


Kenya: Petetion to His Excellency the President Uhuru Kenyatta for Expedient and Decisive Action against Grand Corruption (03.11.2016)









The ban was imposed in September after a series of large demonstrations that were brutally supressed by security forces, reportedly leaving dozens of people dead and injured.
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 3, 2016 – A group of United Nations human rights experts* has called on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to lift an “unjustified” ban on protests in the capital, Kinshasa, amid social discontent over delayed presidential elections.
The ban was imposed in September after a series of large demonstrations that were brutally supressed by security forces, reportedly leaving dozens of people dead and injured.
“The rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are fundamental rights guaranteed by international law. These rights can only be restricted in very specific and narrowly defined circumstances,” the experts said.
“It is clear that the current situation in the DRC does not justify a general ban on demonstrations in several cities,” they noted. “In fact, given that the country is in a hotly disputed election period, people should be given more space, not less, to express their democratic freedoms.”
Since the ban on protests in Kinshasa took effect on 22 September, at least four demonstrations have been cancelled.
The UN experts have also raised fears over the National Dialogue agreement which took effect in October, postponing presidential elections beyond the constitutional deadline.
The agreement could be used to justify new and unacceptable restrictions on the legitimate activities of civil society organizations, violating their right to freedom of association, the experts warned.
“The protest ban and the restrictive tone of the National Dialogue agreement are both disturbing signs that democratic space is rapidly dissipating in the DRC, with human rights organizations and opposition parties bearing the brunt of the repression,” the independent experts said.
“In view of forthcoming demonstrations, in particular those planned for 5 November, we urge the Congolese authorities to revoke its decision to ban demonstrations,” they stated.
“The DRC is obligated to facilitate assembly and association rights and to protect people who exercise these rights,” the experts noted. “It is of the utmost importance that the country allows the development of an inclusive and participatory civil society sector at this critical juncture in the development of its democracy.”
The ban is the fourth of its kind in the DRC since 2015. Two remain in force, affecting Kalemie in Tanganyika province and Lubumbashi in Haut Katang.
The crackdown on protests in Kinshasa in September prompted an earlier statement from the experts, who condemned the authorities’ repeated use of “excessive force”, which included firing tear gas and live ammunition into crowds of protesters (check the September 2016 statement: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20573&LangID=E).
(*) The experts: Mr Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Mr. Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

A Statement Issued by the Kenyan CSOs on November 1, 2016
Since independence, Kenyan public has been treated to a cocktail of abominable theft, plunder, squander and waste of public resources, while the institutions tasked with the mandate to probe and deal with the said scandals have repeatedly sanctified the same. Bailed as the most corrupt and unaccountable administration in Kenya’s political history so far, the Jubilee regime’s 4 years in power has been characterized by rampant, reckless and mindless looting and misappropriation of state coffers.
The situation in the country remains so grave and dire that the official Auditor General’s report for 2015 found that just 1% of Kenya government spending and a quarter of the entire 1.6 trillion shillings budget was properly accounted for. Current reports indicate that Kenya loses approximately 600Billion shillings out of its annual budget of 2 trillion (close to 30%) through wanton theft and waste. Imagine what this amount could do in supporting health care for the poor, provision of quality basic education, clean water or employment for our youth?
Specifically, the Kenyan CSOs note with concern the following systemic and vicious failures of the political establishments, both at the national and county levels: That as noted by John Githongo, a prominent anti-corruption crusader, “corruption in Kenya has deepened and widened since President Uhuru Kenyatta came to power in 2013”.
It’s in response to the president’s admission of helplessness, his inability to act, and the failure by the different state agencies to admit responsibility in the midst of wanton theft of state resources, that the Kenyan Civil Society is calling a national mass demonstration to demand for urgent and systematic actions against mega corruption in Kenya.
We have planned sustained political actions to ensure zero tolerance to and increased accountability for public theft in Kenya.

Another day, another empty charge, another time Dr. Kizza Besigye detained for no other reason that he is home and breathing. Like the crimes of the Forum for Democratic Charge ever has amounted to anything, because it’s all political and controlled from above. The Police in-charge knows this and uses all kind of spin-control to make it look otherwise, because they think the citizens of the Republic of Uganda is blatantly stupid and ignorant like their leadership.
Therefore as he arrived during the weekend and on Sunday morning the Police Force set their guards at the gates, as they put out metal teeth’s and such to stop cars from entering the compound of the political man. He was taken together with his famous driver Fred Kato, who has charges because of his allegiance to Besigye, but they have all been dropped. Besigye we’re also taken with Christine Behimbisa.
The black “Torture” van picked them up and the Lord Mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago together with Farouk Mugerwa went to Naggalama Police Station and Prison in Mukono, to see if they could get him released from his detention today.
While Ingrid Turinawe, the FDC Mobiliser has been detained on the way to Kasangati and her whereabouts is still unclear as the charges for driving to Kasangati has not been written as a cardinal sin, but we can surely see that information soon coming out of the mouth of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi. I should not know the Name of Police Officers, but I do, because this arrest of FDC people has constantly and with rampant acts. Like the arrest of Doreen Nyanjura who had this Friday closed of the Kasangati for the arrival of Besigye. Because of this insult to the Police, she was detained without charges and we’re bailed out the day after.
So we all know where we are going, the NRM Regime cannot help themselves as they are on a spiral of killing innocent and rule of law to the level of fearless non-sense like this. Where they arrest people for no apparent reason than they exists and without charges, because they apparently at this day and need none. They are okay under the wings of IGP Kale Kayihura and Mzee.
The is the acts compared to Medieval kingdoms with kings who thought they we’re God and had all reason to spread their justice over all men kind or in meagre existence inside their own fiefdom. The pride that the Republic of Uganda is now the same, as it all connects to the power-hungry President who will tarnish his reputation and his legacy over continuation of these acts of impunity. He can bike around and act like road-show to try to overshadow these acts of violence against own citizens, but the truth will conquer that vile attempt of spin-control. Peace.

“Police have again taken over security outside Dr Kizza Besigye’s Kasangati home after a group of women blocked their access yesterday. The leader of the group said the police took over security early morning” (NBS TV Uganda, 30.10.2016).
Again the Police Force has taken the home of Dr. Kizza Besigye under siege, as he had 12 days abroad as per request and allowed to while the Government continues to work on forged allegations of treason. This continued war-path and destruction of liberty and freedom for the political leader and former presidential candidate.
This is a farce and continued presence of Police without warrant or charge on the man. The decision to house-arrest the man because of so-called intelligence of planned demonstrations with him together with comrade and loyal friend Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago in Kampala. As Hon. Beti Kamya continues to force vendors of the street and alleys while the streets are cleared with violent force of Police. That is the only thing the Police under IGP Kayihura knows anyway.
This is a continued injustice is just getting to far out of hand. I don’t know how many times I written about it, but the Penal Code and the Preventative Arrest, the Colonial Law inherited from the British have been now certainly used more by the NRM Regime, than the years under the British Lords. I am sure the record for most Preventative Arrest in Ugandan History is Dr. Kizza Besigye. That says more about the authorities than of the so-called illegal activity of Besigye. Besigye is soon not allowed to think or breathe; as no matter what he does he get detained, arrested and such.
Just like Doreen Nyanjura has been detained and arrested, even tortured and not allowed food from the Police Officers at the prison. That shows the level of impunity as she just tried together with other woman that their leader should have justice and freedom as anybody else.
I am tired of the political police force and their misuse of power against civilians, political persons and others are easily picked without charges or cases to be made. That proves that injustice bounces over rule of law. Again, Again and Again! Peace.

Uganda Police Force has received reliable information from intelligence sources that Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Mr. Erias Lukwago and other political actors have been mobilizing and meeting vendors who were recently removed from the city streets with the aim of staging illegal demonstrations on Monday October 31, 2016.
Uganda Police Force wishes to inform the general public that it has not received any notification concerning the planned demonstration and that any person who participates in such illegal activity commits a crime.
Police shall take all necessary measures to prevent such illegal acts and ensure that no persons disrupt the normal business life and peace in the city.
The public is cautioned not to be misled and hoodwinked by such opportunistic individuals whose agenda is to cause the breach of peace in the city.
Vendors and hawkers are advised to be patient and work with the ministry responsible for Kampala Capital City affairs to find alternative solutions.
Andrew Felix Kaweesi ‘ndc’(k)
AIGP
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
October 30, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmq2QVkNpWU
“The FDC women in command, a female pressure group that on Saturday, occupied the Police check point at Dr. Kiiiza Besigye’s home in Kasangati, have lost control to police. The fearless women group lost their base when they retired last night for family obligation. Their attempt to fight back and gain control was futile as Police surrounded Besigye’s home again” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016).

Burundi has been in turmoil ever since the current President Pierre Nkurunziza decided that himself we’re more important than the nation he was running. His power and position we’re more the key needed in his equation. Nkurunziza used the Supreme Court and Parliament to get a third term and a second election in his favour as Opposition didn’t even turn out. After that the oppressive behaviour and harassment has been genuine, as the Police and Imbonerakure has been used to assassinate, kill, detain and torture the ones who doesn’t follow the party line of Nkurunziza.
After this the UN has dropped a resolution, had a peace-talks designated from the East African Community (EAC) and H.E. Benjamin Mpaka, but that hasn’t gone anywhere as the little Police Force from the UN is powerless, while the Peace-Talks haven’t even had all parties that needed to compromise as the Nkurunziza party has banned and dislodged them. So the Central Government does what it can to control them by force and intimidation.
Because of these violations and the fear of spreading information and Intel about it the press, the government has a month after the release of the UN Report done this: “A letter signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe said Pablo de Greiff of Colombia, Christof Heyns of South Africa, and Maya Sahli-Fadel of Algeria were no longer welcome in Burundi” (BBC News, 2016). So the Burundian Authorities didn’t like the effect of them there and therefore acted with silencing them like they are doing with civil society and citizens already. Now, not letting people in from the UN and as the UN mandate to make sure the Burundian Government acts righteous towards own citizens, is a crime in the eyes of Burundian Authorities, therefore, I had to look through this report. A government cannot cry that much and cry foul over nothing. Here is what I see as key aspects of it.

Therefor days after the UN Experts released a report on Human Rights violations these we’re the words:
“The UN experts collected unverified information and did not mention sources for their report’s credibility”, deplores Martin Nivyabandi, the Minister of National Solidarity, Gender and Human Rights. He said that the UN experts toured Burundi and saw plenty of positive work but they didn’t mention anywhere the progress observed on the ground. “During their stay in Burundi, the UN experts met different officials of Public institutions involved in the Human Rights, but unfortunately, the report did not take into consideration improvements on the ground. This UN investigation is a political report rather than being technical”, the Minister said” (…) “In a statement issued on 22 September, the ruling party rejects the allegations of the UN report. «CNDD-FDD rejects unverified accusations and dangerously biased contained in that report, apparently the result of a vicious campaign against the regime, the manipulation of public opinion, which is in line with the destructive business”, said Evariste Ndayishimiye, Secretary General of the ruling party. (Uwimana, 2016).
If you would expect that the Burundian Government would have praised a UN Report on Human Rights Violations than you’re a fool. No Government would ever like to slap on the wrist and then answered with sweet words of joy. No, the Burundian Authorities answered the way you should expect that they want the reports and injustices put under rug. They don’t want the systematic repression of citizens by any means.
To start with a Key Ingredient to the Burundian state:
“The citizens of Burundi are not helped by friends and neighbours of Burundi who shield the Government from its national and international human rights obligations. All countries, but particularly those who have close relations with Burundi, and especially those that have played an historically important role, including in the process leading to the Arusha Agreement, should exercise their good offices, unambiguously, in defence of the human rights of the citizens of Burundi” (UN HRC, P: 23, 2016)
How Burundian Government answered the UN HRC mission:
“Several government officials said they were not in a position to provide information, but would do so in writing afterwards. By letter dated 19 July 2016, the experts requested specific questions to the Government, with a follow-up dated 1 September 2016. The last letter also offered technical capacity to document the alleged mass graves. Regrettably, no response was received until the day when the report was completed. The response consisted in a blanket denial of all violations” (UN HRC, P: 4, 2016).

Estimated Killings and Sexual Violence:
“According to some estimates more than one thousand people have been killed as part of the crisis. Thousands have reportedly been tortured, unknown numbers of women victims of various forms of sexual crimes, hundreds of people disappeared, and thousands illegally detained” (…) “No official figures of the number of people killed during the crisis are available, and the system of accountability is virtually non-existent. OHCHR has informed UNIIB that, as of 30 August 2016, it has verified 564 cases of executions since 26 April 2015. Given the constraints under which OHCHR operate this is clearly a conservative estimate” (…) “UNIIB received first-hand information confirming the involvement of the Imbonerakure in murders of perceived opposition sympathizers. Thus, a former member of the Imbonerakure testified to UNIIB that he had participated in the killing of 20 individuals in Bujumbura, including two Imbonerakure who had warned persons that there were plans to execute them. The witness added that the Imbonerakure were expected to arrest all those who opposed the third mandate, were against the President, or who did not collaborate with the CNDD-FDD. The bodies of those executed in the cases mentioned were reportedly placed in bags, transported across the Ruzizi River using makeshift boats, and buried in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (…) “Allegations of mass burials of those executed during these incidents have been widely reported. Initial satellite imagery suggests that bodies may have been buried in mass graves during this period, including in Bujumbura (in Kanyosha and Mpanda) and Bubanza. UNIIB received testimony corroborating the existence of mass graves. Reported intimidation by members of the Imbonerakure and SNR of persons in possession of information on this topic give further credibility to the testimony” (…) “Apparent examples of tit-for-tat targeted assassinations within the Army – particularly threatening to the integration of the armed forces – include the killings of several senior Army officers belonging either to the pre-Arusha Agreement Burundian Armed Forces (ex-FAB) or to the former rebel group “Armed Political Parties and Movements” (ex-PMPA) and the apparent retaliatory killings of alleged supporters of the regime within the forces. Among the most emblematic examples are the killings of General Adolphe Nshimirimana on 2 August 2015; General Karakuza on 25 April 2016; and Colonel Darius Ikurakure on 22 March 2016. The latter was shot dead in the compound of the headquarters of the Army Joint Staff” (…) “In a number of cases documented by UNIIB, the victims were sexually mutilated. For instance, a woman in Cibitoke, in August 2015, was sexually mutilated by Imbonerakure who were searching for her husband. She stated that when they did not find him, they tied her hands behind her back and hit her. “They put their hands inside my vagina until the uterus came out. I was left alone bleeding, screaming. The neighbours came out and they tried to put my uterus back in place.” (UN HRC, P: 7-8 + 10, 2016).
Disappeared people:
“Marie-Claudette Kwizera, Treasurer of the CSO Ligue ITEKA was allegedly arrested on 10 December 2015 by the SNR and has not been seen since. More recently, on 22 July 2016, Jean Birgimana, journalist at Iwaku newspaper, was also allegedly arrested by the SNR and is missing since then” (UN HRC, P: 9, 2016).
Arbitrary arrests:
“Arbitrary arrests and detention have been a cornerstone of the repression in Burundi and have opened the way for a wide range of other human rights violations. Arbitrary arrests and detention surged after 26 April 2015, targeting individuals demonstrating against the third term. After the coup attempt of May 2015, the authorities intensified the repression. SNR, PNB, the Imbonerakure and FDN reportedly tracked down opponents, notably through cordon and search operations and raids in so-called opposition neighbourhoods of Bujumbura” (…) “Prison overcrowding is alarming with a 300 per cent occupancy rate in some prisons. The Mpimba prison in Bujumbura, which the UNIIB team visited, was built to house 800 prisoners; instead there were 3,800 detainees present” (…) “Although the Prosecutor General of the Republic has formally denied the existence of unacknowledged places of detention, UNIIB concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Security Forces and Imbonerakure have established several such sites” (UN HRC, P: 11-12, 2016).
Torture and Harrasment:
“UNIIB conducted 65 interviews with witnesses and/or victims of torture or ill-treatment. Elements of the SNR, the PNB, the Imbonerakure and, to a lesser extent, the FDN, are consistently identified as the perpetrators, and some individuals, including senior figures of the security apparatus, have been repeatedly cited” (UN HRC, P: 9, 2016). “Independent journalists have been subjected to harassment, death threats, arrests, torture, and the closure of their offices and/or destruction of their equipment” (…) ”As with the other violations in this report the victims are not only those outside Government. There is also no room for dissenting positions within government circles or the ruling party” (UN HRC, P: 14, 2016).

If you don’t see the systemic oppression, harassment and killings of citizens inside here and understand the behaviour of Burundian Government by now, then you’re blind by the arrogance of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
The Burundian Government that has after the banning of UN Experts, has decided to leave the ICC; while the UN Report on Human Rights Violations clearly shows through the process of collecting evidence that the Central Government through their Security Organizations and Youth Party Imbonerakure has violated and oppressed fellow citizens to keep power for their current President. This is why it’s red-hot and been attacked as a political document from the CNDD-FDD as they doesn’t want to hear about their killings and torture to be in charge.
We can just know that this is estimated killings, torture and harassments of citizens, the Central Government of Burundi will never in their mind release the systematic violence against their own citizens to the world. That will only happen when the shadow of this regime is gone. Because they do not want the world know about their misgivings and their acts against their own. Peace.
Reference:
BBC News – ‘Burundi bars UN investigators over report on human rights abuses’ (11.10.2016) link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37614790
UN Human Rights Council – ‘Report of the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-24/1’ (20.09.2016) – A/HRC/33/37
Uwimana, Diane – ‘Bujumbura dismisses UN report on Burundi as “political”’ (23.09.2016) link: http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/bujumbura-dismisses-un-report-on-burundi-as-political/
