President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni yesterday 31st July 2024 met the leaders of the ghetto SACCOs in Kampala Metropolitan Area at State House Entebbe.

The group included 100 ghetto youth leaders who are also the heads of the 12 ghetto SACCOs in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono. The beneficiaries of the SACCOs are from; Rubaga Kakeeka Zone dwellers, Kasangati Ghetto Community, Kampala Central Division, Nakawa Division, Makindye East, Kawempe South, Makindye west, Kawempe North, Mukono industrial, Kasokoso, Nansana division and Masajja Para Zone ghetto in Makindye.

During the meeting, the President underscored the role of the ghetto people in the liberation of Uganda.

“What you call ghetto people, in the 1950s used to be called “Abawejere” and they were centred around Katwe. When Uganda was fighting for Independence, much of the activities were around Katwe and I think the first offices of the Uganda National Congress were located in Katwe and that is where I think Dr. I.K Musazi and Dr. Barnabas Kunuka and others operated from. Even Augustino Kamya who organised the boycott of Indian goods in 1958 was from Katwe,” the President said.

“I linked up with the ghetto in 1968. I was there, Katwe is my place.  I was not a ghetto boy myself; my background is in the villages with farmers. That is where I came from to go to university, but we (Student movement) wanted to link up with the “Bawejere”. The Head of the abawejere that time was Abbas Kibazo whom they used to call “Ssabawejere” so I linked up with them. So, this story of saying this is my first time to link up with the ghetto is not true,” he added.

President Museveni explained that when former President Idi Amin announced his coup on the 25th of January, 1971, the former students together with the help of the Abawejere decided to fight him because they believed in solving the problems of the people.

“We had and still have a program of the prosperity of the people and Idi Amin could not understand that. Of course, we had problems with Obote, but we were at least able to talk to him. That is why we had not taken the route for fighting. On the 27th of January 1971, I left to fight Amin, so he ruled me for only 2 days. I left with two people from Kampala; Abbas Kibazo and Zubair Bakari and when we went to Mbarara, the people there added some other two chiefs. The five of us entered Tanzania where we met Mwalimu Nyerere and that’s how the fight against Idi Amin started. All the time when we were fighting Idi Amin, I used to come to Kampala and my contacts were mainly these bawejere,” he said.

“In 1971, we also recruited Ahmed Seguya who was from Katwe. He was among the 14 fighters I sent to Mozambique for training. When we went for the second battle in 1981 to fight Obote, Ahmed Seguya was our first army Commander but he died due to liver problems. Amin used to emphasise politics of identity based on religion saying he was fighting for Islam yet there was nothing he was doing for Muslims and other people also. During that time when I used to come to Kampala, I used to stay with my bawejere contacts who were mainly Muslims.”

The President further assured the ghetto youths that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government is pro- people that emphasises politics of interest and works for all Ugandans.

President Museveni also rallied the ghetto youths to hold their leaders accountable and demand what is meant for them.

According to the President, the problem of the ghetto people started when the educated people (elite) failed to deal with the uneducated although also the uneducated have had their weaknesses like the failure to hold their elected leaders accountable.

He said on top of the government workers like the chiefs who existed during the time of the British (colonialism), when the NRM government came to power, they decided to add on leaders elected by the people from Local Council 1 up to LC.5 (district level) including a woman member of parliament for each district to fill the gap in case the government chiefs failed to perform their roles.

“When we were preparing, I said, you people, to defend the people, we must add another structure, these ones should be elected by the people themselves so that the people’s delegates are there to monitor and hold the government accountable. That is why we created the LCs and MPs to be elected by you people. As people who have power in your hands, why do you go on to elect useless people?” he wondered.

“But also, the wananchi, including the ghetto people, don’t use the weapon which we gave you to deal with the people who don’t work for you. The gun we gave you is that of electing the people who speaks for you if they don’t speak for you, bring them back. We removed the monopoly of power from the administrators and gave you the power to vote your own leaders who speak for you. They even join corruption, and you don’t follow them up. Why don’t you bother to find out? If we bring programs and you don’t follow them, whom do you blame?” he inquired.

On the other hand, President Museveni tasked the ghetto youths to advocate for the interests of the masses like free education for all and prosperity for all as well as embracing government poverty alleviation like the Paris Development Model (PDM) to uplift their livelihoods.

“It’s good now that we have the group of Ddamulira which has linked up with you again, then we will be able to guide you on how to defend the interests of the masses. This is your country and home, you should defend it, you shouldn’t get involved in criminality like illegal protests,” he said.

“In 1997, we launched UPE; education for all in government schools but the people you elect have paralyzed that effort on the ground by always putting charges and other excuses, but you don’t even talk about it. Now get moving, we are already sending all this money; the PDM, Emyooga and now we are adding on something else, and this is just the beginning.”

Furthermore, the President cautioned the ghetto youths against being used by politicians with selfish motives who always land them into criminality.

President Museveni also fulfilled his Shs1.2 billion pledge to the 12 ghetto SACCOs (Shs100 million each) in Kampala Metropolitan Area which he had promised to give them during a meeting at Kololo Independence Grounds last year.

“From the Shs100 million you can do something for yourselves. In the villages, we’re encouraging people into commercial farming. It’s good that you have a base here in the town where you have small businesses, artisanship, services like salons and others. Those are areas you should participate in within your groups (constituencies),” the President told the youths.

The Minister of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda thanked President Museveni for the support towards the ghetto people, a manifest that they are part and parcel of Uganda and contribute toward the development of Uganda.

“These people have been trained on how to manage their SACCOs and we are very sure that most of them are now transformed. Those who are yet to transform, will also be transformed,” Hajjat Kabanda said.

The Director of Crime Intelligence and project coordinator, Brig Gen. Christopher Ddamulira said the ghetto project started under the guidance of President Museveni in March 2022 and he has been working on it with his team under the leadership of the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye.

“Previously, these ghetto youth did not have leadership but one thing which we did was to create leadership from the youth themselves, so we conducted elections through which we got leaders at zone, parish and division level.”

He added that the structure was launched by the Minister of Internal Affairs in August 2022 at Lugogo Indoor Stadium and upon the launch, they started on the process of organising the youths into SACCOs because they noticed that previously a number of people would lobby from the government for the ghetto youths, get resources, which never reach the intended recipients.

“What we did was to form the SACCOs and started training the leaders of those SACCOs on how to manage them and then we carried out the mobilisation to ensure that the members themselves begin to save under those SACCOs. Your Excellency, after you launched them,  we went into a super drive and as I speak now,  we are talking about 3,280 savers in the 12 SACCOs and before you make available resources that you are going to provide today, the youths on their own had reached Shs13.7m from their own savings. We thank you for fulfilling the pledge that you made to them in Kololo last year,” Brig. Gen. Ddamulira said.

Brig. Gen. Ddamulira further noted that the intervention has started yielding fruits by tremendously reducing criminality in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.

“Even if you look at the Police report that we issue every year, the last report clearly indicated that the crime level has gone down but also in political violence, these are the people that the politicians have always used to cause confusion in Kampala because they felt they didn’t have a stake in what’s happening in the country. All those crimes have reduced Your Excellency, even recently during the planned march to Parliament, we didn’t register a singer ghetto youth getting involved in those things,” he asserted.

“Your Excellency, we believe that this project is working very well, and your support will go a long way by making the resources they have been lacking available and we embark on so many projects that we couldn’t implement because of the limitation of funding.”

Mr. Kalyango Shafik, the leader of the ghetto youths, expressed gratitude to President Museveni for empowering the ghetto people through financial and moral support.

He also thanked President Museveni for fulfilling his promise of Shs1.2 billion contribution to their ghetto SACCOs.

“Your Excellency, we have evidence that the money reached our bank accounts,” he said.

“We also thank Gen. Ddamulira, Maj. Emma Kutesa, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and their team for the support and care towards the ghetto people.”

Mr. Kalyango also assured the President that they are now reformed citizens looking forward to working with the government for the socio-economic transformation of the country.

Ms. Nakalema Jackie who is the Vice Chairperson of ghetto youths in Kampala metropolitan Area asked President Museveni to consider them in the PDM program as a special group, saying they have been denied the chance because of their way of living with a perception that they don’t have the capacity to refund the money. The President promised to instruct the secretariat of Emyooga and PDM to consider the ghetto structure.

The meeting was also attended by the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye, Maj. Emma Kutesa, the Private Secretary to H.E the President for youth, in agriculture, value addition and export promotion, Dr. Hillary Musoke Kisanja and Nansana Deputy RDC, Mr. Shafiq Ali Nsubuga.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Uganda.

Inhumane detention conditions, exacerbated by unprecedented heatwave; At least 46 prisoners died in four prisons between January and July 2023, according to information gathered by Amnesty International; The Beninese authorities must take immediate and effective measures to uphold their international human rights obligations to improve detention conditions.

Prisoners in Benin were subjected to filthy, overcrowded cells and denied clean water and medical treatment last year. According to information gathered from health and prison workers, several dozen prisoners died during a seven-month period last year, Amnesty International said today.

Amnesty International calls on the authorities in Benin to take immediate and effective measures to improve conditions in the country’s 11 prisons and comply with international human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. The organization made interviews with 500 prisoners, health workers and prison officials, as well as visits to the prisons from 19 June to 21 July 2023.

“While we welcome the opportunity given by the authorities to visit the country’s prisons, our investigation uncovered inhumane, unacceptable conditions in detention,” said Dieudonné Dagbéto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Benin.

“Beninese authorities must uphold their international human rights obligations and comply with the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules by urgently addressing prison overcrowding and improving access to healthcare and drinking water,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

Overcrowded prisons

Prison overcrowding is affecting all of Benin’s prisons, and number of prisoners is increasing. From less than 7,000 prisoners in 2016, according to a former Minister of Justice, there were 18,170 by December 2023, according to the Director of Benin’s prison agency.

The Missérété prison, built to hold around 1,000 prisoners, held 3,742 at the time of Amnesty International’s visit in 2023 – almost four times its capacity. The Porto-Novo prison, built for 250 prisoners, held 1,554, six times its capacity. The Cotonou prison, with a capacity for 700 prisoners, held 1,595 prisoners.  

Most prisoners are forced to lie on the floor, on their side, without the possibility of turning around, Amnesty International observed. In prisons with beds, three or four people may occupy a single mattress.

Buildings shared by hundreds of prisoners have only narrow openings that do not allow for sufficient ventilation. Most of the prisons that Amnesty International researchers visited were not equipped with fans, despite the excessive heat. Instead, prisoners try to cool themselves down by their own means: “We buy ice and run cool water over our bodies”, said one female prisoner at Porto-Novo prison. In this prison, Amnesty International noted the presence of non-functioning fans, some of which were idling, with no effect on the heat felt in the buildings. 

Some cells have no ventilation at all, such as the 12 “punishment” cells at Missérété, where dozens of prisoners are locked together in stifling heat and are only allowed out in the evening to cool off. In the same prison, suspected members of armed groups are only allowed out for one or two hours a day.

The air in the buildings and cells is also unbreathable due to the lack of sanitary facilities. Prisoners are unable to go to the bathroom in a clean and decent manner. At Porto-Novo prison, women urinate and defecate in pots, which they also use as pillows. The men use a small barrel placed in the centre of one of the buildings, the only opening to which is the entrance door.  

Heatwaves worsening detention conditions

Gulf of Guinea countries such as Benin experienced record-breaking heat in the first half of 2024. The combination of high temperatures and humid air resulted in average heat index values of around 50°C, according to the index developed by the WWA.  

“At a time of record-breaking heat, Beninese authorities must take urgent and effective measures to ensure that the country’s prisons do not become deathtraps,” said Samira Daoud.

The Nelson Mandela Rules state that every prisoner must have access to drinking water when they need it. Yet this right is not respected in several prisons, despite the recommendation that more water is consumed in hot weather. A prisoner at Abomey-Calavi said: “The water we drink is from a cistern. It’s not drinkable. When we don’t have enough water, the fire brigade brings us dirty water, and we fight to get it.”

During Amnesty International’s visit, prisoners in one of the buildings at Missérété prison said they had not had running water for four months. In Savalou, the prison has no access to drinking water because there is no running water in the area, according to the director.

Despite the constant risk of malaria in Benin, which increases during rainy season from June to November, mosquito nets were unavailable in several of the prisons visited by Amnesty International. In Natitingou prison, torn nets were on display.

“Improving detention conditions in civil prisons in line with international human rights standards is part of the government’s action programme for the five-year period running until 2026. With strong political will, there is still time to achieve these objectives,” said Dieudonné Dagbéto.

‘We’ve made mistakes, but that’s no reason to kill us here’

Referring to the deplorable conditions of detention and notably to the shackles used to sanction prisoners, which cause painful injuries to ankles, a prisoner at Abomey-Calavi prison said: “We’ve made mistakes, but that’s no reason to kill us here”.  

Poor detention conditions increase the risk of developing illnesses, and extreme temperatures can lead to heatstroke requiring emergency medical intervention. However, the authorities are generally failing in their international human rights obligations to provide healthcare.

Prisons lack medical staff. None of the prisons visited have permanent state doctors. The infirmaries, run by two or three nurses, are assisted twice a week by doctors deployed by Bénin Excellence, an NGO. At Natitingou, the infirmary receives 400 to 600 prisoners a month, according to one nurse. The Missérété, Parakou and Abomey prisons have three nurses for 3,742 prisoners, three nurses for 1,491 prisoners and two nurses for 2,468 prisoners respectively.

A nurse at Abomey-Calavi prison said: “You are a nurse, and the fate of 2,000 people is placed in your hands. This is not normal.”

Prisoners reported that medicine is often denied, unavailable or out of date. A prisoner at Ouidah prison said: “We often get prescriptions, but rarely medicines.”

Another prisoner at Abomey-Calavi prison said: “When you are too clean, they think you have money and they don’t give you medicine”. A prisoner at Abomey prison said that in June 2023 she had received medication that had expired in December 2022.

According to testimonies collected by Amnesty International, prisoners are sometimes refused treatment by nursing or administrative staff, even in emergencies. One prisoner in Abomey-Calavi prison said she was refused treatment for period pains. A fellow prisoner said: “I have a haemorrhoid problem, but the nurse said she no longer sees haemorrhoid patients”. A prisoner placed in an isolation cell at Missérété prison said: “I had an asthma attack, but the cell guard refused to open the door.”

In Abomey-Calavi, some prisoners said that they cannot access the infirmary if they do not produce their detention warrant, and the document is not always given to them. “I applied for my warrant at the registry office a week ago, but I still haven’t received it”, said one prisoner.

Delays and denial of treatment can have dramatic consequences. According to one prisoner, a 22-year-old died after suffering a seizure and waiting two hours before the guards arrived. “The next day, we were told he had died. He had two months detention left before being released.”

Pre-trial detention beyond the legal time limit

In December 2023, around 55% of the 18,170 people detained in Benin were awaiting trial, according to prison authorities.

Amnesty International met around 20 people who were being held in pre-trial detention beyond the legal limit of five years. Some had been detained for up to 20 years, in violation of Benin’s Code of Criminal Procedure, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Benin is a state party. Decisions of the Constitutional Court seen by Amnesty International attest to the arbitrary nature of certain detentions.

“The authorities must immediately release people who have been held in pre-trial detention for longer than the legal period,” said Fabien Offner, researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa. “The authorities should also review penal policy and offer a range of non-custodial measures as part of efforts to address prison overcrowding. The decree on community service of 31 January 2024 is a salutary measure that must be immediately implemented”.

Background

From 19 June to 21 July 2023, Amnesty International delegation visited all 11 of the country’s prisons. Researchers met with 500 prisoners, 13 nurses, nine prisons’ directors and two chief guards.

On 8 December 2023, an Amnesty International delegation met with the Director of the Benin Prison Agency, who informed the organization that they intended to boost recruitment of healthcare staff. These recruitment processes were launched at the beginning of 2024.

On 4 July 2024, Amnesty International sent a letter to the Minister of Justice and Legislation, offering the opportunity to respond to the main conclusions presented in this publication. As of 22 July, no response had been received. However, on 24 July, the government announced to the Council of Ministers that ‘a contract has been signed for a complete project management assignment as part of the project to extend and refurbish five prisons’.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has reactivated the Economic Management Team. The Team is expected to ensure coordination of the Government’s fiscal and monetary policy, the acceleration of economic reforms in building a robust and resilient economy and strengthening existing regulations as well as improve oversight functions of Ministries, Agencies and Commissions.

The Team will also serve as a think tank on economic matters, proffer solutions that would tackle economic uncertainties, especially immediate policy interventions and improve the implementation of the Public Financial Management (PFM) law in ensuring transparency and accountability for the attainment of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Growth.

The Economic Management Team (EMT) will be chaired by the President. Members are as follows:

1. Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Co-Chair

2. Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, Member

3. Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority, Member

4. Minister of Commerce and Industry, Member and

5. Chairman of National Investment Commission, Member

6. The Economic Advisers to the President, Members

In a related development, President Boakai has named Mr. Henry F. Saamoi as Acting Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).

These appointments take immediate effect.  

President Boakai calls on those appointed to continue to demonstrate diligence, commitment, integrity, professionalism, and loyalty in service to country.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.

Ahead of planned nationwide protests in response to food shortages and cost of living crisis, Amnesty International’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said:

“The Nigerian authorities must ensure that security agencies respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, as guaranteed by both the country’s own constitution and human rights treaties including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.  Government officials must also refrain from issuing rhetoric to demonize protesters and stifle peaceful dissent. 

“Authorities must not use the proposed nationwide protests as a ploy to crackdown on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.  People must be allowed to freely exercise their right to peaceful protest. The arrests of at least three people last week for allegedly supporting the protests on social media show the authorities’  intolerance of peaceful dissent.

“The escalating price of food is driving millions of people in Nigeria deeper in poverty while countless families are increasingly unable to afford the costs of healthcare and education. The Nigerian authorities must begin seriously address the underlying issues driving the protests instead of ramping up repression and stifling peaceful dissent. 

“Authorities must show the commitment to uphold the country’s constitutional and international human rights obligations by allowing people to freely exercise their human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.”

Background

Nigeria is currently facing a crippling economic crisis, with inflation rates on food hitting 36%. The removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023 is driving many people into poverty, while officials have been accused of corruption.

Since 20 July, many people have used social media platforms to organize nationwide peaceful protests proposed for 1-10 August. The Nigerian authorities have, at times, labeled the protests as deliberate attempts to unleash violence.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.