By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Last week, a man was arrested for “photoshopping” a picture of President Robert Mugabe.

 

Zimbabwean police received information that Ronald Chikambure, a professional graphic designer, had a manipulated photo of the President posted on his office wall. In the photo, Chikambure’s head was said to be placed onto the body of President Mugabe while he was inspecting a guard of honor. The government then charged Chikambure with “undermining the authority of the President”.

According to the prosecution, what Chikambure allegedly did was against the country’s “insult laws”. “The picture had been edited to give a false impression to people who entered Chikambure’s office that it was him in the picture, and not the President,” prosecutor Stanley Ncube said during an interview with the local press.

However, when the police raided Chikambure’s office, they did not find the reported picture. Instead, they found a soft copy of the image, along with the photo editing software Photoshop, in his laptop.

Represented by his lawyer Jonathan Tsvangirai. Chikambure pleaded not guilty before Zvishavane magistrate Story Rushambwa during his hearing on Tuesday. Since then, he was remanded out of custody to February 14 on a 100USD bail.

Activist Phillip Pasirayi from the Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) told SW Radio Africa that Chikambure’s arrest is a mockery of justice and democracy. “We are still living in a dictatorship,” he exclaimed. “In an advanced democracy it is normal to criticize political leaders and government leaders in such a fashion. And the government should be drawing lessons from what the criticisms are about.”

He suggested that the government should “reflect on that which they are insulted by and address the concerns without restoring to insult laws to prosecute people.”

Pasirayi also speculated that this incident is part of the government’s scheme to intimidate its critics. “This strategy of muzzling people, it is a strategy of ZANU PF to silence critics, to silence civil society, to silence the media, to silence anyone,” he said.

Apparent in the increasing number of criminal cases under the “insult law” is the government’s growing “paranoia”, according to Pasirayi. Last year, a local carpenter was arrested for making a joke about President Mugabe. While watching a live coverage of President Mugabe’s 88th birthday celebrations, the carpenter reportedly suggested that the Zimbabwean leader must have had help blowing up his birthday candles.

“Making a joke, drawing a caricature or changing a picture for personal use should not be an offence,” Pasirayi finally added.

 

For further information, please see:

SW Radio Africa – Zim man charged over Photoshopped Mugabe image – 1 February 2013

News Zimbabwe – Photoshopped Mugabe snap lands man in court – 31 January 2013

All Africa – Zimbabwe: Insult Laws Stifle Debate – 1 August 2012

SW Radio Africa – Zim carpenter charged over Mugabe joke – 29 February 2012

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — The Movement of March 23 (M23) rebels have been fighting the DRC army since May in the country’s fertile but highly unstable North Kivu province.  The UN published a report late last year that accused the rebels of serious atrocities: rape, murder, human rights violations, and forced recruitment.  M23 has dismissed the allegations at “cruelly biased.”

In April 2012, the M23 rebels launched an offensive against the army after accusing President Joseph Kabila of reneging on the terms of a March 2009 peace agreement.  Now the M23 rebels state they wish to remove Kabila from office and liberate the entire Congo.  The M23 rebels engagement in the in the eastern province has the region back into war and displaced an estimated 500,000 people.

M23 released its response via a report on Wednesday.  The political leader of M23, Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, charged that the UN experts of harboring a “visceral hatred of M23.”  Runiga said the UN document “seems to us cruelly biased and hardly professional because it contains incompatible and incoherent elements.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that M23 receives significant support from Rwanda.  Moreover, HRW reported that “Rwandan military officials have planned and commanded M23 military operations; supplied weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other equipment; and recruited at least 600 young men and boys in Rwanda to join the rebellion.”

Likewise, according to research by HRW and the UN Group of Experts on Congo several hundred Rwandan army troops were sent to Congo to support the M23 in its military offensives.  In September, HRW accused the rebels of “war crimes committed on a large scale.”

In its Wednesday report, M23 rejected all the foregoing allegations.  The rebel leader, Runiga, calling the UN and the HRW reports “politicized” and “erroneous,” and the production of biased rapporteurs.

However, independent UN experts say the M23 insurgency receives cross-border support from Rwanda and Uganda.  Both governments strongly deny these allegations.

In December the UN sanctions committee blacklisted two key M23 leaders, Eric Badege and Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero on grounds the rebel group has been complicit in “killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, and forced displacement” of people in eastern Congo. They now face international travel bans and asset freezes.

M23 said they expect to sign a peace deal with the government by the end of February to end their ten-month revolt; however, Kinshasa said “capricious” demands from the rebels could cause delays.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Congo-Kinshasa: How M23 Peace Deal was Missed – 1 February 2013

Global Post – DR Congo Rebels Dismiss “Biased” UN Rights Report – 31 January 2013

IOL News – DRC Rebels Dismiss UN Rights Report – 31 January 2013

Reuters – Congo’s M23 Rebels say Peace Deal Possible by end-February – 1 February 2013

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – On Tuesday, the Somali government prosecuted a woman who accused members of the army of raping her.

Since then, the United Nations and various international human rights groups have demanded that the charges against her be dropped.

Earlier this month, Al-Jazeera English published a story about government soldiers raping internally displaced women in Mogadishu camps. Several days after the publication, the Somali police’s Central Investigation Department (CID) in Mogadishu arrested the reporters involved in writing the story.

2 weeks later, a Mogadishu court charged one of the women interviewed for the Al-Jazeera report. She was charged of insulting the government on the basis of false evidence. According to the court’s decision, she fabricated the rape allegations against the Somali soldiers making her guilty of spreading false accusations. Doing so, she effectively “insulted and lowered the dignity of a National Institution,” said the court.

The woman’s husband was also charged and arrested. He was accused of helping his wife evade investigation and secure a profit for the rape allegation. The government claimed that he and his wife agreed to the Al-Jazeera interview, not only with the intention of discrediting the administration, but also of profiting from it.

After the couple’s arrest, the alleged rape victim recanted her story. She later admitted that all the accusations she made against the Somali security forces were “bogus”.

Her conviction sparked outrage among human rights advocacy groups. They believe that it will deter rape victims from coming forward in spite of recent efforts of trying to empower them.

“Allegations of rape should be met with objective investigations by the proper authorities, not detention for victims who come forward or arrest for journalists who report on such crimes,” insisted Zainab Hawa Bangura, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Fartuun Adan, a volunteer who runs a shelter for abused women in the country, expressed her concern and fear about the consequences of the woman’s prosecution. “Women are now asking me, ‘Who’s going to protect us?’ ” she told local newspapers. “They’re saying, ‘What are we supposed to do?’ ”

According to Daniel Bekele, the Africa director at Human Rights Watch, the case is “politically motivated”. “The police ‘investigation’ in this case was a politically motivated attempt to blame and silence those who report on the pervasive problem of sexual violence by Somali security forces,” he said. “Bringing charges against a woman who alleges rape makes a mockery of the new Somali government’s priorities,” Bekele added.

 

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Somali journalist charged over rape report – 31 January 2013

Huffington Post – Somalia: Government Charges Woman Who Says She Was Raped By Security Forces – 31 January 2013

All Africa – Somalia: Somali Authorities Lay Charges Against Alleged Rape Victim and Journalist – 30 January 2013

The New York Times – Somalia Moves to Prosecute Woman Who Accused Soldiers of Rape – 30 January 2013

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ALGIERS, Algeria—David Cameron, the British Prime Minister arrived in Algeria today for security talks and negotiations only two weeks after a hostage crisis that took place at a gas plant in the Sahara on January 16. 2013.

Following their discussion, Cameron led a press conference where he stressed the importance of a “tough and intelligent” response to the growing threat of Islamist militants in that region of Africa.

He said, “Both Britain and Algeria are countries that have suffered from terrorism and we understand each others’ suffering. What we have agreed to is a strengthened partnership that looks at how we combat terrorism and how we improve security of this region. This should be about our perspectives, about the risks and dangers that there are, but also sharing expertise,” he continued.

The United Kingdom, specifically Britain, was among several other countries with citizens held hostage in the crisis in the Ain Amenas that also was not told in advance that Algeria planned to storm the gas plant. The new security partnership created today, Wednesday January 30,2013, between Cameron and Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, now focuses on cooperation between the two countries and working together for a common goal. Together, they will look more broadly at threats in North Africa and the region known as the Sahel, the region stretching across the Sahara Desert.

British soldiers will also come together with the Algerian army on a certain limited number of operations. Potentially, these operations could include training of the Algerian special forces by Britain’s special forces. This however, has not yet been confirmed by the British government. Cameron commented further that his aim was to help the country “help itself” amid and amongst the ever-growing threat from al-Qaida linked groups in that region of Africa.

Cameron also stressed, “the greatest threat of terrorism in this region is to the countries of this region. Of course there are potential threats to the UK, but the focus is very much on helping these countries to protect their security and protect British people in this region. It is very much about helping the region help themselves,” he added.

At the end of Cameron’s trip, he made a special visit to the monument of the martyrs of the Algerian war of independence. He placed flowers at the monument, showing respect and the growing relationship and link between the two countries.

 

For further information, please see:

Algeria Press Service – Algeria, UK “United” in Fight Against Terrorism Says David Cameron – 30 January 2013

Al Jazeera – UK’s Cameron in Algeria for Security Talks – 30 January 2013

The Independent – Britain Forges New Algeria Alliance to Fight Terrorism – 30 January 2013

The Washington Post – UK’s Cameron Visits Algeria – 30 January 2013

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NIAMEY, Niger — The United States signed an agreement with the central Africa nation of Niger that will allow for the deployment of surveillance drones to monitor Islamic militants in the region.  Currently, reports state that United States seeks only to deploy surveillance drones to Niger; however, the agreement could lay the legal groundwork for armed drones in the future.

The use of drones, even if solely for surveillance purposes, remains controversial given the deadly drone strikes in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia.  The use of drones by the United States has caused outrage among civil liberties groups over the secrecy that surrounds their operation and the high incidence of civilian casualties.

The drones could be stationed in Niger’s northern desert region of Agadez, which borders Mali, Algeria and Libya.  The goal is to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara.  The United States has drones and surveillance aircraft stationed at several points around Africa.

Niger government sources reported that U.S. Ambassador Bisa Williams asked Niger’s president, Mahamadou Issoufou, for permission to use surveillance drones and had been granted it.  The United States has reportedly been negotiating with Niger for some time, but France’s intervention in Mali increased the urgency of the deal.

Earlier this month French forces intervened to stop Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) move toward Mali’s capital.  AQIM originated in Algeria and remains active in northern Mali.  AQIM has been connected to the recent assault on the natural gas facility in Algiers.  Moreover, the group has been linked to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

On Monday, French and Malian troops retook control of the ancient trading town of Timbuktu, as they pushed deeper the desert region seized by Islamist fighters last year. Currently, the U.S. is aiding France by sharing intelligence, flying French troops to neighboring countries, and refueling French jets.

Proponents of the agreement argue that in the short run, a drone base in Niger would allow the U.S. to aid France by supplying intelligence on the militant troops in Mali.  In the long run, the drone base would bolster American intelligence gathering and help strengthen Niger’s own security forces.

For more information please see:

CNN – U.S. to Base Surveillance Drones in Niger, Ambassador Says – 29 January 2013

Fox News – US Planning to Establish a Drone Base in Africa for Better Surveillance of Region’s Militants – 29 January 2013

The Guardian – US Signs Deal with Niger to Operate Military Drones in West African State – January 29 2013

Huffington Post – U.S. Drone Base in Africa Approved by Niger – 29 January 2013