Kikwete Says It's a Relief

nngu007 · 2011-05-03T12:04:04+00:00

Edward Qorro 3 May 2011 President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday joined other leaders in welcoming the news about the death of Osama bin Laden. The President described the death of bin Laden as "a relief" since Al-Qaeda, a terror group he led, was responsible for simultaneous bombings in 1998 of US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Mr Kikwete was reacting to the news of Al Qaeda leader's killing, which was announced by US President Barack Obama yesterday. President Kikwete was speaking at the Bank of Tanzania's conference hall during the official closing ceremony of a two-day Commission on Information Accountability for Women and Children's Health. The meeting was attended by the World Health Organisation director general, Ms Margaret Chan.At least 11 people perished in the Dar es Salaam's attack on August 8, while scores others were injured in the bombing traced back to the Osama-led Al-Qaeda terrorist network. A similar explosion in Nairobi claimed the lives of more than 200 people and injured thousands others. "No one shall ever wish the other death but you cannot deny that the news of Osama's killing will be of much relief to many who lost their loved ones that year," said the President. Mr Kikwete added that the country had since been vigilant against terror activities in Tanzania and along the country's borders. He said the country ensured that one of its citizens implicated in the 1998 bombings was held accountable for his crime. He was referring to a US court jailing in January of Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, to life in prison for his role in the bombings of the two US embassies. Judge Lewis Kaplan read the sentence in Lower Manhattan after upholding a guilty verdict on a single count against Ghailani in the first civilian trial of a Guantanamo detainee. A jury last year exonerated Ghailani of 284 other counts sought by US prosecutors. Ghailani's defens=ce lawyers had requested Kaplan to toss out the one-count verdict. Meanwhile, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga also welcomed the killing in Pakistan of bin Laden. President Kibaki said it brought justice for the Kenyan victims of Al-Qaeda attacks. "Osama's death can only be positive for Kenya, but we need to have a stable government in Somalia," Mr Odinga added. "The loss of Al-Qaeda leader may first upset the movement but then it will regroup and continue," he said, adding that he would have preferred him to have been captured alive and put on trial to answer for his crimes. Mr Douglas Sidialo, chairman of Kenya's 1998 US Embassy Bomb Victims' Association, who lost his sight in the attack, said bin Laden's death was "a reason for celebration". Kenyan security services were said to be on high alert in case of revenge attacks. The most senior official in Kenya's internal security ministry, Mr Francis Kimemia, told the BBC that the US should also target Al-Qaeda cells in East Africa.Al-Shabaab, a militant group that controls much of southern Somalia, has close links with Al-Qaeda and last year carried out a suicide bombing in Uganda. In 2009, US forces killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a top Al-Qaeda operative in a raid in Somalia. He was accused of having links to the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.Bin Laden lived in neighbouring Sudan from 1992 to 1996 but authorities in Khartoum have not yet commented on his death.

Thread starter nngu007
Start date May 3, 2011

nngu007

JF-Expert Member

May 3, 2011

mkulimamwema

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Kikwete Says It's a Relief

nngu007

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mkulimamwema

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