News That Matters To Africa©️
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Even the maid has a family”
HIGHLIGHTS
Uganda army chief gives US 3days to apologise
Burkina plans to withdraw some mining permits
Zimbabwe compensates foreign and local farmers
ICC unseals six Libyan warrants
Chad is mining Russian-Western rivalry
African migrants feel abandoned in Lebanon war.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
Chagossians criticise lack of say in UK deal to hand over islands
Congo refused to sign deal to ease M23 conflict says Rwanda
French interior minister orders deportation flights from Mayotte to DRC
Ethiopia ‘deliberately releasing water’ to cause flooding, says Somalia
Kenya prodded to ask IMF to review corruption issues
Haiti PM embarks on UAE, Kenya trips to seek support
Why President Ruto is walking a tight rope on Gachagua ouster bid
DP Gachagua asks for forgiveness amid impeachment motion
President Ruto urges young people to emigrate – to avoid their wrath election time
Mauritius’ President Roopun sets general election for Nov 10
Rwanda begins vaccination drive to curb Marburg virus outbreak
Donors, troop contributors in jitters over Egypt in Somalia
Op-Ed: The New Triangle of Tension in the Horn of Africa
Sudan receives 1.4 million doses of cholera vaccine
Explainer: Sudan at war – the art of peace talks and why they often fail
Uganda military boss blasts USA – demands rapid apology for police sanctions
OpEd: Uganda army chief’s presidential ambitions threaten democracy
Many years a slave: How East Africans are lured into Myanmar bondage
OpEd : Africa’s famous Serengeti and Maasai Mara are being hit by climate change
West Africa
Burkina Faso plans to withdraw some mining permits
Illegal mining takes sheen off Ghana’s treasure
Why Ghana’s black forex market thrives despite crackdown
Wagner says Russian captives died in Mali, rebels rebuff claims
Will the Dangote refinery solve Nigeria’s oil issues?
Nigeria recalled all its ambassadors a year ago and has not replaced them
Southern Africa
Fresh faces in Mozambique’s poll as independence era leaders bow out
3 arrested in SAfr over massacre of 18 relatives
Serial rapist in SAfr gets 42 life sentences
Video: Can South Africa overcome xenophobia?
Zimbabwe compensates foreign and local farmers over land invasions
North Africa
ICC unseals six arrest warrants for alleged war crimes in Libya
Tunisians vote in election, with main rival to President Saied in prison
Central Africa
Chad exploits Russian-Western rivalry to its advantage
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
THE WEEK AHEAD
EASTERN AFRICA
CHAGOSS ISLANDS
Chagossians criticise lack of say in UK deal to hand over islands
People with roots in the Chagos Islands have criticised what they called their “exclusion” from negotiations leading to the UK government’s deal to give up its sovereignty of the region. The remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean is set to be handed to Mauritius after more than half a century. Some Chagossians broadly welcomed the deal, but many said indigenous people had been repeatedly refused an opportunity to take part in talks. The Foreign Office said the interests of the Chagossian community had been “an important part of the negotiations”. One of the largest islands on the tropical atoll, Diego Garcia, will remain a joint US-UK military base and is expected to remain so for 99 years with an option to renew. Mauritius will be able to begin a programme of resettlement on the Chagos Islands, but not on Diego Garcia. Pascalina Nellan, whose grandmother was born on the island before it turned into a home for navy ships and long-range bomber aircrafts, said the deal amounted to “backstabbing” by the UK government. In recent years, the UK has faced rising diplomatic isolation over its claim to what it refers to as the British Indian Ocean Territory. The International Court of Justice previously ruled the UK’s administration of the island, that some had called its “last colony in Africa”, was “unlawful” and must end. The government of Mauritius has long argued that it was illegally forced to give the Chagos Islands away in return for its own independence from the UK in 1968. Britain later apologised for forcibly removing more than 1,000 islanders from the entire archipelago between 1965 and 1973, and promised to hand the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for strategic purposes.
DR CONGO
Rwanda says Congo refused to sign deal to ease M23 conflict
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Saturday his Congolese counterpart had refused to sign an agreed deal to help resolve the M23 rebel conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has displaced over 1.7 million people. Both countries participated in negotiations in late August aimed at easing the conflict, which has deepened the region’s long-running humanitarian crisis and at times raised fears of a wider war. Nduhungirehe reported that delegates to the talks, including Congo’s head of military intelligence, had agreed and signed a plan “for neutralising the FDLR and lifting Rwanda’s defence measures”. This agreement was due to be signed by ministers on Sept. 14, he said, speaking on the sidelines of a summit of leaders from French-speaking countries in France. “We were ready to sign … but the Congolese minister refused. She first commented on the report and then later, after consultation, she came back. She told us she was opposed to adopting the report.” The plan foresaw the actions against the FDLR taking place first, followed a few days later by Rwanda easing its “defence measures,” Nduhungirehe said, adding that the Congolese minister objected to these not happening at the same time.
French interior minister orders deportation flights from Mayotte to DRC
France’s interior minister said on Wednesday, October 2, that he had ordered authorities in the French overseas department of Mayotte to arrange deportation flights for African migrants, as Paris seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration. Mayotte, an Indian Ocean island that is the poorest French department, has long struggled with social unrest and a crippling migration crisis linked to the arrival of thousands fleeing poverty and corruption on the African mainland. A member of minister Bruno Retailleau’s team said that four such flights had already been arranged since February, and that “at least three” were planned for October to help empty detention centres in Mayotte. Cooperation with the authorities in DR Congo over the issue was “excellent,” the team member added. Every year thousands of people from the neighbouring Comoros archipelago or mainland Africa try to reach Mayotte, often aboard small “kwassa kwassa” boats, and migrants are now estimated to make up nearly half of Mayotte’s population of around 320,000. The influx has caused major tensions including protests, with many locals complaining about crime and poverty.
ETHIOPIA/SOMALIA
Ethiopia ‘deliberately releasing water’ to cause flooding, says Somalia
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has accused Ethiopia of “deliberately releasing water from reservoirs at dams upstream” to cause flooding in Somalia, escalating tensions between the two Horn of Africa nations. In an interview on September 30 in Mogadishu, President Mohamud presented photographs of flooded areas in Somalia, attributing the flooding to Ethiopia’s alleged actions. The Somali president also alleged that Ethiopia is “funnelling arms to clan-based Somali militias” near their shared border. He expressed concern that these weapons could “fall into the hands of al-Shabab,” the jihadist group active in Somalia. Mohamud further accused Ethiopia of “mobilising clan leaders and opposition politicians in Somalia” against the potential deployment of Egyptian troops. He suggested that if pushed, Somalia could “scratch the grievances” of ethnic Somalis living in Ethiopia. The accusation adds to the complex relationship between Somalia and Ethiopia, which has been strained since January when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a region Somalia considers part of its territory.
Complicating the situation further, Egypt recently sent its second military aid shipment to Somalia, including heavy artillery and armored vehicles. This delivery, part of a defense pact signed between Egypt and Somalia in August 2024, has raised concerns in Ethiopia and Somaliland.
KENYA
Govt. asks IMF to review corruption issues – after prodding
The government has asked the International Monetary Fund to conduct an official assessment of corruption and governance issues, the IMF has disclosed, after a push by western nations. Kenya has struggled with debt that has reached precarious levels in recent years, and its withdrawl of proposed tax hikes earlier this year – following deadly protests – complicated its efforts to unlock a $600 million disbursement from the IMF. Countries themselves must request the so-called “governance diagnostic”, which investigates whether corruption and governance vulnerabilities are draining revenue or creating other problems in state finances. One source familiar with the situation said the assessment, while not directly linked to the disbursement, would be a show of goodwill in the country’s efforts to get its finances back on track. Perceived government waste and corruption were a core driver of mass demonstrations in June that forced President William Ruto to withdraw $2.7 billion in planned tax increases.
Haiti PM embarks on UAE, Kenya trips to seek support
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille embarked on a trip to the United Arab Emirates and Kenya on Saturday to seek security assistance in the aftermath of one of deadliest gang attacks in the Caribbean nation in recent years. Haiti is reeling after members of the Gran Grif gang stormed through the town of Pont-Sonde in the western Artibonite region early on Thursday, killing at least 70 people, including infants, and forcing over 6,000 residents to flee. The massacre caused widespread shock even in a country that has grown accustomed to outbreaks of violence, and where the national police force is outgunned and understaffed. “As you can see, we are being attacked on several fronts,” Conille said in a press conference before the trip…So far, the mission has made little progress helping Haiti restore order with only about 400 mostly Kenyan police officers on the ground. “One of the aims of this trip is to go to Kenya to discuss with President (William) Ruto how we can speed up the deployment of remnants of the Kenyan troops as quickly as possible to continue supporting the national police force,” Conille said.
Why President Ruto is walking a tight rope on Gachagua ouster bid
Members of Parliament are next Tuesday expected to vote on whether the impeachment motion against Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua and brought to the House by Mwengi Mutuse, a legislator affiliated to President William Ruto’s governing coalition, should proceed to full trial in the Senate. The DP faces 11 charges related to alleged economic crimes, abuse of office and gross violations of the Constitution. Parliament invited the public to give their views on the impeachment motion on Friday, seeking to seal a legal loophole that has seen some Senate decisions to remove county governors from office overturned by the courts. Mr Gachagua, in a court petition personally filed by him, (subsequently denied), argues that his impeachment process is already flawed, questioning the integrity of a public participation exercise conducted on a single day. He also denies accusations that he and his family members have corruptly amassed wealth within the two years he has served as DP. The impeachment charges against him, he argues, are politically motivated, alluding to his fallout with President Ruto that has publicly played out in the past five months. President Ruto has yet to publicly comment on the matter. But he is widely believed to have signalled his troops in Parliament to proceed with the plan to oust his deputy in what is shaping up to be a do-or-die battle between the two leaders. The repercussions of the impeachment outcome on their future political careers mean that either of them can’t afford to lose.
DP Gachagua asks for forgiveness amid impeachment motion
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked for forgiveness from Kenyans and President William Ruto amid mounting pressure from lawmakers seeking his impeachment. Speaking at a prayer meeting at his Karen residence on Sunday, October 6, Gachagua expressed confidence in the Judiciary, calling Kenya a “country of the rule of law.” He urged Kenyans to remain peaceful regardless of the outcome of ongoing political events. Addressing MPs, Gachagua apologised for any offence he may have caused. The Deputy President also sought forgiveness from Ruto, adding, “I want to ask my brother Ruto that if I have wronged him in any way, please find it in your heart to forgive me. If my spouse and her programme have wronged you, forgive her.” His remarks come as 291 lawmakers rallied behind an impeachment motion, accusing him of several constitutional violations. Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, who tabled the motion, outlined 11 charges, including gross violations of the Constitution, misconduct, and breaches of Kenyan law, international law, and the Leadership and Integrity Act. Mutuse accused Gachagua of excluding segments of Kenya’s population from public service appointments and equitable resource allocation.’
Ruto urges young people to emigrate – to avoid their wrath election time
Kenya is encouraging its young people, both skilled and unskilled, to leave the country in search of employment opportunities elsewhere. Ruto has stated that 5,000 Kenyans leave the country every week. “He is the first president to openly make the export of workers a public policy. The measure is at the top of his political agenda. It’s unprecedented,” said political scientist Njahira Gitahi. In addition to Germany, Nairobi has signed agreements with several Arabian Peninsula states and Canada. Why make so many of these agreements? “It’s a way of keeping young people away, especially those who demonstrated against the budget bill in June and July. William Ruto is kicking them out before they punish him at the ballot box in 2027,” said Gitahi. Political scientist Dauti Kahura agreed with this analysis: “After two years in power, William Ruto is extremely unpopular, especially among ‘Gen Z’ [born between the late 1990s and early 2010s]. Promising young people jobs abroad is a response to the recent protests.”…expatriating young Kenyans is “a good way for the head of state to keep away the group most likely to prevent his re-election in 2027. 18-25 year-olds represent 65% of the electorate”…Gitahi is dubious about the long-term effects of this policy: “At school, Kenyans were taught that the brain drain was a danger for the country, that it deprived it of its doctors and engineers. I find it hard to see how we can build a nation if we deprive it of its lifeblood.”
MAURITIUS
President Roopun sets general election for Nov 10
The President of the Republic of Mauritius, Prithvirajsing Roopun, said on Friday the island nation would hold a general election on Nov. 10. Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth won the last election in 2019, with his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) securing 38 of the 62 seats in parliament. Last year a British court sitting as the final court of appeal for Mauritius upheld Jugnauth’s 2019 win, rejecting an appeal by an opposition candidate who alleged it had been obtained through bribery and undue influence. Jugnauth first became prime minister in 2017, when his father stepped down from the post of leading the prosperous Indian Ocean country of 1.3 million people, which touts itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia and has a flourishing financial sector.
RWANDA
Vaccination drive begins to curb Marburg virus outbreak
Rwanda has announced that it has started administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the East African country. “The vaccination is starting today immediately,” Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana said at a news conference on Sunday in the capital, Kigali. The Marburg virus has killed 12 people in Rwanda since it was declared an outbreak on September 27. Authorities said at the time that the first cases had been found among patients in health facilities. There is still no confirmation of the source of the outbreak.
The minister said the vaccinations would focus on those “most at risk, most exposed healthcare workers working in treatment centres, in the hospitals, in ICU, in emergency, but also the close contacts of the confirmed cases”. We believe that, with vaccines, we have a powerful tool to stop the spread of this virus,” the minister said. The country has already received shipments of the vaccines including from the Sabin Vaccine Institute. The government said there were 46 confirmed cases, with 29 of them in isolation.
Essay: “The River Rukarara”
In an essay in The Paris Review, Rwandan-born Scholastique Mukasonga reflects on her early childhood experiences from her birthplace on the banks of the Rukarara River in western Rwanda, her survival as a member the Tutsi minority group and being rendered stateless. Using the metaphor of the river that is the source of River Nile, she reconstructs her identity as an African exile, giving new meaning to what “home” is to her.
SOMALIA
Donors, troop contributors in jitters over Egypt in Somalia
International partners and countries contributing troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia are uneasy with the growing influence of Somalia’s new-found ally Egypt, whose military is to be deployed as part of the new security arrangement for the Horn of Africa nation after the expiry of the current African Union’s peacekeeping mandate. Regional security experts intimated that the rising tensions in the Horn of Africa—with Egypt arming Somalia and the latter freezing Ethiopia out of the security arrangement set to succeed the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis)—have triggered unease among the donors. This comes at a time the AU and United Nations are in consultations with the Federal Government of Somalia and its security allies, ahead of submitting a report by November 15, 2024, for the post-Atmis mission, the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom), set to start on January 1, 2025. The donors’ concern is that the inclusion of Egyptian troops in Aussom at the expense of Ethiopian forces, who have been part of peacekeeping missions in Somalia since 2014, is a strategic win for Egypt, which has been at loggerheads with Addis Ababa over the Nile waters, and this may escalate tensions in the Horn. It has also emerged that there is also some pushback by a section of the current troop-contributing countries (TCCs) against Egypt in Aussom…
Op-Ed: The New Triangle of Tension in the Horn of Africa
SUDAN
Country receives 1.4 million doses of cholera vaccine
UNICEF on Saturday announced the arrival of 1.4 million oral cholera vaccine doses at a port in the eastern part of Sudan. This shipment aims to protect children from a cholera outbreak which has affected 10 of the country’s 18 states since July, resulting in over 18,000 cases and killing 550, the UN agency said in a statement. The new vaccines supplement 404,000 doses delivered last month, supporting ongoing immunisation campaigns targeting 1.81 million people in the most affected areas, the statement underlined. “Delivery of the vaccines … is essential for stopping the spread of these deadly diseases,” Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative to Sudan, said. In Sudan, an estimated 3.4 million children under the age of 5 are at high risk of epidemic diseases, with 3.1 million people at risk of cholera by this December, UNICEF said. The country’s health care system is struggling, with national vaccination coverage dropping from 85% to 50% and over 70% of hospitals in conflict areas non-operational.
Explainer: Sudan at war – the art of peace talks and why they often fail
High-level peace talks took place in August 2024 to negotiate a much-needed ceasefire in Sudan. Unfortunately, nothing tangible came out of the talks held in Switzerland and co-hosted by the US and Saudi Arabia. There have been previous efforts to bring Sudan’s main warring parties – the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – to the negotiating table and stop the war. A major effort in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, negotiated short-lived ceasefires a month into the start of the April 2023 conflict, but registered few other successes. Philipp Kastner, an international law and peace scholar who has analysed several different peace negotiations and agreements, explains the obstacles in Sudan’s path to a peace deal.
UGANDA
Military boss blasts USA – demands rapid apology for police sanctions
On Friday, Ugandans woke up to a barrage of tweets from the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba castigating US ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp for allegedly undermining the government of President Yoweri Museveni. “Fellow Ugandans, it is my solemn duty to announce to you all that we as a nation are about to have a serious confrontation with the current US Ambassador to our country. For disrespecting our beloved and celebrated President and undermining Uganda’s Constitution,” he posted on X. “If this current US Ambassador does not apologise to Mzee personally by Monday morning (9.00 am) for his undiplomatic behaviour in our country, we will demand he leaves Uganda. We have no problem with the USA, as I have said many times it is a country we love and admire. But lately, we have a lot of evidence that they have been working against the NRM government.” Gen Muhoozi is the President’s son. Information from the US embassy indicates that the staff were caught unawares and did not understand where the statements by the CDF were coming from, yet he gave them less than 72 hours to take action…The US Department of State last Wednesday announced travel sanctions on four officers of Uganda’s police force for alleged gross violations of human rights, including torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
OpEd: Uganda army chief’s presidential ambitions threaten democracy
Many years a slave: How East Africans are lured into Myanmar bondage
As hundreds of people complained, via social media, of being abandoned in Lebanon, some 12 Kenyans filed an SOS seeking to be rescued from Myanmar, which has been under military rule over the past three years. Sources said some intermediaries, an NGO in Thailand and another in Kenya, were helping negotiations with a UN agency to help rescue them. The alarm came just three days after five Kenyans were released from bondage in Myanmar. Thai authorities then charged them with violating immigration laws there. Nairobi said it was negotiating a labour pact to focus on skilled manpower…but the flow of more Africans into Myanmar points to a lucrative business. The hiring begins in Nairobi, with job seekers believing they are heading for Dubai, only for details to change to Bangkok, before they are lured into Myanmar overland, crossing the border using illegal routes, according to Thai investigators. In July, Kenya’s embassy in Thailand warned that there were no jobs in Myanmar. Officials listed scammer recruiters identified online such as Taichang Park, a group controlled by Democratic Karen Budhist Army (DKBA). Another was KK4 PARK controlled by the Border Force (BGF), and another, KK-3 Park, was based in Myawaddy, Myanmar. Myanmar is not the only place Kenyans have been scammed, however. Experts say cases are rising as the government searches for opportunities abroad for the youth and plug unemployment problems Kenya. Davis Nyagah, an immigrant legal consultant in Nairobi, said governments are killing two birds with one stone: raising remittances while reducing joblessness. But he warned that there are loopholes that need to be plugged.
OpEd: Africa’s famous Serengeti and Maasai Mara are being hit by climate change – a major threat to wildlife and tourism
WEST AFRICA
BURKINA FASO
Authorities plan to withdraw some mining permits
Burkina Faso plans to withdraw mining permits from some foreign companies and will seek to produce more of its own gold, government leader Ibrahim Traore said on Saturday, without specifying which permits could be cancelled. “We know how to mine our gold and I don’t understand why we’re going to let multinationals come and mine it,” Traore said in a radio address to mark two years since he seized power in a coup. “In fact, we are going to withdraw mining permits,” he said. He did not specify which permits or provide further detail. Gold is the main export of the West African country, where frustration over a long-running security crisis helped bring the junta to power in 2022. Since then, it has severed longstanding ties with Western allies and sought closer relations with Russia. London-listed Endeavour Mining, Australia-based West African Resources, Russia’s Nordgold, and Canada’s Orezone Gold Corporation operate in Burkina Faso. Operations have been complicated by growing insecurity. Despite the junta promising to contain groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State, the country saw a severe escalation of deadly attacks in 2023, with more than 8,000 people reportedly killed, according to U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.
GHANA
Illegal mining takes sheen off Ghana’s treasure
Illegal gold mining, “galamsey” in the local tongue, has had severe environmental, social, and economic impacts in this West African country of around 35 million people. The scourge has intensified over the past decade despite regulation by government agencies and social condemnation of the practice. Street protests by various organisations demanding a halt to illegal mining have now pitted activists against law-and-order agencies. Ghana has been trying to ramp up legal gold production for years in a bid to revitalise its ailing economy. In 2023, it overtook South Africa to regain its position as Africa’s leading gold producer. “Our gold production has reached an unprecedented four million ounces (1,13,398 kg), according to preliminary reports,” President Nana Akufo-Addo told parliament earlier this year. But while the economy has been benefiting from the surge in gold production, the same can’t be said of environmental and public health, say activists. They blame the lure of easy money through illegal mining for increasing water contamination and a general increase in cases of renal failure and birth deformities. Cocoa production, a major foreign exchange earner for Ghana, has also declined due to illegal mining. While pollution from illegal miners’ activities is killing cocoa trees, some farmers are selling their farms to gold miners. Reports suggest 1,696 mining licenses have been issued in the past eight years, which activists say is causing an unprecedented and harmful gold rush.
Why Ghana’s black forex market thrives despite crackdown
When Ahmed Yaya, a black-market operator, was nearly arrested together with three others for illegally operating a forex bureau on the shoulders of the road, he thought that was the end of his trade. Facing all the trouble from the police and the fear of being incarcerated, he vowed never to continue with the business without a license.
He, thus, took steps to acquire the license. However, the process, according to him, was thwarted because it was arduous and filled with bureaucratic hurdles. Then, with a wife and a child to take care of and no other source of income, he found himself in a dire situation. Family pressure, coupled with financial difficulties, compelled him to return to the streets. The Fourth Estate in its recent investigations has uncovered a troubling trend: high bureaucratic barriers and inflexible bank rates are pushing both buyers and sellers into the arms of the illegal black market. Despite the personal and larger economic risks involved, individuals like Ahmed Yaya are compelled to operate outside the law due to the formidable obstacles posed by official channels…Individuals participate in the illegal exchange (selling and buying) of foreign currency through unauthorized channels to circumvent government price controls. They operate without a license and since their transactions are undocumented, both sellers and buyers manage to evade government payments, including taxes, and other regulatory measures, risking financial sanctions and prison time.
MALI
Wagner says Russian captives died in Mali, rebels rebuff claims
Russia’s mercenary Wagner group has told the family of a Russian fighter captured alive in Mali that he has now died, according to text messages, contradicting information provided by the Tuareg rebel group that held him. Alexander Efremov was one of two Russian prisoners captured alive by Tuareg rebels following a deadly desert battle that wiped out dozens of Wagner fighters in late July. His brother Evgeny said Wagner had called to communicate his death…relatives of three other fighters who had been reported missing also said they had received similar calls from Wagner. However, a spokesman for the Tuareg rebel group rebuffed Wagner’s assertion, claiming that both Russian prisoners, along with Malian army prisoners captured in the same battle, were still alive. “All our prisoners are alive,” said Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for a Tuareg organisation known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP). “Wagner are liars.” The reason for the contradictory reporting was unclear. The Tuareg group declined to provide evidence that its prisoners were alive, while Wagner has not recovered the bodies of its fighters killed in the battle near the Algerian border, leaving relatives without clear evidence either way. While Wagner acknowledged heavy losses in the Mali ambush, it has provided no figure on casualties. The Malian army, which fought alongside the Russians, has not given a toll either. Tuareg separatists, who are fighting for an independent homeland, said they had killed 84 Russians and 47 Malians.
NIGERIA
Will the Dangote refinery solve Nigeria’s oil issues?
Hopes that the new Dangote Petroleum Refinery would lead to cheaper fuel in Nigeria have been dashed. But analysts say the ultra-modern facility is just one step to resolving the country’s fuel supply and pricing issues. Nigeria is caught up in a fuel crisis. Long queues at gas stations are an everyday reality for consumers in Africa’s leading oil producing country. Some analysts have said the Dangote refinery is simply not enough to ease the country’s fuel crisis. The $20-billion Dangote project is designed to process 650,000 barrels of Nigerian crude oil per day. But because it battled to secure enough crude oil locally, it is having to rely on purchases from outside of the country. “If we have 100% Nigeria’s crude, yes, fine but we can’t wait because sometimes the production is up and down,” complains Dangote. Finance expert Gbolahan Olojede said Dangote’s difficulties are part of the struggles of Nigeria’s oil industry to meet local demand. “It’s unbelievable that 20 years ago, in 2005, we were able to do as much as 2.5 million barrels per day. But today, Nigeria is struggling to do 1.2 million, which is barely half of what we used to do” said Olojede. The Dangote refinery isn’t making sales to oil marketing companies within Nigeria. Concerns over the price at which the refinery is selling its refined crude has been a major factor. According to the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Dangote asked for N842.61/liter ($0.51) in its first sale last week, taking the price at the pump to N950.22/liter in Lagos. But the going rate at the pump was N855. Although Dangote denied selling to NNPC at N842.61/liter, it did not disclose the actual price. The government said it would not intervene.
Interview: Nigeria recalled all its ambassadors a year ago and has not replaced them
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has yet to replace the ambassadors he recalled a year ago, leaving only the country’s UN permanent representative. Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. The move was made as part of an attempt to drive efficiency in Nigeria’s foreign service.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE
Fresh faces in Mozambique’s poll as independence era leaders bow out
Mozambique is set for a watershed election that will see a change of the presidential guard, with the era of leaders who forged their careers in the trenches of the independence war against Portuguese rule coming to an end. For the first time, the once all-powerful Frelimo party is fielding a presidential candidate who was born after independence – the charismatic 47-year-old Daniel Chapo, who it hopes will rally voters fed up with its 49-year rule. Mozambique – strategically located along the southern African coast and rich in natural resources, but hit by an insurgency in the remote north – will hold presidential elections on Wednesday, along with parliamentary and gubernatorial elections. President Filipe Nyusi is stepping down at the end of his two terms and hopes to hand the reigns of power to Chapo. His government had to deal with the fallout of the “tuna bond” corruption scandal – which triggered the country’s worst economic crisis. In comparison, Chapo is a breath of fresh air – and draws big crowds at rallies across the country as he distances himself from the corruption that has plagued Frelimo for much of its rule since independence in 1975. But human rights activist and journalist Mirna Chitsungo says she doubts whether Chapo can convince all voters that he can change Frelimo. “If we have a degraded country, it is because of corruption. He faces the challenge of promising to fight this evil while belonging to a party that, on a large scale, has perpetuated corruption,” she says. Counting in Chapo’s favour is the fact that he is a relative newcomer in the political arena, having joined government only in 2011 as a district administrator, rising by 2019 to become governor of the southern Inhambane province until taking over as general secretary of Frelimo in May. But his critics say that to ensure victory, Frelimo has a back-up plan: fraud.
SOUTH AFRICA
Three arrested in South Africa over massacre of 18 relatives
South African police have arrested three people in connection with the massacre of 18 relatives that took place in a remote town last week following a manhunt, the police say. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu confirmed the arrests during the memorial service for the 18 victims on Sunday, in the town of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape, where the killings happened. He added that the arrest of a fourth suspect would be announced soon. Shockwaves erupted across South Africa when gunmen opened fire on two homes, killing fifteen women and three men. Several were shot in the head. The victims were aged from 14 to 64 years old, according to a local newspaper. The attack happened when the family had gathered for a traditional ceremony. The three suspects will appear in court on Monday to hear their charges. South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. There were more than 27,000 murders in 2022 – amounting to 45 people per 100,000, out of a population of almost 60 million. By comparison, the US rate is six per 100,000.
Serial rapist in South Africa gets 42 life sentences
A South African serial rapist – who assaulted children as young as nine years old – has received 42 life sentences. Nkosinathi Phakathi was convicted of 90 counts of rape – attacks that he carried out between 2012 and 2021. The 40-year-old sometimes made children watch him raping his victims and also forced young boys to rape their female friends, South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
Phakathi’s crimes took place in or around Ekurhuleni, a municipality just east of the city of Johannesburg. On Friday, the Johannesburg High Court heard that Phakathi was receiving 42 life sentences for charges including rape, kidnapping, theft and assault. The majority of Phakathi’s victims were schoolchildren, the youngest being a nine-year-old girl, the NPA’s statement said. His oldest victim was aged 44. The NPA said Phakathi targeted many of these individuals when they were travelling to or from work or school. Phakathi also assaulted some of his victims in their own homes, pretending to be an electrician coming to fix a household appliance in order to gain entry, the statement said.
Video: Can South Africa overcome xenophobia?
African diaspora activists in South Africa are warning that the increasing raids on undocumented migrants by authorities could trigger renewed xenophobic violence, Why are migrants increasingly in focus?
ZIMBABWE
Foreign and local farmers compensated over land invasions
The Zimbabwean government will this month pay an initial $20 million to foreign white and local Black farmers who lost land in farm invasions under former leader Robert Mugabe at the turn of the century, the finance minister said on Friday. The spending was allocated in the 2024 budget as part of a series of measures to restore the country’s once-thriving farming sector and help launch a long promised economic revival. Agriculture collapsed when Mugabe oversaw the seizure of highly productive farms in 2000. Most were owned by Zimbabwean white commercial farmers after colonialists forcibly took them from Blacks early in the 20th century. But foreign white farmers and some Black Zimbabweans also lost property in the seizures a quarter of a century ago, many of them spontaneous, unorganised and largely benefiting those with links to the ruling Zanu-PF party. The victims being compensated include foreign farmers from Belgium, Germany and other countries, and 400 Black Zimbabweans, Mthuli Ncube said. A separate and much larger $3.5 billion scheme for 4,000 white Zimbabwean farmers was announced in 2020, but the money has not been forthcoming owing to Zimbabwe’s financial woes. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe in a 2017 coup, has sought to engage Western governments to restore ties, resolve Zimbabwe’s huge foreign debt and revive its economy – although last year’s elections, deemed not free and fair by observers, did little to restore potential donor confidence.
NORTH AFRICA
LIBYA
ICC unseals six arrest warrants for alleged war crimes
The International Criminal Court on Friday unsealed arrest warrants against six members of a Libyan militia group charged with war crimes. In 2023, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said arrest warrants had been issued by court judges for war crimes in Libya since 2011, but these warrants were under seal, so it was not clear who was targeted or what the specific charges were. The warrants released on Friday made it clear six individuals, all Libyan nationals, had been charged with war crimes including murder, torture, cruel treatment and sexual violence, and some also with rape. According to the ICC the suspects in the six arrest warrants were all members of the Kaniyat militia that was allied to the eastern Libyan National Army and helped it mount a failed 14-month assault on the capital Tripoli in the west. They were sanctioned by the United States and Britain in 2020, when the assault collapsed, and in 2021 over alleged human rights abuses.
TUNISIA
Voters go to the poll as president’s main rival is in prison
Tunisians began voting on Sunday in an election in which President Kais Saied is seeking a second term, with his main rival suddenly jailed last month and the other candidate heading a minor political party. Tunisia had for years been hailed as the only relative success story of the 2011 “Arab spring” uprisings for introducing a competitive, though flawed, democracy following decades of autocratic rule. However, rights groups now say Saied, in power since 2019, has undone many of those democratic gains while removing institutional and legal checks on his power. Saied, 66, has rejected criticism of his actions, saying he is fighting a corrupt elite and traitors, and that he will not be a dictator. Sunday’s election pits Saied against two rivals: his former ally turned critic, Chaab Party leader Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Ayachi Zammel, who had been seen as posing a big threat to Saied until he was jailed last month. Other opponents have been barred from running.
CENTRAL AFRICA
CHAD
Chad exploits Russian-Western rivalry to its advantage
Chad, a decades-old ally of France, is now cleverly playing off Russia and its traditional Western partners, deepening relations with Moscow in a ploy that irritates and pressures Paris and Washington. President Mahamat Déby visited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin in January, while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, in June to continue the dialogue. Some Chadian officials have floated the idea of a new military partnership, though the current focus has been on strengthening cultural and media ties. Last month saw the opening of an official Russian cultural centre in N’Djamena. There have been hitches too: last week Moscow’s diplomats were forced to step in after a “sociologist” linked to the former Wagner security outfit was briefly detained with three colleagues while visiting the Chadian capital. But overall, Chad’s relationship with Moscow is deepening. This is unsettling for the US and, above all, France, the former colonial power…The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have forced Paris to withdraw the thousands of troops it had deployed to help fight jihadist groups. Niger insisted on the departure of US forces, abandoning the drone base they had built at Agadez to monitor the activity of militant groups across the region. Turning instead to Russia for weapons and military personnel, the juntas also appreciate the fact that Moscow refrains from pressing them to restore elected government. After such setbacks, Washington and Paris would certainly not welcome the spread of Russian influence in Chad too, particularly because the country occupies such a strategic location.
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
‘No place to go’: As Israel bombs Lebanon, African migrants feel abandoned
An estimated 175,000 to 200,000 foreign domestic workers live in Lebanon, the majority of them women. According to a 2019 Amnesty International report, which cited the Ministry of Labour, at least 75 percent of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon at the time were Ethiopian. Most take up low-paid jobs as live-in caregivers and send money to their families back home. Israel, which has been waging a war on Gaza since October last year, escalated its attacks on Lebanon last month. With the onset of near-daily exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah across Lebanon’s southern border for the past year, embassies in Beirut have become increasingly pressed with repatriation requests. However, the response of African diplomats in Lebanon has been close to absent, according to domestic workers from four African countries. Migrant workers in Lebanon are excluded from protections afforded to workers under the country’s national labour law. Instead, their status is regulated by the “kafala” or sponsorship system…Under the kafala system, migrants cannot seek legal redress for abuses meted out against them, no matter how grave they are. This has led to rampant abuse of domestic workers over the years…migrant workers often require the intervention of their country’s diplomats to escape an abusive employer or to defend themselves in court. As the crisis in Lebanon escalated, media found that the honorary consulate of Kenya and the Ethiopian consular offices were using their social media pages to call on citizens to send personal identification documents on WhatsApp to register citizens for eventual potential repatriation.
Explainer: UN security council needs major changes – permanent seats for African countries is just one
Jimmy Carter: the American president whose commitment to Africa went beyond his term
The office of former US president Jimmy Carter (100), who has been frail for some time, recently announced that he will no longer seek hospital treatment for his ailments. He has instead opted for hospice care at his modest home in the rural farming village of Plains, Georgia, close to where he was born. His opposition to racism and his support for human rights are legendary, made more compelling by his life-long commitment to live among rural Georgians where segregation was severe and discrimination remains prevalent today. This enduring commitment to non-racialism and human rights at home also shaped his interest and engagement in Africa. Carter’s most frequent trips to Africa for the centre were to lead election observation missions, in which he was keenly interested. His views on Africa can be assessed from three angles: Africa policies pursued during his presidency, 1977-1981; Programmes in Africa with the Carter Centre while he was its leader, 1982-2015; His moral determination to reckon with racism.
THIS WEEK AHEAD
Oct. 6 — Tunisia will hold the nation’s first presidential elections since adopting a new constitution in 2022, with three candidates, including the incumbent President Kais Saied running for a second presidential term.
Oct. 7 — Bank of Uganda is due to announce its latest lending rate decision. In August, the bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 10%.
Oct. 7-10 — The African Oil Week conference will kick off in Cape Town.
Oct. 8 — Nigeria will begin vaccinations for mpox after regulatory approvals are concluded.
Oct. 8 — The Central Bank of Kenya is due to announce its latest lending rate decision. In August, the bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 12.75%.
Oct. 9 — Nigeria’s Federal High Court in Abuja will rule on whether to release Binance’s head of financial compliance Tigran Gambaryan or keep him in custody.
Oct. 9 — Mozambique will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Wednesday, with nearly 17 million voters expected to cast their votes marking the end of President Filipe Nyusi’s two-term tenure. There are four candidates vying but ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo, a former radio announcer and law lecturer, is widely expected to replace Nyusi as president.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Oct. 27 — Princeton in Africa’s 2025-26 fellowship application is inviting undergraduates (graduating by June 2025), young professionals and postgraduates to apply for its general and Nexus programs, respectively for those from US-accredited universities and African universities.
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