Kenya`s Harambee Stars go down fighting in Mwanza

Tanzania`s Taifa Stars  kept their ambition frothing ahead of the forthcoming Tusker Cecafa Challenge Cup with a hard laboured 1-0 triumph over visiting Kenya’s Harambee Stars in an international Fifa friendly match staged at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza, Tanzania.
    Tanzania ‘s  Aggrey Morris who turns  up for Azam FC provided a death warrant to seal victory for the home team with a sixth minute goal that went past Kenya  Goalkeeper Jerim Onyango.
    Kenya however played under protests claiming Tanzania did not bother to  bring neutral referees. Local referees were used which is  against Fifa regulations that recommend neutral whistlers to handle International friendly matches especially when Fifa rankings is at stake.
  Nevertheless, Kenya came with their guns blazing in the second half pinning their hosts in their own half.Playing without majority of their foreign based players led by Celtic star midfielder Victor Wanyama, and Keeper Arnold  Origi who plays in Norway,they were  able to turn their opponents defence upside down but could not translate their chances to goals.
  Kenya’s French based striker Dennis Oliech was a horn in the Tanzania backline  but was fully marked like a prisoner by Taifa Stars defenders led by Erasto Nyoni ,Kelvin Yondani and Amir Maftah.
The team is expected back in Nairobi on Thursday with the foreign based Stars expected to head straight to their clubs.
After the friendly match, all attention will shift to the Cecafa and the CHAN qualifiers against Burundi.
This is the second loss for coach Henri Michel in the two matches he has been in charge since taking over the Stars. On October 16th, Kenya lost to South Africa 2-1 at home in Nairobi in another friendly match and with Tanzania (134) being lower in FIFA ranking compared to Kenya (130) then it is expected that Kenya could drop again in the next FIFA ranking release.

Youthful aspirany launches his political bid

By George Millah and Jirongo Luyali

 Ruaraka Parliamentary Youthful aspirant on an ODM ticket George Opiyo popularly known as ‘Nyorosha” has launched his campaign bid and pledged to residents of Baba Dogo and Korogocho that he will not embezzle government funds meant for development.

He also assured them that he will be on the forefront in stepping up security and setting up micro finance institutions so as to create job for the youth. He told the voters that bad governance is attributed to lack of visionary leaders, he however asked them to support him in his bid so as to clinch the seat.

 “I can not make it alone but through your assistance,” he said.

Opiyo an engineer by profession is contesting against two rivals whom to many are viewed to be his main challengers in terms of influence, political experience and popularity within the constituency are former Nairobi Mayor and Baba Dogo ward Councilor Geoffrey Majiwa and prominent Nairobi Lawyer TJ K’ajwan’g who is a younger brother to Minister for Immigration and MP for Mbita Hon Gerald Otieno K’ajwan’g.

Opiyo urged leaders to refrain from defecting from ODM

to other party’s without clear vision as this will jeopardize and weaken the party and on equality he promised to see to it that industries in the area employ at least 30 percent of people from the area.

“I will be instrumental in fighting corruption, bad governance and tribalism,” he said.

He told ODM followers and supporters to consider politics as a football match and not a dirty game as it is always said. 

Opiyo reminded the residents of Ruaraka that they should enjoy this game of politics just like they do for football.

Opiyo was also accompanied by his Italian wife Maria Opiyo and ODM officials from Ruaraka constituency.

Mrs. Opiyo addressed the gathering in Italian and her speech was translated by her husband. She also charmed the gathering with her little luo and Swahili words

Others who stole the show were a prominent Migori and Awendo Businessman Majid Khan who acted as a luo elder and spoke fluent Luo to the amazement of those in attendance.

Mr. Majid said that no community is superior than the other but we should all live in harmony especially during this period of electioneering citing Kenya’s flawed December 2007 Presidential elections that provoked a two month orgy violence which has been described as the country’s most severe human rights crisis, over 1,000 Kenyans killed and 600, 00 thousand more displaced from their homes.

Opiyo concluded by urging them to come out in large numbers during voter registration exercise and pleaded with them to elect Prime Minister Raila Odinga for President Come 2013 general elections and Dr Evans Kidero for Nairobi Governorship.

Gor Mahia matches now to be played at Kasarani

By Fred Maingi

Following the recent hooliganism and running riots that saw Gor Mahia fans vandalise public vehicles over the weekend, the club has now been ordered to play all their matches with immediate effect at the 60,000 seater Moi International Sports centre Kasarani.

   This means the club’s traditional home ground-Nairobi City Stadium will be a no-go zone for any activity involving the club.The new measures will be in effect until the club provides Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Kenya Premier League (KPL) and sponsor’s Supersport with a detailed safety and security plan and Anti-hooganism policy for all future matches in accordance with the rules governing Kenya football and ensure the implementation policy by December 30^th 2012.

    FKF, KPL and Supersports officials met on Wednesday morning in Nairobi where they agreed to lift temporarily the ban on televising Gor Mahia matches until investigations are concluded and the FKF and KPL disciplinary bodies deliberate and submit their decision by next Friday November 23, 2012.

  The club was also directed to initiate the process in identifying the perpetrators and hooligans and charge them in a court of law.

  The pre-event safety & security meeting for the FKF cup semi finals shall be held on Thursday (tomorrow November 15) at 11am at Kasarani Stadium.It will involve the four participating clubs, officials and later a peaceful procession at 2pm.

  The two semi final matches slated for this weekend will however be televised live by Supersport Channel.

Timbe now join Harambee Stars training camp in Mwanza

Kenya Striker Ayub Timbe has finally linked up with Harambee Stars training camp in Mwanza  ahead of Wednesday's International friendly against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars.

    Timbe joined the Mwanza bound squad on tuesday morning following a flight hitch from his Belgium base where he turns out for FC Genk.

  The Kenyans  arrived in Mwanza few hours later and had a feel of the 35,000 seater CCM Kirumba Stadium, the venue of the match.

  Kenya head coach Henri Michel said they are treating the match seriously since it will serve as build up for the 2014, World Cup qualifier and the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

  Tanzania Taifa stars have also arrived in Mwanza  ahead of  Wednesday’s match.The team is residing at La Cairo Hotel

The same team will compete at the Cecafa event under the  name Kilimanjaro Stars since it will involve players from Zanzibar.

Taifa stars squad-                            

Goalkeepers- Juma Kaseja (Simba), Deogratius Munishi (Azam).

Defenders: Aggrey Morrice (Azam), Erasto Nyoni (Azam), Shomari Kapombe (Simba), Kelvin Yondani (Yanga), Issa Rashid (Mtibwa), Nassoro Masoud (Simba) and Amir Maftah (Simba).

Midfielders: Amri Kiemba (Simba), Abubakar Salum 'Sureboy' (Azam), Mwinyi Kazimoto (Simba), Ramadhan Singano (Simba), Mrisho Ngassa (Simba), Simon Msuva (Yanga), Athuman Iddi 'Chuji' (Yanga), Shaaban Nditi (Mtibwa) and Frank Domayo (Yanga).

Forwards: John Bocco (Azam), Thomas Ulimwengu (TP Mazembe, Congo), Mbwana Samatta (TP Mazembe, Congo), and Christopher Edward (Simba).

Meanwhile AFC Leopards have agreed to take on Gor Mahia on Saturday at Kasarani on condition that elaborate security will be availed in the crucial FKF semi final match slated for Kasarani.

   AFC Leopards Chairman Alex Ole Magelo said they have in the past raised concerns over security in decisive matches but expressed regret that Football Kenya Federation (FKF) had done nothing over the same.

  Speaking at the FKF secretariat at Nyayo Stadium after attending a security meeting convened by FKF involving both Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards officials,Magelo  said if he will sense  any lapse of security on Saturday, he will withdraw his team from the match

“Security has to be beefed up in and out of the stadium for the safety of players, officials and fans. We would not want a situation where a life is lost or somebody is maimed,”

  In a rejoinder, however, Nyamweya assured Leopards that there will be elaborate security and there is no cause for alarm."We had a long meeting with both club's officials.I do assure fans that there will be enough security on the ground to curb any breach of peace".

   He said he was impressed by his team’s performance in the just ending League. “I’m proud  of my team’s performance.It was a nail-biting  end where the winner was decided in the last day and my team was in the title contention.I thank the  entire team including the technical bench for the good combined effort, and our fans  who came in large numbers  to cheer the team.It was indeed great” said Magelo.

  Magelo said the Leopards management has faith in Coach Jan Koops despite the team’s failure to win the Premier League title.

“Everyone is talking about how the team squandered a chance of winning the cup after leading for a lengthy part of the season. A third position is not bad considering that the team was in an odd placing when Koops took over the coaching reins. For this reason he is still the head coach and we will give him a free hand to sign on players who will bolster the team next season,” he said.

    He confirmed that the  club has received several invitations for friendly matches adding that  the club will embark on players and members recruitment ahead of  the new season come next year.

Sserunkuma drafted in the KPL 2012 players nominee

Uganda born  and Gor Mahia roving striker Dan Sserunkuma  has been included in this years best player nominee category  during the Kenya Premier League(KPL) gala night slated for November 21 at Nairobi’s  Carnivore Restaurant.

  Other players in the category include John Keo of Oserian FC, Mike Barasa (AFC leopards),Paul Kiongera of Kenya  Commercial Bank(KCB) and Gor Mahia’s Rama Salim.

  In the best coach category, the usual suspects Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards foreign tacticians Zdravko Logarusic and Jan Koops have been drafted in the list.Others  are John Kamau of Thika United,Robert Matano of  defending Champions Tusker and Mathare United tactician Stanley Okumbi.

    The best defenders category according to the latest list released by KPL secretariat include Eugine Asike(Sofapaka), Ivans Anguyo(Gor Mahia),Jackson Sale(Western Stima), Jockins Atudo(Tusker),Johannes Nahimana(AFC Leopards) and John Shikokoti(Tusker).

    Gor Mahia’s Anthony Okumu leads the haunt in the best midfielders category that includes Ben Mangoli (AFC Leopards), Francis Kahata (Thika United), Paul Kiongera (KCB) and Peter Opiyo of Tusker FC.

    Best Goalkeepers Awards will be vied by Tusker custodian Bonface Oluoch, Duncan Ochieng (Sofapaka), Fred Onyango (Gor Mahia), Martin Musalia (Mathare United) and Robert Mandela of Western Stima.

 Meanwhile hopes of Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards foreign based tactician being  considered during this years Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya) hit a snag after the panelists categorically insisted  they will not consider foreign nominated members.

   Soya panelists led by Chris Mbaisi and Evelyn Watta said Soya exercise is meant to promote local talents but not foreigners. Gor Mahia coach Zdravko Logarusic and his AFC Leopards counterpart Jan Koops were tipped to claim the first two slots in the best coach category.

   The duo spoke on Monday morning at a Nairobi Hotel after receiving a cheque of Shs.  2.5 million From giant pay television channel Supersport and Multichoice Kenya.

  The deal will see the organizers for the December 6 gala receive Kshs.1m in cash with Supersport incurring Shs.1.5m in production costs for the annual gathering of Kenya’s finest performers in sport that is in its ninth edition.

  The Soya panelists insisted that they had received quite a number of foreign nominations where the category led with high number of nominations.

“Soya exist to promote ability made by Kenyans in sports and so the non-Kenyan talents will not be in consideration,’ said Evelyn Watta, a Soya panelist.

Former world marathon record holder and five times world cross country champion Paul Tergat outlined that the sponsorship boost was timely for both parties.

Tergat said Soya has a lot in common with SuperSport and MultiChoice through objectives and aspirations.

“We are grateful for the sponsorship because we want to see sports and our sports people rise to new heights in Kenya and Africa as a whole,” said Tergat.

   Multichoice Kenya General Manager Danny Mucira said Supersport were keen on establishing a long-term commitment to Africa and specifically the Kenyan market in local content and local talent.

  ‘Over the years, added Mucira, we have continued  to invest through our channels in local content production.We have always been and still dedicated to serving  the Kenya people  with the best sport, movies and entertainment.

  On his part, Tergat said Soya shares a lot in common with Supersport and Multichoice adding that the entry of DSTv in Kenya has seen tremendous rise especially the youth participation in Sports.

.

  SuperSport Head of Africa, Andre Ventre said  his firm will assist with the pre-production work on behalf of Soya and also  provide nomination videos. The giant Tv channel will also produce highlights programme of the gala that will be available on our channels after a week of the awards ceremony.

     Other companies that have so far sponsored Soya this year are mobile phone services provider Safaricom (7million) and National Bank of Kenya (3 million).Others are Communication Commission of Kenya and the Huaweii.

Victor Wanyama,Origi out of Tanzania friendly

Harambee Stars and Celtic holding midfielder Victor Mugubi Wanyama and first choice goalkeeper Arnold Origi will not be available for Kenya’s friendly match against Tanzania set for Wednesday in Mwanza Tanzania.
According to FKF media liaison officer John Kariuki, Mugubi has an injury he picked in his teams league match over the weekend.
Origi who has a match on Wednesday for his club will also not be available though no reason has been given over his pending absence. The friendly match falls within Fifa calendar and per the Fifa statutes, clubs are obligated to release players for national assignment.
Belgian based Ayub Timbe is expected by Monday afternoon .Other foreign based players including skipper Dennis Oliech, Patrick Osiako, Brian Mandela, and Jerry Santos have joined camp. The team jets out on Tuesday morning aboard Precision airline.

Meanwhile because  of a poor Fifa ranking, Kenya find themselves in a tough group of the forthcoming Cecafa Tusker Challenge Cup to kick off in Kampala on November 24.

Uganda, the best team in the Cecafa [Council of East and Central African Football Associations] region will head Group ‘A’ and the Kenyans will not only have the daunting task of facing the defending champion Cranes of Uganda, but also Ethiopia, the only team qualified for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in January.

The Cranes have a Fifa ranking of 22 in Africa and 86th in the world. Ethiopia are 28th in Africa and 102 in the world while Kenya are 39th in Africa and 130 in the world, one of its worst ever placing.

The fourth team in the group is South Sudan, who without much competition since being admitted to the Fifa family early this year, have an African ranking of 51 and 200 in the world. South Sudan will be taking part in the Challenge Cup for the first time as an independent country.

Organisers, Federation of Uganda Football Associations [Fufa] announced the draw at the Serena Hotel in Kampala on Monday morning. Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye of Kenya was in attendance.

Moses Magogo, Vice President of Fufa said the federation had everything in place for a competitive tournament at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, Namboole in the outskirts of Kampala.

All except one [Djibouti] of the 12 members of Cecafa will be taking part in the event on its third and final year of sponsorship by East African Breweries Limited through its flag bearer brand Tusker beer. The final at Namboole will be on December 8.

The second best rated team in the tournament is guests Malawi who are ranked 27th in Africa and 101 in the world and are heading Group ‘C’ comprising also Rwanda, Eritrea and Zanzibar.

The pools (Africa - World ranking):

Group ‘A’:

(22 - 86)Uganda

(28 - 102)Ethiopia

(39 - 130)Kenya

(51- 200)South Sudan

Group’ B’:

(29 - 102)Sudan

(38 - 128)Burundi

(41 - 134)Tanzania

(48 - 193)Somalia

Group ‘C’:

(27 - 101)Malawi

(37 - 122) Rwanda

(47 - 192) Eritrea

(unranked)Zanzibar

The Kenya domestic season ended on Saturday with Tusker retaining the League title. The Kenya national team to the Challenge Cup is expected to comprise, almost in entirety, the top players who took part in the thrilling Tusker Premier League.

They will, therefore, have no rest before embarking on the preparations for Kampala. But meanwhile, Kenya are set to play an international friendly against Tanzania in Mwanza on Wednesday.

Harambee Stars are programmed to leave Nairobi on Tuesday. Some foreign-based players are expected to be in the team.

Economic ``tribes versus cultural tribes``,which way forward politically

Ngunjri Wambugu

Every time I watch Citizen Tv’s Sunday night live’s ‘Who Owns Kenya’, I always remember a comment that was made to me during a Coast inter-ethnic discussion forum. An old man (Mzee) from the Digo Community went to great lengths to explain to me the difference between ‘Walala Hoi, ‘Walal Hai’ and ‘Walala Heri’. This Mzee was trying to make the point that post election violence would be a thing of the past if Kenyans operated not as cultural ‘tribes’ as we understand them, but as economic ‘tribes’ as defined by their living standards.

My Mzee friend said that Kenya has 3 general economic ‘tribes’.

The ‘Walala hoi’are the Kenyans who are so poor that even the ordinary poor people call them poor. This are the people who are not guaranteed a meal once every two days, or whose children cannot afford to go to school despite the fact that public primary schools are free, because it costs to maintain a child in a state such that they can understand what they are taught in class. They are the ones who are locked up in public hospitals because they could not pay a bill to save a life.

The Mzee called this ‘tribe’ the ‘consumables’ of Kenyan society. They are the ones who are considered as statistics/numbers during shoot-outs with police, or road accidents.. They are also the ones who are at the frontlines of political violence, after which they are either jailed or shot dead, while the ‘lucky’ ones go back to eking a living in the same circumstances, whatever government gets into office.

The second group is the ‘Walala Heri’ (heri wao). These are the middle-class Kenyans who have met their basic needs, and are now struggling to ‘keep up with the Joneses’. These group are able to put food on the table 3 times a day for their family; take their children to a private school; access credit for a house and a car or two; and usually have a Dstv satellite dish on the roof of their gated-community residence in a sub-urban area. (The latest fad is a small dog, or two). Oh, and this is the tribe that pays government salaries, because they pay the most taxes of all 3 ‘tribes’.

Unfortunately this second group is so caught up in the economic ‘rat race’ that they have no time for anything else. As they compare themselves with their neighbors and/or those celebrities they see on television, they have no time to engage in what is happening outside their gates. They are therefore the ones most shocked when things like the 2007 post election violence happen. They are also the ones you hear with the wildest political commentaries, usually shared over a beer at a bar.

Despite the amount of influence this second ‘tribe’ have over society (all the walala hoi masses listen to them because they are accessible/are their employers, while the walala heri depend on them to run their businesses), they have chosen to be spectators in their own country. What they do not realize is that they face the most disruptions whenever the country goes wrong, as their lifestyles are the most fluid. They are also the ones with cars that use bad roads, who buy luxuries heavily taxed to off-set government corruption, and who live in neighborhoods that require security from government because private security is unreliable.

Finally we have the ‘Walala hai’, wealthy Kenyans who not only meet their needs and wants, but who are wealthy in whatever part of the world they find themselves. This Kenyans operate in the international scene; above partisan politics. In fact they invest similar amounts in all viable political options, and will work with whoever wins. Those in political power also work with them, knowing very well that their loyalties are not to them, but to the office they occupy. Incidentally nearly every senior key politician belongs to this ‘tribe’.

Those within each of the three economic tribes above share certain general commonalities; they have common socio-economic ambitions; live within similar basic living standards; classify ‘basic’ services at a similar level and have common access to them, etc. They also have common fears and expectations of whoever is in political power.

Within each of the three economic ‘tribes’ we find people drawn from all the over 42 cultural tribes of Kenya.

So how ironic is it that in such a clear context, rather than work within the 3 general tribes that dictate so much about how we and our loved ones live, we make the crucial decisions of who rules us and plots our nation’s political destiny based on our cultural tribes! How do we elect politicians based on circumcision, cultural elders, geography, etc? How does that put bread on the table?

Imagine what kind of circus we would have seen during the recent presidential campaigns if Americans were as overt as we are on their in-born differences? Wonder why they are the most powerful nation in the world? Congratulations Barrack Obama.

Barasa attribuets his scoring magic to teamwork and dedication

By Fred Maingi
Tusker premier League(TPL) top scorer John Barasa has attributed his current performance owing to hard work and teamwork from the  entire playing unit.
   Speaking on phone after scoring his 18^th goal of the season, Barasa who scored the second goal that steered Sofapaka to a  2-1 triumph over Karuturi Sports thanked the Almighty for giving him energy to contain the heavy pressure in the League.
    Barasa  who missed last weekends  2-1 loss to Kenya Commercial Bank(KCB) at the Nairobi City Stadium dedicated  the winning goal to his young daughter who was buried last weekend.
  “ Though I feel happy to emerge the top scorer, I will dedicate the goal that has made all the difference to my family especially after losing my lovely kid recently.I  thank everyone  who supported me including the entire team and  club President Elly Kalekwa for the encouragement they gave me especially after the sad news.” Observed Barasa..
  Barasa  arguably the oldest and experienced striker in the League declined to comment whether he will commit his  future next season to Sofapaka.
  “What I can say, I will be around.You will be  able to see me  kicking the ball but I cant tell you which club I  will be playing.Hopefully I might stick around with Sofapaka” said he.
  He has now overshadowed his Gor Mahia  counterpart Dan Sserunkuma for the Golden-boot title.The latter has scored 17 goals.
Last season, Ulinzi Stars forward  Stephen Waruru emerged the best scorer in the league with 12 goals to his credit
Despite his age, Baraza, who clinched the Golden Boot title in 2009 and 2010 has been in scintillating form and could  go in the annals of history as the oldest player to win the title.However,Maurice ‘Sonyi”Ochieng still remains the highest scoring scorer in 1976 with 26 goals. Sonyi is the father to AFC Leopards striker Victor Ochieng.
Thika United’s Kepha Aswani, Gor’s Rama Salim and Ulinzi Stars’ striker Evans Amuoka are tied for third spot with twelve goals each.
Paul Kiongera of KCB is fourth after finishing the season with 11 goals, one ahead of Mathare United’s hit-man Jesse Were
Thika United head coach John Kamau has paid tribute to his players for showing maturity in their weekend 1-1 draw against League favourites Gor Mahia.
  He lauded his youthful players saying they were capable of maintaining pressure from Gor Mahia chanting fans who came with a fixed mind of winning the match at all cost.He further praised the match officiating of Damaris Kimani as superb saying it was  worth to be emulated by other whistlers.
  “Her superb officiating made all the difference.Some few decisions were wanting but basically, I’m happy with her officiating and I would urge other whistlers to follow suit’ said a delighted Kamau after the match

Jerry Santos makes a kill from failed Albania move

Jerry Santos makes a kill from failed Albania move

By fred maingi

The World Governing soccer body (Fifa) has ordered KF Tirana of Albania to pay Kenya’s and Coastal Union midfielder Jerry Santo $ 35,000 for breach of contract.

  The Albania  club had entered a  two and a half year contract with the Kenyan player but they later changed and cancelled the  deal.The player had snubbed a move to re- join Simba Sports club of Tanzania.By then, the transfer window  in Tanzania had already elapsed

   The Coastal Union midfield kingpin later joined Kenya’s Tusker for half of the 2012 season before signing for the Tanga based outfit.Santo’s case was filed by International Sports Lawyer Felix Majani.
    Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) has directed the Albania club to pay the claimant within 30 day’s as from the day of notification of   compensation for breach of contract in the amount of $35,000, plus 5 per cent interest yearly as of October 25, 2012 until the date of effective payment.
However, the lawyer feels Santo has a strong case against Tirana and deserves better compensation than $35,000.

  The lawyer observed that he had requested grounds of the full decision in order to see the ratio decided and adopted by Fifa in arriving at the amount.

  He said he might contemplate filing an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. ‘Santos has a strong case.I don’t feel that is the amount which de deserves to be awarded.Upon receiving the grounds of the Fifa’s DRC decision, we might consider filing a case.The amount arrived was just partial and I feel the committee were not guided by CAS law.We are not satisfied” he asserted.

 Another Kenyan player John Njoroge filed a similar case few years ago against Yanga of Tanzania following wrong dismissal.He filed a case with Fifa where the club was directed to compensate him.

  The fate surrounding the two Kenya players to a large extent is a major triumph for players pursuing their rights before Fifa judicial bodies and sports highest court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

   Former Tanzania’s Simba Sports Club head coach Moses Basena is also  seeking compensation amounting to US $112.3 million from the club.

  Subsequently, the Uganda born tactician is seeking intervention from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on the matter.

  Basena’s two year contract with the club ended mysteriously after being in the helm for seven months .Simba officials cracked the whip after the Mainland champions lost with a solitary goal to their arch rivals Yanga.
    Basena, currently with Uganda Express FC said losing the job was not a matter of life and death but insisted he wanted the club to compensate him

 The Tanzanian club alsofaces legal action if they maintain their stand of terminating Uganda International midfielder Mudde Mussa contract.

  The club is said to have terminated the two years contract which they had agreed with the player.

      The club had earlier terminated contracts of other foreign based players Lino Mosombo, Danny Mrwanda and Kanu Mbiyavanga.

    The Ugandan has however appealed to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to save their face by intervening in the matter.

  The former Sofapaka FC midfielder signed for the Tanzanian club in June.He  sustained an ankle injury that would lay him off until early November.

    The Ugandan player has however threatened to seek legal action against the Tanzanian club if they fail to rescind their decision. He insisted his contract with the club remains valid and binding.

Scientists report progress in Malaria vaccine trial in Africa

Scientists across Africa on Friday announced progress in their research for a vaccine against malaria, giving hope to defeating the continent's biggest killer.

Scientists in Kenya and in South Africa said a 12-month round of trials in several African countries has showed good efficacy levels among infants who are the most victims of the disease in Sub-Sahara Africa. "We have made significant progress in recent years in our battle against malaria, but the disease still kills 655,000 people a year - mainly children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. An effective malaria vaccine would be a welcome addition to our tool kit," Dr. Salim Abdulla, a principal investigator for the trial from the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania told journalists in Nairobi.

The new vaccine trial has been given the code name RTS.S. "This study indicates that RTS.S can help to protect young babies against malaria. Importantly, we observed that it provided this protection in addition to the widespread use of bed nets by the trial participants," said Abdulla. The project to research on effective malaria vaccine started in 2001, when Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), a body funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation entered into partnership with GSK to study the vaccine candidate's ability to protect young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Over time, the partnership expanded to include the 11 African research centres and, in some instances, associated scientific institutions from Europe and the United States. MVI has invested 200 million dollars while GSK has invested more than 300 million dollars to date and expects to invest more than 200 million dollars before the completion of the project.  The first complete set of results in children aged 5 to 17 months and combined data for severe malaria in the first 250 cases from those aged 6 weeks to 17 months were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2011.

On Friday, results from the large-scale Phase III trial, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the RTS.S malaria vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria."When compared to immunization with a control vaccine, infants aged 6-12 weeks at first vaccination, those vaccinated with RTS.S had one-third fewer episodes of both clinical and severe malaria and had similar reactions to the injection. In this trial, RTS.S demonstrated an acceptable safety and tolerability profile," said a statement released by the scientists.

Eleven African research centres in seven African countries are conducting this trial, together with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), with grant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to MVI. Abdulla said although the efficacy level of the just concluded trials is lower than what was realized last year with the older 5- 17 month age category children.  "It makes us even more eager to gather and analyze more data from the trial to determine what factors might influence efficacy against malaria and to better understand the potential of RTS.S in our battle against this devastating disease," Abdulla said. "We were also glad to see that the study indicated that RTS.S could be administered to young infants along with standard childhood vaccines and that side effects were similar to what we would see with those vaccines," he said.

Some of the scientists in the team said the lower efficacy could be because the immune systems of the children of 3-4 months is still developing.They reported that there was no increase in overall reporting of serious adverse events between the infants vaccinated with the RTS.S malaria vaccine candidate and infants in the control group, which received a comparator vaccine. "While the efficacy seen is lower than last year, we believe these results confirm that RTS.S can help provide African babies and young children with meaningful protection against malaria," said Sir Andrew Witty, CEO, GSK."They take us another important step forward on the journey towards having a new intervention available against this disease, which is a huge burden on the health and economic growth of Africa. "

The scientists said follow-up in this Phase III trial will continue to provide more data for analyses to better understand the different findings between the age categories.  These data and analyses should also provide insights into the vaccine candidate's efficacy in different malaria parasite transmission settings. More data on the longer-term efficacy of the vaccine during 30 months of follow-up after the third dose, and the impact of a booster dose are expected to be publicly available at the end of 2014. (Xinhua)

6. BUCHAREST, Romania: Romania to auction over 500,000 tonnes of gold concentrate

(Xinhua) -- Romania's insolvent National Mining Company Remin will put up for auction 506,540 tonnes of gold concentrate with a high arsenic content, the company announced on Friday.

According to company manager Ovidiu Galca, besides the Romanian companies in the nonferrous industry, companies from Australia, China and Switzerland will also take part in the auction scheduled for Nov. 12. The market value estimated by evaluating the gold concentrate is about 105 U.S. dollars/dry metric tonne. The seller will select the company that offers the highest price. A guarantee, 10 percent of the lot value, is to be imposed for participating in the auction.

The deal is meant to draw additional resources to the state budget.  The National Mining Company Remin operates mainly in the northwestern county of Maramures, which has a long history of mining for gold, copper, lead, zinc, silver, manganese and salt. (Xinhua)

Tanzania`s Taifa Stars squad to face Harambee Stars is named

By Fred Maingi
Controversial Tanzania International Goalkeeper Juma Kaseja has been included in the Taifa Stars  squad that will face Kenya’s Harambee Stars on Wednesday at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza.
    While naming the team,Tanzanian Dannish Coach Kim Poulsen  said he will use the eagerly awaited friendly match to shape up his  side  ahead of the forthcoming regional Tusker Cecafa Challenge Cup that kicks off from November 24- December 8 in Kampala, Uganda.
  The team is mostly dominated by Yanga, Azam and Simba players.Howver,Zanzibar based players  have not been named but will join the team later before heading to Uganda  for the Challenge Cup. The team will be camping in Mwanza throughout till before flying out to Uganda.
   Kaseja came under fire in the recent past from Simba fans especially after the 2-0 loss to Mtibwa Sugar last weekend. Kaseja has been missing in Simba’s training camp for the last two days after he was accosted by angry Msimbazi fans who claimed he had let in cheap goals against Mtibwa and his form had been dwindling.
    Key players in the Taifa squad include  TP Mazembe’s roving midfielder Samatta Mbwana and Thomas Ulimwengu .Others include  experienced Erasto Nyoni(Azam),simba’s Mrisho Ngassa and Shaban Nditi from Mtibwa Sugar among others.
 Goalkeepers; Juma kaseja (Simba), Deogratius Munishi (Azam)
Defenders; Kevin Yondan (Yanga), Aggrey Morris, Erasto Nyoni (Azam FC), Issa Rashid, Nassoro Masoud ‘Cholo’, Shomari Kapombe, Amir Maftah(Simba).
Midfielders: Salum Abubakar ‘Sure Boy’(Azam FC), Amri Kiemba, Mwinyi Kazimoto, Ramadhan Singano ‘Messi’, Mrisho Ngassa(Simba), Athuman Iddi ‘Chuji’, Frank Domayo(Yanga),Shaaban Nditi (Mtibwa Sugar).
Strikers: John Bocco ‘Adebayor’ (Azam FC), Simon Msuva (Yanga), Christopher Edward(Simba), Mbwana Samatta,Thomas Ulimwengu (Tout Puissant Mazembe).
Meanwhile suspended Tanzania soccer International Erasto  Nyoni has expressed his disappointment after  his local club Azam FC  imposed an indefinite suspension on him and other two players for gross misconduct.
    Others who were send packing include Goalkeeper Deogratius Munishi and Said Mourad. They were accused of taking bribes from their arch rivals  Simba SC and Dar Young Africans popularly known as Yanga.

"I have never been involved in such practices throughout my playing career, I am disappointed by the claim."If we lost it was because Simba and Yanga played better than us and in soccer you win, lose or draw," said Nyoni .
  The player who once played in Burundi said  he was clean  like cotton and pleaded with club officials to conduct thorough investigation’s which he said  will prove them wrong.

Malawi replace Djibouti in the Cecafa Challenge Cup

By Fred Maingi

Malawi have replaced Djibouti ahead of the Tusker CECAFA senior challenge cup draw slated  for  Kampala  in Uganda on Monday
CECAFA Secretary General Nicholas Musonye confirmed the absence of  Djibouti
"Djibouti will not be there so in their place we have drafted Malawi because of their previous relationship with  the tournament and their geographical proximity to the CECAFA region which makes it logistically easier to have them participate" explained Musonye
Already  11 Cecafa countries led by Uganda,Kenya,Tanzania,Zanzibar,Rwanda,Burundi,Ethiopia,Sudan,South Sudan,Somalia and Eritrea have confirmed participation in the tournament with other  countries also expressing interest to participate in the continents oldest tournament .
    Three countries  Malawi Cameroon and Zimbabwe had shown  interest in participating as guests in the tournament

East African Breweries have sank $450,000 towards the hosting of the tournament
The winning team will be awarded $30,000, while $20,000  will go to  the first runner-up and US$10,000 for the third placed teams
The hosts Uganda Cranes are the defending champions and will be looking to win a third successive title in a row
Kenya's Harambee Stars will also  be hopeful of ending their bid run in the regional tourney with new coach Henry Michel at the helm

Meanwhile the original Tusker Premier League(TPL) trophy will be placed  at the Nairobi  City Stadium where league leaders Gor Mahia will be facing Thika United on the
final day of the local league this season.
This was announced on Friday morning by Kenyan Premier League Chief
Executive (CEO) Jack Oguda after a pre-match meeting that was also
attended by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chairman Sam Nyamweya as
well as Gor Mahia and Thika United officials and the Kenya Police.
"Gor versus Thika is the main match on saturday because Gor are the clear
league leaders and so the original league trophy will be at the venue
of the match which is City Stadium. We have two replica trophies that
will be at Hope Centre and Awendo, the venues of Tusker and City Stars
and Chemelil and AFC Leopards respectively, since Tusker and Leopards
also stand a chance of winning the league," said Oguda.
   Oguda said that security arrangements for all the top three matches
were complete, noting that Gor's fixture would be given special  attention, given the magnitude of the fixture.
  The match between Sofapaka and Karuturi Sports will now be held at
Thika Municipal Stadium.
Only 90 minutes stand on the way of K'Ogalo as Gor is popularly known.
They will be hoping to end their league drought as they seek to lay
their hands on the coveted trophy, 17 years after they last did so.
"It has been a very long time. I was only nine years when Gor last won
the local league and it will be great for me to go down in history as
the captain of the team when we finally ended drought after a long
time," said the team's skipper Jerry Onyango.
He added: "We have come close twice, in 2010 and last year, but in
both occasions the fate was not in our hands as we relied on
mathematics and other teams to do us favours. This time it is ours to
lose because we are the top of the league and only need three points
to be the champions."
Thika has always been a hard nut to crack for the league leaders, but
Gor enjoy a better head-to-head record over their opponents as they
have never lost to them in their last six fixtures.

Senegal`s Ex-Minister summoned by Police over illegal wealth

 Former Senegalese minister Karim Wade, who is son to ex-president Abdoulaye Wade, is ordered to appear before the department of the Senegalese gendarmerie on Nov. 15 over suspicion of illegal wealth acquisition. The order was made on Thursday in Dakar, the capital of the West African country, by the prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Court (CREI), Alioune Ndao.
Ndao said several other ex-ministers will be investigated, including former urbanization minister Oumar Sarr, mining minister Abdoulaye Balde, foreign minister Madicke Niang and energy minister Samuel Sarr.
According to the special prosecutor at CREI, Senegal will seek support from France, the United States and Canada to repatriate illegally acquired wealth.
After elected in March 2012, current President Macky Sall promised to do everything possible to recover wealth illegally acquired by former leaders.
Meanwhile Egyptian security forces arrested Thursday a Jihadist leader accused of implementing terrorist operations in Arish, the capital city of North Sinai Governorate.
Security sources told Xinhua Ahmed Allaam al-Khefny was arrested in an apartment in Arish's district of Zohour, adding that the Egyptian police also confiscated his lap-top.
Khefny was sentenced to 25 years in prison in September for participating in assaulting police and security officers guarding Arish police station and a bank in June, 2011.
The attack over Arish police station left seven people killed and 16 policemen injured.
On Tuesday, an Egyptian checkpoint was attacked by some extremists in Arish, leaving one police officer injured.
Earlier this month, Egyptian Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal ordered to sack the security chief of North Sinai over an assault by local militants on a police car in Arish, which left three policemen killed and another one injured. (Xinhua)

China heir apparent Xi Jinping raised by elite,steeled by turmoil

 

Kenya`s Prime Minister Raila Odinga (R) and Xi Jinping in Beijing, China in July, 2012

BEIJING: Xi Jinping has been appointed Communist Party of China (CPC) Secreatary General at18th CPC National Congress Great Hall of the People at the opening of a key congress where he is expected to assume the mantle of party boss from President Hu Jintao.

Xi Jinping,a native of Fuping, Shaanxi Province was born in June 1953. He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in January 1974. He graduated from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, majoring in Marxist theory and ideological education with an on-the-job postgraduate education and Doctor of Laws (LLD).

Xi is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, vice president of PRC and president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Being the son of a reformist former vice premier and parliament vice-chairman Xi Zhongxun, Xi, 59 is a "princeling", one of the privileged sons and daughters of China's incumbent, retired or late leaders.Xi grew up among the party elite and spent his childhood years in the poverty-stricken countryside before getting to university.Seen as a reformer in top positions in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, both at the forefront of China's economic reforms, Xi was marked out as the likely successor to Hu. Hu Jintao said here Thursday that China will continue to carry out reform of the political structure, but the country will never copy a Western political system.  "We must continue to make both active and prudent efforts to carry out the reform of the political structure, and make people's democracy more extensive, fuller in scope and sounder in practice," Hu said in a keynote address at the opening of the CPC's 18th National Congress.

Hu said the CPC should place high importance on systemic building, give full play to the strength of the socialist political system and draw on the political achievements of other societies."However, we will never copy a Western political system," he said.Stressing the unity of the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country and law-based governance, Hu said the CPC should place greater emphasis on improving the way the Party exercises leadership and governance to ensure that it leads the people in effectively governing the country."We should attach greater importance to improving the system of democracy and diversifying the forms of democracy to ensure that the people conduct democratic elections, decision-making, administration and oversight in accordance with the law," he said.The CPC should give greater scope to the important role the rule of law plays in the country's governance and in social management, uphold the unity, sanctity and authority of the country's legal system and ensure that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms as prescribed by law.

Meanwhile Up to 17,000 people have been affected by floods after torrential rains hit Orientale province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), according to a statement from the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
"Although there is no precise estimate at the moment, we believe that 20 percent of the 85,000 people who live in the concerned region will be affected, that is about 17,000 people spread in 3,400 households," OCHA said in a statement obtained here on Thursday.
The floods have already caused the displacement of local people, house and plantation damage, water pollution and health risks like cholera and malaria.
Humanitarian workers in Dungu in the province have developed an assistance plan for urgent needs of the victims. (Xinhua)