By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic — As violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) mounts the government announced Wednesday that it will launch a campaign to disarm Seleka rebel fighters who overthrew the president in March.

Minister of Public Security Jose Binoua announced the campaign in response to the growing concern over a surge in robberies, rapes, and murders throughout  the country. The campaign will focus on the capital Bangui around six designated military barracks where Seleka fighters will be given a location to hand in their weapons.  The city limits will be closed to cars for the duration of the program which is expected to last ten days.

The campaign is being carried out by the police in conjunction with Seleka leaders and the CAR military. A previous two month disarmament campaign led by the African regional force FOMAC had little success in decreasing the number of weapons in the streets.

There is a growing fear the the CAR will become a failed state. Prof. Emmanuel Yenshu Vubo, a political science lecturer at the University of Buea, Cameroon, told the Cameroon Tribune that the situation in the CAR is “a result of long standing instability in the country and the tacit understanding among Central African Republic elite that the force of arms can be a mode of getting to power. We can add the fact that the major international actors have been either accomplices or have actively supported the situation.” Yenshu Vubo went on to explain that the history of the CAR is one marked with continual military takeovers and the present leaders are unequipped to deal with the humanitarian problems the country now faces.

Even as the security situation in the country deteriorates the UN food agency is scaling up its operations to ensure that displaced persons will have food.  Humanitarian agencies are increasingly becoming a target for looting. There is also a concern that food and supplies will be harder to get into the country since Cameroon has closed its border with CAR after Seleka rebels attacked and killed a border guard.

For further information, please see:

All Africa — Central African Republic: Govt Moves to Disarm Rebel Fighters, Halt Violence — 4 September 2013

All Africa — Central African Republic: Tell-Tale Signs of Breakdown — 2 September 2013

All Africa — Central African Republic: ‘CAR Has Never Known Political Consensus’ — 2 September 2013

UN News Centre — Central African Republic: UN food relief agency scaling-up operations despite deteriorating security — 30 August 2013

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

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – A member of parliament, Muhindo Nzangi, was sentenced to 3-years in prison over comments he made on a radio program.  Nzangi’s comments revolved around a political debate about the M23 rebel group.

Two days after speaking on the radio program, Nzangi was tried, convicted, and sentenced for endangering internal state security, revealing defense secrets, and insulting the president.

Because Nzangi was allegedly “caught in the act,” Nzangi was not protected by parliamentary immunity. His trial began immediately when he was flown to the capital, Kinshasa, and was denied the right to have adequate time to prepare a defense.

“A member of parliament was arrested, summarily tried and sent off to prison solely for expressing his views,” said Ida Sawyer, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This sadly is just the latest attempt by government officials to use the courts to silence dissent.”

Nzangi participated in a 2 ½ hour debate on Radio Kivu 1. They discussed the crisis concerning the M23, a Rwanda-backed rebel group active in North Kivu, and also discussed the role of civil society.

Nzangi stated that the Congolese people should call on the government to end talks with M23 rebels in Uganda and continue military operations against them. Further, he urged people to direct their pressure toward Congolese President Joseph Kabila as well as United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo, by holding “peaceful actions,” such as marches and sit-ins.

In addition, Nzangi acknowledged the risk of demonstrations turning violent, but called for advanced measures to be taken to prevent and control risk.

Once the radio program ended, Nzangi told Human Rights Watch that someone called him and warned him that “The president is very upset with you. Flee if you can.”

One week after Nzangi was tried, convicted, and sentenced, police violently disrupted a peaceful sit-in by dozens of Nzangi supporters asking for the release of Nzangi. This sit-in occurred outside the North Kivu governor’s office in Goma.

The police brutally beat several protestors, arrested 4 protestors, and threatened protestors with rebellion charges. However, the 5 arrested protestors were released the next day.

Many believe that Nzangi’s arrest was politically motivated since Nzangi is a member of the Movement for Social Renewal (MSR), one of the largest political parties in the ruling presidential majority.

Human Rights Watch states that Congolese authorities should drop this questionable case against Nzangi and end the crackdown against his supporters. Further, it states that this prosecution reflects a broader government crackdown on free expression in the country.

Since May 2012, Human Rights Watch has documented 84 cases which politicians, political party activists, journalists, and human rights activists were arrested or threatened by the authorities because of their political views or published opinions.

International law provides that everyone convicted of a crime has a right to appeal their conviction to a higher tribunal.

“If President Kabila is serious about creating open dialogue, a first step should be to let politicians, journalists, activists and others say what they think without risking jail,” Sawyer said. “Everyone who is locked up for their peaceful political views should immediately be released and charges dropped.”

For further information, please visit:

Human Rights Watch – DR Congo: Outspoken Lawmaker Gets 3-Year Sentence – 29 August 2013
Africa Press Review – Democratic Republic of Congo – Outspoken lawmaker gets 3-year sentence in DRC – 30 August 2013
Ifex – Outspoken lawmaker gets 3-year sentence in DRC -30 August 2013
World News Inc. – DR Congo: Outspoken Lawmaker Gets 3-Year Sentence (HRW) – 29 August 2013
All Africa – Congo-Kinshasa: Outspoken Lawmaker Gets 3-Year Sentence – Freedom of Expression, Peaceful Assembly Under Attack – 29 August 2013
refworld – Democratic Republic of Congo: Outspoken Lawmaker Gets 3-Year Sentence – 29 August 2013
topix – DR Congo: Outspoken Lawmaker Gets 3-Year Sentence – 29 August 2013

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic – More than 5,000 people, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in the main airport of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), after increased violence in the neighborhoods of  Boy-Rabe and Boeing. The refugees have blocked runways and flights have been diverted to neighboring Cameroon.

               The CAR has become increasingly unstable since Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March. The new president and former rebel leader Michel Djotodia has so far been unable to stop rebel fighters from killing and looting citizens.

                The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees has issued a statement calling for Djotodia and the government to restore order in the country. “We urge the authorities to use all means to stop attacks against civilians, restore security and protect the population,” said Liz Ahua, the deputy director of UNHCR’s Bureau for Africa.

                The UNHCR has reported that over the past ten days people have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, detention, torture, extortion, armed robberies, physical violence, restriction of movement, and looting. These actions have killed 10 so far in addition to numerous people killed outside the capital city by marauding rebel fighters.

                Many of the refugees inhabiting the airport are there not only for safety provided by peacekeepers but to protest the situation in their country. Residents of Boy-Rabe and Boeing say they have stayed at the airport to protest the lawlessness that has run rampant since March. “Our presence here at the airport has one goal – to get the world’s attention. Because we are fed up with these Seleka,” said Antoine Gazama told Aljazeera.

The African Union is deploying a 3,600 person peacekeeping mission in the CAR, incorporating a force of 1,100 soldiers already present in the country. French President Francois Hollande has called on the UN Security Council and the African Union to work to stabilize the CAR, warning that the country is at risk of completely collapsing. The CAR was at one point a French colony.

There are already more than 206,000 internally displaced persons in the CAR before the recent unrest and some 63,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. The fighting has eroded the humanitarian situation in the CAR, even the most basic services have been interrupted, affecting the entire population of 4.6 million people, half of whom are children.

For further information, please see:

Thomson Reuters — Former rebels sow terror in Central Africa Republic – residents — 30 August 2013

Voice of America — UN Agencies See Security Deterioration in CAR — 30 August 2013

Aljazeera — CAR protesters occupy Bangui airport — 29 August 2013

All Africa — Central African Republic: Thousands Take Refuge At Airport — 29 August 2013

All Africa — Central African Republic: Violence Displacing Bangui Residents — 29 August 2013

All Africa — Central African Republic: Amid Renewed Fighting UN Refugee Urges CAR to Protect Civilians — 29 August 2013