U.S. Missionary Jailed For Sexually Abusing Kenyan Orphans

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

OKLAHOMA CITY, United States of America — A former missionary from Oklahoma was sentenced in U.S. federal court on Monday to 40 years in prison for sexually molesting children at a Kenyan orphanage. US District Judge David L. Russell handed down the sentence to Matthew Lane Durham, who had faced up to 30 years on each of four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

Durham, Pictured with some of the Orphans in Kenya. (Photo Courtesy of KGOU)

Durham read a statement before sentencing on Monday asking the court for mercy, but did not express remorse for his offences.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Durham targeted orphans while volunteering at the Upendo Children’s Home in Nairobi between April and June 2014. Durham had served as a volunteer since 2012 at the orphanage, which specializes in caring for neglected children.

In his statement before the courtroom, Judge Russell said, “These were heinous crimes committed on the most vulnerable victims. He was their worst nightmare come true.”

A live-in caretaker at the orphanage said that children said Durham either touched them sexually or told them to touch themselves while he watched.

When confronted by the founder of Upendo and several church members, Durham was alleged to have confessed to several instances of rape and sexual abuse of children. Evidence produced by prosecutors included handwritten, signed confessions that Durham gave orphanage officials after he was accused of inappropriate behavior.

Durham claimed he did not molest the children, but during a preliminary hearing, prosecutors said Durham told Upendo Children’s Home personnel that he thought he had been possessed by an “evil spirit” because he did not remember committing the crimes.

In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said Durham’s actions have had a chilling and damaging effect on the lives of dozens of foreign volunteers in Kenya and elsewhere. Prosecutors stated that these volunteers “must now live under the cloud of suspicion, distrust and apprehension when they volunteer their time, talent and resources for the betterment of children in East Africa and beyond.”

US Prosecutor Mark Yancey stated: “The innocence of the child victims cannot be restored and their lives will never be the same,” adding, “It is our hope and prayer that his conviction and lengthy sentence will someday bring them some comfort and peace.”

Eunice Menja, founder of the orphanage, fought back tears as she read a statement in court. Ms. Menja said, “Matthew Durham defiled the children. Matthew has no remorse. After he got caught, he still denied.” Menja told reporters after the hearing that she hopes Durham’s 40-year sentence is long enough to prevent him from being a threat to anyone else.

“We’re hoping that when he comes out he will be a changed man,” she said.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Kenya: U.S. Man Jailed for 40 Years for Raping Children At Kenyan Orphanage – 8 March 2016

BBC News – Ex-US missionary jailed for abusing Kenyan orphans – 8 March 2016

Sky News – Ex-Missionary Jailed For Kenya Orphanage Abuse – 8 March 2016

The News Nigeria – US missionary jailed 40 years for serial raping of Kenyan kids – 8 March 2016

The Star (Kenya) – Former US missionary jailed for 40 years for sexually harassing kids in Kenya – 8 March 2016

The Times of India – US man jailed for 40 years for abusing Kenyan orphans – 8 March 2016

ABC News – Oklahoma Man Gets 40 Years in Prison in Kenya Orphans’ Abuse – 7 March 2016

Global Centre for the Responisibility to Protect: Ending Five Years of Atrocities in Syria

Tomorrow, 15 March 2016, marks five years of devastating and deadly conflict in Syria. Since 2011, more than 260,000 people have been killed, over 11 million displaced from their homes and 13.5 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Because of the civil war the multi-ethnic, multi-religious fabric of Syrian society has been torn apart and ordinary Syrians are trapped in the largest humanitarian crisis of our time.

 

After five years of misery there is now some dim hope, with a cessation of hostilities that has largely held since 27 February and intra-Syrian talks restarting today in Geneva. Two task forces created by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) are overseeing the cessation as well as the delivery of desperately-needed humanitarian aid to thousands of Syrians in besieged areas. The UN Security Council has endorsed these efforts.

 

But a cessation is not a permanent ceasefire, and the Syrian civil war is far from resolved. Monumental diplomatic efforts will be needed to sustain progress. Syrians cannot afford for the cessation to collapse or for the international community to retreat into passivity in the face of recurring atrocities.

 

Throughout the course of Syria’s civil war, every major principle of international law has been violated with impunity. The Syrian government has deployed illegal chemical weapons and cluster munitions, deliberately bombed hospitals and dropped barrel bombs on civilians. All parties to the conflict, including the government, have tortured detainees, perpetrated sexual violence, deliberately blocked humanitarian aid, and used food as a weapon to starve besieged communities. Crimes against humanity and war crimes continue to be perpetrated.

 

For five years the Syrian government has waged war against its own people, and has utterly failed to uphold its Responsibility to Protect. The government has contravened every resolution passed by the UN Security Council with regard to its attacks on armed rebels and unarmed civilian populations presumed to be supporting them.

 

In the midst of the civil war, the so-called Islamic State has gained territory and influence and has itself carried out crimes against humanity, including mass executions and sexual enslavement. The group poses an existential threat to all religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and must be held accountable for mass atrocity crimes committed in areas under its command and control. All other armed opposition groups who have perpetrated atrocities must also be held to account.

 

The world is fully aware of atrocities in Syria. But as Syrian refugees flee the country in unprecedented numbers, they now find it increasingly difficult to find sanctuary. Various governments have ignored their obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, and many desperate Syrians find international borders closed to them.

 

Syrians did not need to suffer this fate. For nearly five years the international community, and especially the UN Security Council, has watched the Syrian conflict deepen and deteriorate. The Security Council has been consumed with internal political divisions that have crippled its ability to respond to the Syrian crisis, and it has failed to uphold its responsibilities to the Syrian people. On this solemn anniversary we therefore call upon the Security Council to:

 

  1. Demand full and immediate compliance with Resolution 2268, endorsing the cessation of hostilities, the ISSG initiative and a Syrian-led political process, in accordance with the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012;
  2.  
  3. Authorize targeted sanctions against all government and non-state actors who are responsible for mass atrocity crimes;
  4.  
  5. Impose an arms embargo on Syria; and
  6.  
  7. Refer the Syrian situation to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
  8.  

Finally, we call upon all 193 members of the UN to sign the ACT Code of Conduct regarding the Security Council and mass atrocities. No Security Council member should ever vote against a credible resolution aimed at preventing or halting mass atrocity crimes. And no people should ever again have to endure the suffering and death that has been inflicted upon the Syrian people as an ineffective UN Security Council has abdicated its responsibilities.

ICTJ Brings Together the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania to Discuss Response to International Crimes

ICTJ Brings Together the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania to Discuss Response to International Crimes

Dear friends,

Eastern DRC continues to be affected by conflict and serious crimes continue to be committed against civilians living in the area by the national army (FARDC), national armed groups, and foreign armed forces. Holding perpetrators accountable is essential to dismantling the structures that allow the ongoing cycle of abuses to continue in the DRC.

The porous borders the country shares with neighbors in the Great Lakes Region greatly complicate any effort to ensure justice is done. This has allowed certain states to harbor or protect some of the worst perpetrators who were able to hide by simply crossing the border.

With the signing of the Peace Security and Cooperation Framework in Addis Abeba (2013), 11 states pledged to take concrete measures to “put an end to recurring cycles of violence” that has afflicted civilians in Eastern DRC. Yet, despite the political commitments, the investigation and prosecution of domestic and international crimes continue to be severely affected by the lack of appropriate judicial cooperation among the states of the region.

With this in mind, ICTJ has focused a significant portion of its work on criminal justice in the DRC on trying to facilitate such regional cooperation. As part of this effort, on March 15-16, ICTJ is for the first time bringing together the relevant national authorities and specialized prosecutors from the DRC and neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda for high-level discussion and planning. The objective is to facilitate contact, exchanges and discussions between relevant national authorities on the technical and operational (rather than political) level, to discuss their respective national legislative and procedural frameworks.

The event is happening in coordination with the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) and collaboration of the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Defense as well as the the Office of the Military General Prosecutor.

The conference comes at a very significant time. Ladislas Ntaganzwa, indicted since 1996 by International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for charges of genocide against Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide was arrested in Eastern DRC on December 9, 2015, and should be transferred from Kinshasa to the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT) after numerous exchanges between the DRC and Rwanda. Ladislas was among the fugitives referred from the ICTR’s prosecutor to Rwanda under article 11 bis of the ICTR statute.

Also, Jamil Mukulu, head of the Ugandan armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), was arrested in Tanzania and extradited to his home country, Uganda, in 2015. In Uganda, Mukulu is allegedly responsible for a series of attacks in the west between 1998 and 2000, which led to more than 1,000 deaths. Yet, Mukulu was also wanted by the DRC for atrocities committed in the Beni area, North Kivu. Because Mukulu is facing different charges in Uganda and the DRC, participants at tomorrow’s conference are likely to discuss the case and the possibility of extraditing him to the DRC.

The meeting, which will take place tomorrow and on Wednesday in Kinshasa, comes as culmination of a long lasting effort. Two years ago, ICTJ made the strategic decision to move its field office in the DRC from the capital Kinshasa to Goma in the eastern part of the country. The principal rationale behind this was to be based closer to where violations amounting to international crimes are committed, to help catalyze their investigation and prosecution. This has allowed us to work more directly with prosecutors, judicial authorities, victims and civil society activists coming from communities affected by these crimes.

Bearing in mind the lack of infrastructure, which greatly contributes to the disconnect between the capital and the eastern part of the country, to be based in Goma has enabled us to inform our work with the specific challenges met by our Congolese counterparts when they attempt to prosecute international crimes. Crucially, we were able to establish channels of consultation with the Congolese authorities from Eastern DRC and Kinshasa, and this has proven instrumental to the work that we do in the DRC, which in the last year focused on regional cooperation.

We have spent the last year planning and preparing tomorrow’s conference, and this included drafting of a baseline working document assessing the current regional judicial cooperation framework in the region, numerous bilateral meetings with national counterparts, and coordination efforts with the UNJHRO and the Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region. As this work comes to fruition in gathering representatives of these key states to discuss technical aspects of regional cooperation, the hope is that its conclusions will inform the high level meeting of government representatives of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, which is to be held in Nairobi in April.

Ultimately, the goal of this effort is to ensure that the key states in the region work together to bring perpetrators of atrocities to justice and deter future crimes in eastern DRC. Tomorrow’s conference is a significant first step in that direction.

We also invite you to read our latest report The Accountability Landscape in Eastern DRC: Analysis of the National Legislative and Judicial Response to International Crimes (2009–2014).

Best regards,

Myriam Raymond-Jetté

Head of ICTJ Office in DRC

Email: mraymond-jette@ictj.org

Additional contact:

Refik Hodzic

Director of Communications, ICTJ New York

Tel: +1 917-637-3853

Email: rhodzic@ictj.org

Syria Deeply Weekly Update: Meet the Doctors Keeping Aleppo Alive

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

Meet the Doctors Keeping Aleppo Alive

For the past four years, a small team of dedicated medical professionals has held together a skeletal network of bombed out and underground hospitals across opposition-held Aleppo, providing life-saving treatment to the civilians caught in Syria’s deadly war.

Truce Tests Relations Between Islamist Giants

The U.S.-Russian brokered truce remains deeply controversial among rebels. Hardline jihadis have condemned the peace process, while more pragmatic Islamists have endorsed it. Now, a jihadi crackdown on demonstrators in rebel-held Idlib is testing the alliance between two of the insurgency’s most powerful factions.

An ‘Empire of Women’ in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

As young Syrian refugee students celebrated International Women’s Day in the Bekaa Valley this week, education advocate Nora Jumblatt highlighted the increasingly important role of women throughout the refugee community. The war in Syria, despite its chaos and sadness, she said, has given rise to a “little miracle.”

More Recent Stories to Look Out for at Syria Deeply:

Find our new reporting and analysis every weekday at www.syriadeeply.org.

You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.