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Contrary to what her special aide and disgraced Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Kofi Adams is telling the world, your authoritative Al-Hajj can confirm that former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is surely forming a new party.
Nana Konadu, also the wife of NDC founder Jerry John Rawlings according to our usually dependable source close to her, has confirmed the formation of her new party when some prominent people with sympathies to the PNDC/NDC called on her over the weekend to persuade her and her husband, Jerry Rawlings to reconsider their antagonistic posturing towards President John Atta Mills.
According to our source, Nana Konadu was quick to retort to the pleas of the statesmen “I have reached a point of no return, I am forming my party and nothing is gonna stop me, it is too late”.
The new party, according to Nana Konadu would be outdoored by the end of this month, June and she has the blessings of her ‘political soulmate’ Jerry Rawlings, who sources said will remain founder and chairman of Council of Elders of the NDC.
The mediators left with disappointment as all their efforts and pleas for NDC unity was rebuffed by the former first lady and her husband.
It will be recalled that The Al-Hajj, in our 31st May, 2012 edition carried a story with the headline; JJ POSTPONES NDP LAUNCH… New Party’s Outdooring now Slated for Ashiama.
In that story we stated that, “the much talked-about and long-awaited inauguration of a new political party, the National Democratic Party (NDP) by the nation’s most stubborn political love birds; former president Jerry Rawlings and wife Nana Konadu, scheduled for the 4th of June this year at Aflao has finally been postponed and shifted to Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region at a date yet to be fixed”.
We also reported that “at the time of going to press, no reason/s has been assigned for the sudden change of arrangement, but what this paper can report is that, a formal launching of the National Democratic Party (NDP) is expected to now take place at Ashaiman, in the Greater Accra region at a date yet to be agreed upon….
“The Al-Hajj has gathered that the postponement and change of venue by the Rawlingses is not unconnected with the disdain and anger amongst the people of the Volta region towards their ‘son’s deviant’ behavior”. Aide to the Rawlingses, Mr. Kofi Adams last week took a swipe at our Managing Editor, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu for allegedly spreading false information about the formation of a new political party by the former first couple. Mr. Adams described The Al-Hajj’s Managing Editor as a liar, most especially as an earlier publication in his newspaper had claimed the Rawlingses were going to launch their new party on June 4th this year, which has elapsed. The former first lady and president of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is expected to be named Presidential Candidate of the NDP and would be partnered by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Alamisi Amidu.
The new party, our information revealed would be chaired by a former leading member of the NDC who is also a former NDC parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso Central Constituency in the Greater Accra Region and a known Rawlings loyalist, Dr. Kwasi Ofei-Agyemang who has openly confirmed that the new party will be formed based on the principles of probity, accountability and social justice.
Mr. Kofi Adams, the suspended deputy General Secretary of the NDC who also doubles as spokesperson of the Rawlingses is set to become the substantive NDP General Secretary whiles Alhaji Nasiru Mohammed, a former spokesman to Spio Garbra picks up the position of National Organizer.
Ms Ingrid Turinawe was heard shouting in pain on video
A Ugandan police officer has been suspended over the alleged sexual assault of an opposition activist, the authorities have said.
Footage shows an officer squeezing the breast of Ingrid Turinawe of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) as she was arrested last week.
“One officer has been suspended pending further investigation,” Internal Affairs Minister James Baba said.
His statement did not say whether the police officer was male or female.
Ms Turinawe, who is the head of the Women’s League of the FDC led by Kizza Besigye, was arrested on Friday as she tried to drive to an opposition rally just outside the capital, Kampala.
Uganda Ingrid Turinawe 'sexual abuse' protesters strip
A group of women have stripped to their bras in protest at the alleged sexual assault by Ugandan police of a high-profile female opposition politician.
Footage shows an officer squeezing the breast of Ingrid Turinawe of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) during her arrest ahead of a rally last week.
Deputy police chief Andrew Kaweesa has apologised, saying the incident will be investigated.
Uganda’s opposition says police regularly harass them during protests.
Since President Yoweri Museveni’s controversial 2011 re-election, there has been a wave of opposition demonstrations – many of which have ended in violence and arrests.
Malawi’s Vice-President Joyce Banda has been sworn in as president following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika.
She becomes southern Africa’s first female head of state after taking the oath before parliament in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe.
Ms Banda, who had been vice-president since 2009, was cheered and applauded before, during and after the ceremony.
Mr Mutharika, 78, went into cardiac arrest on Thursday, although his death was not confirmed until Saturday.
The delay in announcing his death had prompted fears of a power struggle.
There had been speculation that the late president’s inner circle was trying to circumvent Malawi’s constitution to prevent Ms Banda from taking over and instead install his brother, Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika.
Ms Banda had fallen out with Mr Mutharika in 2010 and became one of his fiercest critics. She was expelled from the ruling Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and formed the People’s Party.
She was elected as vice-president in 2009 and Mr Mutharika had failed in his attempts to have her removed from her post.
In taking the oath of office, Ms Banda pledged to “defend and preserve the constitution” and to do right to all manner of people, according to law.
She then asked parliament to stand for two minutes’ silence as a tribute to Mr Mutharika.
Asking Malawians to “focus on mourning our father,” Ms Banda added: “It is with a great sense of humility and honour that I accept the huge responsibility of that the people of Malawi have entrusted me with.”
At present, there are just a handful of MPs in her party but the BBC’s Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says many more are likely to join now that she is president.
On Friday, Information Minister Patricia Kaliati had said Ms Banda could not take over as head of state because she had gone into opposition. The UK, the US and the EU all called on Malawi to respect its constitution.
Appeal for calm
Shortly after Mr Mutharika’s death was confirmed, Ms Banda addressed journalists, flanked by the heads of the army and police, the attorney general and other officials.
She said funeral arrangements would soon be discussed and that 10 days of national mourning would be held.
She also said preparations were being made to bring Mr Mutharika’s body back from South Africa, where he was taken after his cardiac arrest.
Mr Mutharika governed Malawi for eight years, but was recently accused of mismanaging the economy and becoming increasingly autocratic.
He fell out last year with Britain, the former colonial power, which withdrew its direct aid, accusing the Malawian government of mishandling the economy and of failing to uphold human rights.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day.
The country has suffered shortages of fuel and foreign currency since the UK and other donors cancelled aid.
George Clooney has been arrested for civil disobedience during a demonstration outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington DC.
The actor was taking part in a protest to warn of a humanitarian crisis in the volatile border area between Sudan and South Sudan.
His father, Nick, was also detained during the demonstration.
George Clooney is a keen Sudan activist and has made a number of trips to the region.
The Hollywood star, his father and fellow activists were led away in handcuffs after reportedly ignoring repeated police warnings to leave the embassy grounds.
George Clooney gives evidence to US Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Secret Service spokesman George Oglivie told the BBC: “George Clooney was arrested for crossing a police line at the Sudan embassy and he’ll be transported to the Metropolitan police department second district.”
Also arrested, said Mr Oglivie, were Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader; Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern; Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran; and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Ben Jealous.
Clooney’s arrest comes a day after he met President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the Sudan situation.
The actor recently secretly travelled across the border to the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, where his group apparently witnessed a rocket attack.
He told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that what was happening in the region was “ominously similar” to the violence in Darfur.
The UN estimates that nearly 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million been displaced since the Darfur conflict broke out in 2003
A young mother and with her malnourished child at a screening centre in Gamdji. UN Photo/WFP/Phil Behan
16 March 2012 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that more than a million children below the age of five in the Sahel are facing a disaster amid the ongoing food crisis in the drought-prone region of Africa.
They are among the some 15 million people estimated to be at risk of food insecurity in countries in the Sahel, including 5.4 million people in Niger, three million in Mali, 1.7 million in Burkina Faso and 3.6 million in Chad, as well as hundreds of thousands in Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, according to UN figures.
UNICEF stated that the dry, ‘lean’ season in the affected countries is imminent, and will be marked by rising numbers of children in feeding centres who will need life-saving treatment.
“A multiple disaster is stalking children in the Sahel,” said the agency’s Regional Director, David Gressly. “Even in a best case scenario we are expecting more than a million children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition to enter feeding centres over the next six months.
“More extreme conditions could see the number rise to around 1.5 million, and funding is still not coming at the rate we need to prepare properly,” he added.
The agency noted that it has so far received $24 million against an emergency appeal of $119 million for 2012.
UN agencies and their partners have been responding to the food crisis in the Sahel, which is the result of poor rainfall and failed harvests. The renewed conflict between Government forces and the Tuareg in northern Mali that has uprooted civilians has also increased demand for emergency assistance not only there, but in neighbouring countries that have received refugees.
“The upsurge of fighting in Mali, as well the acute insecurity in northern Nigeria and elsewhere, are complicating the aid operation,” said Mr. Gressly.
“Without a good emergency response and a sustained effort to reduce risk in the medium to long term, an entire generation faces a future of dependency, poverty and threatened survival.”
Earlier this month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for $69.8 million in additional funding to prevent a full-blown food and nutrition crisis from unfolding in the Sahel.
Thomas Lubanga was found guilty of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate in hostilities. Photo: ICC-CPI/E. Daniel
14 March 2012 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) today found Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of recruiting child soldiers, in a landmark ruling hailed by United Nations officials as an important step in the fight against impunity.
The verdict is the first ever to be issued by the ICC, the first permanent international court set up to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, since it was set up a decade ago.
The Court’s trial chamber found Mr. Lubanga Dyilo guilty of the war crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 into the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo, and using them to participate actively in hostilities in Ituri in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from September 2002 to August 2003.
“A common plan was agreed by Mr. Lubanga Dyilo and his co-perpetrators to build an army for the purpose of establishing and maintaining political and military control over Ituri. This resulted in boys and girls under the age of 15 being conscripted and enlisted, and used to participate actively in hostilities,” stated a news release issued by the Court, which is based in The Hague.
The verdict was hailed by senior UN officials as a victory for the protection of children in conflict and a major milestone in the fight against impunity.
“Today, impunity ends for Thomas Lubanga and those who recruit and use children in armed conflict,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy. “In this age of global media, today’s verdict will reach warlords and commanders across the world and serve as a strong deterrent,” she added.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) applauded the decision, which makes Mr. Lubanga Dyilo the first warlord to face international justice for using children as weapons of war.
“This is a pivotal victory for the protection of children in conflict,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, adding that the conviction of Mr. Lubanga Dyilo “sends a clear message to all armed groups that enslave and brutalize children: impunity will not be tolerated.”
Noting that tens of thousands of children are still victims of these grave violations in at least 15 armed conflicts around the world, the agency said it will continue efforts to rescue these children and rehabilitate them.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the need for the international community to continue with its efforts to put an end to impunity. He also urged the Congolese authorities to continue to strengthen their efforts to hold accountable all perpetrators of gross human rights violations.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the decision is “a great step forward” for international justice. “For many years, and on a daily basis, we have been documenting gross violations of human rights of the sort perpetrated by Lubanga against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” she said.
“The Lubanga verdict sends a strong signal against impunity for such grave breaches of international law that will reverberate well beyond the DRC.”
Also welcoming the decision was the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUSCO), who stressed that sends “a powerful message to the individuals responsible for grave human rights violations that they will be held accountable for their actions.”
Roger Meece, who is also the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in DRC, strongly urged national authorities to pursue actively investigations and hold to account all who have committed human rights violations.
UN Goodwill Ambassador and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was among those who attended the reading of the verdict, which she said is an important moment for the Court, the DRC and the rule of law.
“Perhaps today’s verdict of guilty provides some measure of comfort for the victims of Mr. Lubanga’s actions,” she said. “Most of all, it sends a strong message against the use of child soldiers.”
A separate sentencing hearing for Mr. Lubanga Dyilo will be held at a date to be announced.
The ICC can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The DRC is one of seven situations under investigation by the Court, along with Central African Republic (CAR), Côte d’Ivoire, the Darfur region of western Sudan, Libya, Uganda and Kenya.
