By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya—Kenya’s Chief Justice Willy Mutunga says that he has recently been threatened with “dire consequences” if the courts decide to bar presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta from contesting the next election which is to take place in March.

Muntunga made a public statement that he will not be cowed by these threats and harassment. Specifically, Mutungra said yesterday that he received a threatening letter. This letter not only mentioned Kenyatta, but also another one of the nation’s leaders who both face trial at the International Criminal Court. Mutunga further noted that he was almost prevented from travelling to Tanzania by an immigration official who believed that this trip was an act of politics. Mutunga concluded that this was deliberate harassment. He is convinced that it is political and noted that “public accountability requires” making it public.

The case before the International Criminal Court stems from certain allegations that Kenyatta fueled the violence that followed the disputed presidential elections in 2007. Kenyatta denies these allegations. Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, are due for trial at The Hague about one month after the March 4th elections. More than 1,000 people died in this violence that swept through the country after the 2007 election.

Political pressure groups have asked Kenya’s high court to disqualify the pair from contesting the election because of the pending International Criminal Court case.

Mutunga commented on these threats saying, “These incidents evidence a pattern of emerging harassment against my person, the Office of the Chief Justice, and the judiciary.” He continued saying, “No fewer than five judges have been attacked in the recent past.” He also noted that judicial officers were being politically intimidated.

The Judge has announced that he has sent this letter to the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Director of the National Intelligence Service, and the Director of Public Prosecutions asking each of them to investigate the matter and give Kenya a progress report on the investigation. “I am also asking the inspector General of Police to take the necessary steps to enhance the security of judges and other judicial officers at this time,” he said.

Mutunga said that a total of five judges have been attacked recently before the March elections.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Kenya’s Willy Mutunga Threatened Over Kenyatta Case – 20 February 2013

Bloomberg – Kenya’s Chief Justice Gets Death Threat Over Kenyatta ICC Case – 20 February 2013

Capital News – Kenya CJ Reveals Threat, State Intimidation – 20 February 2013

Fox News – Kenya’s Chief Justice Reveals Threats – 20 February 2013

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — On Tuesday, Nigerian Islamic militants abducted a French family of seven, including four children in northern Cameroon.  Reports state that the family has been taken across the border into Nigeria.

Reports state that men on motorcycles, armed with Kalashnikovs, intercepted the family in their car near Waza National Park and forced them to drive to the nearby Nigerian border

Waza Park, a natural wildlife reserve in the Far North Region attracts mainly foreign tourists. However, the area suffers from abduction raids by groups in Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria; these bandits often kidnap locals for ransom.

Given France’s involvement in Mali to oust Islamic rebels in the north, the risk of attacks on French nationals and interests in Africa has risen in the last month.

French President Francois Hollande, speaking during a visit to Greece, warned French citizens in West Africa to avoid putting themselves in dangerous situations.  Hollande noted that while France is engaged in a military campaign in Mali, terrorists “are not just in Mali.”

As of today, a total of 15 French citizens are currently being held in western Africa: the seven abducted in Cameroon, one other in Nigeria, and seven thought to be held in northern Mali.

Moreover, the abduction of the French family came a day after an Islamist group in Nigeria claimed responsibility for taking seven foreigners hostage at a construction site in the northern state of Bauchi.

The group that calls itself Ansaru issued a short statement about the kidnapping in northern Nigeria over the weekend, hinting at political motivations for kidnapping what Nigerian authorities say are one British citizen, one Greek, one Italian, three Lebanese and one Filipino, who reportedly work for Setraco Nigeria Ltd.

This series of kidnappings have added to fears of instability and danger toward Westerners in the region.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg – French Kidnapped in Cameroon Were Taken Into Nigeria – 19 February 2013

CBS – Militants Kidnap French Family of 7 in Cameroon, Officials Say – 19 February 2013

Chicago Tribune – Militants Kidnap French Family in North Cameroon – 19 February 2013

Reuters – Militants Kidnap French Family in North Cameroon – 19 February 2013

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa — Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, an anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of South Africa’s Black Conscious Movement, has announced the formation of a new political party to challenge ruling African National Congress (ANC), to which Nelson Mandela once belonged.  Dr. Ramphele’s party is called Agang, a Sesotho word meaning “build.”

Dr. Ramphele, a 65 year-old medical doctor and social anthropologist, told a news conference on Monday that her party will serve millions of South Africans who desire a new beginning.  She stated her call to South Africa: “join me in building the South Africa of our dreams.”

She accused the governing party of corruption, undermining democracy, and abusing its political power.

Moreover, Dr. Ramphele confirmed at the news conference that her party will run in the 2014 elections and will campaign “from village to village.”  Her party is the latest in a string of opposition groups challenging ANC’s dominance.

The ANC, which was formed more than a century ago, has won every national election since the end of apartheid in 1994.  However, the party has been subject to increased scrutiny due to charges of corruption and poor governance.  Despite promising “a better life to all,” inequality in South Africa has only grown since apartheid ended.

South Africa faces a growing chasm between rich and poor, as well as widespread unemployment.  As such, South Africa has seen increasingly violent protests against job losses and utility shortages.  Moreover, the country is facing an education and health crisis.

Dr. Ramphele has been a fixture in South African public life for decades.  She had a close relationship with Steve Biko, a Black Consciousness activist, who died in police custody in 1977.  They had two children together.  The apartheid government banished her for seven years to the village of Lenyenye for her political activism.  There she committed to bettering the community and she started a small clinic that treated thousands of rural residents.  She has also earned degrees in anthropology and business.

After apartheid ended, she became the first black vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town.  She later became a managing director of the World Bank.

When asked how the Mandela of 1994 would feel about the state of the nation now, Dr. Ramphele said: “absolutely disappointed.”  She went on to say that, “he would be the first to acknowledge that he failed, but the fact of the matter is that failure is not a problem, the problem is what do we learn from failure?”

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Mamphela Ramphele Launches Challenge to South Africa’s ANC – 18 February 2013

The New York Times – Anti-Apartheid Leader Forms New Party in South Africa – 18 February 2013

The Wall Street Journal – Activist Seeks to Take On African National Congress – 18 February 2013

The Washington Post – Anti-apartheid Fighter Mamphela Ramphele to Form a Party to Build a “South Africa of Our Dreams” – 18 February 2013

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali—European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss the situation in Mali. The group has officially decided to launch a mission to train the military in the African country of Mali. This decision was made today.

This mission is designed to help the government of Mali take back and maintain control of the country. The first people in the mission, about 70 individuals, have already been sent to Mali so that they could begin the training as advisors to the Malian military. Officials of the European Union noted that more military instructors will be deployed before the end of March and official training will begin in April of this year.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton noted that the mission “is going to be of enormous importance in support of the Malian army” which is currently a poorly equipped and trained force without the ability or capacity to maintain the country’s territorial integrity. About half of the troops will be military trainers, while the rest will serve by providing protection and administrative as well as medical backup.

The current 27 European Union nations first approved the idea of a training mission in December 2012 in order to boost the Malian army’s ability to fight Islamist rebels who seized control of the country’s northern region last year. But the actual launch of the training mission was quickly accelerated after France’s surprise intervention in its former colony on January 11, in order to stop the insurgents from continuing south toward the capital.

Approximately 16 countries from the European Union along with Norway have agreed to take part in this mission. The mission currently has a 12.3 million-euro budget, and each contributing nation is providing and financing its own troops.

Specifically, the mission will provide advice and military training to the Malian Armed Forces. This training will include on command control, logistics and human resources as well as training on international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and protection of human rights. The mission, however, will not be directly involved in combat operations. The mission has an initial mandate of 15 months and will involve about 500 staff. The headquarters will be in Mali’s capital city of Bamako while training will take place in Koulikoro.

 

For further information, please see:

Global Post – EU Approves Military Mission to Mali – 18 February 2013

The Miami Herald – EU Launches Military Training Mission in Mali – 18 February 2013

New Europe – EU Send Training Mission to Mali – 18 February 2013

The Washington Post – EU Foreign Ministers Officially Launch Mission to Train the Military in Mali – 18 February 2013

 

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Human rights group Amnesty International demands the Sudanese government to halt the execution of local activist Bakri Moussa Mohammed.

Three years ago, Mohammed, a community activist who hails from Darfur, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for murder. However, his sentence was revised to death penalty last year without any court hearing.

“We believe Bakri Moussa Mohammed is at imminent risk of being hanged and we implore the Sudanese authorities to act immediately to stop the execution, through whatever means available,” urged Amnesty International’s Africa director Netsanet Belay.

Belay also questions the grounds for modifying Mohammed’s sentence. According to him, “the vague circumstances of the change in Bakri’s sentence are a clear violation of fair trial standards.”

On December 31, 2012, almost three years after his imprisonment, Mohammed was informed by a prison officer that his sentence was changed to death penalty. On the same day, he was transferred to death row and brought to the gallows before being told by Sudanese authorities that his execution would be postponed for 35 days.

According to Amnesty International, that deadline has now passed. The human rights organization fears that Mohammed may be hanged any day this week.

Mohammed’s family join Amnesty International in calling on the Sudanese government to stop Mohammed’s execution. His family suspect that his transfer to death row was purely a political decision. They believe that it was the government’s way of punishing Mohammed for his protests against the current administration. They reasoned that the victim’s family already agreed to take blood money, totaling 60,000 Sudanese pounds, in lieu of capital punishment. In fact, the victim’s family already received 17,000 Sudanese pounds from them as a first installment, insisted Mohammed’s father. Thus, they do not see why Mohammed has to be executed.

“The Sudanese authorities have serious questions to answer about the revision of this sentence. Trials for crimes carrying the death penalty must comply with the most rigorous internationally recognized standards for fair trial,” said Netsnanet Belay. In a recent press release by Amnesty International, the group pointed out that international law prohibits any execution after a trial which does not meet international fair trial standards. In addition, any person sentenced to death also has the right to request a pardon or commutation of a death sentence.

“Those rules appear to have been flouted in the case of Bakri Moussa Mohammed, whom we fear is being persecuted solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and assembly,” Belay added.

 

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Sudan must save Darfuri activist from imminent execution – 15 February 2013

Sudan Radio – Activist’s Family Calls for Halt to His Execution; Says it Paid Blood Money – 14 February 2013

Sudan Tribune – Darfur activist placed on death row – 14 February 2013

Amnesty International – Sudan: Darfur Activist at Imminent Risk of Execution: Bakri Moussa Mohammed – 13 February 2013