Suspects in the Anglo Leasing scandals are unlikely to appear in court soon because the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is frustrated in its bid to quickly conclude investigations, it was revealed on Thursday. The KACC deputy director, Ms Fatuma Sichale, said investigations into the Sh7 billion Anglo Leasing scandals were being hampered by factors beyond the commission’s control.

With Google Trends, you can compare the world's interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they've been searched for on Google over time. Google Trends also displays how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and which geographic regions have searched for them most often.

A little-known African localisation projected called KiLinux, which translated open source office suite OpenOffice.org into Swahili, scooped an award under the Education category at the annual Stockholm Challenge Awards that rewards ICT projects that accelerate the use of information technology for the benefit of citizens and communities.

Two weeks ago, I discovered that an article I wrote for Pambazuka News, “Hungry For Live Poetry” about Nairobi's First Poetry Slam, was apparently plagiarized in its entirety by a journalist for the Kenya Times. Neither the Kenya Times editors, nor the journalist, Otieno Amisi, have responded to my emails.

The original article is at:

The Kenya Times version is at:

http://www.timesnews.co.ke/03mar06/magazine/magazine3.html

Initially, I wasn't sure whether to be flattered, outraged, amused - or all three. I sent out an email to several African writers and journalists in my circle asking:

“Has anyone else had this experience? Is it worth challenging - either the guy himself, or the editors of the Kenya Times? Is it symptomatic of a larger culture of journalistic plagiarism that's going unchecked and unchallenged in Kenya?”

One response, from Kenyan arts organizer and writer, Dipesh Pabari:

“This sounds very typical. If I ever want to get things in the paper I literally write it myself and they publish it under their name […] that is just the way it works.”

A pragmatic view. If the goal is to disseminate information and get media coverage, then perhaps one should just play the game and accept “the way it works”. But what about those of us who write for a living? What about material that we consider creative output, product for livelihood - whether it takes the form of words, audio, film or image?

Plagiarism has always been a hot topic in the world of books and arts, where the currency is creative ideas and the artistic output they generate. As I write this, legal action is still ongoing over allegations that Dan Brown, author of the 40 million-copies-sold global bestseller, “The Da Vinci Code”, copied his plot from another writer.

This month in Africa, plagiarism has made literary, academic and media waves. South African journalist and author, William Mervin Gumede, is battling accusations that his highly acclaimed book, “Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC” uses other writers' work without proper attribution. Another South African, Afrikaner poet Antjie Krog, is said to be considering litigation against Stephen Watson, head of Cape Town University's English department. Watson claims she stole phrases and ideas from late British poet laureate Ted Hughes and his own work. He says Krog “lifted the entire concept” of her 2004 collection of Bushmen poems from his own1991 collection of Bushmen prose. Neither seems to see the innate irony; that both of them might justly be accused of plagiarizing, or appropriating, the voices of Bushmen.

Is this all just elitist squabbling, among privileged literati in their ivory towers? Does it have any relevance to social justice and the daily lived culture of the majority of Africans?

Consider the case of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. Few people are unfamiliar with the song and soundtrack. Fewer still know that it was written by a South African musician, Solomon Linda. It became a chart topper in the West when legendary US folk singer, Pete Seeger (incongruously famous for his own songs of social protest) covered it in the 1950s. In subsequent decades, it has been recorded by over 150 European and American artists, racking up hundreds of thousands of album sales. Most recently, it became a global “brand” as the theme track for Disney's megahit, “The Lion King.”

The song's original writer, Solomon Linda, received 10 shillings for the copyright in 1952, from Gallo studios in South Africa. After the release of “The Lion King”, Linda's family sued Disney for royalties on the use of the song. An undisclosed out-of-court settlement was agreed just this February. Sadly, it came too late for Linda, who died 1962, aged 53, of kidney disease. And for his daughter Adelaide, who died in 2001, of AIDS. Both could have received life-saving medical treatment from less than one-tenth of one percent of the $15 million grossed by the song worldwide. (Source: Emma MacDonald,The Age, Australia, April 22, 2006)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/when-plagiarism-robs-the-poor-of-inspiration/2006/04/21/1145344270049.html

Next week: Plagiarism and the colonial mentality; how plagiarism impoverishes Africa politically and culturally.

* Shailja Patel is a Kenyan poet, writer and theater artist. Visit her at www.shailja.com

* Please send comments to [email protected] org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

In a departure from its traditional role of protecting and aiding refugees (people who have crossed international borders in their flight from persecution), the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, is now helping internally displaced people in Uganda. One of its efforts in Uganda is to work with the government to allow for greater freedom of movement and to help displaced people return to their original homes.

The number of people applying for asylum in South Africa rose sharply in the first three months of this year, according to government figures released last week. In addition to the usual countries of origin such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe, new trends emerged with requests from people from Malawi, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, United Republic of Tanzania and Ethiopia. Zimbabweans were by far the largest number of applicants in every reception office.

The Bush administration is paltering to the American public with exaggerated misconceptions of worldwide terrorism to frighten us into supporting a global police state. With seven hundred military bases and a budget bigger than the rest of the world combined, the US military has become the new supreme-power force repressing "terrorism" everywhere, reports Global Research.

A UN human rights committee has said Chad's former ruler, Hissene Habre, must be tried or extradited to Belgium, under the 1984 Convention against Torture. Chad's ex-president, who has lived in exile in Senegal for the past 16 years, is accused of mass murder and torture. The decision of the United Nations Committee Against Torture says that by not trying Chad's ex-President Hissene Habre, or allowing his extradition, Senegal is breaking international human rights law.

A monthly electronic newsletter of international updates and coverage on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility matters.

The apparent sidelining of Rwandans from the workings of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has led a government representative to question the UN-backed court's effectiveness. Kigali complains that unofficial changes to the court's mandate, for example the significant reduction of the number of genocide suspects, have actually undermined rather than developed Rwanda's legal system. In addition, officials criticize western countries harboring genocide fugitives for slowing down the process.

Though most poor countries are not bound by the Kyoto Treaty to curb their greenhouse gas emissions, some are pushing rich countries to provide aid, technology and other incentives to help them reduce harmful emissions blamed for climate change.

Following a National Assembly vote against a constitutional amendment that would have let him seek another term in office, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has announced he will leave office when his second term expires. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan previously had urged Obasanjo to keep the country's constitution intact and cede power to a successor.

A case challenging the legality of the union that created the United Republic of Tanzania - a merger of the Tanganyika mainland and the two isles of Zanzibar has began in Stone Town, capital of the semiautonomous Zanzibar. A group of 10 Zanzibaris filed the case on 23 April before the Zanzibar High Court, seeking to have the union, signed in 1964, invalidated. The group, led by Rashid Salum Addiy, claims the 42-year-old union is illegal and wants it renegotiated.

Chronic power shortages across Africa are undermining investment, industrial development and economic growth and keeping the poorest continent poor, ministers and bankers said on Thursday (May 18).

This paper reviews the evidence on the effects of policies in the education sector and outside it on household schooling investments in girls and boys, distinguishing between policies that are gender neutral and those that explicitly target girls.

Two scholarships are offered for candidates from Ghana (1 candidate) and Tanzania (1 candidate) to study on the distance learning International Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) at the University of Sussex, starting in July 2006. This is a 3 year programme. Candidates will be expected to complete their doctorate within 3-4 years. The successful candidates will be required to attend an annual Summer School at Sussex.

This publication analyses available statistics on female genital mutilation or cutting, with the aim of improving understanding of related issues in the wider context of gender equality and social change. The study centres on women aged 15-49 and their daughters, presenting estimates and examining differentials in prevalence, and highlighting patterns within the data that can strategically inform programmatic efforts.

GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN is a campaign that ignites the collective power of individuals, businesses, governments, and nonprofits to end global poverty by investing in the world's women. By focusing the resources of these important actors on women, we can achieve the goal of cutting extreme poverty in half by 2015.

This report, South Africa: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law, comes at an important time for South Africa and the African continent. It is one of a set of reports initiated by AfriMAP that intend to go beyond describing the institutional arrangements in a constitutional democracy and reflect on the health and quality of democracy and governance in South Africa. In particular, these reports will measure South Africa’s compliance with the commitments undertaken since 2000 by the African Union and NEPAD’s African Peer Review Mechanism.

The post holder will provide strategic leadership to the Conflict Transformation Programme in the Great Lakes region of Africa, which aims to facilitate trust-building between parties in conflict. S/he must have experience leading and managing programmes in conflict resolution.

This fellowship provides an opportunity for two mid-career or senior South African journalists to participate in a three-week programme of discussion and study on international media issues. A series of seminars led by journalists, scholars and key policy makers will focus on issues such as journalism and media, public policy, economics, international relations, environmental affairs and new media technologies.

The Nile treaties have always been an aberration. In no other continent have there been strictures imposed on countries exploiting their natural resources the way those surrounding Lake Victoria have been through a treaty none of them was involved in signing. But now things seem to be about to change with the news that the 1929 treaty will be reviewed to allow the East African countries to exploit the lake waters for irrigation, reports the Daily Nation.

Meeting in Cairo earlier this month, representatives of African unions and African intellectuals met to share their critiques of current development policies, targeting both international financial institutions and African governments. African scholars had documented the failures of structural adjustment decades ago, noted political economist Adebayo Olukoshi. But with few exceptions these policies are still being imposed.

Scientific papers published in online journals that are open-access have a bigger impact and are cited more frequently than papers readers must pay for, according to a new study. The findings will strengthen calls for more online scientific journals to switch to the open-access model and make research freely available.

The return of thousands of Liberians from camps across West Africa is fuelling ethnic tension over the ownership of land and homes in northern Nimba county, which saw some of the worst fighting in the civil war. Hundreds of machete-armed youths from the Mano and Gio ethnic groups took to the streets of Nimba's second largest commercial city Ganta last week after rumours circulated that ethnic Mandingos, who have been living in refugee camps in Guinea, were about to attack the city to reclaim their land.

Uganda will increase its budget allocation to the energy sector by over Ush100 billion ($57.1 million) in the 2006/07 financial year. According to Ministry of Energy officials, the sector will be allocated Ush240 billion ($137.1 million) which is 80 per cent higher than the Ush133 billion ($76 million) given in the 2005/06 financial year. The money will deal with key sector priorities, such as hydropower generation.

The UK government has been accused of draconian treatment of asylum seekers, using "destitution as a tool of coercion", in a bleak report from the Church of England on a Britain where an economic boom has left the gulf between the very poor and the super-rich wider than ever.

NEPAD and the EASSy consortium have thus far worked extremely closely together, something acknowledged by both parties. But the consortium did not really expect to find themselves in a position where what they see as their project was in effect taken away. The parting of ways has come over proposals developed by NEPAD and the insistence that the cable should be built in such a way that it avoided the high-price inducing monopoly found on the West African SAT3 cable.

The shocking details of how use of outdated communication equipment by police is frustrating the fight against crime has been exposed. And this despite the Government's claims that it has allocated Sh11 billion - and probably spent some of the taxpayers' money - to replace it. The multi-billion-shilling radio project was among those highlighted in a Public Accounts Committee report released in March. But in interviews with the Sunday Nation, current and former officers described the kit as "very poor".

The African week started Monday in Paris with the varnishing of the art and handicraft exhibition chaired by Deputy-Director General of Unesco Africa Department, Noureini Tidjani-Serpos, in the presence of leading ambassadors members of the Unesco Africa Group. Many exhibitors from different regions of the continent are taking part in this cultural event held at the Unesco headquarters in Paris, the French capital city.

An information campaign is underway in Cameroon concerning a new Code of Penal Procedure that authorities say will strengthen the rule of law -- making the Central African country a standard for human rights. At present, Cameroon is regularly criticised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for failing to respect human rights.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo here on Monday announced that the country has developed a 10-year plan on its educational development program at all levels. Speaking at a conference on financing, Obasanjo said with the program in place, he believed the country was ready to benefit from any foreign aid in the sector.

Roving judges in the Maldives and a community justice system in post-genocide Rwanda are just two of the pioneering democratic governance initiatives captured in the first UN report on governance in the fifty most vulnerable countries in the world, launched in New York.

Standing 63rd on the United States Energy Commission country classification "with a strong potential for oil deposits in the world", Senegal hopes to enter the circle of oil-producing nations in the "near future", the latest issue of Dakar weekly "Nouvel Horizon" reported. Currently, large companies with government-granted search permits from various backgrounds are active searching 19 prospecting blocks, the magazine indicated.

A verdict has been postponed until next year in the 12-year genocide trial of Ethiopia's former Marxist ruler. Mengistu Haile Mariam is accused of killing tens of thousands of people after he ousted Emperor Haile Selassie. In a notorious campaign - known as the Red Terror - thousands of suspected opponents were rounded up, executed then tossed onto the streets. The ex-leader fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 and is being tried in absentia but 35 members of his junta are present.

The Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure has again expressed, on Sunday, his resentment against international mining companies exploiting gold in his country, implying that to ensure bliss to Kayes (600Km west Bamako) residents, he relies “more on roads than the glittering metal”. “We made a mistake by thinking that Kayes' happiness will come from gold not roads,” Amadou Toumani Toure noted, on Sunday, while inaugurating a 98km asphalted road linking Kayes to the Senegalese town of Kidira.

For women who are victims of rape, recovery from the violation is typically arduous and draining. In Kenya, the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), an anti-HIV treatment, is available in just seven of the 73 government district hospitals and one of the eight provincial hospitals. PEP reduces the chance of HIV infection when a woman is raped by someone carrying the virus, if administered within 72 hours of the crime.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has given the leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) a two-month ultimatum "to peacefully end terrorism" or face a combined force of Ugandan and southern Sudanese troops. Although the Ugandan government has offered amnesty to LRA members who surrender, Museveni has repeatedly rejected the possibility of pardoning any high-ranking officers. However, according to a government statement, "[I]f he [Joseph Kony, LRA leader] got serious about a peaceful settlement, the government would guarantee him safety."

Kenya has demanded an implementation date of the Sh15 billion Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (Eassy). The Permanent Secretary for Information and Communication said "if the date is not issued next week," Kenya would instead endorse a similar but parallel project, which would connect Mombasa to Djibouti at a cost of US$60 million.

Joel Wanyingi, 55, constantly suffered from severe headaches and dizziness, and was often plagued with a feeling of tiredness even in bed. He recuperates at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Nairobi, after heart surgery last month. Inadequate ICU facilities has forced some Kenyans to seek treatment abroad. Although cardiac surgery is also performed in two private city hospitals -Nairobi and Mater - most patients opt for KNH where the costs are heavily subsidised. KNH's director, says there are over 200 heart patients on the hospital's waiting list. But the number of operations that can be performed are tied to the availability of space at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he says.

A new document from the Copy South Research Group argues that: "We are told that we live in the ‘digital revolution’ era and that we can communicate across the globe as we never could before. In fact, restrictive copyright laws still act as a serious barrier to sharing and learning from each other. This is particularly true in countries of the South where three quarters of the population live." Download the full document by visiting their website.

No-one was expecting Darfur's peace agreement to bring about an immediate transformation on the ground. But the short time since the deal in Abuja has shown the size of the challenge ahead. The Sudan Liberation Army, the region's biggest rebel movement is split in two. One faction lead by the wiry Minni Minnawi has signed the deal while the other faction under Abdul Wahid Mohammed al-Nur demands further concessions from the Sudanese government. In Gereida and Kalma - two of Darfur's biggest camps - the impact of the deal on the rebels and their supporters could be immediately seen.

Uganda, praised for its fight against HIV/AIDS, also makes homosexuality illegal. How, asks Victor Mukasa can any HIV/AIDS policy be successful if it excludes a sector of the population from its programmes.

HIV/AIDS is an epidemic and in order to control and eradicate it, all individuals no matter their sex, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, race, or any other status, must be included in all policies against the scourge. Uganda has been praised for her ‘excellent’ HIV/AIDS policy by the international community.

But the politics of pretence in Uganda is leading to the deaths of many Ugandans from HIV/AIDS. The main group that is suffering as a result of this pretence are homosexuals. The Ugandan government has previously asserted that homosexuals do not exist, yet it is clear that these people do exist. No wonder there are laws against homosexuality put in place. Even the few officials who openly admit that homosexuals exist in this country claim that they (homosexuals) do not deserve any kind of care when it comes to the AIDS scourge.

As a result, homosexuals in Uganda have been excluded from the National AIDS Policy. Simple logic is that once a particular group is not catered for in terms of HIV/AIDS then it cannot be claimed that the scourge is being effectively fought. If one chose to cater for only the male population, for example, that would be a waste of time and resources. Same with catering for, say, only southerners, and ignoring northerners, when there is the aspect of intermarriages. Likewise, once one caters for only heterosexuals, ignoring homosexuals, then one is wasting time. The uncatered (homosexuals) will still spread the disease to the catered (heterosexuals).

It is a fact that homosexuals exist in Uganda and that there are very harsh laws in place against their sexual activities. Among homosexuals are bisexuals. These will have sexual relationships with people of either sex. As if that is not enough, because of the harsh laws, homosexuals either engage in relationships with people of the opposite sex in order to disguise their criminalized nature or are forced into marriages with people of the opposite sex by family and/or friends.

The elimination of homosexuals from the Uganda AIDS Policy has therefore done more harm than good.

There is also the politics of intimidation. In conjunction with deliberately ignoring sexual minorities on matters of a deadly, worldwide health epidemic, the Ugandan government actively discourages agencies that may counsel and treat sexual minorities on HIV. In November of 2004, the government of Uganda warned UNAIDS not to assist sexual minorities in organizing a campaign that may reach out to members of its own group in an effort to stem HIV infections. The government defended its actions of exclusion by reminding UNAIDS that homosexuality is illegal.

Intimidating UNAIDS from assisting Ugandan sexual minorities had a domino effect on other NGOs: organizations who are otherwise willing to assist these minorities with HIV treatment and counseling do not dare to do so because they may lose their license as an NGO.

But why and how could an entire government comprised of individuals who claim to love their people come to this sort of decision? Even if they didn’t love their people, is it not the duty of the Ugandan government to protect Ugandans? Is not every Ugandan entitled to life?

In Uganda, public outreach and advertising campaigns address heterosexual HIV transmission only. This narrow-mindedness lethally deceives and disadvantages the entire sexual minority population. A qualified Ugandan physician who frequently treats patients for HIV complains that sexual minorities are an ignored key population: unprotected anal sex is – according to scientific research – the most risky behavior for spreading HIV. Yet, without government outreach, the key population of those who practice anal sex (often homosexual men, but heterosexuals too) is becoming infected unaware. Government advertising campaigns that depict HIV as a disease transmittable only through penal-vaginal contact put many couples – regardless of sexual orientation - unaware that HIV can be transmitted through anal sex.

It is important to note the size and importance of this anal sex “key population”: outside of intravenous drug users, anal sex (often associated with, but not exclusive to, male homosexual activity) is the most effective method of transmitting HIV. Yet, HIV/AIDS policies allow citizens to unknowingly contract HIV despite all of Uganda’s outreach efforts. This deletion, please note, is unlike any HIV/AIDS outreach program in America or Europe: other countries and regions protect their anal sex population specifically. The fact that the Ugandan government asserts that homosexuals do not exist within its territory and outlaws homosexual activity contributes to this deadly deletion in HIV/AIDS outreach.

Another government-influenced deletion concerning HIV/AIDS that affects Ugandan sexual minorities is a lack of available HIV prevention information suitable only for these minorities. That is, because sexual practices of homosexuals differ from those of heterosexuals, and Ugandan HIV/AIDS organizations are equipped by mandate to concern only penal-vaginal transmission, these minorities cannot receive HIV prevention counseling that may save their lives. Gay men will not receive needed advice about using lubricants that do not destroy condoms. Lesbians will not receive counseling on dental dams. In fact, if a lesbian seeks counseling at an HIV/AIDS outreach organization in Uganda, she will receive advice concerning her boyfriend. Any person can agree that mitigating the effects of a deadly, worldwide epidemic involves treating every patient and potential patient with relevant information, regardless of the circumstances under which he/she caught the disease. The Ugandan government clearly discriminates when it agrees with the preceding statement in regards to many criminals, yet not sexual minorities.

In this era the issue of whether homosexuality is immoral, un-African or a crime, etc, should be dropped when it comes to the control of HIV/AIDS. The fact is, homosexuals exist in Uganda and are a key population in the spread of the scourge. They should be catered for in the National AIDS Policy, be included in all prevention advertisements and in every activity designed to combat the epidemic. The Ugandan Government should give up on its politics of pretence and intimidation and embark on the protection of its population from the deadly epidemic.

* Victor Mukasa is the chairperson of a human rights organisation called Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG).

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The International Criminal Court has said it expects Uganda to meet its obligation to arrest the leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army rebels. Joseph Kony is wanted for war crimes by the court, but on Wednesday Uganda's president offered him a peace deal. Yoweri Museveni said Mr Kony had until the end of July to end the war and said his safety would be guaranteed. But the ICC says Uganda's government referred the case to the court and must honour its commitment.

The speed with which the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa was ratified broke all records for the ratification of continental human rights instruments in Africa. By 25th November 2005, the Protocol came into force having received the required 15 ratifications. Irungu Houghton reviews the origins of the Protocol, its ratification process and the path that lies ahead.

This paper outlines the background to the coming into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. It sets out the legal status of the Protocol and the instruments and mechanism for enforcing its provisions. It then frames future challenges for its ratification, domestication and implementation and ends by recommending four priority areas for the Committee to consider alongside the advisory role it has been assigned.

Background to the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

A quick examination of the reality for women and girls lives in 2006 establishes the strategic importance of the Protocol for changing negative power relations, gender inequality and the disempowerment and impoverishment of women in Africa.

Our Political and Economic Reality and Provisions of the Protocol:

- Over 60% of the two million victims of conflict in the 1990s were women and children. 50% of Africa’s six million refugees and 17 million internally displaced peoples are women.

The Protocol makes special provisions for female refugees and also calls for the promotion and maintenance of peace, as well as protection in times of armed conflict. This includes needs arising from shelter, supplies, healthcare and protection from violence.

- 70% of the estimated 1.3 billion poor people in the world are women and girls.

The Protocol specifically recognises the rights of vulnerable groups of women, including widows, elderly women, disabled women and ‘women in distress’, which includes poor women, women from marginalised population groups.

- Problems with safe abortion, pregnancy and childbirth cause the deaths of at least 250,000 women each year in Africa. Against the total population, this is the highest figure in the world.

The Protocol states that women’s sexual and reproductive health is to be both respected and promoted, which is predicated on women's right to control their fertility and by the obligation of states to provide adequate, affordable and accessible health services. It also demands that governments establish and strengthen existing pre-natal, delivery and post-natal services for all African women. The Protocol also calls for the authorisation of medical abortions in cases of sexual assault/rape, incest or unsafe pregnancies.

- 57% of the 23 million adults with HIV/AIDS in sub- Saharan Africa are women. Young women (between the ages of 15 and 24) are three times more likely to be infected.

The Protocol enforces the right to self-protection, and to be informed of one’s health status and that of one’s partner. It also provides for health services to cope with the effects of HIV/AIDS.

- Slight positive increase in the percentage of women parliamentarians in the single or lower house from 7.2% in 1990 to 14.2% and some African countries have enforced a quota for the number of women in parliament such as Rwanda.

The Protocol endorses affirmative action to promote the equal participation of women, including equal representation of women in elected office, and calls for the equal representation of women in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Articulating a right to peace, the Protocol recognises the right of women to participate in the promotion and maintenance of peace.

The Protocol provides a critical framework to address other integral issues to realising African women’s rights. (Karoline Kemp’s article in a forthcoming book goes further to popularise this.)

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights came into force on 21 October 1986. It includes the right to self-determination and full sovereignty over natural resources, the right to peace and the right to a favourable environment for development. The Charter established the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is responsible for enforcing the rights enshrined in the charter.

Though the African charter recognises the importance of women’s rights, it was widely acknowledged to be inadequate on the areas in which women need protection and gender equality. (The charter recognises the importance of women’s rights through four key articles namely: Article 2, the non-discrimination clause, which provides that the rights and freedoms enshrined in the charter will be enjoyed by all irrespective of their sex; Article 3, which states that every individual will be equal before the law and be entitled to the equal protection of the law, Article 18(3), which is specifically about the protection of the family and promises to ensure the elimination of discrimination against women and protect their rights and Article 60, which states that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will draw inspiration from international human rights instruments such as CEDAW (See Rita Anyumba chapter on Instruments on women’s rights in forthcoming book “Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa”)

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The Protocol was adopted on 11 July 2003 during the Second Ordinary Heads of States and Governments Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique. This was a long-awaited realisation, as it had taken eight years for the draft text of this critical new human rights instrument for African women to be adopted. Article 26 of the Protocol cites obligations of the state parties. They are expected to implement and monitor the actualisation of the rights provided in the Protocol and, in
particular, provide budgetary and other resources for the full and effective implementation of the rights recognised in the Protocol. They are also expected to report on progress in their periodic reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

With only The Comoros having ratified the Protocol one year after its adoption, there was a concern that its ratification and domestication would take the same time or even longer. (Similar instruments have taken a long time to be ratified and enter into force. The ACHPR was adopted in 1981, but only came into force in 1986 – five years later. The Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights came into force in 2004, six years after its adoption in 1998. And the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which was adopted in 1990, came into force nine years later.) Women’s and human rights organisations took stock of the slow progress of ratification in April 2004 and reached out with the African Union Commission to encourage governments to bring the Protocol into force swiftly and ensure its
subsequent domestication.

Legal Status of the Protocol in May 2006

“I write in response to your (SOAWR) letter in which you expressed concern that only 15 African countries had ratified the Protocol … Whilst I take note of your concern that although Botswana has not ratified the Protocol, our country is totally committed to ensuring that women’s rights are observed…” H.E. Festus G. Mogae, President of the Republic of Botswana, 20th December 2005

“I am ..pleased to note the excellent partnership between the AUC Directorate of Women, Gender and development and Solidarity on African Women’s Rights. This Coalition has achieved impressive results in terms of a speedy ratification process. It is indeed a successful partnership with lessons for all at the AUC.” Adv. Bience Gawanas, Commissioner for Social Affairs, close of conference remarks, September 2005

State of Ratifications

From June 2004, the pace of ratification has accelerated with amazing success. On the 25th November 2005, the Protocol came into force having received the required 15 ratifications. The speed of the ratification broke all records for the ratification of continental human rights instruments in Africa. This date was also significant as it also coincided with the start of the international 16 days of activism on ending violence against women.

Mechanisms for accessing Justice under the Protocol

Like the African Charter, the Protocol does not contain clauses, which permit member states to opt out of or derogate from applying its provisions. It is binding on all member-states that have ratified it. Under the African Charter, member states are obliged to undertake to submit to the Commission ‘a report on legislative or other measures taken…to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognised and guaranteed by the present Charter’ every two years. Following the debate about a state’s report, the Commission prepares a set of final remarks which ordinarily includes information on the positive actions taken by a member state, core concerns and recommendations. They are then sent to the member state which is then required to provide, within two years, information on the measures taken in order to implement the said recommendations.

Although a small but growing number of states do make periodical reports and take it upon themselves to implement the recommendations they are given, the number of states that regularly present periodical reports is still few. This and the poor popularisation of the Protocol at national and regional levels will act to severely undermine its potential. Unless these trends are reversed, women and men will be prevented from claiming the rights accorded in the Protocol. It is critical that public information campaigns be undertaken periodically to increase public awareness and actions to close down the space for human rights violations and impunity.

As Mary Wandia has also noted at the national level, there is a lack of connection between the ministries of justice (closely linked with the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights), the ministries of foreign affairs (closely linked with the AU) and the ministries of gender/women. The first two ministries do not usually communicate effectively the commitments undertaken at the regional level to the latter. This has led to gaps in implementation and monitoring.

There are also multiple legal systems in place at national level in many African countries. It is the coexistence of statutory, religious and traditional systems that has led to violations of women’s rights in areas of marriage, inheritance and divorce. At the national level, parliaments, judiciary, ministries of gender/foreign affairs/justice/finance and national human rights institutions should be encouraged to support litigation, implementation and reporting mechanisms for the Protocol. These institutions could be more effective by ensuring regular tripartite meetings with CSOs to facilitate reporting on the progress in implementing the Protocol to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights as well as making the newly established Court on Human Rights relevant and accessible for all African peoples.

From Ratification to Implementation: The next frontier

The different status of countries requires a dual track approach. For countries that are yet to ratify they must be encouraged to do so with a sense of urgency.

It is important also that states ratify the Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. As of 14 December 2005, only 22 of the 53 AU member states have ratified this Protocol. When ratifying, states should enter provisions for the public to access justice under the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Currently, only Burkina Faso has made the declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol, granting individuals and non-governmental organizations direct access to the Court. To not do so, is to betray the vision of the African Union and the commitment of Governments to the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa.

For countries that have ratified, it is important to recognise that it is here that the promise of the Protocol will be either fulfilled or betrayed. As Ugandan activist Sarah Mukasa has noted, there is often a “disconnection between the pronouncements made at regional level and the action taken nationally and locally…domestication and implementation is riddled with challenges that will have to be overcome if the Protocol is to benefit the women it seeks to protect”. She goes on to identify three major obstacles in most countries namely; weak public appreciation of the centrality of constitutionalism and the rule of law, inadequately resourced national gender machinery and lastly, the precedence of entering reservations on progressive clauses. It is critical therefore that states are encouraged to domesticate the Protocol and expedite its implementation.

The review of Beijing plus 10 revealed the dangers of starving progressive visions and commitments. The Protocol requires finances and other resources to be an important tool for the realization of the rights of women. It should be noted, that there are a number of actions that can be taken that have little or no-monetary implications. This includes the removal of all discriminatory laws. States could also identify easy ‘quick wins’ for initial budgetary allocations, which demonstrate real change in the administration of justice. States would go a long way in breathing life to the Protocol by considering its
articles while mainstreaming gender in all budgets and programmes.

Distinguishing a role for the African Union Women’s Committee

With several continental mechanisms working on women’s empowerment, rights and gender equality, it is important to distinguish the role and aspiration of the Committee. There are five priority areas that the committee should consider focusing their energies on. (This is a menu of options, mandate, resources and time does not allow for the Committee to take on all agendas, but three to four objectives with appropriate benchmarks would be sufficient.)

The committee could schedule high-profile missions to capitals to urge the ratification, domestication and implementation of the SDGEA and the AU protocol on the Rights of Women (PRW). Developing key linkages with pan African women’s networks and movements as well as associations of women judges, lawyers and the Pan African Parliament, could strengthen the committee’s voice.

While encouraging universal ratification, it would be important for the committee to monitor, influence and encourage clean reservations to the Protocol. South Africa and The Gambia ratified the Protocol with reservations. In the case of South Africa, one of the reservations is to restrict access to the African Court by forcing citizens to apply for permission to a Parliamentary Committee. In the case of The Gambia, the reservations were fairly far-reaching. Recently, it has been inspiring to learn that these
harmful reservations are on the verge of being formally lifted. It would be important for the Committee members to make a personal commitment to ensuring “clean” ratifications from all countries.

Thirdly, the Committee can undertake high-profile missions or actions in the form of writing open letters either in solidarity against specific violations against women or also to celebrate breakthroughs and victories. This could be done either by advising the Chairperson of the AUC to speak out or by releasing them in the name of the Committee members. This will also breathe life into the concept of non-indifference on gender equality and roll back cultures of impunity.

While Darfur continues to be a scar on the conscience on Africa, the committee must break new frontiers in war-torn areas such as Northern Uganda. (Northern Uganda, at 19 years is Africa’s longest war and has not had the same attention as Darfur, Sudan.) The full committee need not undertake the missions but a few members could be selected on the basis of their knowledge of the issue, its importance and regional expertise.

Lastly, the committee could look outwards to the processes of UN reform and the monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals with a view to using the Solemn Declaration and the Protocol on Women’s Rights as a lens for measuring progress and agreeing on benchmarks and targets. To not do so, would be to run the danger of repeating the experience of the UN Millennium Summit last year where the deadline for the gender parity MDG passed without protest or censure of the 180 leaders present.

The Committee could champion the process of implementation by directly advocating with all African Governments that gender mainstreaming be vested and adequately resourced at the highest level of Government. Without this, the Protocol could die an early death confined to legal statutes and far from the living experiences of women and men on this continent.

* Country Status on the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
Country Status on the ratification of the Protocol on th
Not yet Signed

Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic, Sao Tome & Principe, Sudan, Tunisia

Signed, but not Ratified

Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Rep. Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Somalia,

Ratified

Benin, Cape Verde, The Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo

Sources for this briefing

- African Union Protocol to the African Charter on the Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa, Addis

- African Union and SOAWR Breathing life into the African Union Protocol on Women's Rights in Africa, forthcoming July 2006

- SOAWR Not Yet a Force for Freedom, 2004

- PAMBAZUKA NEWS Issue 245 Islam and Women, 2006

- PAMBAZUKA NEWS Issue 231 Protocol comes into force, 2005

* This is the final version of a paper presented by invitation to the inauguration of the African Union Women’s Committee, April 28-29th 2006, Addis Ababa. Irungu Houghton is the Pan Africa Advisor for Oxfam based in Nairobi. He represents Oxfam in the Steering Committee for the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition, a pan African coalition of 20 development and women’s organisations working to popularise, ratify and implement the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. He acknowledges the analysis of colleagues within the SOAWR coalition that will be published in forthcoming book co-published with the African Union entitled Breathing life into the African Union Protocol on Women's Rights in Africa, July 2006.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

In the aftermath of the acquittal of former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma on charges of rape, it seems that everyone has had an opinion on the judgment – and an opinion on everyone else’s opinion. Last week, Pambazuka News carried a series of articles on the trial and this week reactions have continued to be sent in. Here, Liepollo Lebohang Pheko gives her opinion.

The past few weeks have been characterised by heated debate and unfettered anticipation about the verdict of the Zuma rape trial. The matter has polarised the nation not only across gender lines but also across class, ethnic and political lines. Having been in downtown Johannesburg when the verdict was announced, I imagined that the anticipated carnage that would have occurred had the verdict been different might have been physically inescapable. As it was the vuvuzelas, cheers and hooters indicated that to some citizens’ estimations, justice has been served.

In addition to the woefully pedestrian prosecution, “Kwezi’s” case was hampered by several social and political complexities. I hold the theoretical view that race, culture, gender, class, and ethnicity are not “external variables” but rather inherent features in an ongoing process of constructing how we understand and participate in the larger social, cultural, and political discourse. This was best encapsulated by two divergent views expressed in the wake of the trial –one by a lawyer colleague and the other by a teller at my local Pick’n Pay. The former stated that he would certainly be attending the ANC congress next year in order to keep Zuma out of the presidency, adding that he attributes blame for this debacle to Mbeki’s aloof and unapproachable leadership style. The young sister at the till jubilantly told me that she would again vote ANC if Zuma were President adding that she as a Zulu woman is tired of Xhosas. Upon my rejoinder that tribalism is not healthy for any nation she heartily responded - “They started it”.

The clear ethnic divide that this case has opened is like a fine dye in which clothes have been soaked. It will take several washes to examine the extent to which the colour has been set and several more to remove it should it be found not to our liking. This case exacerbates and evokes every moment of tension and hatred experienced during the scourge of “black on black violence” and the blood shed in KZN before the elections of 1994. It is moments such as this that should remind us that the matchstick lit in Rwanda in 1994 could be ignited in any country whether through Western interference or the interests of Multi National Companies. Rwanda, the Darfur region and Angola for example are chilling reminders that no-one may be left to recall “who started it”.

The notion of justice is fragile and often fluid. This case illustrates that the legal process has run its course and that political interests are willing to subvert this process for other ends. Whether this is a slap for President Mbeki, an attempt to divert attention from the upcoming corruption trial, or an endeavour to install a working class president to supposedly ensure “workers right’ even though Jacob Zuma has never stood by workers during his cabinet tenure, the loser here is the credibility of any woman who walks into any police station or courtroom to lay a charge of rape.

The law, police , lawyers and judges in this or any matter are not amorphous beings without bias but people with opinions on various types of sexual behaviour and orientation (witness Judge der Merwe’s chastisement of Zuma), perceptions on correct physical and emotional responses to rape, understanding of culture, on religion, on politics and even dress-code. In all this we could not forget that no matter how close Zuma may have been to Kwezi’s parents, Kwezi herself is not of notable ‘political royalty’ , is not a BEE magnate and has no access to the sort of political and media spin doctoring at Zuma’s disposal.

As the TV media dismissively described the hasty exit of gender activists from the courtroom, many in tears, the ultimate victims of the process were left decimated - the rape of authentic moral regeneration, the rape of any woman’s right to make self determined choices about her social and private life, the rape of male accountability, and the rape of trust. The breach includes trust in positive cultural practises, trust in elders, trust in men who believe consent is implied by accepting a dinner date, trust in other women who cried “burn the bitch”, trust in the legal system and trust even in our own ability to relate to each other as one dignified nation rather than one fragmented by skewed understanding of gender, ethnicity, class and political orientation. When our essence has been torched and all that remains are the carcasses of the nation we could have been and the people we should have been, who indeed will be left to recall what greatness and humanity truly are.

* Liepollo Lebohang Pheko is a Senior Policy Analyst at GENTA

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

FEATURED: Accessing rights for persons with disabilities in Kenya is a major challenge, writes Monica Mbaru-Mwangi
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Irungu Houghton reviews the status of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
- How can HIV/Aids policy be successful in Uganda when the country makes homosexuality illegal? Asks Victor Mukasa
- Cary Alan Johnson and Fadzai Muparutsa look at the crackdown on gay rights in Nigeria
- Two responses to the acquittal of Jacob Zuma
LETTERS: On the Pan-African Parliament, peace in Darfur and Jacob Zuma
BLOGGING AFRICA: Sokari Ekine rounds up the African blogosphere
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen Abdul Raheem lands in Kampala – just in time for the inauguration of Yoweri Museveni
OBITUARY: Shailja Patel remembers how Ellen Kuzwayo warmed up a chilly day in York many years ago
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Is the PAP running on empty?
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Mogadishu truce broken; Can Darfur peace survive?
HUMAN RIGHTS: Is the UN Human Rights Council just a new name?
WOMEN AND GENDER: Abuse of girls widespread in East Africa, says report
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Somalis and Ethiopians tell of harrowing journey to Yemen
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Third term bid defeated in Nigeria
DEVELOPMENT: Aid for trade; Monitoring MDGs; Who is the worst man in the world?
CORRUPTION: Increase in Africa cash drain
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: Aids advocates urged to lobby governments
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA: New report on racism on the internet
ENVIRONMENT: The facts, fear and hope of climate change
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Warning of more media raids in Kenya
PLUS: Advocacy and Campaigns; Internet and Technology; e-Newsletters; Courses; Jobs.

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Readers of articles in the sections Features, Comment and Analysis, Letters, Books and Arts, and Pan-African Postcard can now click on a link at the end of each article and submit their comments via an online form. Submissions will be published under the relevant article.

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* COMMENTS SENT BY SMS ON THE ZUMA CASE:

Tanzania: "Zuma should resign from politics"
Tanzania: "Women's rights? Zuma's acquittal is a disgrace!"
Kenya: "Zuma won on technicality of evidence but lost on moral and human rights legitimacy as a leader."
Hong Kong: "Sad that a rape case in South Africa was thrown out and another woman's rights trampled."

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An anti-poverty strike by South Africa's main labour federation appeared to have limited impact on Thursday, with some major mining and transport companies reporting few workers showing up for shifts. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called the one-day stay-away to highlight what it says are the government's poor record on creating new jobs and slashing poverty for the country's black majority.
* Related Link
Cosatu blames bosses for Cape Town rampage

Ellen Kuzwayo, South African activist, writer, feminist, icon, died 3 weeks ago. Obituaries and tributes to her ran in every major media outlet on the African continent, not to mention the New York Times, Washington Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper. So what can I possibly add to the chorus?

I met Mama Kuzwayo when I was a student in the UK, at the University of York. As Minority Rights Officer on the Student Union, I received a call one day from Agnes Sam, South African author of the short story collection, “Jesus Is Indian”. Living in York at the time, she told me that The Women’s Press was arranging a book tour for Ellen Kuzwayo, to promote her autobiography, “Call Me Woman”. Would we be interested in having her appear on campus?

I’d never heard of Ellen Kuzwayo. Or “Call Me Woman”. The irony of my Kenyan education was that my access to African writers and writing was confined to text books in our literature curriculum. Outside that, we read Danielle Steele, Harold Robbins, the European and American writers we found in our school libraries.

So I had no idea that she was the first black writer to win the CNA Prize, South Africa’s highest literary honor. I knew nothing of her illustrious history as a teacher, social worker, anti-apartheid activist, until I read “Call Me Woman.” Then I was riveted. Not because it was great writing. On the contrary, her style was pedestrian, a chronological recounting of facts and events. It was clear that she did not write from a love of language or literary craft.

And yet, each page of “Call Me Woman” rings with a uniquely powerful and utterly compelling voice. The voice of Ellen Kuzwayo brought the reality of a whole generation of black South African women to the world. Women dispossessed of their land, their freedom, their very bodies; women who survived displacement, disenfranchisement, violence at the hands of both the apartheid state and husbands and fathers. In a narrative all the more striking for its lack of embellishment, “Call Me Woman” painted a portrait of courage, resilience and intelligence that would not be extinguished, all harnessed to the struggle for dignity and self-determination.

Mama Kuzwayo wrote her autobiography to tell the story of lives that were unseen, unknown. During the 1980s, a time of terrible repression and violence under the Botha regime, in conditions of daily struggle and uncertainty, she took on a task that would have daunted far more experienced writers. Simply because it had to be done. Her life story still holds up as an outstanding historical document of South Africa’s history in the 20th century, told from the viewpoint of black South African women.

By the time of Mama Kuzwayo’s arrival at York, I had read “Call Me Woman”, and I was in awe of her. I wondered why someone of her stature would come all the way to the North of England, to speak to an overwhelmingly white, middle-class, and politically provincial student population. At the time, there was still debate in British media and society over the wisdom of sanctions against South Africa. Only one other African had ever spoken at York: Kenneth Kaunda in the 1970s. It was a lesson to me in global hierarchies of power: that a 76 year old South African woman, already a legend in her own country, should need to generate the support of white British students, younger than her grandchildren.

When she arrived, I was mortified that we had to make her walk across the campus, for over 20 minutes, in the icy, windy dark, to get to the auditorium where she was to speak. Clearly tired from travelling, she made no complaint – she radiated patience and humour. It made me deeply uncomfortable that the associate from The Women’s Press who accompanied her, a young woman only a couple of years older than me, addressed her bluntly by first name, as “Ellen”.

When she spoke, to a half-empty auditorium, she was a mountain. She spoke without notes, of the episodes that had shaped her as an activist and a woman, she laid out the economic and political extremities facing her people.

In the Q and A that followed, I listened to her dissect both ignorance and racism with unwavering dignity and rapier analysis. To the clichéd: “Don’t sanctions just hurt poor black South Africans?” she responded:

“If we said we want sanctions to stop, we would be saying we want to be slaves forever. Who wants to be a slave forever?”

A British male student began, in the guise of a question, to lecture her about overpopulation in Africa. She answered him with a pithy and devastating exposition of the dismemberment of African families and communities under apartheid.

After the talk, and book signing, I took her to her room for the night – another icy, windy walk across the dark campus. She stumbled several times, and I realized again how old she was, how exhausted. Her room was a stark college bedroom, tiny, cold, unwelcoming. I made her a cup of tea, rubbed her feet, tried to make her comfortable. We talked of Desmond Tutu’s recent visit to Kenya, where he declared that detention without trial anywhere on the continent was a violation of human rights. The speech had drawn a hailstorm of abuse from the despotic Moi regime. There was so much I wanted to ask her, but I was both shy, and reluctant to tire her further. When I said goodnight, she took both my hands: “Thank you my dear, for spoiling me a little.”

The next morning, the feminist newspaper on campus, which I had helped found, interviewed her over breakfast. Three of us from the editorial collective reveled in the richness of her relaxed conversation. She introduced us to Ubuntu – now a standard catchword, but then a concept little known outside South Africa. How it was explained, contained, in the Zulu proverb: A person is a person because of other people. She had the most eloquent hands I have ever seen. They etched her words on the air, punctuated her phrases. Fifteen years later, they still speak from the yellowed newsprint photographs we took of her.

After that breakfast, she left to return to London. She hugged me warmly, gave me her address in South Africa, made me promise to send her a copy of the interview when it was published. I did. I never met her again. But over the years, she remained an icon and hero for me. A reminder of what it means to claim your power, in the face of every force that denies your humanity, and then to offer your whole self in service to that humanity. I remembered her when I came across a quote from St. Francis of Assissi: “There is no use in walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” And even later, when I encountered the words of Gandhi: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

As I browsed the web for her obituaries, I came across an interview with her by British writer, Nicci Gerard. It was published in the New Internationalist, in 1985, five years before I met Mama Kuzwayo in York. Of everything I read about her, this was what stayed with me:

“She says: ‘I am who I am and my life is my own.’ She knows that ‘before you feel hopeful for your country you must feel hope for yourself; if there is no hope for you, you can’t look ahead.’ She says that she lives with fear but that she is bigger than that fear - ‘you must go ahead and damn the consequences.’”

(See full article at:

I have often regretted not having the courage to ask her, when I had the opportunity, to say more about her time in detention and how she survived it. How she endured a violent marriage with spirit unbroken. I wanted to mine every nugget I could from the wealth of her political experience, her years of activism, writing, organizing.

These words seem like the answer. As does her book – which I return to again and again, and continue to find fresh value in. As does the memory of a woman larger than exhaustion, larger than the ignorance of those around her, larger than fear.

* More on Ellen Kuzwayo:
www.shailja.com

* Please send comments to [email protected]