Africa

Report cites hundreds of rapes on Congo-Angola border

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Security forces raped as many as 700 women and girls along the Congo-Angola border (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera).
Security forces raped as many as 700 women and girls along the Congo-Angola border (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera).

CONGO – Almost seven hundred women and girls were raped along the Congo-Angola border during a mass expulsion of some seven thousand Congolese from Angola in October, according to a recently released United Nations report.

The report was released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and said that 6,621 people arrived in two territories of Luiza and Tshikapa/Kamonia, in Western Kasi province.

Many of the victims said that they were locked in dungeon-like conditions for several weeks and raped repeatedly.

Separately, doctors conducted examinations of 35 women in the Congolese town of Tembo last week, confirming that they had been raped and left without clothes in the bush along the border.

The reports come after the wave of mass rapes that occurred in eastern Congo between July 30 and August 3 by rebel militiamen.

“What worries us is that rape seems to be becoming endemic in several parts of Congo.  We fear it’s becoming part of the routine,” said U.N. spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said, referring to the recent rapes that occurred in the eastern Kivu province.

U.N. officials call Congo the worst place in the world for sexual violence.  Despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, more than 200 women were raped in a single thatched-roof village in eastern Congo a few months ago.

This is not the first time the countries have expelled each other’s citizens. Last year, Angola expelled 160,000 Congolese, while Congo expelled 51,000 Angolans.  Relations have deteriorated between the countries, due in part to offshore oil ownership, Angola’s diamond exports, and closer Congolese relations with Rwanda and Uganda.

Lambert Mende, the DRC information minister, said that the no reports of rape have been reported to authorities.

“We’re not informed. We don’t know, these figures are not confirmed,” Mende said. “There are expulsions, perhaps there are rapes but we have received no complaints and we don’t want to launch a dossier.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN: Mass rapes on Angola-DRC border – 6 November 2010

AP – UN: 700 sexual attacks seen on Congo-Angola border – 6 November 2010

CNN – UNICEF reports sexual violence in the Congo region – 6 November 2010

New York Times – Hundreds Were Raped on Congo-Angola Border – 6 November 2010

Reuters Africa – Hundreds abused during Angola expulsions, U.N. says – 6 November 2010

Oil-rich Nigeria’s Lack of Sanitation Contributing to Cholera Outbreak

Child treated for cholera at a rural clinic in Nigeria- Photo Courtesy of AP
Child treated for cholera at a rural clinic in Nigeria- Photo Courtesy of AP

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
LAGOS, Nigeria – In Nigeria, a country that earns billions as one of Africa’s biggest oil exporters, half the country, approximately seventy-five million, lack access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities or services.  In the country’s rural population, two-thirds of Nigerians do not have access to clean water.  When rains are heavy and flooding occurs, which happened this year, raw sewage drains down hill in the villages, contaminating ground well water sources.  Nigeria’s rural populations also suffer from poorly staffed hospitals and clinics.  All of these factors have contributed to a recent cholera outbreak that has spread to several Nigerian states and into bordering countries.

Since January of this year, 1,555 people have died in Nigeria from cholera out of over 38,000 reported cases.  Women and children account for about eighty percent of these deaths.  Paula Fedeski, spokeswoman for UNICEF in Nigeria, told Reuters, “The rains this year have been very severe . . . [The cholera outbreak]  is considerably worse this year.”  UNICEF believes the outbreak originated in Nigeria and then spread to its bordering nations of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, a country of particular concern since the floods earlier this year that have contributed to the deadliness of this outbreak covered about two-thirds of Benin.

Cholera is a water born disease marked by symptoms of abdominal pain, leg cramping, severe diarrhea and vomiting.  Death can occur within hours as the result of severe dehydration and shock if left untreated.  Outbreaks occur when a water source becomes contaminated, usually from the feces of an infected individual.  The floods this year in Nigeria and the surrounding region have only compounded the sanitation and drainage problems present throughout so much of the country.

Local officials have been working to remedy the situation.  Working in their communities, officials have chlorinated water supplies including rural wells and are providing education on the causes of cholera.  Many hope that this, coupled with the coming dry season, will lessen the severity of the outbreak soon.  For the time being, the outbreak is being labeled as the worst since the 1991 outbreak that killed over 7,500 people in Nigeria alone.

For more information, please see;

UK Guardian- Cholera Kills More Than 1,500 in Nigeria– 26 October, 2010

The Canadian Press- Cholera Deaths in Nigeria Rise to More Tan 1,500 as Disease Threatens Flooded Benin– 25 October, 2010

CNN- Cholera Kills 1,555 in Nigera, Says U.N.– 26 October, 2010

Ethiopia Accused of Using International Aid to Silence Opposition

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa

 

Ethiopian government official at a food distribution center in Jijiga, Ethiopia (Photo Courtesy of Barry Malone, Reuters).
A government official monitoring supplies at a food distribution center in Jijiga, Ethiopia. (Photo Courtesy of Barry Malone, Reuters).

 

NAROBI, Kenya – The Ethiopian government is denying claims it used international aid as a weapon against opposition groups. A recently published report from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) finds the Ethiopian government withheld international aid, including food and micro-loan payments, from political opponents. HRW believes international aid was withheld to suppress opposition groups ahead of the country’s May 2010 election.

During these elections, the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, won all but one of the 536 seats in Ethiopia’s parliament. This result stands in sharp contrast to the last election cycle in 2005, when 170 seats of parliament were captured by opposition groups. After the May elections, opposition groups took to the streets to protest. The government moved to crush these protests, ultimately killing over 200 people in the process.

In response, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs insists the HRW report is inaccurate. To substantiate their claim, the government points to an investigation carried out in January 2010 by the Development Assistant Group that investigated similar claims of corruption. This investigation found the distribution process of international aid was adequate, and the appropriate safeguards were in place to allow for equitable allocation of aid. The Ministry believes these accusations are an attempt to blackmail the Ethiopian government as part of HRW’s personal vendetta against them.

Human Rights Watch claims this report was based on an extensive six month investigation, which included interviews with over 200 people in 53 villages across three regions of Ethiopia. The findings across the nations were consistent; people had been denied aid or loans because they either supported an opposition party or had views that opposed the sitting government. Consequently, food, housing, fertilizer, seeds, and micro loans were denied to opposition group supporters. Furthermore, some sources claim that disagreeing with the ruling government can also limit admission into the country’s university and even the type of employment opportunities available.

Since Ethiopia is a strategic western ally in the troubled Horn of Africa, it has been receiving generous amounts of international aid. Specifically, the amount of international aid the government receives has doubled between 2004 and 2008. In 2008, Ethiopia received over $3 billion dollars (U.S.) from the international community.

For more information, please see:

BBC Africa — Ethiopia used aid to bribe voters – Human Rights Watch – 19 October 2010.

Ezega — Ethiopia Rejects Human Rights Watch Allegations – 20 October 2010.

AFP — Ethiopia using aid to suppress dissent: rights group – 19 October 2010.

Macon — Rights group: Ethiopia denying opposition aid – 19 October 2010.

The Globe and Mail — Ethiopia using Canadian aid as a political weapon, rights group says – 19 October 2010.

Arrested Rwandan war crimes leader may face rape charges

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Callixte Mbarushimana was arrested last week in Paris and may face rape charges in addition to the charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch).
Callixte Mbarushimana was arrested last week in Paris and may face rape charges in addition to the charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch).

PARIS, France – Bringing sixteen years of impunity to an end, Rwandan war criminal Callixte Mbarushimana was arrested last week in Paris and has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Alleged to have directed more than ten thousand rapes in Kivu in 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors are seeking to add rape to the list of charges.

His arrest came after the ICC issued a sealed arrest warrant in late September and with the help of French authorities. He faces five counts of crimes against humanity (murder, torture, rape, inhumane acts and persecution) and six counts of war crimes (attacks against the civilian population, destruction of property, murder, torture, rape and inhumane treatment).

Mbarushimana, 47, was a key player in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and had been living in Paris as the leader-in-exile of the Rwandan Hutu rebel group.

His arrest followed the arrests of FDLR president Ignace Murwanashyaka and his deputy Straton Musoni late last year in Germany. Both are detained and awaiting trial.

The FDLR was established by former guerrillas accused of genocide in the 1994 ethnic slaughter in Rwanda. The group moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and initiated attacks on Rwanda aimed at ousting the government.

Along with the Mai-Mai militia, the FDLR was responsible for the wave of mass rapes that took place in the Walikale region of DRC in late July and early August. A prominent leader of the Mai-Mai militia group was arrested earlier this month for his role in those rapes.

“The arrest of Callixte Mbarushimana sends a strong signal to abusive commanders in Congo and elsewhere that the ICC is at work investigating their crimes and that they will not go unpunished,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, in an e-mail to Bloomberg News.

In August, Mbarushimana issued a statement from Paris, where he has been living openly despite being on a United Nations sanctions list, denying that the FDLR was involved in the commission of the wave of mass rapes.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that one of Mbarushimana’s roles was to “cover up the crimes.”

No date has been set for Mbarushimana to be transferred to The Hague. But his arrest is a significant step.

Moreno-Ocampo called the arrest “a crucial step in efforts to prosecute the massive sexual crimes” that have taken place in the DRC, where more than fifteen thousand cases of sexual violence were reported in 2009 alone.

For more information, please see:

Radio Netherlands – End of the FDLR in Europe? – 20 October 2010

AFP – Rwandan war crimes suspect may face Congo rape counts – 19 October 2010

Independent – Rwandan rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana is charged – 12 October 2010

World Affairs Blog Network – A Win Against Impunity: Callixte Mbarushimana Arrested in Paris – 12 October 2010

Bloomberg – Congo War Crime Suspect Callixte Mbarushimana Arrested in Paris, ICC Says – 11 October 2010

Suspected Terrorist Financier Arrested in Nigeria

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa
 

Car Bombing in Abuja, Nigeria on October 1. (Photo Courtesy of AP).
Car bombing in Abuja, Nigeria on October 1. (Photo Courtesy of AP).

ABUJA, Nigeria – On Saturday, October 16, Nigerian State Security Services (SSS) raided the home of Charles Okah, a suspected terrorist. He was taken into custody and is being investigated for allegedly funding terrorist activities. The Nigerian government believes that Okah financed the terrorist attacks that rocked the capital Abuja, on October 1.  The attacks, which occurred near a parade route, killed twelve people and injured dozens more. Okah was arrested in the Apapa district of Lagos, a city in the southern part of Nigeria, referred to as the Niger Delta.

Charles Okah is the brother of Henry Okah, a former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the dominant terrorist organization operating in the Niger Delta. Henry Okah is a suspected arms dealer who has supplied weapons to the insurgents operating in the Delta. Okah fled Nigeria for Johannesburg in July 2009 after his release from prison after serving time for gun running and treason charges.  He was arrested shortly after the attacks on Abuja and is facing terrorism charges in South Africa for masterminding the October 1 attack.

Charles Okah’s arrest comes a day after media outlets received an email announcing threats of another terrorist attack against the capital. The Nigerian government is extremely concerned because the October 1 bombing followed a similar pattern. On October 1, MEND militants warned journalists that Eagle Square in Abuja should be avoided. Within an hour of this warning, a series of bombs were detonated in Eagle Square.

Nigerian security officials believe Charles Okah sent the email warning about the attack on Eagle Square. The email was sent from a MEND Yahoo! email account and was signed by nom de guerre of Jomo Gbomo. It is believed that several militants associated with MEND sign their statements with this name including Henry and Charles Okah.

Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa with substantial oil reserves, particularly in the Niger Delta. Nigeria is competing against Angola to be the largest oil exporter in Africa. Normally a peaceful nation, Nigeria has experienced a wave of tribal differences that have led to flashes of violence. It is believed that the violence orchestrated by MEND militants is attributed to their outrage over policies that allow the central government to collect billions of dollars in oil revenue while the Niger Delta remains impoverished.

For more information, please see:

Canadian Press — Security official: Brother of alleged militant leader arrested over Oct. 1 car bombings –- 17 October 2010.

IOL News.co.za — Another blast warning after court appearance –-17 October 2010.

Macon.com — Another blast warning after court appearance –- 17 October 2010.

Reuters Africa — Nigeria arrests Okah brother after bomb threat: source –- 17 October 2010.