News That Matters To Africa©️
Friday’s Focus Edition
Light On News But Heavy On Analysis, Commentary and Opinion and Good News Africa
Quote of the Day:
“You’ll never find justice in a world where criminals make all the rules.”
Highlights:
Ethiopia accused of war crimes in Amhara region
Sonko is Senegal’s new PM
SAfr Speaker charged with 12 counts of corruption
African, Caribbean countries unite on slavery reparations.
Top News:
Eastern Africa
Over 100 inmates die in DR Congo prisons since start of year
Ethiopia’s army accused of committing war crimes in Amhara region
Kenyan doctors reject government’s offer to end strike
In Ghana, Ruto lobbies for Odinga as AU Chief
Somalia expels Ethiopia’s Ambassador
South Sudan’s president warns against clinging to power after call to postpone elections
Juba to reclaim airspace control from Khartoum
What is the future of the Sudanese Armed Forces?
Ugandan court upholds anti-LGBTQ law but says some rights infringed
Congolese mahogany traffic to Kenya and Uganda
West Africa
Gabon takes historic step towards democratic renewal
Ivory Coast regulator postpones main crop cocoa contracts
Why mass kidnappings still plague Nigeria a decade after Chibok abductions
Senegal’s new prime minister is Ousmane Sonko
Senegal’s new president announces oil, gas and mining sector audit
Togo postpones elections after new constitution row
Southern Africa
South Africa parliament speaker charged with 12 counts of corruption
Death aplenty in the deadly migrant crossing in SAfr
Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa declares national disaster over drought
North Africa
Egypt: NGOs demand apology after closure of 13-year case over lack of evidence
Young Moroccans are turning away from mosques over Gaza silence
Morocco accused of using Israeli weapons to kill civilians in Western Sahara
Central Africa
Former rebels in Central African Republic disarm but face few options. Wagner is one of them
Africa General
(11) Good News Africa Stories & (3) Videos
(30) Articles on Analysis, Editorial & Opinion
Eastern Africa
DR CONGO
Over 100 inmates die in DR Congo prisons since start of year, UN says
More than 100 inmates have died so far this year in Democratic Republic of Congo’s underfunded and chronically overcrowded prisons, a U.N. human rights official said on Wednesday. The main cause of the deaths was contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, which spread easily in crowded facilities and require unavailable medical attention. Insufficient food also contributed, the official said. The U.N.’s Joint Humans Rights Office has so far confirmed 104 deaths in detention since the start of 2024, Patrice Vahard its director said.This compares to 222 prison deaths in 2023, he said in an interview. Most of the recorded deaths occurred in Congo’s eastern provinces of North Kivu and Tanganyika, and in the western province of Kwilu. Vahard said this was where families lived too far away from prisons to bring detained relatives food. Congo’s prisons are among some of the world’s most overcrowded, and all have a problem with inadequate funding, Vahard said. He cited a prison in Kwilu where a cell with a capacity of 50 people housed more than 200. Congo’s Human Rights Minister Albert Puela said the government was aware of the issue, and that efforts were being made to improve conditions and release inmates in pre-trial detention, which often exceeds legal limits because of judicial backlogs. Around 70 inmates in pre-trial detention were released from the main prison in the capital Kinshasa last weekend.
ETHIOPIA
Army accused of committing war crimes in Amhara region
Ethiopia’s army “summarily executed several dozen civilians” and committed other war crimes in the northwestern Amhara region earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said, as it called on the United Nations to launch an independent investigation. The incident in the city of Merawi in late January was among the deadliest for civilians since fighting began between Ethiopian federal forces and Fano militia in the restive region in August, the New York-based rights group said in a report on Thursday. Civilians are once again bearing the brunt of an abusive army operating with impunity,” Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at HRW, said. “The Ethiopian armed forces’ brutal killings of civilians in Amhara undercut government claims that it’s trying to bring law and order to the region.” There was no immediate comment by the Ethiopian government or the army, but a separate investigation conducted by the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission estimated that at least 45 people were killed by government forces in Merawi. HRW said it was unable to determine the total number of civilian killings in Merawi, adding that some accounts put the figure to more than 80…HRW urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to lead the investigation into the alleged abuses. It also called on the African Union to suspend all deployments of Ethiopian federal forces to peacekeeping missions until “commanders responsible for grave abuses are held accountable”.
KENYA
Doctors reject government’s offer to end strike
Kenyan public hospital doctors rejected a government offer aimed at ending a weeks-long strike that has severely disrupted health services, their union chairman said late on Tuesday. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), which represents more than 7,000 members, went on strike on March 15 to demand payment of their salary arrears and the immediate hiring of trainee doctors, among other grievances. The government asked the doctors to end their strike in a statement issued late on Tuesday, saying the salary arrears have been paid and that trainee doctors would be hired from Thursday this week at a cost of 2.4 billion shillings ($18.39 million). “We decline these proposals in total,” Abidan Mwachi, KMPDU’s chairman, wrote on social media platform X, adding that the government had not paid salary arrears. The walkout, which has been compounded by a strike by clinical officers that started this week, has left patients struggling to access care from expensive private hospitals, leading to worsening chronic illnesses and even deaths. The arrears the doctors are demanding arose from a 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the union said. Doctors are also demanding the provision of adequate medical insurance cover for themselves and their dependants. It also wants the government to address frequent delays in salary payments and to start paying doctors who work in public hospitals as part of their higher degree courses.
In Ghana, Ruto lobbies for Odinga as AU Chief
Kenya’s President William Ruto on Wednesday secured support for Azimio la Umoja Coalition and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) from Ghana after President Nana Akufo-Addo pledged his support. It was the first such pitch by President Ruto in West Africa since they had some form of ‘handshake’ with his erstwhile nemesis Odinga whom he has since publicly backed to seek the AU top seat…[In return], Ruto said Kenya will support Ghana’s bid for the position of Secretary General of the Commonwealth for the period 2024-2029
SOMALIA
Ethiopia’s Ambassador is expelled
Somalia on Thursday expelled Ethiopian ambassador to Mogadishu as tensions between the two countries rise over the alleged interference in internal affairs. The decision came after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Barre saw Mogadishu promptly order the expulsion of Ambassador Muktar Mohamed Ware effective Thursday. The decision also said that Ethiopian consular offices in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland and Garowe, Puntland are closed. The dispatch from Mr Hamza’s office suggested Ethiopia had doubled down on interference. It came just a day after the semi-autonomous state of Puntland announced a new cooperation agreement with Addis Ababa, days after it withdrew from the country’s federal system and said it would govern itself independently. Puntland on Sunday rejected constitutional amendments on four chapters of the Constitution despite the federal parliament approving them a day earlier. In January, Addis Ababa and Hargeisa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation which allowed landlocked Ethiopia to lease a port in Somaliland. In protest of the MoU signing, Somalia recalled its ambassador in Addis Ababa. The tension has been exacerbated by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry receiving a delegation from Puntland on Wednesday.
SOUTH SUDAN
President warns against clinging to power after call to postpone elections
President Salva Kiir on Wednesday warned lawmakers “not to cling to power” just weeks after his former rival turned deputy proposed a postponement of elections expected to be held in December. Kiir said an extension of the period of transition to elections would deny citizens an opportunity to choose their leaders and urged parliament to pass the necessary laws to pave the way for the elections. South Sudan was supposed to hold elections before February 2023 but that timetable was pushed back last August to December 2024. Parliament Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba said lawmakers would redouble their efforts to ensure that all the prerequisites for elections are met. Vice President Riek Machar, whose forces fought in a five-year civil war that ended in a 2018 peace deal, suggested last month an extension of the transitional government’s term to allow for adequate preparation for the elections. The landlocked country is facing an economic crisis due to a decline in oil exports after war-torn Sudan last month declared force majeure on oil shipments passing through the country. The fighting in Sudan has affected shipments destined for a terminal near Port Sudan along the Red Sea coast. Civil servants and security forces in South Sudan have not been paid for the last six months due to the economic crisis. South Sudan is working to put into place a permanent constitution, an electoral commission and a unified police force, made up of pro-government and rebel factions, that would provide security to the troubled nation. Communal violence has continued in parts of South Sudan. The United Nations, while extending a peacekeeping mission in the country, has demanded an end to the violence and pushed for swift progress by the government to ensure that delayed elections are held peacefully and freely in December.
Juba to reclaim airspace control from Khartoum
South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Wednesday announced that his country is close to reclaiming control of its sovereign airspace from neighboring Sudan, following the completion of the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) by China Harbor Engineering Company (Chec). The Ministry of Transport and the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority are in the process of taking over control of South Sudan’s territorial airspace from Sudan, the president declared while presiding over the reopening ceremony of the national parliament in the capital Juba. “Taking full control of our airspace will enable our country to register airlines as well as collect fees,” Kiir emphasized. In 2016, South Sudan signed a three-year agreement with Sudan under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to manage and control its airspace. According to the agreement, Juba would take over control of its airspace territory after training and acquiring a qualified workforce to oversee the system, enabling the collection of fees from all aircraft using the airspace.
SUDAN
What is the future of the Sudanese Armed Forces?
A drone strike that killed at least 12 people in the city of Atbara in northern Sudan on Tuesday night has highlighted divisions and tensions within the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for almost a year. Members of the Al-Bara bin Malik brigade, which is made up of members of a militant group now fighting alongside the army, had finished their Iftar meal when they were attacked. The brigade, which is aligned with Sudan’s Islamic movement and members of the administration of former autocrat Omar al-Bashir, had never been struck like this outside the capital Khartoum. The perpetrators of the bombing remain a mystery, with no group coming forward to claim responsibility. Atbara is under army control, with the nearest RSF presence around 200km away. But the absence of a strong response from the army – and the fact that the attack happened deep into army territory – has given rise to a theory that Al-Bara bin Malik Brigade fighters were being targeted by people they are nominally fighting alongside. Almost a year into the war, which has displaced over eight million people and led to the deaths of tens of thousands more, this popular mobilisation has seen the Sudanese Armed Forces morph into an outfit that contains fighters from hugely diverging ideological backgrounds and from across the whole country.
UGANDA
Court upholds anti-LGBTQ law but says some rights infringed
Uganda’s constitutional court refused on Wednesday to annul or suspend an anti-LGBTQ law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, but voided some provisions that it said were inconsistent with certain fundamental human rights. The legislation, adopted in May last year, is among the world’s harshest anti-gay laws and has drawn condemnation from rights campaigners and sanctions from Western nations. Activists say the law has unleashed a torrent of abuse against LGBTQ people, including torture, rape, arrest and eviction. “We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” said lead judge Richard Buteera, reading the judgment on behalf of his four colleagues. However, the court struck down certain sections it said were “inconsistent with right to health, privacy and freedom of religion”. The portions of the act that were voided had criminalised the letting of premises for use for homosexual acts and failure to report homosexual acts. Under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, citizens had an obligation to report anyone they suspected of engaging in homosexuality. This requirement violated individual rights, the court found. The government will now have to remove these sections from the law, said Edward Ssemambo, a human rights lawyer representing the petitioners. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called the court’s decision “a small and insufficient step towards safeguarding human rights” and vowed to continue to advance respect for human rights in Uganda and elsewhere. “The United States is deeply concerned about the remaining provisions, which undermine public health, human rights and Uganda’s international reputation,” Jean Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, told a news briefing.
Congolese mahogany traffic to Kenya and Uganda
For at least 25 years, high-ranking Ugandan officials have turned a blind eye to pillaging hardwood from the Congo Basin in the DRC, according to the UN. The illegal, and rampant, deforestation continues as a small village turns into a timber station…[The] timber station opened in Lia [a rural border point situated along the Uganda-DRC frontier] in 2022, bringing in more money, traffic, people and cut wood…Lia doesn’t operate like other borders where trucks or people pass through to their destination. It’s a stopping place for some, working as a timber exchange point and market of sorts…Besides traders significantly under-declaring their raw material tonnage to cheat taxes, bribery also aids the movement of timber trucks loaded at checkpoints and weighbridges en route to Kampala or Kenya…The ease with which traders turned Lia into a market without checks and easy bribes has made the hamlet a hub for traders.
West Africa
GABON
Gabon takes historic step towards democratic renewal
In a monumental move marking a significant shift in Gabonese politics, the nation has embarked on a national dialogue aimed at revitalizing its democratic institutions after 54 years under the Bongo dynasty. Led by President Felix Tshisekedi, the dialogue signifies a crucial step towards fostering hope for a brighter future in the country. The initiative, spearheaded by Archbishop Jean Patrick IBa-Ba and attended by over four thousand citizens at the Libreville sports palace, symbolizes a collective effort to chart a new course for Gabon. Amidst the gathering, the sentiment of unity and determination to speak with one voice resonated strongly among attendees. Central to the dialogue is the aspiration to create a more just, fraternal, and prosperous Gabon, as articulated by Archbishop IBa-Ba. Participants, including transitional senator Armelle Yembi Yembi and trade unionist Sylvain Mayabi Binet, voiced their aspirations for Gabon’s wealth to be equitably distributed among its people, emphasizing the need for genuine socio-economic development. One of the key figures in the dialogue, Nicaise Moulombi, representing civil society, underscored the importance of overcoming past challenges and fostering a renewed sense of purpose. He expressed optimism about the potential for positive change, citing recent signs of progress and emphasizing the role of vision and determination in shaping Gabon’s future. The outcomes of the national dialogue are expected to be translated into legislation, laying the groundwork for a new constitution that will be put to a referendum, allowing the Gabonese people to have a direct say in shaping the country’s democratic framework.
IVORY COAST
Regulator postpones main crop cocoa contracts
Ivory Coast contracts for the 2023/24 main cocoa crop between exporters and the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) that could not be completed due to a bean shortage will be postponed to prevent exporters from defaulting, a CCC note seen by Reuters showed…According to the note dated Tuesday, export contracts for April, May and June can be postponed until the end of June and their price will stay the same. That delay will prevent exporters and grinders from defaulting by allowing them to secure sufficient volumes to fulfil their contractual obligations. The CCC said it will provide financial support to those who will have to buy beans at the new fixed farmgate price of 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kg, up from 1,000 CFA francs/kg stipulated in the main crop contracts.
NIGERIA
Why mass kidnappings still plague Nigeria a decade after Chibok abductions
In the decade since the armed group Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 students at an all-girls school in the town of Chibok, abductions have become a recurrent fixture in Nigeria, especially in the restive northern regions. Just last month, on March 7, a criminal gang kidnapped 287 pupils at the government secondary school in Kuriga, a town in Kaduna state. Two days later, another armed group broke into the dorm of a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto state, kidnapping 17 students. The Sokoto victims and more than 130 of the victims from Kaduna have since been released, but there is no word yet about the remaining abductees. Meanwhile, out of the hundreds taken in Chibok in April 2014, more than 90 are still missing, according to the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF. But as Africa’s largest economy and a country with one of the strongest military forces on the continent, many have questioned why Nigeria has been unable to nip the spiralling insecurity crisis in the bud. But students are not the only ones bearing the burden of the crisis as travellers, businesspeople, priests, and those perceived as being well-off are also often targets. Kidnappings have become a sub-economy of sorts, as abductors rake in millions of naira in ransom payments. Since 2019, there have been 735 mass abductions in Nigeria, according to socio-political risk consultancy firm, SBM Intelligence. It said between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnapping cases with about 5 billion naira ($3,878,390) paid in ransoms. This year alone SBM Intelligence said there have already been 68 mass abductions. The abductions are not confined to the north, where banditry and armed religious groups are prevalent, but have also been seen in the south and the southeast.
SENEGAL
Senegal’s new prime minister is Ousmane Sonko
Senegal’s new prime minister Ousmane Sonko is a firebrand politician who rallied Senegalese youth to enable the election of his top lieutenant Bassirou Diomaye Faye as president, and who now, as expected, has secured a top role in return. A fierce opponent of former president Macky Sall, Sonko, 49, was barred from standing in the March 24 presidential election because of a conviction for defamation. He denied any wrongdoing, but chose the little-known Faye as his replacement, urging his supporters to back him instead. Sonko and Faye, both former tax inspectors, have positioned themselves as opponents to corruption and elitism and called for Senegal to reject what they see as lingering ties to French colonialism. “We’ll spare no efforts to reach the objectives we have promised to the Senegalese people, which is, a break with the past, progress, and a definitive change,” Sonko said after his appointment. In their campaign manifesto, the duo promised to renegotiate mining, oil and gas contracts and create a new national currency. Sonko is expected to present Faye with a list of proposed ministers for his approval in the coming days. In a recent interview, Faye rowed back the pledge to drop the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro, saying Senegal would first seek to reform the West African Monetary Union in collaboration with its seven other members…They joined the campaign trail under the banner “Diomaye is Sonko”, drawing popular support that carried Faye to a landslide victory with over 54% of the vote in the first round. Sonko is a devout Muslim in favour of harsher laws against homosexuality in Senegal, where more than 90% of the population is Muslim. Gay sex is already punishable by jail time.
New president announces oil, gas and mining sector audit
Senegal will conduct an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors, newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told the nation in a televised speech on Wednesday, while also reassuring investors they were welcome in the country. Faye defeated the ruling coalition’s candidate in a March election by a landslide, reflecting high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million. The audit is one of the first policy moves announced since the 44-year-old former tax inspector’s inauguration on Tuesday. “The exploitation of our natural resources, which according to the constitution belong to the people, will receive particular attention from my government,” he said. “I will proceed with the disclosure of the effective ownership of extractive companies (and) with an audit of the mining, oil, and gas sector.” He did provide further details, but sought also to reassure investors, who he said were “welcome in Senegal.” “Investor rights will always be protected, as well as the interests of the state and the people,” he said. Senegal’s first offshore oil development is due to start production in mid-2024. The Sangomar oil and gas project operated by Woodside Energy is expected to produce about 100,000 barrels per day.
TOGO
Elections postponed after new constitution row
Togo has delayed parliamentary and regional elections amid tensions following controversial constitutional reform. The reform approved by lawmakers last week replaced the presidential system with a parliamentary one. It also hands executive power to the prime minister, reducing the presidency to a symbolic role. Opposition parties have rejected the reform, fearing it could let President Faure Gnassingbé stay in power. He succeeded his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who died in 2005 after ruling the country with an iron fist for 38 years. The presidency announced the postponement of the elections on Wednesday, but did not give a new date for the polls, which were initially due to be held on 20 April. The Conference of Togolese Catholic bishops has urged President Gnassingbé not to sign the constitutional changes into law, citing the need for “broad consultation and a more inclusive national debate”. Under the new system, the president will be selected by parliament without debate for a single six-year term, rather than being directly elected. Opposition parties boycotted Togo’s previous elections and are poorly represented in Togo’s parliament. As a result, the constitution change was approved almost unanimously – with only one legislator voting against and one other abstaining. The presidency said on Wednesday that the delay was to allow for “consultations” over the contested constitutional changes. “The National Assembly wished to have some days to engage in broad consultations with all stakeholders,” the presidency’s statement said. The election delay comes days after President Gnassingbé sent the contested law back to parliament for a second reading, amid mounting criticism.
Southern Africa
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa parliament speaker charged with 12 counts of corruption
South Africa’s ex-Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been charged with 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. She made her first court appearance after handing herself over to a police station on Thursday morning. The politician is accused of soliciting bribes in return for awarding contracts during her time as defence minister. She denied any wrongdoing in court and said: “I do not have a propensity to commit crime.” But prosecutor Bheki Manyathi told Pretoria Magistrates’ Court there was “ample evidence” against Ms Mapisa-Nqakula. She has been released on bail. After weeks of investigations, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula resigned on Wednesday, but said this wasn’t an “indication or admission of guilt”. She said given the “seriousness” of the probe she could not continue her role. Last month a special police unit raided her Johannesburg home in connection with the corruption investigation. The 67-year-old veteran of the African National Congress (ANC) party became speaker in 2021. Before that, she served as defence minister for seven years. Last week, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s lawyers filed a request for a court order to prevent her arrest, saying it would infringe on her dignity. On Tuesday, judges rejected her bid on the basis that the matter was not urgent and they could not speculate on an arrest that was yet to happen. Ms Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of making several demands for money, amounting to $120,000 (£96,000), from the owner of a company to secure a tender to transport army equipment back to South Africa from elsewhere on the continent.
’You see skeletons – the deadly migrant crossing
Many migrants risk all to reach South Africa, making a notoriously dangerous journey across the border from Zimbabwe. Having fled poverty and desperation elsewhere in Africa they feel they have no choice. But as elections approach, xenophobic sentiment is on the rise and South Africa’s government is under pressure to tighten the border…The migrants who make it have survived a difficult trek through the bush. It is lawless and unforgiving territory. Wild animals and gangs of criminals are a constant threat. Stories of theft, beatings, rapes and even killings are common…[The road from Musina towards the Limpopo River, which separates South Africa and Zimbabwe] is a thriving, illicit, cross-border marketplace…Last year President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched a new border force. Mike Masiapato, the commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), said he was sending 400 newly trained officers to the border and procuring drones, body cams and motorbikes to improve surveillance.
ZIMBABWE
President Mnangagwa declares national disaster over drought
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a national disaster to tackle the prolonged drought crisis. Mr Mnangagwa said on Wednesday the country needs $2bn (£1.6bn) to tackle hunger caused by low rainfall which has wiped out about half of the maize crop. The grain shortage has pushed up food prices and an estimated 2.7 million people will face hunger. Neighbouring Zambia and Malawi have also recently declared states of disasters due to drought. Some fear that the drought sweeping southern Africa will be one of the worst in decades. The World Food Programme said 13.6 million people are currently experiencing crisis level of food insecurity in the region. “Top on our priority is securing food for all Zimbabweans. No Zimbabwean must succumb to or die from hunger,” Mr Mnangagwa told journalists. Zimbabwe is already grappling with high inflation driven by food prices. The country now joins the regional scramble to find enough maize on the international market. The lack of rain induced by the El Nino global weather pattern has also affected electricity production, as Zimbabwe relies on hydroelectric power. Zimbabwe was once the breadbasket of southern Africa, but in recent years has suffered bouts of severe drought affecting crop and cattle. The worst drought in living memory occurred in 1992, when a quarter of the national cattle herd perished.
North Africa
EGYPT
Sisi’s decade in power marked by unfulfilled promises, spiralling poverty and unprecedented debts repression and economic malaise
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn in on Tuesday for a third term in office after 10 years of rule marked by economic decline and political repression. Sisi is slated to serve until 2030. On Tuesday, he vowed “to realise the aspirations of the Egyptian nation to build a modern, democratic state”. He also promised to shore up public spending on social security programmes for the poor. Sisi, then defence minister, has since led a ferocious crackdown on his opposition, initially targeting members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails. He then extended the crackdown to members of the secular and left-wing opposition, along with civil society and independent media. An estimated 65,000 political prisoners detained in the aftermath of Sisi’s coup languish in jails, including politicians, protesters, journalists and civil society activists. Sisi’s campaign on the opposition has been decried as the worst human rights crisis in the country’s modern history. In one day, security forces killed more than a thousand anti-Sisi protesters in August 2013, in what became known as the Rabaa Massacre. Torture has also become widespread under Sisi’s rule. A legal analysis by local and international rights groups has concluded that torture under the government of Sisi amounts to a crime against humanity. Sisi inaugurated his term inside the parliament building of his New Administrative Capital (NAC), a $58 bn “smart city”, which the president hailed as one of the blueprints of his rule. NAC, which has yet to have a name, is located some 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of the capital Cairo. He is expected to relocate to his new presidential palace in the city from Tuesday. Sisi did not present a detailed electoral platform at the beginning of his rule 10 years ago. But he made broad promises to improve the living standards of the population and to protect the poorest segments of society. Economic indicators, however, have consistently worsened over the past decade.
NGOs demand apology after closure of 13-year case over lack of evidence
Egypt has announced the closure of a 13-year landmark case in which human rights defenders were accused of receiving illicit foreign funding – but those affected by the allegations are demanding justice. An investigative judge on Wednesday declared the closure of case 173/2011, known in the media as the “foreign funding case”, due to what he described as “insufficient evidence”. The case has been widely denounced as a politically-motivated attack on Egypt’s civil society. Judge Ahmed Abdel Aziz Qatlan’s decision marks the end of a probe against 85 organisations. It also means an end to asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of these organisations, he added. In the case, rights groups and their staff were accused of “crimes against national security”, with only their online publications used as evidence. But no formal charges were brought against them, and no trial was initiated. Before the decision on Wednesday, accusations against most of the organisations implicated had already been dropped and this week’s decision only affects five organisations. Rights groups and human rights defenders have called for an apology and compensation for the defendants.
MOROCCO
Young Moroccans are turning away from mosques over Gaza silence
Praying in the first saff (row) is an extremely rewardable act in Islam, and performing congregational prayers in such a place during the holy month of Ramadan is even more so in the sight of God. But this year, the 27-year-old Abdul Ahad says his prayer routine has changed drastically – and it’s not because of a crisis of faith. Since the war in Gaza erupted, Abdul Ahad, like many other young Moroccans, has been outraged by his country’s reluctance to condemn Israel‘s deadly offensive, which has claimed more than 32,000 lives and displaced nearly all of the enclave’s population. Anger, he says, has also grown against the religious establishment over its refusal to express support for those suffering in Gaza and engage in one of the easiest forms of solidarity: prayers and supplication. We’re witnessing a shocking betrayal by our imams,” says Abdul Ahad. “They’re supposed to stand against tyrants and their oppression, not with them. Especially now, especially during these last 10 days of Ramadan.” For the past six months, sermons across Morocco have largely dodged the issue of the war, while some have focused on interfaith unity and commonality with the Jewish community – once an anathema to the kingdom’s religious apparatus. Anger has also risen steadily over imams using their pulpits to praise, sanctify and defend King Mohammed VI and his government, while protests, once a rare occurrence in the North African nation, have become a near-daily affair due to Morocco’s normalisation agreement with Israel. Wearing the title of Commander of the Faithful, an historic description used nowhere else today, Mohammed VI’s claim is based on Morocco’s ‘Alawi dynasty being direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad…but many young Moroccans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the king’s erratic behaviour, notable absence from the country and the 2020 normalisation agreement with Israel have left them feeling marginalised and disaffected. Morocco became the fourth Arab country to forge diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 when it signed on to the Abraham Accords, a United Statesstrategy that saw the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan also normalise relations with Israel in return for various concessions.
Kingdom accused of using Israeli weapons to kill civilians in Western Sahara
The French daily L’Humanité published an investigation revealing that Morocco killed dozens of civilians, including children, in Western Sahara using Israeli weapons. Morocco controls 80 percent of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, and proposes an autonomy plan under its sovereignty. The Sahrawi independence movement of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers, demands a self-determination referendum as recommended by the UN. The UN considers Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory”. The US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in 2020 in exchange for Rabat’s normalisation of ties with Israel. Israel recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara last year. In 2020, Rabat launched a military operation against the territory to “put an end to the serious provocations” of the Polisario Front. According to L’Humanité, Morocco in October used Israeli-made drones from the military base at Smara airport, a city of over 66,000 inhabitants under Moroccan control. The drones, the newspaper said, are Hermes 900 strategic reconnaissance drones and Hermes 450 tactical drones, capable of being equipped with air-to-ground missiles. The two models are developed by the Israeli manufacturer Elbit Systems. “The gridlock of the areas under the control of the Polisario Front by these killer aircraft has resulted in emptying the liberated territories of the nomads who lived there,” L’Humanité reported. It added that drones target both humans and animals, and since 2021, 170 civilians have been hit, including 86 killed, among them two children. In 2023, Shai Cohen, head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, announced the opening of two drone factories in Morocco by Elbit Systems.The Israeli diplomat indicated that one of the two industrial sites should be located in Casablanca, without providing further details. “A policy of ethnic cleansing is gradually taking hold,” Abdeslam Omar Lahsen, president of the Association of Sahrawi Prisoners’ and Disappeared Families, told the French daily, estimating that nearly 30,000 people have been forcibly displaced in the past three years due to Moroccan attacks. “Barely a few hundred nomads still resist. The others have had to abandon their herds to join refugee camps or retreat to Mauritania.”
Central Africa
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Former rebels in Central African Republic disarm but face few options. Wagner is one of them
Nearly 5,000 fighters have put down their arms in Central African Republic since the nationwide program meant to help fighters lay down their guns was aunched nearly a decade ago. Yet former rebels, communities and conflict experts say it’s hard to stop fighting in a country where little other paid work exists. Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced the president from office. Mostly Christian militias fought back. A 2019 peace deal only lessened the fighting, and six of the 14 armed groups that signed later left the agreement. Another armed presence is Wagner, the Russian mercenary group tasked with protecting the presidency and securing the country. Its fighters have been accused by rights groups and civilians of recruiting a local militia to help it fight rebels while committing abuses and exploiting Central African Republic’s rich mines and forests. Central African Republic’s government estimates that up to 15% of those who go through the disarmament program return to armed groups. It is not clear if that includes Wagner. The United Nations, which piloted and supports the program, has said it loses track of about 70% of people who participate. Experts call the program shortsighted, with combatants given few viable options beyond fighting. Nearly 70% of people in Central African Republic live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank.
AFRICA – GENERAL NEWS
Slavery tribunal? African, Caribbean countries unite on reparations
Support is building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of an international tribunal on atrocities dating to the transatlantic trade of enslaved people, with the United States backing a UN panel at the heart of the effort. A tribunal, modelled on other ad-hoc courts such as the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two, was proposed last year. It has now gained traction within a broader slavery reparations movement. Formally recommended in June by the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, the idea of a special tribunal has been explored further at African and Caribbean regional bodies, said Eric Phillips, a vice-chair of the slavery reparations commission for the Caribbean Community (Caricom) which groups 15 member states. The scope of any tribunal has not been determined but the UN Forum recommended in a preliminary report that it should address reparations for enslavement, apartheid, genocide, and colonialism. A special U.N. tribunal would help establish legal norms for complex international and historical reparations claims, its supporters say. Opponents of reparations argue, among other things, that contemporary states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical slavery.
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’ despite feud over Moscow’s diamonds
The United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces Wednesday to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General Assembly meeting, its 193 member nations adopted a resolution by consensus recognizing that the Kimberley Process, which certifies rough diamond exports, “contributes to the prevention of conflicts fueled by diamonds” and helps the Security Council implement sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process went into effect in 2003 in the aftermath of bloody civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia where diamonds were used by armed groups to fund the conflicts. The European Union’s Clayton Curran told the assembly after the vote that the Kimberley Process “is facing unprecedented challenges” and condemned “the aggression of one Kimberley Process participant against another” — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The key reason was a Ukrainian request, supported by the United States, Britain and others, to examine whether Russia’s diamond production is funding its war against Kyiv and the implications for the Kimberley Process which Russia and several allies strongly opposed…The UAE has identified three ways: to establish a permanent secretariat which was approved at the end of March in Botswana’s capital Gabarone, to complete a review and reform of the process by the end of the year, and to identify digital technologies that can strengthen the Kimberley Process, he said.
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
31 new hotels coming up in Kenya before year end
Kenya has 31 new hotels in the pipeline this year with a total of 4,268 rooms, a new report says, signalling the continual recovery of the tourism and hospitality sector even as visitor numbers keep soaring. This will mark a rise from 25 new units that were set up in 2023, according to the latest Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Africa report from the W Hospitality Group. It shows ongoing and planned construction will bring an extra 4,268 rooms, adding to the 3,729 units recorded last year. Increased investment in hospitality comes as the industry continues to recover from the shocks of the Covid-19 menace that was first reported in the country in early 2020. The JW Marriott Hotel is the latest addition to Nairobi’s grand hospitality portfolio boasting an exclusive view of the city as it becomes the tallest hotel in the city with 35 storeys. It is the second of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio in Kenya after JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge opened in February last year. The Ministry of Tourism data shows tourist arrivals in Kenya exhibited an increase from 1.48 million in 2022 to 1.95 million in 2023 depicting an increase of 31.5 percent.
Uganda to launch first domestic tin processing plant next month
Uganda will commission its first tin refining plant in the southwestern region next month, a senior mining ministry official said, as part of efforts to expand capacity and add value domestically to its minerals. President Yoweri Museveni wants to maximise the benefits of exports to the East African nation, where several gold refineries are operating, and Chinese-backed Sunbird Resources was recently licensed to mine limestone for cement production. “We are preparing to launch our very first tin processing facility,” said Irene Bateebe, a top official of the energy and mineral development ministry, adding the launch would take place next month. Woodcross Resources, an Uganda-based mining and mineral trading company, owns the plant. “They will be refining tin to over 99% in terms of its purity,” Bateebe added, without revealing the size of the investment.
Morocco’s Moudawana reform puts women’s rights in ballot box
Morocco is reforming its family code, the Moudawana, after twenty years. Reform comes as calls for gender equality grow louder and Islamist influence wanes…After King Mohammed VI’s arbitration, a new Moudawana – Morocco’s Personal Status Law – was ultimately passed. The reform came into effect during a tense period in Morocco, following terrorist attacks in Casablanca in May 2003. As a result, the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) — which opposed the law — ended up adopting a low profile. The new legislation voted in Morocco’s parliament in 2004 gave women the right to ask for divorce and allowed them to marry without a tutor. It restricted polygamy and raised the minimum legal age of marriage to 18. However, it also kept a provision for judges to grant special authorisations. Child marriage remains a problem in Morocco. In 2021, there were 19,000 cases of child marriage, according to Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi. King Mohammed VI, the highest religious authority in Morocco, pointed to the limits of the first reform in his throne speech in 2022. “The Family Law was a major step forward. However, it is no longer sufficient. Experience has shown that there are many hurdles which stand in the way of completing this process and achieving our objectives,” Mohammed VI declared. It remains to be seen how progressive the next bill will be and if it will tackle the most controversial subject in Morocco, inheritance equality. In Morocco, a woman inherits half of a man’s share.
15 Countries with the Highest Life Expectancy in Africa
Between 2000 and 2019, the healthy life expectancy in Africa was reported to rise by 10 years per person, on average. Improvement in life expectancy can be attributed to enhanced reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, as well as the measures taken against infectious diseases. Essential health service coverage also increased in the African continent. However, the improved life expectancy still lagged behind the global average. While the population is aging rapidly in many of the regions in the world, Africa depicts a different picture. As compared to the rest of the world, Africa’s population is relatively younger. As reportedby the US Census Bureau, only 5.6% of Africa’s population was above 60 years of age in 2020 as compared to 23.4% in North America. The situation has been forecasted to persist as Africa’s older population is expected to remain in single digits even by 2050. Although the share of adults in the total population across Africa is less, these adults still account for a high number. In 2020, 18 African countries had more than 1 million people aged above 60. Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa which has a large total older population.
How African Immigrants Have Revived a Remote Corner of Quebec
Not long ago, the handful of African immigrants in Rouyn-Noranda, a remote city in northern Quebec, all knew one another. There was the Nigerian woman long married to a Québécois man. The odd researchers from Cameroon or the Ivory Coast. And, of course, the doyen, a Congolese chemist who first made a name for himself driving a Zamboni at hockey games. Today, newcomers from Africa are everywhere — in the streets, supermarkets, factories, hotels, even at the church-basement boxing club. A couple from Benin has taken over Chez Morasse, a city institution that introduced a greasy spoon favorite, poutine, to this region. And women from several corners of West and Central Africa were chatting at the city’s new African grocery store, Épicerie Interculturelle. While African immigrants have long lived in the province’s large cities, the newcomers are a recent phenomenon in rural areas. Driven by a graying population and declining birthrates, the labor shortage has drawn many from Francophone Africa to Quebec, including to Rouyn-Noranda, a mining city of 42,000 people about 90 minutes north of Montreal — by plane. Precise numbers are difficult to find, but Africans are believed to make up the largest group of temporary foreign workers in the city. About 4,000 to 4,500 temporary foreign workers are now in the Rouyn-Noranda region, following a sharp increase since 2021, according to the Local Development Center. The African community’s growing presence was perhaps felt most prominently when the city’s most famous poutine restaurant, Chez Morasse, passed two years ago into the hands of Carlos Sodji and Sylviane Senou, a young couple from Benin. Poutine — the caloric combination of French fries layered with cheese curds and gravy — has become Quebec’s signature dish worldwide.
Zimbabwe woman beats the odds to drive long-distance trucks
Sheila Mpala never imagined driving a haulage truck growing up. She wanted to be a nurse or a mortician. But her husband, whom she married when she was 23, shot down her dreams. Nursing paid too little, and he earned enough for the family, she recalls him saying. He didn’t want her to be a mortician either. But her husband couldn’t pay for their basic needs, so she pushed him to let her work. She suggested truck driving. Surprisingly, he agreed. Now, Mpala, 32, is one of the few women in Zimbabwe in this male-dominated field. While there is no data available for how many women work as truck drivers in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Haulage Truck Drivers Union (ZHTDU) estimates that about 5 percent of their more than 1,500 members are women. With the decline of the National Railways of Zimbabwe, cargo trucking has surged, presenting an economic opportunity. But women who take on this dangerous and difficult job face a barrage of social and professional challenges, from access to training to sexual harassment and a lack of gender-specific bathrooms at truck stops and international border crossings. These challenges, Mpala says, have not made her quit. Instead, she wants to challenge the system to cater to more women in the profession by building separate bathroom amenities for men and women at truck stops and border crossings, and push for regulations that cater to everyone in the industry.
Behind the wheel with Uganda’s pioneering women drivers
Birabwa Hajara’s braids are long enough to reach her hips if she let them down. But she doesn’t. “Some jobs limit our freedom of expression. A driver cannot let her long hair loose. It will be prickly,” she says. Instead, she ties the braids into a knot above her head, a style whose shape has earned it the local nickname “doughnut.”
It’s 5am, still a little dark, and the 42-year-old is already up and about on her first job as a school driver. Schoolchildren hop into her school bus. She will drive them to Taibah International School, park the school bus, and head to Kibuye Taxi Park, where she works all day as a driver in public transportation. Later in the evening, Birabwa will return to the school and drop the schoolchildren at their homes. The latest Census of Business Establishments in Uganda, done in 2011, also shows that the transportation industry, along with agriculture, fishing, storage, and information and communication, had one of the lowest shares of women business owners compared to other industries in the country. While 10,653 men were employed in transport and storage, there were only 2,830 women in the same field.
But this is changing, particularly in Kampala. Anecdotal evidence shows that more women are taking up jobs in this traditionally male-dominated industry…The informal nature of Uganda’s transport industry affects women the most, according to a 2023 paper published by the Stockholm Environment Institute, an international research organization. Payment for operators, that is, drivers and conductors, is based on daily targets, which means they work lengthy shifts, a strenuous job for women who need to balance that and domestic work.
Nigerian takes to the water to raise mental health awareness
Nigerian swimmer Akinrodoye Samuel has tried to raise awareness on mental health in Africa’s most populous nation, swimming nearly 12 km (7.45 miles), the length of the longest bridge in Lagos where many people have jumped to their deaths. Samuel, a swimming coach, said he was moved by the experience of a friend who nearly took his own life due to depression. A 2021 UNICEF report showed one in six Nigerians aged between 15 and 24 were depressed, anxious or had other mental health issues. Medical professionals say the stigma associated with mental health in Nigeria’s culturally conservative society makes it difficult for people to open up. “We are doing this too so people don’t just think that suicide is the next option,” Samuel told reporters after finishing the swim in the Lagos Lagoon on Saturday.
Twins Cartoon: Meet the Egyptian twins at the tip of the Arab comic revolution
Twins Cartoon is the artistic partnership of Egyptian twins Mohamed and Haitham Elseht. Their award-winning cartoons are known for their unique blend of religious and political commentary, delivered with a healthy dose of humour and satire. Fuelled by the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the recipients of the Mahmoud Khalil Award have since launched the Garage Comics Magazine and the Cairo Comix International Festival — two initiatives dedicated to elevating the Arab world’s comics industry. In understanding the twin’s creative ecosystem, Kawakab El Rasameen aims to build a platform where Arab artists and art enthusiasts can freely share their work. Garage Comics Magazine fosters the growth and appreciation of narrative comics within the Arab art scene, particularly in Egypt. Finally, the Cairo Comix International Festival, the first of its kind in Egypt, brings comics to life with a vibrant mix of concerts, book markets, and discussions. Twins Cartoon is interested in uncovering societal ills, taboos, harassment, and injustice. “In our stories, we address things like irregular migration. We were a part of the team that published the photographic novel Lampedusa — Images Stories from the Edge of Europe. We also covered the forced displacement of the Egyptian Nubians in the 1960s with the graphic novel Hudhud Al-Aghosn (‘Hoopoe of the Bough’).” Across the Middle East and North Africa, comics are enjoying a renaissance. Egypt, boasting a flourishing comic scene for more than eight years, stands as a leader in the regional market.
Hundreds Of New Species Discovered On Africa’s Isolated Sky Islands
Scientists are proposing this “inland archipelago” of 30 isolated mountains is a new “ecoregion” that is home to hundreds of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Located in southeastern portion of Africa in the nations of Malawi and Mozambique, there lies a chain of mountains, or granitic inselbergs, that tower above the surrounding landscape. They were formed millions of years ago when the Earth’s crust pushed upward and torrential rainfall cut through and washed away the soil, leaving patches of forest perched atop granite mountain peaks, separated from lower elevations. These inselbergs comprise an “inland archipelago” or “sky islands”, if you prefer, that are crowned with high-altitude grasslands and evergreen forests watered by cool moist winds from the Indian Ocean. This area is unique. A group of scientists are proposing that this area is a distinct ecoregion because it hosts previously undocumented communities of plants and animals that are found nowhere else on earth. The scientists christened this ecoregion the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA). The mountains in this newly proposed ecoregion extend across northern Mozambique to Mount Mulanje in Malawi, which is southern Africa’s second highest mountain. 100 specialists from many different disciplines conducted more than 30 biological surveys to investigate and document this region over the past two decades. “It took decades of international collaboration to gather sufficient evidence to define the ecoregion,” Professor Bayliss, of Oxford, elaborated. “We documented hundreds of previously undescribed species, and researched the geology, climate, and genetic history of the ecosystems, to piece together what makes these mountains so unique. This new ecoregion will create an important platform from which to develop regional conservation initiatives.”
Finish line gig for man running length of Africa
Russell Cook, from Worthing, West Sussex, has run 376 marathons in 345 days across the African continent. He is due to finish the challenge on 7 April. The extreme challenge began at South Africa’s most southerly point on 22 April, 2023, and is due to finish at Tunisia’s most northerly point. Mr Cook had originally planned to complete 360 marathons in 240 days. After complications with his visas, health scares, geopolitical issues and an armed robbery, he was forced to change his route, extending the challenge. The challenge is in aid of The Running Charity and has raised £415,113 so far.
Kenyan Health Care Business Brings Low-Cost Ultrasound to Expectant Mothers
For most pregnant women in the slums of Nairobi, ultrasound services are an unaffordable luxury. Now, a Kenyan health care business is using portable, low-cost ultrasound systems to give expectant mothers a chance to see their babies and detect any health problems before the delivery day.
Young Nigerian turns trash into model airplanes
Bolaji Fatai became interested in aeronautics when he was 7 years old. Now at 22, his passion for flying has led him to building remote-controlled airplanes out of plastic foam and other found objects in the trash. One day, he hopes to contribute to the development of Nigeria’s drone technology.
In Ghana, unpopular grain fonio takes center stage
Ghanaian chef Fatmata Binta offers a complete traditional Fulani dining experience centered around fonio, a local grain that has almost disappeared from the menu. How does she get people from all over the world to try it?
AFRICA – ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL/OPINION
Global south: moving off the menu and to the table?
For Africa, the rise of the global south is necessary to achieve the continent’s development goals.
BRICS Expanding Into Global South
Is BRICS Offering An Alternative Model For Global Governance?
Dear NATO: Russia did not create Pan-Africanism!
Pan-Africanism as a political ideology isn’t some kind of Russian influence operation; it actually predates even the Russian Revolution
ECOWAS climbdown and the importance of strategic planning in African policymaking
Never again should we witness the sort of slapstick policy gaffes that would turn Nigeria and Niger into enemies.
Poor Nations Are Writing a New Handbook for Getting Rich
Economies focused on exports have lifted millions out of poverty, but epochal changes in trade, supply chains and technology are making it a lot harder.
Hoping For An Incorruptible Africa
Seas Of Change: Navigating The Red Sea Crisis And The Quest For Global Maritime Stability
Uncrewed vessels threaten Africa’s maritime security
As technology advances, African states must prepare for the crewless future of naval threats.
The African Union vs “the end of development”
The Black Cross: racism, xenophobia, and tribalism
To fight racism, xenophobia and tribalism, Africa must take a strong unified stance, and greater efforts must be made to enforce human rights laws on the continent.
Why Are Stories About African Suffering So Persistent?
The West and the hypocrisy of Democracy
Africa now emits as much carbon as it stores: landmark new study
Water For Peace, For Now?
ETHIOPIA
Turkey and Ethiopia have had close ties for many years: Somalia maritime deals may shift the dynamics
Fair, victim-centred trials are key to transitional justice in Ethiopia
The draft criminal procedure and evidence code must be approved to ensure the legitimacy of trials in the transitional justice process.
KENYA
Kenya’s mission to Haiti: how the 1,000-strong force is preparing for planned intervention
Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Literary giant, revolutionary hero, domestic abuser
The allegation that the revered Kenyan author used to beat his wife should start a new conversation on tradition, patriarchy and women’s rights on the continent.
Kenya’s wildlife conservancies make old men rich, while making women and young people poorer
MOZAMBIQUE
Southern African forces are leaving with mixed results
NIGER
US Withdrawal From Niger Signals A Shift In Western Influence In The Sahel
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s foreign policy detour is undercutting regional integration in West Africa
It is not in Nigeria’s national interest to be in open hostility with its closest neighbours
Revisiting the legacy and lessons of the Nigerian civil war: a reflection on history and healing
RWANDA
30 years after genocide: Rwanda’s older generations fear a return of ethnic tensions, but youth feel more united
Children born of rape: the devastating legacy of sexual violence in post-genocide Rwanda
The DRC crisis proves that the world has learned nothing from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
Peace is not possible as long as the threat of genocide hovers over a section of the Congolese population
SOMALIA
Can the AU’s achievements in Somalia survive global geopolitical, security and economic competition?
Competing strategies and approaches are undermining AU’s achievements in Somalia
SOUTH AFRICA
SA staring down barrel of a gun but Western Cape has another choice
Anglo-Boer War Veterans in the Gallipoli, March 1915, Campaign
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