Monthly Archives: December 2011

Revealed: How armed gangs in the DRC are funding their activities

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Armed rebel groups active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) derive their funds from several sources, notably trade in natural resources, but also ordinary commerce and illegal taxation, according to a report by a United Nations group of experts unveiled today. The final report to the Security Council by the Group of Experts tasked with monitoring the arms embargo and other sanctions against armed rebel groups in the DRC details their recruitment networks and sources of financing, including trade in minerals, timber, charcoal and cannabis and other cash crops. Foreign armed groups active in eastern DRC include the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has its origins in Uganda … Continue reading →

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Foreign companies buying up South Sudan’s fertile lands

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Land deals done in newly-independent South Sudan “threaten to undermine the land rights of rural communities, increase food insecurity, entrench poverty, and skew development patterns” in the resource-rich but poor nation, a new report says. The US-based Oakland Institute (OI) says deals done prior to South Sudan’s independence this year for almost 9 percent of the new nation’s land will do little to help the nation build itself up from one of the least developed countries in the world. “In order to meet its developmental challenges, the government of South Sudan has begun promoting large-scale private investments as a short cut to rapid economic development. However, recent data about the … Continue reading →

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Dos Santos asked to account for US$32 billion missing oil money

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

The government of Angola should promptly provide a full public accounting for US$32 billion in missing government funds thought to be linked to the state oil company, Human Rights Watch said today. A December 2011 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that the government funds were spent or transferred from 2007 through 2010 without being properly documented in the budget. The sum is equivalent to one-quarter of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). ”Angola’s government has taken credit for improving transparency over its oil revenues and auditing the state oil company,” said Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). “But the disappearance of $32 billion raises serious … Continue reading →

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ICG warns situation in Cote d’Ivoire is still volatile

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

By Staff Writer Despite a marked improvement in economic governance and the holding of legislative elections in good security conditions last Sunday, divisions within Cote d’Ivoire’s security forces carry a risk of violent confrontation while the victor’s justice targeting only followers of former President Laurent Gbagbo, hampers reconciliation. This is the view held by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest briefing on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire. The ICG is warning that Cote d’Ivoire remains deeply divided and faces serious threats. It says that the weakness and imbalance of the security apparatus and the two-tiered justice system are reinforcing the convictions of extremists and are the two main … Continue reading →

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Pursuing justice for Gambia’s Deyda Hydara

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

By Darian Pavli [Today] December 16, 2011 will be the seventh anniversary of the killing of Deyda Hydara, the dean of Gambian journalism. It is also the 20th anniversary of the first issue of The Point, the courageously independent-minded daily that Hydara founded and directed for many years. He was murdered in a drive-by shooting as he drove himself and two staff members home from an evening of sombre celebration at The Point’s premises. He had received multiple death threats in the preceding weeks and months. In his last column, he vowed to keep fighting to the end for Gambians’ right to speak their minds. During his last years, Deyda … Continue reading →

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Sata in Kampala for first foreign trip

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

Zambian President Michael Sata arrives in the Ugandan capital Kampala this morning (Wednesday) on his first foreign trip since elected as President. He is attending the 4th International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Summit -ICGLR-. Mr Sata is accompanied by his wife Dr Christine Kaseba-Sata who will deliver a keynote address at the First Ladies meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Uganda will be hosting an International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)   Heads of State Summit from 15th-16th December 2010.  More than 11 Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the Summit. It will be preceded by a meeting of the First Ladies, the … Continue reading →

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China executes South African woman

Posted on December 13, 2011 by

By Staff Writer and agencies South African President Jacob Zuma has come under heavy criticism for failing to stop the execution of a South African woman who was convicted of drug trafficking in China. The government did not do enough to prevent the execution of a South African woman in China on Monday for drug smuggling, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said. “Whilst we firmly believe that drug mules should be punished for their offences, this punishment does not fit the crime,” DA MP Stevens Mokgalapa said in a statement. He said the steps taken by the South African government to prevent the execution were not enough to save the woman’s … Continue reading →

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DRC opposition to protest election results

Posted on December 12, 2011 by

Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition will call for peaceful demonstrations across the country early next week to protest against Joseph Kabila’s disputed election victory, a situation France’s foreign minister Alain Juppe described on Sunday as explosive. Tensions are high in the vast minerals-rich central African state after a Nov. 28 poll, its second post-war vote, marred by deadly violence, disorganisation and allegations of fraud. Both sides have claimed victory. M Juppe said on France’s TV5 and RFI radio that it was hard to know exactly what had happened during Congo’s elections, and Paris had tried to pass messages to both camps to stop violence and begin dialogue, but until now nobody … Continue reading →

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Uganda Police block demo against murder of Rwandan journalist

Posted on December 10, 2011 by

  By TLEP Staff Writer Uganda Police have thwarted an attempt by members of the family of a murdered Rwandan journalist to carry out a peaceful demonstration against his killing. The family of the late Charles Ingabire were due to match on the streets of Kampala this week but police authorities denied them permission. Ingabire was the editor of the online Rwandan magazine Inyenyeri. He was shot dead by unknown assailants while he was in the gardens of Makie’s 2 Bar along Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road, a Kampala suburb on November 30, 2011. The family wanted to show their anger at the failure to protect Rwandan refugees in Uganda by … Continue reading →

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Letter from Juba: Sex workers risk violence, HIV in Juba’s brothels

Posted on December 3, 2011 by

By Hannah McNeish Hungry and desperate for money to look after their families, women from Uganda have been flocking to Sudan to join the sex trade. In the tin warehouses at the back of Jebel Market, in Juba, capital of South Sudan, the business of sex is booming; in the rows and rows of tiny, dark, padlocked rooms – a so-called “sex camp” – girls and women practise the world’s oldest profession in the world’s newest country. Juba is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world; construction and trade are thriving, and commercial sex work is no exception. Many of the women in the sex camps are from neighbouring … Continue reading →

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