you order the doctors to take me home?” Mabeyo recalled Magufuli telling him from his hospital bed.
“I informed him (Magufuli) that as the CDF I did not have authority over medical issues and asked him to remain at the hospital as advised by the doctors ”
Senior cardiologist, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, who previously served as personal physician to President Jakaya Kikwete, and the then Executive Director of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Prof. Lawrence Museru, were among doctors who tried desperately to save Magufuli’s life.
The two renowned medical professors were called to assist doctors at the Mzena hospital to help fight for the President’s life, according to Mabeyo.
The former CDF said on the day of his death on March 17, 2021 after his condition deteriorated, Magufuli asked him to summon his Parish Priest, Reverend Alister Makubi from the St. Peter’s Church in Oysterbay and Cardinal Polycarp Pengo.
The two clerics arrived in tow at the hospital and performed last rites on the President, who was a fervent Catholic.
“At about 2pm on the same day (March 17, 2021), we receive a call from the hospital that his condition had worsened,” Mabeyo said.
“When we arrived at hospital, we found him resting but he was unable to speak… By 6:30pm or a few minutes before 7pm, he (Magufuli) passed away.”
Magufuli died from a heart condition known as chronic atrial fibrillation at the age of 61.
The US Department of the Treasury on Monday imposed sanctions on what it said was an international fundraising and money-laundering network for the Al Shabaab militant group operating in Somalia.
The sanctions targeted 16 entities and individuals across the Horn of Africa region, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, the Treasury said in a statement.
The action, which follows US sanctions against a separate network linked to al Shabaab in October 2022, freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
It said Al Shabaab, which Washington considers a terrorist group, generates over $100 million a year, including by extorting local businesses.
Al Shabaab, linked to Al Qaeda, has been waging an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 in a bid to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
“The threat posed by al-Shabaab is not limited to Somalia,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“Al-Shabaab’s revenues are disbursed to other al-Qa’ida-linked groups worldwide and help fund al-Qa’ida’s global ambitions to commit acts of terrorism and undermine good governance.”
AL-SHABAAB MONEY LAUNDERERS IN THE UAE AND EASTERN AFRICA
According to the statement, network of individuals and entities sanctioned have been involved in the raising and laundering of millions of dollars through several businesses at the direction and in the interest of al-Shabaab.
Dubai-based Haleel Commodities L.L.C., also known asHaleel Group,is a key financial facilitator for al-Shabaab, which relies on the leaders of Haleel Group, as well as its branches and subsidiaries in Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, and Cyprus to generate and launder funds. Haleel Group’s subsidiaries in Cyprus include Haleel Finance LTD, Haleel Holdings, and Haleel LTD; the group also has branches in Kenya (Haleel Commodities Limited) and Uganda (Haleel Commodities LTD) and operates as Haleel Electronics in Somalia.
UAE-based Qemat Al Najah General Trading has served as an important money laundering node in the network, and helped manage and transfer funds for al-Shabaab in connection with Haleel Group.
Kenya-based Faysal Yusuf Dini (Dini) is an al-Shabaab financial facilitator who leverages Haleel Groupand some of its leadership to transfer funds on behalf of al-Shabaab. He also works closely with Kenya-based Mohamed Jumale Ali Awale (Awale) to plan investment projects and money laundering activities. This includes managing al-Shabaab funds laundered through investment projects and companies, including through Kenya-based Crown Bus Services. Crown Bus Services has alsosupported al-Shabaab’s logistical operations.
Crown Bus.
Hassan Abdirahman Mahamed, a Finland-based Somali citizen, uses money transfer and hawala businesses to support al-Shabaab’s money laundering operations linked to the network of Haleel Group and Qemat Al Najah General Trading. UAE-based Mohamed Artan Robel is another member of this money laundering network supporting al-Shabaab through the Haleel Group and Qemat Al Najah General Trading. Abdikarin Farah Mohamed is a Somalia-based key member of this money laundering network.
Farhan Hussein Hayder (Hayder) directs and manages Haleel Group’sbranches in Kenya, Uganda, Cyprus, and the UAE, and supports al-Shabaab by generating funds for the group through these businesses.
A notable part of this network is active in Uganda. Specifically, Abdulkadir Omar Abdullahi (Abdullahi), is associated with Haleel Group’s Uganda branch as its director, along with Omar Sheikh Ali Hilowle (Hilowle) and Hayder. In his role, Abdullahi has managed and transferred funds for al-Shabaab.
Farhan Hussein Hayder,Mohamed Jumale Ali Awale, Abdulkadir Omar Abdullahi, and Qemat Al Najah General Tradingare being sanctioned, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, al-Shabaab, a person whose property is and interest in property are blocked pursuant to the sanction orders.
Faysal Yusuf Dini, Omar Sheikh Ali Hilowle,Abdikarin Farah Mohamed,and Mohamed Artan Robel are being sanctioned for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Shabaab, a person whose property and interest in property are also affected.
Hassan Abdirahman Mahamed is being sanctioned for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Haleel Commodities L.L.C.
UAE-based Haleel Commodities L.L.C., is being sanctioned, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Shabaab.
Cyprus-based Haleel Finance LTD, Haleel Holdings, and Haleel LTD are being sanctioned for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Haleel Commodities L.L.C.
Kenya-based Haleel Commodities Limited and Crown Bus Servicesare being sanctioned for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Mohamed Jumale Ali Awale.
Uganda-based Haleel Commodities LTD is sanctioned for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Farhan Hussein Hayder.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the individuals and entities named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons.
Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions with the individuals sanctioned entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13224. OFAC is authorized to prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant transaction on behalf of a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law.
Additionally, OFAC has updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List:
SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS LIST UPDATE
The following individuals have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:
ABDULLAHI, Abdulkadir Omar (a.k.a. ABDILAHI, Abdi Xamiid Omar; a.k.a. OMAR, Abdullahi Abdul Kadir), Uganda; DOB 01 Jan 1962; POB Mandera, Kenya; nationality Kenya; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Passport BK042853 (Kenya) (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
AWALE, Mohamed Jumale Ali, Langata Royal Park Lr 19952/476, Nairobi West/P.O. Box 634-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; DOB 07 Jul 1959; alt. DOB 31 Dec 1959; alt. DOB 01 Jan 1959; POB Mombasa, Kenya; nationality Somalia; alt. nationality Kenya; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; National ID No. 5964769 (Kenya) (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
DINI, Faysal Yusuf (a.k.a. DIINI, Abdiaziz Yuusuf; a.k.a. DINI, Abdulaziz Youssouf; a.k.a. DINI, Abdulaziz Yusuf; a.k.a. DINI, Cabdicasiis Yusuf; a.k.a. DINI, Feisal Yussuf; a.k.a. DINI, Feyself Yusuf; a.k.a. HILOWLE, Abdiaziz Yusuf Dini; a.k.a. HILOWLE, Cabdicasis Yusuf Diini), Madena Estate, House #4, South C, Nairobi, Kenya; Djibouti; DOB 01 Jan 1971; POB Galkayo, Somalia; nationality Somalia; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Passport 19RF00115 (Djibouti) expires 13 Nov 2022 (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
HAYDAR, Farhan Hussein (a.k.a. HAIDER, Farhan Hussein), Somalia; South C, Monari Estate House No. 101, Nairobi, Kenya; DOB 1986; nationality Kenya; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; National ID No. 27478723 (Kenya) (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
HILOWLE, Omar Sheikh Ali, Uganda; DOB 1981; nationality Somalia; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Passport P00238720 (Somalia); Tax ID No. 1010041103 (Somalia) (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
MAHAMED, Hassan Abdirahman, Helsinki, Finland; DOB 23 May 1987; nationality Somalia; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886 (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: HALEEL COMMODITIES L.L.C.).
MOHAMED, Abdikarin Farah (a.k.a. MUHAMMAD, Abdul Karim Farge), United Arab Emirates; Somalia; DOB 13 Sep 1993; nationality Somalia; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Passport P00689508 (Somalia) (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
ROBEL, Mohammed Artan (a.k.a. ROBLE, Mohammed Artan), United Arab Emirates; DOB 12 Jul 1964; nationality Sweden; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886 (individual) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
The following entities have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:
CROWN BUS SERVICES LIMITED (a.k.a. CROWN BUS SERVICES LTD), Plot LR No. 4275/67, The Office Park, Riverside Drive, Nairobi, Kenya; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Registration Number C110486 (Kenya) [SDGT] (Linked To: AWALE, Mohamed Jumale Ali).
HALEEL COMMODITIES L.L.C. (a.k.a. “HALEEL GROUP”), Office 601-A, P.O. Box 172532, Deira Twin Tower, Baniyas Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Makkah Almukarramah Ave. 3, Mogadishu, Somalia; Website http://haleelcommodities.com; alt. Website www.haleel.co; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Commercial Registry Number 1052074 (United Arab Emirates); Certificate of Incorporation Number SCCI/1260/19 (Somalia); License 632562 (United Arab Emirates); Chamber of Commerce Number 178704 (United Arab Emirates) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
HALEEL COMMODITIES LIMITED, Starehe, Starehe District, Nairobi, Kenya; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 30 Jan 2017; Trade License No. PVTAAABNC3 (Kenya) [SDGT] (Linked To: AWALE, Mohamed Jumale Ali).
HALEEL COMMODITIES LTD (a.k.a. HALEEL COMMODITIES LIMITED), King Fahad Plaza, Kampala, Uganda; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 25 Apr 2016; Company Number 80010001140329 / 220184 (Uganda) [SDGT] (Linked To: HAYDAR, Farhan Hussein).
HALEEL FINANCE LTD, Nicosia, Cyprus; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 15 Mar 2018; Registration Number HE381288 (Cyprus) [SDGT] (Linked To: HALEEL COMMODITIES L.L.C.).
HALEEL HOLDINGS LTD, Zena Kanther 4, Agia Triada 3035, Limassol, Cyprus; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 08 Nov 2017; Registration Number HE375900 (Cyprus) [SDGT] (Linked To: HALEEL COMMODITIES L.L.C.).
HALEEL LTD, Zena Kanther 4, Agia Triada 3035, Limassol, Cyprus; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 18 Aug 2017; Registration Number HE372894 (Cyprus) [SDGT] (Linked To: HALEEL COMMODITIES L.L.C.).
QEMAT AL NAJAH GENERAL TRADING L.L.C (a.k.a. QEMAT AL NAJAH GENERAL TRADING LTD; a.k.a. QEMAT ALNAJAH GENERAL TRADING LLC; a.k.a. QEMAT AL-NAJAH GENERAL TRADING LLC; a.k.a. QEMATAL NAJAH GENERAL TRADING LLC), Baniyas Square Road, Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dubai Towers, 8, 14 Road, 8 Floor, Office 805, Al Rigga, P.O. Box 95871, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Al Maktoum Road, Baniyas Square, Dubai Tower, Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Secondary sanctions risk: section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886; Organization Established Date 03 Apr 2012; Organization Type: Non-specialized wholesale trade; Commercial Registry Number 1096167(United Arab Emirates); License 668354 (United Arab Emirates); Chamber of Commerce Number 203853 (United Arab Emirates) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL-SHABAAB).
Rwanda’s ruling party on Saturday picked President Paul Kagame as its candidate for the July election, teeing up a contest widely expected to return the longtime leader to office for a fourth seven-year term.
The 66-year-old has ruled over the landlocked African nation for decades and won the presidency in elections in 2003, 2010 and 2017 — with more than 90 per cent of the vote.
Kagame’s candidacy was unopposed during the Rwandan Patriotic Front congress that ended Saturday, the party said.
Kagame’s only known challenger in the July polls is opposition Green Party leader Frank Habineza.
The 47-year-old member of parliament secured only 0.45 per cent of the ballot in the 2017 election, coming third in polls that rights groups criticised for irregularities and voter intimidation.
The other potential challenger to Kagame, Victoire Ingabire, leader of the unregistered Dalfa Umurunzi (Development And Liberty For All) movement, is blocked from the presidential race due to a past conviction.
A court decision on whether she will be allowed to contest the presidency is set for March 13.
Rwanda will hold presidential and parliamentary polls on July 15 after the government decided last year to synchronise the dates for the votes.
Twenty-four women MPs, two youth representatives and a representative for disabled Rwandans will be chosen by electoral colleges and committees on July 16.
Candidates will be allowed to campaign from June 22 until July 12, according to the election calendar.
While Rwanda lays claim to being one of the most stable countries in Africa, rights groups accuse Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear that stifles dissent and free speech.-(AFP)
The World Bank has banned a Swiss boutique advisory firm Africa Enablers GmbH and two of its principals from participating in projects and operations financed by the institution for 10 months over tendering irregularities related to the Somali Core Economic Institutions and Opportunities Programme (Score project).
The World Bank, in a statement on Tuesday, said the firm together with its two principals, Philipp Schuller and Stephan Willms, demonstrated misconduct in the bidding for the $28.5 million project by allegedly misrepresenting the company’s past experience in bidding for the contract.
“These misrepresentations by Africa Enablers and the principals were reckless and constitute a fraudulent practice under the World Bank’s Consultant Guidelines,” the bank said.
The Score Project was designed to improve the enabling environment for private and financial sector development, and to catalyse private investment and job creation.
“The sanctions are the result of a settlement agreement, under which Africa Enablers and the Principals do not contest their responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practice and agree to meet specified integrity compliance conditions for release from debarment,” the Bank further said.
The sanctions consist of an initial 10-month debarment, during which Africa Enablers and principals will be ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the institutions of the World Bank Group.
Thereafter the sanctions will convert to conditional non-debarment for another five months where the company and the principals will be eligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group but on conditions that they comply with their obligations under the settlement agreement.
If they fail to comply with the conditions the conditional non-debarment will revert to a sanction of debarment with conditional release, and they will again become ineligible until the conditions for release set out in the settlement agreement are met.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of sanction in light of the principals’ and Africa Enablers’ voluntary remedial actions.
These include revision of Africa Enablers’ previous experience description on its website, cooperation, and voluntary restraint from bidding for World Bank Group-financed contracts during the settlement agreement negotiations.
Dancers and drummers swarmed the Saudi delegation from the moment they touched down in Somalia’s capital to launch new aid projects, part of the kingdom’s ramped-up outreach to the African nation.
Yet as they politely applauded agreements to provide stationery for schoolchildren and watering points for livestock, some Somali officials made clear they hoped Saudi engagement would go much further, including deeper into the security sphere.
Battered by decades of war and a bloody Islamist insurgency, Somalia these days “is in a process of state-building”, Abdifatah Mohamed, policy and planning director at the health ministry, told AFP during the recent one-day visit.
“We are building our armed forces for protection, we are rebuilding our economy. So in that regard, (the Saudis) can do more.”
Over the past year, through high-profile summits and humanitarian projects, Saudi officials have consistently shown a desire to “do more” in the Horn of Africa region abutting the strategically vital Red Sea.
This has been most visible in Riyadh’s hands-on response to the civil war that broke out last April in Sudan, which saw the Saudi navy deploy warships to rescue fleeing civilians as diplomats convened peace talks in Jeddah.
Analysts say such moves reflect the kingdom’s economic interest in Red Sea stability — coastal resorts are meant to become an engine of its nascent tourism industry — as well as a desire to push back against its rival the United Arab Emirates, which also wields intense influence in the region’s affairs.
“There’s this sort of cat-and-mouse game between the Emiratis and the Saudis in the region right now,” said Cameron Hudson of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“They’re leveraging their relationships with all of these regional states.”
– Meddling fears –
Officials from Saudi Arabia’s aid body, known as KSRelief, travelled to Somalia at a time of heightened concern about potential meddling by outsiders, especially the UAE.
On January 1, the breakaway region of Somaliland struck a deal that would grant neighbouring Ethiopia commercial and military access to 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years.
In return, Somaliland officials say, landlocked Ethiopia would become the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent nation — a development that would infuriate the federal government in Mogadishu.
Addis Ababa has not confirmed the terms.
The UAE’s close ties to both Ethiopia and Somaliland have fuelled suspicions of Emirati involvement in the deal — suspicions Hudson said were well-founded even if no “smoking gun” had emerged.
“The Emiratis have been, in all their relationships in the Horn, very directive,” he said.
Abu Dhabi, which did not respond to AFP’s request for comment, has already come under fierce scrutiny in Sudan, where UN experts have accused it of funnelling “military support” to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — a charge the UAE has denied.
Omar Mahmood, senior Eastern Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group, said he was not convinced the UAE was driving the Ethiopia-Somaliland deal because it could bring competition and other complications for the Somaliland port of Berbera, which is managed by Dubai’s DP World.
But he said the tensions it stirred nonetheless created opportunities for outside actors — including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — to deepen ties with Mogadishu.
Riyadh in January voiced “extreme concern” for Somalia’s “unity” and “sovereignty” — a position that Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre praised during the Saudi delegation’s visit to Mogadishu, drawing the loudest applause of the day.
– Deadly attack –
Even before the Somaliland dispute erupted, Saudi Arabia was angling for a closer relationship with Somalia, having appointed its first ambassador to the country in three decades in 2021.
Late last year, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sent a close adviser, Owais Haji Yusuf Ahmed, to head up the Somali mission in Riyadh — a signal he wants to deepen ties.
With an African Union peacekeeping force set to complete a drawdown by the end of the year, Somalia is expected to lean heavily on Gulf countries for help training 22,000 army troops, as mandated by the UN Security Council.
Earlier this month, a Mogadishu attack killed four Emirati soldiers and one Bahraini officer tasked with training the Somali army. It was claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants.
“Somalia is also looking to import fresh weaponry following the lifting of the UN arms embargo in December, and may turn to countries in the Gulf for assistance,” said Mahmood of International Crisis Group.
Whichever direction the relationship heads, Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbours will be keeping close watch, Hudson said, given Somalia’s strategic significance and how it might affect the contest for influence in the wider region.
The way the Gulf countries see it, he said, the Horn of Africa “is their backyard”.
AS reported by The NewsHawks last week, Zimbabwean authorities are accused of protecting a controversial Chinese businesswoman, Li Song, who is currently involved in an illegal cyanide scandal, revealing her connections that penetrate political, diplomatic and business circles, while police and the environmental agency are reluctant to take action despite evidence of wrongdoing.
RUVIMBO MUCHENJE
It now turns out that Li is also involved in wildlife trade and deals, particularly concerning elephants, earning herself the moniker Ivory Queen.
This comes amid allegations that the police and Environmental Management Agency officials have been compromised by Li, a spooky and dodgy businesswoman currently facing charges of fraud, perjury and salting away foreign currency from Zimbabwe to her offshore Chinese accounts.
After her cyanide scandal in Bulawayo recently, which we have been reporting on since two weeks ago, and her murky wildlife deals, some involving baby elephants, the key question is: who is Li?
An investigation by The NewsHawks shows that Li is a dodgy Chinese businesswoman who came to Zimbabwe over 10 years ago and settled herself into business in various sectors, including leather processing, mining and wildlife trade.
Over the years, she has made money, used it to establish and fund an elaborate network of political and business connections, making her untouchable.
Although she has been described by sources in Beijing as a “small Chinese koi in a Zimbabwean political and business pond”, her wildlife stock-in-trade and underworld business networks have made her an influential player, particularly because it is also said she has local political, business and security brokers “in her pocket”.
Although her history remains significantly murky, details about Li are now fast emerging.
Li was born on 20 January 1972 in Henan province, the third-most populous province in central China’s Yellow River valley with a population of over 100 million people.
This means makes her 52.
During the probe, The NewsHawks obtained her background information, including her Chinese passport and Zimbabwean identity card details.
She arrived in Zimbabwe more than 10 years ago and established herself in the local business sector. She then met and married an Italian businessman, Francesco Marconati, also described as controversial.
Li and Marconati later established Eagle Italian Leather Products (Pvt) Ltd in Marondera in 2014, producing leather products and other accessories for the Zimbabwe army, police and prisons.
As a result, she established deep links with state security service institutions and senior government officials. Her connections run up to the level of ministers and Office of the President and Cabinet.
Apart from running Eagle Tannery, where she was a director, Li also ran Queen’s Mine with her ex-husband Marconati, a gold mine located 55 kilometres northeast of Bulawayo along the Bulawayo-Eastnor Road.
In 2015, she established Sino-Zim Wildlife Foundation as chairperson. It was a joint venture between Chinese conservationists and the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority purportedly to protect wildlife.
The foundation hit the ground running with a donation of US$500 000, and a small plane for use in anti-poaching activities. The plane came with trainers to ensure that ZimParks has personnel to pilot on its own.
“Sino-Zim Wildlife Foundation will coordinate efforts of China to mobilise support for conservation in Zimbabwe,” she said at the time. “We are going to work hard to resolutely fight poaching and illegal transportation and sale of animal products.”
However, her record is riddled with allegations of corrupt and savage wildlife deals.
Now Li is currently is the eye of a big storm for illegal buying, transportation and storing of cyanide — a very dangerous fast-acting chemical used in mining and by poachers to kill wildlife — in violation of health and environmental laws and public safety protocols with impunity.
The illegal 40 tonnes of cyanide, including a 1.1 tonne pallet secretly moved into a separate storeroom for covert operations, was discovered at a warehouse in Bulawayo. It is now linked to an attempt to cover up her tracks on illegal externalisation of funds in court as part of manufactured evidence and poaching, especially of elephants.
Zimbabwean authorities are unwilling or unable — or both — to act against her.
Apart from the cyanide scandal, Li currently stands accused by her ex-husband Marconati of serious charges of fraud, perjury and illegal externalisation of funds.
The NewsHawks is on her trail and investigating who she really is since she is so well-connected up to the Office of the President and Cabinet, ministers and high government officials, security service chiefs, diplomats and business executives.
Further investigations show that Li is the woman who has been in controversial Zimbabwean elephants sales that benefit only corrupt dealers and politicians.
In 2016, Zimbabwe sold 35 baby elephants to China, which the authorities described as “sub-adults”.
It was reported as the worst kind of wildlife abuse as the animals were torn away from their mothers in the wild and exported to zoos in China.
The calves, some as young as two years old, were first held in pens in the Hwange National Park, while travel crates were prepared and documents finalised for their more than 11 000 kilometre transportation.
That was the fourth time since 2012 that Zimbabwe has captured and exported baby elephants to Chinese zoos — a total of 108 elephants — despite opposition from other African countries, elephant experts, and non-governmental organisations, including the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International (HIS).
In October 2017, HSI obtained exclusive footage of 14 young elephants awaiting export to Chinese zoos, after their capture from the Hwange National Park by ZimParks.
The footage showed the calves being beaten and kicked as they were being sedated and taken away to the park’s holding pens.
Several juvenile elephants in earlier shipments had died during transit or after arrival. It was shocking to see photos of the few surviving baby elephants, standing alone in dark, barren cells after their arrival in China.
The exports were even more disturbing given that China and Zimbabwe have in the past failed to conform with requirements under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
In 2016, when China sought imported elephants from Zimbabwe, a team of Zimbabwean inspectors who travelled to China to assess the facilities the elephants would be housed in found them inadequate.
The inspectors reported that most of the zoos showed signs of poor treatment of the animals and recommended the elephants remain in Zimbabwe until appropriate holding facilities in China were completed and assessed for compliance.
Despite this recommendation, the elephants were exported to China without such reforms being implemented.
Zimbabwe’s repeated capture and export of infant and juvenile elephant calves sparked global condemnation because of the horrific conditions under which the young elephants are kept.
Elephant expert Dr Joyce Poole, widely regarded as the world’s leading elephant communication specialist, at the time described the activities as “tragic and morally reprehensible”.
The African Elephant Coalition (AEC), a coalition of 32 African elephant range states, repeatedly spoke out against the capture and trade of wild baby elephants for captivity.
HSI co-led a report on challenges to the trade in wild-caught African elephants with the AEC, and our staff is now attending the AEC’s summit in Kenya where we expect to hear strong objections raised over this most recent and brutal capture of wild baby elephants.
In defence of the practice, then Zimbabwean minister of the Environment Oppah Muchinguri- Kashiri said the country intended to increase the rate and range of wildlife exports as part of a scheme to raise funds for conservation.
“The Chinese have inquired about more elephants, baboons, hyenas, lions, among others, and we will sell them more without hesitation. We are not going to apologise to anyone,” she said.
In January 2018, HSI/Africa and 33 partners submitted a letter to Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa pleading for a halt to the horrific abuse and practice of capturing elephants from the wild for captivity.
African elephants are currently listed as a threatened species with less than 500 000 remaining in the wild, and the global community is increasingly in agreement on the need to conserve these animals.
Keeping elephants and other wildlife alive is key to economic progress in many African nations, including Zimbabwe, because millions of tourists trek to these countries to see them, especially through the Zambezi Valley from Mana Pools in the north down to the Victoria Falls in the northwest via Hwange National Park. There are also a lot of elephants in Gonarezhou in the remote southeast corner of Zimbabwe in Masvingo province on the border with Mozambique.
By ripping baby or young elephants from their mothers and sending them to lives diminished by captivity in zoos overseas, Zimbabwe set itself on a path that will not only decimate its wildlife, but will also further compromise its standing in the eyes of the world.
Li also exports animal hides and crocodile skins, as well as owning an array of other companies, as indicated on the CITES data base. She uses various routes across Africa to export her loot.
Various reports say Li has a variety of dubious business ventures and unethical business links in Zimbabwe, in partnership with various ministries and officials across Zimbabwe.
Li is said to have played an active role in identifying markets for the “mass exportation” of Zimbabwean elephants.
Other animal activists, like the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF), have in the past also implicated Li. “We believe she brought some wealthy Chinese people into the country in connection with the exportation of the elephants and she is apparently connected with high-ranking officials in the government ministry (environment),” said the ZCTF at one time.
She shuttles between her home in Shanghai, her African base in Harare and her North American base in Ottawa. She is a fixer who acts on behalf of various Chinese and Middle Eastern wildlife buyers across Africa.
In wildlife trade, a quota is set and certain companies or individuals are given the permit to trade. In Zimbabwe this is the company and the individual who has the sole rights to trade in elephants dead or alive.
The controversial sale of elephants from Zimbabwe to other countries, mostly China, forcefully came back to the spotlight when a Swiss author and filmmaker Karl Ammann uncovered not only shocking cruelty against animals, but also deeply-entrenched and often dangerous levels of corruption and other criminal activity.
Ammann investigates and documents vast amounts of unaccounted for cash connected to the trades.
These revelations also did little to lessen criticism of Zimbabwe’s decision to capture wild elephants and sell them off to foreign zoos.
The numbers did not add up.
Zimbabwe exported 32 young elephants to China in 2019. The sale caused an uproar as it happened amid legal action to halt the shipment. Zimbabwe also went ahead with the export just before CITES implemented a landmark rule change that would have made it near-impossible to do that.
ZimParks released a list of elephant sales since 2016.
On the list, ZimParks declared the income it earned from the elephants and what it spent the money on. It also named individuals in connection to the trades.
ZimParks named Liang Zhao, a Chinese diplomat, as being involved in the 2016 and 2019 trades. It named Qin Wei and Elske Burger in the 2017 and 2018 trades, respectively. Most of the sales were to venues in China, with one additionally to the United Arab Emirates.
ZimParks declared an income per elephant of between US$31 000 and US$41 500. But Ammann, who has been investigating the international trade in elephants for years, brought attention to trading documents connected to the sales. They appear to show that some of the Chinese recipient venues declared a cost per elephant of around US$125 000.
That seemed to be the case, for example, for both Longemont Animal World and Xiongsen Animal World. These venues received the elephants controversially sold in 2019, but ZimParks said the payment it received for the elephants going to those venues was US$31 000 each. This means a discrepancy of US$94 000 per elephant in those cases.
Ammann further highlighted a document that showed China set “duty free import quotas for elephant, rhinos and pretty much everything else” in 2019.
As such, he said, there would be “no need for a buyer to under- or over-declare the purchase price”.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker says a “well-informed animal dealer” in South Africa told him that there was a “US$100 000 price tag” on the elephants Zimbabwe sold to Dubai Safari Park in 2018.
But Zimbabwe said the payment for each elephant going there was US$41 500. So there was a US$58 500 discrepancy per elephant in that transaction.
A major concern in relation to these unaccounted for funds is that allegations of bribery and kickbacks abound within the CITES wildlife trading system.
Li is in the mix of these deals, especially on the sale of Zimbabwean wildlife, and other dodgy business ventures.
Somaliland has never been part of a country called Somalia. It is actually the 12th African nation to become independent from the colonial rule with an official Royal Proclamation of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, meaning Somaliland became independent way before 42 African countries.
In fact, soon after Somaliland’s independence from the British rule on June 26, 1960, 34 countries recognized it as an independent state, including members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, but after only 5 days, the people of Somaliland voluntarily decided to unite with their neighbour, Somalia which had just got independence from Italy, to create the Somali Republic – a union deemed illegal as it was never formally ratified as law.
Immediately after this unlawful union, challenges arose due to stark differences between the two united countries, leading to an attempted coup d’etat in 1961 by Somaliland officers with the goal to withdraw from the Union and reclaim Somaliland as an independent state.
These disparities encompassed distinct formal languages, legal systems, security structures, civil service laws, and currencies. This evident divergence highlighted the inherent unsustainability of the Union from its inception.
A couple of years before the Union, Italian legal experts drafted the Somalia Constitution and finalized the Constitution. Somaliland politicians and lawyers had virtually no chance to make even marginal changes in the draft.
Then, on the 20th of June 1961, a referendum was held to cement the constitution of the Somali Republic. However, the people of Somaliland rejected overwhelmingly with major cities in Somaliland like Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, and Erigavo, all opposed with 70% plus rejection.
Then, the 1969 military coup happened. This 21-year rule by the Siad Barre Regime in Somaliland exacerbated the already dire situation created by Somalia, further complicating the socio-political landscape in the region.
This initiated a relentless struggle by the people of Somaliland to regain their independence. This pursuit has exacted a significant toll, marked by atrocities such as a genocide, resulting in the tragic loss of over 200,000 innocent civilians through brutal killings, rapes, and targeted attacks.
From 1960 to 1991, Somaliland endured an unlawful occupation, including the Isaaq genocide. However, through a protracted armed struggle, the resilient people of Somaliland valiantly liberated themselves, ultimately reclaiming their independence in 1991.
Since then, Somaliland has been independent and is considered one of the most successful nations on many fronts, including democracy. The country has its own flag, currency, passport, government system, public institutions, and national army, which fully controls its territory.
It it considered the most democratic and politically stable nation in East and Central Africa, according to Freedom House.
Somaliland has had a series of democratic elections since 1991, which international observers have termed as free, fair, and credible. 5 different Presidents have been elected since then, and at some point, an incumbent lost an election, a rare trait in Africa’s politics.
Users of a Multicurrency Card issued by I&M (Rwanda) on behalf of MasterCard move to East Africa Court of Justice seeking compensation.
Global payment company MasterCard and a regional bank I&M are being sued, alongside the Rwanda government, for USD 139 million (KES 20.1 billion) by 150 Rwandese cardholders who claim they were arrested and detained without trial and their cash and personal property confiscated following “false accusations” of bank fraud, money laundering and false enrichment.
The applicants have filed the suit before the East Africa Court of Justice (EACJ) based in Arusha, Tanzania seeking a declaration that their arrest and detention by Rwanda Investigation Bureau infringed on their constitutional rights.
In the suit filed by Ssemakula Ali Abaas and Nyinawumuntu Leatitia on behalf of the 150 other users of the Prepaid Mastercard Multicurrency Card issued by I&M Bank (Rwanda).
The applicants are represented by Joseph McDonald of McDonald and Company Advocates of Nairobi, Kenya.
“The dispute at hand centres on a group of Rwandan Citizens/Residents who entered into a Bank/Customer relationship with I&M Bank Rwanda PLC when the bank issued them with a Mastercard Multi-Currency card,” said McDonald, a Kenyan advocate.
The Card could hold up to 17 different currencies and one of the benefits as advertised in the bank’s website was that a card holder could shift one currency to another within the card’s sub-wallets.
Said McDonald.
“A comparison between the rates offered by the bank and those on the MasterCard platform revealed that the latter offered favourable rates. The group would then develop the practice of shifting currencies within the card’s sub-wallets i.e. from AED to EURO and back to AED, resulting in a 10% profit. This activity essentially leveraged price differences across markets, a practice known as arbitrage. As a matter of fact, I&M had run a commercial advertisement that gave customers 10% discount on the usage of their multicurrency card.”
On or around January 2023, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau arrested the over 150 individuals on allegations of bank fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment.
The applicants according to documents seen by Kenya Insights claim that they were detained without trial for more than three months, were denied bail, were extorted/ forced to transfer money to escrow accounts, their properties confiscated and their family members and friends were also detained and tortured to give information.
Below are some of the suit’s documents:
[pdf-embedder url=”https://cms.kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IandMsue.pdf”] [pdf-embedder url=”https://cms.kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Statement-of-Reference.pdf” title=”Statement of Reference”] [pdf-embedder url=”https://cms.kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/List-of-documents.pdf” title=”List of documents”] [pdf-embedder url=”https://cms.kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1st-Applicant-Abassa-Affidavit.pdf” title=”1st Applicant-Abassa-Affidavit”]
Global payment company MasterCard, local I&M Bank and Rwandese government have been dragged to the East Africa Court of Justice (EACJ) over allegations of extortion, illegal detention and torture of 150 cardholders without trial and gross violation of human rights.
In a class-action lawsuit filed by two individuals, a Ugandan and a Rwandese, on behalf of 150 other users of the multi-currency card at the Regional court, MasterCard, I&M and Rwanda Investigation Bureau are accused of complicity in the arbitrary arrest, detention, extortion and torture of users of the MasterCard Multicurrency Prepaid Card.
The applicants namely Ssemakula Ali Abaas and Nyinawumuntu Laetitia who are being represented by Kenyan law firm McDonald and Company Advocates contend that on or around January 2023, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RBI), an investigation organ of the Rwandan government, arrested and detained them together with other over 100 Rwandese residents who were customers of MasterCard/I&M for more than three months without trial. The RBI officers extorted from them, confiscated their property and denied them without bail.
According to the lawyer, all the victims who were clients of MasterCard/ I&M as users of the MasterCard Multi-currency Prepaid Card issued by the I&M Bank have been detained in Rwanda without trial over alleged banking fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment.
“The dispute at hand centres on a group of Rwandan Citizens/Residents who entered into a Bank/Customer relationship with I&M Bank Rwanda PLC when the bank issued them with a Mastercard Multi-Currency card,” said McDonald, a Kenyan advocate.
It is alleged that between November 2022 and January 2023, I&M Rwanda issued the Prepaid MasterCards to the victims.
The card allowed the holders to hold up to 17 different currencies in different wallets on the same card. It is said that the card also allowed the holder to pay for goods and services from merchants displaying the sign corresponding to that appearing on his or her card.
“One of the benefits as advertised in the bank’s website is that a card holder could shift one currency to another within the card’s sub-wallets. A comparison between the rates offered by the bank and those on the MasterCard platform revealed that the latter offered favourable rates,” Abaas and Laetitia state in their affidavits filed in court.
■ Dar es Salaam port will get a major boost from Uganda oil shipments if they shift from Mombasa
February 16, 2024
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Uganda is negotiating with Tanzania to import all of its oil products through Dar es Salaam port, which would mean an end to imports via Kenya’s Mombasa port, Uganda’s Energy minister told Reuters on Thursday.
Uganda has been dissatisfied with the longstanding system under which Ugandan fuel companies buy 90% of their supplies through affiliated firms in Kenya.
President Yoweri Museveni has complained this exposes his country to supply disruptions and high pump prices.
In response, Uganda announced in November it would hand over exclusive rights for supply of all petroleum products to a unit of global energy trader Vitol.
Uganda imported $1.6 billion worth of petroleum products in 2022, mostly originating from the Gulf.
Uganda currently imports 90% of its refined petroleum products through the port of Mombasa.
Kenya is lobbying Uganda to stick with Mombasa and not shift to the rival port of Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria is seeking Interpol’s help to arrest three suspects who allegedly stole $6.2m (Sh964m) from the central bank, using the forged signature of then President Muhammadu Buhari.
Authorities believe that the suspects conspired with Nigeria’s former central bank chief Godwin Emefiele.
He is already on trial on 20 charges, including illegally receiving the $6.2m.
Mr Emefiele has denied all the charges, and is currently out on bail.
He is the most high-profile former official to be charged with corruption since President Bola Tinubu took office last May.
Prosecutors also allege that Mr Emefiele unlawfully authorised the release of the money from the central bank vault.
In a statement last December, he described the allegations as “barefaced lies told by the investigator in order to achieve his satanic agenda”. He called for a “thorough and transparent investigation”.
Mr Emefiele’s alleged accomplices have been named as Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Ocheme, a former central bank employee, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.
The suspects are believed to have left Nigeria, prompting the authorities to seek Interpol’s help with their arrest and repatriation, the agency added.
None of the three suspects has commented on the allegations against them.
The alleged theft took place several months before Muhammadu Buhari stepped down as president
The government ordered their arrest late on Tuesday, hours after Boss Mustapha, a senior official in ex-President Buhari’s administration, testified in Mr Emefiele’s trial.
Mr Mustapha told the court in the capital, Abuja, that neither he nor Mr Buhari had given their signatures to approve the withdrawal of the $6.2m.
“Looking at the signature, it is a faint attempt at reproducing [former] President Buhari’s signature,” Mr Mustapha was quoted as telling the court by the Nation newspaper.
When shown the document used to withdraw the funds, Mr Mustapha said it “did not emanate from the office of the president”, the newspaper added.
The funds were withdrawn in cash in January last year, a few months before Mr Buhari’s term ended.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Emefiele falsified the document in question, which requested the central bank to issue the funds so that Mr Buhari could use them to pay foreign election observers.
Mr Emefiele was appointed as central bank governor in 2014 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, with Mr Buhari reappointing him in 2019. He held the post until Mr Tinubu took office.- BBC.
Authorities in Zimbabwe are being seriously accused of shielding a shadowy and eerie Chinese businesswoman from charges of externalising foreign currency and engaging in wildlife poaching. The woman is said to have purchased cyanide illegally in order to hide her tracks, and she has a wide range of high-level connections in political, diplomatic, state security, and business circles.
According to documents, Li Song, a 52-year-old Chinese national, is being protected by the police, Environmental Management Authority (Ema), and government officials. Li Song purchased and illegally stored approximately 40 tonnes of cyanide at various locations with the intention of using it as evidence in court to thwart the administration of justice or defeat its goals by importing a product with money she illegally sent offshore to China.
Wayne Jardine, a businessman and expert hunter residing in Bulawayo, was handed a portion of the cyanide. There are concerns that cyanide was utilised in wildlife poaching. Criminal syndicates have poisoned Zimbabwe’s wildlife with cyanide, a lethal fast-acting chemical, in addition to poaching and slaughtering animals for their lucrative body parts.
According to documents, Marida Maria Magdalena Van Der Spuy, a former director of Posryn Properties (Pvt) Ltd and a citizen of South Africa, gave the order for the unlawful storage of cyanide on Song’s behalf, breaking both health and safety regulations.
Posryn Properties held the location at 105 Plumtree Road, Bualwayo, where the cyanide was kept. According to the documents, it was purchased from Curechem Overseas (Pvt) Ltd, which is based at 1 Williams Way, Msasa, Harare. After Duration Gold/Clarity Group, the mining business where Song was employed initially, rejected it, it was then moved to the Bulawayo branch, which is located at 28 Josiah Chinamano Street.
Leading chemical supplier Curechem has operations throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including Zambia, Tanzania, India, Mozambique, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its headquarters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The cyanide problem is a major controversy. Song is dealing with externalised foreign exchange expenses and fraud. Her ex-husband Francesco Marconati, who co-directed Eagle Italian Shoes with her, reported her to the authorities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
The company provides leather shoes, helmets, and baton sticks to the Zimbabwe National Army, Zimbabwe Prison Services, and Zimbabwe Republic Police, among other state organisations. Li Song therefore has contacts with state security structures, government ministries and senior officials, the Office of the President and Cabinet, and ambassadors.
Despite operating in the shadows and the underworld, she is a strong person because of her business contacts as well. She does not want to be photographed, thus it is rare to even see her photos. It’s unlikely that Marconati even has her photos.
Due to a disagreement between the directors in 2020, Marconati filed allegations of fraud, perjury, and externalisation of FX against Song following their divorce and breakup as directors in their respective firms.
In a letter of complaint dated October 20, 2021, Marconati claimed that police assistant commissioner Jealous Nyabasa and his subordinates were shielding Song from prosecution. The letter was directed to Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and copied to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
Nyabasa has come up in this cyanide scandal as well. Even though Song has been the subject of several witness accounts and police reports, investigating officers in Bulawayo and their superiors in Harare, including Nyabasa, seem reluctant to take any further action against her.
Ema has also been putting things off. Despite being under pressure to order the seizure of the cyanide, Song was only given a modest reprimand, a slap on the wrist, and a tiny fee of roughly US$1,000.
However, a few powerful private detectives are putting pressure on Ema and closely monitoring the agency, demanding that the environmental agency take strong action.
It is reported that Song and her associates assured the complainants that she would not face any consequences. It is alleged that covert moves are currently being made to persuade the National Prosecuting Authority to withdraw the charges against her since the cyanide fraud has come to light, making it more challenging to present the chemical as proof of an imported good in order to support the externalisation of foreign exchange.
Contrary to Song’s claims, investigations have revealed that the cyanide was purchased in Harare and transported to Bulawayo for storage, despite her former husband rejecting the product when she attempted to get the company to store it for her gold mine in Bubi, in the Matabeleland region.
In order to demonstrate that she had not externalised monies but rather paid for the “imported” chemical cargo offshore, the cyanide would have been presented in court as evidence of an imported shipment.
After Duration Gold Limited and Marconati rejected the cyanide, it was first kept in storage at Curechem Bulawayo.
However, records indicate that in a letter sent to Song and her group in September of last year, Curechem Bulawayo stated that it was unable to hold “more of stocks which DGL (Duration Gold Limited) rejected.”
“We require guidance on the optimal location for the product,” states one of Curechem’s emails to Song.
According to investigations, the cyanide was purchased from Curechem Harare in June of last year and delivered right away to Bulawayo. After that, it was forwarded to Duration Gold in Bubi, but it was turned down.
It proceeded to Curechem Bulawayo from there. It was then delivered to Posryn Properties’ property at 105 Plumtree Road, Bulawayo. According to documents, Van Der Spuy, who had departed the company on January 9, 2024, gave the Posryn employees—where she was employed—instructions to utilise the company’s warehouses to store cyanide unlawfully, with Jardine’s help. The date of the cyanide’s discovery is January 12, 2024.
A report to the police was filed on January 19, 2024. Instead of acting decisively, the police and Ema are hesitating, and Ema is recoiling as well. Zimbabwe has ratified a global agreement governing the use and management of cyanide. The Hazardous Substances Act of Zimbabwe states that only knowledgeable chemical distributors may sell cyanide to clients who meet the requirements of the mining and chemical industries. The majority of these clients are gold miners who must provide written confirmation that they are authorised to possess and use cyanide.
Distributors of chemicals who meet the requirements must first apply for a permit from the Department of Mining and Mineral Development.
According to records, Song is not following the regulations governing the acquisition, transfer, and storage of cyanide.
The commodity was found at Stand 5744 Bulawayo Township, also known as 105 Plumtree Road, Bulawayo, by directors of Duration Gold/Clarity Group and Posryn Properties, where the cyanide is being unlawfully held, last month. After looking into the matter, they found that the person who gave the order for employees to conceal the cyanide on the property was Van Der Spuy, the shared services manager for Duration Gold/Clarity Group and a director of Posryn Properties until her employment was terminated on January 9, 2024, according to one document.
“Alan Dolan, the company’s owner and CEO, was notified on January 12, 2024, that boxes containing cyanide and lime had been found at their business premises in storerooms at 105 Plumtree Road, Bulawayo. This location is not authorised to store hazardous material, particularly cyanide. The police were notified of the situation.
According to investigations, Van Der Spuy gave orders to employees Denny Sibanda, John Gucha, Sherlese Branfield, Nelson Banda, and Delwin Bismark to permit the cyanide to be stored. Wayne Jardine helped by stealing some bags and hiding them in a different warehouse.
According to sources close to the investigation, there are three main issues: cyanide is being unlawfully stored, part of it was taken out and might have been used for poaching, and police and Ema authorities are unwilling to take action against Song.
In Zimbabwe, many animals are murdered for their parts; crocodiles for their skins, rhinoceroses for their horns, and elephants for their tusks, for example. The parts are quite profitable in both domestic and foreign markets, especially in Asia.
Wildlife crime is a significant industry. Similar to illegal substances and weaponry, animal parts are transported and controlled by perilous local and international networks.
It is imperative that miners, government authorities, and other stakeholders work quickly to ensure safer cyanide usage and management as the chemical is used more frequently in the world’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining industry.
There is mounting evidence that cyanidation is moving from large-scale industrial gold mining to smaller-scale mining and, more recently, poaching.
Poisoning of wildlife waterholes in Zimbabwe has been rampant during the last ten years. Poachers poisoned the salt licks and watering holes in the Hwange National Park with cyanide, which killed over 300 elephants there in 2013.
Following that, the corpses of 22 more cyanide-poisoned elephants were discovered by Zimbabwean rangers in 2015. The sobering revelation increased the total number of elephants poisoned by poachers in the Hwange region to 62. Five elephants were poisoned with cyanide in 2016.
Recently, six dead elephants were discovered.
This pattern continued throughout the decade and is still in place now.
The NewsHawks was notified by Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, that six elephants had been killed. She said suspects had been taken into custody and would be appearing in court shortly.
Six dead elephants were discovered in the Lupane region of our incident. He stated that some suspects had been taken into custody and would shortly be appearing in court.
According to a spokesman for Posryn Properties, the company reported the issue to the authorities last week and is prepared to assist with any inquiries.
But the cops are not doing anything. According to sources, Song and other criminals are being shielded. Detective chief inspector Dube, the only investigative officer in Bulawayo, declined to comment.
While Van Der Spuy stated that illegal and irregular cyanide storage was “a problem,” Jardine acknowledged that cyanide had been unlawfully stored in the facility.
The recent murder of two famous Amboseli elephants in Tanzania in a paid to kill “hunt” has horrified Kenyans and the global conservation community. Adding salt to the wound, two people, not indigenous Africans, argue that Kenya is hurting Tanzania’s economy by refusing to open up trophy hunting.
I feel like we are in upside-down and inside-out world and unless we speak out and LOUDLY, these selfish, greedy, money adoring, animal hating hunters will destroy what’s unique to Africa, our spectacular wildlife which sets our continent apart.
For too long we have allowed them to dictate our religious beliefs, our politics, how we use our resources, the prices we pay for everything, and now, how we kill off what’s special, beloved and sacred.
The push from the Global North for African countries to embrace trophy hunting as a means of conservation and economic development is not only misguided but deeply offensive. Trophy hunting does not aids in poverty alleviation! It is outdated and morally corrupt practice, and reading language like Africa needs it because of our “population explosion” makes my blood boil.
Go back I say, to your global north country and hunt your squirrels. It’s all you have left in many places. Leave our iconic beings, our totems alone if you can’t feast on them with your eyes only.
Trophy hunting is often touted as a solution to poverty, with proponents arguing that it brings in significant revenue. However, the reality is starkly different. The economic benefits are marginal at best, with a disproportionate amount flowing back to foreign outfitters and a minuscule portion reaching the local communities that bear the cost of living alongside wildlife. The argument crumbles under scrutiny, revealing a narrative that serves external interests rather than local welfare.
And the term “population explosion” is not only pejorative but also echoes colonial-era rhetoric aimed at controlling and managing the African populace. This language frames Africa as a problem to be solved, not a continent of wealth in heritage diverse peoples and rich histories. It justifies intrusive conservation efforts, including trophy hunting, under the guise of managing wildlife populations, without addressing underlying issues such as habitat loss or human-wildlife conflict resolution.
How do you measure the cost of cultural and traditional disrespect?
I’ve been filming nature across the continent, and if there’s one thing I’ve leaened, African societies possess a profound connection with their natural environment. Wildlife is integral to our cultural and spiritual lives. Trophy hunting, with its focus on killing for sport, stands in stark contrast to these values. It represents a blatant disregard for the traditions and beliefs that have governed human-animal relationships in Africa for centuries, further alienating local communities from conservation efforts.
Trophy Hunting is Neocolonialism
The promotion of trophy hunting as a conservation strategy by the Global North is increasingly being seen as a form of neocolonialism. It perpetuates a cycle of dependency and exploitation, with African countries being told how to manage their natural resources. This dynamic undermines the sovereignty of African nations and disregards their capacity to develop alternative, sustainable approaches to conservation that align with their social, economic, and environmental goals.
So Yes, I’m angry. My blood is boiling at the arrogance that anyone would suggest that sayng no to trophy hunting is an attack on.any nations economic aspirations. This is not only flawed but deeply offensive. It reflects a neocolonial mindset that fails to respect African peoples aspirations, cultural values and sovereignty.
If you want to help wildlife in Africa, support the continent’s people and its natural heritage.
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority has debarred Jofrim E.A. Company Limited from participating in future government tendering processes for breaching procurement practices.
In a Gazette notice, National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said the prohibition, which started in December last year, will last for three years.
This means that the firm will no longer participate in public procurement and asset disposal proceedings under Section 41 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.
According to the act, the Public Procurement Regulatory Board can debar a firm from participating in asset or disposal proceedings if found guilty of corrupt or fraudulent practices, breaching a contract for procurement, or giving false information.
“JOFRIM E. A. COMPANY LIMITED Has been debarred by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority from participating in public procurement and asset disposal proceedings on the grounds specified in section 41 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 12th November, 2023,” the notice reads.
The exclusion comes after the African Development Bank (AfDB) last year blacklisted Joycot General Contractors Limited for engaging in fraudulent practices.
An investigation conducted by the Pan-African lender’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption found that the contractor engaged in fraudulent practices during a tender for the construction of reticulation sewers in Kahawa West, Kahawa Sukari, a component of the Nairobi Rivers Basin Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme: Sewerage Improvement Project Phase II, Kenya.
The Nairobi Rivers Basin Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme, Sewerage Improvement Project Phase II, was aimed at improving access, quality, availability, and sustainability of wastewater services in Nairobi City.
