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
“Only a fool believes his barbarism is better than another’s”.
HIGHLIGHTS
Race for AU chief now includes Djibouti
10 years on from Chibok
Chinese cybercrime uncovered in Zambia
EU makes migration, asylum even harder.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
Race For AU Job: Djibouti Fronts Third Candidate
SADC soldier deaths underline concerns over mission
Ethiopian opposition OLF figure shot dead
Ethiopia faces tough devaluation decision to secure IMF bailout
Elephant deaths trigger Kenyan call for Tanzania to curb hunts
South Sudan begins preparations for December general elections
Are Iranian drones turning the tide of Sudan war?
‘Fear and loss’ multiplies in Sudan exodus
West Africa
UK returns Ghana’s looted royal artifacts in loan deal
Ghana VP affirms stance against homosexuality
Mali suspends political party activities until further notice
Nigeria recovers $24m in poverty minister investigation
10 years on from Chibok, what happened to the 276 Nigerian girls snatched from their school?
Togo delays legislative and regional polls until Apr. 29
Southern Africa
Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s Scandal-Ridden Ex-President, Is Running Again
New poll finds support for South Africa’s ruling ANC is plunging
Zambia uncovers ‘sophisticated’ Chinese cybercrime syndicate
AFRICA GENERAL
EU parliament approves new policies that make migration, asylum harder
US senators will introduce bill to renew Africa trade pact through 2041
Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Attacks Expose Africa’s Maritime Vulnerability
Advocates push for US visa changes amid high denial rates for African students
Afro-Palestinians: Guardians of Al-Aqsa Mosque
The truth about hair relaxers: in the US, lawsuits over cancer. In Africa, soaring sales
(13) GOOD NEWS AFRICA STORIES & (1) VIDEO
TWEET(S) OF THE DAY
(20) ARTICLES ON ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL & OPINION
Eastern Africa
DJIBOUTI
Race For AU Job: Djibouti Fronts Third Candidate
Djibouti’s entry into the race for the next African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson on Tuesday could see member states in two key blocs in the Eastern Africa region take sides ahead of the voting next year. Djibouti officially confirmed it was fronting its Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf as a candidate for the next AUC chairperson, becoming the third person to show interest in the continental top post. Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga and Somalia’s former Foreign Affairs minister Fawzia Adam had announced their candidature earlier. In 2017, Kenya fronted a candidate for the AUC chairperson’s position and Djibouti went for the deputy, a sure way of dividing the vote as each looked for support from the same allies who were also seeking other positions and hence needed trade-offs. Eventually, after Kenya’s Amina Mohamed lost to Chadian diplomat Mahamat Faki, claims of “betrayal” emerged from Nairobi. Djibouti would late issue a statement refuting giving its vote to another candidate, however. Youssouf, 59, a multilingual Djiboutian has served in the Foreign Ministry since the 1990s. His government said his experience in diplomatic work gives him an edge over his competitors, saying he knows the intricacies of the AUC and is ready to “serve and breathe new life into the pan-African organisation.” Djibouti has also challenged Kenya before when it bid for the UN Security Council membership even though the AU had endorsed Nairobi for the non-permanent position.
DR CONGO
SADC soldier deaths underline concerns over mission
3 Tanzanian peacekeepers deployed to eastern Congo as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission were killed by rebel mortar fire this week. Three others were wounded in the attack. Their deaths again raise questions about the capacity of the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as SAMIDRC, to neutralize the M23 rebel group in the country’s conflict-hit east. SAMIDRC is made up of forces from South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania. They started deploying in December after DR Congo, one of SADC’s 16 members, sought support under the bloc’s mutual defense pact. The deaths of the Tanzanian soldiers are “very worrying,” international relations analyst Gilbert Khadiagala says, because it shows M23’s determination to continue their sweeping attacks across Congo’s eastern region. M23 (March 23 Movement) emerged from dormancy in late 2021 to take up arms again. It has since seized vast swaths of Congo’s North Kivu province, including, more recently, several strategic towns on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Goma. The three peacekeepers were killed in a strike on SAMIDRC’s Mubambiro base, just outside of the town of Sake, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Goma. This is the same base where two South African soldiers were killed and three wounded by a mortar bomb in mid-February. The M23 rebels are increasingly wielding military-grade weaponry not usually associated with militia groups, including sophisticated assault rifles, GPS-guided long-range mortars and even surface-to-air missiles. Stephanie Wolters, an expert on the Great Lakes region, stresses that M23 is “very different” now compared to back in 2013 when SADC forces defeated the rebel group in Congo after it temporarily seized Goma…The current SADC force is also considerably smaller than the 5,000 military personnel originally pledged. South Africa has said it will mobilize 2,900 soldiers but only around 600 have been deployed so far, according to South African media. Malawi and Tanzania have committed 2,100 soldiers.
ETHIOPIA
Ethiopian opposition OLF figure shot dead
A top Ethiopian opposition figure has been shot dead and his body found on the side of a road in his hometown in Meki, in the troubled Oromia region. Bate Urgessa, 41, was an outspoken critic of the government and had been jailed on several occasions. Family members told local news site, Addis Standard, people who “looked like government security forces” took him from his hotel room on Tuesday night. The Oromia regional government denied that security forces were involved. In recent years Ethiopia has seen an increase in the killing of political and cultural figures. Mr Bate was a senior official of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) – one of the biggest political parties in Ethiopia. The OLF condemned the “brutal murder” of Mr Bate and said he was a “eloquent, brave and selfless Oromo soul”. Mr Bate has been jailed several times in recent years, but has remained an advocate of non-violent dissent. In February security forces accused him of “working to incite unrest.” He was arrested while being interviewed by French journalist Antoine Galindo and later released on bail. Galindo was released after a week in jail and returned to Paris. Ethiopia has applied to join the regional trade and economic bloc the East African Community.
Ethiopia faces tough devaluation decision to secure IMF bailout
Ethiopia may have to decide on a big currency devaluation sooner rather than later to secure a rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which left the country last week without reaching a much-needed deal with authorities. East Africa’s most populous country, already struggling with high inflation, became the third African state in as many years to default on its debt in December. Ethiopia hasn’t received any IMF funds since 2020 and its last lending arrangement with the fund went off track in 2021. The federal government and a rebellious regional authority signed a deal in late 2022 to end a two-year civil war. The IMF, which said progress was made during its latest visit, has not said that currency reform is necessary for its support. Chronic foreign currency shortages and a tightly controlled exchange rate has allowed a black market to flourish, on which the birr currently trades at between 117 and 120 per dollar, more than double the official rate of around 56.7. “It seems that the Ethiopian authorities have found accepting the demands of the IMF hard,” said Abdulmenan Mohammed, an Ethiopian economic analyst based in Britain. “The Ethiopian authorities are worried about devaluation of the birr, (which) would have serious negative economic repercussions, including soaring inflation… and surging foreign currency denominated debts in terms of birr.”
KENYA/TANZANIA
Elephant deaths trigger Kenyan call for Tanzania to curb hunts
Conservationists fret about an emerging threat to Kenyan elephants that are crucial to its tourism business: licensed hunters across the border in Tanzania. The two neighbours manage elephant herds differently. Tanzania issues some trophy hunting licences to wealthy sport hunters every year, while Kenya gets all its revenue from wildlife safaris. Tanzania’s way of supervising elephant herds is aligned with many Southern African nations. Conservationists and Kenyan officials, however, are now urging Tanzania to restrict trophy hunters to its heartland, to protect Kenyan elephants, after three of them – all belonging to a group known as “super-tuskers” due to their large tusks – were shot across the border in recent months. Last September, a Kenyan elephant with tusks that weighed 50 kg each was shot by licensed hunters some 23 kilometres inside the border with Tanzania, conservationists said. The killing broke an unofficial moratorium on hunting elephants near the Kenyan border. The ban was agreed in 1995 after an outcry over the shooting of four Kenyan elephants on the Tanzanian side in 1994, conservationists said, although the prohibition did not set out detailed regulations.
SOUTH SUDAN
Preparations underway for December general elections
South Sudan announced on Tuesday that it will begin preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for December, the country’s first since independence. Following the cessation of a civil war in 2018 and the attainment of independence in 2011, South Sudan was initially scheduled to hold elections before February 2023. However, the transitional government and the opposition agreed to postpone them until late 2024. Abednego Akok Kacuol, chairperson of the National Elections Commission, told journalists in the national capital of Juba that they have deployed officers across the country and also acquired some vehicles, which are important for mobility. Akok said the government has released funds to the commission to kick-start the process, and they have prepared a draft calendar that, if approved by stakeholders, will begin voter registration in June. According to the United Nations, South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections in December at the conclusion of a transitional period that followed a violent civil war that broke out shortly after the country’s independence over a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his then-deputy, Riek Machar.
SUDAN
Are Iranian drones turning the tide of Sudan war?
A year into Sudan’s civil war, Iranian-made armed drones have helped the army turn the tide of the conflict, halting the progress of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Force and regaining territory around the capital, a senior army source said. Six Iranian sources, regional officials and diplomats- who, like the army source, asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information – also confirmed the military had acquired Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the past few months. The Sudanese Armed Forces (Saf) used some older UAVs in the first months of the war alongside artillery batteries and fighter jets but had little success in rooting out RSF fighters embedded in heavily populated neighbourhoods in Khartoum and other cities, more than a dozen Khartoum residents said. In January, nine months after fighting erupted, much more effective drones began operating from the army’s Wadi Sayidna base to the north of Khartoum, according to five eyewitnesses living in the area. The residents said the drones appeared to monitor RSF movements, target their positions, and pinpoint artillery strikes in Omdurman, one of three cities on the banks of the Nile that comprise the capital Khartoum. A senior Sudanese army source denied that the Iranian-made drones came directly from Iran…that while diplomatic cooperation between Sudan and Iran had been restored last year, official military cooperation was still pending.
‘Fear and loss’ multiplies in Sudan exodus
At least 1.8 million [Sudanese have fled] across the border into neighbouring, South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt and Ethiopia; as well as Uganda. Thousands more are arriving by the day, agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado told journalists at the regular news briefing in Geneva. The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its affiliated militias “has shattered people’s lives, filling them with fear and loss,” Ms. Sarrado said. Over 13,000 people are reported to have been killed, thousands more injured, and attacks on civilians, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence continue unabated. “Sudan has experienced the almost complete destruction of its urban middle class: architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, and students have lost everything,” Ms. Sarrado said.
West Africa
GHANA
UK returns Ghana’s looted royal artifacts in loan deal
The United Kingdom has returned 32 royal artefacts looted from Ghana’s Asante Kingdom in the 19th Century. The royal objects were taken from the Palace in Kumasi during the Anglo-Asante Wars, including the infamous Sagrenti War of 1874. They were returned on Tuesday by the British Museum (BM) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The 150-year-old, mostly golden royal regalia, will be on loan for an initial three years and renewable for another three years. The loan deal is not with the Ghanaian government but with Otumfo Osei Tutu II – the current traditional ruler of the Ashanti people. Legal restrictions in the UK have made it impossible to return the artefacts permanently. The return of the artefacts coincides with the silver jubilee anniversary of Asantehene Osei Tutu II, who first started the negotiations in May last year. “Gold and silver regalia, associated with the Asante royal court, will be displayed at the Palace Museum as part of a long-term loan commitment by the Victoria & Albert and the British Museum,” the Asante Palace said in a statement. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will receive the objects in specially designed Belgian cases in Kumasi, after which the Manhyia Palace Museum will be closed for three weeks for installation works and encasing. The gold artefacts are the symbol of the Asante traditional authority. Many of these items will be seen in Ghana for the first time in 150 years. The items include 15 pieces from the British Museum and 17 from the Victoria & Albert Museum. They will be on display and open to the public in May.
Ghana VP affirms stance against homosexuality
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, also a presidential hopeful from the ruling party, has emphasised his steadfast opposition to homosexuality, asserting that it conflicts with Ghanaian cultural and societal norms. His statements come amidst a national debate surrounding one of Africa’s most stringent anti-LGBT bills, which awaits the approval of President Nana Akufo-Addo. Speaking at the conclusion of Ramadan prayers, Bawumia underscored the cultural disapproval of homosexuality within Ghana. He declared, ‘All the major religious traditions in Ghana are opposed to this practice, and I stand opposed to it now and I will stand opposed to it as president.’ The Vice-President’s stance mirrors that of his political rival, former President John Dramani Mahama, who similarly voiced his opposition to homosexuality earlier this year. Ghana, a culturally conservative West African nation, already criminalises gay sex, imposing penalties of up to three years in prison. LGBT individuals face regular harassment and abuse in the country. Parliament recently passed a bill aimed at intensifying the suppression of LGBT rights, including punishment for those advocating for LGBTQ identities. Despite concerns from international financial bodies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), proponents of the bill continue to push for its enactment. The President’s office is currently awaiting the resolution of legal challenges before deciding on signing the bill into law.
MALI
Political party activities suspended until further notice
Mali has issued a decree halting political party activities, government spokesperson Abdoulaye Maiga announced in a statement read on state television on Wednesday evening. The decree suspends until further notice all activities by political parties and “associations of a political nature” on the grounds of maintaining public order, the statement said. Mali has been under military rule since August 2020, the first of eight coups in West and Central Africa over four years, including in its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger. Mali’s current government seized power in a second coup in 2021 and later promised to restore civilian rule by March 26, 2024 following elections in February of this year. However, authorities said in September last year that it would indefinitely postpone February elections for technical reasons, sparking outrage among political groups. “We will use all legal and legitimate avenues for the return of normal constitutional order in our country,” they said in a joint statement that had over 20 signatories, including a major opposition coalition and the toppled ex-president’s party.
NIGERIA
$24m recovered in poverty minister investigation
Nigeria has recovered 30bn naira ($24m; £19m) as part of an ongoing corruption probe into a suspended minister, the financial watchdog says. The funds were traced to more than 50 bank accounts, it said. Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu was initially suspended in January over the alleged diversion of $640,000 of public money into a personal bank account. President Bola Tinubu then ordered an investigation into her ministry. At the time Dr Edu, 37, denied any wrongdoing. Her office said she had approved the transfer into a personal account, which was not in her name, but said it was for the “implementation of grants to vulnerable groups”. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said during its nearly six weeks of investigating so far, it had found “many angles” to examine. “As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal,” its chairman Ola Olukoyede said in the latest edition of the agency’s monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert.
10 years on from Chibok, what happened to the 276 Nigerian girls snatched from their school?
The government has been under intense pressure to secure the release of all 276 Chibok girls, who were abducted from their state school dormitories in April 2014 in a kidnapping that made headlines globally. Ten years on, many of the Chibok abductees, now women, have been freed or escaped, but about 100 are still missing. The Chibok abduction on the night of 14 April 2014 was not the first time schoolchildren were targeted by militants – nor has it been the last. Months before, 29 boys were killed at a school in Yobe state. In 2018, Boko Haram kidnapped dozens of girls in Yobe, and in 2020, more than 300 boys were abducted from schools in Katsina state. But Chibok has become the most notorious example of Nigeria’s security crisis. That so many children could be taken from one school sparked outrage in Nigeria and abroad. A group of Nigerian women launched the social-media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, which became a powerful global protest attracting the support of the then US first lady, Michelle Obama, and the Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai. Matthew Page, an analyst with the British foreign affairs thinktank Chatham House, who worked for US intelligence at the time, says: “[The kidnapping] was so egregious that basically President Obama and his top officials said we need to … pull out all the stops to bring back the girls…#BringBackOurGirls’ founders say the remaining abductees have been forgotten, as attention has shifted to more recent attacks and kidnappings in the west African country and amid fears that the girls would have become radicalised while in captivity.
TOGO
Togo delays legislative and regional polls until Apr. 29
Togo has rescheduled parliamentary and regional elections for April 29 after delaying the ballot over a highly contested constitutional reform. The announcement was made Tuesday (Apr. 9) after a cabinet meeting. Elections were initially scheduled on April 13 before being postponed to April 20. Togo’s parliament voted in late march to transition the nation from a presidential to a parliamentary system. Forced with public outcry, the presidency ordered the constitutional reform back to parliament. In early April, president Faure Gnassingbé met members of the bureau of the National Assembly and urged them to “to take into account all contributions susceptible to enrich” the Constitution. The National Assembly’s bureau therefore expressed the need for more consultations over the reform which led to a new postponement.
Southern Africa
SOUTH AFRICA
Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s Scandal-Ridden Ex-President, Is Running Again
Jacob Zuma, who resigned as South Africa’s president in shame in 2018, is now staging his biggest comeback act yet by running in next month’s parliamentary elections with an upstart opposition party at the top of its ticket — the slot designated for a party’s presidential contender. Mr. Zuma’s participation in the race is a blow to a faltering African National Congress — the party he once led — which has governed the country since the end of apartheid three decades ago. The A.N.C. and its leader, the country’s current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, are now struggling to win back the trust of voters disillusioned by a stagnant economy and years of corruption. Mr. Zuma, who is 81, won a big victory on Tuesday when he was cleared by a court to be on the ballot, despite having served time in prison for refusing to testify in a corruption inquiry. On Wednesday, his party — uMkhonto weSizwe — released its list of national candidates with his name at the top. His party, known as MK, was formed only last December, but has already climbed in the polls, gained ground in local elections and won several legal battles for the right to contest the May 29 election. If MK does well enough in the parliamentary elections, Mr. Zuma will secure a seat in Parliament. The new lawmakers will then elect the country’s next president. As a member of Parliament, Mr. Zuma would be eligible to be president, or could play kingmaker if the A.N.C. does not win enough seats to form a government — as many political analysts anticipate. “The victory of the MK marks disaster for the A.N.C.,” said Bheki Mngomezulu, the director for the Center for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University. The A.N.C., which suspended Mr. Zuma as a party member in January over his campaigning for MK, has tried several times to stop the new rival’s momentum.
New poll finds support for South Africa’s ruling ANC is plunging
More bad news for South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his ruling African National Congress (ANC) after a new opinion poll shows that support for the party is plunging. The poll, conducted by the Social Research Foundation, suggested that the party may garner as little as 37 per cent of the vote on 29 May. It also found that disgraced former President Jacob Zuma’s new party, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), could become the country’s third biggest after next month’s election. It was officially registered in September last year and poll found it may get as much as 13 per cent of the vote, with the main opposition Democratic Alliance winning 25 per cent. Zuma is the de facto leader of MK which he joined last year after denouncing the ANC which he once led, ruling the country from 2009 to 2018 when he was forced out of office following a series of corruption scandals. In 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for defying a court order to appear before a judicial commission probing corruption allegations in government and state-owned companies during his presidential term. A recent poll by think-tank The Brenthurst Foundation and the SABI Strategy Group estimated support for the ANC at 39 per cent.The survey’s credibility was however questioned by South Africa’s third largest force in parliament, the EFF…it was revealed that the family of the founders of the The Brenthurst Foundation – the Oppenheimers – were listed are major donors to DA, the country’s first opposition party.
ZAMBIA
Chinese cybercrime syndicate is uncovered
A “sophisticated internet fraud syndicate” has been uncovered in Zambia, leading to the arrest of 77 people, including 22 Chinese nationals. It was a “significant breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime”, the authorities said after a multi-agency raid on a Chinese-run company. The firm employed Zambians who believed they were to be call-centre agents. Among equipment seized were devices allowing callers to disguise their location and thousands of Sim cards. Golden Top Support Services, the company at the centre of the raid, has not commented on the allegations. The swoop on its premises, located in Roma, an upmarket suburb of the capital, Lusaka, was led by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and also involved the police, the immigration department and anti-terrorism unit. It came after months of intelligence gathering by the agencies following an alarming rise in internet fraud cases in Zambia, DEC director general Nason Banda said after Tuesday’s raid…An increasing number of Zambians were losing money from their bank accounts through money-laundering schemes, though this scam’s alleged “illicit operations extended beyond Zambia’s borders”, he said. Evidence indicated people in countries including Singapore, Peru, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and others across Africa had been targeted. Mr Banda said the Zambian nationals had been charged and released on bail so they could help the authorities with their investigations. The foreign nationals – 22 Chinese men and a Cameroonian – remain in custody.
AFRICA – GENERAL NEWS
EU parliament approves new policies that make migration, asylum harder
European Union lawmakers approved Wednesday a major revamp of the bloc’s migration laws, hoping to end years of division over how to manage the entry of thousands of people without authorization and deprive the far right of a vote-winning campaign issue ahead of June elections. In a series of 10 votes, members of the European Parliament endorsed the regulations and policies that make up the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The reforms address the thorny issue of who should take responsibility for migrants when they arrive and whether other EU countries should be obliged to help. The 27 EU member countries must now endorse the reform package, possibly in a vote in late April, before it can take effect. The plan was drawn up after 1.3 million people, mostly those fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, sought refuge in Europe in 2015. The EU’s asylum system collapsed, reception centers were overwhelmed in Greece and Italy, and countries further north built barriers to stop people entering. But few have admitted to being happy with the new policy response to one of Europe’s biggest political crises, and even the lawmakers who drafted parts of the new regulations are unwilling to support the entire reform package. The new rules include controversial measures including fast-track deportation to be used on those not permitted to stay. Migrant and human rights groups mostly slammed the reform package.
US senators will introduce bill to renew Africa trade pact through 2041
A bipartisan group of senators will introduce a bill to renew the United States’ trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa ahead of its expiration next year, an aide to one of the senators said on Thursday. The bill was introduced by Senators Chris Coons, a Democrat, and James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A cross-party group of senators – Dick Durbin, Michael Bennet, Chris van Hollen, Todd Young and Mike Rounds – are also co-sponsoring the bill. The bill would renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act for 16 years, through 2041, and help countries implement strategies to take advantage of the program. It would also maintain benefits for countries as they grow richer, enabling them to remain in the program if they are determined to be high-income for five years rather than removing them if they reach that threshold for a single year. Under the bill, countries would be reviewed for eligibility every other year – instead of annually, under current statute – but the U.S. president and certain congressional leaders could review countries’ eligibility out of cycle at any point. If countries were found to be ineligible for the program, the president would have a menu of options for enforcement ranging from full termination of benefits to taking no action. Current statute requires the president to terminate AGOA benefits if a country does not meet eligibility.
Advocates push for US visa changes amid high denial rates for African students
Education and immigration advocates are raising concerns over the significant hurdles African students encounter when seeking visas to study in the United States, as they face markedly higher denial rates compared to students from other regions. A report from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, released in July 2023, highlighted the severity of this issue. Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, expressed alarm over the data revealing disproportionately high visa refusal rates for African students. ‘Whenever we see that sort of data for any country, let alone a region of the world, it gives us pause,’ Aw said, underscoring the need for thorough investigation and reforms in visa adjudication. In 2022, half of the students from African countries who applied for US student visas were denied, with denial rates reaching alarming levels for specific nations in 2023. For instance, Ethiopian students faced a staggering 78 percent denial rate, followed closely by Nigeria at 75 percent, Kenya at 74 percent, Congo at 69 percent, and others as outlined in the report.
Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Attacks Expose Africa’s Maritime Vulnerability
Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthi militia in Yemen have exposed the vulnerability of African maritime security. Since November 2023, there have been 133 reported incidents, including 14 vessels struck by missiles or drones and 18 vessels hijacked by Somali pirates. The disruptions caused by nonstate actors unbounded by international law and with access to stocks of standoff armaments pose fundamental challenges to Africa’s security and economic development…In short, it is African citizens who are paying the price of delays, more expensive consumer goods, disruption to local economic entities, and polluted waterways…The Red Sea maritime crisis demands a recalibration of African maritime security efforts to help keep the routes of trade open, safeguard undersea communications cables, and protect the rule of law.
The truth about hair relaxers: in the US, lawsuits over cancer. In Africa, soaring sales
In October 2022, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a study that found women who used hair relaxers more than four times a year were at a higher risk of uterine cancer. The study marked a tipping point in the US, building on more than a decade of scientific research in which women’s exposure to chemicals known as endocrine disruptors appeared to correlate with the development of uterine and breast tumours. Endocrine disruptors interfere with hormones that regulate functions such as mood, appetite, cognitive development and reproductive health. While many black women in the US are now rejecting chemical straighteners – filing thousands of lawsuits against manufacturers in the wake of the study – sales of the products in some African countries continue to climb. Tunisia, Kenya and Cameroon were among the countries worldwide leading sales growth for perms and relaxers from 2017 to 2022, according to Euromonitor, a market research firm. Sales in Tunisia and Kenya jumped 10% over the five-year span. South Africa and Nigeria also saw growth. Africa is a lucrative market for the cosmetics industry. It has the youngest and fastest-growing population of any continent, an expanding middle class and a flourishing community of millionaires. Hair and skin products are being developed to meet consumer needs…For many black women, chemically straightening their hair is a rite of passage informed by Eurocentric definitions of beauty that favour long, straight hair and are rooted in colonialism and racism. But women also say manageability and social acceptance drive the decision.
Afro-Palestinians: Guardians of Al-Aqsa Mosque
If you walk through the cobbled alleys of occupied East Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter, you will come across a community of Afro-Palestinians. Their history is closely linked to one of the holiest sites in Islam. The Afro-Palestinian community, which numbers around 450, are descendants of pilgrims from Chad, Senegal, Sudan and Nigeria, who travelled eastwards to perform Hajj at Mecca and visit al-Aqsa Mosque but remained there. Their enclave situated around Bab al-Majlis was once an Ottoman prison before the British took over Jerusalem in 1917. This land was gifted to them by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Haj Amin al-Husseini, after a failed assassination attempt on his life by the British. Othman Altakruri, an Afro-Palestinian guard working for al-Aqsa saved his life, sacrificing his own in the process. Today, the community are famously known amongst Palestinian Jerusalemites as the ‘guardians of al-Aqsa.’
Site: @BBCAfrica on “X”
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
In Gabon, Muslims invite Christians into mosques to pray for peace
Christians joined Muslims this week to pray for peace as the country holds a month-long “national dialogue” intended to pave the way for military leaders to transfer power to a civilian government. Clerics say that among the approximately 700 civilians who attended this year’s Eid al-Fitr prayers Wednesday at the Central Mosque in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, were scores of Christians. The Eid al-Fitr prayers marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Tidjani Babagana, grand imam of Muslims in Gabon, told Gabon’s state TV that during prayers he launched an appeal for reconciliation, peace, temperance and internal harmony among citizens who are looking forward to changes at the helm of the government. He also reminded civilians who are waiting for the government to improve their living conditions that it is a prescription in the Holy Quran to respect state authority. Babagana said both Muslims and Christians should celebrate Eid al-Fitr as a sign of fraternity, interreligious tolerance and living together in peace, despite the challenges Gabon is facing. The faithful who gathered for prayers say the country has suffered a crime wave — including theft, assault and highway robbery — since transitional president General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema ordered the release of over 500 prisoners in late March. The transitional government says Christians joined Muslims in feasts across the central African state this week. Muslim clerics say that nationwide, prayers were for peace and a return to constitutional order without chaos.
In a Rwandan reconciliation village, collaborative efforts among women give hope for unity
Anastasie Nyirabashyitsi and Jeanette Mukabyagaju think of each other as dear friends. The women’s friendship was cemented one day in 2007, when Mukabyagaju, going somewhere, left a child behind for Nyirabashyitsi to look after. This expression of trust stunned Nyirabashyitsi because Mukabyagaju, a Tutsi survivor who lost most of her family in the Rwandan genocide, was leaving a child in the hands of a Hutu woman for the first time since they had known each other…The women are neighbors in a community of genocide perpetrators and survivors 40 kilometers (24 miles) outside the Rwandan capital of Kigali. At least 382 people live in Mbyo Reconciliation Village, which some Rwandans cite as an example of how people can peacefully coexist 30 years after the genocide. More than half the residents of this reconciliation village are women, and their projects — which include a basket-weaving cooperative as well as a money saving program — have united so many of them that it can seem offensive to inquire into who is Hutu and who is Tutsi. An official with Prison Fellowship Rwanda, a Kigali-based civic group that’s in charge of the village, said the women foster a climate of tolerance because of the hands-on activities in which they engage regularly. In Rwanda women leaders have long been seen as a pillar of reconciliation, and Rwandans can now “see the benefits” of empowering women to fight the ideology behind genocide, said Yolande Mukagasana, a prominent writer and genocide survivor.
In some classrooms, deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils now study alongside everyone else
A new approach in a selected number of schools in Senegal seats those who are deaf and hard of hearing in a same classroom as other children with no disability. The United Nations children’s agency says about 60% of children with disabilities in Senegal are not going to school. But the government lacks comprehensive data on the issue and counts only children who are formally registered as having a disability. “We’re looking for progress from the government to ensure every child, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to learn,” said Sara Poehlman with UNICEF Senegal. The challenges are compounded by a stigma that some in Senegal associate with disabilities. Some parents hide their children and prevent them from participating in society. But attitudes are changing. In 2021, Senegal’s football team for deaf and hard of hearing players won the first African football championship for such teams and played in the world championship, to the congratulations of Senegal’s president. During the recent election, the National Association for the Promotion of the Deaf in Senegal and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems organized a workshop to teach hard-of-hearing voters over 100 election-related terms in sign language.
Ouma Katrina Esau: Reviving a language, one child at a time
Earlier this week, the University of Cape Town (UCT) bestowed an honorary doctorate on Her Excellency ǂXuu Katrina Esau. Affectionately known as Ouma Katrina, the nonagenarian is the last remaining fluent speaker of the critically endangered N|uu language and one of South Africa’s living legends. Thought to be extinct until fairly recently, N|uu – an ancient San language from the Tuu family – re-emerged in the Northern Cape during the late 1990s when people who were able to speak the language fluently were encouraged to contribute to its survival and revival. At the time, there was a group of about 20 older people who could speak the language fluently, among them Ouma Katrina and her siblings. Sadly, Ouma Katrina is the last of the group still alive. She has, however, made it her life’s mission to preserve the language for the future by educating young people from her community in a tiny classroom at her house in Rosedale, outside Upington in the Northern Cape…The event encompassed the unveiling of a N|uu-language dictionary, compiled with critical input from Ouma Katrina, as well as her capping by the UCT Chancellor. Apart from the hardcopy, which was unveiled during the ceremony, a digital version of the N|uu dictionary also exists, as well as the Saasi Epsi mobile app. These resources are available for free thanks to funding by the South African government’s Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
One woman’s battle to push Africa’s space race
Cameroonian scientist Marie Makuate has been at the forefront of using information harvested by satellites to help save the lives of people on Earth in emergencies. She creates maps to help emergency services navigate an unpredictable territory so that people in need can be reached quickly.”I was shocked to hear about the [Morocco] disaster, but then I thought that if I mapped as much infrastructure as possible, it would help other people save lives.” Last September, her maps, derived from open-source, freely available images, became a lifeline for organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières operating in the devastated towns, which included Marrakesh. A map of the kind that Ms Makuate creates looks very different from the ones that most might be familiar with. It shows an updated, high-definition view of the territory to which she and the team she leads add potentially life-saving information. “The most important thing emergency services need to know when there is a disaster is: ‘Where is the road? where is the water? where’s a river or a [shopping] mall?’” Ms Makuate says. Morocco does have its own satellites, but Ms Makuate makes the case that more African countries should be sending them into space and make their output more freely available. This is not just about emergencies. Satellite imagery can help, among other things, in boosting agriculture, analysing population changes and understanding what is happening to natural resources such as water. “If a country has its own satellite, it doesn’t have to pay for the images,” says the young scientist. Satellite images can cost up to $25 (£20) per square kilometre – getting high-definition photographs of an area the size of Lagos, for example, would cost more than $80,000…Ms Makuate has been making her case for more pan-African collaboration in front of a group of industry specialists that came together this week in Angola’s capital, Luanda, for the NewSpace Africa Conference. There is huge potential in the African space sector – it is expected to be worth more than $20bn by 2026, according to consultancy firm Space in Africa. But the vast majority of this money is coming from outside the continent – through companies who are selling services to Africans.
Iwaki and Nico Williams: Two brothers, one club and a 40-year wait
Inaki Williams always knew his brother Nico was special, even if his younger sibling used to get so nervous he would ask Inaki, already a star in Bilbao, not to watch his youth games at the Athletic Club academy. Inaki is a pioneer. He helped raise Nico while their parents worked tirelessly to make ends meet, but also paved the way for his brother and other sons of immigrants to represent a club whose policy of only fielding players born or raised in the Basque Country inevitably meant the squad has historically reflected the predominantly white society around it. Nico, eight years his junior, is, in Inaki’s words, now “making waves in football” too, and any nerves the youngster feels these days are channelled into realising childhood dreams of performing on the biggest stage alongside his big brother, mentor and guardian. Their mother, Maria, was pregnant with Inaki when she left Ghana with father Felix in search of a better life. The couple crossed part of the Sahara barefoot.Felix and Maria made it to the Spanish territory of Melilla in north Africa, jumping a border fence. A lawyer advised them to lie, to say they were from war-torn Liberia instead and seek political asylum. On Saturday the brothers will try to help Athletic win a first major trophy in 40 years when they face Mallorca in the Copa del Rey final in Seville…After a friendly appearance for Spain in 2016, Inaki chose to represent Ghana at international level. Nico meanwhile has committed fully to Spain, making four appearances at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
SAfr filmmaker ‘honoured’ for inspiring Beyoncé’s album
South African filmmaker Michael Matthews says he is honoured that Beyoncé recognised his film as one of the inspirations for her new highly acclaimed country album, Cowboy Carter. Last week, the US singer revealed that each track on the album drew inspiration from a different Western film, and that she often screened the films in the background while recording. One of the films she named was Five Fingers For Marseilles, a 2017 contemporary Western directed by Matthews, and South Africa’s first Western film. “It’s a huge honour to have made a mark on an artist as bold and innovative as Beyoncé,” said Matthew. He added that it was significant for Beyoncé to acknowledge a South African movie. “The hope is that it leads to more eyes on the film around the world and on our incredible local films and filmmakers across the board.”
The black female winemakers fermenting change
South Africa is one of the top wine producers in the world yet, nearly 30 years after the end of apartheid, the industry is still dominated by white-owned wineries. Black-owned brands account for less than 1% of wine sales per litre in South Africa, even though black South Africans make up over 80% of the population. A determined group of black women winemakers wants to change this. Vivian Kleyhans, who founded her brand Seven Sisters Vineyard in 2005, noted the challenges she faced back then. “After 1994 to about 2000-2002 it was still very much apartheid years. And in those years policies were changed to include people of colour in the industry. “We really had to investigate this opportunity and our involvement in a very white, male-dominated industry. “We did not belong to the wine industry. It belonged to a minority group of people.” After facing too many obstacles within South Africa, Ms Kleyhans found an importer in the US who agreed to sell her wines there. “I’m still not selling my wines in the local market. I’ve decided if I want to make money it’s not going to be in the local market,” she said…Now, a group of them, including Ms Kleyham, have been given financial support to export their wines from British company On Cloud Wine. Among the winemakers who has benefited is Nondumiso Pikashe, who has been in the business for 20 years.
African music tops revenue growth
Sub-Saharan Africa had the fastest growth in music of any region and was the only one to surpass 20 per cent growth, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Revenues climbed by 24.7 percent, fuelled by gains in paid streaming revenues (+24.5 percent). According to the IFPI “Global Music Report 2024”, South Africa remained the largest market in the region, contributing 77.0 percent of regional revenues after growth of 19.9 percent. The report says Africa is one of the fastest growing in the world because of a rich blend of genres and cultures. “Obviously Amapiano is becoming well-established on a global stage, but there are other artists and genres ready to step into the spotlight. I think that as labels, because the A and R (artists and repertoire) sector is so competitive, particularly around certain tracks, we need to ensure that artist development and building sustainable careers – in Africa and overseas, remains an important part of our toolkit. That’s the name of the game for all record companies in my view,” said Christel Kayibi, director of repertoire strategy, Sony Music Africa. Global recorded music revenues increased by 10.2 per cent in 2023, driven largely by growth in paid streaming subscribers, according to IFPI.
Nigerian solo driver completes trip from London to Lagos
A UK-based Nigerian travel content creator and solo driver has finally reached Lagos after a 68-day journey driving from London to Nigeria. Pelumi Nubi, who announced her ambitious road trip in January, was welcomed by Nigerian officials upon her arrival at the Nigeria border with Benin on Sunday. The 28-year-old solo traveller’s arrival was broadcast on her YouTube and announced by Gboyega Akosile, the Lagos governor’s spokesperson. Throughout her trip, Nubi documented her numerous challenges on social media, including a 24-hour hold-up at the border in Liberia and being denied entry to Sierra Leone last month. As a result, she postponed her planned return home, originally set for 23 March to 7 April. Last month, she survived a car crash shortly after arriving in Liberia. She received care at a hospital and had her damaged car fixed. Nubi travelled across 17 countries. Her path took her from England to France, Spain, Morocco, and through the expansive Sahara desert. Ms Nubi believes she is the first black woman to attempt this journey. She said her goal was not about breaking records but showing the world that “impossible” is just a word. In an earlier interview, she said that the entire trip would cost nearly $20,000 (£16,000), covering fuel, accommodation and other essential needs.
The hyenas of Harar: how a city fell in love with its bone-crunching carnivores
Across Africa, hyenas and people often clash, particularly as human settlements expand. The large carnivores are known to kill people as well as large numbers of livestock, and are often poisoned and killed in retaliatory attacks…Here in Harar, a walled city in eastern Ethiopia, however, their presence is not just accepted but encouraged…As human-wildlife conflict increases and habitats shrink, the question of how communities can live in coexistence with large predators becomes increasingly pressing…In Harar, the animals act as the city’s garbage-disposal system, entering at night through a series of “hyena doors” built into the walls and eating entrails dumped in the streets…[Much of Harar’s Muslim population believes] hyenas can protect people from mischievous djinn, or spirits.
The General History of Africa
A comprehensive look at states and societies across the continent’s entire history.
Burkinabe inventor makes new machines from old parts
TWEET(S) OF THE DAY
“So many Africans were killed during the Middle Passage that it altered the behavior & swim patterns of the sharks in the ocean. We haven’t even begun to unpack it all.”
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“Nigeria just charged me $215 for a 1-month, single entry visa. For the 3rd time this year. The visa is $25 but Nigeria charges a $20 “processing fee” & $170 for biometrics every time. How can we achieve a borderless Africa – or AfCFTA – when visas are this hard?”
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AFRICA – ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL/OPINION
The unremarkable deaths of migrants in the Sahara
Africa’s democratic dividend
30-odd years after the restoration of multiparty democracy, is it time to reassess the practice of democracy?
Lake Chad Basin states can sever terrorism’s lifeline – its financing
Disrupting the financing and local economies of violence is crucial to defeating terrorist groups.
CFA franc: conditions are ripe for replacement of the west African currency rooted in colonialism
West Africa’s falling fish stocks: illegal Chinese trawlers, climate change and artisanal fishing fleets to blame
Russia-Africa Cooperation Still Faces Policy Approach And Financing Challenges
Embracing ‘brain circulation’ is a huge opportunity for Africa’s development
The “brain drain” narrative misses the opportunities that a highly educated and dynamic diaspora can bring to Africa
African wild dogs will soon have their own sperm bank
Chad
Kidnappings in Chad could spark a regional security crisis
The Chad-Cameroon-CAR border area is a powder keg of crime that needs swift action from all three governments.
Libya
Ireland Investigation: Why Is Ireland Training Haftar’s Forces In Libya?
The Irish government has initiated an investigation into alleged violations by an Irish company, led by former Defense Forces soldiers,
Nigeria:
What Turmoil in ECOWAS Means for Nigeria and Regional Stability
JAS vs. ISWAP: The War of the Boko Haram Splinters
The two jihadist groups in north-eastern Nigeria have bruised each other badly in internecine fighting. But they are still a menace to civilians, both in Nigeria and in the other Lake Chad states. The governments cannot afford to shift their gaze from the militant danger.
Rwanda/DRCongo:
Rwanda genocide: 30 years on, why Tutsis are at the centre of DR Congo’s conflict
Rwanda-backed rebels are choking the Congolese people, yet this is one conflict the world can easily end
Seychelles
EU-Seychelles accord could slow Indian Ocean drug trade
Bilateral agreements are one way to target drug trafficking at sea and safeguard suspects’ human rights.
Senegal
Maritime Menace: Resurgence Of Somali Piracy
Somalia
SA staring down barrel of a gun but Western Cape has another choice
South Africa
South Africa’s polls unlikely to result in widespread public violence
Even so, police and other state security agencies must be ready to proactively prevent and contain disruption.
South Africa’s first election was saved by a Kenyan
The fascinating story of Washington Okumu, the accidental mediator
Sudan
A Year of War
All-out fighting between rival branches of the armed forces has devastated Sudan. With millions facing famine, diplomats should push the two main belligerents much harder to accept a ceasefire – before the fragmentation in the two sides’ ranks dooms efforts to stop the carnage.
The Africa Edition ©️ 
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