Day: July 9, 2024

WINDHOEK: Windhoek High Court Judge Dinah Usiku on Monday convicted four men and acquitted another, in connection with the murder of 50-year-old Hans-Jorg Möller and the attempted murder of his wife.

The incident occurred in June 2016 at the couple’s home in Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region. Panduleni Gotlieb, David Tashiya, David Shekundja and Elly Hinaivali face charges of murder, attempted murder, housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances, conspiring to commit housebreaking and robbery, and possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence.

The fifth suspect, Malakia Shiweda, was acquitted after the judge found that he was truthful in his testimony, in that he was not present at the Möller home at the time of the commission of the alleged crimes.

He further testified during the trial that he was however in Walvis Bay between 16 and 17 June 2016, and that he drove back to Windhoek with the suspects the following day. This, he said, was after the four suspects calle
d him for pick up.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Directorate of Education, Arts and Culture in the Oshikoto Region is encouraging regional councillors to utilise closed-down school infrastructure for any developmental projects in their constituencies.

The directorate’s deputy director Thomas Kalimbo in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday indicated that seven schools in the region were closed and they want to avail these to mostly regional councillors or anyone else who would utilise the infrastructure in the interest of people.

He said that the seven schools were closed down due to the fact that enrolment numbers kept decreasing.

‘We request regional councillors to utilise the buildings at the schools that were closed down for any developmental projects,’ said Kalimbo.

Kalimbo said they are addressing the challenge of the school buildings lying idle by encouraging the regional councillors to use it since no teaching and learning takes place there.

‘We also want to encourage our councillors to follow the right procedures when they want to use these b
uildings,’ he said.

He further invited members of the business community and non-governmental organisations that want to rent the infrastructure to come forth.

‘We invite everyone that can utilise the school infrastructure to come to our office so that we can give them permission to do so,’ said Kalimbo.

The seven schools were closed between 2012 and 2021 because less than 100 learners attended the schools.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) will hold its long-awaited congress at the Ramatex Centre in Windhoek this weekend.

Among the expected outcomes of the two-day congress is the selection of a new executive to oversee the organisation for the next five years. It is also expected that several top party figures will battle for the presidential and secretary-general positions, seeking to succeed incumbent president Dr Utjiua Muinjangue and current party secretary-general Joseph Kauandenge, both of whom announced two months ago that they would not seek re-election.

Vetaruhe Kandorozu, a former Okakarara constituency councillor, is expected to compete for the party’s top position of president, alongside Aminuis constituency councillor and incumbent party vice-president Peter Kazongominja, as well as Windhoek deputy mayor Joseph Uaraa Uapingene.

Nudo’s secretary general, Joseph Kauandenge, revealed to Nampa on Tuesday that the opposition party will meet this weekend, 13-14 July 2024, to
decide who will be on the list for critical party positions.

Kauandenge in an interview stated that Nudo is ready and that all preparations for the congress are proceeding smoothly.

‘We have put all systems in place to have a good congress regarding delegates’ preparedness, logistics, and so on. It’s all systems go,’ Kauandenge said.

All positions will be up for grabs, including the top nine positions of president, vice president, national chairperson, deputy national chairperson, secretary general, deputy secretary general, finance secretary and two deputies.

Despite not confirming the names of those running for various positions, except those who have already declared themselves for the president position, Kauandenge maintained that Nudo does not go to Congress with vetted candidate names as nominations come directly from the floor.

‘This means that a person can express his or her willingness to run for the president position, but on the day of the congress he or she might be nominated for any other po
sition than the president position,’ he explained.

However, the fundamental vetting has been completed to ensure that all congress delegates are legitimate Nudo members and not pretenders.

Additionally, Kauandenge urged party members to be patriots, putting the party’s interests ahead of their own while avoiding disruptions that could exacerbate internal party differences. About 500 delegates will attend the congress.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Nigeria on Monday reiterated its commitment to management of transboundary waters for the benefit of the Niger Basin region.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, stated during a regional workshop in Abuja, to validate a mission’s results for a pilot demonstration project.

Represented by Adeyinka Adenopo, Director of Water Resources Planning and Technical Support Services in the ministry, Utsev said the project focused on innovative technologies, capacity development, and joint monitoring to support Mount Mandara ecosystem governance.

He underscored the importance of collaborative efforts in managing the Mount Mandara Plateau and Sena Oura/Bouba Ndjida (BSB) ecosystems, shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad.

He commended the Global Environment Facility, UN Environment Programme, UN Development Programme and the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) for their support towards enhancing regional water governance.

The minister urged the participants to contribute their expertise to refine
the reports, enhance governance and preservation of the transboundary ecosystem.

According to Utsev, preserving the Mount Mandara Plateau and Sena Oura/Bouba Ndjida ecosystems and the role of transboundary cooperation is vital to achieving sustainable management.

Earlier, the NBA Executive Secretary, Mr Abderahim Bireme expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for hosting the workshop and acknowledged the efforts of various stakeholders in organising the event.

Mr Allomasso Tchokponhoué, the Regional Project Coordinator of NB-ITTAS, representing the Executive Secretary, stressed the project’s importance in supporting sustainable management and governance of the Mount Mandara Plateau ecosystems.

He underscored the NBA’s role in promoting international and cross-border cooperation for natural resource management and poverty reduction.

He outlined the project’s goals to enhance knowledge-based management, governance, and conservation of the Niger Basin’s resources and aquifer systems.

Bireme reaffirm
ed the NBA’s commitment to inclusive development initiatives in the Niger Basin and the preservation of the Mount Mandara Plateau’s biodiversity.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by representatives of the UNDP, NBA, local authorities, and development organisations.

The workshop served as a platform for presenting consultant reports on capacity building, sustainable management, and establishing a joint monitoring mechanism.

It concluded with a call for continued support and dedication to the objectives of conserving the Niger Basin’s natural resources.

The Niger Basin Authority defines its purpose as the promotion of cooperation among member countries to ensure integrated development of resources.

The nine member states are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Niger and Nigeria.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo, says that governors of the nine oil producing states are partnering the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for sustainable development in the country.

Uzodimma said this at a news conference on the sidelines of a meeting between the governors and officials of the NDDC, in Abuja on Monday.

HE said the meeting was to provide synergy with the governing council, the governing board and advisory board of the NDDC for the betterment of Nigerians.

‘We looked at so many issues; issues of projects, abandoned projects, ongoing projects and also brainstormed on how best we can through that collaboration, advance the course of progress in the commission,’ he said.

On abandoned projects, Uzodimma recalled that the previous adminustration under Muhammadu Buhari set up a Policy Coordinating Committee, which identified projects stalled due to paucity of funds.

‘Of course, this new board, walking with President Bola Tinubu has risen to the occasion and they are working out ways and means
to ensure that those projects are completed.

‘There is no politics about it. This government is sensitive. He wants the nation to be developed, he wants our people to feel the positive impact of the initiatives of the new board.

‘They are working together hand in hand to protect and satisfy the aspirations and yearnings of our people,’ he said

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the governors had pledged to the commission, adding that, ‘NDDC does not have a geographical location. It is the state governments that have boundaries. So whatever projects we are embarking on are in the states.

‘So, we have to work with the state governments to ensure that we achieve optimal results.’

Ogbuku said that President Tinubu was committed to ensuring the completion of all the ongoing and abandoned projects in the region.

‘As you can see, just in commemoration of Tinubu’s one year in office, he commissioned laudable and legacy projects and so we are still working on inaugurating more
and also finishing the remaining ones.

‘Some of these projects are projects that started 15 years ago, so it is not something we can finish in one year.

‘The President has given us a matching order that he wants to commission projects, landmark projects in the region in the next two years. So we are looking at completing most of these projects within the period of two years,’ he said.

On the East-West road, Ogbuku said the commission was giving the Federal Ministry of Works every support to ensure that the project was completed.

‘The East-West road is a federal government project. It’s not under NDDC. But, we are actually giving the ministry of works every support to ensure that the project is completed,’ he said.

Earlier, the Oil Producing States Governors’ Forum elected Uzodimma as its Chairman, and his Bayelsa counterpart, Douye Diri as vice chairman while Bassey Otu of Cross River emerged as the secretary.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The number of known cases of sexual abuse of children and adolescents in Germany increased in 2023, according to a police report published on Monday.

However, as the police assume that there are a large number of unreported cases of this type of offence; this alone is not an alarming finding, the report states.

In 2023, the police were notified of 16,375 cases of children being sexually abused with an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to the previous year.

In the same period, 1,200 offences were also recorded in which young people were sexually abused.

The number of cases involving depictions of the sexual abuse of children increased by 7.4 per cent to around 45,000 cases, mainly due to numerous reports from abroad.

In the situation report, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) points out that the number of child abuse cases uncovered is closely linked to police monitoring activities and reporting behavior.

‘In this respect, intensified police activities in the area of criminal offences in recent yea
rs was likely to have led to an increase in the number of unreported cases,’ says the report.

The BKA also points out that the statistics do not include the numerous cases in which no potential crime scene in Germany can be identified following information, particularly from the United States.

The reason why such investigations sometimes come to nothing is the minimum retention of telecommunications traffic data especially IP addresses which has been suspended in Germany.

Images and videos of sexually abused children and young people are shared thousands of times on the internet.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria