By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Prime Mister Raila Odinga filed an incendiary appeal with the Supreme Court on Saturday, alleging widespread ballot rigging and contend that “glaring anomalies” existed in the vote.  As such, Odinga is petitioning to court to void the results and order a new election.

Approximately one hundred of Odinga’s supporters gathered in downtown Nairobi outside the courthouse just before the petition was filed.  Many wore shirts brazenly displaying slogans including “Democracy on Trial” and “I Support the Petition.”

The police had warned the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy supporters they would not be allowed to gather, and fired tear gas into the crowd to force them to disperse.

Since the March 4 election, Odinga has urged his supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from rioting, as they did in 2007 when he narrowly lost Kenya’s last presidential election amid widespread evidence of vote rigging similar to the allegations he is making now.

The presidential, legislative and municipal elections were Kenya’s first elections since the 2007 poll that triggered nationwide ethnic and political violence.  This violence resulted in the death of more than 1,200 people.

On March 4, millions of Kenyans flooded to the polls. According to the national election commission, Uhuru Kenyatta – son of Kenya’s first president – won 50.07 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff by a nominal margin of approximately 8,000 votes.

Odinga won about 43 percent.  However, he claims in his petition to the court that his vote was covertly reduced and that Kenyatta’s was inflated in a “deliberate, well-calculated and executed ploy” to hand the election to Mr. Kenyatta.  Moreover, the petition claims that there were problems with the registration of voters and an electronic vote counting mechanism.

Odinga’s attempts to nullify Kenyatta’s victory will be the first significant test for Kenya’s new Supreme Court, established under a constitution adopted in a 2010 referendum.  Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, appointed in 2011 to reform a corrupt legal system accused of serving elitist interests, will be under international scrutiny to render a transparent verdict.

Mutunga received death threats in the weeks before the vote, but he has promised that the judiciary will act without “favor, prejudice or bias” when handling election complaints.  Moreover, he has already invited the media to cover any court proceedings live.

Odinga was the also the runner-up in the 2007 presidential election to Mwai Kibaki, which he also said was stolen.

In his acceptance speech last Saturday, Kenyatta called the election “free and fair” and a “triumph of democracy.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Raila Odinga Files Kenya Election Appeal– 16 March 2013

Reuters – Kenya’s Odinga Challenges Election Defeat in Top Court – 16 March 2013

The New York Times – Kenya Court Asked to Order New Election for President – 16 March 2013

The Washington Post – Kenya Police Tear Gas Prime Minister’s Supporters as He Files Court Case Against Election Loss – 16 March 2013

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court (ICC) dropped charges against Francis Muthaura, who had been accused alongside Kenya’s presidential election winner Uhuru Kenyatta for his involvement in the 2007 post-election violence that resulted in the death of more than 1,000 individuals.

Muthaura, along with Kenyatta, faced charges for allegedly orchestrating post-election violence five years ago.  He was charged with crimes against humanity, murder, rape, illegal deportation, and for his alleged involvement in deadly violence that erupted after his country’s presidential election.

His defense attorney called the ICC prosecution “utterly flawed” after prosecutors dropped their case due to a dearth of evidence.

This marks the first time in its 10-year history that charges brought before the ICC have been withdrawn so close to trial.  As such, lawyers for president-elect Kenyatta, who won last week’s elections, said the corresponding charges against him should now be dropped.

It remains unforeseen what effect this event will have on president-elect Kenyatta’s impending trial, scheduled for July.  Some speculate that dropping of charges against top a top Kenyan civil servant like Muthaura could impact Kenyatta’s trial.

The decision to drop the case against Muthaura was an unprecedented admission of failure by ICC prosecutors.  However, Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stressed that the case against Kenyatta would continue. “This decision affects Mr. Muthaura’s case alone,” she said.

Bensouda said her hand was forced after witnesses died, were killed or bribed and Kenyan authorities failed to live up to their pledges to cooperate.  She said some witnesses were too scared to testify, while another had recanted his statement.

Furthermore, she accused Kenyan authorities of failing to fulfill their public pledges to fully cooperate with ICC during its investigation of the post-election violence.

Muthaura, a former civil service chief, was on the same side as president-elect Kenyatta during the disputed 2007 election, after which more than 1,000 people were killed and about 600,000 were left homeless.

In a written statement, Bensouda pledged her “unwavering commitment” to justice for victims of the post-election violence.

“The real victims of the terrible violence in Kenya five years ago are the men, the women, and the children, who were killed, injured, raped, or forcibly displaced from their homes — and whose voices must not be forgotten,” she said. “I will not forget them.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Francis Muthaura: ICC Drops Case Against Kenyan Accused – 11 March 2013

CNN – ICC Drops Charges Against Former Kenya Official – 11 March 2013

The Guardian – ICC Prosecutors Drop Case Against Kenyan Politician Francis Muthaura – 11 March 2013

The Washington Post – ICC Prosecutors to Drop Charges Against Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura – 11 March 2013

 

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – The United Nations announced that it will suspend its support to two battalions of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) which reportedly have been involved in several human rights violations including mass rapes.

For the past three months, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO) has been investigating Minova, North Kivu, and neighboring towns. The mission’s report reveals that two units of the FARDC engaged in mass rapes, among other human rights violations. It found out that at least 126 women were raped in Minova after Congolese army soldiers fled to the town to avoid M23 rebels who seized the nearby province of Goma.

“Many rapes were committed. We have investigated, we have identified a number of cases and we demand that the Congolese authorities take action legally against those people,” a UN official told the press last week. According to him, the UN has demanded the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to prosecute the soldiers involved in these crimes. Otherwise, the official added, the DRC army will lose the support of U.N. peacekeepers.

“Since nothing sufficient has happened at this stage we have already put two units of the armed forces of Congo on notice that if they do not act promptly we shall cease supporting them,” he said. “They have to shape up.”

So far, MONUSCO has sent the Congolese Armed Forces Chief of Staff a second and final injunction to initiate the formal suspension of support to these two units. MONUSCO has not yet received a response.

“MONUSCO is continuing to advocate with Congolese authorities at the highest level to ensure that the alleged perpetrators, including FARDC commanders, be brought to justice and held accountable,” said UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky. “The Mission will maintain, together with other partners, its support to Congolese judicial authorities to pursue their investigations and will offer its support for any trial to be held,” he added.

MONUSCO was mandated by the UN to protect civilians and supports operations by the Congolese army. As of today, there are more than 17,000 peacekeepers deployed in Congo.

Reports say that the UN peacekeepers have been “stretched thin” by the M23 rebellion. This has led the UN Security council to consider creating a special intervention force that aims to “search and destroy” M23 rebels, as well as other insurgents in the country.

M23 rebels took over the eastern part of the DRC last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal.

 

For further information, please see:

UN News Centre – UN calls for suspension of DR Congo military units involved in mass rapes – 8 March 2013

UN Radio – UN mission in DR Congo to suspend support to two battalions – 8 March 2013

UPI – U.N.: Congo soldiers perpetrated mass rape – 8 March 2013

790 KGMI – U.N. threatens to stop working with Congo army units accused of rape – 7 March 2013

 

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JUBA, South Sudan – On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report urging the South Sudanese government to increase efforts to protect girls from child marriage.

In the 95-page report, “‘This Old Man Can Feed Us, You Will Marry Him:’ Child and Forced Marriage in South Sudan,” the human rights group reveal that almost half of South Sudanese girls between 15 and 19 are married, with some marrying as young as age 12. Most of these girls are married off by their families against their will. This practice, according to HRW, “exacerbates South Sudan’s pronounced gender gaps in school enrollment, contributes to soaring maternal mortality rates, and violates the right of girls to be free from violence, and to marry only when they are able and willing to give their free consent.”

One girl among the 87 who were interviewed told HRW that her relatives pressured her to marry in exchange for the dowry. “I refused him but they beat me badly and took me by force to him. The man forced me to have sex with him so I had to stay there,” she said as she recalled her experience.

When asked why they did not ask for help, most of the girls replied that they did not know that they had the right to do so. The other girls added that if they resisted from being married off, they would “suffer brutal consequences at the hands of their families – including verbal abuse and physical assault, and sometimes even murder.”

“Girls who have the courage to refuse early marriages are in dire need of protection, support, and education,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, HRW women’s rights director. “The South Sudan government must make sure that there is a coordinated government response to cases of child marriage and more training for police and prosecutors on the right of girls to protection.”

The HRW report suggested some courses of action the government can take such as: setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage; ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRC), and other human rights treaties; and passing comprehensive family legislation on marriage, separation, and divorce.

“The global problem of child marriage strips women and girls of their livelihoods and creates a high risk of violence,” Gerntholtz pointed out. “South Sudan’s government must make good on its pledges of gender equality by putting human rights of women and girls at the heart of its development agenda,” she added.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – South Sudan: End Widespread Child Marriage – Government Should Protect and Support Girls Who Refuse Forced Marriage – 7 March 2013

Oye! Times – Human Right Watch Report Calls For An End To Child Marriage – 7 March 2013

Sudan Tribe – South Sudan: End widespread child marriage – 7 March 2013

Voice of America – End Child Marriage, Rights Group Tells South Sudan – 7 March 2013