More than a dozen senior commanders and officials who children say recruited them as soldiers in South Sudan should be investigated, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. The United Nations says 16,000 children have joined armed groups since South Sudan’s civil war erupted two years ago.

“It’s the brutal recruitment that is the most heart wrenching,” Skye Wheeler, the report’s author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“Forces come through their village and grab them and force them into fighting. It’s an absolute negation of their basic rights as children, but also as people, not to be treated just as cannon fodder.”

South Sudan was plunged into a civil war in December 2013 when a political crisis triggered fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels allied with his former deputy Riek Machar. The conflict has reopened ethnic faultlines that pit Kiir’s Dinka people against Machar’s ethnic Nuer people.

A peace deal was signed in August but the two sides have repeatedly accused each other of violations.

A third of 74 boys interviewed who fought in the current conflict said they were forcibly recruited, often at gunpoint.

Many said they were detained until they agreed to fight or simply abducted, handed a gun and sent into battle.

“I had no experience of holding a gun before,” said one boy in the report who was abducted from school by opposition forces.

“They told us this is how you use it… Then we began fighting.”

Around half of the boys interviewed said they willingly joined armed groups to protect themselves and their communities.

“Without the protection of a gun and an armed group, many boys believed they would have been even more vulnerable to being killed,” the report said.

Half of the child soldiers interviewed fought or worked for government forces or their allies.

Among the most prominent names cited in the report is Matthew “Pul” Puljang, an ethnic Bul Nuer commander who fought in a Unity State militia before joining the government in April 2013.

South Sudan’s army spokesman Philip Aguer said its Child Protection Unit had planned to visit Unity State in 2013 to investigate allegations of Puljang using child soldiers.

“But the visit was interrupted by the violence and it has never taken place,” he said.

“We welcome all investigations to prove any allegations.”

HRW also called for another former rebel who has joined the government side, David Yau Yau, to be investigated.

Yau Yau has released 1,755 child soldiers from his ranks since he signed a peace deal with the government in 2014.

“It not going to be solved just by releasing boys,” Wheeler said. “There also needs to be accountability for commanders who have recruited and used child soldiers to end this endless cycle.”

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President Yoweri Museveni has called on African leaders to respect borders in order to avoid unnecessary conflict.

The President, who is on a two-day state visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of His Majesty King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the custodian of the two Holy Mosques, said this while meeting the Secretary General ofOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation, Dr Iyad Ameen Madani who called on him at his residency in the King Saud Palace, in Riyadh.

The President noted that there has always been a cold war between Somalia and Kenya stemming from the borders, which has resulted into unprincipled conflict, which the African Union does not condone.

”There has always been a cold war between Somalia and Kenya but we always said; respect the borders wherever they are, since you found them there,” he said, referring to the stand of the African Union.

Mr Museveni was responding to Dr Madan’s comment on the OIC’s interest in the development and humanitarian situation in war torn African countries like Somalia and South Sudan.

President Museveni, however, told his visitors that he will take the issues to the African Union so as to allay fears by Somalia regarding border conflicts with Kenya.

He suggested that Somalia be helped to acquire road equipment so as to open their murram roads and repair the tarmac ones in order to improve transport as well as enable the army to keep security in the country.

On tribalism, President Museveni said that that NRM has been successful because of her non-sectarian policy where prosperity, pan Africanism and patriotism are given precedence over identity.

“If your identity is not attacked why don’t you emphasize prosperity,” he said.

The OIC Secretary General Dr. Madan suggested that observers be sent to South Sudan to monitor the peace process, an idea that president Museveni also supported.

Meanwhile, President Yoweri Museveni has held bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohammed bin Naif Al Saud bin Abdulaziz.

The Crown Prince, who is also the Minister for Interior Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, paid a courtesy call on the President at his residency in the King Saud Palace in Riyadh.

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Twelve female scientists from sub Saharan Africa have been honoured for their work in the science field.

Through the 2015 L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Fellowships the 12 were awarded post-doctoral fellowships worth a combined Euros 75,000, with the best three getting Euros 10,000 each.

Rasheedat Mahamood, a Nigeraian from the University of Johannesburg; Zebib Yunus of iThemba Labs, National Research Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa and Jandeli Niemand of the University of Pretoria, South Africa won the top awards that attracted competitors from 19 countries.

‘Through the great diversity of their research, this year’s Sub-Saharan African Fellows highlight the changing face of scientific research and the new disciplines that are continually emerging, forging the next generation of For Women in Science fellows. These young researchers share the thrill of curiosity and discovery, and are strong believers that science can change the world,’ a release by Africa Press Organisation sanction by L’Oreal and UNESCO states in part.

Awardees who received Euros 5,000 each include: Nomvano Mketo of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Gaelle Kafira KO of the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Energy Savings (LESEE), Burkina Faso; Shobna Sawry of University of Witwatersrand, Institute of Reproductive Health and HIV, South Africa; Majidah Hamid-Adiamoh of the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia and the University of Lagos,  Nigeria; Jinal Bhiman of University of Witwatersrand,  South Africa and Olubokola Adenubi (Nigeria) of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Others are Olotu Ifeoluwa (Nigeria) – University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Danielle Twilley of the University of Pretoria, South Africa and Edith Chepkorir – International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Kenya, won Euros 5,000 each for their research.

“For the last 17 years, with the For Women In Science program, we have been fighting to advance the cause of women scientists worldwide. Much has been achieved: more than 2,000 women have been recognised worldwide, the program has gained recognition from the international scientific community, a springboard to enable women to go further and rise to greater heights. Science is part of our DNA and we are really proud of all the women who continue to make a difference in Africa through our program,” Sandeep Rai, Managing Director of L’Oréal South Africa, said.
The scientific research areas covered by this year’s fellows are varied and include studies in the fields of life and engineering sciences, food and water security as well as health. New and emerging areas include laser science, nanotechnology, renewable energy and climate change science.

Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a previous awardee of the L’Oreal-UNESCO fellowship in 2007.

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Press Statement
14th December 2015

Progress of Implementation of the Roadmap for 2016 General Elections

A. Introduction

Our esteemed partners, members of the press, it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome you to this press briefing.

Today, the Electoral Commission would like to update the country on the progress of various ongoing activities under the Roadmap for the 2015-2016 General Elections.

B. Condolence Message on the Death of Hon. Suzan Namaganda, MP

We were deeply saddened by the news of the sudden death of Hon. Suzan Namaganda, Woman Representative to Parliament for Bukomansimbi District, which occurred on 11th December 2015.

The late Hon. Namaganda was also a candidate for the same elective position in the 2016 General Elections.

On behalf of the Electoral Commission, and on my own behalf, I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to the family, the people of Bukomansimbi District, the Parliament of Uganda, all friends and fellow citizens of Uganda, on the bereavement caused by her untimely death.

We join with you all to pray for her soul to rest in eternal peace.

As a result of the death of a nominated candidate, the Electoral Commission has postponed the electoral programme for election of District Woman Member Representative to Parliament for Bukomansimbi District.

We call upon the people of Bukomansimbi District to remain calm, as a new electoral programme will be issued in due course.
C. Condemnation of acts of Violence during Campaign Meetings

The Electoral Commission has noted with concern the images shown in print and electronic media, where supporters of two Presidential candidates clashed during a campaign meeting in Ntungamo District.

The Electoral Commission has asked the Uganda Police Force to investigate this incident and furnish us with their findings.

Even as the Commission waits for the report on this incident, we wish to reiterate our utter condemnation of acts of violence during the electoral process.

We urge candidates to prevail upon their supporters and agents to desist from any actions that may lead to disruption of public order, and to always use peaceful means to express their views.

We further call for a tolerant approach to political debate, so that we have peaceful, free and fair elections.

D. Issuance of Copies of Photo-bearing Voters’ Register to Presidential Candidates

Today, the Electoral Commission, in accordance with Section 18A of the Electoral Commission Act (as amended), will start the exercise of issuing a complete set of the photo-bearing National Voters’ Register, to each of the candidates contesting in the 2016 Presidential Elections.

The National Voters’ Register bears the names of all the 15,277,196 registered voters, arranged alphabetically by surname, at each of the 28,010 polling stations in Uganda.

The purpose of issuing this Voters’ Register is to enable the candidates, through their official agents, to ensure that only eligible persons are allowed to vote during the 2016 General Elections and only at the polling station where they are registered as voters.

Secondly, the issuance of the Register will help to keep the candidates and other stakeholders, including the electorate updated on the status of registered voters and their voting locations.

Please note that the Electoral Commission has already issued soft copies of the National Voters’ Register to the Presidential candidates, as provided for in Section 18A of the Electoral Commission Act Cap 140.

This issuance should therefore, put to rest any concern among stakeholders about the readiness of the National Voters’ Register for the 2016 General Elections.

The Electoral Commission urges candidates to mobilize their supporters who are registered voters, to prepare to vote in the 2016 General Elections.

The Commission has already clarified that this Register, which bears the photographs of the voters, shall be the basis for voting during the 2016 General Elections. All those persons, whose particulars and photographs appear on the Voters’ Register, shall be eligible to vote at the polling station where they are registered, whether they have a National Identity Card or not.

Constituency Voters’ Registers are also available for other political parties/candidates, on application through the Secretary, Electoral Commission, and payment of relevant fees.

I thank you,

For God and my Country,

Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu
Chairperson, Electoral Commission Uganda

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The New York son of Somali singer and politician Saado Ali Warsame is suing the US arm of a money-transfer business, claiming it helped fund the assassination of his mother who returned to Mogadishu in 2012 to work as a Member of Parliament.

Ms Warsame, who moved to Minneapolis in the early 1990s during the Somali civil war, was shot and killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia, in July 2014.

Her son, Harbi Hussein, who was born in New York but now lives in Minnesota, filed the case against Dahabshiil in Manhattan Federal Court last week.

Dahabshiil is the largest money-transfer company in Africa, and it has been accused of funding terrorism by allowing people to send and receive money anonymously.

Ms Warsame even wrote a song about Dahabshiil (whose name means “gold smelter” in Somali) called “Don’t Do Business With The Blood Smelter” and Hussein says his mother’s activist songs and strong feminism made her a target for terrorists.

“She was one of the few Somali female musicians to go on stage without covering her head and she sometimes wore pants, which is unusual for women in Somalia,” reads part of the lawsuit in which Hussein seeks unspecified damages.

Kenya reacts to Dahabshiil ‘Al Shabaab remittances’

In April this year the Government of Kenya, hit by intermittent attacks carried out by Al Shabaab militants, suspended the licenses of 13 Somali remittance firms including Dababshiil, following the attack on Garissa University Campus in which 148 students were slain.

Dahabshiil, which operates in 124 including Uganda, is a market leader in the remittances industry and serves about 95 per cent of the international agencies and charities working in Somalia.

Dahabshiil’s Kenyan license was re-issued two months later in June after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to issue new regulations governing the operations of the 13 suspended firms.

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In the aftermath of Sunday’s clashes between National Resistance Movement candidate Yoweri Museveni and Go Forward supporters of John Patrick Amama Mbabazi in Ntungamo district, the Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura has pitched camp in the area to assess the situation and figure out the exact cause of the clashes.

According to the Police Spokesman Mr. Fred Enanga, Kayihura’s move is to analyse, “if violence is a new tool used by politicians and whether the alleged NRM supporters were really NRM.”

Upon ending his last rally at Kyamate stadium in Ntungamo District yesterday, Mr.Mbabazi’s convoy was confronted by a group of people donning NRM party colours with the face of President Museveni on their t-shirts, and, according to police, reports indicate that a flying object was thrown at Mbabazi’s convoy, hitting an escort vehicle, prompting his supporters to attack.

A total of nine people, allegedly supporters of the NRM, were injured and rushed to hospital, have currently been discharged.

Police says all the nine have recorded statements and that two arrests have been made.

The IGP has promised Ugandans a preliminary report on the incident after assessing the saga thoroughly.

According to police, the election period is so far free of violence apart from a few incidents recorded in the areas of Bukomansimbi, Arua, Wakiso and the most recent one in Ntungamo. There are also three cases of threatening violence and three others of defacing campaign posters.

“We have so far policed more than 400 campaign rallies this season and all have been a success; we therefore call upon the public to desist from election violence,” Mr Enanga said.

In a related development the Independent Electoral Commission has condemned the Ntungamo violence and directed the police to investigate the matter.

“The Electoral Commission has asked the Uganda Police Force to investigate this incident and furnish us with their findings.

Even as the Commission waits for the report on this incident, we wish to reiterate our utter condemnation of acts of violence during the electoral process.

We urge candidates to prevail upon their supporters and agents to desist from any actions that may lead to disruption of public order, and to always use peaceful means to express their views.

We further call for a tolerant approach to political debate, so that we have peaceful, free and fair elections,” the IEC Chairman Eng Badru Kiggundu wrote.

Meanwhile, the IEC has released voters’ registers, complete with photos of the respective voters to the individual presidential candidates.

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