Metro

Eastern DR Congo residents reject East African regional force

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2022

Some residents in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the M23 rebels groups have been holding sway for over six months have rejected the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force by the Eastern African regional body.

On Monday, the East African Community (EAC) leaders in a meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, had endorsed the deployment of a regional force to help stabilise eastern DRC, in a move that had also earlier been discussed by military chiefs in the regional bloc.

But opponents of the troop deployment have also pointed to the chequered history that some of DR Congo’s neighbours have had in the war-torn east of the country, and rather called for reforms and reinforcements in the Congolese armed forces.

In a letter to President Felix Tshisekedi by a group known as a citizen movement called Lucha (Fight for Change), the group said the country should reject the regional force citing security, economic or geopolitical reasons for the objections.

Lucha which was founded in 2012 in Goma, the capital of the troubled eastern DRC’s North Kivu province, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, is one of the strongest voices in the country.

“We vigorously reject the EAC project and call on you to give it up because of the security, economic and geopolitical integrity of the DRC,” the movement said.

“At least three of the seven member states of the East African Community — Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi — have been involved for more than two decades in the destabilisation of our country, through interventions directly from their armies or through armed groups,” the letter added.

According to the group, all the three countries which are DR Congo’s eastern neighbours, were involved in the two civil wars that wracked the vast mineral-rich country between 1996 and 2003.

Kinshasa has also made it already made it clear it opposes Rwanda’s participation in any regional force, accusing it of backing the resurgent M23 rebels. Kigali denies the charge.

But even without Rwandan involvement, some residents in Goma are not convinced by the idea of such a regional force.

For many in the region, it was not clear how any new regional force could succeed where the United Nations peacekeeping forces, the MONUSCO, had failed.

Raphael Wekenge, the coordinator of the Congolese Coalition for Transitional Justice (CCJT) who also rejected the deployment, said:

“I am sceptical about the operational side of a force made up of countries that have interests in our own,” he said.

Paulin Mulume, from the Amka Congo collective of citizens’ movements, also kicked against the EAC forces

“We have already had several joint operations in the east of the country, which have not borne fruit.

“We don’t know what prompted our president to get involved in this affair. It should have gone through parliament. I doubt the effectiveness of this force,” Mulume added.

DRC’s Nobel laureate, Denis Mukwege, also voiced out against a “regional force including countries at the root of destabilization, atrocities and the plunder of our resources”.

“This will bring neither stability nor peace and risks worsening the situation,” he warned, also calling for a reform of the country’s armed forces.

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Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

13 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.