Kenya is moving forward…….never backwards…… Land Grabbing and Decolonization must be fought in all fronts……
Cheers !!!
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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FBI agents, police pursue three theories in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport fire probe
Updated Thursday, August 8th 2013 at 22:07 GMT +3
Senior criminal investigation offi cials scour the scene of Wednesday’s fire Thursday. [PHOTOS: WILBERFORCE OKWIRI/STANDARD]
By CYRUS OMBATI
NAIROBI; KENYA: Detectives probing the Wednesday blaze that brought down the main terminal at Kenya’s biggest airport are not ruling out terrorism or arson, although they say it could have been an accident.
President Kenyatta chaired a meeting of the country’s top security organ to discuss the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ( JKIA) fire tragedy as it emerged investigators were pursuing all three theories.
On Thursday the probe took on an international feel as three FBI agents sent by the US embassy in Nairobi joined the investigating team a day after President Obama called President Kenyatta to offer his government’s support following the fire.
Officially, authorities say it is not yet clear what caused the fire that prompted the closure of the busiest airport in East and Central Africa for most of Wednesday.
Over 200 people, among them 60 Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) workers, have recorded statements as the probe intensifies.
Huge losses
Yesterday, President Kenyatta called a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the tragedy that has occasioned huge economic losses following the disruption to cargo and passenger flights.
Deputy President William Ruto, all heads of the country’s security agencies, and Cabinet Secretaries in charge of Security and Infrastructure attended the meeting at State House, Nairobi. Details of the meeting were scanty, but officials said the crisis at JKIA was extensively discussed and the President briefed on progress in investigations.
At JKIA, head of the ATPU Boniface Mwaniki led the probe as detectives searched for clues in the fire-damaged section of the airport. The FBI agents arrived carrying special equipment to back up their Kenyan counterparts with their expertise, in a joined bid to unearth the cause of the inferno.
The agents took away samples from the scene for further analysis and tests.
Investigators were also reviewing images on the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to examine events before and after the fire broke out, as part of their investigations. It was not immediately clear if the entire sequence of events was captured on the surveillance cameras.
Apart from the ATPU, officers from the Bomb Disposal Unit, Kenya Airports Police Unit, Nairobi County and CID headquarters were helping with the probe.
Personnel from the National Intelligence Service, Kenya Power Company personnel, the City Council of Nairobi Fire Department and investigators from insurance companies were also at the scene.
The detectives have taken over a bar at the airport and turned it into an interrogation room where witnesses are recording statements.
Officials said some of the staff said in their statements that they heard two explosions after smoke started billowing out.
The explosions, according to those who have been questioned, were not very powerful or loud, with suggestions and they may have been caused by air conditioners.
Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau and CID Director Ndegwa Muhoro confirmed the arrival of the FBI agents to assist in the probe.
“We wish to express our appreciation and gratitude for the support we have received from other governments around the world and our development partners,” said Kamau.
On Thursday, controversy raged over where the fire started as witness accounts contradicted the official position that the fire broke out atin the immigration area.
There were suggestions that the huge inferno may have been occasioned by naked electric wires left in one of the 56 shops pulled down by the Government as it ejected duty free shop operators last week.
Insiders and firemen who spoke to The Standard claimed the fire could have been triggered by an electric fault from one of the duty free shops.
“There were some cables that were left naked. The power was cut off in some of the shops and was left on in others. This is exactly what I told the investigation team when they grilled me this morning,” said one of the employees.
But the Government has maintained that the shops were 50 metres away. “The fire came from the immigration section after the bridges, the second desk after immigration which is nearest to unit 1. The duty free shops are more than 50 metres apart and I do not see any relationship between the demolitions and the fire,” Kamau said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, minimal operations resumed at JKIA with the Government indicating they expected full operations by midnight.
The State also opened up the excusive Presidential Pavilion, usually reserved for visiting heads of states, for use by travellers to help ease the crisis. Kamau indicated that full operations would resume at the airport from midnight on Thursday.
“We want to assure all travellers within the country that even though the level of comfort is not what they would expect, we want to reassure them of their security and safety,” he said. Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) confirmed that other international airlines can use JKIA under advice, added Kamau.
National carrier Kenya Airways had already lined up 17 international flights throughout Thursday to various capitals across the globe.
Trans-Nzoia County governor told to stop land grabbing
Updated Thursday, August 8th 2013 at 23:01 GMT +3
BY OSINDE OBARE
Trans-Nzoia County: The business community in Trans-Nzoia County has pressed authorities to repossess 100 acres of grabbed land earmarked for the Kenya Industrial Estate ( KIE).
The Trans-Nzoia Kenya National Commerce and Industry branch said it would institute legal action on behalf of residents to sue people behind the illegal allocation of prime plots in Kitale.
The branch’s Executive Officer Martin Waliaula said the economic activities in the county have grounded because land meant for them has been grabbed.
Speaking in Kitale yesterday, Mr Waliula asked the county leadership led by Governor Patrick Khaemba to reclaim the grabbed land.
“The normal stories that the government is going to recover grabbed land should be made a reality. The rampant grabbing has hampered economic activities. We want all public assets taken by individuals repossessed,” he demanded.
Condemning the grabbing of the KIE land meant for industrialisation programmes, the officials said the Chamber will move to court to revert the land to its intended purpose.
“We cannot allow developers to benefit at the expense of many unemployed youths. We are ready to face these individuals and recover the land,” he said.
He said a survey done by the Chamber had indicated only 15 acres had been spared from the initial parcel reserved for industrialisation purposes.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013
My learned friend Ambrose Otieno Weda posted in his Facebbok Wall about the August calamities in Kenya that I need to share with you. Following the fire breakout at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) he wonders whether this fire is part of August darkness in the history of Kenya.
Jomo Kenyatta died on 22/8/78, the Coup was on 1/8/82, worst terror attack on 7/8/98, Bishop Muge died on 14/8/1992, Wamalwa Kijana died on 23/8/03 and Martin Shikuku died on 22/8/2012.
I need to add here that on the same day in August two years later – 14 August 1992, a prominent opposition leader Masinde Muliro died under mysterious circumstances. American Mill Hill Missionary priest, Fr John Anthony Kaiser also died in August 2000.
On August 27, 2004 Karisa Maitha dies and 22 august 2012 the wife of Michuki dies. On August 3, 2013 senior police officer Chief Inspector Zebedeo Maina, Kitui deputy CID boss gunned down in Kitui.
Maina was shot in the back on Saturday evening as he led a team of officers to rescue a five-and-a-half year old girl in Kitui town.
The girl had been kidnapped from Nairobi.
He was shot near a nightclub in Kitui town and later died in what authorities termed unclear circumstances. Witnesses told the press he was shot by men in a Peugeot station wagon car. It was claimed a woman pointed out Maina before he was shot.
Witnesses said the officer was shot in the back and the bullet tore through his stomach.
The men would later identify themselves as police officers at a nursing home, about 500 metres from the scene of shooting.
The four men, armed with rifles, reportedly asked nurses at Neema Hospital to “treat the suspect they had shot”. The nurses, however, insisted on identification and the men reportedly produced police badges. But as the injured officer was put on a drip, they took him away and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Kitui District Hospital.
The most dreadful moment for Kenya was 7 August 1998 when an innocent looking truck drove up to the then US embassy on Haile Selassie Avenue and stopped. Moments later a powerful bomb went off and with it the lives of over 200 people.
On 13 August 1997 Kenyans received the news of an attack on the police station in the coastal town of Likoni and the killing of a number of policemen sparking a period of mindless political and ethnic blood-letting that left many dead.
August 2000 Kenyans had to grapple with some of the worst railway and road accidents in its history that left a total of nearly 200 people dead. The railway line between Butere and Kisumu had been closed indefinitely as a result of the accident.
On August 12, 1997 the World Bank announced it was withholding the disbursement of $5b in structural adjustment credit to Kenya.
August 1 a small airplane belonging to AIM-Air crashes into a flat in Nairobi’s Highrise estate, while approaching the Wilson Airport, resulting in one fatality.
August 23 a bus and a truck collide near Gilgil, resulting in 16 deaths. August 24 long-distance buses and matatus are banned for entering the Nairobi CBD, in order to reduce traffic congestions.
This brings us to the big question as what is a curse. “Curse”may refer to a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural powers. In many belief systems, the curse itself is considered to have some causative force in the result that calls for rituals or prayers to remove or break. If this is not done the curse will always befall you.
Deuteronomy 28:15-68 spells out why a curse comes about. It comes if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish if you do not repent.
This brings us yet to another big question as to why most calamities take place in August. My take here is that since calamities begun with Jomo Kenyatta, and because he died in August this month is set aside by God to remind Kenyans that the country needs repentance for evil deeds their leaders caused.
Jomo Kenyatta shed innocent blood of Pinto Gama, Tom Mboya and JM Kariuki. God is not only annoyed with people who shed innocent blood, he is also cursing them. That is why after Cain killed his brother Abel, God declared to Cain, “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:11-12).
Deut. 27:24 spells it out very clearly that even if you should never get caught, you and your descendents will be under a curse and will be hunted by others and be killed. This is because the Devil will never leave you and your descendents alone until you repent of your sins and break the curse on the family line. If you or you children sin in this manner later, the curse will return.
When Daniel Moi took over from Kenyatta his government continued with shedding innocent blood. First it begun with the death of Dr Robert Ouko and then the return to multi party politics prior to the 1992 General Elections where non-Kalenjins, particularly Kikuyu communities were killed in Rift Valley for not supporting KANU and Moi.
Huge chunks of the Rift Valley were declared KANU zones, in reference to Moi’s political party. Moi and his cronies went back to parliament unopposed. Among those who formed Youth for Kanu 1992 (YK92) that helped Moi capture the seat is Deputy President William Ruto.
It was not only the Kikuyu who were affected but large numbers of Luo, Luhya, Kamba and Kisii. Non-Kalenjin tribes in the Rift Valley were refered to as, “madoa doa,” meaning, “specks of dirt.” The Rift Valley is also home to the Pokot and Maasai tribes whose politicians were drawn into the Moi alliance, called KAMATUSA.
Consequently, Kikuyu, Luo and Luhya settlers were evicted from Pokot and Maasai areas especially around Narok, Enoosupukia and Kapenguria. As a result of the ethnic chaos, Moi won the 1992 elections with 36 percent of the vote.
Five years later, there were politically motivated ethnic clashes prior to and after the 1997 General Elections. This time, the flash points were not only the Rift Valley, but also the Coast.
Evidence was produced in the Akiwumi Commission of Inquiry implicating senior politicians in the Moi government and KANU party. An Asian farmer in Kwale District alleged that prior to the Likoni violence, his land was used to oath local youths but his reports to the police were ignored.
After Moi then came Mwai Kibaki with similar problem of shedding blood of innocent Kenyan beginning immediately with that of Dr Crispin Odhiambo Mbai. The killers attempted to destroy his legacy and the fruits of his labour.
Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai was the architect of devolution. He made the most significant single contribution in explaining this concept to politicians, intellectuals and ordinary citizens alike.
After Kibaki here comes Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. Together with his Deputy William Ruto they are accused of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution during post-election violence in 2008.
Prosecution said Uhur met members of a outlawed criminal organization known as Mungiki at State House and Yaya shopping centre in Nairobi before and after the election in 2007 to arrange some of the retaliatory attacks.
Although he denied the accusation at a preliminary hearing at The Hague-based court last September, the big question is-when will Kenyan leaders stop innocent blood in Kenya? And will they accept the sins they have committed so as to repent?
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
Residents of Kisumu County and teachers risk loosing millions of shillings on pieces of land they are thinking that they have comfortably bought as it emerges that they were sold hot air by the Vice Chairman of Mwalimu Sacco Solomon Amute who operates a parallel society called Nyando Development Group which he claims is associated with Mwalimu Sacco.
Several unsuspecting members of the public who are not members of the society and who have bought parcels of land through the society are now coming to terms with the fact that they were indeed duped by companies which operate on a parallel basis with the body.
Kisumu Mwalimu SACCO chairman Mr Daniel Omoto who was shocked condemned the scam among some of his officials and says the police have been harassing him with arrests with aview of getting money from him yet he has all along said that Amute is the culprit.
“At a certain point Kisumu DCIO Henry Ndombi demanded half a million shillings from me to drop the fictitious charges they had wanted to trump on me, but I gave them all documents showing how my two officials Sande Ochieng and Amute are obtaining money from unsuspecting people through false pretence but they never did anything “Omoto lamented.
He says that Kisumu police knows what is happening as he says they have never taken any action against anyone including his officials whom he has personally lodged complaints about and recorded even a statement.. Omoto said that he is not aware of the existence Nyando Development Group (NDG) which purports to give out parcels of land on behalf of his organization and anyone who paid money to the said should either report to the police or count his money lost.
He was reacting to complaints from the public that some officials have duped members of the public under the guise of giving them parcels of lands at Kogony/kanyakwar which turned out to be non existent.
Omotto said he not aware of a subsidiary company within Mwalimu SACCO which gives out parcels of lands to members who are not teachers in Kisumu.
Amute while conducted blamed Omoto for witchunt saying Omotto is envious of his material achievements.
“He (Omoto)is not happy that I have build a house, bought car and I presently operate from town to my working station in Awasi” he said Omoto said the issue of the Nyando development group will be tabled in his next meting where action will be taken against the concerned officials.
A prospective buyer last used the services of private security to get back his money totaling to some 700,000/- after being duped by some Mwalimu SACCO officials where he could not trace a parcel of land bought at Kogony/Kanyakwar area.
The victim ended up a swampy area in Kogony while tracing the said parcel.
Outgoing Nyanza PCIO Mr Joseph Mugwanja last year launched a probe into such claims where some 32 parcels of lands were in dispute at Kogony,Dago and Kanyakwar.
Kisumu district lands registrar Mr George Gachihi has confirmed that there exists a cartel in his office where members of the public are duped.
Officials of the Kenya National Highway Construction Authority last week gave members of the public who have encroached into its road reserves to vacate those areas before structures there are pulled down.
The said Amute is regular patron at Victoria Hotel based near kwala Supermarket where he spends the whole day transacting his businesses at the expense of teaching as he is an employee of TSC.
While I condemn the behiviour of marrying underage young girls, the panishment proposed here is harsher than can imagined.
Je, huyu Gavana, ametumwa? To me, it is associated to the “Cut”‘ Couldnt he look for another way for punishment???…..Hapa niko na tashwishi……..iko nyama…….lazima hii maneno ichunguzwe… Are the Chinese contract for harvesting in the “Cut” still valid in Luo Nyanza??? I mean, are these cutters still going to the villages tu cut in the wee of darkness……..I think this Gavana need to be serious…….I am being troubled……… Mali ya Mungu need peace.
This thing about looking for punishment as damage control in the wrong sector of industrial department is bothering me……
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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Kisumu County: Men who marry underage girls to be castrated
Written by KNU Reporter
Published inGovernor News Saturday, 03 August 2013 09:59
Men marrying underage children in Kisumu County may be in danger once new by-laws come into effect.
They are even suggestions they should be castrated as a punishment for marrying a child who should be in school instead of taking care of a grown man as a husband.
A Kisumu County assembly member took a child abuse debate too far when debating on a motion seeking to come up with stringent by-laws that protect children’s rights.
County assembly member for West Seme Benta Ndeda stood up to raise a proposal that stunned many of her counterparts.
Ms Ndeda claimed she was disappointed with many elderly men who force underage girls into their homes.
She said this stopped many of the girls continuing with their education.
The matter and the ‘harsh’ measure of castrating law breakers, however, was not taken well by her male counterparts.
“It is so painful that many young girls are taken and forced into marriage by men who should be castrated as punishment,” said Ndeda.
In many countries in the world, castration has been a common procedure in dealing with sex offenders.
– See more at:
http://kenyanewsupdates.com/county-news/governor-news/item/732-kisumu-county-men-who-marry-underage-girls-to-be-castrated.html#sthash.iWcveQa5.dpuf
YouTube videos of
U.S. Congress money laundering hearing
of Saudi Billionaire ” Maan Al sanea”
with bank of America
and The owner of Saad Hospital and Schools
in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia
and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Awal Bank in Bahrain
We must be keepers of our brothers and sister. We must moan with them when they moan, laugh with them with they laugh. We must share situation of life together and this is how we shall build the world to be a better place for all of us.
You made very important points and I agree with you that, Museveni is the plague evoking bad spirit to assault neighbouring peaceful Nations in the great lakes of East Africa. Joined with his friend President Kagame of Rwanda who they share bad behavior where, without empathy or shame, they have caused untold sufferings, loss of lives pain and suffering to the people of East Africa.
With the help of Uganda’s Museveni brother Salim Saleh who is of Somali origin, they introduced private armies and staged them strategically at the neighboring boarders,organized and train Rebel Groups with mercineries ready to ambush and attack in assault and provoke people to war. Acting as aggressors, they instigate and provoke people to war. They use foreign NGOs with some corrupt UN peacekeepers stationed in Africa and as well as they corrupt European Envoys who engage corrupt politicians to steal mineral with other natural resources including oil and gas from Africa where they promote corruption with impunity of high level in offshore trading; and avoid paying taxes.
With this kind of business, they destroy African youths who are enticed to join gang groups for hire in the Rebel for private army and in the mercenaries that plague the havoc of instability in Africa. To an extent, they promoted pirating, drug peddling, trafficking of arm with other sophisticated weaponry, environmental pollution, foreign currency trafficking, child abuse with prostitution trafficking, including injustices that are illegal in nature and that are against the International Treaty and as well are constitutionally unacceptable.
These are reasons why the whole world must stand together against this kind of Human Rights crimes, violation and abuse and protest by demanding equal justice for all.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon made a serious mistake to halt Congo Army to advance attack on the M23 adversary who attacked to overthrow Congo Government and in the event raped and killed innocent people with many children and women; on the other part, when Goma was invaded through fierce attack by M23 the UN simply watched and M23 captured Goma for 10 days and he did nothing…….did not even charge the M23 aggressors……….and today, he is again giving M23 protection cover…..???? This, we people of African Descent will not allow or take it lying down.
Resolution passed for Congo on July 22nd is not favorable on the side of DRC Congo against M23 invasion is not favorable at all.
We demand that UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon stand down and relieve himself from occupying peoples’ public office in the United Nations immediately so he can be charged with like minded in the ICC Hague………
I am going after UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon and I need all good people of the world to give me support in moral, financial and physical to charge Ban-Ki-Moon with his contemporaries network of special business interest who together inflicted great loss on African livelihood and survival; in such as land grabbing, environmental pollution that caused bad health to people and from industrial mismanagement causing poor climatic conditions with destruction of nature, pain and suffering with extension to human rights crimes, violations and abuse in the adversity of injustices against Africans of all walks of life.
I am going after Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon to answer why he has acted in biasness and against his oath of office to be fair and protect all people the same under legal compliance of the creation of United Nations including the observance of the International Treaty…..thus, causing and failing to provide the sustainable development……. In reverse, UN provided ways and means for killing, looting and stealing Africa peoples’s future, wealth and Natural resource through expounding corruption and impunity and altogether destroyed Livelihood and survival of people of Africa.
The recommendations levelled on the part of Congo Government Army is very unfair. It cannot hold any water against instigation of Kagame and Museveni with invasion of the M23. This is why Congo People are rebelling against United Naions Peacekeeping in Congo………let us be realistic and face true justice…….
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com
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From: Maurice Oduor
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 5:44 AM
Subject: It is time Kagame and Museveni take back their Rebel Groups out of Congo
Judy thura,
These people have managed to deflect the discussion from the very important point you were trying to make about Kagame and Museveni interfering in Congo. This is unfair. I think my good buddy Mobhare Matinyi of Tanzania is the one who started it all. I don’t know how such things have a tendency to take a life of their own. Mtume !!!!! I don’t know the best way to manage such situations so that the main point of discussion is not sidelined.
But let me say here that I support the initiative you’re undertaking to sensitize people about what’s going on in Congo DRC. Uganda and Rwanda should simply mind their own business and get their M23 and other rebel groups out of the Congo. It’s unfair for these 2 countries to destabilize the whole region just so they can get their hands on the minerals in the Congo. Tanzania pays the biggest price in this situation because all the Congo refugees end up in Tanzania.
Museveni has in the past come out very strongly against the ICC and this is the reason why. He does not want to be a Charles Taylor who was shipped to the Hague for sponsoring rebels to torture people in Sierra Leone. He has managed to outwit Kenya on Migingo Island and is now thirsty for the Congo minerals. That should not be allowed to continue. I don’t know the American position on this. Are they with Museveni and Kagame or are they supporting Kabila and the Congolese?
One way or the other, the world should be outraged about what’s going on in the Congo and as a first step, Uganda and Rwanda should get their rebels out of the Congo. Really.
Courage,
Oduor Maurice wod Ugenya Ukwala
Rebels with a Cause Slam Corporate Greed
Published on Jul 22, 2013
Two new films focus on fringe groups who take social justice into their own hands. With a tongue-in-cheek approach, the films “The East” and “Now You See Me” offer 21st century Robin Hood-type plots where young vigilantes target corporate greed. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.
DR Congo: M23 Rebels Kill, Rape Civilians
New Evidence of Rwandan Support for M23
July 22, 2013
[image] M23 rebels take position near the town of Mutaho, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on May 27, 2013.
Not only is Rwanda allowing its territory to be used by the abusive M23 to get recruits and equipment, but the Rwandan military is still directly supporting the M23. This support is sustaining an armed group responsible for numerous killings, rapes and other serious abuses.
Daniel Bekele, Africa director
(Goma) – M23 rebels have summarily executed at least 44 people and raped at least 61 women and girls since March 2013 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Local residents and rebel deserters reported recent forced recruitment of men and boys by the M23 in both Rwanda and Congo.
After a nearly two-month-long ceasefire, fighting resumed on July 14 between the Congolese armed forces and M23 rebels near the eastern city of Goma.
Residents and rebel deserters described recent support from within Rwanda to the abusive M23 forces. This includes regular movements from Rwanda into Congo of men in Rwandan army uniforms, and the provision of ammunition, food, and other supplies from Rwanda to the M23. The M23 has been recruiting inside Rwanda. Rwandan military officers have trained new M23 recruits, and have communicated and met with M23 leaders on several occasions.
“Not only is Rwanda allowing its territory to be used by the abusive M23 to get recruits and equipment, but the Rwandan military is still directly supporting the M23,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This support is sustaining an armed group responsible for numerous killings, rapes and other serious abuses.”
The latest Human Rights Watch findings are based on more than 100 interviews since March, including with former M23 fighters who left the movement between late March and July and civilians living near the Congo-Rwanda border, some of whom were victims of abuses.
In addition to M23 abuses, Human Rights Watch documented several cases of killings and rapes by Congolese Hutu militia groups operating in and around M23-controlled territory. Some Congolese army officers have allegedly supported factions of these groups, as well as factions of the allied Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a largely Rwandan Hutu armed group, some of whose members participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Since its inception in April 2012, the M23 has committed widespread violations of the laws of war. Despite numerous war crimes by M23 fighters, the armed group has received significant support from Rwandan military officials. After briefly occupying Goma in November, then withdrawing on December 1, the M23 controls much of Congo’s Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories, bordering Rwanda.
On April 25 and 26, M23 fighters killed 15 ethnic Hutu civilians in several villages in Busanza groupement in Rutshuru territory, and at least another 6 in mid-June, in an apparent attempt to “punish” villagers for alleged collaboration with Congolese Hutu militias.
Other civilians killed by M23 fighters since March include a 62-year-old man who was shot dead because he refused to hand his sons over to the M23, a motorcycle driver who refused to give money to the M23, M23 recruits who were caught after trying to escape, and others accused of collaborating with Hutu militia.
On July 5, four M23 fighters gang-raped a 12-year-old girl as she went to fetch water in her village in Rutshuru. An M23 fighter who accosted an 18-year-old woman near Bunagana shot her in the leg on April 15 when she refused to have sex with him.
Since June, M23 leaders have forced local chiefs in areas under their control to undergo military and ideological training and obtain recruits for the M23. The M23 considers these chiefs to be part of their “reserve force” that can be called upon to provide support during military operations.
M23 fighters have arrested or abducted dozens of civilians in recent weeks in Rutshuru, most of them Hutu. The M23 accused many of them of collaborating with the FDLR or allied Congolese Hutu militias. M23 fighters beat them severely, tied them up, and detained them. The M23 then forced many of them to undergo military training and become M23 fighters.
A former M23 police officer, who deserted in April, told Human Rights Watch that he participated in investigations of killings of civilians. He said that before each investigation, a high-ranking M23 commander, Innocent Kayna, told him: “You will do the investigation. You will say it’s bandits in the neighborhood who killed, not M23.”
Human Rights Watch contacted the M23’s military leader, Sultani Makenga, but he was unavailable to speak about the recent alleged abuses.
Those recruited in Rwanda into the M23 include demobilized Rwandan army soldiers and former FDLR fighters, most of whom had become part of the Rwandan army’s Reserve Force, as well as Rwandan civilians. A 15-year-old Rwandan boy told Human Rights Watch that he and three other young men and boys were promised jobs as cow herders in Congo, but when they got to Congo were forced to join the M23. They were given military training by Rwandan officers in Congo and told they would be killed if they tried to escape. Other M23 deserters also said Rwandan officers were training new M23 recruits.
Former M23 officers who had been part of previous Rwanda-backed rebellions said they recognized officers serving with the M23 who they knew were members of the Rwandan army. Congolese deserters told Human Rights Watch that a number of M23 fighters admitted freely that they were Rwandan. Some said they had served in the Rwandan army’s peacekeeping contingent in Somalia or Darfur.
Recent M23 deserters interviewed by Human Rights Watch described frequent – in some cases weekly – arrivals of soldiers and recruits from Rwanda. Sometimes these were rotations, with new soldiers replacing others who had returned to Rwanda. Weapons, ammunition, large containers of milk, truckloads of rice, and other supplies were brought to the M23 from Rwanda. M23 deserters also described phone conversations and meetings in both Rwanda and Congo between senior M23 leaders and people the deserters were told or knew to be Rwandan officials.
All of the recent M23 deserters interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that Rwandan soldiers, officers, and trainers were present throughout their time with the M23, and that there had been new arrivals from Rwanda in recent months.
“For the past 17 years, the Rwandan army has repeatedly deployed troops to eastern Congo and backed abusive proxy forces responsible for war crimes,” Bekele said. “As in the past, Rwanda denies it’s supporting the M23, but the facts on the ground speak for themselves.”
Rwandan government and military officials did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s requests for a meeting. Rwandan officials in the past have repeatedly denied allegations that the government is providing support to the M23.
The Rwandan government should immediately halt all support to the M23 because of its broadly abusive behavior, Human Rights Watch said. The United Nations and United States special envoys for the Great Lakes region and donor governments should publicly denounce continuing Rwandan support to the M23 and call for sanctions against senior Rwandan officials responsible for backing the armed group.
The Congolese government should immediately suspend, investigate, and prosecute as appropriate Congolese military officers and government officials who have provided support to the FDLR or allied groups. The government should make clear that abusive militia commanders will not be integrated into Congo’s army as part of any political settlement.
According to international journalists present near the front line and photographs seen by Human Rights Watch, Congolese army soldiers treated the corpses of M23 fighters killed in combat on July 16 in a degrading manner, stripping them, making ethnic slurs, and prodding their genitals with weapons. International law prohibits “committing outrages upon personal dignity,” including against the dead. Human Rights Watch also documented cases in which the Congolese army detained former M23 fighters and alleged collaborators for several weeks without bringing them before a court, and often incommunicado and in harsh conditions.
Congolese military officials should appropriately discipline officers and soldiers responsible for mistreating corpses, and ensure that such acts cease immediately. Military and judicial officials should ensure that captured combatants and civilians are treated in accordance with due process standards, including being promptly brought before a judge and charged, or released. Detainees should not be mistreated or held in inhumane conditions.
Summary Executions and Other Attacks by the M23Human Rights Watch has documented 44 summary executions committed by the M23 since March. M23 fighters have also killed and wounded an unknown number of civilians, including some caught in the crossfire during fighting.
M23 fighters killed 15 Hutu civilians in several villages in Busanza groupement in Rutshuru territory on April 25 and 26, and at least another 6 in mid-June, in an apparent attempt to “punish” villagers for alleged collaboration with Congolese Hutu militias.During the attack on the night of April 25, a group of M23 fighters moved through the villages of Ruvumbura, Kirambo, Nyamagana, and Shinda, killing and looting as they went. A 43-year-old mother of three told Human Rights Watch: “When they started killing people, we scattered into the bush. My husband went back to try to get our belongings, and they killed him. They shot him in the head.”
In late May, M23 fighters shot dead a 62-year-old man in Ntamugenga because he refused to hand his sons over to the M23. On May 15, M23 fighters stopped a motorcycle driver outside Kiwanja and killed him because he did not give them money. In mid-June, M23 fighters shot a moneychanger several times in the chest, killing him. They then told his wife, “Give us money or we’ll do to you what we did to your husband.” She handed over their money, and the fighters left.
In Kibumba in mid-May, an M23 officer, Col. Yusuf Mboneza, ordered the execution of a 24-year-old man whom he accused of being a thief. After the execution, Mboneza called the villagers to a meeting and displayed the young man’s corpse, saying it should serve as a warning to anyone else who might steal.
Others summarily executed by the M23 since March were new recruits and prisoners who unsuccessfully tried to escape.
On June 21, the M23 caught a Congolese M23 fighter known as “Tupac” as he tried to flee near Kabuhanga. They took him back to the military camp at Kamahoro, where the commander ordered the troops into formation and told soldiers to shoot him to discourage other deserters. They shot Tupac twice in the chest at close range. An M23 deserter told Human Rights Watch that he and other recruits were forced to bury Tupac.
After a clash between the M23 and a Congolese Hutu militia group on June 18, M23 fighters looted several villages in Busanza. The fighters demanded money from a 33-year-old woman. When she said she had no money, the fighters cut her on the shoulder with a machete and struck her 11-year-old son on the head. On April 15, an 18-year-old woman was shot in the leg when she refused to have sex with an M23 fighter who approached her at her farm near Bunagana. The victims of these attacks survived with serious injuries.
Rape by the M23Human Rights Watch has documented 61 cases of rape of women and girls by M23 fighters between March and early July. Because of the stigma surrounding rape and fear of reprisals, the actual number of victims may be much higher. Many of those raped were in their fields or collecting firewood. M23 fighters accused some of them of being the “wives” of FDLR fighters. Most of the rapes occurred close to M23 positions, and some victims recognized the attackers as M23 fighters they had seen before. The rapists frequently told their victims that they would be killed if they spoke about the rape or sought medical treatment.
A 12-year-old girl told Human Rights Watch that an M23 fighter caught and raped her in June as she and her friends were buying sugar cane in a field near an M23 position in Rutshuru:
I saw a [M23] soldier. I started running, but I tripped on a piece of sugar cane and fell. The soldier caught up with me and said he would kill me because I tried to flee. I stopped then because I was very scared. Then he raped me. I cried out, but he closed my mouth.
A 17-year-old girl said M23 fighters had raped her twice. The second time, in June, occurred when she was alone in her house after M23 police abducted her husband and forced him to join a night patrol:
The M23 fighter came into my house and asked me where my husband was. He then put a knife to my chest and said he was going to kill me, and that I should give him money. I told him I didn’t have any money, that my husband took it with him on patrol. I was sitting on the bed with my child. The soldier fought with me on the bed. He was stronger than me and he had a gun. Then he raped me.
A 35-year-old Hutu woman who was raped by an M23 fighter near Bunagana in June told Human Rights Watch:
When he finished, he left me in the forest. I was shaking and turned toward the ground, crying.… The one who raped me was an M23 fighter whom I know. I recognized him, but what can I do to him?
Forced Recruitment, Including of Children, and Abductions by the M23Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of forced recruitment by M23 forces since March, including of children. Recruitment appears to have increased in recent months as the M23 has struggled to keep its forces’ numbers up. Over 700 M23 fighters and political cadres fled to Rwanda when Bosco Ntaganda’s faction of the M23 was defeated by an M23 faction led by Makenga in March, an estimated 200 M23 fighters were killed during the infighting, and scores of fighters have deserted.
Since June, the M23 leadership has held several meetings with local chiefs and other community leaders and demanded their help in recruiting new fighters. In early June, the M23 forced local leaders and chiefs to attend a week-long military training conducted by Rwandan officers. They also received “ideological training,” which included the M23’s vision for taking over Congo.
The chiefs were released but are supposed to form part of a “reserve force” that can be called upon when necessary. The M23 ordered them to find recruits in their villages and send them to the M23. One local leader who participated in the training told Human Rights Watch that they had been told to give M23 officials the names of demobilized youth in their villages, so that the M23 “could then go themselves, find the demobilized youth, and make sure they joined up.”
The M23 have arrested Hutu civilians whom they accused of collaborating with or supporting the FDLR or Congolese Hutu militia groups. The fighters detained, beat and whipped these civilians, and took many of them to an M23 military camp, where they were trained and forced to become M23 fighters.
A 19-year-old secondary school student told Human Rights Watch that he was recruited by the M23 in March while he was farming near Kalengera, in Rutshuru:
I saw the M23 come and surround me. They asked me if I was an FDLR, and I said no. After that, they started whipping and beating me. They tied me up and took me to Rumangabo, where they locked me in a cell. After two days, they untied me, but left me in the cell for a week. After, they told me I would become a soldier. They then started the military training. There were 80 of us being trained. There were 10 officers from Rwanda who led the training. They told us we had to become soldiers so we could fight to liberate Goma and then continue on to South Kivu.
On June 3, the M23 went from house to house in Kiwanja’s Kachemu neighborhood, apprehending about 40 young men and boys whom they accused of collaborating with a local militia group. The fighters beat the civilians and detained them in a cell at the M23’s base in Nyongera. Many had difficulty walking the next day as a result of the ill-treatment. About half of the youth were released after their families paid the M23 guards; 20 were taken to Rumangabo to be trained as fighters.
In other cases, families do not know what happened to abducted relatives. In March and April, for example, M23 fighters in Busanza abducted four young men whom they accused of collaborating with a Congolese Hutu militia. Their families have not heard from them since.
Congolese army soldiers captured by M23 fighters described torture and other ill-treatment in detention. One soldier, who was taken by the M23 in December and escaped in early July, said that two other soldiers held prisoner with him were beaten to death. For three days, the rebels hit the prisoners with sticks and stomped on their chests, while their legs and arms were tied together. While beating them, the M23 demanded information about where the Congolese army was hiding its weapons. The two men were not given medical treatment and died in detention.
M23 Recruitment in Rwanda and Other Rwandan Support
Based on interviews with 31 former M23 fighters who deserted since late March and numerous civilians living on both sides of the border, Human Rights Watch has documented military support from Rwanda to the M23. The support includes the provision of weapons and ammunition. Armed men in military uniform have moved regularly from Rwanda into Congo to support the M23; these could be new recruits and demobilized soldiers who were given uniforms before crossing into Congo, or serving Rwandan soldiers.Rwandan army officers have been seen at M23 bases, leading training for new recruits, and recruiting for the M23 in Rwanda.
Those recruited in Rwanda and taken across the border to fight with the M23 include demobilized Rwandan soldiers and former FDLR fighters who are part of the Rwandan army’s Reserve Force, as well as civilians, including boys. Between January and June, UN peacekeepers demobilized and repatriated 56 former M23 fighters who said they were Rwandan nationals. But M23 deserters interviewed by Human Rights Watch, as well as the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo, said that Rwandan army officers forcibly brought back Rwandan nationals who escaped the M23 and tried to return to Rwanda.
Human Rights Watch has documented the cases of seven Rwandan children, ages 15, 16, and 17, who were forcibly recruited in Rwanda in March and April, forced to fight with the M23, and were later able to escape. Human Rights Watch has received reports of other children recruited in Rwanda in recent months who have not been able to escape.
A 15-year-old Rwandan boy told Human Rights Watch that he was forcibly recruited from his village in Nyabihu district in Rwanda with two other boys and a young man in late April. The four of them were making bricks when two men in civilian clothes offered them jobs as cow herders in Congo. The two men then took them by motorcycle to the Congolese border, and on to an M23 military camp. They were forced to become M23 fighters and were warned that they would be killed if they refused or tried to escape.
The 15-year-old said that Rwandan army officers gave them military training for 10 days and that many other Rwandans were in his group of 58 new recruits. He said some of the Rwandan recruits tried to escape, but they were caught and brought back to the camp.
A Congolese M23 officer who deserted in late May told Human Rights Watch that Rwandan recruits and soldiers arrived regularly throughout his time with the M23, from November through May. He said the soldiers would come and go, as they rotated in and out. The recruits were given military training and forced to stay in Congo. Many tried to flee back to Rwanda, he said, but some were caught once they crossed into Rwanda and were taken back to the M23.
One deserter told Human Rights Watch that a Rwandan soldier in his unit had told him in April that he was a demobilized soldier and had come to fight in Congo so he could have a higher rank in the Rwandan army when he went back. He said that two other Rwandans in his unit had escaped to Rwanda in March, but had been re-recruited and brought back to the M23. A former M23 officer said that two Rwandans in his unit escaped in mid-April. Soon after they arrived in Rwanda, the former officer said, neighborhood authorities informed military intelligence officials, who brought the young men back to the M23. They were detained by the M23 for a week, then redeployed.
M23 deserters and Rwandan villagers said that Rwandan soldiers and new recruits often crossed the border on foot at night, using remote trails through Virunga National Park.
Two former M23 officers told Human Rights Watch that some of the Rwandan fighters in their units told them they had served in Somalia or Darfur as part of the Rwandan army’s peacekeeping contingent. Several M23 deserters interviewed by Human Rights Watch, who had served in previous Rwanda-backed rebellions, said they recognized Rwandan army officers from their past experiences with the Rwandan military.
A Congolese man from Ntamugenga was forcibly recruited in May and forced to start military training. “In our group, there were 107 in the training,” he said. “Most of the others were Rwandans. They told me they had been tricked and were promised money if they came to Congo. Many of them were children. The army officers from Rwanda gave us the training, and they told us themselves that they lived in Rwanda. [After the training], there were demobilized soldiers from Rwanda and some ex-FDLR in my group.”
Several M23 deserters who escaped since late May described to Human Rights Watch the difference in the way the M23 treated Rwandans and Congolese within the rebel movement. One said:
Rwandans are favored. They’re given uniforms immediately, they’re given blankets, and they get boots. They’re spoiled. When they talk, they talk like they are the owners of the movement. I felt this threat. [They] called me a loser. They said, “You are worth nothing in your country.” They insulted me with things that you can’t say out loud. They said, “You Congolese, you may have studied a lot, but you’ve never been to the front.”
M23 deserters described deliveries of weapons, ammunition, food, phone credit, and other supplies from Rwanda. One former officer said that the wives of Rwandan officers often came to the M23’s positions in Congo to visit their husbands, bringing with them letters from family members in Rwanda.
All of the M23 deserters Human Rights Watch interviewed said the presence of Rwandan soldiers, officers, and trainers continued throughout their time with the M23, and that new arrivals – often bringing with them military and other supplies – continued coming from Rwanda in recent months.
Three former M23 officers close to the movement’s leadership told Human Rights Watch that the M23’s senior commanders spoke on the phone and met regularly with senior Rwandan army officers until at least late May or June, when the three deserted. Sometimes Rwandan officers came to Tshanzu or Rumangabo to meet with the M23 leaders, and sometimes the M23 leaders went to Rwanda for meetings.
Rwandan Support for M23 Military Operations
M23 deserters and civilians from near the Congo-Rwanda border reported an increase in support from Rwanda to the M23 at the time of three recent periods of heavy fighting – during infighting between two M23 factions in March; during fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army around Mutaho in late May; and before the fighting north of Goma in mid-July.
After the M23 split into two factions, Rwandan officials backed the faction led by Sultani Makenga against Bosco Ntaganda. A former M23 officer in Makenga’s faction told Human Rights Watch: “We were saved by Rwanda, and it’s thanks to their support that we were able to defeat Ntaganda’s group. They sent us ammunition and well-armed troops.”
Days before the fighting in Mutaho in late May, a young Congolese man told Human Rights Watch that M23 fighters abducted him in Kibumba groupement in mid-May. The fighters took him across the border into Rwanda, where they met a group of Rwandan soldiers. He and others with him were forced to carry containers of milk and boxes of ammunition and walk with the soldiers and rebel fighters back into Congo.
A 19-year-old Congolese student who was forcibly recruited by the M23 in March told Human Rights Watch that he and other M23 fighters were taken across the border into Rwanda in mid-May to pick up a delivery of weapons and ammunition and bring them back to the M23. They crossed into Rwanda at Gasizi and the following morning carried the weapons and ammunition to Kibumba in Congo. “The weapons were in two trucks,” he said. “We unloaded small bombs, machine guns, cartridges, and rocket launchers. Other Rwandans met us [in Gasizi] to help us carry the weapons back to Kibumba.”
Numerous local residents who were at or near the border between May 19 and 23 told Human Rights Watch that they saw groups of armed men in uniform crossing the border from Rwanda into Congo, including at Kasizi, Kabuhanga, and Hehu hill.
On May 20, for example, a teacher in Kasizi, who lives next to the border, saw three trucks arrive at the border at about 5 p.m. A large number of armed men in Rwandan military uniforms with Rwandan flags on their uniforms got out of the trucks and crossed the border into Congo on foot, through the forest, just to the side of the official border crossing.
On May 21, a local resident told Human Rights Watch, he saw at least several dozen soldiers with Rwandan flags on the shoulders of their uniforms by the Ruhunda market in Kibumba at about 11 a.m., walking in single file. They had weapons and some were carrying boxes. Some who appeared to be of a higher rank carried walkie-talkies.
Human Rights Watch also received reports of increased movements of armed men from Rwanda into Congo in the days leading up to the fighting that broke out on July 14.
A farmer told Human Rights Watch that on the evening of July 10 he was visiting a relative who lives next to the Rwanda border in Kibumba groupement when he heard the sound of vehicles, looked out the window, and saw armed men in uniform going from the border toward Kibumba. Some were on foot and others in vehicles.
A farmer who lives on the Rwandan side of the border said he saw similar movements of trucks between July 7 and 11, in the evenings, bringing soldiers to the Rwandan army military position at Njerima. The men got out of the trucks at the border and crossed into Congo on foot.
Another Rwandan civilian who lives near the border, in Rubavu sector, told Human Rights Watch that Rwandan army officers called him and other local residents to a meeting in early July. A Rwandan army captain leading the meeting told those present that the FDLR was close to the border. “Instead of letting the war come to Rwanda,” he said. “We will go to the other side.”
Four days later, the same Rwandan civilian saw hundreds of Rwandan soldiers cross the border into Congo, carrying heavy weaponry. “Some had heavy guns, the kind that break down and three men each take one section,” he said. “Others were carrying mortars. Most of the men were on foot, but they also used two trucks covered with sheeting.”
This man said he saw another large movement of Rwandan soldiers cross into Congo on July 8, a week before fighting broke out between the M23 and the Congolese army. During the following week, he saw smaller groups of soldiers cross into Congo.
A Rwandan farmer who lives near Kabuhanga village said he saw groups of several dozen Rwandan army soldiers cross into Congo between June 20 and June 30. He also saw a larger group cross on July 12, two days before fighting broke out.
Abuses by Hutu Militia with Support from Congolese Military Personnel
The M23’s control of territory weakened following the infighting between two M23 factions in March. Since then, Congolese Hutu armed groups, including the Popular Movement for Self-Defense (Mouvement populaire d’autodéfense or MPA), have carried out attacks in and around M23-controlled territory, and killed and raped several civilians. UN officials and former Hutu militia fighters told Human Rights Watch that some factions of these groups have received support from Congolese military personnel.
A 16-year-old girl told Human Rights Watch that on June 17, she, two other girls and an older woman who were coming home from their farm in Rutshuru were gang-raped by several Hutu militia fighters. In June, MPA fighters killed the local chief in Buchuzi, in Busanza groupement, as well as two M23 policemen. The fighters accused the chief of recruiting members for the M23. The attack followed a clash on June 6, when M23 fighters attacked the MPA and looted 12 houses and took dozens of goats.
Some of these Congolese Hutu groups are allied with the FDLR, which has long carried out horrific abuses against civilians in eastern Congo, including killings and rapes. Sources interviewed by the UN Group of Experts, cited in the group’s leaked interim report in June, said that Congolese army soldiers have supplied ammunition to the FDLR and that local Congolese army officers operating near M23-controlled territory and FDLR commanders “regularly meet and exchange operational information.”
Background on the M23 and Recent FightingThe M23 was formed in April 2012 after a mutiny by former members of a previous Rwanda-backed rebellion, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), whose members had integrated into the Congolese armed forces in 2009. With significant support from the Rwandan military, the M23 gained control of much of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories in Congo’s North Kivu province. In late November, the M23 seized the main eastern city of Goma, again with significant Rwandan military support. The M23 withdrew from Goma on December 1, when the Congolese government agreed to peace talks.
On February 24, 11 African countries signed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region in Addis-Ababa, under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The signatories – including Congo and Rwanda – agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries; not to tolerate or provide support of any kind to armed groups; neither to harbor nor provide protection of any kind to anyone accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide or crimes of aggression, or anyone falling under the UN sanctions regime; and to cooperate with regional justice initiatives. The former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, was appointed UN special envoy for the Great Lakes Region to support implementation of the Framework Agreement.
On March 18, Ntaganda, one of the M23’s leaders, surrendered to the US embassy in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, following his defeat during infighting between two M23 factions. He was transferred to The Hague, where he is to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Over 700 M23 fighters and political leaders loyal to Ntaganda also fled to Rwanda, including four people on UN and US sanctions lists: Innocent Zimurinda, Baudouin Ngaruye, Eric Badege, and Jean-Marie Runiga.
Zimurinda and Ngaruye have been implicated in ethnic massacres, rape, torture, and child recruitment. They should not be shielded from justice but instead arrested and prosecuted without delay, Human Rights Watch said.
Makenga and Kayna (known as “India Queen”), who are still in Congo, are also on UN and US sanctions lists and are wanted on Congolese arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Talks in Kampala, Uganda between the Congolese government and the M23 have made little progress. The Congolese government has insisted that it will not integrate into its forces or reward people implicated in serious human rights abuses, including those who are on UN sanctions lists. Providing official positions to human rights abusers can encourage future human rights violations and is an affront to victims of past abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
After the M23 withdrew from Goma in December, a ceasefire had largely held between the M23 and the Congolese army until heavy fighting broke out around Mutaho, eight kilometers northwest of Goma, on May 20 to 22.
Fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army resumed on July 14 north of Goma.
Since its internal split in March, the M23’s control over some territory has weakened, allowing the FDLR and allied Congolese Hutu groups to carry out incursions there.
A new Force Intervention Brigade , an African-led, 3,000-member force made up of troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi, is being deployed to eastern Congo. The force is part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, and has a mandate to carry out offensive operations against armed groups operating in eastern Congo. The M23 has strongly opposed the deployment of this force.
Recommendations
To the Rwandan government:
Immediately end all support for the M23;
Cooperate with efforts to bring to justice M23 commanders allegedly responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious abuses, and ensure that any such commanders who have fled to Rwanda are not shielded from justice;
Investigate and prosecute as appropriate Rwandan civilian and military officials who may be responsible for aiding and abetting war crimes by the M23 and other rebel forces in Congo.
To the Congolese government:
Suspend, investigate, and prosecute as appropriate Congolese civilian and military officials who may be responsible for aiding and abetting war crimes by the FDLR and allied armed groups;
Reject any settlement that rewards M23 leaders allegedly responsible for serious abuses, including Sultani Makenga and Innocent Kayna;
Appropriately discipline officers and soldiers responsible for mistreating corpses, and ensure that such acts cease immediately;
Ensure that captured combatants and civilians are treated in accordance with due process standards, including being promptly brought before a judge and charged, or released; ensure that detainees are not mistreated or held in inhumane conditions.
To the UN and US special envoys to the Great Lakes and governments providing aid to Rwanda and Congo:
Denounce continued support to the M23 from Rwanda, and support sanctions against senior Rwandan officials responsible for supporting the M23 since 2012;
Seek to ensure that any settlement between the Congolese government and the M23 excludes integration into the Congolese army of M23 leaders, including those on UN and US sanctions lists, implicated in war crimes and other serious abuses;
Press for the arrest and prosecution of military commanders, including members of the M23, implicated in war crimes and other serious abuses;
Suspend donor assistance to the Rwandan military for as long as it supports abusive armed groups in Congo, and continue to seek independent information about the use of Rwandan territory to recruit M23 members and the involvement of the Rwandan military in supporting the M23; include strong human rights benchmarks as part of other assistance programs to Rwanda.
Are Kagame and Museveni bullies in the great lakes of East Africa in their persistance quest to destroy DRC Congo livelihood with take-over of Migingo Island???
Will the world just sit and watch when innocent are killed with pain and suffering on the faces of the innocent?
Advancing to Goma means, the organized terrorist Rebel group of Tutsi M23 are inciting people to war and are asking for full-fledged-war. The M23 is trouble and they must be wiped out from the Great Lakes region of East Africa.
Peace is important in this region, but if the two cannot behave themselves, the world leaders must unite to stop them from taking what does not belong to them by force of the gun. They must also be made to pay for the damages they have caused in their terrorism and invasions with crimes committed. They must not be let to get away with it.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com
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DRC wants all rebel groups to disarm
Published on Jul 13, 2013
The DR Congo government has warned all rebel groups operating in the country to lay down weapons or face retaliation.Congolese Army spokesperson Olivier Amuli told CCTV that now is the time to disarm. This comes days after UN peacekeepers clashed with a group of unknown gunmen, killing four of the attackers, a few kilometers outside Goma. CCTV’s Hillary Ayesiga reports
M23:LE GENERAL SULTANI MAKENGA ET SES 100% M23
(speaking in Ki-Rwanda is confirmation these are Rwandese Rebel group)
Published on Mar 3, 2013
PASS OUT ( sortie d’une formation militaire) DES MEMBRES DU M23. OBSERVEZ L ‘ELEGANCE DU GENERAL DE BRIGADE SULTANI MAKENGA 100%. LE TACITURNE. L’HOMME FORT.
DRC refugees stream into Uganda
Congolese refugees flood into Uganda
Congolese government troops fight M23 rebels
Sudan: Tanzania to Investigate Killing of 7 Peacekeepers in Sudan
15 July 2013
Related Topics
Tanzania: Dar Seeks Peace Missions Review
Dar es Salaam — The Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF) on Sunday announced the appointment of a team of experts to investigate the killing of seven Tanzanian soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Unidentified armed assailants on Saturday ambushed a convoy composed of troops and police of the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) at Khor Abeche in southern Darfur, killing the seven Tanzanian soldiers.
Colonel Kapambala Mgawe, spokesman for TPDF, said the experts will travel to Khartoum and Darfur to have talks with authorities over the deadly attack, which also left 14 others injured.
However, Mgawe declined to mention the composition of the experts and the day the team will leave for Sudan.
In February, Tanzania sent 875 soldiers to Darfur on a peacekeeping mission according to a UN declaration.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday also expressed “outrage” over the deadly attack on peacekeepers in Darfur.
In a statement issued by the UN Information Center in Dar es Salaam, the UN chief expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the fallen peacekeepers, the government of Tanzania and all UNAMID personnel.
“The Secretary General condemns this heinous attack on UNAMID, the third in three weeks, and expects that the Government of Sudan will take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said the statement.
Congo-Kinshasa: UN Blue Helmets On ‘High Alert’ As M23 Rebels Advance Towards Goma
15 July 2013
United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are on high alert today and stand ready to use force to protect civilians in Goma from an advancing rebellion by the March 23 movement (M23), the top UN official in the country said, urging all parties to exercise restraint.
The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) expressed “deep concern” about the latest bout of fighting which broke out after a significant group of the M23 attacked the national forces (FARDC) on 14 July in Mutaho, eight kilometres northwest of Goma, in eastern DRC. According to the Mission, heavy artillery and a battle tank were used in the attack.
“Any attempt by the M23 to advance toward Goma will be considered a direct threat to civilians,” the Mission warned. It also noted that the UN blue helmets stand ready to take any necessary measures, including the use of lethal force, in order to protect civilians.
The acting Special Representative of the Secretary General in the country, Moustapha Soumaré, urged restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation.
“I call on all to abide by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement and to allow the political process towards peace to move forward,” Mr. Soumaré said, referring to the UN-brokered accord adopted in February with the support of 11 nations and four international organizations (11+4), with the aim of ending the cycles of conflict and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace in the long-troubled Great Lakes region.
“I urge all signatories of the PSC Framework to exercise their influence in order to avoid an escalation of the situation,” he added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes Region, along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, visited the DRC in May to bolster support for the PSC Framework which Ms. Robinson dubbed a “framework for hope.”
Last month, there was talk of a possible resumption of peace talks between the Government of the DRC and the M23. At that time, Mrs. Robinson had urged both sides to engage in earnest discussion under the auspices of the Chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Mr. Robinson was convened in Burundi last week a conference to help develop a road map for women’s engagement in efforts to bring peace to Africa’s long-trouble Great Lakes countries.
Since March, tensions in the region have been heightened, leading to the Security Council to authorize in March the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without FARDC, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Congo-Kinshasa: UNHCR Rushes Aid As 66,000 Congolese Refugees Stream Into Western Uganda
15 July 2013
Bundibugyo — The UN refugee agency is providing emergency shelter, blankets and other essential relief items to some 66,000 Congolese refugees who have fled fighting for the safety of western Uganda in the last five days.
Refugees began fleeing after a reported attack last week on the town of Kamango in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist rebel group said to be operating around the Ruwenzori Mountains of DRC’s North Kivu province.
By the early morning hours of last Thursday, the refugees had reached Bubandi sub-county in western Uganda’s Bundibugyo district, with 13,000 arriving on the first day alone. By mid-afternoon Sunday, the Uganda Red Cross Society said it had registered 66,139 people. Whole families have been carrying mattresses, pots and pans, and children were even carrying chickens.
“This is an extraordinarily swift and concerning influx of refugees into an area with very limited preparedness to extend humanitarian assistance to such a large number of people,” said Mohammed Adar, UNHCR’s representative in Uganda. “We are, however, moving to mount the initial response as quickly as possible while preparing at the same time for an enhanced operation.”
With no indication the refugees will go home soon, UNHCR joined the Office of the Prime Minister and other agencies in providing emergency aid. UNHCR sent plastic sheeting for shelter construction, plates and cups, and temporary latrine kits as well as soap. The agency has also provided fuel for transfers to a new transit centre, 23 kilometres from the DRC border, and the first 300 refugees were moved on Sunday.
Today, UNHCR plans an emergency shipment of tents, blankets and sleeping mats.
Bundibugyo is a mountainous and densely populated area about a seven-hour drive from the Ugandan capital Kampala. The new arrivals are being received in five primary schools, and other sites. Some are staying with families in the community.
The World Food Programme has delivered enough food to feed 20,000 people for five days, with more food due to arrive on Monday. The Ugandan Red Cross has organized communities to cook and serve hot meals, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners are providing water.
Even before the arrival of the newest refugees, Uganda was already home to more than 210,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, 63 per cent of whom came from the DRC.
Uganda Police Deny Migingo Torture Claims
By Charles Etukuri, 3 July 2013
Ugandan police force has refuted reports appearing in a section of Kenyan media that its officers beat up their counterparts on Migingo Island, a piece of land that is the centre of a row between the two east African countries.
These reports indicate that Ugandan police beat up three Administration Police (AP) deployed at the controversial island, seriously injuring three others.
“There was no fight as it was being portrayed by the Kenyan media,” deputy police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said.
He termed the incident as a minor disagreement between the two sides.
“The Kenyans were beaten by Ugandans in public glare after they were stopped at Nyandiwa Islands in Kenyan waters. As per procedure, the Ugandans were told to register at Ugingo Island, and leave their weapons behind which angered them,” The Star newspaper quoted a Kenyan Government official.
Nyatike deputy county commissioner, Moses Ivuto was quoted by the paper saying Rashidi Agore – the new head of Ugandan police at the island – was not aware that when his officers cross over into Kenya they are supposed to leave their firearms behind.
“The officer was pushed, slipped and injured his leg and was taken to hospital. We have sent more officers on the ground to ascertain the situation,” Ivuto said.
On the contrary Onyango said some of the officials were blowing the matter out of proportion.
“Our boat had got spoilt and our officer Agore asked his Kenyan counterpart for permission to take it over across to Nyandiwa so that it could be repaired and he was granted permission. But then another officer who was leading the AP, which controls the rural border, stopped them.”
The regional police commander of Busoga East, Echodu Egapytus told New Vision that there was lack of communication between the officer in the communiqué between and their counterparts on the ground.
But even as the Ugandan authorities sought to claim that the officers slipped, The Star quoted Juma Ombori, the island Beach Management Unit (BMU) chairman as stating that the officer didn’t slip but was beaten up by the Ugandans who are more superior in ranks and better facilitated than Kenyans.
“The Ugandan contingent is led by Senior Superintendent of Police, have better pay and weapons with 18 officers while Kenya’s head Richard Omaya is just an inspector with about eight officers,” Ombori said.
The row over the one-acre island has simmered since 2004 when Ugandan security pitched camp at the island to fight piracy in Lake Victoria.
Uganda Police is controlling security in Migingo in line with an agreement signed in Arusha in April 2009 by President Yoweri Museveni and his former Kenyan counterpart Mwai Kibaki to resolve the dispute.
In 2009, the two countries instituted a survey to determine who owns the island but the outcome of that survey has never been conclusive.
Echodu said both sides had met to try and calm any tensions in the area and that more meetings will be held over this weekend to calm down the tension.
Kenya, Uganda Police Clash At Migingo Island
By Manuel Odeny, 2 July 2013
Tension is high at Migingo Island after three Kenyan Administration Police (AP) officers were seriously beaten and hurt by a group of Ugandan police.
Officers from the two countries at the island have been keeping vigil with residents fearing that the tension may escalate if top official from the two countries don’t met.
The Kenyans were beaten by Ugandans in public glare after they were stopped at Nyandiwa Islands in Kenyan waters. As per procedure the Ugandans were told to register at Ugingo Island, and leave their weapons behind which angered them.
Nyatike deputy County Commissioner Moses Ivuto termed the incident unfortunate incident saying Rashidi Agore the new head of Ugandan police in the island was not aware that when his officers cross over into Kenya.
“The officer was pushed, slipped and injured his leg and was taken to hospital, we have sent more officers in the ground to ascertain the situation,” Ivuto said.
Yesterday senior officers in the county met in a security meeting and they planned to visit the island yesterday. But residents said tension has been building between Kenyan and Ugandan officers in the island and it was further fueled by President Uhuru Kenyatta recent visit in Uganda.
“When Uhuru visited Kampala the island was abuzz that the two presidents could find an amicable solution to the issue. Sadly it wasn’t mentioned to the delight of Ugandans,” Juma Ombori, the island Beach Management Unit chairman said.
Ombori said the officer didn’t slip but was beaten up by the Ugandans who are more superior in ranks and better facilitated than Kenyans.
“The Ugandan contingent is lead by Senior Superintendent of Police, have better pay and weapons with 18 officers while Kenya head Richard Omaya is just an inspector with about eight officers,” Ombori said.
According to agreement signed between the two countries, each was to have 12 officers but Ugandans have just ignored the agreement.
“These coupled with demoralization of the Kenyan officers as most are poorly paid and equipped has led to the problem,” he said.
Peacekeeping
United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (Kinshasa)
Congo-Kinshasa: Monusco Expresses Deep Concern Over M-23 Attack and Warns Against Any Action That Will Threaten Gom
Kinshasa — In the afternoon of 14 July, heavy fighting broke out in Mutaho, 8 km NW of Goma, after an FARDC position in the locality was attacked by a significant group of the M-23.
The attack occurred after the M23 had reinforced its positions around Kibati, close to Mutaho, earlier in the day, including with heavy artillery and a battle tank.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) expresses deep concern over this development and calls for restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation.
“I call on all to abide by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement and to allow the political process towards peace to move forward”, said the acting Special Representative of the Secretary General in the DRC, Moustapha Soumaré. ” I urge all signatories of the PSC Framework to exercise their influence in order to avoid an escalation of the situation”, he added.
MONUSCO has put its troops on high alert and stand ready to take any necessary measures, including the use of lethal force, in order to protect civilians. Any attempt by the M23 to advance toward Goma will be considered a direct threat to civilians.
I will Just Wait For You At the Right Place And I will Hit You, Rwandan General Paul Kagame Threatens Tanzanian Jakaya Kikwete
by AfroAmerica Network on July 3, 2013
“Those people [Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete] you just heard siding with Interahamwe and FDLR and urging negotiations… negotiations? Me, I do not even discuss this topic, because I will just wait for you [Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete] at the right place and I will hit you! He[Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete] did not deserve my answer. I did not waste my time answering him…It is well known. There is a line you cannot cross, there is a line, a line that you should never cross. It is impossible…”“
It is in these ominous terms that the Rwandan dictator General Paul Kagame threatened to get even with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, while addressing Rwandan Youth on June 30, 2013 during a summit called “Youth Konnect””, sponsored by his wife, Janet Kagame.
Relations between Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Rwandan leaders have soured in the last weeks. On several occasions Rwandan leaders called the Tanzanian President “a genocide and terrorist sympathizer”, “ignorant”, “arrogant”, and “mediocre leader”. The relations have deteriorated following the recommendation by President Jakaya Kikwete of open negotiations between Rwandan, Ugandan and Congolese leaders and their respective armed opposition in order to bring durable peace and security in the African Great Lakes region.
First the Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo and Defense Minister, James Kabarebe, publicly cursed the Tanzanian President and called him a sympathizer of “genocidaires”, a “genocide denier”, and other names.
Then, General Paul Kagame, while addressing a closed door meeting with his close aides, called the Tanzanian President “4Bs”, which in Rwandan language means “an opportunist, attention seeker, arrogant and contemptible person.”
Then the Rwandan puppet Hutu Prime minister Prime Minister called the Tanzanian President a mediocre leader .
The latest public threats by General Paul Kagame against the physical person of the Tanzanian President are arguably the most serious sign of how worse the relations among the two countries and the their leaders have become. According to sources in Kigali, General Kagame has also been frustrated by the attention Tanzanian President has been receiving from World powers. Until a few years ago, Rwanda and its dictator was the darling of the West. The attention from the West has since dwindled.
The recent visit by US President Barack Obama to Tanzania may have further increased the frustration and perhaps led to the grave public threats by General Paul Kagame against the Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
The upcoming days and months promise to be full of anticipation and sursprises in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
2013 AfroAmerica Network. All Rights Reserved.
Tagged as: FDLR, General Kagame, Jakaya Kikwete, President Barack Obama, Rwanda, Tanzania
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2013
A jailed prelate’s accounts at the Vatican bank have been frozen as part of an investigation into his financial dealings, the Guardian report. According to Pope’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi the Promoter of Justice – an official similar to a chief prosecutor – had ordered the freezing of two accounts belonging to Monsignor Nunzio Scarano. The monsignor is accused by the Italian authorities of being the central figure in a bizarre plot to smuggle €20m (£17m) into Italy from Switzerland.
It is at the same time a group of Malay Muslim NGOs have called for the expulsion of the Vatican’s first Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, for remarks attributed to him on the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims.
The group’s secretariat publicity chief Dzulkarnain Taib said Archbishop Marino should not interfere with the country’s internal affairs. “As ambassador here, he is to forge close diplomatic ties, but what he said was beyond his job scope and could be interpreted as having another agenda,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dzulkarnain was commenting on Archbishop Marino’s remarks on Thursday that the fact-sheet presented by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) on the use of the word “Allah” was sensible and logical.
The Islamic Missionary Foundation of Malaysia (Yadim) also expressed disappointment with Archbishop Marino’s remarks. “As a diplomat, he should be neutral on the matter and not touch on sensitive issues involving Muslims in the country,’’ said its chief Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who called on the archbishop to withdraw his remarks and apologise to Muslims.
On the bank, the case has embarrassed the Vatican as it struggles to convince international watchdogs that its financial institutions have adequate safeguards against money-laundering. The Promoter of Justice’s move showed the Vatican was taking an active role in the affair.
But Lombardi said that it took effect on 9 July, and it was not immediately clear why the Vatican authorities had waited 10 days after Scarano’s arrest before blocking his accounts.
The monsignor, who was a banker before he became a priest, is a senior official of the Vatican’s asset management arm, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA). It is claimed that he conspired with an Italian secret service officer and a financial intermediary to repatriate the cash aboard a private jet.
In a statement to prosecutors this week, leaked to Italian media, Scarano was quoted as saying he stood to receive €2.5m for his part in the operation. He planned to spend €1m building a church in Umbria, but intended keeping the rest, at least temporarily.
He was said to have told prosecutors he regarded the remaining €1.5m as a loan “that would have enabled me to resolve certain financial problems” arising from a defunct business enterprise with a relative. Prosecutors are reported to have estimated that Scarano’s personal assets were worth around €500,000.
The prelate reportedly acknowledged that a family of Neapolitan ship owners had made monthly transfers, registered as charitable donations, to an account he held at the Vatican bank. The Italian prosecutors believe the money that was to have been brought in from Switzerland belonged to three members of the family, all brothers. Two have denied the money is theirs. The third has said nothing.
Among other unresolved aspects of the case are the amount and whereabouts of the cash. Scarano was said to have put the total at €41m, which had since been transferred to Beirut.
Though awkward in many respects, the Scarano affair has strengthened Pope Francis’s hand as he sets about cleaning up the Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR). The prelate was arrested two days after Francis set up a commission to brief him on the IOR’s activities and suggest reforms.
The pope himself took part in the commission’s first meeting, which was held this week at the guest house in the Vatican where he has opted to live. Scandals shown or alleged to have involved the Vatican’s financiers have been embarrassing successive popes since 1982 when Roberto Calvi, a banker with close ties to the IOR, was found hanged beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.
The circumstances of his death remain a mystery. Equally unclear are the reasons for the disappearance the following year of Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican employee. Prosecutors in Rome are currently taking statements from Marco Fassoni Accetti, a colourful figure with a strong resemblance to the comedian Roberto Benigni.
Fassoni Accetti claims to have helped kidnap the girl as part of a conspiracy to thwart the anti-communist activities of Pope John Paul II. In the latest of his increasingly controversial statements, he has made allegations about the names of his fellow-conspirators including discrediting the then head of the IOR, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2013
Many of our readers have been touched by my article on why Uhuru Kenyatta won’t end impunity in Kenya as yet, with some pleading with him not to allow impunity to creep into his government. He must ensure the law is followed to the letter.
Peres Were from Nairobi was very categorical: “with culture of impunity in Kenya Kethi Diana Kilonzo is simply wasting her time, the court will definitely rule in favour of TNA, for that matter, in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta”.
With impunity court has no say. That is why despite of the High Court decision on the appointments of TSC commissioners the government disrespected.
Those nominated for appointment in the initial list were Kahindi Ziro James, Fredrick Haga Ochieng’ and Adan Sheikh Abdullahi. Cleopas Tirop, who had emerged tops in the interview, was missing in the list.
This list was rejected and the names taken back to the President and a new one presented to the House, this time with Tirop, Ochieng’, Abdullahi and that of the chairperson.
Mr Abdi Sitar Yusuf went to court to block the three commissioners’ names arguing the list was irregularly approved. The court blocked Ochieng’ and Abdullahi but cleared Tirop and he was sworn in.
Impunity–particularly in connection with human rights abuses committed during the 2007 post election violence is pervasive. As of late last year, there had been a total of 24 convictions in cases stemming from the violence following the 2007 elections, in which more than 1,300 Kenyans lost their lives.
No police officers had been prosecuted successfully. This is because Kenya is a republic with an institutionally strong president. That is why, even though the new constitution stipulates the creation of a Supreme Court, which was established in June 2011, president still have power to overrule the judgment.
It explains why widespread impunity at all levels of government continued to be a serious problem, despite implementation of judicial reform and the vetting of all judges and magistrates.
Human rights groups estimated that police were responsible for approximately 1,000 extrajudicial killings between 2008 and 2012; in 200 of those cases, there was credible evidence of police involvement, according to civil society groups.
In 2008 the government formed the Commission of Inquiry into Postelection Violence as part of the internationally mediated political settlement. In 2008 the final commission report recommended that the government establish a special tribunal to investigate individuals suspected of violence; however, no local tribunal was established, and the government did not conduct any investigations.
As a result of government inaction, in 2010 the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation and in March 2011 issued summonses on charges of crimes against humanity for six individuals. At year’s end three of them held official positions and two were former government officials.
The six individuals were: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, deputy prime minister by then and former minister of finance; William Samoei Ruto, member of parliament and former minister of higher education, science, and technology; Henry Kiprono Kosgey, minister of industrialization; Joshua Arap Sang, former head of operations for KASS FM radio station; Francis Kirimi Muthaura, former head of the public service and secretary to the cabinet; and Mohamed Hussein Ali, police commissioner at the time of the violence.
In August 2011 the ICC dismissed an appeal by the government that challenged the admissibility of the cases against the six, ruling that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that it was conducting its own investigation.
On January 23, the ICC confirmed charges against four of the six suspects, ruling that the prosecutor had not reached the threshold for charges to be confirmed against Kosgey and Ali.
In February the government appointed a task force to investigate local cases of post-election violence in 2007-08. In an August report the task force indicated that it had reviewed 4,408 of the 6,081 files compiled by police and found that most of the files were incomplete.
No suspects were identified in 2,411 of the cases. In approximately 1,000 cases a suspect had been identified but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. In 2008 human rights groups reported that police turned away victims or refused to take down witness testimony after the post-election violence.
Police reportedly were also responsible for many of the human rights violations during that period. As of year’s end there were 24 convictions in post-election violence cases, including two for murder. No police officers had been prosecuted successfully.
That is also why, even though the law prohibits arrest or detention without a court order unless there are reasonable grounds for believing a suspect has committed or is about to commit a criminal offense, police frequently arrested and detained citizens arbitrarily.
Police often stopped and arrested citizens to extort bribes; those who could not pay were jailed on trumped-up charges and beaten. Police often failed to enter detainees into police custody records, making it difficult to locate them.
Although the president historically had extensive powers over appointments, including for the positions of attorney general, chief justice, and appellate and High Court judges, according to the new constitution, promulgated in 2010, vests responsibility for making recommendations for the appointment of judges in the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), which must publicly vet candidates, president still have the power to determine who is appointed.
The government did not always respect judicial independence. It explains why in June President Kibaki ordered members of the Provincial Administration to disregard the High Court’s ruling after the court declared their appointments unconstitutional.
The government occasionally used the legal system to harass critics, like what happened with KNUT officials recently. The government used the court to declare that their strikes are illegal.
Even with law in place to protect media, government still uses security forces to harass members of the media. Good example is what happened in April when police threatened two journalists, The Standard’s Osinde Obare and Radio Citizen’s David Musindi, for publishing stories on a police raid at a market in Kitale.
According to Obare, Kitale police chief Luca Ogara called him to ask why he published a negative story about the police and threatened repercussions if he returned to Kitale. In some cases their cameras confiscated by police and film destroyed.
Another example is what happened in May when two journalists with The Standard Media Group, Senior Investigative Editor Mohammed Ali and Dennis Onsaringo, filed a complaint with the police commissioner regarding ongoing threats and intimidation by senior police officials.
In 2011 Ali filmed an investigative series for the Kenya Television Network (KTN) on police complicity in drug dealing and the role of state agents in frustrating an investigation into a large cocaine seizure.
Pressure from politicians, including former defense minister Christopher Murangaru, forced KTN to stop broadcasting the series. The police investigation into threats to Ali’s life and the defamation lawsuits sparked by the program were unresolved at year’s end.
In September prison warders at the Machakos Law Courts attacked Jonathan Mutiso, a KBC reporter, for filming an inmate who had attempted to escape by climbing on the roof of the court.
The warders confiscated the camera and ordered two Kenya News Agency interns to erase footage of the incident, threatening the two with violence if they did not comply. The warders were disciplined following a demonstration by journalists.
On September 30, police arrested three Somali journalists who were reporting on a grenade attack on a school in Eastleigh. The journalists were released without charge and deported from the country.
The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report in February noting that impunity in cases of torture of journalists remained a problem. Ten journalists reported mistreatment at the hands of police in 2011; the government had taken no action in any of the cases as of year’s end.
These are just but few examples to demonstrate how the government of Kenya will not end the culture of impunity any sooner. And because the TNA is determined that Kethi’s name deleted from the register because they did not want her to vie for Makueni senatorial seat, you will not be surprised that the court will still rule in favour of TNA. That is Kenya you call yours.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
Police in Tanzania said they have arrested a British national suspected of involvement in unspecified “terrorism activities” in the UK.
Iqbal Ahsan Ali was arrested in Tanzania’s southern Mbeya region suspected of trying to cross border to the neighbouring county.
He was found in possession of both British and Tanzanian passports, a crime in Tanzania which forbids dual citizenship.
“We have been in contact with our counterparts in the UK and they have confirmed that the suspect is wanted in their country for involvement in terrorism activities,” Robert Manumba, director of criminal investigations (DCI).
He said Mr Iqbal was also found to be carrying a laptop containing “seditious material” designed to cause “religious incitement”.
Mr Manumba said in a statement on Friday: “At the border he presented a Tanzanian passport, but when the immigration officers spoke to him in Swahili he was unable to communicate.
“That raised suspicions that led to him being detained for further questioning and in the course of that he was found with the UK passport.”
He continued: “We have been in contact with our counterparts in the UK and they have confirmed that the suspect is wanted in their country for involvement in terrorism activities.”
He said a Tanzanian man travelling with Mr Iqbal was also arrested and questioned.
Tanzanian officials said Assan Ali Iqbal was being held in connection with bombings in the north of the country. The Foreign Office confirmed the arrest and said it was offering consular assistance. (BBC)
Several people have been arrested on terrorism charges in Tanzania since bombings killed at least eight people in May and June.
Authorities in Tanzania, one of the region’s most stable countries, are concerned at the growth of an Islamist movement accused of indirect links to Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels.
Police said they had verified Ali’s British passport as being authentic. They said the Tanzanian passport he was carrying was a fake. – Reuters
A Kenyan elected Member of Parliament is to be charged in court to face corruption charges after he was caught red handed taking a bribe of kshs 100,000 after he had demanded kshs 150,000 from a businessman over a Constituency Development Project.
Kasarani MP John Njoroge who is a former Deputy Mayor of Nairobi was arrested at a cty restyaurant as he received kshs 1000,000 part of the bribe he had demanded.
His arrest came about after officials from the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission set a trap on him.
According to Kenya’s anti-Corruption Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo,they received a complaint from a contractor in the constituency that the MP was demanding a bribe of Kshs 150,000 to enable him authorize his payment of kshs 3.3million from the CDF project.
“The payment was for the work the contractor had done on Baba Dogo Road Secondary School” said Waqo.
The MP however denied the allegations asn he was escorted in police car after several questioning at the Commission’s headquarters.
Top Kenya police led by the outgoing Nyanza Provincial Police boss Joseph ole Tito led a delegation to Migingo Island in Lake Victoria following an attack on three administration of police officers by Ugandan police.
Tito who was accompanied by Migori County police commander Clement Gatogo held a closed door meeting in the tiny controversial Island for close to four hours.
Tito however maintained that the meeting was a familiarization tour for the new police commander in the county.
He says the meeting was normal only to check on the living condition of the officers who are stationed at the Island to provide law and order.
However, Migingo Beach Management Unit chairman Juma Ombori says the meeting was necessitated by the attack on the APs by the Uganda forces.
Ombori says the three Kenyan officers were assaulted for no apparent reason by their neighboring colleagues sparking tension within the Island.
The attack was confirmed by the Nyatike deputy county commissioner Moses Ivuto who termed the incident as unfortunate.
Ivuto says the injured officers were treated in a nearby health facility and discharged and investigations into the attack is on.
A Magistrate who has been hearing a case in which a prominent real estate agent in Kisumu is charged with fraud yesterday disqualified himself from the proceedings.
Principal Magistrate Harison Adika quite the case in which the real agent Gorge Adada Nyagowa is charged with obtaining 400,000/- and 50,000/- from a woman under the pretext that he would secure her a parcel of land at Kisumu/Konya.
Nyagowa is charged that he February 11 2010 at Re-insurance plaza in Kisumu East district received a bankers cheque of 400,000/- and 50,000/- all totaling 450,000/- from Morine Leah Aketch Auma under the pretext that he could sell her a parcel of land at Kisumu Konya / 6067. The accused who is the proprietor of Michigen Investments was ordered released on a bond of 100,000/-.
Nyagowa also faces another charge before the chief magistrate Mrs Lucy Gitari over a similar offence.
The first count in the other states he on diverse dates between September 2009 and December he obtained 770,000/- from Philemon Odeny at Reinsurance Plaza within Kisumu under the pretext that he would secure him a parcel of land .
Count two states that he secured 400,000/- at Re Insurance Plaza from Timothy Otieno under the pretext that that h would give him a parcel of land Dago within Kisumu.
The last count states that he obtained 710,000/- at Re Insurance plaza from Joshua Okore under the pretext that he would secure him a parcel of land at Dago.
Mrs Gitari ordered him released on a cash bail of 30,000/-
FrBy Agwanda Saye
LEADERS from Muhoroni have attributed constant cattle rustling along common border of Nyanza and the Rift valley on rampant poverty.
Led by Muhoroni Member of Parliament James Onyango K’Oyoo the leaders said youths should be empowered as one of the ways of eliminating the vice once and for all.
K’Oyoo said that use of force is not a sustainable solution to the menace which he observed requires dialogue engineered by leaders from both sides of the divide.
He was speaking over the weekend at St Joseph Koru ACK church during a funds drive where 1.5 million shillings was netted.
K’Oyoo called on leaders along the common border to hold peace talks and reconciliatory meetings as one of the ways of ending incidents of cattle rustling.
The Mp said leaders from the two common border areas will hold such talks when parliament takes a break in order to talk to youths on the need of mutual co-existence.
K’Oyoo said leaders from Tinderet, Sigowet, Soin, Ainamoi, and Kipkelion will hold the talks in order to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Outgoing Nyanza police chief Joseph Ole Tito sounded a warning to those perpetrating cattle rustling along the borders.
But K’Oyoo said the best solution was to talk to the youths and elders from both sides.
He called on the government to bail out both Miwani and Muhoroni.
“Companies can not be on receivership indefinitely” he said.
He said the government should either privatize the firms or give them to strategic investors.
Ends.
KENYAN COURTS HAVE NO INDEPENDENCE AND MUSCLE TO TRY SUSPECTS OF GENOCIDE AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY WHO ARE HOLDERS OF THE HIGHEST PUBLIC OFFICE IN THE LAND
THOSE WHO say that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto should be prosecuted in the Kenyan courts and not at the ICC must be kidding. The judgement regarding the stealing of land belonging to a victim of Post Election Violence by Ruto in 2008 is a warning shot. The judgement fell far below the standard required in a fair hearing. The Judge in reality cleared Ruto of any criminal responsibility. The 5 million that Ruto has been ordered to pay is not supported by any facts or imaginations in the court ruling and Ruto being a canning thief will buy time and in the end will not pay the victim even a penny. This was a gimmick by the Judge and the court to placate the confidence of the public to believe that the Kenyan courts are TODAY more independent of the Executive control after stealing the elections for Uhuru Kenyatta. This is balooni and total non sense. READ for DETAILS:
Now that the court has confirmed that William Ruto is a thief and fraudster, the Kenya civil society or any Kenyan can move to court and file a motion against William Ruto for fraud. It is confirmed by the Kenyan court that Ruto forged documents to steal the land of a victim of Post Election Violence in 2008. I wish I was in Kenya!
A PROMINENT real Estate agent in Kisumu who has been charged before various courts with land fraud has now started transferring his fixed and movable assets to third parties. Mr George Adada Nyagowa who is a former watchman and also now the owner of the notorious Michigen Investments has taken the drastic move after realizing that he risks going to jail and subsequently being forced to pay his victims who he has fleeced of millions of shillings. He no longer drives a posh black Toyota Hilux which is believed to be part of the proceeds of his loot over the years
Most of his victims are those who bought parcels of lands at Konya and Dago areas in the outskirts of Kisumu town. He has pocketed over 15 million shillings in Konya alone where members of the public purchase non existent parcels of plots. Adada who enjoys unsolicited protection from both the police and the judiciary was recently again charged before the area Chief Magistrate’s court with obtaining money from members of the public under the pretext that he would secure them assorted parcels of land.
Nyagowa appeared before the chief Magistrate Mrs Lucy Gitari and denied a total of three counts. The first count states he on diverse dates between September 2009 and December he obtained 770,000/- from Philemon Odeny at Reinsurance Plaza within Kisumu under the pretext that he would secure him a parcel of land.
Count two states that he secured 400,000/- at Re Insurance Plaza from Timothy Otieno under the pretext that that h would give him a parcel of land Dago within Kisumu. The last count states that he obtained 710,000/- at Re Insurance plaza from Joshua Okore under the pretext that he would secure him a parcel of land at Dago.
Mrs Gitari ordered him released on a cash bail of 30,000/-Adada is also facing trial before another court after obtaining 400, 00/- from a woman under the pretext that he could secure her a parcel of land at Konya area. Principal magistrate Harrison Adika is hearing the case .Earlier this year prospective land buyers roughed up the leading real Estate Agent in Kisumu while accusing him of fleecing them of unspecified amounts of cash under the pretext that her would sell them assorted parcels. The irate mob pounced on Nyagowa leaving him half naked.
Adada who is the proprietor of Michigen Investments which is based in Kisumu pleaded with the irate public to leave him alone but his pleas fell on deaf ears as they roughed him up. Chaos erupted at Konya village in the outskirts of Kisumu town where land surveyors, police and lawyers had gone there in order to access the situation on the ground. But the mob stormed the area next to Ukweli pastoral centre sending everyone scampering in different directions.
Earlier hundreds of prospective land buyers in Kisumu who claim to have lost millions of shillings to fraudsters posing as agents threatened to stage a major demonstration against the police and land officials in the area whom they say collude with the conmen.The victims said that they will stage a major demonstration against the office of the criminal investigations department for not arresting the agents. Some of the victims claim to have spent over 7 million shillings in developing parcels of land at Konya in the outskirts of Kisumu which turned out to be a road reserves. Some of the victims blamed officers at the land’s office in Kisumu for colluding with the conmen in order to fleece unsuspecting members of the public of million of shillings.
Another complainant Oliver Agnes alias Nyanaya said she had fallen victim to the fraudsters at Riat area. She said huge tracts of her parcels of land had been sold out by some of the conmen posing as agents in Kisumu town Former Nyanza CID chief Joseph Mugwanja confirmed knowledge of some of the cases. Mr. Mugwanja said he is aware of some cases since they were forwarded from CID headquarters for immediate action. Mr. Mugwanja confirmed that there are some 32 cases of that nature which are being investigated by the Kisumu DCIO.A number of top civil servants and businessmen in Kisumu have also fallen victims of the super conmen.
Investigations have revealed that those who have been fleeced of millions of shillings have been promised parcels of land at Kibos Road, Dago, Konya, Dunga, parts of Kajulu, Riat and Kisian, Dago together with Otonglo areas.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013
The first reading of Eleventh Sunday in ordinary time is taken from 2 Sm 12:7-10, 13. While it shows us the weakness of human nature, at the same time it shows the infinite mercy of God. David acknowledges his sin and asks for God’s mercy and forgiveness. God’s forgives him and vows never to repeat that sin again.
The second reading is from St. Paul to the Galatians- Gal 2:16, 19-21. Paul is speaking here of justification and faith. In Christian theology justification is God’s act of removing the guilt and penalty of sin while at the same time declaring a sinner righteous through Christ’s atoning. In Protestantism, righteousness from God is viewed as being credited to the sinner’s account through faith alone, without works.
Catholic and Orthodox Christians distinguish between initial justification, which in their view occurs at baptism, and permanent justification, accomplished after a lifetime of striving to do God’s will.
Most Protestants believe that justification is a singular act in which God declares an unrighteous individual to be righteous, an act made possible because Christ was legally “made sin” while on the cross (2 Cor 5:21). This is contrary to James 2:24-26. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. But faith without works is dead.”
In Romans, Paul develops justification by first speaking of God’s just wrath at sin (Rom. 1:18 – 3:20). Justification is then presented as the solution for God’s wrath. One is said to be ‘justified by faith apart from works of the Law.’
The Gospel is from Lk 7:36—8:3. It shows the mercy of God for sinners and the willingness and eagerness, with which God welcomes back the sinner. A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”
Mary Magdalene was believed to be a reformed prostitute and is identified as the woman who ‘was a sinner at the house of Pharisees, who washed Christ’s feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and anointed them. Christ then forgave her sins.
The lesson we learn here is forgiveness, a decision to let go your sins and never to repeat them again as we see in the first reading and the gospel. David and Mary Magdalene never repeated the action they were accused of. It was wrong for David to kill Uriah and take his wife.
For unfaithful partners in Kenya where marital infidelity is as intertwined as nyama choma, also known as mpango wa kando, it would mean that forgiveness must go with justice. It means doing justice to your partner and your entire family that you will never cheat on your partner anymore.
In Kenya men are the ones closely linked with big percentage of mpango wa kando than women. A 2008 study carried out by Spylink International, a private investigation outfit based in Kenya, revealed that marital infidelity was on the rise with men taking the lead with 75 per cent share of cheating, while women at 25 per cent in 2002. By 2008 this figure rose from 25 to 45 percent of women cheating on their men.
The study pegged this scenario on “changing lifestyles, and women’s empowerment through higher education and knowing “their rights.” Hard economic times implied that more women were exchanging their bodies for material favours. The survey, however, revealed that “as the data stands, women in Kenya will be “leading the infidelity game by 2010.”
Even worse was the fact that 99 per cent of married couples cheat on each other, with Nairobi, of Kenya’s eight provinces, leading with 60 per cent of unfaithful men, and women at 40 per cent.
Nyanza comes second with 55 per cent of men and women at 45 per cent. Western and Rift Valley take fourth and fifth slots respectively, with men taking 65 per cent, while Coast came fifth with men leading with 60 per cent.
In Eastern province, unfaithful men stood at 70 per cent and 85 per cent in case of men in North-Eastern, a region where women are socially, culturally and economically suppressed.
Central Province was the surprise package with women taking a 60 per cent stake a head of their men.
This trend has led to single women in Kenya. A survey released few years ago by consumer market research firm Ipsos-Synovate, shows that 44 per cent of women dislike infidelity among men.
In terms of the state where the government is to ensure that all the citizens have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all, the forgiveness would also mean doing justice.
You must do justice on social and economic inequalities, nepotism, negative ethnicity, human rights abuses, and assassinations, tortures among other ills as recommended by The Truth Reconciliation and Justice Commission (TRJC) in their report.
The report recommends that the head of the state and other departmental heads apologize to Kenyans and then for justice to be done it recommends that actions should be taken. IDPs must be reallocated, people who lost their dear ones be compensated.
TRJC was set up following deadly post-election clashes five years ago. After those elections some 1,500 people were killed and more than 600,000 forced to flee their homes. Some IDPs are still in the camps and people whose dear ones died have not been compensated.
TRJC mandate was to investigate and recommend appropriate action on human rights abuses committed between Kenyan independence in December 1963 and the end of February 2008 – including politically motivated violence, assassinations, corruption and land disputes.
It recommends that those with alleged involvement in the Wagalla massacre should no longer hold any public office. The killings occurred in 1984 during efforts to disarm ethnic Somali clans in the north-east of the country. Survivors say close to 5,000 people died.
When justice is done it is when the forgiveness will bring a kind of peace that helps the victims go on with life. Forgiveness here means that you are now at peace with yourself and the community. Click here to read Pope John Paul II Message for the World Day of Peace 2002.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
There was drama at Raga Primary School in Karungu Division, Nyatike district after parents and pupils went on the rampage demanding the transfer of the head teacher after he burned pupils’ sandals.
The head teacher collected the sandals from the over 400 pupils and set them ablaze arguing they are not part of the school uniform.
Today, pupils and parents demonstrated up to the school carrying placards and twigs demanding his immediate transfer from the school.
The head teacher who is also the Migori KNUT vice chairman locked his office and fled from the angry pupils and parents.
The pupils who accompanied their parents on barefoot vowed never to resume classes until the head teacher is transferred.
Nyatike district education officer Kinaiya Siloma confirmed that his office is aware of the incident and there is already a panel constituted to look into the matter.
Siloma however urged parents to give dialogue a chance and not to disrupt the learning process of their children.
Weelllll
DID A MILLION GHOSTS VOTE? DOES IT MATTER?
Source: the-star.co.ke
Last Thursday, The Star published a seemingly innocuous piece titled ‘IEBC wants Political Parties Act amended’. The amendment, the report explained, was because the IEBC is now considering changing the way of “calculating funding for the parties”. Currently, the Act ‘provides that political parties’ funding should be computed on the basis of election votes. The new proposed formula is based on the number of elected representatives that each party has.
