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DR Congo Catholics protest against M23 rebels, accuse Western countries of failing to hold Rwanda to account

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Thousands of Catholics on Sunday, took to the streets in several cities across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to protest violence in eastern regions perpetrated by the M23 rebels in the eastern parts of the country.

The protesters which included priests, church leaders and their congregations, also accused the international community of hypocrisy over failure to hold Rwanda a accountable over their alleged role in the fighting.

Local media reports on Monday that the protest began after Sunday services with churchgoers in the capital Kinshasa and other major cities heeding a call from the Conference of Catholic Bishops to demonstrate against the the M23 rebel group.

The mass protests, the media said, were the most significant since an escalation in fighting in recent weeks between federal forces and the rebels which has killed over 10,000 people and displaced an estimated 390,000 people.

Demonstrators in Kinshasa sang and carried banners reading “No to Balkanisation, no to the hypocrisy of the international community. The DRC is not for sale,” while one of the organisers of the protests, Blaise Emmanuel, who is the vicar at St Elizabeth’s Parish in the capital, said
“We say no to war, no to a divided Congo,” while leading a procession in Montgafula, one of the poorest municipalities in Kinshasa.

Another priest, Father Theophile Landu, who also spoke with journalists, said:

“It is the small country, Rwanda, that is fighting us. And behind it are the United States and the European Union. We tell them that they must stop the hypocrisy.”

For years, Congolese have accused the West of failing to hold Rwanda to account for its alleged role in stoking insecurity in the east, and instead have been giving aid to Kigali.

One media report cited an instance where the European Parliament in late November, called on Rwanda not to support the M23 rebels.

“But last week, the same European Commission gave €20 million ($21m) to support Rwandan troops helping fight rebels in Mozambique,” it said.

Metro

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

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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.

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Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

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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.

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