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The application period runs from July 17, 2024, to October 17, 2024. Jasiri is committed to understanding areas of non-consumption and leveraging deep insights to develop ventures that create new markets. The Jasiri Talent Investor Program offers hands-on support to fellows, guiding them from the ideation stage to the creation of operational ventures. The program provides comprehensive support, including funding, coaching, and strategic advisory services to minimize obstacles that hinder entrepreneurial success.

Since its inception in 2021, Jasiri has incubated 189 Fellows across five cohorts, leading to the establishment of 79 ventures spanning 25 industries. These startups have collectively created 1,109 jobs within the Eastern Africa ecosystem and positively impacted over 7,000 lives.

Eligibility for the program requires applicants to be Ethiopian, Kenyan, or Rwandan, residing in their country or the diaspora. Candidates must be ready to pursue entrepreneurship full-time as a career and participate in a three-month Residential Intensive in Rwanda. Applicants should be well-informed and skilled in their professional fields, capable of identifying gaps and opportunities within their sectors of interest.

Additionally, they must be committed to launching innovative ventures with rapid growth potential and have a history of being achievers, problem solvers, and value creators wherever they have focused their attention. The program also seeks collaborative candidates eager to meet equally ambitious co founders within their cohort and co-found ventures from scratch.

Women aspiring entrepreneurs and candidates living in the diaspora are particularly encouraged to apply. The program includes a mandatory three-month residential intensive in Bugesera, Rwanda. Jasiri will host various virtual information sessions to guide applicants through the application process and answer any queries. Details about these sessions will be available on Jasiri’s social media platforms.

Gentil Ndoba, COO of HiQ Africa and a Jasiri Fellow from the second cohort, highlights the program’s value: “Jasiri is a prime opportunity for African aspiring entrepreneurs to innovate their next big ventures. The program equips you with the resources and knowledge to become successful entrepreneurs while also providing the opportunity to meet co-founders who share the same vision. I strongly encourage aspiring entrepreneurs not to miss out on joining the Talent Investor program.”

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur with a vision to create transformative ventures that contribute to the common good, apply now to join the Jasiri Talent Investor Cohort 7.

For more information and to apply, visit the Jasiri Talent Investor Program at jasiri.org or follow @Jasiri4Africa on all social media platforms for timely updates.

Jasiri invests in, nurtures, and empowers entrepreneurs who benefit society and attack poverty by creating high-impact businesses, and new markets on the African continent. Jasiri believes that entrepreneurial teams are at the heart of new venture creation and provide the entrepreneur with access to a diverse group of potential co-founders.

The program supports new ventures from idea generation to venture creation and takes a long-term approach to developing exceptional, responsible entrepreneurs on the African continent.

Interested and qualified applicants can apply through jasiri.org/application.

For inquiries and more information about Jasiri please contact [email protected]

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/call-for-applications-jasiri-talent-investor-cohort-7-now-open

Rwandans elected their President and Members of Parliament on July 14, 15 and 16, 2024, following three weeks of campaigning. In an interview with a TV5 Monde journalist, Muyaya claimed that the elections in Rwanda were held in discretion and that no credible observers were present to monitor them.

He claimed to have only seen the RPF observer, not an observer from the European Union or any recognized election monitoring bodies.

In response, Nduhungirehe has rebuked Muyaya’ comments stating that Rwanda’s campaign and elections were largely calm, and peaceful unlike what happened in the DRC general elections on December 20, 2023.

He reminded Muyaya that elections in his country were marred by acts of violence and sometimes death, therefore he has not moral authority to criticize what happened in Rwanda.

'In the DRC elections, voting equipment was stolen in various places, some found in the homes of members of the ruling UDPS party, polling stations were vandalized, and citizens were prevented from voting,' Nduhungirehe said.

He highlighted constant insecurity and other political challenges in the DRC influenced by its government in which people including national army officers are executed due to their physical appearance.

On July 13, 2023, the spokesperson of Ensemble pour la Republique, the main opposition party in DRC was shot dead in his car in the capital Kinshasa.

Though the DRC government later said that this was a suicide, it was widely seen as a political assassination aimed at silencing political opponents in the country.

Overtime, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has portrayed himself as a violent person threatening to overthrow the government Rwanda or bomb its capital Kigali on several occasions.

Concerning the claim that “no reputable observation mission” was deployed in Rwanda during the elections, Nduhungirehe noted that several observation missions from five regional and international organizations, of which the DRC is a full member, were assigned in Kigali.

These include the African Union (AU), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).

“I was therefore unaware that the DRC government still lived in a bygone era of intellectual and moral ‘bleaching,’ to the point of trying to discredit African organizations of which it is a member,' he concluded.

The electoral commission announced that the elections went smoothly. This was confirmed by various observers who monitored them. Partial results showed that Paul Kagame, the candidate of RPF Inkotanyi, received 99.15% of the votes, Dr. Frank Habineza 0.53%, and Philippe Mpayimana 0.32%.

Minister Nduhungirehe has rebuked Muyaya’ comments stating that Rwanda’s campaign and elections were largely calm, and peaceful unlike what happened in DRC general elections on December 20, 2023.

The Spokesperson of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government, Patrick Muyaya made the critics during an interview with TV 5 Monde.

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwanda-castigates-drc-criticisms-on-election-transparency

This comes shortly after Rwanda established its embassy in Pakistan and is expected to enhance cooperation in security, trade, health, and education between the two countries.

She presented the credentials on July 15, 2024 and becomes, the first Rwandan High Commissioner to Pakistan.

Speaking to Rwandan local media, Harerimana said that she has had discussions with President Zardari focusing on bilateral cooperation.

“The discussions focused on the cooperation and relations between Rwanda and Pakistan. We have had a longstanding relationship, but now we will particularly emphasize trade, health, education, and security,” she stated.

She added that President Zardari agreed to expedite the signing of agreements, including those promoting transportation between the two countries.

In addition, Pakistan has agreed to provide scholarships to Rwandan students for studies in Pakistan, particularly in the field of health.

On the same day, other envoys from Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Argentina, Myanmar, Cambodia and Botswana also presented their letters of credence.

Ambassador Fatou Harerimana has presented her credentials to President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, as an ambassador designate of Rwanda to Pakistan.

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/amb-harerimana-presents-credentials-to-represent-rwanda-in-pakistan

Uganda’s Head of State Mr Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Kenyan Counterpart Dr William Samoei Ruto have condemned in the strongest terms possible, the recent attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump.

Museveni was the first to condemn the gun attack that resulted in the Republican Party presidential candidate being rushed to hospital after being injured by a bullet in the upper part of his right ear.

Authorities confirmed that one person was killed and two others left in critical condition after the incident on Saturday, July 13, 2024.

“I condemn this despicable and cowardly assassination attempt that put his life and that of his supporters at risk. Such political violence undermines democracy ” Museveni said in a social media post 3 days after the shooting.

He also extended his condolences to the family that lost a loved one and to those injured in the barrage of gunfire.

“I wish His Excellency and all those injured a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with them,” Museveni added.

Similarly, Kenya’s Ruto termed Saturday’s incident as “a shocking and heinous act”.

“In these troubling times, I take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the democratic ideals we share with the people of the United States of America. I wish Donald Trump a speedy and full recovery,” he stated, while also extending sympathies to the other victims of the incident.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has since identified Trump’s attacker as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Crooks, who was taken down by Secret Service agents, was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.

The young man shot at Trump from the roof of a shed outside the security cordon around the rally shortly after the former US president had started speaking.

At the time of the attack, the FBI stated that Crooks was not carrying any identification and had to be identified using DNA samples.

The 20-year-old worked as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. His job mainly entailed working alongside dietitians, dietary managers, and chefs to help prepare food for the nursing home.

Marcie Grimm, the administrator of the nursing home, said she was 'shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement.'

Grimm mentioned that Crooks had no previous criminal record when he was hired.

Law enforcement officers said that the Crooks had requested an off from work on Saturday and had reportedly told colleagues that he had 'something to do,' and he would be back at Sunday.

Background checks on Crooks revealed that he was a registered Republican voter. However, on January 20, 2021—two weeks after pro-Trump alt-right supporters stormed the White House—Crooks donated $15 to a grassroots Democratic group.

This year’s presidential election would have been his first voting.

President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term in the forthcoming polls, has since also condemned the attack, stating that he was grateful Trump was 'safe and doing well.'

'Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,' Biden said in a statement.

Trump is running for a second, non-consecutive term in the November 5, 2024, general election after losing to Biden in the 2020 edition.

Uganda’s Head of State Mr Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Kenyan Counterpart Dr William Samoei Ruto have condemned in the strongest terms possible, the recent attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump.

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/ruto-museveni-condemn-trump-assassination-attempt

Kenya's anti-government street demonstrations resumed on Tuesday after a two-week break, with the country's youth demanding more reforms at both national and county governments.

Although President William Ruto succumbed to the protesters' pressure and withdrew Finance Bill 2024, sacked his entire Cabinet and attorney-general, and called national dialogue among other pledges, the youth are demanding more— with some openly calling for the resignation of the besieged head of State.

Others are demanding the sacking of county governors and executive committee members accused of corruption, accountability of both local and national leadership, and a stop to extrajudicial killings.

In the capital Nairobi, intermittent shots of teargas rent the air as police battled to disperse protesters, who set out to occupy the central business district and engaged them in cat-and-mouse games.

'Ruto must go!' the protesters chanted as they marched on Moi Avenue and Tom Mboya Street.

Police, who deployed to the streets as early as 7am, engaged the protesters as they battled to push them out of the city centre.

An amorphous group that constitutes Nairobi traders, under the banner of 'Nairobi Business Community', joined the police in guarding business premises against looters.

Armed with clubs, the men and women stood guard at restaurants and stalls, with some traders opening their businesses.

All roads leading to and out of Parliament Buildings and State House remained closed, with water cannons and fire engines stationed at entry points. Roadblocks were erected at all entry and exit points.

Transport in and out of the CBD was paralysed as operators withdrew their services fearing attacks from demonstrators.

However, some matatus were still operating at the Machakos Country Bus stage, Kencom stage, Ambassadeur, Accra Road, and Latema.

A tense mood engulfed Nairobi's suburbs and estates, with families keeping indoors fearing attacks, amid heightened police patrols.

Several companies in the Industrial Area and Embakasi shut down, with workers being told to stay at home.

At Kware Police Station in Embakasi, there was a heavy presence of armed police overnight and in the morning after reports emerged that protesters who were angered by the killing and dumping of women in a local quarry were planning to torch it.

Dozens of youths barricaded the quarry, hampering the search and retrieval of more bodies suspected to be underwater.

At Muthurwa and Marikiti markets, fresh produce sellers went about their business but mitumba traders shut their stalls, fearing looting.

In Kitengela, dozens of anti-government protesters barricaded the busy Namanga Road and forced businesses to close.

'We want a change in the country for the better. The political class has been taking us for a ride. It won't be business as usual henceforth,' said a youthful protester who had carried his dog to the protests.

At Kisaju and Isinya town, along the Namanga highway, youths lit bonfires in protest, inconveniencing motorists for hours.

By noon, tension was palpable with the number of protesters increasing. Police lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the irate protesters.

However, the town caught the fever of the protests, with operations at the Uasin Gishu County headquarters being suspended as workers stayed away out of fear of being attacked by protesters who had threatened to occupy county offices.

The protesters who spoke to the Nation said they would demand accountability from Governor Jonathan Bii.

'We can't risk like we did during the last demonstration that left several county vehicles burnt down and vandalised by demonstrators who also set the Municipal Court on fire,' said an employee of the county government.

A heavy presence of police was witnessed in the town, and by 11am, about five youths had been arrested for attempting to stage demos and taken to Central Police Station.

Police were reluctant to justify why they arrested the youths, including a young woman.

One of the arrested youths maintained that they were determined to stage a demonstration in Eldoret town despite arrest and intimidation by anti-riot police officers.

'We are peaceful demonstrators and we will not be intimidated by fighting for the future of our country. This is our country and we are fighting for everyone, including these officers who are arresting us,' said the demonstrator upon arrest.

In Turkana County, a section of protesting youth boldly told their Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai to be wary of members of the county assembly and some senior county officials, accused of incompetence.

The youths said despite threats, they were capitalising on Tuesday's nationwide demonstrations to peacefully serve the governor and Turkana County Assembly with petitions highlighting urgent actions for a properly functioning devolved unit.

Led by Faith Ajikon and Pretty Nasia, the young protestors called out the Turkana County Public Service Board for employing people without following due process.

'The board is incompetent and corrupt as it is employing people backdoor without advertising such job opportunities. Many people have since last year been employed without following due process denying qualified youth an opportunity to participate in what should be a competitive process,' Ms Ajikon said.

They want the current board disbanded and a competent one that will overlook illegalities and only prioritize professionalism and fairness to enhance efficient and effective service delivery, constituted.

She said that many ghost workers exist in the county government pushing high the county's wage bill at the expense of qualified youth with papers but without jobs.

They claimed those without connections in the public service board are forced to dig deeper into their pockets to be employed.

Ms Nasia said that the MCAs should backtrack to their oversight role and ensure that the devolved funds are properly budgeted and utilized for development.

'At the moment, our relatives in remote villages are suffering as dispensaries lack essential drugs and yet MCAs are not putting the duty bearers to task. They should also focus on passing bills that have immediate development impact in our community,' she said.

They said that MCAs be reminded that the office of the governor and all ministries are allocated millions of money but without them discharging their duties nothing tangible will be there to show on the ground.

The youth also blamed the Ministry of Health for not advising the governor properly on the situation of health facilities calling on the devolved unit to fast-track the process of procuring drugs.

'The facilities should also be well equipped so that deployed health care workers can discharge their responsibilities in a good working environment. Some facilities that are in shamble like Namukuse dispensary that still has asbestos roof should be prioritized in the reconstruction,' Ms Nasia said.

They also called for a decentralized ambulance management system noting that most of the ambulances are found in Lodwar and therefore hard for mothers in remote areas to be referred when there is an emergency.

'The ambulances are only available when there are referrals from Lodwar to Eldoret and patients charged Sh7,000. Well-serviced ambulances should be stationed in sub-counties and provided with fuel and personnel,' the youth demanded.

They claimed that the governor was being coerced by MCAs into giving handouts at the expense of development advising him not to fear and just stand his ground and work for the people.

'Listen and lawfully accommodate the focused young generation in your administration to achieve your development agenda,' Ms Nasia advised the governor.

In Trans Nzoia County, the county government offices were highly secured with police officers keeping vigil at both entrances of the Town hall complex which houses the offices of Governor George Natembeya and other top county officials.

A few youths who had started protesting in Kitale town early on Tuesday morning were repulsed by county enforcement officers.

Business, however, was usual in Kitale town for the better part of Tuesday morning, with streets remaining a beehive of activity.

Police officers were seen in strategic areas of the Central Business District (CBD) to keep law and order in anticipation of anti-government protests that had been scheduled for Tuesday.

The entrance to the Town hall facility was restricted with only a few people allowed in after through screening.

Reported by Kevin Cheruiyot, Sammy Kimatu, Mercy Simiyu, Nyaboga Kiage, Ndobi Muturi, Evans Jaola, Tutus Ominde, Sammy Lutta, Stanley Ngotho.

The post Kenya rocked by protests appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/kenya-rocked-by-protests/

At least five people were killed when militiamen ambushed a convoy in central Somalia and seized heavy weapons, the local government and residents said on Tuesday, seven months after a decades-long arms embargo was lifted.

The convoy was travelling on Monday with a security escort near the town of Abudwaq when militiamen from a local clan attacked and overpowered security forces, four residents told Reuters.

They said the arms, which included machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, originated in neighbouring Ethiopia.

'It is unfortunate that five people died from both sides yesterday over weapons,' said Ahmed Shire, a security adviser to the president of Galmudug State, where Abudwaq is located. 'We understand the weapons fell into the hands of civilians.'

Rashid Abdi, an analyst with the Sahan Research think-tank, called the incident 'the single most serious incident of arms proliferation in central Somalia' and said some of the weapons would likely be bought by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate.

Writing on X, Abdi said it was a 'clear case of why lifting of arms embargo on Somalia was big strategic mistake'.

The last restrictions under an arms embargo that had been in place, in some form, for more than 30 years were fully lifted by the U.N. Security Council in December.

Somalia's government said the move would allow it to confront security threats and build up its national forces.

The country has been confronting an insurgency by al Shabaab for nearly two decades. African Union peacekeepers are drawing down their presence to hand over great responsibility to Somali forces, but the AU and Mogadishu government have warned of a possible security vacuum if that happens too quickly.

Clan-based militias have fought alongside government forces in a military campaign against al Shabaab in central Somalia. They have also turned their weapons on one another in disputes over land and resources.

The post Somali militiamen seize heavy weapons after looting convoy appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/somali-militiamen-seize-heavy-weapons-after-looting-convoy/

At least 60 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, health officials have said, including in an attack on a school sheltering displaced people and another on an Israeli-designated 'humanitarian zone', as ceasefire talks in the nearly 10-month-old conflict appeared to stall again.

The Red Crescent said on Tuesday that 17 people were killed in a bombing near a petrol station in Mawasi, an area on the Mediterranean shoreline packed with hundreds of thousands of displaced people that Israel had previously declared an evacuation zone. Another 16 were killed in a strike that targeted the UN-run al-Awda school in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, medics at a nearby hospital said.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas militants were present at the school. There was no immediate comment on the strike in Mawasi but the army said the air force had struck about 40 targets in Gaza on Tuesday, including sniping and observation posts, military structures and buildings rigged with explosives.

The armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, said their fighters had attacked Israeli forces in several locations with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Islamic Jihad's armed wing said it had fired missiles at Sderot in southern Israel, but no damage or casualties were reported.

Over the past two weeks, Israel has hit the besieged Palestinian territory with some of the fiercest bombardments in months, the deadliest of which targeted Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military commander, in a bombing in Mawasi on Saturday that killed more than 90 people. It is still unclear whether Deif, wanted by Israel for decades, was killed in the strike.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IDF said it had 'eliminated' approximately half of the Hamas leadership in Gaza and 14,000 soldiers since the war broke out after the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. More than 38,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory operation in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-administered territory, and the population of 2.3 million people is in dire need of food, water, medicine and shelter.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas on Israel's claim. Killing Deif would be a much-needed morale boost for Israel, which in almost 10 months of fighting has so far failed to take out any of the top three Hamas leaders in Gaza.

The targeting of Deif and subsequent deadly attacks on Gaza appear to have contributed to an impasse in ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap negotiations being held in Qatar and Egypt. The talks stalled on Saturday, Egyptian mediators told local media.

Hamas has sent conflicting messages over its future participation in the talks, which were the most promising of a series of failed negotiations since an initial ceasefire and hostage release deal brokered in November. That truce broke down after a week, following what the US said was Hamas's inability or unwillingness to release more Israeli captives.

The latest statement from Hamas's Qatar-based political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on Sunday stressed that the group was pulling out of the indirect talks in protest at the recent Israeli 'massacres' but that the group was ready to return to the negotiation table if Israel 'demonstrates seriousness in reaching a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal'.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations told Reuters that Hamas did not want to be seen as halting negotiations despite the stepped-up Israeli attacks. 'Hamas wants the war to end, not at any price. It says it has shown the flexibility needed and is pushing the mediators to get Israel to reciprocate,' the official said.

The group has accused the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of seeking to derail a deal and an end to the war for his own political gain. On Tuesday, however, Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, still appeared hopeful, telling the families of five female soldiers kidnapped during Hamas's 7 October attack that 'this is the closest we have ever been to a deal', according to Israel's Channel 12.

Disagreements over the identities and numbers of the Israeli hostages and Palestinians held in Israeli jails have repeatedly scuppered truce talks. The situation has been complicated by the fact that in May Israel seized control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, which Hamas and international delegations insist must be returned to Palestinian control.

The US state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told reporters that two senior advisers to Netanyahu had said Israel was still committed to reaching a ceasefire. He also criticised the 'unacceptably high' civilian casualties of the last few days.

Washington, Israel's most important ally, has provided significant military and diplomatic cover for Israel's war in Gaza, despite domestic blowback.

Also on Monday, the EU added to a wave of international measures against extremist Israelis, announcing new sanctions on three well-known Israeli settler leaders in the occupied West Bank and a pro-settlement group, Regavim, which was founded by the current Israeli finance minister, the far-right Bezalel Smotrich.

The post At least 60 people killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza Strip appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/at-least-60-people-killed-in-israeli-airstrikes-across-gaza-strip/

East African Community (EAC) Heads of State led by Kenya’s William Ruto and Samia Suluhu of Tanzania joined other African leaders on Wednesday to extend their felicitations to Kagame.

President Ruto said he wishes Kagame success as he continues to steer Rwanda in the “path of peace, stability and posterity”.

“On behalf of the people and Government of Kenya, I have the pleasure to convey warmest congratulations upon your re-election to serve a further term as President of the Republic of Rwanda,” President Ruto stated in a post on X.

“We celebrate with you the sovereign choice of the people of Rwanda and wish you success as you continue steering your country in the path of peace, stability and posterity.”

President Ruto committed to enriching existing ties between Kenya and Rwanda and strengthening regional cooperation.

“I look forward to continuing working with you in regional and Pan-African affairs in strengthening the bonds of solidarity and fraternity between the peoples of Kenya and Rwanda.”

Similarly, President Suluhu has also pledged to continue partnering with Kagame to foster ties between the two countries.

“On behalf of the Government and the People of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency Paul Kagame, on being re-elected as the President of the Republic of Rwanda. I look forward to continue working with you in fostering the relations between our two countries and in the pursuit of East Africa’s unity and prosperity,” she stated.

Filipe Nyusi, the President of Mozambique, also extended best wishes to Kagame, saying, “Wishing you the best of luck as you assume the new mandate and responsibility entrusted to you by the People of Rwanda.”

Guinea Bissau’s Umaro Sissoco Embaló wrote, “On behalf of Guinea-Bissau, congratulations President Paul Kagame on your resounding re-election! I wish you a new term filled with peace, prosperity, and progress.”

Kagame on course for landslide victory

In partial results announced on Monday, 15, 2024, Kagame is leading with 99.15 percent of the votes cast. Dr. Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, so far has 0.53 percent of the votes, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana is trailing with 0.32 percent.

At the time of the announcement of the results, Kagame had garnered 7,099,810 votes, Habineza had received 38,301 votes, and Mpayimana had obtained 22,753 votes at the national level.

The total number of votes tallied was 7,160,864, which represents 78.94 percent of the votes cast locally and in the diaspora.

The NEC will announce provisional results by July 20, with final results expected not later than July 27, 2024.

In partial results announced on Monday, 15, 2024, Kagame is leading with 99.15 percent of the votes cast.

Source : https://en.igihe.com/politics-48/article/ruto-suluhu-lead-african-leaders-to-congratulate-kagame-on-re-election

Donald Trump's choice of JD Vance as his vice-presidential pick has reignited fears in Europe that he would pursue a transactional 'America first' foreign policy that could culminate in the US pushing for Ukraine to acquiesce to Vladimir Putin and sue for peace with Russia.

'It's bad for us but it's terrible news for [Ukraine],' said one senior European diplomat in Washington. '[Vance] is not our ally.'

Foreign diplomats and observers have frequently called Trump's actual policies a 'black box,' saying that was impossible to know for certain what the unpredictable leader would do when in power.

Some have soothed themselves by suggesting that names tipped for top positions, such as former national security Robert O'Brien, would maintain a foreign policy status quo while Trump focuses on domestic affairs.

But a prospective Trump administration now has a much more energetic surrogate who will fuel Trump's skepticism towards Ukraine and Europe, while urging on the party's aggressive trade and foreign policy elsewhere around the globe.

'Senator Vance was one of the leading opponents of the new assistance package to Ukraine last spring and has expressed indifference to what happens in that war,' said Michael McFaul, director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a former ambassador to Russia. 'By choosing Vance as his running mate, Trump has clarified a very clear choice for American voters in November on foreign policy.'

'President Biden's foreign policy strategy radically contrasts with M. Trump's approach,' he said. 'Biden and Harris have promoted democracy and stood up to autocrats. Trump and Vance have paid no attention to advancing democracy abroad and instead have embraced autocrats. The contrast in foreign approaches embraced by these two presidential candidates has never been clearer in my lifetime.'

In public, Vance has criticized US aid packages to Ukraine and pushed for negotiations with Russia, although Ukraine has said it did not wish to hold talks. He has accused the Biden administration of 'micromanaging' Israel's war in Gaza, and said that America should 'enable Israel to actually finish the job'.

He has advocated containment of China, saying that America was 'spread too thin' in Europe and pushing for aggressive trade restrictions and intellectual property protections against China.

And he has demanded that European countries pay a larger share of their GDP into Nato, writing this year: 'The United States has provided a blanket of security to Europe for far too long.'

'I think Vance was chosen at least in part for his foreign policy and for his trade policy,' said Emma Ashford, a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy programme at the Stimson Center Washington.

'Vance is very much representative of this new right wing has been growing in the Republican party. They're much more nationalist, somewhat protectionist, anti-immigration … Trump was the one who largely initiated this back in 2016 and Vance has become one of the congressional leaders of it.'

Top donors reportedly engaged in a push to secure the nomination for Vance in the final hours. According to Axios, they include Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and David Sacks. All three have been skeptical of Joe Biden's support for Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Sacks on stage at the Republican national convention said Biden 'provoked, yes provoked, the Russians to invade Ukraine with talk of Nato expansion'.

They are also linked to a larger set of Silicon Valley tech billionaires, including the Vance booster Peter Thiel, who have been extremely hawkish on China.

Meanwhile, the choice has scandalized some traditional Republicans.

'He [Vance] would capitulate to Russia and sacrifice the freedom of our allies in Ukraine,' wrote the former congresswoman Liz Cheney, who has become an outspoken critic of Trump. 'The Trump GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln, Reagan or the constitution.'

Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy, has presented himself as a modern success story from the American rust belt, and Trump is said to have chosen him for his backstory and stage presence as much as his policies. But he has also made a name for himself as a leading critic of aid to Ukraine.

'I think that it's ridiculous that we're focused on this border in Ukraine,' Vance said on an interview on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast in 2022. 'I gotta be honest with you: I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.'

At the Munich security conference in February, he delivered what his own staffers called a 'wake-up call' to Europe, in which he played down the threat posed by Russia's leader and said that the US could not manufacture the weapons needed to supply Ukraine to continue the war.

'I do not think that Vladimir Putin is an existential threat to Europe, and to the extent that he is, again that suggests that Europe has to take a more aggressive role in its own security,' Vance said.

Vance also said he believed the Ukraine war 'will end in a negotiated peace', a view that appeared to be backed up on Tuesday by the Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who has been traveling on a rogue 'peace mission' to Moscow and Mar-a-Lago, wrote that Trump after the elections will begin acting as a 'peace broker immediately', even before his inauguration.

'Yes, Trump will be ultimately setting Ukraine policy,' wrote Serhiy Kudelia, a professor of political science at Baylor University, on X. 'But the choice of Vance tells us all we need to know about how Trump wants to approach Ukraine once he becomes president: no Nato membership for Ukraine, cutting military and economic assistance and forcing Zelenskiy to a [negotiating] table with Putin.'

In that speech, Vance also said he did not believe the US should pull out of Nato or 'abandon Europe,' but that Washington should 'pivot' toward Asia, meaning toward a more aggressive policy to contain China.

'The United States has to focus more on East Asia,' he said. 'That is going to be the future of American foreign policy for the next 40 years, and Europe has to wake up to that fact.'

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Advocacy group Human Rights Watch called Tuesday for greater accountability of public funds in Kenya, framing it partially as a human rights issue.

Kenyans have taken to the streets for four consecutive weeks to protest the high cost of living, corruption and misuse of the country's finances. What began as a tax protest has morphed into a demand for the end of President William Ruto's government, with demonstrators saying they do not trust it to solve the country's political and economic problems.

Human Rights Watch called on the International Monetary Fund to work with the Kenyan government to ensure that IMF's support for the country is aligned with human rights — and that corruption doesn't take funds meant to improve the lives of ordinary people.

Allan Ngari, the Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said, 'Our greatest concern is that the outrage sparked by the proposed taxes is something that is endemic in Kenya in the sense that corporate tax evasion, for example, is one of the issues that haven't been taken into consideration, in addition to the opulent lifestyle that we have seen among the Kenyan executive.'

Kenya's debt pressures spurred the IMF to approve $941 million for the country in January, bringing the total amount loaned to the country by the financial agency to $3.9 billion.

Kenyans have raised concerns about such heavy borrowing, saying it has done little to improve their lives. At the same time, protesters say, citizens are paying more taxes so Kenya can repay the loans.

The IMF argues that the money it provided to Kenya helped alleviate market concerns, allowing the country access to the bond market and partially rolling over a maturing Eurobond.

Ngari said the Kenyan government needs to be accountable to the IMF and other foreign loan providers, but also for the revenue it collects in the country.

'Monies that have been allocated or are within the government expenditure should be for projects and processes of development in the country,' Ngari said. 'That's the reason why these loans have been sought. So, accountability is that [the] public should be really aware of the extent of the borrowing.'

Activists have repeatedly asked the government to disclose the country's total current debt, specifically the amount owed to China, which the government has been reluctant to make public.

Ruto has formed a task force to audit the country's debt and report back by the end of September.

In the streets of many cities and towns, protesters continue to cry out about hard economic times and a government that they say has become blind and deaf to its problems.

Sharon, a Nairobi resident who gave only her first name, said that if the borrowed money can be accounted for and used for its intended purpose, it will improve the situation of many Kenyans.

'We need accountability for the money we pay and for the money we borrow,' she said. 'This will create more employment opportunities because there will be money to pay for those jobs.'

Stella Nkirote, a 31-year-old street vendor and mother of four, said corruption has hampered the country's economic growth, saying that people in power have refused to use money in the way it is supposed to be used.

In its 2016 periodic review of Kenya, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said the country has large amounts of illicit financial flows, tax avoidance and cases of corruption involving top government officials that are not investigated.

Human Rights Watch argues that many countries' problems could be solved if they aligned their economic policies with human rights on every level — domestic and international.

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