Pan African News Hub

Mike Oging', Kampala, and Staff Writer Dar FINALLY the Government of Tanzania seems to have settled amicably a legal dispute with a Ugandan headquartered but London incorporated, Stirling Civil Engineering Company Ltd, to release its third Bombardier Q400 passenger aircraft. The legal wrangle took months to settle involving an attachment order granted to Stirling by an international court following a pre-mature breach of contract by the Tanzanian government when Hon. Kawambwa was the Minister for Infrastructure. “Our third Bombardier Q400 has departed from Canada to Tanzania after being held for some time,” said a statement from the Director of Presidential Communications in Dar es Salaam. The same statement was further confirmed by the English tweeter account of the Spokesperson of the Government of Tanzania adding: “ Tanzania’s third new Bombardier aircraft has just left Canada to Dar es Salaam. Boeing Dream liner on the final stages .” Apart from the Boei

Under the leadership of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, oil giant Exxon Mobil signed a $120 million deal for an oil block in Liberia that company officials knew was rife with corruption, according to a new investigation by the transparency organization Global Witness. The deal between Exxon and Liberian company Broadway Consolidated/Peppercoast (BCP) was signed in 2013 despite Exxon’s concerns that the deal could violate U.S. anti-corruption laws. The investigation by Global Witness showed that Exxon executives were aware that the oil block they purchased was partly owned by former politicians who had taken ownership of the block through illegal means. “Exxon knew its purchase might enrich these former politicians. The company also knew the oil block had originally been awarded to BCP after Liberia’s oil agency paid bribes,” the report said . “Despite these corruption red flags, Exxon didn’t walk away from the deal. Instead, it engineered a plan to skirt U.

By DECLAN WALSH MARCH 29, 2018   Election workers counting ballots in Cairo on Wednesday. Early results showed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi heading for a landslide victory after he sidelined his main rivals. Credit Mohamed Hossam/EPA, via Shutterstock CAIRO — Early results from Egypt’s election showed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi headed for a landslide victory with 92 percent of the vote, state media reported Thursday, an unsurprising margin in a race where he eliminated all serious opposition months ago. Mr. Sisi’s token opponent, Moussa Moustapha Moussa, received just 3 percent of the vote, less than the number of spoiled ballots, state media said. With his main rivals in jail or forced from the contest , Mr. Sisi

  Photo: The Citizen Tanzania   Tanzanian main opposition top brass fail to show up at court. By Hadija Jumanne Dar es Salaam — The Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court on Thursday, March 29, granted bail to Chadema's top leaders despite their no show at the courtroom. In the bail conditions, each remanded leader of the main opposition party would be required to have two sureties who will sign a Sh20 million bond. The court has ordered party leaders including national chairman Freeman Mbowe to report to the Central Police Station every Thursday. However, State Attorney Faraja Nchimbi said the prosecution will file petition against the ruling under Section 378 (1) of the Criminal and Procedure Act (CPA). Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe, Dr Vincent Mashinji (Secretary General), Mr John Mnyika (Deputy Secretary General (Mainland), Mr Salum

By political reporter Jane Norman Key points: Prime Minister, Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop said there was no need for a new visa category MPs accused those on the "green left" of closing their eyes to persecution because of the farmers' race Farm violence is a highly political and racially charged issue in South Africa Seven Liberal MPs raised concerns about the farmers' "unique" and "difficult" circumstances in today's meeting of the Liberal and National party meeting and noted the high levels of violence they reportedly face. The MPs also took aim at critics who have labelled their push racist, accusing those on the "green left" of closing their eyes to persecution because of the colour of the farmers' skin. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told colleagues there was no need for a new visa category and no need to change the e

  By Wainaina Wambu | Published Tue, March 27th 2018 Lawyer Miguna Miguna spent more than four hours at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) amid reports that immigration officials had refused to clear him. By 7pm, Mr Miguna had not checked out of the airport despite his Emirates flight EK19 touching down at JKIA at 2:30pm. ALSO READ: Analysis: What does Miguna’s return mean in a ‘reconciled’ Kenya? Normal clearance at the airport takes about 30 minutes. Reports indicated that immigration officials demanded Miguna's Canadian passport, which he refused to hand in. Routine procedures for travellers dictate that once a foreign national arrives in a country, he or she is issued with a visa. The country then has the liberty to grant or deny the traveller entry. Avoid fake news! Subscribe to the Standard SMS service and receive factual, verified breaking news as it happens. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840 Ministry of Interior spokesperson Mwenda Njoka expl

Deutsche Welle Published 9:26 p.m. ET March 22, 2018 | Updated 9:41 p.m. ET March 22, 2018 (Photo: Dai Kurokawa, EPA) CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN COMMENT EMAIL MORE Kenya's Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled that the use of forced anal exams used to determine whether gay men engaged in sex is illegal. The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) took the case to court after two men were arrested in 2015 on suspicion of having sex. According to the men, authorities forced them to undergo anal examinations by hospital staff and security personnel. They also said authorities forced them to submit to HIV tests. The NGLHRC argued the tests violated the men's constitutional rights. A Kenyan court in 2016 ruled that such tests were constitutional and, as such, within the scope of use for authorities. Thursday's ruling overturned that decision. "The ruling is a tremendous step not only in upholding the dignit

DAR ES SALAAM, East Africa:  By Dr. Hernan Louise Verhofstadt* “ A BIT like President Donald Trump, Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli, likes to fire employees on television. In November Mr. Magufuli used a live broadcast from a small town in the north of the country summarily to dismiss two officials,” this is an extract from a recent online article I came across from the newspaper that I admired when I was growing up in Europe back in 1990’s; the Economist . Before I venture into other serious issues, the excerpts above contains gross factual errors; my own fact-check indicates that in the named public rally during the opening of Kagera Airport, there was no summary dismissal of the two officials instantly on television, as alleged. Instead, the two, one District Executive Directors for Bukoba Urban and another for Rural were relieved their duties later through a press release from President’s Office.   This is my prima impressio reading the Economist this