NAIROBI,

At least 50 African Union soldiers are believed to have been killed and another 50 are missing after Al-Shabaab militants overran a military camp in southern Somalia on Tuesday, according to Western military officials.

"It is assessed that at least 50 Amison troops died," said a briefing note sent to diplomats by Western military officials and seen by AFP.

It said that in total around 100 soldiers were "unaccounted for" after the attack.

Somalia's Al-Qaeda affiliate said the attack in Janale District, 80 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu in the Lower Shabelle region, was revenge for the killing of seven civilians by Ugandan troops at a wedding in the town of Merka in July.

Amisom has said the camp was manned by soldiers from Uganda.

200 ATTACKERS
The number feared dead matches that claimed by an Al-Shabaab spokesman.
Amisom has not yet counted the dead.

"Given the complex nature of the attack, Amisom is currently verifying the number of casualties and extent of the damage," said a statement issued late Tuesday, more than 12 hours after the assault.
Western military sources said the attack began with the destruction of two bridges, cutting the camp off.

A suicide car bomber rammed the base followed by an estimated 200 Al-Shabaab fighters who overran the camp.

Amisom said its troops "undertook a tactical withdrawal" as the attack began.

LOADING CORPSES
Witnesses said Al-Shabaab took over the camp, looting weapons stores and loading corpses onto trucks.

The group has previously gathered the bodies of dead soldiers for use in propaganda videos of its attacks.

"They were collecting dead bodies, I saw nearly 30 soldiers killed during the fighting," said local resident Hussein Idris.

The militants are fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, which is protected by 22,000 Amisom troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Tuesday's attack on the camp in Janale is one of the deadliest yet against Amisom troops.

A similar attack on a military outpost in Lego in June killed dozens of Burundian soldiers.

Al-Shabaab kills 'over 50' Amisom soldiers, say Western sources

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A decision on a petition filed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) seeking a review of a Supreme Court ruling on teachers’ salaries will take longer.

This follows a directive from judges for the parties in the dispute to return to court next week.

The TSC wants the Supreme Court to stop the adoption of a 50-60 per cent pay increase ordered by lower courts until its application seeking a review of the ruling is determined.

However, Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang' has directed the TSC to serve its court papers to the other parties in the case, namely, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet), the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the Attorney-General.

“I hereby order and direct that the application in question shall forthwith be served upon all the parties in the case,” said Justice Ojwang'.

The parties should then take a hearing date before the Registrar on Tuesday, September 9.

WRONG ASSUMPTION

In the application, the TSC, through lawyer Stella Rutto, claims that last month’s Supreme Court ruling, which upheld a lower court's order to the TSC to pay teachers higher salaries, was reached on the wrong assumption that the commission had not filed an appeal before the said court.

The TSC said it had filed a notice of appeal on July 27 while the petition of appeal was filed on August 12.

“It is therefore necessary that interim orders be issued so that no miscarriage of justice arises and to ensure that the constitutional issues raised are not rendered nugatory,” said lawyer Rutto.

However, Knut, through lawyer Paul Muite, has urged the Supreme Court not to hear the TSC’s application until the commission complies with the court order to pay the enhanced salaries.

“TSC is in contempt of the orders issued by the court that they start paying teachers enhanced salaries in August, 2015.

“It has demonstrated that it is a State organ acting with impunity and utter disregard of the rule of law, singularly unsuited to be re-heard by the Supreme Court,” said lawyer Muite.

The parties will also return to the Court of Appeal on September 22 after the Supreme Court declined in its ruling last month to stop the payment of salary raises as directed by the Court of Appeal pending determination of the case.

The TSC’s latest application seeking a review of the ruling will be heard before September 22.

Teachers to wait longer as TSC seeks review of Supreme Court ruling on enhanced pay

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County commissioners and police bosses, including security chiefs in Nairobi and Mombasa, were on Wednesday moved in a major shakeup of the country’s grassroots security apparatus.

A day after President Uhuru Kenyatta dropped Deputy Inspector-General in charge of Regular Police Grace Kaindi, a reshuffle of field operations officers was announced affecting all the 47 counties.

Mr Japheth Koome was appointed Nairobi county commander, replacing Mr Benson Kibui.

BOOST COORDINATION

In Mombasa, former Presidential Escort Commander Francis Wanjohi Mwangi was named the commander.

The fate of Mr Tito Kilonzi, who had been named the policing boss in the coastal city, is unknown.

There has been concern that though President Kenyatta made changes at the top to try to shore up an ineffective internal security apparatus, the changes had not been felt on the ground.

Towns and the countryside are poorly policed, rogue police aid criminals to evade justice, traffic jams are the order of the day and officers seem unable to solve major cases.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said the changes were part of reforms that would improve security by ensuring officials at the lower levels worked in harmony with those at the national level.

DEFEAT TERROR

“The President issued an executive order to cohere the functioning of national government from the lowest to the highest levels. This structure is also key to responding effectively to the current security threats facing us," Maj-Gen (Rtd) Nkaissery told reporters at Harambee House in Nairobi.

He added that the ministry’s focus is on defeating terrorism and eradicating cattle rustling, and winning the war against illicit alcohol and narcotic drugs.

The CS said the changes take immediate effect, adding that they should report for duty on September 6 at the latest.

Joseph Boinnet names new police commanders

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The time has come for political parties under the ruling alliance to fold and pave the way for the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP), President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

The president on Wednesday said parties in the Jubilee alliance should start gearing up to join JAP.

Mr Kenyatta made the announcement when he met 300 Jubilee delegates from Mombasa and tipped them on how to ensure a smooth transition to JAP.

The best way, he said, is to share JAP leadership positions among political parties that comprise the alliance.

"Officials of every branch should comprise leaders from all the parties that make the main party,” he said at State House in Mombasa.

WOO SUPPORTERS

He urged the delegates to woo more supporters for the party and not to oppose the inclusion of people from other parties in government.

“We have good faith and that is why we give jobs to people from other parties,” he said.

The president said "politics is a game of numbers", and every politician should understand that there is no other route to winning an election but votes.

He asked the delegates to ensure the economy of Mombasa is turned around for the success of Kenya and the whole region.

“If Mombasa County succeeds, the whole country will succeed and the whole region will benefit because Mombasa is the gateway to the whole region,” he said.

HELP WOMEN

President Kenyatta also asked Coast leaders to help women and youth to get government tenders.

The first step, he said, is to educate women and youth on how tenders are managed and awarded.

“Of the money set aside for these tenders, not even a third has been spent. We want to see that money spent,” said the president.

Mr Kenyatta also warned those in charge of ministries and other government agencies to ensure women and youth are awarded their rightful share of government tenders.

“If you do not want to open the gates (for women and youth to government business), you will have to get out of the way because there are many other people who can do your job,” he said

Uhuru Kenyatta asks Jubilee parties to fold and join JAP

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