GENEVA — Flagrant rights violations by Sudan’s warring parties require the deployment of an “independent and impartial force” to protect millions of civilians driven from their homes, UN experts said Friday.

An independent fact-finding mission uncovered “harrowing” violations by both sides since April last year “which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” they said.

The conflict pits the national army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

It has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and the experts said 8 million civilians have been displaced while a further 2 million people have fled to neighboring countries.

Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the fact-finding mission, created late last year, called for “urgent and immediate action to protect civilians.”

“Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay,” Othman said.

The mission found evidence of “indiscriminate” airstrikes and shelling against civilian targets including schools and hospitals as well as water and electricity supplies.

“The warring parties also targeted civilians… through rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment,” the mission said.

“These violations may amount to war crimes.”

‘Wake-up call’

In August, the United States convened talks in Geneva aimed at ending the brutal war, achieving progress on aid access but not a cease-fire.

It also announced visa sanctions on an unspecified number of individuals in South Sudan, including government officials, accused of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid for 25 million Sudanese facing severe hunger.

The U.N.-mandated experts based their findings on testimony from dozens of survivors of the fighting now in Chad, Kenya and Uganda — but not in Sudan, where authorities failed to respond to four requests to visit.

Sudan’s government also declined to comment officially on the mission’s findings.

Its report “should serve as a wake-up call to the international community to take decisive action to support survivors, their families and affected communities, and hold perpetrators accountable,” Mona Rishmawi, a member of the mission, said in a statement.
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ADDIS ABABA, ethiopia — The Ethiopian government has freed seven Oromo Liberation Front, or OLF, members who have been in prison for more than four years.  

A spokesperson for OLF Lemi Gemechu told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service that the seven were released on Thursday from the different prisons where they had been held.    

He identified the seven as Abdi Regassa, Dawit Abdeta, Lammi Begna, Michael Boran, Kenessa Ayana, Gada Gabisa and Gada Oljira. 

“Before their release, there was a process that took all day,” Lemi said.  

“Just now, the Oromo Liberation Front leaders who have been imprisoned for over four years at different sites have been released, including Abdi Regassa, members of the executive committee and other officials well-known among the people, all seven of them, are now released and here at home,” he said. 

Abdi is a prominent member of the OLF who once was the commander of the military wing of OLF.    

The release took place at Burayu police station outside Addis Ababa.    

Some of the released detainees are members of the executive committee while others are central committee and executive members of the OLF.  

Lemi said they welcomed their release and congratulated their supporters and those who advocated for their release.     

On his Facebook page, Lemi posted a picture of the seven standing with the leader of OLF, Dawud Ibsa.  

In a statement issued Thursday on Facebook, OLF said the members were released on bail. OLF said they were detained for “exercising their legitimate political rights” and said their detention was “unjust.” 

The opposition members were detained in 2020 for what rights groups at the time described as “purely political” reasons.  

The Ethiopian government has not yet officially commented on the release of the opposition figures.  

The United States has also welcomed the release of OLF detainees. 

“We remain ready to support negotiations aimed at ending the violence and promoting durable peace for all Ethiopians,” the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs said in a post on X. 

Human Rights Watch had been calling on the Ethiopian authorities to release the seven senior members of the opposition political party.  

Meanwhile, the family of Taye Dendea, the detained former Ethiopian state minister of peace, has expressed their disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision to deny him bail.    

Taye’s wife, Sintayehu Alemayehu, told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service that she is sad because of the decision of Ethiopia’s federal Supreme Court.    

The court on Wednesday upheld the decision by a lower court to reject the bail request by Taye.    

Taye appeared before a court in Addis Ababa on Wednesday to find that his bail request had been rejected. The former state minister was arrested in December last year after he posted comments criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.    

Police accused him of collaborating with groups aiming to destabilize Ethiopia. It also accused him of using social media platforms to endorse violence.  

A lower court acquitted Taye of these charges without requiring him to present a defense but ordered him to defend against the third charge concerning the illegal possession of firearms.  

This story originated in VOA Horn of Africa Service.   
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Gaborone, Botswana — Police and protesters clashed outside Botswana’s National Assembly in Gaborone on Wednesday as members of parliament voted on a bill that would have given the president sweeping powers to appoint civil servants holding key positions.

Opposition members of parliament boycotted the vote, while protesters, waving placards, protested the bill outside. Members of the remaining ruling party failed to raise enough votes to pass the bill.

Opposition party leader Dithapelo Keorapetse said the bill, if it had been approved, would have given too much power to the president.

“Today was a momentous day in that the evil constitution amendment bill, which sought to clothe the president with enormous powers to appoint the chief justice, to appoint the court of appeal president, to appoint the secretary of the IEC [Independent Electoral Commission], died,” Keorapetse said.

Minister for State President Kabo Morwaeng blamed the opposition and civil society organizations for misleading the nation on what he called a progressive bill. He said the bill contained clauses that would have improved citizens’ lives, including provisions on health rights, the right to strike and workers’ rights.

Motheo O Mosha, a nongovernmental organization, was behind Wednesday’s protests. Chairperson Morena Monganja said some members were hurt during clashes with the police.

“Many of our activists were beaten,” she said. “We have one who is in hospital with injuries. We look at this event of citizens trying to express their displeasure at a certain piece of legislation and being met with this kind of violence as very unacceptable in a democracy.”

Morwaeng said protesters did not seek the required permit to hold the demonstration.

The proposed law was rejected a day before Botswana’s parliament was dissolved as the country prepares for next month’s general election.
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Johannesburg — South Africa’s Ukrainian Association has expressed outrage that a Russian naval vessel was recently allowed to dock for several days at Cape Town harbor. Critics say the incident calls into question Pretoria’s purported neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Ukrainian Association in South Africa said it was dismayed to learn the Russian naval training ship Smolnyy had anchored at the Port of Cape Town in late August.

While the vessel was docked in South Africa, Russian bombardments in Ukraine killed scores of people, including children, the association’s Dzvinka Kachur said.

“Meanwhile, a Russian military training ship docks in Cape Town reportedly strengthening military ties between the countries,” said Kachur.

The Russian consulate general in Cape Town said on its X account August 30 that the ship’s command had met with South African naval counterparts and hosted a reception “aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.”

Russian state news agency Tass also reported the ship’s “unofficial” port call. It said the ship had undertaken a long-distance voyage that included stops in Cuba and Venezuela so that 300 cadets from the Russian Ministry of Defense could conduct a maritime practice.

“The Ukrainian Association of South Africa urges the government to stop all military cooperation with Russia immediately,” said Kachur.

Some South African officials appeared taken by surprise when asked to comment on the ship’s visit. The mayor of Cape Town told the local Daily Maverick newspaper that he had been unaware of the port call and said it “seems to have been under the radar.’’

In response to a request from VOA for comment, the South African National Defense Force issued a statement confirming the vessel had been docked in Cape Town for re-supply purposes. It added that South Africa “as a sovereign state has a right and responsibility to accept the docking of foreign vessels as a maritime nation.”

The statement noted, “There are currently three foreign vessels in South African waters, including a Ukrainian vessel,” that is here for repairs.

But the Democratic Alliance, the former opposition party that is now part of South Africa’s new coalition government, condemned the incident as “cozying up to Russia.”

Chris Hattingh is a member of parliament for the Democratic Alliance.

“The latest incident, the berthing of Smolnyy, a Russian navy Baltic Fleet training vessel in Cape Town after visiting Venezuela and Cuba, underlines the contradiction of President [Cyril] Ramaphosa’s utterances of non-alignment in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said.

The African National Congress, which has the most seats in parliament, has ties with Moscow dating back to when the former USSR backed its struggle against apartheid. They are also both BRICS members.

Pretoria has been criticized for not condemning the invasion of Ukraine and for hosting Russian warships in controversial joint exercises last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also visited and was warmly welcomed in 2023.

In May of last year, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety alleged that South Africa had covertly provided arms to Russia when a different ship docked in Cape Town.

The South African government set up an independent investigation into the matter, which ultimately found no evidence of that.
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Kinshasa, Congo — The first delivery of almost 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines will arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, the African Union’s health watchdog said.

The vast central Africa country of around 100 million people is at the epicenter of the mpox outbreak, with cases and deaths rising.

“We are very pleased with the arrival of this first batch of vaccines in the DRC,” Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told AFP, adding that more than 99,000 doses were expected.

More than 17,500 cases and 629 deaths have been reported in the country since the start of the year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The vaccine doses will be transported onboard an airplane leaving the Danish capital Copenhagen on Wednesday evening and are due to arrive at Kinshasa’s international airport on Thursday at 1100 GMT.

 ‘Health war’

The Congolese National Institute of Public Health, which is in charge of managing the country’s mpox response, indicated that it was still waiting for details on the origin of the vaccines contained in the first delivery.

“Kinshasa is still waiting for documents from the Africa CDC that will provide information on these doses,” the institute’s director Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi told AFP.

“We are in a health war against mpox. To face this disease, we need you,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said on X on Tuesday.

In Africa, mpox is now present in at least 13 countries, including Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic, according to figures from the Africa CDC dated August 27.

On Wednesday, Guinea said it had recorded its first confirmed case of the disease, convening an emergency meeting in response.

A health official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that the case was discovered in a sub-prefecture close to the Liberian border.

Outside the continent, the virus has also been detected in Sweden, Pakistan and the Philippines.

The WHO said last week that the first vaccine doses would arrive in the DRC in the following days, with other deliveries to follow.

The WHO said at the end of August that around 230,000 MVA-BN vaccine doses produced by Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic were “imminently available to be dispatched to affected regions.”

Other countries have also promised to send vaccine doses to African nations.

Spain has promised 500,000 doses, with France and Germany each pledging 100,000.

The WHO declared an international emergency over mpox on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC that spread to nearby countries.

Both the Clade 1b and Clade 1a strains are present in the DRC.

The WHO’s Africa bureau said at the end of last month that 10,000 vaccine doses would be delivered to Nigeria — Bavarian Nordic vaccines donated by the United States.

This was the first African country to receive doses outside of clinical trials.

Formerly called monkeypox, the virus was discovered in 1958 in Denmark, in monkeys kept for research.

It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC.

Mpox is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

The disease causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
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Harare — More than 70 activists were acquitted Wednesday after being arrested in Zimbabwe in June for disorderly conduct for allegedly planning to peacefully demonstrate during a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Jeremiah Bamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is representing 78 opposition activists who were arrested in mid-June at the home of Jameson Timba, the acting opposition leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change. The activists were charged with participating in a public gathering with the intent to promote public violence and disorderly conduct in a public place.

“They were all found not guilty and were acquitted on the second count of one disorderly conduct in a public place,” Bamu said outside the Harare Magistrates Court. “And with respect to the first count of participating in a public gathering with intent to promote public violence, [at] least 11 of them were discharged at the close of the state’s case, with the remaining being put to their defense. We then made an application for an inspection in loco [on the spot] before we begin the defense case in earnest.”

The minister of home affairs, Kazembe Kazembe, said the activists were arrested in June because of plans to protest at the Southern African Development Community meeting held last month in Harare.

Others were arrested in other parts of the country, bringing the tally to more than 100.

Among those was 25-year-old Namatai Kwekweza, a human rights activist and feminist advocate who was arrested along with Robson Chere and Samuel Gwenzi, and forcibly removed from a domestic plane. Later in court, the trio said they had been tortured while in police detention. They were granted bail and released on September 4.

“We appeared before the court, and the appeal was dealt with, and the appellants have been granted bail,” said Charles Kwaramba of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who is representing them. “Our appeal succeeded — pay $150 as bail sums, and … report every Friday of the month end.”

The activists’ arrests attracted international condemnation.

“I am both delighted and relieved that the three have been released on bail,” said Mary Lawlor, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights defenders. “That being said, it is a travesty of justice that they were detained in the first place. …. The charges should be dropped, and an investigation opened into the circumstances of their detention, which the ruling party has admitted as being politically motivated and linked to the SADC summit.”

She continued, “I further call for all those human rights defenders who remain in detention to be released. It is time for Zimbabwe to stop playing games and step up as a responsible member of the international community and abide by its freely assumed international human rights obligations.”

Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, agreed that all those arrested should be discharged.

“All these activists committed no offense but have been arbitrarily arrested and detained for exercising their human rights,” he said. “This, in violation of Zimbabwe’s constitutional and international human rights obligations. We therefore urge the government to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for exercising their rights. The charges against them must be dropped.”

Rights groups have criticized Zimbabwe for human rights abuses for decades, going back at least to the early 2000s, when the government of then-President Robert Mugabe engaged in alleged election rigging and forced thousands of white commercial farmers off their land.

Mugabe’s successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa — who is in China — has maintained that he is a constitutionalist and respects human rights.

Officials of his administration refused to comment Wednesday.
…

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Kano, Nigeria — At least 81 people died and several were missing after an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s northeastern Yobe State, local officials told AFP on Tuesday. 

“Around 150 suspected Boko Haram terrorists armed with rifles and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] attacked Mafa ward on more than 50 motorcycles around 1600 hours on Sunday,” said Abdulkarim Dungus, a Yobe state police spokesperson. 

“They killed many people and burnt many shops and houses. We are yet to ascertain the actual number of those killed in the attack.” 

Dungus said it appeared to be a revenge attack “for the killing of two Boko Haram terrorists by vigilantes from the village.” 

Bulama Jalaluddeen, a local official, said at least 81 people were killed in the attack. 

Fifteen bodies had already been buried by their relations by the time soldiers reached Mafa for the evacuation of the corpses, said the official.

“In addition to these, some unspecified number of dead victims from nearby villages who were caught up in the attack were taken and buried by their kinsmen before the arrival of the soldiers,” added the official. “Many people are still missing and their whereabouts unknown.” 

Boko Haram and other extremist groups have waged a 15-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria that has killed more than 40,000 people. 

Central and northwestern Nigeria have been plagued for years by gangs of criminals known as “bandits” who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, and burn homes after looting them. 

By working alongside these gangs, militant groups have increasingly established a presence in central Niger state, officials and analysts say. 
…

Windhoek, Namibia — Wildlife conservationists, scientists and researchers in Namibia and Southern Africa have warned of impending legal action to halt the culling of wildlife as a “mitigation strategy” to address hunger.

Hunger affects about 700,000 people in Namibia, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization — especially in rural Namibia — and it has worsened because of the drought facing the southern African region.

Officials there have started a wildlife cull — a selective killing of wild animals to save the remaining herds and habitat — and in this instance, some of the meat will be shared with communities in need.

The cull, which began August 14, targets 723 animals: 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebras, 83 elephants and 100 eland antelopes.

But the Namibian cabinet decision requiring the country’s ministry of environment to aid the government’s drought relief effort has drawn the ire of conservationists and made international headlines. It’s also dividing public opinion on the timing of the decision and the logistics of culling and distributing the meat to affected communities, who are severely affected by drought.

Conservationist Izak Smit said Namibia’s constitution makes provision for the protection of its natural wildlife and heritage, and the cull could have detrimental effects on the balance of wildlife in their environment.

“It’s very irresponsible to do so after a drought before the rainy season when you actually need the population to procreate in order to bounce back from the drought,” Smit said. “And also culling means that you do not allow nature to take its course by weeding out the weak genetic material through natural selection, from which the best genetic pool will then emerge on the other side after the draught when the rainy season again starts.”

Opponents threatened legal action if Namibia authorities do not stop the cull on the grounds that it is detrimental to Namibia’s natural resources, not sustainable, and not justifiable and unscientific.

Herbert Jauch, of the Economic and Social Justice Trust, said a court of law may not be the right avenue to resolve the disagreement between the government and the conservationist, which seems to be centered on the need to protect Namibia’s Desert Adapted Elephants, which are a huge tourism attraction and an iconic heritage wildlife species in the country.

“Their chances are not really good,” Jauch said. “If there are scientific reasons, and from what I heard so far, this is largely around the desert elephants, then that should certainly be discussed with the ministry. But I think the principle is quite understandable that in drought years you might have to reduce the population.”

Romeo Muyunda, a spokesperson for Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, said the cull has been blown out of proportion and Namibia’s Desert Adapted Elephants are not the target of elephants earmarked for culling.

“We have millions of wildlife species in the country, approximately over 3 million animals in the country,” Muyunda said. “So, 723 does not even make up 1% of the total population that we have. Another example we have is the 24,000 elephants that we have in Namibia, we are only going to cull 83 elephants, and it still doesn’t make 1% of the population of elephants especially given the fact that elephants are currently the main concern here.”

The animals intended for culling will be stored at various meat processing factories in the country and will be distributed through the drought relief program. It will be headed by the office of the prime minister in a joint effort to address drought and hunger in the country.

Namibia’s cull has made international headlines, and conservationists are concerned it may create a harmful precedent for other African countries that do not have as successful conservation products as Namibia.
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gaborone, botswana — Botswana, Africa’s longest democracy, will hold its general election on October 30, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced Tuesday. Masisi will seek a second and final term after his ruling party endorsed his candidacy over the weekend.

In a public address, Masisi said Botswana will continue with its long-standing principle of holding regular elections. Masisi’s ruling Botswana Democratic Party has been in power since independence from Britain in 1966.

“The constitution of the Republic of Botswana mandates that we, as a nation, hold general elections every five years,” Masisi said. “This is not just a legal obligation but a fundamental principle that underpins our democracy, a commitment we have honored, and we will continue to honor in the future.”

The president urged voters to turn out in large numbers after previous elections in 2019 experienced voter apathy and low turnout.

Out of a target of 80% set by the country’s electoral body, the Independent Electoral Commission registered only 63% of the eligible voters.

Masisi declared October 30 and 31 as public holidays to encourage citizens to vote.

Masisi is seeking a second term, which would be his final one, if he is reelected. The president is allowed two terms in office, according to the constitution

The BDP’s main threat is from a coalition of parties, the Umbrella for Democratic Change, or UDC, and the Botswana Congress Party, which has broken away from the opposition alliance.

UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said they expected the announcement of the election date to come earlier.

“We welcome the date. However, it is regrettable that such an announcement is made at such short notice,” Mohwasa said. “We would have liked a situation whereby the date of elections is announced well in advance, but what we are happy with is that after so much suffering under the BDP rule, this will come to an end on October 30.”

Mohwasa said the election should be free and fair after his party alleged rigging in the previous poll, claims that were dismissed in court. The ruling party also denied the allegations.

Leonard Sesa, a political analyst at the University of Botswana, said it was right for the president to make the election date public as concerns over a delay were mounting.

“We were going to get worried if it was going to be postponed,” Sesa said. “Remember, we are talking about a beacon of shining democracy in Africa. Small things matter when gauging democracy. So, issuing a writ to say October 30, we are on the right track.”

Sesa said political parties are not yet ready for the election as they are still battling to field candidates in all constituencies.

“There was a delay for political parties to conduct their intra-party primary elections, within the political parties themselves, and people were worried,” he said. “There are some constituencies that all the political parties including the ruling party, have not posted anyone to stand.”

In the previous election, the BDP secured a comfortable victory, where its share of the popular vote increased from 47% in 2014 to 53% five years later.
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Abuja, Nigeria — Barely 48 hours after Nigeria’s state-owned oil company made a startling revelation, hundreds of commuters joined a line stretching many kilometers for fuel at an NNPC outlet in the capital.

In a statement Sunday, Nigeria’s state oil firm, NNPC Limited, said that financial constraints are hampering its ability to import gasoline.

The statement acknowledged local media reports in July that the oil regulator owed oil traders more than $6 billion — double its debt compared with April.

Nigeria depends on imports to meet its daily demand for gasoline — more than 66 million liters — and NNPC is the sole importer of fuel.

Abuja resident John Prince said he’d been waiting in line for hours.

“When I came in the morning, they were not selling [gasoline]. They said they were waiting for orders from above. [Now] I’ve been here for the past two hours,” he said.

Prince said that while customers waited, the gasoline station increased prices by nearly 30%.

NNPC said the situation could worsen supply in coming days but also said it is working with the government and other partners to fix the problem.

Fuel shortages have been recurring in Nigeria since last year, despite Nigerian President Bola Tinubu scrapping the fuel subsidy.

Tinubu doubles as petroleum minister, but authorities later reinstated a partial subsidy to curb inflation, the high cost of living and growing public tensions triggered by economic reforms.

But the founder of the Center for Transparency Advocacy, Faith Nwadishi, said corruption and incompetence are to blame.

“It’s just a cocktail of corruption, impunity and no regard for the people of the country,” she said. “I think it’s just another ploy to make Nigerians pay for impunity. It’s quite disheartening. This morning, I had to queue so that I could get fuel to come out. You know — man hours lost, no productivity, and nobody is making any compensation for that. It’s unfortunate.”

Last month, NNPC announced a record $1.9 billion in profits for 2023 but said it was covering for shortfalls in the government’s petrol import bill.

Ogho Okiti, an economic analyst, said, “Every other oil-producing country is smiling now except Nigeria. So, it’s a transparency problem. There’s so much uncertainty. And that heightened uncertainty and volatility will continue to drive the price and, of course, drive the conditions that we see.

“As it is, we’re losing in all ramifications — we’re paying exorbitant prices for fuel, the government is not getting the resources, and the exchange rate is worsening,” Okiti said.

Meanwhile, authorities say the Dangote Oil Refinery in the Lagos area has begun gasoline production and could supply up to 25 million liters this month.

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority entered an agreement with the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote refinery in the local currency, the naira.

If that happens, it could significantly address local supply issues and save the country several billions of dollars in foreign exchange.
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Nairobi — Kenyan officials have long pushed for milk to be pasteurized before it reaches the marketplace, but much of the milk sold is not pasteurized because small-scale vendors and producers can’t afford the expensive machines used in the process. Now, Canadian university graduates have developed a portable, affordable pasteurization machine that could help African farmers cheaply sterilize the dairy product and reduce milk-related disease.

In Kenya, smallholder farmers produce 56% of the milk, with five million dairy cattle generating five billion liters annually. According to Kenya’s Dairy Board, only 28% of that milk is processed by dairy companies, which pasteurize it to kill harmful bacteria.

The remaining 72% is sold directly to consumers by vendors who traditionally heat and reheat the milk over a fire, a method that fails to ensure complete safety.

To address the challenge faced by millions of farmers in Africa and around the world, a group of recent university graduates from Canada has developed a portable pasteurizer machine to help farmers sterilize milk cheaply and in a healthy way.

Miraal Kabir is the head of the startup Safi, which means “pure” in Swahili. She said her technology provides health and economic benefits to users and milk consumers.

“It solves two problems. The main one being the problem of unsafe milk. It allows all of the milk being sold in the market to be safe, which isn’t the case right now. That’s leading to a lot of deaths, a lot of diseases, especially for children under five. And then on a secondary problem that it’s solving, right now in the dairy supply chain, the people who are winning the most are these large processors,” she said.

“They sell milk extremely cheap to these processors who then sell it at a huge premium. And so by allowing small scale farmers to pasteurize the milk themselves and earn the premium of pasteurized milk themselves, we’re actually empowering them financially as well.”

The device is placed on top of a pot. It has a whisk to stir the milk and ensure that it is heated uniformly. It also has a screen and LED lights, which guide the user through pasteurization. A temperature sensor tells the user when the milk is ready.

Moses Sitati is a dairy farmer in western Kenya. His cows produce 60 liters of milk per day, of which 10 liters spoil, meaning it is not suitable for human consumption.

The 40-year-old farmer has been using the pasteurizer for the past 12 months.

“I can sell milk, people can just buy milk and take it at the same time without going and boiling it fast. Now you know when you boil, wait until again by tomorrow so you boil, you are losing the milk, the first thing and also the nutrients. Now the pasteurizer helps to at least store the milk, it helps at least to preserve the milk for a long time,” he said.

In addition to farmers losing their income, raw and unpasteurized milk contains harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli, Brucella, tuberculosis, and Q fever.

Sitati is among the 20 farmers and vendors in Kenya and Rwanda who have purchased the pasteurizer.

The father of three happened to get the first product developed by the Safi team, which didn’t satisfy him, but he says he is happy with the final product for its safety and energy consumption.

“The first one could pasteurize milk from two to 10 liters, but this one pasteurized milk from two to 20 liters. The first one didn’t have a lid, so when pasteurizing the milk, it could spill out, so they improved this to put a lid so that there is no milk spilling out when you are pasteurizing. The first one used electricity, and this one uses solar energy. When you charge, you can use it for four hours,” he said.

Last month, the Safi company said it partnered with the Rwandan government, which helped them open for commercialization after taking part in pilot programs.

Kabir said the device tracks pasteurization data, letting farmers prove milk safety and helping regulators monitor it.

“We’ve also incorporated the data software side of things. Our device is actually able to capture all the key pasteurization data and provide it to the farmer themselves or the vendors so that they can prove that they have pasteurized their milk to their customers, but then we’re also able to aggregate all of this data and provide it to governments. Governments and regulators, they’re able to see where milk has been pasteurized, when it was pasteurized, where safe milk is being sold,” said Kabir.

The innovators say they hope to find a good manufacturer to start producing the device next year and make billions of liters of milk disease-free.
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Algiers, Algeria — Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who assumed Algeria’s presidency during mass pro-democracy protests, is touting his achievements as he seeks another term. Yet, five years after the movement faded, some say real change remains elusive.

The Hirak protests, which led to the ousting of longtime autocratic president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019, aimed for a comprehensive political overhaul.

Tebboune, a minister under Bouteflika, took over as president in December that year after widely boycotted elections, as the movement was stifled and its leaders were imprisoned.

Now, as he campaigns for the September 7 election, Tebboune says he has succeeded in rectifying the country’s past wrongs with broad achievements and is promising more if re-elected.

Despite more than 100 weeks of demonstrations, Tebboune “dismissed the democratic transition demanded by millions of citizens”, said Hasni Abidi, an Algeria analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center.

Abidi said a change in leadership alone was insufficient to bring about a “new era”, despite Tebboune’s frequent references to a “new Algeria.”

Even as his first term nears its end, Tebboune still faced the “difficulty of bringing about profound change,” he said.

Algeria-based political commentator Mohamed Hennad said this change should primarily be political.

“As long as political questions are not legitimately resolved, any economic, cultural, or diplomatic discourse is pure diversion,” he told AFP.

The Hirak movement withered away with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with a sweeping crackdown on protesters. Hundreds were arrested, and dozens remain behind bars or are still being prosecuted, according to prisoners’ rights group CNLD.

‘We suffered a lot’

Since taking office, Tebboune has claimed to have put Algeria back on track, frequently referring to Bouteflika’s last years in power as the “mafia decade” where control of the oil-rich country was concentrated in the hands of a “gang.”

During his tenure, several businessmen, ministers and political figures from that era, including Bouteflika’s brother Said, were convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned.

Tebboune also says he has successfully transformed Algeria into an emerging economy, now Africa’s third-largest.

Abidi, however, points out that Tebboune’s success has been aided by a “favourable international setting”, with the Ukraine-Russia war driving up natural gas prices to the benefit of Algeria, the continent’s top exporter.

This economic windfall has allowed Tebboune to deliver “local-interest speeches steeped in populism”, said Abidi, with promises of free housing, raising the minimum wage and higher social pensions.

At a recent rally in Oran, Tebboune pledged to create 450,000 jobs and increase monthly unemployment benefits if re-elected.

Launched in 2022, unemployment benefits now provide 13,000 dinars ($97) to people aged 19 to 40, and Tebboune has promised to raise this to 20,000 dinars — currently the minimum wage.

Despite these pledges, critics have said social and economic progress under Tebboune has been slow.

But the president often defends his record by saying his achievements have come despite “a war against Covid-19 and corruption” following the Hirak movement.

Abdelhamid Megunine, a 20-year-old student in Algiers, recalls that period with bitterness.

“We suffered a lot,” he told AFP. “Prices and the cost of living have since increased.”

Although Algeria’s economy has grown at a rate of about 4% over the past two years, with foreign exchange reserves reaching $70 billion, it remains heavily dependent on oil and gas.

Hydrocarbon exports account for about 95% of the North African country’s hard currency revenues, which are crucial for sustaining social assistance programs.

Diplomacy

On foreign policy, Tebboune’s tenure has seen a mix of successes and challenges.

Algeria gained international attention in January when it became a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, where it has been a strong advocate for Palestinian rights.

However, relations with neighboring countries, especially Morocco, have worsened, largely due to the ongoing dispute over Western Sahara.

Algeria, a strong supporter of the territory’s pro-independence Polisario Front, severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in August 2021 following escalating tensions over Western Sahara and Rabat’s decision to normalize relations with Israel.

Similarly, relations with France, already strained due to a history of colonialism, recently suffered a blow.

Last month, French President Macron said Morocco’s autonomy plan was the only solution for Western Sahara, which the United Nations still considers as a “non-self-governing” territory.

In response, Algiers withdrew its ambassador to France, condemning the move as a “step that no other French government had taken before.”
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abuja, nigeria — Trial began Monday in Nigeria for 10 people charged with treason in connection with anti-government protests that erupted last month over the high cost of living. The defendants could face the death penalty if convicted.

The defendants are also charged with conspiring to incite the military to mutiny. They pleaded not guilty, and a bail hearing was set for September 11.

In early August, thousands of protesters took to Nigeria’s streets to denounce President Bola Tinubu’s policies and government.

Tinubu scrapped expensive fuel subsidy payments last year upon assuming office and soon afterward floated the national currency, the naira.

Authorities accused protesters of inciting public unrest and burning government buildings but pledged to address the economic hardship.

The case has drawn the ire of human rights group Amnesty International. Isa Sanusi, the country director for Amnesty in Nigeria, said, “What they’re doing is just a deliberate effort to psychologically and physically break down these people, who are resilient people and came out to express their anger over the way the nation is being run as a result of corruption and mismanagement. So the trial is a sham; it does not meet all the international standards of fair trial.”

Amnesty also called the trial a mockery of Nigeria’s rule of law. The group said the government was attempting to stifle dissent, and it called for the protesters to be released and charges withdrawn immediately. 

The 10 defendants are among hundreds of protesters who were arrested during last month’s demonstrations, which came amid Nigeria’s worst economic crisis in a generation.

In the nationwide protests, tagged “Ten Days of Rage,” demonstrators demanded better governance and a reversal of government reforms, including the scrapping of the fuel subsidy.

During the demonstrations, protesters in northern Nigeria hoisted Russian flags as they marched and chanted for President Vladimir Putin to come to their aid.

The protests were met with a fierce crackdown by security forces. Amnesty International said 13 people were killed, and Amnesty’s Sanusi said Nigerian authorities should focus on investigating these killings.

Sanusi also said Nigerian authorities have been denying the detained protesters access to family and legal representation.

“These people have not been allowed to have access to adequate legal representation or assistance,” he said. “Treason carries the death penalty, according to the Nigerian laws. … So that is the tactic they use – they use this ambiguity, suspense of being taken to court just to break down the spirit of these protesters, and we condemn this misuse of the Nigerian judicial system to suppress people.”

The government has not responded to Amnesty International’s statement. But in the past, the government has often said it works in the interest of national security.

The legal counsel for the protesters, Deji Adeyanju, said a team of lawyers has been working to secure their release.

“The charge against the protesters is completely unacceptable because it’s an attempt to criminalize freedom of assembly,” Adeyanju said. “The criminalization will be resisted.”

On Monday, Nigerian police also declared British national Andrew Wynne wanted for allegedly plotting to topple the Nigerian government. The Associated Press said the British high commissioner had not responded to a request for comment. 

Police also said nine suspects have been arrested in connection with allegedly receiving monies from foreign sources to destabilize the country.
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Tunis, tunisia — Tunisia’s electoral commission rejected a court ruling Monday reinstating three presidential candidates and police arrested another candidate in what opposition critics said was another example of President Kais Saied stifling competition.

Defying the highest judicial body, the commission approved only the candidacies of Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the Oct. 6 presidential election.

“The commission is the only body constitutionally entrusted with the integrity of election,” Farouk Bouasker the head of electoral commission said.

Earlier Monday, police arrested Zammel, a member of his campaign told Reuters. The campaign member said the arrest appeared aimed at distracting him from his campaign.

The developments could shake the credibility of the vote and deepen a political crisis that has been escalating since 2021, when Saied began ruling by decree in a move the opposition described as a coup.

Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates electoral disputes, reinstated three prominent candidates, Mondher Znaidi, AbdelLatif Mekki and Imed Daimi, to the election race after the electoral commission had rejected their candidacy filing.

Dozens of activists gathered near the commission’s headquarters Monday, demanding the commission step down.

“This is a complete coup against the will of the voters. … This sets a precedent in election history that the commission does not respect the decision of the Administrative Court,” Hichem Ajbouni, a protester, told Reuters.

“We have moved to the law of force. This is a farce,” he added.

Tunisian opposition parties and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using “arbitrary restrictions” and intimidation to help ensure Saied’s reelection.

Opposition politicians have said the electoral commission was no longer independent and its sole goal had become ensuring an easy victory for Saied.

The commission denies these accusations and says it is neutral.

Saied, who was democratically elected in 2019, said last year he would not hand over the country to “non-patriots.”
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abuja, nigeria — Nigeria on Monday charged 10 people with treason and conspiring to incite the military to mutiny following last month’s nationwide demonstrations that saw thousands take to the streets to protest the cost-of-living crisis.

The protests were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces and Amnesty International said at least 13 people were killed. Security forces denied using lethal force.

The 10 men were arraigned in the Abuja Federal High Court and entered a not guilty plea. They face the death penalty if convicted, human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said.

State prosecutors said, in court papers seen by Reuters, that the protesters intended to destabilize Nigeria and “conspired together to commit felony to wit, treason.”

Prosecutors also laid five other charges against the accused under the country’s penal code, including inciting the military to mutiny, burning government buildings and disturbing public peace.

Lawyers for the protesters sought their release on bail, which was opposed by the state. The court will make a ruling on September 11 when their trial is expected to begin.

Amnesty urged the government to unconditionally release all the people arrested during the protests. It said the trial was meant to unlawfully justify detaining protesters.

“These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn,” said Isa Sanusi, director for Amnesty International Nigeria.

Nigerians blame economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu, in office since May 2023, for economic hardship — worsened by double-digit inflation after the nation’s currency was devalued — and the cost of petrol and electricity rose.
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LONDON — The growing mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of neglect and the global community’s inability to stop sporadic epidemics among a population with little immunity against the smallpox-related disease, leading African scientists said Tuesday.

According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired WHO’s mpox emergency committee, negligence has led to a new, more transmissible version of the virus emerging in countries with few resources to stop outbreaks.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 outbreak in more than 70 countries, Ogoina said at a virtual news conference.

“What we are witnessing in Africa now is different from the global outbreak in 2022,” he said. While that outbreak was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups.

And while most people over 50 were likely vaccinated against smallpox — which may provide some protection against mpox — that is not the case for Africa’s mostly young population, who Ogoina said were mostly susceptible.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever and body aches. It mostly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sex. People with more serious cases can develop prominent blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

Earlier this month, WHO declared the surging mpox outbreaks in Congo and 11 other countries in Africa to be a global emergency.

On Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were more than 22,800 mpox cases and 622 deaths on the continent and that infections had jumped 200% in the last week. The majority of cases and deaths are in Congo, where most mpox infections are in children under 15.

Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, a Congolese scientist who helped identify the newest version of mpox, said diagnostic tests being used in the country did not always pick it up, making it hard to track the variant’s spread.

In May, Mbala-Kingebeni, who heads a lab at Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, published research showing a new form of mpox that may be less deadly but more transmissible. The noted mutations suggested it was “more adapted to human transmission,” he said, but the lack of tests in Congo and elsewhere complicated efforts to monitor outbreaks.

The new variant has been detected in four other African countries as well as Sweden, where health officials said they have identified the first case of a person this month with the more infectious form of mpox. The person had been infected during a stay in Africa.

WHO said that available data to date does not suggest that the new form of mpox is more dangerous but that research is ongoing.

Marion Koopmans, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands who has been studying mpox, said scientists were now seeing some significant impacts of the disease, noting that pregnant women were miscarrying or losing their fetuses and that some babies were being born infected with mpox.

Ogoina, a professor of infectious diseases at Niger Delta University in Nigeria, said that in the absence of vaccines and drugs, African health workers should focus on providing supportive care, like ensuring patients have enough to eat and are given mental health support, given the stigma that often comes with mpox.

“It’s very, very unfortunate that we have had mpox for 54 years and we are only now thinking about therapeutics,” he said.

Mbala-Kingebeni said strategies previously used to stop Ebola outbreaks in Africa might help, given the limited numbers of shots expected. He said authorities have estimated Africa needs about 10 million doses but might only receive about 500,000 — and it’s unclear when they might arrive.

“Finding a case and vaccinating around the case, like we did with Ebola, might help us target the hot spots,” he said.

Koopmans said that given the urgent need for vaccines in Africa, waiting for more doses to be produced was unrealistic.

“The short term really is about, who has vaccines and where are they to be best used next?” she said.

Spain’s health ministry announced Tuesday that it would dip into its mpox vaccine stockpile to donate 20% of its supply, about 500,000 doses, to African countries battling mpox.

“We consider it senseless to accumulate vaccines where they are not needed,” Spain’s health ministry said in a statement, adding Spain will recommend to the European Commission to propose that all member states also donate 20% of their vaccine stock.

Spain’s donation alone is more than what the European Union, vaccine Bavarian Nordic and the U.S. have pledged. Last week, Africa CDC said the EU and Bavarian Nordic had promised 215,000 mpox vaccines while the U.S. said it was donating 50,000 doses of the same vaccine to Congo. Japan has also donated some doses to Congo.

Meanwhile, the U.S. on Tuesday donated 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to Nigeria where mpox has been common, making the vaccines the first to arrive in Africa since the global emergency was declared. The country has had a few dozen cases this year.
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Kinshasa, DRC — Heavy gunfire rang out early Monday morning from Congo’s largest prison in the capital, Kinshasa, as inmates tried to break out from the overcrowded facility, authorities said.

Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya confirmed on X that there was an “an attempted escape.” Local media reported security forces killed some of those who tried to flee.

The gunfire from inside the prison started around midnight, residents said. By Monday morning, the road leading to the prison had been cordoned off by security forces.

“Security services are on site to restore order and security [and] the population of Kinshasa is urged not to panic,” Muyaya said.

Videos purporting to be from inside the prison showed several bodies on the ground.

The Makala prison, which is Congo’s main penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people, holds over 12,000 inmates most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report. It has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect freed dozens of inmates.

Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months.

There was no public comment about Monday’s incident yet from Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is in China on an official visit.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attack a “premeditated act of sabotage” that was carried out against efforts to improve the condition of prisons.

“Investigations are underway to identify and severely punish those who instigated these acts of sabotage. They will receive a stern response,” Mutamba said.

The minister also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates from the prison and said authorities will build a new prison, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding.
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Mbabane, Eswatini — Eswatini’s King Mswati III’s plans to wed Nomcebo Zuma, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, as his 16th wife. Political analysts dismiss the union’s geopolitical impact but see its potential in strengthening ties between the two leaders.

A royal delegation from Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, visited Jacob Zuma’s homestead at Nkandla in July in accordance with tradition, marking the start of Mswati’s marriage proposal to Zuma.

Political analyst Mandla Hlatshwayo sees this union as a strategic move, cementing economic and political interests.

“President Zuma’s role and capacity to be a major ambassador for Swaziland or the Swazi royal family is a noncontestable issue and has become even far more important in my view with the development or the emergence of MK [uMkhonto weSizwe] as a political party with President Zuma as its absolute president.” 

Sicelo Mngomezulu, a Swazi-born, South Africa-based lawyer, downplays the political impact of the marriage, arguing that Zuma’s diminished role in South African politics renders him unable to influence Swazi politics.

However, he foresees the marriage “strengthening bilateral relations between the king of Swaziland and the former president, as we know by now that the former president of South Africa and king are actually business partners in some shape or form … and so, we expect that part of their relationship will actually blossom.”

Zuma is expected to go on trial on multiple corruption and racketeering charges next April. He has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, Mswati has been criticized for his controversial polygamy and lavish lifestyle. Former Eswatini lawmaker Mduduzi Simelane points out the king’s wedding will be expensive.

“Firstly, this high-profile wedding, with its steep dowry of 100 cattle and R2 million [2 million rands, or USD $113,300] and all the other hidden costs associated with a wedding of this nature, puts a significant strain on Swaziland’s economy. Secondly, within royal circles, this union has also been met with internal opposition among the royal wives. … This marriage will cause an uproar.”

Eswatini High Court lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi agrees that whether seen as a strategic union of two powerful families or a personal decision to extend influence and financial gain, the king’s marriage to Nomcebo Zuma will have a lasting impact on the two nations’ ties, for better or worse.
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