By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia—The Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, just announced his choice of Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, a political newcomer to serve as his new prime minister. Saaid who is new to the political realm has been a prominent businessman in the neighboring country of Kenya, and is married to Haji Elmi who is an influential peace activist originally from Somalia.

Mr. Saaid made the following promise to his country, “I promise that I will do my duty in line with the Constitution and the national laws.”

The current President is also a political newcomer. He worked in several different international organizations and came into his leadership role last month. Augustine P. Mahiga, the top United Nations envoy to Somalia said, “The appointment of a new prime minister is another important step forward in the country’s peace building process.”

The next step, after Saaid’s appointment, is approval by parliament. If he receives this approval, the prime minister will begin to put together his Cabinet. This latest series of political appointments and new leadership is the first since the nation’s decades of civil war.

Not only did the nation just recently pick its new president, but Somalia has also adopted a new provisional constitution, has selected members of parliament and has appointed the parliament’s speaker. All of this has fallen into place in the last few months.

Saaid and Mohamud now face a new daunting task. They now have the task of running Somalia’s first effective central government since 1991. Twenty-one years ago, the country fell into chaos after the dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, was overthrown. After his ousting, militants and local warlords struggled for control who launched a series of civil wars nationwide.

Mr. Mohamud has yet another challenge on his plate in his new presidency. This challenge involves the insurgency by the Shabab, a group linked to Al Qaeda that actually tried to assassinate him only two days after his election. While the government and the African Union forces have driven out the Shabab from Mogadishu, the group has been waging other relentless attacks against the Union and the government in other parts of the country.

The spokesman for the Shabab denounced the new prime minister saying, “The new prime minister is not different from those before him — they were all brought by Westerners. He will not change Somalia. We shall fight and keep on foiling the infidel government.”

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Somali President Names Prime Minister – 7 October 2012

CNN News – Somali President Appoints Prime Minister – 7 October 2012

Star Africa – UN Special Representative for Somalia Statement on the Nomination of the New Prime Minister – 7 October 2012

The New York Times – Somalian President Picks a Businessman, a Political Newcomer, as Prime Minister – 6 October 2012

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali – On Tuesday, a man accused of killing his neighbor was publicly executed by firing squad in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu.

 

An alleged member of the ethnic Tuareg rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), he was accused of killing his neighbor. Eyewitnesses report that he was brought in handcuffs to the execution area and seated with his legs facing Mecca before a judge ordered his sentence to be carried out. “I saw him fall after the shots were fired,” said one witness. “He was shot in the back, but did not die until several hours later,” another said.

The man’s public execution was decreed by an ultra-conservative Muslim rebel group, Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), who is reportedly connected with Al-Qaeda’s north African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

“[The executed man] turned himself in… He was judged, condemned to death and executed this evening. He was shot in the same way he shot his victim. This is what the Sharia says,” Sanda Ould Boumana, a spokesperson for Ansar Dine, told the press on Tuesday.

Ansar Dine and the MNLA used to be allies, but the alliance between the two was short-lived due to internal conflict among their members. Since then, the members of Ansar Dine have been chasing MNLA members out of towns under their control.

Since Ansar Dine took over Timbuktu from separatist groups including the MNLA, the place has been under Sharia law. The public killing is purportedly the latest demonstration by the rebel group of its intention to impose Ansar Dine’s rigid and strict interpretation of Islamic law.

A fews months back, Ansar Dine ravaged through Timbuktu sacking its 15^th and 16^th century mosques and tombs declaring the sites to be idolatrous and haram (Forbidden in Islam).

More recently, Ansar Dine members have arrested unveiled women, stoned an unmarried couple to death, publicly flogged smokers, amputated at least eight suspected thieves, and administered lashings to people accused of drinking alcohol, according to local eyewitnesses and residents.

Human rights groups, along with the United Nations Security Council, expressed their concern about the increasing number of human rights violations committed by the rebel group. West African countries from the regional bloc ECOWAS already requested the UN to issue a mandate for military intervention in northern Mali. The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold “preliminary” talks over this request on Thursday.

 

For further information, please see:

AFP – Mali Islamists execute alleged murderer in Timbuktu: witnesses – 3 October 2012

Al Jazeera – Mali hardliners carry out public execution – 3 October 2012

BBC News – Mali Islamists kill man by firing squad in Timbuktu – 3 October 2012

Reuters – Mali Islamists execute accused murderer in Timbuktu – 2 October 2012

Al Jazeera – ICC Threatens Mali Islamists with War Crimes – 2 July 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria—On Tuesday, October 2, 2012, more than 25 students and citizens were killed in the town of Mubi in Nigeria in the state of Adamawa. Four of those killed were students of the College of Health Technology in Mubi, seven others were members of the Federal Polytechnic Institution and fourteen other citizens of the town lost their lives in the shootings. The attack was carried out at night while most of those killed were sleeping. The gunmen went door-to-door to called out their victims by name before they shot them. It remains unclear who is responsible for the attack.

The reports suggest that several men in military uniform entered the residence halls and gathered the students outside of their dorm rooms. Once they were lined up, they were shot and their bodies were left in rows outside of the dorm buildings. The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Ken Henshaw, said that the killings were “simply shocking.” But he also noted that, “it seems to make a lot of sense that it could have been an outcome of the elections that were held the previous day.”

There does exist some rivalry between different groups of students that may be influenced by national politics, religion or ethnicity, and this would not be the first time that it would reach this level of violence. The deputy registrar of the Polytechnic school, Shuaib Aroke, denies that these killings were linked to any student politics. He said, “It is a fallacy. We are united here at polytechnic.”

Before these shootings, the town of Mubi was already held to an extensive curfew between 3pm and 6am after a series of arrests were made of people with links to prior attacks with Boko Haram last week. Boko Haram is a violent group that is fighting to establish Islamic law in Nigeria and has killed over 1,000 people in a number of attacks across the northern and central areas of the nation this year. The schools are now closed and many of the students have left town.

Senator Bindowo Jibrilla, from the Adamawa North Senatorial District, in discussing these types of crimes noted regrettably, “when they happen in this country, after a week, we tend to forget it and wait for the next one to happen.” The Senate President David Mark also said, “Terrorists will succeed once they can stop you from doing what you want to do and once they can stop government from doing what they want to do, they want all Nigerians to be very scared of sending their children to polytechnics and universities. I think these are very serious challenges and we must address them.”

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Nigeria: Scores Arrested Over Mubi Killings – 4 October 2012

All Africa – Nigeria: Outrage Trails Mubi Massacre – 4 October 2012

BBC News – Nigeria Police Deny Mubi Student Killings Arrests – 4 October 2012

Channels – Police Arrest Mubi Murder Suspects – 4 October 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya—Early this morning, Sunday, September 30, 2012, a grenade attack on an Anglican church in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi left a child dead and seven other children injured. This attack has been viewed as a response by the Somali militant group Al Shabab to the Kenyan troops’ capture Al Shabab’s stronghold a couple of days ago on Friday.

Currently, no suspects have been caught but suspicions have been placed on this group as there have been several other attacks on churches and public gathering spots in Kenya that have been attributed to Al Shabab.

Kenyan officials, however, noted that they do not believe that some of the smaller attacks are the work of Al Shabab. They commented that typically Al Shabab members have been trained in terrorist tactics and have often killed hundreds of people with large suicide bombs. But, the police also added that Al Shabab’s supporters in Kenya probably do not have the skills or the supplies to carry out a large scale operation and have now turned to less complicated attacks like the one today.

The Kenyan police chief Moses Nyakwama told the press that thirteen people were injured in this revenge attack and that two police officers were killed in the nearby town of Garissa—near the border of Somalia.

The reports of the attack suggest that many of those injured at the church were actually injured in the stampede after the attack. Police spokesman, Charles Owino, said, “These are the kicks of a dying horse since, of late, Kenyan police have arrested several suspects in connection with grenades.”

Irene Wambui, a woman who was at the church at the time of the grenades described the attack saying, “We were just worshipping God in church when suddenly we heard an explosion and people started running for their lives. We came to realize that the explosion had injured some kids who were taken to hospital and unfortunately one succumbed.”

The Kenyan military pushed deeper into Somalia and braced themselves for this kind of reprisal attack after the military staged an attack on Kismayu, the stronghold for Shabab militants, which allowed them to control a large area of the country. However, the Shabab have been slowly losing territory this past year against the Kenyan national army.

A member of the country’s Parliament appealed to the nation’s people when he said, after the attacks, “Religious wars have destroyed countries everywhere. That should not be replicated in Kenya.”

 

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Deadly Kenya Grenade Attacks Hits Children in Church – 30 September 2012

Christian Science Monitor – Child Killed in Kenya Church Attack: Revenge for Kismayo? – 30 September 2012

The New York Times – Blast Kills Boy at Church in Kenya – 30 September 2012

All Africa – Kenya: KDF Takes Kismayo – 29 September 2012

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – On Thursday, Assistant Minister for Water and Irrigation, Ferdinand Waititu was suspended from his government office after the Kenyan court charged him with hate speech, along with inciting ethnic violence.

The charges were rooted in a statement Waititu gave to Kayole residents — most of whom belong to a lower-class residential area in Nairobi — where he encouraged them to evict members of the Maasai tribe. “All Maasais must leave; they are from Tanzania and without identification cards …. We do not want Maasais in Kayole,” he told the community.

Waititu’s statements were directed at Kayole residents who were protesting the alleged killing of a man by security guards thought to be Maasai. These protests eventually led to a full-scale ethnic riot, leaving at least two people dead. According to prosecutors, conflict between the non-Maasai and the Maasai further escalated as a result of Waititu’s statements.

As argued by prosecutor Lilian Obuo, “the utterances made by [Waititu] incited communities … and caused the crowd to hunt for the Maasai people.” “The words were calculated to bring violence to the Maasai community working in Kayole,” she added.

In his defense, Waititu said his statement was misinterpreted. According to him, he was merely referring to the security guards in particular. He claimed that it was only incidental that these security guards were from Tanzania and were Maasai. He did not intend to incite violence against the Maasai people. “When I used the word Maasai, I saw that it had come out wrongly. I accept that mistake and I apologise. Nobody can claim that they have never made such mistakes, even you, in your house, your tongue does slip, and that’s very normal,” Waititu said to the press on Tuesday. In addition to his apology, he insisted that “nobody was hurt” after his comments. The chaos already took place before his remarks and it was even him who quelled the turmoil when he visited Kayole, he argued. Waititu asserted that blaming him for the unrest was “all politics.”

The day after his suspension and subsequent arrest, however, Waititu was released after depositing a 1 million KES bond. The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) disagreed with the Kenyan court’s decision to grant his bail. The DPP objected on the ground that because he is a “serial offender”, it is likely that he will abscond. Waititu has reportedly refused to honor previous police summons.

 

For further information, please see:

Bernama – Kenyan Assistant Minister Suspended for Making Hate Speech – 28 September 2012

Capital FM News – Waititu pays Sh1m cash for freedom – 28 September 2012

Al Jazeera – Kenyan minister suspended for hate speech – 27 September 2012

Capital FM News – Kibaki suspends Waititu as assistant minister – 27 September 2012

BBC News – Kenya MP Ferdinand Waititu accused of ‘hate speech’ – 25 September 2012