Mali: Mouvement du 5 Juin – Rassemblemet des Forces Patriotiques (M5-RFP) – Communique No. 018 (15.05.2021)

Mali: Union Nationale des Travaileurs du Mali (UNTM) – Communique du Bureau Executif de l’UNTM No. 15 (15.05.2021)

Somalia: Council of Presidential Candidates (CPC) – Press Statement (16.05.2021)

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights: ZHLR Statement in Response to Comments by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Hon. Ziyambi (16.05.2021)

South Sudan: President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit – Statement on Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Day (16.05.2021)

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Case Alert – Attempt to Extend Chief Justice’s Tenure Challenged (16.05.2021)

Haïti: AHJEDD – Communique de Presse – AHJEDD lance la premiere edition du concours national de Reportages sur l’Economie et la Finance en Haïti (14.05.2021)

Kenya: Musalia Mudavadi Centre – Let’s not disparage Court over BBI Ruling (15.05.2021)

Opinion: Mwijukye, why the love for Kadaga?

Comrade Kadaga, the mother of the Nation, we feel the embarrassment you are about to find yourself in; it wont be brought by A4C but the foolish leaders in this country. we cant pretend that uganda is secure and peaceful, our guests must be welcomed with mambas, fed on teargas and entertained with gun shots so that they confirm that we have a ssebalwanyi in charge of uganda” Francis Mwijukye (12.03.2012).

Something’s doesn’t make direct sense to me. Especially when someone who has been resilient and a hard-liner like Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Francis Mwijukye MP is supporting the Speakership of Rebecca Kadaga. He has been elected as MP twice and in both terms he has supported Kadaga. Which to me is showing loyalty to the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Why are you in opposition? When you are acting and directly promoting NRM Cadres to the throne? Why are you even blue, when you could easily turn yellow?

I am just asking. Because, this man was supposed to know better and be better. I was shocked when Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine supported Kadaga and other NRM candidates during the campaign. I called him out for that, because it’s nonsensical to me. It is bad politicking and your only showing that you can be a sell-out and the motivation to run against the regime seems futile. When you are trading posts and benefits from wheeler-dealing. Then you initially corruptible and can be in their pockets.

That is also my worry here. Has Francis made arrangement behind closed doors for beneficial treatment in Parliament and therefore is settling for Kadaga? Was the gig at Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) that enriching for you? Is the juicy pay-off of the Parliamentary Commission, which you have held since March 2019 so dear for you?

Well, I don’t have the answers for this, but it is weird to see a man like this suck-up to Kadaga and doing it twice. This after fighting tooth and nail to get into Parliament. Been running campaigns and activisms for years to sell-out this quick. That the possible perks in office and additional pay could sway his opinion. That’s his not even loyal to the party line. His going yellow because he see shillings in the end.

It is all about those ends… and getting more money. That is more important than morals, loyalty and even the cause, which got him elected in the first place. He was a man of not only words, but actions. The messages he sent and the rhetoric has turned.

He called Kadaga an “Angle” and that doesn’t make sense. Because in her time… the Parliament haven’t acted on abductions, political prisoners or extra judicial killings. The Parliament in her time haven’t acted on the political activated prosecution of dissidents and opposition activists. The Parliament have allowed a take-over of the Special Forces Command and push through a “Life-Presidency” Project for Museveni. She is the carrier of the all the policies and acts, which is the will of the “High Above”. So, it’s weird that he supports and are behind her now.

It seems to be all about the money and its deliberate. It is sad to see a man like this trade his history, time and all the efforts on the alter of greed. That he could get corrupted and be less genuine. However, it is not shocking, because that is what Museveni wants of the commercialization of politics. That he can buy the ones on the other side and get them hell-bent his way. Get them from being vocal supporters into lovely cadres like Beti Kamya and Beatrice Anywar. They also went this route.

Seemingly in the 11th Parliament Mwijukye is following suit. It is tragic and a loss. Nevertheless, nothing new here. He just want to enjoy the spoils and feel the shillings rolling. That’s why the party-line and the opposition stances doesn’t matter. His just another corrupted individual enjoying the riches on behalf of his community. Peace.

Ethiopia: Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia (SJTE) – Reject the terrorist designation of the TPLF by Mr. Abiy Ahmed (14.05.2021)

Excellencies,

The Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia (SJTE) wishes to extend its appreciation for the attention the UNSC has given to the war in Tigray and to the atrocities that are being committed there. In our previous letters addressed to this respected body, we detailed the need for a strong and impactful action by the UNSC to stop the war which has become one of the most destructive.

The UNSC instead issued a weak statement that has emboldened Mr. Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, and Mr. Isaias Afewerki, the president of Eritrea, to continue their atrocities at a much greater intensity. Just a few days ago, Mr. Abiy asked the Ethiopian parliament to designate his political foes including the TPLF and the people of Tigray as terrorists and parliament complied almost instantly. But this designation has no merit whatsoever. Any government that worked with the TPLF as part of the former ruling coalition in Ethiopia knows that it led a government that fought terrorism and contributed to world peace immensely. The legacy of its effort in peace keeping is evident in the peace keeping missions around Africa today. The designation by Mr. Abiy is rather a sinister political maneuver to continue detaining, torturing, and killing Tigrayans at will. His evil action, like all actions he has taken in the past, is irresponsible, dangerous, and potentially eliminates any hope for a peaceful resolution of the war and will only escalate the ongoing violence, detention, extrajudicial killings, and extermination of the people of Tigray.

The people of Tigray and TPLF are peace-loving. They are not committing terrorism. They are rather the recipients of a dangerous and ugly form of terrorism – state-sponsored terrorism. The government of Mr. Abiy Ahmed in close collaboration with Mr. Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea has been committing widespread extrajudicial killings and massacres over the people of Tigray for six months. Tigrayans throughout Ethiopia also live in fear because they have been the targets of detention and disappearances. If anybody in Tigray or Ethiopia deserves terrorist designations, the governments of Mr. Abiy and Mr. Isaias should be the ones to receive such designation. The people of Tigray, TPLF, or any other organization in Tigray have not done anything that resembles terrorism. To us, the bogus proclamation by the expired Ethiopian parliament is meant to legitimize the governments’ terrorist acts on the people of Tigray and to take away Tigrayan-owned properties and continue incarcerating them without due process.

It behooves the UNSC to ponder whether a regional government elected by more than 80% of eligible Tigray voters can even be designated terrorist. Furthermore, the designation was made by an illegitimate parliament whose term expired seven months ago and does not have a single representative from Tigray.

The designation of Tigray’s TPLF and Oromia’s OLA as terrorist entities is a clear demonstration of Mr. Abiy’s intent to continue the path of violence to silence his political challengers.

Excellencies,

We appreciate the UNSC’s expression of serious concern about the increasingly dire situation in Tigray. But as you are aware, concern alone will not help the people of Tigray. The UNSC must take strong actions similar to that of the former Yugoslavia. It is our belief that the UNSC and the international community have the legal and moral obligation to take a swift action to save the people of Tigray from total annihilation and Ethiopia from total disintegration.

SJTE respectfully demands that the UNSC:

Rejects and condemns the designation of TPLF as a terrorist organization and pressures Mr. Abiy Ahmed to come to the negotiating table.

Takes required actions to remove the Eritrean Army and the Amhara militia from Tigray.

Pressures Mr. Abiy’s government to allow humanitarian aid reach the more than 5 million needy Tigrayans without any restriction.

Demands that Mr. Abiy releases the tens of thousands of Tigrayans detained in different parts of the country including in concentration camps for their political beliefs or for no reason at all.

SJTE urges the UNSC to be actively engaged in resolving this crisis that has the potential to spread throughout the horn of Africa. Ultimately, this crisis can only be solved if the UNSC takes a decisive action commensurate with the problem. Without such action, the crisis will deteriorate and may reach a point of no return, causing a complete collapse of the country and cascading detrimental effects which will destabilize the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Region.

We thank you and SJTE remains ready to provide additional information. We also would appreciate an acknowledgement of the receipt of this letter.

Respectfully,

SJTE

CC: The European Union

The African Union

Secretary of State

UNSC member states

Mr. Jeffrey Feltman