Saturday, August 27, 2011

THE MUAMMAR GADDAFI STORY

His rule saw him go from
revolutionary hero to
international pariah, to valued
strategic partner and back to
pariah again.
He has developed his own
political philosophy, writing a
book that is - in the eyes of its
author, at least - so influential
that it eclipses anything dreamt
up by Plato, Locke or Marx.
He has made countless show-
stopping appearances at Arab
and international gatherings,
standing out not just with his
outlandish clothing, but also his
blunt speeches and
unconventional behaviour.
One Arab commentator recently
called him the "Picasso of Middle
East politics", although instead of
Blue, Rose or Cubist periods, he
has had his pan-Arab period, his
Islamist period, his pan-African
period, and so on.
Early promise
In the heady days of 1969 -
when he seized power in a
bloodless military coup - and the
early 1970s, Muammar Gaddafi
was a handsome and charismatic
young army officer.
An eager disciple of President
Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt (he
even adopted the same military
rank, promoting himself from
captain to colonel after the coup),
Gaddafi first set about tackling
the unfair economic legacy of
foreign domination.
For Nasser, it was the Suez Canal.
For Gaddafi, it was oil.
Significant reserves had been
discovered in Libya in the late
1950s, but the extraction was
controlled by foreign petroleum
companies, which set prices to
the advantage of their own
domestic consumers and
benefited from a half share in the
revenue.
Col Gaddafi demanded
renegotiation of the contracts,
threatening to shut off
production if the oil companies
refused.
He memorably challenged foreign
oil executives by telling them
"people who have lived without
oil for 5,000 years can live
without it again for a few years
in order to attain their legitimate
rights".
The gambit succeeded and Libya
became the first developing
country to secure a majority
share of the revenues from its
own oil production. Other
nations soon followed this
precedent and the 1970s Arab
petro-boom began.
Libya was in a prime position to
reap the benefits. With
production levels matching the
Gulf states, and one of the
smallest populations in Africa
(less than 3m at the time), the
black gold made it rich quickly.
Political theorist
Rather than persevering with the
doctrines of Arab Nationalism, or
following the glittering excesses
of Gulf consumerism, Col
Gaddafi's innately mercurial
character led him and Libya on a
new path.
Born to nomadic Bedouin
parents in 1942, Muammar
Gaddafi was certainly an
intelligent, resourceful man, but
he did not receive a thorough
education, apart from learning to
read the Koran and his military
training.
Nevertheless, in the early 1970s
he set out to prove himself a
leading political philosopher,
developing something called the
third universal theory, outlined in
his famous Green Book.
The theory claims to solve the
contradictions inherent in
capitalism and communism (the
first and second theories), in
order to put the world on a path
of political, economic and social
revolution and set oppressed
peoples free everywhere.
In fact, it is little more than a
series of fatuous diatribes, and it
is bitterly ironic that a text whose
professed objective is to break
the shackles imposed by the
vested interests dominating
political systems has been used
instead to subjugate an entire
population.
The result of Col Gaddafi's theory,
underlined with absolute
intolerance of dissent or
alternative voices, was the
hollowing out of Libyan society,
with all vestiges of
constitutionality, civil society and
authentic political participation
eradicated.
The solution to society's woes,
the book maintains, is not
electoral representation -
described by Gaddafi as
"dictatorship" by the biggest
party - or any other existing
political system, but the
establishment of people's
committees to run all aspects of
existence.
This new system is presented
diagrammatically in the Green
Book as an elegant wagon
wheel, with basic popular
congresses around the rim
electing people's committees that
send influence along the spokes
to a responsive and truly
democratic people's general
secretariat at the centre.
The model that was created in
reality was an ultra-hierarchical
pyramid - with the Gaddafi family
and close allies at the top
wielding power unchecked,
protected by a brutal security
apparatus.
In the parallel world of the Green
Book, the system is called a
Jamahiriyya - a neologism that
plays on the Arabic word for a
republic, Jumhuriyya, implying
"rule by the masses".
So the long-suffering Libyan
masses were dragooned into
attending popular congresses
vested with no power, authority
or budgets, with the knowledge
that anyone who spoke out of
turn and criticised the regime
could be carted off to prison.
A set of draconian laws was
enacted in the name of
upholding security, further
undermining the colonel's claim
to a champion of freedom from
oppression and dictatorship.
Legal penalties included collective
punishment, death for anyone
who spread theories aiming to
change the constitution and life
imprisonment for disseminating
information that tarnished the
country's reputation.
Tales abounded of torture,
lengthy jail terms without a fair
trial, executions and
disappearances.
Many of Libya's most educated
and qualified citizens chose exile,
rather than pay lip service to the
lunacy.
Adventures abroad
Unchecked by any of the normal
restraints of governance, Col
Gaddafi was able to take his anti-
imperialist campaign around the
world, funding and supporting
militant groups and resistance
movements wherever he found
them.
He also targeted Libyan exiles,
dozens of whom were killed by
assassins believed to belong to a
global Libyan intelligence
network.
If governments were prepared to
shrug off Gaddafi's human rights
violations in Libya, and
persecution of dissidents abroad,
it was a different matter when it
came to him supporting groups
that used terrorism on their own
patches.
A bombing of a nightclub used
by US soldiers in Berlin in 1986,
blamed on Libyan agents, proved
a decisive moment.
US President Ronald Reagan
ordered air strikes against Tripoli
and Benghazi in retaliation for
the two soldiers and one civilian
killed and the dozens of
wounded, although there was no
conclusive proof beyond
intelligence "chatter" that Libya
had ordered the attack.
The US retaliation was intended
to kill the "mad dog of the Middle
East", as Mr Reagan branded him,
but although there was extensive
damage and an unknown
number of Libyan fatalities -
including, it was claimed,
Gaddafi's adopted daughter - the
colonel emerged unscathed.
His reputation may even have
been enhanced among
opponents of Washington's
heavy-handed foreign policy.
The bombing of Pan-Am flight
103 over the Scottish town of
Lockerbie in 1988 was the next
significant escalation, causing
the deaths of 270 people in the
air and on the ground, the worst
single act of terrorism ever
witnessed in the UK.
Gaddafi's initial refusal to hand
over the two Libyan suspects to
Scottish jurisdiction resulted in a
protracted period of
negotiations and UN sanctions,
finally ending in 1999 with their
surrender and trial. One of the
men, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi,
was jailed for life, but the other
was found not guilty.
A new detente
The resolution of the Lockerbie
case, along with Col Gaddafi's
subsequent admission and
renunciation of a covert nuclear
and chemical weapons
programme, paved the way for a
significant warming of relations
between Tripoli and western
powers in the 21st century.
The domestication of the
erstwhile "mad dog" was held up
as one of the few positive results
of US President George W Bush's
military invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The argument went that Col
Gaddafi had watched the fate of
fellow miscreant Saddam
Hussein, hanged by Iraqis after a
US-instigated legal process, and
had learnt a sobering lesson.
It is perhaps more plausible to
argue that the Libyan leader
played his WMD card when he
saw the benefits of forging
strategic partnerships with the
US and European powers.
He certainly paid little heed to Mr
Bush's so-called "freedom
agenda", which held that the US
no longer held common cause
with dictators and despots and
that democracy and human
rights were just around the
corner.
It was after all more or less
business as usual between
Washington and the other
authoritarian Arab rulers whom
the US called friends and allies.
With international sanctions
lifted, Tripoli was back on the
international political itinerary,
allowingBritish Prime Minister
Tony Blair, among other
luminaries, to drop in at Col
Gaddafi's famously luxurious
Bedouin tent erected in his
palace grounds.
In true nomadic style, the tent
also went with the colonel on
trips to Europe and the US,
although in New York state it fell
foul of stringent zoning
regulations on the estate of
tycoon Donald Trump and had to
be hastily dismantled.
Distaste about the alleged
architect of Lockerbie's
readmission into the world
leaders' club lingered in many
circles, not least among the US
victims' families and their
supporters.
But that did not stop business
deals being struck with a
succession of western defence
manufacturers and oil firms.
Ironically, it was on the Arab
front that Col Gaddafi kept his
black sheep status alive.
Throughout the 2000s, the
normally staid proceedings of
annual summits of the Arab
League were almost guaranteed
to be disrupted by the Libyan
leader's antics, whether it was
lighting up a cigarette and
blowing smoke into the face of
his neighbour, or tossing insults
at Gulf rulers and the
Palestinians, or declaring himself
"king of kings of Africa".
The UN has also witnessed the
colonel's eccentricity. At the 2009
General Assembly, he gave a
rambling speech more than an
hour-and-a-quarter longer than
his allocated 10-minute time slot,
tearing out and screwing up
pages from the UN Charter as he
spoke.
Rebellion
When the winds of revolt started
to blow through the Arab world
from Tunisia in December 2010,
Libya was not at the top of most
people's list of "who's next".
Colonel Gaddafi fitted the bill as
an authoritarian ruler who had
endured for more years than the
vast majority of his citizens could
remember. But he was not so
widely perceived as a western
lackey as other Arab leaders,
accused of putting outside
interests before the interests of
their own people.
He had redistributed wealth -
although the enrichment of his
own family from oil revenues and
other deals was hard to ignore
and redistribution was
undertaken more in the spirit of
buying loyalty than promoting
equality.
He sponsored grand public
works, such as the improbable
Great Man-Made River project, a
massive endeavour inspired,
perhaps, by ancient Bedouin
water procurement techniques,
that brought sweet, fresh water
from aquifers in the south to the
arid north of his country.
There was even something of a
Tripoli Spring, with long-term
exiles given to understand that
they could return without facing
persecution or jail.
When the first calls for a Libyan
"day of rage" were circulated, Col
Gaddafi pledged - apparently in
all seriousness - to protest with
the people, in keeping with his
myth of being the "brother
leader of the revolution" who
had long ago relinquished power
to the people.
As it turned out, the scent of
freedom and the draw of
possibly toppling the colonel, just
as Egypt's Mubarak and Tunisia's
Ben Ali had been toppled, was
too strong to resist among parts
of the Libyan population,
especially in the east.
Some of the first footage of
rebellion to come out of
Benghazi showed incensed
young Libyans outside an official
building smashing up a green
monolith representing the
spurious liberation doctrine that
had kept them enslaved since the
1970s - the Green Book.
As the uprising spread, and the
seriousness of the threat to his
rule became apparent, Gaddafi
showed he had lost none of the
ruthlessness that had been
directed against dissidents and
exiles in the 1970s and 1980s.
But this time it was turned on
whole towns and cities where
people had dared to tear down
his posters and call for his
downfall. His regular forces
backed by mercenaries nearly
overwhelmed the rag-tag rebel
groups, consisting of military
deserters and ill-trained
militiamen, whom he dismissed
as wayward 17-year-olds, "given
pills at night, hallucinatory pills in
their drinks, their milk, their
coffee, their Nescafe".
It was only the intervention of
Nato in March, authorised by a
UN resolution calling for the
protection of Libyan civilians, that
prevented their annihilation - but
it was months before the rebels
could turn the situation to their
advantage.
At the time of writing, with rebel
flags flying in the heart of the
capital and Gaddafi's regime
appearing to disintegrate, it
seems the game is up. But we
await the last chapter of this
most erratic political career - and
given what we've seen in the last
40 years, it could be every bit as
unpredictable.
The Muammar
Gaddafi story
By Martin Asser
BBC News
Gaddafi on women - and
'insanity'
"Freedom of expression is the
right of every natural person,
even if a person chooses to
behave irrationally, to express his
or her insanity"
"Women, like men, are human
beings. This is an incontestable
truth... Women are different from
men in form because they are
females, just as all females in the
kingdom of plants and animals
differ from the male of their
species... According to
gynaecologists women, unlike
men, menstruate each month...
Since men cannot be
impregnated they do not
experience the ailments that
women do"
Both excerpts from the Green
Book
Gaddafi was a huge admirer of
Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, who
led the Egyptian Revolution of
1952
On the Arab world and Africa
"Libya is an African country. May
Allah help the Arabs and keep
them away from us. We don't
want anything to do with them"
Libyan TV, March 2007
"I am an international leader, the
dean of the Arab rulers, the king
of kings of Africa and the imam
of Muslims, and my international
status does not allow me to
descend to a lower level"Arab
League summit, March 2009
Gaddafi's 'system' as envisaged
in the Green Book
On democracy and opposition
"There is no state with a
democracy except Libya on the
whole planet"
"In the Middle East, the
opposition is quite different than
the opposition in advanced
countries. In our countries, the
opposition takes the form of
explosions, assassinations,
killings "
Address to US Academics, March
2006
Tony Blair visited Gaddafi at his
luxurious Bedouin tent after
sanctions were lifted
Col Muammar Gaddafi
Born in Sirte, Libya 7 June 1942
Attended military academy in
Libya, Greece and the UK
Seized power on 1 September
1969
The Green Book published in
1975
Married twice, with seven sons
and one daughter
The combination of water and oil
gave Libya a sound economic
platform

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

JAIRO Vs BUNGE

BUNGE jana lilisitisha kwa muda
shughuli zake za kawaida kujadili
hatua ya Katibu Mkuu Kiongozi,
Philemon Luhanjo kumrejesha
kazini Katibu Mkuu wa Wizara ya
Nishati na Madini, David Jairo
kabla ya Bunge kujadili Ripoti ya
uchunguzi ya Mkaguzi na
Mdhibiti Mkuu wa Hesabu za
Serikali (CAG).
Hatua hiyo imekuja siku moja
baada ya Luhanjo kukutana na
waandishi wa habari Dar es
Salaam juzi na kuutangazia
umma kwamba kutokana na
matokeo ya uchunguzi huo
kutomtia hatiani anaamuru Jairo
arejee ofisini mara moja.
“Kutokana na matokeo haya ya
uchunguzi wa awali, mimi kama
Mamlaka ya Nidhamu ya Katibu
Mkuu Nishati na Madini, sitaweza
kuendelea na hatua ya pili ya
kumpa taarifa ya tuhuma.
Ninaamuru David Jairo arejee
kazini kuanzia siku ya Jumatano.”
Hata hivyo, uamuzi huo wa
Luhanjo jana uliamsha hasira za
wabunge bila kujali itikadi zao za
kisiasa ambao ambao walitaka
Bunge lisitishe kujadili shughuli
zozote kutokana na hatua hiyo
ya Katibu Mkuu Kiongozi
wakisema ni kudharau Haki,
Kinga na Madaraka ya Bunge.
Hoja ya Zitto
Hoja hiyo iliwasilishwa na
Mbunge wa Kigoma Kaskazini
(Chadema) muda mfupi kabla ya
kuanza kwa kipindi cha maswali
na majibu. Zitto ambaye pia ni
Naibu Kiongozi wa Upinzani
Bungeni alitoa hoja kutaka
Bunge lisitishe kujadili hoja zote
za Serikali hadi hapo ripoti ya
Mkaguzi na Mdhibiti Mkuu wa
Hesabu za Serikali iliyomsafisha
Jairo itakapofikishwa bungeni na
kujadiliwa.
Zitto alianzisha moto huo mnamo
saa 3:17 asubuhi ikiwa ni dakika
moja tu baada ya Naibu Spika,
Job Ndugai kutangaza taratibu za
safari ya wabunge kwenda
Zanzibar kwa ajili ya mazishi ya
Mbunge Mussa Khamis Silima
aliyefariki juzi.
Alitumia kanuni ya 51 kulieleza
Bunge kuwa kitendo
kilichofanywa na Luhanjo
kilikiuka haki, maadili na
madaraka ya Bunge na hivyo
akataka wabunge wenzake
wamuunge mkono ili wagome
kufanya shughuli zozote za
Serikali hadi hapo ripoti ya CAG
kuhusu tuhuma dhidi ya Jairo
itakapowasilishwa rasmi
bungeni.
“Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika, jana
kupitia vyombo vya habari
tulimsikia Katibu Mkuu Kiongozi
kupitia vyombo vya habari
akieleza kuwa tuhuma
zilizokuwa zikimkabili Jairo si za
kweli na kwamba anatakiwa
kurudi kazini kuanzia leo (jana),’’
alisema Zitto na kuongeza:
“Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika
unafahamu ya kwamba, Waziri
Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Muungano
wa Tanzania alizungumza ndani
ya Bunge hili ya kwamba
angekuwa ni yeye
angeshamchukulia hatua Ndugu
Jairo kuhusu vitendo alivyofanya,
hivyo basi naomba nitoe hoja
kwamba Bunge lisitishe hoja
yoyote ya Serikali mpaka
itakapoleta bungeni taarifa ya
CAG kuhusiana na uchunguzi
huo.”
Baada ya kutoa hoja hiyo, Zitto
aliungwa mkono na wabunge
zaidi ya nusu waliokuwamo
ndani ya ukumbi, hali ambayo
ilimlazimisha Naibu Spika wa
Bunge, Ndugai, kuitisha Kamati
ya Uongozi kwa dharura kujadili
suala hilo.
Hoja ya Lukuvi
Baada ya hoja ya Zitto, Waziri wa
Nchi Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu (Sera,
Uratibu na Bunge), William Lukuvi
alisimama kupinga hoja hiyo
akisema Mbunge huyo hakufuata
taratibu zilizotakiwa ambazo ni
kuwasilisha kusudio kabla ya
kutoa hoja rasmi.
“Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika, najua
jambo hili lina public interest
(masilahi ya umma), lakini kanuni
zinasema kuwa mbunge
anayetaka kuwasilisha jambo
lolote linalohusiana na shughuli
za Bunge atafanya hivyo wakati
unaofaa na uliowekwa na kanuni
na atakuwa amemwarifu Spika
mapema kuhusu kusudio lake,
hivyo ulitakiwa kuwasilishiwa
mapema ili uweze kuamua,’’
alisema Lukuvi.
Akijibu hoja hiyo, Ndugai
alisema: “Wakati nasoma
matangazo mbalimbali
kuhusiana na kifo cha Mbunge,
nilipata taarifa kutoka kwa Zitto
kuhusu kunitaarifu juu ya jambo
hilo, hivyo basi, hoja iliyotolewa
na Zitto imetolewa kwa wakati
na ilifuata utaratibu unaotakiwa.’’
Uamuzi wa Kamati ya Uongozi
Baada ya kikao cha dharura cha
Kamati ya Uongozi ya Bunge,
ilipotimu saa 3:58, kabla ya
kumalizika kwa maswali na
majibu, Ndugai alirejea ukumbini
na kutoa taarifa kuwa kikao
hicho kiliongozwa Spika wa
Bunge, Anne Makinda na
kukubaliana na hoja ya Zitto.
“Kikao kilihudhuriwa na Spika
wa Bunge, Anne Makinda na
alikiendesha yeye mwenyewe.
Kamati imepima hoja iliyotolewa
na Zitto na kuona ni hoja
inayohitaji kusikilizwa na Bunge
na hakuna kipingamizi
chochote,” alisema Ndugai na
kushangiliwa kwa nguvu na
wabunge.
Baada ya hapo Naibu Spika
alimpa nafasi mtoa hoja, Zitto
kuanza kujadili hoja hiyo na
Mbunge huyo alisema jambo hilo
lilikuwa ni la aibu kubwa mbele
ya wabunge na taifa kwa ujumla.
“Jambo hili lilianzia bungeni na
hivyo ripoti hiyo ilipaswa kuanzia
humu bungeni. Kitendo cha
Katibu Mkuu Kiongozi ni dharau
kwa Bunge na kwa kuwa Waziri
Mkuu alisema anamsubiri Rais,
amemdharau na ninasema kama
ningekuwa mimi ni Waziri Mkuu
ningejiuzulu nafasi yangu mara
moja,’ ’alisema Zitto.
Zainabu Vullu
Mbunge wa pili kuchangia hoja
hiyo alikuwa Zainabu Vullu (Viti
Maalumu - CCM), alisema kitendo
hicho kinaudhi na kuwataka
wabunge kuungana akisema
madaraka yao yalikuwa
yameingiliwa.
“Nianze kwa kuangalia Katiba
kifungu namba 63 cha katiba
Ibara ya Pili ambayo inasema
sehemu ya pili ya Bunge itakuwa
ndiyo chombo kikuu cha Jamhuri
ya Muungano ambacho kitakuwa
na madaraka kwa niaba ya
wananchi kusimamia na
kuishauri Serikali ya Jamhuri ya
Muungano na vyombo vyake
vyote katika utekelezaji wa
majukumu yake kwa mujibu wa
katiba,” alisema Vullu na
kuongeza:
“Suala lile liliibuliwa ndani ya
Bunge hili na baada ya kuibuliwa,
Mheshimiwa Waziri Mkuu
ambaye naye ni mbunge
mwenzetu lilimgusa. Ni matarajio
yetu baada ya utafiti na
uchunguzi uliofanyika suala hili
lingerudi kwetu tukalijadili na
kuona nini kilichotokea na
kuhabarisha wananchi wetu ni
jinsi gani ya matumizi ya fedha
za nchi hii ambazo jasho la
wananchi zilivyotumika.”
Alisema kutokana na taarifa ya
Luhanjo, bunge ni kama
limedhalilishwa na kwamba
halikupewa haki yake kwani
wabunge wote wameonekana
kama watu wasiojua wajibu
wao.
Sendeka
Mjadala wa hoja hiyo
ulihitimishwa na mchangiaji wa
tatu, Mbunge wa Simanjiro (CCM),
Christopher Ole Sendeka ambaye
alikuja na hoja jingine ya
kuomba Bunge lipitishe azimio la
kuunda Kamati Teule
kuchunguza suala hilo. Hoja hiyo,
kama ilivyokuwa ile ya Zitto pia
iliungwa mkono na wabunge
karibu wote.
Sendeka alisema kitendo cha
Luhanjo kutangaza ripoti hiyo ni
kupoka nafasi ya Bunge na
kwamba Waziri Mkuu
amedharauliwa kwa kiasi
kikubwa.
“Ninaomba kutumia kanuni ya
117 kuliomba Bunge lako tukufu
sasa liamue kuunda kamati teule
itakayoangalia pamoja na
mambo mengine, kuingiliwa kwa
uhuru wa Bunge, lakini
mchakato mzima uliosababisha
fedha zote zile zikusanywe na
kugawanywa na kuitishwa kama
fedha za harusi wakati tunajua
kwamba kila waziri anapewa
kasma ya maandalizi ya bajeti
inayokuja,” alisema Sendeka na
kuongeza:
“Wote (watumishi) waliokuja
waliweza kuja na mafuta kutoka
katika ofisi zao naomba Bunge
hili, Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika
liniunge mkono kwa kutoa hoja
kwa mujibu wa kanuni ya 117,
fasili ya kwanza ya pili mpaka ya
nne ambayo inaweka masharti
ya kuundwa kwa kamati teule na
hii itasaidia sana kuitendea haki
hoja hii na kulinda hadhi ya
Bunge lako tukufu.”
Msimamo wa Bunge
Baada ya Sendeka kutoa hoja
hiyo, Ndugai alisimama na
kusema: “Sasa hoja hiyo
Mheshimiwa Ole - Sendeka
ameiboresha kwa kutoa hoja ya
kuunda tume teule ambayo
waheshimiwa wabunge
mmeiunga mkono kwa wingi
sana kwa kutumia kanuni ya 117
ambayo inasema kamati teule
inaweza kuundwa na Bunge kwa
madhumuni maalumu kwa hoja
mahsusi itakayotolewa na
kuafikiwa.”
“Mimi ninakubaliana na jambo
hili na kwa jinsi hiyo, kufuatana
na kanuni hiyo ya 117 Bunge hili
litaunda tume teule kwa ajili ya
kulichunguza jambo hili kwa
sababu Bunge ni mhimili,
haliwezi kudharaulika kiraisi na
tunaiheshimu na kuipenda sana
Serikali yetu inayoongozwa na
Mheshimiwa Rais Jakaya Kikwete
na Waziri mkuu wake Mizengo
Pinda.”
“Si rahisi kwa Bunge kuonekana
Waziri Mkuu akidharaulika
likanyamaza! Haiwezekani, kama
dharau inaweza kutokea
hukohuko si ndani ya Bunge
hili.”
Baada ya uamuzi huo, Mbunge
wa Musoma Vijijini (CCM), Nimrod
Mkono alijaribu kupinga uamuzi
huo akitaka jambo hilo liende
kwa utaratibu ili Bunge lisije
likaingilia taratibu za mihimili
mingine. Alihoji kwa kitendo cha
kutompatia nafasi Jairo ili ajieleze
lakini Ndugai alisema jambo hilo
alishalifunga lakini akamtoa
shaka mbunge kuhusu haki:
“Kama ni kuhojiwa basi ataitwa
akahojiwe huko asipotendewa
haki hiyo utaleta hoja yako.’.
Jairo apokewa kishujaa
Wakati wabunge
wakimng'ang'ania, Jairo
alipokewa kwa mbwembwe
aliporipoti ofisini kwake Dar es
Salaam huku baadhi ya
wafanyakazi wakisukuma gari
lake na kuimba: “Baba, baba
baba huyooo, karibu baba,
karibu baba, umeshinda vita
karibu nyumbani.’
Akizungumza baada ya kuingia
ofisini, Jairo alisema:
“Nimesamehe kwa upendo
mkubwa. Siwezi kulipiza kisasi,
wala sitachukua hatua zozote
kwa kuwa mimi ni Mkristo
nimerudi kwa amani, tuchape
kazi tujenge nidhamu,” alisema.
Mara baada ya kufika ofisini
kwake, Jairo akionekana
mwenye uso uliojaa furaha huku
akilengwa na machozi alisimama
mbele ya kiti chake akiwa kimya
akitazama chini na kisha alitoka
na kuelekea ofisini kwa Waziri
wake, William Ngeleja.
“Nimejipanga kuchapa kazi kwa
bidii na kudumisha ushirikiano
uliokuwapo tangu awali,
nashukuru haki imetendeka na
sitawashtaki wale
walionituhumu,’’ alisema Jairo na
kuongeza kwamba watu
wajielekeze kwenye mambo ya
maendeleo kuliko kufuatilia mtu
mmojammoja, kwa kuingiza
maslahi binafsi.
Waziri Ngeleja alisema
ameshukuru kwamba Jairo
amerudi baada ya misukosuko ya
hapa na pale.
LHRC wapinga
Kituo cha Sheria na Haki za
Binadamu (LHRC) kimepinga
hatua ya Serikali kumsafisha Jairo
na kisha kumtaka arejee kazini,
kikisema hatua hiyo
imedhalilisha Bunge.
“Taarifa ya kusafishwa kwa Jairo
inaashiria mambo matatu,
kwanza inaonyesha kuna
mkakati wa kuwalinda viongozi
pale wanapofanya makosa. Pili,
taarifa hiyo imelidhalilisha Bunge
ambalo ndilo lilifichua kashfa
hiyo, Beatrice Shelukindo ndiye
aliyefichua hayo. Tatu, taarifa
hiyo imemdhalilisha Waziri Mkuu
na kumfanya aonekane
kutokuwa makini na kauli zake
hasa pale aliposema kuwa
angeweza kumchukulia hatua
Jairo lakini anasubiri taarifa ya
Rais.”
Policy Forum yakosoa
Mratibu asasi ya kiraia ya Policy
Forum, Semkae Kilonzo alisema
Serikali imechukua uamuzi huo
bila ya kuzingatia uzito wa jambo
husika. Alisema umefika wakati
iache kufanya kazi kwa mazoea
na iheshimu mamlaka ya mihimili
mingine.
Alisema Katiba ya sasa katika
Ibara ya 63, kifungu kidogo cha
1 hadi 3 inaeleza bayana,
mamlaka ya Bunge na kusisitiza
kuna haja ya mhimili huo
kupewa meno zaidi kwa mujibu
wa sheria ili ushauri na maoni
yake yaweze kutekelezeka.
“Wabunge walishaeleza maoni
yao kuhusu sakata hilo lakini
serikali imechukua hatua bila ya
kuzingatia uzito wa jambo
lenyewe, cha msingi hapa ni
bunge liongezewe meno zaidi ili
kazi zake ziweze kuheshimika na
kutekelezeka,” alisema Kilonzo.

DC QUAKE TURNS OFF TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS

Tuesday afternoon’s 5.8
earthquake caused two nuclear
reactors at a power plant outside
of Washington DC to go offline.
The facilities at Lake Anna,
roughly a dozen miles away from
the epicenter of today’s quake in
Virginia , was rated by the United
States Nuclear Regulatory
Commission as the seventh most
“at risk” plant of its type for
earthquake damage according to
a report released this March. That
analysis took into account the
100-plus power plants from
coast-to-coast and rated the
Virginia site’s odds of
experiencing a quake around 1
in 22,727.
Jim Norvelle of Dominion Power
added to the report, published by
NBC, that the plant was built to
withstand a magnitude of 5.9 to
6.1. Today’s quake was originally
rated a 5.9 before being
downgraded to 5.8.
Meanwhile, in the Washington DC
area, cell phone networks went
dark in the immediate aftermath
of the earthquake, which also
saw mass evacuations across the
greater DC area. Washingtonians
have been warned of aftershocks
and damage has been reported
in the Capitol Building and DC’s
Union Station. Federal buildings
in DC were evacuated and
employees were told not to come
back today.
The quake, whose epicenter is
placed at Mineral, Virginia, was
felt across the east coast, with
reports of tremors stretching
from North Carolina to Rhode
Island, New York City to Cleveland
and even in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

LAYLATUL QADRI-THE NIGHT OF POWER

Qadr means honour and dignity.
Lailatul Qadr means the night of
honour and dignity. It is this
night in which the first Divine
Revelation came to the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam, when
he was in prayer in the cave of
Hira. Since this night enjoys the
honour of having the first
revelation brought to the
Prophet sallalahu alayhi
wasallam, it has been named
Lailatul Qadr.
This is one of the holiest and
most blessed nights, which is
likely to occur on one of the odd
nights on the last ten days of
Ramadhan and most likely to be
the 27th. The reward of worship
on this night is better than the
worship of a thousand months
of worship, equivalent to a
person's lifetime. So, on this
night one should pray nafil
namaz, recite the Quran, do
Tasbih, Zikr, Duas, etc as much as
possible.
This night had already opened
its gates of treasures when the
angel for the first time had come
with the Divine Message in the
cave of Hira, but its
auspiciousness has continued to
be with us permanently. Every
year in the month of Ramadhan,
this night is given to the
Ummah. Muslims engage in
prayers, recitation of Quran and
praying to Allah, as the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam said:
"The person who offered
prayers to Allah in the night of
Dignity with faith and with hope
of reward from Allah, all his past
sins have been
forgiven." (Bukhaari)
As the rainy season is suitable
for farming, similarly for the
attainment of nearness to Allah,
specific times , specific days and
specific nights are most suitable,
e.g. the time of Tahajjud prayers,
Friday prayers, month of
Ramadhan, the Day of Arafah,
etc. So also the Night of Power is
the most suitable night for
attaining nearness to Allah.
In the Hadeeth, we have been
asked to seek it in the last ten
nights of the month of
Ramadhan. Hazrat Aa'ishah
radhiyallahu anhaa narrates that
the Messenger of Allah sallalahu
alayhi wasallam has said, 'Seek
the night of Dignity in the odd
nights of the last ten days of
Ramadhan'.(Bukhaari).
By odd nights, the reference is
made to the 21st, 23rd, 25th,
27th, 29th night of the month of
Ramadhan. No one night has
been fixed so that the yearning
to find it may increase and
people may spend more nights
in worshipping Allah. From this
aspect, the importance of
`Itikaaf (seclusion) during the
last ten days of Ramadhan is
clear.
Some special prayers and Zikr
for Laitul Qadrtop
1. Seeking Forgiveness.
Hazrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu
anhaa asked the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam that
if she happened to get the
night sublime what prayer
should she say. The Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam
replied that she should say the
following prayer :
"Allahumma innaka
afuwwun kareemun tuhib-
bul af-wa fa-afo anni"
(O Allah, You are the One who
grants pardon for sins, loves
forgiving, so forgive me.)
2. Reciting Astaghfar. The
following should be recited as
much as possible:
"Astaghfirullah hallazi la-ila-
ha illa huwal Hayyul
Qayyumo wa atu-bu ilaihe"
(I seek forgiveness from Allah,
the Almighty, there is no God
but He. He is self-Existent, the
Eternal and I return to Him)
3. Reciting Surah `Inna
anzalnahu...'
"Inna anzalnahu fee lailathil
Qadr, Wa maa adraka maa
lailatul Qadr.
Lailatul Qadri khairum min
alfi shahr. Tanazzalul malai-
katu var-roohu
fee ha bi izni Rabbihim min
kulle amr. Salaamun heya
hatta matla-il fajr."
4. Do Salatul Tasbih.
5. Do Afzul Zikr i.e. La ilaha
illallah

Monday, August 22, 2011

israeli palestine conflict

Palestinian militants fired at least
17 more rockets into Israel
Sunday and the Israeli military
launched an air strike in the
Gaza Strip during the region's
fourth straight day of violence.
Overall, the violence has claimed
the lives of 15 Palestinians, nine
Israelis and five Egyptians.
Palestinian police say Israeli
troops arrested scores of Hamas
members Sunday in the
southern West Bank, just hours
after the most recent rocket
attacks from Gaza on Israel's
south.
The Israeli military and
Palestinian militants have carried
out back-and-forth attacks since
Palestinian ambushes inside
Israel near the Egyptian border
killed eight Israelis on Thursday.
Israel says militants in the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have
fired more than 100 rockets into
southern Israel in the past days.
One rocket attack killed an
Israeli man. The Israeli air
strikes have killed mostly
Palestinian militants. Civilians on
both sides have been wounded.
Five Egyptian police officers
were killed on the Israel-Egypt
border as Israeli troops pursued
the initial Palestinian attackers.
The deaths sparked outrage in
Egypt.
The Arab League has
condemned the Israeli air
assaults. In a statement Sunday,
the group called on the U.N.
Security Council to take
necessary procedures to end the
attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak on Saturday expressed
regret for the deaths of the
Egyptian officers and said Israel
will conduct a full investigation
with the Egyptian military.
Egypt's government said the
response was "not enough."
Protesters outside the Israeli
embassy in Cairo cheered when
a man climbed atop the building
and removed the Israeli flag,
replacing it with an Egyptian
flag.
Egypt's military-backed
government said it would recall
its ambassador to Israel to
protest the killing of the
Egyptian officers.
Some information for this report
was provided by AP, AFP and
Reuters.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Two men in Britain have been sentenced to four years in jail for trying to stir up last week's riots using facebook...

Two men in Britain have been
sentenced to four years in jail for
trying to stir up last week's riots
using Facebook. They both
posted messages on the social
networking site calling for their
friends to join in the unrest.
The two men, Jordan Blackshore
and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, later
said it was just a joke and no
rioting broke out as a result of
their posts. Investigative
journalist Tony Gosling, however,
says that what they say is a joke
is nothing less than a serious
offense.
“I think it’s a little bit rich of
Jordan Blackshore and Perry
Keenan to say that this is a joke,
because clearly in the sort of
situation that we had here in
Britain a week ago, that the
people who were really afraid to
go out because of robbers
rampaging around the streets as
they were in some of our cities –
this was not a joke at all,” Gosling
said. “I think, actually, it’s quite
right for the courts to take this
very seriously. This is incitement
to criminal behavior, and of
course these people should go
through the normal channels and
possibly go to jail for what
they’ve done, which is inciting
rioting – [a] very serious
offense.”
With all that, the journalist went
on to explain, the way people are
sentenced in the UK is itself quite
controversial, and a certain
backlash against the recent stiff
sentences can be expected.
“I think what will happen is, for
certain with the more extreme
cases with this rioting, is that
people will actually get much
lower sentences, possibly even
be released because they’ve been
in jail for a certain amount of
time – after they’ve gone to
appeal,” he said. “And I know at
least one of these two Facebook
people, actually, is going to be
definitely appealing against this
four-year sentence.”
British Prime Minister David
Cameron said the free flow of
information can be used for
criminal purposes, and Gosling
believes that the UK government
may already be controlling it to a
certain extent. He agrees that
making sure that social networks
are used properly is a sensible
issue, but the government’s
reaction should not affect
people’s ability to communicate.
“We have to separate the
difference between ordinary
communications and those kinds
of communications which involve
incitement to riot, incitement to
other kinds of criminal behavior,”
he said. “So, I think we’ve got to
separate the two. Let everybody
communicate freely, but if people
are actually inciting criminal
offenses and making things
worse, generally they are
criminals and should be arrested
as such.”
David Bowden, a commentator
for InstituteOfIdeas.com, a social
issues website, says the
authorities' attempts to regain
credibility have gone too far.
“Having had their authority
visibly shaken last week, with
being unable to keep the streets
safe, I think that we are seeing
quite a superficial and
dangerous knee-jerk reaction
now from the police and the
authorities as they try to regain
that authority,” he said. “It’s
superficial, because we’ve seen
people being handed quite
severe sentences for often
playing quite a minor role in the
riots and often for crimes such
as stealing a bottle of water or
some ice cream.”
“It’s dangerous because we are
now seeing a knee-jerk reaction
to people using social networks
to say they want to have a riot,
even if they haven’t followed that
up with organizing the riot
itself,” Bowden added.

Gaddafi reportedly “gravely ill” and ready to leave Libya

As Libyan rebels continue
advancing on the capital Tripoli,
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,
who has been struggling to stay
in power since March, is reported
to be "gravely ill."
The news comes from unnamed
sources quoted by the Asharq al-
Awasat newspaper. No further
details on the colonel’s medical
condition is said to be available,
though the rebel Transitional
National Council does refer to
medical reports allegedly
confirming that Gaddafi has had
a serious illness.
The strongman’s worsening
health reportedly prompted him
to send the head of his office to
Mali and Tunisia to meet with
French and British
representatives in a bid to secure
his family's and his own safety.
According to reports, Gaddafi
was likely to step down and
delegate his powers to
Muhammad Alqamoda, the
Libyan regime’s justice minister.
"Colonel Gaddafi's conditions are
an immediate cease-fire and the
withdrawal of NATO forces," the
Itar-Tass news agency quoted an
unnamed source in Libya’s
military as saying. "Two Airbus
aircraft from South Africa landed
at Tripoli International Airport.
One of them included a
delegation, while the second was
empty of passengers."
The same source reportedly
added that the planes may be
ready to transfer Gaddafi, his
family members and some
members of his government to
Venezuela. It is also reported that
an envoy of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez arrived on
the Tunisian island of Djerba,
where he allegedly met Gaddafi’s
representatives.
Meanwhile, the rebels claim to be
advancing on the Libyan capital
Tripoli. Despite the NATO-led
mission to protect civilians and
enforce a no-fly zone over the
country, the civil war between
rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi
continues to rage for more than
six months after the outbreak of
violence.

Monday, August 15, 2011

MAFUTA BEI JUU KWA 5%

BEI ya bidhaa ya petroli
imepanda tena kwa zaidi ya Sh
100 kwa lita kuanzia Jumatatu,
Mamlaka ya Udhibiti wa Huduma
ya Nishati na Maji (Ewura)
imetangaza Jumapili.
Kwa tangazo hilo la Ewura, katika
Jiji la Dar es Salaam lita ya petroli
imepanda hadi kufikia Sh 2,114
ambayo ni bei kikomo kutoka Sh
2,004 zilizotangazwa na Ewura
Agosti 3, mwaka huu ambazo
hata hivyo ziligomewa na
wafanyabiashara.
Dizeli kwa bei ya rejareja sasa
itauzwa Sh 2,031 kutoka Sh
1,911 huku mafuta ya taa
yatauzwa kwa Sh 2,005. Kwa
upande wa bei za jumla petroli
itauzwa kwa Sh 2,046.62, dizeli
itauzwa kwa Sh 1,963.81 na
mafuta ya taa yatauzwa kwa Sh
1,937.90.
Wiki mbili zilizopita, Ewura
ilitangaza bei hizo mpya ambazo
ziligomewa na wafanyabiashara
wa mafuta hadi Serikali ikatishia
kuchukua hatua za kisheria dhidi
yao ndipo baadhi yao
wakalegeza msimamo.
Hata hivyo, Kampuni ya BP
Tanzania iliendelea na msimamo
wa kutouza mafuta kwa bei hiyo
ya Serikali na kwa ukaidi huo
tayari kampuni hiyo imefungiwa
na Ewura kutojihusisha na
biashara ya petroli, dizeli na
mafuta ya taa kwa miezi mitatu.
Hatua hii ya Ewura kupandisha
bei tena ya mafuta ni wazi kuwa
itazua manung’uniko kwa
wananchi ambao walitarajia
kuwa ile ahadi ya Serikali iliyoitoa
wakati wa bajeti ya kushusha bei
za bidhaa hiyo ingedumu kwa
muda mrefu.
Meneja Biashara ya Petroli wa
Ewura, Godwin Samwel alitetea
uamuzi wa kupandisha bei ya
mafuta kuwa umetokana na
kushuka kwa thamani ya Shilingi
dhidi ya Dola ya Marekani pamoja
na kupanda kwa kwa bei ya
mafuta katika soko la dunia.
Samwel alisema viwango vya bei
zilizotumika katika soko la dunia
zimepanda kwa wastani wa
asilimia 5.42 na thamani ya
Shilingi ya Tanzania imeshuka
kwa shilingi 47.12 kwa Dola
moja ya Marekani.
Ewura pia imezidi kujitetea kuwa
kanuni mpya ya kukokotoa bei za
bidhaa hiyo bado inafanya
mafuta kuuzwa kwa bei ya chini
ukilinganisha na kanuni ya
zamani. Samwel alitoa mfano
kuwa iwapo Ewura ingetumia
kanuni ya zamani ya kukokotoa
bei mpya, petroli ingeuzwa kwa
Sh 2,298.33, dizeli ingeuzwa Sh
2,213.36 wakati mafuta ya taa
yangeuzwa kwa Sh 2,188.89.
“Bei za rejareja na za jumla
zingepanda zaidi endapo
furmula ya zamani ingeendelea
kutumika,” alisema Meneja
Biashara ya Petroli wa Ewura.
Aliongeza kuwa kwa mujibu wa
Sheria ya Mafuta ya Ewura ya
mwaka 2008, bei za bidhaa ya
petroli zitaendelea kupangwa na
soko na akaongeza kuwa
mamlaka yake itaendelea
kuhamasisha ushindani kwa
kutoa taarifa za bei za bidhaa za
mafuta.
Hata hivyo, Samwel alitoa
matumaini kwa Watanzania
kuwa kuna uwezekano mkubwa
baada ya wiki mbili bidhaa ya
petroli ikapungua bei kutokana
na bei katika soko la dunia
kuanza kushuka.
“Bei itashuka iwapo Shilingi
haitaporomoka zaidi, ila
ikiendelea kuporomoka bei
haitashuka sana,” alisema ofisa
huyo wa Ewura. Akielezea hali ya
biashara ya mafuta kwenye soko
la ndani, alisema upatikanaji wa
mafuta unaendelea vizuri kwani
Ijumaa jumla ya lita milioni 9.5
zimeingizwa kwenye soko la
ndani na juzi Jumamosi lita
milioni 4.9 za bidhaa hizo
ziliingizwa kwenye soko.
Alisema meli za mafuta
zinaendelea kuingia nchini na
zingine ziko bahari zikisubiri
kupakua shehena hiyo. “Hivyo
nawahakikishia kuwa
upatikanaji wa mafuta
utaendelea kuwa mzuri,” alisema.
Kuhusu baadhi ya vituo vya
Kampuni ya Total na Orxy
kuendelea kutotoa huduma kwa
wananchi, Ewura imeahidi kutoa
tamko leo.

.
[chanzo Habari Leo]

Friday, August 12, 2011

ANONYMOUS AREFO DESTROY FACEBOOK- FOR PRIVACY'S SAKE

The hacktivist group Anonymous
has issued a YouTube video in
English, Spanish and German
announcing plans to destroy the
world’s biggest social network,
Facebook.
The hackers offer anyone
concerned with the spread of
personal information on the web
to join the cause and “kill
Facebook for the sake of your
own privacy” in the action that
“will go down in history,” setting
the date for November 5, 2011.
“Facebook has been selling
information to government
agencies and giving clandestine
access to information security
firms so that they can spy on
people from around the world,”
the video statement, recorded in
a typical digitally-altered voice
says.
Anonymous insists the service is
free for users for the sole reason
that their personal information is
on-sold and says the system
remembers all the changes in
user profiles, enabling the
owners of the social network to
recover any information put into
the system at any time and
recover deleted profiles.
“Facebook knows more about
you than your family,” their
message says.
November 5 is Guy Fawkes’ Night
in the UK. Fawkes was the
mastermind of the Gunpowder
Plot: in the 17th century, who
planned to assassinate King
James I by exploding the House
of Lords building with large
quantities of gunpowder. The
plot, in fact, backfired.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Paka akiondoka PANYA hutawala

Mjumbe maalum wa Umoja wa
Mataifa kwa Somalia Balozi
Augustine Mahiga, anasema
kundi la wanamgambo wa al-
Shabaab lenye ushirika na
mtandao wa kigaidi wa al-Qaida
limeondoka Somalia, lakini
anatahadharisha kuwa huenda
kukaibuka makundi ya kujazia
pengo lililoachwa na al-Shabaab.
Mahojiano na Balozi Mahiga
Akizungumza na Sauti ya
Amerika leo Alhamis, akiwa mjini
Kampala ambapo alitazamiwa
kukutana na Rais Yoweri
Museveni, Balozi Mahiga alisema
ameliomba Baraza la Usalama la
Umoja wa Mataifa pamoja na
Umoja wa Afrika kuongeza
juhudi na mchango wao wa
kijeshi kusaidia serikali ya
Somalia ili iweze kujenga mfumo
thabiti wa utawala na taasisi za
kutegemewa kwa raia wa
Somalia.
Aidha Balozi Mahiga, alisema
mkusanyiko wa maswala kadha
huenda ulipelekea kuvunjwa
nguvu kwa kundi hilo la al-
Shabaab, ikiwemo ukosefu wa
fedha, kukosa uongozi thabiti na
hata matatizo ya njaa na ukame.
Lakini alisitiza kuwa kulikuwa na
mapambano makali baina ya al-
Shabaab na vikosi vya serikali ya
Somalia vikisaidiwa na majeshi
ya Umoja wa Afrika-AMISOM kwa
siku 10 hivi, kabla ya kundi hilo
kusalim amri.
Kuhusu ukame na njaa
iliyokumba Somalia, Balozi
Mahiga alisema alianza kuonya
juu ya uwezekano wa kuibuka
janga kubwa la njaa tangu
mwezi Oktoba mwaka jana, kwa
kutoa taarifa kwa katibu Mkuu
wa Umoja wa Mataifa. Anasema
endapo jamii ya kimataifa
ingeliingilia kati tangu wakati
huo, maafa na picha za
kuhuzunisha zinazoshuhudiwa
na dunia nzima kuhusu njaa
nchini Somalia yangeepukika.
Mjumbe huyo maalum wa Umoja
wa Mataifa kwa Somalia pia,
alisema yupo tayari kuhamia
Mogadishu, na anahimiza jamii
ya kimataifa ichangie kuhamishia
makao ya ofisi yake mjini humo
badala ya Nairobi ili kuweza
kutoa huduma zaidi na kwa
wakati ufaao, kusaidia kuleta
uthabiti wa kiutawala nchini
Somalia.

THE RETURN OF VEIL

As Egypt moves to write a new
constitution, many are looking to
secure more rights for women.
That effort comes after decades
of growing traditionalism in the
country, including more use of
Islamic veils. Many Egyptians do
not see any contradiction,
however, between the increasing
use of veils and the push for
more women's rights.
All across Cairo, women of all
social and economic strata are
wearing various types of Islamic
veils - and the practice has
increased markedly in recent
decades.
Nearly 100 years ago, Egyptian
women fought to get out of the
veil.
But Egyptian Sociologist Saad
Eddin Ibrahim said the practice
has made a comeback.
"Well, first of all, the observation
is accurate, that there are more
women in veil, or behind the veil,
than ever there were in modern
Egyptian history," said Ibrahim.
Professor Ibrahim wrote a book
about the early days of the return
of the veil among students and
professionals 30 years ago.
"The veiling was, in a sense, a
compromise to be able to
participate as fully as possible in
public life without being
perceived as lacking in ethics or
morality or being loose. If veiling
is the price, many women, many
young girls, have accepted to pay
that price," said Ibrahim.
That is evident on the streets of
Cairo, where lawyer Noha Samir
said she has been wearing a veil
for many years.
"A hijab looks nice and makes me
feel comfortable. I am committed
to Islam, but I can also follow
fashion - within limits," she said.
Other women have adopted the
veil later in life, like social worker
Magda Abdo el Zayad. But she
said her unmarried daughter
already is wearing one.
"As we got older we started to
learn about things, about our
religion that we did not know
growing up. But my daughter is
already veiled. Even when I urge
her to go out sometimes without
it, she refuses. She says she
would feel naked."
Experts say some of Egypt's
increased social and religious
conservatism came from Saudi
Arabia, conveyed by millions of
Egyptian men, who went there to
work and came home with
different views of how women
should behave.
But Azza Soliman of the Center
for Egyptian Women said the
change also came from women
themselves, and is related to the
country's recent history.
"There was a gap between what
the people needed and what the
government provided, so many
people turned to religion to fill
the gap," said Soliman. "And
many women chose to express
their new religious feeling by
putting on the veil."
But most Egyptian women do not
wear the full 'niqab,' which
covers all but the eyes. Most wear
some version of the 'hijab,'
covering the hair and neck.
And many are quick to point out
that they can be fashionable,
even with a veil.
"Why not be elegant and at the
same time be veiled? Why not?
The hijab does not have to limit
you," said homemaker Samia
Hegazy.
"Just because a person is veiled
doesn't mean she wears bad
clothes. There is also very good
clothing for the veil," said Dina, a
homemaker.
Newspaper editor Rania Al Malky
said for her, there is no conflict
between being covered and
being a successful professional,
or a political activist.
"To me, I don't think this in itself
represents anything really in this
society. On the contrary,
sometimes women feel
empowered by their veil because
it protects them somehow from
being targeted. Some of the
leading youth figures, who are
women in the youth movement
that led to this revolution, were
young, veiled women," said Al
Malky.
Veteran Egyptian Journalist
Hisham Kassem agrees that
what's important is not a
woman's clothing, but rather
whether she has full rights in
society.
"In some cases you had women
who were not veiled, but
basically played no role in society.
But when I see veiled a woman
who's out there demonstrating,
this is somebody on the move to
play a role," said Kassem. "The
attire is not going to be the issue
here. It's the role they are going
to play. And that eventually will
lead to full equality, as opposed
to women simply taking off the
veil, but playing no active role."
That does not conform to
Western ideas about women's
liberation. This woman was
detained by police in France in
April for wearing a veil, in
violation of a law designed to
promote women's rights.
As Egyptians work their way
through the early stages of
democracy, though, many believe
the veil can, and even should, be
part of it.

AFYA YA KONDOO MWENYE QUR'AN MATATANI

AFYA ya kondoo wa ajabu
aliyezaliwa katika Kijiji cha Uduru
wilayani Hai mkoani Kilimanjaro
iko shakani kutokana na
mazingira yasiyo salama
anakoishi.
Bwana Mifugo wa vijiji vya Uduru
na Nkuu Andrea Njau amesema
jana kuwa kondoo huyo yupo
katika mazingira hatarishi ya
kuambukizwa magonjwa
yanayotishia maisha yake.
“Kondoo huyo yupo katika
mazingira ambayo hayastahili
hata kidogo, magonjwa kama ya
homa ya mapafu, ndigana baridi,
kimeta pamoja na fangasi
yatakuwa yakimnyemelea,”
alisema Njau.
Njau alisema tangu aanze
kuhudumia mifugo katika kijiji
hicho, hajawahi kutoa tiba wala
chanjo katika familia ya mmliki
wa kondoo huyo, Grace Masawe
hali inayotishia zaidi maisha ya
kiumbe huyo.
Akifafanua sababu na dalili za
magonjwa hayo yanayopatikana
katika kijiji hicho, Njau alisema
kuwa homa ya mapafu ambayo
husababishwa na minyoo ya
mapafu, mfugo huwa na homa
kali na hutoa mapovu mdomoni
na hatimaye kufa.
Kuhusu ugonjwa wa ndigana
baridi, Njau alisema
husababishwa na kupe
wanaozaliana kwa wingi
kutokana na kinyesi cha
ng'ombe na kuonya kuwa kama
kondoo huyo anakaa zizi moja
na ng’ombe, yuko hatarini
kuupata.
Ugonjwa mwingine hatari
unaomnyemelea kondoo huyo ni
kimeta (anthrax) ambao huua
mifugo ghafla pamoja na
binadamu.
Alisema ugonjwa huo uliwahi
kuzuka hivi karibuni katika eneo
hilo lakini ulidhibitiwa kwa
haraka kabla ya kuleta madhara
makubwa.
Ugonjwa wa kimeta hauna dawa
yoyote zaidi ya chanjo ambayo
katika Wilaya ya Hai mwanzoni
mwa Juni chanjo hiyo ilitolewa.
Alisema mbali na kutowahi
kuhudumia mifugo ya familia ya
Masawe, lakini hata wakati wa
chanjo dhidi ya kimeta, wafugaji
wachache walitoa mifugo yao
kutokana na kukosa elimu.
Masawe alikiri kuwa hajawahi
kupatia mifugo yake chanjo ya
aina yoyote hata na kondoo huyo
kwa madai kuwa hana fedha ya
kuwapatia matibabu.
Mmiliki huyo alisema kuwa katika
mifugo yake ulishawahi kuzuka
ugonjwa ambao hakuutambua
ukaua ng'ombe wake ghafla.
Kutokana na hali hiyo, Njau
alishauri jamii ijitokeze
kumsaidia mama huyo ili amlinde
kondoo huyo dhidi ya hatari ya
magonjwa.
Kondoo huyo dume alizaliwa
Julai 6 mwaka huu, akiwa na
maandishi ya Kiarabu ubavuni
yenye maana ya neno Yasini
ambayo ni aya muhimu sawa na
moyo wa Kitabu Kitakatifu cha
Koran.
Tangu aripotiwe na gazeti hili,
kondoo huyo amekuwa kivutio
kikubwa kwa watu hususani
waumini wa dini ya Kiislamu
wanaomiminika kwa wingi
kutoka mikoa mbalimbali
kushuhudia maajabu hayo.
Waumini hao baadhi wamefikia
hatua ya kutaka kumnunua kwa
Sh milioni 10 lakini wakakataliwa
na mmiliki huku baadhi ya
mashehe wakisema ni dalili za
kiama.
Tayari Baraza la Waislamu Mkoa
wa Kilimanjaro limeshatoa
maelezo kuwa kondoo huyo ni
jambo kubwa na hivyo
wanamuachia Mungu.

New Facebook virus"likes" Rusian Speakers

A new computer virus spreading
through social networks appears
to have an in-built preference for
Russian speakers.
Around 20 per cent of Russian
and 40 per cent of Ukrainian
users on Facebook have been
infected.
The virus sends users an
innocent looking link. Following
it triggers a harmful software
download.
This enables hackers to steal
sensitive data from PCs and
illegally transfer funds from
electronic payment accounts.
This comes amid reports that the
US police have formed a task
force which will monitor social
networks like Twitter and
Facebook for people bragging
about their crimes online.
The officers will also mine social
media looking for info about
troublesome house parties, gang
showdowns and other potential
mayhem, reports Daily News.
The need for such a unit has
been demonstrated during the
recent riots in the UK, when
looters used Twitter and
BlackBerry messages to plan
attacks on shops and warn each
other about police movements.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

BAKWATA KUTOLEA TAMKO KONDOO MWENYE KORAN

BARAZA Kuu la Waislamu
Tanzania (Bakwata) Mkoa wa
Kilimanjaro, linatarajia kutoa
tamko lake juu ya kondoo
aliyezaliwa akiwa na maandishi
ya Koran.
Hayo yalisemwa jana na Katibu
wa Bakwata wa Mkoa, Shehe
Rashid Malya, alipozungumza na
gazeti hili baada ya kikao
kilichokuwa kitoe tamko hilo
jana kuahirishwa.
Kuahirishwa huko kulitokana na
Shehe wa Mkoa ambaye alikuwa
asimamie kikao hicho kushindwa
kufanya hivyo, kutokana na
sababu zilizokuwa nje ya uwezo
wake.
Awali ilibainishwa kuwa
mashehe wa mkoa huo
walikuwa wakutane wajadili
kuhusu kondoo huyo na kisha
kumpa tamko Shehe wa Mkoa na
kuliwasilisha kwa jopo la wasomi
ambao ndio wangetoa tamko
rasmi kuhusu majaaliwa hayo.
Kondoo huyo aliyezaliwa Julai 6
amekuwa kivutio kikubwa kwa
waumini wa dini ya Kiislamu,
ambapo hadi sasa watu kutoka
mikoa ya Dar es Saalam, Tanga na
Arusha wamefika kushuhudia
maajabu hayo.
Hadi sasa pamoja na watu
kumiminika katika kijiji cha
Uduru wilayani Hai
kumshuhudia, kuna watu
wamejitokeza kutaka kumnunua
kwa hata Sh milioni 10 lakini
mmiliki wake, Grace Masawe,
anasema hayuko tayari
kumwuza.
Alieleza sababu za kukataa
kumwuza kondoo huyo, kuwa ni
kutokana na familia yake kutojua
nini maana ya tukio hilo na
kwamba inachukulia kitendo
hicho kama baraka kwa familia.
Maandishi aliyonayo kondoo
huyo yana maana ya Yasini
ambayo ni moja ya aya muhimu
katika Koran pia ni moyo wa
Kitabu hicho.
“Aya hii ni moyo wa Kitabu
Kitakatifu cha Koran,
kinachoelezea mambo mengi
makubwa hususani nyakati za
mwisho … inaonesha ishara
kuwa hizi ni siku za mwisho za
kiyama,” alisema Shehe Malya.
Alisema aya ya maandishi hayo
katika Koran ni moja ya sura
zinazoeleza mambo mazito,
pamoja na kueleza kuwa Kitabu
hicho kinazungumzia siku za
mwisho za kiyama, hivyo kila mtu
atengeneze maisha yake.
Aliongeza kuwa hiyo ni ishara
kubwa kwa waumini wa dini ya
Kiislamu, kwa sababu Kitabu
Kitakatifu cha Koran kilishushwa
Mwezi wa Ramadhan, hivyo
ishara hii katika kipindi cha
Mfungo Mtukufu wa Ramadhani
ni kubwa.
Pia Shehe Malya aliongeza kuwa
neno Yasini ni jina lingine la
Mtume Muhammad (SAW)
alilopewa na Mwenyezi Mungu,
na kueleza kuwa hiyo ni miujiza
na bahati kwa dini hiyo.
“Haya maandishi katika aya ya
Kitabu cha Koran yamejikita zaidi
kuonesha hizi ni siku za mwisho
za kiyama, hivyo wakati huo
midomo haitaongea tena ila
mikono itasema na miguu
itashuhudia, hivyo Mungu
akipenda jambo lake liwe
linakuwa,” alisema Shehe Malya.
Grace alisema familia inayomiliki
kondoo huyo ni ya Kikristo,
ingawa ameibuka mmoja wa
wanafamilia, Said Masawe na
kusema si kweli kwamba familia
hiyo ni ya Kikristo bali ni
mchanganyiko wa Wakristo na
Waislamu.
Akizungumza na gazeti hili kwa
njia ya simu juzi, Masawe alisema
hatua ya kusema kuwa familia
hiyo ni ya Kikristo pekee,
imesababisha manung’uniko
ndani ya familia kwa vile
haijawatendea haki wanafamilia
Waislamu.
“Familia yetu ni ya mchanganyiko
wa dini mbili za Uislamu na
Ukristo. Pale nyumbani alipo yule
kondoo, mwenye mji ni
marehemu babu yetu Mzee Said
Masawe, ambaye mimi ndiye
nilirithi jina lake. Babu alikuwa
Mwislamu na hata marehemu
mkewe, yaani bibi pia alikuwa
Mwislamu jina lake ni Mwanaidi
Masawe.
“Si hao tu, hata baba mkubwa
Khalifa Masawe anayeishi
Monduli ambaye alikuwa pale
nyumbani, baada ya kuzaliwa
kwa kondoo yule, ni Mwislamu.
Alikuwapo pia marehemu baba
yetu mkubwa marehemu
Suleiman Masawe, ambaye ni
Mwislamu. Ninachotaka kusema
hapa ni kwamba Waislamu ndani
ya familia tupo wengi tu ingawa
na Wakristo pia wapo,” alisema
Masawe.
Alisema mama yake anayeishi
katika makazi hayo kwa hivi sasa
ambaye ndiye aliyelieleza gazeti
hili, kuwa familia yao ni ya
Kikristo, Grace (55), alizungumzia
imani yake yeye binafsi, kwani ni
Mkristo, lakini hiyo haina maana
kuwa wanafamilia wote ni
Wakristo.
“Hivi sasa baada ya tukio, baba
mkubwa (Khalifa), ametutaarifu
wanafamilia wote lakini kwa vile
tukio limetokea wakati wa Mwezi
Mtukufu wa Ramadhani,
tumekubaliana kwamba baada
ya funga, wakati wa Sikukuu ya
Idd wote tuwe Moshi ili tusome
dua na kumaliza kila kitu kwa
jambo hili la ajabu lililotokea,”
alisema Masawe.

NATO air strikes kill at least 85 civilians

Libyan government
Libyan government officials claim
that NATO air strikes have killed
at least 85 civilians in a village
near the city of Zlitan, where
some funerals took place on
Tuesday. Libyan government
spokesman Moussa Ibrahim
accused NATO of carrying out the
air strikes to pave the way for
Libyan rebels to attack Tripoli.
"Eighty-five civilians, mothers,
their children, their daughters,
their boys, their husbands,
sisters and brothers, uncles,
aunts were massacred without
any mercy," he said, as cited by
Associated Press. According to
Libyan state television, Muammar
Gaddafi has announced three
days of mourning for the victims.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

WATU 60 WAFA MAJI KATIKA AJALI MBAYA ILOTOKEA VISIWANI COMORO

Takriban zaidi ya watu 60
wakiwemo watoto
wanasadikiwa kuwa wamekufa
baada ya meli ndogo ya abiria
kuzama katika visiwa vya Comoro mapema leo jumanne.
Maafisa wa Comoro wanasema
idadi ya vifo inaweza
kuongezeka katika ajali hiyo ya
meli iliyokuwa na abiria 100.
Haijafahamika haraka chanzo cha
kuzama boti hiyo .
Tayari kundi la uokozi liko katika
eneo la tukio katika bahari
iliyochafuka.
Comoro inavisiwa vitatu kutoka
ufukwe wa msumbiji. Meli hiyo
ilikuwa inasafiri katika kisiwa
kikubwa cha Grande Comore na
kisiwa cha Anjouan.
Lakini shirika la habari ya
kimataifa Reuters limemnukuu
mwendesha mashtaka wa umma
Soilih Mahmoud akisema kuwa
meli hiyo ilikuwa inatokea mji
mkuu wa Moroni kwenda kisiwa
cha Anjoun na kugonga mawe
takriban kilomita tatu nje ya
ufukwe wa kisiwa kikubwa na
kupelekea boti hiyo kuzama .
Shirika hilo linasema miili ya
watu 60 imepatikana lakini
mingine bado imekwama na
itaweza kuondolewa pale bahari
itakapotulia.
Baadhi ya watu walionusurika
waliweza kuogelea mpaka eneo
salama.
Nalo shirika la msalaba
mwekundu linasema watu
wengine walionusurika
walipelekwa katika hospitali za
Ouzioine na Foumbouni.

WHEN LONDON TURNS INTO BAGHDAD AS GANGS ROAM

Some 16,000 police officers will be
on the streets of London Tuesday
night, after British Prime Minister
David Cameron vowed tough
action to quell rioting in Britain's
cities.
He said the extra officers -- more
than twice as many as the night
before -- would tackle the
"criminality, pure and simple" that
has shaken the capital. Officers
from several other cities were
drafted in to help in the effort.
"People should be in no doubt that
we will do everything necessary to
restore order to Britain's streets
and make them safe for the law-
abiding," Cameron said.
Violence initially sparked by the
shooting death of a 29-year-old
man in London, Mark Duggan,
spread to other parts of the nation
Monday night, with dramatic
scenes of blazing buildings and
confrontations between police and
hooded youths.
The trouble -- described by police
as "'copycat criminal activity" --
takes place against a backdrop of
austerity measures and budget
cuts.
An independent police body
reported Tuesday that there was
"no evidence" that Duggan had
opened fire at officers, a result that
may further anger his community.
The police appealed for calm in
light of the report.
The Metropolitan Police in London
said Monday night's disturbances
were the worst the force "has seen
in current memory for
unacceptable levels of widespread
looting, fires and disorder."
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who
was found with a gunshot wound
to the head in Croydon, south
London, on Monday night has died,
police said Tuesday. His is the first
riot-related death since the unrest
broke out Saturday night.
Rumours swirled Tuesday
afternoon of police responding to
different areas of London, but the
only outbreaks of disorder
confirmed by police were in
Wolverhampton and West
Bromwich, about 100 miles north
of London, and the northwestern
city of Manchester.
Cameron, who cut short his
vacation in Italy to hold an
emergency meeting Tuesday, has
also taken the highly unusual step
of recalling lawmakers from their
summer break, with Parliament to
meet Thursday.

Friday, August 5, 2011

NJAA YAZIDI KUIANDAMA SOMALIA

Umoja wa Mataifa unasema
maeneo matatu zaidi ya Somalia
sasa yanakabiliwa na njaa.Ripoti
zinasema kuwa njaa inatarajiwa
kuenea zaidi kama hakuna
uingiliaji kati wa haraka.
kitengo cha Umoja wa Mataifa
cha tathmini ya usalama wa
chakula na mradi wa kuonya juu
ya njaa ujulikanao kama FEWS-
NET unasema njaa huko kusini
mwa Somalia inazidi kuwa
mbaya.
Takwimu mpya zinaonyesha
kwamba watu zaidi wanafariki
na kuathiriwa na hali mbaya ya
utapiamlo katika mkoa wa Middle
Shebele na pia miongoni mwa
watu waliopoteza makazi yao
huko Mogadishu na eneo la
Afgoye magharibi mwa mji
mkuu.
Hadi sasa hali ya njaa
imetambuliwa katika maeneo
mawili tu ya Lower Shebelle na
Bakool kusini mwa kati ya
Somalia.
Mshauri mkuu wa masuala ya
kiufundi katika kitengo cha
usalama wa chakula kwa somalia
katika Umoja wa Mataifa, Grainne
Maloney anasema hali katika
jamii za watu waliopoteza
makazi yao ni za kusikitisha.
“Ni kundi ambalo kwa kiasi
kikubwa tayari limekoseshwa
makazi na walikuwa
wakitegemea misaada ya
kibinadamu, na bila shaka
kukiwa na masharti katika
kuwafikia na masharti katika
ufadhili, hawakuweza kupata
msaada. Takriban miaka 3
iliyopita kiwango cha utapiamlo
huko kilikuwa takriban asilimia
12 na kuona hivi sasa kiwango
hicho kimefikia asilimia 40
inasikitisha.”
Hali ya njaa kimsingi hivi sasa
inamaanisha kuwa takriban
asilimia 30 ya raia wana
utapiamlo, watu majumbani
hawana fursa ya kupata chakula
na kwamba vifo vimetokea
kutokana na njaa.
Hakuna takwimu halisi kuhusu
idadi ya vifo vinavyotokea kila
siku,lakini inakadiriwa kuwa ni
mamia ya watu.
Umoja wa Mataifa imeomba
msaada wa zaidi ya dola billion
moja kushughulikia mzozo na
hadi sasa wamepata takriban
asilimia 40 ya fedha hizo
zilizoombwa. Maloney anasema
msaada zaidi unahitajika haraka.
“Kuna haja ya uingiliaji kati
mkubwa hivi sasa kwa vile sasa
watu millioni 2.8 huko kusini
wanahitaji msaada na hiyo ni
pamoja na chakula, lishe bora,
maji, afya na vifaa vya kilimo.
Wanahitaji kila kitu hivi sasa na
hawawezi kusubiri.”
Maloney anasema kuna
matumaini kidogo kwa
Mogadishu, ambako watu
waliopoteza makazi yao
wanaweza kufikiwa na
mashirika ya misaada ya
kibinadam ambayo yanapanua
juhudi zao huko.
Mzozo wa Somalia ulisababishwa
na mkongo mbaya wa ukame,
ambao baadhi wanasema ni
mbaya zaidi kuwahi kufanyika
katika miaka 60. Lakini ukosefu
wa kuwepo serikali inayofanya
kazi vilivyo imeifanya hali hiyo
kuwa mbaya zaidi na vikwazo
vya misaada vilivyowekwa na
kundi la Al shabab lenye
uhusiano na kundi la kigaidi la Al
Qaida.
Umoja wa Mataifa unategemea
njaa kuenea katika maeneo
mengine ya kusini mwa Somalia
katika majuma manne au sita
yajayo na kuendelea hadi mwezi
Disemba.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

MUSEVEN AITISHA KIKAO KUNUSURU UCHUMI WA UGANDA

Rais Yoweri Museveni ameitisha
kikao cha dharura cha mawaziri
kujadili jinsi ya kukabili nhali
mbaya ya uchumi nchini humo.
Baraza hilo la mawaziri
linakutana katika kipindi
ambacho viongozi wa upinzani
wamekuwa wakilalamikia
kupanda kwa gharama za
maisha.
Bidhaa muhimu kama vile sukari
zimeanza kukosekana madukani
hali ambayo inawaathiri watu
wenye kipato cha chini nchini
humo.
Bei ya sukari imepanda
kiasi kwamba kile kiasi kilichoko
aidha kinafichwa ama
kuniauzwa bei kali ambayo sio ile
ya kawaida.
katika maduka makubwa watu
hawakubaliwi kununua zaidi ya
kilo moja.
Hali hii inatishia uchumi wa taifa
ambao kwa sasa kwa mujibu wa
gavana wa benki kuu ya taifa
kiwango cha ukuaji wa uchumi
wa Uganda kitadidimia kwa asili
mia 5 kutokana na kiwango
kikubwa cha mfumuko wa bei za
bidhaa.
Mfumuko wa bei unakaribia asili
ia 20, kiwango kikubwa zaidi
kwa kipindi cha maiaka 10.
Pia kiwango cha ubadilishanaji
wa pesa za Uganda kwa dola
kumepanda kiasi kuwa dola 1
inanunua shilling za Uganda
2,634.
Msemaji wa serikali na waziri wa
habari bi Mary okurut amesema
kikao hicho maalum cha
mawaziri kitajadili mikakati ya
kukabili hali hii ya uchumi.
Kuhusu kutoweka kwa sukari
madukani, waziri Okurut
amesema kuwa serikali imeomba
ruhusa kutoka jumuiya ya Afrika
mashariki ikubaliwe kuagizia
sukari kutoka nje ya ukanda huu.
Uganda ina viwanda vitatu
vinavyozalisha sukari, lakini ni
kimoja tu kwa sasa kinachofanya
kazi.
Viwili vilivyosalia, kimoja
kimefungwa kwa sababu
mitambo yake inafanyiwa
ukarabati ilhali kingine kwa
kuwa hakipati miwa
inayotosheleza uzalishaji.