Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a fierce power struggle since April 2023 [Getty]
At least 40 children were killed by bombings over three days in several parts of Sudan, a UNICEF official said Wednesday, calling it a "stark" example of the threats facing young people in the war-torn country.
"Sadly, it is rare that more than a few short days go past without new reports of children being killed and injured," Annmarie Swai, the UN children agency's representative in Sudan, said in a statement.
She referred to strikes in the southern city of Kadugli on Monday which killed 21 children and maimed 29 others, as well as reports of at least 11 children killed in the bombing of a livestock market in El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state.
Eight more children were reportedly killed in a strike on a market near the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Saturday, Swai said.
"At least 40 children reportedly killed across just three days, in three separate areas of the country. This is a stark illustration of the devastating -- and growing -- threats to children in Sudan," she said.
Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a fierce power struggle since April 2023, with the fighting intensifying this month as the army seeks to reclaim the capital.
Both have been repeatedly accused of targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas.
Swai did not say which party was responsible for the deadly bombings on the 40 children.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands and uprooted more than 12 million people.
The United Nations has recorded more than 900 "grave violations" against children between June and December 2024 -- mainly children killed or injured in Darfur, Khartoum and Al-Jazira states.
"Children in Sudan are paying the ultimate price of the relentless fighting," Swai said, calling for all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to cease fighting. The New Arab
NOT so long ago, the Zambian government invited Irene Khan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, to undertake a fact-finding mission to our nation on the alleged human rights violations. Ms. Khan was in the country for 10 days. During her sojourn, the UN rapporteur had an opportunity to interact with inter alia, cabinet ministers, members of parliament, the judiciary, civil society organisations, and the fourth estate – the press and news media. Of course, she also engaged the Republican President, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema at the end of her tour of duty.
If we may put it in her own words; she is the first United Nations Special Procedures mandate holder to visit the country in the last 8 years, and the first-ever civil and political rights mandate holder to be invited to Zambia.
What does this entail?
The New Dawn Administration has got nothing to hide as far as protecting and upholding human rights is concerned otherwise doors would’ve been slammed on her!
We are however perturbed by the assessment of her visit. “My overall observation is stark. Human rights stand at the crossroads in Zambia as the country prepares for general elections in 2026 amid major economic challenges, rising political tensions, and polarisation along ethnic and regional lines…..Laws on criminal libel, seditious practices, insults, hate speech, and cybercrimes are being used to prosecute, punish and silence critical voices and must be repealed or revised,” reads part of her preliminary report.
The UN rapporteur has her facts wrong. We are hopeful she won’t even bother to include this particular segment in her final report as it is totally misleading. If we may summon the words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in June 2019: “Over the past 75 years, hate speech has been a precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide, from Rwanda to Bosnia to Cambodia.”
Guterres was on the right track….hate speech has always been a precursor of the madness of ethnic cleansing wherever it has reared its ugly head. The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers; it had to take somebody to apportion the blame for Germany’s economic woes on the Jews – hate speech. The genocide against the minority Tutsi in Rwanda was precipitated by decades of hate speech exacerbated by ethnic tensions. The Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina was triggered by constant nationalist propaganda throughout party-controlled media channels demonising the Bosnian Muslim population. To give a better context of the repercussions of “hate speech,” though, we shall restrict ourselves to the genocide in Rwanda.
Although the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was ignited by several factors, “propaganda and hate speech” definitely played a significant role. Extremist Hutu groups, particularly the Interahamwe militia, spread hate speech and propaganda using the radio, newspapers, and public rallies to demonise the Tutsi population while calling for their extermination. One particular radio station, RTLM, constantly bombarded listeners with a barrage of hateful propaganda and frequently incited extremist Hutu violence against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Kantano Habimana, a radio announcer, encouraged “those who have guns [to] immediately go to these cockroaches [and] encircle them and kill them…” while his counterpart, Valérie Bemeriki, urged her audience to “not [only] kill those cockroaches with a bullet — [but also] cut them to pieces with a machete”.
Given its considerable influence and massive following, the radio station succeeded in stirring up emotions and fueling enormous hatred against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In the fullness of time, the animosity and tension that had been simmering like a volcano over the years finally erupted like a volcano! During the next 100 days, the streets were littered with corpses – children, the aged, youth, women, and men as voluminous amounts of blood spilled before finding its way to the rivers and turning them red! A record 800, 000 people were exterminated using guns and grenades, and such primitive weapons as machetes, clubs, knives, and spears! These large-scale killings occurred not on the battlefield but in public places such as schools, churches, and markets. In certain instances, homes and buildings were set on fire with several people trapped inside while widespread sexual violence was used as a weapon of war!
This remains a painful reminder to those of us who dwell in Africa of what hate speech can do to a nation if the media or indeed certain individuals are given a ‘blank check’ to say whatever they want; we would be fast drifting towards the Rwanda of the 1990s.
Take for instance, a seemingly inebriated member of parliament who has no qualms making disparaging remarks such as “the villagers of this village are more intelligent than the villagers of that village,” what sort of reaction do you anticipate from common people on the streets? What about an emotional MP who boldly looks into the camera and declares that she belongs to a big tribe that can easily outnumber the police and the military if they took to the streets to protest; isn’t that psyching or inciting members of the public to resort to violence?
The government is in no way ‘weaponising’ any parts of the law to fix perceived opponents; it is a question of maintaining law and order in the land. We shall cite three examples of individuals who have somehow come into conflict with the law in the recent past: a member of parliament, a self-acclaimed civil rights activist, and a journalist.
Independent Member of Parliament for Lumezi, Munir Zulu was arrested and charged for expressing hatred, ridicule or contempt towards persons because of race, tribe, place of origin or colour. The charges came after alleged utterances he made on March 28, 2023, at Longacres Police Post car park, Lusaka after his release from police custody. He asserted as follows, “The villagers of Lumezi, are more intelligent than the villagers of Bweengwa!” This is purely hate speech likely to evoke ill feelings in the affected tribe.
Civil rights activist, Brebnar Changala was arrested and charged by the police for some crude remarks he made concerning the alleged abduction of Emmanuel ‘Jay Jay’ Banda which were considered to be seditious and inciting dissatisfaction against a duly elected government. During his testimony in the Lusaka Magistrates court, a witness adduced that he had watched Changala claim that he had information that the State was recruiting criminals to abduct its citizens. Wouldn’t such remarks make citizens conclude that those in government are indeed terrorists who don’t deserve to continue enjoying power?
Thomas Zgambo fashions himself as a consultant for the online media publication, the Zambian Whistleblower. He was arrested for alleging that the Zambia National Service, an arm of the defense force, was importing “substandard” genetically modified maize from South Africa without informing consumers of any potential harm. Of course, this turned out to be false!
Just in case Ms. Khan has forgotten, in the West, countries such as Germany, Spain, and the United States of America still maintain seditious laws. For example, the rioters who invaded and ransacked Capitol Hill in the States on January 6, 2021, were arrested and charged under the same Laws. In Europe where they seem to be still grappling with issues of race, religion, descent, or ethnic orientation, criminal laws against hate speech are still in place.
Zambians clearly understand what’s better for them. It’s therefore morally wrong for anyone to come and dictate to us what should be included in our statutes or not. Take for instance Munyaule Zambia; a rogue Facebook page. The other day, they published a voice note wherein someone was making disparaging remarks against certain ethnic groups. He singled them as generally having warped minds for choosing to vote in a particular manner.
“You have no brains; you are used to herding cattle in threadbare clothes and gumboots with gaping holes!” he ranted. “Like your forefathers who used to suck blood, you are damn fools and a primitive lot!”
Does Madam Khan surely appreciate the gravity of such sentiments? Does she understand how ordinary people in the Townships or villages are likely to interpret such strong remarks? Bitter seeds of infuriation would already have been planted in people’s minds. It would just be a matter of time before they begin festering like a boil before exploding to unimaginable proportions too ghastly to contemplate!
President William Ruto has ended additional processes in the vetting of people living in border counties before National Identity card registration.
This comes at a time when the president I s currently on a tour of the North-Eastern region.
In his communique, the president says the guidelines and processes of registration will be reviewed regularly.
President William Ruto has ended additional processes in the vetting of people living in border counties before National Identity card registration.
This comes at a time when the president I s currently on a tour of the North-Eastern region.
In his communique, the president says the guidelines and processes of registration will be reviewed regularly.
“Extra requirement for vetting and ethnic profiling to which persons living within border counties are subjected during the registration and issuance of National Identity documents shall be and is hereby discontinued;” he says.
“Persons, Bodies and Authorities within the Republic of Kenya mandated to issue National Identity documents, shall continuously review their guidelines and processes to ensure equitable, fair and transparent process in identification and registration of persons,”
A day before, Ruto had announced plans to reopen a passport office which had been previously closed, He emphasised that the region has been advocating for this development.
“We will open the passport office because it amounts to discrimination. There must be equal access for all citizens to government services, and we want to ensure we walk this journey together,” he said. By Winfrey Owino, The Standard
Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah. [File, Standard]
Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah has criticised the government over its handling of abductions, calling on President William Ruto to address the issue publicly.
Speaking during an interview on KTN, Wajackoyah questioned the silence from the presidency, noting that abductions continue to haunt families across the country.
"Ruto has not made a statement. He should speak on this matter. Muturi came out and spoke, but Ruto has remained silent. If his own son were abducted, how would he react?" Wajackoyah asked.
Wajackoyah, a presidential candidate in the 2022 General Election, referenced historical leaders known for human rights violations, warning that those in power would eventually be held accountable.
"Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko, and even Daniel Arap Moi were responsible for numerous deaths. If you allow people to disappear today, you will be held responsible, whether in this life or the next," he said.
He also took a swipe at MPs, calling them sycophants who follow the president's directives without question.
Wajackoyah criticised the use of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) money, arguing that legislators should focus on oversight rather than managing funds directly.
"CDF should be scrapped. How do you expect a member of parliament to run these funds instead of overseeing them? They should legislate, not manage projects," he said.
Wajackoyah maintained that he was unafraid of speaking out, even if it meant facing arrest. He insisted that the government must be held accountable for the treatment of its citizens. By David Njaaga, The Standard
Some of the concerns include poor service delivery, poor communication, inadequate funding, unclear implementation frameworks, and the already-strained relationship between citizens and the healthcare system.
The National Assembly has directed Health Committee Chairperson Robert Pukose to seek responses on the issues raised by Members of Parliament over the Social Health Authority (SHA) and table responses when the house resumes next month.
On Thursday, Legislators put Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimutai and Social Health Authority (SHA) Board Chairman Abdi Mohamed on the spot over implementation of the new health program.
Key among them were concerns about poor service delivery, poor communication, inadequate funding, unclear implementation frameworks, and the already-strained relationship between citizens and the healthcare system.
During their ongoing mid-retreat in Naivasha, the duo sought to gain the backing of Members of the National Assembly for the SHA registration campaign.
MPs concerns
Leader of the Majority Party, Kimani Ichung’wah, criticized SHA’s inadequate public outreach, pointing out the lack of adequate communication.
Ichung’wah urged SHA to engage vernacular radio stations and simplify messages for better public understanding.
“Your communication is shambolic. MPs are mobilizing Kenyans on their own volition because SHA is failing in its role. If members of Parliament can’t explain the benefits, how do you expect villagers to understand?” he posed.
He also questioned the semi-autonomous agency’s capacity, calling for more accountability and efficiency.
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“You are not communicating with Kenyans, until and unless those from the ministry speak. SHA, these members of parliament are trying on their own volition, to try and mobilize Kenyans to register. So, you tell us what your challenges are?” Ichung’wah stated.
According to him, Parliament enacted laws for SHA, which did not envisage that the PS or the ministry would superintend over the authority.
“The authority is semi-autonomous, and you must show us that you have the capacity and ability to manage the institution. If you are not, you tell us you are not able and then the ministry or the government, or us, ourselves, we can take measure,” he held.
Kabondo Kasipul MP Eve Obara described the program as a “hard sell,” given its financial struggles and lack of transparency.
“My constituents are suffering. There are no services provided under this program. Can the ministry come up with a questionnaire to know where there are challenges in this program to address the challenge of lack of services in our health facilities,” she said.
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris echoed these frustrations, raising concerns about the program’s inclusivity, particularly for people with disabilities.
“Families with disabled children are struggling to register them. What are you doing to address this?” she asked.
Igembe Central MP John Paul Mwirigi decried the lack of services for registered patients complaining that the Taifa Care is not working as most facilities are not catering for patients under the SHA program.
“It is heartbreaking that patients are denied treatment and medication despite being registered,” he lamented.
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“It is hurting that many patients are unable to get service including treatment and purchase of medicine, yet they are registered,” Mwirigi added.
Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi questioned how the Social Health Authority planned to address the funding shortfall and ensure increased public awareness.
“Your presentation is shallow and is not telling is anything at, first, the bulk of benefits in SHA program are inferior to what NHIF was doing,” he lamented
MOH response
Mohamed disclosed that while the Taifa Care program has registered 22 million Kenyans, only four million are active, paid-up members.
Mohamed said that they are working with the ministries and government agencies to budget and remit the outstanding NHIF debts.
He admitted to the funding gaps but assured the MPs that the government was working to address the issue.
“We acknowledge the financial challenges, but we remain committed to ensuring the success of this program. We are exploring partnerships with development agencies to bridge the gaps,” he explained.
The remaining 18 million have yet to contribute, a gap attributed to poor communication, inadequate sensitization, and financial hurdles.
The SHA officials urged MPs to champion the program in their constituencies, emphasizing its potential to provide equitable healthcare access.
They underscored the importance of sensitization of SHA registration and its benefits, emphasizing that increased enrolment would ensure every Kenyan has access to affordable and quality healthcare.
“We are calling on you as leaders to take this message to your constituents. Your endorsement and active involvement are critical to bridging the gap between the government and the people,” said Mohamed said, urging MPs to consider the long-term benefits of the program.
On his part, PS Kimutai reiterated that SHA is transformative and aimed at reducing healthcare burdens on vulnerable populations.
“This is about equity in health services. We are counting on your leadership to make this vision a reality,” he told the MPs.
SHA Acting CEO Robert Ingasira acknowledged challenges in communication and outreach efforts but appealed to MPs to become goodwill ambassadors.
He noted that, despite setbacks, there was room to register more Kenyans and pledged that gaps in service delivery were being addressed.
“I thank all members whom we worked closely together during the festivities to shove up the numbers that now we stand at 22 million members registered under the program. There is still room to register more Kenyans under this program,” said Ingasira. By Irene Mwangi, Capital News
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