Sudanese woman sentenced to death for her Christianity gives birth in prison

A Sudanese woman sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith has given birth in prison, and could now be lashed 100 times — even as she's permitted to nurse her newborn for two years before the execution is carried out.

Meriam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to a girl early Tuesday in the hospital wing of a prison in Omdurman, one of her attorneys, Mohamed Abdelnabi, told FoxNews.com by phone from Khartoum.
"She's fine, and Meriam as well," Abdelnabi said of the baby girl, who will be named Maya.

She is in prison with her 20-month-old son, but Sudanese officials have said the toddler is free to leave any time, according to her lawyer, Mohamed Jar Elnabi.

Her husband, Daniel Wani, is a U.S. citizen who uses a wheelchair and "totally depends on her for all details of his life," her lawyer said.

The appeal

The appeals court in Khartoum will issue a ruling on the case in the next week, but it will first ask the lower court to submit the documents it used to make the ruling, according to her lawyer.

Once that's done, it will issue a case number, he said.

"We will continue checking with the appeals court, but Inshallah (Allah willing) ... the appeals court will reverse the sentence and set her free," he said.

Source: Fox news and CNN

Bring Back Our Girls: The capture of Chibok girls brings bad memories of the capture of Aboke girls

By Guest Writer Naigaga Phiona Fortunate

Today, I have decided to join everyone that is concerned and I am demanding for the release of 273 girls abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

 “Bring back our girls” and “I am demanding Boko Haram to bring back our girls.” I know that these girls are facing a very rough time out there with monsters. I do not want to imagine the worst. But i am praying to the Most High God to protect them.

Just like any other woman, these girls also had dreams, dreams which might be shattered if not saved and brought back home.

Ugandan women also joined the call for peace and release of the Chibok girls. They demonstrated with placards reading, "Bring back our girls."
The women in northern region said they still have fresh memories of the abduction of 139 girls from St. Mary's College Aboke in 1996 by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebels during the insurgency in Acholi and Lango sub regions. 

The Aboke girls’ abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) left mental scars on students, teachers, parents and the entire nation.

The deputy head mistress of the college, Sister Rachele Fassera, of Italy, pursued the rebels and negotiated the release of 109 of the girls. The Aboke abductions and Fassera's dramatic actions drew international attention, unprecedented at that time, to the insurgency in northern Uganda.

Hope is not lost

Hope is not lost on the missing Chibok schoolgirls, as the Chief of Defence Staff on Monday assured Nigerians that the search was in progress.

Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh told some protesters at the Defense Headquarters in Abuja, that the military was, however, not using force to rescue the kidnapped girls.

He said that the military had information on the location of the girls but would tread softly to get the students out.

“If we go with force, what will happen, they will kill them. Nobody should come and say the Nigerian military does not know what it is doing. “We know what we are doing; we can’t go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back”, he said.

Badeh further explained that the fight against the insurgents could not be likened to a full scale war.

230 Nigerian girls in Captivity

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, a group of militants attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. They broke into the school, shooting the guards and killing one soldier.

 A large number of students were taken away in trucks, possibly into the Konduga area of the Sambisa Forest where Boko Haram was known to have fortified camps.

Houses in Chibok were also burnt down in the incident. The school had been closed for four weeks prior to the attack due to the deteriorating security situation, but students from multiple schools had been called in to take final exams in physics.

There were 530 students from multiple villages registered for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, although it was unclear how many were in attendance at the time of the attack.

 The children were aged 16 to 18 and were in their final year of school. Initial reports said 85 students were kidnapped in the attack. Over the 19–20 April weekend, the military released a statement that said more than 100 of 129 kidnapped girls had been freed. However, the statement was retracted, and on 21 April, parents said 234 girls were missing.

 A number of the students escaped the kidnappers in two groups. According to the police approximately 276 children were taken in the attack of which 53 had escaped as of 2 May. Other reports were that 329 girls were kidnapped, 53 had escaped and 276 were still missing.

Amnesty International later said it believes the Nigerian military had four hours advanced warning of the kidnapping, but failed to send reinforcements to protect the school. Nigeria's armed forces have confirmed that the Nigerian military had four hour advance notice of the attack but that their over-extended forces were unable to mobilize reinforcements.

Abuse of human rights

The students are being forced into Islam and into marriage with members of Boko Haram, with a reputed "bride price" of ₦2,000 each ($12.50/£7.50). 

Many of the students were taken to the neighbouring countries of Chad and Cameroon, with sightings reported of the students crossing borders with the militants, and sightings of the students by villagers living in the Sambisa Forest. 

The forest is considered a refuge for Boko Haram. Local residents have been able to track the movements of the students with the help of contacts across north eastern Nigeria.

According to Daily Trust , a man who has two daughters among the abducted Chibok students has died, days after finding out that his girls were not in the Boko Haram video released last week.

Mr. Mutai Hona fell ill when he could not see his two daughters in the video, according to his family.

He never recovered since then, and died on Sunday in Chibok, Borno State, family member James Yama said in Maiduguri.

A video, which went viral on the social media on Thursday, that members of dreaded sect, Boko Haram, buried alive and stoned to death one of the abducted girls of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, has been described as a ruse.

However the Minister of State for Defense, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, in a terse response to the video, which gained fast spread among Nigerians on Blackberry, YouTube and Facebook, said it was shot in Somalia in 2008.

Obanikoro said his position was based on a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Petition to release pregnant Sudanese woman given death sentence for marrying a Christian reaches 650,000

A pregnant Sudanese woman who married a Christian man was sentenced to death  after she refused to recant her Christian faith.

Meriam Yahya Ibrahim married US national Daniel Wani in 2011. She was arrested after a Muslim relative claimed the marriage was invalid, thus adulterous, because Wani is Christian.  

Petition to release pregnant Sudanese woman who was given death sentence for marrying a Christian has reached 650,000 but Sudan government says its 'dangerous' to protest her treatment 

The petition that was sponsored by Amnesty International asks the Sudan government to stop the execution of Meriam Ibrahim, 27, who is eight-months pregnant

Meriam Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was convicted of "apostasy" on Sunday and given four days to repent and escape death.

The 26 year old, who is eight months pregnant, was sentenced after that grace period expired.
Amnesty International immediately condemned the sentence, calling it "abhorrent." The U.S. State Department said it was "deeply disturbed" by the sentencing and called on the government to respect the right to freedom of religion.

Meriam has been locked up in a notorious women’s prison in Khartoum since September after being charged with adultery and apostasy and given the death sentence.
She was also sentenced to 100 lashes as the Sudanese court refused to recognize her 2011 marriage to husband Daniel, a naturalized US citizen from Manchester, New Hampshire.

The judge in the case said that because she was born a Muslim she should stay a Muslim.

The case has attracted international outrage and the governments of the UK, the US and the Netherlands have all spoken of their concern.

But now, as Meriam’s lawyers file an appeal to get her off death row, Amnesty has revealed that its petition to have Meriam released has reached 650,000 signatures.

Her lawyer, called the conviction rushed and legally flawed since the judge refused to hear key defense witnesses and ignored constitutional provisions on freedom of worship and equality among citizens.
Ibrahim and Wani married in a formal church ceremony in 2011 and have a son, 18-month-old Martin, who is with her in jail.
Sudan's penal code criminalizes the conversion of Muslims into other religions, which is punishable by death.

Source; Mail on line
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2637477/Petition-release-pregnant-Sudanese-woman-given-death-sentence-marrying-Christian-reaches-650-000-Sudan-government-says-dangerous-protest-treatment.html

Will criminalizing the transmission of HIV reduce the epidemic in Uganda?

For a long time Uganda has been hailed as a success story in the fight against AIDS. A key factor in the positive outcomes the country experienced was the strong political leadership demonstrated early at highest level. However, the latest statistics indicate an increase in HIV incidence, a cause for much concern.

HIV-injection nurse sentenced to 3 years

Buganda Road Court finds Nurse Rosemary Namubiru, 64 (nurse who injected a 2 year old boy with her HIV-infected blood) guilty of negligence with intention to infect someone with an infectious disease, and sentences her to three years in jail.

Rosemary Namubiru in Court before she was sentenced to 3 yrs. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

Court presided over by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya on Monday convicted and sentenced Namubiru after she was found guilty of unlawfully doing a negligent act of spreading the infectious disease.

 “The accused person was aware that she was living with the virus and then she carelessly went ahead to inject the child,” Mukwaya said in a fully packed court.

 Court passed its judgment basing on the testimonies of prosecution witnesses 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9. The witnesses pinned Namubiru, saying she was aware of her status that is why she was not remorseful during trial.

Rosemary Namubiru arriving at Buganda Road Court before she was sentenced to 3 yrs. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

They also said Namubiru used the same cannula knowing that it would lead to the spread of HIV/AID.

 Prosecution led by Lillian Omara told court that Namubiru unlawfully and negligently injected a baby with a needle contaminated with her HIV blood while knowing the action could likely spread the infection of HIV, a disease dangerous to life. 

 

Rosemary Namubiru arriving at Buganda Road Court before she was sentenced to 3 yrs. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

 The nurse committed the offence on January 17, 2014 at Victoria Medical Center, Lumumba in Kampala.

Deeply in love fiancée tries to bribe doctor for HIV negative results

Barbara Kyalimpa (not real names) always swore that she will never have sex until marriage, she kept herself a virgin even at the University, because of the fear of HIV/AIDS.  When she meets the man of her dreams, successful, loving and caring, she agrees to be his wife but only have sex after marriage. She also demanded for an HIV/AIDS checkup before marriage.

Her fiancé John Mukulu (not real names) an army officer with lots of money, was ready to have Barbara as his wife at any cost. John agrees to have a medical checkup together with Barbara and after the test, the doctor called one by one for counseling before delivering the results.

Relatives of Rose Namubiru crying  Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

The Doctor asked Barbara if she had had unprotected sex with John but her answer was no. The doctor advised Barbara not to do but come back tomorrow and they have a chat. After counseling John, the Doctor gave the couple the good news that they were both HIV negative.

John was so happy and requested Barbara to go and spend the night at his home since both were negative and they would get married. But since Barbara was too haunted by the Doctors’ demand for a private chat in absence of John, she stuck to her values and requested John to take her to her parent’s home.

Mother of the boy who was injected with HIV. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

The following day Barbara woke up very early to go and meet the doctor who informed her that John is HIV positive and had paid to have his results say negative. 

 But since the doctor is a Christian, he could not allow such an injustice to happen so he had to tell Barbara the situation on ground and it was up to her to decide whether to go ahead and marry John or counsel the wedding.

What will be the likely impact of HIV specific criminalization on efforts to fight HIV/AIDS transmission?

The HIV and AIDS prevention and Control bill 2010 is a timely intervention in so far as it represents an affirmation of the State’s commitment to continue the strong political leadership that has proved so effective in the past. 

However, while the idea of a law related to HIV/AIDS is a welcome development, it can be a double edged sword where the law abandons proven best practices in the epidemic.

Mother of the boy who was injected with HIV. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

 The penal code; Section 171 states  “Any person who unlawfully or negligently does any act which he has reason to believe to be likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life commits an offense and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.”

Evidence shows that efforts to use the law to deter sexual transmission of HIV simply do not work. Even though criminalization and punishment seems like it would pose a deterrent- two decade of implementing similar laws in other countries shows that such laws do not have the desired effect of changing behavior.

According to Uganda Aids Commission, criminalization of transmission will be largely counterproductive and ineffective because Uganda’s statistics show HIV is usually transmitted when HIV positive people do not know that they are HIV positive. 

There is urgent need to reach Ugandans with accurate information, routine HIV testing and to promptly provide people with counseling and treatment in order to ensure they remain healthy and do not transmit the epidemic.

Parents of the boy who was injected with HIV. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

 The HIV epidemics in Uganda- are we reducing HIV?

According to the Uganda AIDS indicator survey 2012, currently an estimated 1.5million Ugandans (1.4 adults and 100,000 children) are living with HIV and there are at least 140,000 new infections annually. 

Although there has been a decline in averting new infections, as a country we are at the most optune moment when we have started to register major success and reversals of the negative trend.

The number of new infections has reported last year has reduced to 140,000 from 160,000 in 2012.

The number of babies born with HIV dropped to about 9,000 last year compared to the 25-28,000 in 2011.

Parents of the boy who was injected with HIV. Photo/ Nicholas Kajoba

The number of people put on anti-retroviral therapy has increased to 600,000 up from 356000 in 2011; mortality rates due to AIDS and related conditions dropped to 56,000 in 2013 compared to 66,000 in 2011.

The progress should continue and any obstacles that would hinder further improvements should be removed.

The Uganda AIDS Commission and the Ministry of Health’s AIDS Control Program do not support the criminalization of transmission clause in the HIV bill. 

According to Uganda research, when people know their status they have a powers motivation to change their behavior and act responsibly means that people living with HIV who find out their status, then take steps to prevent spreading it to others. (Bunnell R. et al, 2006).

What are other legal alternatives to criminalization of transmission? 

The penal code has provisions of defilement, rape, assault and negligence likely to spread a disease. All these provisions can be used to punish intentional harmful acts related to HIV transmission

.

Other countries which have tried cases of transmission have not used HIV specific criminal laws, but have relied on other penal code offence of creating grievous bodily harm.

This law is not likely to be useful in practice because it is virtually impossible to prove who contracted HIV first.

HIV specific criminalization laws intensify stigma and misinformation; this is dangerous in a country where the majority of adults still lack comprehensive information about HIV

Plunder of timber and fisheries is holding Africa back - Kofi Annan

ABUJA, Nigeria, May 8, 2014......This year’s Africa Progress Report calls on African leaders to tackle inequality and demands global community tackle plunder of continent’s natural resources.

Africa’s rich natural resources offer a unique opportunity for a breakthrough in improving the lives of Africa’s citizens, says a major new report launched today by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, but too often these resources are plundered by corrupt officials and foreign investors. Rising inequality is also blocking Africa from seizing that opportunity, the report shows.

The 2014 Africa Progress Panel report (http://www.africaprogresspanel.org), Grain, Fish, Money: Financing Africa’s green and blue revolutions, calls on Africa’s political leaders to take concrete measures now to reduce inequality by investing in agriculture. It also demands international action to end what it describes as the plunder of Africa’s timber and fisheries.

“After more than a decade of growth, there is plenty to celebrate,” Mr Annan will say when he releases the report. “But it is time to ask why so much growth has done so little to lift people out of poverty – and why so much of Africa’s resource wealth is squandered through corrupt practices and unscrupulous investment activities.”

“Africa is a continent of great wealth so why is Africa’s share of global malnutrition and child deaths rising so fast?  The answer is that inequality is weakening the link between economic growth and improvements in wellbeing,” he said.

Although average income has risen by one-third in the past decade, there are more Africans living in poverty now – around 415 million – than at the end of the 1990s. New global development goals are likely to aim to eradicate poverty by 2030 – but on current trends, one African in five will still be in poverty when that deadline arrives.

Mr Annan, who played a central role in shaping the Millennium Development Goals, says: “When countries sign up to the new global development framework, they should pledge not only to meet ambitious targets but also to narrow the region’s indefensible gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural, and men and women.”

The report’s authors identify agriculture as the key to growth that reduces poverty. They point out that most of Africa’s poor live and work in rural areas, predominantly as smallholder farmers. “Countries that have built growth on the foundations of a vibrant agricultural sector – such as Ethiopia and Rwanda – have demonstrated that the rural sector can act as a powerful catalyst for inclusive growth and poverty reduction,” Mr Annan will say at the launch.

The report calls for a “uniquely African green revolution” that adapts the lessons provided by Asia to African conditions. Africa currently imports US$35 billion worth of food because local agriculture is dogged by low productivity, chronic underinvestment, and regional protectionism. Increased investment in infrastructure and research could dramatically raise the region’s yields and the incomes of farmers. Meanwhile, eliminating the barriers that restrict trade within Africa could open up new markets.

While critical of African governments, the Africa Progress Report 2014 also challenges the international community to support the region’s development efforts. It highlights fisheries and logging as two areas in which strengthened multilateral rules are needed to combat the plunder of natural resources.

Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing has reached epidemic proportions in Africa’s coastal waters. West Africa is conservatively estimated to lose US$1.3 billion annually. Beyond the financial cost this plunder destroys fishing communities who lose critical opportunities to fish, process and trade. Another US$17 billion is lost through illicit logging activities.

”Natural resource plunder is organized theft disguised as commerce. Commercial trawlers that operate under flags of convenience, and unload in ports that do not record their catch, are unethical,” Mr Annan said, adding that these criminal activities compound the problem of tax evasion and shell companies. The Africa Progress Report 2014 calls for a multilateral fisheries regime that applies sanctions to fishing vessels that do not register and report their catches. The report also calls on governments around to world to ratify the Port State Measures Agreement, a treaty that seeks to thwart the poachers in port from unloading their ill-gotten gains.

African political leaders have failed to manage natural resources in the interests of the true owners of those resources – the African people.

A young boy dropped out of school to deal in fishing because its lucrative. Photo/Esther Namirimu

As well as losing money through natural resource plunder and financial mismanagement, Africans miss out on money from abroad, not only when aid donors fail to keep their promises but even when those in the African diaspora send remittances home to their families. It is estimated that that the continent is losing US$1.85 billion a year because money transfer operators are imposing excessive charges on remittances.

With greater resource revenue, African governments now have the opportunity to develop more effective taxation systems – and spend public money more fairly, the report adds. For example, 3 per cent of regional GDP is currently allocated to energy subsidies that principally go to the middle class. That money should be diverted into social spending to give the poor a better chance of escaping the poverty trap.

“Africa’s resilience and creativity are enormous,” Mr Annan says. “We have a rising and energetic youth population. Our dynamic entrepreneurs are using technology to transform people’s lives. We have enough resources to feed not just ourselves but other regions, too. It is time for Africa’s leaders – and responsible investment partners – to unlock this huge potential.”

The brain surgeon of the day

As a child, I always wanted to become a surgeon when I grow up. But as time went on I did not perform well in science subjects because I had more love for Arts, Photography, Painting and Home economics, without realizing it I lost my goal for becoming a surgeon. But Yesterday I got a chance to experience what it means to be a surgeon.

Dr. Esther Namirimu;Surgeon of the day

Dr. Esther Namirimu

Because of my fear of fresh blood, I did more of arts and crafts as a teenager. The sight of too much blood would make me sick. I could not even stand and watch students doing experiments of frogs. I realized that being a surgeon is something I loved but could not do.

Dr. Esther Namirimu

Dr. Esther Namirimu going to the Theatre

When I joined University, i decided to study Journalism majoring in Photojournalism and Print. Until now I love writing, reading and researching about Health issues. Recently, I got a chance to visit the Mulago National Referral Hospital Theatre as Surgeons were operating on victims of brain injury.

Doctors discuss results of a head scan. Photo/Esther Namirimu

Before the Operations started Doctors had to analyze the results of the head scan.  It was not easy imagining looking at someone's head cut open and bisected.

Before I entered the Operating room, I was asked to go and change into clean disinfected clothes and rubber shoes. Rubber shoes do not make noise on the ground as someone walks.

Ola la lah, I felt like a surgeon already. Then I was told about the rules of the Theatre; which included not touching any medical equipment without permission, not moving anything to a different position.

Being a careful person, those rules were just a piece of cake for me.

I went into the Operating Theatre with a group of doctors some of whom had come from Duke University North Carolina USA to help Ugandan surgeons.

The team expected to operate more than 40 people but they managed to operate a few of them because some of the cases took long hours than expected.

Twenty four patients with major brain complications had successful surgeries during a one week Neurosurgery camp at Mulago National referral hospital.

The most interesting bit of the Operating Theatre is that there was some soothing music playing. One doctor said that playing music was very advantageous in many ways; to keep the doctors relaxed, alert from getting bored and doozing off.

A brain operation going on. Photo by Esther Namirimu

Music in the Operating Theatre has immeasurable effects. It can prevent distraction, minimize annoyance, reduce stress and diminish the anxiety of patients, staff and users.

An operation.  photo/ Esther Namirimu

The role of music during surgery has been studied, both for its effect during the operation and afterwards, when patient recovers. Patients may not know when music is being played during their procedure in the Operating Theatre. However, if they do, it has been shown to have an immeasurable effect and also rest their minds. In fact, it is now known that some patients request for music to be played during their procedure.

The magic of sound, when scientifically applied, has been shown to contribute in greater measure to relief human suffering. Thus, music can be employed as an aid in obtaining physical, emotional and spiritual well being of human beings. Music in the Operating Theatre reduces stress. It lifts mood of staff and users, making the operating theatre a more pleasant work environment.

The head of Neurosurgery ward Dr. Michael Muhumuza said that the patients, who were prepared and not worked on, will be operated by Mulago surgeons and those with complicated cases will have to wait for the next camp.

Dr. Muhumuza explains the results of the head scan

Muhumuza said, “a major complicated case took about eight hours,” the patients’ also included six children with congenital defects.Some of the cases that were managed include Brain tumors, Spinal code tumors, congenital defects and head injuries.

A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the brain, which can be cancerous or non-cancerous (benign). Muhumuza added that during the camp, they faced with the problem of enough space in the Theatre.

“Although we have three theatres for our patients we would have loved to have more,” some of the symptoms of brain tumor include; headaches which don’t improve with pain killers, sight problems and nausea among others.

After a successful brain surgery

Recovering after a successful surgery

The hospital’s director Dr. Baterana Byarugaba said government is finalizing plans to do all cases of Neurosurgeries in the Country than referring patients abroad.

This lady suffered a head injury after getting involved in an accident. She is now recovering after a successful surgery

He appealed to Boda-Boda Cyclists and passengers to use helmets in order to minimize cases of head injuries. Most victims of Head injuries are Boda boda guys who get accidents at night. And they need immediate operation.