By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya has ordered all urban-based Somali refugees to move into designated camps in a bid to end attacks by militant Islamists.

 

The order has been issued because of “emergency security challenges” facing Kenya.

A refugee group condemned the decision as “illegal.”

Kenyans were asked to report any refugees or illegal immigrants outside the overcrowded camps.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.

Until now, refugees who could support themselves or were in need of specialized education or medical care had been allowed to live in urban areas.

Lenku said “all refugees residing outside the designated refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab are hereby directed to return to their respective camps with immediate effect.”

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group has carried out a flood of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

It was behind the four-day siege at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing 67 people.

On Sunday, at least six people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a church near the coastal city of Mombasa.

This attack came amid heightened warnings of a threat of Islamist violence in Kenya despite boosted security in major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

This attack also came days after police arrested two men with a vehicle stashed full of large quantities of powerful explosives prepared in pipe bombs, which experts said would have been strong enough to bring down a major building.

Kenya has repeatedly claimed that refugees crossing over from Somalia are threatening security.

Mr. Ole Lenku said refugee registration centers in Kenya’s main cities would be closed.

All refugees living in cities and towns should report to Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees.

Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Mr Ole Lenku added in a statement.

BBC News says this decision will affect hundreds of thousands Somalis, many of whom who live and work in the cities. This could also worsen overcrowding at the camps.

“Kenya has signed international conventions that allow freedom of movement for refugees, and Tuesday’s decision flies in the face of those assurances,” the US-based Refugee International group said in a statement.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Kenya restricts Somali refugees to camps – 26 March 2014
The East African – Kenya orders all refugees into designated camps – 26 March 2014
Aljazeera – Kenya orders all refugees back into camps – 26 March 2014
The Sydney Morning Herald – Kenya crackdown on refugees after attacks – 26 March 2014
Reuters – Kenya orders Somali refugees back to camps after attacks – 26 March 2014

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – Police in Uganda have prevented women from marching through the streets in the capital of Kampala, in protest of new laws banning women from wearing miniskirts.

Two hundred women, upset with the ban, dressed in short skirts and gathered outside the national theatre to voice their anger.

There have been several harassments and assaults on women in the past week who were wearing short skirts.

This ban follows the signing of an anti-pornography bill, which bans “indecent” dressing.

Further, this week the President Yoweri Museveni signed a bill toughening penalties for gay people in the country.

This ban on miniskirts is known as “the miniskirt law,” which was raised with the anti-pornography legislation and after some women have been publicly undressed for wearing miniskirts.

The police have spoken out and condemned those who engage in this so-called “mob undressing.”

The women who stood outside the theatre in Kampala held up signs. One sign read: “my body my business,” and another read: “thou shalt not touch my miniskirt.”

BBC’s Patience Akumu told BBC that “I was wearing a dress I considered official. Policeman after policeman – low-ranking, high-ranking – the each told me, ‘You cannot enter this place in that miniskirt.’”

Then, Akumu stated, some officers manhandled her and confiscated her phone when she took pictures of them.

The Executive Director of the Uganda Women’s Network, Rita Achiro, said her organization may take legal action as the constitution guarantees equal rights for both sexes. Further, the organization would continue to urge politicians to review the law.

The anti-pornography act, or “the miniskirt law,” does not specifically ban miniskirts; however, it does ban women from exposing their thighs, breasts, and buttocks and from dressing indecently in a manner to “sexually excite.”

Achiro states that this law has emboldened men to abuse women.

“Now people are more free to do it openly. They are going to judge women according to what they see as indecent because there are no parameters defined by law,” Achiro said.

This has put women in risk in this country.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Uganda miniskirt ban: Police stop protest march – 26 February 2014
Local UK News – Uganda police stop miniskirt march – 26 February 2014
allvoices – Uganda police stop miniskirt march – 26 February 2014
Kenya Gounna – Uganda police stop miniskirt march – 26 February 2014

 

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – President Yoweri Museveni is asking the U.S. to advise Uganda’s scientists about homosexuality. The Ugandan President is currently considering whether to sign the law, which would increase punishments.

Museveni wants to discover whether people are born gay.

Museveni’s change of heart, which he was going to sign the Bill, seems to be due to the money the UK and United States gives to Uganda.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda. The proposed legislation passed by parliament toughens the penalties, including imprisonment for certain acts.

Previously, Ugandan scientists had determined there was no gene for homosexuality.

“It was learned and could be unlearned,” Museveni said.

Shortly after Museveni announced he would sign the Bill, U.S. President Obama warned Museveni that enacting the bill would affect relations between the two nations. He described the proposal as an “affront and a danger to the gay community” in Uganda.

The hold will determine whether homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a “lifestyle choice.”

Homosexuality is also illegal in 37 African countries. Few Africans are openly gay because they fear imprisonment, violence, and loss of jobs.

Museveni made a statement on February 18 that he “want[s] . . . [the United States] to clarify whether a combination of genes can cause anybody to be a homosexual. Then my task will be finished and I will sign the bill.”

Museveni had originally refused to sign the Bill, saying it was wrong to punish people born “abnormal.”

Scientists, however, advised him that homosexuality was a behavioral choice. They told him that there was no gene for homosexuality but it was not an “abnormality” and it could be influenced by environmental factors.

The report said: “The practise needs regulation like any other human behaviour, especially to protect the vulnerable.”

The Bill was first introduced in 2009, with the death penalty as a sanction. This was scaled back to life in jail when the Parliament voted in December.

The Bill also proposed years in prison for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians, a provision that would ensnare rights groups and others providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Uganda: Museveni ‘seeks US advice on homosexuality’ – 21 February 2014
The Huffington Post UK – Uganda’s Gay Laws Put On Hold As President Asks For Advice From Scientists – 23 February 2014
CNN – Ugandan President says he’s asked U.S. scientists for advice on homosexuality – 22 February 2014
Reuters – Antigay law put on hold in Uganda – 21 February 2013

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – There are reports of a “massive” attack in northern Nigeria in the town of Bama. This occurred after the presidential spokesman said the army was “winning the war” against Islamist militants.

 

The attack on Bama lasted four hours on Wednesday morning.

Several thousands have lost their lives since the Boko Haram uprising which began in 2009.

Residents have contacted BBC to report the attack, but details of the attack are still unclear.

Last year, a state of emergency was called in Borno and in two neighboring states. Thousands of extra troops were sent into the region, but the attacks have continued despite this effort.

BBC has stated that the army sometimes takes hours to even respond to an attack by Islamist militants. This allows the militants to kill; destroy homes, schools, and mosques; and loot before retreating.

On Saturday, 106 people were killed in an attack.

Governor Kashim Shettima called in for reinforcements for these attacks, but said the insurgents were “better armed and better motivated” than the security forces.

Governor Shettima has said that “it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram.”

This statement, however, was denied.

Another stated that Nigeria’s army was one of the best equipped in Africa, going against Shettima’s statement.

“We state authoritatively without any fear or equivocation whatsoever that Nigeria is already winning the war against terror and the activities of the insurgents will be terminated within the shortest possible time,” a spokesman said.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims – 19 February 2014
Myjoyonline – Boko Haram attack mars Nigeria’s victory claims – 19 February 2014
Wopular – Attack Mars Nigeria’s Victory Claims – 19 February 2014
DailyPost – Boko Haram: Shettima replies Presidency, says FG insensitive to plight of Borno State – 19 February 2014