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Tanzanian police surround a vehicle belonging to opposition leader Tundu Lissu moments before his arrest in Mbinga district on April 9, 2025.  

Senior Counsel and People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has condemned the recent arrest of Tanzania's opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, describing it as unfortunate, unacceptable, and a form of repression against political competition, particularly in a general election year.

Taking to her official X account (formerly Twitter), Karua criticised the arrest and called on the Tanzanian authorities to release the opposition leader immediately. 

''Release Tundu Lissu. This is an unacceptable repression of competition in an election year,'' Karua wrote.

According to Chadema, Tanzania's main opposition party, Lissu was arrested on Wednesday shortly after he concluded addressing a public rally.

People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua during a past event. 
 

Following the arrest, human rights campaigners accused President Samia Suluhu's government of targeting opposition figures ahead of the national elections set for later this year.

Lissu was charged with treason a day after his arrest, with the charges connected to his nationwide campaign pushing for electoral reform under the slogan "No Reforms, No Election". 

In the "No Reforms, No Election" campaign, Lissu has been demanding that the election body in the country be reconstituted to exclude people who were selected by President Suluhu.

The government is, however, against this campaign, accusing the party leader of rallying people against the elections expected to take place in October, when Lissu is expected to challenge President Suluhu.

This is not the first time Lissu has faced challenges in his campaigns; he survived being shot 16 times during an assassination attempt in 2017.

Lissu has been involved in Tanzanian politics for decades. He first gained prominence in the 1990s as a legal advocate, working on environmental and human rights issues. 

Throughout his career, he has been a vocal critic of alleged government corruption and mismanagement, often clashing with authorities.

Following his arrest, the Tanzanian government has been accused of abuse of power and a lack of political tolerance by the country's lawyers' association. The opposition leader's treason case has been adjourned until April 24. By Christine Opanda, Kenyans.co.ke

Copyright Virginia Mayo/ All rights reserved./Photo Courtesy /Euro News

Belgium has denied claims that it has sent troops to engage rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid a diplomatic spat between Belgium and Rwanda.

News reports and social media posts have been circulating online claiming that Belgium has deployed troops to the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to fight against rebels in the region.

They allege that between 300 and 400 Belgian commandos are expected to engage the M23 rebels alongside the Congolese army and militia groups and that Belgium and the EU in general are supporting the DRC to the detriment of Rwanda.

Belgium however strongly denies the claims and has accused Rwanda of mounting a disinformation campaign, amid rising tensions between Brussels and Kigali that have led to the severing of diplomatic ties.

Rwanda has pointed the finger at Belgium for allegedly taking sides against it in the ongoing conflict in the DRC's east, which has seen violence for more than three decades since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. 

Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot said the online claims were "grotesque fake news."

"A Belgian contingent of 6 (!) soldiers is indeed present in Kindu for the implementation of European support in non-lethal equipment to the Congolese army," he said in a 26 March post on X. "There is therefore NO deployment to take part in any operations whatsoever, and Belgium has no intention of doing so!"

"As for the rest, everything about this tweet rings hollow, as it clearly seeks to stir up trouble and escalate tensions," Prévot added. 

His post came on the same day that he told Belgium's parliament that the claims were made as part of a disinformation campaign brought by Rwanda and "actors sympathetic to the Rwandan cause."

He said the campaign was designed to "undermine Belgium's image, exacerbate tensions and legitimise a certain interventionism."

Counterclaims later emerged online, alleging that eight Belgian troops had died fighting and that numerous military flights between Belgian and Congolese cities had taken place.

But Belgium has issued its own counterclaims: when approached by EuroVerify, the defence ministry referred back to a press release that it published in late March. 

It said that around 10 Belgian soldiers are in Kindu as part of the EU's European Peace Facility project.

"This initiative aims to strengthen the EU's capacity to prevent conflict, consolidate and preserve peace, and enhance international security and stability," the press release said. "The beneficiary partner of this project is the DRC, with funding of €20 million from the EU."

"Belgium is committed to this EPF project in Kindu until December 2027 at the latest," it continued.

Specifically, Belgium's role in the initiative is comprised of two parts, according to the Ministry of Defence: the purchase of equipment, including engineering equipment for the 31st Brigade of Rapid Reaction Units, and infrastructure work at Camp Lwama in Kindu, which houses the same brigade.

It added that Falcon 7X aircraft have flown between Belgium and the DRC, but in the context of separate missions that have nothing to do with a new military deployment.

"It is also important to point out that a Falcon 7X has a maximum capacity of 14 people, and that any deployment of Belgian military personnel as part of an operation must be approved in advance by the government," the defence ministry said.

This is not the first time that the Rwandan government has been accused of launching a widespread disinformation campaign to achieve its aims.

South Carolina's Clemson University Media Forensics Hub released a study in June 2024 in which it found that President Paul Kagame's government was using artificial intelligence to generate and spread political propaganda during the presidential campaign.

It said that hundreds of X accounts shared hundreds of thousands of posts using AI to push different propaganda narratives, most of which centred on the DRC conflict.

Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to our request for comment, while the DRC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't be reached.

Belgium and Rwanda's crumbling relations

Rwanda cut diplomatic ties with Belgium in mid-March over the conflict in the DRC, ordering all Belgian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

It said that doing so would protect its national interests because Belgium had "clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilise against Rwanda in different forums."

Kigali accused Brussels of "pitiful attempts to sustain its neo-colonial delusions", pointing at Belgium's "deep and violent historical role" in the violence in the DRC.

Belgium responded, cancelling all governmental cooperation agreements between the two countries.

It said that it refuted the statements made by Rwanda to justify its decision.

"Belgium is not seeking to punish or weaken Rwanda, still less on the basis of a colonial past from which it distanced itself a long time ago," the foreign affairs ministry said. "This is a complete distortion of the facts."

Kigali has been criticised by countries including Belgium for backing the M23 rebels, who in recent months have seized Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern DRC.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups grappling for control in the mineral-rich region close to the Rwandan border.

The group's fighters claim they are protecting the rights of the region's ethnic Tutsis, but the DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels in a bid to control land in the area, while Belgium has accused it of undermining the DRC's territorial integrity.

The severing of the countries' diplomatic ties came as the EU slapped sanctions on five Rwandans linked to violence in the DRC. By James Thomas, Euro News

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo at a past address. PHOTO/@FaithOdhiambo8/X

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has condemned the conduct of police officers who teargassed students from Butere Girls High School during the National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

In a statement posted on her X account shortly after the incident, Odhiambo said the police action was a brutal overreach and an assault on children’s rights. 

“There is no legitimacy that can be claimed by an administration that attacks its children. The most vulnerable, for whose benefit every decision must be made and every necessary action taken, have been turned into victims of state overreach and police impunity,” Odhiambo noted.

She added that while Kenyans are known to endure many challenges, targeting children engaged in creative, extracurricular activities is a red line.

“The people of Kenya can endure a lot, tolerate as much, and even condone some, but we can never be onlookers as our children are maimed for participating in extracurricular activities that have historically produced and nurtured our best talents,” she stated, calling on the National Police Service to be held accountable.

A post shared by LSK President Faith Odhiambo on Thursday. April 10, 2025, on X. PHOTO/Screengrab by PD Digital from @FaithOdhiambo8
A post shared by LSK President Faith Odhiambo on Thursday. April 10, 2025, on X. PHOTO/Screengrab by People Daily Digital from @FaithOdhiambo8

Human rights group Amnesty International Kenya also joined the growing list of voices condemning the incident. The organization described the police action as a clear violation of children’s rights and freedom of expression.

Teargassed

The students were leaving the festival venue when police lobbed teargas in the direction of their school bus. A video shared online shows terrified students coughing and shielding their eyes and noses from the choking fumes. Moments later, a group of police officers was seen escorting the bus out of the premises.

Butere Girls’ School bus entering Melvin Jones where the Echoes Of War play is expected to be staged. PHOTO/A screengrab by K24 Digital of a video posted by @PropesaTV on X

The incident unfolded after Butere Girls’ drama scriptwriter, former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, was arrested. While the school was still allowed to perform, the students chose instead to sing the national anthem and leave the stage, saying they had been harassed by police and demanding to know Malala’s whereabouts.

“We were harassed by the police. We went to the stage with nothing — no sound, no décor, nothing. So we sang the National Anthem and left,” one student said. 

“We want our director. We are not performing without our director,” several students shouted in unison.

“Where is Mr. Cleophas? We want him. We are not going back to Butere,” they said making it clear that without his presence and proper conditions, their performance would remain indefinitely suspended. By . People Daily

The long war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced millions of people. South Africa could do far more to help them, argues the writer. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

South Africa is better able than most African countries to offer refuge to those displaced by the long war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So why aren’t we doing so?

The fighting in the DRC since 1996, as ethnic wars have spilled over from neighbouring Rwanda, has claimed six-million lives. Since January this year the war has escalated, as rebels supported by Rwandan forces have taken major towns in the resource-rich eastern part of the country.

The DRC itself is home to over half-a-million foreign refugees, mostly from South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Burundi, and Rwanda. Most live in camps outside urban centres, with inadequate access to food, healthcare, shelter, and education.

However, the vast majority of DRC’s refugees are not foreigners but Congolese who have been displaced internally. About 5.6-million Congolese refugees still live within the DRC. Of those, 70% come from the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, where the Rwandan-backed M23 militia are most active.

A further one-million people have fled the country completely, mostly to Uganda, where more than 560,000 DRC refugees are living. Since the flare-up of fighting in 2025, however, most refugees are fleeing to Burundi. Over 65,000 people have crossed the border into Burundi since January, peaking at 9,000 in a single day. In a move welcomed by both the DRC government and the UN, Burundi has granted prima facie (assumed to be true unless proven otherwise) refugee status to DRC asylum seekers.

South Africa’s role

Of the African countries providing asylum to Congolese refugees, South Africa has more resources and a more robust system than most. Yet South Africa has taken in relatively few DRC refugees - with the total at only 45,000 by the end of 2024.

In comparison to the rest of Africa, South African refugee law is relatively liberal. The Refugee Act, in particular, allows freedom of movement within the country, freedom of association, the right to work, and access to healthcare and education.

But public sentiment towards refugees is often less welcoming. Some South Africans view immigrants as a threat, contributing to increased crime rates and burdens to state welfare. The problem is not limited to the general public: xenophobia is an issue in institutions like SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The Human Rights Commission has reported harassment from the police, with immigrants of all sorts, whether they are refugees or economic migrants, exposed to bribery and extortion.

Asylum seekers and refugees have reported xenophobia at the DHA. One particular area of concern is DHA’s handling of asylum seeker visas (also called “section 22 visas”). These visas allow the holder to remain in the country while their refugee status is being determined. The visa is only valid for six months, after which the applicant must re-apply. However, the number of asylum seekers processed has steeply declined over the last decades, according to the Scalabrini Institute. This has created a backlog, meaning people wait for years for a decision on their refugee status. Each time applicants are forced to reappear, they risk xenophobia from officials.

Some applicants have reported being made to have multiple (and illegal) interviews with DHA officers where money is extorted from them. Some applicants for a section 22 renewal are told to leave the country without being given a reason. Asylum seekers have been arrested at DHA offices and forcibly deported. The new Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, takes pride in the number of foreigners deported, boasting that the Department had tripled deportations from 2023.

This makes proper integration into South African society near impossible. Finding regular employment is difficult as employers can’t be sure the applicant won’t be deported. As a result, refugees are forced into the informal labour market, where they aren’t protected by labour law. Congolese refugees have been described as being in a state of “protracted temporariness,” where they cannot be sure of their status and face deportation or imprisonment. This places a huge emotional burden on people who have already been forced to flee their homes.

The South African Constitution provides that everyone in the country, whether they are citizens or asylum seekers, has the right to basic human dignity. Additionally, the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which South Africa is a signatory, requires states to help asylum seekers navigate the asylum process. Yet, as long as xenophobia remains entrenched in the institutions intended to provide assistance, like the DHA and SAPS, vulnerable people will continue to be exploited.

Nick Fabré is a writer at the People’s Legal Centre. Views expressed are not necessarily those of GroundUp.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga. PHOTO/@dkmaraga/X

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has condemned the violent scenes encountered by Butere Girls’ School students, who were set to perform the ‘Echoes of War’ play during the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru County.

Police lobbed teargas at the students, and this act has been condemned by various leaders, the latest being the retired judge, who says the use of force against students is not acceptable. 

“I condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the actions by the police and persons in authority that sanctioned and condoned the recent acts on students of Butere Girls High School at the annual Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival in connection with their school play ‘Echoes of War’.

“The use of force against minors—children who were engaging in a peaceful, creative, and educational activity—is not only unconscionable but also unconstitutional and therefore totally unacceptable. It is a flagrant violation of the Constitution,” Maraga said in a statement on X posted on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

While condemning the state, Maraga cited Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which guarantees every person the right to freedom of expression, including artistic creativity.

“No child should be punished or endangered for thinking critically, speaking boldly, or performing creatively. Silencing students through force and fear is a direct assault on their constitutional rights.

“The authorities responsible for this heinous violation of students’ rights must remember that in due time they will be held accountable. The wheels of justice, though they grind slowly, will surely give us the country we deserve. The perpetrators will be brought to book someday,” he said.

Defending rights

Maraga added that every citizen has a duty to protect the rights guaranteed under the constitution.

“Let us not raise a generation that fears its own voice, especially when they are constitutional guarantees. Let us protect, nurture, and celebrate the courage of our young people—their voices matter. 

“Any responsible citizen of Kenya, therefore, should play their part in protecting and promoting constitutional guarantees,” he concluded.

At the centre stage of the drama is former Kakamega County Senator Cleophas Malalah, who is the play’s scriptwriter.

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