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Allegations of fraud and ballot stuffing have been raised by the opposition leaders, leading to their call for a demonstration on the inauguration day.
Critics have called it a stunt to invite sympathy. Yet Amuriat says campaigning without shoes is a protest and that those who do not get its symbolism are missing a point.
Uganda is due to hold a general election on January 14. Amuriat and another opposition candidate, Bobi Wine have had their rallies violently dispersed by security forces or been arrested.
In mid-November, scores of people were killed as security forces attempted to quell protests against the arrest and detention of Bobi Wine.
Police has accused the candidates of addressing huge gatherings in contravention of regulations on COVID-19 prevention.
Swollen feet
In an interview with one of the dailies in Uganda, Amuriat said his feet hurt a lot and has to pour cold water on them in between campaign stops for some relief.
Doctors have cautioned him on the potential danger of contracting tetanus from cuts to his feet.
Yet Amuriat remains adamant. He says by refusing to wear shoes, he’s standing in solidarity with people whose wealth and opportunities have been stolen by the country’s longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
JUST IN: FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat has been arrested at the border of Rubirizi and Bushenyi districts. The reason for his arrest is yet to be known📹 @MukhayeD#MonitorUpdates#UGDecides2021 pic.twitter.com/xopK4FMoD0
— Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) December 4, 2020
Museveni, in power since 1986 is seeking a new term. In 2017, he changed the constitution to remove age limits that would have stopped him from seeking re-election.
FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.
Amid a global pandemic, it has gone by largely unnoticed - not least because the crisis also kept out election observers from the East African Community (EAC), the only foreign group the government accredited.
The ruling party has grown increasingly isolationist since the last election in 2015 when outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to stand for a third term, sparking months of protests.
The results - announced by the electoral commission three days after the vote - give the CNDD-FDD's candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye 68% of the vote.
Ndayishimiye's balancing act
One of the new president's key challenges on taking office will be to balance the various interests within the ruling party.
Ndayishimiye is new in the job and has made subtle overtures to international bodies in recent months, meeting with the AU Chairperson Moussa Faki and EAC officials.
Dundo — The eastern Lunda Norte government is intensifying precautionary measures in the border areas with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to halt the import and spread of Ebola in Angolan territory.
The DRC government announced on Monday the emergence of a new Ebola outbreak in Wangata County, Mbandaka, in the province of Ecuador (north).
Although the outbreak has not yet spread to the provinces of Kassai Central, Kassai, Kwango in DRC, which share border with Angola's municipalities of Cuango, Cambulo, Cuilo, Lóvua and Caungula, the government is anticipating prevention measures so as not to be caught by surprise.
According to Lunda Norte governor, Ernesto Muangala, the local government has enough biosecurity material and drugs to prevent contagion and possible positive cases of the epidemic.
He also said intervention health teams and epidemiological surveillance are being strengthened which, in addition to raising awareness about Ebola, will advise citizens living along the borders to continue to observe the COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures.
[Monitor] Police say they have \"restrained\" National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine for continuously holding massive rallies on Kalangala island amidst the increased threats of coronavirus, in total disregard of the Electoral Commission and Ministry of health guidelines.Earlier on, a tweet on Bobi Wine's Twitter timeline said, \"Bobi Wine and his entire campaign team arrested in Kalangala! Media blocked. -- Admin.\" Pictures and videos sh
[Africa In Fact] Kenya launched an ambitious plan dubbed Kazi Mtaani in early June that sought to shield thousands of jobless young people from the biting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
[New Times] The Court of Appeal will on Thursday November 12 begin the hearing of an appeal lodged by genocide convict Bernard Munyagishari against the life imprisonment sentence that was handed down by the High Court in 2017.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — With nearly 30,000 dead in Brazil and more than 10,000 dead in Mexico, the novel coronavirus pandemic threatens to shatter hospital systems across Latin America — while France, which is emerging from a similar nightmare scenario, began on Tuesday a gradual return to normality.
Four of the 10 countries showing the greatest number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours were in Latin America, the World Health Organization's Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said.
“Countries are having to work very, very hard to both understand the scale of infection but also health systems are beginning to come under pressure across the region,” said Ryan, speaking at a virtual press conference from Geneva.
Mexico also began reopening on Monday, reactivating the automotive industry, mining, and construction, even though the country has recorded more than 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths — second only to Brazil in Latin America.
In Russia, Moscow shopping malls and parks reopened on Monday, even though the country ranks third in the world in new daily cases.
Kenya and Tanzania are among 16 African countries set to benefit from 2Africa, a subsea 4G and 5G Internet project that will link them Europe and the Middle East.
The other African countries in the project are Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Egypt, Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia.
The system is expected to go live in 2023, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second on key parts of the system.
The project aims at delivering Internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa and push growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people.
The 2Africa cable has been designed to improve resilience and maximise performance, including the option of a seamless optical crossing between East Africa and Europe.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International President Dr. Christos Christou delivered the following statement today at the 2020 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment high-level panel on the increasing complexity of health challenges in humanitarian contexts.
Many of the most vulnerable have already suffered terribly due to a lack of state investment in health care for all.
Today, we must acknowledge that this pandemic comes after years of questioning humanitarian assistance and principles, and innumerable cases of violence against health workers and facilities.
MSF knows from previous epidemics that the reduction in access to health care has a devastating effect.
Vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 must be available to all
Finally, whilst we welcome initiatives like the [World Health Organization's] ACT Accelerator and call to action, governments must ensure that health care tools are made accessible to all.
She recently announced her department will be sending out unsolicited absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million registered voters in Michigan.
In the past, opponents have been successful before Michigan courts stopping mass mailings of absentee ballot applications.
In Fleming, the court ruled unconstitutional the Macomb County Clerk’s mass mailing of absentee ballot applications.
The case relied on the following facts: the applications discriminated in favor of a narrow portion of voters, they were limited to persons over 60-years of age; the applications were sent out by a county clerk; and it violated Art. 2, Section 4 of the Michigan Constitution.
This time around a different legal outcome is more likely; because the mass mailing of absentee ballot applications is being done by a current Secretary of State, Michigan’s principal elections official, not a local county clerk.
[The Conversation Africa] African countries are still reeling from the effect of measures, such as lockdowns, taken to contain the spread of COVID-19. Though painful, they were a vital part of the successful public health response mounted by many African leaders.
President Donald Trump’s acting head of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly resigned Monday, leaving the post ahead of schedule... View Article
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The electoral commission, INEC, has approved direct primary for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to select its candidate for the September 19 governorship election in Edo State.
The APC headquarters had approved direct primary while the Edo chapter of the party wanted indirect primary.
Festus Okoye, the INEC spokesperson, appealed to the various political parties to conduct their primaries in full compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 law.
\"In accordance with Sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), 15 out of the 18 registered Political Parties have notified the Commission of their intention to conduct primaries for the purpose of nominating candidates for the Edo State Governorship election slated for 19 September 2020.
\"The Commission appeals to the various Political Parties to conduct their primaries in full compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Political Party Primaries (2018) and the INEC Police COVID-19 Pandemic of 21\" May 2020.
After announcing on July 6 that the US would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online, the Trump administration yesterday abandoned the plan following widespread condemnation of the move and pressure from colleges and major businesses.
Zimbabwe has come under international scrutiny after President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government launched a crackdown against its critics that include opposition leaders, lawyers and journalists.
\"A pattern of intimidation and arbitrary arrest and detention of lawyers and journalists and indeed legitimate political opponents has distinctly emerged in Zimbabwe during the Covid-19 era,\" said Martin Okumu-Masiga, the AJJF secretary-general.
\"We urge the government of Zimbabwe to respect the rule of law and the right to freedom of expression and the right to fair trial as well as to respect the independence of judges and lawyers as is guaranteed by domestic and international obligations that the country is party to\" said Okumu-Masiga.
\"I draw the Zimbabwe government's attention to principle 16 of the UN basic principles on the role of lawyers, which requires surety from governments that lawyers are afforded the space to perform all of their professional functions free from intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; nor may lawyers suffer or be threatened with prosecution, or administrative, economic or any other sanction for any action taken in light of the recognised professional duties, standards and ethics.\"
\"We are concerned about the shrinking democratic space evidenced by abductions, arrests, persecution by the prosecution of civil society, lawyers and political opponents is inconsistent with (the government's) assertion that Zimbabwe is stable and peaceful.
Nairobi — Public transport in Uganda will resume on June 6 in new measures outlined by President Yoweri Museveni on Monday to relax a lockdown imposed in the country in coronavirus containment efforts.
Upon the successful issuance of masks, the public transport will resume in the country except in the districts along border points with neighboring countries, Museveni indicated.
At the same time, he noted that shops selling general merchandise will be opened except for those located in shopping malls, shopping arcades and food markets.
\"Once the issue of masks has been addressed, shops selling general merchandise will be opened except for those in shopping malls, food markets and shopping arcades.
\"We shall now not allow lorry drivers to enter the country until their results are out,\" he noted adding that testing at the borders will be expedited.
When Ebola hit the city of Mbandaka in northwest Congo in 2018, health officials had to act fast - the city was connected via regular boat service to thesprawling capital Kinshasa, where the deadly virus could spread out of control.
[Monitor] The newly revised roadmap for 2021 General Election that authorised virtual campaigning has been challenged in the High Court for violating various fundamental constitutional rights and freedom.
As Africa battles COVID-19 experts believe the pandemic will have an impact on elections and democracy in various African countries.
He is joining us from Washington D.C. United States of America where he has been able to co-ordinate, organize and advise international election observation missions in almost all African countries working alongside heads of state and government, ministers, elected officials and civic leaders.
But in countries that are committed to democratic governance I am sure that the leaders, elected officials, political party leaders and civic leaders would find ways to work with their respective election commissions so that there could be inclusive processes that will have everyone giving their input in how elections and other political processes could be managed through this period of COVID-19.
I will say that in the past two decades, we have seen a number of African leaders who have come forward to be proponents of democratic governance and who have made efforts to make sure that political power can change hands through the ballot box and that elections can be organised in a meaningful way that give voice to citizens.
But the test is going to be to see how African governments can take measures to soften the economic blow of the pandemic and how they can also work with other stakeholders to make sure that there is economic relief for the companies that will create jobs, for the private sector that will create jobs that young people still find opportunities in the post
COVID period and that countries can be stabilised in a way that will allow them to bounce back both economically and politically as well.
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All the while, President John Magufuli has led a crackdown on anyone who dares raise concerns about the virus's spread in his East African country or the Government's response to it.
The country's number of confirmed virus cases hasn't changed for three weeks, and the international community is openly worrying that Tanzania's Government is hiding the true scale of the pandemic.
While many African countries have been praised for their response to the coronavirus, Tanzania is the most dramatic exception, run by a president who questions — or fires — his own health experts and has refused to limit people's movements, saying the economy is the priority.
While health experts say recorded coronavirus cases and deaths the world over are undercounts, Opposition leaders accuse Magufuli's Government of hiding the outbreak's true toll.
Kenya closed its border with Tanzania this month except for cargo traffic and imposed stringent testing measures on Tanzanian truck drivers after more than 50 of them tested positive for the virus in a single day.
By COLLEEN LONG and ED WHITE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his allies say their lawsuits aimed at subverting the 2020 election and reversing his loss to Joe Biden would be substantiated, if only judges were allowed to hear the cases. There is a central flaw in the argument. Judges have heard the cases and have been among the harshest critics of the legal arguments put forth by Trump's legal team, often dismissing them with scathing language of repudiation. This has been true whether the judge has been appointed by a Democrat or a Republican, including […]
The post Trump thought courts were key to winning. Judges disagreed. appeared first on Black News Channel.
Republic of Zimbabwe
Current government officials
Languages: English (official), Shona, Ndebele (Sindebele), numerous minor tribal dialects
Ethnicity/race: African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%
Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%
Literacy rate: 83.6% (2011 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $7.496 billion; per capita $600 (2013 est.). Real growth rate: 3.2%. Inflation: 8.5% (2013 est.). Unemployment: 95%. Arable land: 10.49%. Agriculture: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs. Labor force: 3.939 million (2013); agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996). Industries: mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel; wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages. Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals. Exports: $3.144 billion (2013 est.): platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing. Imports: $4.571 billion (2013 est.): machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels, food products. Major trading partners: South Africa, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy Botswana (2012).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 301,600 (2012); mobile cellular: 12.614 million (2012). Radio broadcast stations: Government owns all local radio and TV stations; foreign shortwave broadcasts and satellite TV are available to those who can afford antennas and receivers; in rural areas, access to TV broadcasts is extremely limited (2007). Radios: 1.14 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 16 (1997). Televisions: 370,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 30,615 (2012). Internet users: 1.423 million (2009).
Transportation: Railways: total: 3,427 km (2008). Highways: total: 97,267
The World Food Programme says it is rapidly scaling up operations in DRC with millions facing "the world's second biggest hunger emergency".
The World Bank Digital Report of 2019 places Kenya second after Madagascar in Africa in internet speed index at 10mbs per second.
Braziel, a
classical music major at Carnegie Mellon University and a preacher’s daughter from Penn Hills, decided to
present a “Quarantine Concert” in her neighborhood driveway, much to the delight of her family, neighbors and friends.
Braziel was recently featured in Pittsburgh as a lead vocalist on the Heinz Hall stage with the “Lift Every
Voice Unity Choir” under the direction of Rev. Nicol Porter.
Braziel’s most cherished accomplishment to date was the opportunity to share the Metropolitan Opera stage in New York City with a host of vocalists for several months this past winter; her debut date was Sept. 23, 2019, a day she’ll never forget.
In an interview with musicestate.com in 2019, Braziel said that singing onstage is her favorite part about
being a vocalist.
“
Braziel, 27, graduated from Saint Vincent’s with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance with a
concentration in Opera.
