Africa Women’s Peace Train leaves Kampala for Johannesburg

The Africa Women's Peace Train was launched in Kampala, Uganda, on 15 August in a ceremony in which a Peace Torch was received. It was destined to run through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and finally to South Africa - Johannesburg, in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) on 25 August 2002. The train, leaving Kampala on 16 August, was made up of women from across Africa who wanted to raise awareness around the impact of civil wars, corruption and genocide, which was taking place in countries across the continent. The women aimed to organise protest marches wherever there were major conferences in order to highlight the plight of many African countries. In Johannesburg, they were going to protest against world leaders attending the World Summit on Sustainable Development also involved in shady business deals, sponsoring guerrilla leaders, and arms trading in Africa. Women wanted to show world leaders that they want peace and stability for their children and future generations. They therefore called upon world leaders to take action against perpetrators of these horrendous deeds and to end them immediately.