Kachale asks 3 arms of Malawi gvt to respect one another

 

 

Former Vice president Khumbo Kachali has called on the country’s three arms of government to respect one another.

 

The call has been made following the uncertainty that remains over the date for the fresh presidential election as the executive and judiciary differ on the 2019 presidential election case ruling.

 

In his state of National address on Friday President Peter Mutharika insisted that the court has set a precedence by which next election will be even more disputable.

 

Mutharika however backed himself over the recent comments about the judiciary as merely his views.

 

But in reaction to the latest developments, Kachali says there is need for the arms of government to correlate properly in matters of democracy and ensuring in the end that peace reigns in the country.

Mangochi COVID-19 task force to escort incoming trucks

Mangochi District COVID-19 Task force on Saturday said it was considering escorting and monitoring trucks entering the country through Chiponde Border as one way of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The district’s Chief Preventive Health Officer, Dr. Kondwani Mamba, disclosed this at Chiponde Border when a multi-sectoral team from the council visited the border to appreciate and monitor COVID-19 prevention practices.

Mamba said key among the escort team would be personnel from immigration department, Police and Health.

“We don’t want to leave the trucks and their drivers alone; we want to know how many are entering into the country and where they are going,” explained Mamba, adding: “We will escort them up to where they are going.”

Mamba added that for the escort plan to be effective, it would require good partnership with district authorities of particular destinations.

“Where necessary, we will report to relevant authorities, say, health office in that district so that they manage these travelers in terms of isolation and other necessary measures,” he said.

According to the Chief Preventive Health Officer, the escort plan will help the district to prevent further spread of the pandemic.

Eastern Region Immigration Officer, Vivian Kasambo, concurred with Mamba and pledged his office’s commitment to fulfilling the plan.

Kasambo said as immigration office, they were already following COVID-19 preventive measures which were established at national level.

“We are ready to take part in the implementation of the plan as long as we are provided with the necessary resources,” said Kasambo.

Currently, Chiponde Border is only allowing passage to trucks transporting goods which fall under essential services and materials related to health, such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) and materials meant for government projects, according to Kasambo.

Mangochi has recorded 14 COVID-19 cases with two cases locally identified and the rest from returnees from South Africa, according to a recent update by the District Health Office.

Chelsea ready to go head-to-head with rivals Man Utd in £70m battle for Kai Havertz

CHELSEA are now ready to go head-to-head with Manchester United in a £70million battle for Kai Havertz.

Boss Frank Lampard has the Bayer Leverkusen winger in his sights as he looks to continue building his squad for next season.
Incoming striker Timo Werner has not even put pen to paper on a five year contract and Lampard is already casting his transfer net again.
Although he will have to sell big as well to balance the squad and the books if he does succeed in landing the hottest young player in Germany.
Chelsea have beaten Liverpool to the punch to land Werner in a £54million move which they hope will be completed by the end of this week.
This adds to the £38m spent on wideman Hakim Ziyech who agreed a move back in February from Ajax.
Manchester United remain the favourites to sign Havertz who has scored five goals in four games since the Bundelsiga restarted after coronavirus lockdown.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are also in the hunt for the highly-rated 20-year-old.

12,486 case in covid-19 Nigeria; Abia governor infected, churches reopen

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, became the third African country to record over 10,000 cases of COVID-19. The milestone was reached on May 31 when 307 new cases took its tally to 10,162.
As Africa’s biggest economy, the federal government has continued to enforce regulations across the board even though most state governments have moved to relax restrictions.
Lagos being the economic nerve center is rolling out a progressive reopening of the economy. It is the most impacted state with over 5,000 cases as of May 31. Only Cross River State had yet to record a case.
The national response is led by the Presidential Task Force, PTF, led by SGF Boss Mustapha along with a national coordinator and relevant ministers – chief among them, Health, Foreign Affairs and Education ministries.
This article is dedicated to covering events from the country throughout the month of June. Our May 2020 daily updates page also gives you a rundown of major activities.

June 8: Abia governor tests positive, churches reopen

Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, is the latest leader of state government to be infected. Abia commissioner of information confirmed this morning that the governor had tested positive for COVID-19.
John Okiyi Kalu, added that the governor had gone into isolation and subsequently directed his deputy to act as governor whiles he undergoes treatment and resumes duty.
He joins a list that included Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna, Senator Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Seyin Makinde of Oyo all of who have recovered from the virus.
The commissioner’s statement read in part: ”Recall that on Saturday, 30th May, 2020, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu volunteered his sample for COVID-19 test and subsequently directed members of the state Executive Council (EXCO) and those of the inter-ministerial committee on COVID-19 to submit themselves for the same test.
“On Tuesday, 2nd June, 2020. Tthe result of Governor Ikpeazu’s test returned negative. On Thursday, 4th June, 2020, the Governor submitted another sample at NCDC laboratory for confirmation and the result returned positive.
”As a result, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has gone into isolation, as required by relevant NCDC protocols, and he is being managed by a competent team of medical practitioners with a view to nursing him back to good health.
”Consequent on the above, the Governor has directed his Deputy, Rt Hon Ude Oko Chukwu, to act on his behalf pending his full resumption of duties.
”We wish to urge all Abians to take the fight against COVID-19 serious as the disease is real but not a death sentence. Our state has the resources to manage patients back to good health.”
Places of worship, especially churches have resumed operations across the country. In Abuja, happy congregants expressed joy at being able to worship communally despite restrictions. Not all churches opened, as a number of them chose to remain closed for the time being.
Total confirmed cases = 12,486
Total recoveries = 3,959
Total deaths = 354
Active cases = 8,173

Schools reopen in South Africa

Children in South Africa began returning to classrooms on Monday as part of a gradual loosening of restrictions imposed under a months-long COVID-19 lockdown in the continent’s most industrialised nation.
The re-opening of schools had been delayed after teachers’ unions urged school staff to defy the government order last week, saying schools lacked sufficient health and hygiene measures to keep educators and pupils safe.
South Africa has counted nearly 50,000 cases of the new coronavirus – the most of any country in sub-Saharan Africa – along with almost 1,000 deaths.

John Magufuli declares Tanzania free of Covid-19

Tanzania's President John Magufuli has declared the country "coronavirus-free" thanks to prayers by citizens.

"The corona disease has been eliminated thanks to God," Mr Magufuli told worshippers in a church in the capital, Dodoma.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the government's strategy on Covid-19.
The government has stopped publishing data on the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
On 29 April, the last day official data was released, there were 509 cases, with 21 deaths in Tanzania. However, Mr Magufuli said last week that only four patients were receiving treatment in the largest city, Dar es Salaam.
Last month, Tanzania's government dismissed a US embassy warning that hospitals in Dar es Salaam were "overwhelmed" and that the chances of contracting the virus was "extremely high".
Mr Magufuli has repeatedly said the health crisis has been exaggerated and urged people to attend services in churches and mosques, saying that prayers "can vanquish" the virus.

Ramaphosa urges his people not to be alarmed at rise of coronavirus

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans not to be scared by the rising numbers of coronavirus cases.
The country has recorded more than half of the current total number of cases in the last two weeks.
The president in his weekly newsletter said the numbers will keep rising and people should be "concerned, but not alarmed".

Like many South Africans, I too have been worried as I watch these figures keep rising. While these numbers are broadly in line with what the various models had projected, there is a big difference between looking at a graph on a piece of paper and seeing real people becoming infected, some getting ill and some dying."

President Ramaphosa said individual households should prepare and look at how to protect the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.
He said so far many people had started to think about safe ways to continue working, schooling and changed their shopping and worship behaviours to protect themselves from infections.
Schools in South Africa have begun gradual resumption of the school year with grade 7 and 12 learners returning to school on Monday.
Places of worship have re-opened but with strict guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
South Africa has 48,285 coronavirus cases including 24,364 recoveries and 998 deaths.

Parliament suspended due to chaos over Covid-19 preventive measures

Disagreements have erupted in Parliament this afternoon as opposition legislators want the sitting arrangement that the house adopted since Friday to be changed and let other MPs sitting outside the chamber to be brought in.

Dowa East lawmaker, Richard Chimwendo Banda, said it is hypocritical for MPs to say they are adopting COVID 19 preventive measures when outside they are holding rallies where thousands gather and COVID 19 preventive measures are not followed.

For close to an hour, the house has been in disrepute forcing Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani Hara to suspend the deliberations for Business Committe to meet and discuss the matter.

Presidential Taskforce on Coronavirus yet to recieve communication on re-opening of schools

 

 

There are conflicting details from the Presidential Taskforce on Coronavirus and the National Planning Taskforce on the re-opening of schools.

The Presidential taskforce Co-Chair John Phuka claims that they have not received any communication from the taskforce mandated to look into the safe reopening of schools.

But the taskforce on the reopening of schools’ Chairperson Lewis Dzimbiri earlier told Capital FM that they have written the Presidential Taskforce which has noted their recommendation for schools to reopen next month.

Dzimbiri added that the Presidential Taskforce also asked for detailed guidelines on safety measures to be followed when classes resume.

Man Utd fail in £89m bid for Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati, 17

MANCHESTER UNITED failed in a sensational £89million transfer bid for Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati after giving up on Jadon Sancho, according to stunning reports.

The Red Devils are clearly desperate to bolster their attack when the summer window reopens and have been long-term admirers of Sancho.
The England star, 20, is valued at more than £100m and is the subject of interest from plenty of top clubs, including Chelsea and Real Madrid.
But the Borussia Dortmund winger is not yet convinced of a switch, so it is thought United turned their attention elsewhere.
Sport in Spain report the Old Trafford club made an audacious attempt to land 17-year-old Fati - but the Barcelona board turned down the offer.
The article suggests a number of Premier League clubs are monitoring Fati, whose game time was limited after Martin Braithwaite's arrival.
Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele's returns to fitness as well as the possible arrival of Lautaro Martinez could mean he gets even fewer minutes in the new season.
So Fati - and in particular his agent Jorge Mendes - are thought to be actively looking to see if a move is possible, even though Barcelona are determined to keep their teenage sensation.

75 year-old Granny Raped in Chikwawa

Police in Chikwawa are hunting for Yezani Chumachalowa (age not known) for allegedly raping a 75-year-old woman.
The granny, according to Chikwawa Police Station Deputy Public Relations Officer, Sergeant Dickson Matemba, met her fate on the night of May 3, 2020 while coming from a drinking spree in Tumeyo Village.
“On her way back home, she was grabbed by the suspect who immediately dragged her into the bush.”The suspect threatened the victim with a panga knife beforeraping her,” stated Matemba.
The victim is said to have reported the matter to Gola Police Unit and was referred to the hospital where it was confirmedshe was indeed raped.
The district’s deputy police PRO further appealed to anyone having information that may lead to the perpetrator’s arrest to come forward.Chumachalowa hails from Tumeyo Village under Traditional Authority Chapananga in Chikwawa District.

Van der Sar confirms Man Utd want transfer for Ajax star Donny van de Beek

AJAX chief Edwin van der Sar has confirmed that Manchester United are eyeing a swoop for Donny van de Beek amid interest from Real Madrid.

The Dutch star, 23, has been on the Red Devils' radar for the last year since making a name for himself during his side's run to the Champions League semi-finals.
As reported by NOS, Van der Sar said: "It’s clear that clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United are showing interest in Donny van de Beek."
The Daily Mail recently claimed that Los Blancos were prepared to offer £49million to snare the midfielder away from the Dutch capital.
But the financial uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus crunch, especially in regard to transfers, could prove a stumbling block for the LaLiga giants.
The Red Devils are said to be waiting in the wings with a £36m offer on the cards instead.
Van de Beek came through the academy at Ajax, racking up 41 goals in 175 first-team appearances and the club are eager to hold onto him.
He still has two years left to run on his current contract but the Eredivisie side - who were denied the title when the season was suspended - face a battle to keep hold of him once again.
However, Manchester United also have plenty of other targets to go after should their bid for Van de Beek fail.
Jack Grealish is high on their summer wish list, despite his lockdown misdemeanours.
The £80m-rated Aston Villa captain has played predominantly as a left-winger this season, cutting in and causing plenty of problems for Premier League defences, but his eye-watering price tag seems extortionate compared to Van de Beek's.

High Court nullifies Mangochi North East Parliamentary polls

The High Court has on Monday morning nullified results of parliamentary election for Mangochi North East, which had been won by United Democratic Front’s Idi Kalosi.
Independent candidate Martin Sekati challenged the results, saying were marred by irregularities.
In his reaction, Kalosi said he has accepted the court ruling.
More details to follow..

Misozi Chanthunya case adjourned to August 31 for ruling

The High Court in Zomba has set August 31 as a day it will deliver a ruling in a murder case in which Misozi Chanthunmya is suspected of murdering his Zimbabwean girlfriend Linda Gasa by August this year.
This is after the defence team indicated they will not be parading any witnesses and will not respond to the charges.
It is alleged that in 2010 Chanthunya murdered Gasa and later on proceeded to bury her at his cottage in Monkey-bay.
Chanthunya then fled the country to South Africa where he later arrested and repatriated back home to answer murder charges.
And on Monday, the High Court sitting in Zomba decided not to proceed to with all the processes after defence lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta told the court they will not be parading defence witnesses.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge Ruth Chinangwa has asked the parties to make their submissions and it is set to deliver her judgment before August 31.

Kanye West officialy named richest singer in 2020

The world is no doubt going through very tough times due to the coronavirus pandemic and the riots rocking many parts of the world to prove that black lives do matter.
As a result of the instability rocking the world, many businesses and fortunes have taken a hit. However, not everybody has been badly hit as some of them have been topping billionaire lists.
This publication has learnt that American rapper, Kanye West, was recently named by Forbes as the richest musician in the world for the year 2020.
he music star reportedly raked in most of his earnings from his Yeezy deal with Adidas and it has put him financially ahead of other musicians in the world this year.
Interestingly, the top-earning celebs on the list were Kanye West and his sister-in-law, Kylie Jenner.
While the rapper raked in $170 million, Kylie brought in $590 million and the majority of that came from the sale of 51% stake in her cosmetics firm in January.

Chilima kneels down for people of Mangochi, thanks them for denouncing violence

Tonse Alliance led by its runningmate in the forthcoming fresh presidential polls, Saulos Chilima, on Sunday knelt down for the people of Mangochi, applauding them for denouncing violence, despite the threats some people staged on Saturday prior to the rally.
The rally that took place at St. Augustine 3 Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mponda in the district,drew a mammoth crowd of people, contrary to people’s expectation looking at the threats and by the mere fact that the district is regarded as UDF’s strong-hold.
“I would like to thank you people of Mangochi for welcoming us and patronising our function in large numbers. You have shamed the devil of stone pelting some people were fashioning for us thinking that this area belongs to them,”said Chilima.
He said Malawi allowed democracy to allow different political parties to operate in the country.
“I am extremely happy to what has happened. Let it be a habit. Desist violence and accommodate political parties coming in this district,” said Chilima, adding that Malawi chose democracy to allow political parties space to sell their manifestos to the electorate.
Chilima urged the people of Mangochi not to allow their leaders to use them for any political beneficial reason.
“We should not allow leaders to use us as agents of destruction,” he added.
The Tonse Alliance runningmate further advised people not to leaders to divide them because of religion or tribe, saying to be different from the two is not a passport of rivalry.
“Let people pray according to their devotion. We should not align politics with religion. Likewise, we should not marry tribe with politics,” said Chilima while tutoring that this is old-fashioned politics.
UTM secretary general, Patricia Kaliati, said the Alliance is destined to change country, hence, asked people not to allow leaders to mislead them.
“All what we should do is just to unite and vote for Tonse Alliance because Tonse means all of us,” she said.
Malawians are expected to vote again for president after the High Court in Lilongwe nullified the 2019 presidential election saying it had many irregularities.
Three candidates namely; President Peter Mutharika of DPP-UDF, Dr Lazurus Chakwera of Tonse Alliance and Peter Kuwani of MDD.

Uganda's locally-manufactured electric buses hit the streets

Electric buses made by students of the Makerere University in Uganda have now hit the road with improved health guidelines as the country battles Covid-19.
The bus, called The Kayoola EVS Bus, was reportedly produced in January last year.
According to local media, the EVS bus has an onboard Wi-Fi to ensure the travelers stay connected, USB charging ports to enable charging of traveler’s display boards for timely and accurate information dissemination.
Kiira Motors, who assembled the buses, have equity partners made up of the Government of the Republic of Uganda represented by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (96%) and Makerere University (4%).
The company, which is made up of students from the Makerere University has also produced the Kiira EV, Kiira EV SMACK – the first electric hybrid vehicle to be designed and built in Africa, as well as, the Kayoola which is Africa’s first solar powered bus.
According to the company, the production of the bus, “provides an unprecedented opportunity for participation of a wide range of local manufacturers making components to feed the production line at the Kiira vehicle plant addressing the key aspects of Supply Chain Localization and engendering import substitution.”
Ugandans are upbeat about the news.
According to soft power, the buses have an operating cost per KM of 0.084 cent as compared to a diesel bus equivalent with cost per kilometer of 0.44 cent.

New MEC commissioners appointed: Kachale to Chair

President Peter Mutharika has announced a new Chairperson for the Electoral Commission.
In a statement released by state house, Mutharika has appointed High Court Judge Dr Chifundo Kachale as the new Chairperson of the Commission replacing Justice Jane Ansah who resigned.
According to the statement, Mutharika has also appointed people to be into the commission.
Two people from the previous commission have been retained and they are Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga.
Four new faces have joined the commission and they include Board Chair for the Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) Steve Duwa.
Other faces in the commission are of Arthur Nanthuru, Anthony Mukumbwa and Olivia Liwewe.

UK coronavirus death toll rises to 31,611 after another 142 people die

Coronavirus deaths have continued to climb in NHS hospitals across the country, with the real death toll in all settings believed to be above 50,000.

The hospital death toll in the UK has climbed to 31,611 after another 142 people died from coronavirus.

The tragic figure includes 123 deaths in England, 14 in Scotland and a further 4 deaths in Wales. Northern Ireland recorded just one death.
Yesterday saw the the UK's coronavirus death toll in hospitals rise by 133 to 31,469, according to statistics the Department of Health.
In Scotland, a total of 2,409 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 14 from 2,395 on Thursday.
Speaking at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister said 15,582 people have tested positive for the virus across Scotland, up by 29 from 15,553 previous day.

Public Health Wales said a further four people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,383.
Another 76 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 14,314.
The UK currently has the second highest Covid-19 death toll in the world after the US with over 50,000 people dying from confirmed or suspected cases of the disease  in all settings.
Just weeks ago this was reported to be the government's "worst case" scenario.
An increase in excess death indicate that undiagnosed cases are killing more people than previously thought, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
Today, ONS figures showed that there were 46,380 excess deaths above the five-year average between March 7 and May 1.
Friday's release is the first detailed analysis from the ONS looking at the increased number of deaths during the pandemic where coronavirus was not mentioned on the death certificate.


It found that 28% of excess deaths registered between March 7 and May 1 in England and Wales did not involve coronavirus - a total of 12,900 deaths out of 46,380.
But in an analysis, the ONS said that undiagnosed cases of the disease could explain excess deaths, especially among the older population.
"Undiagnosed Covid-19 is a likely explanation for some of non-Covid-19 excess deaths observed in this setting, because of the increased vulnerability of this population," the ONS said.
Those in care homes have been particularly vulnerable to the illness and the government has been widely criticised for failing to protect the elderly.

There were 5,404 more deaths than expected due to dementia and Alzheimer's disease - a rise of 52% compared with the average number of deaths for this period over five years.
And 1,567 excess deaths occurred due to "symptoms signs and ill-defined conditions" - a 77.8% rise from the five-year average.
The ONS said it was "implausible" that the sharp rise in deaths linked to dementia and Alzheimer's disease could have happened by chance.

Coronavirus death tolls explained

Deaths in UK hospitals so far: 31,469
Deaths across all settings: 39,904
(The two figures above count all people who have had a positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS lab in the UK)
Total deaths registered so far: 43,837
(This is the number of registered deaths in England and Wales where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate)
Excess deaths so far in 2020: 56,308
(The number of deaths in England and Wales above the average amount, but not necessarily caused by Covid-19)
Sources: coronavirus.data.gov.uk and ONS

The reproductive rate of coronavirus could be as high as one in some parts of England, the Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has said.

He said the prevalence of Covid-19 was on a "downward trajectory" in the UK, adding: "The prevalence of coronavirus, according to the ONS, is at 0.1%, with 53,000 people with Covid-19 in the past two weeks."
He said the incidence rate was at 0.7% per week, which meant there were "roughly" 39,000 new coronavirus cases each week.

Burundi court maintains disputed election result

Burundi court upholds disputed election result
Burundi's constitutional court has upheld the victory of the ruling party candidate in last's months presidential election.

The CNDD-FDD candidate, retired general Evariste Ndayishimiye, won with 68% of votes cast but his main opponent Agathon Rwasa challenged the results in court claiming fraud and irregularities.

The country's council of Catholic bishops had also raised doubts about the results after its observers witnessed instances of multiple voting, ballots being cast in names of dead people and refugees in other countries, voters being forced to choose certain candidates and unauthorised people involved in vote counting.

However the court ruled on Thursday that the 20 May election was regular and that Mr Ndayishimiye is the president-elect.

It said Mr Rwasa's appeal was unfounded. The opposition leader is yet to respond to the ruling.

The president-elect is set to be sworn in on 20 August and serve a term of seven years. He will replace Pierre Nkurunziza who has led the country since 2005.Uganda starts testing all ministers for coronavirus
All government ministers in Uganda are being tested for coronavirus.

According to the spokesperson for the health ministry they will be screened every two weeks because of their frequent movements across the country.

He adds that some of 79 officials had previously been tested but none were found to be positive.

As we reported earlier, Uganda’s Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has announced that he is self-isolating for 14 days after some of his close contacts tested positive for coronavirus. He said that his own test was negative.

Dr Rugunda chairs the national task force for Covid-19, his responsibilities have been delegated to the first deputy prime minister Moses Ali.

Staff at the Office of the Prime Minister are also being tested.

Uganda now has 557 confirmed cases with most being lorry drivers but the number of community infections is rising.

The government has been easing lockdown measures introduced more than two months ago.

Public transport was this week allowed to operate in most parts of the country except in border districts.