Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no

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by Scott A Morgan

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For the second time this year MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) has reached out for Foreign Mediation in its dispute with the FGN (Federal Government of Nigeria.) And once again they have sought the assistance of the main superpower of the world. that being the United States.

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Although it wasn’t widely reported in most Media Outlets here in the USA but when President Bush made his State visit to Africa in Feburary MEND faxed an eleven point proposal to the President outlining a plan for a negotiated settlement for peace in the Oil Producing Niger Delta region.

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The Plan offered a Standdown of MEND in exchange for a withdrawal of the Nigerian Military from the region, Investment and repair of the infrastructure in the region, having the Police in the region retrained and better Prison Conditions for Henry Okah. Mr. Okah has been a spokesperson for the Group and is currently in FNG custody awaiting charges of Treason. He happens to face Capital Punishment if he is convicted.

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Currently MEND continues its program of Attacks on Oil Production which has been a factor in the Massive Spike in the price of Oil in the last few weeks and Nigerian Government Installations. One of the favorite targets of MEND just happens to be Oil Pipelines. They have hit the two largest pipelines in Nigeria over the last few weeks as well.

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On May 6th came the stunning annoucement. MEND would halt all of its attacks in the Delta if the FNG allowed for former US President Jimmy Carter to Mediate. This effort will not be the first time the Former US President has been a mediator as he has brokered talks in both Haiti and North Korea. In a formal reply to MEND the Carter Center stated that Mr. Carter would do so if he has been approached by all interested parties in the conflict.

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This will not be the first time that the Former President has been involved in the situation. In 1999 he attempted to mediate in the Crisis then but failed.

The fact that Mr. Carter is once again being approached states that he is well known to all interested parties in the situation. A Spokesman for the State Department could not confirm any potential Mediation and stated that there were mechanisms in place to deal with the situation and that they need to be utilized.

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The Gulf of Guniea region which has a decent supply of Oil is a interest of the United States. It sent the USS Fort McHenry to the region for a Training Mission involving the Militaries of some the nations in the region. The Situation in the Niger Delta is not the only area where the Pentagon has its focus or should for that matter. There is a Constitution Crisis in Cameroun due to the fact that President Biya seeks another term in Office and there have been Insurgent activity in Ivory Coast as well.

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This attempt at mediation if its undertaken by the United States or the Carter Center could be a Windfall for the US in the region. And it is something that needs to be seriously looked at.

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API

Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no

<Story filed by Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, May�11 – Another bigwig of President Paul Biya’s ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), Zacheus Forjindam, the former general manager of the Cameroon�Shipyard and Engineering Company (CNIC),�has fallen in the anti-graft drive launched by�the launched by the presidenta in February 2006 under pressure from the donor community.

According to the state�radio, Forjindam and his former director of human resources, Ms. Rose Njoh, were sacked last�Wednesday evening and later detained at a police cell until Thursday when they were presented to the state prosecutor on allegations of embezzling state funds. After listening to accusations levied against them, the state prosecutor ordered that they be transfered to be detained at the Douala-New Bell maximum security prison.

“Forjindam and Ms. Rose Njoh spent their first night at the New Bell prison on provisional detention,” said the radio. “The former general manager of the Cameroon Shipyard and Engineering Company has been accused of embezzling state funds amounting to about one billion CFA francs and Ms. Rose Njoh of complicity in embezzlement. They will stay there on provisional detention�until their case in heard in court.”�

Forjindam, the ruling CPDM special delegate to the North-West province, is the latest in a long list of former senior government officials who have been arrested since�the campaign to clampdown on rampant corruption in the Central African country was launched.�His arrest and detention comes�one month after former Finance minister Polycarpe Abah Abah and his counterpart of Public Health, Urbain Olanguena Awono, were taken into custody following complains from members of parliament in March that the war against corruption�was too slow, giving some culprits time to dissimulate the stolen wealth.

Then, the Vice Prime Minister Ahmadou Ali, in charge of justice, told the assembly� the government was working methodically to ensure cases were legally watertight. He said 133 persons suspected of corruption, including ex-ministers, managers of public corporations and MPs, had already been prosecuted, many receiving jail terms ranging from 10 to 50 years.

�Corruption is endemic in Cameroon which was ranked as the most corrupt state in the world in 1998 and 1999, according to Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, and has remained among the first�ten�most corrupt up till today.

Forjindam seized�newspaper headlines during last year’s�legislative and municipal elections when he�chartered truck-loads of ambulent voters�from the main commercial town of Douala and Limbe in the south-west and gave them multiple�cards�to go and rig elections�in�the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) stronghold of�the North-West province in favour�of the ruling party.

�Thanks to this operation, the SDF, for the first time since it started participating in elections organised in the country in 1997, lost the legislative poll in seven constituencies in the region, reducing its number of seats�in the National Assembly from 22 to 15.

�Following his arrest, a senior police official at the Douala-Bonanjo police station told API off-the-record that, like Polycarpe Abah Abah, Forjindam has�revealed that he used the money he is being accused of embezzling to sponsor the ruling party activities as well as�� some activities of the First Lady’s numerous charity organisations.(END)

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API

�Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no source.aljazeera

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, has said he will contest a second-round run-off poll in the presidential elections, but under several conditions.“The MDC has decided that we will contest the run-off election,” he said.

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‘No pre-conditions’

Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwe’s justice minister, ruled out on Saturday accepting any pre-conditions.

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But official results gave him a smaller margin of victory over Mugabe.

Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no. nation.ke

Story by SAM KIPLAGAT

�The High Court last Tuesday issued orders to freeze some property in Nairobi belonging to Rwandan fugitive Felicien Kabuga and his wife Josephine Mukazitoni. This effectively sent out the message to them to come out and defend their wealth if not their innocence.

But whether or not the couple will pick up the gauntlet and fight for their property is yet to be seen.

The ruling freezes what is believed to be just a portion of the vast wealth owned by one of the world�s most wanted men. Mr Kabuga has been on the run since 1997 when he was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on charges of conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement, complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity following the 1994 Rwanda genocide where nearly a million Rwandans were killed.

The High Court ruling was made following a successful application by Attorney-General Amos Wako through Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko. The AG wanted access to rent collected from the property identified as Spanish Villas in Kilimani to be denied to Mr Kabuga and his wife. The property is said to generate approximately Sh100,000 every month in rent.

Spanish Villas

According to the DPP, the Kenya Police and investigators from the ICTR had found that Mr Kabuga owned a number of properties in Kenya, and he and his wife Josephine have been using monies generated from the properties to evade arrest and escape justice by, among other ways,� intimidating witnesses who have already testified and those set to testify before the ICTR, based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Mr Tobiko said the money is collected by a company known as Kenya Trust Company Limited � it is named as the third respondent in the case.

Mr Kabuga acquired the property in 1995 and three years later, KTC Ltd was contracted by the couple�s daughter Bernadette Uwamariya to manage it.

Although the physical address of KTC Ltd is not known, the company had been collecting rent and depositing it in an account that was owned by Mr Kabuga at the Commercial Bank of Africa. The account was then closed in 2005 and the Sh3.4 million in it wired to an account Mr Kabuga co-owned with Ms Mukazitoni in Belgium. Since then, KTC has been wiring Sh290,000 in French Francs every three months to Banque De La Poste in Belgium.

Evade arrest

Mr Tobiko pointed out that �Kenya has the legal and moral obligation to assist in the prosecution of perpetrators of international crimes of any nature wherever committed�.

He said that the matter was urgent since the ICTR was expected to wind up it hearings by the end of this year. To this end, the freezing of the property would be reported to the ICTR president and lead prosecutor immediately.

While certifying the case as urgent, the judge said he was aware that Mr Kabuga is wanted for allegations of genocide and related crimes in Rwanda.

He said in his ruling, �Whereas Mr Kabuga is presumed to be innocent unless proved otherwise, the ball is in his court to come forward so that he may be subjected to the due process of the law. During the same, he may defend himself given the serious allegations against him.�

Mr Kabuga has been changing names and appearance to evade arrest. He is reported to have used such names as Idriss Sudi, Abachref Straton, Anathase Munyarunga and Oliver Kabuga.

The fugitive, aged 73, was born in Muniga Secteur, Mukarange Commune in Buyumba in Rwanda. Before the genocide in 1994, Mr Kabuga was the President of the National Defence Fund. Under President Juvenal Habyarimana�s rule, Mr Kabuga had immense political clout and was a powerful financier. Two of his daughters married President Habyarimana�s sons.

Mr Tobiko noted that there have been numerous calls especially to governments of Kenya, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to assist the ICTR in its bid to track down suspected perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide. He said the country could face UN sanctions if it does not comply. The US Government has placed a Sh300 million bounty on Mr Kabuga�s head.

The case will be mentioned again on July 29 when the High Court will require an update on the matter.

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API

Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no source.apa

The Guinean National Assembly has decided to recognize and support “the uniqueness” of the people�s Republic of China which it regards as “one and indivisible”, a Foreign Affairs commission report said here Saturday.
The Guinean MPs said in a report of the Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Commission of the National Assembly that they answered favourably to a request of the Chinese ambassador, asking for the support of a “friendly country” like Guinea on the Taiwan issue.

After discussions and a serious analysis of the situation, the Guinean National Assembly decided to support the 25 October 1971 United Nations resolution 2758, which, recognizes the one-China policy and its non-separation with Taiwan.

“Considering that Taiwan is an integral part of China, the Guinean National Assembly proclaims solemnly that it recognizes only one China, namely the People�s Republic, and recognizes as well that Tibet is part of this China,” the Commission underlined in its report.

The Guinean MPs justified their support by the fact that the People�s Republic of China and Guinea maintain co-operation and friendly relations in various fields since nearly 50 years ago.

The ambassador of China to Conakry, who is very pleased with this support, indicated that the support of Guinea will enable the two countries strengthen the already existing bonds between them.

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API

Publisher; Korir, africanpress@getmail.no source.apa

The public health authorities of Niger on Saturday received a new oxygen production unit with a capacity of 24 bottles per day for the benefit of the national hospital of Niamey (HNN), APA has learnt.

The new equipment cost 75 million CFA francs and has a life span of 10 to 15 years. It will help put an end to imports of oxygen from neighbouring countries.

“This is a very good thing. The issue of oxygen that HNN is suffering was unbearable because we used to import oxygen. But with the new acquisition, our hospital will now be autonomous to the greater benefit of patients”, Dr Issa Lamine, the Niger public health minister told APA.

During the past months, oxygen had become very rare in that nationwide biggest hospital where the only oxygen production unit stopped operating a long time ago.

Technicians explained that the capacity of the new oxygen production unit is three times higher than the previous one and will operate with a simple electricity-supplied mechanism.

The Niamey Hospital, which was built in 1922 by French colonial Governor Jules Brevier, was changed in 1992 into a public utility institution enjoying legal entity and autonomy in management.

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African Press International – api

Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no source.apa

The Malian army and security forces Thursday captured eleven Tuareg rebels during a skirmish in the Kidal region (north), a release revealed in Bamako.
The army says in the release that it also seized two Toyota vehicles, individual and collective weapons, as well as a “sizeable” batch of ammunition.

The troops “recorded no casualties” during the operations which happened during “an inspection and control mission.”

Open hostilities pit the Malian regular forces against dissidents of the Tuareg rebellion, which drew attention on 23 May 2006, by the simultaneous attacks of two military barracks in the north of Mali.

Neither a peace agreement signed in July 2006 in Algiers (Algeria), nor last 3 April cease-fire protocol in Tripoli (Libya) succeeded in ending the conflict, which continues in the form of surprised attacks of military positions or convoys.

A former Tuareg rebel who agreed to join the regular army was the last victim of the conflict. He was killed on Tuesday in Diabali, some 380km in the north of Bamako. The culprits are armed men identified as belonging to a new rebel group.

The dissidents of the Malian Tuareg rebellion, led by their chief Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, demanded in the beginning the autonomy of the Kidal region. They seem to have re-examined downwards their claims, asking from now on nothing more than “the hastened development” of the northern regions of the country.

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African Press International – api

Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no source.nation.ke

Story by DOMINIC WABALA

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission has explained the circumstances in which it repossessed Nairobi�s Grand Regency Hotel from businessman Kamlesh Pattni.

The suit arose in 1993 when Mr Pattni and his companies defaulted in the delivery of $210 million (Sh12.8 billion) in contracts he had entered into with the Central Bank of Kenya.

He was supposed to make the deliveries in dollars although he had received Sh13,525,211.000 as the value.

Under a legal charge, CBK had the option of realising its security and sell the hotel in the event that Mr Pattni defaulted in settling the acknowledged debt.

Forced to enter

But KACC said in a statement that it was forced to enter into an out-of-court settlement after a suit it filed in court four years ago against Uhuru Highway Development Ltd and Mr Pattni to transfer LR No. 209/9514 (Grand Regency Hotel) to KACC took too long.

�Looking at the delays in the determination of the cases that preceded the commission�s suit, it was imperative for the commission to find some practical and effective means of having its case finalised expeditiously, taking into account the interests of the public,� the statement said.

The Central Bank, KACC, Mr Pattni and Uhuru Highway Development Ltd agreed to settle the suit under Section 56B(2) & (4) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, it adds.

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African Press International – api