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By Paul Ndiho
June 8, 2010
Representatives from over 100 member states that are signatory to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, gathered in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to discuss the court’s future, and propose changes to its founding treaty, the Rome Statute. The Ugandan parliament recently passed an ICC bill, making it one of only a handful of African countries to have ratified the Rome statute.
Over a decade ago, world leaders gathered in Rome to establish the International Criminal Court. The court investigates and tries cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the court needs universal support:
“For the International Criminal Court, we have reached the need to progress. We need to have universal membership for the ICC, therefore I add again, for those countries who have not signed yet, you should ratify the ICC as soon as possible.”

The ICC has focused on African conflicts. ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo says his mission is to end impunity in Africa.
“There were millions of victims in Africa, and they were ignored, there were other priorities. The world ignored, and did nothing to stop the genocide in Rwanda. The world ignored the Congo war, 4 million people died. The world let Somalia go to chaos, and that was a problem. I would not have brought this experience in my court, that’s why we are caring about the victims in Darfur, in Congo, in Uganda, in central Africa Republic, and now in Kenya. We will do justice for them.”
In Uganda, the Court has four outstanding arrest warrants for top-level members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), including its leader Joseph Kony. Ocampo says special forces need to be deployed to capture the rebels.
“The problem is that Joseph Kony is a run-away militia, so I don ‘t think arresting is a police operation’s required, it’s a special force operation, and Congo was not able to do it in those moments. So I hope that we can galvanize efforts to implement a special force to arrest Joseph Kony in the near future.”
In 2006, Thomas Lubanga was surrendered to the court by the Congolese government. His trial has been delayed because the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense. Jean-Pierre Bemba and two other Congo rebel leaders are also being scrutinized by the ICC, as is former Liberian President Charles Taylor and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International criticizes major powers such as China, Russia and the U.S., for refusing to participate in the International Criminal Court.
“Powerful governments, despite their rhetoric – they often speak about the importance of human rights and fighting impunity – and when it comes to the crunch then they actually apply double standards.”
Delegates at the Kampala conference are discussing proposals giving the International Criminal Court powers to probe state aggression, as determined by the United Nations Security Council.

BY Paul Ndiho
June 3, 2010

A series of civil wars in Chad has led to thousands of children being caught up in the conflict, mainly in the country’s eastern region. Estimates put the number of child soldiers in the country at more than 10,000. Reporter Paul Ndiho looks at how some former child soldiers are trying to return to normal life.
Child soldiers in Africa have captured world attention. In Chad, thousands of children are kidnapped by armies and forced to fight. Many were already orphaned by years of civil war, and they find a new kind of family in the military. A new UN report says children are still being recruited and used in combat by Chad’s government and rebel forces. Some children are abducted — others join voluntarily. Anthony Lake is UNICEF’s executive director:
“Children forced into unimaginable servitude by adults who regard them not as human lives to be nurtured but as objects to be used for unspeakable purposes.”
In 2007, an agreement was signed between UNICEF and the government of Chad to step up efforts to get children out of armed groups and back into society.

“There is a proportion of these people who have actually been trained to kill. A proportion of them actually killed enemies. It’s very difficult to overcome the psycho- social aspect of this trauma and get them back to a normal life that was poor.”
Under the agreement, the National army now vets all recruits. Those identified as being under the age of 18 are sent to rehabilitation centers in the capital Ndjamena. There, these former child solders receive education and psychological care, and are taught new skills to help them integrate back into society. So far, more than 800 children have gone through this process. The former child solders carry the burden of separation from families and are often plagued by horrendous memories. Former child soldier Dowa Samna:
“During the six months we were tortured on the side of the road, I was hurt here and here and here and on my arm. I was also hurt and injured on my head.”
Nineteen year-old Souleymane Adoum Izak now works at a hotel in N’Djamena, a huge change from the seven years he spent fighting with a rebel group in eastern Chad. He says that when he first joined the armed group, most of the rebels were aged between 10 and 14. He has found his second home here at the rehabilitation center, but normal life remains a huge challenge.
“Because you’re young and you’re trained and you spend all your time with rebels, you still feel the need to fight all the time, even though you’re a civilian. You always feel the need to fight with people.”
Human rights activists say that returning to normal life is very difficult for former child soldiers. Souleymane and others like him now have a new take on life. Employment is key – being able to earn a living and take care of basic needs. But even as these former child soldiers attempt to fit back into society, social workers say their psychological return to normal life can be a far longer journey.

By Paul Ndiho
May 26, 2010
The race for president of Nigeria is generating a lot coverage in the media. With his new team in place, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is facing the challenges of electoral reforms and economic development in the West African nation. At least six politicians have expressed an interest in running for president, but analysts say Mr. Jonathan could prove a favorite in the 2011 elections. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has not officially declared he will be a candidate for president in 2011, but some prominent people say he will run. Under an unwritten agreement within the ruling People’s Democratic Party, Jonathan, cannot run for the top office because he is a southerner, and the late President Yar’Adua, a northerner, did not complete his eight-year rotation. Under the agreement, Jonathan’s deputy would become the PDP presidential candidate next year. But there is fierce infighting within the party, according to Abubakar Momoh, a professor at the Lagos University.
“The sad event of the demise of the former President, nobody can help it, it is natural process, but the question is the aftermath, what happens next after him? And that is what lots of factions and tendencies in the PDP have not agreed upon. For them some are saying that the PDP in principle has zoned this post to the north for the next eight years, and therefore the next incumbent must be somebody from the north and now the situation is there are all kinds of things.”
Several seasoned politicians, including former Military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, Donald Duke, a two-term State governor for Cross River State, have joined the race for president. Analysts say that as governor, Donald Duke excelled at improving basic services, tourism, information technology, and agriculture. Recently at fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Mr. Duke said that he wanted take his abilities to the national stage.
“We’re trying to get people involved in the process now; for too long we’ve been complacent, we’ve been ambivalent to our politics; let’s get involved and change our country.”
Voice of America reporter Chinedu Offor covers Nigeria and observes that Mr. Duke achieved quite a lot through his tourism initiative and today his state is the number one holiday destination in Nigeria.
“He has done so much in turning his state into a tourist attraction. This state that had little or no oil and this is a story he told because he came in and there was no resources and said well the best thing to do is to create a place where people can come and spend money and turned his state into a destination sport where Nigerians and foreigners would come and enjoy their money and has made a success of it.

“We have perhaps one of the best landscapes anywhere in the country; we have historical sites, we have geological sites, we have great people and beauty and tremendous cultural values. So what we’ve tried to do in our state is put all of these together our sites, our culture, our history, make it a place people want to go to.”
The Governor says that during his early years in office, a large consignment of pineapple suckers was imported and given to farmers; today pineapple is harvested in commercial quantities in this state and has become an affordable fruit in virtually every home. Chinedu Offor says that looking at what he has done for his state; it’s possible for him to give President Goodluck Jonathan a run for his money.
“If he can replicate a little bit of what he has done for his state on a broader level I think that’s a good way to start in a since that you have supporting infrastructure like roads because Nigeria of course needs it, you have supporting infrastructure like power, electricity Nigeria needs it, you have supporting facilities like water people need it.
Some political analysts say that although Nigeria’s principle of rotating power is based on the PDP constitution, it is not written into Nigerian law. That means there is nothing to stop Goodluck Jonathan from running for the presidency next year, despite being a southerner.

By Paul Ndiho
May 19, 2010

Preparations for Ethiopia’s elections scheduled for Sunday May 23 have been dominated by accusations of intimidation and disruption by both the government and the opposition. The government says it’s looking forward to a democratic process, but opposition parties say chances of free and fair polls are very slim.
Ethiopians go to the polls this weekend for the first time since a government victory in 2005 was disputed by the opposition. More than 200 street protesters were killed by security forces and all the main opposition leaders imprisoned and charged with terrorism. Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs while testifying to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa said the Obama administration is watching very closely the upcoming elections in Ethiopia and called on the government to allow everyone to vote freely and fairly on Election Day and that it’s incumbent upon the government to do everything it possibly can ensure that the playing field is leveled.
“We are encouraging the government of Ethiopia, as well as the opposition parties to act responsively during the election campaign and the election itself. We do not want to see a repetition of the violence that followed the flood elections of 2005 in which the opposition felt that it had not been treated fairly, protested after the election and a number of opposition leaders were killed in the streets of Addis Ababa.”
Concerned Ethiopians are afraid to voice their doubts, the general feeling in the country is that polls will not be free or fair and that violence may erupt again. Here in the Washington D.C metro area some Ethiopians are worried that a repeat of the chaos seen in 2005 might carry the day. Alemayenu Abebe a Washington DC resident says the election campaigns have been dominated by intimidation and harassment from the government police are other security agencies.
There is no independent election workers the ruling party will use all necessary means to stop the opposition parties. You know they can put you in jail they don’t have equal landscape they don’t have a right to go to the demonstration in the capital city.”
However, Another D.C resident is hoping that this election will be free and fair to all Ethiopian people.
“I’ve lived here in the United States of America for a long time because I enjoy the freedom and i hope that our people will get that freedom one day. And I hope this government in power right now will treat the opposition party fairly stop intimidation so that we will have some members go to the parliament and fight further for the people of Ethiopia.”
The opposition says their candidates and voters are harassed and intimidated. The government, for its part, says the opposition plans to incite street violence and discredit the poll because it has no chance of winning.

One of the leading opposition leaders Merera Gudina while campaigning in and around his home area of Ambo, in the Oromia region, approximately 125 kilometres south of the capital Addis Ababa. The region is home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group which makes up 27 million of the country’s 80 million population also accused the government for intimidating in his people.
“Well, the police, the security, there’s the local administrators, they’re all going around telling people that the forum (Medrek) and the Oromo People’s Congress is not peaceful and all kinds of things. They are intimidating people.”
New-York based Human Rights Watch said the government has arrested and imprisoned opposition politicians for varying terms since the 2005 disputed polls. However, The National Election Board says measures are in place to make sure all parties follow strict guidelines for the elections.
“Almost all political parties, more than 65 political parties have agreed on a code of conduct so as to make the upcoming election free, fair, democratic, peaceful and credible. We have also prepared a media election reporting directives.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who is running for re-election was hailed by the west as one of a new generation of democratic African leaders in the 1990s but human rights groups have increasingly criticized him for cracking down on opposition and the independent media in sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation. In 2005 his security forces opened live fire at un-armed civilians and killed more than 200 people.

By Paul Ndiho
May 10, 2010

Women are responsible for at least 70 percent of Africa’s food crop production. They also play important roles in food processing and marketing, and animal husbandry and making decisions on the farm.
In sub-Saharan Africa, most women work in agriculture. They spend much of their day performing field work, growing food and crops for their families in addition to caring for the children. Like many African women, Esther Winjero Njorogo is her family’s main food provider. But she struggles to farm her plot in Kenya due to unpredictable rains.
“It’s very difficult to get water. I have to wait for rain then I have to look for money to buy fertilizers and manure.”
During the dry season, Njorogo spends most her time pumping water to irrigate her crops. Feister Mumbi Kimuya, is another concerned Kenyan small-scale commercial farmer, who grows tomatoes and maize and raises chickens for eggs to sell in the markets.
“When we are farming we see that our crops are not doing very well because we don’t the technical expertise to farm those crops.”
Many African women farmers grow food on small patches of land, and Feister Kimuya says that most rural farmers use crop rotation to make the most of these plots. Her family farming business has grown steadily in the last few years.
Women farmers in Kenya are hungry for innovative, concrete business ideas according to David Kauck, with the International Center for Research on Women. He says that rural women in Kenya need more access to credit, training, fertilizer and seeds.
“In Africa we can’t talk about agriculture without talking about the role of women. Women are involved in every part of the production, in transforming food crops, processing, marketing and transporting the crops to the market.”
Rural women farmers in Ghana also do not have access to formal financial services. Speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington, Lydia Sasu, with Ghana’s Development Action Association says women in Ghana are not part of decision-making bodies that shape farming policy in their homeland.
“Rural women are doing a fantastic job. They produce about 80% of the food in the country, they take care of their children, educated them, take care of their produce and even market it. Looking at the roles they play, their voice need to be heard and we want them to be part of the decision making process.”
Agriculture experts say that hunger and the cycle of poverty in Africa are two of the most significant challenges that face the continent today. Studies show that improving agriculture is the most effective driver of growth in developing countries.