Metro

Ugandan troops kill 15 ADF rebels near DRC border

Published

12 months ago

December 14, 2022

The Ugandan military says its troops on Tuesday killed not less than 15 rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group as they attempted to cross the River Semliki near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

The military statement said the ADFB militants were attempting to launch attacks and raid villages in Ntoroko District in the western part of the country before the troops engaged them in a fierce battle.

Col. Deo Akiiki, the Deputy Army spokesperson, who spoke on the incident, said the Uganda Peoples Defiance Forces (UPDF) intercepted an attempted raid by the ADF fighters on December 13, resulting in some of the rebels drowning while others were killed.

“Yesterday, Tuesday, we picked up intelligence and monitored a group of 20-30 ADF rebels trying to cross River Semliki. We repulsed them, and as we speak, many have been put out of action,” he said.

The Army spokesman said the militants were stopped before they could mount a serious raid on civilians.

“Some drowned in the river and others were killed. So far, there are 15 bodies of rebels,” he explained.

Col. Akiiki added that a UPDF soldier and two civilians also died in the combat, but did not elaborate on the details of those killed.

He however, refuted reports that many civilians, including children, were killed during the attack, while hundreds of others fled their villages.

The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist militant rebel group that uses eastern DR Congo as its base. The group which was established in 1996, has carried out several bomb attacks inside Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

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Metro

Zambian govt snubs transparency calls, says no law compels President Hichilema to declare assets annually

Published

13 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The Chief spokesman for the Zambian government, Cornelius Mweetwa, has countered calls for President Hakainde Hichilema to declare his assets every year, saying there is no law in the country that compels the president to do so.

The calls had come from the US Ambassador to Zambia, Michael Gonzales, who urged Hichilema and Vice President Mutale Nalumango to consider declaring their assets annually until their term in office expired so ass to set an example for all other public servants to emulate.

However, Mweetwa, at a press conference in Lusaka on Tuesday, said Zambia had no law compelling a sitting Head of State to declare his or her assets annually.

Mweetwa said the only law which required a declaration of assets was the Electoral Commission of Zambia during the filing of nominations, though there was no requirement for publication of same.

While addressing the gathering, the government spokesman alleged that the previous government of the Patriotic Front (PF) had removed the clause from the Constitution following a debate on the accumulation of wealth by former President Edgar Lungu university within a year of his presidency.

“You will all recall that the previous government eliminated Article 30 which provided previously that such declaration should be made public,” Mweetwa stated.

Mweetwa also alleged that the PF left the country with a “Constitution full of either lacunas or provisions that are plugging and negating good governance.”

“Talks to amend the Constitution were orchestrated by our colleagues in the opposition and they wanted to u-turn over the same,” he said, but however, expressing shock over the alleged u-turn by the opposition.

Metro

Nigeria set to begin passport automation

Published

17 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced that the automation of the country’s passport application is in its final stages.

In an interview, the minister stated that the automated application was 99% complete and would go live in a week, adding that Nigerians would only need to visit immigration centres to complete their fingerprint biometrics for passports after that point.

Ojo went on to say that Nigerians can upload their passport photos and other supporting documents using the new system from the comfort of their homes.

The minister said: “We gave a date — December 2023. We are 99 per cent done. In fact, we have done the testing and we should be going live in the next week or thereabouts.

“This will ensure that what Nigerians need to do at an immigration centre is just fingerprint biometrics.

“Everything regarding pre-biometrics will be done in the comfort of your homes, including uploading passport photographs and supporting documents.

“They went live about two weeks ago but I saw some errors when they came to do the presentation and I said no. We were talking about balancing national security and convenience.”

Nigeria’s passport system has been characterised by racketeering, logistics failure, and poor due diligence which have frustrated many, home and abroad, in their quest to own their entitlement as Nigerian citizens.