Kenya: Suspended Education Minister in Hague to Give Statement on Poll Violence
Nairobi, Kenya
Former Kenyan Higher Education Minister William Ruto who flew to The Hague to meet the ICC prosecutor has agreed on arrangements on which he will present evidence surrounding the country’s post-polls violence in 2008.
Ruto is said to have agreed to the rules and procedure to guide presentation of his evidence about the violence that had rocked the country immediately after the December 2007 general election.
His lawyer Dr Kithure Kindiki told reporters on Thursday after emerging from a meeting with the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo that they finalized the procedure which will guide the substantive process.
Mr. Ruto, before departure on Wednesday said that he was travelling to The Hague to “set the record straight”, following his implication with poll chaos in several reports.
Ruto was suspended last month as minister following a court ruling that he must face trial over corrupt sale of public land allegedly committed during former President Daniel Arap Moi’s reign.
Ruto earlier revealed to have written to the ICC chief prosecutor promising cooperation after him and nine other prominent Kenyan politicians and businessmen were served with notices demanding statements from them in regard to the poll chaos.
The ICC is probing into the 2008 post-election violence that was widespread throughout the country following disputed December 2007 elections where over 1,300 people died and thousands left internally displaced.
Series of mediation by prominent African leaders saw the formation of a power-sharing government in February 2008 between the two principals-President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Moreno-Ocampo has assured to call for two trials with three suspects in each after concluding with his ongoing investigations round the country where he has been meeting with witnesses and recording their statements.
Ruto fell out with Mr. Odinga- leader of his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party- following his stand to oppose the eviction of squatters from Mau forest the new constitution.
His political career suspends loosely as legal scuffles are seen to taint his chances for the 2012 presidential race.
Khartoum, Sudan
Govt Forces, Darfur Rebels in Fresh Clashes
Several Sudanese government policemen have been killed in fresh clashes between main rebels movement in Darfur, the government has said.
Fighting broke out on Wednesday at Khor Taan, 50km east of south Darfur state when Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters are believed to have ambushed a commercial convoy carrying fuel and food supplies, that was being escorted by government forces.
Both sides claim victory, with conflicting reports on death tolls of the clashes, first one in several months. The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur-UNAMID- has called for both sides to stop fighting.
The police said in a statement that its troops repulsed the rebels who suffered heavy losses, insisting that none of the content were captured. They gave no further information about casualties on the government side.
JEM’s spokesman Ali Alwafi told reporters that at least 50 policemen were killed while three of their members were injured, none of them seriously, further claiming to have captured 13 vehicles from the government convoy and destroying several others.
JEM claims the Wednesday attacks were a retaliatory response to earlier attack in eastern south Darfur state by government troops.
JEM leaders suspended the Qatari peace talks with the Khartoum government in May accusing the government of unrelenting attacks despite a cease fire agreement signed in February this year.
Earlier last week the rebel movement released statements claiming that the government was regrouping its troops in preparation for a major attack on its strongholds in the region.
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and JEM rebel groups in Darfur region took up arms against the government, accusing it of oppressing the black Africans in favour of Arabs and arming the Janjaweed militia- who have been targeting civilians in their attacks.
According to the UN over 300,000 people have been killed and about 2.7 million left displaced, since the clashes broke out in 2003, drawing major international outcry over the government’s involvement in the genocide.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest against President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur.
US president Barack Obama last week said he will extend existing sanctions against the Sudanese government due to what he termed as slowed efforts in resolving disputes and implementing the peace agreement.
With less then 10 weeks remaining, south Sudan is expected to vote in a referendum in January 9 on independence, as final phase in implementation of the 2005 peace agreement that ended over two decades of north-south civil strife.
Liberia: Sirleaf Fires Entire Cabinet
Monrovia, Liberia
Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has dismissed all but one of her cabinet ministers this week in a move to provide a fresh slate for the government.
Sirleaf announced Thursday, that her decision was due to the fact that her Administration is entering “a critical stretch” and she needs to start with a fresh slate going forward.
No other reason was given for the shake-up but it comes amid a crackdown on corruption in the West African state that has led to investigation of some public officials ahead of next year’s election.
According to the statement, Deputies are to lead ministries until new ministers have been appointed. Sirleaf has warned that a similar shake-up would take place in other government agencies.
The minister for presidential affairs was the only one to retain his post.
Analysts say the move may be part of Sirleaf’s plan so improve her chances in the upcoming presidential elections.
Johnson-Sirleaf - currently the only elected female head of state in Africa –was elected in 2006 after the end of 14 years of bloody civil conflict in 2003, is up for re-election next year.
West Africa: Violence in Schools Disrupting Education
A non-governmental organization Plan International has released a report indicating that physical and sexual violence against children in Western African schools is hindering educational performance leading to high drop-out rates.
The report, which is a campaign of 'Learn Without Fear', has been responding to violence in schools in West Africa and globally for the past two years.
The deputy director of programs for Plan International in West Africa, Stefanie Conrad,
Said that there have been cases on children being physically and psychologically traumatized in Western African countries.
Conrad said there is a clear link between the impact of the Learn Without Fear campaign and the Millennium Development Goal for education, which aims to ensure that all of the world's elementary school age children are enrolled in school by 2015.
Efforts have been put in countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, where children are being trained in online communication and the media liaison in order to inform other children, as well as adults, of their right to learn without fear.
Kigali, Rwanda
Businessman Found Guilty for Massacre
A Rwandan businessman has been found guilty for his responsibility in the Nyange Parish massacre in which more than 2000 Tutsi were slaughtered while seeking refuge during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Monday sentenced Gaspard Kanyarukiga to 30 years imprisonment with no clear indications if he will appeal.
The prosecution alleges that Kanyarukiga gave orders when the church was attacked with grenades, bulldozed and burnt to the ground. Kanyarukiga is the second to be sentenced after the church’s priest Athanase Seromba who was sentenced to life in prison in 2008.
Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the genocide.
The United Nation (U.N) tribunal, operating out of the Tanzanian town of Arusha, was set up to prosecute those most responsible for organizing the killings.