El índice de las acciones de las empresas que cotizan en la Bolsa de Comercio porteña cerró con una baja del 0,18%. Sin embargo, avanzó el 3,91% en la semana.
El Merval cierra la semana con leve descenso
According to KCB head coach Curtis Olago, the Kenya Cup is different from the other tournaments they have won, which means they will not rely on the same concept to approach their games.
KCB have already won the Kenya National Sevens circuit and the Impala Floodlit.
“We cannot expect this tournament will be smooth for us, because of our past results, look at Nondies, they won the Impala Floodlit last season, but when they came to the Kenya Cup they found it a whole different story, where they struggled considerably,” he explained.
“Every single tournament has its own approach, the way we played in the National circuit will definitely not have a bearing on how we will play in the Kenya Cup,” he added.
“Our goal for the season remains the Kenya Cup, and anything else we have already won, will not really matter if we do not lift the Kenya Cup.”
The team did not get a chance to play last weekend when the League kicked off, after Kisumu opted to postpone their game to December after they could not raise enough number to play KCB at the Ruaraka grounds.
The Bankers start their campaign against UoN’s Mean Machine, who have already lost their first game to Harlequin last weekend.
Coach added: “We are missing a number of players to the national team, but we still have enough players who can compete well.”
Meanwhile, Kisumu RFC representative Paul Okong’o has said even though they have suffered a considerable loss of players to other teams in the league, they have what it takes to remain in the top league and play against the big teams.
“Kisumu is a resilient club and we will play our very best, with the players we have, because we believe in building our won depth of players,” he said.
Kisumu host Mwamba at the Kisumu Polytechnic with the Black shirts buoyed with their 32-0 victory over Kenyatta University’s (KU) Blak Blad last weekend at the Railways Club.
Saturday’s fixtures: Kenya Cup: Homeboyz v Mombasa (Jamhuri Park) Impala v Nondies (Impala Club), W.Bulls v Quins (Kakamega High) Machine v KCB, (UoN), Kisumu v Mwamba (Kisumu Poly) BlakBlad v Strathmore (KU) Eldoret v Nakuru (Eldoret Sports Club). Kick off 4pm.
Eric Shirley Shield Homeboyz II vs Mombasa II (Jamhuri Park), Impala II v Nondies II (Impala Club), W.Bulls II vs Quins II (Kakamega High), Machine II vs KCB II (UoN), Kisumu II v Mwamba II (Kisumu Poly), BlakBlad II v Strathmore II (KU), Eldoret II v Nakuru II (Eldoret Sports Club). Kick off 2pm.
By BS Mulavi, The Standard
KCB set to weave their magic against Mean Machine
President Uhuru Kenyatta (second right) is taken on a tour of IBM Research Lab Africa by Chief Scientist Dr Uyi Stewart (left) during its launch in Nairobi, Friday
The facility, which is situated at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, is IBM’s twelfth research lab in the world and its first commercial lab.
The lab will be a centre of creating IT solutions and taking them to market based on research and data on different sectors generated from around Africa.
The opening of the facility yesterday further cements the growing stature of Kenya as an ICT hub.
Through the centre, the youth will have the opportunity to learn from the best minds from the world such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
During the official opening of the laboratory at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, President Uhuru Kenyatta underscored the role of Information, Communication and Technology as a key driver to the country’s targeted economic growth prospective of 10 per cent annually.
“The envisaged activities of the partnership will yield solutions and systems that will address very specific local problems through commercially viable innovations,” the President said.
“Through applied and exploratory research, people will be empowered to overcome challenges and improve their lives, while entrepreneurs involved will generate incomes and employment,” he noted.
The 12th IBM lab in the world and the only of its kind in Africa brings together the academia, industry and government.
Key areas the lab would focus on include smarter cities, medical healthcare, education, water, agriculture and transport.
“These are the areas which government intends to concentrate its resources and transformative strategies,” said Kenyatta.
On traffic, there would be an estimation and control system, which will form a key component of city planning.
“For motorists, this effort will culminate in a mobile phone application allowing motorists and other road users to look up road conditions and traffic flows in real time and suggest alternative routes.
The laboratory has also analysed historical water demand and supply data and developed a forecasting model for future water use and infrastructure requirements.
The data seeks to help the City County plan and improve water supply across Nairobi. The president expressed optimism that the lab would generate intellectual property, science and technology.
IBM regional director Nik Nesbitt said the lab would take care of ten countries. “We will continue to invest in the region and help the community, small and big companies make better decisions using data,” he said.
Kamal Bhattacharya, IBM research director, said the lab is part of the company to establish a culture of excellence and not make compromises.
“Research is not about making the small changes but change the status quo by addressing the challenges that face community,” he said.
IBM vice president, research, Robert Morris said that some of the innovations from the centre would also be imported to other economies and ensure Kenya continues to be a key hub in the world.
“We also intend to invest in and facilitate a digital economy by empowering youth to develop market-ready software to be consumed by national and county governments, and business enterprises.”
IBM further states that the lab that has been set up at a cost of $20 million financed by the tech giant and the government will serve the needs of Kenya and the entire continent.
“The patterns and trends in the challenges faced by African countries are often the same and a solution for healthcare for example can be deployed in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana with a few modifications,” explained IBM officials during the launch.
The new lab buoys Kenya’s quest to becoming the Silicon Savannah of Africa where technology solutions and start-ups will fuel employment creation and development.
By WINSLEY MASESE and FRANKLINE SUNDAY, The Standard
New IBM technology lab raises Kenya’s ICT profile
The cost of the commodity has increased in the last two weeks by at least Sh120 ($1.5) across Kenya, with Nairobi leading among regions with steep rises. A 90kg bag of maize in the capital is going for Sh3,268 ($38) in wholesale markets, up from an average of Sh3,096 ($36) a fortnight ago. Price of the commodity is highest in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city. A 90kg bag of the staple is being sold at Sh3,612 ($42), up from about Sh3,440 ($40) the previous weeks. In Mombasa, the cereal is going for Sh3010 ($35) per 90kg bag. There have been little price changes in the coastal town in the past weeks, with the cost of the commodity stabilising at Sh3010.
The government in a food security report released last week showed that the country had not achieved its maize production target.
Out of the targeted 1.8 million hectares of production, the country achieved only 89 per cent. The State Department of Agriculture (SDA) attributed the shortfall to diseases and weather conditions.
“The reduction in yields and production are attributed to delayed and reduced land preparation due to political campaign interference, very high rainfall and flash floods that affected some farmers in the major grain production areas, early cessation of long rains before crop maturity and delayed supply of subsidized fertiliser,” said the report.
On the other hand, researchers from Egerton University’s Tegemeo Institute noted in a report that Kenya’s maize production this year fell by 33.4 per cent. The institute said farmers harvested 29 million 90kg bags of maize during the long rains season, against a target of 43.4 million bags.
This means the East African nation, which consumes 3.72 million 90kg bags of the staple each month, has a shortfall of about 14 million bags. Traders blame the steady rise in maize prices to unscrupulous people, who have started to hoard the commodity in anticipation that the price will double. “Middlemen are buying the commodity from farmers to hoard so that they can reap when the shortfall begins to bite,” reckons George Kipkoech, who runs a posho mill in Kayole on the east of Nairobi.
Kipkoech said maize prices in breadbasket areas are a three- year high. “The last time I bought a bag of maize at Sh2,666 soon after harvesting was in 2010, when the country later faced a food crisis. It is happening again this time. A 90kg bag of maize usually goes about Sh2,150 after harvesting ends,” he said.
— (Xinhua)
Kenya: Maize price rises as shortfall looms
President Uhuru on western tour
President Uhuru’s tour of the region last weekend had been expected to mend relations with residents, but elected leaders from the populous area gave the visit a wide berth. They later explained their action as an expression of disappointment with exclusion in public appointments and economic projects.
The revision of the itinerary from the original 10-day tour to a one-day event has also elicited passionate debate about the Jubilee Government’s wariness of hostility as perceptions of marginalisation widen the distance between the region and the government.
Last-minute alternations to the original itinerary that would have covered Bungoma, Trans-Nzoia and Vihiga counties reduced the tour to a low-key event in a region Jubilee partners – The National Alliance (TNA) and United Republican party (URP) – are involved in a silent but self-destructive tussle to wrest control of the electoral bloc from the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord).
It is not clear why a rally the president was to address at Shianda, some 10 kilometres from Mumias, was struck off the original plans. Also not explained was why the initial itinerary was revised to exclude Bungoma and Vihiga counties. No explanation was forthcoming as to why the president ‘skipped’ the homecoming party of Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, commissioning of road projects in Bungoma and a CDF office in Mumias East constituency. Leaders interviewed claimed that intelligence reports from the area had called for a downgrading of the tour to a religious function where politics would be kept to the minimum.
While they would not specifically single out the impending by-election in Bungoma and having precipitated a change of itinerary, the leaders concur that a series of public rallies a number of leaders from the region held ahead of the tour had poisoned the atmosphere.
The by-election pits Moses Wetang’ula and Musikari Kombo, who are aligned to Cord and Jubilee respectively. Either risk losing the seat if they are perceived to be puppets of Cord or Jubilee bigwigs. President Uhuru’s presence in Bungoma would have signaled he was rooting for Kombo.
Imposed leadership
The poll takes place against the backdrop of activities by Kizazi Kipya (New Generation) movement that has waged a grassroots campaign against perceived political puppets. The convenor of Kizazi Kipya Ken Butiko, a loser in the Vihiga gubernatorial seat, says the purpose of the movement is to create awareness about imposed leadership. It is instructive to note that the group has been active in Bungoma, where it is urging local people to determine their own destiny.
Speaking to The Standard on Saturday ahead the president’s visit, Webuye East MP Alfred Sambu confirmed plans are underway to form a political party for the region.
“If you look at Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, they left Kanu where they were born and nurtured politically to chart their own political careers. We do not want to belong to parties that are controlled by other people and where we play second fiddle,” says Sambu. The MP says parties such as TNA, Kanu, URP, UDF, ODM or Wiper are political vehicles for other communities.
It is believed that such strong sentiments may have downgraded the tour to a religious event rather than one where the president would propagate Jubilee agenda.
The initial itinerary had been planned to connect the president with the region as it increasingly becomes evident that the cracks that had been developing in the governing coalition are widening as the coalition toughs it out over portfolio sharing. Both the president and the deputy president are shopping for strong allies in the event their political marriage breaks up.
Western foots the bill.
Leaders interviewed say they boycotted the tour because they were not involved in arrangements. However, some say growing disenchantment with political leadership at regional and national levels is responsible for the persisting disinterest in the presidential visit.
Ordinarily, the leaders argue, when the president is visiting a region, it is customary for him to meet elected leaders from that particular part of the country before embarking on the tour.
Majority of MPs from Kakamega County who were conspicuously missing were at the 20th Anglican Church Mumias Diocese anniversary celebrations. Only the host, Mumias West MP Johnson Naika (ODM), and Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali (UDF) were present. UDF’s Yusuf Chanzu and Bungoma Women Representative Reginalda Wanyonyi, Nambale MP John Bunyasi and Bumula MP Boniface Otsyula were also present.
Slap in the face
In the Mumias tour, most MPs, senators and governors say they were not properly briefed of the visit. In fact out of the 13 elected MPs from Kakamega County, only four were present. Senator Boni Khalwale and Governor Wycliffe Oparanya also kept off.
“I did not attend on a matter of principle. The president is welcome to visit any part of the country. The tradition has been that, whether president is visiting a region, he meets leaders from the area. Such a meeting allows him to pick out short-term and long term solutions. It also provides room for local leaders to put their act together,” Dr Khalwale says.
Some of the leaders observed that former Vice President Moody Awori, UDF leader Musalia Mudavadi and former Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa still find favour with the executive despite their political careers having taken a nosedive.
“Having been snubbed by elected leaders, the occasion resurrected the presence of Moody Awori, Musalia Mudavadi and Eugene Wamalwa. It was a like a slap in the face. It rekindled memories of how the Kibaki administration slighted us after the death of Michael Wamalwa. We had picked Dr Mukhisa Kituyi as the late Wamalwa’s replacement, but Kibaki did not want to invest in somebody with political capital. He favoured someone without political capital who was no threat to hegemonic influence of communities that had ruled the country,” explains Khalwale.
The snub has added impetus to talk of the region seeking to shape its destiny. Malava MP Moses Malulu Injendi says most Western MPs gave the president’s visit a wide berth because the Jubilee regime has not bothered to endear itself to the region.
Mr Injendi told The Standard on Saturday that the snub was intended to send a message to leaders from the region and other communities that future engagements will be on the basis of equitable distribution of national resources.
“The president is our leader and symbol of national unity. However, we feel marginalised. When Deputy President William Ruto visited the region, it was based on the understanding that corporation with Jubilee will based on things that are demonstrable. We are not considered for key positions in government and neither are we considered for economic projects,” says Injendi, a former sociology lecturer at Catholic University.
Unison complaint
Like Khalwale, he says MPs were not given enough time and information to prepare for Uhuru’s coming in an electoral bloc still beholden to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
President Kenyatta may have also shot himself in the foot for speaking in generalities rather than specifics. Host MP Johnson Naika was forthright in the demand for the revival of the sugar industry, but the president’s advice on diversification did not resonate well with local people. The sugar cane farmers were angry that the president was vouching for the dairy industry in which he is a major stakeholder.
“There were no deliverables in his speech. When you go to an area and find villagers are complaining in unison, you make some commitments. The president should have said something to change negative perception about the Jubilee administration, but people now remain suspicious that he was on a self-serving mission,” points Masinde Muliro University political science lecturer Peter Mulesi.
By JUMA KWAYERA, The Standard
Uhuru’s cautious visit to Western highlights uneasy relations with region
It has been billed as Chief Justice Willy Mutunga succession battle in the Judiciary. Other schools of thought suggest that after the refusal by ousted Judiciary Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei to oblige some members of the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) placed her in the firing line after she raised the red flag about questionable procurement.
Gladys Boss Shollei
Whichever way, since the matter became public in August, the Judiciary has been dragged through the mud, with the credibility of the institution that had regained a modicum of public confidence after years of distrust, rapidly receding.
The former Judiciary boss’ woes began when JSC members met in Mombasa in August and resolved to rein in her ego, accusing her of obstinacy and high-handedness.
She was accused of financial, procurement, employment and administration impropriety in theJudiciary, but defended herself against all the allegations.
In due course, the media also landed on e-mail correspondence between the CJ and some Judiciarystaff, the most startling was the 31-point plan prepared by a group dubbed the “War Council” in the JSC fight with Shollei.
Dr Mutunga and his deputy Kalpana Rawal’s tenure at the Judiciary come to a close next year, setting in motion vicious competition to replace them and shape how this arm of government will be managed.
The tussle with Ms Shollei is therefore seen as externally engineered to drop her from the succession line. The emails unearthed a dirty scheme that embarrassed the CJ who is also the President of the Supreme.
On systemic corruption in the Judiciary the former registrar hit him with, “I know some members of the JSC have boasted that they control all judges and no judge shall give orders against them. But I assure Kenyans that there are very many men and women in our great Judiciary who believe in the rule of law and who are committed to delivering justice fairly.”
She further shocked the country when she revealed that JSC members had allegedly squandered more than Sh125 million in two-and-a-half years in sitting allowances.
Over the period JSC held 467 meetings and each member claimed Sh80,000 per sitting.
The revelations were made when Shollei appeared before the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). JSC snubbed summons by PAC to shed light on financial management at theJudiciary.
She told PAC, “I have had a very difficult relationship with the JSC. The issue of allowances has put me in problems that I am in with the commission right now. I have sometimes let the commissioners have their way so that I get to work. The more I put my foot down, the more I got in trouble.”
In turn the JSC accused her of sourcing offices for the Judiciary staff in Coast without following proper procurement procedure. In particular the commission questioned the acquisition of Elgon Court to accommodate Judiciary staff.
The JSC questioned why a total of Sh1.2 billion, out of which Sh900 million was used to rent Court of Appeal premises in Mombasa and Sh300 million for the Elgon Court in Upper Hill area, Nairobi, for a six-year lease.
As the saga raged, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) waded in and threatened in September to petition President Uhuru Kenyatta to initiate the process to disband the commission if it “mishandled” Shollei.
The LSK through chairman Eric Mutua, said the commission, which has a constitutional duty to conduct its affairs responsibly and beyond reproach was washing its dirty linen in public and thereby eroding public confidence in its capacity to dispense justice.
Mutua said, “We will ask the President to set up a tribunal to investigate the conduct of the JSC if it behaves irresponsibly.” After the curtain finally comes down in this high drama, it is believed Mutunga will be on his way out.
By JUMA KWAYERA, The Standard
How Commission, Shollei war kicked up storm in Judiciary
Mombasa county assembly
This is the position of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), which in a statement published in local dailies, says the current adjournments or suspension of sittings by county assemblies expose them to the risk of ‘functions not being performed’.
Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) have been locked in a dispute with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) over salary review. MCAs are pushing for an improvement of their terms from the current Sh79,000 to Sh275,000. The SRC maintains that the MCAs salary will not be reviewed unless they undergo a job re-evaluation. But MCAs have rejected the directive, arguing their jobs are clearly defined by law.
Paralysis of county
According to the commission, adjournment or suspension of County Assemblies – whose functions include law making, approving budgets, and vetting nominees appointed to county public offices-could lead to a paralysis of the county executive and county government.
CIC Chairperson Charles Nyachae argues that while the MCAs have a legitimate and constitutional right to request a review of their terms, such a right must respect the right of SRC as a constitutional commission to determine the manner, process, and basis on which they will review the terms. While calling on MCAs to pursue the issue of salary review through a process that accords with the Constitution, he likens their actions to an affront to Article 249(2)b which shields commissions and holders of independent offices from being subject to direction or control by any person or authority.
The commission also highlights the legal implications of the indefinite adjournments or suspension of sittings by County Assemblies that include arguments that this violates Article 73 and 75 of the Constitution. The articles are contained in Chapter Six of the Constitution that addresses leadership and integrity issues. “The suspension of work is inconsistent with the purposes and objects of the constitution and compromise public or official interest in favour of personal interests,” says Nyachae.
Complicated matters
The CIC chair further argues that in the absence of County Assemblies exercising legislative authority, as provided by Article 185, it can be argued that the county government has failed or neglected to perform its functions.
Matters could get further complicated for the county governments should Article 192 and Sections 123 and 124 of the County Governments Act be invoked. But Tana River County Assembly Speaker Abdi Nuh dismisses Nyachae’s arguments and says the CIC is ‘out of order’ on its stand on the matter.
Administrative Justice chair Otiende Amollo says the commission regrets the fact that there has been no solution to the impasse between MCAs and the SRC.
“It is true that we have the mandate to mediate on matters affecting public administration but we have not been approached by any of the parties on this matter,” he says.
By LILLIAN ALUANGA-DELVAUX, The Standard
Striking county assemblies deserve being sent home, Nyachae says
George Githinji
His fears were nonetheless confirmed when he was arrested and locked up in one of the country’s most dreaded detention facilities, supposedly at the behest of the Kenyan embassy in Juba.
After 30 days of torment while under illegal detention in a foreign land, the father of three was finally released and ‘deported’ with no charges preferred against him after his plight was highlighted by The Standard on Saturday last weekend.
Now back home, albeit ailing, Githinji, 52, has one resolute vow; “I will never set foot in South Sudan again. God has saved my life and I will not court death again.”
The businessman paints a picture of terrifying impunity in Africa’s newest nation, but most significantly, accuses the Kenyan government of betraying and failing to protect its citizens. He says his torment started on Thursday October 3, when he visited the Kenyan embassy in Juba seeking assistance to recover cash owed to him.
“I found Ambassador (Cleland) Leshore arguing with someone at the reception and he immediately turned to me, asking if I had returned to Sudan to disturb him,” he recounts.
He claims the ambassador was furious that while serving as the organising secretary of the Association of Kenyans in South Sudan, Githinji had alongside other officials highlighted the embassy’s perceived laxity in the media.
Disappearing
“He ordered me to walk out and report to State House that he had refused to offer me any assistance,” he claims. Githinji says he was shocked to receive a call at 9am the following day ordering him to report to the CID headquarters. “It is the last thing I expected,” he asserts. “I alerted my Kenyan neighbours and also called the Kenyans Association chairman Gideon Mungai”.
With cases of people disappearing without trace in the hands of security officers prevalent in the oil-rich nation, a Kenyan cleric popularly referred to as Bishop asked to meet Githinji so they could discuss the issue. “I rushed to Genus Hotel, a Kenyan-owned restaurant, and found him there,” he recounts.
But they only exchanged greetings before they were treated to a rude shock. “Just as I was ordering for tea, two men already seated in the hotel walked to us, identified themselves as CID officers and asked us to accompany them to the headquarters,” he explains.
“They said we were to record statements regarding anonymous calls that I had received; yet I had not complained to any South Sudan government officer about such calls.”
He says they were led to a white Mitsubishi double cabin van but instead of heading towards Jubatown; it zoomed off to Jebel Kujur, a dreaded military facility popularly known as Blue House. The facility is located at the Jebel Kujur hills on the outskirts of Juba town.
“It was a hair-raising moment and I told Bishop that if we enter Blue House, we might disappear without a trace as no one had seen us being arrested and no one would know where we were. I told him to pray hard,” recounts Githinji.
One of the officers, he states, immediately ordered them to switch off their mobile phones and hand them over to him. “He told us that from then henceforth, we were in the hands of the CID.”
At Jebel Kujur, he says, they were separated and booked in at the reception. “There were two blocks on each side of the reception, both labeled ‘toilets’ at the entrance. I was led into one of the blocks, only to realise there were five cells inside. I was put in cell Number One,” he says. He describes the cells as dingy, dimly lit, with no ventilation and teeming with giant mosquitoes. A cold tiled floor was to be his new bed.
All the cells, he says, were full with people of diverse nationalities. Still in shock and not knowing why he had been arrested while Bishop was released the next Monday, the businessman says one officer identified only as Jacob volunteered to help him walk to freedom.
“He summoned me saying he wanted to save my life. He told me to give him 6,000 Sudanese pounds (about Sh210,000) which he claimed was for my transport to Nimule border crossing,” he narrates.
Normally, it only costs about 500 Sudanese pounds to travel to the border point. “I told him I did not have the money and he handed me a cell phone that I was to use to call three people who would bring me the money. He gave me up to midday the next day to get the cash but stormed out fuming when I told him I could not get that money in a day,” Githinji continues.
He was returned to the cell and this marked the start of a traumatising period that saw him stay for two weeks with no communication whatsoever from the duty officers.
After two weeks, he says he gathered courage and asked the duty officer taking the roll call why he was being held.
“He could not read properly so he showed me the file. My offence had been recorded as sabotage,” he asserts. “I inquired further and he told me it was the Kenyan embassy and not the government of South Sudan that had me arrested. He said he could thus not help in any way”.
Githinji who is supposed to be on daily medication for hypertension, says his pleas to be allowed access to drugs proved futile.
At 12.45pm last Saturday, the day The Standard on Saturday highlighted his story, Githinji says an officer called him and inquired whether he would be able to pay for deportation back home the same day. Fearing that criminal charges probably awaited him in Kenya, Githinji questioned why he was being deported.
Illegally chased
“He told me I was not wanted in South Sudan as we were holding illegal political meetings. I implored further and he told me it is only my embassy that could answer questions regarding the meetings,” he says. Githinji says he was already time-barred to fly home that day, but was advised to book a ticket for a Sunday flight to Nairobi. “I called a friend who booked a ticket for me,” he states.
The businessman’s fears that he was just being illegally chased out of South Sudan and not deported were confirmed when he reached Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
“I thought I would find security officers waiting for me, but I only found my wife, daughter and brother. To date there is still no formal explanation as to why I have been chased away despite the fact that I had just signed a lucrative construction contract,” he says.
On Tuesday he recorded a statement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was assured that investigations were already underway and those found culpable would be punished. Reached for a comment, the South Sudan embassy in Nairobi said the issue was beyond her jurisdiction.
By JOE KIARIE, The Standard
Freed Kenyan: Why I will never set foot in South Sudan again
US Secretary of State John Kerry said important issues remained “unresolved”
He joined the UK, French and German foreign ministers for unscheduled talks with Iranian representatives in Geneva.
Russia’s Sergei Lavrov had not been scheduled to attend but sources say he will travel to Geneva on Saturday.
Under a deal being floated, Iran could freeze expansion of its nuclear activity for limited sanctions relief.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “utterly rejected” such a deal with Iran, its long-time enemy, and that his country would not be obliged to abide by it.
The West has suspected Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is a step towards building nuclear weapons – a charge Iran strongly denies.
‘Important gaps’
For the first time in years, talks about Iran’s nuclear programme are moving fast, the BBC’s James Reynolds reports from Geneva.
The negotiations have also picked up new, critical purpose, he says – a chance for the US and Iran to explore an end to their three decades of mistrust.
However, although the sides appear closer to a breakthrough than during previous talks, the outcome still remains uncertain.
Mr Kerry interrupted the itinerary of his tour to the Middle East and North Africa to fly to Geneva after meeting Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The US state department also said that Mr Kerry would not now make planned stops in Algeria or Morocco.
His meetings in Geneva include trilateral talks with top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
On arrival, Mr Kerry said: “[We] hope to try to narrow the differences but no-one should mistake that there are important gaps to be closed.”
The Geneva talks involve the P5+1: the US, Russia, the UK, France and China as permanent UN Security Council members, plus Germany.
The French, German and UK Foreign Ministers – Laurent Fabius, Guido Westerwelle and William Hague – are also in Geneva.
Mr Fabius said there had been progress but nothing “hard and fast”.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow hopes the talks would produce a “lasting result the entire world has been waiting for”.
Friday prayer leaders across Iran urged the public to support the country’s nuclear delegation as it negotiated “from a position of strength and with dignity”.
Israeli pledge
Mr Zarif said on Friday there was “the general outline of an agreement”.
Although details of the suggested deal have not been disclosed, it is thought to offer Iran a gradual easing of sanctions in return for a freeze on expansion of nuclear activities.
The Israeli prime minister argued the Iranians were getting sanctions relief while “not reducing in any way their nuclear enrichment capability”.
Israel, Mr Netanyahu said, would do “everything it needs to do to defend itself and the security of its people”.
He has said Israel is committed to making sure Tehran never gets a nuclear weapon. Defence analysts have speculated the Israelis may take military action to disrupt Iran’s programme.
Since 2006 the UN Security Council has imposed a series of sanctions – including asset freezes and travel bans – on entities and people involved in Iran’s nuclear programme.
Separate US and EU sanctions have targeted Iran’s energy and banking sectors, crippling its oil-based economy.
The head of the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, is travelling to Tehran on Monday to meet senior Iranian figures.
BBC
John Kerry says no Iran nuclear deal yet
An army officer stands guards outside an enclosure filled with M23 rebel fighters who have surrendered to Uganda’s government at Rugwerero village in Kisoro district, 489km (293 miles) west from Uganda capital Kampala November 8, 2013.
The Tutsi-led M23, the most important rebel movement in lawless eastern Congo, announced on Tuesday it would disband after a 20-month uprising that displaced some 800,000 people. A two-week U.N.-backed army offensive had dislodged M23 from its last hilltop strongholds near the Rwandan and Ugandan borders.
M23′s announcement raised hope for greater stability after two decades of violence in eastern Congo partly motivated by ethnic tensions and combat over rich mineral deposits in which millions of people have died.
“It was decided one day after the M23 declaration renouncing the rebellion that the government would give them five days before the signing,” Tshibanda said on a visit to Paris. “Those five days end on Monday, so the signing is on Monday.”
“This signature is important because it in essence focuses on M23 going into barracks, disarming and demobilizing, and to resolve other problems that were discussed in talks we previously held,” he said, referring to long-running negotiations in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
A Ugandan government spokesman said the signing would take place in Kampala. African Union and U.N. representatives were expected to attend, Ofwono Opondo said.
MAKENGA MUST ANSWER FOR CRIMES
Congolese officials have said the government would sign a declaration including 11 clauses agreed during talks, rather than a peace agreement, because M23 has already been militarily defeated and disbanded.
Tshibanda said the Congolese government had received confirmation from Ugandan authorities that they had detained M23′s military chief Sultani Makenga after he fled eastern Congo.
“Mr Makenga must answer for the crimes he has committed. In the discussions in Kampala it was clear there would be no amnesty for war crimes,” he said.
The Congolese government would now target other foreign rebel groups operating in the east of its territory, Tshibanda said. He singled out the Rwandan Hutu FDLR movement, Burundi’s FNL and the Ugandan Islamist movement ADF-NALU.
“All groups are targeted because we have said that this time we must sign the death certificate of all these groups, these negative forces to the east of our country,” he said.
Reuters
Congo says to sign peace deal with M23 rebels on Monday
online News 