wfn.org | All Africa News Agency April 14 2003 (a)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

AANA BULLETIN No. 14/03, April 14, 2003 (a)

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
P. O Box, 66878, 00800 Westlands, NAIROBI, Kenya.  Tel: 254-2-4442215,
4440224
Fax: 254-2-4445847, 4443241; Email: aanaapta@insightkenya.com , 
aanaapta@hotmail.com
AANA Bulletin	Editor - Elly Wamari
Bulletin APTA - Editor - Silvie Alemba

NEWS  SECTION

Anti-AIDS Crusaders Launch Clampdown On Brothels

BLANTYRE (AANA) April 14 - Alarmed by increasing HIV-prevalence, 
campaigners against AIDS have embarked on an aggressive exercise to shut 
down brothels sprouting in major cities and urban centres in Malawi.

The country is among others in southern Africa hard-hit by the 
disease.  Two million of the 10 million population are carrying the virus, 
according to recent figures from the National AIDS Commission (NAC).

Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Affairs commissioned a survey that 
established brothels to be among  factors aiding quick spread of the disease.

Brothel owners, who have since been threatened with prosecution, were found 
to be recruiting tender girls to "serve customers", cashing the fee which 
rarely went to the girls.

One of the anti-AIDS groups involved is Active Youth Initiative for Social 
Enhancement (AYISE). The director, Marcel Chisi, said they collaborated 
with local HIV awareness committees in Blantyre, where seven brothels have 
been closed in an operation that is earmarked to go countrywide.

"We appreciated information by the media that alerted us on the HIV 
situation in urban centres. Now that we have confronted them (brothel 
owners), they fear the legal penalty," said Chisi.

AYISE is one of the youth organisations lobbying government and donors to 
establish as many vocational facilities to discourage the youth and women 
from loitering and resorting to drugs, alcoholism and commercial sex.

Two years ago, President Bakili Muluzi ordered the police to arrest all 
prostitutes and people earning their living through commercial sex.  The 
act prompted criticism from women associations, who charged that the 
exercise was discriminatory as it targeted mostly women.

The police have since slackened their clampdown on women at night. However 
public relations officer of police, George Chikowi, was quoted recently 
saying the operation was on.

"Prostitution is illegal according to the penal code. We shall therefore 
continue with the exercise," Chikowi asserted.

Reported by Hobbs Gama

Operation Iron Fist Now Shifts Attention To Cattle Rustling

KAMPALA (AANA) April 14 - Ugandan army will soon abandon Operation Iron 
Fist, meant to neutralise insurgent Lords Resistance Army (LRA), and shift 
focus on a disarmament programme in Karamoja, Ruth Nankabirwa, Minister of 
State for Defence has said.

She said security threat posed by armed Karamojong warriors was raising 
concern. Government officials have confirmed that deployment of troops in 
the north-east of the country is about to begin.

Eriya Kategaya, the second deputy premier, said on April 6 that 1000 troops 
would be deployed along Lango/Karamoja frontier to guard against rustling.

In December 2001, the government embarked on forced disarmament programme, 
which managed to recover 10,000 guns out of an estimated 40,000 from the 
warriors.

However, at the beginning of 2002, attention was focused on neutralising 
Joesph Kony's LRA, and the army diverted thousands of soldiers, who had 
been deployed in Karamoja region, where LRA is based in the north-west.

Attention to the disarmament programme comes ahead of an East African Heads 
of State Summit, scheduled later this month.

The summit is aimed at ratifying a memorandum of understanding on security, 
which among other issues, will consider the problem of cattle rustling in 
the region, and its consequences on ties between Uganda and Kenya.

Reported by Crespo Sebunya

Govt Plan To Fight Illegal Arms Gets Church Support

NAIROBI (AANA) April 14 - The Church in Kenya is in support of government's 
plan to stamp out illegal arms among pastoral communities of Turkana, 
Samburu, Pokot and Marakwet in north-western Kenya, saying the weapons have 
caused increase in cattle rustling in the region.

A source within National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), who opted for 
anonymity while reacting to a recent announcement by Minister in-charge of 
National Security on the issue, remarked: "This is in line with our concern 
for peace-building initiatives in the affected areas."

Speaking to AANA on telephone, the informant said the organisation had 
expressed concern over the matter in 1999, "but the government of the day 
would not listen."

He stated: "There were denials from all corners - government officials and 
KANU (Kenya African National Union). I am happy to hear a cabinet minister 
now confirming the situation and promising government's intended action."

The minister, Dr. Chris Murungaru, while launching a book titled Terrorised 
Citizens: Profiling small arms and insecurity in the North Region of Kenya, 
admitted that  the problem of illicit firearms had seriously affected the 
pastoralist districts of Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu, Baringo, Marakwet 
and Trans Nzoia.

He was speaking on March 31 when he stressed: "The government will beef up 
security in these districts and intensify on livestock development and 
other alternative means of livelihood."

The publisher of the 115-page book, Security Research and Information 
Centre (SRIC), based in Nairobi, has acknowledged both the NCCK and the 
Catholic Peace and Justice Commission, for their commitment in working for 
peace and reconciliation in the affected areas.

NCCK has also teamed up with Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) to 
initiate a joint project on peace,  reconciliation and development along 
the Kenya-Uganda common border.

Proliferation of arms in the North Rift region has impacted negatively on 
development. The book traces the source of arms to Uganda, southern Sudan, 
Ethiopia and Somalia, and blames this on the long history of conflict in 
the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.

Reported By Osman Njuguna

East Africans May Soon Move Freely Across Borders

ARUSHA (AANA) April 14 - The East African Community (EAC) Council of 
Ministers wants regulations and other administrative hurdles that militate 
against free movement of citizens of the three member states abolished.

The decision to scrap out existing impediments to ensure free movement of 
people within Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, was reached at by consensus at 
the Fourth Extraordinary Meeting of EAC Council of Ministers, held here 
April 8-9.

In a statement released after the consultations, Kenya's Foreign Affairs 
Minister, Kalonzo Musyoka, urged the council to approve immediate removal 
of restrictions, especially those concerning movement of fishermen in Lake 
Victoria.  The lake is shared between the three countries.

Musyoka stressed that the fishing community could not be expected to 
identify respective national borders inside the lake.

The council of ministers consented that free movement of people, goods and 
services within East Africa, was critical towards attainment of major 
objectives of the treaty that established EAC.	 Such objectives included 
achievement of sustainable growth and development of partner states.

The council is the second highest organ of the EAC, after the Heads of 
State Summit. It  consists of the ministers in charge of foreign affairs 
and regional cooperation from the three countries. It is responsible for 
programmes of the Community.

Reported by Joyce Mulama

Rightists, Govt Officials Seek To Put End To Political Violence

LILONGWE (AANA) April 14 - Top government officials met with human rights 
activists in Lilongwe recently to try and come up with a national plan of 
action that would promote human rights in Malawi.

The meeting, which brought together principal secretaries, heads of 
government departments as well as human rights activists, examined how to 
integrate into government policy, a plan that had been drawn up by Malawi 
Human Rights Commission.

Deputy secretary to the president and cabinet, Michael Kamphambe Nkhoma, 
expressed concern that citizens of Malawi were still not enjoying some 
fundamental rights.

The discussions came against a background of political violence in the 
country. For the past year, youths belonging to the ruling United 
Democratic Front (UDF) were blamed for widespread political violence.

Opposition groups were in the forefront in condemning violent acts of a 
group called Young Democrats .	But the main opposition league, Malawi 
Congress Party (MCP), seems to be taking over the scenario and engaging in 
political violence within its own ranks.

Recently, MCP deputy regional chairman for the south, Nicholas Dausi, was 
roughed up by men believed to be loyalists of the party's president, Gwanda 
Chakuamba.

The incident occurred at the party's regional headquarters in 
Blantyre,where Chakuamba was expected to address Southern Region delegates 
in preparation for a convention scheduled for April 29.

Commenting on the incident,  Dausi said the party's youth wing was 
intimidating and suppressing members who did not support Chakuamba.

Reported by Hamilton Vokhiwa

Calm Returns To Dowa But Strange Beast Is Still At Large

DOWA, Malawi (AANA) April 14 - Officials in Dowa town say an unidentified 
beast that killed three people and injured 16 others several weeks ago is 
still at large, but the situation has normalised.

According to Dowa District Commissioner, Charles Kalemba, game rangers who 
are still patrolling the area captured a baby hyena, suggesting that the 
marauding beast could either have been a female hyena that had just given 
birth, or a rabid one.

Kalemba accused the press of drumming up the issue, saying the beast had 
attacked the area on a single night, and not as reported by the media that 
there were persistent attacks.

The beast had terrorised villages of Toto, Kalinda, Mbonyela, and 
Chatambalala, under Traditional Authority Chiwere, displacing over 4,000 
people, who sought refuge at nearby schools and government offices for a 
period of about two weeks. (see AANA Bulletin No. 11/03, of March 24 
-features section). The people have since returned to their homes.

Reported by Hamilton Vokhiwa

Controversy Marks  Church Elections As Officials Disagree

LUSSIGGETTI, Kenya (AANA) April 14 - Controversy emerged in an independent 
church here, as officials disagreed over elections of new office bearers.

The Soul Saving Ministry Church of Kenya was set to hold its annual general 
meeting on the April 5, at Lussiggetti in Kiambu district (approximately 30 
km from Nairobi), to vote for fresh officials.	However, the event which 
was planned to start at 10.00 a.m, was delayed for three hours following 
disturbances by a faction of members.

According to Mr. Samuel Chege, the incoming general overseer of the church, 
there has been opposition by outgoing bishop, Mr. Francis Maina, over 
elections.

"He lied that we already had chosen office bears with him as the bishop, 
but we know nothing about it. Officials are only chosen during annual 
general meetings and we have had none since nine years ago." Neither the 
bishop nor the members of his faction were present at the meeting.

Chege accused the bishop of denying the ministry its rights of holding the 
annual general meeting (AGM). "I asked him to call for annual general 
meeting, but instead, what I got was a letter from the advocates saying 
that I had no authority to ask for a meeting."

According to Chege, the bishop had abducted the returning officer who had 
been assigned to supervise the April 5 elections.

Members from all branches in the country who had converged here, later 
decided to carry on with the event, in absence of the officer.	The 
congregation unanimously chose the overseer, Mr. Chege, to be their new 
bishop.

Reported by Victoria Mueni