Friday, October 18, 2013

Kenya: 53 Ethiopian Migrants Held

POLICE in Archers Post in Samburu county are holding 53 Ethiopian nationals arrested yesterday on their way to Nairobi. The Ethiopians in their early 20s were arrested near Lososia and Archers post in Samburu counties on their way to Isiolo and then Nairobi.
Samburu police boss Samuel Muthamia said the foreigners will be charged for being in the country illegally. They came to Kenya in search for menial jobs to feed their starving families.
They told police that they were promised jobs by brokers who abandoned them when they realised police were on their trail. There has been mass exodus of ethiopian aliens into the country claiming heading to south Africa in search of employment.
"The suspects have know valid documents and could not express themselves in any other launguage except Amharic,"said the police chief. He said the police have errected police barriers randomly a cross the region to control illegal immigration of aliens into the country.
Mr Samuel blamed the vastness of the region for the runaway influx of foreigners in to kenya through Moyale on Kenya-Ethiopia borders. "The new law on human trafficking will help us pin down the local involved in habouring and trafficking in human in the region," said OCPD.
Last week, police called on the government to help them enforce the new trafficking law to curb cases of human traficking in the region. They said the penalties imposed on the aliens and the traffickers were linient and that strict penalties imposed to deter them from the activities.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

IGAD ministers pledge co-operation on Karamoja

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IGAD ministers pledge co-operation on Karamoja
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Chaired meeting: First Lady and Karamoja affairs minister Janet Museveni
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By Taddeo Bwambale

Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan have agreed to establish a strong institutional framework to coordinate and harmonise interventions in the Karamoja Cluster.


The cluster comprises parts of North West Kenya, North East Uganda, South West Ethiopia and South East of South Sudan.

The resolution is part of proposals agreed on by ministers from the four countries who met in Kampala on Monday at a conference on peace, security and development in Karamoja.

The conference was organised by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and chaired by the First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Janet Museveni.

It was attended by Kenya's cabinet secretary and interior minister, Joseph Ole Lenku; South Sudan's foreign affairs minister, Benjamin Marial; Ethiopia's foreign affairs state minister, Omod Obang Olom and Uganda's state minister for internal affairs, James Baba and several MPs from the region.

According to a joint communiqué issued after the meeting, the ministers also resolved to hold an annual Ministerial Forum to monitor and review interventions in the Karamoja Cluster.

Although Karamoja is located in four different countries, the area shares similar challenges related to remoteness and under-development. The area is also severely affected by natural disasters, drought and insecurity.

The minsters' conference held at Speke Resort Munyonyo was preceded by a meeting of Parliamentarians on Sunday, and a meeting of regional experts on peace, security and development on Friday.

The meetings reviewed national and regional policy frameworks and programmes on peace, security and development in the Karamoja cluster.

According to a statement from IGAD's Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN), the ministers endorsed a set of innovative solutions to support the speeding-up of attaining peace, security and development in the region.

An IGAD Parliamentary Forum on peace, security and development of the Karamoja Cluster was established during the meeting.

In light of recent natural resource discoveries in the region, states are increasingly looking to the areas to drive the region's development.

In addition, member states are intensifying national and regional infrastructure, as well as socio-economic development schemes to transform the region

Saturday, October 5, 2013

US Weighs Response to Kenya Mall Attack