Authorities urged to free two journalists and reopen their newspaper in South Sudan
PARIS, France, November 8, 2011 – African Press Organization (APO) — Reporters Without Borders condemns the illegal detention of two journalists and calls for their immediate release and the reopening of their newspaper, the Juba-based daily Destiny, which has been closed by the government. They are Ngor Aguot Garang, its editor, who was arrested on [...]
Uganda – from child soldiers to livestock farmers
ROME, Italy, November 7, 2011 – African Press Organization (APO) — Technical workers and livestock farmers from Uganda have just completed a training course in Italy to teach former child soldiers the job of livestock farming. On their return from the fighting, the young people are in search of a role in the country’s southern [...]
Human trafficking is on the rise in the Horn of Africa amidst the drought and famine the region faces
RIFT VALLEY, Kenya (IPS) – Amina Shakir (not her real name) fled the drought and famine in Somalia for a better life in Kenya. But she did so illegally, placing her faith in the hands of a criminal network headed by Mukhalis or agents in Swahili. In the end her faith was misplaced as she [...]
Uganda: In the land of human sacrifice
In and out of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, the City, supposed to radiate enlightenment to some of Uganda’s dark ancient cultural practices, has failed to do so. The City is entrapped in obscurity. “The villages and farming communities that surround Uganda’s capital, Kampala, are gripped by fear.” Human sacrifices, the BBC World TV reports, are on [...]
UK speaks on Malawi’s refusal to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Lilongwe – The United Kingdom has responded with disappointment over Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika’s administration refusal to arrest on behalf of the Human Rights Watch, Sudan president Omar al-Bashir, to be tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Al-Bashir is in Malawi attending the Common Market for East and Central Africa [...]
Food aid meant for famine victims are being stolen as widespread corruption plague international efforts in Somalia
MOGADISHU (IPS) – Masses of food meant for famine victims in Somalia are being stolen, an investigation has revealed. ”There is widespread food aid corruption, that is why I am calling for the establishment of a special food aid monitoring group — this must include Somalis and the foreigners themselves,” Somali member of parliament Prof. Ali [...]
Mogadishu is desperately in need of more foreign assistance
MOGADISHU (IPS) – The shelling and gunshots, once a common sound in Mogadishu, no longer ring out in the city’s streets. The surprise withdrawal on Aug. 6 of the Islamist extremist group Al Shabaab from their stronghold in Mogadishu has meant that people now move about the city, for the first time in two years, [...]
Massive school dropouts as famine continues in Somalia
NAIROBI, Aug 18 (IPS) – Jamaal Abdi, an eight-year-old boy at the Badbaado camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, would like to have an education. He has his own dreams for the future. But since Abdi and his family arrived at Badbaado camp – the biggest camp for people displaced by the drought and famine [...]
Inter-ethnic clashes become more frequent and deadly in South Sudan
JUBA, Aug 23 (IPS) – Thousands of women and children are being abducted and over 1,000 people have died this year as communities in oil-rich South Sudan war over a precious commodity – cattle. In the newly independent country, which produces about 385,000 barrels of oil a day, inter-ethnic clashes over cattle have long prevailed. [...]
The poor struggle in Kenya as inflation soars
RIFT VALLEY, Kenya, Aug 24 (IPS) – As Kenya’s inflation rate reached 15.53 percent, compared to 3.18 percent in October 2010, the country’s poor have been struggling to afford the most basic of essentials. In some areas families can no longer rely on regular meals and have reduced them to one a day, others mostly [...]
