In this issue, we report about the death penalty in Kenya and Sierra
Leone.InKenya,people are sentenced to die but the sentences are not
carried outwith some of the convicts remainingon death row even for
10 years. A report by Amnesty International says Kenya has 750 people in
its jails waiting execution. This high number of death row inmates has
raised concern among human rights activists as Kenya has not had any
execution since 1985, writes Matthias Muindi. The issue in Kenya
therefore is not over the carrying out of the sentences but the delay or
failure to effect death sentences passed by courts thus rendering the
whole judicial process meaningless.
In Sierra Leone, 24 people convicted of taking part in a 1997 coup were
executed in October raising protests from the international community.
Our correspondent Jia Kiangbai tells of a situation where most people
supported the executions before they were carried out. But, once the
executions were carried out, newspapers warned the government against
spilling more blood. There is also another article, by Babu Ayindo which
examines the ethical point of view of this extreme act.
We also have a report on the war in the Congo which sheds light on some
issues such as why South Africa has avoided sending troops to join any
side in the conflict, a move exploited by Ugandan President Yoweri
Museveni. We learn from our writer Phyliss Johnson that South Africa
fears being attacked with its own arms, now in the hands of the
combatants in the Congo.
We also have a report on a group of Sudanese women who have formed an
association to make their lives better. The group, which has attracted
help from donors, gives women refugees a chance to live a better life.
The organisation aims at empowering women economically, socially and
politically through education and skill training.
Fear and insecurity in the seminary is the subject of an article by
Laurenti Magesa who tells of a situation where students are not
encouraged to be creative. The result is a lot of insecurity among the
seminarians who keep looking over their shoulders in a society where they
are under constant surveillance by their tutors.
The Apostolic Faith Church of Zimbabwe earns a place in this edition
since it has stopped the sanctioning of forced marriages of young female
church members to their already married older counterparts. This is the
fruit ofa long campaign by women groups who demanded the right of a
girl to marry a spouse of her choice. Bishop Xavier Chatada, a leader of
the Church admitsthat because of changing times his church has now
realised that girls forced into marriages are actually victims of child
abuse.
From Zambia we have a report on how churches are trying to improve the
human rights situation in the country. However, even amid these efforts,
the killing of innocent people by the police is continuing. A recent
spate of robberies in the country have implicated the police, casting
doubts over the government's capacity to crack down on offenders. Apart
from setting up a police tribunal to deal with the crisis nobody has been
charged in court over these crimes.
Africanews staff
