Metro

Authorities warn Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia over worst drought in decades

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2022

Authorities in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia have warned that higher temperatures and less than normal rainfall were recorded by weather agencies in March and April this year which could result in severe drought.

According to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, rains will likely fail for a fourth consecutive year, triggering fears of increased cases of malnutrition, threats to livelihoods, and severe risks for 29 million people in the region.

The recurring and severe droughts and other natural disasters between 1974 and 1984 caused widespread famine, ecological degradation, and economic hardship in the Eastern Africa region.

Although individual countries made substantial efforts to cope with the situation and received generous support from the international community, the magnitude and extent of the problem argued strongly for a regional approach to supplement national efforts.

“Approximately, we have 29 million people who are facing high levels of food insecurity according to the latest experts’ estimates. Already, 15.5 – 16 million of our sisters and brothers are in need of immediate food assistance due to this drought,” said IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu.

For Dr Mahamed Shafi, Director at Gode Hospital in Ethiopia, this is the worst drought they have witnessed in 20 years.

“This drought is the worst drought that we have seen for the last 20 years. It affected the whole community, especially children, especially the under-five children. So we are getting here a lot of malnourished children, more than the children that we have seen six months ago, you know the number of admissions have increased from five patients per day to 15 patients per day,” he said.

In November 2021, scientists at the Famine Early Warning System Network sent out a warning that an unprecedented drought in the Horn of Africa was imminent if poor seasonal rainfall continued into 2022. Tragically, their prediction is turning out to be prescient.

East Africa is experiencing the driest conditions and hottest temperatures since satellite record-keeping began. As a result, as many as 13 million people are currently experiencing acute food and water shortages and a projected 25 million will face a similar fate by mid-2022.

Related Topics:dought East Africa Featured

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Metro

DR Congo colonel sentenced to death for killing of anti-UN protesters

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

A DR Congo Army Colonel has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty in the killing of more than 50 anti-UN demonstrators in August.

Col Mike Mikombe, who was at the time the Commander of the Republican Guard in Goma city, was accused of giving orders to soldiers to open fire on anti-UN protesters in what was described as the highest number of deaths in a crackdown on protests against UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo.

The senior military officer was tried along with five other soldiers, with three of them sentenced to 10 years in prison, while two others, including Col Mikombe’s deputy, were acquitted.

The protesters had demanded the withdrawal of UN troops from the city after accusing them of failing to protect civilians from attacks by rebel groups in the region.

The August protests were organised by a Christian sect known as Wazalendo or The Patriots, to demand the departure of UN troops from the region.

The protesters also wanted the regional governor, Ndima Kongba, who had earlier banned the demonstrations, to resign.

State prosecutors told the court that 56 civilians were killed and dozens others wounded during the demonstrations, sparking international condemnation.

The prosecutors also told the court that amid chaotic scenes, troops opened fire at the protesters on the instruction of Col Mikombe.

“He had suggested that he had been misled by an operational order identifying the sect members as proxies of the M23 rebel group, which had captured large swathes of territory in North Kivu province last year,” the prosecutors said.

Metro

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie arrested for ‘witchcraft’

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie has been arrested and charged with witchcraft, after police discovered and exhumed two bodies from a cemetery on the island of Mahé.

Herminie, who was arraigned in court on Tuesday along with seven others, has however, denied the charges, saying his prosecution is a “political show” staged by the government to taint his image and frustrate his campaign.

The politician, who is seen as the main challenger to President Wavel Ramkalawan in the country’s presidential election in 2025 under the banner of the United Seychelles Party (USP), is facing several charges, including possession of items intended for use in witchcraft, conspiracy to perform witchcraft and procuring services related to witchcraft, according to local media.

Prosecutors allege that the opposition leader’s name appeared in a WhatsApp message between a Seychellois national and Tanzanian suspect who was arrested on 21st September at the main international airport.

Local media reports that the Tanzanian suspect was found with items related to witchcraft, including stones, black wooden artefacts, small bottles of brownish liquid, a collection of powders, and documents with strange language and “demonic and satanic” symbols.

“The documents were similar to those found in Catholic churches and other places that had been vandalised in Mahé, Seychelles’ largest island,” prosecutors alleged.

Herminie, who was the Speaker of Seychelles’ parliament between 2007 and 2016, told local media that more than 40 police officers had raided his party’s offices in the capital, Victoria in what he claimed were acts of intimidation.

He added that the officers searched for items related to witchcraft, including “bones, body parts, and objects associated with Christianity” but did not find any.

Herminie described his arrest as “a political show” by President Ramkalawan to “eliminate those who he knows will remove him from power in the 2025 elections.”

“In Seychelles’ history, there has never been until now, a political party leader arrested for superstition and witchcraft. This is something new and it is shameful for Seychelles,” he was quoted as saying by the Seychelles News Agency.