By Meryl White

Impunity Watch, Africa

Floods in Nigeria are responsible for the deaths of dozens of people and have swept away entire farmlands. Moreover, torrential rains in neighboring Niger Republic caused two bus crashes on Monday, which resulted in the deaths of at least twenty people. The flooding is most severe in southwest Nigeria.

The flooding has forced thousands to flee from their communities. Moreover, the polluted water sources can increase the risk of malaria, waterborne disease, and respiratory infections. In Lagos, six people have died while another 4,000 have been left homeless. Many residents were forced to part their homes with only the few belongings that they could carry on their heads.

In Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun, more than 400 houses were flooded last week. More than 1,000 people are currently living in temporary shelters at local schools. The state commissioner for health, Abiodun Oduwole, has appealed for donations from world wide organizations.

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has visited shelters in Abeokuta and has provided some medical relief aids. Such materials include mosquito nets, insecticide, vitamins, antibiotics and anti-malarial medicine.

Citizens plea for the Nigerian government to commence immediate deflooding of all affected areas. Shuaibu Umaru, who lost his house, called on the state government to redesign a bye pass road under construction “and re-channel the river so that the people living around would not be swallowed by the flood”.

For more information, please see:

IRIN – NIGERIA: More death and destruction as floods spread to central region – 07 August 2007

AllAfrica – Nigeria: Flood Wreaks Havoc Across the Country – 06 August 2007

AllAfrica – Nigeria: Floods Leave Thousands Homeless – 06 August 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

On Thursday the Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted two former leaders of Sierra Leone’s Civil Defense Force, finding Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa guilty on four counts of “murder, cruel treatment, pillage, and collective punishment.”  Kondewa was also found guilty on the charge of conscripting child soldiers under the age of 15.  Both defendants were acquitted of crimes against humanity, and are expected to be sentenced in September.

The judgment went into detail on some of the crimes carried out by the militia.  They included an order to destroy an entire village treat every person there as a rebel who needed to be killed.

The judge’s verdicts, however, were not unanimous. One judge found both men not guilty on all eight counts. The case against Fofana and Kondewa had been controversial, as some saw the CDF as defending civilians against the rebels during the conflict.  Many Sierra Leoneans saw the CDF, also known as the Kamajor militia, as fighting a noble cause to defend the people against brutal rebel groups such as the RUF.  When the head of the CDF, Sam Hinga Norman, was indicted four years ago public outcry ensued.  He has since died in custody.

The court’s prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, described the trial as “very challenging” and admitted that the indictments had been controversial.  However, he stated that while the accused had been motivated by a desire to restore the national government, there was no justification for the crimes that had been committed.

50,000 people were killed, with many more injured and raped during the conflict.  The Special Court was created in 2002 and has indicted 13 people, among them former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who allegedly backed rebel forces in order to gain control of the diamond mines.  Taylor’s trail is being held at The Hague to prevent unrest in the region. His trial has been delayed until August 20 in order to give more time for his new attorney.

For more information, please see:

Awareness Times – Sierra Leone Judge Dissents with CDJ Judgment – 03 August 2007

Awareness Times – Amnesty International Speaks on Special Court’s Verdict in Sierra Leone – 03 August 2007

Earth Times – 2 Convicted of Sierra Leone War Crimes – 03 August 2007

BBC – Sierra Leone Militia Leaders Convicted – 02 August 2007

Relief Web – Former Sierra Leone Militia Leaders Convicted in War Crimes – 02 August 2007

By Meryl White

Impunity Watch, Africa

In the Niger Delta, at least three people were killed after Nigerian gunmen attacked two oil boats. Security forces believe that the weapon used during the attack came from a destroyed Navy boat. The attack took place between an oil terminal in Bonny Island and the region’s main oil city, Port Harcourt. After the clash, the militants were able to escape with the guns of five policemen traveling aboard the ship. The militants also escaped with valuable items from the passengers of the boat.

This attack comes ten days after the ederly mother of the speaker of the state parliament; Werenipre Seibaguru was released after being held hostage for two weeks. While the Beyelsa State government spokesman, Ebimo Anungo denied that any ransom was paid to secure the elderly woman’s release, AFP news agency reported that the kidnappers demanded $384,000.

Furthermore, on Tuesday, a Nigerian employee of Total, a French oil and gas firm was also kidnapped in the Niger Delta. The worker was returning home from services at church when he was abducted in Port Harcourt.

The abductions as a whole have been a major detriment to Nigeria’s oil export industry, as it has cut oil production by one quarter. More than 150 foreigners have been seized in 2007 alone. Currently twelve foreigners are being held hostage in the violent Niger Delta. Presently, the Bayelsa State government has pleaded with the Federal government to increase security in the Niger Delta to prohibit militants from further disrupting oil production.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Nigeria: Niger Delta and the Hostage-Taking Saga – 03 August 2007

Washington Post – Kidnappers Free Elderly Woman – 03 August 2007

AllAfrica – Nigeria: Militancy – Bayelsa Asks FG to Beef Up Security in N-Delta – 02 August 2007

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

Rwandan officials express their anger to the French appeals court decision to release two genocide suspects. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, a 49 year old Catholic priest, and Laurent Bucyibarutu, a 62 year old former official, were arrested on Friday. The French court ruled the warrants, issued by the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR), could not be executed.

Many Rwandan officials, like Aloys Mutabingwa, a Rwandan representative of a genocide tribunal, said the decision was political and not judicially motivated. They were not surprised at the decision since the two suspects lived in France for 10 years without worries.

The Rwandan representative at the ICTR condemned the ruling. The ICTR, a Tanzania court formed in1994, has thus far condemned 28 genocide suspect. In an effort to bring to justice individuals who played an active or inactive role in the 1994 genocide Rwanda continues to investigate and arrest genocide suspects in and out of the country.

The Rwandan government has repeatedly accused the French government of assisting Hutu rebels in the massacre of nearly one million Tutsis. Several reports indicate that France was aware of the planned genocide but chose to continue supporting the Hutu army. Furthermore, the Rwandan government accused the French government of dragging its feet to cooperate in the investigation of genocide suspects. France has continued to deny such allegations.

The most recent conviction of a Rwandan genocide suspect occurred on July 5th in a Belgium court. Bernard Ntuyahaga, a former Rwandan army major was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of 10 Belgium peacekeepers in the early stages of the genocide. The murders triggered the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers; had they stayed thousands of murders could have been prevented.

For more information please see:

BBC – Rwandan Anger at Suspect Release – 02 August 2007

AllAfrica – Rwanda: ICTR/France- Munyeshyaka And Bucyibaruta Released – 01 August 2007

Yahoo – French Court Frees Rwandan Genocide Suspects – 01 August 2007

BBC – Long Sentence for Rwandan Murders – 05 July 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

The Special Court for Sierra Leone issued its judgment today in the joint trail of Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, the alleged former leaders of the Civil Defense Force.  Fofana was found guilty of four counts of war crimes and Kondewa was found guilty of five counts including war crimes and other serious violations of international law, as well as recruiting child soldiers.  Both were acquitted of charges of murder and violence as crimes against humanity.  Below is a summary of the charges and findings published on the Court’s website.  For a complete report from the court, please see the Special Court for Sierra Leone website.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Factbox – Sierra Leone’s Civil War – 02 August 2007

Reuters – Sierra Leone War Crimes Court Convicts Government Militia Chiefs – 02 August 2007

Count	Substantive Charge	Article of the Statute of the SCSL under which the charge was brought	Source of Law	Finding of Guilt
1	Murder	Art. 2(a)	Crime Against Humanity	Both Accused not guilty
2	Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular murder	Art. 3(a)	Violation of Common Article 3 or Optional Protocol II	Both Accused guilty
3	Inhumane Acts	Art. 2(i)	Crime Against Humanity	Both Accused not guilty
4	Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular cruel treatment	Art. 3(a)	Violation of Common Article 3 or Optional Protocol II	Both Accused guilty
5	Pillage	Art. 3(f)	Violation of Common Article 3 or Optional Protocol II	Both Accused guilty
6	Acts of Terrorism	Art. 3(d)	Violation of Common Article 3 or Optional Protocol II	Both Accused not guilty
7	Collective Punishments	Art. 3(b)	Violation of Common Article 3 or Optional Protocol II	Both Accused guilty
8	Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities	Art. 2(i)	Crime Against Humanity	Fofanah found not guilty. Kondewa found guilty.