Harry, Meghan and William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace watching a flypast in 2018, before the relationship between the two brothers is said to have broken down. (Getty Images)
The latest episodes of Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary series have provided new insight into the breakdown of Harry and William's relationship.
The final volume of the controversial show, which was released on Thursday morning, contains a series of allegations by the Sussexes about their treatment at the hands of the royals – including accusations that aides of Prince William deliberately briefed against Harry.
Harry even describes an occasion William "screamed and shouted" at him during a tense meeting discussing the couple's future.
Another scene shows the Sussexes a few days after the couple's 2021 interview with Oprah had been aired.
Meghan can be seen talking on the phone to Tyler Perry – the US comedian who let the couple stay in his mansion after they left their lives in the UK behind.
The duchess and Perry are seen discussing a statement released by the Queen, in which she said "recollections may vary" in response to Meghan's claims of racism in the interview.
Their conversation is then interrupted by Harry showing Meghan something on his phone — a text message from William.
"What am I looking at?" Meghan asks, before realising it is a message from William to which she responds: "Wow".
Harry rubs his nose and both the duke and duchess seem to be shocked and upset.
"H just got a text from his brother", Meghan explains to Perry on the phone while her husband bites his nails and stares at his phone screen.
After Meghan ended the call with Perry, Harry closes his eyes and says, "I wish I knew what to do."
Harry's description of his relationship with William is a far cry from the closeness they used to enjoy. (Getty Images)
"I know. Let’s take a breather. Get some air and decide", Meghan replies as she comforts him with a hug.
The series does not disclose the contents of the message from William, nor does it explain why it chose not to.
The moment is one of a series of apparent interactions between Harry and William which — at least from Harry's perspective — paint an increasingly unhappy picture of their relationship.
Elsewhere in the documentary, Harry claimed he had a "terrifying" encounter with William at January 2020 summit at Sandringham where the Sussexes future role was discussed.
"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply weren’t true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in", he said.
Watch: Harry describes 'terrifying' moment William screamed at him in front of the Queen
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He also disclosed that the two brothers had once made a pact never to brief the press against each other, as they had seen their father's office do previously.
Harry explained that if a palace press office "want to be able to remove a negative story about their principle, they will trade and give you something about someone else's principle. So the offices end up working against each other."
It is something Harry claims he and his brother had "promised" never to allow to happen in their own teams, with the duke describing it as "heartbreaking" when William's aides leaked against him.
While Harry clarified he wasn't asking if his brother condoned it, he wanted to know why William had not tried to end the practice.
Harry said he felt 'distant' from his family at the 2020 Commonwealth Day Service, one of his last royal engagements. (Getty Images)
"What I am asking is have you [William] have done anything to stop it? And the answer is no. William and I both saw what happened in our Dad's office and we made an agreement we would never let that happen".
Harry also discussed when he saw his family at the Commonwealth Day service in 2020, one of the couple's last engagements before stepping away from the UK for good.
"It's like living through a soap opera", Harry said, "where everybody else views you as entertainment [...] I felt really distant from the rest of my family, which was interesting because so much of how they operate is about what it looks like rather than what it feels like".
Yahoo News UK understands that neither Buckingham nor Kensington Palace will comment on the documentary. By Emma Mackenzie, Yahoo News
Frankline Ogonji Opiyo. Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
A former military officer is seeking justice after he filed allegations against detectives for locking him up for a year in a dark cell without being taken to court.
Mr Frankline Opiyo Ogonji claims that he was abducted by people he claims were senior security officers, who bundled him into a waiting vehicle, and drove him to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters on the busy Kiambu Road.
Efforts to reach the Kenya Defence Forces and DCI for the last two weeks have been futile as mobile phone messages and emails have gone unanswered.
He said that he received death threats from those who held him incommunicado and that he now wants the matter exposed and those involved arrested.
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Mr Opiyo has reported the matter to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the National Assembly, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Defence Council in the Ministry of Defence.
IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori told the Nation her team has started investigations into the allegations.
IPOA
"The Independent Policing Oversight Authority is seized of the mentioned matter, which is under active investigation," she said. "In conclusion, the IPOA will make appropriate recommendations for relevant agencies to address the matter."
The tribulations of Mr Opiyo, who gave his military service number as 109256, started on May 30, 2019, when he was accused of stealing foodstuff from their work store and being absent without official permission. Earlier on the same day, Mr Opiyo had requested his annual leave, which was approved to start from the following day to July 1, 2019.
Before proceeding on his leave, Mr Opiyo said he left his vehicle in the care of a corporal after he requested to use the vehicle since he was expecting guests for the upcoming Madaraka Day celebrations.
He left Nanyuki around 9pm with his cousin, with whom he was travelling to Butere. He, however, claims he made a stopover to hand over the car keys to the corporal.
The two arrived in Butere at 5am the following day and later received a text message on his phone from a new number.
"By refusing to come, you are making matters worse; either come and be dismissed uendelee na maisha yako (go on with your life), or refuse to come, become a deserter, and end up in Kamiti (Maximum Prison) once arrested. (The) choice is yours," the message he received read.
Left his vehicle
Mr Opiyo says he tried getting hold of the officer he had left his vehicle with, but it was all in vain.
He returned to his station on June 11, 2019, where he was arrested and asked to record a statement. He was accused of going against good order and service discipline, which was against Section 121 of the KDF Act 2012, and of being absent without permission, which was against Section 75(1)(a) of the KDF Act.
Mr Opiyo was found guilty on both counts. On count one, he was dismissed from military service. On count two, he was sentenced to serve 14 days in prison, a sentence to be served at a guardroom in the Kenya Army Camp at Nanyuki.
Upon completing his sentence, Mr Opiyo was given his dismissal letter on July 1, 2019.
He also left with a letter of recommendation indicating that he was a hard-working service member who could work for any civilian organisation that needed him. The letter was signed on July 4, 2019.
Mr Opiyo returned home until February 2020, when he got his first job as a civilian with a security services company, until September 2020, when his contract ended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During this time, Mr Opiyo said she wrote three letters to his former employer to seek redress.
In May 2021, Mr Opiyo, who had left Nairobi, returned after getting a job with another security services company based in Parklands, Nairobi, and started work on May 17, 2021.
Mr Opiyo, who still protests his innocence, sought the services of Swaka Advocate to take his case against the military to the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Milimani after he got paid for the days he worked in May.
Seek redress
His lawyers filed civil case number 1026 of 2021 on June 3, 2021, after his efforts to seek redress bore no fruit.
But he said this seems to have been the beginning of a fresh round of trouble. In a statement seen by Nation, Mr Opiyo said that he was kidnapped on August 1, 2021, outside the offices of a security services company along Waiyaki Way. He had apparently received a call from someone who identified himself as the operations manager at the company.
"I received a phone call from an unknown number, from someone who introduced himself as the operations manager. He told me that he had information that I was in search of a better job and that they were also in search of a supervisor. He instructed me to visit their offices located near Safaricom's headquarters in Westlands immediately. I then rode to their office,” he said, adding that he parked his motorcycle in the company’s compound.
The former KDF officer said he was kidnapped immediately after he left the security company’s offices for a nearby shop.
Mr Opiyo alleges in his complaint filed with IPOA that the officers who kidnapped him were working under the orders of a senior military officer, whose identity we cannot reveal due to the matter's sensitivity.
He said they took away his two mobile phones, Sh8,000, an A4 envelope containing his documents and his shoes, among other things.
"I was then taken to DCI headquarters remand cells, where I was illegally held from August 1, 2021, to September 11, 2022, because of the illegal orders," he told the Nation in reference to his complaint filed at the civilian oversight authority. "During my stay, I was treated inhumanely, degradingly, and unfairly."
A missing person report for Mr Opiyo was recorded at Parklands Police Station by Ms Emmy Musimbi under Occurrence Book (OB) number 28/21/8/2021. Ms Musimbi was then working for the security services company that had employed Mr Opiyo.
A missing person report
Samuel Marwa, who used to work with Mr Opiyo, said that a missing person report was made after Mr Opiyo's motorbike was found abandoned in Nairobi’s Kibera area.
"We looked for him for close to a month. His phone was also off. We then got a communication from the company saying that the motorcycle had been found in Kibera. Initially, the company thought he had stolen the motorcycle, but when the bike was found, we wondered where he was," Mr Marwa said.
The former officer alleges in his complaint that his woes started after filing a civil case against the military through his advocate at the Milimani Employment and Labour Court asking to get his job back. He also sought to clear his name over claims that he was the mastermind of theft and did not make himself available to the military authorities when he was required.
In his complaint, Mr Opiyo has also gone further and claimed there were three attempts to kill him while in “illegal” custody in a cell. On the first attempt, he points a finger at three detectives. On January 21, 2022, he said he had survived the second attempt on his life.
"They placed a knife on my private parts and neck with the intention to chop them off. All this time, they had handcuffed my hands to the back," he said.
On August 11, 2022, he alleges that he survived another attempt to eliminate him —but the would-be killers, who he claims were DCI officers-- murder attempt, which was headed by a team of seven detectives, received a phone call asking them to abort the mission.
Mr Opiyo said that he was forced to sleep on a cold floor while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, and his legs were always chained to a log.
On September 11, 2022, the people he alleges were DCI detectives picked him up at night; they blindfolded him, and the roadside dropped him near Parklands Police Station, and they handed him Sh2,000.
Detained him
The ex-KDF officer only managed to seek medical attention to treat wounds on his arms and legs that he got after those who detained him allegedly tied him during the time he was detained.
He was treated at the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospitaleight days later, on September 19, 2022.
"It took me a long time to seek medical attention because my NHIF card was inactive, and I did not have any money. I had to get in touch with my mother, who asked my brother to send me money for my treatment."
A medic who checked his records told us that the results from his hospital visit showed low iron levels. “There a prescription with an antibiotic allergy and pain killer,” the doctor said.
A man who we cannot name for legal reasons also alleges he was detained in a cell adjacent to Mr Opiyo’s and stayed there for eight months before his release.
"Mr Opiyo found me there, and we stayed together but in adjacent cells for close to eight months. I was released just before the elections. While there, we would pray a lot together,” the man told Nation, adding that they would regularly assist each other in remembering the days of the months.
Amnesty International Kenya's Executive Director Irungu Houghton called on the relevant authorities to investigate the allegations.
"Former Kenya Defence Forces officer and former Missing Person Frankline Opiyo's allegation that the Directorate has unlawfully held him for criminal investigation for close to a year deserves swift attention by the authorities.
Our laws do not permit the secret detention of security officers or civilians without trial or access to lawyers and families. We call on the KNCHR (Kenya National Commission on Human Rights), Internal Affairs Unit, and IPOA to verify these claims and take the appropriate action," said Mr Houghton.
Uganda’s military on Tuesday confirmed that at least two civilians have died in the latest attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, while 15 militants were killed as they attempted to cross River Semliki near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ADF rebels were attempting to launch attacks and raid villages in Ntoroko District in the western part of the country.
Col Deo Akiiki, the deputy army spokesperson, told The EastAfrican that the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) intercepted an attempted raid by the ADF fighters on December 12, resulting in some of the rebels drowning while others were killed.
“Yesterday (Monday), we picked up intelligence and monitored a group of 20-30 ADF rebels trying to cross River Semliki. We repulsed them, and as we speak, many have been put out of action,” he said, adding that the militants were stopped before they could mount a serious raid on civilians.
“Some drowned in the river and others were killed. So far there are 15 bodies of rebels,” he explained.
In the ensuing combat, one UPDF soldier and two civilians, whose details could not be immediately established, were also killed, Col Akiiki added.
He refuted reports that many civilians, including children, were killed during the attack, while hundreds of others fled their villages.
Late on Tuesday, Operation Shujaa’s joint commander, Maj Gen Dick Olum, revealed that UPDF killed 17 rebels while 13 were captured and 15 guns recovered.
But local leaders and reports continue to dispute the UPDF account, saying that at least 19 civilians were killed in the Monday morning attack by ADF, after footage emerged showing several dead bodies of non-combatants strewn in the swampy banks of River Semliki.
Gunfire
“It is true that ADF rebels have attacked my sub-county and up to now, there is gunfire exchange between ADF and UPDF. The injured have been taken to Rwamabale [Health Centre]. Other locals are running to Rwebisengo seeking refuge,” Mr Bagonza told Monitor.
The ADF is a Ugandan but Islamist militant rebel group that uses eastern Congo as its base. It was established in 1996 and has carried out several bomb attacks inside Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the most recent being in October and November last year where at least five people were killed.
The ADF operates in eastern Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces, where Uganda deployed the Mountain Brigade in Operation Shujaa, jointly with the DRC government to hunt down, fight and uproot the rebel group from its bases. - JULIUS BARIGABA, The EastAfrican
Urgent actions are needed to prevent trafficking, ensure assistance and protection, and accountability.[iStockphoto]
A United Nations human rights expert on Wednesday called on South Sudan to strengthen prevention measures and improve protection and support for victims of human trafficking.
Urgent actions are needed to prevent trafficking, ensure assistance and protection, and accountability, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons Siobhan Mullally said.
“At this junction of peacebuilding and state-building in South Sudan, urgent action to prevent trafficking in persons and to protect survivors, especially women and children, is crucial,” Mullally told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
She said internal displacement as a result of conflict and violence, coupled with climate-induced displacement, gender inequality, and limited access to education, increases the risk of trafficking, including child recruitment and marriage, sexual exploitation, forced labour, and domestic servitude.
“Prevention of trafficking in persons for all purposes of exploitation and protection of survivors to ensure a human rights and survivors-centred response to trafficking in persons are paramount,” Mullally said.
The UN expert concluded a 10-day visit to South Sudan, where she examined trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and child and forced marriage, including among refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees.
Mullally visited Juba, Bentiu, and Nimule, and met representatives of the government, law enforcement, UN officials, civil society, and survivors of trafficking in persons. Xinhua
National Assembly during one of the sessions. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]
Globally, it is estimated that there are more than a billion (persons with disabilities) PWDs. According to the 2019 census, 900,000 Kenyans have some form of disability, majority of them women. The rights of PWDs are recognised in the Constitution. It grants them equal rights, opportunities and participation in the society.
However, in reality these people continue to experience systemic exclusion from mainstream governance and development processes. This exclusion has been acute in the areas of political representation in both elective and appointed positions. Political parties have failed to provide a conductive environment for PWDs to engage in active politics. This was witnessed in the recent Bungoma senatorial by-election and in the the August 9 General Election.
Kenya should reflect on progress made in electoral reforms and to address the persistent gaps. Although no official post-election audit has been published yet, the wheels are already rolling. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was tabled before the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee by Kenya Kwanza party.
This came after the president declared the positions of the commission’s chairman and two commissioners, who will retire in January 2023, vacant. The amendment seeks to alter the composition of the recruitment team by reducing political parties’ slots to two from the present four.
One issue that has not captured much attention is the cry of PWDs over their sidelining in nominative and elective positions. Equality and inclusion are key priority areas in Kenya’s national agenda. Yet, support to ensure all voices are heard during the political processes remains weak.
As the country celebrates a record seven women being elected governors, the same cannot be said about PWDs. This is seen in the proportion of PWDs representation in the Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) and the county assemblies that stood at 1.9 per cent in the 2017 elections and about 2.0 per cent in the 2022 elections. This is below the legal requirement.
The slight increase is mainly due to increase in the number of elected PWDs from three in 2017 to seven in 2022. Initiatives towards disability inclusion ahead of the elections also saw the number of registered PWD voters increase by 5.4 per cent from 0.14 million in 2017 to 0.16 million in 2022.
According to Article 54(2) of the Constitution, at least 5 per cent of members of the public in elective and appointive bodies should be PWDs.
The Constitution provides for nominative seats to address any imbalances in elective seats. The Senate and the National Assembly have upheld the legal requirement by nominating two PWDs in both houses in the last two elections. The largest gaps still exist at the county level where the number of county assembly that did not nominate PWDs increased from 17 in 2017 to 21 in 2022. Protests by PWDs across the counties were ignored and their threats to block swearing-in ceremonies until their nomination grievances were heard did not materialise.
IEBC rejected a list of nominated persons submitted by political parties in June due to failure to meet the two-thirds gender rule and inclusion of Special Interest Groups (SIGs). It further directed the political parties that, for nomination of the SIGs, the county assemblies must have eight names of the SIGs with the same qualification as the elected candidates.
IEBC has limited powers to order investigations and prosecution over such offences. As such, political parties often ignore directives from the commission. Even for those that abide by the directives, instances of PWDs being short-changed have been reported. This is evident in the Kenya Gazette notices that show amendments to the names previously submitted for consideration.
There is also over-representation of one category of special interest groups (women) in the county assemblies, leaving out PWDs. As various actors commend Kenya for the progress made, it is timely to address the critical knowledge gaps within political parties to create and promote more inclusive political discourse, political commitments and public policymaking.
In order to understand the constraints to PWDs representation in political processes, several post-election audits have been conducted. The conclusions are that their political representation is minimal because of various cultural and structural barriers. An audit on the 2017 elections revealed that approximately 150 aspirants with disabilities competed in the party primaries in April 2017. Out of this, only 29 (0.2 per cent) out of 14,523 candidates ran for political seats. This shows that the demand for the seats among PWDs is high but barriers limit their progression. A second audit indicated that physical and communication barriers and societal attitudes posed greater challenges to their political participation.
Establishment of accountability mechanisms can lead to increased political participation of PWDs and, consequently, result in progress towards a more disability inclusive public policy. Exclusion of PWDs is not an issue that is peculiar to Kenya but Kenya can learn from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ecuador, and Peru where PWDs have held the highest office. In Uganda, PWDs are elected through an electoral college system at all levels, giving influence which has resulted in disability-friendly legislation. The success of Uganda’s approach to PWDs inclusion has seen the country record among the highest numbers of elected representatives with disabilities in the world.
When PWDs participate in political and public life, their voice is heard and reflected in policy decisions. Inclusivity principles in the party leadership and decision-making structures should be applied to attain the legal threshold. Ms Jattani is an economist. Mr Ochieng is a communications practitioner By Darmi Jattani and Oscar Ochieng |The Standard
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