Tag: GreatLakesNews

Congolese security forces and a militia fighting them have killed at least 3,383 people in the central Kasai region since October, the Catholic church said on Tuesday, in the most detailed report to date on the violence.

Church officials, citing their own sources in the remote territory bordering Angola, said the army had destroyed 10 villages as it sought to stamp out an insurrection.

They also accused the Kamuina Nsapu militia of killing hundreds of people, destroying four villages and attacking church property in a campaign to drive out central government troops.

No one was immediately available to comment from the militia or Democratic Republic of Congo’s army, which has dismissed accusations of excessive force in the past.

Political tensions

The clashes have triggered fears of a wider conflict in the central African giant, a tinderbox of ethnic rivalry and competing claims over mineral resources. Wars at the turn of the century killed millions and sucked in neighbouring countries.

The church’s report will carry considerable weight in a country where about 40 per cent of the population identifies as Catholic.

Fighting surged in Kasai in August when the army killed a chief who had been calling for central government forces to quit the region, saying it should be left to local leaders.

The violence has stoked political tensions already heightened by President Joseph Kabila’s decision to stay in power beyond the December 2016 end of his mandate. Kasai is an opposition stronghold.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is due to decide this week whether to authorise an investigation into the Kasai violence. UN investigators say they have discovered 42 mass graves.

Congo’s government opposes an international investigation, saying that would violate its sovereignty.

The United Nations says more than 1.3 million people have fled the fighting.

Source:Reuters

Catholic Bishops are cautioning the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission against forcing through the printing contract for ballot papers, if key stakeholders disagree with it.

In a pastoral letter on elections, the clerics under the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) argue it would be important for the commission to discuss the printing job with everyone concerned to ensure the credibility of elections is intact.

Transparency

“Transparency of the IEBC is so important. If there are doubts of any kind, they should be sorted out before elections,” said Bishop Cornelius Korir of Eldoret

“If the other side is not satisfied, the other side should give a chance for dialogue (sic)…if dialogue reaches a dead end, the whole thing should be cancelled,” he added.

They spoke on Tuesday as IEBC said it would go ahead with sending representatives from the media, civil society and political parties to the printing firm Al-Ghurair in Dubai to witness how the work will be done.

But the commission has come under intense disapproval from opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa), which insists the tender awarded to the Emirati firm should be cancelled.

Last week, Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga claimed the printing job was given to the company because its officials were close associates of the First Family, claims the government has denied.

Qualities

But as we hurtle towards the Election Day on August 8, the commission, which felt it had run out of time, argued it awarded the tender to Al-Ghurair Printing and Publishing because the company has printed ballot papers the commission has used in several by-elections since 2014.

The clerics were speaking generally against corruption, violence and other political misbehaviour during the electioneering time.

They called for a free, fair and peaceful elections and said Kenyans must weigh qualities of every leader on the ballot paper.

On inciters of violence, the bishops said they should be “resisted” and rejected by the voters.

“We call on Kenyans to reject the agenda of some politicians that is not family-friendly. Let us remember that we are entrusting our future and that of our families into their hands,” they said in a joint statement.

Manifesto

“We must resist and reject any form of incitement.”

They turned to the electoral commission which they said must ensure every step towards the polls should be credible to keep doubts at bay.

If the IEBC is to ensure credible elections, the clerics argued, it will not do it alone.

So they asked political parties and politicians to respect electoral laws.

“They have a chance to foster wide participation,” said Bishop Martin Kivuva of Mombasa.

“We call on political parties to present their manifestos to the electorate, explain them and make them available to everyone.

Letter

“We strongly advise that political parties follow provisions of political parties Act of 2011 and make them national in character.”

The pastoral letter, a commentary routinely written by the clergy to the congregation on a particular subject, was endorsed by Cardinal John Njue and the bishops across the country.

They included Philip Anyolo, Maurice Crowley, Cornelius Korir, Martin Kivuva, Anthony Muheria, and Zaccheaus Okoth, John Owaa and Joseph Okemwa.

Source:Daily Nation

East African police chiefs have embarked on a move to add the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a member of East African Police Chiefs Cooperation.

The move follows increased lawlessness in the DRC, with criminals from across the region using it as a destination for stolen goods especially vehicles and motorcycles.

According to Asan Kasingye the police spokesperson, having the DRC as a member of a regional security body will ensure that security measures are harmonized and uniformly implemented.

Source:KFM

The Commission of Inquiry on Burundi presented its report to the Human Rights Council. It talks about ongoing serious crimes.

“A deep and widespread sense of fear,” this is evidenced by the testimonies gathered by the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi. During the 35th session, an oral report was submitted. This is a second report because the first one was presented at the March session.

The chairman of the commission, Fatsah Ouguergouz, talks about fear and persecution. He also mentions cases of people who are afraid of testifying for fear of reprisals and those who are reluctant to return home despite repeated calls by the Government. “The scope and gravity of human rights violations and abuses in Burundi since April 2015 have been confirmed,” he said.

Because of the lack of access to Burundi, the commission traveled extensively into the countries of the sub-region. Many Burundians in exile were interviewed. In total, more than 470 testimonies of human rights violations have been gathered since April 2015. And since the end of 2016, these violations have been committed in a more discreet but equally brutal way.

The commission reported extrajudicial executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrests and forced detentions and disappearances, often accompanied by demands for ransoms.

The commission said many of these violations have been committed by members of the National Intelligence Service and Police, sometimes assisted by members of the youth league of the ruling party, the Imbonerakure.

The victims are essentially the opponents of the government in place, including members of FNL and MSD political parties. They are targeted regardless of their ethnicity.

Torture

The description of torture sessions contained in the report is horrible: use of clubs, rifle butts, bayonets, iron bars, metal chains and electric cables with the result that some victims’ bones were broken and other victims lost consciousness; needles stuck into victims’ bodies or unidentified products injected into them; nails ripped out with pliers; burns; and many abuses inflicted on male detainees’ genital organs. “In several cases, acts of torture and ill-treatment were accompanied by violent insults and death threats, including of an ethnic nature”, said Fatsah Ouguergouz.

“Nothing good for Burundi”

No delegation from Burundi was sent to Geneva except its Ambassador dispatched to the scene to represent Burundi. The government said it didn’t expect anything good from this session of the Human Rights Council. “After analyzing the first oral report, we note that this is an extension of the report by the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi-UNIIB,” declared the Minister of Human Rights, Martin Nivyabandi, the day before the release by the commission. According to him, the government found it biased and politically oriented. The government has refuted what it describes as untruths contained in these reports and their biased character. This is another reason for Bujumbura to believe that the Thursday’s report was a copy of that of UNIIB. For Bujumbura, the objective is to incriminate by all means the highest authorities of the country.

The government made cutting remarks to the European Union. It accused EU of forcing the establishment of the current Commission of Inquiry contrary to the practices of the Council which favors consensus for the adoption of resolutions on a country. It said the commission of inquiry has no raison d’être. It would not add new elements to the UNIIB report. For the Government, Burundi remains ready to cooperate with anyone for the defense and promotion of human rights “provided that professionalism is de rigueur and that relations respect the sovereignty of the country”. This is essentially the position of Bujumbura.

Source:Iwacu

Burundian police on Saturday night uncovered eight grenades hidden in a small bush at Sororezo in Kanyosha district in Bujumbura Rural province, 10 kilometers southeast of the Burundian capital Bujumbura, the police spokesman said.

He said the eight grenades included five defensive grenades and three offensive ones.

Burundi has faced a political crisis since April 2015 when Nkurunziza announced his controversial decision to run for a third term, which he eventually won in an election boycotted by main opposition candidates.

Since April 2015, at least 410,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, the UN refugee agency said in May.

The refugee population is expected to increase by 26 percent by the end of 2017, according to the agency.

Source:Xinhua

The remains of the victim of a June 6 fatal stabbing in Kingston are to be buried in a Cemetery in South West London at Worcester Park, his mother has said.

Derick Mulondo, a Ugandan is said to have died on June 6, 2017 after being stabbed by his ex-girlfriend following a heated argument.

A post-mortem examination at Uxbridge Mortuary gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the left lung.

Police were called to the scene in the Cambridge Estate at about 6pm on the fateful day where officers found the 38-year-old Kingston resident and father of a 16-year-old son was suffering from stab wounds.

Paramedics and a team from London Air Ambulance delivered emergency first aid, but he died at the scene.

As a result, two people, Shauna Doyle, 23, from Burritt Road in Kingston, and Eric Wertz, 45, from Comber Road in New Malden, were charged in court with his murder.

They appeared in custody at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on June 9, and were remanded.

Both suspects were also charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

His mother, Sophie Kafeero called for the community, police and the government to tackle knife crime.

Mulondo and his mum moved from Uganda to Kingston in the early 90s when he was only nine years old and formed a tight knit African community together in the borough.

His father, Richard Serunjogi Mulondo died long before they moved to UK.

Derick lived in Kingston ever since he moved to the UK, going to Hollyfield School and eventually to Kingston College.

Derick was also a big Chelsea fan and played amateur football for a number of local teams, including United Colours of Kingston, and had recently started training five-year-olds in the borough to play.

Speaking to Surrey Comet, Ms Kafeero said: “He played as a striker so at the club they called him Maradona. I still have his shirt.

Before they relocated to London, they lived in Kiwatule, Kampala, while his late father lived in Kyaliwajala, Namugongo.

Source:Daily Monitor

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has delivered a landmark ruling, paving way for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to file requests for advisory opinions before the Court.

In a decision delivered by a panel of seven judges under its President, Justice Sylvain Ore, the Court ruled that “only organizations with an observer status before or a memorandum of understanding with the African Union (AU) and recognised by the same” could bring such requests.

It was making a ruling following an application filed by a Nigerian NGO, the Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) which was registered in 2004 and based in Nigeria with a primary objective of promotion of transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors through human rights.

The Pan African Court President, Ore, Vice-President Justice Ben Kioko and Justices Gerard Ninguyeko, El Hadji Guisse, Rataa Ben Achoiur, Sollomy Bossa and Angelo Matusse unanimously declared that the Court does not have personal jurisdiction to give an opinion on this particular request.

The matter that was filed at the Registry of the Court on March 14, 2013, the latter transmitting it to the African Commission as well as to member states of the AU so that those interested could submit written observations on the request – after which the following made submissions: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (as amicus curiae).

Source:Daily News

The United States warned on Friday that it had received new reports from within Democratic Republic of Congo accusing Congolese troops of actively carrying out a campaign of killing and raping women and children in the central Kasai region.

These allegations must be investigated and those responsible held accountable,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

“Reports of the Congolese government’s campaign of murder and rape of women and children should shock us into action.

The top UN human rights official last week called for an international investigation into massacres and other crimes committed in the Kasai region where at least 42 mass graves have been found.

“It is past time for the Human Rights Council to take decisive action and launch an independent investigation into the human rights violations and abuses in the DRC. This is the core mission of the [council],” Haley said.

Hundreds have been killed and 1.3 million displaced in central Congo since last August in fighting between a militia and government forces. Two UN sanctions monitors disappeared there in March and their bodies were found two weeks later.

Violence has risen nationally since President Joseph Kabila stayed in power after his mandate ended in December 2016

The Democratic Republic of Congo mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment.

Source:News Ghana

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge addresses a media briefing about the Monetary Policy Committee at CBK building in Nairobi on May 30, 2017. The CBK has put in place guidelines to prevent financial fraud.

Politicians have resorted to keeping millions of shillings in their houses or using their trusted friends to withdraw money from their accounts beyond the Sh1 million cap imposed by the Central Bank, it has emerged.

With campaign expenses ranging from millions to billions of shillings, depending on whether one is vying for a parliamentary seat or the presidency, it has become necessary to devise ways of circumventing the Central Bank guidelines introduced last year to fight money laundering.

Politicians require large sums of money ahead of the August 8 General Election, billed as Kenya’s most competitive and most expensive.

FINANCE LIMIT
MPs who were interviewed separately registered their displeasure with the guidelines even as they devised ways of circumventing the rules to run their campaigns.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed said the law was not well thought out “and is even stifling the economy”.

He said the cap is hurting politicians since they are fully in campaign mode, following the indefinite adjournment of the 11th Parliament on Thursday last week.

“We are having a serious problem at the moment with that cap, politicians are not having it easy,” Mr Junet told the Nation.

Bank accounts

The MP said the country has not developed to a point of using cashless transactions and many people still depend on withdrawing huge sums of money from banks to run errands.

Another MP who wished not to be named said there are many ways of circumventing the guidelines.

“I have opened five accounts with different names and therefore I can withdraw five million in one day,” the MP, who refused to be named, said.

Illegal

Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa said the regulation is irregular and illegal and should he make it back to Parliament, he will move an amendment to have it revoked.

“Why should I be limited on the amount of my money that I should withdraw? The regulations have totally no standing in the law, and I will sue the bank should they block me from accessing my money,” he said.

As a way of circumventing the guidelines, Mr Ichungwa said many politicians transfer money to their trusted friend’s bank accounts then withdraw it.

“It has really made life difficult for us. At the moment, we need to pay people whose cars we hire for campaign tours, tents, chairs and other items.

“When you have a big function and the bills of all these surpass Sh1 million, what do you do? Nobody trusts a cheque from politicians, especially during this campaign period, we have to pay in cash.”

Corruption

He said the regulations were never taken to the delegated committee of Parliament to check their legality and whether they were in the best interest of Kenyans.

Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi described the guidelines as a nuisance and unnecessary inconvenience.

“There are many ways of going round it, the guidelines are causing a lot of challenges for us at the moment,” he said.

The directive was put in place in January last year by CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge amid revelations that suspects in corruption scandals were freely carting away millions of shillings in sacks from banks.

“In compliance with this requirement, all customers making transactions that meet the stipulated amounts will be required to complete a form that captures the source of funds, reason for the transaction rather than electronic means and where the money will be taken after it leaves the bank,” Dr Njoroge said in the guidelines.

“You can use different names in a cheque and withdraw even Sh10 million in a day, so as much as the law is good, those with more money still get their way,” Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda said.

EACC raids

Other tricks used by politicians, Mr Ochanda said, is keeping the money in the house to avoid hassles in the banks.

“You have seen when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officers raid a home of a politician or anybody under investigations and millions of shillings in cash is recovered, an indication that people keep money in their houses instead of taking it to the bank.”

Kajiado North MP Joseph Manje said he has no problem with the guidelines, saying they are good because they would stop money laundering.

“The guidelines will not affect us much because if you withdraw Sh1 million as a politician that should be enough for you for the day, moreover banks only need a reason for the withdrawal so nobody has been stopped from withdrawing more than one million,” he explained.

While releasing the guidelines, Dr Njoroge had said: “This new guideline aims to reduce the risk inherent with cash transactions, such as losses due to fraud and theft.

“We encourage you to consider use of electronic payments, which are an alternative and secure channel.”

Source:Daily Nation