Africa

Horn of Africa in Danger When El Nino Hits

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ISIOLO, Kenya – According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children Fund, the number of children in the Horn of Africa that are starving is rising at an alarming rate.

Five million children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition in six countries, including Kenya.  The latest UNICEF estimates said that these children are suffering as a result of the food shortage due to a prolonged drought and of the Somali conflict.

According to a statement made by UNICEF, in the past five months the number of children that need emergency food assistance has risen nearly one million in number.

“Unicef estimates that for the whole of 2009 some 500,000 children under five will suffer from life-threatening severe malnutrition.  For countries such as Kenya it is the fourth consecutive failed rainy season in a row.  The dry spell already led to enormous losses in livestock, increases in food prices and severe water shortages,” said the statement.

Food aid and humanitarian assistance are estimated to be given to 24 million people in Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and parts of Uganda, according to the UN.  This number is up from 20 million earlier this year.

The area is anticipating that rains from El Nino will cause flooding in parts of the region which will contribute to more water-borne illnesses and crop failures.  The disappearance of vegetation is expected to worsen the effects of flooding.

“More than 23 million people in pastoral, agricultural and sub-urban communities, as well as internally displaced people and refugees in the region, are reeling from the impact of water and food shortages, pasture scarcity, conflict and insecurity,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Human Affairs John Holmes.  “While we cannot prevent these climatic shocks, we certainly can mitigate their disastrous effects through forward planning and the right funding from the donor community.”

The humanitarian community is undertaking flood contingency planning but due to financial constraints and humanitarian access issues, the OCHA has encouraged the international community to “increase their support” and to draw lessons from the past and be prepared and proactive in response to an emergency.

For more information, please see:

Relief Web – Horn of Africa Alert – October 2009 – 16 October 2009

UNICEF – Food and Nutrition Insecurity Deepens in the Horn of Africa as Heavy Rains Predicted – 16 October 2009

UN News Centre – Stricken by Drought, the Horn of Africa Readies for Expected Flooding – 16 October 2009

Daily Nation – 5m Children in Africa Starving – 15 October 2009

Embargo Ordered on Guinea Due to Atrocities

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – West African nations have ordered an arms embargo on Guinea and accused the military government of carrying out “atrocities” and “mass human rights violations” during an anti-government protest last month.

This violence stems from the growing criticism of junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara who seized power in December.  In September, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned atrocities” in which Guinean troops opened fire on civilians during an opposition rally at a stadium in the capital city Conakry.

Human rights groups estimated that 157 people died.  Although the junta puts the toll at 57 saying that the victims were trampled to death rather than shot.  Human rights groups also say that soldiers raped and sexually abused women during the crackdown.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently opened an investigation regarding the deaths.

The European Union has called for Captain Camara to be tried for crimes against humanity and the African Union has called for him to step down.  Leaders with the regional bloc have expressed concern that Guinea’s political crisis is at risk of destabilizing the region.

The ECOWAS chairman, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’adua was called on to take “all necessary measures” to obtain the support of the African Union, European Union and United Nations to enforce an embargo on Guinea.  At a special meeting on Saturday Camara faced an African Union deadline to give a written pledge by midnight Saturday not to run in the upcoming polls.

On Friday, France urged its nationals to leave the country claiming the security situation in Guinea had worsened since the September protests.  Sources say that Criminals have been following travelers from the airport and then robbing them when they arrive home.

Justin Morel Junior, Guinean Information Minister, wrote to Captain Camara explaining that he no longer had the moral strength to be the government’s spokesman.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – France Welcomes Arms Embargo on Guinea – 18 October 2009

AFP – Guinea Junta Names Team to Probe Massacre Decree – 17 October 2009

BBC – Guinea Embargo Over “Atrocities” – 17 October 2009

Reuters – West African Leaders Impose Arms Embargo on Guinea – 17 October 2009

VOA – West African States Order Arms Embargo on Guinea – 17 October 2009

Tsvangirai to Boycott Unity Government; Bennett’s Terrorism Trial Put on Hold

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The trial of Roy Bennett, the Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) nominee for Deputy Agriculture Minister, was postponed on Saturday in order to allow his lawyers time to prepare their case.

The trial was originally scheduled to start on Monday in a lower court in Mutare, about 185 miles from the capital of Harare.  However, on Wednesday prosecutor’s filed a new indictment moving the case to the high court.  Bennett was sent back to jail and released on bail on Friday.

Bennett faced charges of possessing weapons for sabotage, banditry, and terrorism.  According to the new indictment, he also faces charges of inciting people to commit insurgency, sabotage, terrorism, and banditry, an offense that carries a sentence of life in prison.  The weapons charge is punishable by death.

Beatrice Mtetwa, Bennett’s lawyer, said, “The High Court of Zimbabwe rules are very clear: There must be at least 10 working days of notice before the trial date commences.  We really want him tried, but we want everything to be done in terms of the law.”

Prior to Bennett’s release on Friday, Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, made an announcement that he would boycott the unity government by not participating in meetings with other government members.

Tsvangirai believes that the postponement of Bennett’s trial “is to deliberate and frustrate him, to frustrate [the] constituency, to send the message, ‘Look, we can [govern] unilaterally.’  And that is what we are trying to oppose.”

The Prime Minister did emphasize, however, that he was not pulling out of the unity government.  He made it clear that the MDC would “disengage” from ZANU-PF, President Robert Mugabe’s party, “until such time as confidence and respect are restored.”

Tsvangirai’s decision to disengage from the unity government is also based on ZANU-PF’s lack of commitment to fully resolve all issues and completely implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

“Instead, we have seen total abuse of and disrespect of the GPA and in particular the MDC,” said Tsvangirai.  Bennett’s re-arrest ‘has brought home the self-evident fact that ZANU-PF sees us as a junior, fickle and unserious movement.”

A new trial date has not yet been set.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Country in Crisis as MDC Cuts Off Contact with Zanu PF – 17 October 2009

CNN – Opposition Official’s Trial on Hold in Zimbabwe – 17 October 2009

Daily Nation – Trial of Tsvangirai Ally Put Off – 17 October 2009

VOA – Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai ‘Disengages’ From ZANU-PF Governing Partner – 17 October 2009

Xinhua – Zimbabwean Prosecutors Put Off Bennett’s Terrorism Trial – 17 October 2009

Halima Hassan, One Of Thousands Losing Hope

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Halima Hassan, 42, a mother of five, fled her home in Hodan district of the Somali capital in 2007 after intense fighting between insurgents and government forces. Now, home is a makeshift shelter in a camp for the internally displaced within the Elsha biyaha area, 20km south of Mogadishu.

The UN refugee agency reports the number of civilian casualties is rising because of the latest upsurge in fighting in the troubled South Central region of Somalia. The UNHCR says the renewed fighting is sparking a new wave of displacement.

Local humanitarian organizations in Somalia say within Somalia during September alone, 17,000 people were displaced including 11,000 from the capital. This figure does not include the 145 people that have been killed and another 285 who were injured in heavy clashes in Kismayo, Beled Weyne and the capital, Mogadishu just in September.

Hassan is one of at least 900,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) struggling to survive under extremely desperate conditions in Mogadishu-Afgoye corridor. Her family used to receive monthly food rations comprising 75kg of sorghum, 10kg of beans, 10kg of porridge and 3l of cooking oil from aid agencies, but this has been cut in half due to lack of funds and insecurity.

Halima Hassan told IRIN in an interview Wednesday, “I sometimes find myself wondering how God decided to put us in this country; I know I should not but sometimes I find myself wishing I was not Somali. I am losing hope. I don’t know whether or not the situation will ever get better. Every day, I keep wondering where our next meal will come from. I struggle to make sure my children have at least one meal a day. I will do anything so my children don’t go hungry as I am the only one they can depend on. They [the warring sides] are merciless. They fire heavy weapons indiscriminately, where is their kindness? They don’t think about the weak and the mothers struggling with orphaned children. There is no peace and no food to speak of; I don’t how long we can live like this. It is very hard to explain to anyone who is not here what is happening to us. Wars end but ours seems endless. In Somalia, every new dawn brings its own problems. We can’t endure any longer what is going on here. It is better to be in a grave than living here.”

Roberta Russo, spokesperson for UNHCR Somalia, said “The main problem of humanitarian agencies is the lack of access to the needy population due to the highly insecure environment. 8 Human Rights officers have been killed this year alone.” “It is important to note that funding is also a considerable constraint on humanitarian programming throughout Somalia. The Consolidated Appeal Process is funded at only 54 percent of the estimated needs. Some sectors have received as little as 10 percent of the resources they require for adequate programming,” said the agency.

Asha Sha’ur, a senior member of civil society, said “The lucky ones may get a plastic sheeting to cover it”, despite the fact that some of the IDPs pay rent to the owners of the land. Sha’ur, who visited the camps on 28 September said, “These people are living in the most miserable conditions. It is heart-breaking. I honestly don’t know how else to describe it.” Sha’ur said the displaced had no access to clean water and sanitation conditions were bad. “Thousands of families are left with no latrines.” Sha’ur said the displaced were getting a “fraction of what they need. This is intolerable.” “No more excuses” Humanitarian agencies have to find creative ways of reaching the needy, Sha’ur said, adding: “I don’t think they can hide behind insecurity any longer.”

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Halima Hassan, “It is Better to Be in a Grave Than Living Here” – 15 October 2009

VOAnews – Civilian Casualties Mount in Somalia – 2 October 2009

Inside Somalia – Insecurity “no excuse” to neglect IDPs – 1 October 2009

Primary Rwandan Genocide Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

ARUSHA, Tanzania– On Wednesday, October 14 2009, one of the primary suspects in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide pleaded not guilty to war crime charges. The suspect, Idelphonse Nizeyimana was a former intelligence chief at the time of the genocide in which over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), where Nizeyimana  will be tried, is aiming to finish its work by the end of next year. Since 1997 the court has convicted forty people for crimes connected with genocide. The tribunal said that there are eleven fugitives that they are still trying to find. Martin Ngoga, Rwanda’s prosecutor general said, “the ICTR has done a commendable job in bringing to justice those most responsbible for the genocide; those who were in positions of leadership and most importantly, those who were beyond the reach of our jurisdiction.”

Nizeyimana was one of the most sought after suspects in the Rwandan genocide. He had been a fugitive for the last fifteen years, with a five million dollar bounty on his head when he was detained in Uganda earlier this month. Nizeyimana acted as an army captain and as head of intelligence and military operations in the country, during and prior to the genocide taking place. According to prosecutors Nizeyimana gave “clear signals” condoning the attacks against Tutsis. It is further alleged that Nizeyimana not only gave orders to kill Tutsis but in some instances he also participated in the killings directly.

Some of the charges brought against Nizeyimana include an allegation that he participated in a swearing in ceremony of a regional governor that saw the new Rwandan President call on the people of the region to begin slaughtering Tutsis.  Prosecutors also allege that one of Nizeyimana’s units carried out the killing of the Queen Rosalie Gicanda, who was a historic and symbolic figure to many Rwandans.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Rwanda Suspect Pleads Guilty – 14 October, 2009

AP – Key Rwandan Genocide Suspect Pleads Not Guilty – 14 October, 2009

BBC – Rwanda Queen-Killing Suspect Held – 6 October, 2009

BBC – Profile: Idelphonse Nizeyimana – 6 October 2009

Bloomberg – Rwandan Genocide Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Charges – 14 October, 2009