When Allan Paton penned his novel, “Cry the Beloved Country,” it was hailed for clearly mirroring the racial divide against a downtrodden populace. For centuries, Africa was described by the garrulous west as the “Dark Continent” and least of all capable of sustaining a decent life, leave alone hosting the best of football in the world. The coming to Africa of the World Cup, coupled by the sterling hosting, have illuminated the continent in the eyes of diehard apologists of racial doubtfulness, but far from successful hosting, several issues still beg our indulgence.

The symbolic titihoya bird in South African fables as highlighted by Paton in his novel, was known to sing in high places where land was fertile, and food and water was abundant; in contrast, it was unable to sing in the valley where blacks lived in extreme poverty, suffering, exploitation and the reign of brutality. In fact, in the lowly valley, the titihoya did not sing, it rendered a forlorn cry! After independence, the titihoya definitely stopped singing or crying, and this year, because of the World Cup, it was fittingly replaced by the vuvuzela.

If the vuvuzela began by singing at the onset of this World Cup; it was in high spirits, and held the aspirations of a continent clamouring for a football liberation, the hype was that this was the time to awaken, arise, and exhibit a new dawn for which the song was deafening, to the point of inviting discomfiture from players of the west, but alas; ask anyone who still has honesty in them, and the truth is that the vuvuzela ended up crying, that forlorn cry of the hopeless, debased and beaten hands down. For sure, unlike the titihoya, the vuvuzela cries on, and here is why.

Football like all major disciplines, ceased to be a mere sporting activity years back. It is unfortunate that we in Africa still consider football as a social and sporting activity only. This is where our Achilles heel lies- period. This game is trapped in two major concerns- politics and money. Football is the biggest industry in countries where it has excelled, and governments have known the political reparations surrounding it. Governments in Europe and South America, have specific ministries if not whole government departments running football, which obviously means governmental sponsorship, and budgetary priority.

The governments where football is a political concern are usually also run transparently and are dully answerable to the people, which explains the astuteness with which the game is managed, add this to the vibrant economies, and you have a multi- billion industry. This is why transfers of football stars involve what in Africa, appear like obscene figures. The story of the late Pablo Escobar, the drug baron from Colombia, illuminated how big business (legal and illegal), can be tied to football, and shake political establishments.

In Africa, football is used as a launching pad to political leadership, after which the ladder is withdrawn and forgotten; remember Kenneth Matiba, Joab Omino, Alfred Sambu, Peter Kenneth, Adams Karauri and you can gauge Titus Kasuve’s intents among others, as football ails. Prospective politicians look to this popular sport as the reflection of their aspirations; they also hanker for the little money that comes from gate takings and the massive FIFA quotas.

Ironically, the seventh continent in the world called FIFA, readily overrides good intents like those of President Good Luck Jonathan of Nigeria, and it for a moment seems the official position of FIFA, to abet the crippling of a continent known for graft, bad governance and poverty. Care must be taken to confine Africa into the doldrums of underachievement, and disorganization is the fodder for it.

As a sport, football has attained a technical character that calls for serious business mindedness, sacrifice, national pride and selflessness. These qualities are hard to marry into one character, and here also, Africa lags. Many of our football stars thrive on the common rags to riches tales, and owe more allegiances to foreign clubs over their national teams. The stars are unfortunately the bench mark for budding footballers, who soon hanker for, and actually join the fray.

Look at our representative in South Africa this year. South Africa never fought to play in the final, granted this is the tradition, but was it a tested team? What type of trophy closet do they keep? Cameroon was banking on the old history of a lion that has been beaten so much, that there in nothing indomitable about them anymore, they must cease to fight only to qualify; they must match the desire with a corresponding deserving character. Ivory Coast, Algeria and Ghana, have imbued the European habit of dribbling, footwork and good ball passing, but unlike them, cannot finish.

At one time, watching Ghana and Ivory Coast, both trained by foreigners, one wonders if these coaches deliberately train our boys to do all that appertains to good football but on reaching the goal, teach them to blast directly onto an oncoming goalkeeper, pass the ball to him, blast wide, or pass it backward to the opposing defender! This does not in anyway support the blanket demand for local coaches. Some of our coaches have not grown enough, truth be said. In Kenya, we have recycled the same locals for so long that they will never change.

The African mentality of biased national team selection to meet sectional, political, tribal or club inclinations contribute to poor performance.

National pride comes with this sport, one cannot fail to loud the boys from Ghana for their resilience, but Gyan had scored the penalty before kicking it!, calmness, composure and level headedness, all culminate in the difference between wanting a win and needing it. The Uruguayans badly wanted the win, and the handball was one such gamble, it paid off, in war, everything is fair they say. Ghana for their part proved that all they needed was to make history, nothing about wanting the win, the proverbial pot breaks at the door steps they say.

Africa must quickly redefine football, know what it entails the world over, and adequately play in the same league; let us not only hanker for the sport, and lose sight of the politics and money that drive this business. Added to this must be a change in attitude, character, and purpose. With open wounds, Africa has some licking to do, we can now watch the “Kaburu” stride the Soccer City against Spain, for indeed, the vuvuzela cries on.

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When a report in May revealed that the Ugandan government was concerned about reports that, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were reorganizing in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there was ample reason for skepticism.

Whenever people hear about militias in eastern DRC causing problems, they generally think of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), or the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR). The ADF is not given any consideration at all. It has been widely assumed that, the group was destroyed by Ugandan military action in 2004, and by Operation North Night, a joint Military Operation by United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC) and the Congolese army. After that, there were reports of a clash between the UPDF and the ADF in March of 2007.

One might ask if there is reason to be cautious regarding reports of the ADF reforming in the DRC. Recent history shows that in previous elections Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has used threats of attacks by the ADF as planks in his reelection campaign. In 2005, the President sought the approval of the Bush administration to launch another invasion of the Congo, to deal with this perceived threat against Uganda.

Like the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which is currently creating havoc in the Central African Republic and Sudan at this time, the ADF seeks to overthrow the Museveni government. However, the powerbases of these two militias are from different parts of Uganda. Traditionally, the LRA draws its power from the Acholi dominated northern region. The ADF which has a core base that is Muslim, draws its support from the western part of the country.

Currently, MONUC has an operation called Amani Leo, active in the eastern part of the Congo. As I wrote this piece, the Congolese army released casualty reports that revealed that at least 60 Rwandan and Ugandan insurgents, were killed during operations conducted this month. So it appears that even though MONUC has started the process to withdraw from the Congo, the problems do not appear to have been resolved.

When reports of the reemergence of the ADF started coming, there was a train of thought that garnered my interest. There were statements that indicated that, the group would not be seen as a threat to the oil industry that is developing in both the Congo and Uganda. It is interesting to see why such logic would be used at this time. One possible answer is that there is not enough money, to be made in this industry yet. Or it appears that other activities such as diamond and weapons smuggling, are more lucrative at this time.

Another train of thought has indicated that the ADF is another route for Al-Shaabab or another Al-Qaeda aligned group to launch operations against Uganda for its efforts in Somalia. We cannot ignore this. Reported efforts by Al-Qaeda to get access to uranium in the DRC back in 2003 lend some credence to this thought. Still another train of thought could be that there may be a role by Sudan in this.

Earlier this month, there were reports of a clash between the Ugandan Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) and the Janjaweed in the Central African Republic. Tensions have been simmering between Uganda and Sudan, over several factors, including the aforementioned LRA and the recently concluded and controversial presidential elections in April. In the past, Sudan has supported the ADF, according to Ugandan military sources, to offset the efforts by Uganda to support the independence efforts of southern Sudan.

So why these reports? Part of the reason is political posturing in Kampala. But other factors are at play as well. Unconfirmed reports indicate that, Al-Qaeda is trying to establish links with the ADF again. It could be that there are parties seeking chaos to strengthen their own position in the region, or amongst the great powers. Whatever it is, this is a dangerous precedent being set for the region. And does anyone care what chaos that will bring?

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Recently, the United States Vice-President Joe Biden made an official trip to Africa. One of his stops was South Africa, where he attended the opening of the FIFA World Cup tournament. Biden also visited Nairobi, Kenya’s capitol city. Hot on his heels, some blasts, of what is largely speculated as grenades, rocked the city. It was Uhuru Park, the site of a prayer crusade, turned political rally for those opposed to the draft constitution currently being contested.

Biden’s visit had three objectives: First, to pass on a message from President Barack Obama to the leader of South Sudan, Salva Kiir. Secondly, to address the deteriorating situation in Somalia and finally, to show support for Kenya’s draft law.

As I noted on Confused Eagle, there is an interesting money trail originating from the US to Kenya in respect to the draft in question. The Obama administration is supporting the draft, which has a clause for “access to reproductive health” by providing funds through the United States Agency for International Development.

To the religious right, these are code words for abortion. Some US-based groups have reportedly been supporting the opponents of the proposed law, violating the Siljander Amendment in the process.The amendment stipulates that under no circumstance, whatsoever, should American foreign aid be used in any abortion debate.

Another topic that has caused problems for the administration has been Sudan. The aftermath of the April elections has been tragic and interesting; replete with increased militia activities, and frustration in congress regarding the actions before the plebiscite.

The peace talks in Doha are on the verge of collapse, according to reports. There have been clashes in Darfur between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Justice and Equality Movement. There is instability as well in Southern Sudan. Some militias in the south have been active against the government of southern Sudan as well. Curiously, Darfur was not mentioned as a national security interest of the US, but genocide was.

Renewed proxy war between Uganda and Sudan could further complicate policy execution. In the past, the Sudanese government has armed, and in some cases, used the Lord’s Resistance Army as a surrogate force to exert its influence in the region. The Ugandans have also supported those in the south, who are seeking independence from the north. This week, there were reports of clashes between the Janjaweed and the Ugandan military in the Central Africa Republic (CAR).

This shows the weakness of the current government in Bangui, CAR. Various forces are now operating on their soil, conducting operations unhindered. It also could be a reaction by Khartoum to lash out at those critical of the April polls. Finally, it could be a ploy by President Yoweri Museveni to drum up support for his 2011 reelection bid. In the past, he has used instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a campaign platform, so this is not a new tactic on his part.

The situation in Somalia has not changed much. Mogadishu is still a battleground, and the Islamist insurgency is still creating problems for the weak western-backed government.

All in all, these situations present long-term issues for the Obama administration. The criticism, regarding the handling of Sudan, has raised alarm and anger amongst the activist community. As at this time, there is no official response from the administration regarding the bombing in Nairobi. Very little has been said regarding Somalia except that, like in Sudan, and in the DRC, there is concern regarding child soldiers.

The Obama administration sent Biden to Africa to show that the US is concerned with the continent’s current events, but they might have missed the mark.

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Children who know their status have better levels of ARV adherence. Photo: Euan Denholm/IRIN

KAMPALA, Uganda – A Ugandan draft policy recommending that HIV-positive children be informed of their status by the age of 10 has drawn mixed reactions from health workers.

The previous policy required parental consent to tell children under the age of 12, but the new policy allows health workers – with the support of parents and guardians – to disclose HIV status after the child has been prepared and an assessment of their ability to understand and deal with the condition has been made.

Dr Benson Tumwesigye, national HIV testing and counselling coordinator in the Ministry of Health, said the new policy was intended to improve children’s adherence to their life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, which would be easier if they knew why they had to take the drugs.

Better adherence

“In my experience a child disclosed to at an early age copes better than those who get to know their status when they are teenagers. They easily adapt to the new lifestyle as adolescents growing up, and adhere better [to ARVs],” said Cissy Ssuuna, counsellor coordinator at the paediatric HIV clinic of the Baylor College of Medicine in the capital, Kampala.

“With some children – as early as at four years – they know something is wrong with them and ask so many questions about why they are taking drugs and their siblings are not taking them; they ask their parents when they can stop taking drugs.”

Ssuuna stressed the need to involve parents and guardians as much as possible, and to ensure children were properly prepared to deal with the news of their HIV status.

A Ugandan study in 2006 indicated a need for service providers to support caregivers in disclosing their children’s HIV status to them, so as to ensure adherence to treatment.

Hard to tell

Another study, in 2008, said stigma linked to HIV was one of the main reasons disclosure to children was so sensitive. Parents also feared disclosing their children’s status to them because it meant disclosing their own.

A lack of clear guidelines was another problem. “Counselling policy directors confirmed the absence of policy and training guidelines on the subject of parent-child disclosure,” the study said. “Counsellors reported improvising, and giving inconsistent advice on this common concern of clients.”

Many service providers were hesitant about adopting the new policy. “It is not a good thing because of stigma; some of these children do not understand, and they may boldly announce, ‘I am HIV positive’, in public places. They are not like adults who can evaluate what to say and when,” said Norah Namono, public relations officer for Mildmay Uganda, an HIV treatment centre in the capital.

“Why should they say that children need to know their status when there are adults [who do not], like men who do not tell their wives?” one mother at the Mildmay centre asked. “There is no policy on partner notification; why should we sacrifice the children first?”

Ssuuna noted that disclosure, even to older children, could come as a shock. “The older ones cry because they come in confident that they have never had sex, not knowing that they acquired it [HIV] at birth,” she said.

“The younger ones are partially disclosed to, telling them that they have to take their drugs religiously lest they fall sick because they have a chronic disease.”

All the service providers IRIN/PlusNews spoke to said they would require more information and guidance before they could adopt the new policy.

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Some of the residents of The Good Shepherd Home in Kampala.

The Good Shepherd Home is an orphanage sitting on a piece of land in Kisenyi Zone, one of Kampala’s slums. It houses several people with disabilities, ranging from toddlers to octogenarians.

It is a daily routine for the priests from St Balikuddembe Parish, which owns the home to sing songs of praise with the disabled children, as a way of comforting them. Some suffer from mental illnesses, others are physically handicapped, blind, while many others are orphans and those living with HIV Aids.

The three-block facility, which smells almost like a hospital ward, because of the detergents used for cleaning, houses a store, a dormitory for boys and girls, and an office for the priests.

The Good Shepherd Home, which started in 2000, now has more than 288 children. Many others regularly get their meals from the orphanage. Meanwhile, there are nearly 600 children from the area who have been enrolled at St Atenesius Primary School, which is owned by the Parish.

Apart from two priests, Rev. Augustine Hayden from Trinidad Tobago, and Brother Prem Sagar from India, who look after the orphanage, there are 12 more people who volunteer at the home.

Sabin, one of the residents of the home enjoying a meal.

The volunteers together with the priests play with the mentally disturbed, feed those who can’t feed themselves, bathe them, and wash their clothes and bedding. According to Ms Tranziska Wanram, a volunteer from Germany, the task is not simple.

“You have to keep on playing with these children, as a way of comforting them,” says Ms Wanram.

But among those in the orphanage are also the middle-aged such as Ms Eunice Tenwa, 42, who ran away from Kenya during the 2007 election violence. She can neither walk nor ease herself, as a result of getting a spinal cord problem.

“I came to Uganda in 2007 after the election violence in Kenya, and when I arrived here, I developed spinal cord complications,” says Ms Tenwa. “Although I am fed, clothed and given shelter, I am not happy here, especially when I remember how my business used to thrive, before the violence.”

She says all her four children were burnt during the disputed polls.

When asked if she intends to return home after recovering, Ms Tenwa said: “I cannot go back to Kenya anymore, considering what I saw and faced. Even if it were you, I don’t think you will go. How would you feel when you see other people’s children, and yet you don’t have even one?”

In an effort to bring life to the orphanage, a digital television set has been installed at the premise. Despite all that is done, the orphanage faces a lot of challenges, ranging from funding, electricity and water.

“We normally pay UGShs 800,000 for water, and UGShs400, 000 for power every month,” says Brother Sagar, adding that, it would be better if government took charge of these services.

He says the problem extends to other provisions such as bed sheets, blankets, soap and food, that are always in short supply.

“Although people help us with clothes, there are still problems of inadequate supply of blankets, bed sheets and soap,” he says, adding, “In order to reduce costs, we wash everything by ourselves because we don’t have money to employ workers.”

But during the weekends, Brother Sagar says they teach normal children how to wash utensils, clothes and make beds by themselves.

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President Obama signs the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. Resolve Uganda.

Last Monday, President Barack Obama signed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, the culmination of years of campaigning by advocacy groups like Resolve Uganda and Invisible Children. The legislation makes it mandatory for the president to develop a strategy within 180 days to disarm the Lord’s Resistance Army, which continues to destroy the lives of thousands of civilians in the DR Congo, Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan. It also provides $10 million a year to support reconciliation efforts in northern Uganda, which has been rebuilding since the LRA was ousted in 2005.

Paul Ronan noted in Resolve Uganda’s blog, for instance, that the LRA’s brutal attacks in the CAR have barely been covered in the international press, and largely gone under the radar. But one civil society group believes that the LRA has abducted 400 people from the CAR, and killed 200 since 2008

Although 49 Sudanese, Ugandan, Congolese, and American welcomed the signing, some groups and leaders were nervous that the bill would lead to more direct U.S. attacks against the rebel group, which could destabilize the region further. Last week, Acholi community leaders circulated a two-page letter calling on Obama to design a non-violent strategy, citing the failures of military strategies like December 2008’s Operation Lightning Thunder, which failed to capture Joseph Kony, and led to brutal retaliation attacks against Congolese civilians. New Vision’s Chris Ocowun reported about this letter on May 28th, which was drafted by the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative.

The group cites the relative stability in northern Uganda in the past five years as a product of the peace negotiations, and calls upon President Obama to restart the process. Ugandan advocates are concerned that the bill might lead the way for more direct U.S. military attacks against the LRA.’

Obama currently has 174 days to come up with a strategy. Acholi leaders urge the U.S. government to draft the policy by meeting with different stakeholders in the fragile region

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The House of Representatives voted yesterday, upon measures that have direct impact on the United States relations with several countries in Central and Eastern Africa.

On the agenda to be considered was the LRA Disarmament Bill. With this bill, the US officially will officially join efforts to bring Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to face justice, after two decades of conflict in East Africa, which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

This legislation is a result of Operation Lightning Thunder, a military action by Ugandan, Southern Sudanese and Congolese governments, after Kony failed to show up, not once but, twice to sign a peace accord with Kampala in 2008. The Bush administration provided logistical support for the operation, which resulted in the fragmentation of the LRA, spreading its operations to several countries, including the Central African Republic.

The bill was introduced into the US Senate following an LRA attack on Christmas day 2008, in Doruma that left hundreds dead. This was seen by many as a reprisal for the offensive against the LRA.

After sporadic raids throughout 2009, it was reported that March 2010 was one of the most active months of LRA’s history that span more than a quarter century. In fact, it was feared that the LRA, which has had ties to the Sudanese government in the past would try to influence the Sudanese elections by conducting operations in Southern Sudan. There has been evidence of LRA raids in DRC and Central African Republic.

For almost a decade, there has been a large grassroots movement to bring Kony to face justice. Since the early days of the LRA, the main recruiting tool and way to replenish the ranks has been by kidnapping children. Kony has long had the idea of creating his own “tribe”. In following this dream he has terrorized thousands. In the US, it was hundreds of committed teenagers and college students that demanded redress.

There is a reason for concern as well. Previous administrations have had real cozy relationships with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. The Bush administration gave its blessings when Uganda threatened to use the LRA as an excuse to reinvade the DRC. When it passed the Foreign Aid Act this year, Congress set aside funds to monitor the Uganda’s elections next year.

There are signs that the passage of this is a mere formality. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and select members of the house flew to Germany to meet with AFRICOM head Gen. William Ward and staffers. This trip would not have occurred if the passage of this bill was not expected in the near future. So this means that military critics might have to keep an eye on Kisangani, Juba or Djibouti. These are the most logical locations where ground forces could launch operations from; or the air base at Kigali could serve as another command base.

This month the clock starts ticking for a potentially increased role of the US in Central Africa- this is the end of a beginning.

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Passing laws against FGM/C will not work without getting villagers on board: community educators in Sierra Leone. Photo: Bryna Hallam/IRIN

DAKAR, Senegal – Parliamentarians from all over Africa are pushing for a continent-wide ban on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and are calling on the UN to pass a General Assembly resolution appealing for a global FGM/C ban, as it violates human rights, they say.

Some 17 African states have banned FGM/C, among them Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal and Uganda.

Members of parliament (MPs) from African nations met in Dakar 3-4 May to exchange lessons learned and actions to take to achieve the ban and resolution. While national human rights laws, and regional treaties such as the 2003 Africa Union Maputo Declaration refer directly or indirectly to FGM/C, separate laws must be passed to address it head-on, said delegates.

Morissanda Kouyaté, representative of the NGO Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, told delegates: “There is a lot of disparity here. Some countries have passed laws, others have none; and some have laws that are not applied.”

Some governments are fully engaged and ready for change, but others, like Sierra Leone, which has high prevalence rates, will take years to shift, said Chris Baryomunsi, an MP from Kanungu in western Uganda.

Decades, not years

Ugandan MP Baryomunsi told IRIN governments should not under-estimate how long it takes to change people’s minds on FGM/C: in Uganda it took two decades to get communities on board, he said.

“People have to want the law, otherwise you can’t enforce it,” he told IRIN.

Uganda passed a law banning FGM/C on 17 March 2010. Baryomunsi has been advocating change since 1990, in what was then a tough climate with several local authorities trying to pass laws to make FGM/C mandatory.

Over many years their views shifted and several of them switched sides to become strong advocates for a nationwide ban, he said.

“Then MPs who wanted to ban FGM/C were voted out of parliament, but now it’s the reverse.”

Senegal and Togo which banned FGM/C in 1999 and 1998 respectively, were some of the earliest African countries to do so. They have seen what works and what does not, and shared their lessons with others.

N’Deye Soukeye Gueye, head of the Ministry of the Family and advocate of the FGM/C ban in Senegal, told IRIN getting the head of state involved was vital to win over powerful religious leaders.

Advocacy to bring them on board continued before, during and after legislation, she stressed. “Passing the law is just the middle step in a much longer process.”

Of 5,000 Senegalese villages targeted by the two national NGOs Tostan and COSEPRAT, 71 percent had abandoned the practice by 2005, according to a government evaluation.

NGOs and UN agencies are instrumental in changing people’s attitudes to FGM/C, but ultimately the government has to lead the fight, agreed Baryomunsi. “Many countries leave the struggle to NGOs and UN agencies – but it is governments who sign treaties and enforce the law, and they must lead,” he told IRIN.

The Ugandan government puts US$50 million a year towards implementing the ban, with the UN Population Fund and other agencies providing significant supplementary funds “to make the law bite”, he said.

International legislation needed

However, no matter how strong national legislation is, if neighbouring countries do not also pass a ban, people will simply cross borders to undergo the procedure, Togo MP Christine Mensah Atoemne, told IRIN.

In Togo girls travel to Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso to undergo FGM/C, she pointed out. “We have to develop cross-border strategies to eradicate the phenomenon,” she said, adding that FGM/C rates are 6 percent in central Togo and 15 percent in border areas.

In Senegal rates are highest in Podor and Matam on the Mauritania border, and Tambacounda in the west near the border with Mali, according to Gueye.

Meanwhile, in Dakar delegates put the final touches to the draft resolution they plan to push at the UN General Assembly and pass this year, as well as a list of actions for African heads of state to take to ban the practice when they meet for the African Union summit in Kampala, Uganda, in July.

“We think a GA [General Assembly] resolution will be passed,” said Gueye, “There is unanimity in this room. It is ambitious but we need to think on a grand scale.”

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Kyomya Macklean (L) and (R) Daisy Nakato, founders of Women's Organization Network for Human Rights Advocacy (WONETHA). Handout/WONETHA

LONDON – From dingy street corners in Uganda’s capital to the United Nations’ gleaming headquarters in New York, East African sex workers are standing up for their rights by challenging the political and social systems that discriminate against them.

Although prostitution is illegal in most of Africa, women in the trade are forming powerful movements, seeking protection through the courts and defying the law to make themselves heard.

One such woman is Kyoma Macklean, who over the past few years has found herself in courtrooms, in the Ugandan parliament and at a United Nations conference on women’s rights. She is now heading a campaign to stop violence against sex workers after a prostitute was raped and brutally murdered in a town near Kampala last month.

“This girl was found stripped naked, raped and slaughtered like a chicken,” Macklean told AlertNet by telephone from Kampala.

In rural areas in particular, sex workers are susceptible to discrimination, violence and sexually transmitted diseases because of the lack of education and greater intolerance, she says.

“If they find out a woman is a sex worker, they hang you like a cross, insert glass in your vagina and burn your heart to ash because they believe we symbolise immorality and are an abomination to mankind,” said Macklean, who heads Women’s Organization Network for Human Rights Advocacy (WONETHA).

By putting up posters with graphic images of the murdered sex worker around Kampala, Macklean’s team aims to expose human rights violations by police and others – for example doctors reluctant to treat prostitutes – and ultimately decriminalise sex work.

Macklean says criminalisation of sex work is fuelling the HIV pandemic because it drives sex workers underground, creating an environment where clients can easily refuse to use condoms, rape and infect them.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 72 percent of AIDS-related deaths globally, with 1.4 million killed by the disease in 2008.

“AIDS education is extremely low because even those who are educated are scared and feel powerless to negotiate for safer sex,” Macklean said.

In Kenya, prejudice against sex workers was highlighted after the murders of eight such women in the town of Thika near Nairobi made headlines in February. No suspect has yet been caught, according to local media. However, the sex workers who reported the murders were arrested for submitting false information and spreading rumours, activists say.

The prostitutes have challenged the charges with the help of the Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), which documented sexual and other violence against women after 2007 elections in Kenya. A court hearing has been postponed for now but the organisation hopes it will be a landmark case revealing the discrimination, exploitation and violence suffered by prostitutes.

Sex workers before their first court appearance facing charges of submitting false information and spreading rumours, Thika, Kenya, March 17, 2010. Photo: Zawadi Nyong'o

“Instead of the state taking responsibility, it starts covering up for its failures and turns on the victims, accusing them of all manner of issues,” said Ann Njogu, the founder of CREAW and the recipient of the 2010 International Women of Courage Award presented by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama.

“Our laws are very discriminatory against sex workers, we have a law that criminalises supply but does not criminalise demand,” she told Alertnet by telephone from Nairobi. “If we cannot pass laws that are fair, that will ensure justice, then we should legalise sex work so that everyone can carry on working in a safe, free environment.”

Breaking the silence

Sex workers in East Africa are also making their voices heard via the first book in the region that contains first-hand accounts of sex workers’ experiences. Macklean’s is the first story featured in the postcard-sized book released last month.

“The aim is to open people’s eyes to see beyond the stereotype, to react to sex workers as human beings with complexities like everybody else,” said Zawadi Nyong’o, a feminist activist and the author of the book entitled “When I dare to be powerful.”

She said everyone should have the right to do what they want with their own bodies as sex work is a contract between two consenting adults, and should therefore be treated as any other business transaction.

While activists like Nyong’o and Macklean work to change attitudes towards prostitutes, a new website, due to go live by the end of the year, will also provide them with practical help.

Among its many services, the website called Tujilinde – meaning protecting or defending ourselves in Swahili – will allow sex workers to alert designated coordinators by SMS in case of arrest or human rights abuses and list recommended health centres and legal aid providers.

“In a case like (in) Thika, when there is a death or when you know for instance there is a bar where some guy hangs out all the time and he is known to be raping women, that also can be tracked and mapped and other sex workers (will) know to avoid that area,” said Hakima Abbas, deputy director of Fahamu, a pan-African social justice organisation and collaborator on the project.

Activists hope that all these efforts will finally secure the human rights of sex workers who, as Nyong’o notes, are entitled to them “because they are human beings.”

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Uganda People’s Congress Party President Mr. Olara Otunnu (seated right) receives a summoning letter from CID Official Mr. Ibrahim Luggya in front of journalists. Courtesy photo.

KAMPALA, Uganda- In the lead-up to Uganda’s next general elections, there are fears the government is beginning a crackdown on independent media. Since 2007, radio stations across the country have suffered interference from government for hosting opposition politicians.

In a recent incident, on a tour of the Acholi-sub region, the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) flag bearer Mr. Olara Otunnu, faced a radio black out for 15 minutes when Voice of Lango was switched off air. It is reported that the radio signals was switched off under the directive of the Resident District Commissioner. Although the station resumed operations, it emerged that the radio proprietor, who is also an NRM MP Mr. Felix Okot Okong was forced to apologise to the President for hosting Mr. Otunnu.

In a similar case, in Pader District in February, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) President Kizza Besigye, who was scheduled to be hosted on the local radio station, Luo FM radio was blocked from holding the talk show. Although he had already booked time and paid Shs 800,000 for the show, his money was refunded at the last minute. The station cited “orders from above.”

In another incident, Mr. Otunnu in February suffered a media blackout while touring Western Uganda even before paying the fee to be hosted on the radio stations.

Dr. George Lugalambi, head of Mass Communication Department at Makerere University told Daily Monitor on Thursday that it is unfortunate that the government continues denying opposition politicians from accessing radio stations yet they also have good policies for the country’s development.

He said the government is hindering the opposition from accessing radio facilities because it has minimal support in urban areas.

“When you look at NRM government, it has not been successful in the urban areas during the election, and so they are trying to limit the opposition from accessing rural radio stations in an effort to consolidate votes in those areas,” Dr Lugalambi says.

He says although people in rural areas do not fully participate in radio and television debates, they are entitled to listen to the policies of their politicians and make their own judgment before going to the polls.

“Denying opportunities for the opposition politicians to access radio stations is not only a loss to the opposition, it is a loss to the general public and the government as well,” Dr. Lugalambi says, adding that radio access to politicians gives the electorate opportunities to explore their policy proposals and decide for themselves what they think is good or bad.

In 2007, the Kitgum-based Kitti FM was switched off air 30 minutes after FDC President Kizza Besigye had started speaking on the radio’s talk-show. The radio’s generator was switched off, reportedly on the orders of the area RDC. Within three days, the radio station was reportedly closed down for failing to pay its operational license fees to the government-owned Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). In the same year, another talk show programme, ‘Tonight with Tegulle” on UBC was also suspended for allegedly hosting Dr. Besigye. Two years later in November 2009, the same Besigye was blocked from appearing on Nenah FM in Karamoja to address the public.

For fear of being reprimanded or shut down, some radio stations in rural areas are reluctant to host key opposition leaders. Charles Odongtho, secretary for Uganda Radio Network News Agency says denying opposition access radio stations narrows the spectrum of sending information to the public yet guaranteed by the Ugandan Constitution Article 29.

He says; “People should be allowed to listen to the opposition’s policies and later make the right decision of electing the best candidate in the next year’s general election.”

MP Benson Ogwal (UPC) has decried the government’s effort of restricting opposition from accessing the media.

“If the government is restricting radio owners not to host opposition politicians, what should we do? Should we start using satellite communication?” Mr. Ogwal asks.

It is estimated that 70 percent of the population have access to radios in their homes, according to a research conducted by Faculty of Information and Computing Technology, Makerere University in 2007.

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The confusion regarding the Sudan policy review by the Obama administration was not an accident. It appears to be a thinly veiled outlet to give Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir a chance to show the United States of America that he is a democrat, but he has failed.

Shortly after President Barack Obama took office, there were inklings that a policy change for Sudan was in the works. One of the proposed actions was to remove Sudan from the List of countries that are state sponsors of terrorism. Early last year the Israelis struck at Sudan on two different occasions, targeting convoys that were reportedly sending arms to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Also the Sudanese government has supposedly supported the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a militia seeking to overthrow the Ugandan government. As long as these issues remain, Sudan cannot be struck off that list.

Another contention was the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) between Khartoum and Juba. This accord which was negotiated with the assistance of the Bush administration, and signed in 2005 set forth the motions that would allow for presidential and parliamentary elections currently underway. The accord would also allow for Southern Sudan to have the option to secede from the North January 2010.

During the days preceding the elections, once again the administration was sending mixed signals regarding this critical event. First, the diplomats were not speaking to each other. The US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice was concerned over reports of increasing violence in the country. The special envoy to Sudan Gen. Sott Gration said that these were “minor difficulties” in what was expected to be a free and fair election. A similar statement also came from the State Department. This is not a good return for the $100 million that the US government allocated to defray some of the costs of the poll as part of the CPA.

Candidates for the two main opposition parties decided to boycott the elections. This is disheartening as it now appears that the reelection of President Bashir will be a fait accompli. This will raise questions regarding whether or not this was planned by the government.

A new administration has the right and privilege to conduct whatever foreign policy it deems will advance the interests of the US. The appearance of the administration to support the government of Al-Bashir will anger not only those from Darfur, who have suffered for a decade, but will also be seen as a slap in the face of those from the South. The US helped negotiate the CPA as an honest broker. The actions of this administration have undermined the CPA as much as the Sudanese government has. There are also reports that some of the Northern resistance groups will launch new operations if Al-Bashir is reelected.

Currently the LRA Disarmament Bill is in the House of Representatives. It is seen by some as supporting the efforts of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to remain in power, to fund his military machine. In the past the Sudanese intelligence services have used the LRA as a proxy force to exert influence. Recently, there were reports of a series of attacks in Ezzo County which is in Western Equateur Province. Relations with the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Uganda, can be influenced by this legislation.

Although there is a peace deal with Chad, there are now reports that the followers of Khalil Ibriham, who was driven out of Chad earlier this year, are regrouping in Darfur. Kenya has close ties with Southern Sudan as well. Last week some Kenyan nationals began leaving the region out of anxiety. How will the administration support these key allies?

This also has the potential for becoming a huge issue for the republicans in the mid-term elections this fall. There are some conservatives who are upset with the fiasco regarding missile defense. Angry activists who have been working on Darfur, or other Sudan related issues, could form a coalition to punish the democrats this fall for the glaring weakness in foreign policy. There is also a small US military team in Southern Sudan training the GOSS Army in small unit tactics. Its possible that in the near future that these troops will soon be in harm’s way.

Indecision does breed crisis, and in Sudan, it appears that shortly there will be one erupting soon. Hopefully this is not what the Obama administration wanted.

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Many times politics resembles both drama and comedy. Events will occur or even be manipulated, to ensure an outcome for one group or faction, so it can either gain or retain power. Some of these events resemble punch lines.

Although it is difficult to determine whether or not it is drama, comedy or both, the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) falls into this unique situation. Events have been occurring at a rapid rate and some of them are just unique to Africa, even though the rest of the world is not exempt from related occurrences.

This situation started unraveling when the UN Security Council announced its intended draw-down of 2,000 personnel involved with United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC) by the end of June this year. This is the initial step in the UN exiting the country, much as little has been accomplished. The removal of the UN mission is a plank in the re-election campaign of President Joseph Kabila.

Another factor that influences this situation is the recent passage, by the United States Senate of the Lords Resistance Army Disarmament (LRA) and Northern Uganda Act. This bill has generated controversy, as it is seen by many people as giving the US military greater role in the mission to rein in the LRA. The Acholi People of Uganda are concerned that this legislation places more confidence in the abilities of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

Another piece of legislation that could influence US policy is the Congo Conflict Minerals Act, which is still in Senate committee. A similar version in the House of Representatives has four new co-sponsors. This bill seeks to promote peace within the DRC and to monitor the traffic of gold, coltan, cassiterite and wolframite.

While these actions were taking place in Washington, DRC was experiencing sporadic violence. At that time, every couple of weeks, there were attacks along the DRC-Sudan border. Then there were raids in the Central African Republic followed by Southern Sudan. While this was going on, the UN-backed operation Amani Leo was releasing body counts reflective of the five O’clock Follies in Saigon and Riyadh in previous conflicts.

The apparent game changer was a human rights watch report last week, which stated that in December last year, the LRA killed more than 321 people in the DRC. An unsuccessful effort to defeat the LRA- Operation Lightning Thunder- was launched with some support from the US. The release of the report has caused some interesting events in motion.

It is reported that the UN Security Council will soon travel to the DRC and assess the situation firsthand. There are calls for MONUC to stay in the country to reverse its withdrawal agenda. Some people have argued that the much maligned mission needs to remain in the Congo.

Currently there is a US military and private security mission in Kisangani working to train DRC’s armed forces on human rights. There is also a liaison team with the Ugandan military as well, so if the House passes the LRA bill, the US has military assets already in position to conduct operations if the President deems them necessary.

The LRA bill has revealed a schism in some of the grassroots movements here in the US. There are elements that do not want to see any American troops in the Congo under any circumstance. There are also others who are demanding that the Obama administration take a more decisive role in this rapidly changing climate. These groups have been able to motivate people to raise funds and contact their members of congress to demand some form of action.

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