IFP cracks whip
RWANDA - Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 129 people in Rwanda and six in Uganda, authorities said on Wednesday, as rescuers hunted survivors trapped in homes.
In chaotic scenes after weeks of rain in the region, one video clip posted by the State-owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency showed muddy water gushing down an inundated road and destroying houses. “We woke up at 2am and heard people screaming,” said Angelique Nibagwire, 47, from Karongi district in western Rwanda where at least 16 people died.
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Another resident in the area, Nyandwi Emmanuel, said three relatives died after a house he was renting to them collapsed as they slept in the night. Alain Mukurarinda, Rwanda’s deputy government spokesperson, said fatalities had risen to 129 by 3:30pm local time (01:30 GMT)
“Our main priority now is to reach every house that has been damaged to ensure we can rescue any person who may be trapped,” said François Habitegeko, governor of Rwanda’s Western Province.
Some people were rescued and taken to hospital, he added.
Habitegeko said the River Sebeya had burst its banks.
“The soil was already soaked from the previous days of rain, which caused landslides that closed roads,” he said.
DURBAN - The Inkhata Freedom Party’s (IFP) tug of war over Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s face adorning elections shirts has flared up again.
An email has emerged that casts a light on members who have defied a standing party resolution, and an affirmation, stating the 95-year-old Buthelezi’s face is to grace all IFP shirts.
Party Secretary General Siphosethu Ngcobo wrote a tersely worded letter to the party’s office bearers and constituency secretaries, laying down the law.
submiT
“You are requested to submit the list and details of all the members/persons within your district who are known (either through social media images or verifiable physical observation) to have worn or are currently wearing the regalia that does not bear the face of the founder and President Emeritus, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but of the sitting president Honourable Velenkosini Hlabisa,” Ngcobo’s letter stated.
In the letter, he demanded the details of the transgressors by close of business yesterday.
Hlabisa’s office could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.