KBAMA BLOG AND WEB RADIO

Kenya's Maasai cricketers in row over attire

2012-03-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

The team has been training this month in Mombasa's scorching heat

A team of Maasai cricketers in Kenya is engaged in a row with their coach over whether to play in their traditional custom at an upcoming tournament.

Trainer Steve Tikolo says he wants the novice players to wear cricket whites.
But they want like to wear sandals made from recycled tires, beads and bracelets and a traditional "shuka" wrap, which they wrap around the body.
The team, called the Maasai Warriors, is preparing for the Last Man Stands Twenty20 Championship in South Africa.
"It's not just a bunch boys going to play cricket, they will also be promoting Kenya's image by playing in their traditional attire, adding some African flavour to the tournament,'' Aliya Bauer, who established the Maasai Warriors in the Rift Valley Province five years ago, told the BBC .
Cricket is being used in the pastoralist region to promote Aids awareness and campaign against female genital mutilation and early marriages among Maasai women.

The Maasai Warriors have been in the coastal city of Mombasa for the last month to raise money for their December trip and to train at cricket academy run by Mr Tikolo and other former Kenyan cricket stars.
The BBC's John Nene in Mombasa says Mr Tikolo is happy to have taken the players under his wing, but is not amused by their insistence on wearing the colourful Maasai attire.
"Cricket has its own rules that have to be followed," he told the BBC.
"I appreciate they want to sell the image of Kenya but they must play in the normal cricket uniform, and not their traditional attire."

Afghan massacre: Kandahar families given compensation

2012-03-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

They received $46,000 (£29,000) for each person killed and $10,000 (£6,300) for each person injured, Afghan officials and tribal elders said.
US staff sergeant Robert Bales was charged on Friday with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Meanwhile, eight Afghan police officers and an Isaf foreign soldier have been killed by a bomb in Kandahar province.
They were on patrol when they were hit by an improvised explosive device late on Saturday, officials said.
"Four Afghan local police and three national police, one Isaf soldier and one Afghan interpreter were killed," Shah Mohammad, administrator for Arghandab district, said.
'No confession' over massacre Family members were informed of the payouts at a meeting with personnel from the US military and the Nato-led Isaf forces at the offices of Kandahar's governor.
"We were invited by the foreign and Afghan officials in Panjwai yesterday and they said this money is an assistance from [US President] Obama," Haji Jan Agha, who said he lost his cousins, told Reuters on Sunday.

The families were also told that some witnesses would be flown to the US to give evidence - and others would be able to participate by videolink - when Staff Sgt Bales stands trial over the deadly night-time rampage in Panjwai district on 11 March.

An Isaf spokesman in Kabul would not confirm the payouts, saying Isaf does not "make restitution for losses resulting from combat, combat-related activities or operational necessity".
"Individual troop-contributing nations may participate in some form of restitution consistent with the cultural norms of Afghanistan," Lieutenant Commander Brian Badura said.
"As a settlement of claims in most cases is a sensitive topic for those who have suffered loss it is usually a matter of agreement that terms of settlement remain confidential," he added.
The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says the US normally pays up to $2,500 in compensation for civilians killed by international soldiers, about seven times the average annual income.
The exceptional payments in this case reflect the exceptional circumstances of the killings, which were not just mistakes of war, he adds.
The US army said on Friday that Sgt Bales had been formally charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder - nine Afghan children and eight adults.
The shooting spree has further undermined relations between Kabul and Washington. The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of the deadly rampage

Uganda Nordics VIP Convention 6th April to 8th April 2012 Easter Cruise

2012-03-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

On behalf of the Uganda Convention Nordics (UCN), the Uganda Associations in the Nordic countries and the Uganda Embassy in Denmark, Peter Ntende said that he is honoured to invite us all to participate at the UCN from 6 to 8 April 2012, on board the Pearl of Scandinavian cruise boat. And that a new chapter was opened in the Nordics, in solidarity with the past Ugandan conventions, in the US and the UK.
UCN has a vision to explore the economic opportunities within the Nordic Region that are relevant to the Uganda Diaspora in the NordicsThe Guest of Honor, H.E Vice President of Uganda Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka, will deliver a Key Note speech about the business perceptive of Uganda’s past, present and Future.
On 9th October 2012, Uganda will be marking 50 years of Independence. The Ugandan Diaspora is debating weather to Celebrate or Forget the past 50 years. Without an examination of the events and the journey the Country has undertaken, Uganda would be heading blindly into the next 50 years. The role of the Ugandan Diaspora in Uganda’s past cannot be underestimated. Therefore as a Ugandan diaspora you need to engage actively in the economic direction of Ugandas future.As all process in Life Uganda has undergone several phases and is undergoing more changes all the time. We need to learn from our past to be able to forecast our Future.