What’s Going On In Iraqi Offensive to Retake Fallujah From ISIS

LUIS MARTINEZ,ABC News

The Iraqi ground offensive to retake the ISIS-held city of Fallujah began early Monday with Iraqi military forces pressing outside the city located 40 miles west of Baghdad.

Retaking the city in Anbar Province has been a priority for the Iraqi government since it was one of the first places in the country seized by ISIS in early 2014. According to American military officials, the number of ISIS fighters in the province has fallen to 1,000 as ISIS has sustained battlefield defeats in recent months.

The Fallujah military operation was announced late Sunday night by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who said Iraqi forces are “approaching a moment of great victory” against ISIS in the wake of recent victories in the far western town of Rutbah and other towns in the Euphrates River Valley.

WHAT IS THE IRAQI MILITARY DOING IN FALLUJAH?

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said Monday that the Iraqi military had begun to conduct “shaping operations” on the outside of Fallujah and had not entered the city proper. “Fallujah is important,” said Davis. “It’s the last remaining stronghold within Anbar Province. It’s the ISIS position closest to Baghdad and a place we’re going to be working very closely with Iraqi partners to retake.”

The Fallujah operation involves forces from the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police. “Those forces have already begun to move on the city where they’re encountering some resistance,” said Davis. The shaping also involves striking at targets inside the city and “dropping leaflets meant to inform civilian populations to avoid ISIS areas,” Davis said. “They’ve been asking people to place white sheets on their roof to market their locations.”

While the U.S. is supporting the Iraqi military offensive in Fallujah, it is still not cooperating with the Iranian-backed Shiite militias, known the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), arrayed north of the city.

Davis said he did not know what the role of the Shiite militias would be in Fallujah though “they have a largely a relationship of coexistence with Iraqi forces and are aligned against ISIS”.

The coalition has supported the ground operation with airstrikes before the offensive, 21 in Fallujah since May 17, according to Davis. Iraq has not requested the use of American Apache helicopters based in Iraq as part of the Fallujah operation though they remain available if needed.

WHY AN OFFENSIVE NOW?

Fallujah was the first Iraqi city seized by ISIS in early 2014, as the group found early support among the dominant Sunni Muslim population that resented the policies by the Shiite-led government of former Prime Minister Maliki.

Since then, retaking the city has been a priority for the Iraqi government, even though it may not be as tactically important as it once was.

The U.S. military believes about 1,000 ISIS fighters remain in Anbar Province with ISIS numbers decreasing as the result of recent Iraqi military victories in Rutbah and Hit in the Euphrates River Valley. Davis said many ISIS fighters had already left Anbar and particularly Fallujah which he described as “a distant outpost for them” that has been “hard to sustain over time.”

Two Iraqi Army brigades have been encircling the city for months in anticipation of a planned offensive which seemed to await the slow progress of the Iraqi military in retaking Ramaadi to the southwest.

IS FALLUJAH IMPORTANT FOR RETAKING MOSUL?

ISIS still controls significant area of Iraqi territory in the northern part of the country including Mosul, the country’s second largest city. Much of the American-led training effort of Iraq’s military has been geared towards generating the forces needed to retake Mosul in a future offensive.

Two weeks ago, Col. Steve Warren, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said retaking Fallujah was not a military prerequisite for an offensive towards Mosul and that doing so would be an Iraqi “political decision.”

He anticipated that retaking the city would be “a tough note for the Iraqis to crack” given that the city had been under ISIS control for more than two years.

The pace of the Iraqi-led operation and sequencing of the operation will be up to the Iraqis, similar to the effort to retake the much larger city of Ramadi which lasted for months.

Obama signed a bill striking ‘Oriental’ and ‘Negro’ from federal code

President Barack Obama talks on a conference call from the Oval Office with service members in Liberia and Senegal taking part in Operation United Assistance, the U.S. military campaign to contain the Ebola virus outbreak at its source, Nov. 1, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) — Obama signed the bill into law Friday. The measure updates the terms the U.S. federal government uses to describe minorities, including American Indian to Native American and “Spanish speaking individual of Spanish descent” to Hispanic.

(CNN) The federal government will no longer use the terms “Negro” and “Oriental” after President Barack Obama signed a bill into law.

The official terms will be African-American and Asian-American. Welcome to 2016.

In a rare show of bipartisan support, the measure H.R.4238, passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier this year. Obama signed it into law Friday.

The measure updates the terms the U.S. federal government uses to describe minorities, including American Indian to Native American and “Spanish speaking individual of Spanish descent” to Hispanic.

Here’s what the bill states:

Office Of Minority Economic Impact.—Section 211(f)(1) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7141(f)(1)) is amended by striking “a Negro, Puerto Rican, American Indian, Eskimo, Oriental, or Aleut or is a Spanish speaking individual of Spanish descent” and inserting “Asian American, Native Hawaiian, a Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or an Alaska Native”.

“The term ‘Oriental’ has no place in federal law and at long last this insulting and outdated term will be gone for good,” said Rep. Grace Meng of New York, who sponsored the bill.

Meng, a Democrat from Queens, encountered the term while doing legislative research and had sought to eliminate its usage from government terminology.

“Many Americans may not be aware that the word ‘Oriental’ is derogatory. But it is an insulting term that needed to be removed from the books, and I am extremely pleased that my legislation to do that is now the law of the land,” she said in a statement.

Meng had similarly pushed a law that eliminated the use of the word when she served in the New York Legislature in 2009.

The H.R. 4328 bill had 76 cosponsors, including all 51 members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. One of the original cosponsors included Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican.

“Our country is a rich tapestry of cultural backgrounds, and Americans of all backgrounds deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said in a statement.

Nigeria’s Buhari orders heightened military presence in restive Niger Delta

"We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy," Buhari said in a statement. — “We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy,” Buhari said in a statement.

ABUJA/ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of attacks on oil and gas facilities, a day after yet another pipeline explosion.

British Foreign Minster Philip Hammond warned on Saturday military action would not end a wave of attacks in the southern swamps because it did not address rising anger among residents over poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria’s oil wealth.

The rise in attacks in the Delta in the last few weeks has driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low, worsening a drain on public finances.

A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for several sophisticated attacks.

Speaking at a meeting with Shell’s upstream head, Andrew Brown, Buhari said he had instructed the chief of naval staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force to deal with the militancy.

“We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy,” Buhari said in a statement.

“I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region,” he added.

Nigeria had several times announced army reinforcements to the Delta but diplomats said the military has achieved little as militants were operating in small groups and hiding in the hard-to-access swamps.

“Mr. Brown had appealed for an urgent solution to rising crime and militancy in the Niger Delta,” the presidency said.

An industry source told Reuters that major oil firms warned Vice President Yemi Osinbajo this month that a military crackdown was actually fuelling dissent in the Delta.

The presidency statement also quoted Brown as saying Shell would not pull out of Nigeria despite the violence and that it was in talks with state energy firm NNPC for new oil and gas projects.

Their was no immediate comment from Shell, but its country chair said in an interview published on Sunday the firm was committed to long-term investment in the West African nation.

Buhari’s comments came after locals said a gas pipeline operated by NNPC was attacked late on Thursday.

The pipeline, which connects the Escravos oil terminal to Warri, supplies gas to different parts of the country.

Eric Omare, a spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, a youth umbrella, said the attack occurred near the village of Ogbe Ijoh, near Warri, “on the pipeline belonging to NNPC.

Resident James Dadiowei said he heard a “loud bang” at the pipeline, but an NNPC spokesman was unable to confirm the attack.

On Thursday, intruders blocked access to Exxon Mobil’s terminal exporting Qua Iboe, Nigeria’s largest crude stream. And, earlier this month, Shell workers at Nigeria’s Bonga facilities were evacuated.

In February, the Avengers claimed an attack on an undersea pipeline, forcing Shell to shut a 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados terminal.

The group also claimed responsibility for blasting a Chevron platform in early May, shutting the Warri and Kaduna refineries. Power outages across Nigeria worsened as gas supplies were also affected.

The army said on Sunday it had arrested several suspected members of the Avengers, but locals said they had been freed.

“They were released on Wednesday evening,” Omare said.

Residents said the military had described them as Avengers but locals had protested they were Chevron pipeline inspectors who had shown the soldiers arresting them their identity cards.

Militant attacks have spiked since authorities issued in January an arrest warrant for a prominent former militant leader who with other rebels in 2009 agreed to stop blowing up pipelines in exchange for cash, a plan Buhari has trimmed as part of an anti-graft drive.

EgyptAir plane carrying 66 has crashed: aviation officials

A frosted glass partition is seen at the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris, France, Thursday, May 19, 2016. EgyptAir said a flight from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar early Thursday morning. (Raphael Satter / AP) — A frosted glass partition is seen at the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris, France, Thursday, May 19, 2016. EgyptAir said a flight from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar early Thursday morning.
(Raphael Satter / AP)

AP – An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning, Egyptian aviation officials said.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash. “We cannot rule anything out,” he told reporters at Cairo airport.

EgyptAir Flight 804 was lost from radar at 2:45 a.m. local time when it was flying at 37,000 feet, the airline said. It said the Airbus A320 had vanished 10 miles (16 kilometers) after it entered Egyptian airspace, around 280 kilometers (175 miles) off the country’s coastline north of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

The aviation officials later said the plane crashed and that a search for debris was now underway.

The “possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed,” as the plane hasn’t landed in any of the nearby airports, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

EgyptAir said a “distress call” had been received from the plane two hours after it disappeared from radar, thought to have been an emergency beacon. The Egyptian military denied that any distress calls were received.

Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. The pilot had more than 6,000 flight hours.

Egyptians gather outside the arrivals section of Cairo International Airport, Egypt, on May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline said. (Amr Nabil / AP) — Egyptians gather outside the arrivals section of Cairo International Airport, Egypt, on May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline said.
(Amr Nabil / AP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage.

“We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane,” he said. He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace.

Hollande spoke with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the phone and agreed to “closely cooperate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances” surrounding the incident, according to a statement issued in Paris.

Those on board, according to EgyptAir, included 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, two Iraqis, one Briton, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Algerian and one Canadian. Ayrault confirmed that 15 French citizens were on board.

Egypt’s state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call, and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar. It did not identify the official.

Airbus is aware of the disappearance, but “we have no official information at this stage of the certitude of an accident,” the company’s spokesman Jacques Rocca said.

The Paris airport authority and the French civil aviation authority would not immediately comment.

Queries about the missing plane sent out to the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency were not returned early Thursday.

Around 15 relatives of passengers on board the missing flight have arrived at Cairo airport. Airport authorities brought doctors to the scene after several distressed family members collapsed.

In Paris, relatives of passengers on the EgyptAir flight started arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside the French capital, where their loved ones were last seen alive.

An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST),heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar. 9:57 PM - 18 May 2016 — An informed source at EGYPTAIR had stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST),heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar.
9:57 PM – 18 May 2016

A man and a woman, identified by airport staff as relatives of the flight’s passengers, sat at an information desk near the EgyptAir counter Thursday at Charles de Gaulle Airport’s Terminal 1. The woman was sobbing, holding her face in a handkerchief. They pair were led away by police and airport staff and did not speak to gathered journalists.

Greece joined the search and rescue operation for the EgyptAir flight with two aircraft: one C-130 and one early warning aircraft, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.

The Airbus A320 is a widely used twin-engine, single-aisle plane that operates on short and medium-haul routes. Nearly 4,000 A320s are currently in use around the world. The versions EgyptAir operates are equipped to carry 145 passengers.

The ubiquity of the A320 means the plane has been involved in several accidents over the years. The last deadly crash involving the plane was Germanwings Flight 9525, in which all 150 onboard died when one of the pilots intentionally crashed it in the French Alps.

An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as “psychologically unstable” is in custody in Cyprus.

The incident renewed security concerns at Egyptian airports after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai last October, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for planting it.

In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard, U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. But Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash.

Thousands Of Undocumented Kids Can Now Enroll In Health Care Coverage

State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, speaks at a rally where health care and immigrant rights advocates celebrated the expansion of Medi-Cal to children and teens illegally brought to the United States, held at the Capitol Monday, May 16, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif.

This week, more than 170,000 undocumented children became eligible to enroll in state-funded health insurance plans in California, going beyond Obamacare to allow more immigrants to have access to comprehensive health services for the first time in the state.

The “Health4AllKids” health care expansion allows low-income children under the age of 19 to receive affordable care under Medi-Cal, the name for California’s Medicaid program, regardless of their immigration status. This will allow undocumented kids to access the full scope of Medi-Cal benefits — such as regular preventive and primary care, dental, and mental health services, as well as behavioral health treatment for children with autism.

The aim of the expansion is to ensure health care for a population that “for the most part only had limited access to emergency-only services,” the children’s advocacy group First Focus said in a statement on its website.

California’s Department of Health Care Services estimates that 114,981 undocumented children were previously eligible only for restricted-scope Medi-Cal benefits, while another 55,019 children couldn’t receive any Medi-Cal benefits at all.

To qualify for the program, children must belong to a family that meets low-income requirements, making no more than $65,505 for a year for a family of four. Families with lower incomes may be able to receive coverage for free, while other families may pay between $19 per child or $39 for all their children, according to the Desert Sun. About one-sixth of the newly eligible low-income undocumented children live in the agricultural areas of Sacramento and Kern counties.

California is the fifth state to extend coverage to undocumented children, following Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. Anywhere between 2.7 million to 3.4 million Californians are uninsured, including 1.4 million undocumented immigrants who may not be able to afford private insurance. Although the Affordable Care Act extended affordable insurance options to millions of Americans, undocumented immigrants were left out of health reform.

Health4AllKid‘s original sponsor, State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D) — who is himself the son of an undocumented immigrant — argued that extending coverage to more immigrants would help the government save money in annual emergency room bills. Many uninsured, undocumented individuals do not seek out medical treatment until they have to be rolled into the emergency room, which cannot deny care to anyone regardless of immigration status. In turn, emergency room visits cost the California economy between $18.3 billion and $36.7 billion in lost productivity, according to a 2009 Center for American Progress report.

For practical reasons, not seeking treatment for illnesses can also lead to significant financial hardship, since uninsured people are more likely to fall into medical bankruptcy than insured individuals, according to a 2007 American Journal of Medicine study.

Health advocates also argue that the extending health care services to the undocumented population has the potential of saving lives through preventative care, particularly because uninsured individuals are less likely to seek out services for major health conditions and chronic disease, which could have a big impact in their sunset years.

Delta showdown: Nigeria Army arrests ‘Avengers’ oil militants

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the group behind the string of attacks that have halted major operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, have issued a threat to all oil companies in the region to shut down and leave or face stepped up attacks.

The Nigerian army has arrested several suspected members of a militant group called the “Niger Delta Avengers” (NDA), thought to be behind recent attacks on oil pipelines in the south.

The country’s oil production has been severely disrupted by the attacks. US oil giant Chevron shut down an offshore platform this month after an attack claimed by the Avengers group. Many militants joined an amnesty programme in 2009 after an insurgency in the oil-rich delta region.

Nigeria has long been Africa’s largest oil producer, but its economy is currently facing difficulties due to the recent drop in global oil prices and its output is now behind that of Angola.

Most of Nigeria’s oil wealth comes from the Niger Delta, an area which remains poor and underdeveloped. Previous insurgent groups said they were fighting so local people could benefit more from their region’s natural resources. Oil spills have also resulted in environmental devastation over the years.

There are still very few independently confirmed details about the group, which announced its formation three months ago.

On its website, it says it is fighting for an independent state on behalf of the people of the Niger Delta and is prepared to “cripple Nigeria’s economy” in pursuit of its aims.

It mocks President Muhammadu Buhari for never having visited the “creeks of the Niger Delta” and criticises him for the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leading member of a group which backs the creation of a breakaway state of Biafra in the south-east.

It boasts about its members being “young, educated, well travelled…and educated in east Europe”.

Its tactic of attacking oil facilities in the region, announced in February, has caused havoc in the sector, with production levels in the country now reported to have fallen to their lowest for more than two decades.

One attack on an underwater Shell pipeline in February showed a high level of technical expertise, forcing the shutdown of a terminal which normally produces 250,000 barrels of oil a day.

Many locals suspect that some former oil militants excluded from the amnesty programme could be behind the group.

But speculation is rife and everyone has their own theory about who is to blame.

Whatever the case, the group’s growing stature is a major headache for President Buhari, whose government is already grappling with Boko Haram’s insurgency in the north-east.

The amnesty programme, which provides tens of thousands of former oil militants with a monthly stipend from the government, stemmed the level of violence in the region after its introduction in 2009.

But in the latest budget, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reduced fundingfor the programme by 70%, and has spoken of phasing it out entirely by 2018. Critics accuse Mr Buhari, a Muslim northerner, of unfairly targeting communities in the southern, mainly Christian oil-producing regions, as part of his anti-corruption drive. Mr Buhari’s predecessor Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, comes from the Niger Delta region.

Mayor Turner, community partners unveil first phase of plan to fight human trafficking

Houston's mayot Turner.....“By raising everyone’s awareness about what human trafficking is, we will ensure that reporting human trafficking becomes as natural as reporting a robbery incident to law enforcement. By aggressively combating human trafficking, we are creating a community where everyone’s dignity and basic rights are upheld.” — Houston’s mayor Turner…..“By raising everyone’s awareness about what human trafficking is, we will ensure that reporting human trafficking becomes as natural as reporting a robbery incident to law enforcement. By aggressively combating human trafficking, we are creating a community where everyone’s dignity and basic rights are upheld.”

Mayor Sylvester Turner announced today the release of the first phase of the City’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Plan, a plan which has been dubbed the first comprehensive municipal response in the U.S. by the Polaris Project. It is a collaborative effort between the City of Houston and community partners to fight human trafficking 365 days a year, including around major events like the Super Bowl.

“Human traffickers rob individuals of their dignity and strip victims of their rights and liberties,” said Mayor Turner. “By raising everyone’s awareness about what human trafficking is, we will ensure that reporting human trafficking becomes as natural as reporting a robbery incident to law enforcement. By aggressively combating human trafficking, we are creating a community where everyone’s dignity and basic rights are upheld.”

There are five components to Houston’s plan:

Change public perception
Enhance links to social and legal services for victims
Implement joint initiatives developed by the Mayor’s anti-trafficking task force
Adopt new ordinances and departmental policies, where necessary
Serve as a national model for municipalities around the US and the world

Plan highlights include a partnership with Yellow Cab and Taxis Fiesta, both of which have agreed to send out emails and text messages in English and Spanish to educate their drivers about human trafficking and how to report it. The taxi companies have also agreed to display the City’s new ‘Watch for Traffick’ public awareness campaign on their cabs. Deutser, a local management consulting firm, donated the creative capital to develop the media ads, which will be rolled out in two phases, before and leading up to the Super Bowl.

In Texas, there were 2,035 confirmed cases of human trafficking between December 2007 and June 2015. 717 of those cases originated in Houston. Because this is a crime that often goes unreported, the actual rate of human trafficking may be higher.

The City of Houston offers all interested cities free toolkits for download at www.humantraffickinghouston.org. In conjunction with the Strategic Plan, toolkits can be used to develop a comprehensive municipal approach to addressing human trafficking through policy advocacy, direct outreach, and public awareness campaigns.

Why Does Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s Public Prosecutor, Fear for Her Life?

Few women command the same public respect in South Africa as Thuli Madonsela.

Madonsela, 53, holds the post of public protector in South Africa , an independent watchdog tasked with investigating government corruption and holding the most powerful people to account. South African President Jacob Zuma appointed Madonsela to the role in 2009 for a seven-year term, due to conclude in October.

Zuma may well regret that appointment. Madonsela’s highest-profile case has been the investigation of Zuma’s misuse of state funds in improving his sprawling residence at Nkandla, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. She authored a 2014 report titled Secure in Comfort , numbering more than 400 pages, concluding that the president had “benefited unduly” from the upgrades—which included a swimming pool and amphitheater and totaled an estimated 246 million rand (worth $23 million at the time)—and should be made to repay funds spent on non-essential security upgrades.

Prior to the 2014 report’s release—which came less than two months ahead of a general election that Zuma won convincingly—South African police reportedly threatened to arrest Madonsela, arguing that the report would constitute a breach of the president’s security. During the two years following its publication, Madonsela was ignored or insulted by the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Deputy defense minister Kebby Maphatsoe accused her of being an agent of the CIA , while former national police commissioner and ANC national executive committee member Bheki Cele said she must “stop acting like she is God.”

Madonsela was finally vindicated in March, however, when the country’s highest court ruled that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution by ignoring Madonsela’s report. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court praised Madonsela and her office as “an embodiment of a biblical David” and Madonsela herself welcomed the judgement as having “restored hope in the constitutional dream.”

Madonsela’s public advocacy against corruption has earned her enemies, however, as she claimed to have been notified of a bounty against her life. The public protector told South Africa’s Sunday Times that she received a text message on April 1 from a trusted informant, telling her that a gang leader in the Western Cape region had been contracted to have her assassinated. Madonsela said she is “traumatized” by the plot, which she believes to be authentic, and has stopped jogging in the mornings as a security precaution. The anonymous informant also confirmed that 740,000 rand ($49,000) had changed hands for the hit, which was reportedly planned for May and would be made to look like a car accident.

The opposition Democratic Alliance party, led by Mmusi Maimane, has called on the South African Police Service to fully investigate the allegations, saying that public officials like Madonsela cannot “have threats made on their lives for acting in a manner that is too independent in an effort to root out government corruption.” The ANC is yet to comment publicly and was not immediately available when contacted by Newsweek . There is no evidence of a link between the Nkandla investigation and the alleged death threats against Madonsela, who has said she does not know the identity of those threatening her.

The incident highlights the costs that come with speaking out against corruption in a violent and sometimes unstable society like South Africa. It is likely that whoever replaces Madonsela come October will take on her mantle with more than a hint of trepidation.

WHAT IS THE IRAQI MILITARY DOING IN FALLUJAH?

WHY AN OFFENSIVE NOW?

IS FALLUJAH IMPORTANT FOR RETAKING MOSUL?

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