AfricaDigest 9/10/10

[AfricaDigest Manager]

Guinea election head convicted of fraud

The head of Guinea's election commission and a senior aide have been
sentenced to a year in jail for fraud during June's presidential vote.
The verdicts are likely to increase tensions ahead of the 19 September
run-off, correspondents say.
The complaint was lodged by veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde, who
faces ex-Prime Minister Cellou Diallo.
The vote was seen as the first democratic election in the mineral-rich
West African state since independence.
The army seized power after the death of autocratic leader Lansana
Conte in 2008.
Neither men were in court to hear the verdict. National Independent
Election Commission (Ceni) president Ben Sekou Sylla has been in
France for medical reasons since the day after the vote.
Ceni planning director El Haj Boubacar Diallo told the AP news agency
that he first learnt of the sentence against him was when a journalist
phoned him for his reaction.

"I was at the office all day yesterday [Thursday]. No-one from the
court called me. Not even my lawyer was told about the judge's
decision," he said.
The former prime minister is seen as the favourite in the run-off
after gaining 44% of the first round vote, compared to 18% for Mr
Conde.
"Alpha Conde knows he cannot win. So he is using his connections
inside the army and inside the interim government to try to manipulate
the outcome of the vote," the Ceni planning director said.
Some fear that the vote could raise ethnic tensions in Guinea as the
two men come from the country's two largest communities - Mr Diallo is
a Peul and Mr Conde a Malinke.

Guinea is the world's largest exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite.
It also has important deposits of iron ore.
Despite its mineral wealth, the country is one of the poorest in West
Africa.
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US Marines capture ship hijacked by pirates off Somalia

US Marines have boarded and seized a vessel hijacked by pirates off
the coast of Somalia, navy officials say.
A group of 24 marines swooped on the German-owned M/V Magellan Star
and took control of the ship from nine pirates who had captured it on
Wednesday.
There were no casualties during the pre-dawn raid, the US Fifth Fleet
said.
The vessel has been returned to its 11-man crew, who are unhurt after
they managed to seal themselves in a safe compartment when the pirates
struck.

International rescue
The marines launched their assault from aboard the USS Dubuque, after
the Turkish frigate TCG Gokceada responded to a distress call from the
Magellan Star.
The two military vessels are part of a multinational force set up in
January 2009 to protect merchant ships from pirate attacks off the
coast of Somalia and into the Gulf of Aden.
It is the first time the US Marines have seized a pirated vessel off
Somalia, according to Lt John Fage, of the US Fifth Fleet headquarters
in Bahrain.
He said the operation took about an hour and there were no injuries
among the marines. "There were no shots fired," he said.
Nine suspected pirates were taken into custody, Lt Fage added. Their
fate has "yet to be determined" he said.
In the past, captured pirates have often been released by Nato forces
because holding and prosecuting them is not straightforward under
international law.

The hijack began on Wednesday when pirates boarded the 8,000-tonne
container ship, which flies the flag of Antigua.
But after searching the vessel for three hours, they were unable to
locate the crew, according to the ship's German owners, Quadrant.
The pirates then phoned the shipping company in Hamburg to ask where
the crew were hidden.
"They were told the crew was on holiday," said spokesman Juergen
Salamon.
"They then asked how to switch the engines back on, but were told they
were broken."
The 11-man crew, comprising two Russians, two Poles, and seven
Filipinos, spent the time hidden away in a small, cramped safe room
whose entrance was not immediately obvious, Mr Salamon said.

Second ship released
In a separate incident on Thursday, a group of Somali pirates released
a Bulgarian-flagged ship they seized in May, the Bulgarian foreign
ministry said.
The chemical tanker Panega, with 15 Bulgarian crew, was seized about
160km (100 miles) east of the Yemeni port of Aden in May.
"The ship has been released this morning. We know that the 15 sailors
are in good health," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman.
She did not comment on whether a ransom was paid.
At least 23 foreign vessels with more than 411 crew members are
currently held by pirates, according to Ecoterra International, an
organisation monitoring piracy.
Last year there were more than 200 attacks by Somali pirates -
including 68 successful hijackings - and ransoms believed to exceed
$50m in total were paid, the organisation said.
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Swaziland unions condemn 'foot torture' threat

Swaziland unions have condemned the prime minister's suggestion that
dissidents should be beaten on their feet with spikes.
Barnabas Dlamini also said foreigners who meddled in the affairs of
sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch should be subject to the
traditional punishment, known as "sipakatane".
Some 50 pro-democracy activists were arrested this week.
They want King Mswati III to give up some of his powers.
Since Mr Dlamini's statement was reported on Thursday, officials have
made it clear he was making a suggestion, rather than announcing a new
policy, the state-owned Times of Swaziland reports.

The punishment involves using a pedal with metal or wooden spikes to
beat someone's bare feet repeatedly, causing paralysis.
The kingdom's labour unions now want the head of government to
withdraw the statement, calling it "a declaration of war" against
foreigners as well as Swazis.
"It means even here at home, it will be used on those fighting for
people's rights," said Mduduzi Gina of the Swaziland Federation of
Trade Unions.
"Such is done at a home where there is a child who is seen to be
speaking the truth but we are of the view that we are past that time,"
he is quoted as saying by the Times of Swaziland.

South Africa's main trade union federation Cosatu backs the campaign
for democracy in Swaziland and several South Africans were deported
ahead of this week's protests.
But Vincent Ncongwane from the Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL)
said they had the right to invite support from across the border.
"What law did we break by enlisting people from outside? He should say
which law we broke instead of threatening us?" he asked.
King Mswati is accused of living a life of luxury while most of his
subject live in poverty.
He has also been criticised for having 13 wives in a country with one
of the world's highest rates of HIV infection - 26% of those aged
15-49.
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Ban urges Rwanda not to withdraw UN peacekeepers

The UN's secretary general has urged Rwanda not to withdraw its
peacekeepers from Sudan over a leaked report saying its troops may
have committed genocide.
Ban Ki-moon said he was "disappointed" the draft had been released,
after he held talks with President Paul Kagame in Kigali in a bid to
ease tensions.
The report accuses Rwandan soldiers of massacring civilians in the
Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s.
Rwanda says the document is "malicious" and "ridiculous" and wants it
amended.
The UN last week delayed publication of the document until 1 October,
to give countries more time to comment on its contents.
'Simple demands'

Mr Ban unexpectedly flew to Kigali on Tuesday to discuss the threat by
Mr Kagame to withdraw Rwanda's 3,500 peacekeeping forces.
Rwanda has 3,300 soldiers and 86 police serving with a joint UN and
African Union force, Unamid, in the troubled western Sudanese region
of Darfur. It is led by Rwandan Lt Gen Patrick Nyamyumba.
Another 256 troops serve with the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis), which
is supporting the implementation of a peace deal between north and
south.
After meeting Mr Kagame in the capital, Mr Ban told reporters: "Both
the president and I are disappointed that the draft report has been
leaked.

"The United Nations is interested in establishing all the facts
relating to DRC uncovered by this mapping exercise."
Mr Ban said he had commended Rwanda's support of the whole UN agenda
and peacekeeping operations in Sudan, and hoped it would continue.
"I have asked President Kagame to continue with that contribution
around the world and in particular when we are going to see a
referendum in Sudan in January next year," he added.
He said they would discuss the report again later this month in New
York.

Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo declined to say whether Mr Kagame
had withdrawn his threat about the peacekeepers, but said the
government was happy that Mr Ban had come to listen to their views.
"My government has very simple demands and that is that our concerns
and our worries and indeed our revolt concerning the draft report that
was leaked to the media a few weeks ago, be heard," she added.
Ms Mushikiwabo earlier described the leaked report on neighbouring DR
Congo from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) as
"fatally flawed" and "incredibly irresponsible".

The draft of the 600-page probe accuses Rwandan troops and their
Congolese rebel allies of killing tens of thousands of Hutus after
invading the country to hunt those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan
genocide.
"The systematic and widespread attacks described in this report...
reveal a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a
competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide," it
states.
Rwanda is not the only country targeted in the report. Other nations
who sent troops into DR Congo, such as Angola, are also mentioned, but
Rwanda has come in for the most severe accusations.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has said she will
publish their concerns in an annex to the report.
------------------
Senegal teachers convicted over children's begging
By Thomas Fessy
BBC News, Dakar

Seven Koranic teachers in Senegal have been condemned to jail
sentences after they were found guilty of forcing children to beg.
However, the teachers will only go to prison if they force children to
beg again within the next six months.
Up to 50,000 children are being exploited by their teachers in Koranic
schools in Senegal, according to Human Rights Watch.
This is the first time that a court has condemned such abuses.

'Mass trafficking'
A tougher sentence may have been expected but Wednesday's ruling is
symbolic.
A law was passed five years ago which criminalised the forcing of
another person to beg but it was not enforced.
It was not until the end of last month that the police started
rounding up beggars after a move by the authorities to clamp down on
extremist Koranic masters who mistreat children in the name of
religion.

Human Rights Watch says the latest ruling is a step in the right
direction but there must be a sustained effort to tackle the problem.
According to the organisation, thousands of children are being
trafficked between Senegal and neighbouring Guinea-Bissau.
--------------------
Researchers develop tea bag filter that cleans water

A group of researchers in South Africa has developed a filter that can
purify water straight from the bottle.
It sits inside a tube that can be fitted on top of a bottle and
purifies water as it is poured on a cup.
The designer behind the filter, Dr Eugene Cloete, from the
Stellenbosch University in South Africa, says the filter is only as
big as an ordinary tea bag.
He says the product is cost-effective and easy to use.

"We are coming in here at the fraction of the cost of anything else
that is currently on the market," says Dr Cloete on BBC World Service.
According to him the filter will not only stop harmful bacteria from
getting into the water, it will also kill them.
"We cover the tea bag material with nano-structured fibres, and
instead of tea inside the tea bag, we incorporate activated carbon.
"The function of the activated carbon is to remove most of the
dangerous chemicals that you would find in water."
He says that the function of the fibres is to create a filter where
harmful bacteria is physically filtered out and killed.

Better taste
According to the World Health Organisation the number of people who
can access clean drinking water has been improving steadily across the
globe. But there are millions of people - many in Sub-Saharan Africa -
who still do not have access to drinkable water.
The filter will also improve the taste of the water says Dr Cloete.
"If you take ordinary tap water that you get in the city," he says,
"that is chlorinated for instance."

But with the new filter, "the activated carbon will remove the
chlorine so the water will actually taste better," he says.
Dr Cloete says his team wants to have an impact on 1.2 billion people
around the world who do not have access to safe drinking water.
He says there have been extensive interest about the filter since the
invention was announced.
"We have had many, many inquiries from aid organisations and from
philanthropists who are quite prepared to sponsor these filters to
people that need them most," he says.
But there are also commercial potentials, "for those people who go
camping and those people who go hiking and so on," he adds.
---------------
South Africa murder rate shows sharp fall

The murder rate has fallen by 8.6% over the past year in South Africa,
latest statistics show.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the total number of murders was
now about a third lower than 14 years ago.
He also said that 46 of South Africa's 50 most wanted criminals had
been arrested.
South Africa has long been seen as one of the world's most violent
countries but hosted the World Cup this year with few major incidents.

The latest figures cover the year up to March 2010 and so do not
include the June-July football tournament, when hundreds of thousands
of foreigners visited the country.
"We are really encouraged in the significant decline in the murder
rate," Mr Mthethwa said.
He said the number of murders was below 17,000 in the past year, for
the first time since national statistics started being complied in
1994, compared to almost 27,000 in 1995-96.
Street robberies and sexual offences also showed declines of 10.4% and
a 4.4% respectively.

Police have attributed the decreases to greater co-operation between
the police and community policing forums and increased police
visibility.
Analysts say they are pleased with the latest crime statistics.
"The crimes stats that we are seeing have given us a message of hope,"
said Johan Berger of the Institute of Security Studies.
Mr Berger said the World Cup preparations may have contributed to the
fall in crime levels because of extra measures taken by the police in
preparation for the tournament.
Mr Berger, however, said South Africans may not have noticed much
difference yet.

"Based on studies we have done it takes time throughout the world for
the public to begin to feel the effects of a decrease in crime, there
may be a downward trend for sometime but it doesn't immediately
translate to residents feeling safer in that country," he said.
There has, however, been an increase in "crimes of need" such as stock
theft and shoplifting, which were put down to unemployment and
poverty.
There has also been a 2.7% increase in house burglaries.
--------------
Men of genius are often dull and inert in society, as a blazing meteor
when it descends to earth, is only a stone. -Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, poet (1807-188
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