News That Matters To Africa©️
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A political system that benefits from fear and ignorance has every reason…to perpetuate both.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Congo’s leader blames Kenya’s leader for stalled DRC peace drive
Mali rebels say they killed dozens of soldiers including Russians
ANC expels former president, Zuma
Libya jails 12 over deadly floods
Farmers in Africa say their soil is dying
Africa at the Olympics.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
Ruto ‘mismanaged’ Nairobi peace process, says Tshisekedi
US sanctions AFC rebel leaders
Ethiopian Airline’s dominance attracts backlash in Eritrea
Horror, grief, trauma in Ethiopia a week after deadly landslides
Satellite images reveal Tigray hunger crisis
Kenya opposition chief Raila Odinga under fire on State ‘deal
I didn’t enter into coalition pact with Raila, says Ruto
I’m not mad to sell JKIA – Ruto
Police give President Ruto deaf ear, arrest peaceful protestors
Why Kenya’s politics favours turncoats
Government rejects ‘Gen-Z’ party registration attempt
Why Kagame fired Public Service minister
Turkey approves two-year military deployment to Somalia
Juba mulls shutdown of oil exports via war-torn Sudan
‘Smoking gun’ evidence points to UAE involvement in Sudan civil war
104 people arrested in Uganda anti-corruption protests
Political will needed for Kiswahili to spread in EA
West Africa
Mali rebels say they killed and injured dozens of soldiers including Wagner mercenaries
Italy, Niger’s last Western partner
Niger: Mohamed Bazoum remains defiant despite detention
Nigeria courts convict 125 Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in mass trial
Nigeria bids to placate youth to avert looming inflation protests
Southern Africa
Namibia bemoans popularity of lab-grown diamonds on global market
ANC expels former president, Jacob Zuma
Mass killer dies as victims still demand justice
SAfr police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
SAfr’s DA party takes partner ANC to court
Ramaphosa is the enemy of the people, says Malema
North Africa
The Palestinian refugees struggling to survive in Egypt
Libyan court jails 12 officials over deadly floods
AFRICA GENERAL
VIDEO OF THE DAY
PODCAST OF THE DAY
ARTICLES ON ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL & OPINION
EASTERN AFRICA
DR CONGO
Ruto ‘mismanaged’ Nairobi peace process, says Tshisekedi
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi says his Kenya counterpart William Ruto has “mismanaged” the Nairobi Process on peace in his country. He said the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is only depending on the Luanda Process, which is led by Angolan President João Lourenço. Speaking in a panel discussion on the state of DRC organised by the Brookings Africa Security Initiative and Africa Growth Initiative, President Tshisekedi said: “There are two processes. There was the Nairobi Process driven by Uhuru Kenyatta which, unfortunately, was subsequently managed by the new president William Ruto. He managed it very badly. The process is almost dead, apart from the fact that the designated facilitator, Uhuru Kenyatta, has stayed on. President Ruto has taken up Rwanda’s cause.” The Congolese president is now relying on the Luanda Process to deliver peace in the restive Eastern Congo. But, while Kinshasa officials say it is the only framework for discussing peace in the east of the DRC, it also seems to have stalled. The relationship between President Ruto and his counterpart has oscillated between cold and lukewarm, and so have the relations between the two EAC partners states. Things took a bad turn mid-April, when DRC intelligence officers arrested and detained two Kenya Airways staff allegedly because of missing customs documentation on some valuable cargo.
US sanctions AFC rebel leaders
Washington this week put under sanctions the Congo River Alliance, known by its French name Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a coalition of armed groups accused of fuelling violent conflict and civilian displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The US designated individuals and entities associated with AFC, including former head of the Congolese electoral commission Corneille Nangaa, at a time a trial at the military court in Kinshasa started against him, his relatives and his companions accused of involvement in the rebellion, on July 25. Nangaa and 24 other people, including his wife and brother, are being prosecuted in absentia (for Nangaa and 19 of his companions) for “war crimes, participation in an insurrectional movement and treason” in the eastern part of the DRC. They face heavy sentences, including the death penalty, if found guilty. AFC and its affiliates – including the US- and UN-designated, M23 rebel group – have called for the overthrow of the government of the DRC and “have used violence to achieve this political goal, resulting in serious violations of international law that have exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC,” said a statement from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac).
DRC’s dilemma over resources
Nature conservation is a concept that means very little to the vast majority of the Congolese population, yet it is one of the most important issues facing the planet. In the Democratic Republic of Congo debate on the prospect of oil exploitation in certain protected areas has resurfaced. More than a year after issuing invitations to tender for the exploitation of gas and oil blocks, the project has not yet attracted any major bidders, but the government is not giving up, despite pressure from nature conservationists to shelve the plans. Environment Minister Eve Bazaïba defends the bid to exploit the fossil fuels, saying those against it need to provide alternatives to Kinshasa’s quest for socioeconomic development. The DRC, one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, has been looking to benefit from climate-related financial flows. The government calls this “climate justice”. According to International Trade Administration, the oil and gas discoveries in the eastern DRC give it the second-largest crude oil reserves in Central and Southern Africa, after Angola. The reserves are located in the four major lakes bordering Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The DRC has proven reserves of 180 million barrels, the organisation says.
ERITREA/ETHIOPIA
Ethiopian Airline’s dominance attracts backlash in Eritrea
The market practices that led Eritrea to slap Ethiopian Airlines with a flight suspension could be indicative of inadequate competition in Eritrea’s air transport sector, as well as the pressure that the Ethiopian flag carrier feels to generate foreign exchange for the state. Industry observers see the airline’s alleged predatory practices as partly driven by market realities and pressure to help feed the country’s appetite for forex. Ethiopia has a huge foreign exchange deficit and Ethiopian Airlines has been at the forefront of earning foreign exchange for the country. In 2016, for example, the carrier, which sold tickets in the local currency domestically, was ordered to only accept foreign currency for tickets bought by foreigners resident in the country. Ethiopian, Africa’s largest airline, flies to nearly 60 destinations within the continent. It has been praised for facilitating trade and commerce by connecting a continent short of rail and road links. But its growing dominance, often cited as a model of sound airline governance, has also attracted criticism. Passengers complain of poor service, a reluctance to compensate for delays or loss and damage to luggage. Eritrea’s Civil Aviation Authority wrote to Ethiopian Airlines on July 21, advising that the carrier would not be allowed to operate flights to Eritrea effective September 30. The Eritrean CAA accused Ethiopian of a litany of market violations, including high fares, damage, pilferage and loss of passenger baggage as well as frequent flight delays with no compensation. Ethiopian is also accused of arrogance and failure to respond to concerns that have been brought to its attention several times.
ETHIOPIA
Horror, grief, trauma in Ethiopia a week after deadly landslides
Ethiopian authorities say at least 257 people perished in the disaster, a death toll the United Nations’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, expects to more or less double to 500. According to OCHA, more landslides are feared, and some 15,500 people in the area are at risk of being affected, including at least 1,320 children under the age of five and 5,293 pregnant and lactating women. On Sunday, a week after the tragedy, the wails of mourning women and crying children continued as mostly local men frantically excavated, searching for of hundreds of loved ones who were swept away and buried beneath mud. Authorities said search operations were continuing through the weekend. The mountainous region has made it nearly impossible for heavy machinery to reach the area. So dozens of people have been digging away throughout the day since Monday, excavating by hand, searching for the missing with the help of spades and pickaxes…Here, about 320km (199 miles) southwest of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, facilities are scarce, residents live in mud huts, infrastructure is desolate and no roads are paved. The inability to get timely help, according to testimonies shared by locals, has made rescue efforts even more challenging. On a field perched atop a hill, which is typically used to host religious and national celebrations, people gathered on Thursday to attend a mass funeral for the dead. The ceremony was quickly organised by the local government and attended by hundreds of villagers, including those who had brought dead bodies on donkeys and carts to see them buried.
Satellite images reveal Tigray hunger crisis
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the north of Ethiopia, driven by drought, crop failure and continued insecurity in the aftermath of a brutal war. With local officials warning that more than two million people are now at risk of starvation, the BBC gained exclusive access to some of the worst affected areas in Tigray province, and analysed satellite imagery to reveal the full scale of the emergency the region now faces. The month of July is a critical period for food security, when farmers need to plant crops to take advantage of the seasonal rains. The satellite images they have identified show that reservoirs, and the farmlands they help irrigate, have dried up because the rains failed last year. They now need to be replenished by seasonal rains if farmers are to stand any hope of a successful season later in the year. Tigray’s population is estimated to be between six and seven million. Until the end of 2022, the region was engulfed in a bitter two-year war pitting local Tigray forces against the federal government and its allies. Now the war is over, some have been able to return home – but most have remained in camps, reliant on food aid being delivered there because the lack of rainfall has meant they have no crops to harvest and eat…The region is facing its most critical time of the year, known as the “peak hunger season” according to Dr Gebrehiwet Gebregzabher, head of the Disaster Risk Management Commission in Tigray. It is a time when food supplies traditionally run low – and crops must be planted to be ready for the October harvest. “There are 2.1 million people that are at risk of starvation,…with a further 2.4 million relying on an uncertain aid supply.“
KENYA
The Political Crisis Continues:
Raila Odinga under fire on State ‘deal
Former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has come under heavy criticism from civil society groups and some opposition parties, for appearing to prop up President William Ruto’s government amid a youth-led uprising pushing for the latter’s resignation. Mr Odinga, who is a candidate for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship in February 2025, is believed to have negotiated a deal that saw four members of his ODM party take up key positions, including that of Finance minister, in President Ruto’s reconstituted Cabinet this week. The move has triggered a fall-out in the opposition Azimio coalition, which backed Mr Odinga’s unsuccessful presidential bid in the 2022 elections. Three key political parties in the coalition, including Wiper Democratic Movement of former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka, have disowned the deal, terming it a betrayal of the Gen Z movement behind the widespread protests across the country in the past one month. The wrangling over ODM members joining the Cabinet is set to further weaken the opposition in Parliament where President Ruto already enjoys control after luring more than 30 defectors to the government side. President Ruto is also betting on the inclusion of ODM’s senior officials in Cabinet to decrease the momentum of the protests wave, especially in Nairobi and major towns like Mombasa and Kisumu where Mr Odinga’s party has a huge following.
I didn’t enter into coalition pact with Raila, says Ruto
President William Ruto has clarified that he did not enter into a political coalition with ODM leader Raila Odinga following the nomination of his party members to cabinet. Speaking during a townhall engagement with residents in Mombasa, Ruto said the arrangement he has with ODM is solely to unite the country. “Let me clarify as the party of ODM did, that we did not form a coalition government, nobody should say that we are trying to compromise the opposition,” Ruto said. “We have no formal coalition arrangement, what we have is running an administration on matters that we have agreed, members of ODM who have agreed to come and work with us so that we can put the country first and be able to deal with challenges that brings Kenya to where it is,” he said.
I’m not mad to sell JKIA – Ruto
President William Ruto has dismissed reports by a section of Kenyans that there are plans to sell the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Addressing a town hall meeting in Mombasa on Sunday, Ruto said the reports are misleading. The Head of State said the government is only looking for investors who can work with the government to expand the airport and ensure it serves Kenyans better under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP). “Let’s be honest Kenyans, the airport we have in Nairobi is made of canvas. This is a temporary structure we built almost 7 years ago. Ethiopia have a brand new airport. Rwanda the same. It is the reason why we need to work with investors to have a new airport in Nairobi,” Ruto said. “I have seen many people saying William Ruto want to sell the airport (JKIA). Am I a madman? How do you sell a strategic national asset? You have to be insane. The airport is a strategic national asset. We want to work under the PPP Program to make the airport better.” Ruto said once the PPP is in place, Kenyans will be kept abreast with the details in an open, transparent and accountable manner.
Police give President Ruto deaf ear, arrest peaceful protestors
Contradiction seems to have caught the president’s words a day after he ordered the release of all those arrested during the anti-government protests, mainly led by Gen Zs and Millennials. In his statement at State House on Wednesday, President William Ruto ordered the immediate release of all protestors held captive and that their charges be dropped. “I urge the Criminal Justice Agencies to take effective measures and ensure people who may have been innocently caught on the wrong side of things be released and charges dropped,” he said. However, in what seems like information falling on deaf ears, the police went ahead to conduct more arrests of protestors a day after the president’s directives. On Thursday, the police arrested and detained five protesters, including activist Boniface Mwangi who, among others, had gathered in town to protest against police brutality alongside other demands from the government including accountability and governance. The march within Nairobi City Centre by the youths and activists was also intended to honour the more than 50 people killed during anti-government demonstrations across the country that entered their fifth week. More intriguing was that they were met with brutal force in an altercation that saw the slain protestor, Evans Kiratu’s aunt harassed and arrested. She was later released.
Why Kenya’s politics favours turncoats
The recent move by President William Ruto to close ranks with his erstwhile political rival and Opposition leader Raila Odinga to form a Government of National Unity has exposed the soft underbelly of Kenyan politics that favours political fence-sitting. Politicians know that they have to swallow their words shamelessly and do what they swore never to do for survival. Intrinsically, there is no room for hard positions and strong words in the dynamic politics of Kenya’s political arena with many politicians being caught in the fray. A few years before Kenya got into the multi-party era (in 1991), following the repealing of section 2A of the Constitution, former President Mwai Kibaki, then vice president, declared that agitating for multi-party democracy and trying to dislodge Kanu from power was like “trying to cut down a Mugumo (fig) tree using a razor blade”. Notably, Kibaki, was to later resign from government as Health minister, two months after Kenya became a multi-party democracy, ditched Kanu, then founded the Democratic Party (DP) and went ahead to run for presidency in 1992…According to Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi “In Kenyan politics, never express yourself definitively on any subject. Always maintain constructive ambiguity.” During the 2022 campaigns, former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, who was Wednesday nominated Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs had accused President Ruto of lying. “He has made a trillion promises, and now he is selling a narrative and calling it an economic model,” said Joho. “We must hold leaders accountable, we must hold Ruto accountable for what he did in 10 years as the Deputy President,” said Joho then.
Government rejects ‘Gen-Z’ party registration attempt
The Registrar of Political Parties has rejected plans by people purporting to represent the now famous Gen Z to reserve some ten names they intend to use to register a political party and field candidates in the 2027 general election. The names rejected included Gen-Z Movement, Gen-Z National Movement, Gen-Z People’s Alliance, Gen- Z Peoples Movement, Gen-Z Democratic Party, Gen-Z Alliance Movement, Gen-Z Democratic Movement, Gen-Z United Movement, Gen-Z Political Party and Gen-Z Alliance Party. Gen Z have been classifying themselves as leaderless, tribeless, partyless and formless. But if the attempt to register a political party points to a mission find a structure that will allow them a say in how the country is run, if indeed the applicant represents them. “Your application has been considered by law and the names suggested have been rejected as they do not promote inclusivity, hence against article 91(1)(a) (e) of the Constitution. Should you need any further clarification or assistance, please visit our office,” said Registrar Nderitu. Simon Mwangi, who made the application, said the Gen Zs were not satisfied with the reasons given by Nderitu to deny them a chance to have the names reserved as the youths of Kenya intend to actively take part in the country’s politics. He read a sinister motive in the decision which he said was due to the popularity of the youth movement in the country. He said the movement enjoys support across Kenya and outside its borders.
RWANDA
Why Kagame fired Public Service minister
Rwandan President Paul Kagame this week sacked Public Service and Labour minister Dr Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya over “matters of accountability” from the time she was Minister of Environment, for which she is being investigated. The Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) said it is investigating the minister, permanent secretary in the Environment ministry Patrick Karere, and other individuals in connection to mismanagement of forestry and environmental projects. Known for his intolerance for corruption, indiscipline and mismanagement, President Kagame has in the past taken strong measures against his ministers and public officials implicated in such cases. Former Minister of Youth and Culture, Edouard Bamporiki, is currently serving four years in prison after he was found guilty of corruption and misusing his office to solicit a bribe in 2022. Former Governor of Eastern Province, and Inspector-General of Police, CG (Rtd) Emmanuel Gasana is also serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence after he was found guilty of abuse of office. Dr Mujawamariya who was minister of Environment from November 2019 until last month when she was appointed Minister of Public Service and Labour, is one of the longest serving ministers in the Rwandan government.
SOMALIA
Turkey approves two-year military deployment to Somalia
Turkey’s parliament on Saturday approved a motion to deploy its armed forces to Somalia, including to the country’s territorial waters. The two-year operation aims to support Mogadishu’s counterterrorism operations and comes months after the two countries signed a defence and economic cooperation deal. Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab has been waging an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 in a bid to establish to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state. Turkey has been providing training, assistance, and advisory support to Somalia for more than 10 years, working to restructure its defence and security forces. But Turkish officials say economic challenges have prevented Somali armed forces from being fully effective. Earlier this month, Ankara said it will send an exploration vessel off the coast of Somalia later this year to search for oil and gas as part of a hydrocarbon cooperation deal between two countries.
SOUTH SUDAN
Juba mulls shutdown of oil exports via war-torn Sudan
South Sudan’s deepening economic crisis appears to be spiralling, with latest disclosures of a desperate plan to completely shut down its oil exports through the war-torn Sudan. This puts more pressure on the falling forex reserves, stifling business activities and making operations of local and foreign companies difficult. This follows a ruptured pipeline that is yet to be repaired, as Khartoum grapples with a prolonged conflict between the army and a paramilitary force Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out in April 2023. The news portal The Sudan Tribune reported on July 22 that Juba was considering a shutdown of its oil export through Sudan, citing a lack of consensus amid dwindling financial resources in a country where civil servants have gone without salaries for close to nine months. The publication, which covers Sudan, South Sudan and neighbouring countries, also cited lack of consensus among the warring parties over sharing of oil revenues, with less than 140,000 barrels of oil being exported through the pipeline.
SUDAN
’Smoking gun’ evidence points to UAE involvement in Sudan civil war
Passports recovered from battlefields in Sudan suggest the United Arab Emirates is covertly putting boots on the ground in the country’s devastating civil war, according to leaked documents. A 41-page document, sent to the UN security council contains images of Emirati passports allegedly found in Sudan and linked to soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the African nation’s notorious paramilitary. The UAE has previously denied all accusations of supplying arms to the RSF, which is holding the city of El Fasher under siege in a wider campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur. However, the suggestion that the Emirates has deployed personnel to assist the fighting in Sudan would be an escalation, further inflaming the geopolitical complexities of the 15-month long civil war between the RSF and Sudanese military. The passports are claimed to have been recovered from Omdurman, the city across the Nile from the capital, Khartoum, in an area that was held by the RSF but recently reclaimed by the Sudanese army. Analysts described the discovery as a “smoking gun” that challenged UAE denials and raised questions over what the US and UK know about the level of the Gulf state’s involvement in Sudan and whether the west has done enough to rein in backing of a militia accused of genocide. The document, sent last month to the UN security council, also indicates that the Emirates has supplied the RSF with drones modified to drop controversial thermobaric bombs. These are more devastating than conventional explosives of similar size, and there have been calls to ban them.
UGANDA
104 people arrested in anti-corruption protests, police say
Police in Uganda arrested 104 people during anti-corruption protests this week and almost all of them have been charged with public order offences, a police statement said late on Friday. The government’s response to the street protests drew criticism from rights campaigners and the United States, which said it was “concerned” by the arrests of dozens of protesters who were “peacefully demonstrating”. Young Ugandans took to the streets on Tuesday and Thursday to protest alleged graft by elected leaders in the East African country, drawing inspiration from weeks of youth-led protests in neighbouring Kenya that led the president there to scrap proposed tax hikes. In response, the government of long-standing leader Museveni deployed police and soldiers across the capital, Kampala, detaining dozens of protesters holding banners and shouting slogans. In their statement, police said 100 of those arrested had been charged. It was the first time police had said how many protesters had been detained. Rights group Amnesty International criticised the government’s “heavy-handed tactics” against the protesters earlier this week. “Ugandan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those who were arrested solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
Political will needed for Kiswahili to spread in EA
As the globe marked the third World Kiswahili Language Day on July 7, it became apparent that East African countries, deemed to be the custodians of Kiswahili, are still grappling with policy implementation in favour of the language. Kenya hosted the fete for the first time since Unesco, in 2022, recognised the global role of Kiswahili in the socioeconomic and political spheres. The issue of policy gaps and or lack of implementation of existing ones, featured during the event in Mombasa, as the East African Community (EAC) members, and Kiswahili experts, called upon all Partner States to pass laws and policies that will promote the use of Kiswahili. Kiswahili is one of the official languages of the EAC. Article 137 of the EAC Treaty provides that Kiswahili shall be promoted, developed and used as a ‘lingua franca’ ‘of the Community. It is ironic that, despite this fact, Kiswahili cannot be used as a language of communication in transacting the business of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) as English remains the working language of EAC. Kiswahili which is spoken by over 200 million people across the globe, has been billed to be the ‘lingua franca’ of the African continent as envisaged by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe (Nigeria), Ali Mazrui, Mohamed Hassan Abdulaziz (Kenya) and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, among other prominent leaders and scholars.
WEST AFRICA
MALI
Rebels say they killed and injured dozens of soldiers inluding Wagner mercenaries
Mali’s northern Tuareg rebels said they had killed and injured dozens of soldiers and Wagner mercenaries in two days of fighting near the Algerian border, after the army said it had lost two soldiers but killed some 20 rebels. The rebel movement, the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD), said in a statement on Saturday that it had seized armoured vehicles, trucks and tankers in the fighting at the border town of Tinzaouaten on Thursday and Friday. Several Russian military bloggers reported on Sunday that at least 20 from the Wagner group were killed in an ambush near the Algerian border. “Employees of the Wagner PMC (Group), who were moving in a convoy with government troops, were killed in Mali … Some were captured,” said a prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo. The Baza Telegram news channel, which has links to Russia’s security structures, reported that at least 20 Wagner fighters have been killed. Mali, where military authorities seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, is battling a years-long Islamist insurgency. It has said Russian forces there are not Wagner mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.
NIGER
Italy, Niger’s last Western partner
French, Americans and now Germans: On July 6, Berlin announced that it would withdraw its last 38 soldiers from Niger by August 31. Since the July 26, 2023 coup in Niamey, Western soldiers have been leaving the country once considered by the West an ally in the fight against jihadism in the Sahel. Committed to a geostrategic reorientation, the ruling General Abdourahamane Tiani has turned to Russia (whose first elements of the paramilitary organization Africa Corps arrived in the country in April), Turkey (whose delegation visited the country on July 17) and Iran. In May, the online media outlet Africa Intelligence revealed that “confidential negotiations” had begun between Tehran and Niamey “for the delivery of 300 metric tons of yellow cake” (uranium concentrate) from Niger. These negotiations, closely monitored by US intelligence services, have not yet been finalized. However, one Western presence remains unscathed for the time being: that of Italy, which has continued its bilateral support mission in Niger since 2018. Rome’s stated aim in maintaining this cooperation is clear: to limit migratory flows from sub-Saharan Africa by contributing, in particular, to “border surveillance activities.” This approach is similar in Tunisia and Libya, two other countries on the migratory routes. On July 17, a forum was held in Tripoli on the issue, during which the president of the Italian Council, Giorgia Meloni, recalled the Mattei Plan, presented at the Italy-Africa summit in January, which includes development projects designed to tackle the root causes of immigration from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe. According to figures published in August 2023, around 250 Italian military staff are present in Niger for training and advisory activities. In Rome, the Defense Ministry has not confirmed a possible increase in the number of troops, which could rise to 500.
Mohamed Bazoum remains defiant despite detention
A year ago, Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a military coup led by General Tiani, who took control of Niger with the support of the army. Since then, the military has solidified its power by limiting freedoms, suspending political parties, and silencing critics. No timeline for a return to civilian rule has been announced, and Niger has distanced itself from Western allies, drawing closer to Russia. Bazoum and his wife, Hadiza, have been detained at the presidential residence since October, isolated from the outside world except for regular visits from his doctor. He has no phone and is under constant guard. His doctor brings him food and books.
Despite these conditions, Bazoum is determined not to resign. A former philosophy professor, he finds solace in reading extensively, from classic authors like Shakespeare and Tolstoy to contemporary writers like Romain Gary. He also reads political works, such as Dominique Moïsi’s “The Triumph of Emotions.” Even after a malaria bout weakened him in the spring, Bazoum remains steadfast in his resolve. He refuses to resign, despite the recent lifting of his presidential immunity, which could lead to a trial.
NIGERIA
Nigeria courts convict 125 Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in mass trial
Nigerian courts convicted 125 Boko Haram Islamist militants and financiers of a series of terrorism-related offences in a mass trial this week, the attorney-general’s office said. A Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands of people and displaced millions since it began in 2009, creating a humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria and putting pressure on the government to bring the conflict to an end. Kamarudeen Ogundele, the spokesman of the Attorney-General’s office, said in a statement late on Friday that “they were convicted of charges bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, rendering material support, and cases relating to International Criminal Courts (ICC) criminality”. The last mass trials of Boko Haram suspects took place between 2017 and 2018, where 163 people were convicted and 887 set free. Ogundele added that from the previous convictions, 400 defendants who had completed their sentences were moved to a rehabilitation centre known as Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe State, northeast Nigeria “for rehabilitation, deradicalisation and subsequent reintegration”. The breakdown of the latest convictions showed that 85 peeople were convicted for terrorism financing, 22 for ICC related crimes, while the rest were convicted for terrorism.
Nigeria bids to placate youth to avert protests
Days before a nationwide protest -schduled for 1 August – over bad governance and a high cost of living, Nigeria is offering its young people jobs in the state-oil company and billions of naira worth of grants among other incentives to discourage the action. Nigerian activists have been looking to emulate youth-led protests elsewhere in Africa which have rocked the government in Kenya and prompted a tough security response in Uganda. Nigeria’s state oil firm, which seven years ago warned job seekers against falling prey to fraudulent messages about job placements in the company, published on Friday nationwide job vacancies in a post on X for the first time in nearly a decade. Nigeria’s ministry of youth development on Friday also relaunched a 110 billion naira ($70 million) youth investment fund that was started in 2020, aimed at providing grants to Nigeria’s youth to generate jobs. The youth ministry had said in May said it would revive the programme but little had been heard about it until Friday. On Tuesday, Nigerian lawmakers passed a new minimum wage, more than doubling the amount the least paid worker will earn monthly. Nigerians are organising online for nationwide protests next week in response to a cost of living crisis that has seen inflation rise to a 28-year-high of 34.2% which followed President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies and a currency devaluation. Religious clerics, traditional rulers and other prominent Nigerians have joined the government in discouraging young people from embarking on protests…and both the police and army leadership have warned against the protests, saying they could get out of control. Protesters have said they have a right to peaceful demonstrations, calling the government’s warnings of violence a smokescreen for a potential crackdown.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
NAMIBIA
Namibia bemoans popularity of lab-grown diamonds on global market
Namibia is one of Africa’s top five diamond exporters, right behind Angola, Botswana, and South Africa. In 2022, the country exported more than $940 million worth of diamonds. The world’s demand for natural diamonds has bounced back from a slump during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Namibia’s largest marine dining company, Debmarine, reporting a sales increase of 83% in 2022 from the previous year. Still, Debmarine CEO Willy Mertens is worried about competition from synthetic diamonds, sector of the business that could cost many Namibians their jobs. Though trained jewelers can tell the difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds, there’s nothing obvious to distinguish lab-grown diamonds from natural ones. The Modern Mining publication recently said that in 2022, lab-grown diamond jewelry surpassed 10% of the market of global jewelry sales for the first time. The publication said artificial diamond sales are forecast to continue growing at an annual double-digit percentage rate in coming years. Namibia, where workers extracted 2.1 million carats in diamonds in 2022, is embarking on a campaign to tout natural diamonds as environmentally sound and holding greater value for the money…President Nangolo Mbumba lamented a proposal for the Kimberley process — the process meant to screen out so-called “conflict diamonds” from entering the international market — to begin certifying all diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium. The Group of Seven largest economies said that is an effort to prevent Russian diamonds from being sold abroad. Mbumba said the measure would hurt African diamond producers.
SOUTH AFRICA
ANC expels former president, Jacob Zuma
The African National Congress (ANC) has expelled former president Jacob Zuma. Zuma was hauled before the party’s disciplinary committee after he publicly endorsed the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) ahead of the 29 May elections.
After dismissing the MKP founder, Jabulani Khumalo, Zuma took over the party reins, with the fledgling party dealing a significant blow to the ANC in the elections, both provincially and nationally. The ANC garnered just 40% of the national vote while Zuma’s MK Party was able to achieve a remarkable 14% of the national vote. Zuma faced two charges: one for collaborating with another political organisation (MKP) and the second for joining another political party not aligned with the ANC. The party announced that the hearings would be held virtually. According to a leaked page from what is believed from the ANC’s disciplinary hearing, the charged member was found guilty of contravening the ANC Constitution. Zuma has 21 days to appeal the decision with the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal. Meanwhile, the President of the African National Congress Veterans’ League in South Africa, Snuki Zikalala, said the decision was long overdue.
Mass killer dies as victims still demand justice
Louis van Schoor, a convicted mass murderer in South Africa known as the “Apartheid Killer”, has died. The 72-year-old had been in hospital with an infection in his leg. His daughter said he died on Thursday afternoon “due to complications from sepsis”. Van Schoor’s death came less than a week after a BBC investigation into his past, which exposed horrific new details about a series of killings he carried out in the late 1980s during the final years of white-minority rule. The sister of one of his victims said she hopes the police will re-open the cases for investigation despite his death. At a time when the racist apartheid system imposed a strict hierarchy that privileged white South Africans, Van Schoor was operating as a private security guard in the coastal city of East London. Between 1986 and 1989, he shot and killed at least 39 people. All of his victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years. In 1991, Van Schoor was arrested and later convicted on seven charges of murder, but he was released on parole after serving just 12 years in jail. At least 32 of his killings are still classified as “justifiable homicides” by the police. In his lifetime, Van Schoor claimed that all his victims were criminals who he caught “red-handed”. He relied on apartheid-era laws that gave people the right to use lethal force against intruders to maintain his innocence.
Police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
South African police have detained 95 Libyan nationals for questioning on suspicion of receiving training at a secret military camp. Police said on Friday that they had carried out a morning raid on the alleged military camp, located at a farm in White River in Mpumalanga province in the north of the country. Police said the operation to arrest the Libyans and close down the camp began two days ago. Television footage from the scene showed a heavy police presence outside the suspected camp, which included green military-style tents and sandbags. National police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said in a post on X that the Libyans said they were entering the country on study visas to train as security guards, but police investigations suggested they had received military training. It was not immediately clear whether the 95 individuals were affiliated to any group…The country (Libya ) is divided between the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east. “We categorically deny that the apprehended group is affiliated with our government or that we have any connection to their dispatch or assignment,” the government in Tripoli said on Friday, adding that it was monitoring the case.
South Africa’s DA party takes partner ANC to court
South Africa’s Democratic Alliance took the African National Congress, the party it co-governs the country with, to court Thursday over a preelection speech in May given by President Cyril Ramaphosa. It’s an early sign of friction between the new coalition partners. The court papers were submitted to the Electoral Court by the DA in May before it entered into a coalition with the ANC, but it decided to still go ahead with the case. The DA asked the court to deduct 1% of the vote received by the ANC in the May 29 national election and fine Ramaphosa, the ANC leader, $10,900 and his party $5,450, over what it argues was a presidential address that was used for election campaigning and amounted to an abuse of office. The ANC responded Thursday by calling the DA’s legal action “frivolous and unwarranted” and said the president was following the constitution when he made the speech. Ramaphosa gave the speech three days before the election in his capacity as head of state, but used parts of it to highlight what he said were ANC successes during its 30-year rule as South Africa’s governing party. The DA said that election rules don’t allow him to engage in party politics and campaign for the ANC when he speaks as the president.
Ramaphosa is the enemy of the people, says Malema
The so-called Government of National Unity (GNU), is the enemy of the people says EFF leader Julius Malema. Malema said this over the weekend while addressing scores of EFF party members who attended the party’s 11th anniversary at the AR Abass Sports Grounds in Kimberley, Northern Cape. The EFF leader condemned the ANC for forming a government with the former “oppressor”, saying the EFF will never work with “white supremacists who murdered black people and anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani”. “Comrades, we are going to fight the GNU. GNU is the enemy of our people. Ramaphosa is the enemy of our people. The ANC sold out the people of South Africa, that is why this GNU must fall. We must fight it everywhere we go…”The EFF will be in full support of the MK Party in Parliament since it is the official opposition party, said Malema. He further praised members of the MK Party for being humble, and as the EFF, they are currently showing them the ropes in the National Assembly as rookies.
NORTH AFRICA
EGYPT
The Palestinian refugees struggling to survive in Egypt
Israel’s war in Gaza has caused 100,000 Palestinians to cross the border into Egypt, where they have been unable to work or send their children to school, all while living in overcrowded accommodation. Most Gazan evacuees have paid thousands of dollars in bribes to leave the besieged territory but their legal status in Egypt gives them few means of supporting themselves. Without documentation, they cannot work, or enrol their children in schools, open bank accounts or travel. Unlike in neighbouring countries, the UN has not taken responsibility for Palestinians who have reached Egypt. Finding housing to rent has been difficult for families, who are often unable to pay deposits and say they feel a certain prejudice from Egyptian landlords. Expired 45-day visas also mean many are living in fear of being fined or arrested. The Palestinian embassy in Egypt is seeking temporary residency permits for Gazans, which could ease conditions for them until the war is over. In an interview, Diab al-Louh, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, stressed that those who had recently arrived have no plans to settle in Egypt and that residency permits would be for legal and humanitarian purposes. “We are talking about a category of people in an exceptional situation,” said al-Louh. “We have confidence that our Egyptian brothers will understand this. They have already provided a lot.”
LIBYA
Court jails 12 officials over deadly floods
A Libyan court has jailed 12 officials in connection with the collapse of a series of dams in Derna last year that killed thousands of the city’s residents, the Attorney General said on Sunday. The officials, who were responsible for managing the country’s dams, were sentenced to between 9 and 27 years in prison by the Court of Appeal in Derna. Four officials were acquitted. Derna, a coastal city with a population of 125,000, was devastated last September by massive floods caused by Storm Daniel. Thousands were killed and thousands more were missing as a result of the floods that burst dams, swept away buildings and destroyed entire neighbourhoods. The Attorney General in Tripoli said three of the defendants were ordered to “return money obtained from illicit gains”, according to a statement, which did not give the names or positions of those on trial. “The convicted officials have been charged with negligence, premeditated murder and waste of public money,” a judicial source in Derna reported by phone, adding that they had the right to appeal against the verdicts.
AFRICA- GENERAL NEWS
More than a dozen African migrants dead, over 150 missing
More than a dozen migrants died and at least 150 others are missing after their boat capsized off Mauritania on their way to Europe, the International Organization for Migration said, triggering a frantic search and rescue operation. There were 300 migrants on the boat that capsized on Monday near the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and 120 have been rescued by the Mauritanian Coast Guard, the IOM said in a statement on Wednesday. “Tragically, 15 people were confirmed dead upon arrival,” it said, adding that search efforts were still underway. A surge of migrants has left West Africa in recent years through Senegal, from where they have to navigate north past Mauritania to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. In the latest case, the migrants were traveling on artisanal fishing boats, known as pirogues, which can be overwhelmed by strong winds and Atlantic currents. While thousands have survived the risky journey, many die or disappear along the way, with remains sometimes washing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Among those so far rescued in Monday’s incident were four unaccompanied and separated children, the IOM said, adding that 10 survivors were referred to hospitals for medical attention.
Farmers in Africa say their soil is dying and chemical fertilizers are in part to blame
When Benson Wanjala started farming in his western Kenya village two and a half decades ago, his 10-acre farm could produce a bountiful harvest of 200 bags of maize. That has dwindled to 30. He says his once fertile soil has become a nearly lifeless field that no longer earns him a living. Like many other farmers, he blames acidifying fertilizers pushed in Kenya and other African countries in recent years. He said he started using the fertilizers to boost his yield and it worked — until it didn’t. Kenya’s government first introduced a fertilizer subsidy in 2008, making chemical fertilizers more accessible for smaller-scale farmers. About 63% of arable land in Kenya is now acidic, according to the agriculture ministry, which has been recording a decline in the production of staples such as maize and leading exports of horticulture and tea. The production of maize declined by 4% to 44 million tons in 2022, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, which didn’t say why…In May, Kenya hosted an Africa-wide soil health summit to discuss declining production, climate change and other issues that have increased food security concerns. Agriculture is a key part of the economy in Kenya, making up more than a quarter of the GDP. At the summit, Stephen Muchiri, executive director of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, advocated for a return to traditional farming practices to replenish lifeless soils, including planting a variety of crops and doing as little as possible to disturb the land.
The picture of early-human origins in Africa grows more complex
For decades, scientists who studied early modern humans believed that our ancestors initially inhabited only small areas of Africa, the savannas of the eastern and southern part of the continent, and then moved north into Asia, Europe and beyond. In this view, early humans bypassed West and Central Africa, especially tropical forests. These areas, the argument went, were populated much later. But now, a growing group of researchers has cast doubt on this narrative. Working in Senegal, Cameroon, Malawi and elsewhere, they are uncovering evidence that early humans spread across much more of Africa before venturing elsewhere. This work has moved the field beyond the old out-of-Africa narrative and is transforming our understanding of how multiple groups of early modern humans intermingled and spread across the continent, providing a more nuanced picture of our species’ complex origins. “It’s becoming more and more clear that humans didn’t originate in a single population in one region of Africa,” says Eleanor Scerri, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. “If we really want to understand human evolution, we need to look at all of the African continent.” Most researchers agree that early modern humans emerged in Africa between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. About 60,000 years ago, they spread to other parts of the world. Until recently, though, most experts thought these humans populated West and Central Africa, especially the tropical forests there, only within the past 20,000 or so years…Some research suggests that cultural bias may also have played a role. “Most research has been spearheaded by people from the global North,” says Yale University paleoanthropologist Jessica Thompson. “And their perspective is, ‘Well, we want to know how people got out of Africa, to where we come from.”…Not everyone is convinced. Richard Klein, a paleoanthropologist at Stanford University who has spent decades studying early modern human origins and migration in Africa, says, “I don’t understand the evolutionary mechanism behind” the pan-African origins theory.
AFRICA AT THE OLYMPICS
A journey bigger than basketball’: South Sudan dreams of Olympic glory
South Sudan, ranked 33rd in the world, is one of two African nations to qualify for basketball at the Olympic Games – the other is Nigeria in the women’s competition. It is a remarkable achievement for the world’s youngest country, which gained its independence in 2011, after years of civil war, and is still racked by conflict, hunger and poverty. The team, nicknamed the Bright Stars, was established in 2011 but its ascent on the world stage began in 2019 when the former NBA All-Star Luol Deng, who represented Great Britain in the Olympics in 2012, became president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. South Sudan has some of the tallest people in the world, a huge advantage for basketball, says Deng. However, it lacks resources, and has no indoor basketball courts. The team has been filled with players who left the country as children or who were born as refugees. Deng adds: “For all of us, it’s a journey that’s bigger than basketball. As a young kid myself, in the NBA, I knew that a lot of young South Sudanese kids and refugees around the world were following my story. Now, it’s even more incredible when you’re doing it as a group. “What we’re accomplishing for the continent of Africa is a huge thing; sports can elevate and motivate a whole nation.”
Wrong national anthem played for South Sudan at Olympics
The Olympic organisers in France played the wrong national anthem for South Sudan ahead of the country’s opening men’s basketball game against Puerto Rico. Spectators in the Pierre Mauroy stadium on Sunday booed as the Sudanese anthem was played instead of that of South Sudan. The audio was corrected after a short pause, followed by an ovation from the crowd. The organisers of the Olympic Games in Paris released a statement apologising for the “human error”. One of South Sudan’s players later told reporters the gaffe was “disrespectful”. “They [the organisers] have to be better because this is the biggest stage, and you know that South Sudan is playing,” said Majok Deng. “There’s no way you can get that wrong by playing a different anthem. It’s disrespectful,” he continued. “Obviously, nobody’s perfect. They made a mistake. They played it at the end, and we moved on.” The organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games gave their “most sincere apologies to the team from South Sudan and their supporters for the human error.” “We fully understand the gravity of the mistake,” the statement read. The South Sudanese team went on to beat Puerto Rico by 90 points to 79. Last week, South Sudan lost to the United States by just one point in an exhibition game that was won in the last seconds.
Minister fires back at Deputy’s comments over Israel at the Olympics
Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Peace Mabe has come out against Israel’s involvement at the renowned sports tournament taking place in Paris. “The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture condemns the participation of the genocidal state of Israel in the Paris 2024 Olympics as it seriously undermines the principles of Olympism,” said the department in a statement. These principles include: Universality and solidarity, Unity in diversity, Autonomy and Good Government and Sustainability according to Mabe. However, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie fired back at the statement, accusing Mabe of pushing politics instead of showing support for SA’s athletes. “I shall respond fully in regards to my displeasure about the statement released by Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts & Culture Ms Peace Mabe only after the Olympics. I don’t want politics to take centre stage now, this is the time for @OfficialTeamRSA, let’s rally behind them,” McKenzie wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Russia and Belarus are among the countries forbidden from competing in this year’s Olympics after the International Olympic Committee agreed to suspend them due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Algerians honor victims of colonial-era French crackdown at Olympics
Algeria reminded France of a particularly dark chapter of its colonial past during an otherwise celebratory opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Friday. Algerian athletes brought red roses on their boat as they paraded for the event, and then tossed them into the river to honor victims of an infamous 1961 police crackdown on Algerian protesters in Paris. Some members of the delegation chanted “Long live Algeria!” in Arabic after throwing the flowers. Historians say some 120 protesters died and 12,000 were arrested as they demonstrated on Oct. 17, 1961 in support of independence from France, then Algeria’s colonial ruler. Some were thrown in the Seine River by police. Kaci Yahia, an Algerian worker for the Paris sewage system, was among them. His body was never recovered. His 28-year-old grandson Yanis, watching from Algeria, welcomed the commemoration by his country’s delegation Friday. “To make such a gesture, the day of the opening of the Olympics in Paris, is a monumental homage to the victims of Oct. 17. It’s a moment of immense emotion,’’ he said. Other Algerians said the Olympics weren’t the moment for such a protest move.
Nemour impresses at Olympics. Too bad for France, she’s switched to Algeria
When Kaylia Nemour competes alongside Simone Biles and her gymnastics rivals at the Paris Olympics, she feels right at home. The 17-year-old athlete, one of the best in the world on uneven bars, was born in France. She grew up here, and still trains here. She posted the best score on her favorite apparatus during Sunday’s women’s team qualifications and will be aiming for the gold medal in that discipline. Too bad for the Olympics host country, she competes for Algeria. The situation is due to a dispute between the French gymnastics federation and Nemour’s club of Avoine Beaumont, which has led the gymnast to embrace her father’s Algerian nationality.
The long-lasting crisis was settled after the French minister for Sport intervened following an initial refusal from the federation to release the gymnast that could have jeopardized her presence in Paris. Nemour’s massive score of 15.600 on Sunday was unmatched by any of her rivals. It was the second highest score of the day on any apparatus, bettered only by Biles’ first vault score of 15.800. Nemour was consistent on all four events and was on course to qualify for the all-around final.
Six African competitors to watch at Paris 2024
Africa is looking to break the barrier of winning 50 medals in an Olympic Games for the first time at Paris 2024. With 329 events in 32 sports, the continent will have plenty of opportunities to get on the podium in the French capital. While there are athletes who have already tasted success at the Olympics and are aiming to extend their legacies, others could make fresh history for their country or sport. With two world titles won and four world records set in the past 13 months, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is in sparkling form heading to Paris. The 30-year-old is aiming to secure her third successive Olympic gold in the women’s 1500m. No African athlete has ever won gold in the same event three times in a row. The first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier over 100m, Letsile Tebogo announced himself on the senior stage last year when he picked up two medals at the World Championships. He took silver in the 100m and bronze over 200m, becoming the first African man to win a world medal over the shorter distance. Fresh from a successful Tour de France – making history as both the first black African to win a stage at the world’s most famous bike race and then topping the points classification – Girmay is already a national hero in Eritrea. Should the 24-year-old finish in the top two in cycling’s time trial or road race then he would achieve the East African country’s best ever result at the Olympics, surpassing an athletics bronze gained in 2004. Blessing Oborududu is an icon of wrestling in Nigeria and Africa, with 14 continental titles and four Commonwealth medals, and her country’s best performer at Tokyo 2020, where she won silver in the 68kg category. Aged 35, she returns in the same weight class for what could be her final Olympics.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Inside the war on kush: The drug ‘mixed with human bones’ taking over Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is facing a drug abuse epidemic with young people becoming addicted to ‘kush’ – a deadly cocktail containing chemicals and even human bones. The government has announced a crackdown on kush and called the crisis a national emergency as people are dying from its use, though the exact numbers are unknown. While police raid drug dens, the government burns confiscated drugs, and desperate families turn to the help of ‘kush healers’ who put users in chains.
PODCAST OF THE DAY
Trophy hunting: can killing and conservation go hand in hand?
A series of super tusker elephant killings has sparked a bitter international battle over trophy hunting and its controversial, often-counterintuitive role in conservation.
AFRICA – ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL/OPINION
How Africa can deal with global demand for its critical minerals
Don’t look away! Why writers need to shout about Africa’s migration crisis
The Tories wrecked the UK’s relationship with Africa. Now Labour must revive it
Africa has much to gain from a more contained BRI
Despite the Belt and Road’s mixed record in Africa, careful involvement in China’s smaller, greener projects could be beneficial.
As AES and ECOWAS drift apart, dialogue on the fundamentals is vital
Stability in West Africa requires that both organisations take pragmatic and flexible approaches, and learn from past mistakes.
Time for Ethiopia’s political elite to demonstrate vision
The country needs a nationwide ceasefire and for political settlement through dialogue to be prioritised over factionalism and ethnic rivalry.
Is proceeding with elections in South Sudan the lesser of many evils?
Even if it had another decade, the country is unlikely to be ready for elections in a manner that would satisfy most stakeholders.
The Africa Edition ©️ 
Leave a comment