Metro

UN accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in DRC

Published

1 year ago

August 5, 2022

A group of experts working with the United Nations have accused Rwanda of giving support to the M23 rebels who are have been staging attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo despite repeated denials by the DRC.

The experts said it finds ‘solid evidence’ that Kigali is supporting M23 fighters despite repeated denials following a resurgence of the militia inflamed regional tensions and spurred deadly protests against the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC last week.

The 131-page report presented to the United Nations Security Council by the experts said Rwanda had launched military interventions inside Congolese territory since November 2021, as well as providing “troop reinforcements for specific M23 operations, in particular when these aimed at seizing strategic towns and areas”.

The UN experts said they also found evidence that M23 fighters and Rwandan troops jointly attacked a large DRC army base in Rumangabo, in eastern North Kivu province, on May 25, a day after Rwandan forces had crossed into the DRC.

“On repeated occasions, aerial imagery showed large columns of up to 500 armed men in the vicinity of the DRC, Rwandan and Ugandan borders, moving in a very organized manner,” the expert group said.

But spokesman for the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo, said in a statement that the government would not comment on an “unpublished and unvalidated report,” stating that an earlier report by the experts’ group in June “contained none of these false allegations.”

A DRC government spokesman, Patrick Muyaya, said his country welcomed the work of the UN group.

“The truth always triumphs in the end. We hope that conclusions will be drawn quickly to put an end to Rwanda’s interference and bring back lasting peace,” Muyaya said.

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Metro

DR Congo colonel sentenced to death for killing of anti-UN protesters

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

A DR Congo Army Colonel has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty in the killing of more than 50 anti-UN demonstrators in August.

Col Mike Mikombe, who was at the time the Commander of the Republican Guard in Goma city, was accused of giving orders to soldiers to open fire on anti-UN protesters in what was described as the highest number of deaths in a crackdown on protests against UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo.

The senior military officer was tried along with five other soldiers, with three of them sentenced to 10 years in prison, while two others, including Col Mikombe’s deputy, were acquitted.

The protesters had demanded the withdrawal of UN troops from the city after accusing them of failing to protect civilians from attacks by rebel groups in the region.

The August protests were organised by a Christian sect known as Wazalendo or The Patriots, to demand the departure of UN troops from the region.

The protesters also wanted the regional governor, Ndima Kongba, who had earlier banned the demonstrations, to resign.

State prosecutors told the court that 56 civilians were killed and dozens others wounded during the demonstrations, sparking international condemnation.

The prosecutors also told the court that amid chaotic scenes, troops opened fire at the protesters on the instruction of Col Mikombe.

“He had suggested that he had been misled by an operational order identifying the sect members as proxies of the M23 rebel group, which had captured large swathes of territory in North Kivu province last year,” the prosecutors said.

Metro

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie arrested for ‘witchcraft’

Published

4 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie has been arrested and charged with witchcraft, after police discovered and exhumed two bodies from a cemetery on the island of Mahé.

Herminie, who was arraigned in court on Tuesday along with seven others, has however, denied the charges, saying his prosecution is a “political show” staged by the government to taint his image and frustrate his campaign.

The politician, who is seen as the main challenger to President Wavel Ramkalawan in the country’s presidential election in 2025 under the banner of the United Seychelles Party (USP), is facing several charges, including possession of items intended for use in witchcraft, conspiracy to perform witchcraft and procuring services related to witchcraft, according to local media.

Prosecutors allege that the opposition leader’s name appeared in a WhatsApp message between a Seychellois national and Tanzanian suspect who was arrested on 21st September at the main international airport.

Local media reports that the Tanzanian suspect was found with items related to witchcraft, including stones, black wooden artefacts, small bottles of brownish liquid, a collection of powders, and documents with strange language and “demonic and satanic” symbols.

“The documents were similar to those found in Catholic churches and other places that had been vandalised in Mahé, Seychelles’ largest island,” prosecutors alleged.

Herminie, who was the Speaker of Seychelles’ parliament between 2007 and 2016, told local media that more than 40 police officers had raided his party’s offices in the capital, Victoria in what he claimed were acts of intimidation.

He added that the officers searched for items related to witchcraft, including “bones, body parts, and objects associated with Christianity” but did not find any.

Herminie described his arrest as “a political show” by President Ramkalawan to “eliminate those who he knows will remove him from power in the 2025 elections.”

“In Seychelles’ history, there has never been until now, a political party leader arrested for superstition and witchcraft. This is something new and it is shameful for Seychelles,” he was quoted as saying by the Seychelles News Agency.