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

 

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — The High Court of Kenya dismissed arguments on Thursday that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s pending trial in the International Criminal Court for charges of crimes against humanity renders him ineligible for the presidential elections.

Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, are two of four accused at the International Criminal Court of orchestrating tribal fighting that killed 1,200 people after the last vote in 2007.  Both men deny the charges.

Kenyatta, a former finance minister and the son of the country’s founding president, is running a close second to Prime Minister Raila Odinga according to opinion polls for the March 4 presidential election.

Odinga and Kenyatta lead largely ethnic-based coalitions with few ideological differences, and there was concern regarding how Kenyatta’s supporters might react had he been barred from the elections.

Similar ethnic rivalries fueled the fighting after the last presidential elections five years ago.  The violence marred the image of the east African country, the region’s most powerful economy and a key western ally in the war against militant Islam in the region.

In reaching their decision to decline the case, the panel of five judges said in an oral statement, “the High Court lacks jurisdiction to deal with a question relating to the election of a president.”  Moreover, the judges stated that, “this is an issue that is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.”

The Principal Judge of the High Court, Mbogholi Msagha, further explained that the court lacked jurisdiction over the petitions filed by various legal and rights groups.  He stated that the petitioners should have requested the electoral commission exclude Kenyatta and Ruto the ballot.

Msagha also said that the court could not deny Kenyatta and Ruto their right to contest the poll because they had not been convicted.  He added that, “they are presumed innocent until proved otherwise.”

It is not immediately clear whether an appeal will be submitted to the highest court.  However, it is likely that, if elected president, Kenyatta’s first foreign trip abroad will be to appear in the Hague at a hearing scheduled for April.

Likewise, the Kenyan government is being sued for police brutality in the violence following the 2007 election.  The families of seven people shot dead and eight wounded survivors of the post-election violence filed a lawsuit this week to sue the Kenyan government.  The petitioners claim that the police fired the shots during a dispute over who won Kenya’s 2007 presidential election.

Four human rights groups are also part of the suit against the government.  Moreover, there have been warnings from various international human rights groups that the police are not ready to prevent electoral violence while refraining from human rights violations.  Advocacy groups have criticized the Kenyan police for decades of ineffectiveness, corruption, human rights violations, and impunity.

For more information, please see:

ABC – Kenyan Government Sued for Police Brutality – 15 February 2013

BBC News – Uhuru Kenyatta Free to Run After Kenya Election Ruling – 15 February 2013

Reuters – Kenyatta Cleared to Run in Kenya Vote Despite Charges – 15 February 2013

The Guardian – Kenyan Court Clears Way for Uhuru Kenyatta to Run in Election – 15 February 2013

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Several members of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were assaulted and detained after two consecutive protests against the new draft constitution.

On February 13, WOZA members in Harare marched towards the parliament to stage a demonstration against the draft constitution.

Believing that the draft constitution is a “result of negotiations behind closed doors and a deal that suits the principals and the political parties in the inclusive government”, around 50 women filled the streets and rallied against its enactment. “… it was written for a current political climate and not for the future generation. A constitution is supposed to be written by the people because they should determine how they want to be governed. It is their role to give the rule to the rulers,” read some of the flyers the WOZA members were distributing during their march.

However, as they were approaching the parliament building, they were blocked by police officers. In an attempt to disperse the group, the police fired tear gas at the WOZA members. Afterwards, they arrested a number of protestors. Reports say that the police also used baton sticks, locally known as “sjamboks”, to beat up the detainees as they were being bundled into police vehicles.

The arrested WOZA members were eventually released without charge on the same day. But according to Dr. Tarisai Mutangi from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, a number of women sustained major injuries from the assault.

The following day, members from the Bulawayo chapter held their annual Valentine’s Day protest. With the theme – One Love, the protest was set to be staged outside the police Headquarters in 9th Avenue, at Southampton House. It aimed to raise awareness about police brutality and to urge the police to respond to the group’s formal complaints about arbitrary arrests and the police’s use of indiscriminate violence against protesters. Although the march began smoothly and peacefully, as the members neared the venue, police officers started chasing them off with baton sticks. Once again, WOZA members were brought into custody without charge and released on the same day. However, according to WOZA leader Jennifer Williams, unlike the arrests the previous day, six of their male co-members and one female co-member remain in detention.

Amnesty International’s southern Africa director Noel Kututwa condemned the violent treatment of WOZA members by the police forces. “This most recent incident sounds yet another alarm bell for the exercise of internationally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in advance of the referendum on a new constitution and elections later this year,” Kututwa stated. “Human rights violations by the police, including arbitrary arrests and raids at offices of human rights defenders, go against the calls for tolerance made by President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai,” he added.

 

For further information, please see:

WOZA – 195 arrested during Valentines Day protest, 50 beaten, Bertha remains in custody – 15 February 2013

All Africa – Zimbabwe: Woza Valentine’s Day Protestors Beaten And Arrested in Bulawayo – 14 February 2013

Amnesty International – Zimbabwe: Eight women arrested after handing out teddy bears and roses in peaceful protest – 14 February 2013

The Zimbabwean – Police arrest and assault WOZA members – 14 February 2013

ZimEye – Woza Woman Strips Naked Before Police, 180 Arrested – 14 February

SW Radio Africa – WOZA women beaten & detained after anti-constitution demo – 13 February 2013