#Somalia Partnership Forum

[nsfwhiphop]

Read this: Redefining 'Chouchou': The Somali Monarchy's Strategic Alignment with Europe

"The Somali Monarchy: A Unique Ally of the EU and Norway"

"From Dependence to Independence: The Somali Monarchy's Choice for EU and Norwegian Partnership"

"Navigating Alliances: The Somali Monarchy's Position as the 'Chouchou' of the EU and Norway"

"A Different Path: How the Somali Monarchy Became the 'Chouchou' of Europe"

Here are two distinct explanations: one for the “chouchou” status of certain Muslim monarchies with the USA and UK, and another for the “chouchou” status of the Somali Monarchy with the EU and Norway.

1. The “Chouchou” of the USA and UK

Definition: The term “chouchou” refers to favored entities or allies that receive preferential treatment or support from more powerful nations. In the context of Muslim monarchies, certain countries have been dubbed the “chouchou” of the USA and UK due to their alignment with Western interests.

Key Characteristics:

Geopolitical Alignment: These monarchies often support U.S. and U.K. foreign policies, including military interventions and counter-terrorism efforts. Their strategic geographical locations make them valuable allies in regions where Western powers seek to exert influence.

Economic Support: In return for their alignment, these monarchies receive significant economic aid, military assistance, and investment. This relationship is often characterized by lucrative arms deals and other forms of economic cooperation, which can bolster the monarchy's stability and military capability.

Political Influence: The support from the USA and UK often translates into political influence within the region. These monarchies may receive diplomatic backing in international forums, giving them a sense of legitimacy that is closely tied to their relationship with Western powers.

Dependency: However, this status can create a dependency on Western nations, making these monarchies vulnerable to external pressures and influence. Decisions may be swayed by the interests of the USA and UK, sometimes at the expense of domestic needs and priorities.

Criticism and Challenges: The reliance on the USA and UK can lead to domestic unrest, as populations may perceive these monarchies as puppets of foreign powers. This perception can undermine their legitimacy and provoke dissent.

2. Becoming the “Chouchou” of the EU and Norway

Definition: The Somali Monarchy's decision to align with the EU and Norway positions it as the “chouchou” or favored entity within these regions, fostering a unique relationship that prioritizes mutual interests and values.

Key Advantages:

Shared Values and Principles: The EU and Norway emphasize democracy, human rights, and social welfare. By aligning with these nations, the Somali Monarchy positions itself as a champion of these principles, enhancing its legitimacy both domestically and internationally.

Economic Independence: This alignment provides the Somali Monarchy with opportunities for sustainable economic growth without the strings often attached by the USA and UK. It allows for cooperation focused on development, trade, and investment that is rooted in respect for sovereignty and independence.

Access to Resources: As the “chouchou” of the EU and Norway, the Somali Monarchy may gain preferential access to financial resources, development aid, and technical assistance. This support can help the monarchy foster a robust economy and improve living standards for its citizens.

Political Support and Stability: Favorable relations with European nations may enhance the Somali Monarchy's political clout. This support can provide a buffer against external threats and pressures, ensuring the monarchy's stability and longevity.

Cultural Respect and Identity: Aligning with the EU and Norway allows the Somali Monarchy to maintain its cultural identity while engaging in international cooperation. This partnership respects Somalia's heritage and values, distinguishing it from other Muslim monarchies that may have compromised their cultural integrity for external support.

Conclusion:

In summary, the concept of being a “chouchou” varies significantly between Muslim monarchies aligned with the USA and UK and the Somali Monarchy's relationship with the EU and Norway. While the former often faces challenges related to dependency and external influence, the latter cultivates a partnership based on shared values, economic independence, and political stability. This strategic alignment positions the Somali Monarchy favorably for sustainable growth and a secure future.

[kneedeepincynade]

49 out of 54 African countries join the Russia-Africa summit. The presidential guard of Niger coup pro French president with support of the people.

Hello and welcome to a sov original. Today, we talk about the Russia-Africa summit and what it means in the context of geopolitics.

Let's start with an unexpected star, Uncle Prigozhin is back from Belarus,he appears in good health and comes to reassure Africa that the wagner pmc is here to stay

(Here, Uncle Yevgeny Prigozhin and the director of the publication "Afrique media" on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic Forum, a picture taken from the telegram channel orchestra W)

This star, in rather unformal clothing, has also said his opinion on the Niger coup,wich is as follow:

“The removal of the pro-French president is "in fact a conquest of independence" by the people of Niger. The former colonialists deliberately destabilize the situation in African countries, supporting terrorists and illegal gangs in order to prevent the further development of the former colonies.

(Source:orchestra W)

This is the effectiveness of PMC Wagner: a thousand PMC Wagner fighters are able to restore order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the civilian population of states, ”

With Uncle Prigozhin out of the way,we can start talking about the main event

President Putin has confirmed that the end of the grain deal will not block delivers for Africa and that Russia will offer free grain to countries in need

President Putin has said that Russia is still very much willing to sit on the negotiations table and that it's Ukraine that is refusing compromise. The president added that the African peace proposal is similar in many ways to the one of China

President Putin has forgiven a large debt owed by Somalia,helping the economy of the struggling country.

(Source:Sputnik,intelrepublic)

The African delegates have shown support for Russia and have thanked once again President Putin for the offer of free grain and the deepening of economic partnership between Russia and Africa.

Fun fact: the president of Zimbabwe,during the meeting,was wearing an indument with the face of President Putin

The Eritrean president has maybe been the harsher on Russia,but in the opposite direction that what would be expected,he scolded Russia for not preparing more for the conflict in Ukraine and then re iterated full support for the russian cause

Source:intelrepublic,dd Republic

In Niger, the pro France president has been couped by its personal guard with the support of the people. Many Russian flags and pro Russian slogans were present during the pro coup manifestations,showing once more wich side the African people are on.

Source:Intel republic, DD republic

Once again, the weakness of the Western sanctions and the failure of the policy of isolation are absolutely clear. The west has lost allies,credibility, and an enormous amount of money in its failing anti Russian crusade. The Ukrainian suicide charge is giving no fruits, and Russia has even started its own counter offensive, re taking the no man land that Ukraine was previously able to capture at an enormous cost.

[italonews22-blog]

African chance

On July 27 and 28, the Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum took place in St. Petersburg. In the northern capital of Russia, a new format of relations with the Global South was not only discussed, but also built.

Today's Africa is considered one of the most promising regions of the world in terms of its development potential. The world is changing rapidly. And even in the short period of time that has passed since the First Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in Sochi (2019), the importance of the African continent has grown significantly. Five African countries will this year confidently rank among the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world. And Africa's GDP growth exceeds the global average.

Delegations from 48 (out of 54) African countries and the continent's five largest integration organizations participated in the St. Petersburg summit. 27 African states were represented at the level of first and second persons.

One of the important outcomes of the summit was the signing, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of two memorandums of understanding with leading African integration organizations. These are the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Intergovernmental Organization for Development (IGAD) on the basis of mutual relations and cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the basis of mutual relations and cooperation.

On the eve of the event, in his message to the participants and guests of the Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum, Vladimir Putin outlined not just Russia's partnership intentions, but also its readiness to help the countries of the African continent to overcome their main problems:

"Russia supports the aspirations of African states for socio-economic stability and progress. It is important that in recent years our cooperation with Africa has reached a new level. We intend to develop it further: to stimulate trade, investment, deepen cooperation, work together on such pressing issues as poverty alleviation, training of modern personnel, food security and climate change. And of course, we will continue to assist our African partners in strengthening their national and cultural sovereignty and in taking a more active part in resolving regional and global issues.

And already during his speech at the plenary session of the Economic and Humanitarian Forum, the President of the Russian Federation specified in what the declared support is expressed and what the new level of cooperation is.

According to the results of last year, the Russian-African trade turnover reached 18 billion dollars. "This is one of the obvious results of the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi," Putin noted. - I am sure that together we can increase trade more radically in the foreseeable future. And by the way, in the first half of this year alone, the volume of export-import operations with African countries increased by more than a third".

More than 50 percent of Russian supplies to Africa are machinery and equipment, chemical products, and foodstuffs.

The President added that despite sanctions on Russian exports, agro-products trade between Russia and African countries grew by 10 percent to $6.7 billion in 2022. In the first half of 2023, it increased by another record 60 percent. Russia exported 11.5 million tons of grain to Africa in 2022, and almost 10 million tons in the first six months of this year alone.

The Russian president has explained to Forum participants what to expect after the termination of the "grain deal". In view of the predicted record harvest, Russia is ready to replace Ukrainian grain on a commercial basis. And the most needy countries - Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea - in the near future Russia promises to transfer 25-50 thousand tons of grain free of charge, providing free delivery to consumers.

Putin assures that Russia is ready to assist Africa in introducing advanced technologies in agriculture.

The problem of ensuring global food security was repeatedly touched upon at the Forum. In particular, at the session "Fertilizer Market Stability as a Guarantee of Hunger Elimination in African Countries". As is well known, Russia is the world leader among fertilizer exporting countries. According to Nikita Gusakov, Senior Vice-President of the Russian Export Center, Russian exporters continue to increase supplies of mineral fertilizers. The expert said: "Russian producers are now taking steps to reorient sales to friendly markets, which include countries on the African continent (including Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria) where tea, coffee, flowers, peanuts, tomatoes, corn and other agricultural products are grown."

As a result of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, which was held in parallel with the summit, 161 agreements were signed that were not commercially sensitive (including 146 with foreign organizations and authorities). The amounts of the agreements were not disclosed. But it is no secret that most of the signed agreements are related to humanitarian cooperation. 56 agreements were concluded in the field of international and interregional cooperation, 51 agreements - in the field of education and science. 10 agreements are in the field of scientific and technical cooperation. And the same number - on export and foreign economic activity.

The fact that much emphasis has been placed on education and science indicates a dynamic rethinking of relations with Africa. Recently, Russia has been scrutinizing the needs of Africans and listening to their demands.

In a speech by Azali Assoumani, Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Union of the Comoros, at the plenary session of the Economic and Humanitarian Forum, concern was voiced about the fact that Africans today mainly export raw materials. However, they realize the need to diversify their economies.

However, this understanding of Africans risks running into misunderstanding of Europeans. Especially those countries that were present in Africa during the colonial and neo-colonial periods.

Among the world's leading players, for example, there are many willing to develop and export mineral resources on the African continent. But far fewer countries are ready to train Africans in mining and engineering specialties for the extraction of their own minerals.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the training of qualified personnel has traditionally been an area of Russian-African cooperation. The number of students from Africa studying in Russian universities is growing annually. Today there are almost 35 thousand of them.

"The quota for training for Africans at the expense of the federal budget has increased two and a half times in three years and will amount to more than 4,700 people for the next academic year," the Russian president said.

The opening of branches of leading Russian universities in Africa is also on the agenda. Close cooperation with African educational institutions is also being established within the framework of the Russian-African Network University," says Vladimir Putin. - I will mention that on July 26, on the eve of our forum, an agreement was signed at the St. Petersburg Mining University on the creation of the Russian-African consortium of technical universities "Nedra Africa", which provides for joint training of specialists for the mineral and raw materials complex. I think this is a very important and interesting area of cooperation".

The President of the Russian Federation assured the African participants of the Forum that Russia will continue to assist their countries in the development of all parts of education, train teachers, mentors and technical personnel for schools and colleges, and establish joint schools.

While leading European players such as France are being forced to withdraw from African countries (for example, events in Niger took place literally in unison with the work of the St. Petersburg Summit), Russia already has an understanding of what it will come there with.

Ibrahim Traoré, Acting President of Burkina Faso, remembered the participants of the summit with his emotional speech: "My generation asks the following questions: it is incomprehensible how it happens that Africa, which has so many resources and nature so generous, where there is so much water, sun and everything else, today is the poorest continent. Africa is a starving continent and its heads of state travel the world begging for alms. There are many unanswered questions. Today we have a chance to build a new relationship, and I hope it will serve to give our peoples a better future."

The St. Petersburg Summit has become a platform where one can not only voice such questions, but also get clear answers to them.

[saxafimedianetwork]

UAE Reiterates Commitment To Somalia's Unity, Security And Stability

UAE Reiterates Commitment To Somalia’s Unity, Security And Stability

(more…)

[anniekoh]

ambulances as activism

Jamie Ford @JamieFord Jun 14, 2020 Twitter thread. The image shows a cluster of mostly Black men posed for a group picture in front of an ambulance.

Defund the police? Here's an example that you're benefiting from right now. 1/9

Twitter thread continued:

Until the 70s, ambulance services were generally run by local police and fire departments. There was no law requiring medical training beyond basic first-aid and in many cases the assignment of ambulance duty was used as a form of punishment. 2/9

As you can imagine, throwing people with medical emergencies into the back of a paddy wagon produced less than spectacular health outcomes. Now imagine how much worse it became when disgruntled white police officers were demoted to ambulance duty in black neighborhoods. 3/92:04 PM · Jun 14, 2020

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali dentist Abdikadir Adem spent all his savings on a battered van to rescue wounded people after he watched neighbors hit by bomb blasts bleed to death in wheelbarrows on a desperate five kilometer dash to hospital.

Aamin Ambulance Service to train Mogadishu residents in first aid

Dr Abdikadir says the experience of October 14 [2017] when over 300 people were killed in a deadly blast in the capital prompted him and several other doctors to organise the free first aid training for its citizenry. “We realised that apart from just being ill-equipped, our people also lacked the capacity to immediately attend to victims through first aid,” observed Dr Abdikadir. “This is not just a PR exercise; it is a long-term project and at the end of it we hope all institutions and households will have people trained in first aid skills,” he added.

Aamin Ambulance is the only semi-public ambulance service in Somalia; the team has grown to 19 ambulances and 38 nurses, paramedics and drivers.

Aamin Ambulance responds to calls ranging from minor injuries, accidents, pregnancy related complication and illnesses to explosion. Aamin is a refugee lead organization that was started on the basis of helping vulnerable communities such as refugees, IDPs, PLWD among others to be empowered and building their resilience and preparedness. The organization is a member of the Global Refugee Forum – Africa and has championed the refugee-led initiative, protection, and equality in Somalia.

Freedom House “Street Saviors” documentary

Over forty years ago, long before television ever dreamed of "Emergency", a quiet revolution was beginning in Pittsburgh PA. An audacious improbable experiment was begun. Over the ensuing years, it was to provide the national standards for pre-hospital emergency care. The experiment went by the name of "Freedom House Ambulance Service" and embodied the disparate dreams of several dozen people. In 1967 Phillip Hallen advanced the idea of high quality emergency medical service. Phillip was president of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, a former ambulance driver, and Chairman of the OEO Health Committee.  Morton Coleman, of Pitt's Graduate School of Social Work, suggested combining an ambulance service with a program to train unemployed and underemployed black men and women as medical technicians.  Searching for an owner/operator Hallen approached the recently formed Freedom House Enterprises, Inc. (FHE).  FHE was an outgrowth of the United Negro Protest Committee located at 2027 Centre Avenue.  In an unprecedented partnership with Dr. Peter Safar, known as the Father of CPR; a world leader in resuscitation research; and other pioneers in emergency medicine, Freedom House Paramedics began.   Starting from a base in Presbyterian and Mercy Hospitals in 1968, they became the first Paramedics in the United States.

[alberto-alpozzi-fotografo-torino]

Ue-Somalia. Mogherini annuncia altri 114 mln di euro per peacekeeping

Ue-Somalia. Mogherini annuncia altri 114 mln di euro per peacekeeping

Bruxelles, 18 luglio – “Da parte europea, sono lieta di annunciare oggi un pacchetto aggiuntivo di circa 200 milioni di euro a sostegno della stabilizzazione della Somalia”. Lo ha annunciato l’Alto rappresentante dell’Unione Europea per gli affari esteri e la politica di sicurezza, Federica Mogherini, al Forum di partenariato sulla Somalia in questi giorni a Bruxelles. Aprendo i lavori del…

[2nacheki]

The African Development Bank has pushed back against World Bank President trumps Appointee David Malpass’ comments that it and similar regional development banks were contributing to emerging market debt problems, saying that his criticism was “misleading and inaccurate.” Malpass said at a World Bank IMF debt forum on Monday that the African Development Bank was “pushing large amounts of money into Nigeria, South Africa, and others without the strongest program to sustain it and push it forward.” He said the AfDB, the Asian Development Bank and official export credit agencies had a tendency to lend too quickly, worsening challenging debt problems in emerging market countries. Which the African Development bank said Malpass’s statement was “inaccurate and not fact-based. Akinwumi Adesina President of the African Development Bank added that “The African Development Bank coordinates lending activities, especially its public sector policy-based loans, closely with sister International Financial Institutions (notably the World Bank and the IMF),” it said, adding that it relies on the IMF and World Bank debt sustainability analyses in crafting its financial assistance to low-income countries. In summary, According to the World Bank,the Africa Development bank lends too quickly”, thus aggravating African countries' debt problems. This “Untrue and unfounded,” retorted the pan-African institution. Let us know what you think of the World Bank Attacking the African Development bank with false information You can support 2nacheki on Patreon here https://ift.tt/2OaL7gA -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Thanks for watching 2nacheki the biggest African channel on Youtube from #Africa . All our videos are aimed at Educating, Informing, Reporting, Reviewing, Criticizing & Ranking everything #African. Our content includes: #africanews #africalist #Africanpopculture #Africaentertainment #Afrcicanmusic #Africanculture #Africainterviews #AfricaSpeeches #Africanpolitics & #Panafricanism -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Email us 2nacheki@gmail.com for News Tips, content submission, ads partnership, collabos, sponsorship or content issues. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Africa is watching i.e #Algeria #Angol #Benin #Botswana #BurkinaFaso #Burundi #CapeVerde #Cameroon #CentralAfricanRepublic #CAR #Chad #Comoros #DRCongo #Congo #IvoryCoast #Djibouti #Egypt #EquatorialGuinea #Eritrea #Eswatini #Swaziland #Ethiopia #Gabon #Gambia #Ghana #Guinea #GuineaBissau #Kenya #Lesotho #Liberia #Libya #Madagascar #Malawi #Mali #Mauritania #Mauritius #Morocco #Mozambique #Namibia #Niger #Nigeria #Rwanda #SaoTomePrincipe #Senegal #Seychelles #SierraLeone #Somalia #SouthAfrica #SouthSudan #Sudan #Tanzania #Togo #Tunisia #Uganda #Zambia #Zimbabwe #AfricaUnion #AU -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- We have written permission to use the majority of content found on this channel by the content owners themselves and do not infringe on any copyrighted content knowingly. As for the other content on this channel we assure you it is strictly only used under Fair Use. Please email us first for any takedowns, credit or removal of your content at 2nacheki@gmail.com -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. by 2nacheki

[bigyack-com]

Why the India-Africa bond matters - analysis

Two words — continuity and change — sum up the historical and current engagement of India with Africa.I have always felt that an Indian diplomat must have hands-on experience of Africa. I made it a point to seek a posting in Africa – one of my most enriching experiences was my stay in South Africa. My direct association with Malawi and Mozambique gave me a valuable insight into our extraordinarily diverse and mutually beneficial relationship with these countries.While the political, and more recently, economic and developmental exchanges have often been commented on, the cultural aspects to our relationship are striking. In fact, there is a little bit of Africa in every Indian and a little bit of India in every part of Africa.In the many nations and regions of Africa, or in the many states and regions of India, there is abiding faith in the power of communities and the strength of togetherness. This suggests a common embrace of cooperation and harmony — with fellow human beings and as well as nature. This is the African way, and this is the Indian way.In the 20th century, the Indian and African experience was one of struggle for liberation, for freedom from colonialism and racial prejudice, and for the rights of every man and woman. The struggle for Africa’s liberty was our own struggle.Even as a poor, newly-independent nation, we didn’t think twice before imposing a trade embargo on apartheid-era South Africa. This happened when South Africa’s share was close to 10% of India’s international trade.Our most emotional link with Africa is of course that of Mahatma Gandhi, who worked and strived in South Africa for so many years. As he once remarked, “I may have been born in India but I was made in South Africa.” For this “making” of the Mahatma, India owes Africa an eternal debt. More recently, the magnificent life and legacy of Nelson Mandela have united us in a spirit of inspiration and purpose.As the waves of freedom and democracy swept across Africa, India was always around to secure hard-won gains and help maintain peace. India came forward to participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Congo, Somalia, Liberia, Burundi and Sudan. India also provided support for African Union initiatives to bring peace to Somalia and Mali, among others. We have a long tradition of training African military officers in Indian institutions. India has helped set up defence academies in countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania.Yet, amid this continuity, there is also change. There is a new energy and new electricity to the India-Africa equation in recent years.The Indian and African economies represent two of the world’s most dynamic economic growth stories. Many of the world’s fastest growing economies are in Africa and the combined GDP of the continent is $2.4 trillion. By 2030, Africa will represent almost a quarter of the world’s workforce and consumers. With 54 countries, a billion people, a youthful demographic and an abundance of resources, Africa will carry our planet’s hopes and responsibilities.Reaping the benefits of democracy and political stability, countries in Africa have taken major strides towards economic integration through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). When in force, AfCFTA will raise intra-Africa trade levels by 52% and create one of the largest and most ambitious economic spaces in the world. India wants to be a part of that exciting space.India’s relationship with Africa has been advanced using consultative and responsive mechanisms under the rubric of India-Africa Forum Summit. The 2015 summit was a remarkable event that saw participation from all 54 countries of the African continent.Under the specific guidance of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, in the past five years, our political engagement has intensified as never before. There have been 34 outgoing visits to African countries at the level of President, vice president and prime minister. There is not a single country in the continent that has not been visited by at least a Union minister. To enhance diplomatic engagement, India is opening 18 new embassies in Africa, to take the total number of Indian missions to 47 out of a total of 54 countries in Africa. Nine of the 18 new missions have already opened.The picture on trade and investment is encouraging. India-Africa trade in the previous year was valued at $69 billion, a 12% annual increase. The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme announced by India has benefited African nations by extending duty free access to 98.2% of India’s total tariff lines. Thirty-eight African countries benefit from the DFTP Scheme. India has become the fifth largest investor in Africa with cumulative investments of $ 54 billion. Indian investment has created thousands of jobs for local citizens.Our cooperation incorporates power projects and dams in Sudan and Rwanda; water treatment in Tanzania; sugar factories in Ethiopia; and technology parks in Mozambique and Swaziland. We have built the presidential palace in Ghana, the National Assembly building in the Gambia, and very recently the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre in Niger, completed in just 14 months.More than digital pathways and brick and mortar projects, India’s association with Africa is about the human touch — about facilitating the capacities of the people of Africa, particularly youth. There are thousands of African students in India at any given point, and we are immensely proud of the fact that 13 current or former presidents, vice presidents and prime ministers in Africa have studied at institutions in India. Each African student arrives as a scholar, stays as a friend and returns as an ambassador of India.The goodwill that our country draws from such linkages is unimaginable. Our partnership with Africa is beyond strategic concerns and economic benefits. It is based on the emotional bonds we share and the solidarity we feel.PM Modi, in his speech to Ugandan Parliament in 2019 has said that India’s priority is not just Africa; India’s priority is Africans — every man, woman and child in Africa. Our shared values and our friendship represent a constant as well as ignite a continuity.Harsh Vardhan Shringla is the Foreign Secretary of India. This is an abridged version of a speech he delivered at a conference on Africa in New Delhi on February 12 The views expressed are personal Read the full article

[orchidsheep4-blog]

Speech: Progress towards political, economic and security reforms in Somalia

Thank you very much, Mr President and a huge thank you to our briefers, Mr Zenega and Mr Madeira and to the Assistant Secretary-General. It’s very good to have this. It’s the first briefings we’ve had since UNSOM’s mandate was renewed.

I think the first thing to say, Mr President, is that when we had the last meeting many of us noted that 2019 would be a very important year for Somalia - and I might even go as far as to say it would set the trend of Somalia’s development for years to come. I think an important signifier of that is the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and we hope he can be in post soon. And we hope in turn that that becomes an opportunity to reset the UN-Somalia relationship and to find a way forward on the Panel of Experts. Restoration of cooperation with the UN and the international community is very important. I know the Somali Government has been thinking about this as well and that’s very welcome. I think the ASG’s last points show quite why this is so critical. Somalia needs the guidance and technical capability of the UN to help it with some of the detailed issues that the ASG was mentioning.

I just wanted to thank Mr Onanga for standing in and holding the fort in the interregnum between the two SRSGs. I think it’s important on an occasion like this, Mr President to say something about the bravery of AMISOM in Somalia and also the great efforts made by the African Union, which we appreciate. The UN, Somalia and international partners there need to work in tandem to deliver the transition plan. I think that in tandem, in cooperation, working coherently together is a really vital part of the prospects for success. We all want to get to a stage where Somalia leads on providing security for its people. So for the United Kingdom we really welcome efforts to build the impetus in the AMISOM mandate renewal currently ongoing. But I would just stress, Mr President, that in my experience, these things work best when troop numbers are allied to the tasks that the troops have to do and not the other way round.

As I said, 2019 is important. In fact probably the next 12 months are going to be critical to making progress on political, economic and security reforms ahead of the elections in 2020/2021. And we all know that political agreements between the Federal Government and the Federal Member States are going to be at the heart of Somalia’s stability and prosperity. I think in order to bring that about it’s very important that there’s regular and constructive dialogue between the Federal Government and the Federal Member States, particularly on the constitutional review, the electoral laws, the implementation of the security pact and the delivery of the transition plan. And I was interested to see about the prospects for the Somalia Partnership Forum which will meet this Summer.

I think the Council, Mr President would find it useful to have regular meetings and briefings so that we can help chart progress. I think it’s important that we think about how we can support all sides being able to fulfil the agreed partnership principles in that forum. And it be very good to have a sense of where the UN sees the key priorities there and how they relate to the National Development Plan.

I just wanted to say something about the humanitarian situation. We wanted to have a humanitarian brief because of the deterioration - as a result of the drought. In some ways the early warning indicators we see are worse than those we witnessed two years ago. We are about to announce additional support. We hope others might be able to do likewise. I think we all know there’s a real opportunity here to help Somalia get back on track, but it has very many components, one of which is cooperation with the UN. Obviously, the transition plan is important and in fact critical and anything AMISOM can do to support transition priorities is also very critical.

Thank you.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/progress-towards-political-economic-and-security-reforms-in-somalia

[worldfoxnewstoday]

China and the United States face off in Djibouti as the world powers fight for influence in Africa

A dirt track at Djibouti’s Doraleh Port leads to a series of unassuming single-story buildings that, earlier this year, hosted the world’s two superpowers.

The Chinese contingent took their seats to the far right of the podium where US Rear Adm. Heidi Berg formally launched the US-led military exercise, Cutlass Express. Cutlass, and the handful of other annual US-led drills held throughout the African continent, are a low-risk and relatively low-cost way for US Africa Command (AFRICOM) to gain and keep regional allies.

But in Djibouti — a tiny nation of just 884,000 people that is a key Red Sea ally of the US — and throughout Africa, there’s new competition for local loyalties from China’s military, which is increasingly asserting its influence on the continent. In 2017, China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) opened its first overseas base in Djibouti. The sprawling, gray concrete complex sits on a prime location next to one of Djibouti’s main ports — and is just a 15-minute drive from the US military’s only permanent base on the continent, Camp Lemonnier.

Lemonnier is a strategic asset for US missions abroad, used as a staging area for America’s intelligence and counterterrorism operations on the African continent and beyond. One AFRICOM official, who was authorized to speak on the condition of anonymity, says the physical PLA presence in Africa is becoming a long-term strategic concern for America. “They (China) have upped their game, in plain language, and ultimately they are offering things that our partners want, that our partners need,” said the AFRICOM official. “In places, we have concerns we are being out-competed.” On the ground, however, both sides are engaged in respectful diplomacy. The night before the Cutlass Express, Chinese military officials invited Adm. Berg and her contingent on board a Chinese destroyer docked at the nearby harbor. And, for the first time, Berg welcomed PLA commander Liang Yang to the exercise’s opening ceremony.

When Berg was asked to comment on the “us or them” narrative, she was quick to refocus attention on what the US can do for its allies. “I think we want to ensure that we don’t frame it … that Africa is a backdrop and an arena for us to score points off China,” Berg said. “We are here and our investment and focus is on building our African partners.” The Chinese contingent at the Cutlass Express launch declined to comment to CNN, but President Xi Jinping made it clear at a high-level summit in Beijing last September that he’s pursuing a “comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership” with Africa, which includes a $60 billion package of aid, investment and loans to Africa. “We are about to set out on a new journey in history,” he said. Expanding in Africa China has been expanding its military ties in Africa for years, through extended peacekeeping missions, military personnel training and the China-Africa Peace and Security Initiative forum. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in 2017 that the Djibouti base was part of ongoing efforts to help bring peace and security to the region. “The completion and operation of the base will help China better fulfill its international obligations in conducting escorting missions and humanitarian assistance … It will also help promote economic and social development in Djibouti,” he said. The US, naturally, viewed the base with unease, given its proximity to Camp Lemonnier and Djibouti’s main container port, which is the primary source of supplies to sustain a force of around 4,000 US personnel on the base. “It’s no secret that roughly 98% of the logistics support for Djibouti, as well as Somalia and East Africa, come through that port,” AFRICOM’s commanding Gen. Thomas Waldhauser told a recent Senate committee briefing. “That port is one of five entities in the overall Djiboutian port. And so, our access there is necessary and required.”

READ FULL NEWS : https://worldfoxnews.com/2019/05/27/china-united-states-face-off-djibouti-world-powers-fight-influence-africa/

READ MORE : WORLD NEWS

[gospelmusic]

U.S Vs Nigeria - Why We Banned Nigerians From Applying To Visa To Migrate To The U.S

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed immigration restrictions on citizens of six countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the list of countries already subject to his controversial travel ban. In addition to Nigeria, the new measures also concern Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania, administration officials said. "The president's decision is the product of a comprehensive and systematic assessment that was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as in partnership with other federal agencies," said one of the officials. The official added that the decision was "the result of the reluctance or inability of these countries to meet certain basic criteria of identity management, information sharing and assessment of national security and public security that were established by the department in 2017 ". Unlike the Trump travel ban unveiled in January 2017 shortly after taking office, which prohibited citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering US territory, the latest directive, which takes effect on February 22, was less radical. The official said he would only target certain categories of visas and would focus mainly on those seeking to move to the United States rather than those who simply sought to visit. *- "Must be safe" -* Trump announced plans to extend the list of countries last week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We have to be safe. Our country must be safe, ”he said. Trump made several promises during his election campaign to implement a total ban on Muslims entering the United States, and he announced his first package of travel bans and restrictions shortly after his assumed office in January 2017. The move outraged criticism and was quashed by a federal court which ruled that the ban amounted to religious discrimination. The administration proposed a second version of the policy in March 2017, which was again canceled for similar reasons. But the third version of the policy was confirmed by the United States Supreme Court in June 2018 in a 5-4 decision that said the president had broad power to establish an immigration policy based on justifications for national security. The countries covered by this version are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea, as well as political leaders from Venezuela. The administration argued that the inclusion of predominantly non-Muslim countries demonstrated that the policy was not motivated by a religious animus. * - "Anti-Muslim policy" - * The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) quickly condemned the new restrictions, saying that the administration was simply "expanding" the scope of the ban. "President Trump is doubling his anti-Muslim policy - and using the ban as a way to further put his prejudices into practice by excluding more communities of color," the ACLU said in a statement. The NGO Refugees International added that it was "unreasonable and unnecessary to restrict immigration broadly on the basis of nationality, race or religion". The sentiment was also picked up by Democratic lawmakers, such as House Homeland Security President Bennie Thompson, who said the measure was in line with "Trump's thoughts on immigration from predominantly black and brown countries" . "The fact that he made this political decision in terms of homeland or national security is preposterous," added Thompson. Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs is expected in Washington on Monday for a strategic dialogue with the United States. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has clearly shown its support for the transitional government in a rapidly changing Sudan and is negotiating the removal of Khartoum from a list of countries the United States deems favorable to terrorism.

[saxafimedianetwork]

Khilaaf Hadheeyay Shirka Somalia Uga Furmay Belgium Iyo Somaliland Oo Sheegtay Inaanay Ku Jirin

Khilaaf Hadheeyay Shirka Somalia Uga Furmay Belgium Iyo Somaliland Oo Sheegtay Inaanay Ku Jirin

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[mastcomm]

Kenya’s New Digital IDs May Exclude Millions of Minorities

NAIROBI, Kenya — For all his 73 years, Ahmed Khalil Kafe lived as a citizen of Kenya.

Born in the capital, Nairobi, Mr. Kafe worked as a police officer and even served with the presidential guard, court documents show. But last April, when he tried to register for a national ID in the giant biometric database that President Uhuru Kenyatta has said will be the “single source of truth” on Kenya’s population, he was turned away.

Now, Mr. Kafe said, “My life is in limbo.”

In an ambitious new initiative, the Kenyan government is planning to assign each citizen a unique identification number that will be required to go to school, get health care and housing, register to vote, get married and obtain a driver’s license, bank account and even a mobile phone number. In preparation, nearly 40 million Kenyans have already had their fingerprints and faces scanned by a new biometric system that ramped up last spring.

But millions of ethnic, racial and religious minorities — like Mr. Kafe, who is a Kenyan of Nubian descent — are running into obstacles and facing additional scrutiny when they apply for the documents required to get a biometric ID. Many have faced outright rejection.

Now the biometric ID plan is being challenged in court by civil rights organizations, which say it is disenfranchising members of minority groups. The high court is expected to rule Thursday on whether the project is constitutional.

“The government is digitizing discrimination,” said Shafi Ali, the chairman of the Nubian Rights Forum, one of three civil rights groups that brought the court challenge. Without an ID card and identification number, he said, “you are totally a living dead.”

The Kenyan Interior Ministry, which is leading the biometric project — known as the National Integrated Identity Management System — declined to comment on anything about it, citing the pending court case.

Such identity projects are increasingly common and sometimes even lauded by global institutions like the World Bank for their potential to increase access to financial services and ensure transparent elections.

But as in India, where the government has come under withering criticism for forcing nearly two million people to prove their citizenship or risk being declared stateless, Kenya’s program has been denounced for further marginalizing already vulnerable populations.

“There is the real risk,” said Keren Weitzberg, a researcher at University College London who is studying the biometric program in Kenya, that the IDs “will only reproduce existing inequalities and exacerbate debates over who is ‘really’ a Kenyan.”

Kenya is a diverse country with a history of tensions between ethnic groups. Indians and Nubians, whose ancestors were brought to Kenya as workers by the British colonial authorities, have struggled for generations to be accepted as full citizens. Kenyans of Somali descent have faced particular suspicion and discrimination — even being rounded up and held for days in a stadium — in the wake of terrorist attacks by the Shabab militant group.

In Kenya, to secure a biometric identification number — known as a Huduma Namba, or “service number” in Swahili — adults must provide a national identity card, while birth certificates are required for those under 18.

The Kenyan government has long made it harder — or even impossible — for members of some ethnic groups, among them Nubians, Somalis, Maasais, Boranas, Indians and Arabs, to apply for the documents required for national ID cards.

They may be asked to present land titles or the papers of their grandparents, or be questioned by security agents. And often, they can apply only on specific days of the week or in certain seasons, especially in small towns and rural areas.

Members of some of these communities live along Kenya’s borders, and government officials say they have introduced some measures to keep out those who pose a security risk, or people fleeing war in neighboring Somalia. But the measures also affect pastoralists who cross back and forth along the country’s borders, such as the Maasai and Samburu.

The added hurdles have affected at least five million of Kenya’s 47.5 million people, leading to delays in processing their ID cards and outright denials, said Laura Goodwin, the citizenship program director for Namati, an international legal justice group.

Human rights advocates say that many people were turned away during the biometric registration drive last April and May. If the biometric ID system goes ahead, Ms. Goodwin said, millions could end up without identification numbers.

For Mr. Kafe, whose Nubian forbears were brought from Sudan to Kenya by the British colonial authorities over a century ago, the government’s plan risks rendering him stateless.

He said that he lost his national identity card in a robbery soon after leaving the police service in the early 70s, and was unable to secure a replacement even after supplying sworn affidavits.

“I lost hope,” he said on a recent morning near his home in Kibera, an urban slum southwest of Nairobi. “I was very disappointed in Kenya.”

Many Kenyans in towns and villages outside of Nairobi and other major cities lack papers because their local registration centers are far away. Or they have to wait longer for papers because those centers are overwhelmed.

Meimuna Mohamood is a Kenyan citizen of Somali descent, and lives in the northeastern town of Garissa, along the border with Somalia. Garissa has been the target of repeated terrorist attacks by the Shabab extremist group, including one on the university in 2015 that left 148 people dead. Afterward, government officials vowed to tighten security.

Ms. Mohamood has an identity card. But she has not been able to obtain birth certificates — which are necessary for children to get biometric identifiers — for her daughters, who are 5 and 7.

The two girls were born at home, not a hospital, where their births would have easily been recorded. Her efforts to register them have so far been stymied by government officials.

“I keep going back to government offices, and they always say there is something missing,” Ms. Mohamood said. “I am afraid for my girls. They are not in any system. I am worried about their future.”

The government has also drawn criticism over the mechanism it used to institute the Huduma project, whose initial cost was projected at over $74 million.

It was introduced in Parliament using a procedure usually reserved for minor changes to existing laws, and its first iteration sought to collect DNA and GPS data, both of which were barred by a court in April. The legislation detailing how the system would work was not published until July, after the registration drive had ended.

The law also imposes fines and criminal penalties, including prison time, for failing to register — which critics have called disproportionate.

“You shouldn’t have to blackmail people into doing things that are for their own good,” said Nanjala Nyabola, the author of “Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya.”

Then there are questions about privacy, about how the government will keep the information secure and how exactly the data will be used. Kenya approved a data protection law in November that outlined restrictions on data handling and sharing by companies and the government. That law is being challenged in a separate court case.

Most biometric initiatives, said Ms. Weitzberg, the researcher at University College London, involve partnerships between governments and private companies, and could be compromised if they are not fully transparent or regulated by robust laws.

Idemia, the French firm that won the contract to supply Kenya’s biometric kits, was already embroiled in controversy for its work on Kenya’s 2017 elections and was sanctioned by Parliament last year — a move Idemia is challenging in court.

Testifying in the case before the Kenyan high court, an Indian cybersecurity expert said that Huduma was “functionally and architecturally very similar” to his own country’s biometric ID program, Aadhaar, which was itself subject to a constitutional challenge.

The expert, Anand Venkatanarayanan, said the project would create national security risks, including hacking by foreign actors, that Kenya’s government did not have the technological capability to mitigate. Huduma’s design is like a cart “drawn by a lame horse on the digital highway,” he told the court.

“That it would fail and fall behind is a foregone conclusion,” he said.

For Mr. Kafe, at least, there may be a glimmer of hope.

After he agreed to testify in court in the challenge to the Huduma program, he said, registration officials visited his home and said they would process his documents.

In September, he was given a “waiting card,” which the government supplies while a national ID is being processed. But it could be months or even years before his identity card is delivered, if he receives one at all.

“When does a Kenyan become Kenyan?” Mr. Kafe asked. “We need a system that’s good for all. We need equality.”

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/kenyas-new-digital-ids-may-exclude-millions-of-minorities/

[internationalpeoplesearch]

New electoral law for Somalia, ‘a crucial next step’ says top UN envoy, addressing Partnership Forum

The Somalia Partnership Forum concluded on Wednesday in the capital Mogadishu, with attendees – including the UN Special Representative for the country – taking stock of progress made, while also noting remaining challenges and agreeing on a set of priorities moving forward. New electoral law for Somalia, ‘a crucial next step’ says top UN envoy, … Continue reading "New electoral law for Somalia, ‘a crucial next step’ says top UN envoy, addressing Partnership Forum"

The post New electoral law for Somalia, ‘a crucial next step’ says top UN envoy, addressing Partnership Forum appeared first on International People Search Travel News.

from International People search : https://internationalpeoplesearch.com/travel/2019/10/03/new-electoral-law-for-somalia-a-crucial-next-step-says-top-un-envoy-addressing-partnership-forum/ via International People Search

[2nacheki]

Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli called on the professor for advice on issues affecting the region. For a long time, Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, popularly known as PLO, has been seen as a recognized Pan-African icon leading in various national and continental forums. He described Magufuli as a great leader who had his country at heart and who was on the way to bringing major changes in the socialist nation. You can support 2nacheki on Patreon here https://ift.tt/2OaL7gA -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Thanks for watching 2nacheki the biggest African channel on Youtube from #Africa . All our videos are aimed at Educating, Informing, Reporting, Reviewing, Criticizing & Ranking everything #African. Our content includes: #africanews #africalist #Africanpopculture #Africaentertainment #Afrcicanmusic #Africanculture #Africainterviews #AfricaSpeeches #Africanpolitics & #Panafricanism -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Email us 2nacheki@gmail.com for News Tips, content submission, ads partnership, collabos, sponsorship or content issues. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Africa is watching i.e #Algeria #Angol #Benin #Botswana #BurkinaFaso #Burundi #CapeVerde #Cameroon #CentralAfricanRepublic #CAR #Chad #Comoros #DRCongo #Congo #IvoryCoast #Djibouti #Egypt #EquatorialGuinea #Eritrea #Eswatini #Swaziland #Ethiopia #Gabon #Gambia #Ghana #Guinea #GuineaBissau #Kenya #Lesotho #Liberia #Libya #Madagascar #Malawi #Mali #Mauritania #Mauritius #Morocco #Mozambique #Namibia #Niger #Nigeria #Rwanda #SaoTomePrincipe #Senegal #Seychelles #SierraLeone #Somalia #SouthAfrica #SouthSudan #Sudan #Tanzania #Togo #Tunisia #Uganda #Zambia #Zimbabwe #AfricaUnion #AU -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- We have written permission to use the majority of content found on this channel by the content owners themselves and do not infringe on any copyrighted content knowingly. As for the other content on this channel we assure you it is strictly only used under Fair Use. Please email us first for any takedowns, credit or removal of your content at 2nacheki@gmail.com -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. by 2nacheki

[bigyack-com]

Kenya’s New Digital IDs May Exclude Millions of Minorities

NAIROBI, Kenya — For all his 73 years, Ahmed Khalil Kafe lived as a citizen of Kenya.Born in the capital, Nairobi, Mr. Kafe worked as a police officer and even served with the presidential guard, court documents show. But last April, when he tried to register for a national ID in the giant biometric database that President Uhuru Kenyatta has said will be the “single source of truth” on Kenya’s population, he was turned away.Now, Mr. Kafe said, “My life is in limbo.”In an ambitious new initiative, the Kenyan government is planning to assign each citizen a unique identification number that will be required to go to school, get health care and housing, register to vote, get married and obtain a driver’s license, bank account and even a mobile phone number. In preparation, nearly 40 million Kenyans have already had their fingerprints and faces scanned by a new biometric system that ramped up last spring.But millions of ethnic, racial and religious minorities — like Mr. Kafe, who is a Kenyan of Nubian descent — are running into obstacles and facing additional scrutiny when they apply for the documents required to get a biometric ID. Many have faced outright rejection.Now the biometric ID plan is being challenged in court by civil rights organizations, which say it is disenfranchising members of minority groups. The high court is expected to rule Thursday on whether the project is constitutional.“The government is digitizing discrimination,” said Shafi Ali, the chairman of the Nubian Rights Forum, one of three civil rights groups that brought the court challenge. Without an ID card and identification number, he said, “you are totally a living dead.”The Kenyan Interior Ministry, which is leading the biometric project — known as the National Integrated Identity Management System — declined to comment on anything about it, citing the pending court case.Such identity projects are increasingly common and sometimes even lauded by global institutions like the World Bank for their potential to increase access to financial services and ensure transparent elections.But as in India, where the government has come under withering criticism for forcing nearly two million people to prove their citizenship or risk being declared stateless, Kenya’s program has been denounced for further marginalizing already vulnerable populations.“There is the real risk,” said Keren Weitzberg, a researcher at University College London who is studying the biometric program in Kenya, that the IDs “will only reproduce existing inequalities and exacerbate debates over who is ‘really’ a Kenyan.”Kenya is a diverse country with a history of tensions between ethnic groups. Indians and Nubians, whose ancestors were brought to Kenya as workers by the British colonial authorities, have struggled for generations to be accepted as full citizens. Kenyans of Somali descent have faced particular suspicion and discrimination — even being rounded up and held for days in a stadium — in the wake of terrorist attacks by the Shabab militant group.In Kenya, to secure a biometric identification number — known as a Huduma Namba, or “service number” in Swahili — adults must provide a national identity card, while birth certificates are required for those under 18.The Kenyan government has long made it harder — or even impossible — for members of some ethnic groups, among them Nubians, Somalis, Maasais, Boranas, Indians and Arabs, to apply for the documents required for national ID cards.They may be asked to present land titles or the papers of their grandparents, or be questioned by security agents. And often, they can apply only on specific days of the week or in certain seasons, especially in small towns and rural areas.Members of some of these communities live along Kenya’s borders, and government officials say they have introduced some measures to keep out those who pose a security risk, or people fleeing war in neighboring Somalia. But the measures also affect pastoralists who cross back and forth along the country’s borders, such as the Maasai and Samburu.The added hurdles have affected at least five million of Kenya’s 47.5 million people, leading to delays in processing their ID cards and outright denials, said Laura Goodwin, the citizenship program director for Namati, an international legal justice group.Human rights advocates say that many people were turned away during the biometric registration drive last April and May. If the biometric ID system goes ahead, Ms. Goodwin said, millions could end up without identification numbers.For Mr. Kafe, whose Nubian forbears were brought from Sudan to Kenya by the British colonial authorities over a century ago, the government’s plan risks rendering him stateless.He said that he lost his national identity card in a robbery soon after leaving the police service in the early 70s, and was unable to secure a replacement even after supplying sworn affidavits.“I lost hope,” he said on a recent morning near his home in Kibera, an urban slum southwest of Nairobi. “I was very disappointed in Kenya.”Many Kenyans in towns and villages outside of Nairobi and other major cities lack papers because their local registration centers are far away. Or they have to wait longer for papers because those centers are overwhelmed.Meimuna Mohamood is a Kenyan citizen of Somali descent, and lives in the northeastern town of Garissa, along the border with Somalia. Garissa has been the target of repeated terrorist attacks by the Shabab extremist group, including one on the university in 2015 that left 148 people dead. Afterward, government officials vowed to tighten security.Ms. Mohamood has an identity card. But she has not been able to obtain birth certificates — which are necessary for children to get biometric identifiers — for her daughters, who are 5 and 7.The two girls were born at home, not a hospital, where their births would have easily been recorded. Her efforts to register them have so far been stymied by government officials.“I keep going back to government offices, and they always say there is something missing,” Ms. Mohamood said. “I am afraid for my girls. They are not in any system. I am worried about their future.”The government has also drawn criticism over the mechanism it used to institute the Huduma project, whose initial cost was projected at over $74 million.It was introduced in Parliament using a procedure usually reserved for minor changes to existing laws, and its first iteration sought to collect DNA and GPS data, both of which were barred by a court in April. The legislation detailing how the system would work was not published until July, after the registration drive had ended.The law also imposes fines and criminal penalties, including prison time, for failing to register — which critics have called disproportionate.“You shouldn’t have to blackmail people into doing things that are for their own good,” said Nanjala Nyabola, the author of “Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya.”Then there are questions about privacy, about how the government will keep the information secure and how exactly the data will be used. Kenya approved a data protection law in November that outlined restrictions on data handling and sharing by companies and the government. That law is being challenged in a separate court case. Most biometric initiatives, said Ms. Weitzberg, the researcher at University College London, involve partnerships between governments and private companies, and could be compromised if they are not fully transparent or regulated by robust laws.Idemia, the French firm that won the contract to supply Kenya’s biometric kits, was already embroiled in controversy for its work on Kenya’s 2017 elections and was sanctioned by Parliament last year — a move Idemia is challenging in court.Testifying in the case before the Kenyan high court, an Indian cybersecurity expert said that Huduma was “functionally and architecturally very similar” to his own country’s biometric ID program, Aadhaar, which was itself subject to a constitutional challenge.The expert, Anand Venkatanarayanan, said the project would create national security risks, including hacking by foreign actors, that Kenya’s government did not have the technological capability to mitigate. Huduma’s design is like a cart “drawn by a lame horse on the digital highway,” he told the court.“That it would fail and fall behind is a foregone conclusion,” he said.For Mr. Kafe, at least, there may be a glimmer of hope.After he agreed to testify in court in the challenge to the Huduma program, he said, registration officials visited his home and said they would process his documents.In September, he was given a “waiting card,” which the government supplies while a national ID is being processed. But it could be months or even years before his identity card is delivered, if he receives one at all.“When does a Kenyan become Kenyan?” Mr. Kafe asked. “We need a system that’s good for all. We need equality.” Read the full article