Requests for comment/Sysop abuse in the swahili Wikipedia

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The user Riccardo Riccioni is an admin and bureaucrat in the swwiki. He has been denigrating minority groups for a long time. See here. He make this wiht a edtiwar against several users. This is neither compatible with the terms of use or with the principles of the project. His response to the SRM request is also insufficient. m:Special:Permalink/26580050

It is allowed to make mistakes, but to commit such abuse as an administrator is unacceptable. As an administrator, having a certain external impact means you have to behave accordingly. Riccardo Riccion is not trustworthy, but this is a requirement for his permissions. I therefore suggest removing for protection of the project his permissions. --𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 👤💬 19:11, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

That project has 8 other active admins that could block as needed - is this RFC a suggestion that the entire local governance of swwiki has become defective? — xaosflux ^Talk 23:51, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

On Minorax's talk page, Riccardo Riccioni did claim that: [we] Swahili sysops discussed this question during a video meeting on January 20th, 3pm-4pm East African Time. All agreed on a common attitude.[1] Though I'm not sure how true this claim is, given his edits have gone unaddressed for over 4 years[2] a discussion about the conduct of other SwWiki sysops may be relevant. ArkHyena (talk) 00:09, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

@Xaosflux I haven't noticed anything so far. No one else was involved in these edits.

It's hard to say, the project has more administrators than other small projects, but this is not a big project.

In the past, there have always been cases in other projects in which other users have ignored abuses in order not to "suffer damage" themselves. As an admin, he also has a certain "power" and can also exert pressure here. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get concrete details about the project, as the language is only readable for most people here with bing translator or other translators.

In my opinion, we should tackle the obvious part first. If further abuse is uncovered, we should of course also investigate this. 𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 👤💬 06:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

Speaking of those admins, one of them is running in the 2024 U4C elections, which is incredibly concerning. LilianaUwU ^{(talk / contribs)} 23:32, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

I've also been recently banned from Swahili Wikipedia for a period of 3 months. I've been banned, as they describe it quite explicitly, for reporting this UCoC violation, and because I interfered with African culture by writing neutrally on the subject of homosexuality. This individual supports my banning. I don't understand why someone who retaliates against people who report UCoC violations is running for the U4C. Kisare 16:45, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Is the entire local governance of swwiki considered defective due to the mistake of one person? We have been editing for over 17 years. Our dignity and time are being disregarded because of someone who appeared three weeks ago? Why are you insulting us to this extent? _User:Muddyb ^(Talk) 19:25, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Of the nine active admins and two bureaucrats,

• One admin directly calls gay people mentally ill and repeats transphobes' stances as fact, which Kisare and User:CuriousScientist1 have been trying to revert, only to be met with the same old accusation of cultural imperialism. This has been a longterm issue; CuriousScientist1 was also blocked for trying to fix the article. See here.
• Four other admins and one bureaucrat (you) are all involved in or have expressed support for Kisare's block.
• Swwiki admins apparently hopped on an online call to discuss and sanction this action together.

I would say that is a pretty catastrophic failure of local governance.

How long you have been with us is irrelevant; if you do not fix your homophobia you will not be the first long-term users we have lost to conduct issues, nor will you be the last. Wilhelm Tell DCCXLVI (talk) 04:43, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

Okay. I'm lifting Kisare's ban. Let him come again and do whatever he pleases. We will not bother him. We will pretend as if we are not there. After all, the project is only coming from his home country. _User:Muddyb ^(Talk) 06:18, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

I hope you understand this is not going to close the matter just yet. This issue has nothing to do with the fact that the WMF and Kisare are American, and everything to do with the fact that swwiki admins are treating this as a great battle of cultures, and implying that cultural opinions (rather than RS and NPOV) are the things that matter on Wikipedia.

Homosexuality is not a mental illness (no matter what "Swahili culture" or "American imperialist culture" or any other culture say) and that reliable sources all agree that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexual attraction. Do you understand this or do you still see this whole thing as colonialist Americans forcing their culture upon Africa? Wilhelm Tell DCCXLVI (talk) 07:19, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

I understand your frustration. It's clear that Riccardo Riccion holds significant value within the Kiswahili Wikipedia community, being one of the most active contributors alongside the late Kipala. His contributions not only reflect his dedication but also serve as guidance for others. To dismiss his credibility entirely is not only disrespectful to him but also undermines the community's integrity.

While disagreements may arise within any community, stripping away the recognition of individuals like Riccardo diminishes the essence of our collective efforts. It's crucial to address conflicts constructively without resorting to devaluing the contributions and character of fellow community members. Let's uphold the respect and dignity of everyone involved while striving for resolution and progress. _User:Muddyb ^(Talk) 11:26, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

@Muddyb"It's crucial to address conflicts constructively " This is not about a conflict. This is about persistent abuse. This is unacceptable and definitely harms the project, and also the community. 𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 👤💬 11:53, 12 April 2024 (UTC)