Joint Letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Sudan

Ref: TG AFR 65/2012.019

His Excellency Nhial Deng Dhial

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Republic of South Sudan

Dear Minister Nhial Deng Nhial,

As South Sudan prepares to engage in its second session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), we would like to take this opportunity to raise with you the issue of South Sudan’s continuing use of the death penalty.

There is a clear regional and global trend toward abolition of capital punishment, and this trend has been reconfirmed at the General Assembly, where the majority of the Member Countries of the UN have voted for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, first in 2007 and again in 2008 and 2010. As of October 2012, 94 UN Member States have fully abolished the death penalty. A total of 137 are abolitionist in law or practice, constituting more than two-thirds of UN Member States. 

The global trend is mirrored in Africa where 16 member states of the African Union have abolished capital punishment for all crimes. Three countries have done so since 2009 – Burundi, Togo and Gabon. Ten countries are State Parties to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP2), which aims at the abolition of the death penalty, and 21 are considered abolitionist in practice, as they have not carried out executions for at least ten years and have an established practice or policy not to do so. In 2008 the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) adopted its second resolution on the death penalty,[1] calling on States Parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to observe a moratorium on the execution of death sentences with a view to abolishing the death penalty and to ratify ICCPR-OP2. In April 2012, the Working Group on the Death Penalty of the African Commission reaffirmed the necessity of the abolition of capital punishment and suggested ways for its achievement.[2]

Thedeath penalty in South Sudan

South Sudan’s retention of the death penalty runs counter to the global move and commitment to end the use of capital punishment. We are greatly concerned by the recent executions, such as those on 28 August 2012, when two men were hanged in Juba prison. We urge South Sudan to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to reviewing the country’s position and moving towards abolition.

We are also greatly concerned by South Sudan’s use of the death penalty because the country does not adhere to UN safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. The minimum standards are set out in the annex to the Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 1984, which, among other things, provides that the death penalty should be imposed only for the most serious crimes, and that a death sentence should not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below 18 or carried out on pregnant or nursing women, or persons who have become insane.

These minimum standards require adherence to fair trial standards, including the presumption of innocence, the right to adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings, and the right of convicted persons to appeal to a higher tribunal. Capital punishment may only be imposed “when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts.”

We believe South Sudan is currently not able to fully guarantee the minimum safeguards outlined above and in other international standards on the use of the death penalty. We are especially concerned about violations of fair trial standards, particularly the right of accused persons to legal assistance. According to the Ministry of Justice, since 2006 the Department of Legal Aid and Human Rights has provided legal aid in only six cases. The vast majority of the approximately 200 individuals currently on death row have received no counsel, leaving many unable to adequately prepare their defence or to appeal convictions.

It is also important that South Sudan increase public information and transparency about its use of the death penalty. Practical steps towards this end include: releasing figures on the number of executions carried out and death sentences imposed; providing notification when executions are set to occur; and making publicly available all judicial decisions regarding death sentences and decisions by the President to confirm or commute death sentences. The accessibility of such information is of particular importance during the current constitutional review process, a period where the government should facilitate informed discussion about substantive constitutional provisions such as the right to life.

The undersigned organizations commend the Government of South Sudan for the statement made at the 21^st Session of the Human Rights Council stating that South Sudan agrees with concerns raised by state and non-state actors with regards to abolishing the death penalty. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, and we are calling on South Sudan to take specific steps to move towards abolition. The government should do so by putting in place a moratorium on executions with a view to ratifying ICCPR-OP2 and abolishing the death penalty. As a member of the international community and the UN, South Sudan should also act in support of international moves to end the use of the death penalty.

When South Sudan joined the United Nations in 2011, it agreed to support the objectives of the organization, one of which is the abolition of the death penalty.

We look forward to South Sudan joining the growing number of countries who are considered abolitionist in law or in practice.

Yours sincerely,

Agency for Independent Media (AIM)

Amnesty International

Comboni Missionaries

Foundation for Youth Initiative

Human Rights Watch

South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy (SSHURSA)

South Sudan Law Society (SSLS)

South Sudan Women’s Lawyer Association

Soweto Community Based Organization

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[1]Resolution 136(XXXXIIII).08, adopted at the 44th Ordinary session in Abuja, Nigeria, on 24 November 2008, online at  http://old.achpr.org/english/resolutions/resolution136_en.htm, last visited on 13 September 2012,

[2]African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “Study on the question of the death penalty in Africa”, 10 April 2012, adopted by the African Commission at its 50^th Ordinary Session (24 October - 07 November 2011), online at http://www.achpr.org/files/news/2012/04/d46/study_question_deathpenalty_africa_2012_eng.pdf, last visited on 1 November 2012. 

Barua ya Waislamu Kwa Katibu Mkuu wa CCM Kupinga Mahakama ya Kadhi

Nimeiona hii barua ya Waislamu kupinga Mahakama ya Kadhi, imenukuliwa toka katika Kitabu cha MAHAKAMA YA KADHI NI NINI? kilichoandikwa na C. Simbaulanga, 2012 (uk. 53 - 58) kwa Katibu Mkuu wa CCM, Yusufu Makamba. Nitanukuu baadhi ya mambo muhimu kuhusu barua hiyo ya Ustadhi A. S. Mkambaku, Katibu Mkuu wa Khidmat Dwaat Lisiamiyat Centre Registered Trustees. Haijaandikwa tarehe lakini ukisoma utaona iliandikwa kabla ya Uchaguzi Mkuu wa Mwaka 2010:

KHIDMAT DWAAT LISIAMIYAT CENTRE REGISTERED TRUSTEES
P. O. BOX 16106, MOB. 0713-290272, 0784-403020.

1. Uanzishaji wa Mahakama ya Kadhi utaleta madahara makubwa ndani ya Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) kwa vile Wakristo hawagawanyiki katika suala la kuipinga, lakini sisi Waislamu tunagawanyika katika suala hilo. Kwa taarifa yako napenda nikuhakikishie kuwa Waislamu wa Madhehebu ya AnsarSunna HAWAIKUBALI Mahakama hiyo kwa vile wanaelewa kuwa itakuwa chini ya BAKWATA.

2. Pia wanaelewa kuwa miongoni mwa mamlaka ya Kadhi ni kutangaza mwezi wa Ramadhani kufunga na kufungua na wao wanaye Amir wao ambaye hutangaza mwezi kwa kufuata mwezi unaoandama Saudia (Saud Arabia). Kwa maana hiyo katika nchi yenye Kadhi kutokea mtu mwingine nje ya Kadhi kutangaza mwezi ni kosa la jinai.

3. Kitu ambacho kitaleta madhara makubwa kuliko mafanikio ingawa AnsarSunna ni kundi dogo lakini wanaburuza kundi kubwa sana la Waislamu, kuliko Taasisi yoyote ya Kiislamu hapa Tanzania kwa vile ushawishi wao ni mkubwa sana katika jamii ya Kiislamu.

4. ANSAR SUNNA ndio wanaoendesha Shuura ya Maimam, GAZETI LA AN-NUUR, AL-HUDA, NASAHA na RADIO IMANI. Pia wana ushawishi mkubwa TIMES FM. Je, BAKWATA wana uwezo wa kupambana na vyombo hivyo?

5. Je, Serikali inaweza kukabidhi Mahakama ya Kadhi kwa wanaharakati wa Kiislamu? Nina hakika haiwezi kufanya jambo hilo na kama haitofanya hivyo Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) kinaweza kupata hasara zifuatazo:

(a) Wakristo wote wanaweza kujitoa ndani ya Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) na kujiunga katika chama cha CHADEMA ambacho hakina Mahakama ya Kadhi katika Ilani yake.

(b) Waislamu wote walioko chini ya Shuura ya Maimamu ambayo ni Mpinzani Mkuu wa BAKWATA wataendelea kuipinga Serikali ya Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), kwa kuikumbatia BAKWATA na huku wakiendelea kuiunga mkono CUF, hivyo CCM itajikuta imebakia na Waislamu wanaoiunga mkono BAKWATA tu. Suala la wanaharakati kuipinga Mahakama ya Kadhi ni jambo rahisi sana kwa vile Mahakama ya Kadhi sio madai yao ya msingi.

6. Waislamu (wanaharakati) dai lao la msingi ni MGAWANYO SAWA WA MADARAKA. Hivyo Serikali inapounda Wizara, wao hutizama Baraza la Mawaziri, WAISLAMU NI WANGAPI NA WAKRISTO NI WANGAPI NDIO MAANA WANAIUNGA MKONO CUF, KWA VILE CUF IMEELEWA TATIZO LAO NA WAO WAKAJA NA KAULIMBIU YA HAKI SAWA KWA WOTE, yaani kwa Wakristo na Waislamu, wala Ilani ya Uchaguzi ya CUF haisemi lolote kuhusu Mahakama ya Kadhi WALA HAITOSEMA!!

7. Pia Waislamu wanaharakati wanaelewa kuwa Mahakama ya Kadhi haina manufaa yoyote kwa Waislamu, kwa vile Zanzibar ipo na WAISLAMU WA ZANZIBAR HAWANA MAENDELEO YOYOTE KUWAPITA WALE WA BARA, NA UISLAMU SI NDOA NA MIRATHI TU WALA MUNGU HASEMI "SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING." Huu ni msemo wa Wazungu.

8. Mwenyezi Mungu anasema: INGIENI KATIKA UISLAMU WOTE NA MSIFE BALI MMEKUWA WAISLAMU KAMILI (Surat Baqarah ya 2 aya ya 208). Kwa hiyo mimi nikiwa kama Mwislamu nashauri kuwa Mahakama hiyo ISIWEPO kwani haitakuwa na manufaa kwa Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) na italeta mgawanyiko miongoni mwa wanachama wako, chukulia mfano Zanzibar, Mufti na Kadhi wanavyopingwa na wanauamsho ambao wanaongozwa na Sheikh Farid hali wanauamsho ndio Shura ya Maimam na Shuura ya Maimam ndiyo Uamsho.

KWA NINI MASHEIKH WA BAKWATA WANAITAKA?
9. Wanaelewa wanachokifanya, wao wanajua fika kuwa Serikali itakapoanzisha Mahakama ya Kadhi watakuwa wamepata AJIRA, kwa hiyo wao wanapigania maslahi yao tu, hawawezi kuangalia madhara yatakayokikumba Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) na huku wakijua kuwa ushawishi wao ni mdogo katika Jamii ya Kiislamu na hawana hata Miundumbinu ya kuwashawishi Waislamu wote waweze kumkubali Mufti, na hali ya Mufti ameshaweka wazi milango kwa Taasisi zote za Kiislamu na Waislamu waje washirikiane naye.

10. Masheikhe hawa wanaelewa kuwa hakuna Hakimu anayehukumu makosa mawili tu, yaani NDOA na MIRATHI, ukiletewa mzinifu huruhusiwi kumhukumu, ukiletewa mwizi huruhusiwi, nk. lakini wanang'ang'ania hivyo hivyo kwa ajili ya mishahara tu na hiyo ni hatari.

11. Hujaribu kutoa hata mifano ya Serikali ya Uingereza kwamba mwaka 1920 iliweka Mahakama hizo, ukweli ni kwamba Serikali ya Uingereza haikuweka Mahakama za Kadhi tu bali za Maakida na Maliwali, lakini pia sababu ya kuziweka Mahakama hizo siyo kwa ajili ya kuutunza Uislamu au uliwali bali ilikuwa ni mbinu ya kuwatuliza Viongozi hao ili waweze kuwatawala bila vurugu kwani mkoloni aligundua kuwa ni watu wenye ushawishi katika jamii kwa hiyo ile ilikuwa ni mbinu ya kiutawala ili Masheikhe, Maliwali na Maakida wajione kuwa na wao ni sehemu ya Serikali ya Muingereza, kumbe ni watawaliwa, hivyo bado hoja hiyo haina msingi wowote wala haina maana kwamba Serikali ya Mkoloni ilikuwa nzuri kwa Waislamu kuliko hii ya CCM, na huku tukiambiwa kuwa Waislamu ndiyo walioanzisha harakati za kudai Uhuru, kama walikuwa wazuri kwa nini tuliwaondoa.

12. CCM inayo mambo mengi ya kujivunia kwa Waislamu kama vile kuwapatia Chuo Kikuu, na hilo ni jambo muhimu na la msingi kwa maendeleo ya Uislamu na Waislamu, kwa hiyo JAMBO HILO LA MAHAKAMA YA KADHI mnapaswa kuliangalia kwa umakini ijapokuwa limo ndani ya Ilani yenu. Lakini si kila jambo lililomo ndani ya Ilani litekelezwe, mengine yanaweza kushindikana kwa matatizo mbalimbali na hili ni tatizo kubwa KWANI LINAWEZA KUZAA MGOGORO WA KIDINI!!

WAKRISTO WANA HAKI YA KUPINGA MAHAKAMA YA KADHI
13. Sehemu kama Zanzibar ni rahisi kuweka Mahakama ya Kadhi kwa vile Waislamu kule ni asilimia 99.99 hali kama hiyo Wakristo kule ni kama hawapo wamemezwa kwa uchache wao. Lakini BARA NI PAGUMU kwa vile HUENDA WAKRISTO NI WENGI KULIKO WAISLAMU. KWA VILE WAISLAMU KWA UHAKIKA HUPATIKANA MIKOA ISIYOZIDI SITA AMBAYO NI DAR ES SALAAM, LINDI, TANGA, MTWARA, KIGOMA NA TABORA, pia katika mikoa hiyo siyo Wilaya zote, kwa mfano Mkoa wa Kigoma ni Ujiji na Kigoma Mjini tu.

14. Pamoja na hayo Masheikhe wa BAKWATA wanaoshikilia suala la kuwepo kwa Mahakama ya Kadhi bado hawajafahamu nini tatizo la Wakristo, hata hawakubali kuwepo kwa Mahakama hiyo, siyo kweli kabisa kwamba Wakristo hudhani Mahakama hizo zitawahukumu wao, la hasha na Masheikhe hutumia muda mwingi kuwaelimisha juu ya hilo, wakati hilo sio tatizo lao, na ni udhaifu wa kutokujua madai au matatizo ya mpinzani wako, ni nini tatizo la Wakristo ni hili:

(a) Mkumbuke kwamba mwaka 1993 hapa Tanzania kulikuwa na mgogoro wa bucha za nguruwe, mgogoro huo ulizaa harakati kubwa za Waislamu ambazo makao yake makuu yalikuwa msikiti wa Mtoro na kiongozi mkuu alikuwa marehemu Kasim bin Juma. 
Waislamu walipinga kuwepo Ubalozi wa Vatican hapa Tanzania na bado wanaendelea na msimamo huo hadi leo, wakati ubalozi huo hauendeshwi kwa Fedha za walipa kodi wa Tanzania bali ni Vatican yenyewe. JE, ITAKUWAJE LEO WAKRISTO WAKUBALI ZIWEPO MAHAKAMA AMBAZO ZITATOA AJIRA KWA WAISLAMU, KUANZIA MTAA, KATA, TARAFA, WILAYA, MKOA HADI TAIFA, TENA KWA FEDHA ZA WALIPA KODI WA TANZANIA WAKIWAMO NA WAO WAKRISTO? Hilo ndilo tatizo lao na hapo ndipo BAKWATA wanatakiwa wapatolee maelezo.

(b) Kwamba, mabilioni ya Watanzania yatakayowalipa Masheikhe kila mwezi nao wao watanufaikaje? Huo ndio mgogoro uliotengenezwa na Ilani yenu na ambao unaweza kuwagharimu katika uchaguzi ujao wa mwaka 2010 ENDAPO WAKRISTO WAKIIGA MFANO WA WAISLAMU WA MSIKITI WA MTORO walipoamua kukusanya Kadi za CCM mwaka 1993 ingawa jaribio hilo lilizimwa na Viongozi wa CCM.

HOJA ZA SHEIKH BASALEH

15. Sheikh Ali Basaleh ndiye ambaye amelielewa tatizo la Maaskofu ingawa ametoa mfano mzuri wa kuwatuliza katika kipeperushi chake cha Wito cha tarehe18/08/2006. Ijumaa kuwa kama mtu ana watoto wawili mmoja anakula sana na mwingine hali sana, Je, baba atamzuia yule anayekula sana ili alingane na yule asiyekula sana? Mfano wake ni mzuri lakini haufanani na tatizo lililopo kwani fedha za baba hazichangiwi na watoto wake, bali baba huzitafuta yeye mwenyewe kwa nguvu zake, LAKINI FEDHA ZA BABA SERIKALI ZINATOKANA NA KODI YA WAISLAMU NA WAKRISTO, HIVYO SERIKALI HAIPASWI KUTUMIA FEDHA NYINGI KWA DINI MOJA LAZIMA ITALETA MGOGORO NA NDIYO MAANA SISI WAISLAMU TUMEKUWA TUKIDAI HAKI SAWA!

16. Katibu Mkuu ni matumaini yangu kuwa hekima itatumika katika kulitatua tatizo hilo kwani ni rahisi kuziba ufa kuliko gharama za kujenga ukuta mwisho nakutakia kazi njema pamoja na afya njema.
WABILAH TAUFIQ,
ASANTE.
USTADH A. S. MKAMBAKU,
KATIBU MKUU.

Open Letter to H.E. 1st Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Republic of South Sudan

Higher education needs compatriots to up lift this nation

Your Excellency, this is the nation you fought long and hard. The people whom you yielded during liberation struggle "give us liberty or death!" indeed this is the country where 2.5 million life have been lost in the long search for justice, equality, prosperity, good governance and democracy. The principles you reiterated prior to election. Again, due to your determination, our tears were dried following independence during which we speculated and celebrated that freedom has been achieved at last! Nevertheless, with only one anniversary celebrated, our hope and expectations are diminishing. Our joy has been snatched and turned into bitterness and hatred by individuals who work against the interest of South Sudanese citizens. People who hate sharing joy with us and rejoice when we are languishing in harrows and sorrows.

Your Excellency, I am wondering about the character content of higher education. There is old adage that goes, "Fish starts to rot from the head" this is true of higher education in South Sudan. The behaviour of individuals running higher education from the top is rotten. Because of the following reasons;

Firstly, University remained un-functional last year because of claim that there were no enough lectures halls and accommodation but budget was allocated. However, when opened this year because of pressures there was no effort seen of newly erected facilities and later closed following students' crisis.

Secondly, the University of Juba administration took the advantage of student fight to impose un-nationalistic conditions on us such as: no accommodation, no feeding, banning of all students' activities and dissolution of students' union. This was done to negate power of organisation and to create division among students and to pocket the budget that was given for our services and to create possibilities for further closure.

Thirdly, on 31st July, when reopening was announced, following the four months of meaningless closure. The result of investigation which was launched on 7th April, 2012 following closure should have been the first to bring culprits who instigated fighting and affect the future of majority into book and so as to act as example to others about the tough course of the law. Remember "where there is nothing to loss, there is nothing to fear."Fourthly, following reopening, peace and reconciliation should have been conducted to bring together the students from the two sides who were involved in fighting and so as to restore fraternity and mutual understanding and forgiveness. But the university reopened without such usual concern.

Fifthly, the investigation results did not materialize because the same administration which was suspect composed up all the committee members who carried out the investigation. Not only that, they added salt into wound by declaring the dismissal of innocent students who were stranded in the hostels. Instead of culprits who triggered violence that contributed to the closure.

Sixth, because of no care, we are being psychologically tortured by the authorities in higher education to hate ourselves and our government. And to tarnish the image of our young nation for low attention in higher studies. They would want us to blame the government for its slow intervention in the matters that need immediate mitigation and resolution.

Seventh, we students currently occupying hostels are being treated like prisoners of war. All services are stopped; cleaners only appear during payment of salaries. Sanitation facilities are filled up. In addition, we are being denied water while water tank that was donated by the Unity State Governor, Taban Deng Gai for students' service is on business catering luxuries life for the three top university administrators. Moreover, there is no feeding while the budget which was endorsed last year is under the custody of the administration.

Your Excellency, we students currently residing in the hostels, are coming from far-away states and have no relatives or friends in Juba to stay with, so we entered the University hostels and being emanated from poor families backgrounds, perhaps with nothing but education as the only comfort. To us, eviction from the hostels was deprivation of studies. We were confronted with two situations: either to obey and join the street or we stand for our right to education and accommodation. The same government that provides teaching staff with housing is the same government that caters for students' accommodation. Moreover, since lecturers and students are equal before the law, there was no point in evicting us from hostels to surrender our life to miseries just for hostels to be left empty.

Eighth, we students stranded in the hostels could not immediately secure transport money to go back to our respective states following indefinite closure of the University. But, we plead loyalty to relocation to Ramcial Hostel which was renovated last year when the administration and education committee suggested renovation of the hostel we were occupying. But when we proposed relocation they were overrun by hunger.

Again, as second option, we pleaded for transport assistance to facilitate our journey to our respective states. They demanded a list of our names. We summited the list with the hope that they have sympathied with our situation. But the list was instantly surrendered to University administration. Later, we were branded as culprits, criminals, civilians, soldiers illegally occupying dormitories. That was how badly we were portrayed in the media. Our reputation was tarnished in the eyes of public and later declared dismissed.

Ninth, Your Excellency, on 1st May, which was a public holiday-the International Labour Day, the University administration organised a squad of police personnel to compel students who were stranded in the hostels. They began their operation in girls' hostel. And in the process, the girls were joined by boys in the nearby Ramcial hostel following their desperate call for help when their properties were thrown out. The oriented police opened fire with live bullets and one of our colleagues by name, Luke Benga Taih in the college of management science, third year was shot in the arm at about 4:00 p.m. But they police quickly disappeared without being traced since it was a public holiday when everybody was expected to be off duty.

So, to us the decision by the administration to deny essential basic need like water is directly refusing us right to education because without water there is no life. Moreover, among us there are disabled students who are vulnerable to fragile situation like no food and water. They cannot manage to sustain studies. They go as far as river Nile to shower and wash clothes.

Your excellency, what prompted me to write this letter is that we are pale with stress and mental depression caused by reckless decisions made without prior consultation and calculation of consequences. The professionals in higher education have stopped to think through the situation adequately- what are the implications or who would be affected? There is no more care taken in decision making process by professors. That is why their decisions are contrary to obligation that social order requires thus, conflicting with our aspirations and ambitions. The higher education under the claws of Professor Peter Adwok and His colleague the Vice Chancellor, Professor Aggrey Abate's principles and ideals are destroyed by the deeds contrived to fulfil egocentric.

Your Excellency, in conclusion, my humble request is that South Sudan has hard-hearted compatriots and intellectuals with shred of nationalism embedded in their hearts and may sacrifice to serve their best as decision makers in higher education. The people with the dream of "South Sudan is my world and my religion is to do good." They will diligently work harder to up lift this nation from its knee! Long live South Sudan, Long live University of Juba

The writer is University of Juba student's activist

BARUA YA WAZI KWA RAIS WA DOLA YA ZANZIBAR DR. ALI MUHAMMED SHEIN

BISMILLAHI ‘RRAHMANI ‘RRAHIM

Kila sifa njema zinamstahikia Allah, Subhanah wa Taala, isofichika kwake dhulma wala harudishi dua ya mwenye kudhulumiwa. Rehma na amani zimshukie Mtume Muhmmad (s.a.w) kipenzi chake na cha umma, mtetezi wa waliodhulimiwa hata kabla ya kupewa Utume.

Mhishimiwa Rais,

Kwa mapenzi makubwa, baada ya kuisoma kwa utulivu khutuba yako ya siku tukufu ya Iddil Alfitri, nimelazimika kuandika barua hii kufuatana na kauli mbiu ya Mtume Muhammad (s.a.w) inayosema:

“…Dini ni nasaha…nasaha kwa Allah (S.w.T) na ni nasaha kwa Mtume (s.a.w.) na kwa viongozi wa Waislamu na kwa watu wote…”

Mh. Rais;
Ni kweli nchi yeti ya Zanzibar imechafuliwa jina lake kuwa ni nchi ya amani kama ilivyogeuzwa nchi yetu na ndugu zetu na kufanywa kuwa ni koloni lao baada ya mkoloni Mwingereza kutupa uhuru mwaka 1963 na kuwa na kiti chetu Umoja wa Mataifa huku walimwengu wote wakishuhudia; kiti ambacho kwa uwezo wake Allah atakirejesha karibuni na wewe ukiwa rais wa Zanzibar au uliyemwakilisha kuweza kuketi juu yake Insha’allah na sisi wananchi wako wa Zanzibar tukifurahikia jambo hilo adhimu.

Mh.Rais;
Ni kweli nchi yetu inatiwa dosari lakini si kweli kuwa wananchi wa Zanzibar ndio wanaosababisha dosari hiyo na doa hilo la uvunjifu wa amani; ushahidi wa maneno haya tutaupata tukirejea na kutizama kwa jicho la uadilifu na insafu katika matukio tafauti. Kwa hakika tukifanya hivyo tutagundua bila ya taabu kuwa Jeshi la Polisi la Tanzania ndio wahusika wakuu na waanzilishi wa vurugu na uvunjifu wa amani ya nchi yetu ya Zanzibar kwa mara zote tatu, nikimaanisha machafuko yaliyotokea tarehe 25-26/5/2012 mjini Zanzibar na yale ya kuhujumu waumini na kunajisi misiskiti tarehe 17/6/2012, Donge, Mahonda na Mkokotoni pamoja na hujuma ya tarehe 20/7/2012 msikitini pia dhidi ya Waislamu walokusanyika msikiti wa Mbuyuni kuwasalia ndugu zao waliofariki kwa ajali ya meli ya Mv. Skaget. Waislamu tulihujumiwa ndani ya msikiti. Jeshi la polisi halikusita hapo bali liliwaingilia wananchi wanyonge mpaka ndani ya nyumba zao na kuwatendea matendo haramiya ya chuki na uhuni na katika waliotendewa matendo hayo maovu walikuwa wanawake na watoto wachanga. Polisi hao wakhalifu wa sharia waharibifu wa amani walifika hadi ya kutupa mabomu ya madawa makali ndani ya majumba ya raia bila ya kujali athari zitakazowasibu watoto wachanga na wanawake wenye kunyonyesha. Iwapo jeshi la polisi lililopewa jukumu la kulinda sharia, kuweka amani na kuwahami wananchi na mali zao ndio wenye kuvunja shariakwa kuwahujumu watu bila ya sababu, wananchi na haki zao zitalindwa na nani?

Mh.Rais;
Matokeo ya ukiukwaji wa sharia na haki za binadamu yaliyopelekea kuiharibia nchi yetu ya Zanzibar sifa yake ya amani na utulivu yamesababishwa na jeshi la polisi la Tanzania lililoacha kutekeleza wajibu wake wa kutunza amani ya nchi yetu Zanzibar . La kusikitisha zaidi ni kuwepo baadhi ya watendaji wako wa karibu wanaopotosha ukweli na kuifanyia khiyana nchi yetu ya Zanzibar kwa kufikisha kwako taarifa za uongo zilizopelekea kuitia doa na kuiharibu khutuba yako ilojaa maneno matukufu ya Allah Subhanah wa Taala pamoja na mafunzo kutoka Sunna za Mtume (s.a.w), khutuba ambayo ilitarajiwa kukemea dhulma za jeshi la polisi dhidi ya Waiislam na nyumba tukufu za Allah (S.w.T) iliyohujumiwa pamoja na wanawake na watoto wachanga ndani ya majumba kama ulivotetea makanisa na kubainisha hatari na ubaya wa walioyachoma makanisa hayo kwa lengo la kutaka kuanzisha fitna baina ya Waislam na jirani zao Wakristo waliokaribishwa nchini Zanzibar na kuishi pamoja nao miaka mingi kwa amani kiasi ambacho haijawahi kutokea Muislamu kulitusi kanisa licha kulichoma moto, kwani hayo ni kinyume na mafunzo ya dini yetu tukufu ya Kiislamu.

Mh.Rais;
Watu wanaokuwa karibu na Rais ni watu muhimu sana katika kufanikisha dhana ya uadilifu na utawala bora na wa haki usioogopa kukemea maovu hata kama walotenda au kuteleza ni Jeshi la Polisi kwani pia wao ni binaadamu siajabu kutenda makosa kwa maksudi seuze kuteleza, Allah Sbhanah wa Taala anatwambia: “…Enyi mloamini kuweni wasimamizi wa Allah wenye kushuhudia ukweli hata kama ni dhidi ya nafsi zenu…” Kwa hivyo, kosa kubwa zaidi ni kuuficha ukweli au kumpotosha kiongozi wa nchi hadi kufikia kuwashushia sifa wasiostahiki, wahuni ambao waliwatendea ya uhuni na dhulma kubwa hata wanawake na watoto. Ni khatari wadhulumiwa wanapofikishwa kumshtakia Mfalme wa Mbingu na Ardhi juu ya dhulma wanazotendewa. Isitoshe, khiyana ya watu kamaa hao wa karibu na viongozi kila inapojikariri khiyana hiyo inajenga hisiya kwa wenyeji wa nchi hii ambao wengi wao ni Waislamu kuwa wanabaguliwa, na sio wao tu bali hata kudharauliwa nyumba zao tukufu za ibada na kuthaminiwa makanisa peke yake. Sisi Waislamu hatutaki nyumba zozote za ibada zidharauliwe. Nyumba zote za ibada lazima ziwekewe hishima zinazostahiki.

Mh.Rais;
Kwa heshma zote naomba zichunguzwe sana sifa mbili kwa watu wote wa karibu na viongozi, sifa mbazo ni hatari kuzikosa tena zinaweza kuiangamiza nchi yetu tukufu ya Zanzibar . Sifa hizo si nyengine illa ni ukweli na uaminifu ambazo ni kinyume na uwongo na khiyana.

Yarabbi Muumba Mbingu na Ardhi, usieshindwa na jambo, tunakuomba muhifadhi Rais wetu, turejeshee nchi yetu kwa salama na amani, DOLA HURU YA ZANZIBAR, wastiri wanawake na watoto wachanga majumbani na Wazanzibari wote tunaodhulumiwa kwa kudai uhuru wa nchi yetu ya Zanzibar uloporwa na jirani zetu, ndugu zetu baada ya kutoka kwa wakoloni.

Amir Mkuu, Jumuiya ya Maimamu Zanzibar
Farid Hadi Ahmed

Mama salma kikwete tukumbuke wenzio

Kwako Mama Kikwete, Saalam,
Pole kwa majukumu mengi uliyonayo mimi binafsi nakutakia mfungo mwema wa Ramadhan na nina imani mwezi huu utakua na manufaa mengi kwako na kwetu kwa ujumla MAANA UTATUOMBEA WALIMU WENZIO.

Pamoja na salamu hizi napenda nieleze wazi kuwa mzee alipata kura nyingi zetu walimu kutokana na wewe, ndo maana tulidiriki kumwita shemeji yetu, tuliamini urais kuwa kwake utakua kwako pia na hatimae kwetu walimu wenzio. Tulijua tuna mtu wa kutusemea sasa ambae ni wewe, Tulijua unayajua vema maisha ya walimu wenzio na kwamba utapata muda wa kumshauri baba kuhusu kundi hili ambalo wewe ulikua mdau kwa muda mrefu.

Mzee wakati wa kampeni mwaka 2005 nakumbuka alikua Mwanza alisema serikali yake itamaliza matatizo ya walimu nao
wabaki na kazi ya kusomesha watoto tu. lilikua jambo lililoibua hisia za walimu wengi, na kwakweli tulikua tayari kufa na shemeji yetu. alishinda vema naamini walimu wengi walitoa uungaji mkono nikiwemo na mimi. Dada/mama taaluma hii bado ina hali mbaya maisha yetu yamejaa mashaka, tumeshindwa kupata milo mitatu kwa siku, tumeshindwa sasa kulipa ada za watoto wetu mashuleni, tumekopa kila pahala penye kukopesha ili tuweze kupata ada za wanetu ambao wanaunyafuzi kutokana na milo duni tunayoawalisha kutokana na uwezo wetu mdogo. Wapo wenzetu wanapata mshahara sh 0/= kutokana na mazingira kama hayo niliyoeleza hapo juu!

Tumejaribu kuyaeleza haya kwa muda mrefu bado hatujapata faraja wala nafuu, chama chetu cha walimu kikajaribu kuhangaiika kuona kama tunawez kufikiriwa, na hatimae tupate aheri. wameenda mahakamani hapakutokea mabadiliko, ikabidi watangaze mgomo ambao kwakweli tulitamani mzee na wewe msikie walimu wanamateso gani huku kwenye profession yako bado nako tumechinjiwa baharini
1/8/2012 mzee akatoa hotuba nzuri sana ingawa ndani yake tuliona hukumu itakauaje siku ya leo tarehe 2/8/2012, mama wakati tukisubiri hukumu wengi walitubeza kuwa hukumu tayari imetolewa na mzee na mahakama itatimiza unabii tu! Nikweli imekua hivyo.

Mama/dada unaweza ukaona tunavyohangaika ili kupata nafuu ya maisha katika nchi hii ambayo inaongozwa na mtu aliyeoa dada yetu itakuaje akija mtu ambae hana kabisa uhusiano nasi? Natamani sana mwanangu au ndugu yangu asijiingize kwenye taaluma hii maana haithaminiwi tena na wala haionekani kama ina umhimu wowote.

Mama kwani wakati mnapoongea na mzee kwa masuala ya kifamilia au ya kitaifa huwezi kumshauri walau awe na huruma kwa kaka na dada zako sisi? Naamini ukijipa assignment ya kufanya hivyo kila jioni utatuokoa na kwakweli hata baada ya 2015 tutakukumbuka kwa kutupigania.

Mwisho dada utakapokua kuwa ukila na kunywa hapo magogoni, ukumbuke wenzio huku hata kuamkia mhogo au kiazi haiwezekani tena maana hata mvua hazinyeshi vizuri hata mavuno hatupati kwenye vishamba vidogo tunavyomudu kukodi vijijini,
Utakapo kuwa ukilala na kusinzia ukumbuke wenzio tunafukuzwa na wenye nyumba kwa kukuchelewa kulipa pango la nyumba za udongo tulizopanga kutokana na kutokuwepo kwa nyumba mashuleni. Aidha utakapo kuwa ukisafiri kwenye ile ndege ndani au nje ya nchi, tukumbuke wenzio hata matairi ya baiskeli zetu yameisha tunasubiri mshahara walau tununue mengine ili tujiepushe na pancha za mara kwa mara.

ujapoita watoto yatima na wanawake kuwafuturisha jioni hapo pembeni ya bahari tukumbuke wenzio hatuna hata uwezo wa kutoa mchango wa rambirambi mtaani ila tunakopa kila misiba inapotokea tukisubiri mwisho wa mwezi.

Mama/dada najua unafahamu kuwa kile ambacho kingetupa kipato kidogo ni kuuza ubuyu na barafu lakini tumezuwiwa na walimu wa kuu. Tumetii yote hayo tumejaribu tuiition bado madiwani na wazazi wametushtaki. Tumeshindwa kote sasa TUNAKUANGALIA WEWE TU. Tafadhali fanya haraka kumshauri mzee vinginevyo utatukuta tumekufa kwa njaa, shinikizo la damu au utapiamlo. Utakuta ndugu zako huku hatuna tumaini hata stori hatutakupa juu ya maisha ualimu uliyoyaacha kwa miaka 10.
Nakutakia maisha mema na utetezi mwema wa walimu wenzako.

Mwalimu Mpole

Letter to Secretary Clinton on her forthcoming trip to Africa

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C St, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton,

In light of your forthcoming trip to Africa, we would like to bring to your attention some of our recent research findings and recommendations for many of the countries you will be visiting, including Senegal, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa. We hope that you will take the opportunity during your visit to address these issues with your counterparts and speak publicly about these and other human rights concerns. We do not include below information on Malawi, but we would encourage you to praise the positive steps that President Joyce Banda has implemented since taking office.

Senegal

The Hissène Habré Case

Hissène Habré is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture when he ruled Chad, from 1982 to 1990, before fleeing to Senegal. After years of stalling by President Abdoulaye Wade, newly elected president Macky Sall has ordered that proceedings against Habré begin by the end of the year. On July 24, Senegal and the African Union (AU) announced a landmark agreement to create “Extraordinary African Chambers” with African judges in the Senegalese justice system and to begin pre-trial investigations in October.

The United States has been a key player in encouraging Senegal to bring Habré to justice. Your letter to President Wade last September and your June report to Congress calling on Senegal to take “concrete steps” to bring Habré to justice both helped catalyze action. Habré’s trial, if conducted fairly and expeditiously, will be a significant milestone in the fight against impunity in Africa. We hope that you will therefore be publicly supportive of Senegal’s current efforts to try Habré domestically, and that the United States will join other international donors that have agreed to finance the trial by offering a substantial contribution.

Forced Begging of Children

In a 2010 report, Human Rights Watch documented the system of exploitation and abuse of at least 50,000 boys known as talibés – the vast majority under age 12 and many as young as four – forced to beg on Senegal's streets for long hours under the guise of getting a Quranic education. We documented widespread physical abuse, including severe beatings and several cases in which children had been chained or bound for failing to hand over to their Quranic teacher a required daily amount of money from begging. Many boys run away from these abusive residential schools and become almost permanent street children.

Senegal has the laws necessary to protect these boys from exploitation, in particular a 2005 law that criminalizes trafficking and forcing others into begging for personal financial gain. However, the previous government largely failed to take concrete steps to enforce the law, helping ensure that more boys would fall victim to abuse.

During your visit to Senegal, we hope that you will discuss with President Sall the importance of authorities applying the law against forced child begging and trafficking, as well as laws against physical violence toward children. In addition to prosecutions, it is essential that the Sall government take steps to regulate the Quranic education system, which, with a few exceptions, has been subject to almost no state oversight.

South Sudan

South Sudan, which on July 9 celebrated the one-year anniversary of its independence, faces significant human rights challenges. Human Rights Watch has recently called on the government of South Sudan to free all unlawfully detained prisoners, guarantee freedom of speech, and accelerate ratification of key international human rights treaties. In addition, we have urged that security forces be held to account for ongoing human rights abuses. The failure to pursue justice for serious crimes is a longstanding problem in South Sudan, a country with limited law enforcement capacity and a vast territory. The improvement of the justice and prison systems in South Sudan is essential.

Human Rights Watch has reported extensively on indiscriminate bombings in civilian areas, killings, and other serious abuses by Sudanese armed forces in the border areas of Sudan and South Sudan. We ask that you emphasize in your meetings in Juba the critical importance of humanitarian access to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Uganda

Excessive Use of Force by Police and Military

Security forces’ unjustified use of lethal force remains a significant problem in Uganda. In protests in September 2009, at least 40 persons were killed, but there has been no meaningful attempt to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Again, in April 2011 during the "Walk to Work" demonstrations, military and police shot and killed nine people. The government has not conducted criminal investigations into the April killings and other state abuses, although there was one arrest for the killing of a child.

During your visit to Uganda, we ask you to raise the importance of accountability for the excessive use of force by police, military, and ad-hoc security units during the 2009 Kayunga protest and the 2011 "Walk to Work" demonstrations. We urge you to press the police and prosecutors to conduct credible investigations and bring charges against those found responsible, including commanders who ordered the use of live ammunition where there was no imminent lethal threat.

Crackdown on Civil Society

In the last two years, government officials at both the national and local levels have deployed an array of tactics to intimidate and obstruct the work of NGOs in certain sectors. Organizations focused on evidence-based research and advocacy on more controversial issues—transparency in the oil sector, compensation and reparations for land acquisitions and sales, political reform, and protection of human rights, including the rights of LGBT people—have decreasing room to maneuver. The methods used range from closing meetings and workshops, demanding apologies, and occasional physical violence, to threats, harassment, and heavy-handed bureaucratic interference to impede NGO registration and operations. Recent, increasing use of these tactics is obstructing the work and impact of the NGO sector and, more broadly, obstructs Ugandans’ rights to free expression, association, and assembly.

We encourage you to raise concerns over the restrictions of freedom of expression and association given the current threats to civil society in Uganda and call on the government to take concrete steps to foster an environment in which civil society can operate freely on a full range of subjects—including oil sector management, corruption, governance, land sales, and human rights, including the rights of LGBT people.

Regional Security: Rwanda and the DRC

The Ugandan government should urgently investigate reports that armed combatants in military uniform have crossed from Ugandan territory into neighboring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at and near Bunagana in July 2012, allegedly to support the M23 rebellion led by ICC war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda. Human Rights Watch and a UN Group of Experts on Congo have independently documented the supply of recruits, arms and ammunition from the Rwandan military to the M23 rebels. Congolese civil society organizations reported last week that soldiers also came from Uganda into Congo to support the rebels’ latest offensive.

Uganda should ensure that there is no support, whether official or unofficial, from Uganda or which passes through Ugandan territory, in aid of Ntaganda or other M23 leaders responsible for serious human rights violations.

The United States sent a strong signal to the Rwandan government on July 21, condemning Rwandan support to the M23 rebels by cutting $200,000 of US military assistance to Rwanda. The US government should inform the Ugandan government that it could take similar action with respect to Uganda if there is clear evidence of support from Ugandan actors as well.

Kenya

Kenya’s general elections are slated for March 2013, yet few perpetrators have been brought to justice for the violence following the 2007 elections. The International Criminal Court has charged four high-profile suspects – including two presidential aspirants – with crimes against humanity for the post-election violence, but the Kenyan government has not upheld its promises to prosecute other cases. In the Mt. Elgon region, killings and enforced disappearances committed by the army and a militia group from 2006 to 2008 remain unpunished. Meanwhile, Kenya’s security forces are committing abuses against ethnic Somalis in North Eastern province. Judicial and police reforms currently underway provide some hope for accountability.

Human Rights Watch’s top advocacy priorities for Kenya include the creation of a special mechanism to prosecute those responsible for violence after the 2007 election. We also urge you to press for greater accountability by police and security forces, which, according to our field-based investigations, continue to commit torture, beatings, arbitrary arrests, and unauthorized searches of homes.

South Africa

The controversial Protection of State Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) remains a major concern in light of its restrictions on freedom of expression, press freedom, and democratic accountability. Ever since the bill was introduced in March 2010, it has been subject to serious criticism as being inconsistent with South Africa’s constitution and human rights obligations. The bill has been amended over the past few years, but the draft version still omits a public interest defense. The absence of this clause means that journalists, whistleblowers, and others could be imprisoned for up to 25 years for leaking or sharing information deemed classified by the government and which exposes corruption, mismanagement, or malfeasance, even in the face of a compelling public interest.

We ask that you call on the government of South Africa to amend the Protection of State Information Bill to ensure that it conforms to international standards on freedom of expression, including by providing a public interest defense.

Thank you, once again, for your attention to these concerns.

Sincerely,
Daniel Bekele
Executive Director
Africa Division

Barua ya wazi kwa mkurugenzi wa ssra

Ndugu Mkurugenzi SSRA,

Siwezi kukulaumu wewe na Mamlaka unayoisimamia, wakulaumiwa ni wa Wabunge.
Labda hawakusoma vizuri, lakini wewe ni timu yako naamini ndo chanzo cha
Sheria hii. Hisia zangu na wafanyakazi waliowengi, kama unavyoona makelele,
sijarizika kabisa na hatua hii! Mimi ni mfanyakazi na hata huo ufafanuzi
wako wa Julai 20, 2012 nimeusoma, haikidhi kiu ya kuamini kwamba FAO LA
KUJITOA kufutwa kunafaida yoyote ukiondoa fursa ya kukopa nyumba!!!??? SSRA
inasisitiza eti tuelimishwe, Hatuelimishiki katika hili! "*Mla Mla Leo
bwana Mla Kesho Kala nini?"* Sisi wenye vipato vya chini tunafanya
maendeleo kupitia vijisenti hivyo; tunasomesha, tunajenga kwa awamu,
tunajisomesha wenyewe. Sasa mnatupeleka wapi?

Maisha ya Mtanzania ni ya kubahatisha; wachache wanapita hadi uzee, ndo
maana tunawazee wachache. Wastani wa kuishi kwa Mtanzania wa leo ni Miaka
58 na miezi miwili tu. Sisi mnatutaka kufikishe 55 ili tuishi miaka 3 tu
kisha tufe!! Natukitaka kuendelea na kazi hadi miaka 60 tutakuwa tumekufa
hata kabla ya kuchukua mafao hayo.Bado kuna magonjwa mengi sana yanayoua
mara moja ikiwemo VVU/UKIMWI, lo! Achilia mbali ajali za mala kwa mala;
yote haya yanaashilia kwamba tutafanyia kazi kwaajili ya Miradhi ya watoto
wetu tu, au waume zetu/wake zetu wakibahatisha kufika. MLA MLA LEO mkuu.
Fedha ya nchi yetu pendwa, Tanzania ni ya kuporomoka kila kunapokucha!
Mamlaka yako pamoja na Bunge mnatutaka tutunze hayo makaratasi hadi uzeeni,
huku thamani nayo inaporomoka! Ninahitaji maelezo zaidi hapo yakihusisha
thamani ya pesa yetu na kuporomoka kwake na MAfaho ya Uzeeni.

Ndugu Mkurugenzi, "Kupanga ni Kuchagua", Mwalimu Nyerere alisema. Mbona
sisi hatujachagua kujitoa? Mbona hatukushirikishwa kikamilifu. SSRA
imekimbilia kurubuni wafanyakazi eti "ili kutimiza lengo na mathumuni ya
hifadhi ya jamii ambayo ni kuhakikisha kuwa mwanachama anapata mafao bora".
Mafao bora menyewe hayajawahi kutolewa. Tumeona ndugu zetu, watangulizi
wetu akipokea vijihela kiduchu tu! Njia iliyotumika kushirikisha
wafanyakazi hakukidhi haja na mahitaji halisi ya wafanyakazi. Wabunge
hatukuwatuma hilo, jamani. Haya ndo matatizo ya uakilishi. Mwakilishi
anajiamulia tu ya kusema Bungeni, bila kukusanya maoni halisi ya
anaowawakilisha.

Hata SSRA ambayo naamini ndio chanzo cha maudhi haya yote haikufanya
utafiti wa kutosha kuhusu mahitaji halisi ya wafanya kazi. Mahitaji siyo
nyumba pekee. Na si kila mtu anataka kukopa nyumba. Wengine tunataka hela
tuanzishe maduka, wengine tunataka twende kusoma tukiwa ngali vijana.
Mifuko hii ya Hifadhi ya Jamii tunaitumia kujiwekea akiba wenyewe na pindi
malengo yetu akikamilika tunazitoa na kuzifanyia kazi tulizopanga. Enzi
hii, siyo Enzi ya Mwalimu! Ni enzi ya soko huria likiwemo Soko Huria la
Ajira. Mtu anauwezo wa kujenga nyumba hata kama si mfanyakazi wala si
mfanya biashara! Wafanyakazi si mbumbumbu kiasi cha kulazimishwa kujiwekea
fedha. Hebu tuachwe tuamue mambo yetu wenyewe.

Binafsi sioni faida ya Mifuko hii nje ya FAO la Kujitoa. Siwezi hata kukopa
fedha mfano NSSF wakati wao wanatumia fedha zangu ninazoendelea kuweka
kujenga majumba ya kitega Uchumi pasipo mimi kupewa Mgao hata kidogo
angalao. Faida yoooote inakwenda NSSF. Mimi faida yangu ni mafao
madogomadogo tu, kama vile matibabu kiduchu, Kifo (wala sitafaidi). FAO la
kujitoa ndo lenyewe kwa Mfanyakazi. *Mla Mla Leo. *

Mikataba yetu ni ya muda mfupi-Miezi Sita, Mwaka Mmoja, Miwili, nk. Katyika
hali hii unanitaka ni subiri hadi Miaka 55 kwa mafao yangu ya miaka Miwili
au Mitano!? Hii sheria labda tuwaachie watumishi wa Serikali ambao wan
mikataba ya muda mrefu, hadi umri wa miaka 60. Sekta zingine haiwezekani.

Nawasilisha,
Mhangwa, Vincent Manoni
+255 782 396953

HALIMA MDEE AMKANA ZITTO KABWE KUHUSU URAIS 2015

Kwenye barua yake kwenda kwa uongozi wa juu wa gazeti la mwananchi, hii ni sehemu ya barua yake.

Nasikitika kutumia nafasi hii kukuandikia kukutaarifu kuwa gazeti lako la Mwananchi la Julai 23, 2012, katika habari yake iliyoongoza ukurasa wa kwanza (lead story) limenilisha maneno na kunikuu isivyo sahihi.

Katika habari hiyo yenye kichwa cha habari kisemacho “Wabunge wamsafishia Zitto njia ya urais 2015,” gazeti lako limeandika hivi “Mdee aliyepewa nafasi ya kuwasalimia wananchi alisema amekuwa na Zitto tangu Chuo kikuu cha Dar es Salaam na kwamba kutokana na ujasiri na umahiri wake katika kutetea masilahi ya wanyonge na taifa, anafaa kuwa mmoja wa viongozi wa juu katika Taifa.”

Gazeti lako pia katika aya iliyofuata limenukuu kuwa mimi nimesema;

*“Ndugu zangu watu wa Kigoma, kwa kweli mna bahati sana, achilia mbali kuwa na vipaji katika sanaa ya muziki na michezo hasa mpira wa miguu, lakini mna wanasiasa wakali ambao ni tishio hapa nchini. Mimi namkubali sana Zitto Kabwe na ninaamini kuna siku atakuwa kiongozi wa juu katika nchi yetu," alisema Mdee”

Nasikitika kusema kuwa gazeti lako limeandika habari zisizo za kweli kwa kunilisha *maneno na kudai kuwa mimi ndiye nimesema maneno hayo, kisha kuyaweka kwenye nukuu, likisema kuwa ni nukuu yangu. Sijajua nia au kusudio la gazeti lako kuamua kupotosha ukweli na kushindwa kabisa kuninukuu kwa usahihi, kama inavyotakiwa katika misingi ya taaluma ya habari.

Nasikitika pia kusema kuwa gazeti lako ambalo limeonekana kujijengea heshima miongoni mwa wasomaji wa kada mbalimbali nchini na hivyo linapaswa kuwa mfano wa kuigwa, linaweza kusigina misingi ya uandishi wa habari na hususan katika kufuata maadili ya taaluma hii muhimu, kwa kiwango cha kufanya moja ya dhambi kubwa ya kukilisha maneno chanzo cha habari.

Kwa ajili ya kutunza heshima ya gazeti lako, lakini pia kwa ajili ya maslahi mapana ya taaluma ya habari na jamii ya Watanzania, nakuandikia kulitaka gazeti lako likanushe maneno liliyoninukuu katika toleo hilo la Julai 23, 2012. Ni vyema sana hilo likafanyika kwa uzito unaostahili kama ilivyoandikwa katika toleo hilo.

Habari hiyo imeniletea usumbufu mkubwa hasa kwa wanachama wa chama changu, CHADEMA, ambao wanajua kuwa chama chao makini ni mahiri katika kufuata katiba, kanuni na taratibu katika kuendesha mambo yake kwa manufaa ya watu wote. Napenda kuwa mmoja wa Watanzania makini na viongozi wanaojua wajibu, ikiwemo kufanya nini na kusema nini, mahali gani na wakati gani.

Nakutakia utekelezaji mwema katika hilo.

An Open Letter to Obama

OPINION

Here you are, brother: Caught in the wheels of history, part of processes that transform the world and part of systems that destroy it.'

Dear President Barack Obama,

I hope you don't mind me addressing you directly. I would like to call you brother, as I am known to do. Many would have me not - friends because they feel that you have left and enemies because they fear that you have not. I will, no matter, because we are of each other.

Maybe I should start with telling you who I am and why I want to address you. I am a child of a battered generation. The child of a generation whose wars were fought gallantly, with courage, at huge cost, by young people who were sent to the gallows, executed, punished for their daring. And I am of a generation who were chained to the bed from birth in punishment for the rebellion of our parents. Who were fed drugs and capitalism in equal dose of malicious silencing. You know this generation because you too are of the lost souls raised amongst the scattered bones of revolutions past and the drawn skulls of promises unfulfilled. The liberation movements of the 1960s were fading and erased by the time we saw the light but for the pained eyes of martyrs and survivors.

We were raised in the hollowed halls of neo-colonial regimes where Mobutu and Moi were called leaders in mocking irony at the memories of Machel, Cabral and Nyerere. Where Sankara and Bishop made last ditch attempts to uphold truth faced with savage reprisals by the tyranny of Thatcher and Reagan. Where Cuba was the last bastion of alternative but even the image of Ernesto fell to the commodified greed of hungry empire finding new and twisted ways to pacify revolt.

I am Black ... is no longer said with pride and resistance. But, "I am Black" is how I understand myself. I am Woman, I am Queer, I am African. Yet rainbow nations disguising patriarchal capitalism will tell me that these truths are divisive. Many would rather I hide, silence, gloss all, if not parts, of me; but it is these truths of mine that create for me an anchor - a past and a present, a home and adversaries. I am addressing you today from this standpoint, as a sister, as a fighter, as a woman who seeks to stand always on the side of justice.

When you were making your great strides in the machinery that is the U.S.A, I watched from your father's land in Kenya. I watched initially with great fear as those around me cheered in jubilation. I thought myself a coward for being so scared. I feared that, like many before you, you would become a conveniently vilified symbol of what your image does not represent. I feared for the dignity of millions of our African sisters and brothers in the U.S.A for whom promised democracy, redress and reparation have still to be realized. And I feared for your life. We heard, below your King overtones, your Malcolm words and subtle gestures, so that even veteran Black nationalists were singing your praises. And I feared their unwavering optimism, while realizing in your unmatched mobilization how ineffective we had been.

It was a hard truth to swallow. But those times taught me so much about who I am, where I am and what I am holding onto. I learnt that an anchor should hold you but cannot lead you. I learnt that Malcolm's relevance is not in our outdated Black Power salute, nor our rhetoric, not even in our unapologetic counter to a five hundred year-old system of oppression, but that his relevance is in our ability to make his words our own, today, in this time, in our own deeds.

As you ran up against the U.S political elite, the white liberal mask was lifted once again for all to see. Those of us beautiful enough to be Black Woman, neither first nor second, were not surprised by her aristocratic tantrum calling for our allegiance and the arrogance that sought to blind class and race with femininity.

I didn't believe it: 'they are not ready for a Black president' I said in bewilderment every time you crossed another milestone. I know them, I know us, and in my script of us and them, they are not ready. My script was wrong. You won. And we played Brenda's "Black President" because it was a time to join our people in celebration. And the parallels with Mandela were indeed stark. While you were never a freedom fighter, tortured nor jailed for dissent, Madiba and Barack seem to be the conciliatory faces of false, forced nations torn at the root by white supremacy.

And with my trepidation, I couldn't help but smile at the moment you offered, the smiles I saw on weary fighters, including my own mother who to this day has a portrait of you at her entrance that reads in bold letters - MR. PRESIDENT. You offered the hope you said you would, to the defeated generation and to the generation of our time. Those of us in between looked around incredulous, reminded that despite carrying the heavy load of burnt churches and promises, we could allow ourselves hope; that skepticism and vigilance, though it saved us from terror and assault, could not lift us into the light. We had been brave, those of us who soldiered on, alone carrying a fading torch of liberation in the wreckage of Aids, structural adjustment, the war on drugs and evangelism. Knowing that our people deserved fulfillment not just hope; forgetting how to ignite imagination.

I dared at that point to watch. Not for what you could make happen in the burning house, but, for what you might be able to offer the world from an increasingly belligerent empire. The world was restless, balancing at the tipping point of destruction. A simple "Assalam Alaikum" reverberated across the seas. And despite the open gestures, you were not able to stand firm in the stance of open palm, proving again that the system is stronger than the people who make it up. You stepped up the aggression in your speech, the threats in your voice and set the boat sailing again for leading through violence. The lid finally shut closed when you stood before the world to deny the Palestinian people their self-determination. So when we mourned the murder of Troy Davis that week, we also mourned every victim and survivor of U.S imperialism from Palestine to Oakland, DRC to Iraq.

And here you are, brother, caught in the wheels of history, part of processes that transform the world and part of systems that destroy it. I wonder in this hunt who will be writing history - the hunter or the lion? Whether we make gains or suffer setbacks, you have been part of the historical impetus towards the long awaited white strike against capitalism - Occupy Wall Street. Showing dissent to a system that works against most (though it is this same dissent that also created fascist leaning factions like the Tea Party), it seems the white population of the U.S is catching up to the global resistance and, in their focus on Wall Street, have avoided displaying your image as that of oppressor - acknowledging that the capitalists who fuel the engine of empire outrun presidents. But, I have seen them indeed occupy, the organizing space and tactics of poor, Black and brown revolution and already the whispers calling for decolonization of occupy.

They say that you are the first Gay president. Perhaps in an attempt to maintain Clinton's title as the first Black one - as if playing the saxophone despite enlarging the prison industrial complex, attacking working Black mothers, despite Somalia and Rwanda, makes you Black. Brother, I can't say that the gains of 'equality' that assist in integrating gay and lesbian middle-class white people into the patriarchal institution of marriage or the army feels to me like freedom.

I am certain that they are winning and that you are valiantly attempting to struggle against homophobia. But at my very core, I don't want to fit their box, no matter how glossy and new it may look or how much they tell me that parts of me are acceptable (never the whole). What my Queer politic seeks is for us all to liberate ourselves from all notions that imprison our imagination to the normativity of oppression. For us all to experience whole, free, respectful, positive and loving lives in all its dimensions, accepting plurality, complexity, and self-determination from body to nation.

So when you give the orders (or is it succumb to the orders?) to bomb Africa's North in Libya, I know that you are not the first queer president. I cried at the images of lives lost, whole cities and the continent's infrastructure destroyed. Knowing that the empires that struck with intended disdain would soon be offering debt crippling aid to 'help rebuild' what they destroyed. And now is when I hope, hope that the Libyan people will not fall to the same divide along ethnic lines that has unraveled the continent thread by thread. But, my hope was soon squashed as factions and splinters unveiled in the all too common African story as a tear falls again for the vision of our powerful unity.

African peoples are facing a full frontal assault both within and outside of empire. The financial crisis that has caused white people in the U.S widespread panic and revolt, is the same economic condition that the majority of Black people there live in during economic prosperity. One Black woman, man and child is killed every forty hours under your presidency. Our potential for revolt has been met with armed occupying forces surrounding communities in the name of policing, in the same way that home-guards patrolled villages during the Mau Mau uprising. And every time another Oscar Grant is killed, Sean Bell's murderers are acquitted, Trayvon Martin's parents cry out for justice, another Black woman jailed, we remember that Herman Bell, Leonard Peltier and Sundiata Acoli are still in jail.

On the continent, whole lands are being stolen in the name of investment, with a shockingly ahistorical adage appended to the "For Sale" sign that reads terrus nullus. Our diversity is being patented and the unsustainable pimped to us as 'the future'. The Europeans sell us 'partnership' agreements unashamedly willing a free market to exploit our resources and pimp their goods. Long gone is even mention of reparations, the paternalistic aid machinery cripples us in odious debt. While China offer 'win-win' alternatives, which no so-called leader of ours negotiates beyond the short-sighted proximity of their own pockets to translate into a win for our people and future. Meanwhile, we, the people, are so busy oppressing each other in the guise of morality, we have hardly noticed whose interests we kneel to.

Which is why there are generations like ours, a generation whose manifest destiny is seemingly and simply to remember: to carry from our grandmothers to our daughters the resistance cry of generations. Now, brother Barack, the winds of change are slowly raising the dust. And we have seen people on a move, attempting to rock the foundation of injustice. You have been a character in this determining act in the theatre of humankind. And as the curtain is drawn on African awakening spreading from Guinea, Madagascar and Mozambique to Africa's North, the world has begun to pay attention. Now is when we will all decide which way history will fall and whether the lion or the hunter will live to tell the tale. I know where you have stood, I know where I will stand.

Peace, Hakima

* Hakima Abbas is executive director of Fahamu. This article was first published by The Feminist Wire.