Kiama hakikutokea jumamosi mei 21 kwakuwa Mungu aliwaonea huruma watu wake lakini oktoba 21 mwaka huu kiama kitatokea kweli na kuua watu wote ambapo watu wema watapaishwa mbinguni kuonana na Yesu.
Baada ya kujichimbia hoteli akiwakimbia watu waliokuwa wakitafuta ukweli kwanini kiama hakikutokea mei 21 kama ilivyotangazwa, Mchungaji Harold Camping amejitokeza na kusema kuwa kiama cha kweli kitakuwa oktoba 21 na dunia yetu hii itaangamizwa miezi mitano baadae.
Mchungaji Camping mwenye umri wa miaka 89 alijitokeza toka machimboni na kutangaza kwenye radio yake ya Family Radio kuwa walikosea mahesabu ya biblia wakati wa kutabiri mwisho wa dunia.
Lakini Camping aliongeza kuwa kiama cha kweli kitatokea mnamo oktoba 21 mwaka huu.
Mchungaji huyo wa California alisema kuwa kutotokea kwa kiama mei 21 kumetokana sana na nguvu za kiroho na wala si nguvu za asili.
Camping aliongeza kuwa Mungu aliwaonea huruma watu kuwaangamiza kwa matetemeko makubwa ya ardhi lakini hiyo oktoba 21 hakutakuwa na huruma ya Mungu na kiama kitatokea kweli.
Akiongea kwa muda wa lisaa limoja na nusu, mchungaji Camping alisema "Hakutakuwa na sababu za kiroho ifikapo oktoba 21, dunia itaangamizwa na itatoweka ndani ya muda mchache".
Kiama Hakijatokea, Mchungaji Aingia Mitini
Kiama kilitakiwa kiwe jana saa 12 jioni lakini hakikutokea kama kilivyotabiriwa na mchungaji wa nchini Marekani ambaye alitumia pesa nyingi sana kuwaonya watu kwa miezi kadhaa kuwa kiama kingetokea jana mei 21 kwenye majira ya saa 12 jioni.
Wafuasi na waumini wa Mchungaji Harold Camping wamebaki hawajui la kufanya baada ya kuhubiriwa kwa miezi mingi kuwa kiama kingetokea jana jumamosi saa 12 jioni.
Mwanaume mmoja na familia yake walisafiri kilomita 4830 toka Maryland hadi California mbele ya ofisi ya radio ya mchungaji Camping na kusubiri kupaishwa mbinguni kwenda kuonana na Yesu kama walivyohubiriwa na mchungaji huyo.
Kiama hakikutokea kama walivyotarajia, walibaki kwenye gari lao masaa yakikatika na sasa wakiwa na kazi nyingine ya kusafiri kilomita zingine 4830 kurudi nyumbani kwao.
Mwanaume mwingine mwenye umri wa miaka 60, Robert Fitzpatrick kwa kuamini kuwa mwisho wa dunia umefika na kwa kuamini mafundisho ya mchungaji Camping, alitumia dola $140,000 toka kwenye akiba yake ili kuchapisha mabango na vipeperushi vya kuwaonya watu kuwa mwisho wa dunia ni mei 21.
Akiwa amesimama kwenye viwanja vya Times Square jijini New York akiwa amezungukwa na wapita njia, Fitzpatrick, alikuwa akisoma mistari ya biblia huku akigawa vipeperushi akiwataka watu wajiandae kwa kiama ambacho kingeanza saa 12 jioni ya mei 21.
Masaa yalikatika na kiama hakikutokea, Fitzpatrick kwa mshangao alisema "Siwezi kukwambia ninavyojihisi hivi sasa, saa 12 imekuja na kuondoka haraka haraka, sielewi kwanini hakuna kitu chochote kilichotokea".
Mchungaji Camping mwenyewe hajaonekana tena na amekaa kimya na hadi sasa hajasema chochote kwanini kiama hakikutokea kama alivyotabiri na kuwahabarisha watu kwa miezi kadhaa kabla.
Hata hivyo bado waumini wengine wa mchungaji Camping wanaendelea kumuamini mchungaji huyo wakisema kuwa kuchelewa kutokea kwa kiama ni mtihani mwingine toka kwa Mungu juu ya imani zao.
Wakati huo huo watu wasioamini kuwepo kwa Mungu wameendelea kujirusha wakihoji hicho kiama kiko wapi?.
The Queens Gest yafungwa
Kufungwa kwa nyumba hiyo kumekuja baada aya gizo kutoka kwa Meya na makubaliano yaliyofanyika baina ya uongozi huo na mmiliki wa gesti hiyo.
Ofisa Mtendaji wa Kata ya Kigogo, Emmanuel Riwa alibainisha kuwa, katika mazungumzo hayo walikubaliana nyumba hiyo mmiliki huyo aibadilishe kutoka ya kulala wageni na iwe katika mfumo wa kawaida ya kupangisha watu kwa ajili ya makazi
Alisema nyumba hiyo kwa muda uliobaki utapangisha kama makazi kusubiria shughuli ya tathimini na ulipaji wa fidia itakapokamilika kutoka Manispaa kwa ajili ya mazingira hayo kuwa ya shule.
Hata hivyo pia wameadhimia kufunga gesti hiyo kutokana na kuona inachangia mmomonyoko wa maadili kwa wanafunzi wa sekondari hiyo .
Wanafunzi washule hiyo walioongea na nifahamishe walionekana kufurahishwa na hatua iliyochukulia na Meya wa Kinondoni na kusema nyumba hiyo ingeweza kuwaporomosha kimasomo kutokana usomaji ulikuwa mgumu
“Yaani tumefurahi ujue nyumba yenyewe ilikuwa ikitoza shilingi 1,500 kiwango cha chini, ingeweza kuharibu wanafunzi wanaopenda ngono za utotoni kwa kuwa wangekuwa na uwezo wa kulipia”walisema
Ajilipua na risasi kwa wivu wa mapenzi
IMETHIBITISHWA kuwa Afisa Mipango wa Halmashauri ya Wilaya ya Chamwino, mkoani Dodoma , Fred Kaombwe (34), amejiua kwa kujipiga risasi mwenyewe kutokana na wivu wa mapenzi uliokithdiri kwa mke wake
Imedaiwa kuwa Afisa huyo amejilipua baada ya kumkuta mke wake Vicky Kaombwe akiwa na mwanaume mwingine baa.
Kwa mujibu wa taarifa iliyotolewa na Kaimu Kamanda wa Polisi mkoani humo Bi. Elizabeth Masiaga alisema kuwa, tukio hilo lilitokea usiku wa kuamkia jana kwenye majira ya saa 3 usiku huko mtaa wa Madole eneo la Kigamboni.
Taarifa hiyo ilisema marehemu alifariki dunia baadae wakati akikimbizwa Hospitali ya Rufaa ya Mkoa wa Dodoma kwa ajili ya kupatiwa matibabu kuokoa uhai wake
Marehemu aliweza kumjeruhi mke wake maeneo ya mbavu kwa kuwa alimminia risasi maeneo hayo lakini risasi haikuweza kubaki mwilini
Alisema awali marehemu walikuwa na ugomvi kati yao wa kimapenzi na siku ya tukio mashuhuda waliyoweza kuiambia polisi walisema marehemu alimkuta mkewe akiwa na mwanaume katika moja ya baa eneo hilo
Baada ya kumkuta mwanamke alikimbilia katika gari lake alilopaki pembezoni mwa baa hiyo na kuondoka kukimbia kwa ndugu zake na mume huyo kudaiwa kumfukuzia
Ndipo marehemu alimpiga risasi mkewe wakati akishuka kwenye gari na kufahamu kuwa amekufa na kisha yeye kurudi ndani ya gari na kujipiga risasi ya kifua na kufariki dunia papohapo.
Obama atetea ushirikiano na Urusi kuhusu makombora ya kujihami
Rais wa Marekani Barrack Obama amehitimisha ziara yake ya bara la Ulaya kwa kuzuru Poland ambako ameipongeza nchi hiyo kwa kuwa kiongozi bora barani Ulaya. Akiwa katika mkondo wa mwisho wa ziara yake ya bara la Ulaya, Obama alikutana na Rais wa Poland Bronislaw Komorowski na akasema taifa hilo ni mfano bora kwa jirani zake.
Rais huyo wa Marekani alisisitiza mipango ya kuweka makombora ya kujihami na akajaribu kuondoa wasi wasi wa raia wa Poland kuhusu kushirikiana na Urusi katika mradi huo
. Rais Obama alimaliza ziara yake ya Poland na kuelekea moja kwa moja hadi mji wa Joplin katika jimbo la Missourri Marekani ambako anatarajiwa kuzuru mji huo uliokumbwa na kimbunga kikali na pia kutoa hotuba ya kuwakumbuka waliouwawa.
Man United kumsajili kipa David de Gea
Meneja wa Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson amethibitisha klabu hiyo inakaribia kumsajili mlinda mlango wa Atletico Madrid, David de Gea.
David de Gea
David de Gea
Manchester United inahitaji mlinda mlango wa kuchukua nafasi ya Edwin van der Sar, anayestaafu soka mwishoni mwa msimu huu.
"Tumekuwa tukilifanyia kazi suala hili la kumpata de Gea kwa muda mrefu sasa," alisema Ferguson.
"Ni kijana mdogo, mwepesi sana, anautulivu langoni na ni mlinda mlango bora kumrithi Van der Sar."
De Gea ameshaidakia Atletico Madrid ya Hispania michezo 45 msimu huu, akiwa amecheza vizuri bila kufungwa michezo 24 hali iliyosaidia klabu yake kumaliza nafasi ya saba katika msimamo wa La Liga.
Hata hivyo bado hajawahi kuichezea timu ya taifa ya Hispania.
Msimu uliopita, aliisaidia Atletico kunyakua kombe la ubingwa wa Ligi ya Europa League walipoilaza Fulham mabao 2-1.
Akijibu taarifa hizo za Manchester United kukaribia kumyakua De Gea, Rais wa Atletico Enrique Cerezo, amekiambia kituo cha radio cha Hispania, Cadena Ser: "Hatufahamu chochote hadi sasa.Hatujafahamishwa rasmi na Manchester United au mchezaji mwenyewe.
Inasemekana mchezaji huyo atachukuliwa kwa kitita cha euro milioni 25 sawa na paundi milioni 22 za Uingereza.
Huku mkataba wake ukiwa unamalizika mwaka 2013, Atletico ina matumaini ya kumshawishi De Gea kusaini mkataba mwengine, lakini mlinda mlango huyo amesema atatoa uamuzi juu ya mustakabali wake itakapofika mwisho wa mwezi wa Juni.
West Brom yafungua mazungumzo na Ode
West Brom inajiandaa kwa mazungumzo na mshambuliaji wake Peter Odemwingie kuhusiana na mkataba mpya, hii imethibitishwa na wakala wake.
Peter Odemwingie
Peter Odemwingie
Odemwingie mchezaji wa kimataifa wa Nigeria mwenye umri wa miaka 29, msimu huu uliomalizika alikuwa mfungaji bora wa klabu hiyo akiwa amefunga mabao 15 katika msimu wake wa kwanza tu wa kucheza Ligi Kuu ya soak ya England.
Odemwingie amefanya kazi kubwa kuiwezesha klabu hiyo kuwa nafasi za juu alipofunga katika michezo mitano mfululizo mwezi wa Aprili na Mei.
Mshambuliaji huyo amebakisha mwaka mmoja katika mkataba wake wa sasa pamoja na miezi mingine 12 ya kuchagua, lakini West Brom inakusudia kumzawadia mkataba mnono kutokana na jitahada zake.
Wakala wake David Omigie amesema anasubiri kwa hamu kusikia kutoka klabu hiyo hivi karibuni ili mazungumzo yaanze.
Westerwelle aondoka Ujerumani kwa ziara ya Mashariki ya Kati na Asia
Waziri wa mambo ya nje wa Ujerumani Guido Westerwelle ameondoka mjini Berlin hii leo kwa ziara ya siku nane, itakayoyahusisha mataifa matano ya Mashariki ya Kati na bara la Asia ili kuimarisha uhusiano wa kisiasa na kiuchumi wa Ujerumani na eneo hilo. Katika kile kinachoonekana ziara ndefu zaidi ya kigeni kuwahi kufanywa na waziri huyo hadi sasa, Westerwelle atazuru Oman, India, Australia, New Zealand na Vietnam kabla ya kurejea Berlin.
Akiwa Oman Westerwelle atakutana na Sultan Qabus bin Said, ambapo mazungumzo yao yanatarajiwa kulenga maendeleo ya kanda hiyo hasa matukio katika nchi jirani ya Yemen. Akiwa mjini New Delhi hapo kesho, atasaidia kuandaa mkutano wa kwanza wa pamoja wa mashauriano baina ya India na Ujerumani ambao pia utahudhuriwa na Kansela wa Ujerumani Angela Merkel mapema wiki ijayo. Hapo Jumanne atafungua maonyesho ya kompyuta ya Cebit mjini Sydney na kukutana na maafisa wa Australia. Waziri huyo wa mambo ya nje wa Ujerumani atafanya ziara ya siku moja nchini New Zealand na pia atakuwepo kwa muda nchini Vietnam akiwa njiani kurudi nyumbani.
Bin Hammam na Warner kiti moto Fifa
Fifa imeanza uchunguzi wa tuhuma za rushwa zinazozingira maafisa wake, akiwemo makamu wa rais Jack Warner na mgombea wa kiti cha urais wa Fifa Mohamed bin Hammam.
Mohamed Bin Hammam
Mohamed Bin Hammam
Tuhuma hizo zilitolewa na mjumbe wa kamati kuu Chuck Blazer.
Blazer amedai taratibu za maadili ya Fifa zilikiukwa katika mkutano unaoonekana uliandaliwa na Bin Hammam na Warner.
Maafisa wengine wawili ni Debbie Minguell na Jason Sylvester kutoka Muungano wa Soka wa nchi za Caribbean.
Mkutano uliofanyika tarehe 10 na 11 mwezi wa Mei, ulihusiana na uchaguzi wa rais wa Fifa utakaofanyika tarehe 1 mwezi wa Juni.
Bin Hammam, rais wa Shirikisho la Soka la Asia, anawania nafasi ya urais wa Fifa dhidi ya rais wa sasa Sepp Blatter, akitafuta nafasi ya kuwa kiongozi mpya wa shirikisho hilo la soka duniani.
Maafisa hao wanne wameitwa kufika mbele ya kamati ya maadili ya Fifa mjini Zurich tarehe 29 mwezi wa Mei.
Fifa imetangaza Claudio Sulser, mkuu wa kaamti ya maadili, hataongoza kikao hicho kwa vile ni raia wa Switzerland sawa na Blatter ambaye ni mpinzani wa Bin Hammam.
Badala yake kikao hicho kitakuwa chini ya naibu mwenyekiti Petrus Damaseb wa Namibia.
Blatter kujitetea mbele ya FIFA
Sepp Blatter
Kujitetea Jumapili juu ya madai ya ufisadi mbele ya kamati ya maadili ya FIFA
Rais wa shirikisho la kimataifa la soka, FIFA, Sepp Blatter, itabidi kujitokeza mbele ya kamati ya shirikisho hilo inayohusika na maadili, ikiwa ni hatua ya uchunguzi wa madai kwamba maafisa wa juu wa shirikisho hilo kupokea hongo.
Blatter ameitwa na kamati hiyo pamoja na maafisa wenzake wa bodi, Jack Warner na Mohammed Bin Hammam.
Kamati hiyo itawasikiliza keshokutwa Jumapili.
Blatter ameamriwa kufika mbele ya kamati hiyo, baada ya mpinzani wake katika kuwania kiti cha urais wa FIFA, Mohamed Bin Hammam kusema kwamba Blatter anafahamu juu ya madai hayo ya kupokea mlungula katika shirikisho hilo.
Hayo yakiendelea, waziri wa michezo na olimpiki wa Uingereza, Hugh Robertson, amelitaka shirikisho la soka la FIFA kuahirisha uchaguzi wa rais wa shirikisho hilo, hadi uchunguzi wa madai hayo ya ufisadi kukamilika.
Bw Robertson amesema kutokana na madai hayo ya ufisadi, ni vigumu kwa watu kuweza kupiga kura kikamilifu.
Wabunge Chadema wasekwa rumande
MWANASHERIA wa Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo [Chadema] Tundu Lissu ambae pia ni mbunge wa Singida Mashariki na Mbunge Ester Matiro wakiwemo wafuasi wa chama hicho wamesekwa rumande baada ya kukosa dhamana katika kesi yao ya uvunjaji wa amani.
Jana wabunge hao wawili wakiwemo na viongozi waandamizi walipelekwa rumande mara baada ya kukosa dhamana katika Mahakama ya Wilaya ya Tarime waliposomewa mashitaka yao hayo.
Jana Mwendesha Mashitaka Hussein Kiria Mbele ya Hakimu Mkazi wa Wilaya ya Tarime, Yusto Ruboroga alidai kuwa, washitakiwa hao kwa pamoja walisababisha uvunjifu wa amani na kukiuka sheria za nchi
Kiria alidai mahakamani hapo kuwa, Lissu na wenzake, waliwashawishi wanafamilia waliopoteza ndugu zao waliofariki Mei 16 katika mapambano ya polisi katika mgodi wa North Mara wasusie maiti polisi.
Hata hivyo imedaiwa baadhi ya wafiwa walichukua miili yao kutoka hospitalini na viongozi hao waliwachukua wanahabari na kufuatilia miili hiyo huku wakipiga picha kwa lengo la kuleta malumbano kati yao na jeshi la polisi.
Hakimu aliwataka washitakiwa hao kuwasilisha hati za mali zisizohamishika na barua ya watendaji wa vijiji na kata mahakamani ikiwa ni sharti la kupewa dhamana.
Hata hivyo, washitakiwa hao walishindwa kutimiza masharti ya dhamana na kupelekwa rumande.
Vizuizi mpakani Gaza vimepunguzwa
Misri imepunguza vikwazo katika kituo cha mpakani cha Rafah, ambapo Wapalestina wa Gaza wanaweza kuvuka na kuingia Misri.
Mpaka wa Rafah baina ya Gaza na Misri
Hatua hiyo itawawezesha Wapalestina zaidi kuvuka mpaka kwa urahisi, ingawa biashara haitoruhsiwa kupita.
Israel na Misri zilifunga mpaka huo wa Gaza, tangu Hamas iliposhika madaraka katika eneo la Gaza miaka mine iliyopita.
Waandishi wa habari wanasema hiyo ni ishara ya mabadiiko makubwa ya sera ya serikali ya Misri, tangu Rais Mubarak kuondoshwa madarakani.
Mamia ya WaPalestina wamekusanyika katika ukumbi wa wasafiri katika kituo cha mpakani cha Rafah; wengine wamebeba masanduku makubwa, wakionekana kama wanaondoka kabisa.
Lakini vikwazo vimepunguzwa tu, siyo kwamba mpaka umefunguliwa kabisa.
Kwa mfano wanaume baina ya umri wa miaka 18 hadi 40 wanahitaji ruhusa ya kusafiri, na bidhaa na biashara haitoruhusiwa kuvuka mpaka.
Watu wengi, kama msafiri Mohammad, wamefurahi na hatua hiyo.
Anasema: "Tunataraji mpaka utakuwa wazi zaidi kidogo kwa watu wa Gaza, kwa sababu tuna matatatizo mengi hapa. Inshallah."
Wapalestina wakati mwengine wanaielezea Gaza kuwa "gereza kubwa kabisa duniani".
Hapo kabla Wapalestina mia tatu tu wakiruhusiwa kuvuka mpaka hapo Rafah kila siku.
Sera hii ya sasa ni ishara kuwa uongozi mpya wa Misri, unabadilisha picha ya Mashariki ya Kati.
Wafanyabiashara wawatunishia misuli Manispaaa -Kigamboni
FUJO, Vurugu zimezuka jana katika eneo la Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, baada ya maofisa wa Manispaa ya Temeke kutaka kuanza kuendesha operesheni ya kubomoa vibanda vya wafanyabiashara wadogowadogo usiku vilivyopo katika eneo la hifadhi ya barabara kwa l
Maofisa hao walitunishiwa misuli na wafanayabishara hao kupinga ubomoaji huo hali iliyofanya kubadilisha mazingira eneo hilo hali iliyafanya jeshi la polisi kuingilia kati baada ya Maofisa hao kuzidiwa
Vibanda hivyo karibu ya 50 vilivyopo eneo la jiranin a Feri vilibomolewa baada ya askari polisi kutumia mbinu mbadala ya kuwatawanya wafanyabiashara hao eneo hilo ambao hawakuwa tayari kuondoka eneo hilo
Wafanyabiashara hao hawakuridhia ubomoaji huo kwa madai hawakupewa taarifa kabla kutoka Manispaa hivyo kuanza mapambano kati yao na polisi
Hata hivyo, Diwani wa eneo hilo, Dotto Msama alikanusha kutotolea taarifa ya ubomoaji huo na kudai taarifa ilishatolewa zaidi ya mara kadhaas kutaka waondoke ili kupisha uendelezaji wa mji huo unaokua kwa kasi siku hadi siku
Mtoto Jela Maisha Kwa Kumlawiti Mtoto Mwenzake
MTOTO James [14] mkazi wa kijiji cha Senani Wilaya ya Maswa mkoani Shinyanga, amehukumiwa kifungo cha maisha jela baada ya kupatikana na hatia ya kubaka na kumlawiti mtoto mwenzie mwenye umri wa miaka mitano.
Sambamba na hukumu hiyo pia amepewa adhabu ya kuchapwa viboko vipatavyo sita akiwa ndani ya gereza .
Hukumu hiyo imetolewa jana katika mahakama ya wilaya na Hakimu Mfawidhi wa Wilaya ya Maswa, Tamphon Mtani na upande wa Mashitaka ulikuwa ukiongozwa na Kidwadi Kalinga.
Hakimu huyo aliieleza mahakama kuwa ametoa hukumu hiyo baada ya kuridhishwa na ushahidi na mshitakiwa mwenyewe kukiri kufanya na kutenda kosa hilo mbele ya mahakama.
Ilidaiwa kuwa Mei 15, mwaka huu, majira ya saa 10 jioni, mtoto huyo akiwa ndani ya nyumba anamoishi alimwita mtoto mwenzie (jina limehifadhiwa) aingie ndani alimokuwepo wakati mtoto huyo alikuwa anacheza na wenzake jirani na nyumba hiyo.
Ilidaiwa alimwomba mtoto huyo aingie ndani ili ampatie pipi na alipoingia alianza kumwingilia sehemu zake za siri mbele na za nyuma na mtoto huyo kuanza kupiga kelele na kusikika na watu waliokuwa karibu na eneo la tukio.
Ilidaiwa kuwa mshitakiwa James alikimbia kwa kutumia baiskeli kutokana na hofu ya kukamatwa aliyokuwa nayo lakini alikamatwa baadae baada ya watu kumuona akiwa kama amechanganyikiwa.
Watu walipoingia ndani kwake walikuta mtoto aliyelawitiwa akiwa na hali mbaya na anavuja damu katika maeneo yote aliyoingiliwa.
James alifikishwa kituo cha polisi na kufunguliwa mashtaka ya kubaka wakati mtoto aliyelawitiwa aliwahishwa hospitali.
Mubarak atozwa faini dola milioni 90
Mahakama ya Misri yameamrisha faini ya dola milioni 90, atozwe rais wa zamani, Hosni Mubarak, pamoja na maafisa wake wawili, kwa kukata huduma za simu za mkononi wakati wa maandamano dhidi ya serikali mwezi wa Januari.
Hosni Mubaraka na mkewe, Heidi, na watoto Gamal (kulia, na Alaa
Hiyo ndiyo hukumu ya mwanzo ya mahakama dhidi ya Bwana Mubarak.
Kiongozi huyo wa zamani anakabili mashtaka makubwa zaidi, kama kuamrisha waandamanaji kuuwawa, ambayo adhabu yake inaweza kuwa kifo.
Maafisa wawili waliotozwa faina na Bwana Mubarak ni waziri mkuu wa zamani, Ahmed Nazif, na waziri wake wa mambo ya ndani ya nchi, Habib al-Adly.
Ukame unatishia kati na mashariki Uchina
Serikali ya Uchina inasema watu karibu milioni 35 sasa wameathirika na ukame mkubwa kabisa kutokea katika kipindi cha miaka 50, katika majimbo ya kati na mashariki.
Mashu ya uvuvi imenasa Uchina, kwa sababu ziwa limekauka kutokana na ukame
Wakuu wa bwawa la Mabonde Matatu, llinalozalisha umeme kwenye mto wa Yangtze, wanasema pengine hawatoweza kumwaga maji zaidi kwa wakulima, ikiwa mvua haitonyesha katika majuma mawili yajayo.
Kuna upungufu wa umeme na watu zaidi ya milioni 5 wanakosa maji ya kunywa ya kutosha.
Wavuvi wengi wametafuta kazi mijini kwa sababu kina cha maji kwenye maziwa kimepungua na samaki wanakufa.
Mazao yakikauka katika eneo hilo linalotoa nafaka nyingi, basi na bei ya vyakula itazidi kupanda.
NATO imeshambulia nyumba ya Gaddafi
NATO inasema kuwa imeangamiza minara ya walinzi katika eneo la nyumba ya Kanali Gaddafi wa Libya mjini Tripoli, kwa mashambulio mawili yaliyofanywa na ndege za umoja huo wa kijeshi.
Watu wakizungumza karibu na jumba la Gaddafi la Babu al_aziziya baada ya kushambuliwa mwezi Aprili
Waandishi wa habari mjini Tripoli, wanasema shambulio moja lilofanywa mchana, lilivunja sehemu za ukuta unaozunguka jengo la jeshi la Bab al-Aziziya.
Msemaji wa NATO, alieleza kuwa shambulio hilo ni funzo kubwa kwa kiongozi wa Libya, kwamba hawezi tena kujificha nyuma ya kuta ndefu.
Leo ni leo Barcelona na Manchester United katika fainali ya mabingwa wa ulaya
Leo ni leo Barcelona na Manchester United katika fainali ya mabingwa wa ulaya
Uwanja wa Wembley mjini London Uingere
za hii leo usiku utakuwa mwenyeji wa kombe la mabingwa barani Ulaya UEFA champions league, wakati ambapo miamba wa Uhispania Barcelona itakapokabana koo na wababe wa Uingereza Manchester United.
Fainali ya leo inaonekana kuwa marudio ya ile ya mwaka wa 2009 iliyochezwa mjini Rome na ambapo Barcelona waliibuka washindi kwa kuwalaza Manchester United mabao 2 - 0.
Serbia yaapa kuwaadhibu waliomficha Mladic
Serbia imeapa kuwasaka wale wote waliomsaidia mshukiwa wa uhalifu wa kivita wa Serbia katika Bosnia Ratko Mladic kukwepa kukamatwa kwa muda mrefu, huku mahakama moja ya Belgrade ikiamuru kuwa yuko katika hali nzuri kiafya kujibu mashtaka mjini The Hague.
Mladic anayeshtumiwa kwa kupanga mauaji ya kikatili ya Srebrenica mwaka 1995 na maovu mengine wakati wa vita vya Bosnia kati ya mwaka wa 1992 -1995, alikamatwa Alhamis iliyopita na wiki ijayo anatarajiwa kuhamishwa hadi Mahkama ya Kimataifa ya Uhalifu wa kivita kuhusu iliyokuwa Yugoslavia, mjini The Hague. Majaji wanatarajiwa kuamuru siku ya Jumatatu kuhusu ombi dhidi ya kuhamishwa kwake hadi mahkama hiyo, ambako anakabiliwa na mashtaka ya uhalifu wa kivita, mauaji ya kimbari, na uhalifu dhidi ya binadam
Sudan: '150,000 wakimbia mzozo wa Abyei'
Rais wa Sudan Kusini, Salva Kiir
Waziri kutoka kusini alisema, idadi ya watu waliohama kutoka eneo lenye mzozo la Abyei nchini Sudan baada ya kutekwa na majeshi ya kaskazini imefikia 150,000.
Waziri wa masuala ya kibinadamu James Kok Ruea alisema, "Hali ni mbaya- wanakimbia wakihofia ukatili, bila ya msaada wowote."
Mwandishi wa BBC Peter Martell huko Juba amesema kiwango hicho ni kikubwa mno ukilinganisha na makadirio ya umoja wa mataifa ya baina ya watu 30,000 na 40,000.
Wakati huo huo, kaskazini imesema inaweza kuanza mazungumzo juu ya mgogoro huo mwishoni mwa juma.
Mpatanishi wa Abyei kutoka kaskazini, Al-Dirdiri Mohammed Ahmed, aliliambia shirika la habari la AFP kuwa anatumai mazungumzo yatafanyika Ethiopia siku ya Jumamosi ambapo yatasimamiwa na wapatanishi wa Umoja wa Afrika.
Wachambuzi wanahofia mgogoro kwenye mji huo, unaogombaniwa pia na kusini unaotarajiwa kuwa huru mwezi Julai, unaweza kuchochea vita vya kaskazini na kusini ambapo takriban watu milioni 1.5 walifariki dunia.
Siku ya Alhamis, Rais wa kusini Salva Kiir alisema hatowaongoza watu wake kwenye mapigano tena na kaskazini juu ya Abyei na mazungumzo ndio njia bora ya kutatua mgogoro huo.
Rwanda yataka maiti za watu zifukuliwe
Mafuvu ya waliokufa kutokana na mauaji ya kimbari
Chama cha upinzani nchini Rwanda kimeishutumu serikali ya nchi hiyo kwa kuwalazimisha watu kufukua miili ya ndugu zao waliouawa wakati wa mauaji ya kimbari ya mwaka 1994 ili iwekwe kwenye eneo la maonyesho ya kumbukumbu.
Serikali imesema mabaki ya miili iwekwe pamoja katika maeneo hayo ili watu waisahau mauaji ya maelfu ya Watutsi na Wahutu waliokuwa wakifuata siasa za wastani.
Mwakilishi wa chama cha upinzani cha Rwandan National Congress, Jonathan Musonera amesema yeye binafsi ameathiriwa na amri hiyo ya serikali.
Alisema serikali iliamrisha wafukue miili ya jamaa zao na ipelekwe katika makumbusho ya mauaji ya kimbari.
Familia yangu ilikataa lakini serikali ilitishia kuamrisha wafungwa waifukue miili hiyo, hatukuwa na la kufanya isipokuwa kwa jamaa zetu kufukua miili hiyo na kuipeleka katika makumbusho ya mauaji ya kimbari.
Bw Musonera aliongeza kwamba familia yake imesononeshwa sana na amri hiyo akisema walipoteza ndugu zao kwa njia ya kikatili.
Walistahili kupewa mazishi ya heshima, kilichotokea hakiaminiki, kwani alikuwa na uhusiano wa upendo wa hali ya juu kwa wazazi, ndugu, dada na marafiki waliopotea wakati wa mauaji, na kwamba hawezi tena kustahamili kuona mifupa yao ikining'inia maeneo ya makumbusho.
Hata hivyo chama cha manusura wa mauaji ya kimbari ambacho kina fungamano kubwa na serikali kinaunga mkono sera hiyo ya kufukua miili.
Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu mkuu wa chama hicho anasema miili ya watu hao inapaswa kuwekwa katika maeneo hayo ili kuonyesha kilichotokea wakati wa mauaji.
Aliongeza miili hiyo inapaswa kuhifadhiwa vizuri ili iweze kuonyeshwa kwa muda mrefu.
Kuna maeneo kadhaa ya kumbukumbu za mauaji ya kimbari nchini Rwanda, kubwa zaidi mjini Kigali ambako kuna mifupa na mafuvu ya watu lakini mawili yanaonyeshwa hadharani.
Serikali ya Rwanda inataka milli ya kila muathiriwa wa mauaji ya kimbari yaonyeshwe hadharani ili kubainisha kiwango cha ukatili wa mauaji hayo.
Lakini wengi wanaoambiwa kufukua miili hiyo ya jamaa zao waliouwawa miaka 17 iliyopita, wangependelea wapumzike kwa amani mahali walikozikwa.
French leaders accused of complicity in Rwanda genocide
Rwanda said top French politicians should "answer for their actions" as it named them in a report accusing France of arming and advising extremists in the 1994 genocide.
President Mitterrand and his Rwandan counterpart Juvenal Habyarimana wave to crowds in the streets of Kigali upon Mitterrand's arrival in Rwanda Photo: GETTY/AFP
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi 6:41PM BST 05 Aug 2008
The two-year investigation said France helped the extremists who carried out the genocide and even took part in some of the killings.
It named François Mitterand, France's late former president, and former prime minister Dominique de Villepin among 33 military and political leaders.
In 100 days 14 years ago, more than 800,000 of Rwanda's minority Tutsi tribe and moderates from the majority Hutus were killed.
A French force sent to establish a "humanitarian safe zone" once the genocide had started directly took part in killing and raping Tutsis, the report alleged.
"French soldiers themselves directly were involved in assassinations of Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis," it said.
"French soldiers committed many rapes, forced sexual intercourse specifically with surviving Tutsi women. They clearly requested Interahamwe [Hutu militia] ... to kill Tutsis," the special commission report said.
"They also clearly requested to have Tutsi who had infiltrated in displaced population camps brought to them and have Interahamwe kill at least some of them. They let Interahamwe kill Tutsis under their eyes."
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry refused to comment, but the release of the report follows years of souring relations between Paris and Kigali, Rwanda's capital.
"We have not yet read the report which has not been sent to us by the Rwandan government. We are therefore not in a position to react," a spokesman said.
In 2006, a French judge accused President Kagame and nine of his closest officials of being responsible for starting the genocide.
In return, Rwanda expelled the French ambassador, closed French schools and intensified its efforts to join the Commonwealth.
The report states that France knew that the genocide was likely to take place but failed to act. French military advisers worked closely with the Rwandan government in the years leading up to 1994.
Those advisors helped draw up battle plans and military strategy for the Rwandan armed forces, including elite units which are accused of being among the first to start the killings, the report said.
The French suggested a program to arm civilians to protect against opposition rebels, and then went on to train volunteers. These militia formed the core of the later genocidal infrastructure.
Training and funding was also given to a department of Rwanda's national intelligence services on how to establish a computerised database of people's tribes, which was later used to draw up a "kill list" of Tutsis.
Once the genocide had started, on April 6, 1994, France sent arms to support the genocidal government, according to the report, which heard from 120 witnesses since it was set up by President Kagame in 2006.
On five occasions during May 1994, an unmarked Boeing 707 landed at the airport in the then Zairean town of Goma, which lies on the border with Rwanda.
Each time, up to 18 tonnes of weapons believed to be from Eastern Europe were unloaded and driven into Rwanda, witnesses told investigators.
One senior Rwandan official spent 27 days in Paris as the genocide was taking place, to "accelerate" six arms deliveries worth more than £2.5 million.
"Considering the gravity of the alleged facts, the Rwandan government enjoins competent authorities to undertake all necessary actions in order to bring the French political and military accused leaders to answer for their acts before Rwandan justice," the report concludes.
Who killed the president of Rwanda?
cc Wikimedia
Debate over who was behind the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana has raged for nearly 16 years, writes Gerald Caplan. But a new report, prepared by an ‘Independent Committee of Experts’ appointed by the government of Rwanda, makes ‘a major contribution to settling the great question of who was responsible’ for Habyarimana’s death on 6 April 1994, two days before the genocide began.
Has one of the great political murder mysteries of our time finally been solved? I'd say the answer is probably yes, although we can be confident the solution will be rejected by many.
INTRODUCTION
On the evening of 6 April 1994, just as it was approaching Kigali, a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana home from Tanzania was shot down by missiles fired from the ground. Also on the flight was the president of Burundi, Cyprian Ntaryamira, as well as several high-level Rwandan political and military officials. But from the first movement there was no doubt that the target was Habyarimana. What was in doubt was the culprit, and on this the debate has raged furiously for the past almost 16 years.
To most of those who have studied the genocide, commonsense always pointed to Hutu extremists in the Rwandan government and military. They passionately opposed the agreement that had been reached at Arusha, Tanzania, in mid-1993, for power to be shared among Habyarimana's followers, other political parties, and the Tutsi-led rebels of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). To prevent this betrayal, the extremists had decided on a final solution – the extermination of the entire Tutsi minority in Rwanda, between 10 and 15 per cent of the population. When Habyarimana was about to capitulate to international pressure and implement these power-sharing arrangements, they murdered him and implemented their carefully-planned genocidal conspiracy.
This analysis seemed logical enough in all respects, but there has never been an official investigation of the crash or evidence beyond the circumstantial. In fact, from the first there was an alternative interpretation. It has always been quite counter-intuitive and based on dubious foundations, and yet has been embraced not only among those who deny the genocide entirely, but also, quite surprisingly, among those who are hostile for whatever reasons to the RPF and particularly its long-time leader and now Rwanda president, Paul Kagame.
From the moment the plane crashed, Hutu extremist propagandists, directed by hate-radio station RTLM and echoed by officials of the government of France, pointed the finger directly at the RPF. From time to time, Belgium was implicated by France, as was Uganda. Uganda's only known connection to the crash was that it was an English-speaking country where the RPF had originally formed. But for France, speaking English is evidence enough of culpability when it comes to Africa.
It's never been entirely clear what motive Kagame could have had for murdering Habyarimana at the very moment when the president intended to implement the Arusha Accords. The RPF had been the huge winner at Arusha, about to receive substantial political and military power. Conversely, Habyarimana's officials were the great losers, about to surrender the monopoly on power and resources they had cherished for the previous two decades. How could the RPF benefit from the chaos, anarchy and lust for vengeance that was sure to follow Habyarimana's assassination? The on-and-off again low-intensity civil war since 1990 had bogged down in a stalemate; why assume the hot war that was sure to follow the plane crash would lead to an RPF victory rather than an RPF rout, especially if France came in behind Habyarimana's forces?
But if attributing the missile attack to the RPF didn't make much sense, it was extremely functional to the Hutu extremists. If the RPF was guilty, it meant the attack on the plane was not the first step in the genocide plan. The killings of the subsequent 100 days could simply be put down to mass Hutu fury at the murder of their beloved president, and no genocide would have taken place. This spin has been the motive driving many of those who have busily spent the past decade and a half devising a multiplicity of ‘proofs’ to pin the evil deed on Kagame and his forces.
THE NEW REPORT
Now along comes a new document prepared by an ‘Independent Committee of Experts’ appointed by the government of Rwanda, with the explicit title Report of the Investigation into the Causes and Circumstances of and Responsibility for the Attack of 06/04/1994 against the Falcon 50 Rwandan Presidential Aeroplane [sic], Registration Number 9xR-NN. The head of the 7-person committee was Dr Jean Mutsinzi, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda, now a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The other members are apparently lawyers or authorities on aircraft matters, but an annex offering their resumes is not unfortunately part of the commission's report (which is easily available online at mutsinzireport.com).
In my view, the Commission's report is largely persuasive. But you can immediately see how much more credible it would be if the members hadn't all been Rwandans appointed by the Kagame government. I am confident that an independent commission appointed, say, by the African Union, would have delivered the same conclusions but with far more credibility. An obvious precedent was the OAU-appointed independent International Panel of Eminent Personalities (IPEP) whose report, Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide[ PDF], has achieved a certain authority. But I readily acknowledge that genocide deniers, Hutu extremists and Kagame-haters will reject any and all conclusions that give Kagame the benefit of the doubt, and the evidence be damned.
Perhaps that's why his government consistently acts on its own, without waiting for external validation. It did the same with the report on the role of France in the genocide, delivered by a panel of Rwandans also appointed by the government and headed by well-known RPF militant. In my view its report was overwhelmingly accurate and appropriately damning for France. But I wished they had asked outside experts like Linda Melvern to undertake that project, to give it real international credibility. But that is not the way the Kagame government does things.
We are left, then, to judge the report on the plane crash on its merits, and in this respect it seems to me to have made a major contribution to settling the great question of who was responsible.
In a word, the ‘Committee of Experts’ documents the logic most of us have accepted since the start. They pin the blame directly and fully on a group of Hutu extremists who were simply not prepared to accept the power-sharing provisions of the Arusha Accords. In this sense, they prove a terrible point: The very agreement that was to bring harmony to Rwanda led directly to the genocide. This is a staggering truth for all those involved in conflict resolution and peace-making to conjure with.
The committee took two years to complete its report, which contains 169 pages plus many appendixes with countless documents, plus a ballistics report from staff at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Cranfield University. Its members heard 557 witnesses, including former officials of the UN military mission to Rwanda at the time (UNAMIR ), former members of the Rwandan army and Presidential Guard under Habyarimana; and they perused post-genocide reports by Belgium, France and the United Nations, plus the work of western authors who have studied the genocide, plus the book written by UNAMIR's head, General Romeo Dallaire, based on his experiences at the time. While all the authorities they consulted won't be happy with the way their work has been used, an overwhelming consensus emerges from the Committee's research and interviews.
Let me try to summarise briefly the main points of what is often lengthy, highly technical, and geography-specific material.
1. For months before Habyarimana's assassination on 6 April 1994, rumours abounded that senior government and military officials in his own government were determined the Arusha Accords would never be implemented. These stories included specific suggestions that the President would be murdered if he dared to put their power-sharing arrangements into practice. For years we have known that radio station RTLM and Kangura, a small publication that functioned as the voice of Hutu extremism, had publicly stated that something dramatic was going to happen to Habyarimana in late March or early April. In its cover story of December 1993, for example, Kangura declared that Habyarimana would be assassinated the following March. General Dallaire and others have cited the threat uttered at a social occasion on 4 April by Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, a leader of the extremists widely considered the mastermind of the genocide. ‘The only plausible solution for Rwanda,’ Bagosora said to a small group that included Dallaire's senior Belgian aide, ‘appears to be the extermination of the Tutsi.’
What the new report adds to our knowledge is how widespread these stories were. Dozens of witnesses had heard them beginning late in 1993 and escalating through the early months of 1994. There was even a specific rumour that Habyarimana's plane would be shot down. The President himself had heard such stories, it appears, as had the French crew that came with the Falcon 50 that President Mitterrand had gifted to Habyarimana (apparently that's how a socialist president of France rewarded his favourite African presidents).
On 6 April Habyarimana flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a summit with fellow regional presidents. (The Burundian president, who had no luxury jet, made the fatal mistake of later hitching a ride home with Habyarimana via Kigali.) That summit is usually described as focusing on Rwanda. In fact, the new report informs us, it was about the unstable situations in both Rwanda and Burundi. Habyarimana began the meeting by telling his peers that he was implementing Arusha two days later, and the rest of the day was spent discussing Burundi's extremely turbulent political crisis.
But if Habyarimana was aware of threats against his plane, why did Habyarimana agree to fly to Dar es Salaam that day? He could simply have told them by phone or through an emissary of his intentions to introduce the Arusha arrangements. Why did his pilots agree to fly him there? Why did some of the leading plotters against him, like his brother-in-law Colonel Elie Sagatwa, an extremist Hutu ironically in charge of the president's personal security, agree to accompany him? All went down to their fiery deaths on 6 April, yet all apparently were aware of the risk. It is a glaring omission in the report that it never asks this obvious question, let alone attempts in any way to answer it.
Still, the fact remains that Hutu extremists were known to be furious at Habyarimana and were determined to stop the implementation of the Arusha Accords. Since the President announced explicitly on 2 April that he intended to swear in a new broadly-based coalition government on 8 April, it has always been logical to assume that attacking the plane on 6 April was the execution of their plan.
2. The RPF couldn't have infiltrated anti-aircraft missiles and missile launchers into Kigali. It could not have smuggled them into Parliament, where an RPF contingent was temporarily billeted, as agreed by the Arusha Accords. It could not have then snuck them to the area where those who blame the RPF claim the missiles were fired. The committee establishes persuasively that both UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) and above all the Rwandan army maintained very close surveillance of the RPF troops holed up in the parliament building, and these monitors could not possibly have missed the activity required to bring the missiles in, set them up and fire them. The committee also shows that the alleged firing area was constantly patrolled by Rwandan troops and no RPF soldiers carrying missiles and launchers could have infiltrated the area without being spotted.
3. The missiles could only have been fired from an area near the Kanombe military camp, the President's home, and the main Kigali airport, and this entire area was completely controlled by the Rwandan army. This is the area where Rwandan soldiers suddenly refused UNAMIR to enter during the day on 6 April. This key conclusion by the committee is based on a large number of eyewitnesses and what it calls ear witnesses, including pre-genocide Rwandan soldiers, employees of the adjacent airport where the plane was to land, and soldiers from UNAMIR and the Belgian Military Technical Cooperation.
Perhaps most significantly, it's also the conclusion of the report prepared for the committee by Mike Warden and Alan McClue of the Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the UK.
The online documentation of the committee's work includes the formal contract that the committee signed with the two researchers, so that every part of it is transparent. In turn, the two presented a 109-page paper, often extremely technical, which concludes that the missiles must have been fired from the Kanombe area. Beyond dispute, this area was wholly controlled by Rwandan government forces. So the missiles were not fired from the area where those who blame the RPF say they came from, and they were fired from the area where only government soldiers (and French soldiers) could go.
It is hard to imagine staff at the Defence Academy of the UK exaggerating or falsifying their conclusions. It therefore seems to me that this independent ballistics report adds great credibility to the findings of the Committee of Experts, with which it of course concurs.
4. The committee shows that the Rwandan army possessed the kind of surface-to-air missiles that might have shot down the Focus 50, even though earlier reports, especially from France, claimed they did not. Conversely, it shows that the repeated assertion by those who blame the RPF – that Kagame's rebels received the missiles from Uganda (who got them from Russia) – is wrong and based on a deliberate deception at the time by Rwandan government soldiers, which enemies of the RPF have been only too happy to swallow.
6. Colonel Theoneste Bagosora is named as the instigator both of the attack on Habyarimana's plane and the genocide that it triggered, as planned. This corroborates the widespread view of Bagosora's role by everyone from General Dallaire to many of the historians of the genocide to the justices at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, who found Bagosora guilty of genocide and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
5. In the process of their report, the committee does a useful job of discrediting the hatchet job performed on the RPF by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere in his own 2006 report on the plane crash. Bruguiere, following completely the script long favoured by the French establishment, baldy accused Kagame and the RPF of shooting down the plane in order, somehow, to take power in Rwanda.
Bruguiere's research was always problematic, to say the least. He relied on alleged eyewitness who were dissident Tutsi RPF members, with plenty of motive to malign the RPF. Some of these have since recanted their accusations against Kagame and the RPF or claim they never said what Bruguiere claims they said. And while the judge, remarkably, never went to Rwanda to investigate the crash site or to interview anyone in the RPF government or army whom he indicted, he did go to Arusha to interview men being held by the ICTR for their alleged role in the genocide. This included Colonel Bagosora himself, who even before his formal conviction was almost universally believed to have been a leader of the genocide. At one stage Bruguiere writes of a particular matter: ‘The real nature of the message…was also confirmed by the evidence in Arusha from former FAR soldiers [Habyarimana's army].’ He names four of these soldiers, including Colonel Theoneste Bagosora. This would be akin to asking P. W. Botha about apartheid and not asking Nelson Mandela.
6. France's cynical hand is felt throughout the committee's report, as indeed it must be in any recounting of the genocide. French soldiers were allowed in to the Kanombe military base on 6 April, while Belgian UNAMIR soldiers were not. French soldiers were at the plane wreck within moments, going through the debris and looking for the black box, which they removed. French officials scrupulously followed the original extremist Hutu line of blaming the Belgians, along with the RPF, for the missile attack. When the accusation against the Belgians had lost any credibility, President Mitterrand's senior Africa advisor, his chief of staff and the French ambassador to Rwanda all accused the RPF of responsibility. During the French parliamentary inquiry into the France's role in the genocide, French officials were anxious to implicate the Ugandan government in the plane attack. Never did they suggest that their close allies among the Hutu extremists, many of whom have long been hiding in France, may have had the slightest involvement.
As one former western diploma has put it, ‘In an ideal world, France would apologise to Rwanda, put 20 former senior French officials in the dock, and extradite 15 or 20 genocidaires living in France.’ We will see whether the recent France-Rwanda rapprochement will usher in a more ideal world.
CONCLUSIONS
The report of the Committee of Experts could have been better (although I dare say this is true of every report ever written). The organisation and the writing are sometimes confusing. Loose ends are left hanging, not least obscure references to three ‘whites’ who somehow might have been involved in the attack on Habyarimana's plane. At times it seems the plot to assassinate the president was hatched in late 1993, elsewhere that it all happened in the first few days of April 1994. It fails to analyse why Habyarimana agreed to fly to Dar es Salaam on 6 April even in the face of explicit death threats.
Despite an obvious attempt to be objective, its biases occasionally slip out. The committee asserts that ‘the practice of genocide against the Tutsi’ was initiated by the first Hutu-dominated government in the early 1960s, and that 1994 was ‘the final stage of genocide’. This is bad, partisan history that is accepted by no reputable historians of whom I'm aware. The fact is the massacres launched against the Tutsi after 1959 stopped after Habyarimana's coup in 1973 and didn't begin again until 17 years later, with the RPF invasion of Rwanda. Those early killings were terrible, but they were just that – massacres, pogroms, not the first stage in a 45-year plan exterminate all Tutsi. The final genocidal plot only began some time after the 1990 RPF invasion.
These flaws reduce the authoritativeness of this report. They will be jumped all over by those who will never accept any conclusion that fails to blame Kagame and the RPF for Habyarimana's murder. So there's no point whatever in trying to prove anything else to these deniers and extremists. They have no interest in the truth.
But for those genuinely searching for the most convincing answer to this great political murder mystery, the strengths of the committee's report overwhelmingly outweigh its few unfortunate flaws. Of course it would still be best to have the definitive report by a truly independent group of international experts. But until we do, the conclusions of this report should stand. And if there ever were an independent external study, I'm confident its conclusions would echo those of this Rwandan committee of experts:
‘We know who shot Habyarimana's plane down. We know why they did it. We know how they did it. And we know that they came within an inch of success in their diabolical plan. Before they were defeated, the Hutu extremists who assassinated President Habyarimana wiped out thousands of decent Hutu who wouldn't go along with their fiendish plot and three-quarters of their country's Tutsi. The attack on the president's plane was the opening shot in one of the purest genocides of the past 100 years, launched for no better reason than the greed of a few power-hungry Hutu fanatics. It was one of the greatest man-made tragedies of our time.’
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
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