Category: Politics

{Deserters feared repression over their ethnicity and perceived support of the opposition amid political unrest.}

At least 10 officers from Burundi’s army and police force have reportedly fled the country since the beginning of this month amid ongoing repression in the country.

The group includes several senior officers.

Burundian security expert Gratien Rukindikiza put the total number of deserters at 13 and said they had fled owing to fears of repression because of their ethnicity or for being perceived as supporters of the country’s political opposition.

Human rights activists say the Hutu-dominated government of President Pierre Nkurunziza is increasingly repressing ethnic Tutsis.

Burundi has been in turmoil since Nkurunziza announced last year that he would seek a third term in office despite a constitutional two-term limit. His election victory in July 2015 unleashed a wave of political violence in which hundreds have been killed.

In May, a court handed life sentences to 21 people, including senior military officers, who had been implicated in a failed coup attempt against Nkurunziza. Dozens of soldiers have been arrested on charges of supporting the opposition, Rukindikiza, the security expert, said.

Many of the detainees belong to the minority Tutsi ethnic group.

Burundian army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza denied that the deserters had fled owing to ethnic repression or security fears, and said they were being manipulated by the opposition.

Their departure follows that of Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza, a former spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, who fled Burundi in April.

{Opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, yesterday rejected the prospect of religious leaders and elders to lead the proposed political dialogue between the Opposition and President Museveni’s ruling NRM party.}

Opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, yesterday rejected the prospect of religious leaders and elders to lead the proposed political dialogue between the Opposition and President Museveni’s ruling NRM party.

He also reiterated his previous position that there must be an agreed agenda on the national dialogue before it takes place.

Dr Besigye was addressing the media at his Kasangati home in Wakiso District following an announcement by the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU)and the Elders Forum, to have a dialogue between the government and the Opposition, scheduled to start in Octobe.

Dr Besigye, said religious leaders can not be neutral arbiters and observers since they have a stake in any discussion about the country.

“In my interactions with them [religious leaders and elders], I appealed to them to take a position on what is happening in the country and therefore in the dialogue that is envisaged, I appeal to them to be an interested stakeholder. They must be seated on the table amongst other stakeholders. They can’t be a neutral party, organising and moderating and having no view in what is taking place on the table,” Dr Besigye said.

The Opposition leader and former presidential candidate also explained that matters of “justice, peace and national security” are not partisan that religious leaders and elders are obliged to play a neutral role.

“People who lead religious organisations in our country should be at the forefront of fighting injustice because all religions as we know them, their leaderships must be voices of their people,” Dr Besigye argued.

Dr Besigye said he had met the IRCU and Elders Forum team twice at his home and during his recent detention at Luzira prison.

Although he declared his commitment to dialogue, he said he did not reach any position with the team on the process of the talks.

He said he was “surprised” and “taken aback” to hear that the religious leaders and elders had started the process of dialogue and even set up a secretariat for that purpose.

“At no time have we agreed on a process in the terms that they indicated in their statement,” Dr Besigye said.

He said if the religious leaders and elders are keen to being part of the organisers of the dialogue, they have to engage with the four key issues including having a mutually agreed agenda, an agreement on who convenes and moderates the dialogue, who will be part of the dialogue and a clear understanding of how the decisions of the dialogue will be implemented.

“It is not something one wakes up and says I am going to organise this. It is not like the presidential debate where you invite candidates to come and debate. This is a far more complex, far more serious issue that a lot of ground work must be undertaken before dialogue takes place,” he said.

The religious leaders and elders early this year organised two historic presidential debates that brought together all candidates for the first time to debate ahead of the presidential election.

Since the February 18 general election, there have been several efforts led by different people to have political dialogue in the country to resolve or mitigate the animosity between the Opposition and the government.

{Cord co-principal hints at need for 1990s-style agitation that brought change in Kenya.}

Cord leader Raila Odinga on Friday claimed major State institutions were failures and hinted at the need for 1990s-style agitation that brought change in Kenya.

Speaking during the Law Society of Kenya’s annual conference in Diani, Kwale County, Mr Odinga asked why they had remained silent while corruption was taking root again in the country.

He painted a gloomy picture of the country since the enactment of the Constitution, saying important institutions such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission; and the Judiciary had regressed, instead of improving.

In his written and off-the-cuff remarks, the opposition leader said even the youth were now growing up in a culture that glorifies get-rich-quick schemes without hard work and patience.

“Only six years ago, we unveiled what was easily seen as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Today, however, we are taking a closer look and once again we are saying we must jump-start reforms in virtually all our key governance institutions: the Judiciary, the police, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, schools, financial institutions and even the Legislature,” said Mr Odinga.

He blamed the government for the failures of the institutions, saying this was a deliberate move to scuttle change.

“Kenya is in the middle of a very necessary debate for a just, honest and caring government. All the key institutions are suffering from the impediment created by a government that is resisting change and trying to take the country back to the old order,” he said.

LIBERATE COUNTRY

Mr Odinga said the struggle to liberate the country from bad governance, corruption and mismanagement of public funds, which was started during pre-independence times and in which he has participated, should continue.

He was, however, challenged by lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, over the recent demonstrations to force out the electoral commission members.

Mr Abdullahi asked why he had led supporters to the streets “knowing very well that it was unconstitutional”.

Mr Odinga said all attempts at dialogue had been snubbed and there was no way out.

“The Constitution provides demonstrations as the last option after all means have failed. In fact, protesters should be protected by the police to prevent hooligans from penetrating like what happened,” he said.

He added: “We got 1.6 million signatures to petition the electoral commission but they rejected 700,000 of them, claiming some looked like elephants.”

He accused the commission of manipulating and jamming the biometric voter system.

“Ten million people voted for governors, senators, MPs and MCAs, but an extra two million voted only for the President. How possible was that? Is it not strange?” he asked, quoting figures from a British firm that analysed the presidential poll results.

He said the government’s economic growth figures were untrue, saying the public debt had increased by Sh71 billion in one year.

“During the 2015/2016 financial year, debt repayment was Sh262 billion and today, it stands at Sh333 billion only a year later,” he said.

He said increased public borrowing leads to high interest rates, inflation and overburdening of future generations.

“There is a conspiracy against our people through corruption and mismanagement of resources. Kenyans today are among the highest taxed people in the world as we steal and borrow, then use the remnants on wrong priorities,” he said.

Mr Odinga urged lawyers to stand up against injustice, intimidation, bad governance, coercion, blackmail and other social vices perpetrated by the rulers.

He appealed to Kenyans to demand accountability, transparency and good social virtues.

{A coalition of U.S.-based NGOs and Congo experts sent a letter today to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling for greater financial and other pressure on the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as incentives. }

The coalition is deeply concerned about the closing of political space and growing democratic crisis in Congo. The policy aims of these tools should be to help support Congo to hold timely elections in line with its constitution and end political repression.

{{Read the letter below }}

August 18, 2016

The Honorable John F. Kerry
Office of the Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

{{RE: Preventing a Wider Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo through Additional Financial Pressure and Incentives}}

Dear Secretary Kerry,

We are deeply concerned by the growing crisis of democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which could become a full-blown crisis with serious implications for the region if steps are not taken to prevent it. We appreciate the Administration’s high-level engagement with the DRC government on elections and its recent designation of Kinshasa Police Chief Gen. Célestin Kanyama for targeted sanctions. We strongly believe that the United States can and must exert more leadership now to help facilitate a successful democratic transition and that additional financial and other pressure is needed, as well as incentives.

The U.S. designation of Kanyama helped pressure the DRC government to not crack down on peaceful demonstrators at the massive July 31 pro-democracy rally. We are also encouraged that targeted sanctions have been welcomed by civil society activists in Congo and received support from Congress through bipartisan Senate and House resolutions and from the E.U. and Belgian parliaments. Nevertheless, the DRC government continues to pursue policies that undermine Congo’s constitution and democratic transition – the root of the ongoing political crisis.

Recent events have underscored the need for additional pressure on the DRC government to move rapidly towards credible, timely national elections. President Kabila recently stated that elections will not be held at least until late 2017 and is using a dubious ruling by the Constitutional Court to insist that he will remain in office until elections are held. The government denies the electoral commission the funds to complete the voter roll preparation and has refused to release political prisoners who were not already due to be released. It also issued a criminal judgment – said by one of the judges to have been coerced – against presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi and kicked out independent researchers from Human Rights Watch, Global Witness, and the Congo Research Group.

September 19 and December 19 are constitutionally the days that should mark the beginning of the presidential campaign and the day that President Kabila steps down. It is imperative that the U.S. adopt additional targeted sanctions well before September 19. The pressure should be accompanied by clearly expressed policy goals and consequences for non-performance. Ambassador Swan’s July 4 speech referring to the need for rapid progress towards credible elections and threatening further sanctions if that did not occur was helpful and should be consistently repeated in other official U.S. pronouncements. In addition, we believe the U.S. should take key steps to support the policy:

Enhanced use of targeted sanctions. Sanctions work most effectively when actions are taken consistently so that actors understand the stakes over a period of time. When sanctions are episodic and not followed up, the impact and overall efficacy diminishes. President Kabila and his senior associates use the U.S. banking system for illicit transactions. The U.S. should thus enact asset freezes, travel bans, and other sanctions on the officials against high impact targets central to Kabila’s glissement strategy of undermining democracy and perpetrating human rights abuses. Higher-impact targets would help move beyond “naming and shaming” and toward having real financial impact and linking with broader illicit networks. Furthermore, sanctions’ coercive effects are only as strong as their enforcement. The U.S. should ensure that designations are properly enforced with the cooperation of regional and international banks and governments.

Encourage the ICC to issue a warning. The International Criminal Court exerts influence over powerful actors in the region. The State Department should encourage the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor to announce that it will conduct a preliminary examination on the DRC during the electoral period, noting that grave crimes by the regime and others will not go unpunished.

Messages on dialogue. Re: the dialogue, the U.S. can help advance negotiations by emphasizing the need for prompt, effective action (to avoid further delays and an ineffectual dialogue), strong international facilitation (to manage deep differences among participants) and serious confidence building measures (such as releasing all political prisoners and stopping political prosecutions).

Review direct budget support. The U.S. should block Congo’s new request for $500 million in direct budget support from the World Bank. It would support Kabila’s unconstitutional usurpation of power, and his government has proven its poor financial mismanagement.

Additional financial pressure. Treasury’s FinCEN can help counter the laundering of the proceeds of corruption, which would send powerful messages to the Kabila regime that it may be unable to transact in U.S. dollars. FinCEN could issue an Advisory to financial institutions that outlines money laundering concerns and requests more vigorous reporting of suspicious activity.

Fund the elections. The U.S. should significantly increase the amount of funding for legitimate elections if and when the opposition and Kabila government agree on a constitutional timetable.

Protection for civil society. Finally, there needs to be greater protection for civil society during this dangerous transition. MONUSCO should expand its protection program for human rights defenders.The U.S. should also increase support to pro-democracy activists and journalists. Support for the documentation of human rights abuses and corruption also is important.

Now is a critical time for the United States to take further action, starting with a new round of targeted sanctions, to support a peaceful democratic transition. Without urgent pressure from the U.S. and others, the situation will likely deteriorate, and Congo would face an escalation imperiling the future of the country and region.

Sincerely,

John Prendergast, Sasha Lezhnev, Holly Dranginis
Founding Director and Policy Team
Enough Project
Anthony W. Gambino
Former USAID Mission Director to the DRC
Naama Haviv
Executive Director
Panzi Foundation USA

Stephen R. Weissman
Former Staff Director
House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa
Wynnette LaBrosse
President
Open Square

Lisa Shannon
CEO
Everywoman Everywhere
Savannah Wooten
Student Director
STAND: The Student-Led Movement
to End Mass Atrocities
Mike Brand
Policy Director
Jewish World Watch
Karen Stauss
Director of Programs
Free the Slaves

CC: Jon Finer, Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Planning, State Department
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, State Department

Cathy Byrne, Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council
Tom Perriello, Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, State Department
Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Treasury Department

{Members of opposition parties in Lushoto District have vowed never to participate in the countrywide demonstrations as declared by their national party leaders, saying they see no reason for the move.}

They have instead praised President John Magufuli’s government, which they have acknowledged as hard working for the development of ordinary Tanzanians, citing rural electrification for special admiration.

They told the Minister of Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, here yesterday that because of electricity supply to many villages in their district, they have decided to support the government in its efforts rather than involving in demonstrations.

“We thank you honourable minister with your government for your efforts to bring us development … electricity is development, therefore despite being an opposition leader, my colleagues and I have agreed not to storm into demonstration on September 1, this year,” said Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, CHADEMA Secretary of Mlola Ward, Mr Ali Keto.

He further stated that all opposition members and fans were against the planned demonstrations, assuring Prof Muhongo of maximum collaboration with the government.

“All things which we wanted to be done are now being done under President Magufuli’s government …why should we demonstrate…all we now want is development,” he further stated.

Another leader of CUF Mr Shafii Salumu Makame, asked all residents of Lushoto District and elsewhere in the country, to support the government because it was doing a commendable job to bring about development to wananchi.

Prof Muhongo had earlier said that development has no political party, affirming the government’s commitment to serve and bring development to all people regardless of their political affiliation.

“Thank you for showing me that you will not join into demonstration…let us cooperate to bring development…who expected that this mountainous land could have electricity…but today it is here…believe on this government because it has planned to do many things,” said Prof Muhongo.

The residents of Mlalo had requested President Magufuli to visit their area, claiming that since independence, there is no any sitting president who ever visited the area.

“Please send our message to president Magufuli…we love him therefore we request him to visit our land…we elected him through looking on his photo…now we want to see him physically as we see you here,” said 78-year old Abeid Athumani.

Minister Muhongo continues his tour of Tanga Region to see the development of Rural Electrification Agency (REA) projects prior to the take off of phase three.