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
“Leaving your house, making it to your destination, and making it back to your home safely is such an underrated blessing.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Heavy rains pound Kenya
Burkina army allegedly massacred 200 civilians
Botswana rejects UK’s asylum proposal
Tunisia retrieves bodies of 14 migrants
U.S. to also withdraw troops from Chad
Portugal president calls for slavery reparations.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
DRC accuses Apple of using illegally exploited minerals from conflict-torn east
Former Ethiopia State Minister of Peace charged with crimes of ‘supporting anti-peace forces’
US report reveals extensive human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s conflict zones
Heavy rains pound Kenya as people count property losses
Kenya: Floods cause widespread devastation in Nairobi
Kiir, Machar agree ‘in principle’ to postpone elections: official
Tanzania denies abuse reports as WBank halts funds
Malaria affects student performance in Higher Ed. entry exams
West Africa
Burkina Faso’s army massacred over 200 civilians in a village raid, Human Rights Watch says
Cocoa farmers lament low earnings amid high prices
US sending senior officials to Niger to discuss troop exit
US pullout from Niger driven by discord over democratic transition
Germany detains alleged Nigerian mafia members
US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa
Southern Africa
Botswana rejects UK’s asylum agreement proposal
Thabo Mbeki hits campaign trail for ANC in Gauteng
Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa reshuffles cabinet
North Africa
Canadian police charge 2 former UN employees with conspiracy to sell military equipment in Libya
Quarter of Moroccan graduates unemployed, report shows
Tunisia retrieves bodies of 14 migrants off its coast
Future is uncertain for hundreds of Sahrawi graduates
Central Africa
U.S. to withdraw troops from Chad, dealing another blow to Africa policy
Chad elections: 4 things Mahamat Déby has done to stay in power
AFRICA GENERAL
(17) GOOD NEWS AFRICA STORIES
PODCAST OF THE DAY
VIDEO OF THE DAY
AFRICA RELATED BOOK AND PUBLICATION
(15) ARTICLES ON ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL & OPINION
EASTERN AFRICA
DR CONGO
Apple accused of using illegally exploited minerals from conflict-torn east
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is accusing Apple of using “illegally exploited” minerals extracted from the country’s embattled east in its products, lawyers representing the African country said Thursday, April 25. The DRC’s lawyers have sent Apple a formal cease and desist notice seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), effectively warning the tech giant it could face legal action if the alleged practice continues. The Paris-based lawyers for the DRC accused Apple of purchasing minerals smuggled from the DRC into neighboring Rwanda, where they are laundered and “integrated into the global supply chain”. When contacted, Apple pointed to statements from its 2023 annual corporate report regarding the alleged use of so-called conflict minerals that are crucial for a wide range of high-tech products, “Based on our due diligence efforts… we found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023, directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country,” it said. The DRC’s mineral-rich Great Lakes region has been wracked by violence since regional wars in the 1990s, with tensions reheating in late 2021 when March 23 Movement (M23) rebels began recapturing swathes of territory.
ETHIOPIA
Former State Minister of Peace charged with crimes of ‘supporting anti-peace forces’
Federal prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice’s Directorate of Organized and Cross-Border Affairs filed three criminal charges against Taye Dendea, the former State Minister of Peace, including with the crime of ‘supporting anti-peace forces and being in possession of unauthorized weapons, according to state media. The three charges were filed at the Federal High Court’s first bench which presides on crimes against the constitution and the constitutional order. Prosecutors also accused the defendant of violating the Firearms Act by having “unauthorized weapons” that were allegedly found at his residence during a search at his former residence, a residence his family has since been forcibly evicted from. PM Abiy Ahmed sacked Taye in a letter issued on 11 December 2023. The letter failed short of explaining the reason but thanked Taye for his contribution during his tenure since 08 October 2021. It came against the backdrop of unprecedented media engagement and social media posts by Taye who made stern remarks criticizing the government including for the failure of Dar es Salaam peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). Taye was detained the next day after he was sacked from his position in what security forces said was following “a thorough investigation” revealing alleged evidence of Taye’s participation in “terrorist activities” during his tenure at the ministry.
US State Department report reveals extensive human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s conflict zones
The 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia, which was issued by the U.S. State Department, has detailed serious violations that have taken place during conflicts within the country over the previous year. The 68 pages report includes testimonies of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detentions, and limitations on democratic rights in various regions affected by conflict. While the November 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement ended active hostilities between the federal government and forces in the Tigray region, the report cites persistent abuses by Eritrean troops along the border as well as the continued activities of various militia groups in other areas. The report highlighted that various factions involved in the conflict, including the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) as well as Eritrean, Tigray, and Amhara forces, were implicated in perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity. These atrocities encompassed offenses such as homicide, sexual assault, forced expulsion of civilians, and instances of ethnic cleansing. The report underscored numerous incidents detailing extrajudicial killings perpetrated by security forces, including the purported involvement of government troops in the deaths of 23 civilians in the Oromia region in January 2023. Additionally, it referenced findings from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which documented over 200 killings by government forces across nine towns in the Amhara region subsequent to the declaration of a state of emergency in August 2023.
KENYA
Heavy rains pound Kenya as people count property losses
Kenyan residents in various parts of the country are counting heavy losses as heavy floods continue to destroy their properties. On Wednesday last week, the Kenyan government sounded an alarm following the spilling of water from Masinga Dam. The dam, the largest water reservoir for power production in the country, has surpassed its capacity of 1056.5 cubic meters. In North Rift region, more than 400 families have been displaced and several hectares of food crops damaged or submerged as floods wreak havoc following recent heavy rains. The floods have also damaged roads and infrastructure. Transport services in several areas have been disrupted in the region. In Turkana, West Pokot, and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties, properties have been destroyed by flash floods as dams and rivers burst their banks. The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned Kenyans to brace for more heavy rain. The Kenya Red Cross Society and county governments in the region are supplying families displaced by floods with medical equipment and drugs to curb an outbreak of waterborne disease. In Nairobi County, the government has directed respective administrators in the sprawling Mukuru slums, where land grabbers have erected structures on riparian land along Ngong River, to remove them. On Sunday, the weatherman predicted that the rains are not yet over and will continue pouring up to June.
Floods cause widespread devastation in Nairobi
Roads have turned into rivers in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, as a top official said flooding had “escalated to extreme levels”. Heavy rain has pounded Kenya in recent days, causing widespread devastation. The UN says that at least 32 people have lost their lives and more than 40,000 have been forced from their homes because of the rain and flooding. Edwin Sifuna, who oversees Nairobi county, said “the situation in Nairobi has escalated to extreme levels. The County Government for all its efforts is clearly overwhelmed. We need all national emergency services mobilised to save lives.” Wider East Africa has also been badly affected by heavy rain in recent weeks. Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Burundi, while at least 58 people have died in Tanzania. One of the biggest drivers of heavy rain in East Africa is the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) often called the “Indian Niño”…when both a positive IOD and an El Niño occur at the same time, as was the case last year, then the rains in East Africa can become extreme.
SOUTH SUDAN
Kiir, Machar agree ‘in principle’ to postpone elections: official
A senior opposition official from the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) has said that the group’s leader, Riek Machar Teny, has come into consensus with President Salva Kiir Mayardit to postpone the 2024 elections. The opposition official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not indicate when the agreement was reached but said the two rivals “agreed in principle” to push back the elections and were tailoring the terms, including the extended transitional period. “The chairman and commander-in-chief and the first vice president, H.E Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon has agreed with Salva Kiir to postpone the election,” he said. “He proposed the extension and because everyone including our internal partners see that there is no possibility for elections, Salva has agreed in principle for the idea,” he told Sudans Post yesterday. The senior official said that the two men will form a team of experts to work on tailoring down the terms of the agreement, including the timeframe for elections and also on issues of concerns to us such as the unilateral actions that are usually taken by the president.
TANZANIA
Govt denies abuse reports as WBank halts funds
The Tanzanian government has denied allegations that villagers have been subjected to abuses, including forced evictions, as part of a project to expand a national park in the south of the country. On Tuesday, the World Bank said it had suspended its funding of a $150m (£120m) tourism project in Ruaha National Park, saying it was deeply concerned about the allegations. “The Tanzanian government does not violate human rights when implementing all its projects, including this one being funded by the World Bank,” government spokesperson Mobhare Matinyi told state broadcaster TBC. “What happened is that the World Bank received some reports from civil society organisations that cast some doubts on the project, alleging some human rights violations in the area. The reports are not true.” Known as Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow), the project seeks to “improve the management of natural resources and tourism assets” in southern Tanzania, the World Bank previously said. Mr Matinyi told a local newspaper that the World Bank has so far disbursed $125m (£101m) of its funding for Regrow, which launched in 2017. Last year, American think-tank Oakland Institute reported that villagers had been raped by rangers and were being evicted from their land because the park was being expanded. Oakland Institute also pointed to reports, from a Tanzanian MP and a community organisation, that rangers had allegedly killed villagers.
Malaria affects student performance in Higher Ed. entry exams
Exposure to malaria could be the reason for the declining levels of performance in secondary school exit exams in Tanzania, a study found. Students who do not take the exams could fail to meet tertiary education entry requirements and forfeit the chance to continue their studies in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where the prevalence of the disease is relatively high. Tejendra Pratap Singh, a PhD candidate at Georgia State University in the United States, recently investigated the prevalence of malaria in Tanzania…and wanted to establish whether students’ increasingly poor performance in examinations could be the consequence of exposure to malaria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa “carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. Failing the Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (CSEE) in Tanzania prevents a student from getting an opportunity to proceed to A-levels or joining diploma-awarding tertiary institutions, while failing the and the Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) automatically shuts the door for selection to join a university. Singh’s study showed student performance worsens when they are exposed to higher levels of malaria in the days preceding the examinations. The results of the study showed that the effect was more pronounced among older and female students.
WEST AFRICA
BURKINA FASO
Army massacred over 200 civilians in a village raid, Human Rights Watch says
Military forces in Burkina Faso killed 223 civilians, including babies and many children, in attacks on two villages accused of cooperating with militants, Human Rights Watch said in a report published Thursday. The mass killings took place on Feb. 25 in the country’s northern villages of Nondin and Soro, and some 56 children were among the dead, according to the report. The human rights organization called on the United Nations and the African Union to provide investigators and to support local efforts to bring those responsible to justice. “The massacres in Nondin and Soro villages are just the latest mass killings of civilians by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency operations,” Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan said in a statement. “International assistance is critical to support a credible investigation into possible crimes against humanity.” The HRW report provided a rare firsthand account of the killings by survivors amid a stark increase in civilian casualties by Burkina Faso’s security forces as the junta struggles to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency and attacks residents under the guise of counterterrorism. More than 20,000 people have been killed in Burkina Faso since jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a United States-based nonprofit.
GHANA
Cocoa farmers lament low earnings amid high prices
Though global cocoa prices have soared to a record high in April, farmers in Ghana are struggling to make ends meet. The government’s local pricing system has left many cocoa farmers frustrated and hopeless. Kingsley Owusu and his community have been growing cocoa beans for over 30 years. Owusu used to produce about 10 bags of cocoa per season, but now he struggles to fill even three. As a result, he has far less cash in hand than he used to. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said in a statement that “the increase in the producer price of cocoa has become necessary to enhance the income of cocoa farmers.” From the previous rate of 20,928 Ghanaian cedis (€1,460/$1,557) per ton, it pledged an increase of nearly 60%, meaning it would pay farmers 33,120 cedis per ton moving forward. That translates to 2,070 cedis per bag of cocoa with a gross weight of 64 kilograms. But farmers like Owusu have taken issue with the government’s new pricing policy. “Per the world price, we should be receiving more,” he told DW, highlighting that this month, the price of cocoa on the world market had reached $10,000 per ton.
NIGERIA
Germany detains alleged Nigerian mafia members
German police have arrested 11 Nigerian men suspected of being in a mafia group who orchestrated large-scale dating scams. The Black Axe gang was involved in “multiple areas of criminal activity” globally, Bavarian police said in a statement.
In Germany, the organisation focuses on romance scams and money laundering, the force added. Globally, the gang’s main areas of operation were “human-trafficking, fraud, money-laundering, prostitution and drug-trafficking”. The arrested suspects all hold Nigerian citizenship and are aged between 29 and 53. They were detained on Tuesday in raids across the region of Bavaria following a police probe that lasted more than two years. A 2021 media investigation of Black Axe unearthed evidence that the group had infiltrated politics in Nigeria and ran a killing operation spanning the globe.
US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa
The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on leaders of militant groups over the taking of hostages, including Americans, in West Africa, the Treasury and State departments said. The sanctions on leaders of the West African branch of al Qaeda, called Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), and Islamist militant group Al-Mourabitoun come as Washington has sought to deter and punish detentions of U.S. citizens abroad. West African countries have been destabilized in recent years by Islamist insurgencies that took root in Mali in 2012 and spread across the Sahel region despite costly, internationally backed military efforts. The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on seven leaders of JNIM and Al-Mourabitoun for their involvement in the hostage-taking of U.S. nationals in West Africa, Blinken said. The U.S. Treasury Department meanwhile also issued sanctions against two leaders of JNIM based in Mali and Burkina Faso, including one it accused of supervising the detention of a U.S. national. Tuesday’s action freezes any of their U.S. assets and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
NIGER
US sending senior officials to Niger to discuss troop exit
The United States will send a delegation to Niger on Thursday to begin face-to-face talks with officials in Niamey on withdrawing the more than 1,000 American personnel in the military-ruled country. Niger has been a key base for regional counter-terrorism operations, but the government — a military junta that ousted the country’s president last year — said in March it was ending a military cooperation agreement with Washington. The United States said it had agreed to remove its troops last week and would send a delegation to Niamey within days. As part of ongoing negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon and a senior military officer for U.S. Africa Command, Major General Ken Ekman, will meet with ruling government representatives on April 25 “to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces from Niger,” the State Department said Wednesday. Other Defense Department officials will conduct follow-up meetings in Niamey next week, and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will travel there “in the coming months to discuss ongoing collaboration in areas of joint interest,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
US pullout from Niger driven by discord over democratic transition, official says
Niger’s junta asked the U.S. to withdraw military personnel from the country over disagreements with Washington on issues including progress on the country’s transition to democratic rule, a U.S. official said. The United States has said discussions have begun on the withdrawal of forces from Niger, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington’s fight against Islamist insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more. A source familiar with the matter last week said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Niger’s leadership agreed that the U.S. would remove its troops from the country. There were a little over 1,000 U.S. troops in Niger as of last year. U.S. military personnel had been training local forces to fight militant groups. Deputy Secretary Campbell will travel to Niger in the coming months to “discuss ongoing collaboration in areas of joint interest,” the State Department said. Niger’s junta previously proposed a three-year timeline for a transition back to civilian rule after the army seized power. It was unclear which regional partners the U.S. might turn to after the withdrawal of troops from Niger. The official said Washington was not in any conversations beyond what it normally has, emphasizing that the U.S. intention is to work closely with democratic partners that welcome U.S. assistance, training and equipment.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
BOTSWANA
UK’s asylum agreement proposal is rejected
Authorities in Botswana say they recently received proposals from the United Kingdom to send asylum seekers to the country. However, Gaborone rejected the deal. In a bid to address increased illegal migration, the United Kingdom turned to proposals of sending asylum seekers to Africa, a deal which some British lawmakers say will benefit the host nations. To date, Rwanda is the only African country that has agreed to the UK’s proposals. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) NGO Working Group, an umbrella of civil society organisations, supports Gaborone’s position on the UK’s asylum proposal. Kutlwano Relontle, UPR’s program manager, says the coalition “calls on the government of Botswana and other countries to distance themselves from this controversial UK program, which appears to be aimed at protecting only some of those who are fleeing their countries on the basis of fear of persecution, and not others. We noted that in the case of the conflict in Ukraine, those seeking asylum were fast-tracked into the system, and citizens even encouraged to host them in their homes,” Relontle added.
SOUTH AFRICA
Mbeki hits campaign trail for ANC in Gauteng
Heavyweights on the ground as former President Thabo Mbeki is expected to lead the African National Congress (ANC)’s campaign trail in Soweto, Gauteng ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections. The former ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe will also be seen on the campaign trails. This is as the ruling party is beefing and ramping up its campaign before the elections. Rolling out party veterans is part of the ANC’s strategy to remain in power. The ANC said this is aimed at encouraging citizens to vote for the ANC and galvanising the various communities leading up to the polls. The ANC has been on a strong campaign trail since last year in preparation for the polls. During the trails, the party has promised citizens a better life for all, jobs, businesses, water as well as electricity. This is despite Mbeki being non-committal about whether he would campaign for the governing party or not but eventually agreed that he would campaign as he was obliged to do so.
ZIMBABWE
President Emmerson Mnangagwa reshuffles cabinet
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet, eight months after he appointed a new cabinet following his re-election in August last year. Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya announced the cabinet reshuffle in a statement on Wednesday and said the re-assignments and appointments took effect immediately. Mnangagwa reassigned Winston Chitando as head of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, removing him from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works where he has been replaced by Daniel Garwe, the former minister of National Housing and Social Amenities. Zhemu Soda, former Mines and Mining Development minister, is now the new minister for National Housing and Social Amenities. Mnangagwa also appointed Musa Ncube as deputy minister of National Housing and Social Amenities and Headman Moyo as deputy minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs.
NORTH AFRICA
TUNISIA
Coast guard retrieves bodies of 14 migrants off Djerba coast
Tunisian coast guard recovered 14 bodies of migrants off the coast of Djerba, according to a judicial officia on Wednesday, raising the number of migrants who died off Tunisia coasts in the last two days, amid a sharp increase of migrant boats heading towards Italy. On Tuesday, the coast guard also recovered 22 bodies off the coast of Sfax, and seven other bodies off the coast of Gabes.
LIBYA
Canadian police charge 2 former UN employees with conspiracy to sell military equipment in Libya
Two former United Nations employees in Montreal have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to sell Chinese-made drones and other military equipment in Libya, Canadian police said Tuesday. RCMP spokesman said the alleged offenses occurred between 2018 and 2021, when the two men were working at the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency headquartered in Montreal. Police said the two men violated U.N. sanctions related to the Libyan civil war. The sanctions have the force of law in Canada by way of federal regulation. “What we found is that through some shell companies, they attempted to sell this Chinese military equipment to Libya, which is a direct violation of the regulation,” Poirier said, adding that the military equipment included large drones that can carry multiple missiles…“The second part of this scheme was to export Libyan oil to China,” Poirier said. “So at the time, the oil fields were under the control of Gen. Khalifa Hifter and the plan was to sell millions of drums of crude oil to China without anyone knowing about it.” Both men had diplomatic immunity due to their work with the U.N. Their immunity had to be waived by ICAO before the two men could be charged. “There’s no indication that ICAO was aware of the conspiracy until they were approached by us,” the RCMP spokesman said.
MOROCCO
Quarter of Moroccan graduates unemployed, report shows
A quarter of university graduates in Morocco were jobless in 2023 – the highest unemployment rate for those who hold degrees in about two decades, according to a new report. The report was published by the Haut Commissariat au Plan or the High Commission for Planning, during March. The commission does statistical analyses of social, demographic and economical data. According to the report, the 25.9% of unemployed university degree holders in 2023 is the highest in 18 years. This is almost twice the national unemployment average of 13% of the total number of unemployed individuals recorded at the end of 2023. Dr Abdennasser Naji, the president of the Amaquen Institute, an education think tank in Morocco, noted that: “This is an official report that sounds the alarm about the significant rise in unemployment in Morocco, especially among graduates of higher education institutions. It highlights the inability of the Moroccan economy to create enough jobs in a context in which there were a large number of job losses in the past two years.” After a loss of 24,000 jobs in 2022, Morocco’s economy lost another 157,000 positions in 2023, according to a February 2024 report by the High Commission for Planning titled, The state of the labour market in 2023.
WESTERN SAHARA
Future is uncertain for hundreds of Sahrawi graduates
The only university in the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), or Western Sahara, continues to teach and deliver graduate students, despite the military stalemate that has persisted before and since its founding in 2012 that has left Morocco controlling 80% of the territory. Hundreds of students have graduated from the University of Tifariti in the past 13 years. The institution draws students from the 173,600 individuals in five Sahrawi camps inside the Algerian border who rely on humanitarian aid and from Western Saharan communities such as Tifariti, an oasis town controlled by the SADR. The ongoing conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the political and military organisation claiming Western Sahara’s sovereignty, has lasted since Spain, the former colonial power, withdrew in 1975 and allowed Morocco and Mauritania to partition the territory. Mauritania subsequently abandoned these claims. The rectorate of the University of Tifariti and its Pedagogical Institute for the Training of Professors and Teachers are in Rabuni, a Sahrawi settlement just across the Algerian border, as are its National School of Administration and Information Technology and the Institute of Journalism. The National School of Nursing is in the Sahrawi communities of Smara and Aouserd – also in Algeria…the university is located in refugee camps and not in Polisario-controlled territories within Western Sahara and is named Tifariti after the town, not because it is based there.
CENTRAL AFRICA
CHAD
U.S. to withdraw troops from Chad, dealing another blow to Africa policy
The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad in the next few days, the second major blow in a week to American security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The decision to pull out about 75 Army Special Forces personnel working in Ndjamena, Chad’s capital, comes days after the Biden administration said it would withdraw more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel from Niger in the coming months. The Pentagon is being forced to draw down troops in response to the African governments’ demands to renegotiate the rules and conditions under which U.S. military personnel can operate. Both countries want terms that better favor their interests, analysts say. The decision to withdraw from Niger is final, but U.S. officials said they hoped to resume talks on security cooperation after elections in Chad on May 6. The departure of U.S. military advisers in both countries comes as Niger, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso, is turning away from years of cooperation with the United States and forming partnerships with Russia — or at least exploring closer security ties with Moscow. The impending departure of the U.S. military advisers from Chad, a sprawling desert nation at the crossroads of the continent, was prompted by a letter from the Chadian government this month that the United States saw as threatening to end an important security agreement with Washington. The letter was sent to the American defense attaché and did not directly order the U.S. military to leave Chad, but it did single out a Special Operations task force that operates from a Chadian military base in the capital and serves as an important hub for coordinating U.S. military training and advising missions in the region.
Chad elections: Four things Mahamat Déby has done to stay in power
Chad’s presidential election campaigns officially kicked off on April 14, 2024 in the capital city, N’Djamena. Transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby held a large meeting on the Place de la Nation directly in front of the presidential palace. In attendance were members of the government, the military and various political parties, identifiable, in the blistering heat, by their different coloured shirts. Prime Minister Succès Masra, meanwhile, led a large convoy of cars and motorbikes through the city and was accompanied by a crowd of mainly young followers. Déby and Masra, both in their early 40s, were cheered by their respective crowds. The election will take place on May 6, 2024, and end a three-year transition period led by Mahamat Déby after the sudden death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, in April 2021. Analysts note that Chad’s three-year transition programme had a single objective: the long-term retention of power by Mahamat Déby. This objective has been pursued in four ways: violent oppression and intimidation; composition of the electoral institutions; approval of presidential candidates; and campaign strategies. During the 30-year reign of the late Idriss Déby Itno, Chadians largely got used to a rather autocratic regime. Democratic liberties and the right to freedom of expression were repeatedly suppressed. Arrests of demonstrators were common.Since Mahamat Idriss Déby came into office, two incidents have shown that violence against opposition voices has continued – even more ruthlessly.
AFRICA – GENERAL NEWS
Portugal president calls for slavery reparations
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that Portugal was responsible for crimes committed during Trans-Atlantic slavery and the colonial era, and suggested there was a need for reparations. For over four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported long distances by mainly European ships and merchants and sold into slavery. Those who survived the voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labour. Portugal trafficked nearly 6 million Africans, more than any other European nation, but has failed so far to confront its past and little is taught about its role in Trans-Atlantic slavery in schools. Instead, Portugal’s colonial era, during which countries including Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde and East Timor as well as parts of India were subjected to Portuguese rule, is often perceived as a source of pride. The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for Trans-Atlantic slavery has been gaining momentum worldwide, including efforts to establish a special tribunal on the issue. Activists have said that reparations and public policies to fight inequalities caused by Portugal’s past, including systemic racism, are essential. Rebelo de Sousa said last year that Portugal should apologise for Trans-Atlantic slavery and colonialism but stopped short of a full apology. He said on Tuesday that acknowledging the past and taking responsibility for it was more important than apologising. “Apologising is the easy part,” he said.
Amnesty: Global rule of law on brink of collapse
According to an annual report, by Amnesty International, published April 24, “The international rules-based order is on the brink of collapse. The violations of international law have been multiple and have increased, in fact, largely because of the increasing number of armed conflicts. Perpetrators not only violate international law but seek to justify those violations in the name of self-defense, national security, or counterterrorism,” said Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard. Amnesty highlights the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 34,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children. Amnesty’s report says Israel’s Western allies have failed to stop the bloodshed, citing “the USA’s brazen use of its veto to paralyse the UN Security Council for months on a much-needed resolution for a ceasefire, as it continues to arm Israel with munitions that have been used to commit what likely amounts to war crimes.” The report also highlights widespread human rights abuses and law violations by Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine, including “indiscriminate attacks on densely populated civilian areas, as well as energy and grain export infrastructure; and the use of torture or other ill-treatment against prisoners of war.” Moscow denies such accusations. The global order built in the wake of World War II is breaking down, warned Amnesty’s Callamard. “We are witnessing a rule-based order on the brink of collapse because the architects of the 1948 system, the architects of that system are failing it and are failing the people.”
African governments urged to re-examine positions on migration
African governments have been urged to re-examine their positions on the migration of highly skilled workers from the continent beyond the narrow focus on financial remittances. The call was made by the African Union (AU) and the International Organization for Migration (UN Migration) in the second edition of the African migration report, Connecting the Threads: Linking policy, practice and the welfare of the African migrant, which was launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Geneva, Switzerland, recently. African migration has been rising inside and outside the continent and currently stands at more than 40 million people – 3% of the African population. Of great concern, however, is that more and more highly skilled workers are leaving, creating a vast brain drain of professionals who have trained by tertiary institutions across the continent. In this context, the report noted, there is a need for a holistic approach that would lead to a better understanding of the impact of migration on human development and poverty reduction in Africa. Highlighting the migration of African medical professionals to the UK, the number of Ghanaian graduate nurses working in the UK’s health sector has increased significantly. There are now more Ghanaian nurses working in the UK than in Ghana. Efforts to encourage foreign doctors and other health professionals, especially from Africa, to migrate to France, have been in high gear since COVID-19. According to Le Monde, French-speaking newspaper, Africa is France’s second-largest supplier of doctors after the EU.
Africa Migration Report, 2nd edition
Nestlé adds sugar to infant milk sold in poorer countries, report finds
Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found. Campaigners from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of the Swiss multinational’s baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing. The results, and examination of product packaging, revealed added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years. In Nestlé’s main European markets, including the UK, there is no added sugar in formulas for young children. While some cereals aimed at older toddlers contain added sugar, there is none in products targeted at babies between six months and one year. Laurent Gaberell, Public Eye’s agriculture and nutrition expert, said: “Nestlé must put an end to these dangerous double standards and stop adding sugar in all products for children under three years old, in every part of the world.” Obesity is increasingly a problem in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, the number of overweight children under five has increased by nearly 23% since 2000, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, more than 1 billion people are living with obesity.
Process raw materials in Africa, urges top environmentalist
Africa must take greater control in the industries it supplies with raw materials to lift its people from poverty and seize its own destiny in a low-carbon world, one of the continent’s leading environmentalists has urged. Wanjira Mathai, the managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the World Resources Institute thinktank, said much more of what the continent produced must be processed and made use of close to where it is produced, if the world is to shift to a low-carbon footing. Africa’s vast resources are vital to the global economy, in sectors spanning agriculture, forestry and fisheries to minerals and metals. But most of these are extracted to be processed and turned into finished products elsewhere, sometimes with dire environmental consequences. Products such as cobalt, copper and gold are used in increasing quantities in renewable energy production and low-carbon technology such as electric vehicles. But if the processing is nearly all done overseas, few of the economic and social benefits will come to Africans themselves, said Mathai. Economists and government officials are gathering in Washington DC this week for the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, where the future of climate finance and the debt burden of poor countries are likely to be among the hottest topics of debate.
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
Sex offender register in the works in Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s first ever sexual violence registration system is reportedly in the works and set to start operations next year. The system which aims to prevent and respond to sexual violence against women and children is hoped to make a positive impact in the country. According to the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey, 10% of women age 15-49 have experienced sexual violence and 23% physical violence. With just about one-quarter of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence seeking help. In many parts of the world, many survivors choose not to report crimes of sexual violence due to victim-blaming and stigma, often perpetuated by authorities, health professionals, and friends and relatives. Citing the women’s rights and protection executive in the Ethiopian Ministry of Women and Social Affairs BBC News Amharic reported that when the register is operational, it will exclude registered sex offenders from working in schools, orphanages and other children’s institutions. The national sex offence crime registry is proposed to include a public page.
Subject rankings: Africa performs in field of medicine
Universities in South Africa and Egypt emerged as the best places to study in Africa in the five broad academic fields including arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences and management, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 that were released on April 10. In the 14th edition of the rankings, 35 universities in 11 African countries were among 1,500 universities in 96 countries and territories globally that were rated across a total of 55 academic subject fields that were organised into five broad academic fields or clusters. In Africa only 44 subject fields were analysed. Egypt had 13 universities, South Africa 10, Nigeria three, and Ghana two, while seven other countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe had one university each in the rankings. The University of Cape Town (UCT) was ranked 15th in development studies – the best ranking of any African university in any one subject. The best performance from the African cohort of universities was in the academic field or cluster of medicine in which 28 universities, representing 80% of the African universities on the QS-list were ranked. A notable performance of African universities was also in agriculture and forestry, in which 18 universities, representing about half of the African group, were ranked. A total of 11 African universities were also ranked among the world’s best universities in life sciences and medicine, a grouping covering subject areas such as agriculture and forestry, anatomy, biological sciences, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, and veterinary medicine.
Sudan’s Hotel Rwanda: the man who saved scores of people during Darfur violence
As militias targeted the Masalit community in a wave of ethnic violence, one man offered shelter and an escape route across the border. Every night, for weeks at a time last year, Saad al-Mukhtar put a small group of people in the back of his sports utility vehicle and drove them under the cover of darkness from his home in the Sudanese city of Geneina across the border and into Chad. The operation was an extraordinary act of bravery and selflessness: Mukhtar is an Arab, and the people he was smuggling to safety were members of the darker skinned Masalit community who were being targeted in a vicious wave of ethnic violence perpetrated by Arab militias. Word soon spread around Geneina that an Arab man was willing to shelter and take Masalit people to safety, and scores of people turned up at his house, sometimes staying there for weeks on end. The journey across the border was fraught with risk, as it meant passing checkpoints between non-Arab and Arab neighbourhoods manned by Arab militiamen. As Mukhtar put it in an interview with the Guardian, “only Arab drivers were allowed to pass through”.
Egyptian film picked for prestigious Cannes competition
A documentary about a group of young, disenfranchised Coptic Christians in Egypt who form an all-female theatre troupe is among the selection for Critics’ Week, a competition for new directors at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Critics week focuses on directors making their first or second films and helped filmmakers like Britain’s Ken Loach and France’s Julia Ducournau gain international renown. Rafaat Einy ll Sama (On the Brink of Dreams) is among the 11 films that made this year’s selection. The coming-of-age documentary was directed by Egyptian duo Nada Riyadh and Ayman El A mir. It was filmed over four years.Coptic Christians are a significant minority in Egypt, with between six and 11 million members of the Church. They said they face discrimination and play a lesser part in Egyptian public life than their numbers justify. The 77th Cannes Film Festival began on Sunday in France and will run until 25 May.
Coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old
Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world’s most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as “arabica.” The researchers, hoping to learn more about the plants to better protect them from pests and climate change, found that the species emerged around 600,000 years ago through natural crossbreeding of two other coffee species. These wild coffee plants originated in Ethiopia but are thought to have been first roasted and brewed primarily in Yemen starting in the 1400s. In the 1600s, Indian monk Baba Budan is fabled to have smuggled seven raw coffee beans back to his homeland from Yemen, laying the foundation for coffee’s global takeover. Arabica coffee, prized for its smooth and relatively sweet flavor, now makes up 60% – 70% of the global coffee market and is brewed by brands such as Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and Dunkin’. The rest is robusta, a stronger and more bitter coffee made from one of arabica’s parents, Coffea canephora. The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics. Researchers from Nestlé, which owns several coffee brands, contributed to the study.
Morocco: Arabic calligraphy exhibition celebrates Islamic heritage
Tracking the journey of writing the Quran through various stages in history. This was the aim of an exhibition held in northwestern Morocco. Items on display date back to the Andaluzian period, the Ottoman period and even the 8th century. The president of the Moroccan Club for Manuscripts, Coins and Stamps in the city of Safi was particularly proud of one piece in the exhibit. “We have a small copy of the Quran, the smallest Quran with a length of 20 millimeters, a width of 17 millimeters and a height of 12 millimeters, covered with gold water and written with gum Arabic,” Said al-Jedyani said. “This copy of the Quran is not read with the naked eye, only with a microscope. Also, one of the most important antiques in this exhibition is an astronomical painting on deer skin which shows that the heart of the globe is Mecca.” According to Islamic belief, the Quran is the world of Allah which was revealed by an angel to the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca and Medina. The Quran was printed in the late 1800s, but the handwritten copies remain highly prized for both its artistic and historical value. But the deterioration in preserving the art of calligraphy could endanger the handwritten copies.
Somali-British boxer Ramla Ali battles injustice where she finds a cause
East London’s Bethnal Green is where you will find the fighter looming larger than life out of a community mural three storeys tall. Three decades after she claimed asylum in London as a toddler with her family, guest editor Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, chose Ali to grace the cover of the September 2019 British Vogue issue as a “Force for Change’’. She turned up to the photoshoot a bundle of nerves and bearing one of the occupational hazards of the day job. “I had a black eye but you can’t see it,” she says. “That’s why I’m the only one who’s sideways. Inclusion is important to Ali. She devotes considerable amounts of time to being an equal opportunities activist and working as a humanitarian with the aid organisation Unicef. Perhaps her greatest labour of love is Sisters Club, the non-profit initiative founded in 2018 to give women of ethnic and religious minorities and victims of violence a safe place to box…Ali knows all too well the strength it takes to defy convention, rewrite the rules, push through obstacles, or embrace being different. In childhood, she routinely lied about her ethnicity, inventing any alternative birthplace to better blend into the mainly Asian population where she grew up.
Then came more than a decade of hiding bruises from a disapproving family, sneaking out the window for sparring sessions, and pretending to be elsewhere while going off to compete.
Victor Boniface: Nigeria striker’s rise to Bundesliga glory with Bayer Leverkusen
A rollercoaster season for Victor Boniface hit new heights when he scored the opening goal in a 5-0 victory that sealed a first Bundesliga title for Bayer Leverkusen. The result against Werder Bremen on Sunday was as emphatic as the club’s unbeaten juggernaut of a league campaign. It was fitting that Boniface began Sunday’s rout, given the way he got the ball rolling with a strong start to the season following his reported $25m (£20m) move from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise last July. Having racked up 16 goals in all competitions, and established a strong understanding with club talisman Florian Wirtz, Boniface’s rollercoaster suddenly turned into a house of horrors. A groin injury ruled him out of the Africa Cup of Nations just days before the tournament in Ivory Coast, where the Super Eagles eventually finished as runners-up. The loss of his mother in 2019, as well as the two ACL injuries, damaged Boniface’s love of the game for a while, leading to alcohol abuse and even suicidal thoughts for a time while he was in Norway. From the lows of depression, Boniface’s rehabilitation has ridden to new levels at Bayer Leverkusen – but he has not been the only African making an impression as part of Xabi Alonso’s formidable side.
Young Ugandans dream of being professional wrestlers
Young Ugandans are gathering in the district of Mukono to take part in a soft-ground wrestling competition. A dramatic announcement hails the arrival of the first contestants. The training sessions imitate the pro wrestling contests the teens regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring made from bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer the muscular shows of strength. They mimic every move, action and sound as their famous idols in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) combat sport. The Uganda Soft Ground Wrestling group is a relative newcomer – it started in 2023. It was founded by Daniel Cedric Bumba – known in the local wrestling community as Bumbash. The 35-year-old says he has been a wrestling fan since childhood. He became what’s known as a video jockey after college, offering lively commentary and translating WWE matches into the local Luganda language for fellow viewers. Now he’s a pioneer, known only to a small group of fans in Uganda who follow pro wrestling on TV but are aspiring to make it widely popular. Bumba hopes that some of these wrestlers, many of them orphans, can do well and long enough to go professional.
Disadvantaged children in Rwanda take up the sport of fencing
In a children’s foster care centre on the hills of Rwanda’s capital Kigali, Patience Wamungu is hard at work trying to instil the knowledge and skills he has horned over the years in the sport of fencing to his young students. Eagle-eyed, authoritative and just like his name, he patiently goes about his training session meticulously at Gisimba Memorial Centre, muttering the game’s terminologies, such as ‘Allez’ and ‘En-garde’ – French words for ‘go’, and ‘on guard’ respectively. In fencing terms, the former used by the referee to start a bout and the latter uttered before the start of the bout to signify to the fencers that they should get into positions. The students, mainly orphans, refugees, and less fortunate children, promptly respond.They are kitted in worn out gear they borrow for practice from time to time from another professional sports club. Gisimba was established a little over 75 years ago and took centre stage as haven for children of victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. It is now a social centre dedicated to the defence and protection of the rights of the child population in Rwanda. Mostly on the creation of after-school programmes.
Cape Town traveller reunited with iPad, 10 years after it was stolen in Paris
A Cape Town man has been reunited with his iPad, a decade after it was stolen from him in Paris, France. Frits Bruter took to social media at the weekend where he shared how he received a call from a woman, who works only a kilometre from where he lives. In the post, Buter said in March 2014, he had been travelling with his cousin and later travelled alone through the France capital when he was robbed. “My iPad, passport, train tickets and cash were stolen from my backpack. I had a great struggle and lodged a complaint with the police at Garde de Nord. Fortunately, I quickly forgot about the trauma,” Buter said. He said last week, exactly 10 years to the date, he received a phone call from a woman informing him that she had his iPad. He said what made the tale even more amazing was that the woman worked in Bloubergstrand, about one kilometre from where he lived. “She bought my iPad online. To make a long story shorter, I got the iPad from her and was able to get all my holiday photos and videos,” he said. Buter said he wondered where the iPad had been roaming for the last decade and how it finally got back into Blouberg.
Tunde Onakoya: Nigerian breaks chess marathon record
Under the beaming lights of New York’s iconic Times Square, Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya has broken the record for the longest chess marathon. After playing for 58 consecutive hours he was still at the board. Onakoya hopes to raise $1m (£805,000) for charity to support chess education for millions of children. Hundreds of supporters from the city’s Nigerian community have shown up to cheer on the chess master, including Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido. They provided music and energised him with supplies of classic Nigerian dishes, including the beloved national staple, jollof rice. Back home in Nigeria, people threw their support behind Onakoya as they watched him conquer the record on Twitch, a video-streaming service. Supporters left messages on the stream commending Onakoya as an inspiration. The previous world record, recognised by Guinness World records, was 56 hours, nine minutes, and 37 seconds, which was set by Norwegian duo Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018.
Breakthrough in Malaria Prevention
Two new types of mosquito bed nets have been found to reduce cases of malaria by up to a half, raising hopes of combating the disease, which is becoming increasingly resistant to treatments and prevention efforts. Nets treated with two types of insecticide rather than one were trialled in 17 African countries where malaria is endemic between 2019 and 2022. Among the countries taking part was Nigeria, which accounts for more than a quarter of global deaths from the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. More than 600,000 people died from malaria in 2022 and 249 million people were infected, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization. More than 90% of cases and deaths occurred in Africa.
Ghana’s Ibrahim Mahama: The artist clothing London’s brutalist icon
London’s grey and angular Barbican Centre is now a sea of pink – its frontage covered in cloth that billows in the breeze as if dancing.”It started off as a joke,” visual artist Ibrahim Mahama says. “When I was invited here, I was looking at the grey concrete and the grey weather. I thought, why not use something more colourful as a contrast?” So the 37-year-old turned to local experts in northern Ghana near his studio in Tamale, who weaved and sewed this project on a colossal scale. During three months, a team of 1,000 people hand-stitched 2,000 square metres of striped cotton, before decorating it with 130 traditional smocks known as batakari. Purple Hibiscus is the result of that toil. It is also a nod to London’s famous rag trade – the city’s fabric merchants, tailors and dressmakers who once dominated the area where the Barbican Centre now stands.
A Mine in Zimbabwe Goes Green
A gold mine in Zimbabwe has turned its former dumpsite into a solar station, generating all the energy it needs for operations at the mine and releasing excess energy into the national grid. Located in Zimbabwe’s southwestern Bubi district, some 500 kilometers from the capital, the project has drawn praise from environmentalists.
Insights into Africa’s Wealthiest Cities
Africa is home to some of the world’s largest and most dynamic cities. The 10 wealthiest cities and areas in Africa are listed below, ranked by their number of resident millionaires (high-net-worth individuals, HNWIs).
Op-ed/Opinion
West Africa’s fashion designers are world leaders when it comes to producing sustainable clothes
VIDEO OF THE DAY
How Africa’s freedom fighters toppled Portugal’s empire
In the jungles of Africa some 50 years ago, freedom fighters took a stand against the Portuguese Empire, ultimately leading to the collapse of Europe’s longest-standing colonial power.
AFRICAN NEWS PODCASTS
Persisting inequality has made many young South Africans question the choices made by Nelson Mandela
AFRICA-RELATED BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS
Africa Migration Report, 2nd edition
AFRICA – ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL/OPINION
The U.S. is in retreat in a crucial part of the world
Boko Haram factional violence worries Islamic State
In its quest to expand beyond North East Nigeria, JAS–ISWAP clashes aren’t in the global terror group’s interests.
Why Africans are envious of farmers’ protests in Europe
African farmers are struggling to sustain themselves and sell some of their produce to the market as they used to do with the help of governments and cooperatives
Sugar in baby food: why Nestlé needs to be held to account in Africa
Why Africans should not aspire to be Americans
R21 anti-malaria vaccine is a game changer
Until three years ago nobody had developed a vaccine against any parasitic disease. Now there are two against malaria: the RTS,S and the R21 vaccines.
WHO Pandemic Treaty: Enhancement of Safety or Erosion of Sovereignty?
DR Congo
Colonialism Revamped in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Lord Leverhulme’s 1911 concession in the Congo is now held by an African-run New York-based private equity firm with strong links to global philanthropy.
Ethiopia
The Pretoria Peace Agreement brought broken promises and unfulfilled hope to Tigray
The challenges facing Tigray include humanitarian crises, constitutional chaos resulting from occupation, violations of human rights, and the international community’s failure to take decisive action
Libya
As yet another UN Libya envoy quits, his successor must be bolder
To break through Libya’s political stalemate, the UN must be willing to pursue a bolder strategy, despite the risks of failure.
Nigeria
Nigeria is pioneering a new vaccine to fight meningitis – why this matters
Rising costs, falling hopes
Efforts to reform Nigeria’s economy have triggered both anticipation and despair as the country grapples with a deepening cost-of-living crisis
Rwanda
Immigration: The UK’s shameful Rwanda law
The ‘Safety of Rwanda’ bill passed on April 23 represents a terrible step backward for Europe’s oldest democracy.
Taking stock of Rwanda as a host for refugees
South Africa
Time is right for a South Atlantic climate alliance
With their leading roles regionally and in the G20 and COP30, a Brazil-South Africa partnership could prompt useful south-south ties.
Sudan
Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favouritism of Arab and Islamic identity
The Africa Edition ©️ 
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