Who Starts an Inter Tribal Conflict Only to Kill their Own Kinsmen

Since 30^th June 2014 the media has been awash with reports of violence and death in Bundibugyo and Kasese districts. Allegedly it is a tribal conflict between the bakonzo and bamba-bawisi in Bundibugyo and bakonzo, basongoro-banyabindi in Kasese. Although the death toll has been shooting up since Saturday from 65 on Saturday alone to around 90 by 08^th July 2014, with both civilian and security personel as victims, reports indicate that majority of the arrested suspects and the dead are the bakonzo who are at the same time being branded the attackers.

So much has been said to explain, justify or potray the attackers as bakonzo, ranging from their bitterness over government’s formal recognition of the Obudingiye bwa bwamba, government’s continued support of the minority basongora (cattle keeping community) over the majority bakonzo (cultivators) coupled with their undisputed efforts by government to install their cultural leader within another kingdom (rwenzururu kingdom) and the attempt of the banaybindi to commemorate their dear ones who lost their lives during the rwenzururu movement (even when it is not very clear if there were any banyabindi in the struggle). 

Irrespective of all this, i strongly believe this is not an inter-tribal conflict, somebody somewhere is just doing their ‘thing’ and taking advantage of the tribal tension in the region; if it is not to divide the overtime peaceful region and co-existing communities for their own selfish reasons, then it is a new rebel force coming up in the region. It doesn’t matter whether Government believes it or not (of course they already have chosen not to even think about it), government is simply taking sides, refusing and or failing to face reality if you asked me, (i hope it will not be too late when they eventually do). It is absurd that our very own government and key politicians have hurriedly declared the bakonzo as the attackers targeting the bamba, and basongora simply because the attackers spoke lukonzo. But i ask, why would someone conclude that the attackers were bakonzo just because they spoke the language?

Many people from Kasese or those that carefully follow the events around the tribal disagreements there will agree with me that the bakonzo are very patient and tolerant people, who have often remained calm amidst several provocative speeches and actions from their adversaries. Many times i should say their capacity has been underestimated and patience taken for granted so much so that they are now being accused of starting and fuelling a tribal conflict in which they kill their own kinsmen instead of the enemy...SURELY WHO DOES THIS??? 

Several other things defeat this tribal conflict gospel, for example, why would the attackers launch attacks on the security facilities instead of their adversaries...or do they mean to say that the launch of attacks on the government security authorities and not the enemy now amounts to a tribal conflict? Somebody educate me here. How about civilians with machetes and spears fiercely taking on trained security personnel to a level of killing a good number of them or attempting to attack a barracks and disarm soldiers.  And if the bakonzo in Kasese on this particular Saturday were protesting to the banyabindi’s function organized in Muhokya, why would the attacks be launched on security personnel and non banyibindi civilians in a completely different sub county and constituency? Shouldn’t all these events even insinuate that the problem is bigger than government is preferring to look at it?

If the bakonzo did not attack and kill the bamba and bawisi on the day of the coronation of their cultural leader and also managed to stay calm during and several weeks after, why would they now ‘rise up against’ the bamba. The bakonzo cultural leader Omusinga, Charles Wesley Mumbere Iremangoma whom they hold with high regard , commissioned a peace team to foster peace and reconciliation between the Bakonzo and Bamba/Bawisi, following misunderstandings that arose from the recognition of the Obudingya bwa Bwamba (Bwamba Kingdom) and  this had apparently ushered in sanity and co-existence. So for one to say the bakonzo attacked in retaliation to the above is not satisfying enough and shouldn’t be advanced as a reason for the tribal conflict especially when reports also indicate that no mwamba was attacked and killed.

Police say, most of the people killed in the attacks in Kasese and Bundibugyo were veterans and that the same veterans are the master minds behind the on-going violence. Actually two veterans who also serve as cultural leaders in the rwenzururu kingdom, Misaali Mukwenda and Jeremiah Mutoro, the deputy Prime Minister of the Obusinga were arrested on 07^th June 2014 under suspicions that the dual have information that can lead the police and army to those behind the attacks. SURELY...Is this how government rewards the veterans’ dedicated service to this country and patience after its continued failure to pay them? Who doesn’t know the role veterans played in this government and how they have since never been fully rewarded for their faithful service.

Lastly the attacks in three districts of the Rwenzori region in a span of one month or less, have quite a deal of similarities, some of which include attackers being casually dressed (not in uniform), and the random killing among others. My question is if the two attacks in Kasese and Bundibugyo are tribal how then do they explain the Kyegegwa attack? Because apparently, with similar attacks in other places, the earlier on explanation given for Kyegegwa doesn’t seem to hold water any more.

Could this be a game of Politics versus culture? Is someone practically fuelling the cultural differences in the region to achieve their political agenda? Is government fearing and also failing to face or declare the truth? Are the bakonzo really as bad as the media and government are depicting them or they are just victims of circumstance? 

I SPEAK FOR MY PEOPLE; We might sometimes be violent, yes, or even have elements of violence in us because we are human but am certain that we are also very good, peace loving, accommodative and tolerant people who are just unfortunate victims of circumstance in this particular case. May the souls of the deceased Rest in Peace and May Christ the author of peace restore peace, sanity and co-existence in the Rwenzori region and also take away this cup of allegations from the bakonzo.  

Habwa Kayingo no’businga Bwa Rwenzururu!

IMPROVING ACCESS TO JUSTICE AT THE GRASSROOT USING THE REFERAL MODEL.

Human rights violations is wide spread across many countries, and to a great extent, this is an impediment to development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.  This threatens the rights and well-being of humans and can only be eliminated by promoting respect and observance of human rights, and ensuring that the victims of human rights violations receive redress/ justice. Available programme data indicates that a significant number of individuals suffer from violence in silence with little or no recourse to justice, care or support.  Fear, shame and stigma among others have often prevented human rights victims especially women and children from seeking assistance or taking action against perpetrators – husbands, relatives and friends among others. In most situations, perpetrators evade prosecution due to a combination of weak laws and judicial processes that fail to hold them accountable; social and political disorder; and lack of impartiality or functioning of judiciary or police. This impunity sends a message that abuse of human rights is partly acceptable or the norm reinforces inequalities as well as being a denial of justice[1].

The word referral means to recommend someone to consult the professional person referred to. It can also mean the act of forwarding someone to an appropriate person or institution for help. The referral system has among others proven an effective model in addressing limited access to justice by the human rights victims.  In this case, cases of human rights abuses are reported to the responsible authorities for further action depending on the gravity of the case to ensure justice is granted. This process is facilitated and or guided by community resource persons commonly referred to as paralegals, volunteers, reflect facilitators, human rights activists or watch dogs. Community resources persons are individuals identified within communities and trained on human rights; the different types, forms of abuses, reporting and redress. These in turn support the community to know their rights, where and how to report cases of human rights violation. The rationale for developing and using referral systems is to promote a holistic approach to supporting victims of violence through a range of services including physical safety and shelter, legal, health and social services, and psychosocial counseling. They may also include links to services that further the victim’s economic empowerment.

In the bid to address this challenge of limited access to justice, Independent Development Fund (IDF) through its Grantees identified, and supported community based resource persons that provide (d) legal support, referrals and follow up rights violations for redress especially for the poor and marginalized populations (children, women, widows and the elderly, juveniles and other vulnerable groups) in the different project areas.  Additionally, the funded projects also support and work with the local leaders, Police, Prison Officers and judiciary to provide legal support and guidance on the operation and functionality of the justice system.

 How it works:

The resource persons educate/sensitize the community on their human rights, forms of rights abuses and how to deal with the abuses/violations; that is, how and where to report. The victims in return share their ordeals with the community resource persons who record them and later provide advice and guidance on where to report depending on the violation. They then support the victims to file their cases with the respective concerned authorities and in most cases follow up the cases until a logical conclusion is reached.

For example IDF supported Grantees from different project locations referred 9841cases of human rights violations to authorities during the period July 2013 to May 2014.

Referrals per quarter for the period July 2013/ May 2014[2]

Precisely, the IDF supported projects have worked to increase access to justice and observance of the rights of women, children and vulnerable persons in conflict with the law. This was a result of the increased civic awareness and consciousness on the existing laws and procedures of accessing justice and rights protection for human rights abused victims. This has further contributed to observance of the rights of the poor and vulnerable persons, including decongestion of prisons and children in remand homes. IDF Grantees that greatly contributed to this are World Voices (WVU), Guu Foundation Community Based Rehabilitation (GUFO), Uganda Community Based Association For Child Welfare (UCOBAC), Community Awareness And Response On Aids (CARA), Companionship Of Works Association (COWA), Hope after Rape (HAR), African Prisons Project (APP), Gulu Women Economic Development & Globalisation (GWED-G), Africa International Christian Ministry (AICM) and Youth And Women In Action (YAWIA).

In Lira, GUFO working with Reflect Facilitators in the three hard pressed sub-counties of Amach, Aromo and Ogur were able to address 34 land conflicts and violent evictions. As a result the previously affected women are in position to testify to ownership of the land.

CARA, another IDF Grantee also notes that as per the baseline findings at the start of the Human rights project in 2011, people were ignorant on the channels of reporting or handling human rights violations; i.e only 10 cases of women rights violations had been reported in a period of 3 months, however by the end of the project Arpil 2014 there was an increase in the number of cases reported on human rights violations. Graph representing the trend in reporting of cases of violence against women

 At least 80% of the community members and the children had known where, how and when to report what conflict. Through capacity enhancement of police and prisons on the operation and functionality of the justice system, IDF has noted an increase in the number of prisoners getting bail in Apac and Oyam prisons, thus leading to the prisons getting decongested.

The IDF Grantee (APP) implementing the “Promotion of the rights of access to justice and healthcare of prisoners in Oyam and Apac districts” project documented a total 314 (285 Males and 29 females) inmates that had secured Bail, had their cases dismissed or given community service in the 8 prisons. They also succeeded in securing sureties for 265 inmates between December 2013 and April 2014.

In the case of the juvenile offenders, COWA implementing the “Promotion of child rights through advocacy, legal support and education” project in Wakiso district has contributed to access to justice through the collaboration with the remand homes and the community where the juveniles come from. Approximately 32 juveniles (30Males, 2 females) have been helped out of the Naguru remand home between March and April 2014.

                            Distribution of referrals per thematic focus

Conclusively, the use of the referral model has contributed to the increase of civic awareness on human rights and channels of reporting human rights violations, which to a great extent has led to the reduction in the number of human rights violation cases. This suggests that the use of the referral model has the potential to increase access to justice, respect, fulfillment and observance of human rights particularly at the community level justice, respect, fulfillment and observance of human rights has increased.

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[1] Community of Practice in Building Referral Systems for Women Victims of Violence, Mary Jennings, May 2010.

[2] This information is generated from the grantee monthly data returns and quarterly progress reports to IDF.

16 facts for Day of the African Child on June 16

 Post by A World at School.

Day of the African Child is on June 16 - when events will be held on the continent and around the world. Here are 16 things you should know about this day and why children's rights in Africa are so vital.

1. The June 16 annual event honours the memories of students who were massacred in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 for protesting against education injustice and inequality in the apartheid regime.

2. It was designated as Day of the African Child in 1991 by the African Union and every year events are organised to promote children's rights.

3. This year's theme is "Right to participate: let children be seen and heard".

4. Thirty million of the world's 57million children out of school are in sub-Saharan Africa.

5. The biggest event this year is a youth takeover of the Africa Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 500 young people from countries all over the continent.

6. On June 16, there will be 560 days left until the Millennium Development Goals deadline of the last day of 2015 - MDG2 was to ensure that all children in the world are in school and learning.

7. The Day of the African Child theme last year was "eliminating harmful social and cultural practices affecting children: our collective responsibility".

8. One in six children born in sub-Saharan African do not live to their fifth birthday - even though child mortality fell by 45% between 1990 and 2012.

9. More than 100 events in more than 40 countries are being held around the world to mark Day of the African Child and Youth Action Month.

10. A campaign to end child marriage across Africa was launched in May by the African Union. One in three girls in low and middle-income countries are married by the age of 18.

11. One of the aims of the Day of the African Child is to highlight harmful practices such as genital mutilation. Thirty million girls in Africa are in danger of undergoing FGM in the next decade.

12. The poorest children in sub-Saharan Africa are four and a half times more likely to be out of school than the richest children.

13. By the year 2050 almost one in three of the world's children under 18 will be African.

14. The children of African women with at least five years of schooling have a 40 percent higher chance of survival.

15. UNICEF and partners have secured the release of more than 1000 children from armed groups in the Central African Republic this year, more than five times the total number of children released in 2013.

16. There are wide variations in school enrolment between African countries - ranging from 37% for boys and 34% for girls in Eritrea to 98% for both boys and girls in Tanzania.

FAMILY MEN ROLE MODELS REUNITE SEPARATED COUPLE

Mr. Ochola Alfred and Adoch Lilly of Gwengdiya have been married for six years. Ochola however is a reknown drunkard and wife barterer in the village. Ochola often abuses and barters his wife Adoch when she fails to serve him meat from the 2000shs he leaves behind for meals, and for also “failing” to give him a male child. Ochola and Adoch have two girl children, whose education Ochola has refused to support.  

This had been the life of Ochola and Adoch until December 2013 when Adoch got tired of being abused and hit back at Ochola. Adoch beat Ochola thoroughly in the presence of their neighbors and friends. Embarrassed, Ochola chased his wife and children out of his compound asserting that no one tells him to do in his home.

Although Ochola and Adoch’s marital issues had been heard by the Local Council 1 Committee several times, the leaders and elders were particularly disturbed this time that Adoch was being forced out of her marital home and that the children’s schooling was being disorganized.  In the bid to put an end to this domestic violence, the leaders and elders of Gwengdiya village sought the help of men role models. These are family men known to have stable marriages and have significantly been helping other couples in settling their marital differences. 

The men role models reached out to Ochola who however dodged them several times before they finally got hold of him and shared about his situation. Mr. Okwera Geoffrey, Chairperson of the men role models shared his own experience with Ochola and also counseled him. Geoffrey mentioned that having realized the benefits of living in a domestic violence free home, he chose to join the Gulu Women Economic Development&-Globalization (GWED-G) team of advocates for women rights.  Ochola

A happy  Adoch carrying water to her home

chose to change and also joined the community counseling and dialogue sessions that have since helped him realize the importance of family. 

  Since then, Ochola now testifies to the community about the benefits he received from the men role models counseling and dialogue sessions which enabled him to reconcile with his wife and children. Ochola and Adoch have reconciled and are now living a happy life. Ochola is also a member of the men role model group. 

Ochola sharing his testimony with GWED-G staff

PEER EDUCATORS RESTORE BROKEN FAMILY

According to Mrs. Akuguzibwe Phiona a peer educator in Kanshenyi Village, Rukondo Parish, Nyakishana Sub County, alcohol drinking has become a lifestyle in Buhweju district. Men and women spend hours in local bars drinking from morning to evening. Accordingly, the men start their beer parties as early as 8:00am with no regard to work. Only to return home in the evenings, demanding for food from their wives. Failure to provide this food or any complaints about a man’s drinking habit only earns the woman a beating or even being chased from the home. So is the life in Buhweju district.

Bihererrahi Savino of Akakombe Trading Centre is one of the men that had been living such a life style until Community Awareness and Response on Aids (CARA) with support from IDF intervened into his appalling family situation. Savino sold 90% of his land and drunk the money. He also chased his wife away because she had refused to sign on the land sale agreement. He swore never to bring her back to his home ever again. In the absence of their mother Savino married off his two daughters at 15 years each. He additionally refused to send any of his children to school claiming he had no money.

One day three peer educators of the area Kaboneire Davidic, Akuguzibwe Phiona and Adrine went to visit Savino about the matter. They educated him about women and children rights and also prayed with him. Savino repented his bad ways and promised to be a better man. First he went and brought back his wife and also promised to stop drinking and to send his children to school. The couple is now living happily and their last born is in school at Katiba Primary School.

TEN WORDS TO CUT FROM YOUR WRITING

Shanna Mallon

As Mark Twain famously wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” His point? Strong writing is lean writing.

When you want to make your writing more powerful, cut out words you don’t need – such as the 10 included in this post:

1. Just: The word “just” is a filler word that weakens your writing. Removing it rarely affects meaning, but rather, the deletion tightens a sentence.

2. Really: Using the word “really” is an example of writing the way you talk. It’s a verbal emphasis that doesn’t translate perfectly into text. In conversation, people use the word frequently, but in written content it’s unnecessary. Think about the difference between saying a rock is “hard” and “really hard,” for example. What does the word add? Better to cut it out to make your message stronger.

3. Very: Everything that applies to “really” applies to “very.” It’s a weak word. Cut it.

4. Perhaps/maybe: Do you want your audience to think you’re uncertain about what you’re saying? When you use words like “maybe” and “perhaps,” uncertainty is exactly what you’re communicating.

5. Quite: When someone uses “quite,” he or she either means “a bit” or “completely” or “almost.” Sometimes the word adds meaning; sometimes it’s fluff. Learn to tell the difference–but, when in doubt, cut it out.

6. Amazing: The meaning of “amazing” is causing great wonder or surprise – but some writers use the word so often that the meaning gets lost. How can something be amazing if everything is? Ditch this diluted word.

7. Literally: When something is true in a literal sense, you don’t have to add the word “literally.” The only reason it makes sense to use the word is when it clarifies meaning (i.e., to explain you aren’t joking when it seems you are).

8. Stuff: Unless you are aiming at informality, don’t use the word “stuff.” It’s casual, it’s generic, and it usually stands in for something better.

9. Things: Writers use the word “things” to avoid using a clearer, more specific word that would communicate more meaning. Be specific. Don’t tell us about the “10 things,” tell us about the “10 books” or “10 strategies.” Specificity makes for better writing.

10. Got: Think of all the ways we use the vague word “got” in conversation: “I’ve got to go,” “I got a ball,” or “I got up this morning.” Though it’s fine for conversation, in writing, “got” misses valuable opportunities. Rather than writing a lazy word, look for clearer, more descriptive language: “I promised I’d leave by 9,” “I picked up a ball,” or “I woke up today,” for example.

Whether you’ve been writing for a few days or for many years, you’ll benefit from evaluating the words you use. Cut the filler to make your writing stronger.