Africa

Expressing concern over what they called an &#8220unjustified&#8221 ban on protests in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a group of United Nations human rights experts today called on the authorities to protect the fundamental rights of the people and to revoke the prohibition.

In our series of letters from African journalists, Sola Odunfa looks at why it is a good idea for Nigeria to reintroduce history as a school subject.

The United Nations envoy for the Great Lakes region today highlighted the challenges posed by armed groups which continue to threaten the region&#39s stability and called for concerted efforts to avert any reversal of the commendable gains it has achieved thus far.

Addressing the National Assembly of the Central African Republic (CAR) today, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the legislators that the country’s people had given them a clear mandate, and as such, he urged them not only to play their traditional role as parliamentarians, “but also as defenders of dialogue and reconciliation.”

Kenya condemns the sacking of the South Sudan UN force head and says it will withdraw its troops.

A probe finds evidence of possible corruption at the top level of South Africa's government.

Theresa Kachindamoto, a senior chief of a district in Malawi, has terminated 840 marriages, sending the young couples back to school.

Three United Nations agencies operating in Algeria appealed today for continued donor support for refugees from Western Sahara, warning that insufficient funding makes imminent a cut in basic food rations.

Safa president Danny Jordaan tells former Bafana Bafana captain Neil Tovey not to "rush things" as he recovers from a serious heart attack.

Thousands of people march in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, calling for President Jacob Zuma to step down.

President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia is using violence ahead of elections, a rights group says.

November 1, 2016 (JUBA) – The African Union Commission (AUC) should prepare a draft statute for the Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS) in consultation with relevant stakeholders and ensure that it is enacted through appropriate legal processes as soon as possible, various rights groups said in an open letter to the continental body.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC)

They urged AUC to immediately establish an evidence preservation mechanism as a precursor to the full operationalization of the HCSS.

“We, the undersigned South Sudanese and international non-governmental organizations, write to share our thoughts with you on the way forward for the Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS),” partly reads the petition addressed to the AUC chairperson, Dlamini Zuma.

It added, “We recognize the efforts made by the African Union Commission (AUC) to date, as outlined in the Draft Project Proposal for Establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan.”

Last year, the AU demanded that a special court will be established to try war crimes suspects in South Sudan, a nation hit by civil war.

The move, the continental body said, was aimed at promoting an "African solution" to the violent conflict in the young nation.

An AU-initiated inquiry in to the conflict also found that both government and rebel forces committed widespread atrocities.

The formation of the Hybrid Court is part of the peace agreement South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed following intense diplomatic pressure from regional leaders

All the parties to the peace deal, however, formally committed to the establishment of the HCSS “by the AUC to investigate and prosecute individuals bearing criminal responsibility for violations of international law and/or applicable South Sudanese law committed from 15 December 2013 through the end of the transitional period.”

“We would encourage the AUC to solicit input from South Sudanese stakeholders and individuals with technical expertise on the inner workings of international and hybrid tribunals. In addition to providing specific details relating to the court's location and jurisdiction, the statute should also address matters such as victim and witness protection, public outreach, and the participation of South Sudanese judges and staff,” further reads the open letter to Zuma.

The draft statute, it adds, could be shared with interested parties for input prior to its adoption through appropriate legal mechanisms.

“Once the statute is adopted, the HCSS will then be in a position to recruit staff and develop its Rules of Procedure and Evidence, again with input from relevant stakeholders, so that it becomes fully operational in a timely manner,” says the letter.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in South Sudan's worst-ever outbreak of violence since it seceded from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - China on Tuesday said it will dispatch 925 peacekeepers to Sudan and South Sudan next December.

The Chinese blue berets will be deployed for a year as part of United Nations peacekeeping missions in Darfur and South Sudan.

An infantry battalion that includes 700 personnel will travel to South Sudan in mid December as the third group of Chinese peacekeepers to be deployed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua in its Arabic edition.

In July, two United Nations peacekeepers from China died and five others were wounded after an attack in South Sudan, when their vehicle was hit by a shell while it was guarding a refugee camp near the UN compound in the South Sudanese capital Juba.

A Chinese military engineering unit that includes 225 personnel will travel to Darfur at the end of December. It will be the thirteen Chinese military contingent to join the United Nations –African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The hybrid mission has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the western Sudan's region.

UNAMID is the world's second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops.

Some 3,100 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in 10 regions around the world, including 2,400 in Africa as engineers, transport, police and medical units.

In September 2015, China pledged to build a a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops, set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad, and provide military aid of US$100 million to the African Union.

(ST)

By Wesley Bokati Natana Abraham

At independence on 9 July 2011, South Sudan was at war with at least seven armed groups. According to UN figures, the various conflicts affected nine of its ten states, with tens of thousands displaced. Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also operates in a wide area that includes South Sudan. The fighters accuse the government of plotting to stay in power indefinitely, not fairly representing and supporting all tribal groups while neglecting development in rural areas.

President Salva Kiir alleged that on 14 December 2013, a (largely Nuer) faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army loyal to former vice president Riek Machar attempted a coup d'état and that the attempt was put down the next day. However, fighting broke out, igniting the South Sudanese Civil War. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled, calling for Kiir to resign. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight on the side of the Kiir. In January 2014 the first ceasefire agreement was reached. Fighting still continued and would be followed by several more ceasefire agreements. Negotiations were mediated by "IGAD +" (which includes the eight regional nations as well as the African Union, United Nations, China, the EU, USA, UK and Norway). Following a ceasefire agreement in August 2015, known as the "Compromise Peace Agreement", Machar returned to Juba and was sworn in as vice-president. Following a second breakout of in Juba, Machar was replaced as vice-president and he fled to Sudan.

There were ethnic undertones between the Dinka and Nuer in the fighting. The conflict has killed up to 300,000 civilians, including notable atrocities such as the 2013 Nuer Massacre in Juba and 2014 Bentiu massacre. More than 1,000,000 people have been displaced inside South Sudan and more than 400,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, especially Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda, as a result of the conflict.

The best solution to have a permanent and lasting peace in South Sudan has not yet been found till today. However, as a concerned South Sudanese citizen, I am now convinced that the best solution to end the current conflict and ensure lasting peace in South Sudan is to introduce a Confederal System of Government in south Sudan.

Under this Confederal System of Government, three Confederal States will be established as follows:-
1. Greater Equatoria Confederal State
2. Greater Bahr-el-Ghazal Confederal State
3. Greater Upper Nile Confederal State

But what is a Confederal System of Government?

A confederal system is a mode of government in which a number of smaller states choose to delegate some of their policy making rights to a central body. In this way, the collection of the smaller states of Greater Equatoria, Greater Bahr-el-Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile can be thought of as a country.

How does a confederal System of Government work?

In a confederal system, these smaller states of Greater Equatoria, Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile will make up South Sudan as a country but will have the right to pull out from under the central government at any time. Some of the services that they will cede to the central government will include foreign affairs, internal security issues, military defense, and in some cases, health services. The states that will form South Sudan as a country will retain their legislative rights, which will give them more power and resources.

What are some of the examples of a Confederal System of Government which South Sudanese can learn from?
A good example of this is the former Soviet Union, which was a conglomeration of a large number of smaller states. Another good example of a modern confederal system is the Swiss canton system, in which each of the cantons make most of the policies they need.

What are some Advantages of a confederal System of Government?

As you are all aware, the polity of a country is reflected by its government. Each country adopts a different kind of government, or authoritative system, considering the needs of the nation. Governments around the world are mainly defined by the role and relations between the center and the states or political divisions. Countries of the unitary type have very powerful central governments.
1. In a federation, power and resources are shared between the center and the states. However, a confederation is one kind of government characterized by an inverse center-state relation, where the states are more powerful than the center.
2. A confederate government is one where individual nations or states have united to form a confederation. It is also known as an alliance. Confederation implies cooperation among the member states over significant issues. This type of government symbolizes a centripetal action, where the individual units coalesce to form a league.
3. The most important feature of a confederate government is that, the center derives its power from the states or provinces. Although there may be a common constitution or document specifying the soul of a nation, it does not stand as the source of power for the central government, which is true for the majority of constitutional governments. Rather, in a confederation, for the center to decide upon any important issues, it would require an agreement of all its confederates.
4. Government Confederacies are a unified body of individual states or provincial units. These peripheral units are stronger than the union. They coexist, but maintain their
Separate identities. Each region, canton, or province is considered equal, and has a say in shaping the nature of central authority.
5. Decentralization of Power: States being the decision makers, this governance is completely contrary to the unitary form of government. Thus, legislation and execution is divided among the provincial and local governments. Local governance minimizes the growth of the center, and reduces the risk of it turning into a dominant union or tyranny. Democratic Republics, particularly, are known for the principle of sovereignty.
6. In a confederation, the citizenry is focused more; their needs are better addressed. Thus, the concept of 'citizens being the real sovereign of a nation' is realized in this type of government.
7. Cooperation: Every state is an independent and sovereign unit of the federation. Agreement among these equals makes decisions over common issues easier. The flow of power is from the periphery to the center, which ultimately rests on the principle of cooperation among the confederates, at least over common concerns.
8. Speedy development of the Confederal States
9. No tribal conflicts or tribal domination of a national governance system
10. It will prevent South Sudan from total disintegration
11. It will prevent South Sudan from becoming a failed Country

Articles of Confederation for the States
Articles of Confederation will be developed. The main purposes of these Articles are
1. To unite the confederal states of Greater Equatoria, Greater Bahr-el-Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile.
2. Give the three Confederal states of Greater Equatoria, Greater Bahr-el-Ghazal and Greater Upper Nile a united foreign policy
3. Under the Articles of Confederation, every confederal state will have equal representation and a single vote in the unicameral legislature at the Central government
4. Under the articles of Confederation, the Central Government will be left with Defense, Foreign Policy and printing of national currency.

October 31, 2016 (JUBA) - The committee that investigated attacks on Terrain Hotel, a luxurious facility for expatriates in Juba, where foreign humanitarian workers, mainly Americans, were raped by members of the South Sudanese army said it has presented to South Sudan President Salva Kiir the outcome of the investigation.

Aid workers from different Non-Governmental Organizations in South Sudan arrive at Wilson airport in Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, July 13, 2016 from Juba. (AP Photo)

Matison Otoromoi, the chairperson of the investigation committee formed by President Kiir in July to unearth circumstances in which government forces attacked the hotel, killed a local journalist on ethnic ground and raped women and looted properties, said their work is comprehensive.

"This is the final phase of our work and what is now left is to address the public on how we conducted our work," said Otoromoi, who is also the deputy Minister of Justice.

Terrain Hotel was attacked on 11 July by gunmen believed to be government soldiers. Despite being close to United Nations peacekeeping base in Juba, there was no rescue from the blue helmet men.

An intervention by National Security Services of South Sudan ended the looting and harassment several hours later. The incident occurred on the last day of fierce battle between government forces loyal to President Kiir and soldiers loyal to former first vice president Riek Machar.

Machar fled the capital on 11 July, according to his aides, after the rival forces reportedly continued to violate a cessation of hostilities.

Otoromoi did not say if their report will lead to any criminal charges against government soldiers.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (WAU) - Wau state authority on Tuesday warned top military officials in the state who have involved in grabbing land for railway station, directing them to immediately evacuate the area or could face the law.

SPLA forces patrol the street of Wau town on May 16, 2016 (ST)

The warning came after the railway station workers in the state wrote a petition to the state government on the current development that some top unnamed military officials alongside with individual officials in the state were illegally occupying some parts of the lands allocated to the railway some years ago.

On Tuesday morning, a high profile delegation of the state government led by to two ministers, the minister for Agriculture, James Joseph, who doubles as acting minister for Physical Infrastructure and Information and Communication minister, Bona Gaudensio, and Wau town mayor, Mel Aleu, among others with the director general for the ministry of Physical Infrastructure, David Jorom, visited Wau railway station to meet the station workers over the situation.

Speaking at the site, Wau town Mayor Mel Aleu Goc said nobody will be allowed to illegally own land allotted for the railway which is a government property.

“This morning when we came here, I received the petition from the workers of the Railway station written by manager. The petition contained of some land grabbing that took place in addition to some assets that were here, the assets were taken, by some soldiers,” said
Mel.

“We have also seen some concrete buildings within the compound of the Railway station, all in all, we want to assure our citizens that our people who occupied the Railway station's lands to evacuate the lands because these are the properties of the government and the properties of the Railway station that could not be used in such a way,” said Mel.

State Information minister, Bona Gaudensio, descried those occupying the land as outlaw and that the state council of ministers will soon take a decision on the matter.

“We paid a short visit this morning to the Railway station, Wau station, they are facing a lot of challenges, there are some outlaw people which are under some different forces at the level of the state, they came and they controlled parts of the land which belongs to Railway in Wau, this is why as the government, we came this morning for official visit to listen from the staff from the Railway which are based in Wau,” said Bona.

“Our coming is so that they give us full information about difficulties they are facing, we as government, we assured those who are controlling those lands, we gave them time to evacuate these lands,” he said.

The minister said those who did not respect the orders would face law, adding “We will go as government of Wau state to make a memo to be passed through council of ministers and then we will decide, this is our message today this morning, we came and we gave them a warning to let them evacuate this land.”

Meanwhile the acting the minister for Physical Infrastructure, James Joseph, said the Wau Railway station belongs to the National Ministry of Roads and Transport of which his ministry falls under.

“We the ministry in Wau could like to assure public that the ministry of Physical Infrastructure will continue to protect the workers and the properties of Railway station in Wau,” he said.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Ethiopia Tuesday renewed accusations that Egypt and Eritrea fuelled a wave of protests in Oromia region that led the government to declare a six-month state of emergency.

The visiting Ethiopian Minister of Federal Affairs and Pastoral Area Development, Kassa Tekleberhan, reiterated that his country has "ample evidence" of Egypt and Eritrea involvement in a series of protests in Oromia but also sprung up in the Amhara region.

Tekleberhan said they are still calculating the exact numbers of individuals who were killed during the unrest.

According to Human Rights more than 400 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia, although the government disputes this figure.

Ethiopian authorities say Cairo backs the banned Oromo Liberation Front that organized attacks across the populous region of Oromia, and led to the declaration of a state of emergency.

Commenting on a ministerial reshuffle announced on Tuesday hours before the press conference, Tekleberhan said the new cabinet was necessary to continue the development programmes and denied that it was a result to the protests.

He further praised the support of the Sudanese government to his country describing it as an unforgettable "historical stance".

He further said he discussed with President Omer al-Bashir and a number of Sudanese officials how to sustain peace in Ethiopia and issues of joint concern.

The construction of Ethiopia's 6,000-megawatt Grand Renaissance Dam has become a bone of contention between Ethiopia and Egypt, which lies downstream and relies on the Nile River for agricultural, industrial and domestic water use.

Last October, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denied Ethiopian accusations that his government was supporting the opposition OLF which accused of orchestrating the protests

"I want to assure the brothers in Ethiopia that Egypt has never ever offered any support to the opposition and will not carry out any conspiratorial action against Ethiopia," al-Sisi said on 13 October.

The construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam has raised tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt,which lies downstream. Addis Ababa says the dam would be used to only produce power and would not affect Egypt which relies on the Nile River for agricultural, industrial and domestic water use.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan's ministry of Petroleum has directed the Joint Operating Companies (JOCs), a consortium of oil companies operating in the oil sector in the country, to reinstate all their former employees who previously abandoned their jobs due to the outbreak of civil war on 15 December 2013.

A worker at the power plant of an oil processing facility in South Sudan's Unity state on 22 April 2012 (Photo: Reuters)

In a letter dated 28 October 2016 signed by the Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, and addressed to presidents of the oil companies including the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC) and Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), the minister explained that the directive came in accordance with the presidential order which called for reinstatement of civil servants to their former jobs which they left due to the war.

“Reference is also made to the Republican Order NO: 25/2016 for the Reinstatement of the Civil Servants at the National and State levels who had abandoned their positions following the crisis in the Republic of South Sudan on 15th December 2013 A.D.,” partly reads the letter seen by Sudan Tribune.

“In the light of this, I am directing all the Joint Operating Companies (JOCs) to reinstate all the employees who abandoned their jobs,” Minister Gatkuoth said.

While many former employees in the private oil sector left their jobs in the aftermath of the civil war, others were systematically laid off by companies when their operations were disrupted by war.

For instance, GPOC which operated in the Unity Field and SPOC that operated in Tharjiath oil field, both in Unity state, have since 2014 closed their operations due to war. Only DPOC which operates in Upper Nile state such as in Faloij oilfields have continued to operate.

It is unclear whether the oil companies which have not resumed their productions in Unity state will be able to reinstate their former employees per the directive from the ministry.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has sacked the commander of the UN force in South Sudan, a day after the world body released which accused its peacekeeping troops of failed to protect unarmed civilians in July.

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon handshake with the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir at Presidential Palace, J1 in Juba capital on February 25, 2016 (UNMISS photo)

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said Ki-moon demanded the “immediate” replacement Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki.

The UN had instituted an independent special investigation into the July 2016 violence in the young nation's capital to establish what actions its mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) undertook, including its response to acts of sexual violence in and around the protection of civilians sites at UN House and the attack on Terrain camp.

The special investigation found said the UN did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission.

“The Special Investigation also found that command and control arrangements were inadequate, while peacekeepers maintained a risk-averse posture,” partly reads a statement from the world body.

It further added, “These factors contributed to the failure of UNMISS to respond to the attack by [South Sudan] government soldiers on the Terrain camp on 11 July and protect civilians under threat”.

The special investigation, according the report, was unable to verify allegations that peacekeepers failed to respond to acts of sexual violence committed directly in front of them on 17 and 18 July.

The independent special investigation into the violence from 8-11 July in the South Sudanese capital was commissioned by the UN.

The fighting began with clashes between President Salva Kiir's guards and bodyguards of the sacked former vice-president Riek Machar.

In the three days of fighting, at least 73 people were reportedly killed, including more than 20 internally displaced people who had sought UN protection, the world body said in the damning report. Two peacekeepers were killed and others injured.

Meanwhile, the special investigations report also backed claims by aid workers that the UN troops refused to respond when government soldiers attacked an international aid compound in Juba.

The special investigation, however, found that UNMISS faced an extremely challenging set of circumstances and was caught in the crossfire of an active and particularly violent conflict.

(ST)

November 1, 2016 (YAMBIO) – Five policemen who were deployed by a newly created Gbudue state's government to guard Makpandu Refugees Camp in Yambio have been abducted by unknown gunmen since Monday night and taken to unknown location with all their weapons.

An eyewitness from the area told Sudan Tribune that a group of armed men surrounded the police station in Yambio which was established by the government of Gbudue state to give protection to the refugees and kidnaped the five policemen together with one Darfurian trader. One HF radio communications which was installed by a non-governmental organization operating in the camp was also taken away.

The source said there was no gunshot when they kidnaped five policemen and the unknown armed men did not enter the refugees' settlement at Makpandu. Also, they did not loot anything in the stores erected in the camp.

The incident created panic and fear among the refugees forcing some refugees to flee to Yambio town for safety. And the incident has created fear to UN agencies and Non-government organization who are serving the refugees at Makpandu not to visit the camp as usual.

The authorities of Gbudue state have not yet made any statement regarding the incident at Makpandu, saying they have not received a clear report about the incident.

The alleged abduction happened a day after heavy attack by unknown armed group who attacked the Police Headquarters in Yambio on Saturday morning, killing one police officer and looting heavy weapons in the store and escaped to the bush with all the looted items.

Deputy Governor of Gbudue and Yambio town Mayor on Sunday toured Churches around Yambio town, informing people not to panic or flee their homes to avoid crossfire and the number of theft cases has increased in the recent days.

(ST)