Mayotte Wire

WINDHOEK: Speaker of the National Assembly and Chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Peter Katjavivi on Thursday honoured the Carnation Revolution, reflecting on its significance in Namibia’s fight for freedom during the liberation struggle.

Katjavivi underscored the event’s enduring impact on global movements for democracy and independence at its 50th anniversary held in Windhoek at the University of Namibia’s main campus.

‘Because the events of this Portuguese coup sparked hope throughout southern Africa and accelerated the process toward liberation by providing us with support from our then newly independent brothers and sisters, the Carnation Revolution serves as a reminder to Namibians that the fight for freedom and justice transcends all borders,’ said Katjavivi.

The Carnation Revolution, also referred to as the 25th April Revolution, was a nonviolent coup that occurred in Portugal on 25 April 1974. It resulted in an incredible show of unity throughout the country as
young military officers and civilians joined forces. This event not only freed Portugal from dictatorship but also paved the way for significant political, social, and economic reforms that would eventually lead to democracy and the independence of its African colonies.

‘The legacy of the revolution shows us a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of collective action, and those are the lessons that we drew from what transpired that served us and strengthened our resolve to continue fighting to gain our independence from the colonial occupation of South Africa,’ Katjavivi observed.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

A new company that will deliver high-speed internet connectivity to thousands of digitally underserved residents in nearby towns and informal settlements in Kiambu has been created.

Created by Rendeavour, owner and developer of Tatu City, Fahari Link will provide low connection fees, daily internet plans, reliable internet connectivity and technical support to citizens of Kiambu County, including those earning subsistence wages.

In addition to connecting homes, Fahari Link will deploy Wi-Fi internet connections in public spaces such as shopping centres and sports fields, ensuring that digital access is available to all, including mobile users.

Alex Kahu, Deputy Country Head, Kenya, Rendeavour said that by expanding affordable internet and broadband services to the neighbouring community, Tatu City is ensuring that no one is left behind in Africa’s digital future.

‘With Fahari Link, we are not just connecting people; we are connecting aspirations, opportunities, and futures,’ he said.

Gina M. Raimondo, U
.S. Secretary of Commerce, at the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit presided over the transformative initiative.

Raimondo noted that two years ago in December 2022, President Biden launched the Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA) initiative, committing over USD 350 million to expand digital access and literacy across the African continent.

‘Through the DTA, we are working to deliver technical assistance and investment that support private sector-led projects to expand digital access, increase digital literacy, and strengthen digitally enabling environments across Africa,’ said Secretary Raimondo.

With Africa’s projected population of 1.7 billion by 2030, doubling internet connectivity to 1 billion users is a key goal, he said noting that digital access is especially important for women and girls who rely on the internet to acquire new skills, address health disparities, and improve the overall quality of life for themselves and their families.

John Njogu, MCA Gitothua Ward, Kiambu County s
aid the development will make a huge difference to individuals and businesses, giving them the tools they need to develop, grow, and prosper in an increasingly digital world.

‘This is great news for the people in the surrounding communities around Tatu City, including informal communities of BTL and Gitothua.

Tatu Telecom, Tatu City’s telecommunications company, has already laid over 40 km of fibre optic cables and currently serves over 1,000 residential and commercial customers, including schools and local, regional, and multinational companies within Tatu City.

Tatu Telecom has also built an open-access network, allowing multiple internet service providers to serve Tatu City residents and businesses.

Fahari Link has invested heavily in acquiring wholesale bandwidth from global internet service providers to extend its reach to areas beyond Tatu City, including the informal communities of BTL, OJ and Rutoro. Ruiru town will also be served, as will the communities of Oaklands, Murera, Kamakis and other par
ts of Kiambu County.

In total, Fahari’s services will be available to close to one million people.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya has recorded a steady decline in malaria cases in the past decade indicating significant progress in the country’s intensified efforts to eliminate the disease.

National malaria prevalence dropped from 8% in 2015 to 6% in 2020, according to the Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey.

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha attributes the milestone to the collaborative efforts between the national and county governments, healthcare professionals, private partners, as well as communities in the uptake of malaria prevention and treatment measures.

Nakhumicha reported that malaria incidents decreased by 7% between 2016 and 2023, while the mortality rate declined by 32% between 2019 and 2023.

Speaking in Muhoroni Sub-County, Kisumu County on Thursday during World Malaria Day 2024, the CS emphasised the need for a collective approach by engaging all sectors to accelerate the efforts to realise a malaria-free Kenya by 2030.

‘There is a strong responsibility on the community to ensure that the investments
in malaria count. This is by ensuring consistent and correct use of critical malaria prevention tools like the Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs),’ she said.

She said the mass distribution of 16 million LLINs to over 27 million citizens in 22 high malaria-burden counties in the financial year 2023/24 substantially reduced cases of the vector-borne disease in the country.

The government’s initiative to implement indoor residual spraying (IRS) in malaria-burdened counties such as Busia, Migori and Homa Bay has yielded remarkable results in reducing transmission rates and effectively preventing and protecting pregnant women and children under age 5 from malaria.

The IRS focuses on spraying buildings with an insecticide which kills mosquitoes, a vector that spreads malaria.

‘Furthermore, the roll-out of a malaria vaccine in high-endemic counties has contributed to a decrease in hospitalisations due to severe malaria in children under five years of age,’ she added, while expressing satisfaction at the sign
ificant strides on the uptake of the RTS-S malaria vaccine recommended by World Health Organization (WHO).

However, Nakhumicha claimed that progress remains fragile and challenging and she underscored the need to urgently address the intersecting issues of gender disparities, health equity and human rights in the quest to eradicate malaria.

‘Despite these achievements, challenges persist, including financial constraints, climate change, and emerging resistance to insecticides and drugs. We must remain vigilant in our surveillance efforts and invest in innovative strategies to address these obstacles head-on,’ she remarked.

Dr. James Dan Otieno, malaria technical officer with WHO Kenya, while representing Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo, WHO Kenya Representative, at the event, emphasised the critical role of enhanced partner collaboration in achieving Kenya’s ambitious malaria eradication goals.

He reiterated that with a focused effort in the fight against the scourge, Kenya has the potential to achieve zero malar
ia cases by 2030.

Dr. Otieno lamented over the grim reality that an estimated 3.5 million new clinical cases are recorded and 10,700 deaths occur due to malaria annually.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention held their 2nd Regional Steering Committee (ReSCO) meeting where they launched the East Africa task force on cholera control and prevention.

The goal of the taskforce is to streamline regional strategies for cholera management and prevention, foster experience sharing and strengthen collective efforts to contain an outbreak.

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha, speaking at the meeting held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi on Thursday said that the Africa CDC has set strategic priorities for the years 2023-2027 that will serve as a guide to their actions and achieve the common goal of keeping the population healthy and safe.

‘We need to make true our commitment to this goal to safeguard our region and the continent,’ Nakhumicha said, adding that disease outbreaks know no borders which makes the collective response to regional outbreaks crucial.

Nakhumicha said enhancing surveillance and swiftly containing any threats to public health are pract
ices that must continue noting that the national public health institutes are the bedrock of the health system.

‘Let us discuss strategies to foster their capacity, foster innovation and promote excellence in research and surveillance,’ she said.

‘Today we take decisive steps by inaugurating the Eastern African regional cholera taskforce, and we know that cholera remains a formidable adversary but together we can curb its impact through coordinated efforts,’ she said.

Nakhumicha highlighted two health initiatives that are being implemented, one of them being the Kenya universal health coverage policy of 2020-2030, whose aim is to significantly improve the overall health status of the citizens.

She added that the Community Health Workforce Agenda is the second initiative.

‘Kenya has in the recent past added more than 200 community health units staffed with 107 thousand community health promoters working with health workers. The units play a crucial role in delivering health services to the grassroots leve
l,’ the CS said.

‘We intend to leverage technology to improve reporting and monitoring of health digitization initiatives that include using digital tools for data collection, reporting and tracking of community health outcomes,’ Nakhumicha stated.

The CS announced that the Kenyan government has approved the allocation of 10 acres of land and two billion US dollars towards the construction of the East African Regional Coordinating Centres.

She added that a steering committee comprising top government officials from relevant agencies has been set up to fast-track the legal and technical aspects of the project.

‘May our discussion be fruitful, our resolutions be impactful and our shared vision for a healthier Eastern Africa region be realised,’ she said.

Somalia Minister of Health and Chair of East Africa ReSCO, Ali Hajiadam Abubakar Osman said that the regional steering committee included 14 Eastern African countries and Nairobi is the place where the regional coordinating centre is located.

He said that
the region is trying to strengthen collaboration and reduce infectious and communicable diseases adding that preparations have to be made for the upcoming pandemics acknowledging the fact that it is not a matter of if but a matter of when the pandemics will come.

Abubakar noted that strategies including establishment of national public health institute, emergency and operation centres, are in place.

‘Last century, the only thing that the world succeeded in eradicating was smallpox so we are trying to take steps to eradicate diseases like cholera, polio and measles,’ he said.

Abubakar stated that a cholera vaccine is now available and the committee is trying to avail it to all countries as cholera has become a problem that exists in many African countries.

‘This meeting is about making consultations among countries to reduce the effect of cholera on our people and how to eliminate and eradicate it in the future,’ the minister said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Police officers based at Nangili in Kakamega’s Likuyani Sub County yesterday recovered 13 stolen sheep following a raid at a homestead in Karara village in the neighbouring Trans Nzoia County.

Five suspects were also arrested during the raid, in connection with the theft but the main one, Jeremiah Njuguna managed to escape.

The five who include four men and a woman, who is the mother-in-law of the main suspect, will be arraigned in court to face theft charges.

Speaking to the press at Nangili police station, Kongoni location Chief Peter Lugano lauded residents for cooperating with security agencies towards recovery of the sheep.

He said, ‘For the last few weeks we have received numerous complaints from residents over increased theft cases of sheep in the area. However, today we have had a breakthrough following a tip-off from members of the public who led police officers to the homestead of the main suspect, who is now at large.’

Lugano said all 13 sheep worth Sh 130,000 have been positively identified
by the owners.

He appealed to Kongoni residents to be vigilant and continue sharing information with security personnel for the sake of their own security.

He issued a warning to those abetting or involved in criminal activities in the location where their days are numbered.

Margret Khatemo, who positively identified her lamb, which was stolen a week ago, lauded Nangili police officers for their swift action to recover the sheep.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Police in Murang’a have been educated on their role in the National Care Reform Strategy for Children as stipulated in the Children Act, 2022, as part of a multisectoral approach to the implementation of the Act.

Addressing police officers at a Murang’a hotel, the county children’s officer, Peter Nzeva said that there is need for continuous engagement of stakeholders on the changes made to the children’s act so as to ensure its proper implementation.

The children’s officer divulged that the act was set to be implemented within 10 years, starting in 2022 and ending in 2032, and it is therefore important for the Directorate of Children Services (DCS) to engage the police since they are key stakeholders.

‘We need everyone to be on board as we implement these care reforms stipulated in the act, and therefore all stakeholders need to understand their roles,’ Nzeva reiterated.

The Children Act, 2022, is an act of Parliament that makes provision for child rights, parental responsibility, alternative care of chi
ldren, including guardianship, foster care placement, and adoption.

It also makes provision for the care and protection of children and children in conflict with the law, the regulation of the administration of child services, and the establishment of the National Council for Children’s Services.

Nzeva noted that it is important for police officers to follow the right procedures whenever they deal with matters involving children, whether those children are in conflict with the law or they need care and protection.

‘Among children in need of care and protection, we have orphans, abandoned children, children facing the risk of being radicalised, children from dysfunctional families, and children who are witnesses or victims of a crime,’ he clarified.

Nzeva informed the officers on other sections of the act, including the right of privacy of child offenders, which prohibits the release of information in relation to child offenders, and the increment of the age of criminal liability from 8 to 12 years.

The o
fficer explained that the care reforms were necessitated by, among other reasons, research that showed separating children from their families seriously harms their health and development.

Timothy Oyoo of the Stahili Foundation, one of the partners in child welfare, also informed the police officers on their roles and mandates in the implementation of the National Care Reforms Strategy for children.

He explained that according to the Children Act 2022, a police officer is an authorised officer and is given relative power to intervene in child issues in their best interests, and that the police officer designated to handle children cases needs to collaborate with the DCS to ensure the safety of the children in the Child Protection Unit (CPU) within the stations.

He added that a police representative is mandated to form part of the children’s advisory committee at the devolved levels and participate in gatekeeping on children’s issues, and that each police station will establish a child protection unit and a
ssign an officer to it, and its operation will be guided by the set regulations.

Oyoo said that the officers will be required to physically escort children that are in conflict with the law to court and back to remand homes as needed.

‘Within 24 hours of committal, police officers should escort children who have been committed to rehabilitation schools,’ he said,

‘Also, the officers should notify the children’s officer and guardian within 24 hours after the rescue or arrest of an alleged child offender,’ he added.

Oyoo further divulged that the inspector general is directed to constitute a special police unit with the duties to deal with children’s matters, prevent and control child offenses, apprehend child offenders and investigate child offenses.

He informed the officers that other related general roles of police include supporting caseworkers in ensuring their security during rescue operations.

They should also ensure the apprehension of perpetrators of child abuse and carry out conclusive investiga
tions in such cases, as well as support other gatekeepers in maintaining law and order that leads to upholding the rights of children.

He noted that it is important for police officers to continuously familiarise themselves with the Children’s Act 2022 and actively play their designated role in the implementation of the care reforms.

Source: Kenya News Agency