By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/doss4boot101209.html
UNITED NATIONS, October 12, with interim update -- The UN's envoy to the Congo Alan Doss, during his last visit to the Security Council, bragged that he had given Congolese president Joseph Kabila the names of five military leaders accused of sexual abuse, and that action was being taken.
On October 12, when Inner City Press asked U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer about the case, she said that only three of the officials have been relieved of their duties, and two remain in commanding position in the Congolese army. Video here, from Minute 10:13.
Inner City Press then asked the spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, with whom Senator Boxer had just met about the topic, if Ban or the UN could confirm that two of the named abusers are still commanding FARDC units, and if so why the UN works with them. The spokesperson said, you have to ask... anyway it's something that concerns the Army itself, MONUC did not keep those guys on board." Video here, from Minute 17:55.
But Alan Doss had told the Security Council that action was being taken on the five. Three out of five is quite different. Inner City Press was first to publish the five names, here they are again:
The list of five includes: Brig.-Gen. Jerome Kakwavu Bukande, accused of the rape of a 14-year old girl in Ituri, but in March 2008 stationed in Kinshasa. Major Pitchner, accused of rape (no other details.). Lt-Col. Bebimobuli Engandela, a dissident Mai-Mai officer accused of several rapes between 2004 and 2006 and, in March 2008, being held in detention for insurrection.
Colonel Mosala, accused of rape of a 14-year old girl with violence in May 2005. Colonel Safari (sic) accused of the rape of a 28-year old woman in May 2006 and persuading three other soldiers to rape her too.
There are other questions left answered by Doss and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Doss declined to comment on the scandal surrounding his written -- and leaked and published by Inner City Press -- request that the UN Development Program show him "leeway" and hire his daughter, an irregularities which led to a rare man bites man incident in UNDP.
Supposedly Ban Ki-moon was expecting a report on l'affaire Doss / nepotism when he returned from summer vacation, but still hasn't gotten it.
Well placed whistleblowers have approached Inner City Press with complaints against Doss they say are widely known in the Congo. The first involved his use of MONUC airplanes to fly his wife around, despite the fact that Congo is a non family post.
More recently, Inner City Press has been informed that when he left the UN in Liberia to transfer to the Congo, Doss arranged that his cook in Liberia be given a job in Congo as MONUC engineer. Inner City Press more than two week ago asked the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to confirm or deny this, in an email sent to the highest levels of DPKO. To the same parties, a DPKO spokesperson has repeatedly asked for more time to answer -- a process that has gone on for more than two weeks.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/doss4boot101209.html
