Luanda Agreement

The Luanda Agreement is a 2002 ceasefire and normalization of relations between the government of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It sought to end ongoing conflict and had far-reaching implications for regional peace. The Luanda Agreement became a baseline for peace accords in Africa and is viewed favorably by outside entities, such as the United Nations and the European Union.
History.
The agreement was signed in 2002 between the governments of Uganda and the DRC. It established a ceasefire and normalized relations between the two countries. Prior to this agreement, the two countries experienced prolonged periods of armed conflict. While this agreement sought to rebuild regional stability, it is questionable as to whether lasting peace/reconstruction followed.
The conflict in the Congo has been called the "center of Africa's world war". While DRC gained independence in the 1960s, it was accompanied by civil war. The initial conflict was brief, but a longer and bloodier struggle followed. In 1997, the First Congo War began, followed by the Second Congo War in 1998. Several other African countries became involved.
Relations between Uganda and the DRC.
The relationship between Uganda and the DRC was plagued by violence for decades. Uganda has been plundering the DRC of valuable minerals since the 1990s. The relationship is complicated by the ADF, a rebel group that attacked Western Uganda from the early 1990s well into the 2000s. Uganda President Yoweri Museveni blamed the DRC and the UN for the group's continued existence.
International Court of Justice.
The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was a peace treaty to end the Second Congo War. All military operations were to halt and actions were to be taken to show respect for human rights and reconcile the relations among Angola, DRC, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in 1999. The International Court of Justice deemed this agreement a "modus operandi" rather than a legally binding agreement. The ICJ's treatment of the agreement is thought to have broader implications, because "the ICJ's authority in the interpretation of international law is likely to influence the perception of the parties to armed conflicts with regard to legal nature and effects of peace agreements...it threatens to undermine the crucial role of peace agreements in the resolution of armed conflicts." The interpretation of the Lusaka agreement thereby set a precedent that undermined the legal authority of the Luanda Agreement.
The Luanda Agreement is a bilateral agreement that directly alters the terms of the Lusaka Agreement. However, both agreements call for the explicit consent of the DRC to allow Ugandan troops on their land. This then led to multiple disputes within the ICJ between Uganda and the DRC. In 1999, the DRC filed three claims asserting that Uganda violated international laws:
Uganda filed three counter claims: (1) the DRC used force against Uganda, (2) the DRC allowed attacks on Ugandan diplomatic premises and personnel in Kinshasa in violation of the law of diplomatic protection and (3) the DRC violated the 1999 Lusaka Agreement.
The court ruled that Uganda had violated DRC's territorial integrity and that Uganda was an occupying power, but granted Uganda's argument that the DRC had violated Ugandan diplomatic protection.
Reaction.
The European Union issued a statement applauding the Luanda Agreement as a mechanism to aid peace efforts. However, the EU also recognized that the continued fighting among the Congolese people as a reason for Uganda to continue to protect people through its presence.


John Rooney (bishop)

Bishop John Rooney VG, was an Irish-born Roman Catholic priest who served as bishop in South Africa.
Rooney was born in 1844 in Edenderry, County Offaly, he attended Carlow College before going to All Hallows College in Dublin, to be trained as priest for the Cape of Good Hope Diocese. Following All Hallows, he studied at Propaganda College in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1867.
He was in 1886 ordained titular Bishop of Sergiopolis, and coadjutor to Bishop John Leonard, whom he succeeded in 1908 as Bishop of Cape Colony, South Africa.
He resigned as bishop in 1925.


Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe

Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe (1860 – 15 November 1885) was a Ugandan Catholic martyr and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Mwanga II. The Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa came to Uganda in 1879. Balikuddembe was enrolled as a catechumen in the following year and along with Andrew Kaggwa, was baptized by Père Simon Lourdel M.Afr. (Fr. Mapera) on 30 April 1882. Balikuddembe took the baptismal name of "Joseph".
From November 1882 to July 1885 the Catholic missionaries, for reasons of security, abandoned the Ugandan mission and re-located temporarily to the southern end of Lake Victoria. In the absence of the missionaries, Balikuddembe became leader of the Christians.
King Mutesa was succeeded by his eighteen-year-old son, Danieri Mwanga II. Early in his reign, the new king began to crack down on Christian missionaries and converts in his country, and executed the British Anglican bishop James Hannington and his companions on October 29, 1885, ignoring Balikuddembe's pleas to spare the bishop. Godfrey Muwonge attributes this to the influence of Mwanga's Katikkiro (Prime Minister) Mukasa, who sought to control the spread of Christianity in Buganda by eliminating its teachers.
Another reason that Mwanga killed Balikuddembe was because he spoke out against Mwanga's homosexual practices. As catechumens, the recent converts could no longer engage in activities which they saw as unchristian. Mwanga saw this as insubordination.
As Mwanga's senior adviser, Balikuddembe spoke against the killing of the bishop. Mwanga viewed this a disrespectful. After a night-long interview the king condemned Balikuddembe to death. Muwonge says that the Katikkiro Musaka saw to it that the order was carried out before the king could change his mind. On 15 November 1885 Balikuddembe was taken to a place near the Nakivubo river where he was beheaded and his body thrown onto a pile of burning firewood. His duties were assumed by the young catechist Charles Lwanga.
Veneration.
Balikuddembe is remembered as first of the Martyrs of Uganda and is the patron of politicians and chiefs.
St. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe Parish is located in Kisoga.


President of Ethiopia

The President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is the head of state of Ethiopia. The position is largely a ceremonial one, with executive power vested in the Prime Minister. The current president is Sahle-Work Zewde, who took office on 25 October 2018. Presidents are elected by the House of Peoples' Representatives for six years, with a two term limit.
History.
The presidency was created in its original form by the 1987 Constitution, which established the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under Mengistu Haile Mariam. He was elected to a five-year term by the National Shengo (legislature), with no term limits. He was vested with sweeping executive powers. For instance, when the Shengo was out of session, he had the right to appoint a number of state officers. Although such appointments required legislative confirmation, in practice the principles of democratic centralism made such confirmation merely a formality. He was also chairman of the Council of State, which acted for the Shengo when it was out of session. While he, like all other state officers, was nominally responsible to the Shengo, in practice he was effectively a dictator. The only president under this system was Mengistu Haile-Mariam.
Following the overthrow of the communist regime at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War, the presidential office took its current form in stages, culminating in the adoption of the current constitution in 1995.
Election.
The House of Peoples' Representatives nominates the candidate for president. The office falls vacant upon completion of a term or resignation. Presidential tenure is not keyed to that of the House of Peoples' Representatives in order to assure continuity in government and the nonpartisan character of the office. There is no vice president in the Ethiopia governmental system.
The president is elected in a joint session of the House of Peoples' Representatives and the House of the Federation by a two-thirds majority.
Upon being elected, the President, before commencing his or her responsibilities, shall swear before a joint session of the Houses the oath: "I..., when on this date commence my responsibility as President of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, pledge to carry out faithfully the high responsibility entrusted to me."
Powers and Duties.
The 1995 Ethiopian Constitution lays out the duties and powers of the President of the Republic, to include:
Unlike most parliamentary republics, the President of Ethiopia is not even the "nominal" chief executive. Rather, the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Council of Ministers, and names the Prime Minister as chief executive. Many of the president's powers are duties that they must perform, while most of the others must be countersigned by the Prime Minister to be valid. However, pardons and commutations have been recognized as autonomous powers of the President.
Succession.
"Proclamation No. 255/2001: Administration of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia"
states that when the president, before the termination of his/her term of office, discontinues his/her service due to illness, death, resignation or due to his/her conviction, the House of Peoples' Representatives and the House of Federation, by an extraordinary joint session convened by the Speaker of either of the Houses or by the Speakers of both houses jointly, designate an acting president.


Kakende of Toro

Rukirabasaija Kakende Nyamuyonjo was Omukama of the Kingdom of Toro from 1875 until 1876 and from 1879 until 1880. He was the eighth (8th) Omukama of Bunyoro.
Married life.
No mention of his married life is made in the available literature.
Offspring.
It is not known how many children were fathered by Omukama Kakende, or who those children were.
His reign.
1875–1876 and 1879–1880 Omukama Kakende was raised to the throne in 1995 following the flight of his older brother, Rububi Kyebambe II, with the help of an invading army from Buganda. However, when the army left Toro in 1876, Omukama Kakende left with them. He returned with another army from Buganda in 1879 and deposed his brother Rububi Kyebambe II. He ruled until 1880.
The final years.
In 1880, Toro was invaded by an army from Bunyoro. The invaders expelled Omukama Kakende, who first took refuge in Ankole and later in Buganda. Omukama Kakende died from smallpox in Buganda, prior to 1885. He was buried there.


Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement

The Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement or Accra Peace Agreement was the final peace agreement in the Second Liberian Civil War. It was signed on the August 18, 2004, in Accra, Ghana. It was created following the signing of a ceasefire agreement on June 17, 2004, and "intensive back-door negotiations" beginning on June 4 in Akosombo, Ghana.
The Agreement called for the establishment of a post-war two-year transitional government (National Transitional Government of Liberia) which would consist of 76 members: 12 each from the three warring parties; 18 from political parties; seven from civil society and special interest groups; and one from each of Liberia's 15 counties. The warring parties, the opposition parties and civil society groups agreed to share ministerial portfolios and employment opportunities in the cabinet and parliament and elections were to be held no later than 2005.
The peace agreement covered a broad range of intended reforms; committing to a human rights inquiry through a truth commission, and vetting of the security forces on human rights grounds. Former Nigerian Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar facilitated the negotiations that led to the agreement. However, civil society played a strong role in the talks as well. Individuals representing inter-religious, human rights, pro-democracy, women’s rights, and legal organisations were included as official delegates, and many others attended unofficially as observers. Women were especially vocal in these peace discussions. Everyday between 150-200 refugee women activists arrived at the hotel where the talks were taking place to advocate to stop the shelling of Monrovia and the violence in their country. These women were organized by the 'Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace'.
Aftermath.
Some fighting still continued following the signing of the Peace Agreement. In October. 2003 the UN Security Council authorized a Chapter VII mandate (allowing for intervention) and established a UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which included the deployment of 15,000 peacekeepers.
On October 14, 2003, an interim government under Gyude Bryant was sworn into power and ruled until the 2005 national elections.
The Liberian general election of 2005 took place on October 11, 2005 and a runoff election was held on November 8, 2005 which resulted in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf winning the presidency.


Ubuhake

Ubuhake is the name given to the social order in Rwanda and Burundi from approximately the 15th century to 1958. It has been frequently compared to European feudalism. Based on cattle distribution, it was, however, a much smaller system than the one of "uburetwa," which affected a much larger segment of the population and was based on land distribution. The Tutsi monarchy used the land distribution system of "uburetwa" to centralise control of the lands in most of Rwanda in a system called igikingi. Only the northwest of Rwanda, where Hutu land owners refused to submit, were not part of igikingi.
The two dominant ethnic groups in both Rwanda and Burundi are the Tutsis and Hutus. One of the chief historical distinctions between them was that Tutsis were primarily cattle-raisers while Hutus were farmers.
Initially, the "ubuhake" contract stipulated that Hutus were entitled to use Tutsis cattle in exchange for service, be it personal or military. Similarly, land that had come under Tutsi control could be used in a similar way in the "uburetwa" system. It gradually evolved to a class system in which land, cattle, and power were consolidated in the Tutsi group, and Hutus became indentured servants to Tutsi lords, who granted them protection, cattle, and the use of land in exchange for service and farm produce. Intermarriage between Hutu women and Tutsi men was strictly forbidden, although Hutu men often married Tutsi women. At the summit of this feudal pyramid was the "mwami", or Tutsi king, who was regarded as being of divine ancestry.
The "ubuhake" and "uburetwa" systems were condoned by the European colonialists of Rwanda and Burundi, Germany and later Belgium, who supported the Tutsi aristocracy in order to maintain control. However, the colonialists demanded that the labor also be done for the benefit of the colonial administration, instead of just for the Tutsi aristocracy.
The continued promotion of a single ethnic group became politically difficult for Belgium in the postwar period, however. Many European powers were granting independence to their colonies, and Belgium moved to phase out the "ubuhake" and "uburetwa" systems in Rwanda by 1958, having convinced the Mwami to give up the system in 1954. Increasing pressure against the "ubuhake" and "uburetwa" systems from Hutu solidarity movements, particularly Grégoire Kayibanda's Parmehutu party in Rwanda, ensured that the system was abolished entirely with the victory of Parmehutu in the Rwandan elections of 1961.
The "ubuhake" and "uburetwa" system, and its exploitation by both Tutsi Mwamis and by European colonial powers, is one source of antagonism between the Hutu and Tutsis. Many of the recent events in both countries can be traced to this historical tension, including the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Similarities to Bugandan land distribution systems.
In Uganda, leaders also exerted control through title to land, rather than lineages. Uganda was also a heavily populated area. A hereditary king (called the "kabaka") and a landed nobility provided a structure similar to those in northern Rwanda at the time of the arrival of European explorers.


Asebu Amanfi

Amanfi also known as The Giant of Asebu was a Warrior King and the founder of Asebu Kingdom in the Central Region of Ghana.
History.
According to oral tradition, Asebu was a giant with an unusual physical appearance and possessed spiritual powers. It is believed that he founded the Asebu Kingdom with his brother Farnyi Kwegya after they fled Egypt. Legend has it that, Asebu the giant led an army that chased the children of Israel during the Exodus. They crossed Lake Chad and went further down to Benin City and finally settled in Moore. After his men drowned, he could not return to Pharaoh around the coastal region of Southern Ghana.He derived his name from the Memphis along the southern part of River Nile,They lived by the side of the river in the Chad territory called Sabou. It is believed that he derived his name Asebu from the river Sabou. After he arrived in Southern Ghana ,he established the kingdom together with his brother and a prolific hunter,Nana Adzekase. Asebu became the first King of Asebu Kingdom and the prolific hunter became the first Chief of Moore.They took some of the river and worshiped it as their god. When they arrived they deposited the water in the middle of their object of worship,which has become the object of worship till date. He had a sister who was called Amanfiwaa.
Asebu Amenfi’s brother, Farnyi Kwegya, took advantage of the incredible abundance of fish in the waters in the region and became the first chief fisherman.
Cultural Legacies.
He was the first King of the Asebus; Amenfi I.
Asebu Amenfi was actually the person who fought, and expanded the Asebu chiefdom and Abakrampa all in the central region of Ghana.
An annual festival, Apayemkese (passover) is done in his memory.
His staff which he used for his various conquests also exists today and serves as a heritage object which accounts for his might
His finger prints left on rocks in Asebu is testament and still exist today and serve as a sacred heritage site.
His staff which he used for his various conquests also exists today and serves as a heritage object which accounts for his might.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 507

United Nations Security Council resolution 496, adopted unanimously on 28 May 1982, after examining a report by the Security Council Commission on the Seychelles adopted in Resolution 496 (1981), the Council expressed its concern at the November 1981 coup attempt in the Seychelles by foreign mercenaries, including Mike Hoare, allegedly backed by South Africa, and the subsequent hijacking of an Air India plane.
The Council went on to strongly condemn the mercenary aggression against the Seychelles and the hijacking, emphasising it stood against external interference in the internal affairs of a Member State. The resolution commended the Seychelles for repelling the attack, reiterating Resolution 239 (1967) against the use of mercenaries to attack another Member State.
The resolution ended by establishing an "ad hoc" committee chaired by France to oversee development funds to repair the damage to the Seychelles and ensure economic reconstruction. It also requested the Secretary-General assist the fund, and extended the mandate of the inquiry into the events by 15 August 1982.