The border crisis between Kenya and Uganda is a reminder of some of the historical facts related to both ancient and modern conquests. History has proved that border disputes or the urge for territorial expansion is no new thing.
The appetite of all political expansionists has always appeared insatiable. That is why in as much as the Kenyan and Ugandan governments are looking for the surveyors to ascertain the real borders in Lake Victoria; Ugandan troops are busy shifting the Kenya Uganda border beacons in West Pokot. This behavior by the Ugandan government could be a time bomb for Kenya. The behavior exhibited by the Ugandan troops is a very high level of provocation.
If in Migingo they were using survey maps as an excuse, then what is their excuse for invading Kenyans borders in the north. If we look at the Norman conquests of England in AD 1066 by Duke William of Normandy, and Adolf Hitler’s attempts to conquer the whole of Europe in precedence to world war two, then we can easily guess what kind of person president Museveni is given his stay in power on the Ugandan presidency, presiding over and ‘winning’, flawed presidential elections, appointing his close family relatives to senior political offices in the country and his behavior on the border points exhibit someone with insatiable appetite for power with expansionist tendencies.
At the beginning of 1066, the Anglo Saxon ruler of England, Edward the Confessor was on his death bed. Since he had no children, there was no direct heir to the throne and he had not publicly designated any heir to succeed him. After his death Harold Godwinson succeeded him. This was resented by William of Normandy who was distantly related to the Confessor and claimed that he had been promised the throne.
Duke William had readied himself to invade England which included parts of France like Brittany and Flanders. Duke William and his army crossed the English Channel and landed in England. On hearing the news of the Norman army landing on the English coast, Harold Godwinson marched south with his army to battle the Norman invaders.
Though the English army was victorious in the battle of Stamford Bridge, it also suffered losses. It was in a battered and weakened state which adversely affected its capacity to repel the Norman invasion of England.
The Norman story informs us that Museveni might have been planning to invade Kenya for some time and he seems to be well prepared for the war. Given his stubbornness you never know which other parts of Kenya he is soon going to either quietly invade or claim that they belong to his country. History has proved that expansionists will use flimsiest of excuses to intrude other states including use of gangster diplomacy. It’s widely believed that those people who gained power by the guerrilla operations have little regard for human life and going to war to them is no big deal as long as it’s aimed at satisfying their urge to expand territory. Its has even been alleged before that Museveni is a believer in Mao Tse Tung’s ideas including the belief that power comes through a barrel of a gun.
The scenario also replicates the tricks Hitler used against his neighboring countries in 1938 with an intention of being able to have political grip of the whole of Europe through military conquest. By the beginning of 1939, Adolf Hitler had become so bold that he tried to steal two separate neighboring territories at the same time. While he was focusing on taking Czechoslovakia, he was also pressuring Poland to give him the former German city of Danzig located on the Baltic Sea. And he wanted the Poles to permit construction of a new super highway and railroad stretching from Germany through Polish territory into East Prussia.
Given these historical scenarios which are only but examples, we seem to be faced by a more serious problem than we may imagine. It indicates that any form of military provocation is usually well preplanned by the aggressor and that the aggressed in most cases is found unawares or ill prepared and also that other neighboring states will easily realize the weakness of the assaulted nation and also attempt to take advantage and try to annex that land.
Maybe Museveni thinks he can be Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and tactician who is rated as one of the best commanders in history. "M7" could be reading too much into the journeys Hannibal took as he sought to conquer Rome. Maybe Kenya is Museveni’s Rome but it could as well turn out to be his Waterloo.
It is advisable that Kenya ceases entertaining Museveni diplomacy and embarks on securing its borders more aggressively lest we end up getting invaded by other neighboring states who might easily think we are invincible. We beseech thee the commander in chief and president of Kenya to act over Migingo and Pokot west in the earliest opportune moment to regain the pride of the nation. Museveni might be buying time as he prepares for assault with an intention to have personal whims to decide what part of Kenya belongs to Uganda and which does not
If Kenya doesn’t take action, this Ugandan president might easily claim just like his country’s former despot Iddi Amin that, Uganda extends up to Naivasha.
Fwamba Nc Fwamba and Muriuki Mukurima
Nairobi, Kenya.
STOP CORRUPTION
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SHELL OIL CO. & CITIBANK USA ARE PARTNER IN CORRUPTION
How deep is corruption in Africa? | ||
In Nigeria, the international oil giant Shell admitted that it inadvertently fed conflict, poverty and corruption through its oil activities in the country. Nigeria contributes to about 10% of Shell's global production and is home to some of its most promising reserves, yet the country is steeped in poverty and conflict. According to Shell, it has been difficult to operate with integrity in areas of conflict like Nigeria. In some Cameroonian public hospitals, patients say they have to put some money in the doctor's consultation book before they are attended to. And in some schools, a student cannot pass examinations without bribing the teachers. In Zambia, former President Fredrick Chiluba is facing corruption charges for offences he allegedly committed during his term in office. SOURCE:BBC A US Senate inquiry in 1999 revealed that the giant Citibank held private accounts for many corrupt Third World leaders. These included Gabonese president Omar Bongo (who transferred US$100 million, allegedly including bribes from French firm Elf-Aquitaine, through his three accounts), Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari ($40 million, including $10 million allegedly from kickbacks on a gold importing contract), the three sons of former Nigerian strongman Sani Abacha ($110 million in accounts, plus $39 million lent to them to deposit in Swiss accounts after the new Nigerian government began investigations) and Raul Salinas, brother of one-time Mexican President Carlos Salinas ($80-$100 million in alleged drug money). | ||
The Cost of Corruption
Corruption in Africa is costing the continent nearly $150bn a year, according to a new report.
The African regional body, the African Union (AU) has drawn up a convention to stamp out malpractices which the study says are hitting the poorest the hardest.
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From the bottle of whisky slipped under the counter to speed a traveller's way through customs, to the presidents and ex-presidents living way beyond their declared means, it results in an assumption that no business will ever get done without a present changing hands.
The report before this week's meeting of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, makes no attempt to excuse these "gratifications" as part of the culture.
It says that corruption is costing Africa more than $148bn dollars a year, increasing the cost of goods by as much as 20%, deterring investment and holding back development.In Uganda, often held up by the IMF and World Bank as a model of the success of their policies, the government has set about privatising 142 state-owned enterprises since 1992, the sales of which was expected to net US$500 million. However, by 1998 the process had been halted twice by parliament because of corruption: at the end of that year, the government account set up to hold the proceeds of privatisation was empty.The cross-border flow of the global proceeds from criminal activities, corruption, and tax evasion is estimated at between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion per year.
· 25 percent of the GDP of African states lost to corruption every year, amounting to $148 billion, but the problem is seen in all continents.
· Corrupt money associated with bribes received by public officials from developing and transition countries is conservatively estimated at $20 billion to $40 billion per year—a figure equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of flows of official development assistance (ODA).
(Please see Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative: Challenges, Opportunities, and Action Plan, p. 11)
Development benefits of asset recovery (see p. 11)
Every $100 million recovered could fund:
· First-line treatment for over 600,000 people with HIV/AIDS for a full year; or
· 50–100 million in drugs for the treatment of malaria; or
· Some 250,000 water connections for households.
Country cases:
· After an 18 year saga which ended in January 2004, the Philippines were able to repatriate $624 million of Ferdinand Marcos money held in Swiss Bank accounts.
· Between August 2001 and 2004, Peru recovered nearly over $180 million stolen by Vladimiro Montesinos from several jurisdictions such as Switzerland, Cayman Islands and the United States.
· Between September 2005 and early 2006, Nigeria recovered $505 million of the Sani Abacha money frozen and forfeiture by Swiss authorities.
· In July 2006, British authorities returned $1.9 million of the allegedly illicit gains of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, governor of the oil-rich Bayelsa state in Nigeria.
· In May 2007, an agreement between the governments of the United States, Switzerland and Kazakhstan allowed for the repatriation of $84 million.
· While the recent experiences of Nigeria and Peru have taken an average of five years to achieve positive results, asset recovery is a time consuming process which can impose a huge toll on the credibility and sustainability of the efforts, not to mention seriously undermine the political will to endure this task.
Ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption (see page 15)
· Half G8 countries have ratified UNCAC. Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan have not.
· Half of OECD countries have ratified UNCAC.
· 13 of the 54 jurisdictions classified by the IMF as offshore financial centers (OFCs) have ratified UNCAC. Source: World Bank
SWISS BANKING SECRECY UNDER FIRE
BANKING SECRECY
Banking secrecy is far from being a simply Swiss phenomenon. The European Commission is also targeting Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also considers that Andorra and Monaco are non-cooperative tax havens, whereas Liechtenstein has cooperated with the EU since last year.
Banking secrecy is limited in Britain and the US but the two countries do have territories where it is less restrictive. Singapore has drafted plans in the general direction of the OECD. But when it comes to Hong Kong, China is deaf to EU demands for more transparency.
It must be noted that development has evaded Africa and most of third world countries due to the existence of banking secrecy which allow corrupt politicians to loot the coffers of their countries.Swiss banks have been accused of accepting money from people like Sani Abacha, Mobutu, Eyadema, Arap Moi, Omar Bongo, Obiang Nguema, Blaise Campore, Denis Sassou Ngueso, Eduardo dos Santos, Sadam Hussein, Ferdinand Marcos without questioning the source of their wealth.
The former dictator's estate near Lausanne (Keystone)
A buyer has finally been found for the Swiss retreat of the former Zairean dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko.
The villa in Savigny, canton Vaux, went to a Swiss buyer for SFr3.1 million during an auction on Thursday.
Local authorities had previously received written offers to the value of SFr2.5 million, the minimum price set at a previous auction, although the property is estimated to be worth considerably more at SFr4.25 million.
The villa of the former president of the Congo, who died in Morocco in 1997, was impounded in May 1997 at the request of judicial authorities in Mobotu’s homeland.
Cars and furniture inside the house were sold off in June, raising SFr270,000.
It is not yet clear whether the proceedings of the sale will go the Democratic Republic of Congo or to Mobutu’s estate.
swissinfo with agencies
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2 comments:
I do not know why Uganda is always trying to engineer wars and conflict with her neighbours. Why can't Uganda live in peace with her neighbours?
It has invaded Democratic Republic of Congo several times.
Iddi Amin invaded Tanzania before he was deposed by and now she is picking a border confrontation with Kenya, the East Africa's most powerful and prosperous nation. Uganda leaders must learn to live in peace with its people and her neighbours for there is no reward in wars except deaths.
Is Uganda not tired of wars and instabilities? A war with Tanzania; a civil war that brought Museveni to power, another bloody war in the north of the country; an invasion of DRC and now border confrontation with a peaceful nation.
Uganda leaders must take lessons from the downfall and of Hitler and the destruction of Germany during WW2. Uganda must use her meagre resources to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS and stop behaving like an ostrich.
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