SACP Strongly Condemns Acts of Violence, Criminality, Looting: The Party is Calling for Decisive Lawful Action

4 September 2019

The South African Communist Party (SACP) strongly condemns the acts of violence, looting and other criminal activities perpetrated in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, as well as elsewhere in the country, regardless of the nationality of those involved and affected. Several shops belonging to foreign nationals, mostly, as well as South Africans, were looted in Gauteng Province and others burnt this week and the week before by lumpen elements. Others have used trucks to erect blockades in certain areas of our national roads infrastructure network in KwaZulu-Natal Province, thus clearly engaging in acts of sabotage. There can be no justification whatsoever for these and other criminal acts, regardless of what the underlying causes are.

State organs established to combat crime and corruption must decisively enforce the rule of law and accordingly deal with acts of criminality and corruption, regardless of the nationality of the lumpen elements, gangs and syndicates involved.

Drug dealing, human trafficking and abduction, in particular but not exclusively of young women who are then subjected to forced sex work and other forms of gender based violence, are among other acts of criminality destroying our youth, their future and that of our society at large. The unabated prevalence of these acts of criminality and violence, including but not limited to high rate of murder – for example in the Western Cape, the wider scourge of gender based violence including femicide, attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of public infrastructure, among others, is indicative of virtual functional collapse of law enforcement agencies to successfully combat crime and corruption.

The erosion of the capacity, strategic discipline and authority of the state, allowing what we are presently witnessing in our country to take place unabated, is a direct consequence of state capture. There is a general outcry in many communities about the failure of state organs established to combat crime and corruption. As a result, there are rising levels of mistrust and lack of confidence in our law enforcement agencies.

Therefore unless drastic action is taken, starting at the highest levels responsible for state capture, it will remain almost impossible to restore the integrity and legitimacy of the affected state organs, and to rebuild their capacity and strategic discipline to perform their work competently and meticulously without favour, fear and prejudice. The SACP therefore reiterates its call for a thorough, specialised investigation into the manifestation and impact of state capture in, and criminal infiltration of state organs established to combat crime and corruption.

The SACP further calls upon all people who live in South Africa to desist from taking the law into their own hands. Instead, we need to forge a widest possible patriotic front to defend our Constitution and democracy, and to work together in programmes such as the SACP initiated campaign against violence in general and gender based violence in particular.

In economic terms, the aftermath of the endemic crisis of capitalism and the failure of the capitalist system needs a thorough and urgent attention in economic policy and broader social transformation. We cannot do the same things over and over again and hope to achieve different outcomes.

The reality is that the persisting high levels of class inequality, unemployment and poverty are the direct results of the failure and endemic crisis of capitalism. South Africa is not the only country affected. The entire African continent is affected. What happens in one country on the continent affects the others. At the global level, the prevailing atmosphere is characterised by capitalist economic crisis and its aftermath – with serious political and wider social implications, including the heightened imperialist aggression.

Therefore, what we need is to forge working class unity and solidarity in South Africa, Southern Africa, on the African continent and across the world. We must push the just struggle for a system change and complete social emancipation.

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Nigeria Government Warns South Africa Over Xenophobic Attacks: 'Enough is Enough'

Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban 
Africa News
03/09 - 09:28

The Nigerian government says it will take further steps to ensure safety and protection of its citizens in South Africa. The position comes in the wake of a round of xenophobic attacks that hit Johannesburg on Monday.

The government described the incidents as unacceptable adding: ‘Enough is enough. Nigeria will take definitive measures to ensure safety and protection of her citizens.’

Leaders of the two countries – Muhammadu Buhari and Cyril Ramaphosa are scheduled to meet in October for bilateral talks and also on matters relating to security of Nigerians in South Africa.

The two met on the sidelines of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD ; held last week in the Japanese city of Yokohama.

Another government to have reacted to the Johannesburg chaos is Zambia which tasked all its drivers plying the route to and from South Africa to suspend their trips till further notice.

Zimbabwe’s Cross Borders Transportation Association also warned that it could halt all South African cross border transport over the situation.

The provincial and national governments have called for restraint in the affected communities and cautioned against use of criminal avenues to express grievances.

The ruling African National Congress, ANC, also expressed their worry over the situation as has the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters.

This criminality has been essentially driven by pure criminals against properties of foreign nationals and South Africans alike.

We call on SAPS (police) to take charge of the streets and decisively restore order. Most importatntly, we call on South Africans to stop their violent intolerance of black foreign nationals, the EFF statement read in part.

Continental Wide Outrage, Condemnation of Xenophobia in South Africa [The Morning Call]

Jerry Bambi
THE MORNING CALL

Outrage and continental wide condemnation have followed the latest wave of Xenophobic attacks recorded in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa.

At least five persons are said to have been killed in the fresh violence while several shops were looted by mobs and vehicles driven by foreign nationals torched.

The African Union (AU) in a statement described the acts as “despicable” and said it condemned them “in the strongest terms”.

Now, there have been strong reactions from presidents, celebrities and ordinary citizens across the continent.

And of note, South Africans and Nigerians are using social media to call each other out in what has been a bitter exchange.

Zambia Cancels South Africa Friendly Over Xenophobic Attacks

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has called off the country’s friendly soccer international against South Africa in Lusaka on Saturday after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria left at least five people dead.

South African police arrested more than 80 people and confirmed the five deaths as violence intensified on Tuesday, spreading to surrounding townships with roving groups attacking and looting mainly foreign-owned shops.

The FAZ in a statement on Tuesday cited “prevailing security concerns in South Africa” for cancelling the fixture even though Zambia were hosting the game.

The latest wave of unrest has raised fears of a recurrence of the violence aimed at foreigners in 2015 in which at least seven people died.

The Zambia-South Africa match will be rescheduled to be played during the October window for internationals.

The South African Football Association are trying to find alternative opponents, with local media reporting that they are in talks with Madagascar to host a fixture in Johannesburg.

REUTERS

Xenophobia: The Mbekis Must Remind Their People of Sacrifices Made by Others

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2019
 East African
 
A demonstrator holds a banner through in Johannesburg on April 23, 2015 during a march gathering several thousands of people to protest against the a wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa. PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA | AFP

In Summary
Soon, we may not have the generation of Thabo Mbeki and his colleagues, who are really the last South Africans to have found refuge, solace and solidarity in Nigeria and elsewhere.

By JENERALI ULIMWENGU

You sure must have heard this one: You go to the river and, fancying a dip in the cool water, you take off your clothes, arrange them in a neat little pile on the bank, and take a dive.

While you are enjoying nature’s Jacuzzi you notice that someone naked, surely a madman, has picked up your clothes and is running away with them. Your instinct is to bolt out of the water and give chase to the lunatic. Now, for the bystander, who of the two is mad?

We can assume that the intruder is the madman, since he arrived on the scene totally naked, but then who is to know that you didn’t as they watch your little steeplechase au naturel?

Also, the thief has clothes with him, and one may expect him to slip into them as soon as he gets some reprieve from his chaser, you.

Meanwhile everyone assumes you are the real, unapologetic and irredeemable, raving naked madman that we have all been warned against.

As I said above, this is an old piece of causerie that we have been treated to a few times. It came up again this past week when students in Nigeria went on a loud street demonstration to condemn South Africans for yet another murder that may be linked to the now infamous xenophobic attacks in the land of Nelson Mandela and Albert Luthuli.

Now the Nigerians are saying enough is enough, and they want retaliation. What form of retaliation? They want South African companies, of which there are many in Nigeria, to close shop and go home; some are even calling for physical violence against South Africans in Nigeria.

It is this reaction that has evoked the image of the two naked runners. I do not suppose for once that the executives of Mr Price, Shoprite, MTN or DSTV have any truck with the ugly xenophobic madness we have witnessed.

They are rather indicative of the sad reality of the great success that the apartheid regime scored in planting in the minds of millions of Black South Africans the notion that all their ills are caused by their brothers and sisters from north of the Limpopo, and that they, the South African blacks, are better off than the Makwerekwere coming from black African countries to steal their jobs.

This is a debilitating mental illness that has gripped our people in that country, and it needs some serious and painstaking work on the part of the South African leaders, who should know better for having enjoyed Nigerian hospitality back in the day, to re-educate their criminally ignorant populace and help them heave themselves out of the mire of self-derision.

Already, through attrition, we have lost Reginald Thambo, Nelson Mandela, Johnston Makhatini, Robert Resha, Thomas Nkobi, Duma Nokwe, Thamsandla Sindelo, Willy Khosisile, and others who could attest to the sacrifices made by Nigeria, and a handful of other counties on the continent, to support the struggle against apartheid.

Teach the past for future

Soon, we may not have the generation of Thabo Mbeki and his colleagues, who are really the last South Africans to have found refuge, solace and solidarity in Nigeria and elsewhere.

It is incumbent on this generation—which will, alas! soon disappear too—to educate their people in the glorious history of the contribution made by these countries.

Of course, in the rat-race on the gravy train that has captured many of our former comrades, we will not see many volunteers taking up the task of disabusing their people of their apartheid-induced idiocy, but people like Mbeki should now invest their energies in this new liberation struggle, the internal liberation of the South African people whose souls were appropriated by a most vicious and odious system of dehumanisation.

As for chasing the South African companies from Nigeria, it may be the case of the two naked runners all over again.

The number of jobs these companies create for Nigerians are not negligible, especially with the national unemployment figures pointing northwards.

I have read reports suggesting that diplomatic efforts are afoot. But they will all most likely come to naught if they are not accompanied by a pedagogical campaign to tell the story of African solidarity during the days of the struggle, a story that has remained largely untold, and unknown, to the vast majority of the South African people.

Jenerali Ulimwengu is chairman of the board of the Raia Mwema newspaper and an advocate of the High Court in Dar es Salaam. E-mail: ulimwengu@jenerali.com

Nigeria Boycotts Africa Economic Summit Over Anti-foreign Riots

Alexander Winning, Wendell Roelf, Felix Onuah

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the opening day of the International Labour Organization's annual labour conference in Geneva, Switzerland June 10, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Nigeria said on Wednesday it would boycott an Africa economic summit in Cape Town, intensifying a diplomatic row after a series of deadly attacks on foreigners in South African cities.

The withdrawal of Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo from the World Economic Forum gathering has cast a cloud over initiatives to boost intra-African trade. He was scheduled to address a panel on universal energy access on Thursday.

The rioting has killed at least five people in Johannesburg and Pretoria in recent days, and on Wednesday South African companies MTN and Shoprite closed stores in Nigeria after retaliatory attacks on their premises.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a charm offensive to attract $100 billion of new investment, tried to limit fallout from the violence, which has rekindled memories of previous deadly attacks on foreigners that also led to reprisals on South African businesses abroad.

Police have made almost 300 arrests, while people across the continent have protested and voiced their anger on social media.

It is unclear what ignited the latest attacks, which mainly targeted shops owned by African migrants, but unemployment is high and many South Africans feel frustration with limited economic opportunities.

Old wounds between Africa’s two biggest economies have also been reopened.

“Clearly with this climate, he (Osinbajo) and Mr. President have agreed that he should not go,” Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told a news briefing.

Onyeama had previously summoned South Africa’s envoy to Nigeria and demanded an explanation for “the continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises ... with ineffective police protection”.

Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that South Africans should never take justice into their own hands against people from other countries.

“We need to quell those incidents of unrest,” Ramaphosa said. “South Africa must be a country where everyone feels safe,” Ramaphosa said, also condemning recent incidents in which women had been killed.

Hundreds of mainly female students protesting about violence against women tried to storm the conference center in Cape Town.

They were pushed back by police who later used stun grenades against demonstrators. Demonstrators held placards including “Women are not sexual objects” and chanted “We want justice” as they banged on conference doors to try to force their way in.

“Women get raped in this country every single day and nothing is happening. The president is sitting there inside having a fancy lunch with all these people trying to sell our country to the world, (while) there is no peace and no justice,” said a student protester from the University of Cape Town, who declined to be identified.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Malawi’s Peter Mutharika also pulled out of the conference, but their governments did not give an official reason for their no-show.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, commenting before Nigeria announced Osinbajo’s withdrawal, said attendance was “satisfactory”.

WEF spokesman Oliver Cann said Kagame and Mutharika had informed conference organizers by Saturday - before the attacks had started - that they could not attend.

Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo told Reuters the attacks were “unfortunate ...in an environment where we are looking forward to regional integration and co-operation.”

He is part of a large Zimbabwean delegation including President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

There are a significant number of Zimbabweans living in South Africa and they, along with Somalians and Nigerians, have formerly borne the brunt of attacks on foreigners.

Immigration to South Africa from Africa and parts of southeast Asia picked up in the early 1990s, spurred by the end of apartheid and the economic boom that followed.

But in recent years, attacks against foreign-owned businesses have become a regular occurrence as frustration has increased over mounting unemployment, currently at a decade high around 29%.

Some 60 people were killed in attacks directed at foreigners in 2008 and at least seven more in 2015.

Hundreds of University of Zambia students dressed mostly in black and chanting “No Violence” protested outside the South African High Commission on Wednesday. Zambia criticized them for burning a billboard.

On Tuesday, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) called off the country’s friendly soccer international against South Africa in Lusaka on Saturday, citing “prevailing security concerns in South Africa”.

Reporting by Alexander Winning and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Felix Onuah in Abuja; Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Onke Ngcuka in Johannesburg and other Reuters reporters in Africa; Editing by Alison Williams and John Stonestreet

Xenophobic Attacks on African Migrants in South Africa Have Been Escalated by Fake News

By Yomi Kazeem
Qartz

Nigeria’s government is responding to reported xenophobic attacks on its citizens in South Africa by boycotting the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa and will reportedly recall its ambassador to South Africa.

Nigeria’s foreign minister also invited the South African high commissioner to Nigeria “to protest the unacceptable burning and looting of properties belonging to Nigerians” and make “concrete proposals” for compensation of Nigerians affected.

Reports of the attacks in South Africa first emerged on Monday with news of looting and destruction of dozens of shops owned by foreigners, including Nigerians. Looters in Johannesburg’s Central Business District “targeted” shops believed to be owned by foreigners, local South African media reported. The attacks continued on Tuesday leaving five dead.  Local police said the dead were mostly South Africans.

The graphic images of these latest xenophobic attacks—both real and fake—have had an impact that’s now reverberating across the continent, resulting in reprisals.

In Nigeria, several outlets of South-Africa owned businesses including retailer Shoprite and telecoms operator MTN have been targeted around the country. In one incident in Lekki, an upmarket Lagos neighborhood, a clash between police and protesters at a mall housing a Shoprite outlet left one person dead. The protesters were also said to be screening cars and stores in search of foreign nationals to attack.

Outlets of MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecoms operator, were attacked in three Nigerian states, including its capital. In response, the telecoms operator notified subscribers today (Sep. 4) that its physical outlets are currently “unavailable.”

In response to the attacks,  Zambia has also cancelled a friendly football match with South Africa due to take place in Lusaka on Saturday. Local reports of Zambians attacking outlets of South-Africa owned businesses have also emerged.

Graphic videos and photos purported to be recent have been a key element driving the waves of reprisal attacks and rhetoric. Nigerians have been sharing videos on WhatsApp of burning bodies claimed to be the bodies of Nigerians in South Africa attacked in recent days.  However, as fact checks have already shown, several videos and images that have gone viral “are unrelated to the recent outbreak.“

In one instance, popular Nigerian blogger Linda Ikeji, who’s known for sharing unverified news and reports, published photos of a burning MTN outlet from a 2015 incident and claimed they were recent.

Nigeria’s consulate in Johannesburg also denounced a report from South African broadcaster eNCA claiming that riots in Pretoria were caused by the killing of  a local taxi driver by a Nigerian. The consulate described the report as an example of the “malicious stereotyping of Nigerians which have led to many negative consequences.”

For its part, WEF officials has also been forced to deny several reports which claimed that president Paul Kagame of Rwanda (and his counterparts from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo) boycotted its Cape Town event in protest of recent attacks. WEF says Kagame canceled his participation last week before the latest round of xenophobic attacks broke out.

Masked anger

While attacks in both nations are couched in xenophobic rhetoric, in reality they are driven more by stoked economic tensions and growing inequality. They also point at signs of impending collapses and class wars between the poor and the rich fueled by failures of leadership in both countries as several parallels show.

Due to government inability to engineer sustained economic growth through policy, both of Africa’s largest economies are plagued by rampant and high unemployment—particularly among fast-growing youth populations, resulting in poverty. In Nigeria’s case, it’s now home to the world’s largest population of poor people. Even worse, low human capital spending suggests the country will make very little progress in the immediate future to reverse those fortunes.

Nigeria and South Africa saw their economies suffer recession in 2017 and have not made significant comebacks since.

Political leaders in both countries are also unpopular and mistrusted despite winning recent elections: Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has not delivered on key campaign promises of fighting insecurity and fixing the economy while South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and his ANC party have proven unable to deliver a turnaround as promised following Jacob Zuma’s ouster from office.

As it turns out, both presidents have also been widely criticized for their handling of recent attacks. Shenilla Mohamed, Amnesty International’s executive director for South Africa says local authorities are complicit in the attacks on foreign nationals who have “served as convenient scapegoats for unscrupulous politicians” who push xenophobic narratives. Ramaphosa faced criticism in March for stoking anti-foreigner sentiments during a campaign rally

For his part, president Buhari has been criticized for a tepid response to the attacks with Nigerians sharing their criticisms online with the hashtag #WeNoGetPresident, a slang in local parlance which translates to “we don’t have a president.”

Nigeria Pulls Out of South Africa Summit After Deadly Riots

Nigeria withdraws from WEF gathering in Cape Town in the aftermath of attacks on foreigners in South African cities.

Nigeria has pulled out of an African economic summit in South Africa, intensifying a diplomatic row after a series of deadly attacks on foreigners, including Nigerians, in South African cities.

The withdrawal of Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo from the World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Cape Town cast a cloud over initiatives to boost intra-African trade. He was scheduled to address a panel on universal energy access on Thursday.

The rioting has killed at least five people in Johannesburg and Pretoria in recent days.

On Wednesday, South African companies MTN and Shoprite closed stores in Nigeria after retaliatory attacks on their businesses.

"I lost millions of naira," said Jadesola, a boutique owner at Surulere mall that also houses a Shoprite outlet in the commercial capital, Lagos. "Everything I have is invested there. All my sweat."

With tears in her eyes, she asked Al Jazeera to only publish her first name for security reasons.

The political repercussions of the violence also continued to unfold.

"Clearly with this climate, he [Osinbajo] and Mr President have agreed that he should not go [to WEF]," Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told a news briefing.

Summit organisers confirmed Osinbajo would not attend the three-day summit, which started on Wednesday.

Nigeria also recalled its high commissioner to South Africa, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported, citing a presidential source.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a charm offensive to attract $100bn of new investment, tried to limit fallout from the violence, which has rekindled memories of previous deadly attacks on foreigners that also led to reprisals on South African businesses abroad.

Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that South Africans should never take justice into their own hands against people from other countries.

"We need to quell those incidents of unrest," Ramaphosa said. "South Africa must be a country where everyone feels safe," he said, also condemning the recent incidents in which women had been killed.

Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Malawi's Peter Mutharika also pulled out of the Cape Town conference, but their governments did not give an official reason for their no-show.

WEF spokesman Oliver Cann said Kagame and Mutharika had informed conference organisers by Saturday - before the attacks had started - that they could not attend.

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, commenting before Nigeria announced Osinbajo's withdrawal, said the attendance was "satisfactory".

'Cyclical tension'

Police in South Africa have yet to pinpoint what triggered the violence, which began on Sunday when protesters armed with makeshift weapons roamed the streets of Pretoria's business district, pelting shops with rocks and petrol bombs, and running off with goods.

Police have made almost 300 arrests, while people across the continent have protested and voiced their anger on social media.

Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, reporting from downtown Johannesburg, said: "Some shops and businesses haven't opened for days. The owners are afraid there could be more violence and looting."

Somadoda Fikeni, a policy and political analyst at the University of South Africa, said the unrest had multiple causes.

"The issue of foreign nationals, blaming them for many things which are not going well in the country and also the law enforcement and the economic conditions in the country, all of these combined, if not managed well, then create this cyclical tension between foreign nationals and locals, especially those who are in the margins because the middle class and those who are in the upper class, you hardly ever hear of such tension getting into this level," he told Al Jazeera from Pretoria.

Retaliatory attacks

In Nigeria, police said security had been strengthened around South African businesses after apparent reprisal attacks in several cities against stores operated by the supermarket chain Shoprite, MTN and other firms.

The Nigerian division of South African telecom operator MTN said on Wednesday it would shut all stores and service centres in the country until further notice after its facilities in three cities were attacked.

"The safety and security of our customers, staff and partners is our primary concern," MTN Nigeria said in a statement. "MTN condemns any acts of violence, prejudice and xenophobia."

Nigeria is MTN's biggest market, with 58 million users in 2018, and accounts for a third of the South African group's core profit.

At a Shoprite supermarket on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, hundreds of protesters tried to break into the premises, throwing stones, setting fire to tyres and nearly overwhelming police protecting the site.

Retaliatory attacks also took in the university town of Ibadan and the city of Uyo on Tuesday evening, Nigeria's government said in a statement.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama on Wednesday implored people to stop attacking these businesses.

"These businesses, Shoprite, MTN and others, yes, they are South African," he said at a press briefing.

"But these are subsidiaries in Nigeria owned by Nigerians. So, as attacks are made against Shoprite and other such institutions, it is actually the property owned by Nigerians within Nigeria and the people working there are Nigerians."

In recent years, attacks against foreign-owned businesses in South Africa have become a regular occurrence as frustration has increased over mounting unemployment, currently at a decade-high of around 29 percent.

Some 60 people were killed in attacks directed at foreigners in 2008 and at least seven more in 2015.

Meanwhile, tensions have also wafted into the entertainment industry as some of the top celebrities in the two countries exchanged angry patriotic tirades.

Nigeria's Tiwa Savage, one of the continent's best-known superstars, pulled out of performing at the DSTV Delicious Festival later this month in South Africa, while calling for peace and describing the attacks as "the barbaric butchering of my people".

South African rapper Casper Nyovest also called for peace in the country saying he was "embarrassed" by what was now a "recurring issue".

Eromo Egbejule contributed to this report from Lagos

South Africa: How Common Are Xenophobic Attacks?

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2019
   
South African looters try to break into an alleged foreign-owned shop during a riot in the Johannesburg suburb of Turffontein on September 2, 2019 in a new wave of violence targeting foreign nationals. PHOTO | GUILLEM SARTORIO | AFP

In Summary
Some South African officials have blamed criminality instead of xenophobia.
Attacks have mainly taken place in large cities, but they have also been reported in smaller towns and rural areas.
Human rights groups say government needs to publicly recognise attacks on foreigners as xenophobic.

By BBC

In the past few days rioters have caused chaos in Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial hub, torching vehicles and looting shops, many of which are owned by foreign nationals.

Some South African officials have blamed criminality instead of xenophobia.

However, the Nigerian government has summoned the South Africa's high commissioner, alleging Nigerian-owned businesses have been targeted.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the attacks, saying "there can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries."

TRACKING ATTACKS

So how common are attacks against migrants and are they on the rise?

The South African government does not collect data on attacks or threats against foreign nationals.

However, the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) has monitored these attacks across South Africa since 1994. Its Xenowatch tracker collates media reports as well as information from activists, victims and observers.

ACMS suggests violent attacks peaked in 2008 and again in 2015.

In 2008, there was a wave of attacks across the country against refugees and migrants - more than 60 people were reported to have been killed and thousands displaced.

In 2015, there were outbreaks of violence against non-South Africans, mostly in the cities of Durban and Johannesburg, which led to the deployment of the army to deter further unrest.

In March, the government launched an initiative to raise public awareness and improve access to services for victims of discrimination.

Human rights groups welcomed it, but said that the government needed to publicly recognise attacks on foreigners as xenophobic.

In a statement published in October 2018, South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, blamed the governing ANC party for a "scourge of xenophobic violence".

Where are the migrants from?

About 70 percent of foreigners in South Africa come from neighbouring Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho.

The remaining 30 percent is made up of people from Malawi, UK, Namibia, eSwatini, previously known as Swaziland, India and other countries.

There are an estimated 3.6 million migrants in the country, a spokesperson for South Africa's national statistics body told the BBC, out of an overall population of well over 50 million.

How do different regions compare?

Gauteng province, which includes South Africa's largest city Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria, has the highest rate of violence against foreign nationals, followed by the Western Cape, according to the ACMS. KwaZulu-Natal, where Durban is situated, is third.

Attacks have mainly taken place in large cities, but they have also been reported in smaller towns and rural areas.

The violence is often triggered by local disputes, with migrants being accused of taking jobs away from South Africans.

The country has experienced poor economic performance, with officially recorded unemployment at more than 27 percent at the end of last year.

And more widely, the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

"The causes are poverty and has its roots in apartheid," says Sharon Ekambaram, who runs the refugee and migrant rights programme for Lawyers for Human Rights.

Public Schools Face Cash Crunch Ahead of National Exams

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2019
   
Students walk along Kenyatta Avenue in Nakuru town on September 2, 2019 as they go back to school for third term. PHOTO | JOHN NJOROGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
By Tuesday, the ministry had not released the funds. The resource flow from the National Treasury has been in the ratio of 50:30:20 for the three school terms.
Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said public schools are in a financial crisis and are unable to run smoothly because of huge fee balances amounting to millions owed by parents and delayed free education cash.

By FAITH NYAMAI
Kenya Daily Nation

Secondary school headteachers are worried that they may not have enough time to prepare candidates for this year’s national examinations because of the Ministry of Education’s failure to release funds meant for third term.

The exams are scheduled to begin next month, with the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination set for October 21 — November 27.

PRACTICALS

Candidates will be examined on French, German, Arabic, Kenya Sign Language and Music practicals between Monday, October 21 and Friday, October 25. Rehearsals will be done on November 1.

Chemistry practicals will be done on November 8, biology practicals on November 15 while physics practicals will be conducted on November 26. The government is expected to release about Sh10 billion to both primary and secondary schools this term.

But by Tuesday, the ministry had not released the funds. Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang’ did not answer our calls on when the funds will be released.

The resource flow from the National Treasury has been in the ratio of 50:30:20 for the three school terms. Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said public schools are in a financial crisis and are unable to run smoothly because of huge fee balances amounting to millions owed by parents and delayed free education cash. Schools desperately need the money to buy chemicals and exam practical apparatus.

“We are asking the ministry to release these funds to enable schools buy the necessary chemicals and specimens early enough,” he said

In January, the government released Sh36 billion — Sh30 billion to public secondary schools and Sh6 billion to primary schools.

SALARIES

In the second term, Sh29 billion was released to schools. The government releases the funds based on the total number of learners in school in a year.

In May, the government released Sh14.5 billion to public primary and secondary schools, being 50 per cent of the capitation for the term. The other half was released in August after schools were closed.

“As at now, that money is not in school bank accounts as we spent it in paying our suppliers, hoping that the ministry will release funds meant for third term before schools open today (Tuesday),” said Mr Indimuli. The cash crunch has hit schools hard and the situation could deteriorate further if the ministry fails to release the funds this week.

“Every year we have been facing a challenge in funding,” said Mr Indimuli, adding that due to the financial state, most schools had not paid staff salaries for up to two months, while some creditors have threatened to withdraw supplies this term.

Principals who spoke to the Nation lamented the sorry situation and urged the government to come up with a proper system of ensuring that schools receive funds on time. “Right now schools have no funds, we hope the ministry releases the funds before next week to enable us prepare for the national exams,” said a principal in Nyeri.

Another principal from a day secondary school in Samburu County said his school depends on the ministry funds to buy apparatus. A secondary school headteacher in Kiambu said he has not paid salaries for four teachers hired by the board of management since July.

SUPPLIERS

Many dealers have also stopped supplies on credit owing to long delays in payment; they are demanding cash upfront.

“If the money is not released to us soon, we are going to have problems buying laboratory equipment in time for the science practicals, which begin next month,” he said.

The Nation has also learnt that a majority of public schools have fee arrears ranging from Sh5 million to as high as Sh20 million.

The most affected are boarding schools, where parents are required by the government to pay a percentage to cater for their food. A principal from a boys’ school in Murang’a County said the school has fee arrears of Sh13 million. The government introduced the free secondary school education last year.

For the free day secondary education, all leaners receive Sh22,244 per annum. Parents are not required to pay any extra fees for the day scholars.

For category A schools, which are national schools and extra-county schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret, the government will provide Sh22,244 while parents are required to pay Sh53,554, making a total of Sh75,798 per year.

PROPOSAL

Category B boarding schools and extra-country schools in other areas will receive Sh22,244 from the government with parents paying Sh40,535, making a total of Sh62,779 a year.

Parents with children in special needs secondary schools pay Sh12,790 with the government footing Sh57,974 annually.

Kessha has already written a proposal to the ministry, asking to increase fees paid by parents.

The principals want extra-county schools to pay Sh17,000 more and day schools to pay Sh6,000 more. Those in county schools will pay Sh7,537 more. Mr Indimuli said this will help solve the financial crisis in schools.

Closure of Mau Schools Postponed to Allow National Examinations

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2019
   
An aerial view of the Mau Forest on August 28, 2019. The government plans to begin the second phase of evictions targeting grabbers of the forest. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
Mr Natembeya said those without children in the schools should use the period to leave the water tower.
He said if any of the schools in the list have KCPE and KCSE examination candidates, the tests would not be interfered with, adding that most of the institutions are not registered as examination centres.

The schools are Kirobon, Senetwet, Kapsibilwo, Kitoben, Indianit, Kabarak, Noosogami, Chorwet, Ogilgei, Sebetet, Olabai, Koitabai, Chebirbelek, Chebetet and Lelechwet.

By GEORGE SAYAGIE
Kenya Daily Nation

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya has reversed the order to shut down 15 schools at the section targeted for evictions in Maasai Mau forest.

Mr Natembeya said the decision was made in order to allow Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations candidates sit the tests uninterrupted.

GRACE PERIOD

He, however, added that families who have encroached the water tower would still be required to move out at the expiry of the 60-day grace period he announced last week. He said the day coincides with the last day of the national examinations.

Mr Natembeya told the Nation that those without children in the schools should use the period to leave the water tower.

He said if any of the schools in the list have KCPE and KCSE examination candidates, the tests would not be interfered with, adding that most of the institutions are not registered as examination centres.

The schools are Kirobon, Senetwet, Kapsibilwo, Kitoben, Indianit, Kabarak, Noosogami, Chorwet, Ogilgei, Sebetet, Olabai, Koitabai, Chebirbelek, Chebetet and Lelechwet.

The decision by the administrator came just two days after the schools failed to open for third term.

Kenya Forestry Service rangers and police officers have been deployed to the section of the forest even with reports of the security forces issuing warnings to teachers against allowing learners into the schools.

Mr Wilson Kimutai, a local, said the KFS officers moved to the schools as early as 6am, with pupils being turned back.

Mr Kimutai said more than 5,000 children have been affected, adding that residents do not know what to do as most of the schools are public.

"KFS officers came in and took charge of the schools on Monday. They ordered teachers and pupils out," Mr Kimutai said.

Before the reversal of the order, Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno was arrested in Olmekenyu, Narok County.

Police said Mr Ngeno was organising protests against the evictions. The windscreen of his car was smashed. Mr Ngeno and Ololulunga Ward Representative Jefferson Langat were taken to Narok police station.

The arrests came moments after nominated MP David ole Sankok, Narok County Assembly Speaker Salaniat Nchoe, several ward reps and the Masai Council of Elders came out "to set the record straight" on Maasai Mau Trust land.

Report Reveals Where Mau Plunder Began

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2019
 Kenya Daily Nation
 
Residents of Sierra Leone, Narok County, on September 2, 2019 protest the arrival of Kenya Forest Service rangers as the eviction of people leaving in Mau forest looms. Some settlers have moved out. PHOTO | GEORGE SAYAGIE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
Pressure on the Maasai Mau would again pile up in 1999 when five group ranches adjacent to the forest applied for consent from the local land control board to subdivide their land among members.

After the consent was issued, government officers, politicians, private surveyors and influential people irregularly increased the sizes of the group ranches far in excess of their registered areas and sold it to unsuspecting outsiders.

By JULIUS SIGEI

A bid to end the destruction of the Maasai Mau – a part of the largest single block of close-canopy forest in East Africa and today the site of an unfolding humanitarian crisis – opened it for further plunder, a review of one of the most comprehensive reports on the ecosystem shows.

FRAUDULENTLY

According to the document titled ‘Maasai Mau Forest Status Report’, the destruction of some 14,805 hectares (on average 1,139 hectares per year) of forest cover outside the Maasai Mau between 1973 and 1986 prompted the establishment of the Ntutu Commission to set the boundaries and help conserve the forest. The commission recommended the reclamation of Ol Posimoru A, Kamrar, Olokurto, Nkareta and Naisoya adjudication sections of the trust land, which temporarily slowed the destruction. However, pressure on the Maasai Mau would again pile up in 1999 when five group ranches adjacent to the forest applied for consent from the local land control board to subdivide their land among members.

After the consent was issued, government officers, politicians, private surveyors and influential people irregularly increased the sizes of the group ranches far in excess of their registered areas and sold it to unsuspecting outsiders.

By 2005, illegal extension into the forest due to expansion of group ranches had created 1,962 parcels of land, amounting to 14,103.7 hectares of the forest, reads the document authored by the Ewaso Ngiro South Development Authority, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forests Working Group and United Nations Environment Programme.

In total, while the registered land was 3,975.5 hectares, another 14,103.7 was fraudulently annexed. Forest destruction within the boundaries increased exponentially from less than 40 hectares a year before 1995, to 1,755 between 2003 and 2005.

VIOLATION

There was a temporary lull after the 2005 and 2009 evictions, but the destruction would resume with abandon in subsequent years. And while the annihilation has not been documented, more forest cover has been lost, with aerial photos of the once thick canopy painting a pale shadow of its lost lustre.

The report insists the encroachment on the Maasai Mau did not follow the ideal adjudication procedure. “For instance, no resolution to give away the forest land was made by the (defunct) Narok County Council as required by law. The title deeds in the Maasai Mau are not genuine because they were not subjected to land adjudication process,” the report concludes.

The findings mirror those of the Ndung’u Report, the most influential document on the governance of land issues in Kenya.

The report, released in 2005, revealed that most allocated forest land was excised without considering social, economic and ecological implications — and in total violation of existing legal provisions.

The commission defined an illegal title as one issued for a piece of land that’s not legally available for allocation while irregular titles are those where land is legally available for allocation, but the allotment flouts administrative procedures.

“The commission discussed a number of scenarios that may have to be confronted in relation to titles that have passed on to third parties, and whose land has been developed, and concluded that each case would have to be dealt with on its own merit,” an analysis by Africog, a civil society organisation, reads.

BALLOON

Critics of efforts to remove settlers from the Maasai Mau have always insisted it is the local leaders who sold much of the land. They point out, for instance, that the encroachment of the forest began as early as the 1970s when the Narok County Council, then under the chairmanship of William ole Ntimama, excised community land and allocated it to private individuals including former President Daniel arap Moi.

Mr Ntimama would in later years be the face of the anti-settlement campaign, building his profile on the back of Maa nationalism, a position he defended to his death in September 2016.

The fate of Mau settlers has often seesawed with the ebb and flow of national politics and the dilly-dallying by successive administrations has seen populations balloon.

By 2009, 15,000 people were settled on the 46,278-hectare Maasai Mau. Today the numbers have risen to more than 60,000, or 90,000, depending on who is counting, and their removal proving to be a monumental task. Environmental disaster aside, the influx into the forest over the years has altered the ethnic demographics of Narok, and local politicians view this as a threat to their dominance in a culture where votes go along ethnic lines.

Kenya’s Push to Have Case Withdrawn Fails

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2019
Kenya Daily Nation
   
Map showing the disputes part of the Indian Ocean in the Kenya-Somalia case.

In Summary
Ahead of the case next week, some analysts say that the environment is already poisoned in the wake of the tit for tat games that the two countries have been engaging in.
Kenya has already declared that it will do whatever it takes, including deploying the military in order to protect its sovereignty.

Last week Somali MP Mohamed Omar Talha told the Voice of America that his country is also prepared to send its troops to defend any act of aggression by Kenya over the disputed ocean area.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO
& VINCENT ACHUKA

Somalia sidestepped Kenya’s latest push to have the maritime boundary case withdrawn or deferred to allow an African Union-led mechanism for an alternative solution.

The details emerged even as controversial Ugandan lawyer David Matsanga wrote to the International Court of Justice with stinging allegations about the conduct of the court’s president Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.

REQUEST REJECTED

It all played out in the final week of August after Kenyan diplomats wrote to the AU, seeking the hand of the Peace and Security Council to convince Somalia. But Somalia’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Ahmed Isse Awad rejected the request and declined Somalia’s attendance of a meeting initially scheduled for August 22.

“Somalia pledged to comply with the court’s judgement, whatever the outcome,” Mr Awad wrote to AU Commission chairman Moussa Faki on August 21, in a Note Verbale (diplomatic letter) seen by the Nation.

He was referring to a case in which Mogadishu sued Nairobi at the ICJ seeking to change the course of the maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean.

“Therefore, the government of Somalia regrets to inform the Commission that it would not be appropriate for it to accept the Commission’s invitation to attend the Peace and Security Council meeting to be held on August 22, 2019 to brief the PSC on the maritime dispute … as the matter is currently pending before the ICJ.”

The content of Kenya’s bid at the PSC, AU’s principal decision-making organ on conflict resolution, had always been avoided by Nairobi, with diplomats at the Foreign ministry refusing to confirm the submission made on August 19.

Yet Somalia’s response to it now confirms Nairobi’s continued bid to have the case, which is due for public hearing next week, be removed or delayed at the ICJ.

Nairobi, the envoys had said, was concerned that the continual case at the International Court of Justice “has the potential to further complicate the already volatile peace and security situation in the Horn of Africa.”

ARM TWISTING

Cautioning that the “rigid court procedure” will be blind to sensitive political and cultural issues, Kenya advised that the case could distract countries from cooperating on key security issues, as well as potentially reopening boundary debates between countries on the Eastern Africa coast.

This disagreement reflects the latest in rising tensions between Kenya and Somalia ahead of the legal showdown at The Hague over who owns a prime piece of the Indian Ocean after years of verbal confrontations and diplomatic arm twisting.

On Monday, Ugandan legal activist David Matsanga claimed ICJ’s president Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, a Somali national, be removed from office for allegedly commenting about the case in separate public forums.

“As Pan African Forum, we view these statements as roadside shows that makes the President of the ICJ not fit to preside over the matter between Kenya and Somalia,” Dr Matsanga, famed for criticising the International Criminal Court, wrote for the Pan-African Forum, a self-declared forum for Africans to “come together and make a difference.”

In being Somali, Dr Matsanga argues, Justice Yusuf’s alleged relations with Somali President Mohamed Farmajo, including coming from the same Marehan clan as well as having members of his family work for the government makes him “biased” and “impartial.”

“This breeds corruption in court and we have evidence to put before the panel as to who in Somalia is bankrolling the judge,” he said.

AGREEMENT

At the ICJ, all the judges of the court, including ad-hoc judges, constitute the Bench of the Court in a case, meaning even the President could sit on the Kenyan case. Usually, judges are not dismissed unless their colleagues feel they have failed to deliver their duties. In addition, the President of the Court may decide to remove certain judges from the court for some “special reason,” meaning Judge Yusuf could still determine the actual bench on the Kenyan case.

Yet in filing complaints against judges, only state parties or organs of the UN are often allowed to submit. Matsanga argued his organisation represents “public interest” and that he should be heard.

The ICJ Registry had not responded to our inquiry on the Judge’s alleged bias. But a note on the website indicated the judge, who joined the Court in February 2009 is an experienced and qualified judge.

Previously as the Vice-President of the Court, Yusuf wrote a declaration after the Court rejected Kenya’s objection to the Court’s jurisdiction, arguing the Memorandum of Understanding Kenya had signed with Somalia had not been the original contribution of both countries.

“No government can afford today to put its signature to a bilateral legal instrument which it has neither carefully negotiated nor to which it has hardly contributed,” he wrote, referring to a 2009 MoU between Kenya and Somalia, which had allowed for the UN Commission on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The MoU had been drafted by Norwegian diplomat Hans Wilhelm Longva as part of his country’s “technical assistance” to African countries. Judge Yusuf argued Kenya and Somalia should have used own legal teams to draft a document each had contributed to.

While Kenya’s then Foreign Minister Moses Wetang’ula and then Somalia’s Planning Minister Abdirahman Abdishakur signed on the agreement, Somali parliament rejected it.

The ICJ would rule that the MoU was a valid bilateral agreement, but added that it did not prevent the Court from hearing the case.

AGGRESSION

Ahead of the case next week, some analysts say that the environment is already poisoned in the wake of the tit for tat games that the two countries have been engaging in.

“Kenya feels that this is a slap from the people they have helped over the years and Somalia thinks we are patronising them regardless of the amount of assistance we have provided,” said Mr Herman Manyora, a lecturer of Linguistics at the University of Nairobi.

“It would not be in the interest of any party to do anything that will affect the court negatively,” he advised.

Kenya has already declared that it will do whatever it takes, including deploying the military in order to protect its sovereignty. A motion is currently before parliament seeking to compel the government to deploy the military in the disputed waters if a solution that favours Kenyans is not found.

Somalia on the other hand has time and again bashed Kenya for infringing on its territory. Last week Somali MP Mohamed Omar Talha told the Voice of America that his country is also prepared to send its troops to defend any act of aggression by Kenya over the disputed ocean area. Somalia has no navy.

"If they send their troops to Somalia, we, the parliament of Somalia, will also bring a motion that will counter such a threat and give permission to our soldiers to defend our people and territory,” said Mr Talha.

According to a timetable of the case released by the ICJ, each country will be given a total of seven and a half hours next week to argue their case. Somalia will go first on Monday and Thursday while Kenya will argue her case on Wednesday and Friday.

Wolaita People’s Democratic Front Demands Answer on Statehood Question

Ethnic Wolaita Party pushing for referendum

Borkena
September 2, 2019

Barely a week after the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) disclosed a date for Sidama zone referendum, a zone within Southern Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SPNNR); an ethnic Wolaita Party – Wolaita People’s Democratic Front – is demanding an answer from the regional state council.

Leaders of the party who held a press conference on Monday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa said “we need a constitutional response to our demand,” reported by DW Amharic service.

For leaders of the party, the ruling coalition (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front- EPRDF) is the source of problems although it is pointing fingers on other entities.

When over 1.5 million people took to the street demanding for a regional state status, it is not right on the part of the government to prohibit it and recommend for research to determine the statehood questions says vice-chairman of the front, Bisrat Elias. He, in fact, said that it amounts to “no, you can’t have a regional state.”

On the other hand, Tekle Borena who is chairman of the party remarked during a press conference regarding the status of Hawassa city – which is likely to be under Sidama state should the outcome of Sidama referendum turns out to be in favor of Sidama statehood. “As far as we know, the Hawassa we know in history and up to now, the city is a hub for multiethnic people,” he said -according to a report by DW Amharic.

The intention of the party in that regard is that Hawassa will be a city that will serve as a city for ethnic Wolaitas too in the event that Sidama zone becomes a regional state.  He also thinks about a sort of arrangement where councilors drawn from all ethnic groups are represented in the city council and the city’s administrative structure.

Leaders of the ethnic Wolaita party say that is has been a long time since the demand for ethnic Wolaita party is formally lodged and that they are not happy government has not yet responded to it.

The party also called for an end to what it called military command center in Wolaita zone and for the withdrawal of The Command Post, as well as an end to curfew time in Wolaita zone and the region.

Apart from Wolaita, several other ethnic groups in SPNNR have demanded for statehood after their zone level administration approved their demands. However, the party that is governing the regional state, South Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM) has not disclosed decisions officially regarding these statehood demands.

Abiy Ahmed Met with Japan’s PM, Shinzo Abe

Office of the Prime Minister
August 29, 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed and his delegation met with Japan’s PM, Shinzo Abe in a bilateral during Tokyo International Conference on African Development (#TICAD7)

PM Abiy briefed PM Abe on Ethiopia’s ongoing political and economic reforms. He shared the vision of making Ethiopia one of the top 5 leading economies in Africa through the homegrown economic reforms currently in the pipeline, and called upon the Government of Japan’s support for this initiative as well as for Japanese business investments in agriculture, tourism, ICT and mining.

Lastly, Prime Minister Abiy requested PM Abe to facilitate work opportunities for skilled youth in various sectors in Japan.

PM Shinzo Abe expressed his support for PM Abiy and the domestic reforms being undertaken by the government.

He also acknowledged the role of Ethiopia in promoting peace with Eritrea; in South Sudan talks and PM Abiy’s role the Sudan agreements.

He affirmed continued support for PM Abiy and Ethiopia and shared particular assistance for the construction of the Jimmy-Chida road.

Addis Ababa Amhara Democratic Party Committee Condemns Personality Cult and Dictatorship in the City Administration

Amhara Democratic Party Addis Ababa chapter vows to struggle to fix social, economic as well as political challenges for the residents of the city.

A picture from the meeting of Amhara Democratic Party Addis Ababa Committee. Credit: AMMA

Borkena
September 2, 2019

Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) leaders based in Addis Ababa had two days meeting in the capital.

Based on a report by Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA), the two days meeting which ended on Sunday, September 1, 2019, was intended to evaluate the performance and identify strengths and weaknesses during the Ethiopian year 2011 which is concluding.

It has evaluated that numerous successes were attained in terms of putting the ongoing “change” in the right path from the point of view of making residents in the city beneficiaries from it and to ensure continuity of it.

However, the meeting also noted, according to AMMA report, that the ending year was a year during which the party experienced internal and external challenges including the killings of ADP leaders and displacement of people.

And the leaders in Addis Ababa have issued eleven-points declaration which identifies focus points for “the next level of the struggle.”

The “change”, critical political pundits tend to see it rather as a reference to the coming to power of Abiy Ahmed and his half-hearted reform measures, said ADP Addis Ababa declaration, is facing challenges from different forces (seemingly political) whose intent is to obstruct it from being institutionalized, by putting it in a negative light – among other ways, and the party vowed to struggle against it.

The Addis Ababa chapter also hopes to work relentlessly to ensure participation of residents, especially youth and women, in the development and good governance works in the Ethiopian capital, and that they are beneficiaries of it.

Ensuring peace, the rule of law and the unity of residents of Addis Ababa are other goals that the party will work on in the coming Ethiopian year, based on AMMA report.

Another perhaps more critical evaluation and declaration are in the use of mass media in the city. The party leaders in Addis Ababa believe that the media instead of exploiting it as a tool to highlight the city’s prosperity, diversity, and feelings of residents in the city, it has focused on building a personality cult. ADP says that such a practice does not just benefit anyone but it could also nurture populism and stand in the way of making sustainable development of the city and peace an inclusive agenda.

The Addis Ababa Branch of the party also condemned that dictatorship is in the making in the city as appointments for various administrative positions in the city are based on the interests and decisions of an individual rather than systemic process. Making human resource allocation based on the institutional system in all layers of the city administration is another goal that ADP leaders in Addis Ababa will struggle for.

With regards to struggling for the people of Amhara, the ADP Addis Ababa said that the narrative that targets to make ethnic Amhara vulnerable for attacks is raising its head again and attaching labels so as to make them targets of hate and the declaration warned those forces engaged in such action to refrain from it. It also called for the immediate release of those who are arrested illegally.

Abiy Ahmed’s administration has arrested members of Addis Ababa Baladera Council, a movement for Addis Ababa under the leadership of Eskinder Nega. The movement advocates that Addis Ababa belongs to its residents and no ethnic group can claim exclusive ownership. It also advocates that Addis Ababa needs to have an elected mayor, not an appointed one.

Amhara Democratic Party, too, believes that Addis Ababa belongs to all its residents.

Radical ethnic-Oromo nationalists claim exclusive ownership right over Addis Ababa. In fact a new movement that is working to establish an ethnic Oromo Orthodox church made this week a claim that all the churches in Addis Ababa should change their services to Oromo language because “Addis Ababa belongs to Oromo.”

Radical Ethnic Nationalists Move to Break Up Ethiopian Church in Pursuit of Forming Oromia Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Church Holy Synod Responds to It

Borkena
August 31, 2019

A year after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made arrangements for divided Ethiopian Holy Synod to reunite after over 25 years of division due to TPLF administration born problem, radical ethnic-Oromo nationalists have started campaign to break up the Ethiopian Church Holy Synod.

Their plan is to establish “Oromia Orthodox Church.” On the surface, an individual who is identified as Kesis Belay is leading the movement. The picture of this man and the radical activist – Jawar Mohammed – together has been seen circulating on social media. And there are speculations that entities behind Jawar Mohammed, local or foreign, are likely behind the movement to break up on of the strengths of Ethiopia – the Ethiopian church – as Prime minister Abiy Ahmed himself said once.

However, the Holy Synod seem to believe that there could be other individuals and groups behind him with a sense of vengeance and hatred against the Ethiopian Church. Some activists and political observers go further and see foreign hands behind this move.

The Ethiopian Church Synod, which held emergency meeting his week, is opposing the move on grounds that it is against the dogma of the church.

And this high ranking body of the Ethiopian church wrote letter to the Ethiopian government encouraging it to stop this illegal movement. So far, the government has not responded officially to the call from the Ethiopian church.

As well, they called on Ethiopians from all walks of life in the country or abroad who are members of the church to vehemently oppose the movement to break up the Ethiopian church.

Prelates within the Ethiopian church believe that the movement will not lead Ethiopia towards peace.

In the video below, Archbishop Abune Yosef talks about the decision of the Holy Synod.

Annual Ambassadors, Heads of Missions Meeting Kicks Off

State minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hirut Zemene(second from left) and her colleagues during the meeting. Photo credit: MFAE

September 3, 2019
Borkena

The Annual Meeting of Ambassadors, Heads of Missions & Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia kicked off today at Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa. The meeting will be held from 2-6 September 2019 under the theme of “Institutional Reform for Diplomatic Excellence”.

State Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the FDRE, H.E. Mrs. Hirut Zemene, in her opening remark noted that the year was marked by many successful events that were crucial to the country and the region. She also underscored that this meeting would discuss major activities and outcomes of the institution and would set directions for next year’s plan.

Assessing the performance of last year’s performance, the participants will review the strategic goals and key programs of the next fiscal year. They will also consult on the draft Foreign Relations Policy document and current regional issues.

At the end of the meeting, H.E. Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, is expected to provide guidelines on the way forward.

Ethiopia’s Election Board Disclosed a Date for Sidama Referendum

The election board wants SPNNR council to prepare legal and administrative arrangement on how to share Hawassa and on the protection of the rights of non-Sidama Ethiopians in the zone.

Borkena
August 29, 2019

In a statement shared on social media, National Election Board of Ethiopia disclosed on Thursday that voting day for Sidama zone referendum is on November 19, 2019.

The referendum will determine if the zone, which is currently under Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Regional State(SNNPR), will be the tenth ethnic-based regional state in Ethiopia or not.

On July 16, 2018, just two days before radical ethnic-Sidama nationalists launched an extensive ethnic-based attack targeting non-Sidama communities, Ethiopia’s election board issued a statement expressing its commitment to organizing a referendum within five months. It also recommended a plan of actions for SNNPR state council and other relevant bodies as part of the preparation for the referendum.

The status of Hawassa city, which is the seat of SNNPR regional state and also seat of Sidama zone administration, was one of the issues that the election board raised as part of the preparation for the referendum.  The Board requested Sidama Zone and SNNPR regional authorities to disclose about the kind of arrangement they will have regarding the city and division of “wealth” should the outcome of the election favor the formation of ethnic Sidama statehood – which some ethnic-nationalists argued, back then, that the issue is not within the election board turf.

Rights protection of non-Sidama ethnic and language groups residing in Sidama was another matter that the election board raised, and the board requested for the preparation of legal and administrative arrangements to protect rights.

In a statement that the board released on Thursday this week, it said that SNNPR council wrote a letter to the election board on July 26, 2019, mentioning its inability to prepare an administrative and legal framework regarding Hawassa city and the rights of non-Sidama citizens residing in Sidama Zone due to workload and existing security arrangement following security crisis (the region is under Command Post currently), and asked for an alternate day to complete the works.

The Board did so, based on the letter is released today, and demanded the SNNPR council to notify the election board by August 21.

The council reached out to the election board on August 22, from NEBE letter, that it could not prepare the required administrative and legal arrangement for it needs ample time but it expressed its commitment to finalize them before the referendum.

The election board apparently considered the situation of SNNPR council and gave a new date, as indicated in the letter released on Thursday, August 29, 2019, to complete the task of preparing a legal and administrative arrangement on the status of Hawassa and the rights of non-Sidama ethnic communities.  The council has now until October 3, 2019, to finalize the work.

At least seven other zones in SNNPR have are pushing for statehood and demanding referendum after Sidama Zone was allowed to have one but it remains unclear if the Federal government has a stand to respond to those questions affirmatively as it did to Sidama zone.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holy Synod to Deliberate on Hijacked Agenda This Week

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holy Synod Members. Photo credit : VOA Amharic
Borkena

Ethnic politics brought about much political problems in Ethiopia. Now, a radical Oromo nationalist group is creeping to Ethiopian Church with an apparent move to break up the church along ethnic lines, and establish an ethnic Oromo patriarchate. And it is interrupting as the church is intensifying the effort to expand services in other languages. The Holy Synod is set to respond to it this week after an emergency meeting on Thursday.

September 3, 2019

The Holy Synod of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (also known as Ethiopian Church), one of the five Oriental Orthodox Churches in the world, called an emergency meeting.

According to the VOA Amharic service report, the meeting will take place on Thursday this week in the capital Addis Ababa.

Purpose of the emergency meeting is to discuss current affairs affecting the church. The top agenda item is an ultimatum from an ethnic Oromo group consisting of priests who are working to establish an ethnic Oromo Orthodox Church.

Based on VOA Amharic report, the group under the leadership of Belay Mekonen (priest) claims that church service in the Oromo region of Ethiopia is weakened due to a shortage of priests and deacons who can offer services in Oromo language.

Belay Mekonen and the group of priests he is leading want answer for their question regarding the establishment of “Oromia Church.” And the group has given a deadline to get an answer to their question.

Based on emerging stories on social media, there are voices from Oromo region of Ethiopia that see Priest Belay Mekonen led movement for an ethnic Oromo Patriarchate as an act of hijacking the legitimate concern of the Ethiopian Orthodox church laity in Oromo region of Ethiopia.

In fact, members of the group that advocates for Oromo patriarchate are also asserting that church service in the capital Addis Ababa, where more than 95 percent of the population is non-Oromo, has to be in Oromo language. Because, in their view, “Addis Ababa belongs to Oromo and is the capital of Oromia”

Megabi Solomon Tolcha, a priest, is the head of Gospel services in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church patriarchate. He told VOA Amharic Service that the issue raised regarding offering services in Oromo region of Ethiopia appropriate. What is not appropriate is the way it is presented and the proposal to solve the problem – establishment of “Oromia Ethiopian Orthodox Church”

He is also cited as saying that the issue is one of the challenges that the Ethiopian church is facing but the church is working hard on service expansion in Oromo language service.

The move to establish a separate church based on ethnicity is, however, dangerous and could demolish the church, he added.

He is not alone. From the point of view of many Ethiopians, including activists, the Ethiopian Church need to strengthen the effort to expand service in other languages including Oromo.

On the other hand, many see the campaign to establish ethnic Oromo patriarchate as a political project of radical Oromo ethno-nationalists. They also seem to speculate invisible external powers intervention on the side of radical Oromo groups who are believed to be interested in demolishing not only the Ethiopian Church but also Ethiopia.

Many Ethiopians who are not even followers of the church, too, seem to be alarmed by the move to establish an ethnic Oromo Orthodox Tewahdo Church for they tend to see a sinister political motive.

Abiy Teklemariam, a co-founder of the now-defunct Addis Neger Amharic Newspaper, tweeted:

“I left the EOC as a religion skeptic when I was a 16-year-old law student. Since then I had been to mass a few times just to please my family. But the recent vandalistic attack on this august institution is making me re-embrace my identity as a Tewahedo Orthodox Christian.”

The topic is being intensely debated among Ethiopians on social media, and some are pointing fingers on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration.

Ethiopian Opposition Parties Threaten Election Boycott

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks at a news conference at his office in Addis Ababa.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A coalition of Ethiopian opposition parties on Tuesday threatened to boycott a national vote next year without changes to an electoral law they view as biased towards the ruling party.

There have been regular parliamentary elections since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took power in 1991 but, with one exception, none were competitive.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was appointed last year by the EPRDF after three years of anti-government protests, promising reforms including a credible multi-party poll in 2020.

But opposition parties say last month’s changes to the election law in parliament, where the ruling party holds all the seats, made it more difficult for them.

One of the amendments raised the number of signatures to register a national party to 10,000, up from 1,500. Regional parties will need 4,000 signatures, up from 750.

The opposition was also unhappy at another change requiring civil servants running for office to take leave without pay.

“The law was approved in a rush without addressing our demands,” said Girma Bekele, vice chairman of the Joint Council of Political Parties representing 107 opposition groups.

“If (the law) is going to be applied without addressing our concerns, it will be repeating what has happened in the previous elections where the ruling party won by 100 percent. We don’t want to be a part of that,” Girma said.

The vote is also under threat from ethnic rivalries.

The election board in June said that violence, which has driven 2.4 million people out of their homes according to the United Nations, could delay the vote.

A national census has already been postponed twice.

“Having all our reservations (about the law) puts the upcoming election in question,” Mulatu Gemech, deputy chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress which is a member of the coalition, told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from the election board or EPRDF.

Despite the opposition’s disquiet over the electoral law, Ethiopia’s 100 million citizens are seeing unprecedented political change. Abiy has freed journalists and activists, lifted bans on political parties, and prosecuted officials accused of gross human rights abuses.

Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne