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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 159
25 - 31 January 2003


CONTENTS:

DRC: Pygmies demand a tribunal for crimes in Ituri
DRC: EC approves E35 million for humanitarian aid
DRC: Humanitarian Information Centre opens in Goma
DRC: Two human rights activists released provisionally
BURUNDI: Another rebel leader signs memorandum on ceasefire implementation
BURUNDI: Aid to 7,500 to proceed today
CAR: Rebels authorise UN humanitarian mission
ROC: Government ready to meet "Ninja" leader Ntoumi
ROC: UN appeals for US $60 million in 2003
RWANDA: More genocide suspects released
RWANDA: South African appointed deputy prosecutor of tribunal
RWANDA-KENYA: Genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga on the run
KENYA-UGANDA: Former Ugandan rebels register for amnesty
UGANDA: Authorities deny famine-related deaths
TANZANIA: Opposition party rejects report on Pemba killings

ALSO SEE:

TANZANIA: Focus on Zanzibari clove production at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31930

KENYA: Feature - Nairobi's homeless promised a better future at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31985

CAR: Interview with Col Basile Sillou, CEMAC peacekeeping force chief of
staff at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID31934


DRC: Pygmies demand a tribunal for crimes in Ituri

Indigenous people from the Ituri District of Province Orientale in
northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have demanded that the
Kinshasa government create a criminal tribunal to hold accountable those
who have committed crimes against them, including murder and cannibalism.
"We are here to demand that the authorities of this country create a
tribunal," Abengandula Baloi, head of a delegation of indigenous persons -
commonly referred to as pygmies - from Ituri, who have been in Kinshasa
since Thursday, told IRIN. The group of five made their appeal at the end
of a human rights seminar for pygmies that was held from 20 to 25 January
in the capital. One of them, Nzoki Amzati, said he had witnessed
cannibalism committed by soldiers of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo
(MLC). "I was returning from the field and had time to hide in the brush,
from where I saw members of my family being killed and eaten by soldiers
of [MLC leader] Jean-Pierre Bemba," said Amzati. "From my hiding place, I
saw soldiers tear out the heart of a child and then eat it after having
roasted it over a fire," he added. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31962]

The DRC authorities subsequently opened a judicial inquiry into the abuses
allegedly perpetrated in Ituri. Speaking at a news conference on Monday,
the interim state prosecutor, Tshibambe kia Pungwe, told reporters that
his office had opened the inquiry "to find out more about the atrocities",
AFP reported. "The presence in Kinshasa of a delegation of our pygmy
brothers, who were victims of these barbarous acts, will enable us to
better establish the facts of this case in order to identify and pursue
those responsible for these heinous acts," the Congolese daily
L'Observateur quoted him as saying. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31992]

DRC: EC approves E35 million for humanitarian aid

The DRC is scheduled this year to receive E35 million (US $37.8 million)
worth of humanitarian aid from the EC. The EC approved the funding on
Tuesday.

In a statement issued in Brussels, the EC said the funds would be
channelled by the EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) through partner
organisations working in the field. "ECHO funds will be used to treat some
60,000 acutely malnourished children, while addressing the causes of
malnutrition by providing their families with food, seeds and tools. About
115,000 families with malnourished or otherwise vulnerable children will
be assisted in this way," the commission said.

The EC said ECHO would continue to support the public health system in the
DRC through the provision of drugs, training and supervision. ECHO aims to
assist some 4.5 million people in 55 health districts in 2003. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31981]


DRC: Humanitarian Information Centre opens in Goma

The UN has opened a humanitarian information centre (HIC) in the city of
Goma in eastern DRC, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) announced on Tuesday. The purpose of the centre is to
create a space for the exchange of vital information among humanitarian
actors operating in eastern DRC in order to better coordinate aid to and
advocacy for vulnerable populations. OCHA said that one problem
encountered when coordinating the response to any humanitarian emergency
was the lack of timely, accurate and relevant information. In order to
overcome this problem, OCHA has in recent years opened these centres in
areas of complex humanitarian emergencies. Items now available at the Goma
centre include the database, "Who Does What Where", as well as a contact
list of humanitarian agencies, maps, reports, books, brochures, and even
mailboxes for correspondence among organisations. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31956]

DRC: Two human rights activists released provisionally

Two human rights activists held in connection with the Kabila
assassination trial were provisionally freed on 26 January by the Military
Order Court after nine months of detention.

N'sii Luanda Shandwe, president of the Comite des observateurs des droits
de l'homme, and Willy Wenga Ilombe, a lawyer and member of the Centre
africain pour la paix, la democratie et les droits de l'homme, were
released from the capital's central prison, the Centre penitentiare de
reeducation de Kinshasa. "The prison director and the special advisor of
the head of state on security matters told us that President Joseph Kabila
gave them the order to free us, because he found that we were not linked
to this [assassination] trial," Luanda told IRIN. However, Col Charles
Alamba, prosecutor of the Military Order Court, told IRIN that the two
were not cleared, but rather provisionally released. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31943]

BURUNDI: Another rebel leader signs memorandum on ceasefire implementation

Burundian President Pierre Buyoya and the leader of a wing of the Conseil
national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la
democratie (CNDD-FDD), Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a memorandum of
understanding on Monday, paving the way for the implementation of a
ceasefire accord they reached in Arusha, Tanzania, on 2 December 2002. The
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Tuesday that the
memorandum, signed in the South African administrative capital, Pretoria,
was reached after "a marathon meeting", which was supposed to have ended
on Sunday. The Office of South African President said the parties agreed
to the "urgent establishment" of the Joint Ceasefire Commission; provide
information to the facilitator of the Burundi ceasefire talks, South
African Deputy President Jacob Zuma, that will facilitate the conclusion
of the "Forces Technical Agreement"; and the immediate deployment of the
African Union Military Observer Mission. Ethiopia, Mozambique and South
Africa have agreed to provide troops for this mission. [Full story:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31952]

BURUNDI: Aid to 7,500 to proceed today

Humanitarian aid to 7,500 people in Gitega will now proceed on Tuesday
after being temporarily cancelled earlier by the UN World Food Programme
(WFP), amid continued insecurity in the troubled province. The spokesman
for the OCHA in Burundi, Nicholas McGowan, told IRIN that ongoing
insecurity had earlier forced the closure of the National Highway No.2
between Muramvya and Gitega, preventing UN agencies from transporting
their aid. The WFP emergency food distribution will distribute six-day
rations to 7,500 locals in Giheta commune. "We remain seriously concerned
for the welfare of these local populations," McGowan said. "Less that six
months ago 173 civilians were massacred in Itaba Commune. Today, again we
are receiving concerning signals both in Gitega and Ruyigi provinces."
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31955]

CAR: Rebels authorise UN humanitarian mission

Rebels in north and centre of the Central African Republic (CAR) have
cleared the UN to undertake a humanitarian assessment mission early in
February into zones under their control. "We received today the rebels'
reply, which contains security guarantees," Stan Nkwain, the UN
Development Programme resident representative, said on 24 January.
Speaking at the weekly UN-NGO humanitarian coordination meeting, he said
the government had also "promised to facilitate the mission's task". Eight
UN agencies will assess the situation in rebel-held zones - the
humanitarian, health, nutritional, economic and agricultural situations,
as well as education, food security, water facilities, sanitation and
human rights. Nkwain said the mission would fly from Bangui, the capital,
to Sahr, in southern Chad, from where it would enter northern CAR. The
mission, due to last about one week, would send one team to the northwest,
and another to the centre and the east. It would comprise only civilians
working for the UN. There would be no government representative. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31942]

ROC: Government ready to meet "Ninja" leader Ntoumi

The ruling party of the Republic of Congo (ROC) has expressed its
willingness to meet rebel Ninja leader, the Rev Frederic Bitsangou, alias
Pasteur Ntoumi. It quoted Gabriel Oba Apounou, president of the
Brazzaville city office of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso's ruling Parti
congolais du travail (PCT), as saying his party was ready to receive
Ntoumi in Brazzaville on condition that he agreed to lay down his arms and
abandon violence.

"Mr Ntoumi is Congolese. It is the will of the PCT that he leave the
forest without fear. Here in Brazzaville, we will welcome him," Oba
Apounou was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, a parliamentary commission has
been put in place to reach out to Ntoumi in an effort to bring a peaceful
resolution to the conflict that erupted in late March 2002 in the Pool
region between government forces and Ninja rebels loyal to Ntoumi. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31959]

ROC: UN appeals for US $60 million in 2003

The UN country team in the ROC has appealed to international donors for US
$60.6 million in support of relief and development programmes country-wide
in 2003. Among many other initiatives, the plan includes nine different
projects to bring assistance to IDPs in the troubled Pool region, where it
warns of a humanitarian tragedy. For complete report see:
http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2003/files/roc03.pdf

RWANDA: More genocide suspects released

Rwanda released 19,276 genocide suspects on Tuesday, in an ongoing process
aimed at decongesting the country's prisons. The director of
administration of justice, Hannington Tayebwa, told IRIN on Wednesday that
most of the released prisoners had confessed, and had been sentenced
before the implementation of the Gacaca system of justice, launched in
Rwanda in 2002. Gacaca is based on a Rwandan traditional justice system
whereby the community - at village level - tries suspects in open sessions
held at the cellule, the country's lowest administrative unit. Rwandans
chose Gacaca judges in 2002 from among the population. Tayebwa said
Tuesday's action brought to 21,130 the total number of prisoners released
since 10 January. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31987]

RWANDA: South African appointed deputy prosecutor of tribunal

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Carla
Del Ponte, announced on Wednesday the appointment of South African lawyer
Bongani Majola as deputy prosecutor of the UN court. Majola, 50, arrived
at the tribunal's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, on Monday and assumed
his duties immediately. The position at the tribunal had been vacant since
early 2001 when the contract for the then deputy chief prosecutor,
Cameroonian Bernard Muna, expired and was not renewed. Del Ponte also
announced that she had recommended the appointment of Melanie Gertrude
Werret as tribunal's director of prosecutions. Werret holds dual British
and Zimbabwean nationality. She was the assistant chief Crown prosecutor
in London. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=32008]

RWANDA-KENYA: Genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga on the run

Kenyan police are still hunting for Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien
Kabuga, spokesman Kingori Mwangi told IRIN on Tuesday. "The Kenya police,
the FBI and the [International Criminal] Tribunal [for Rwanda] officials
are all looking for him," he added. An attempt to arrest Kabuga, suspected
of having been one of the prime movers in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,
failed last week when he did not turn up at a house in Karen, Nairobi,
where the police and FBI agents had laid an ambush. A Kenyan businessman,
William Munuhe, who was to have lured Kabuga to the house for a fake
business deal, was found dead there on 17 January. Police said Munuhe had
been killed a day before the failed attempt to seize Kabuga. A post-mortem
examination performed on 23 January failed to determine the cause of
death, the Daily Nation reported. Kenyan Internal Security Minister Chris
Murungaru told another Nairobi newspaper on 26 January that police were
following important leads. "We are trying everything we can. There are
some key leads which are being pieced together, but he has become
elusive," he was quoted as saying by the East African Standard. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31954]

KENYA-UGANDA: Former Ugandan rebels register for amnesty

A total of 358 Ugandans based in Kenya have registered with the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to take advantage of an
amnesty offered by the Ugandan government to former rebels. By Monday
evening, a total of 127 males, 110 females and 121 dependents (aged under
18) had signed up with the IOM in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for
screening and repatriation, Charles Kwenin, a Regional Project Development
Officer with IOM, told IRIN. The programme - funded by the US government
and the EU - is aimed at helping former rebels from the Lord's Resistance
Army, but could also incorporate people from other rebel factions, he
said. The Ugandan Amnesty Commission is interviewing the former rebels in
Nairobi, after which those who are found to be genuine will be transported
to Uganda by the IOM. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31950]

UGANDA: Authorities deny famine-related deaths

The Ugandan authorities have discounted local media reports of 79 deaths
from severe famine in the semiarid northeastern part of the country.

According to Martin Owuor, assistant commissioner for emergency management
and preparedness in the Office of the Prime Minister, there have been no
recorded famine-related deaths throughout the Karamoja region of
northeastern Uganda since July, as reported by The New Vision
government-owned daily.

"What I know is that no-one has died of famine," he told IRIN on
Wednesday. "These are political reports. People have died of sicknesses.
No-one has proved to us that the deaths have been caused by famine."

He however confirmed a severe food shortage in the region and said his
office had dispatched a team of experts on the ground to monitor the
situation. Owuor said a lot of harvested food had arrived in the
district's stores by September. "It cannot be true that people have died
in the months when there was food rotting in our stores there," he pointed
out.

TANZANIA: Opposition party rejects report on Pemba killings

The opposition Civic Untied Front (CUF) has rejected as a "whitewash" the
presidential commission of inquiry report into the police killings of
opposition supporters two years ago.

In his first official reaction to the commission's findings, CUF Chairman
Ibrahim Lipumba told those commemorating the second anniversary of the
killings that the report was "shocking" and had been used "not to
investigate, but justify" the killings.

"It is really a whitewash between the government and the people who were
responsible for the killings," he told IRIN after the demonstration on
Monday. "We do not accept the report, because it did not hold the people
who carried out the killings responsible. No one is being taken to court,
nor does it seem as though there is going to be a judicial inquiry into
the killings."

On 26 and 27 January 2001, police shot at demonstrators on Pemba, killing
22 CUF supporters who were protesting against the results of the 2000
elections, which were marred by allegation of vote rigging and
intimidation. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31966]


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