Opinion: Final Expectations considering the lifting of the Age Limit!

Pictures from the First Reading of the Age Limit Bill in Parliament in September 2017.

I expect no grand finale, no grand stand-off and salute. I just expect are law finalized through ceasing the central business district of Kampala. All the way from Constitutional Square over to Kololo. Everything will be check-points, military police and Special Forces Command walking in and around the gates of the Parliament.

I expect the ones opposing the bill, being arrested or taken away as hostages away from the Parliament. I except the red-ribbon people in the streets being beaten and silenced. As their leaders are behind bars and awaiting trials and also verified charges. I expect the Pro-Lifting the bill to talk in reckless behavior and about the ill of discrimination and how the anti-abolishing MPs are destroying the peace of the state. Someone even applaud the military takeover and the ceasing of the Parliament for the case of the bill itself.

We can expect the people to be silenced and afraid, as the rising tensions and the military presence is more out of an action movie, than of actual legislation being passed in the National Assembly. It is like Sylvester Stallone and his renegades are ruling the courts and the people are afraid of the millions of bullets they have in the banana clips.

While the radios, TV-Stations and media in general are subdued or even silenced if they speak ill. If they try their lose license or Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) might file a report asking certain journalists and personalities of air. Since they are damaging the calm of the President, while he is awaiting his Christmas present made in the name of Raphael Magyezi. Who is a stooge and relic of a party, who are just blindly following their leader without being allowed to think on their own.

The Second Reading will not a joyful occasion, more violence and more tension. The talks in parliament between IGP Kale Kayihura and Genal David Muhoozi is to secure the ones listed as anti, will be taken care of. While Rebecca Kadaga is informed that this will happen. Since the President does not want this law put into troubles by defiance and disorder inside the chambers.

We can only expect all of this, because that is what Museveni has ordered before, we have seen it all unfold. We can only expect the same again. As the Police and Military will be used to silence both MPs and also the public. To show the power and the need to change the law to fit Museveni himself. Peace.

Gen. Mugisha Muntu Press Statement (10.12.2017)

Age Limit: NRM MPs, if your serious about lifting the Presidential Retirement Age; Why are they not also changing the compulsory retirement age in Pensions Act as well?

Pensions Act of 1946, which is still enacted and still viable law in the Republic of Uganda, set the standard for any civil servant or anyone who is an officer within the public service. Someone who works for the state and does work in different parts of the government. This law was enacted while it was still a protectorate, it is a colonial law. However, it has not been substituted or changed since then. It hasn’t been vital for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the 31 years rule of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. He hasn’t mind this one. But there are one part of this law, that is key to the problems with abolishing the article 102(b), which says a President cannot be older, than 75 years old.

Why does a secretary, a minor compulsory state workers has to retire earlier in the rules of compulsory retirement as stated in the Pensions Act are clear about the age and regulation within the law that is still in-force.

Just take a look: “12. Compulsory retirement. An officer shall retire on attaining the age of sixty years” (Pensions Act, 1946). It is hard not to understand what this states. What it says and what it means. This is actually says. If the NRM had an issue with this. They could have amended this so all compulsory retirement could be prolonged, even made sure to write something, in the fashion of, “if a person has the mental capacity and is not drunkard, he can still work as a civil servant until he is eighty years. However, the state will enforce that most officers are retiring at the age of sixty years”. That with some of the words of the defense of President standing for more terms and not caring about age.

That is why I feel sorry for the state of affairs within the NRM, as the Legal Committee Members of Parliament from the party had this to say, as they will deliver report and recommendations to the Parliament in the coming days. As reported by Mugerwa: “In backing the removal of age limit caps, the 18 MPs branded Article 102 (b) as “discriminatory” and insisted that the choice should be left to the voters since under Article 1, power belongs to the people. The members also argued that there are many leaders all over the world who are above 75 and that many prosperous countries like the US don’t have age restrictions” (Mugerwa, 2017).

Well, why is there limitations on other public officer, but there will be none for the President? Why is he so godly, that he never has fatigue or lack power with age? Is it because the NRM is a cult, who all praise Museveni and lives and breathes his wisdom. They will all fall to ground and die when he is not existing. Is that what the NRM are implying? Since that is how it looks from the outside. A random public officer, a civil service officer after the law has compulsory retirement age of 60 years. While the President still has the limit currently at 75 years. That means he can still in office 15 years longer, than a random person at NSSF and KCCA, but as President he can stay put at the State House. That is discrimination. The President is just one person, the rest is the dozens upon dozens of civil servants that has lay down their work and go farming. You know?

So the NRM MPs in the legal committee has written ready made statements, which fits the paradigm of Museveni and his twisted gut. There isn’t anything shocking or significant change from what has been said over the recent months. It just bothers me, how neglectful this people are. That they are not thinking of the President as a public officer or civil servant, a part of the government and also appointing others. Why should that person be so glorified that others should be under submission, but he is above the ordinary law?

If the NRM MPs believes that the age limit is discrimination, abolish it also within the Pensions Act. Take away that provision too, make everyone live under the same regime as the President. Unless, you will be honest and say it is just made for the President, the current President and the life project of Museveni. Say it! Don’t be a wanker, say it! Speak up, tell this is gift-wrapped special limited edition law fixed and amended for Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. No one else. That is the lie and we all know it.

Because you haven’t cared about the civil servant, the public officers and their retirement age. You haven’t work on that or fixed that. That is not discriminatory, but however, since it the President. Then it became so. The Ugandan public is not that stupid and neither is the world. NRM, say your a Museveni Cult and say that your fixing this for master, because your are his noble slaves. You are working on his command and after his orders. You are not doing this to create about Uganda. That is another lie. You have million others more pushing problems to fix, but are stuck in the limbo here. Since Museveni needs this. That is why the argument is foolish and you as NRM MP knows it. Peace.

Reference:

Mugerwa, Yasiin – ‘Legal committee MPs approve Age Limit Bill’ (10.12.2017) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Legal-committee-MPs-approve-Age-Limit-Bill/688334-4221594-j4ruq0/index.html

RDC: Lettre du Abbe Vincent Tshombe – “Objet: Manifestations pacifiques pour l’application de l’Accord de la Saint Sylvestre” (05.12.2017)

ICGLR Condemns the Attack on MONUSCO-FIB, and FARDC troops in Beni, Eastern DRC (09.12.2017)

The Allied Defense Force (ADF) back in the spotlight after an attack on FARDC and MONUSCO yesterday!

The Ugandan based militia, which has two groups ADF-NALU and ADF, one led by the now detained Jamir Mukulu and the other one led by Seka Bukulu. The biggest group is the last one, which has about 1,000 militants, while Mukulu is about 30 people. That meaning since the reports on the attack, it wasn’t the ADF under Mukulu attacking MONUSCO yesterday, but the militant group under Bukulu, since there we’re 72 militants killed, while 15 Tanzanian Peacekeepers was killed, 5 FARDC soldier and 43 wounded as well. Therefore, the killings yesterday was substantial and the biggest attack on MONUSCO since 2010.

This attack happens while the governments of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo are having meeting in Mbarara, discussing provisions against insecurity and across the borders. The continuation of the Operation Sokola 1 that has been on since 2014. Still, the problem of ADF and others in the region are there.

For those of you who has no knowledge of ADF. I will give some information about who they are and amount. Just briefly. Before what happen yesterday and also in Mbarara. As the discussions between GoU and GoDRC. Which will entail certain changes at the end of the day. Since the ADF has its origin in the Rwenzori mountains, before becoming a vital part of militias in and around North-Kivu.

Allied Defense Force origin:

The Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF) is made up of Ugandan opposition forces, supported by the Government of Sudan, which fought the Government of Uganda. According to the UN, most of its members are Islamists who want to establish Sharia law in Uganda” (…) “The ADF is led by a Muslim, Jamir Mukulu and operated in western Uganda. Historically it has used Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) territory for its bases. However, the ADF was initially severely crippled by the establishment of Laurent Kabila’s Government in the DRC in May 1997 and by its subsequent provision to the UPDF of access to rebel bases in the DRC” (…) “By March 2016 attacks on civilians in the Beni region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had killed at least 550 people over 18 months. Congolese officials placed the blame on the Allied Democratic Forces, characterized as a Ugandan Islamist movement, but a report from the Congo Research Group says it may not be that simple. Jason Stearns, lead author of the report, agreed that the ADF was partly responsible but said the group was not working alone. “The first conclusion [is] that the ADF is not really what people make it out to be,” he said. “It’s not this foreign Islamist force; it’s a force that is much more rooted in local society. And the second conclusion is that it’s not just the ADF but also others who are involved in the massacres.” (Global Security, 2016).

ADF has a financial support network that includes local and international sources. In 2014, the Group documented that ADF received financing through international money transfers, the theft of Congolese army salaries and the delivery of funds to camps by recruits and ADF agents. The Group also received credible information that ADF derived funding from harvesting timber in its area of control” (UNSC, 2015).

ADF-NALU comprises some 800-1,400 combatants, without including the women and children in its ranks. Based in the northwestern Rwenzori Mountain region, along the border with Uganda, the militia is a “tightly controlled organization”, subsisting on illegal logging and gold mining as well as a “network of car and motorcycle taxis operating between Butembo, Beni and Oicha”, and “money transfers from London, Kenya and Uganda, which are collected through Congolese intermediaries in Beni and Butembo”, according to a UN Group of Experts report. Butembo, Beni and Oicha are in North Kivu Province” (IRIN, 2014).

In December:

Representatives from two countries will reflect on solutions to security issues between districts in South West Uganda and North Kivu Province. Among the Ugandan districts represented in these meetings, the same sources cite Rubirizi, Kisoro, Kanungu Rukingiri Bundibujo, Ntoroko and Kasese.

According to other security sources, for the past few days, there are already discussions and discussions between the FARDC and the Ugandan army to launch joint operations for the neutralization of Ugandan rebels of the ADF, active in the territory of Beni. In addition to members of the provincial government of North Kivu, some senior officers of the 34th military region, Operation Sokola 1 and the Congolese National Police represent the DRC at this bilateral meeting that will last four days” (Radio Okapi, 2017).

The Attack today:

The Congolese army (FARDC) claims to have killed 72 Ugandan rebels of the ADF during an attack on a MONUSCO peacekeepers’ base on Thursday, 7 December 2017 in Semuliki in the Beni territory (North Kivu). Contrary to Monusco’s assessment of five Congolese soldiers killed in the attack, Operation Sokola 1 North’s spokesman, Captain Mak Hazukay, speaks of a death in the ranks of the army. “This is the position of the Monusco that was attacked, we came in reinforcements (…) 72 ADF elements were killed and 1 soldier found death during the attack”, said to ACTUALITE.CD, Captain Mak Hazukay, spokesman for Operation Sokola 1 North in Beni” (Actualite.cd, 2017).

So after yesterdays attack, we can wonder if the Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF) and FARDC will go after ADF. Like they have done with Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Operation Lightning Thunder, the Garamba Offensive. It sent the LRA packing and got them to leave the territory of the DRC. But they were able to leave, so they are causing havoc instead in the Central African Republic.

We can wonder if they are planning something similar now with the ADF in the Kivu Provinces. To get rid of the 1,000 militants, who are robbing the FARDC and trading timber. Since Operation Sokola 1 haven’t been sufficient to target the ADF.

We can also wonder, since the Mbarara Sessions occurred at about the same time. It was just as it needs funds for new mobilizing and such. That the strike against MONUSCO. Just appeared as the neighbors wants to address the problems of the ADF. Like the military movements will come as even the returning soldiers in the UPDF from Somalia as well. It is just like everything is fitting like a glove for all parties involved. UPDF have extra soldiers used to combat in Somalia, while the Kivu’s is under fire and the FARDC needs support from not only peacekeepers, but serious military personnel who can actually fight the militants. It is just a perfect scenario for the leadership in Kinshasa and Kampala. While the Kivus’ are suffering in insecurity. Peace.

Reference:

Actualite.cd – ‘ RDC : 72 rebelles ADF tués lors de l’attaque contre les casques bleus à Beni selon les FARDC’ (08.12.2017) link: https://actualite.cd/2017/12/08/rdc-72-rebelles-adf-tues-lors-de-lattaque-contre-casques-bleus-a-beni-selon-fardc/

Global Security – ‘Allied Defense Force (ADF)’ (15.12.2016) link: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/adf.htm

IRIN – ‘ADF-NALU militia in DRC’ (27.01.2014) link: http://www.irinnews.org/report/99538/briefing-adf-nalu-militia-drc

Radio Okapi – ‘La sécurité des districts frontaliers en discussion entre la RDC et l’Ouganda à Mbarara’ (08.12.2017) link: https://www.radiookapi.net/2017/12/08/actualite/societe/la-securite-des-districts-frontaliers-en-discussion-entre-la-rdc-et?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20radiookapi/actu%20%28Radiookapi.net%20-%20Actualit%C3%A9%29

United Nations Security Council – ‘Letter dated 12 January 2015 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council’ (12.01.2015) link.http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2015_19.pdf

Statement of the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union on the Attack on United Nations Peacekeepers and Congolese Soldiers in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (08.12.2017)

Addis Ababa, 8 December 2017: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has learned with shock of the heinous attack carried out yesterday night against the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Congolese soldiers, in the North Kivu province. The attack resulted in the killing of 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers and 5 Congolese soldiers, while 53 members of the Mission were wounded.

The Chairperson of the Commission strongly condemns this abject attack. He conveys the African Union sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes speedy recovery to the wounded. He expresses the African Union solidarity with the peoples and Governments of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as with MONUSCO and the entire United Nations family. He looks forward to speedy and concrete steps to identify the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice.

The Chairperson of the Commission commends MONUSCO for its vital role in the Democratic Repubic of Congo, particularly in the current context marked by preparations for the holding of the elections planned for December next year. In this respect, he underlines the need to avail MONUSCO all the support it needs to facilitate the discharge of its mandate.

North Kivu – Attack on MONUSCO troops at Semuliki, at least 14 Peacekeepers and 5 FARDC soldiers killed (08.12.2017)

Democratic Republic of Congo: New ‘Kivu Security Tracker’ Maps Eastern Violence (07.12.2017)

Over 500 Killed, 1,000 Abducted in Kivu Provinces in Past 6 Months.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, December 7, 2017 – The new Kivu Security Tracker will map violence by armed groups and Congolese security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Kivu provinces, Human Rights Watch and the New York University-based Congo Research Group said today. The joint project will monitor the worst violence in North and South Kivu provinces through maps, graphs, and analytical reports.

According to initial results from the Tracker, from June to November 2017, at least 526 civilians were killed in the Kivus, at least 1,087 people were abducted or kidnapped for ransom, and there were at least 11 incidents of mass rape.

“As civilians suffer alarming attacks in eastern Congo, the Kivu Security Tracker will provide policy makers, journalists, activists, and others with an innovative new tool to better understand the violence,” said Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “We hope the Tracker will be used to more effectively address the root causes of Congo’s conflict, support communities affected, and hold those responsible to account.”

Since the Tracker began documenting incidents in June, a team of 14 Congolese researchers based across North and South Kivu have spoken daily with victims of abuses and their families, witnesses, customary chiefs, clergy, activists, and government officials to document abuses and seek to identify the armed actors responsible. Project staff in Congo and abroad then verify their reports with reliable sources before publishing incidents on the website, providing comprehensive and timely accounts that are updated as additional information becomes available.

The Tracker records violent incidents by armed groups and members of the Congolese security forces, both in armed conflict and political violence. The data set includes violent deaths, clashes between armed groups, abductions, kidnappings, mass rapes (with at least five victims in a single attack), property destruction, and the repression of peaceful political demonstrations. Nearly 800 incidents were logged during the first six months of reporting.

The Tracker is intended to promote greater understanding of events in a country facing increased violence. Last year, 922,000 people were displaced in Congo, more than anywhere else in the world. In October, the United Nations declared a “Level 3 emergency” in Congo, a category only given to three other countries: Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The Congolese conflict, however, is marked by enormous complexity – the Tracker maps areas of control for 120 armed groups in just two of the country’s 26 provinces. This has made it difficult for policymakers to devise solutions and for media to tell the story behind the violence, the organizations said.

The Tracker helps address this challenge. By highlighting patterns and trends, and through a graphic representation of the violence, it aims to make the conflict more comprehensible. The initial findings indicate that much of the violence in the Kivus goes unreported. Ninety percent of the incidents documented on the Tracker, amounting to 70 percent of violent deaths, were not mentioned at all in international media. More than half are absent from the best available academic trackers of violence.

While many factors contribute to the violence, some trends stand out. Congolese security forces were responsible for over 100 violent deaths over the past six months, more than any single armed group and roughly one fifth of total killings documented. One of the worst single incidents documented was a massacre of at least 39 Burundian refugees by Congolese security forces in Kamanyola, South Kivu, on September 15.

The Tracker’s findings also suggest that the conflict in eastern Congo has been exacerbated by the country’s general political crisis, as President Joseph Kabila has delayed elections and used violence, repression, and corruption to entrench his hold on power beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ended on December 19, 2016. Armed groups have formed coalitions to challenge Kabila’s extended presidency, while the government has cracked down violently on peaceful protesters.

“Levels of displacement in Congo today are higher than ever recorded,” said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group. “The current political crisis is not just a question of elections, but it’s about the millions affected by persistent and deadly violence. Solving the crisis will require nuanced engagement in the conflict, but also the political will to challenge those responsible.”

Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo: Millions at Risk as Funding Dries up (06.12.2017)

With 3.2 million people desperately short of food, WFP has stepped in with emergency assistance.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, December 6, 2017 – An acute hunger emergency in conflict-ravaged Greater Kasai could turn into a long-term disaster, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. While the agency has been working against the clock to help ever more people, the cash is quickly running out.

“We’re letting down those who need us most,” said Claude Jibidar, WFP’s Representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A tightly planned surge had made a big difference, Jibidar explained, but WFP had largely funded this from its own meagre resources. “Without immediate donor support, many – particularly women and children – will die.”

The eruption of violence in what used to be a poor but peaceful region has claimed countless lives. Some 1.4 million people have been forced from their homes. Traditionally high malnutrition rates have sky-rocketed.

With 3.2 million people desperately short of food, WFP has stepped in with emergency assistance. A lull in fighting has allowed more staff to be deployed. Aid workers have fanned out into the Kasai countryside. WFP has co-ordinated multi-agency logistics and humanitarian flights. As a result, the number of people assisted has grown rapidly – from 42,000 in September to 115,000 in October and 225,000 in November. Last month, 13,500 children were given special fortified foods.

But donors’ reluctance to commit to Kasai is jeopardizing this effort. While WFP plans to feed almost half a million people in December, so depleted are the agency’s coffers that only half-rations can be distributed.

Hunger not only puts lives at risk: it forces people into prostitution and increases the risk of sexual violence, Jibidar stressed. “Government partners must do all in their power to spare Kasai from the kind of decades-long humanitarian catastrophe that has plagued other DRC regions.”