Don’t force students to repeat classes, govt warns schools

KAMPALA.
The government has warned head teachers against defying its policy of automatic promotion of students, saying they risk disciplinary action.

The warning was sounded at a two-day Senior Five selection exercise as news filtered through of the death of a Senior Three student at Trinity College Nabbingo.

It was reported that Mariam Kamwaka, committed suicide after she was advised to repeat S3 because she had failed to attain the required aggregate to be promoted to S4.

It is understood that parents were invited to the school last week, and after a two-hour discussion, it was agreed that the student repeats S3 in order to improve her grades.

However, it is alleged this did not go down well with the student who was later found hanging by the mattress string in one of the school dormitories on Thursday morning.

Mr Francis Agula, commissioner secondary education Ministry of Education, told school administrators their actions were causing a lot of problems some of which are now starting to show up.

He insisted forcing a child to remain in a class doesn’t only waste the parents’ resources but also the government.

“I sound a warning again to you head teachers. Register all your S4 candidates. You cannot have this child from S1 up to now and you begin telling them that they cannot meet the school standard.”

“That is wrong and a waste of government and parents’ resources. We are going to establish the truth. This won’t be tolerated,” Mr Agula said.
Dr Yusuf Nsubuga, the ministry’s director of basic education, did not have kind words either.

He said some head teachers were acting unprofessionally and are irrelevant to those they lead as students can no longer trust them.

“Some of you are behaving as if you are not parents. You don’t have skills in counseling. You are becoming irrelevant and unhelpful to students. When some students come to you and tell you what they are going through, you share it on assembly the next day. The students then become frustrated. That is why they don’t come to you. The death of this young girl could have been avoided,” Dr Nsubuga lamented.

“There are many children whose parents have separated. I don’t know what was going wrong with this young girl but there is a lot of frustrations in our community. If you don’t have a permanent councilor, I implore you to hire one for at least two days a week.”

A total of 124,334 students were placed in A-level schools, technical and teachers’ training colleges.

Education minister Jessica Alupo said the government is working hard to see that the mind-set of teachers changes who will then guide learners towards choosing subjects that are relevant in the job market.

Malaysia Airlines hunts for missing plane carrying 239

Malaysia Airline's ground staff park a Boeing 777-200 at Kuala Lumpur International airport 

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia Airlines said a flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing early Saturday, and the airline was notifying next of kin in a sign it expected the worst.

The airline said flight MH370 disappeared at 2:40 am local time (18:40 GMT Friday), about two hours after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It had been due to arrive in Beijing at 6:30 am local time (22:30 GMT Friday).

It was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, from 13 different nationalities, and 12 crew members.

China's state television said 158 of the passengers were Chinese.

"We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am earlier this morning bound for Beijing," Malaysia Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.

The statement said the Malaysian flag carrier was working with authorities, who had launched an effort to locate the aircraft.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew," Ahmad Jauhari said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

The plane was a Boeing 777-200. The airline's Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route passes roughly over the Indochinese peninsula.

A Malaysian Airlines spokeswoman said she could not immediately provide further details.

"This news has made us all very worried," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement.

"We hope every one of the passengers is safe. We are doing all we can to get more details."

'CONTACT LOST OVER VIETNAMESE AIRSPACE'

A report by China's Xinhua news agency said contact was lost with the plane while it was over Vietnamese airspace.

Xinhua also quoted Chinese aviation authorities saying the plane did not enter China's air traffic control sphere.

A Beijing airport spokeswoman said the facility had activated an emergency response system. Screens at the airport indicated the flight was "delayed".

An accident would be a huge blow for the carrier, which has bled money for years as its struggles to fend off competition from rivals such as fast-growing AirAsia.

It recorded its fourth straight quarterly loss during the final three months of 2013 and warned of a "challenging" year ahead due to intense competition.

The carrier admitted in 2012 it was in "crisis", forcing it to implement a cost-cutting campaign centred on slashing routes and other measures.

In 2011, it chalked up a record 2.5 billion ringgit ($767 million) loss.

In July 2013, a Boeing 777-200 operated by South Korea's Asiana Airlines skidded off the runway upon landing at San Francisco's international airport after it clipped a seawall before touching down.

Three people died.

"We're closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370. Our thoughts are with everyone on board," the manufacturer said in a statement on its Twitter feed.

Boeing has been best by problems with its high-tech 787 Dreamliners put into service two years ago, including a months-long global grounding over battery problems last year.

The information vacuum regarding the flight touched off a frenzy on social media, which saw an outpouring of concern for passengers and unconfirmed rumours that the plane had landed safely in southern China.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has suffered few accidents in its history.

One of its jets crashed in 1977 in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.

A smaller Twin Otter aircraft, operated by its unit MASwings, crashed upon landing in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island last October, killing a co-pilot and a passenger.

Nigeria seeks to conquer African video games market

Kuluya's Chief executive officer, Olakunle Ogungbamila (standing) watches as script writer/illustrator Nelson Omeike works on a game at Kuluya's office in Lagos February 25, 2014.

LAGOS

It's a common enough scenario in Nigeria and across Africa: how to get rid of pesky mosquitoes whose buzzing disturbs sleep and whose bites can carry malaria and other diseases.

Two Nigerian start-ups have tapped this - and other aspects and quirks of daily life in Africa - to create online and mobile phone video games that are winning fans around the world.

It's easy to see why "Mosquito Smasher" - which has earned comparisons to "Angry Birds", the worldwide mobile app success of recent years - might be a hit.

The graphics are simple, the aim clear and the reward immediate: squash as many of the blood-sucking parasites as possible under your thumb with a satisfying "Splat!"

Another, the highly popular "Okada Ride", has players guide a motorcycle-taxi driver around roadside street vendors, road-blocks and police in the notorious traffic of Lagos, a sprawling metropolis of nearly 20 million people.

"What I like about Nigerian video games, it's one: the local content, because it tends to give you that everyday feel," said Chucks Olloh, 32, a big fan.

"For example the 'Okada' hustle, it tells you how you ride on your bike, trying to avoid so many obstacles on your way home or on your way to work," said the computer programmer from Lagos.

"Two: it's very simple. All you have to do is to gain as much points as possible and avoid the obstacles."

AN AFRICAN FLAVOUR

The worldwide video games industry, worth more than $63 billion in 2012, is expected to reach nearly $87 billion in 2017, PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a recent study.

And while the African market has not figured prominently on the radar of game developers, the founders of Maliyo - the makers of "Mosquito Smasher" and "Okada Ride" - and Kuluya are hoping to change that.

Both firms were launched about 18 months ago and draw inspiration from life in Lagos. Kuluya - "action" in the Igbo language of southern Nigeria - has already created some 70 games.

It hopes to reach one million mobile telephone users by the end of June and has fans well beyond Nigeria's borders.

"In Africa, we have a lot of downloads from Ghana, Kenya and South Africa," said Lakunle Ogungbamila, who runs Kuluya.

"There was a particular game that a lot of people downloaded in Ethiopia, I'm not sure why. It's called 'Ma Hauchi': it's a hunter who is shooting vultures. A very simple game...

"Also, we get a lot of downloads from China, India, Thailand, Taiwan."

'MOBILE IS MASSIVE'

Adapting the games to the platforms that Africans use is vital, said Ogungbamila and Maliyo founder Hugo Obi.

Unlike in Europe or the United States, sales of games consoles are low in Africa and there is a preference for playing on-line.

Internet access comes rarely via home broadband hubs but instead - and increasingly - via smartphones.

"Mobile is massive in this part of the world. It has the highest penetration, especially for Internet users. And we are exporting a lot of our games onto mobiles," Maliyo's Obi told AFP.

Figures clearly show the trend in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 170 million residents and nearly 100 million mobile phone users in 2012.

In 2011, it is estimated that 46 million people used Internet, up from 2008 when there were only 11 million Internet users.

Obi, who invented "Mosquito Smasher", spent 10 years in Britain running a recruitment company before returning home in 2012 to set up his on-line games company.

To share Nigeria's high operating costs, with daily power cuts the norm and investment in diesel-powered generators a must, his five-member firm shares workspace with eight other companies.

From an office in the Lagos suburb of Yaba, Maliyo now offers 10 free on-line games to some 20,000 users across Nigeria but also in Britain and the United States.

It is preparing to launch smartphone versions of its most popular games.

EXPANSION PLANS

Kuluya, meanwhile, started with an investment of $250,000 but is now worth an estimated $2 million and employs about a dozen people in its Lagos office.

Sitting behind large Apple Mac screens and armed with giant tablets and light pens, the creative team, all Nigerian, find inspiration from what dominates their daily life but also comb the web for information about other African countries.

Along with the typically Nigerian games, their catalogue now nods to Kenyan culture with the game "Masai" and another called "Matatus", which features the minibuses that travel around Nairobi. Their "Zulu" game, meanwhile, has clear references to South Africa.

For the moment, Kuluya, which is seeking new investment, earns little money from advertising. Maliyo, for its part, funds itself by creating games for businesses.

The next stage for Kuluya is to introduce payment by text message for more sophisticated versions of its games.

Ruto urges all Govt arms to work together

Deputy President William Ruto (centre) escorted by Bishop Mark Kariuki of Deliverance Church (left) and Bishop Paul Wanjohi of New Life Church, after the consecration ceremony of Bishop Paul at New Life Church in Nyeri town, Nyeri County Saturday

Deputy President William Ruto has urged all three arms of government to work together and eliminate confrontation and arguments that do not help in changing the lives of Kenyans.

Speaking on Saturday in Nyeri town, Mr Ruto urged all elected leaders to work for the people and eliminate all disagreements which are not healthy for the country.

“All of us have been elected by Kenyans whether as MCAs, MPs, Senators, Governors, President and I, those working in the Judiciary, those working in various commissions, all of us work for the people of Kenya and we must eliminate confrontations, arguments that don’t help in changing the lives of the people,” said Mr Ruto.

The DP was addressing a congregation at New Life Church during the ordination and consecration of a church bishop.

WAGE BILL

Mr Ruto said the government had on the need to develop the country with a ballooning wage bill threatening the country’s development.

He said public wages were guzzling the bulk of the budget resources, leaving a mere Sh200 billion a year to finance projects.

“We need a conversation in the country on how we are going to move into the future together. And that’s why the President and I and the government of Kenya we want to have a conversation as Kenyans,” said the DP.

He said only seven per cent of the country’s resources are available and that’s why there is need to think and make hard decisions if the country has to move forward.

“We are going to have that conversation on Monday so that we can agree on how to move forward,” said Mr Ruto.

He said plans had been set out to ensure all the planned projects are achieved.

RESPECT INSTITUTIONS

Senate Majority leader Professor Kithure Kindiki said as the Senate they respect all the institutions that have been set up in the country to make sure that Kenyans get development and services.
“We respect MCAs, MPs, Governors and other institutions,” he said.

He, however, stated that other institutions must also respect the Senate.

He said the Senate is the advocate for devolution process, and their business is to ensure that the counties get more resources.

Prof Kindiki said they are expecting more money in the next financial year to be channelled to counties for development purposes.

He warned those who would try to cut the resources to be allocated to counties.

“We will resist any attempt to make counties unable to deliver services, and we have no apology to make out of that,” said Prof Kindiki.

He warned governors of misuse of the funds stating that the Senate would be firm to ensure money channelled to the counties is used appropriately.

He insisted that all those governors who had been summoned by the Senate must appear before the Finance Committee of the House.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said that as leaders, they must be responsible and accountable to their people. He said they would ensure that counties get more money for development.

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua defended the governors saying that the 47 governors were elected by people and are accountable to the electorates.

He said there is no governor who wanted to be exempted from the audit or oversight and the only requirement they were asking was that they be subjected to a fair process.

“You do not accuse somebody of corruption yet you do not take him through the court system to establish whether he is guilty or otherwise. You do not sit in a room and hung someone. Every Kenyan is entitled to a court process, protection of the law and this is what we are saying as governors,” said Mr Gachagua.

He said if there is any mismanagement of resources, as governors they are ready to answer but governors should be treated like any other elected leaders.

Nyeri County MPs led by Nyeri town MP Esther Murugi said there must be accountability and they would want to see governors working.

The MPs pledged to take a pay cut as their contribution to the reduction of the public wage bill.

ICC convicts DR Congo warlord Germain Katanga for war crimes

Former Congolese warlord militiaman Germain Katanga sitting in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

The International Criminal Court on Friday convicted Congolese ex-militia boss Germain Katanga of being an accessory to war crimes and crimes against humanity for a 2003 village massacre.

"The chamber by majority finds Germain Katanga guilty... of complicity in the crimes committed on February 24, 2003," said judge Bruno Cotte.

Katanga was convicted of murder and pillaging but cleared of rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers in the attack.

The court will sentence Katanga, the one-time commander of the ethnic-based Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri (FRPI) operating in the DR Congo's mineral-rich northeast, at another hearing.

The verdict was only the ICC's third since opening its doors more than a decade ago, and the first involving sexual violence charges.

Katanga, 35, went on trial more than four years ago facing seven counts of war crimes and three of crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual slavery and rape for his alleged role in the attack on the small village of Bogoro in 2003.

Rebel’ MPs arrested after court orders them back to Parliament

Police officers exchange words with MPs Mohammed Nsereko (R) and Theodore Ssekikubo after the MPs were denied entrance to Kisekka Market yesterday

Kampala.

A large procession led by supporters of the so-called ‘rebel’ ruling party MPs who were rejoicing their reinstatement as lawmakers was broken up by police in downtown Kampala yesterday, continuing the trend of tumult that has surrounded this affair ever since it started early last year.
MPs Theodore Ssekikubo, Barnabas Tinkasimire, Mohammed Nsereko and Wilfred Niwagaba were also arrested and held at Old Kampala Police Station moments after the Supreme Court ordered that they be allowed to resume their seats in the House pending disposal of their main appeal set for March 28.

Court ruling
Celebrations had broken out just as court ruled that: “We grant an interim injunction restraining the Rt Hon Speaker of Parliament and the Rt Hon Deputy Speaker as well as the Electoral Commission from implementing the orders of the Constitutional Court until the substantive application for stay of the execution and a temporary injunction is disposed of by this court.”

Justice John Tsekooko read the ruling which also said: “We are satisfied that there is a real threat to execute the decree before the disposal of the pending substantive application which would render it nugatory if not restrained. In court’s considered opinion, the letters of the Speaker and the Clerk to Parliament did not complete the execution of the decree. Therefore, this application has not been overtaken by events.”

But it was an anti-climax to the electric atmosphere which had gripped court. The police fired teargas to disperse the crowds accompanying the MPs. The large crowd had greeted every pronouncement by the justices with loud and prolonged foot-stamping before sweeping Mr Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) and Mr Nsereko (Kampala Central) off their feet as they left the courtroom.

MPs speak out
Happy but calm, Mr Nsereko and Mr Ssekikubo observed that the ruling party continues to act in bad faith given the haste and irregularity with which it is doing things, and that this was a victory for all Ugandans because the Constitution of Uganda is on trial in this matter.

The unanimous ruling by the bench of five judges of the Supreme Court means that the Clerk to Parliament’s letters declaring their seats vacant following a Constitutional Court verdict a fortnight ago has been overturned.
The four were dismissed from the NRM party over indiscipline. Two members of the party, Saleh Kamba (MP Kibuku) and Mariam Agasha petitioned court to have them removed from Parliament after Speaker Kadaga refused to eject them following their dismissal. They continue to fight to assert their constitutional freedom of expression and association which they say has been violated by the attempt to eject them from Parliament.

Yesterday, police spokesperson Ibin Ssenkumbi denied any of the MPs were detained, observing in an interview that Mr Ssekikubo and Mr Nsereko were only prevented from causing what he called chaos at Kisekka Market.
The MPs are separately challenging the party decision to strip them of membership.

Electoral body: We respect court ruling
Moments after the Supreme Court pronounced itself that the four expelled NRM legislators should temporarily return to Parliament, the Electoral Commission yesterday said it will respect court orders and not organise by-elections in the affected four constituencies as earlier announced.

Mr Eric Sabiiti, the EC lawyer, told the Daily Monitor that they will comply with the court orders but added that the Commission will still go ahead to organise by-elections to fill the position of the Kampala Lord Mayor since he is not part of the rebel MPs who were given a lease of life by the highest appellate court in the land.

Prior to yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, EC boss Badru Kiggundu told a morning press briefing that the Commission had set April 17 as the date on which it would hold by-elections in the four constituencies represented by the four MPs.

Mr Kiggundu had also announced that it will organise the by-elections to replace Erias Lukwago who was controversially impeached late last year. The EC’s plans to replace Mr Lukwago appears in defiance of a recent High Court order issued weeks ago which rendered his impeachment null and void and confirmed the Lord Mayor in office.

Uhuru in support of party leadership change

President Uhuru Kenyatta (C) with Deputy President William Ruto (R) and Majority Leader Aden Duale. President Uhuru Kenyatta is rooting for a new strategy that prefers change in the party to start from the grassroots before coming to the national office

State House sanctioned a ceasefire to contain agitation for change in The National Alliance (TNA) party, Sunday Nation can report.

Party leader President Uhuru Kenyatta is rooting for a new strategy that prefers change in the party to start from the grassroots before coming to the national office.

The President feared the call for change in the party if not well managed could sow seeds of acrimony among loyalists.

The President, keen not to repeat the mistakes made by his predecessor Mwai Kibaki, on failure to provide direction to supporters early enough, is supportive of party restructuring beginning this year.

Mr Kenyatta was “well aware” of the agenda of  lawmakers, led by Kajiado West MP Moses ole Sakuda, giving a suggestion he was not opposed to their call for change in the party. “If the President was not sharing the ideas the MPs were agitating for, a message would have been sent to them to that effect,” a close associate of the President said.

But a change of strategy was vital because time for party election was not ripe as yet. Demand for party elections had metamorphosed into a call for removal of party chairman Johnson Sakaja and secretary-general Onyango Oloo.

It is here that President Kenyatta’s advisers thought  the MPs were losing the bigger picture and sought to whip them not to lose focus. Most MPs had a bone to pick with Mr Oloo and cited nomination of County Reps as one issue on which they felt they were treated unfairly.Saturday, Mr Oloo said the ceasefire was important to avoid scenes like those witnessed during the aborted ODM elections at Kasarani on Friday. “We are the ruling party. With the opposition displaying their style like that, we have to forestall such electoral deficiencies,” said Mr Oloo.

Mr Sakuda, who has been leading the change campaign, said the issues that had been raised are still intact. “We have only changed strategy to allow recruitment of members and setting up of regional offices. The party must have new leaders before December,” he said.

Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi said TNA’s future lies in its ability to remain cohesive and maintain its popularity. “Looking for a suitable time to conduct various party activities is key. Strategically, we should not be caught napping,” said Mr Wamatangi.

He said politicians from President Kenyatta’s backyard are discriminated against when it comes to key positions.” Every time an opportunity arises we are told we come from the President’s place. I have been a victim of this,” said the senator.

The Sakuda team’s argument seemed to have sunk to high echelons of the  party’s leadership necessitating immediate action on matters related to financial management and a road map to the future.
In fact, the party’s National Oversight Board the equivalent of the National Executive Council (NEC) will meet this Wednesday. “We shall meet and decide on a road map,” said Mr Sakaja.

Sources, however, told Sunday Nation, Wednesday’s meeting will hugely discuss money matters that have been at the epicentre of the MPs call for change at the top.

The sources intimated that former executive director Winnie Guchu and Treasurer Wambui Gichuri have been summoned over an audit query of Sh16.7 million supposed to have been paid to party agents and suppliers out of an Equity Bank account.

On saturday, both Mr Oloo and Mr Sakaja confirmed the summons. “They have been invited to shed light on it. So far, no money can be said to have been lost but the board wants to hear it directly from them,” said Mr Sakaja.

The Parliamentary Group further brought up the issue over how party affairs should be conducted. Central Kenya MPs were upset by a suggestion by Taveta MP Naomi Shaban and Kitutu Chache North MP Jimmy Angwenyi that Mt Kenya MPs should tread carefully to avoid making the party look like a one community affair.

But Thika MP Alice Ng’ang’a said it was discriminatory to isolate Central Kenya MPs from party positions. She was supported by Embakasi North MP Mwangi Gakuya.