Daily Archives: April 21, 2020

MALAWI: High court blocked its coronavirus lockdown in a bid to protect the poor

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A high court in Malawi has granted Human Rights Defenders Coalition a seven-day injunction stopping the government from implementing a 21-day national lockdown due to coronavirus. The injunction is temporary and an inter-partes hearing is expected within seven days.

On Tuesday, president Peter Mutharika announced a 21-day lockdown which was meant to begin on Saturday April 18 i n a bid to contain the spread of the virus in the country. In his address Mutharika, warned that up to 50,000 Malawians could lose their lives to the Covid-19 virus but he did not outline a  social safety net for the vulnerable during the lockdown, which prompted a civil society group to seek a stop order from the court.

“Our message is simple, we are not accepting this issue of lockdown unless government comes up with proper measures to protect the lives of Malawians, all we are saying is that different stakeholders such as religious leaders, civil society organizations should come together to digest this issue and come up with a proper solution,” said Gift Trapence chairperson for Human Rights Defenders Coalition.

Following Malawi government’s failure to put in place any measure to cushion the poor during the lockdown, thousands of informal traders in the cities of Mzuzu and Blantyre took it to the streets to protest against a coronavirus lockdown with placards that read “Lockdown more poisonous than Corona” and another “We’d rather die of corona than die of hunger.”

Many of these vendors are daily wage earners and a lockdown in the country could greatly affect them. A lot of people in Malawi operate on a hand to mouth basis. It is unclear if Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, can afford to offer cash transfers to its low income citizens as some policy analysts have been recommending.

Malawi’s economy relies on informal economies like most African countries. Many policy analysts and development economists across Africa and the developing world have started to criticize African governments for rushing to mimic the lockdown strategies of wealthier, developed countries in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. There are now louder calls for countries to adapt preventive measures and policies that better suit each country. This is particularly relevant in congested urban areas where social distancing is difficult and there is little availability of clean water to wash hands.

“Our challenge is to adapt social distancing measures to informal economies which lack a comprehensive safety net to support those shut in,” writes W. Gyude Moore, a former Liberian public works minister. Moore recommends African countries focus on more flexible curfews rather than total lockdowns given most economies are 90% informal. He also recommends engaging with local community leaders to share the message and expand the definition of essential services.

So far Malawi has recorded 17 cases of Covid-19 with two deaths. The ministry of health has announced that three people who earlier tested positive have now tested negative but will re-do the tests.

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Kizito Mihigo: ni iki yanditse mu gitabo cye?

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“FPR, umutwe wa politiki w’intagondwa kandi uteje akaga… ”

Ku itariki ya 17 Mata 2020, nyuma y’amezi abiri yuzuye akurikira iyicwa rya Kizito Mihigo, igitabo cye cyasohotse. Iki gitabo cyari gitegerejwe na benshi kigizwe n’inyandiko zose Kizito yakoze igihe yari afungiye muri gereza nkuru ya Kigali (1930) yaje kwimurirwa i Mageragere (Nyarugenge). Izina ry’igitabo ni : “Rwanda: Kwakira Ubwiyunge ngo ubashe Kubaho mu mahoro no gupfa byishimo”. Uyu muhanzi atunyuriramo ibyamubayeho, mu bihe bibabaje n’uburyo yarokotse itsembabwoko ryakorewe abatutsi mu 1994, uburakari bwe n’icyifuzo cyo kwihorera ku bahutu, akanatubwira uko yakirirye impano y’Imana yo kubabarira abamuhemukiye.

Atubwira ku bikorwa bye bya muzika muri Korali ya Kigali, umushinga w’indirimbo yubahiriza igihugu yitabiriye ndetse na bourse ya leta yo kwiga i Burayi. Aratubwira iby’imyaka itatu yamaze afite icyubahiro n’igitinyiro muri Kigali, umubano we n’ishyaka riri ku butegetsi (FPR), n’uburyo yaje gushwana na FPR kandi ibi akaba atabyicuza.

Iki gitabo yagituye Kizito Mihigo Peace Foundation (KMP) ndetse n’imfungwa zose za politiki zo mu Rwanda. Ni igitabo cy’ubuhamya kandi, cyane cyane ku byamubayeho ku ishimutwa rye no gushaka kumwica, ku bantu bose bagize uruhare mu bibazo yagize. Mu buryo burambuye kandi busobanutse neza, Kizito avuga ku biganiro na Inès MPAMBARA, na Bernard MAKUZA, akanatubwira amagambo akakaye n’iterabwoba by’umunyamabanga mukuru wa FPR, François NGARAMBE. Aduhishurira imishinga ye FPR yamwibye, uburenganzira bw’ibihangano bye yambuwe, urukundo rwe, n’umutuzo yaboneye muri gereza.

Umuhanzi w’umukristu, atewe ishema no kugira ubwigenge bwe bwo mu kuganira  no gutanga ibitekerezo ku kibazo icyo ari cyo cyose cyaganirwaho, cyaba icy’idini, politiki, cyangwa ubuhanzi. Yatugejejeho ibyo atekereza kuri FPR, ubwiyunge hagati y’Abahutu n’Abatutsi, abatavuga rumwe na FPR n’ibindi.

Bimwe mu byo avuga

  • Kuri FPR

FPR (Rwanda Patriotic Front), ni umutwe wa politiki w’intagondwa kandi uteje akaga gakomeye, ukaba ufite intego yo kuba ishyaka rimwe rukumbi. (Igice cya 14).

  • Ku bwiyunge hagati y’Abahutu n’Abatutsi

Ndatangara cyane kubona kuva jenoside yarangira, abatutsi baturutse hanze y’igihugu (ni ukuvuga abavuye mu Burundi, Kongo, Tanzaniya cyangwa Uganda bagarukanye na FPR) bibagora kwihanganira Abahutu, mu gihe twe twari duhari, twiboneye aya mahano kandi tukarokoka imipanga, tukicirwa abacu tubireba, twiga kubana n’abantu bose, harimo n’abicanyi, kugirango tubabarire kandi twiyunge. Binyibutsa wa mugani w’ikinyarwanda nzaririmba vuba aha: “Hataka nyirubukozwemo,  nyirubuteruranwenakebo akinumira”  (Igice cya 6) .

Indangagaciro z’amahoro n’ubwiyunge mu gukumira no gukemura amakimbirane mu buryo bw’amahoro, zigomba gusimbura urugomo, gukandamiza, ubushotoranyi, intambara n’iterabwoba byimitswe na FPR Inkotanyi. (…)

Naho ubwiyunge u Rwanda rukeneye muri iki gihe, ntabwo ari hagati y’Abahutu n’Abatutsi. Kuri ubu, ubutegetsi bwa FPR buyobowe na Perezida Kagame, bugomba kwiyunga n’abatavuga rumwe na bwo baba mu buhungiro, cyane cyane RNC ya Kayumba Nyamwasa, FDU Inkingi ya Victoire Ingabire, RDI Rwanda Nziza ya Faustin Twagiramungu, Ishyaka Ishema rya Padiri Thomas Nahimana, n’indi mitwe ya politiki yo mu Rwanda ikorera mu mahanga, mu rwego rwo gukumira no gukemura amakimbirane ashobora kuvuka. (Igice cya 34)

  • Kuri gahunda ya “Ndi Umunyanyarwanda”

“Ndi umunyarwanda”, ni gahunda mbi cyane ya politiki yo kubangamira ubwiyunge bw’igihugu, ishyira Abahutu bose mu gatebo kamwe k’abicanyi kandi FPR ikigisha ku mugaragaro urwango mu bisekuruza byose. ” Igice cya 14

Ni igitabo cyiza cyane gikwiye gusomwa na buri wese ubishoboye, cyane cyane abanyarwanda batarahumuka bakaba bakomeje kwigumira mu kinyoma cya FPR. Kugeza ubu kiracyari mu rurimi rumwe rw’igifaransa, gishobora kugurwa unyuze aha.

Chaste GAHUNDE

Avis aux lecteurs: Nos articles peuvent être reproduits à condition de citer le nom d’auteur et le site web source.                                                                                              Notice to readers: Our articles may be reproduced provided the author’s name and the source website are cited.