Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

{Starting over in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Burundian mother draws strength from her roles with an amateur theatre group.}

***Eyes wide in panic, the two young men seek cover at one end of the courtyard in the blinding sun. Behind them, a wall of iron sheets blocks their way: there is no escape. They scream in terror. ***

All of a sudden, it’s over. The men stand, shake the dust off their trousers. Next scene.

Hard at work rehearsing, the men are part of a troupe of actors drawn from both refugees and locals living in Uvira, a town in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Among the actors in the drama group, known as The Kings of Peace, is 56-year-old widow Rehema Kankindi, who fled deadly political unrest in neighbouring Burundi in 2015. The rehearsals are taking place in the small yard of the modest house where she rents two rooms for herself, two of her children, and two grandchildren.

“A monster was after these two young men,” Rehema explains in a soft voice. “These are tales that people tell here.”

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helps to protect urban refugees like Rehema across the world who do not live in camps, and promotes their peaceful coexistence with their host communities.

Short of funds for its programmes in DRC, however, UNHCR cannot do all that it would like to in providing psycho-social support to refugees. UNHCR therefore encourages groups like The Kings as part of its goal of helping refugees overcome painful experiences and live in dignity wherever they are. As the actors continue rehearsing, the small yard slowly fills with an impromptu audience from the neighbourhood. Kids in flip flops sit on the ground beside women in colourful dresses, and a few men. Today, entry is free, but when The Kings play one of Uvira’s popular restaurants, tickets earn them much-needed income.

But the theatre means more than a little pocket money for Rehema. “I saw that I had to join this group,” says Rehema, who has diabetes, a condition aggravated by physical and mental stress. “When we play theatre, we laugh, we cry, we are together outside. It helps me against stress, and that helps me to survive.”

“When we play theatre, we laugh, we cry, we are together outside. It helps … me to survive.”

Some of the scenes deal with violence and refuge, and force Rehema to face the most difficult episodes of her life. Two of her grown-up sons disappeared during civil unrest in Burundi a year earlier. She has heard rumours they were murdered. Rehema’s husband died years before, leaving her to care for the family, and to arrange their hurried journey to Congo when Burundi became too unsafe for them. “We don’t know why they were killed. Nobody gave us a motive. At that time, some people kidnapped and killed others, just like that,” she says.

Outside of the drama group life is difficult for Rehema. She works hard every day to put food on the family’s table, selling vegetables for meagre earnings at a rudimentary table outside her home. Tomatoes are arranged in pyramids of four, next to green peppers, and a tin can with some palm oil that is sold by the spoonful.

Rehema is particularly vulnerable. She is a widow in charge of a family, and also suffers from chronic illnesses. UNHCR recently supplied her with medicine for her diabetes and other conditions, and the agency’s staff look in on her and the children from time to time. It makes her feel safer, she says: “I feel also like I am not abandoned”.

“She is in need of protection,” says Esther Kashira, a UNHCR protection associate in Uvira. “We follow up on her case, as we undertake field visits. Our presence helps to protect the refugees and reassures them.”

In the dusty courtyard, rehearsals for the next scene begin. Rehema plays the mother of a boy who dropped out of school and fell into bad company. She delivers her lines with deep and genuine emotion.

Her performance is so compelling because she is drawing on personal experience: her youngest son, Swedi, 16, has not been in class since they fled Burundi. Her daughter Shebaby, 18, dreams of going to university. But, so far, there is not enough money to pay for the fees.

Despite the challenges, Rehema will never give up. “I have illnesses that cannot be cured,” she says, matter of fact. “If the kids study, they can fend for themselves in life. “

And with that, she turns back to her rehearsals, drawing from the theatre and the crowds the energy she needs to keep going, for herself, and for her children.

{The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) yesterday shrugged off allegations that its rank and file were involved in sexual assault crimes in the Central African Republic (CAR).}

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) yesterday shrugged off allegations that its rank and file were involved in sexual assault crimes in the Central African Republic (CAR).

“We carried out investigations and we didn’t find anybody culpable. If this had happened, we would not cover it up,” army spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire told Saturday Monitor by telephone.

“Such allegations will always be there. And it’s quite unfortunate that someone can come up with such allegations,” he added even as sources in Banjul, the capital of CAR, claimed the Ugandan army, in a bid to cover its tracks, airlifted the accused back to Kampala.

The army spokesperson was reacting to questions from Saturday Monitor after BBC aired and published on its platforms stories of a one, 13-year-old Eloise, who claims she is mothering a nine-month-old child allegedly sired by a Ugandan soldier, and another 14-year-old Mirie, also from CAR, who dreads to recall the day she was allegedly raped by a UPDF soldier.

Eloise told the BBC that when she was 12, a Ugandan soldier, deployed to protect her town, Obo ironically attacked her.

“My mother sent me to the market to buy something,” she said. “On the way, a Ugandan soldier grabbed me. He dragged me to a nearby lodge [hotel] and raped me.”
On the other account, Mirie has this to say: “I was going to the field to work and on my way, I was grabbed by a Ugandan. He was violent, he attacked me and he raped me. When I think about this, it hurts me. I didn’t expect it at all. “If I had a knife or machete I would have tried to attack him.”

Uganda put its boots on the ground in CAR in 2009 after it was reported that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels were causing instability in the densely forested western town of Obo.

In 2010, the US government sent 100 of its Special Forces soldiers to support the UPDF in intelligence gathering on LRA activities in CAR.

The Ugandan army has been the only active African force hunting down the rebels in the jungles, but in 2012, regional governments agreed to form a Regional Task Force (RTF) under the African Union to boost the fight against LRA. Forces from DR Congo, South Sudan and CAR were supposed to deploy under the RTF.

The LRA is currently estimated at between 150-200 fighters, with less than 130 of them armed.

The LRA leader, Joseph Kony faces indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he committed during the 20-year insurgency he waged in northern Uganda killing thousands, and displacing more.
He remains at large, but while speaking to BBC’s Hard Talk show in 2012, President Museveni said Kony and his men had been defeated and had run away more than a thousand miles away in CAR.

The latest allegations, however, are not unique to the UPDF. The BBC also reported that some soldiers of former CAR colonial master France have also been accused of sexually abusing boys, girls and women.

This newspaper was unable to independently verify the reports by the BBC.

{{Other cases}}

The BBC also said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, last July said his office had interviewed 18 women who said they had faced sexual violence and harassment by Ugandan soldiers. Fourteen cases of alleged rape, including cases involving victims who were minors at the time, were also reported, all in and around Obo.

{Fresh details have emerged of how Kenyan soldiers fought gallantly for at least six hours on Friday to ward off a deadly attack from hundreds of Al-Shabaab militants during a deadly dawn attack at a base in Kulbiyow, Somalia.}

This came as top military brass were said to have been in a crisis meeting Saturday.

KDF Spokesman Lt-Col Paul Njuguna confirmed the bodies of the dead soldiers had been flown to Nairobi while the injured were receiving treatment at the Forces Memorial Hospital.

“The next of kin of the fallen heroes as well as the injured soldiers were notified and plans to support them were established in line with the Defence Forces Standing Orders,” a statement sent last night said.

On Saturday, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and senior military officers had visited the Defence Memorial Hospital to comfort the recuperating soldiers as well as address the next of kin of the dead soldiers.

Two senior KDF commanders, the General Officer in charge of Eastern command Major-General Benjamin Biwott, and the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) Sector 2 commander Brigadier William Shume, were said to have visited the Kulbiyow camp to boost the morale of the Kenyan troops.

However, it remained unclear how many KDF soldiers, operating under Amisom, died in the attack.

A KDF statement put the number at nine with 70 Al-Shabaab militants killed while the terror group’s propaganda messages claimed at least 50 Kenyan soldiers had been killed.

Information obtained by the Sunday Nation from multiple military sources, who spoke in confidence, paints a bloody picture.

Al-Shabaab first targeted the camp using two vehicles filled with explosives and driven by suicide bombers at almost 5am – using tactics similar to those applied during the El-Adde attack in January last year.

These suicide explosions were followed by hordes of attackers who were repulsed by the soldiers mostly drawn from the Mombasa-based 15KR Infantry Battalion.

{{ARRIVAL OF BODIES}}

And when it appeared the militants were almost overrunning the camp, KDF reached out for help from their superiors in Nairobi.

It took hours for a rescue team from Hulugho Camp, at least 20 km away, to reach their comrades as the militants had planted explosives on various routes.

All this time, the gallant soldiers, numbering just about 120, fought tooth and nail to keep the attackers at bay despite being outnumbered while waiting for reinforcements.

At some point, sources say, the besieged KDF soldiers and their counterparts from the Somalia Army tactically withdrew from the camp in order to reduce the number of casualties.

A distress signal was also sent to Boni Forest and Manda camps on the Kenyan side but the response teams had to abandon their vehicles at some point and walk on foot to Kulbiyow due to landmines on the routes leading to the camp under attack.

By the time air support arrived shortly before noon, the quick response teams from nearby camps had managed to repulse the attackers.

Initially, KDF admitted its soldiers had been pinned down.

At the end of the day, it reported that at least 70 Al-Shaabab militants were killed.

“Our soldiers repulsed the terrorists who had tried to access the camp using a Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device,” Lt-Col Njuguna, who is KDF’s spokesman, said in a statement.

Bodies of the dead soldiers arrived at about six pm on Friday evening at the Moi Airbase and were transported under tight security to a nearby funeral home while the injured were taken to Forces Memorial Hospital in a convoy of military ambulances.

This was a completely different strategy from the El-Adde attack at a similar time last year where bodies landed at the Wilson Airport and the press were invited to cover.

Among the dead are two senior officers at the camp and seven servicemen according to KDF.

{{COMMUNICATION SYSTEM}}

The Sunday Nation has established there were about 120 KDF soldiers in camp while 60 had gone on patrol on the night of the attack.

All the soldiers at the camp were barely three weeks into the mission having arrived at the turn of the New Year and it is believed Al-Shaabab thought they would catch them off-guard like during the El-Adde attack last year.

But, unlike El-Adde where there was a communication breakdown, Kulbiyow, which is close to the Kenyan border, has both Airtel and Somali’s Hormud cellular networks.

The military also has its own communication channels which were used to call for help.

The military says it had prior intelligence Al-Shaabab would attempt an attack on a Kenyan camp to commemorate the first anniversary of the El-Adde battle and was, therefore, on high alert.

“El-Adde was the way it was because we didn’t know. This time they only managed to reach the camp because they used a different route not that the soldiers were not aware,” said our source.

On Saturday, the military confirmed it was in full control of the camp.

“Since yesterday, offensive ground and air operations have been intensified targeting Al-Shaabab camps and pacification of the area has been undertaken.”

The statement added: “KDF soldiers at Kulbiyow Camp remain vigilant and undeterred. They bravely continue to relentlessly pursue the terrorists to ensure peace and stability of the region as well as support Amisom in stabilising Somalia.”

{{SEVEN DEAD}}

The particular Al-Shaabab unit that attacked the KDF camp is said to be the Saleh Nabhan brigade, one of its most lethal units named after the leader of Al-Qaeda in Somalia who was killed in 2009.

The Saleh Nabhan group are believed to be responsible for the El-Adde attack, the December 2014 Mandera quarry workers attack and the 2010 Kampala attacks.

On Wednesday, seven Al-Shaabab fighters were killed as the Kenya Defence Forces captured Badhaadhe township in Somalia.

The troops, who were on a routine patrol, successfully launched an offensive operation on the militants who had taken control of a mosque and a police station in the area.

Two bombs and eight AK-47 assault rifles belonging to Al-Shaababwere captured and it is thought the militants were hungry for revenge.

Hours after they were beaten in Badhaadhe, the militant group reportedly executed a number of people accused of being spies.

Additional reporting by Nyambega Gisesa.

{Police in this lakeside city have arrested seven people for allegedly stealing 100m/- from citizens by convincing them to join a pyramid scheme.}

The theft suspects were alleged to convince people to deposit an amount of money and harvest more within a short period of time.

Mwanza Regional Police Commander (RPC) Mr Ahmed Msangi told reporters here yesterday that the suspects included a woman identified as Happy Aloyce( 35) a resident of Ilemela Street, who is also the Director of AQ Computer Limited.

The RPC said different groups of people, including the woman, have recently emerged in Mwanza city swindling people out of huge sums of money.

He said the woman and the people managed to collect 100m/- through the scheme.

“Our investigation revealed that AQ Club is not a registered institution in accordance with the law, but is a business name of the suspect.”

Following the incident, the RPC Msangi has issued an alert to all citizens in Mwanza region, telling them to be careful with such people to avoid losing their money.

“They took money from the citizens by purporting to increase their money and giving them more money than the amount invested.

There is no such kind of investment,” he warned. The RPC Msangi has also warned the public about the activities undertaken by the group of a private company Bega kwa Bega Microfinance Company Limited.

He said people had already complained against the company and explained how the company swindled them of their money.

“Police have already netted directors and some workers of that company and the charges are with the State Attorney for further legal action,” he said.

The RPC added that police in the region continued with the work against such swindlers.

Investigation on the report from Amka Mwanamke institution (AMWA) also said the institution was involved in the illegal business.

“We carry out investigation to know the truth of these reports,” he said and alerted Mwanza Region’s citizens and the surrounding areas to refrain from such kinds of illegal groups.

Instead, he advised, people ought refrain from such illegal business and participate in production activities that generate legitimate incomes for their lives.

He said the desire for a citizen to get quick riches has hurled many citizens to significant losses, resulting in their huge losses of money stolen by such crafty groups.

“Citizens should be aware that this is a criminals’ trap of persuading citizens to join these groups so that they can steal their money,” he said.