News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

Two die as protest erupts in ancient Ethiopian city

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 12:31 PM PDT

Two protesters died in clashes with police in Ethiopia's ancient city of Gonder, as anger mounted over the status of a disputed territory.

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Addis Ababa - Two protesters died in clashes with police in Ethiopia's ancient city of Gonder on Friday, campaigners said, as anger mounted over the status of a disputed territory - a highly-charged issue in a nation made up of a patchwork of ethnic groups.

Violence broke out as police brought one of the leaders of a land campaign movement to court, according to one person who said he had been in the crowd and asked to remain anonymous.

Amhara region president Gedu Andargachew did not mention any deaths but told journalists the protests were illegal and said security services would take measures against anyone who took part.

Any sign of unrest is closely watched in Ethiopia, a major Western ally against Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia and an economic power seen as a centre of relative stability in a fragile region.

“Two protesters were shot and killed in Piassa,” said one campaigner by phone, referring to a central district in the city.

Clashes carried on into the evening, said another, a rare public protest in a country whose government has been accused of cracking down on dissent. Roads were blocked and access to social media limited, he added.

Tensions have been rumbling for around 25 years over the status of Wolkayt district - a stretch of land that protesters from Amhara say was illegally incorporated into the neighbouring Tigray region to the north.

The issue boiled over into violence two weeks ago when crowds came out in Gonder saying they were protesting against an attempt to arrest Wolkayt campaigners.

Government spokesman Getachew Reda said at the time six policemen were killed by the protesters and accused an “illegal committee” of stoking ethnic untest.

The dispute, while centred on a relatively small patch of land, is particularly sensitive because it challenges a division of Ethiopia along ethnic and linguistic lines, imposed by the core of the current ruling EPRDF coalition when it came to power in 1991.

After toppling Mengistu Haile Mariam's Marxist military dictatorship, the former rebels set up the boundaries that they said would recognise the country's different groups and prevent any one from dominating the others through a system of so-called ethnic federalism.

Protesters in Gonder - known as Africa's Camelot because of its ancient castles - say they had finally decided to take to the streets because they had got nowhere with years of petitioning senior officials, arguing that the Amharic-speaking people of Wolkayt belonged in Amhara.

The protests in the region come in the wake of months of unrest in the central Oromiya province, where demonstrators objected to having land incorporated into the boundaries of the capital Addis Ababa.

The government was subsequently forced to scrap that plan.

Reuters

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Mugabe petitioned over brutal attacks on journos

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 11:27 AM PDT

Media organisations in Zimbabwe have petitioned President Robert Mugabe over the continued police brutality against journalists.

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Harare - Media organisations in Zimbabwe have petitioned President Robert Mugabe over the continued police brutality against journalists.

Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ), a body representing media organisations in the country, on Friday told journalists at a press conference in the capital that the conduct by the police was “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

“Your Excellency, we are writing this letter to implore you to intervene and stop the harassment of journalists. As a constitutional democracy, we believe those who violate the Constitution, such as the riotous police should be brought to book,” the media umbrella body said in a petition copied to police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission chairperson Elasto Mugwadi, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services minister Christopher Mushohwe, as well as Information Secretary George Charamba.

“In all these instances, the victimised journalists are accredited with your government-appointed agency, the Zimbabwe Media Commission. We are aware of your position regarding the safety of professional journalists as enshrined in the Constitution, hence our appeal for your intervention,” MAZ said.

The media bodies said in all the cases, no journalists were charged.

“Between June and August 2016 alone, we have already recorded several incidences of wanton police aggression and brutality against journalists, which include the following: On June 25, journalists Garikai Chaunza, Christopher Mahove, Khumbulani Zamuchiya, James Jemwa and Edgar Gweshe were detained by the ZRP [Zimbabwe Republic Police] while covering a news event at the Rainbow Towers in Harare. Prior to this event, police assaulted Albert Masaka and detained Paidamoyo Muzulu while on assignment in Harare,” MAZ said.

“A few days later on July 5, journalists Tafadzwa Ufumeli, Richard Chidza, Godwin Mangudya and Elias Mambo were arrested in Mufakose by the ZRP during the course of their journalistic work.

“Barely a month later, on August 3, journalists Lawrence Chimunhu, Idah Mhetu, Haru Mutasa, Tendai Musiyazviripo and Christopher Mahove were assaulted while covering a news event in Harare.”

The media body said it was worrisome that in some instances, the police either damaged or confiscated various tools of trade belonging to journalists, “some of which are yet to be recovered”.

On Thursday, the Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF), an opposition party led by former Vice-President Joice Mujuru, condemned the attacks on demonstrators and journalists beaten up during the anti-bond notes demonstrations, and said such attacks accentuated the call for Mugabe and his administration to step down.

“Surely a government which wages war against journalists (the Fourth Estate) is a government fighting against itself. It is a government that is fighting against the people it is supposed to represent. The sight of a journalist, with a camera in hand being ravaged by police batons, sums up, in a very graphic way, the barbaric disposition of the current regime. The situation is made even worse by the silence on the part of home affairs minister Ignatius Chombo, on the sad turn of events yesterday,” ZimPF said.

“Such unruly behaviour by the few police officers involved in these savage attacks on journalists is supposed to be condemned by the highest office in the command chain in the police force. Under normal circumstances, if such gross abuse of power happens under the purview of a self-respecting minister, the honourable thing for the minister would be to resign.”

“We have never witnessed such barbaric attacks when Zanu-PF supporters, who are notorious for their unruly behaviour, demonstrated. This makes us believe these savage attacks are planned, at the behest of Mugabe, by some elements within the police force that are fighting against the people whose public security they are supposed to ensure. We wonder whether the attack on journalists is just a coincidence, especially when we take into account that Mugabe took a swipe at the scribes during his party’s so-called war veterans’ solidarity rally with the Head of State at the Zanu-PF headquarters on Wednesday July 27, 2016.”

The opposition party said journalists would never turn violent or influence violence in any demonstration, “and for this reason, we wonder why the police would target them through these savage attacks”.

African News Agency

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#ThisFlag pastor calls for cricket anthem protest

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 07:14 AM PDT

Pastor Evan Mawarire, the founder of Zimbabwe's #ThisFlag movement, has a new call for his followers. [VIDEO]

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Harare - Pastor Evan Mawarire, the founder of Zimbabwe's #ThisFlag social media movement, on Friday called for a protest against President Robert Mugabe and his government.

Mawarire asked his supporters in a Facebook video message to stand up and sing Zimbabwe's national anthem during a cricket match in the southern town of Bulawayo on Saturday.

Zimbabwe is scheduled to play New Zealand, and the game will be broadcast internationally.

"When the 36th over starts, you and I are going to stand up as a sign of saying for 36 years [of Mugabe's rule] we have been quiet, but now we are standing up," said the 39-year-old activist, who recently fled to neighbouring South Africa after receiving death threats.

"I want you to sing the national anthem. They can't shut you up. They can't arrest you for singing the national anthem," Mawarire said.

National army commander Lieutenant-General Philip Sibanda warned the military "was ready to deal with" those using social media to mobilise the population, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on Friday.

Sibanda described internet campaigns as "cyber warfare" against the government.

The ruling Zanu-PF party meanwhile said the protest action was a ploy by Mawarire "to achieve his political ambitions."

"If these people have issues, they must engage the government and not be confrontational," Tafadzwa Mugwadi, a senior Zanu-PF youth leader told dpa.

With the national flag wrapped around his neck, Mawarire, who doesn't belong to a political party, complained about the country's politics, economic demise and corruption in a video posted on his Facebook account in early May.

The video went viral under the hashtag #ThisFlag. On July 6, tens of thousands of #ThisFlag supporters shut down the capital by striking.

Mawarire was arrested and charged with attempting to overthrow the government, but later released due to a technicality.

DPA

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Ugandan police break up gay pride event

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 05:34 AM PDT

Ugandan police broke up a gay pride event in Kampala and arrested about 20 people, a gay rights leader said.

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Kampala - Ugandan police broke up a gay pride event in the capital and arrested about 20 people, a gay rights leader said on Friday, in the latest incident highlighting the risks homosexuals face in Africa.

A fashion show was under way at a nightclub in Kampala when police showed up and asked who the organisers were, said Frank Mugisha, who was immediately handcuffed when he identified himself to a police commander as a leader among those attending the event. About 20 others were arrested, put on a police truck and driven to a police station for questioning, he said.

Mugisha said they were released more than two hours later without being charged, although some who had been detained said they had been slapped or pushed around by officers. One man trying to escape arrest at the nightclub had injured himself while jumping to safety, he said.

“We condemn the police's actions, the use of excessive force during arrest,” he said.

Patrick Onyango, a spokesman for Ugandan police, confirmed the arrests but gave no details.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that prohibits sex acts “against the order of nature”.

This incident highlights the challenges faced by gays in Uganda, where many people despise homosexuality and believe it is imported from the West. In 2009 a Ugandan lawmaker introduced a bill that prescribed the death penalty for some homosexual acts, saying he wanted to protect Ugandan children. The proposed bill prompted international condemnation and eventually a less severe version passed by lawmakers was rejected by a court as unconstitutional.

Watchdog groups say LGBTI Ugandans routinely face violence, discrimination and extortion.

“Tonight's outrageous and unlawful government raid on a spirited celebration displays the extreme impunity under which Ugandan police are operating,” Health GAP, a US-based AIDS advocacy group, said in a statement.

“We call on governments and UN bodies to immediately and publicly condemn this brutal raid and call on government to take swift disciplinary action against those responsible for these gross violations of rights and freedoms.”

AP

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Buses stopped at Burundi-Rwanda border

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 01:21 AM PDT

The Burundi police are stopping transport companies crossing the border between Burundi and Rwanda.

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Bujumbura - Burundi police have stopped many private buses from crossing the border into Rwanda, as tensions between the neighbours remain high.

Buses from transport companies like Yahoo Car, Volcano and Horizon left the capital Bujumbura on Thursday morning but were stopped for several hours by police on the border.

The passengers, mostly from Burundi and Rwanda, had to get out of the buses and walk across the border with their luggage to take other buses on the Rwanda side of the border , said a spokesperson for Yahoo Car.

"Some of our buses were obliged to go back to Bujumbura," he added.

National police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told reporters laterthat this was done to enact the Burundi government measure forbidding the exporting Burundian food crops to the neighbouring countries, which had been taken a week ago.

"Those companies had repeatedly violated the measure by transporting food across Rwanda from Burundi," said Nkurikiye.

However, Nkurikiye did not exclude the possibility of security reasons being behind the decision. He also acknowledged that the ban applied only to transport crossing into Rwanda.

"The armed groups which destabilise Burundi come from Rwanda by those companies," claimed Nkurikiye.

Burundi accuses Rwanda of providing support to rebel Burundians who are trying to topple President Pierre Nkurunziza's government. Burundi has been plagued by instability and low-level violence since Nkurunziza announced in April 2015 that he was running for a third term as president despite the two-term limit in the constitution.

A week ago, Burundi's second vice president Joseph Butore visited Cibitoke province, bordering Rwanda. He instructed police and customs officials not to allow exports of Burundian food into Rwanda. "We cannot sell to Rwanda what we produce ourselves because that country wants to fight against us," said Butore.

African News Agency

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Mugabe is outdated - former Zanu-PF man

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 01:03 AM PDT

A former Zanu-PF youth leader says Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is "past his best-before date".

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Harare - A former Zanu-PF youth leader has laid into 92-year-old Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe whom he described as an "outdated, self-centred and power-hungry ruler".

Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

Godfrey Tsenengamu, a former Zanu-PF provincial youth chairperson for Mashonaland Central, on Thursday said he now disliked Mugabe "the same way he dislikes me and you".

Zimbabweans hit by a major economic meltdown have asked Mugabe to step down in the interests of the country, which has a staggering unemployment rate of more than 70 percent.

Many companies have closed under the weight of Mugabe's indigenisation policy that requires foreign owners to cede half their stakes to locals.

In an unusual move, Tsenengamu implored the president's daughter Bona to engage her nonagenarian father and "make him see reason".

The former youth leader urged Bona to persuade her father to step down while there were "still a few people" that respect him "for there shall be none soon".

Mugabe has been in power for 36 years and the crescendo of calls for him to step down is growing louder by the day.

On Wednesday riot police clashed with protesters in the capital Harare. Some protesters carried placards that asked God to "take" Mugabe. The latest protests were sparked by resistance to the cash-strapped government's decision to introduce bond notes that they want to use to ease the shortage of US dollars - the currency favoured in Zimbabwe.

On Thursday, Tsenengamu, who was suspended from Zanu-PF in 2014 before being booted out last year, said Mugabe had passed his "best-before date" and that "things are falling apart around him".

"I was a blind loyalist of Mugabe... I could not see that I was being used by Mugabe as I thought that I was defending him in the genuine cause and interest of the party, which is the same way he is using others currently who think that they are defending him."

Tsenengamu said by defending Mugabe, Zanu-PF members were unwittingly "grooming and nurturing another Ian Smith who would turn to hound us". Smith was the last white ruler of Rhodesia before it became Zimbabwe.

"I have learnt that Mugabe is the real force behind all the problems bedeviling the nation and the party though he pretends otherwise. He doesn't practice what he preaches on unity and tactfully deceives his prey while he sends juniors to harass them while he plays smart... I know for a fact that he is also behind the current turbulence and disorder in the party," said Tsenengamu.

Political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya said Mugabe was soiling his legacy.

"The tragedy with Mugabe lies in the fact that at his age of 92, that kind of politics is not in the interest of himself, in the interest of his legacy, and in the interest of his children," Ruhanya said.

He said there was now serious discontent within Zanu-PF leadership, mainly fueled by Mugabe's "refusal to cede power" or have a succession plan "since he wants to promote a family dynasty".

African News Agency

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