By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya—Early this morning, Kenyan police fired tear gas to end a number of riots that broke out in its capital city after a grenade blast, on Sunday, killed at least seven people. Many shops were looted in the neighborhood of Eastleigh, a primarily Somali neighborhood, as the angry youths blamed the ethnic Somalis for Sunday’s explosion. Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked group, al-Shabab, is specifically blamed for this attack, as they have been held accountable for numerous attacks in Kenya in recent years.

Al-Shabab, a militant group, has vowed large-scale attacks in Nairobi after Kenya sent its own military forces into Somalia last year. There have been a series of explosive attacks over the last year that have killed and wounded dozens of people and have been responsible for raising ethnic tensions in the region.

The riots were carried out by demonstrators who were venting their frustration over a bomb attack in the same neighborhood yesterday. Maurice Ouma, a witness to the bombing and the riots, said, “It’s unfortunate that now people we’re hosting are actually turning against us.”

Regional Police Commander Moses Ombati, said, “We are worried the number of casualties could be higher since there were two more vehicles behind after an explosion on a 25-seater mini bus which was blown up by the explosive device.” He further noted, “Several have been rushed to the hospitals and we expect the number of casualties to be higher since there were also some passerby and bystanders who were also hit.”

The injured were rushed to the Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment resulting in an appeal for blood drives to help the victims of the grenade attack.

Tensions are running high in the region as Kenyan residents are beginning to attack Somalis whom they suspect are responsible for the rising insecurity of the country that has effected the “residential estate in the recent past.” Commander Ombati noted that security forces have been deployed in the neighborhood of Eastleigh in order to contain the violence. The police have also launched a major crackdown to apprehend and bring to justice, those behind the deadly attacks.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Kenya Grenade Attack: Somalis Attacked in Nairobi – 19 November 2012

CoastWeek – Nairobi Police Fear More Deaths After Blast in Eastleigh Suburb – 19 November 2012

DW – Riots in Kenya Over Bus Bomb – 19 November 2012

Washington Post – Kenya Police Fire Bullets, Tear Gas As Riot Breaks Out – 19 November 2012

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch, Africa

 KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Over 200 civilians, including children, were arbitrarily killed by various rebel groups in the eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) says a UN report published on Wednesday.

In a news release from the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), the Geneva-based organization stated that “at least 264 civilians, including 83 children, were arbitrarily executed by armed groups in more than 75 attacks on villages between April and September this year.”

On a six-mission operation, the UNJHRO investigators conducted more than 160 interviews with victims and witnesses where they also found evidence of what UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay described as “the most serious [human rights violations] we have seen in recent times in the DRC.”

The investigators found out that most of the victims of these reported atrocities were hacked to death with machetes. Other victims were burnt alive in their homes at the southern town of Masisi in the North Kivu province.

However, the UNJHRO pointed out that the actual number of killings could be considerably higher than the statistics published in the report. According to the UN agency, the UNJHRO investigators experienced “security concerns” that prevented them from probing other reported violations.

“The ethnic dimension of the attacks is of particular concern in eastern DRC where tensions over the past 15 years, while fundamentally rooted in competition over land and natural resources, have resulted in cycles of violence committed along ethnic lines,” explained the report.

The main suspects of these attacks are the Raia Mutomboki and the Nyatura.

The Raia Mutomboki is a homeland defense militia whose aim is to cleanse the region of Hutus and Kinyarwanda speakers. Reports show that it has also seized the North Kivu villagers it purports to be protecting, using them as porters.
On the other hand, the Nyatura — an ethnic Hutu militia who took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda — have usually targeted people from the Tembo community.

The UNJHRO report also uncovered several cases of sexual violence involving the rape of 12 women. Other human rights violations mentioned in the report included mass forced displacement, large-scale looting, and destruction of private property.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRC and head of MONUSCO, Roger Meece, expressed his concern about the likelihood that the the security situation in the country could worsen, noting a “significant increase” in human rights violations throughout the Kivus this year.

“The risk of intensification of this ethnically charged conflict is real, and gives rise to serious concerns for peace and for the security of civilians in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, High Commissioner Navi Pillay urged the Congolese government to “take immediate measures to protect civilian populations and to combat the persistent impunity which only serves to embolden the killers.” The High Commissioner also expressed the willingness of the UN to offer support to the DRC’s recently launched judicial investigation into the human rights violations, saying that these “must lead to the prosecution of those responsible for these acts and ensure justice for the victims.”

 

For further information, please see:

Afrika.no – Congo-Kinshasa: Evidence of hundreds arbitrary killings in the east this year, UN says – 16 November 2012

United Press International – DRC vows to repel M23 – 16 November 2012

AFP – Mass slaughter of civilians, children in DR Congo: UN – 15 November 2012

All Africa – Congo-Kinshasa: UN Report Finds Evidence of Arbitrary Killings in Eastern DR Congo, Prompts Calls for Action – 14 November 2012

 

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – Uganda’s speaker of parliament promised that the controversial anti-homosexuality bill will pass by the end of the year as an “early Christmas gift”.

If enacted into law, the bill will impose harsher punishments on homosexual behavior.

According to The Examiner, the bill will effectively separate homosexuals into two groups. “Aggravated homosexuality” covers  homosexual acts committed by authoritive figures, parents, pedophiles, or individuals who are HIV positive.

On the other end of the spectrum is the “offense of homosexuality,” a charge that applies to consenting adults in a same sex relationship.

The bill would compel doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals to report a homosexual or face arrest.

Parliamentary speaker Rebecca Kadaga said that the bill will become law this year as Ugandans “are demanding it”.

“Who are we not to do what they have told us? These people should not be begging us,” Kadaga said. She added that a decision will likely be made within two weeks.

Homosexuality is already criminalized under the Ugandan penal code. However, in 2009 a lawmaker with the ruling party said the Uganda needed a stronger law to protect it’s children from homosexuals.

The proposal has drawn widespread international criticism. President Barack Obama calls it “odious” and some international donors threaten to cut off aid to Uganda should the bill be signed into law.

James Nsaba Buturo, the former ethics minister and a coalition leader, is confident of the bill’s speedy approval.

“I can tell you it has 99 percent chance. It will pass. No question about it,” Buturo said. “If there was any leader in this country who sympathizes with homosexuality, he will not say it in public. Because he knows that Ugandans, by and large, do not support that way of life.”

Buturo adds that non-Ugandans who criticize the bill are engaging in a “culture war” with Uganda. He says the bill’s re-introduction after being shelved by the last parliament shows the  country will not be deterred by threats of aid cuts.

“We are saying to the world and to those who are supporting this way of life of theirs, ‘Come what may.’ They have no right whatsoever to impose their preference on this nation,” Buturo insists.

Gay rights activists in Uganda, although opposing the bill, point out that it has helped their fight for equality by putting gay rights, a taboo subject in Uganda, on the national agenda.

On the other hand, Kikonyogo Kivumbi, executive director of civil rights organisation Uhspa-Uganda, says that the anti-gay legislation is being used as a “political weapon” for the Ugandan government to influence the UN.

“Uganda is using the bill to threaten and blackmail the West,” he told IBTimes UK. “They know that respect of human rights is a sensible subject in the West and they are using it to blackmail the international community.”

 

For further information, please see:

Voice of America – Uganda Moves Forward on Anti-Gay Bill – 14 November 2012

The Inquisitr – Uganda Anti-Gay Bill Described as ‘Early Christmas Gift’ to The Country – 12 November 2012

The Huffington Post – Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill to Pass This Year: Official – 12 November 2012

International Business Times – Uganda Uses Anti-Gay Bill to ‘Blackmail the west’, Leading Activist Tells IBTimes – 12 November 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LUSAKA, Zambia—Two Zambia soccer players were injured when the African champion’s team bus was stoned late last night by two young individuals. The team’s goalkeeper, Kennedy Mweene’s injuries required stitches in his head after the bus windows shattered. The team was leaving Johannesburg for its hotel when the bus was attacked. Felix Katongo, a midfielder, was also injured.

The Football Association of Zambia said that it was “very sad that the Zambian bus was stoned and Kennedy Mweene sustained a head injury.” The Association also noted that he “has had stitches and is okay, but the incident was shameful.” The investigators are still looking for other minors who also engaged in this attack, throwing stones outside of the stadium and breaking several windows.

On the other side of the story, the South Africa Football Association told the press that two boys, ages 12 and 13, were apprehended just outside of the soccer stadium immediately after the stoning. The South African Football Association spokesman Dominic Chimhavi said “SAFA (the Association) condemns the incident in the strongest possible terms.” He also added that the youths were in police custody and that a case for “malicious damage to property” has just been opened.

This incident comes at a difficult time as South Africa is set to host the Africa Cup of Nations next year from January 19 through the 10th of February. The stoning also came after a match that was played in honor of the former president Nelson Mandela. Chimhavi reflecting on this said that these people are not welcome in South Africa’s stadiums.

Another SAFA spokesperson also said, “such people do not belong to the football family and once the investigations have been concluded, the police should send out a strong message against future perpetrators. People come to the games with their families and this behavior is not acceptable.”

The country has hosted a number of international events and has not experienced such conduct in the past.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC Sport – Two Zambian Players Injured After Attack on Team Bus – 15 November 2012

Fox Soccer – Two Zambia Players Injured in South Africa – 15 November 2012

IOL Sport – SAFA Condemn Zambia Bus Attack – 15 November 2012

Mail & Guardian – Boys Who Stoned Zambian Soccer Team’s Bus Released – 15 November 2012

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 PRETORIA, South Africa – On Thursday, the housing department of the Gauteng province began demolishing homes that it said were constructed on illegally sold land, despite efforts by protesters to stop the demolitions.

37 out of 113 targeted houses have been bulldozed so far. Since then, residents in Lenasia Extension 13, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, protested against the demolition barricading roads and setting tires on fire.

The protesters clamored for due process. They claim that although their houses were on the list to be demolished, they were never given notice contrary to a public statement issued by the housing department. One of the things the government could have done, they said, was to work out a deal with them that would have allowed them to properly purchase the houses and lots.

Their rally fell on deaf ears, however. Bulldozers, escorted by armored police vehicles, made its way amid the protesters’ makeshift barricades and continued to smash the houses on their path. The residents could only watch in vain as their homes were turned into rubble.

In one instance, the police had to drag a woman who was carrying a baby out of her house, but that did not stop her from trying to save her property. Once outside, she ran and stood in front of the bulldozer that was about to tear down her house, pressing her hands against it and begging the authorities to spare her home. She cried, “Please, please, please, don’t do it”.

The provincial spokesperson, Motsamai Motlhaolwa, said that the housing department was merely implementing a court order. “We are evicting people from a land that belongs to the department,” he said. He maintains that the land is intended for future government housing projects.

Motlhaolwa also claims that the title deeds presented by some of the residents were fake. Citing an investigation conducted by the housing department’s anti-fraud and corruption unit, he said that “fraudsters sold several stands (for amounts) ranging from 2,500 rand ($285) to 95,000 rand ($10,860) and issued buyers with fraudulent deeds of sale which bore the department’s official logo.” In fact, he added, the court ordered the residents not to build houses on the land in 2006, but a syndicate had convinced them otherwise.

Sam Mfupa, one of the residents whose house was demolished, asserted that the government should have arrested the people who sold them the land beforehand. He speculated that members of the syndicate might be “con artists from the housing department” itself.

Police spokesman Kay Makhubele retorted that residents should lay charges if they have evidence of corruption and their homes were destroyed.

According to Spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa, owners of the demolished houses would not be compensated for their losses.

 

For further information, please see:

The Peninsula – Demolition of houses sparks protests in S Africa – 10 November 2012

The Associated Press – SAfrica police destroy illegal homes – 9 November 2012

News24 – Anger over Lenasia demolitions – 9 November 2012

News24 – Lenasia woman hysterical over demolition – 9 November 2012

IOL News – Lenasia locals protest housing demolition – 9 November 2012