IGIHE

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  • UN Slams DR Congo Killings, Looting

    UN Slams DR Congo Killings, Looting

    {{The United Nations on Monday denounced armed groups in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo for carrying out murders of civilians, looting and burning down entire villages.}}

    For several weeks the Masisi territory in mineral-rich Nord-Kivu province “has been the scene of a number of assaults on civilians”, said the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in DR Congo, Moustapha Soumare, in a statement.

    Soumare said he had received alarming reports of killings — many based on ethnic origin — by armed groups in the south of the territory where nearly 40 people died and villages set ablaze.

    The homes of displaced people were pillaged and health centres which temporarily suspended their activities after medics fled were also targeted, he said.

    “Even humanitarian aid distributed by the United Nations and NGOs was looted in places.”

    Dozens of local and foreign armed groups in Nord-Kivu have made the province particularly unstable — some wreaking havoc for ethnic, territorial or economic reasons for nearly 20 years.

    AFP

  • Lt.Gen. Charles Kayonga Appointed Rwanda’s Ambassador to China

    Lt.Gen. Charles Kayonga Appointed Rwanda’s Ambassador to China

    {{Rwanda’s former army Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant general Charles Kayonga has been appointed as the ambassador to China, IGIHE has reliably learnt.}}

    In an announcement made on the state broadcaster Radio Rwanda subjecte to a presidential decree that was approved during a cabinet meeting saying that Lt. Gen. Kayonga will assume new role as Rwanda’s envoy to China and will be resident in Beijing.

    Meanwhile, Francois Ngarambe, former Rwandan ambassador to China has been transferred to Switzerland.

    President Paul Kagame ({center})Lt.Gen. Charles Kayonga (R) and Minister of Defence Gen.James Kabarebe (L) .

  • What Rwanda Has Taught Me About Being Human

    What Rwanda Has Taught Me About Being Human

    {{What Rwanda Has Taught Me About Being Human}}

    Launch of Kwibuka20
    Washington DC, 24 February 2014

    I first lived in Rwanda in 1988-1989. I discovered a society divided by imagined identities that were even symbolized on its Belgian inspired identity cards.

    When I asked President Habyarimana to remove ethnicity from the ID cards, an icy mask came down and he did not even answer.

    Since the genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda of 1994, and the strong efforts of the Rwandan Patriotic Front government to build national reconciliation, I have learned a significant lesson about what it means to be human.

    It is a lesson that one of my Anthropology professors at the University of Chicago taught as well, and that Dr. Mukesh Kapila is making his life work.

    What is unique about being human? What distinguishes human beings from all other creatures? Is it our extraordinary minds, so complex that the French theologian and anthropologist, Teilhard de Chardin, concluded were the result of a cosmic event in the growth of complexity-consciousness.

    The brain of each child contains more circuits than any super-computer, and more neural connections than all the stars in our galaxy. Are we unique because of our intellectual power? I do not think so.

    For every discovery we have made, we have used it to kill. For every vaccine, we have created a biological weapon.

    For every discovery of physics, we have made an atomic bomb. In Rwanda we saw that for every machete used to cultivate food, other machetes were used to commit genocide.

    I believe that what is unique to humanity is our spiritual ability to feel the pain and suffering of others. We are able to stand outside ourselves and be self-conscious.

    We are able to walk in each other’s shoes. Every human being has a conscience. Deep in our souls, we know that we are all human.

    Genocide denies our common humanity. It is the most evil social sin.

    Today, we re-dedicate ourselves to ending genocide. We must teach every child that there is only one race: the human race.

    We must never again let our nationalities, ethnicities, religions, or political cultural or economic differences divide us. We need a rebirth of true humanism. The humanism of Henri Dunant, who founded the Red Cross.

    The humanism of Eleanor Roosevelt with her vision of universal human rights. The humanism of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela, who dreamed of a world without racism.

    The humanism of Raphael Lemkin, who imagined a world without genocide. Where will this rebirth of humanism happen?

    In the minds of every child and every teacher; every farmer, worker, and businessperson; every priest, imam, monk, and pastor; every civil servant and volunteer; every government leader.

    The twentieth century was a century of war and genocide. Let us make the twenty-first, the century when we end war and genocide in this one God-given world that we all together share.

  • Gen. Museveni Threatens to Work With Russia

    Gen. Museveni Threatens to Work With Russia

    Uganda’s President Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has threatened to sever ties with the United states and work with Russia.

    Russia and United States have been cold war enemies for a long time.

    Museveni’s comments came after the signing into law of the anti hormosexuality Bill on Monday , a move that has ignited international debates over the controversially harsh anti Gay bill.

    Uganda’s leader since 1986 told U.S. President Barack Obama to stop interfering in the affairs of Uganda, adding that he will work with the Russian government “because they don’t meddle in the internal affairs of other countries”.

    The Ugandan president who recently told ruling party members of parliament that he is a war general, urged President Obama to “go back to your home”.Museveni said Uganda was his home and therefore no one should tell him what to do.

    President Obama had earlier warned Museveni that if he signed the anti gay bill, he risked putting US relations with Kampala at risk.

    The anti-gay bill cruised through parliament in December after its architects agreed to drop a death penalty clause.

    It holds that repeat homosexuals should be jailed for life. It also outlaws the promotion of homosexuality and legally obliges people to denounce gays to the police.

    news24

  • Muslims Seek Refuge in CAR Church

    Muslims Seek Refuge in CAR Church

    {{The Christian militiamen know hundreds of Muslims are hiding here on the grounds of the Catholic church and now they’re giving them a final ultimatum: Leave Central African Republic within a week or face death at the hands of machete-wielding youths.}}

    On Monday, some of the 30 Cameroonian peacekeepers fired into the air to disperse angry militia fighters congregated outside the concrete walls of the church compound.

    The gunfire sent traumatised children running for cover and set off a chorus of wails throughout the courtyard.

    The peacekeepers are all that stands between nearly 800 Muslims and the armed gangs who want them dead. Already the fighters known as the anti-Balaka have brought 40 litres of gasoline and threatened to burn the church to the ground.

    Even the Reverend Justin Nary, who takes in more Muslims by the day, knows he too is a marked man in the eyes of anti-Balaka.

    “Walking through town I’ve had guns pointed in my face four times,” he says. “They call my phone and say they’ll kill me once the peacekeepers are gone.”

    Some of those seeking refuge fled from the village of Guen, about 100km away, after at least 70 Muslims were killed there, according to the Reverend Rigobert Dolongo who said he helped bury the bodies.

    Muslims and Christians lived together in Carnot in relative peace for generations until a Muslim rebellion from the country’s far north overthrew the government and unleashed total chaos.

    The rebels known as Seleka were blamed for scores of massacres on predominantly Christian villages across the country.

    {{Wave of violent vengeance }}

    When they were forced from power in January, it unleashed a wave of violent vengeance against Muslims throughout the anarchic nation. In the capital, angry mobs killed and mutilated anyone suspected of having supported the Seleka.

    The Christian militia known as the anti-Balaka stormed Carnot in early February when the Seleka fled.

    The situation in the capital, Bangui, appears to have stabilised somewhat, but the sectarian violence continues in the countryside.

    Ahamat Mahamat, 41, narrowly escaped death and his younger brother was killed. Now he sits under the shade of a tree on the church grounds, his hand bandaged to cover his healing machete wounds meted by the Christian militia fighters.

    Even as the brownish iodine oozes through his bandages, he vows to stay on in Carnot despite the threat and wants to return to his job photographing Muslim and Christian weddings. He himself is married to a Christian, who has fled to the church with him and their three children.

    “I was born here. I grew up here. I have no problems with my neighbours. They even come to visit me here at the church and bring me food and other help,” he says.

    Others here, though, bitterly recall how the militiamen pillaged their mosques, stealing their prayer mats and setting their holy Qurans ablaze.

    Marafa Abdulhamane, 73, wipes tears from his eyes when he recalls how they surrounded his home and ordered him to leave under threat of death. A native of Cameroon, he has lived in Carnot for 50 years.

    While some neighbors packed up his things that remained and brought them to him in a suitcase at the church compound, he’s made up his mind to try and leave.

    “My shop has been looted and my home has been taken over by Christians. Where will I go?” he says. “They say they don’t want us wearing our traditional robes in town or saying ‘Allah Akbar’ anymore. It’s as though they don’t want Muslims or anything Islamic here anymore.”

    {{Armed protection}}

    Now he sits near the steps of the church with his friends, stroking his prayer beads as the Catholic priests prepare the area for Sunday Mass.

    There is no longer a mosque to pray at. No announcement of the call to prayer. On the grounds of the church, the men kneel on rice sacks pointed toward Mecca and whisper their prayers.

    He and his friends laugh when asked if they ever thought they would live at a church. However, they recognize the gravity of the situation that now faces them.

    “If it weren’t for the church and the peacekeepers, we’d all be dead,” says Mahmoud Laminou, who has been here for two weeks.

    About 150 of the refugees who could prove they had ties to Cameroon were evacuated though the rest still remain with no sign of when they might be rescued. As word spreads that the church is under armed protection, more arrive by the day.

    On Monday, a truck with the African peacekeeping force delivered several Muslim families trapped inside the town and unable to reach the church except under armed escort.

    Trembling women handed their babies to people on the ground as they got down from the truck.

    Worried parents forbid their children from playing soccer in the church yard, afraid that they would chase a ball outside and be killed by the surrounding gangs.

    The priests here in Carnot have given away all their money to try and keep the anti-Balaka at bay.

    There are no aid groups here apart from a clinic operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders. The Catholic church, though, is pledging to continue its work here no matter what the personal risk.

    “For us they are not Muslims or Christians. They are people — people in danger,” says the Rev. Dieu-Seni Bikowo.

    “The anti-Balaka are not Christians. They are thieves who are profiting from the anger against Muslims.”

    {AP}

  • UN Urges Myanmar to Probe Sectarian Killings

    UN Urges Myanmar to Probe Sectarian Killings

    {{The United Nations has called on Myanmar to investigate reports that dozens of men, women and children who were killed in attacks on Rohingya Muslims with the alleged involvement of police.}}

    The UN said it had received “credible information” of a series of attacks in a remote area of strife-torn Rakhine state earlier this month, in the latest statement of international concern over the fresh bout of unrest.

    Myanmar, whose sweeping political reforms have been overshadowed by religious bloodshed, has vociferously denied civilians were killed but said a police officer was presumed dead after a clash.

    “I deplore the loss of life in [the village of] Du Chee Yar Tan and call on the authorities to carry out a full, prompt and impartial investigation and ensure that victims and their families receive justice”, the UN’s human rights chief Navi Pillay said in the statement late on Thursday.

    The UN said it had information that eight Rohingya Muslim men were attacked and killed in the village, near the border with Bangladesh, by local Rakhine Buddhists on 9 January.

    {{Several outbreaks}}

    Four days later, a police sergeant in the same village was captured and killed by Rohingya.

    This in turn prompted police and local Rakhine to kill at least 40 Rohingya Muslim men, women and children the same evening, the statement said, adding that the UN had passed on the information it had received to the Myanmar government.

    Presidential spokesperson Ye Htut described the UN statement as “regrettable” and based on “groundless sources”.

    “Because of these acts, mistrust and concern can increase in Rakhine state and trust in the UN organisations among local residents can decrease”, he told AFP.

    Myanmar’s western Rakhine state remains tense after several outbreaks of inter-communal violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities since 2012 that have killed scores and displaced 140 000 people, mainly from the Rohingya minority.

    The area where the latest violence is believed to have taken place is mainly populated by the stateless Rohingya, whose movements are strictly controlled by a heavy security presence.

    Aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), one of the few outside organisations permitted to operate in the region, said it had treated at least 22 patients with injuries believed to be from violence in the village on 14 January, mostly from knife wounds but also one gunshot victim.

    Activists said shortly after the 13 January attack that at least two women and a child were stabbed to death in the village, with possibly several dozen casualties.

    Both the United States and Britain have raised alarm over the reports of the violence.

    Official discrimination

    British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on his official Twitter account that he was “sickened” by reports that women and children had been killed.

    New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had received information that police had authorised the arrest of all Rohingya men and boys over the age of 10 in the area.

    It said Myanmar’s initial denial of civilian casualties suggested reports of unrest were “not being taken seriously”.

    “Official discrimination against the Rohingya population and impunity for past abuses has created a fertile ground for new atrocities to take place”, said HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.

    Myanmar’s government considers the estimated 800 000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

    Two rounds of unrest in Rakhine state in June and October 2012, largely between local Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslim minority, sparked religious unrest that has since spread across the country leaving some 250 people dead.

    Rakhine has been left almost completely segregated on religious and communal grounds by the unrest, with many thousands of Muslims living in squalid camps nearly two years after being displaced.

    Thousands of Rohingya asylum seekers have fled Myanmar in rickety and overcrowded boats trying to reach Malaysia and further afield, with scores dying at sea.

    Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government has sought to emerge from decades of junta-imposed isolation, with sweeping political and economic reforms since taking power in 2011.

    {AFP}

  • Tanzania Form Four Exam Results ‘Doctored’

    Tanzania Form Four Exam Results ‘Doctored’

    {{To the Tanzanian government, the just-released National Form Four exam results were impressive, but to some stakeholders, they are a product of fabrication and alteration of grades to depict the politically desirable Big Results Now (BRN) outcome — at the expense of the country’s education system.}}

    The Citizen reports that government came under heavy criticism last year following the massive failure in 2012 national Form Four exams, but according to stakeholders, this time around, it juggled with grades to avoid another round of embarrassment’.

    Yesterday, some education experts and activists said they were preparing an independent analysis that would show that the just-released Form Four exams results are worse than those of 2012.

    The experts’ criticism comes after the government released what some analysts termed an ‘artificial’ improvement in the exams performance by simply altering the grading system to allow for more passes.

    Speaking to The Citizen at separate occasions yesterday, they expressed disappointment over what they termed government’s lack of political will to improve the education sector.

    They hope their activism will force the government into action to tackle the obvious challenges facing the sector, such as shortage of teachers.

    HakiElimu, a non-governmental organisation with a bent towards education improvement is today set to make public its analysis to expose the “artificial” improvement in the results.

    “This is not something to celebrate, because if you look into these results as per the previous grading system, many of these pupils have not passed; we need work hard to make sure there is a real improvement in the sector,” the executive director, Ms Elizabeth Misokia said.

    The 2013 year’s Form Four results released last weekend indicated that a total of 235,227 students passed. This is equivalent to 58.25 per cent of the candidates who sat for their exams in November last year, compared to 185,940 (43.08 per cent) in 2012.

    But Ms Misokia argues that it is wrong to say there’s an improvement in the pass rate by comparing the 2013 and 2012 exams because the two have been graded using completely different systems.

    “The government is fooling the public by claiming that results have improved, if we take the division one up to three in the last year’s results, they are 74,324 which makes 21.0 per cent, while in the previous year they were 35,349 which is equivalent to 9.55 per cent,” noted Ms Misokia.

    She added that it seems like more pupils passed this year because of adjustment in the grading system, which was made by the government.

    By lowering the pass grade, she said, more students who would have scored division zero seemed to have passed their examinations.

    She also highlighted that if you combine the newly E and F grades the truth is that there would have been massive failures compared to the 2012 results that rocked the nation, prompting the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda to form a probe committee.

    Previously there was no E grade for ordinary level. The grades were A, B, C, D and F. During the 2013 exams, Grade E was introduced after an attempt to replace division zero with division five was thwarted by members of Parliament.

    Following the alteration of the grading system, the newly introduced grade E is now a pass. But if the previous grades would be been fully followed, E grade simply means zero, she further told The Citizen.

    Another education expert from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Dr Kitila Mkumbo told The Citizen he was in his final process to analyse the just released national form four exams results to establish whether the passing rate had improved or not.

    “If we could put these results into the previous year’s grading, I can say that no achievements which were attained,” noted Dr Mkumbo while adding that the government should take stern measures in making sure that education sector is improves.

    In 2013 results there was a slight reduction of failures with 151,187candidates or 42.91 per cent, scoring division zero, from nearly 60 per cent the previous year, the changes made by the government last year lowered the grades in all areas.

    The grading system includes an A which previously ranged from 81-100 but can now be obtained if a student scores 75-100, the government also introduced a B+ which ranges from 64-74, B:50-59, and C:40-49.

    The Tanzania Association of Managers & Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (Tamongsco) executive secretary, Mr Benjamin Nkonya, said that this is just a fabrication.

    “It’s just what we call mileage only, because we are not going anywhere in this sector,” said he while adding that the government needs to get serious in handling the education sector.

    Apart from lowering the grades, Mr Nkonya highlighted the existing problem facing government schools for many years, “government schools are nowhere to be seen in the top ten list,” said Mr Nkonya.

    The Tanzania Teacher’s Union (TTU) General Secretary Dr Ezekia Oluoch said that the reality would only be seen if the government will put the results into the previous grading system.

    “This will only reveal the current situation, because we can be celebrating for nothing, we have 3350 ward schools which have a major teachers deficit, the government has delayed to employ new teachers, something which brings more challenges to pupils,” said Dr Oluoch.

    He also said that the government should invest more in education sector because there is no way you can get a good return if you had less invested, “less investment in education sector produces less return,” he noted.

    In 2012, a total of 210,846 scored division zero which was 56.92 per cent of all pupils sat for the Form Four examinations; a total number of pupils who sat for their examinations were 458,139.

    {The Citizen}

  • Judge Allows Partial Pistorius Trial Coverage

    Judge Allows Partial Pistorius Trial Coverage

    {{A judge has ruled that media houses are able to broadcast parts of the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius in the North Gauteng High Court next week.}}

    Judge Dunstan Mlambo ruled that audio recordings of all proceedings be allowed, and audiovisual images of only parts of the trial be allowed.

    This includes opening and closing arguments and evidence of experts, but excludes evidence of the accused and witnesses.

    “It is …in the public interest that, within allowance limits, the goings on during the trial be covered… to ensure a greater number of people in the community who are unable to attend the proceedings are able to follow wherever they may be,” Mlambo ruled.

    {{Reaction}}

    MultiChoice’s Oscar Channel producer George Mazarakis tweeted: “Thrilled the SA judiciary has matured to this ground breaking decision. It is a seminal moment”.

    “This is a great step forward,” said eNCA group news editor Ben Said. “It is a very wide-ranging judgment, and a very important one.”

    MultiChoice, eNCA and Eyewitness News brought the application to the court last week.

    Last week Frank Snyckers SC, for MultiChoice and Eyewitness News, told the court that media would use technologically advanced equipment that was not obtrusive and was controlled remotely.

    Snyckers said media houses had secured the National Prosecuting Authority’s support.

    Pistorius’s legal team opposed the application arguing that broadcasting the events would lead to an unfair trial.

    Barry Roux SC, for Pistorius, asked why his client’s trial was not being treated like any other trial.

    Pistorius is accused of killing Steenkamp, his girlfriend, in February last year. His trial is to be heard in the North Gauteng High Court from 3 to 20 March.

    A 24-hour TV channel dedicated to the trial will be launched on DSTV on 2 March.

    {News24 & Sapa}

  • WhatsApp to Allow Free Voice Calls By Mid-Year

    WhatsApp to Allow Free Voice Calls By Mid-Year

    {{Fresh from a US$19-billion takeover by Facebook, mobile messaging service {WhatsApp } said Monday it will launch free voice calls by mid-year.}}

    The introduction of free calls, revealed on the opening day of the four-day World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, would match rival application Viber’s similar offering.

    “We are going to introduce voice on {WhatsApp } in the second quarter of this year,” {WhatsApp } founder Jan Koum said.

    Facebook, whose 29-year-old billionaire creator Mark Zuckerberg was the star speaker on the opening day of the industry fair, announced a stock and cash purchase of {WhatsApp} on Wednesday.

    “Five years ago we had no users, no product,” said Koum.

    “Today we have 465 million active users,” he said, adding that the company still had no marketing, relying mostly on word of mouth to prosper.

    {WhatsApp} had not planned any changes in the light of the Facebook takeover, Koum said.

    “Mark really understands that for {WhatsApp} to stay successful it really needs to stay independent,” he said.

    Viber, one of {WhatsApp’s} key rivals, offers free voice and messaging.

    Japanese online shopping group Rakuten announced this month it would buy Viber’s Cyprus-based developer, Viber Media, for US$900 million.

    {wirestory}

  • WFP Introduces Cash Transfers for Refugees in Gihembe Camp

    WFP Introduces Cash Transfers for Refugees in Gihembe Camp

    {As part of its commitments to enhance food security, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has introduced cash transfers to feed the 14,500 refugees in Gihembe refugee camp in northern Rwanda.}

    {{Since this new type of assistance was launched in January 2014, WFP has distributed nearly 3,500 mobile phones to all heads of households in the camp. These phones can be used to receive and transfer money through an electronic banking solution called mVISA, provided by Bank of Kigali.}}

    “I’m very happy about the new modalities of food assistance from WFP,” said Mukandutiye Venancie, a 54 year old mother of 6 children. “I received cash instead of in-kind food so I’m able to buy my food of choice.”

    Venancie added that, by buying different foods, she can save on the fuel she has been using to cook maize grains for her family. This also reduces the negative impact on the environment around Gihembe refugee camp.

    The cash transfer to refugees is a pilot project that replaces the in-kind general food distribution, which is how WFP has supported refugees in the camp the last 18 years.

    The introduction of cash transfers follows the successful pre-pilot carried out in December 2013 to test the viability of this new system.

    To achieve its goals and objectives, WFP has started working with World Vision as an implementing partner and strengthened its existing partnership with key stakeholders, notably MIDIMAR, the Rwandan government ministry in charge of refugee’s affairs, and the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

    In addition to the cash transfers to all households in Gihembe camp, the most vulnerable refugees will continue to receive additional supplementary food based on their specific needs in order to maintain and improve their nutritional status.

    Dusabe Claudine, a 47 year old mother living in Gihembe camp, is also very happy about the cash transfers.

    “I thank WFP for this new food assistance modality and I wish this programme continues because money is easy to manage and you can buy food of your choice”. said Claudine.

    The value of the cash transfers is based on the local market prices of the food ration previously distributed. All beneficiaries get paid in Rwanda francs for easy transactions on the local markets. If the pilot project is successful, the cash transfer system could continue and possibly be expanded to other refugee camps.

    “Among several benefits, cash transfers are expected to give more flexibility to refugees in diversifying the types of food commodities they can access, hence improving their nutritional status” said Jean-Pierre de Margerie, WFP Country Representative.

    “Together with our partners, we’re making efforts to pilot innovative approaches that can benefit refugees, such as cash transfers. We’re pleased with the pilot project so far and are hopeful of its potential for the future.” said de Margerie.

    WFP