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News and information from the fast-changing continent.
Egypt: New Laws Entrench Military Power Over Civilians
[HRW] In early February 2024, the Egyptian authorities issued new legislation that will entrench and widen the already broad powers of the military over civilian life in a manner that undermines rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The new laws grant sweeping new authority for the military to fully or partially replace certain functions of the police, civilian judiciary, and other civilian authorities and further expand the jurisdiction of military courts to prosecute civilians.
On January 22, a new law and
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Africa: Undernutrition and Obesity a 'Double Burden' in Africa - WHO Study
[RFI] According to a World Health Organization study published by The Lancet medical journal, obesity has increased alarmingly in low and middle income countries, particularly in Africa. World Obesity Day, held on 4 March, aims to raise awareness around what the WHO describes as an "epidemic".
While some of the populations in Africa still face undernutrition, others no longer have this problem, but their diet is of poor quality and obesity is on the rise, according to a WHO study released last week by The Lancet
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Africa: UN Human Rights Chief Speaks on Ethiopia, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Ghana, Rwanda and Somalia
[UN] Mr President, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
Rarely has humanity faced so many rapidly spiralling crises. In this update, I will focus first, on the scourge of war and the imperative of peace; and second, on the open space that is needed for societies to flourish – particularly in this mega election year.
A wave of conflict is battering people's lives, destroying economies, profoundly damaging human rights, dividing the world, and upending hopes for multilateral solutions.
Around the world,
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Congo-Kinshasa: Regional Military Leaders Meet in Eastern DRC to Coordinate Strategy Against M23 Rebels
[Independent (Kampala)] Stability hangs in the balance in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where military leaders from five regional countries have been meeting for days to devise a coordinated military strategy to end hostilities that risk escalating into a regional conflict.
EFFORTS TO END HOSTILITIES
For days, military leaders from the DRC, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa and Burundi have been meeting in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the DRC, to assess and strengthen joint operations against the
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Liberia: Weah Warns Boakai Administration Against Shooting at Protesters
[New Dawn] Former President George Manneh Weah warns President Joseph Nyuma Boakai here, over Police shooting live bullets against protesters last week in a concession area, who have expressed grievances against operational procedures, leaving at least three persons feared dead.
Mr. Weah, speaking at his Forkly Klon Jlateh Family Fellowship Church in Paynesville, outside Monrovia, Sunday 3rd March 2024, excoriated President Boakai, noting "This situation in Kinjor must be the last; this must not happen again."
He
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Kenya: Inside Mitahato, the Kenyan Village Where Residents Speak French
[RFI] In Mitahato, a small village in rural Kenya, it's common to see words like bienvenue adorning entrances, and to hear people saying bonjour or comment ça va as they pass each other along the leafy pathways. This regional community north of Nairobi prides itself on having become the country's first French-speaking village.
After learning French while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, senior UN human rights advisor Chris Mburu was inspired to open a library and learning centre in his Kenyan
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Comoros: France Plans to Terminate Mayotte's 'droit Du Sol'
[ISS] The decision would deprive Mayotte of its 'birth citizenship' status to discourage immigration from the Comoros.
Mayotte's status as a French department - despite being located in the Comoros archipelago off Africa's east coast - continues to produce unique dilemmas.
In February, French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin visited Mayotte to announce a proposed amendment to the French constitution aimed at addressing irregular migration from the nearby Comorian islands.
He said the amendment
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South Africa: Cape Town Pride Celebrates Equality in South Africa, Condemns Ghana's New Anti-Gay Law
[GroundUp] "I am a proudly gay man," city councillor Rob Quintas tells crowd
Rainbow coloured costumes brightened Cape Town as thousands of people marched through the city for the gay pride parade on Saturday.
The annual parade, which celebrates LGBTQI+ rights, has been held in Cape Town since 1993. The first pride parade was held in Johannesburg in 1990.
The parade was led by Mr and Miss Cape Town Pride followed by bikers and roller skaters. It started at Alfred Street in Green Point and moved to Main Road before
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Rwanda: Inside Rwanda's Biosafety Law Set to Regulate GMOs
[New Times] Rwanda, on February 21, promulgated a law governing biosafety, which seeks to ensure that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are handled, transferred and used safely in the country.
Its enactment comes when the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) is carrying out confined field trials on a variety resistant to cassava brown streak disease and cassava mosaic disease - two major viral diseases affecting the staple crop.
A confined field trial (CFT) means an experimental release
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South Africa: The South African Election Campaign Season Marks a Shift to a Volatile New Politics
[Chatham House] ANC domination is anticipated to give way to national and provincial coalition deal-making between very different parties. But the constitution was designed to accommodate this change.
South Africa's ruling ANC party launched its manifesto last week, but the background for the event was worrying for party leaders.
Polls indicate that 2024's general election, scheduled for 29 May, could see the ANC get below 50 per cent of the vote for the first time since 1994 - bringing about multi-party government for
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Cote d'Ivoire: 'Festival of Laughter' in Abidjan Celebrates African Stand-Up Comedy
[RFI] Comedians from across French-speaking Africa are in Abidjan this weekend for the ninth Festival of Laughter - an event that aims to promote stand-up comedy on the continent, including poking fun at your own ethnic group.
The Festival of Laughter is organised and hosted by Nigerien-born comedian Mamane, who among his many talents hosts a satirical radio show "The Very, Very Democratic Republic of Gondwana" on RFI.
The festival is both a way of celebrating African humour and developing comedy as a career
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Rwanda: Inside Kinshasa's Plan to Hire American Mercenaries to Fight M23
[New Times] In 2023, DR Congo's authorities sought to hire 2,500 military contractors from Latin America to fight in North Kivu province, where a government-led coalition is pitted against the M23 rebels, a UN Group of Experts report indicates.
Led by Erik Prince, the founder of former security company Blackwater and current head of Frontier Resources Group (FSG), the plan to deploy mercenaries from Columbia, Mexico and Argentina "was reinitiated" in June and mid-July 2023, the UN report of December 2023 says.
ALSO
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Burkina Faso Prosecutor Says Around 170 'Executed' in Attacks On Villages
[RFI] Around 170 people were "executed" in attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso a week ago, a regional prosecutor said in a statement on Sunday.
Prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly said he received reports of the attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga province on 25 February, with a provisional toll of "around 170 people executed".
The attacks left others wounded and caused material damage, the prosecutor for the northern town of Ouahigouya added in a statement.
He said his
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South Africa: Ex-President Mbeki Denies Apartheid Prosecution Interference - South African News Briefs - March 4, 2024
[allAfrica]
Ex-President Thabo Mbeki Denies Interference in Prosecution of Apartheid-Era Crimes
Former President Thabo Mbeki vehemently denies allegations of interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), reports News24. Mbeki labels the claims as "pure fabrication" and challenges the NPA to disclose any executive instructions to halt the cases. He insists that during his government tenure, there
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Mozambique: Displaced People in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Plead for Peace
[UNHCR] An underreported conflict in northern Mozambique has displaced hundreds of thousands of families, who continue to struggle to find food, shelter and security. By Hélène Caux in Mueda and Palma
In Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, every day is a fight for survival. For the past seven years, people have endured violent attacks and witnessed their loved ones being killed, mutilated, and raped, and their homes and businesses burned to the ground. Men and boys have been forcibly
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Zimbabwe: South African Man Arrested for Zimbabwe Bomb Threat at Victoria Falls Airport
[New Zimbabwe] A South African national identified as Cuan Reed Govender (26) has been arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on suspicion of being the infamous John Doe who reported a bomb at Victoria Falls International Airport last week.
Govender's arrest was confirmed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Spokesperson George Charamba.
Airport authorities are said to have pinged bullets in his luggage before initiating an investigation which is now at the centre of state security operations.
"Our
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Zimbabwe: U.S Imposes Targeted Sanctions on Top Officials
[allAfrica] The U.S. government is terminating wide-ranging Zimbabwe sanctions that were first imposed in March 2003 and initiating targeted sanctions on three entities and 11 individuals including Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.
In a statement issued on Monday, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the policy revisions were made in response to "new and continuing corruption and serious human rights abuse".
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Africa: UN Environmental Assembly Call for Action to Address Planetary Triple Threat
[IPS] The Sixth United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-6) ended with delegates calling for firm actions to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution.
The assembly also reaffirmed its call for "environmental multilateralism" in seeking solutions to the threats, noting that time was running out fast before the threats could besiege the planet and make life a bigger nightmare, especially for the underprivileged.
The concept has been part of the main messages amplified by
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Uganda: The Wild Reparations Order of the ICC
[JusticeInfo.net] On February 28, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced their decision on reparations to victims in the case of Dominic Ongwen, a former Ugandan rebel commander convicted three years ago. They came up with a momentous order: a total of more than 52 million euros. People attending were stunned in excitement. But how the court can deliver on its announcement may take a miracle, warns Lucy Gaynor.
By the time I made my way over to the courtroom entrance at 14:45 on February 28, the queue
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Liberians React to Ghana's Anti-Homosexuality Bill
[New Dawn] The recent approval of an anti-homosexuality bill by the Ghanaian Parliament has ignited significant discourse and evoked varied reactions from Liberians.
The legislation, which criminalizes LGBTQ+ activities with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment, has sparked concerns about human rights and discrimination within the region.
In response to Ghana's legislative action, Liberia, a neighboring West African nation, finds itself at a crossroads with its own considerations and potential implications.
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South Africa: Big Companies, Like Nestlé, Are Funding Health Research in South Africa - Why This Is Wrong
[The Conversation Africa] In 2021, the director of the African Research University Alliance Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria was appointed to the board of the transnational food corporation Nestlé.
At the time a group of more than 200 senior academics wrote an open letter, about conflicts of interest. Nestlé's portfolio of foods, by its own admission, includes more than 60% that don't meet the definition of healthy products.
In December last year, the same centre announced it had
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Kenya's Had Unusually Hot Weather - an Expert Unpacks What Could Be Causing It
[The Conversation Africa] In early 2024 most parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, experienced unusually high temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation described the hot weather as a global phenomenon: record high temperatures were recorded in 2023. January 2024 has been recorded as the hottest month on record so far worldwide. Gilbert Ouma, the coordinator of the University of Nairobi's Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, and an associate professor at the Department of Meteorology, answers some key questions.
What
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Africa: Debt Relief, Climate and Recovery Aid Needed, Say Africa Catholic Bishops
[Jubilee] African Catholic Bishops called for an overhaul of the financial system to address health, climate, food and other challenges the region faces. Ahead of a gathering of African Finance Ministers in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the Justice, Peace and Development Commission of the Catholic Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) outlined reforms for debt relief , development resources and governance.
"In Sub-Saharan Africa the number of people facing food insecurity stress or
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Uganda: Completion of Kitale-Endebess-Suam Road to Boost Trade Between Kenya, Uganda
[Capital FM] Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has asserted that the Completion of Kitale-Endebess-Suam to boost trade between Kenya, and Uganda.
The CS who inspected the ongoing construction of the 45 km road, stated that the road will create a third one-stop border post with Uganda in Suam.
He assured that the road would help cross-border trade by easing the movement of traffic, goods, and labor, besides helping to streamline immigration services.
"The project will also contribute to socio-economic
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Zimbabwe: Slain Opposition Activist Moreblessing Ali Finally Buried After Two Years
[New Zimbabwe] Below are some images from the burial of late Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Moreblessing Ali's who was brutally murdered by a Zanu PF supporter in May 2022.
She was finally laid to rest Saturday at Zororo Memorial Park.
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Mozambique: Humanitarian Crisis Worsens in Northern Mozambique As Thousands Flee Violence
[UNHCR] UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, as the recent surge in violence by non-state armed groups continues to force thousands of people to flee towards southern districts in search of safety.
Since the latest outbreak of violence and attacks on civilians at the beginning of February, more than 70,000 people have been forcibly displaced across the districts of Macomia, Chiure, Mecufi, Mocimboa da Praia, and Muidumbe. In Chiure
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West Africa: Germany Aims to Confront Extremism in Sahel Region
[DW] On her visit to Burkina Faso, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze wants to show a willingness to speak with the ruling military junta. In Benin, she'll support Germany's efforts to boost trust in state structures.
Adama Sawadogo, who lives in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, will probably never forget the last weekend in February.
"The situation is not easy. Over the weekend, there were attacks all over the country and they happened at the same time. Both churches and mosques were targeted,"
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Nigeria: Much-Loved Nollywood Actor Mr Ibu Bows Out
[Premium Times] With a career that included some of the most iconic films of the '2000s and beyond, Mr Ibu's legacy and achievement would no doubt outlive him and inspire generations of comic actors.
John Okafor, aka Mr Ibu, is remembered as one of Nigeria's most effortlessly funny and beloved comic actors of all time.
From his beginnings as a boxer, football coach, hairstylist, photographer and karate practitioner to making a name as a slapstick comedian whose acting is often characterised by stupidity, it was clear from
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Nigeria: From Gas to Ash - the Struggle of Nigerian Women Amidst Surging Cooking Gas Prices
[IPS] One sunny mid-morning in Omu-Aran village, a community in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, Iyabo Sunday sat beside a firewood stand observing her pot of beans with rice (a combination enjoyed by many in Nigeria).
The 52-year-old widow used her plastic dirt parker to fan the flames, occasionally blowing air through her mouth for speed and frantically shielding her face from the wisps of smoke that curled from the firewood.
After a hike in electricity tariffs, Sunday told IPS that she abandoned her
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Uganda: Behind the Wheel With Uganda's Pioneering Women Drivers
[Global Press Journal] Low pay, sexual harassment and job instability haven't stopped women from pursuing opportunities in the male-dominated public transport sector.
Birabwa Hajara's braids are long enough to reach her hips if she let them down. But she doesn't. "Some jobs limit our freedom of expression. A driver cannot let her long hair loose. It will be prickly," she says. Instead, she ties the braids into a knot above her head, a style whose shape has earned it the local nickname "doughnut."
It's 5 a.m., still a little
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