A Discernment and Apostasy watch site for African Saints.
Prove all things..(1 Thesa.5:21)
Test Spirits..(I John 4:1)
Like the Bereans, check whether things are so(Acts 17:11)
Babylon USA and the Satanic Media lies about DR Congo: US renews
charge of Rwandan backing as rebels advance in DRC: Kenya sends troops to DR
Congo to fight rebel advance: Donors defend decision to fund Ebola response
through agencies instead of government
Fooling us about Uganda’s neutrality in
the Congo Conflict!!! Militarizing the Congo to help USA and allies to rape
Congo resources: DRC troops, civilians fleeing to Uganda after rebel clashes
President Museveni, the commander-in-chief of UPDF, has said armed
groups destibilising eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can be
defeated with a united regional military assault.
Speaking by a video link, Gen Museveni told the Third Inter-Congolese
Consultations of the Nairobi Peace Process, the political track sitting
in Kenya, that the problem of insecurity in DRC stems from
post-independence accumulation of illegal guns in private hands due to
diminished state authority and control in the east of the country.
He called for a ceasefire by all fighting elements to allow for meaningful political dialogue and settlement of grievances.
“The political means start with the dialogue. The dialogue should be
preceded by a ceasefire where there’s active fighting and disengagement
of forces. The peaceful solution should be the outcome of the dialogue,”
Gen Museveni said.
He added: “These armed groups causing insecurity can be defeated if
we harmonise efforts. If any Congolese group doesn’t respect the formula
reached after the dialogues, the combined resources of East Africa will
be brought down on them. No force can defy the combined efforts of East
Africa.”
The President’s comments come slightly over three weeks after
Uganda’s Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (D/CDF), Lt Gen Peter Elwelu,
told a visiting European Union delegation in Kampala that it would not
take the East Africa Community Regional Force more than 24 hours to
defeat the M23 rebels.
In a November 20 tweet, First Son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is a
serving UPDF general, warned against mocking M23 that he christened “our
brothers”.
“I heard some people saying that they can defeat them in a day? That
is what [former Ugandan President Milton] Obote used to say about NRA in
Luweero,” he tweeted in reference to the five-year guerrilla war that
his father led that ended in the ouster of Gen Tito Okello who had
months earlier toppled Obote.
Gen Muhoozi in the tweet noted that when M23 rebels, who claim to be
fighting to protect the interests of mainly the Tutsi tribe in Congo,
“withdraw for peace, they shall do it because they are serious partners
for peace in DRC”.
There are reported to be more than 140 rebel and militia groups
marauding in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, but M23 has been the
game-changer this year with more sophisticated weaponry and organisation
that has enabled it to capture and hold Congolese territory, including
the Bunagana border with Uganda.
President Felix Tshisekedi’s government accuses Rwanda of aiding the
insurgents --- an allegation Kigali denies --- who have in past weeks
made blistering battlefield gains as regional leaders who long agreed on
deploying a joint force renew attempts at diplomacy.
Yesterday’s Inter-Congolese dialogue in Nairobi, which brought
together civil society and armed groups fighting the Kinshasa government
and Congo officials to find sustainable security solutions, was a
continuation of the dialogue facilitated by for former Kenyan President
Uhuru Kenyatta.
The rebels agreed to a ceasefire, but declined to give up occupied
areas despite being given an ultimatum that expired on Friday.
President Kagame said Rwanda was committed to the Nairobi process aimed at restoring peace in eastern DRC.
“We need to address the root cause of insecurity in eastern DRC once
and for all. We welcome EAC’s swift response in seeking to restore peace
in eastern DRC. Rwanda is committed to this process,” he said
yesterday.
Congo’s Tshisekedi, who is facing a reelection battle next year, said the time to stop insecurity in DRC was now.
“The time to change the narrative of DRC having protracted insecurity
is now. We are committed to the EAC-led Nairobi process and long for
peace so [that] we can rebuild the great Democratic Republic of Congo,”
he added.
One option on the table is for the fighters to disarm, demobilise and
integrate into Congo’s national army, better known by the acronym
Fardc, but the country’s Parliament put brakes on it by passing a
resolution prohibiting accommodation of ex-rebels.
The EAC regional force, for which Uganda has a standby contingent, is
led by Kenya which inserted its special forces in DRC a few weeks ago
mainly to undertake surveillance and reconnaissance pending full-scale
troop deployment.
Kenyan President William Ruto, who took office after winning the
August vote, said there must be security for the region to prosper.
Congo signed the treaty of accession and formally joined the regional
EAC bloc as its seventh member in April this year, bringing to the
table vast economic opportunities due to its expansive size and natural
endowment but also its historical baggage of insecurity.
However, M23 rebels are excluded from the arrangement because the DRC government has christened them a “terrorist group”.
The Nairobi, Kenya, and Luanda, Angola processes, which are
initiatives to end the fighting and bring lasting peace to eastern Congo
scarred by decades of volatility, directed M23 rebels to ceasefire and
withdraw from areas they captured since the start of this year.
“Our security and progress is dependent on that of the region. The
pursuit of peace is, thus, an inevitable precondition for our
prosperity. Kenya is committed to supporting the restoration of peace in
eastern DRC,” President Ruto said yesterday.
After M23 captured three strategic border towns and Rutshuru
Township, they blocked goods from Uganda and Kenya from reaching Goma
City, halting the eastern neighbours from cashing in on lucrative trade. Long-haul
vehicles carrying merchandise from the two countries remain stuck at
the Ishasha border in Uganda, some for several weeks.
Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current rotational chair
of EAC, urged all partners to support initiatives to promote peace and
stability in the restive region.
“We are cognizant of the high expectations the region and
international community have in this process”, he said, “I am appealing
to all partners to commit to supporting initiatives aimed at promoting
peace and consolidating stability in the region”.
Ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta, who is leading the shuttle diplomacy
between regional capitals, said no efforts should be spared to restore
security in Congo.
The Ministry of Education and the Norwegian government are mooting a
programme intended to minimise stress and prevent suicide among
school-going children.
The move followed rampant suicide cases being reported among learners.
The Capacity Development Advisor at Norwegian Refugee Council, Mr
Cristian De Luca, on Tuesday said the programme dubbed “Better Learning
Programme” , has been used to fight trauma that triggers suicide among
learners in other countries.
Mr De Luca said cases of stress are common among students from areas
experiencing emergencies such as wars and the pandemic, citing an
example of Covid-19 that made some students miss school for two years.
“Children affected by stress from conflict and crisis situations
often have difficulties learning and functioning at school and they
experience a sense of chaos, loss of concentration and reduced memory,
making it hard to keep up in the classroom or do their homework,” he
said.
Mr De Luca said teachers and parents should support children to stabilise so that they can learn and thrive.
Whereas the Norwegian Refugee Council notified the Education ministry
that it intends to roll out the programme in refugee camps, the
ministry wants this introduced in all schools across the country.
According to the Education ministry’s Commissioner for Special Needs
Education, Ms Sarah Bugoosi, children encountered stressful incidents,
including Covid-19 and Ebola that could be among the triggers of
suicide.
“Children committing suicide are not in refugee camps. We have not
received any cases from there. Concentration should be put to other
schools where the cases are rampant. We are seeing our students commit
suicide over small reasons,” Ms Bugoosi said.
In an interview with Daily Monitor yesterday, Mr Robert Anywar, the
Norwegian Refugee Council education specialist, said whereas the
programme is supposed to be implemented by teachers, parents should also
be involved in the well-being of their children
some suicide cases in schools
A number of children in primary and secondary schools have committed
suicide over relationships, poor performance and misusing school fees.
More than six cases of suicide have since been reported in various schools in November, triggering concern.
For instance on November 2, a Senior Six student of Bukoyo Secondary
School in Iganga District committed suicide by hanging, after allegedly
betting part of his school fees. The body of Denis Tukei was found
hanging in a dormitory by students, who were returning from lunch.
Another Senior One student of Kyotera Town Academy SS in Kyotera
District committed suicide after allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old
girl.
In June, a 17-year-old student of Wanyange Girls’ Secondary School in
Kakira Town Council reportedly committed suicide by hanging.
Bishop T. D. Jakes has surprised his daughter by handing over the giant Woman, Thou Art Loosed ministry to her.
Jakes passed the symbolic torch to Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts at the
culmination of the recent Woman, Thou Art Loosed!: Homecoming!
conference.
The popular minister said that it is not a weakness for a man to
empower a woman while instructing his daughter not to drop the mic as
she picks up his.
As he anointed his daughter with oil, Jakes said, “With every drop of
oil that falls upon your head, may the strength and power of the
Almighty God rest upon your life.”
The Woman, Thou Art Loosed! conference has run for more than 25 years to become a global movement.
Jakes wrote on Instagram:
@SarahJakesRoberts: I have watched you grow from my baby girl into a
leader, changemaker, and influencer with a reach far beyond generations
of women. You’ve touched the lives of so many, and as your earthly
father, I’ve never been prouder!It is my distinct honor to pass the
torch to you. You’ve earned it and will excel wherever God takes you for
women’s empowerment! May God bless Woman Evolve in 2023!
This is my vow to you: I will always be there to put my coat over you
for as long as I live, and gladly so. For as I decrease, I will watch
God increase you!
