Tag: GreatLakesNews

{A girl was killed, 32 Indian peacekeepers and two civilians were wounded Tuesday in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after an explosion.}

The explosion occurred shortly before 6:30 local time (4:30 GMT), witnesses said.

“It was an explosive device of unclear origin,” Charles-Antoine Bambara, spokesman for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) told AFP in the evening.

According to a source close to MONUSCO who requested anonymity, the “attack deliberately targeted the peacekeepers because they were unarmed” and “the explosive device hidden in a can was remotely controlled.”

Santas Acenti Foruguta, a guard at the Catholic cathedral under construction nearby said they fled the sound of the explosion while standing behind the fence of the yard.

Mr. Bambara said investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the explosion.

{The recent arrest of a top Rwandan rebel commander in the DR Congo has once again sparked speculation that the FDLR could be on the verge of imploding internally.}

Habyarimana Mucebo Sofuni, a senior member of the Rwandan FDLR rebel group, was captured in Rutshuru, north-eastern DR Congo on Oct. 27.

The Congolese Army announced Oct.29 that it had arrested Col. Mucebo, one of the senior commanders of the rebel outfit accused of orchestrating massacres in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

He is also wanted by the Kinshasa government to face justice over atrocities he is alleged to have committed on Congolese soil.

Mucebo, who has been the FDLR intelligence chief, is among FDLR members who fled into the DR Congo after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Many of them are suspected to have participated in the slaughter of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus and many are on Rwanda’s wanted list.

Macebo’s arrest follows on the heels of the arrest of another top FDLR officer, Maj. Sabimana Iraguha, alias Mugisha Vainqueur, a commander of the FDLR’s military wing, the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FOCA). He was captured on Aug.11 at Katiru, also in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu Province. He was shown to journalists in the provincial capital, Goma.

Before that in May, another FDLR officer, Gen. Leopold Mujyambere was arrested. He was the FDLR chief of staff at the time of his arrest. All of them are languishing in jails in Kinshasa.

Most are on the wanted list of the Kinshasa government over atrocities the rebel group has allegedly committed in DR Congo’s North Kivu province where it has been based.

There was wide speculation that Mujyambere could not have been arrested without collusion of disenchanted officers within the FDLR. He was arrested in Goma by operatives of the Congolese intelligence service after his return from southern Africa.

It is speculated that the FDLR command is divided between loyalty to one General Sylvestre Mudacumura, who is the overall FDLR commander, and those more loyal to General Victor Byiringiro, the acting president of the group.

It is said that pressure on the military front has exacerbated internal tensions within the group.

A widely quoted commentator on the FDLR is Jason Stearns, the director of the Congo Research Group at New York University. He said in a blog comment that has been reported many times that the capture of Mujyambere could point to divisions between the FDLR’s military and political wings.

“While the (Congolese) operations have had little impact on the group’s command structure … this military pressure has exacerbated internal tensions within the group which are difficult to parse but seem to be serious,” he wrote.

The FDLR remains the biggest armed group in the eastern Congo. But it has recently suffered major casualties it its battle with the UN forces and the Congolese government. Some estimates say its strength has been cut from around 6,000 ten years ago to about 1,500 to 2,500 today.

The hemorrhage on FDLR is a result of years of pounding by the Congolese army as part of its Operations Sokola II. One report says that while the operations have had little impact on the group’s command structure, they did manage to dislodge the rebels from their headquarters around Buleusa and Ihula in Lubero/Walikale territories (the offensive also employed local ethnic militia, which has in turned fanned the flames of local ethnic conflict between the Nande and the Hutu communities).

At the time of his arrest, Mujyambere was the most important FDLR commander ever arrested by the Congolese and the Kinshasa government made a meal out of it.

It is said the Mujyambere was close to Mudacumura and was sold out by forces loyal to Byiringiro. He was arrested during a routine police stop in Goma after a security services operative pointed him out.

Reports from that period claimed a similar fate befell another senior FDLR officer, who was earlier arrested in Tanzania.

The FDLR, as expected, insists that it is not divided and that the claims are a propaganda ploy by their enemies, the UN forces and Congolese government to drive a wedge between the FDLR command structures.

The Rwanda government has for a long time been concerned about the existence on its western border of the FDLR which comprises remnants of the former Rwanda Armed Forces (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe militia, both of whom are blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

But the DR Congo President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, appear to be mending their once sour relationship.

At a meeting in August, Kabila is said to have promised Kigali that he would deal decisively with the FDLR.

The two presidents in August agreed that the two countries will work together to improve economic and security ties.

Following his meetings with President Kagame and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, observers say the Congolese President is looking to win the support of his neighbours to the west. Kabila is facing stiff resistance from the masses after postponing presidential polls, with a plan to stay in office until 2018 and needs all allies he can muster.

The arrest of Mucebo is being hailed as a sign that Kabila is living up to his promise.
One report quoted Rwandan Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye calling for Mucebo to be deported to Rwanda to face trial and that Kigali had called it a “Positive development”.

The post Arrest of 3 top FDLR commanders could mark major divisions appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.

{At least 18 people died on Sunday night in a grisly road accident that involved two vehicles at Nsalala village in Shinyanga region’s Tinde Ward.
}

Shinyanga Regional Police Commander (RPC) Muliro Jumanne Muliro confirmed the incident, which he blamed on reckless driving.

He said the 19:30 hour accident on the Tinde-Nzega road occurred due to an attempt by the driver of the Hiace to carelessly overtake a car before colliding with a semitrailer, which was heading to Nzega from Tinde.

RPC Muliro identified the driver as 32-year old Seif Mohammed who was driving the Noah with registration number T232 BQR, the property of Mwinyi Hamis, a resident of Tinde.

The driver collided head-on with a big semitrailer, with registration number T198 CDQ, whose trailer, bearing registration numbers T283 CBG, was driven by 46-year old Aloyce Kavishe of Dar es salaam.

Commander Muliro said 15 people died on the spot while three others succumbed to accident injuries as they were receiving treatments at Shinyanga Referral hospital.

The deceased include seven male and 11 female and two children, with nine of the dead already identified. RPC Muliro said that police have arrested the two drivers for more investigation.

The deceased have been identified as Daud Maja (34) of Kishapu, Emmanuel Jumanne and Maganga Lubala of Uyui in Tabora, Dinna Masanja (20), Chausiku Kasapa (42), Specioza Dotto (23), Esther Kasapa (59) and Andrea Mambosasa (33), all Tinde residents.

The Hiace conductor, Vicent Nzamala (23), also died in the accident. “Should drivers follow traffic signs, many accidents can be avoided because even in the area where this accident occurred, there were signs for low speed, which the drivers defied,” said RPC Muliro.

The Shinyanga Assistant Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Dr Maguja Daniel confirmed receipt of the accident victims at around 9pm, saying three victims were still hospitalised and their conditions were improving.

He mentioned the casualties as Boniphace Richard of Nzega, two children Hamis Ali (5) and Salima Kiza (1) whose mother Deborah Maingu of Samuyi in Shinyanga District died in the accident.

Dr Daniel explained that five bodies of deceased have been identified and taken from hospital and 13 bodies are still at the hospital morgue.

{When an attempted coup rocked Burundi last year, Jean Baptiste Bireha was one of the few journalists to report the news. The next night, members of the Imbonerakure, the feared militarised youth wing of Burundi’s ruling party, turned up at his house looking for him.}

But Bireha was already gone. Tipped off by a government source, he was on the run. “I never slept in the house again,” Bireha said. “Every independent journalist was wanted after the coup.”

The Guardian view on press freedom: the need for constant vigilance | Editorial

A week later, according to Bireha, he was walking with a friend in the capital, Bujumbura, when presidential guards opened fire. They injured Bireha and killed his friend, he says. Soon after, he fled across the border to Rwanda in disguise.

Many other journalists followed him to escape mounting violence and repression. To fill the news void, Bireha, who resettled in Kigali, banded together with other exiled journalists to form Radio Inzamba – an online, independent radio station-in-exile distributing broadcasts to those back home through Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

Using a network of informants to report and verify their stories, Inzamba sends vital information to those back in Burundi as well as bringing international attention to what some say are rising incidents of killings by police and intelligence agents.

The country has been in the grip of 18 months of ongoing political violence following a controversial bid by the president, Pierre Nkurunziza, for a third term in office in contravention of the country’s constitution.

In the run-up to the contentious election, the failed coup attempt triggered an intense crackdown on independent media, with government forces destroying radio towers and storming TV studios.

Nkurunziza later won the election and journalists and activists suspected of sympathising with the opposition were immediately targeted as the regime sought to consolidate its power.

Thierry Vircoulon, the Central African project director at International Crisis Group, said the media landscape has been crushed: religious and commercial radios are the last non-government antennas standing.

“Mobile phones and social media maintain a link between many of Burundi’s constituent parts that appear steadily more remote and disconnected: the diaspora and the refugee camps, capital city and rural areas, Burundi and the rest of the world,” Vircoulon said.

Patrick Mitabaro, an Inzamba journalist and the former editor at Radio Isanganiro, remains defiant in the face of government censorship. “By shutting down independent radio stations, Nkurunziza thought he had been able to suppress the truth,” he said. “But in this modern era, with social media platforms all over, he got it wrong.”

Although the reach of outlets like Inzamba and fellow broadcaster SOS Burundi is hard to measure, Francois Bizimana, an Inzamba journalist, says the station has “a big following within the government and army, because everyone wants to know what is happening, or who has been killed”.

Mercy, a student at the University of Bujumbura who did not reveal her full name, said her brother was arrested by the government and taken to military headquarters in September last year. For weeks, the family did not know where he was, or if he was alive, until Radio Inzamba released a report that he had been tortured to death in the office of national intelligence and his body dumped in a hospital.

“After visiting the hospital mortuary, we found the body and it was marked unknown, even though his killers knew him,” Mercy said.

The station has also reported widely on mass graves in Burundi, disclosing the precise locations and identities of people buried and those allegedly responsible for the killings.

‘We use codes’
The ruling party in Burundi views Inzamba radio as anti-government, backed and encouraged by Rwanda, which Nkurunziza accuses of training rebels that have vowed to overthrow him.

I have a WhatsApp group of 87 army officers who are waiting for our news. They delete it immediately after listening
Francois Bizimana
Rwanda denies this, but it is no secret that its president, Paul Kagame, who is poised to run for a third term of his own, is critical of Nkurunziza. Regional observers say Kagame’s acceptance of critics of Burundi but not those of his own government underscores the delicate line that journalists in the region must walk.

People face jail if they are caught listening to Inzamba, Bizimana said. “For government officials or army, we use codes. I have a WhatsApp group of 87 army officers who are there waiting for our news 24 hours; they delete it immediately after listening. These are the same people who give us news and information – they are our supporters in the struggle.”

So while Bireha has found refuge in Rwanda, he is wary of his safety – he knows that Burundian security forces could come looking for him. He maintains a low profile, and says he does not go out to restaurants or bars.

Sitting at his laptop in Inzamba’s congested newsroom, Bireha scrolled through photos of those allegedly killed for opposing Nkurunziza. “I know many of these people killed,” he said. “Some were close friends. One day, hopefully, these people will get justice.”

{Authorities in South Sudan’s Gbudwe State and bordering areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda have signed an agreement establishing a framework for cross-border trade, a local official aid.}

Jackson Ezekiel, minister of local government in the proposed Gbudwe state, told Radio Tamazuj yesterday that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with their counterparts in neighbouring territories in Uganda and DRC to facilitate trade.

Ezekiel pointed out that Yambio town has been depending on goods brought from neighbouring Uganda and Congo. He explained that the new deal will try to eliminate barriers and reduce taxes imposed on traders from Yambio.

However, the official said that the agreement has not yet been operationalized.

{Burundi is threatening to withdraw its peacekeepers from Somalia and the Central African Republic over leadership issues and plans to pay peacekeepers directly, two Burundian ministers have told Burundian lawmakers in a plenary session.}

“Burundian soldiers are not given leadership positions at the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

“Another problem is that there are plans to pay our (Burundian) peacekeepers directly into their accounts in violation of the Memorandum of Understanding stipulating that it is the government that pays them after receiving the money,” Burundian Defence and War Veterans Minister Emmanuel Ntahomvukiye told lawmakers at the National Assembly.

According to him, consultations with the African Union (AU), which is a signatory of the Memorandum of Understanding, are underway.

“Before sending troops into Somalia, we discussed with the AU on the Memorandum of Understanding. The withdrawal from the AMISOM also requires prior discussions with the AU, Burundian citizens and the Burundian parliament,” said Mr Ntahomvukiye.

He added that there are plans of paying Burundian peacekeepers directly to their accounts.

“Since the beginning of peacekeeping missions, no troops have been able to get their wages directly from donors.

“The money goes first to the contributor country and then the country pays its troops. We will not accept a direct payment to Burundian peacekeepers’ accounts,” said Mr Ntahomvukiye.

Meanwhile, Burundian Security Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni told lawmakers that the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is “unfair” with Burundian police officers serving in that mission.

“The MINUSCA, through Parfait Onanga Anyanga who is the Mission chief and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, is unfair with Burundi.

“They do not realise that Burundian peacekeepers are even losing their lives there.

We will pull out our peacekeepers from the Central African Republic if the cooperation with the UN does not improve,” said Bunyoni.

CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY

Following the outbreak of Burundi’s crisis in April 2015 with Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza bidding and winning a controversial third term, some army and police officers were sent to lead peacekeeping missions in Somalia and the Central African Republic, but were rejected for their alleged involvement in violent repression during demonstrations against Nkurunziza’s third term bid.

Meanwhile, a car bomb attack near the parliament building in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu killed at least three people and wounded six others on Saturday, a security official and witnesses said.

“A car bomb rammed into a security checkpoint close to the parliament house. There are casualties both death and injuries, but I cannot give you a specific number now as an emergency operation to assist the wounded and secure the area is underway,” Abdifitah Omar Halane, a spokesman for the Mogadishu regional administration told VOA.

But Aden Mohamed Hassan, a police officer who was among the first responders, said he saw the dead bodies of two soldiers, a suspected suicide bomber and at least six wounded government soldiers.

“The suicide bomber was apparently targeting a security convoy which returned from a routine city night patrol,” Hassan said.

The attack comes as the first members of the Somalia’s upcoming national parliament were elected in Garowe, the provincial capital of Puntland.

No group has immediately claimed the responsibility of the attack, but it has the hallmarks of Al-Shabab, al-Qaida affiliated group.

Al-Shabab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent suicide attacks on hotels, restaurants, government buildings and African union troops.

{Radio signals of RFI and UN radio, Radio Okapi have been interrupted in Kinshasa with some observers pointing accusing f at Congolese authorities.
}

The French radio signal was cut off on Friday evening in Kinshasa while the UN radio signal was interrupted on Saturday morning.

On Sunday, Thomas Lusaka, Minister of telecommunications, information and communication technologies, acknowledged that he is informed about the problem and assured that the regulatory body in charge of posts and telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC) is working on a solution.

To many observers, the interruption of the two radio signals is just an act of censorship on the part of Congolese authorities who have so far not given any genuine reasons for the interruptions.

The twitter page of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights in the DR Congo has denounced the move as a violation of article 19 of the universal declaration of human rights on freedom of expression and the right to information.

{The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, a unit of the UK Metropolitan Police is increasingly growing jittery over the rising cases of car thefts on it soils. The crude nature of how the car jacks are executed has left the International Police with a heavy task of cracking the theft syndicate. Sunday Monitor’s Othman Semakula writes.}

The story of UK stolen luxury cars is an intriguing one. It reads like a script off a Hollywood movie.

It is a tale of a sophisticated ring pitied against a hapless Uganda police holding onto the UK Home Office to investigate suspects.

At the centre of the investigation are four Ugandans suspected to have links with a Kenyan kingpin – Stephen Ruto, 48 – who was last year jailed for running a racket of car jacks inside UK.

Ruto was at the close of last year found guilty by a UK court of organising theft of luxury cars inside UK before they are shipped and sold in East and West Africa with preferred markets in Uganda and Nigeria.

The four, according to the UK Home Office, Interpol and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), are alleged to have planned or acted as agents in spiriting more than 570 luxury cars out of UK between 2009 and 2015.
Moses Esimu, a Kampala businessman, Jaffar Abdallah, the Kampala Modernity managing director and Frank Gilasi, popularly known as Safari of Auto Links in Naguru, are some of the Ugandans under investigation. However, they all deny the accusations.

However, according to the UK Home Office and Interpol, there are important leads connecting them and a number of Ugandans to car jerks within Europe and Asia.

The forth one, whose details have been left out because Interpol has insufficient information about him, is separately being investigated for allegedly falsifying registration plates and a previously stolen car, which after disappearing, was impounded from his bond in 2011.

Details of the car had been posted on the Interpol-run Stolen Motor Vehicle website, which is a key reference for all cars reported stolen in different parts of the world.
Wayne Cooke, the UK National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service spokesperson, in an email recently confirmed the investigation but declined to give details.

He could neither tell when they expect to complete the investigation, because by its nature, the investigation, he said, was protracted and “does not have timelines”.

In an interview recently, director of Interpol Uganda, Asan Kasingye, told Sunday Monitor they are assisting security agencies in UK to bring to book suspected international criminals committing crimes on their soils.

“The ring (car thieves) is sophisticated but they (suspects) shall not defeat us. We don’t care who they are and what connections they have. We shall bring them to book,” he said.

Just like Cooke, Kasingye did not give timelines but said: “We shall give it all the time it needs to build a strong case. We cannot run to prosecute anyone because if we present a weak case they will defeat us. We shall not give international criminals a chance.”

UK through the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, a unit of the UK Metropolitan Police, is increasingly growing jittery over the rising cases of car thefts on it soils.

The concern have, according to Cooke, been drawn by the crude nature of how the car jacks are executed, which include killing victims and the billions of dollars lost by insurance firms.
Mr Neil Thomas, the director of investigative services at APU Limited, UK told Sunday Monitor in an email recently that they have been victims of car jack rackets and feel compelled to assist police in cracking down perpetrators.

{{Taken to car bonds
}}

APU, an asset protection and accident investigation agency in UK, sent Mr Thomas to Kampala to repatriate a luxury Lexus car, which after it was reported stolen, was traced to the Kings Auto car bond in Bunga, Kampala.

The car, which had been fitted with a GPS tracking device, was impounded last year and shipped back to UK in February.