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Three Nigerians were among four drug convicts that were executed by firing squad in Indonesia shortly after midnight local time (1700GMT) at the Nusakambangan prison island.

Amnesty International has condemned the killings, terming them a "deplorable act" that violates local and international law.

 

Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers, including three Nigerians, early on Friday as it pushed ahead with its "war against drugs", although another 10 scheduled executions were delayed.

As many as 14 people were originally set to face the firing squad together on Friday, but officials decided a "comprehensive review" was needed to "avoid any mistake" in the 10 cases, Attorney General H. Muhammad Prasetyo said.

The date for the next round of executions has not been set, Prasetyo told reporters in Jakarta.

At least two prisoners among that group of 10, a Pakistani national and an Indonesian woman, have applied for presidential clemency, their representatives said. They said legal proceedings could take a long time.

Those executed - three Nigerians and an Indonesian man - were shot during a thunderstorm shortly after midnight on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java. The government ignored international calls for clemency and pushed ahead with its drive against narcotics.

"Our battle against drug crimes is not over and it will continue. We will maintain our commitment, our firmness and our consistency," Prasetyo said.

Indonesia has become a "business field" for the production, distribution, import and export of drugs, Prasetyo said.

Indonesia executed 14 prisoners, mostly foreign drugs offenders, just over a year ago, causing diplomatic outrage.

Rights activists and governments have again called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty.

Those calls have gone unheeded and President Joko Widodo has said drugs pose as serious a threat as terrorism in what is one of Southeast Asia's biggest markets for narcotics.

The president's office often cites figures that drugs are killing at least 40 people a day, but several international experts have questioned the methodology used to arrive at those statistics.

The death penalty is widely accepted by the Indonesian public, but police had to break up a protest outside the prison on Thursday by members of a migrant workers group who called for mercy for the Indonesian woman who was scheduled to be executed.

Amnesty International called the latest executions "a deplorable act that violates international and Indonesian law" and pleaded that the other death sentences not be carried out.

Around 152 people remain on death row in Indonesia, including convicted drug traffickers from the Philippines, France and Britain, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Authorities plan to execute 16 prisoners this year and more than double that number in 2017.

 

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Rita Akana

29.Jul.2016

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Congolese Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi arrived in Kinshasa on Wednesday from a two year stay overseas for medical treatment.

Hundreds of thousands lined the streets to welcome him home. Tshisekedi formed Congo's first organised opposition platform in 1982.

He came in second in the 2011 polls that saw President Joseph Kabila re-elected. His arrival comes at a crucial moment in the country's political landscape.

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Rita Akana

28.Jul.2016

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A solar-powered bus described by its Ugandan makers as the first in Africa has made its public debut. Kiira Motors' electric bus was displayed recently at a stadium in Uganda's capital.

Kayoola is the brand name for the new bus, which is powered by solar panels on its roof. 

It seats 35 passengers and its maker hopes the Kayoola will become the first public bus in Africa to be powered by the sun.

The engines of these electrically-powered buses are completely silent, said Mario Obuwa, the chief engineer of the project.

“This bus, there’s actually no engine. What is driving the bus is a motor, a traction motor, which is being run by a battery and the battery banks are the ones that are linked to the solar system that’s on the roof. So we have the battery that is driving the motor and that gives us a full range of 80 kilometers on full charge. And then the solar panels come to supplement the extra mileage so it adds an extra kilometer to the total,” said Obuwa.

The Kayoola bus can be recharged using solar power or connected to an electric power source. Best of all, it does not emit harmful CO2 into the atmosphere.

“The systems are fully run on green energy so things to do [with] polluting the environment which ultimately will affect us /// and that’s the reason why you would work on such a products because in the future we’re looking at sustainable and green energy,” said Obuwa.

This solar-powered bus also helps save money on petrol by relying 100% on abundant, renewable sunlight.

Moses Kalule Waswa, chief engineer of the technical team for the Kayoola bus, said the solar bus is as powerful as any other.

“The difference between this Kayoola bus, the solar bus and these other buses is that they are the ones that are using fuel. This one is using batteries. But as you are driving when you are accelerating, you can tell that it’s powerful like these other buses,” said Waswa.

Ugandan authorities say the Kayoola bus can help solve Kampala's traffic jams.

“The more options we [have], we believe that it will help a lot in the issue of congestion,” said one official.

The price of the prototype bus is estimated at more than $140,000. If this model can be mass produced, the price will drop and it will sell for around $55,000 each. However, before the Kayoola bus is out on Ugandan roads customers have to be patient. There hasn’t been an official date set for its release.

VOA

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Rita Akana

28.Jul.2016

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President Barack Obama painted an optimistic picture of America's future and offered full-throated support for Hillary Clinton's bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump in a speech that electrified the Democratic National Convention.

He urged Democrats to enable Clinton to finish the job he started with his election nearly eight years ago in a rousing speech that capped a night when party luminaries took to the stage to contrast the party's new standard-bearer with Trump, whom they portrayed as a threat to U.S. values.

"There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill - nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States," Obama said to cheers at the Philadelphia convention on Wednesday night.

Hillary Clinton, the wife of former president Bill Clinton, will accept the party's White House nomination in a speech to end the convention on Thursday night. The election is on Nov. 8.

"Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me," Obama said. When he finished, she joined him on stage where they hugged, clasped hands and waved to the crowd.

The two were rivals in the hard-fought 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination. After winning that election to become America's first black president, Obama appointed Clinton his secretary of state and now looks to her to carry on his legacy.

Republicans have painted Clinton as a Washington insider who would represent a "third term" for what they view as failed policies under Obama, elected to a second term in 2012.

Speaking to delegates, Obama offered an alternative to businessman Trump's vision of the United States as being under siege from illegal immigrants, crime and terrorism and losing influence in the world.

“I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before," Obama said at the Wells Fargo Center, a basketball and hockey arena.

A former first lady and U.S. senator, Clinton made history on Tuesday when she became the first woman to secure the presidential nomination of a major party. She will lead the Democrats against Republican nominee Trump.

Obama took aim at Trump's campaign slogan and promise to "Make America Great Again."

Reuters

 

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Rita Akana

28.Jul.2016

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The presiding Judge, Mrs Beatrice Nambangi, in the matter between the state and some 15 Southern Cameroons, SC activists, adjourned the case to August 17, 2016, when a full panel of the court would be available. She officially charged the activists for unlawful assembly, punishable under section 232 of the Penal Code. The defense team at the July 27 session, was led by Senior Bar Council member; Barristers Njualem Charles also included Barristers Eboa Ehabe, Nkea Emmanuel, Njilla Stephen, Keme Nicholas, Lekunze Benvolio, Lawrence Lyonga, James Enu, Obi Ayuk as well as AITs Evanjo Abel and Kenneth Ngwabo.

“We pleaded in vain, for bail to be granted the activists including Chief Ekane Ivoson of Bangem and blind a man , Mukete Ngoe and some university students who are supposed to be writing exams,” disclosed Barrister Blaise Berenyuy. One of the detainees, Check Nyah, was reportedly not brought to court. The state counsel, for unclear reasons did not issue a production warrant for Nyah, who is said to be one of the students in detention.

The atmosphere around the Buea Court of First Instance remained tensed on July 27 as family members, rights activists, students and curious onlookers trooped in, to watch the detainees in handcuffs, being dragged to the dock. Security men, some in plain cloths, were also spotted. Defense lawyers also said, the circumstances leading to the arrest of those in detention on July 17 remain worrying. “Security forces swooped on people who were at a restaurant behind Bicec Molyko, Buea. Even the restaurant owner is said to be under arrest. They are being detained and tried for intending to hold a meeting. They were still looking for food to eat when the police swooped on them. Their intention is unjustly been criminalized,” added one of the lawyers.

The Southern Cameroons activists clamoring for the independence of Ambazonia (former UN Trust Territory of the British Southern Cameroons under the UK, ) including the blind man and student, would have to spend more than two weeks at the Buea Central prison, awaiting trial. If found guilty, Shey Alfred Sembe,Fokum Andrew , Moto James,Njousi Abang David ,Chief Ekane Ivoson Maths,Bissong Mathias Arrey, Tabot James Arrey,Tebot Titanji Christian ,Mokube Alus Ngoe (blind),Nke Valentine,Tonjoh Peter Fehbi,Asoh Cletus ,Mbua Richard and Check Nyah, risk jail terms ranging from a 10 days to six months.

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Solomon Amabo

28.Jul.2016

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A year after the suicide attack in the northern Cameroon town of Maroua on 25 July, 2015 that left 33 people dead, residents of the town’s district of Pont Vert are remembering the victims.

They organized a silent march in the city’s streets from the Pont Vert area, where a female suicide bomber struck. Among the 33 victims 11 were in this district.

After last year’s attack, a number of measures have been taken by authorities in the region to strengthen security. Curfews have been imposed everywhere, as well as strict controls and searches on all those entering and leaving the area. Certain freedoms have also been limited in the area, with the ban on motorcycle taxis to move people and goods.  

The area which has been menaced by the Boko Haram owing to its proximity to the border with Nigeria, has seen economic activities go down as the border remains closed.

The Cameroonian army uses the town of Maroua as the headquarters for its operations against the group, as part of a multinational force battling the militants in neighboring parts of Nigeria.

But things have been even worse, especially after these attacks resumed, including the most recent in Djakana on June 29 which left 11 people dead. The Boko Haram attacks have become almost routine, with 12 attacks being experienced since 1 July, 2016.

And within a month, these attacks have claimed a total of 14 lives, including military personnel. The insurgents have also driven away herds of cattle and abducted villagers.

All of these activities go on to show that Boko Haram have stepped up their acts, and security is still a far cry in northern Cameroon.

Africannews

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Rita Akana

26.Jul.2016

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