Besigye detained at Ntungamo Police Station and pepper-sprayed while being in the Car!

Mountains Part 3. 19.04.2016

Finally Dr. Kizza Besigye and the other ones with him are detained after a long drive and being towed over the mountains. He is now detained at Ntungamo Police Station. Nobody knows for what reason the NRM regime and Uganda Police Force have for detaining him there and taking him through the narrow mountain roads. This just proves the consistent actions of the Police Force against Besigye and his loyal officials as Lukwago and other.

““He is currently being driven in the police car escorted to Kampala. Crossing into Rukungiri secretly was a big threat to the security of the people in the area. His arrest was preventive” Mr Maate said” (Daily Monitor, 19.04.2016).

First Witness report:

“Happening now. Residents of Ntungamo have overpowered police in Ntungamo municipality and have taken charge of security, closed all roads including the highway and business is at standstill. Meanwhile police is stuck with Dr. Besigye who they are keeping at Ntungamo police station. The army has now started using live bullets. Gun shots are rocking every where” (Francis Mwijukye, 19.04.2016).

Second Update:

“Happening Now. police is spraying pepper spray and teagas to Dr. Besigye and all his colleagues inside his car. They are suffocating them” (Francis Mwijukye, 19.04.2016).

Third Update:

“The police is pepper spraying us from the rooftop of our car. They are doing it right at Ntungamo Police Station” (Dr. Kizza Besigye, 19.04.2016).

Ntungamo Besigye 19042016

Fourth Update:

“My vehicle has now been broken into and pepper spray pumped in it through the Sunroof! Barely holding out. Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago & Mubarak Munyagwa are already in police van UP 4860” (Dr. Kizza Besigye, 19.04.2016).

Fifth Update: Now going towards another destination!

“Dr. Kizza Besigye, Erias Lukwago, Ingrid Turinawe, Munyaga Mubarak have all been driven off towards Mbarara with 15 Patrols, 2 Lorries full of Policemen with shields, and 2 Armoured trucks!” (Shawn Mabiru Jr., 19.04.2016).

There will be more to come!

Peace.

Statement on the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2016 Provision Exempting Members of Parliament from Paying Taxes on their Emoluments (18.04.2016)

Statement on Income Tax UgandaStatement on Income Tax Uganda P2

Press Release: The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. John Ddumba Ssentamu, yesterday circulated a memo on the Makerere University webmail setting up an Investigation Committee into MISR (19.04.2016)

Stella Makerere Letter 1. 2016

The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University has set up a Committee that will report to him. The Vice Chancellor lacks the moral authority and objectivity to set up and provide oversight for such a Committee. He is partisan and has a clear conflict of interest due to his close family relationship with Dr. Stella Nyanzi. The VC should exclude himself from the process. This would allow the Committee to conduct it’s work in an impartial manner as well as to look into the VC’s own conduct, in particular, the extent of the VC’s involvement in encouraging, fomenting and prolonging insubordination of both Dr. Nyanzi and a few graduate students of MISR, all of whom have been increasingly emboldened by what they see as the support towards their cause from the highest office in this institution; and the basis and accuracy of allegations the VC presented before the Appointments Board over the last few months to bolster his case against the PhD programme at MISR and the renewal of the Director’s contract.

Incredibly, the terms of the Committee are totally silent about the events of Monday morning, events which have radically changed the situation at MISR and adversely affected MISR’s position in the academic world. Dr. Stella Nyanzi defaced walls, vandalized property, hurled insults at the leadership of MISR and intimidated MISR staff and students, all of this with impunity. No self-respecting academic will want to come to MISR if these circumstances continue. The best students will look for alternatives. Donors will look for other places to put their money. Until yesterday, we had demanded that Dr. Nyanzi teach in the doctoral programme. Now, the presence of Dr. Nyanzi threatens the very survival of the PhD program. Rather than teach in the PhD program, Dr. Nyanzi should be transferred to any other unit in the University that will accept her.

Instead of dealing with the events of Monday morning, the Committee’s stated terms of reference include: investigating the genesis of the matter as well as evaluating the extent of the misunderstanding; ascertaining the working conditions at MISR; the reporting and assignment structure of staff; the extent to which the staff mentioned above [Dr. Nyanzi and Professor Mamdani] are disrupting each other’s mandates and claims that the space at the Institute is occupied by non-members of the University Staff.

The Management of MISR was not consulted prior to constituting these terms of reference. We find these terms of reference partial, selective, and prejudicial. They are stacked to investigate the management of MISR and not Dr. Nyanzi, to investigate the director and divert attention from the events of Monday morning that have created an explosive crisis at MISR. The terms completely sidestep the issues at stake – the very survival of the MPhil/PhD program – and will not address the impunity and insubordination that has led us to this point. They read more like terms of reference for an inquisition seeking to rationalize pre-determined conclusions. Any impartial Committee would want to investigate the circumstances under which Dr. Nyanzi has continued to be paid as a civil servant without discharging her official duties and responsibilities as assigned by her unit head and how her continued insubordination and flagrant flouting of Makerere University regulations has consistently gone unpunished.

Yesterday, for instance, contrary to University regulations, Dr. Nyanzi, four students and a research assistant held a press conference with NTV crew in her office at MISR. It is lamentable that the University’s leadership has busied itself with setting up a witch- hunting committee as MISR’s PhD program is being dismantled before TV cameras and social media. If the program is to be killed, let it be killed in broad daylight. At least, then, the Ugandan people will know who to hold responsible for this tragic outcome.

With all of the above in mind, the MISR Management will not cooperate with the current Investigation Committee instituted by the VC, who has a vested interest in the outcome of the investigation, and who, given his recent maneuvers to circumvent specific MISR initiatives, cannot suddenly be seen to place MISR’s and the University’s interests above those of his kin, Dr. Nyanzi. The prerequisite to addressing the present situation is three- fold: one, to set up a truly impartial consultative (rather than investigatory) process; two, to transfer Dr. Nyanzi from MISR, given her well-documented insistence that she will not teach in the PhD programme or participate in institutional research at MISR, but immediately to send Dr. Nyanzi for a month long leave with the understanding that she will not return to the Institute for any reason; and, three, to consult all constituencies (students, academic staff, management) in the process that follows and do it only after the new semester begins in mid-May.

Mahmood Mamdani
Professor and Executive Director, MISR

Tuesday, 19th April, 2016

Cc: Chairperson, Makerere University Council

Chairperson, Appointments Board
Vice Chancellor
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs

Director, Human Resources
Principal, CHUSS
Dr. Stella Nyanzi

General and Academic Staff

Staff and Students, MISR

Besigye and Lukwago in a Kabale Debacle; and the Calvary hurries to tow-them and arrest them in the mountains (Updated)

Kabale Blocking Hotel 19.04.2016

As of yesterday the FDC Leader travers from Kasangati to Kabale and even had an unintended procession through Mbarara as a result of driving through the town to get ready for the court and charges given in Kabale Court.

Earlier in the day the Uganda Police Force who have followed the cars of the FDC through the country had gotten orders to stop the FDC convoy from entering the Court at Kabale. The Uganda Police Force had put up road-blocks around the hotel of Dr. Kizza Besigye. So that he could not answer the case together with his counsel of Erias Lukwago.

Kabale 19.04.2016
FDC Prayers in Kabale today!

If this the right case it is the continuation of servings that have been served FDC and A4C activist after the “Walk to Work” in 2012. That the Kabale High Court has given them before and in midst of last year Besigye and Lukwago did not show up in September 2015. This was because the Kabale Municipality said they incited violence in Kabale in 2012.

Here are the statements on what happen on the day and there is more to come.

Besigye Kabala 19.04.2016

Erias Lukwago statement:

“We travelled long hours, and spent a night in Kabale to answer tramped up charges before the chief magistrates court in Kabale, following a warrant of arrest that was issued against us at the instance of the state, only to be informed by a Grade one magistrate that the trial magistrate is on leave. The case has been adjourned to 6th June 2016” (Lukwago, 19.04.2016).

Kizza Besigye statement:

“Our case has been adjourned to 6th June, 2016 and the reason is that the magistrate who was supposed to handle the case is away on leave. As we were on our journey back around Butobere we were cut off and surrounded by 3 Police vehicles plus the notorious Police van UP 4860 that is driven by the goons” (Besigye, 19.04.2016).

Rukungiri 19.04.2016

Latest Update!

“The Police has brought an armoured carrier and now they are fixing the winch to tow us away in the mountains towards Rukungiri” (Besigye, 19.04.2016).

“Our vehicle being pulled by a police truck through Kabale mountains, on a terribly bumpy and slippery murrum Road towards Rukungiri. It’s raining cats and dogs” (Lukwago, 19.04.2016).

19.04 Mountains Besigye

So without charges or any reason have the Ugandan Police taken them by the force and using an Armored Personnel Vehicle. This is the democracy of Uganda at the moment and the fight against the rigged election should continue; as the 10th Parliament is just a fraud as long as the Police can tow-cars with Party-Officials and Opposition leaders with no apparent reason.

Further on the way: 

“Now at Rwamucucu, heading towards Muhanga in Rukiga county” (Lukwago, 19.04.2016).

Mountains Part 2. 19.04.2016

“We are between Rwamucucu and Muhanga in Rukiga, they have stopped in a swamp and they are holding canisters of teargas they want to break into our car and get us out” (Besigye, 19.04.2016).

 Mountains Part 3. 19.04.2016
I think that is enough for now. There will be more to come. Peace.

Press Statement: Kofi Annan to African leaders: “Leave when your time is up” (19.04.2016)

Kofi press release

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 19, 2016 Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has urged African leaders to leave when their mandated time is up and to avoid excluding opposing voices if elections are to cease contributing to conflicts on the continent.

The renowned international diplomat said that while unconstitutional changes to government on the continent had reduced, exclusionary politics threatened to reverse the gains made.

“I think Africa has done well, by and large the coups have more or less ended, generals are remaining in their barracks, but we are creating situations which may bring them back,” the Nobel laureate said in an interview at the 5th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa (TanaForum.org).

“If a leader doesn’t want to leave office, if a leader stays on for too long, and elections are seen as being gamed to suit a leader and he stays term after term after term, the tendency may be the only way to get him out is through a coup or people taking to the streets”.

“Neither approach can be seen as an alternative to democracy, to elections or to parliamentary rule. Constitutions and the rules of the game have to be respected.”

Annan, the keynote speaker at the forum this year, said winner-take-all approaches to elections on the continent had the effect of leaving out citizens for holding an opposing view, raising tensions around elections.

Annan, who chairs the Africa Progress Panel and the Nelson Mandela-founded The Elders grouping, said he had been the first to tell the African Union not to accept coup leaders among their midst [during an OAU heads of state summit in Lusaka in 2001].

Annan also said that solutions to the problems the continent has must come from within. However, the continent must build up its ability to do so, including in financing its institutions.

“We cannot always pass a hat around and insist we want to be sovereign, we want to be independent. We should lead and get others to support us—that support will be much more forthcoming when they see how serious and committed we are.”

If a leader doesn’t want to leave office, if a leader stays on for too long, and elections are seen as being gamed to suit a leader

The African Union has struggled to get members to pay their dues to allow it run its operations and programmes efficiently, a recurrent theme addressed by leaders at the forum in the Ethiopian city of Bahir Dar.

Annan said such budgetary concerns were constraining the work of the continent in strengthening stability and required creative ways of resourcing.

“I was happy to hear them [African leaders] say ‘we must be prepared to pay for what we want; we must be prepared to put out our own money on the table and fund issues that are of great importance to us.’”

The forum, now in its fifth year, is an inspiration of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and is organised by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University.

An invitation-only event, it is chaired by former Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo and seeks to provide a platform for current and former leaders to interact with key stakeholders in an informal setting to tackle contemporary issues facing the continent.

It does not make decisions but is becoming an African ‘brand’ of note where local solutions are innovatively explored as the region seeks to carve out its place in a global security architecture dominated by western and emerging powers.

Leaders and experts at the Tana Forum also noted that the continent was not isolated.

“As Africa faces increasing security challenges, so does the rest of the world. The continent is well placed to provide innovative solutions to these security challenges,” Obasanjo said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Togo’s Faure Gnassingbe, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Sudan’s Omar al Bashir were among the heads of state and government present.

Former leaders Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Festus Mogae of Botswana, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Pierre Buyoya of Burundi and Joyce Banda of Malawi were also in attendance.

“I think it is a very good idea that ex-leaders come together with current leaders to share experience and try to talk very frankly about the challenges facing the continent and also about our relations with the international community,” Annan, who was attending the annual forum for the first time, said.

Tsvangirai lambasts Mugabe for Zimbabwe’s situation (Youtube-Clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUUp1BiBiBI

Besigye in Mbabara, Police in Running Battles with His Supporters (Youtube-Clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MybCXDrhYdo

“Police in Mbarara has today engaged in running battles with Dr.Kizza Besigye supporters as they held processions in town.  Business came to a standstill as the joyful FDC loyalists welcomed their former presidential candidate who was on his way to Kabale, where he is to appear in court tomorrow. This was Dr. Besigye’s first time in the area since being confined to house arrest for over 40 days” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)

The ironies of Socialism versus Neo-Liberalism; why I believe in a Keynesian approach instead of the Socialism or the Neo-Liberalism

Socialism churchill

Well, it is about that time, I make mockery of two statues of civilization and ideas that rules the world while not hoping the blindly followers of either comes to attack my person, my thoughts or my widely allegation on the parts. Both of the political views and framework have made a difference and is the reason why we have societies like we have today.

The main parts of socialism is that there is policies and regulations that fit for social and bigger government who cares for the citizens, like subsidized health-care, schools, university, transport and local government. Through taxes and higher fees on produce as the socialism need funding for the ability to make the government organizations and government programs. The Government need more taxes to able to serve the public with what they expect through the socialistic view, while the taxes are set-up in a way that the ones with more income is generating more revenue is supposed to pay more tax; than the ones that are paid less.

So with the big-government and grander government policies comes the address of the public will and citizens loses power, but that for the price of cheaper health-care, schooling and other government institutions. That stops the higher prices and free-market pricing of health care that lets major parts of the society might even be able to pay for the needed operations. So the reasoning and hateful measurement against big-government is wrong in some parts as the people are stronger when we work together and divide the expenditure on the whole society; instead of billing the whole ordeals on the single individual.

free market

Neo-Liberalism is not as straight forward as this is supposed to be measurement to weaken the state, make it liberal and little. Give more power to person instead of the government and give more choices to the citizens of the given country. The issue is that Neo-Liberalism has come with certain ideas and prospects. For instance the New Public Management (NPM) is a Neo-Liberalistic idea. NPM have given the societies and the government who added these policies more watchmen and ombudsmen then before. They have given the power away from the departments and created institutions under the departments with specialist and experts that sets the standard and gives advice to the department. While the departments still need manpower, so need also the lower-expert-institutions. So you have two fronts with specialist working the same field and advising each other. So before NPM most of the experts and brains where at the Department and Local Government that worked with a given subject or the project that needed a specialist; thanks to NPM they have become self-serving and not cut down the amount of bureaucracies have become fluent. As much as the wish for the NPM as parts of the Neo-Liberalism idea, it hasn’t created less government, but more and longer away from the decision making.

The Neo-Liberalism of free-market and starch corporate control have not given added freedom to the consumer. As the markets are controlled by less and less owners and stakeholders; the corporate power have become stronger, but more centralized in conglomerates that issues the policies and secure the profits. The riches of the corporations and the borderlines agreements are built for the corporations not for the welfare for the citizens. The original businesses we’re built for single projects or for fixed procurement that the state and citizens needed like building roads and bridges. Not gaining profits that sky-rocket and then moves away the tax-money into tax-havens. That is the Neo-liberalism ways of economies. In a way the movement of money should happen without government interference or taxation.

The Neo-Liberalism brought also an idea that was worse than the NPM. That was the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) under the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). SAP was made in the 1980s to liberate the subsidized agriculture, health-care and other public institutions as government got great loans through the funding of IMF and WB. So they released the governments and free-market ideas that killed the Co-Op’s in the countries that was already lots of them. They had commissions and centralized crop sales through Co-Ops that served the farmers, either they produces cocoa, coffee or tea. This was a standard of fixing training, production and prices to influx together a stronger unity. The ironies of this is that the IMF and WB gave this order through SAP to Low-Developed Countries while the countries that funded this had Co-Ops in agriculture themselves and still have to this day. So with the SAP they made the inside trading before the export more intricate and gave “supposed” more power to the farmer. Instead they became more reluctant and needed more to be careful to whom they offered their crops to. As the traders from capital who went up-country could fix prices and lie about the values to earn more on the trade to export. So the farmer would not get a given price on the world-market because there we’re less voices giving the farmer a hand in the trade of their cash-crops and their goods that they we’re not consuming themselves. So the SAP agreement stalled the government institutions and weakens them together with the trading experience on the ground. The structures we’re given big loans for building up trade-networks and export facilities while dismantling the structures that secured and fueled the industry and agriculture. As the Agriculture and Industry should not get subsidized, but get funding through free-market ideal and that killed the initial funding as the cheaper production came from abroad instead of making it locally. Therefore it is more normal to Chinese, Egypt and Brazilian products than own local products in the supermarkets of Uganda, for instance. Even meat, juice and toilet-paper are imported than produced in the country. That is because of the SAP and the Neo-Liberalism ideas.

zero-hour-contracts

Another important factor of the Neo-Liberalism idea is the abolishing ideas of Workers Unions and trying to ban them. As the Free-Market should fix the pay for the worker and the business it should fix it. That is why there been less strikes and less new Unions in our day. The reason why Unions in our time is important and the socialist idea of them is that the riches of the corporations; does not seem to trickle down to the citizens; it only left back to the stakeholders and owner, not to society or the workers that works for the rich corporations. Settling this is not easy. During the Reagan and Thatcher era tried to kill of the unions for their meddling and dissolve them so to actually centralize power. Instead this killing of mining-unions and other unions in the United Kingdom have weaken the industry and the ability of workers to fix pay while the corporations come with contracts that are good for business, but not good for steady income for proper work. The recent years of cover-ups in Sports Direct that is owned by Newcastle United Mike Ashley that offers their workforce lots of “Zero-Hour Contract”. Zero Hours Contracts work in the way that the employer has more people under their wings without paying extra for them. The Contract gives not benefits or sick-leave. As the Employee is paid by the hours and amount of time they work for the employer and nothing else. So all the benefits is added to the business and none for the worker, who has to fight and bend-over to add hours as the pool of willing workers are there. Even if the Zero-Contracts are bad, the non-Union and not-allowed to unionize work-force cannot go together and fight for their benefits and rights. As the Employer can continue to use and get new workers without having to stand-by them. Sports Direct is just an example of it, there are more business who uses this model and creates massive profits as they don’t have to offer needed benefits or health-care programs to the employees. As Wall-Mart have had low-hourly pay and no health-care benefit while letting their employees sign-up to government funded programs for health-care so that the Wall-Mart employees get little paid and at the same time uses food-stamps and Medicaid instead of Wall-Mart having health-Care benefits. So the business saves the money for salaries and also save the benefits of their employees; this is something you can thank the beautiful neo-liberal ideas.

The difference with the neo-liberalistic ideal of work is that the employee would give sufficient pay and have a contract that benefits the company and the workers. As they would have social responsibility for their workers as they have health benefits through the standard with standard payments of salaries together with state fueled community health care. The Neo-Liberal is that personal pay of the health-care instead of tax-payers money. So the health-care will be opened to the once who can have insurance or ability to pay for it. Instead of funded through the tax-payers pockets as solidarity between all citizens as in the socialist idea. That cannot be seen as a problem for a liberal person, to bring solidarity and also a structured health-care that everybody pays their fees into and when needed pay a small personal fee to get access, instead of footing the whole bill on their own.

Text ZHC SportDirect

Let me finish this up with the ideals that are ironic on the matter.

  • Smaller Government under NPM has actually made more Ombudsmen and Expert Organizations. Meaning that the Government didn’t become smaller, just longer away from the Department to the Experts and the Ombudsmen that the Government want to control
  • The SAP in Neo-Liberalistic method didn’t bring wealth to the countries it was applied to. The Farmers, the government institutions got weaken, while the loans got higher and less development as the Free-Market got the resources, but without control of the Co-Ops or other ways of maintaining support of citizens. The economies became more fragile as a result of the Neo-Liberal SAP then under the Co-Ops with the control of selling cash-crops and so on.
  • The Free-Market idea of Neo-Liberalism while destroying Labor-Unions to secure more government control of the market. While deteriorating the labors ability and therefore opening for the “Zero-Hour” Contracts that gives all the advantages to the corporations and none to the employee who only get security for the hourly work and nothing else for the employee. That would not happen with stronger unions and government who could enforce the rules for corporations.

All of these is ideals against each other I myself is not a clear socialist, even if I am raised on socialist country in a social-economic balance system. I myself is a clear Keyenist in the way that I believe in free-market and free-society to an extent. That extent is that the governments automatically bails out the necessary institutions and have a hand into the banks and other needed businesses of a society. That the workers are secured and fixed through strong barriers so that the market is made sure that the governments, and also facilitate the marker for the corporations. So that the market will have input from the government as the eruptions is inevitable and needs a structure to control it.

keynes

This three main components are basic:

  • Aggregate demand is influenced by many economic decisions—public and private.
  • Prices, and especially wages, respond slowly to changes in supply and demand, resulting in periodic shortages and surpluses, especially of labor.
  • Changes in aggregate demand, whether anticipated or unanticipated, have their greatest short-run effect on real output and employment, not on prices. Keynesians believe that, because prices are somewhat rigid, fluctuations in any component of spending—consumption, investment, or government expenditures—cause output to change. If government spending increases, for example, and all other spending components remain constant, then output will increase.

So with that in mind you understand why I am in between of the socialist and the free-market neo-liberalism as the Keynesian ideas that are more subtle and securing society as the mixed of government control and free-market gives sustainable societies. Not only full freedom without security for other than the corporations which is the main mantra of the Neo-Liberalism as the individual freedom usually get used by the legal person the corporations and not coined will by the persons themselves as the belief is under the ideology of liberal ideas. Instead of having total control of the state in the Communism, and strong big-government with socialism; but the Keynesian sees it in middle of that and have a free-market with control of the wages and workers by the government. That gives a steady economy and also a greater stability in the values of inflation and stronger value of the person instead of being a commodity as resources in the free-market thinking of the neo-liberalism that have deteriorated the markets and only winner is the corporations; not the fellow human beings. Peace.

Press Statement: “Torture and illegal detention on the rise in Burundi” – Zeid (18.04.2016)

burundi-protests

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 18, 2016 –  The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned Monday of “a sharp increase in the use of torture and ill-treatment in Burundi” and voiced concerns about worrying reports of the existence of illegal detention facilities, both in Bujumbura and in the countryside.

“Since the beginning of the year, my team has recorded at least 345 new cases of torture and ill-treatment. These shocking figures are a clear indicator of the widespread and growing use of torture and ill-treatment by government security forces,” said Zeid. In all, some 595 people have been ill-treated or tortured since April 2015, a figure which is likely to be an under-estimate.

“Torture and ill-treatment mainly take place at the time of arrest, upon arrival or during detention, especially in facilities run by the Service national de renseignements (SNR), the police and, to a lesser extent, the army. Perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment have so far enjoyed total impunity,” the High Commissioner said.

“Many detainees visited by our team in the past few weeks had fresh wounds on their bodies. Some were unable to walk without assistance after being beaten with belts, iron rods or sharp objects, or burned. I am profoundly disturbed by these terrible accounts and I urge the Burundian Government, in the strongest terms possible, to put an immediate end to these unacceptable and illegal practices,” said Zeid.

Most of the tortured and ill-treated detainees say they were denied medical treatment. Some said intelligence services hid them in the toilets for days so their torture wounds could heal before they were returned to cells holding other prisoners.

During a visit by a UN human rights team to SNR facilities in Bujumbura last week, 30 of the 67 people held there displayed physical signs of torture. Many irregularities were identified during the visit, including the fact that 25 of the detainees had been kept in custody beyond the prescribed maximum time limit. In addition, while all detainees had been arrested for what were reportedly minor offences, the accusations entered against many of them in the SNR registry were for much more serious criminal offences, including undermining State security, illegal possession of arms and espionage.

Several cases of ill-treatment and torture have also been reported at police stations, especially in those located in the two Bujumbura neighbourhoods of Citiboke and Musaga, and at the Mutakura military camp.

The High Commissioner noted that the use of torture and ill-treatment was also widespread in the countryside, noting a case of two men who said they were arrested by SNR agents in Nkamba province at the end of March. They said they were seriously beaten and repeatedly dropped in Lake Tanganyika with their hands tied on several occasions in order to force them to confess to crimes.

“I recognize the efforts made by the Government in releasing at least 45 demonstrators following the Secretary-General’s visit. However, in addition to the reports of torture and ill-treatment in official detention facilities, I am deeply concerned about information emerging about the existence of secret detention facilities across the country,” the High Commissioner said. A man who was arrested at the end of March by unidentified armed individuals stated that he was taken blindfolded to an unfinished building in an unknown location, where nine other people were also being held. The victim reported witnessing the execution of two fellow detainees before he managed to escape. Reports have also been received of another illegal detention facility, allegedly set up by the police with the support of the Imbonerakure militia, in the city of Ngozi, in the northern part of the country.

The High Commissioner said he had also received “persistent reports of arrest, detention, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and assassination of certain members of the police and military by other government forces.” Members and officers of the former Burundian Armed Forces – known as ex-FAB and which was predominantly Tutsi – appear to have been particularly targeted, including some retired soldiers.

Many soldiers interviewed by the UN Human Rights Office while in detention said that the torture or ill-treatment they endured was aimed at forcing them to confess their support for rebel groups or to provide names of other people suspected of supporting them.

Some soldiers detained at the SNR facilities claimed to have witnessed the killing of a number of their colleagues. On 10 April 2016, the body of an ex-FAB soldier, who had been arrested the previous day by the police, was found in Gesenyi, near Citiboke. At least five soldiers have also been reported missing following their arrest by police or military forces over the last few weeks.

Zeid also deplored the increase in attacks by unidentified armed men, reportedly linked to rebel groups. At least 30 attacks in Bujumbura and in several provinces took place in March, killing one civilian and four soldiers. Around five civilians were also reportedly killed during a rebel attack near the Tanzanian border on 11 April.

The High Commissioner also condemned the targeting of members of the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, including the assassination of a local official and member of the CNDD-FDD who was shot at his home by unidentified armed men on 13 April in the town of Kajaga, in Bujumbura Mairie province.

ANC stalwart says Zuma must go (Youtube-Clip)

“18 April 2016 – The ANC launched its election manifesto in Port Elizabeth this weekend, amid growing calls for President Jacob Zuma to resign. Struggle stalwart Denis Goldberg has been openly critical of Zuma’s leadership and has called on him to step down” (eNCA, 2016).