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A printed sheet of paper bearing a photo of Adoussouma hung on the crumbling wall at the Komeissou family home in Chad's capital N'Djamena, marking his death in protests against the new military junta.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
Sporadic gunshots were heard in Lagos on Friday as security forces patrolled Nigeria's biggest city after days of unrest following the shooting of protesters that sparked condemnation at home and abroad.
President Muhammadu Buhari warned demonstrators in a televised address on Thursday not to \"undermine national security\" as he called for an end to widespread protests gripping Africa's most populous country.
The 78-year-old leader was speaking for the first time since the shooting in Lagos on Tuesday, although he did not directly address the incident.
He appealed to the youth to \"resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos\".
\"For you to do otherwise will amount to undermining national security and the law and order situation. Under no circumstances will this be tolerated,\" Buhari said.
- 'Please stay indoors' -
Nigeria, where many live in extreme poverty and where the median age is 18, is a tinderbox of economic and social grievances.
\"Police officers are currently patrolling major parts of the city to ensure the safety of residents. Please stay indoors,\" Lagos State Police Command said on Friday.
Protests against police abuse erupted on October 8 after a video of an officer allegedly killing a civilian went viral.
Despite the disbanding of the police unit accused of brutality, the federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), protests spread and violence escalated.
Anger spread further after pictures and videos on social media showed security forces shooting on a peaceful crowd of around 1,000 protesters on Tuesday.
Amnesty International said 12 people were killed in the incident, with a total of 56 people dead in the unrest across the country.
- 'Rushing to judgement' -
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for an immediate investigation into violence by security forces, which has also triggered condemnation by the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and others.
Nigeria's president shrugged off the international concern.
\"We thank you and urge you all to seek to know all the facts available before taking a position or rushing to judgement and making hasty pronouncements,\" Buhari said.
The spreading of \"deliberate falsehood and misinformation, in particular through social media\" was, he said, \"a ploy to mislead the unwary within and outside Nigeria into unfair judgement and disruptive behaviour.\"
After the president's speech, a key protest group told its followers to \"stay home\" but many made it clear that the movement would continue.
\"The past two weeks have been tough for many Nigerians, most specifically the last two days,\" the Feminist Coalition said in a statement.
\"We hereby encourage all young Nigerians to stay safe, stay home, and observe the mandated curfew in your state.\"
Others in the youth-led movement insist that the demonstrations will continue.
\"Everybody, get your PVC (electoral card) ready,\" tweeted Afrobeats star Davido.
\"This was just practice. We go again! Now we must deploy our unity and experienc
[Monitor] By Charity Akullo
July 2: Hachalu buried in Ambo, blast rocks Addis
\tThe funeral of Oromo protest singer Hachalu Hundessa has been held in his hometown of Ambo in the Oromia regional state, the BBC reports.
Photos courtesy: BBC Africa LIVE page
\tMeanwhile there are reports of a deadly blast in the capital Addis Ababa with most people on Twitter citing local police.
The arrest comes in the wake of mass protests against the shooting and killing on Monday night of a famed Oromo musician and activist in Addis Ababa.
Meanwhile, his media outfit the Oromia Media Network, OMN, reported on Tuesday that its offices in the capital Addis Ababa had been raided and staff taken away by security agents to an undisclosed location.
Death of Oromo artist: Protests, internet outage, social media reactions
\tThousands of Ethiopian youth on Tuesday accompanied the body of a famed Oromo singer and songwriter to the city of Ambo in the Oromia regional state for funeral rites and burial.
Algeria on Sunday awaited the results of a parliamentary election boycotted by the long-running Hirak protest movement and marked by widespread abstention.
This will also be used to take a stand against the country's own security forces which have allegedly been responsible for the deaths of citizens during the national lockdown.
The ANC's deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, said the campaign, which will be launched on Friday at 19:00, was not only to stand in solidarity with Americans but would also seek to highlight racism in South Africa.
Cosatu's general-secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, said the decision for people to wear black as part of the campaign was meant to conscientise them as they would be deciding whether to remain neutral or to take a stand against racial discrimination.
The alliance partners also expressed their disapproval of attacks levelled against Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who was recently depicted as an ape on social media.
Zeroing in on the acts of the ANC's own government, the alliance secretariat said its campaign wanted to take a stand against acts of brutality meted out by the police and security forces.
Condé Might Snag a Third Term
Preliminary results of Guinea's weekend election for four of the country's 38 voting districts released by electoral commission chief Kabinet Cisse late Tuesday showed a strong lead for current president Alpha Condé who is seeking a controversial third term.
Kabinet Cissé, the Electoral Commission Chief, read out the results as follows, \"Professor Alpha Condé, RPG-Arc-en-ciel, votes obtained: 104,450, or 49.13%. Mamadou Cellou Dalein Diallo, UFDG, 85.658, or 40,29%.\"
Voting Fraud?
Meanwhile, the main challenger Cellou Dalein Diallo, who had claimed victory Monday. dismissed it as fraudulent. Celebrations in Conakry of Diallo's self-proclaimed victory quickly descended into violent clashes with security forces, in which several youngsters were shot dead, opposition officials said.
Since his public self-proclaimed victory, Meanwhile in a seeming response to Diallo's self-proclaimed win, security forces dressed in riot gear surrounded Diallo's residence in the capital in what could appear to be the government's response.
Fode Oussou Fofana, vice-president of the UFDG, \" The current state of our counting of more than 80% clearly indicates that our victory in the first round is indisputable.\"
Proper Conduct
The election is said to have been transparent, lawful and properly conducted - as per statements from the African Union's mission head in Guinea and the ECOWAS monitoring mission head National results are expected later this week.
When a 77-year-old Black retired St. Louis Police Department captain David Dorn was shot and killed by Black looters, there was no comparable outrage by Black and White Democratic Party national political leaders.
It’s readily apparent that “Black Lives Matter” only applies to those Blacks killed by police or other Whites — not by Blacks!
Many in the media who say there is systemic racism in police departments turn a blind
eye to the lack of Blacks in their newsrooms and on their editorial boards.
In their minds, police departments’ roles are to protect them from “those people” regardless of how they do
it— until they see it with their own eyes, as was the case with George Floyd.
He was referring to Amy Cooper, the White woman walking her dog in Central Park, who called the police because a Black male told her to put a leash on her dog.
The United States has imposed visa restrictions on some Nigerians believed to be promotors of electoral violence ahead of elections in Edo and Ondo States. The visa restrictions were imposed on the individuals for their actions surrounding the November 2019 elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States and in the run-up to the Edo and Ondo...
The post U.S. has imposed visa restrictions over Nigeria election. Here's what you need to know appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson George Charamba has dismissed claims that the imprisonment of MDC Alliance executive member Makomborero Haruziviishe was political persecution and lauded the courts for discouraging “hooliganism” and public disorder in the country. Haruziviishe (29), an MDC Alliance executive member, was on Tuesday jailed for 14 months for inciting public violence, a sentence which is being challenged by civil society groups and human rights lawyers. In a series of tweets on his @Jamwanda2 Twitter handle yesterday, Charamba mocked MDC- Alliance for failing to save the activist from being sent to jail. He later told NewsDay that he was using the social media platform to “influence moral behaviour”. “I am not mocking anyone. I am mocking hooliganism which is taking the human form of Makomborero Haruziviishe,” Charamba said. “You don’t expect us to shower confetti on lawlessness. Haruziviishe is a young college dropout who confuses politics with violence. By imprisoning him, we try to use him as an example to discourage such behaviour. What I am doing in my tweets is moral sanctioning. There are certain behaviours which cannot just be condoned in society.” He said Haruziviishe’s conviction had nothing to do with politics because he was tried and convicted in a court of law “independent” from political parties’ interference. “Was he tried at the Zanu PF headquarters or MDC party offices that it can be referred to as a political matter?” Charamba asked rhetorically. But MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said by imprisoning and arresting human rights activists, government was demonstrating beyond doubt there was no new dispensation to speak of. “It is clear that politicians are abusing the courts and weaponising the law to silence dissent and punish members of the opposition. This is the latest symptom of the ever-growing bad governance crisis this nation faces. This is not about Mako, buy what he represents, the quest by the people for freedom from tyrannical rule.” She added: “It’s a huge matter of regret that civil servants such as Charamba are mocking human rights defenders. “He clearly lacks the courage to associate his true identity with the abhorrent content of his tweets. How can he then be expected to understand or respect the type of courage it takes to fight brutal regimes such as the one he represents?” Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika said Charamba’s tweets were acts of “oppressors rejoicing at the efficacy of their system to silence critics”. “Unfortunately, it appears Charamba and others are oblivious to the fact that due to the temporary nature of power, the architects of manipulation of the criminal justice system may find themselves victims to that system,” said Kika. “There is precedent for that.” Human Rights Watch Southern Africa director Dewa Mavhinga said Haruziviishe’s imprisonment was a political matter, hence a senior government official like Charamba should stop dabbling in partisan politics. Follow Miriam on Twitter @FloMangwaya
T
It is now seven years since my colleagues and I released the Final Report of the Kenyan Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).
In fact just the other day over 190,000 people displaced from that violence called on the Kenyan government to resettle them and implement the recommendations in the TJRC Report in order to prevent the possibility of election violence in 2022.
Dealing with all rights, not only political rights
The work of the TJRC, and our Final Report, include a number of important innovations and achievements with respect to the operation of a truth commission.
In the Report we link those violations to the more traditional violations covered by a truth commission - the killings, tortures, rapes, massacres that are both the product of these violations of socio-economic rights, and that contribute further to their violation.
The TJRC Report includes not only discussion of sexual violence (including its commission against men), but also an extensive discussion of socio-economic rights and women, including the feminization of poverty, disparities in employment, workplace abuse, lack of access to land, and reproductive health.
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Thirteen people including OLF leader Colonel Gemechu Ayana were reportedly taken by security forces after the court ordered their release. The Federal High Court 3rd Anti-Terrorsim and Constitutional Bench acquitted 12 people who were charged with terrorism, according to the lawyer Tuli Bayisa.
[HRW] Nairobi -- Hold Abusive Officials, Security Forces Accountable
Amid increasing reports of violence against women in Zimbabwe during the pandemic, three women are coming forward to tell of their beatings at the hands of police. While the women were sitting on the verandah [...]
President Tshisekedi has been visiting North Kivu province since Saturday, which, like neighboring Ituri, he has placed under siege to give the army the means to fight rebel groups.
May 29: Amnesty accuses Ethiopia of extrajudicial killings
\tEthiopian security forces in the Oromia region have executed 39 opposition supporters and arrested thousands of others accused of being members of an armed group, Amnesty International said on Friday.
The rights group said in a report that victims were accused of being supporters of the Oromo Liberation Army, the breakaway armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front, which the government had previously declared a terrorist movement but which has been unbanned by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
“Security forces have continued to violate human rights despite reforms introduced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and this is due to widespread impunity and lack of accountability for those violations,” Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher Fisseha Tekle said.
“The report is further proof that the new administration has not parted ways with the practice of forcefully stifling dissent, committing egregious human rights violations and carrying out extrajudicial killings,” the Oromo Liberation Front and the Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition party, said in a joint statement, calling on the government to investigate the findings.
Based on interviews with 80 victims or direct witnesses of violence, Amnesty’s report said the Ethiopian army and regional security forces in Amhara and Oromiya were involved in inter- ethnic killings, mass arbitrary detentions and rape.
[Monitor] President Museveni has directed security forces \"to locate very quickly\" and arrest sources of fake news regarding his presumed death.
ZIMBABWE has never been the same after March 30, 2020. Ever since then, the country has been in a lockdown and normal life in a constitutional democracy has been severely pared in the name of combating the global COVID-19 pandemic. STIR THE POT: PAIDAMOYO MUZULU The pandemic has been a godsend intervention for leaders with an autocratic inclination across the world. They did not take time to impose strict lockdown measures, restriction of rights and, in some instances, imposed martial law. Zimbabwe was no exception to this league of autocrats, notwithstanding the fact that two years earlier, in November 2017, it had experienced a coup that promised the flourishing of democracy. It was a coup that was well-choreographed for both the international and domestic audiences. It was a televised revolution or better still a social media phenomenon. There was no time to think for most, they just soaked in the moment. A moment for many in the opposition had planned for nearly two decades — to see the late former President Robert Mugabe’s departure from politics. For the majority, it was a question of change, but no one knew what that change meant. They wanted Mugabe to go. Zimbabwe experienced two worst military-backed crackdowns on protests since independence in 1980. The first one was on August 1, 2018 and January 15, 2019, apart from Gukurahindi. The security forces that killed protestors in cold blood are yet to face justice despite the Kgalema Motlanthe commission recommendations that they be brought to book. The flowers of the phony-revolution had wilted within seven months of the coup, making a joke of the statement that there was a new dispensation in the country. Opposition supporters had experienced firsthand the brutal excesses of the regime, either through abductions, torture or political persecution in the courts. Political parties could not hold rallies. They could not, and still can not petition or demonstrate against the government during the lockdown period. The opposition has been denied political oxygen and metaphorically dying slowly, gasping once in a while on social media but the damage has been done. At a political level, Zanu PF has been energising its base through Pfumvudza. It is meeting its supporters under the guise of an agricultural support scheme, yet the opposition in urban areas has been denied the same opportunity, worse still, after the lockdown affected the informal sector. Informal trading has changed and most likely for good as less than a quarter of the traders who were operating before lockdown might return to business after restrictions are removed. The anger in urban communities is palpable but it is not harnessed or directed at real issues. It has lacked leadership to marshall it into one giant wave and hence the ripples that we see once in a while that are quickly snuffed out. Zanu PF behaviour is targeted at self-preservation than building democracy. Even with a two-thirds majority in Parliament it is afraid to hold, long overdue by-elections. The by-elections have the potential of
Democratic Republic of Congo: President Tshisekedi reneges on justice pledge, leaving victims in despair
\tPresident Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has reneged on his inauguration pledges to strengthen the rule of law, fight impunity and ensure justice, leaving the families of hundreds of people killed during the country’s pre-election crisis in despair, Amnesty International said today.
“President Tshisekedi and his government must acknowledge the pain that victims and their families have been enduring and publicly commit to promptly and effectively prosecute those responsible,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
Victims of 2015-2018 brutal crackdowns denied justice in the DRC, Amnesty International interviewed 115 survivors and victims’ family members, on their quest for justice.
Farcical investigations
\tUnder international pressure, former President Joseph Kabila constituted three committees to investigate the deadly crackdowns on protestors, none of which have resulted in any prosecutions.
A second committee created in February 2018 investigated the use of deadly force against protestors on 31 December 2017 and 21 January 2018, recommending prosecution of security officers who ordered or used excessive force against protestors.
As the security forces make significant inroads into the local drug trade, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said that the major narcotics dealers are dangling big money before members of the security forces to entice them to assist them...
[AIM] Maputo -- The number of displaced people in Mozambique has risen to 723,000, Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario announced on Wednesday.
Lawyers for Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine have filed a challenge in the Supreme Court against President Yoweri Museveni's victory in last month's election, claiming the poll was rigged.
As residents of the northeast town of Annotto Bay emerged from their homes at the end of a 14-day quarantine, there are calls for caution amid the new-found freedom.
Three St Mary communities – Dover, Annotto Bay, and Enfield – were placed under lockdown with military support after a spike in coronavirus infections in the parish.
Yesterday’s sense of relief contrasted with the clampdown on movement imposed on the morning of May 7 when security forces swooped down on Annotto Bay and the other towns.
“We have learned a valuable lesson,” said a resident of Annotto Bay, who gave his name as David Miller.
The ending of the quarantine saw the return of street vendors to Annotto Bay and the reopening of commercial businesses, along with the return of taxis and minibuses assigned to various routes.
[Monitor] I first saw President Museveni physically in 1988 when I was in secondary school. He was on a whistle-stop tour of Mpigi District and travelled by helicopter from Gombe (his first stop) to Kanoni, the headquarters of Gomba District, then a county, and the birthplace of presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi.
At least 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks on villages by armed gangs.
Possible retaliation
Last week, Nigeria's armed forces launched a series of bomb raids on camps in the northwest region in its latest attempt to curtail violence in the area.
In an apparent retaliation attack, armed gang members raided five villages in the Sabon Birni district on Monday, killing 18 people.
Rival communities in the region have been embroiled in years of violent conflict over land, with armed gangs and vigilante groups carrying out reprisal killings and ransom kidnappings.
According to the ICG, northwest Nigeria risks becoming a \"land bridge\" to jihadist groups across the Sahel region and called for stronger cooperation between Nigeria and Niger to prevent trafficking of arms on the border.
Gunmen have killed a police officer and kidnapped at least 80 students and five teachers from a school in the Nigerian state of Kebbi, police, residents and a teacher have said.
Nigerian security forces stepped up efforts on Saturday to rescue dozens of students who were abducted from their hostels in northwestern Kaduna state in the latest attack on schools, police and officials said.
[VOA] Washington -As anger boils over among Ethiopia's Oromo population after the killing of a revered singer, analysts and activists say swift action and transparency by the government are necessary to avoid further bloodshed.
