Opinion: Kutesa lives in an alternative reality [and I needs to know how he got there]

Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa yesterday published a press release where he addressed Western Powers and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Which in itself is a natural thing to do for a Foreign Minister. Especially, when you want to address or explain certain situations for context to the international community. However, his so far from planet earth. He must either already entered Akon City or gotten a VIP ticket to Wakanda. Where I want to join him in the near future. Because, it must be bliss to live like him.

Kutesa is really out of line and lying out of his ass when his saying abductions doesn’t exist and arrests only happening through due process. The minister needs a reality check and maybe someone should enlighten him. He must living on pink cloud and drinking some powerful juices to not be able to apprehend the truth.

The Minister should connect himself with the Jeje Odongo and Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine. Even have a talk with the IGP Okoth-Ochola , Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerubaga and others who are associated with the abductions, kidnappings and unlawful detentions. There are several of reports and security outfits, which has been in direct connect with the “drones” or “Panda Gari’s”. That is the state effort before, during and after the elections this year. Therefore, Kutesa needs to get his mind right and corrected.

He knows perfectly well that this has occurred and happened in the Republic. His just hoping the International Community and these dignitaries are naive. That these folks knows nothing and will eat the lies of his hands. While civilians are getting court martial like soldiers. People are abducted and the state doesn’t even produce the proper list of the ones who is taken away. That is why its disrespectful to the relatives and the loved ones of these individuals that the Minister says this.

Kutesa should know better, but rather live on a lie, than speaking the truth. That is the character of him and the regime he serves. The Minister is a reflection of how the NRM operates and how they think they can whitewash the sinister acts they do. That is just the reality of it all and its tragic.

Sam Kutesa needs to produce does tickets and ways to get Wakanda. If not how he already has entered Akon City. Since, with this sort of statement he cannot be sincere. It is false and a lie. The minister needs to chill or apologize about this.

The Minister needs to get an understanding or back-off. Because, the lies is easy to decipher in 2021. It is not like the grapevine is silent and the truth isn’t leaked out. This isn’t the bush and where you can control all aspects of information. That is impossible at these days and he cannot pull up a smokescreen to hide the facts.

Kutesa needs to call up Odongo and get some knowledge. Clearly that’s not happening. If not, his trying to deceive the world and that wouldn’t be shocking in 2021. Peace.

RDC: Protection International – Communique de Presse Conjoint – Protection International et 33 organisations des droits humains condamnent l’usage excessif de la force contre des activistes des mouvements citoyens a Beni, a l’Est de la RD Congo (13.04.2021)

Somalia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – Press Statement (14.04.2021)

Cameroon: Joint CSOs Press Release on audit for COVID funds (14.04.2021)

South Africa: SA Federation for Mental Health – Jostina Sangweni (14.04.2021)

RDC: Mouvement de Liberation du Congo (MLC) – Communique (14.04.2021)

Sudan: West Darfur clashes force nearly 2,000 refugees into Chad (13.04.2021)

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 13, 2021 – Recent intercommunal clashes in El Geneina, in Sudan’s West Darfur State, have forced 1,860 refugees to cross into neighbouring Chad in the past week.

The refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled homes in villages near the border, in the aftermath of deadly clashes that started on 3 April. The resurging violence has reportedly left 144 people dead and more than 230 injured. In the meantime, humanitarian agencies are trying to establish the exact number of newly displaced people within West Darfur, which is estimated to be in the thousands.

Refugees arriving in Chad speak of houses and properties being destroyed, and of sites hosting displaced people being targeted. Some of the new arrivals had already been displaced by earlier clashes last year and in January this year.

El Geneina is only 20 kilometers away from the Sudan-Chad border. Refugees have crossed near the town of Adré, in Ouaddaï province and are currently being hosted just 200 metres away from the volatile border.

UNHCR teams from our nearby office in Farchana have rushed to receive refugees. Our staff report conditions on the ground being dire with displaced families staying in the open or under the little shade of trees or makeshift shelters, with barely any protection from the elements in an area where temperature can rise to 40 degrees Celsius during the day. Food and water are also urgently needed.

UNHCR, with our government counterpart and humanitarian partners are on the ground and coordinating the humanitarian response. The priority is to relocate the refugees to a safer location where essential assistance and access to health can be provided, and quarantine measures against COVID-19 implemented.

Ouaddai province where the new arrivals are crossing already hosts 145,000 Darfurian refugees and UNHCR expects the influx to continue if security is not quickly restored in Darfur.

Uganda: UN experts extremely concerned at serious rights violations linked to general elections (13.04.2021)

GENEVA (13 April 2021) — UN human rights experts* today called on the Government of Uganda to immediately stop the brutal crackdown on its political opponents which began in the lead-up to January’s disputed general elections and continues to suppress opposition supporters.

“We are particularly alarmed by the reports of widespread and continued repression against opposition leaders and their supporters,” the experts said. “More than 50 people have been killed as a result of the brutal policing methods, including the use of live ammunition fired without warning, and at least 20 others have lost their lives in incidents linked to the electoral context.”

They urged the authorities to immediately and thoroughly investigate and prosecute all human rights violations, including allegations of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, torture and ill treatment, deprivation of due process of law and assault on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Several thousand people have been arrested and while some have been released, others have allegedly been tortured before appearing in military courts, the experts said. Relatives of others often do not know their fate or whereabouts. “It is outrageous that those who are requesting information about their forcibly disappeared relatives are further subjected to reprisals and arrest,” the independent experts said.

“We are urging the Government of Uganda to take all necessary measures to immediately stop the concealing of information concerning individuals arrested in the context of the general elections, a practice amounting to enforced disappearance, and reveal their fate and whereabouts.

“The arbitrary house arrest between 14 and 25 January 2021 of the prominent opposition leader known as Bobi Wine (Mr. Kyagulanyi), which a High Court ruled to be unconstitutional, is symptomatic of the flagrant suppression tactics of the opposition and the absence of due process of law,” the experts said.

Opposition leaders and their supporters have protested against alleged electoral irregularities and the prohibition of gatherings under the guise of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The massive deployment of armed forces in cities, as well as the intimidation and attacks of opposition observers at polling stations, reportedly affected voter turnout; while the interruption of internet services slowed the voting process and affected counting.

“The curtailing of freedom of press and media, the intimidation, ill-treatment and assaults of journalists covering the elections and especially the opposition is simply unacceptable. The Government must provide immediate remedies and reparation to all the victims,” the experts said.

ENDS

****The experts:* Mr. Tae-Ung Baik (Chair), Mr. Henrikas Mickevičius, (Vice Chair), Ms. Aua Balde, Mr. Bernard Duhaime and Mr. Luciano Hazan, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Mr. Nils Melzer****, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz****, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions*; ***Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression*; **Clément Nyaletsossi Voule*** Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the *Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.*

For more information and media requests , please contact Ms. Yayé Ba (yba@ohchr.org/+41 22 917 99 32)

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Renato de Souza ( +41 22 928 9855 / *rrosariodesouza@ohchr.org), Jeremy Laurence (+ 41 22 917 7578 /* jlaurence@ohchr.org) and Kitty McKinsey (kmckinsey@ohchr.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter@UN_SPExperts.

Philippines: Duterte is out-quangoing himself

Today President Rodrigo Roa Duterte created a new entity to oversee other entities and in the end find out if other entities are duplicated. In a sense that is what he has done. To simplify it even more. The President has appointed one dude and his side-kicks to overlook another collective, which in the end shall see if other agencies, parastatals or government entities are efficient or delivering public services.

What is striking here. The President is creating a office with several of underling. To add as addition to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) who works on these things already.

The CSC already has programs and directly active in this field. The CSC works on the Service Delivery Excellence Program (SDEP) and Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB), which are both focused on this and supposed to help the state to function more properly.

Now, as of today, the President is initiating yet another to combat the same thing. Just to make it more complicated the newly create office to help the ARTA and CSC is operating like this:

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Streamlining of Government Processes (OPASGP) is hereby created under the OP (Office of the President). The OPASGP shall be headed by the Presidential Adviser on Streamlining of Government Processes (PASGP)”.

That is the new overseer and overhead of all the other agencies that is working on the same. The Philippines has already as stated the CSC and ARTA. They have mandates and programs working directly to make things efficient and get feedback from the general public like the CCB under CSC. Therefore, it seems like the President is just creating another entity because some of his boys needs a job and he can appoint them.

The new person looking into this will be stationed under the Office of the President and will head his own thing. While his supposed to be advising the existing ARTA. What is striking and funny to me… is that its not involving the CSC who working on similar mandate. This is separate entities that is functioning partly for the same reason, but still they are not legally connected. Which is weird when the President orders not have things duplicated in the state.

So, it is ironic that the President creates another agency today. When he has others who is already doing it. Especially, when the end goal is similar. That is really special and should be questioned. We can wonder if the President is just hiring his cronies and finding them new homes. Instead of streamlining or cutting the red-tape. Peace.

RDC: Lamuka – Communique en Rapport avec les Manifestations Consecutives a la Recrudescence des Massacres a l’Est de la RDC (13.04.2021)