DRULAP

US Condemns Rwanda’s Support of Armed M23 Rebels in Eastern Congo, Calls for Troop Withdrawal

Kampala — The U.S. has condemned Saturday Rwanda’s support of the armed M23 group in eastern Congo, whose rebellion has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and called on the rebel group to “cease hostilities.”

The U.S. State Department in a statement strongly criticized “the worsening violence … caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group.” It called on Rwanda “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the [Congo] and remove its surface-to-air missile systems,” which it said threatened civilian lives and peacekeepers. It also urged the rebels to retreat from their current positions near two urban areas in Congo’s North Kivu province.

This is likely to put pressure on Rwanda, whose government has repeatedly denied any links to the M23 group.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of destabilizing Congo by backing the rebels. U.N. experts previously said they had “solid evidence” that members of Rwanda’s armed forces were conducting operations there in support of the M23 group.

Fighting near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and the largest city in the region, has intensified in recent days as the rebels threatened to take over the metropolis. Residents of the nearby town of Sake have been fleeing fierce fighting between Congolese government troops and the group.

The armed conflict has so far displaced more than one million people in eastern Congo since November, according to the aid group Mercy Corps.

Many M23 fighters, including Congolese Tutsis, were once members of Congo’s army. The group’s leaders say they are fighting to protect local Tutsis from extremist Hutu groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, whose members were among the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups active in eastern Congo, seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.

The rebel group rose to prominence just over a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, which borders Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal which it accuses the Congo government of not implementing. After being largely dormant for a decade, the M23 resurfaced in late 2021.

The U.S. statement urged all sides to de-escalate and to “participate constructively in reaching a negotiated solution” to the conflict.

“It is essential that all states respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and hold accountable all actors for human rights abuses in the conflict in eastern [Congo],” it said.
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Call to Free Senegal Presidential Candidate From Jail

Dakar — Supporters of opposition presidential election candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Sunday demanded his immediate release in the name of “equal treatment” under the constitution.

“All candidates must benefit from the constitutional principles of equal treatment,” said a statement from the Diomaye President coalition.

“That’s why the release without delay of candidate Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye is a popular demand and respectful of the Constitution,” the statement said.

The coalition noted the situation also required the urgent release of jailed opposition Pastef party leader Ousmane Sonko.

The Constitutional Court rejected Sonko’s candidacy but accepted that of Faye, the party’s number two, along with about 20 others.

Sonko has been in prison since July 2023 for calling for an uprising, associating with criminals linked to terrorism and harming state security.

Faye has been under preventive detention since April last year but has yet to face trial.

The European Union last month stressed that candidates approved by the Constitutional Council must all be allowed to campaign for election on equal terms.

Dozens of opposition supporters have been set free in recent days by President Macky Sall who says there are no political prisoners in Senegal.

The Diomaye coalition called for “all political prisoners who have been locked up unjustly to be immediately released.”

Sall plunged traditionally stable Senegal deep into crisis by postponing at the last minute the February 25 election for his successor.

In power since 2012 but not running for a third term, Sall said he called off the vote over disputes about the disqualification of potential candidates and concern about a return to unrest seen in 2021 and 2023.

The Constitutional Council intervened on Thursday and Sall, under strong international and domestic pressure, back-pedaled agreed to its demand to organize the election as soon as possible, but no date was set.
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US ‘Strongly Condemns’ Violence in Eastern DR Congo

Washington — The United States on Saturday deplored growing violence by the Democratic Republic Congo’s M23 rebels, saying the group’s backers in Rwanda must remove sophisticated ground-to-air missiles that are threatening lives in the country’s east.

Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, 20 kilometers from Goma, between M23 rebels and Congolese government forces.

“The United States strongly condemns the worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and U.N.-sanctioned M23 armed group, including its recent incursions into the town of Sake,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“This escalation has increased the risk to millions of people … We call on M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma,” Miller said.

Washington “condemns” Rwandan support for M23 and calls on Kigali “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in eastern DRC,” Miller said.

Dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or wounded in the fighting over the last 10 days.

The latest clashes have pushed tens of thousands of civilians to flee towards Goma, which stands between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and is practically cut off from the country’s interior.

The DRC, the United Nations and Western countries say Rwanda is supporting the rebels in a bid to control vast mineral resources, an allegation Kigali denies.

U.N. forces have been in the DRC for nearly 25 years but stand accused of failing to protect civilians from armed groups.
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Nigeria Grapples with Soaring Inflation, Plummeting Currency

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerians are facing one of the West African nation’s worst economic crises in years triggered by surging inflation, the result of monetary policies that have pushed the currency to an all-time low against the dollar. The situation has provoked anger and protests across the country.

The latest government statistics released Thursday showed the inflation rate in January rose to 29.9%, its highest since 1996, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, further plummeted to 1,524 to $1 on Friday, reflecting a 230% loss of value in the last year.

“My family is now living one day at a time (and) trusting God,” said trader Idris Ahmed, whose sales at a clothing store in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja have declined from an average of $46 daily to $16.

The plummeting currency worsens an already bad situation, further eroding incomes and savings. It squeezes millions of Nigerians already struggling with hardship due to government reforms including the removal of gas subsidies that resulted in gas prices tripling.

A snapshot of Nigeria’s economy

With a population of more than 210 million people, Nigeria is not just Africa’s most populous country but also the continent’s largest economy. Its gross domestic product is driven mainly by services such as information technology and banking, followed by manufacturing and processing businesses and then agriculture.

The challenge is that the economy is far from sufficient for Nigeria’s booming population, relying heavily on imports to meet the daily needs of its citizens from cars to cutlery. So it is easily affected by external shocks such as the parallel foreign exchange market that determines the price of goods and services.

Nigeria’s economy is heavily dependent on crude oil, its largest foreign exchange earner. When crude prices plunged in 2014, authorities used its scarce foreign reserves to try to stabilize the naira amid multiple exchange rates. The government also shut down the land borders to encourage local production and limited access to the dollar for importers of certain items.

The measures, however, further destabilized the naira by facilitating a booming parallel market for the dollar. Crude oil sales that boost foreign exchange earnings have also dropped because of chronic theft and pipeline vandalism.

Monetary reforms poorly implemented

Shortly after taking the reins of power in May last year, President Bola Tinubu took bold steps to fix the ailing economy and attract investors. He announced the end of costly decadeslong gas subsidies, which the government said were no longer sustainable. Meanwhile, the country’s multiple exchange rates were unified to allow market forces to determine the rate of the local naira against the dollar, which in effect devalued the currency.

Analysts say there were no adequate measures to contain the shocks that were bound to come as a result of reforms including the provision of a subsidized transportation system and an immediate increase in wages.

So the more than 200% increase in gas prices caused by the end of the gas subsidy started to have a knock-on effect on everything else, especially because locals rely heavily on gas-powered generators to light their households and run their businesses.

Why is the naira plummeting in value?

Under the previous leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria, policymakers tightly controlled the rate of the naira against the dollar, thereby forcing individuals and businesses in need of dollars to head to the black market, where the currency was trading at a much lower rate.

There was also a huge backlog of accumulated foreign exchange demand on the official market — estimated to be $7 billion — due in part to limited dollar flows as foreign investments into Nigeria and the country’s sale of crude oil have declined.

Authorities said a unified exchange rate would mean easier access to the dollar, thereby encouraging foreign investors and stabilizing the naira. But that has yet to happen because inflows have been poor. Instead, the naira has further weakened as it continues to depreciate against the dollar.

What are authorities doing?

Central Bank of Nigeria Gov. Olayemi Cardoso has said the bank has cleared $2.5 billion of the foreign exchange backlog out of the $7 billion that had been outstanding. The bank, however, found that $2.4 billion of that backlog were false claims that it would not clear, Cardoso said, leaving a balance of about $2.2 billion, which he said will be cleared “soon.”

Tinubu, meanwhile, has directed the release of food items such as cereals from government reserves among other palliatives to help cushion the effect of the hardship. The government has also said it plans to set up a commodity board to help regulate the soaring prices of goods and services.

On Thursday, the Nigerian leader met with state governors to deliberate on the economic crisis, part of which he blamed on the large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses.

“We must ensure that speculators, hoarders and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians,” Tinubu said.

By Friday morning, local media were reporting that stores were being sealed for hoarding and charging unfair prices.

How are Nigerians coping with tough times?

The situation is at its worst in conflict zones in northern Nigeria, where farming communities are no longer able to cultivate what they eat as they are forced to flee violence. Pockets of protests have broken out in past weeks, but security forces have been quick to impede them, even making arrests in some cases.

In the economic hub of Lagos and other major cities, there are fewer cars and more legs on the roads as commuters are forced to trek to work. The prices of everything from food to household items increase daily.

“Even to eat now is a problem,” said Ahmed in Abuja. “But what can we do?”
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Somalia Says Ethiopia Tried to Block Its President From AU Summit

islamabad — Somalia has condemned what it calls “a provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government,” claiming that Ethiopian security forces tried to block Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from accessing the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, a government statement said Saturday.

“The Federal Republic of Somalia strongly condemns the provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation of the Somali President from attending the 2024 African Union Summit in Addis Ababa,” said the statement released by the Somali National News Agency SONNA.

“This action breaches all diplomatic and international protocols and, most critically, the established traditions of the African Union. This behavior adds to the growing list of erratic actions by the Ethiopian government in recent times,” said the statement.

Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, and Mohamud — leading a delegation from the Somalia government — went there to attend the AU summit at a time when both countries already are at odds over a controversial maritime pact between Ethiopia and Somaliland.

“Given that Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, its leadership and government have an obligation to treat all African leaders equally,” the Somali government statement said.

“Hosting the AU is both an honor and a privilege for Ethiopia; however, if its government fails to uphold this honor and responsibility with the necessary decorum, it may be necessary for the African Union to reevaluate the location of its headquarters,” the statement added.

Mogadishu described the incident as “outrageous conduct” and called for a full investigation by the pan-African body.

“While we denounce Ethiopia’s unwarranted action, we also call upon the AU to urgently conduct a credible and independent investigation to this outrageous conduct in line with the protocols of the union,” the statement said.

“This morning when I prepared myself to come and attend the closed session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way,” Mohamud told reporters, after later gaining entry to the venue for the meeting.

He said he had tried again with another head of state, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, but they were also blocked from the AU headquarters, a claim challenged by Ethiopia.

“A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility,” he said.

Agence France-Presse has reported that Ethiopia insisted Mohamud was warmly welcomed and said the Somali delegation was blocked when its security detail tried to enter a venue with weapons.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, told AFP that Ethiopia had “warmly welcomed” Mohamud and accorded him the full honors of visiting heads of state and governments to the summit.

She said the Somali delegation had declined the security offered by Ethiopia and tried to enter a venue with their weapons.

“As host country, the government of Ethiopia is responsible for the security of all heads of state and government while in the country,” Seyoum said.

“The Somali delegation security attempted to enter the AUC [African Union Commission] premises with weapons, which was blocked off by AUC security.”

Somalia has accused Ethiopia of violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity over the January 1 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland that declared independence in 1991 in a move not recognized by the international community.

Under the maritime deal, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port on the coast.

In return, Somaliland — a former British protectorate — has said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition, assertions not confirmed by Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa and one of the largest landlocked nations in the world, was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade-long war.

Addis Ababa had maintained access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000, and since then, Ethiopia has sent most of its sea trade through Djibouti.

While Somaliland is largely stable, Somalia has witnessed decades of civil war and a bloody Islamist insurgency by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group.
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Endangered Rhinos Return to Plateau in Central Kenya

LOISABA CONSERVANCY, Kenya — Conservationists in Kenya are celebrating as rhinos were returned to a grassy plateau that hasn’t seen them in decades.

The successful move of 21 eastern black rhinos to a new home will give them space to breed and could help increase the population of the critically endangered animals. It was Kenya’s biggest rhino relocation ever.

The rhinos were taken from three parks that are becoming overcrowded to the private Loisaba Conservancy, where herds were wiped out by poaching decades ago.

“It’s been decades since rhinos roamed here, almost 50 years ago,” said Loisaba security manager Daniel Ole Yiankere. “Their numbers were severely impacted by poaching. Now, our focus is on rejuvenating this landscape and allowing rhinos to breed, aiming to restore their population to its former splendor.”

Moving rhinos safely is a serious challenge. The 18-day exercise involved tracking the rhinos using a helicopter and then shooting them with tranquilizer darts. Then the animals — which weigh about a ton each — have to be loaded into the back of a truck for the move.

Disaster nearly struck early in the relocation effort, when a tranquilized rhino stumbled into a creek. Veterinarians and rangers held the rhino’s head above water with a rope to stop it from drowning while a tranquilizer reversal drug took effect, and the rhino was released.

Some of the rhinos were transferred from Nairobi National Park and made a 300-kilometer trip. Others came from two parks closer to Loisaba.

Rhinos are generally solitary animals and are at their happiest in large territories. As numbers in the three parks where the rhinos were moved from have increased, wildlife officials decided to relocate some in the hope that they will be happier and more likely to breed.

David Ndere, an expert on rhinos at the Kenya Wildlife Service, said their reproduction rates decrease when there are too many in a territory.

“By removing some animals, we expect that the rhino population in those areas will rise up,” Ndere said. “And then we reintroduce that founder population of at least 20 animals into new areas.”

Loisaba Conservancy said it has dedicated around 25,000 hectares to the new arrivals, which are a mix of males and females.

Kenya has had relative success in reviving its black rhino population, which dipped from around 20,000 in the 1970s to below 300 in the mid-1980s because of poaching, according to conservationists, raising fears that the animals might be wiped out completely in the country. Kenya now has around 1,000 black rhinos, the third biggest population behind South Africa and Namibia.

There are just over 6,400 wild black rhinos left in the world, all of them in Africa, according to the Save the Rhino organization.

Tom Silvester, the CEO of Loisaba Conservancy, said Kenya’s plan is to get its black rhino numbers to 2,000 over the next decade.

“Once we have 2,000 individuals, we will have established a population that will give us hope that we have brought them back from extinction,” he said.

Kenyan authorities say they have relocated more than 150 rhinos in the last decade.

An attempt to move 11 rhinos in 2018 ended in disaster when all of the animals died shortly after moving.

Ten of the rhinos died from stress, dehydration and starvation intensified by salt poisoning as they struggled to adjust to saltier water in their new home, investigations found. The other one was attacked by a lion.

Since then, new guidelines have been created for the capture and moving of rhinos in Kenya. Silvester said tests have been conducted on the water quality at Loisaba.

Kenya is also home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos on the planet. Researchers said last month they hope they might be able to save that subspecies after creating an embryo in a lab from an egg and sperm previously collected from white rhinos and transferring it into a surrogate female black rhino. The pregnancy was discovered in a postmortem after the surrogate died of an infection following a flood.
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Algeria’s Black Market for Foreign Currency Underlines Its Economic Woes

ALGIERS, Algeria — In a square near the center of Algiers, currency traders carry wads of euros, pounds and dollars, hoping to exchange them to those worried about the plummeting value of the Algerian dinar.

This black market for foreign currencies is among the signs of the economic woes plaguing Algeria. The state, reluctant to allow the exchange rate to adjust fully, has proven incapable of limiting demand among the population as confidence in the dinar remains low.

The widening parallel exchange rate underscores how everyday Algerians have lost buying power as the government has juggled competing priorities, trying to combat inflation and maintain state spending, subsidies and price controls that keep people afloat.

In the oil-rich North African nation, business owners are rumored to be dumping their assets and scrounging up euros on the black market so their wealth isn’t stuck. Middle-class people also rely on euros and dollars to buy things in short supply like medicine, vehicle parts or certain foods.

Last week, the official exchange rate allowed one euro to be sold for 145 Algerian dinar, while on the same day, currency traders were selling one euro for nearly 241 dinars on the black market — 66% higher than the official exchange rate.

Rabah Belamane, a 72-year-old retired teacher from Algiers, told The Associated Press that the official rate is a fiction and that his pension doesn’t go as far as it used to in either dinar or euro.

“The real value of the dinar is on the informal market, not in the bank, which uses an artificial rate to lie to the public,” Belamane said.

Algeria has long been known for having among the region’s most closed economies. It limits the amount of foreign currency its citizens can access to a modest tourism allowance that amounts to less than needed to carry out one of Islam’s pilgrimages to Mecca or visit family in Europe’s large Algerian diaspora.

The government estimates roughly $7 billion worth of foreign currency trades hands on the country’s black market.

From Lebanon to Nigeria, experts warn that having two parallel exchange rates can distort a country’s economy, discourage investment and encourage corruption. Algeria has historically been reluctant to lower the official value of the dinar, worried that devaluation will spike prices and anger the population.

Traders are intimately aware that the gap between the official and black market exchange rate can narrow or widen by the day. They expect it to swing up as Ramadan approaches.

“In recent days, the supply of euros has been lacking, which explains how it has shot up,” trader Nourdine Sadaoui told the AP as he took a pause from yelling “Change!” at people passing by.

That shortage may make purchasing certain goods difficult for Algerians. But some in government believe it reflects the success of import restrictions and laws limiting how many euros can be brought into the country.

Hicham Safar, the head of a finance committee in the lower house of Algeria’s Parliament, said last week that he “welcomed” such concerns. The growing chasm between the official and black market rates meant fewer euros are getting into the country, he said.

“There’s no more overcharging on imports,” he said on television station Echourouk, citing efforts by customs officials to better regulate imports through the Bank of Algeria and minimize the use of foreign currency.

For decades, steady revenue from oil and gas allowed Algeria to import everything from toothpicks to industrial machinery. The country’s large import market concentrated economic power in the hands of a small group of businessmen known to overbill clients and stash profits abroad, including in European and Emirati banks.

Since President Abdelmajid Tebboune took power, the country has targeted the so-called “oligarchs,” including businesses active in imports. Throughout his tenure, the costs of basic goods in Algerian dinars have swung and imports have been further limited.

Algeria emerged as an unexpected beneficiary of the war in Ukraine, as energy prices rose and Europe sought non-Russian suppliers of oil and gas. But the country has experienced food crises and rising anger as the prices of necessities like chicken, cooking oil and legumes have risen.

Economist Karim Allam said the strength of the euro had worked to Algeria’s detriment, cutting into the purchasing power of those who make money in dinars. He is skeptical of the idea that a shortage of foreign currencies reflects the government’s success, but also doubts that business people are fleeing the country in droves or sending money abroad.

“I don’t think they’ll take the risk of smuggling currency out of the country, which is considered an economic crime punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment,” he said.

Regardless, the falling value of the dinar on the black market is one indicator of how Algerians continue to lose purchasing power despite governmental efforts to stabilize the economy while keeping government spending and subsidies high.

“Inflation has destroyed the buying power of Algerians, who are falling into poverty. The dinar has become worthless,” said Belamane, the retired teacher.
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Mini-Summit Discusses Peace Efforts for East Democratic Republic of Congo

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Angolan President Joao Lourenco hosted a mini-summit in Addis Ababa on Friday in a bid to revive peace efforts for the violence-wracked eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The meeting, on the eve of a two-day AU summit in the Ethiopian capital, follows an escalation of fighting in the region in recent days.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to quell the conflict between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army in the mineral-rich east of the vast central African nation.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was among those taking part in Friday’s closed-door meeting, his office said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“This mini-summit discussed, among other things, the return to a constructive and reconciliatory dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda, the immediate cessation of hostilities, the immediate withdrawal of the M23 from occupied areas and the launch of a process to contain this movement,” the presidency said.

Kinshasa, along with the United Nations and Western countries, accuses DR Congo’s much smaller neighbor Rwanda of backing the rebels, a charge Kigali denies.

In his address to the meeting Tshisekedi charged that Kigali was perpetuating insecurity in the region and looting the region’s mineral riches, the presidency said, adding that the talks would continue on Saturday.

Angolan state news agency Angop has said earlier that the mini-summit would “discuss the relaunch of the peace process” in the eastern DRC.

It said Lourenco was expected to be joined by the leaders of Burundi, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan and Tanzania.

But it was not confirmed which leaders attended the talks, which began shortly after Tshisekedi’s arrival in Addis Ababa according to an AU source.

Militias have plagued the eastern DRC for decades, many of them a legacy of regional wars fought in the 1990s and the early 2000s.

The mostly Tutsi M23 has seized vast swathes of North Kivu province since emerging from dormancy in late 2021.

The U.N. Security Council said on Monday it was concerned by the escalating violence in the eastern region.

The latest flare-up has forced thousands of civilians to flee the town of Sake on the way to Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

According to a U.N. document seen by AFP on Monday, the Rwandan army is using sophisticated weapons such as surface-to-air missiles to support M23.

U.N. forces have been in the DRC for nearly 25 years but have been accused of failing to protect civilians from armed groups.
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Zimbabwean VP Issues Threat Toward LGBTQ Group After It Offers Scholarships

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga threatened a gay and lesbian group Thursday for offering university scholarships to underprivileged students.

Chiwenga, who is serving as acting president while President Emmerson Mnangagwa is out of the country, said in a statement that the LGBTQ community is “alien, anti-life, un-African and un-Christian.”

He condemned an advocacy group, the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, for offering the scholarships and urged young Zimbabweans to snub the offers. He accused the group of making an “insidious attempt” to advance foreign interests by enticing Zimbabwe’s less-privileged youths into the LGBTQ community’s activities.

“The government sees such scholarship offers as a direct challenge on its authority and thus will not hesitate to take appropriate measures to enforce national laws and to protect and defend national values,” Chiwenga said.

There was no immediate word from Mnangagwa, who is in Dubai, on whether he agreed with his deputy’s statement or whether it was authorized.

Zimbabwean officials did not respond to VOA’s request for comment.

Chesterfield Samba, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, said Friday that his organization’s board was still digesting the vice president’s statement.

Some Zimbabweans had strong reactions on both sides to the vice president’s statement.

Oliver Mutambara, 36, said, “I would like to thank the acting president for the clear message that we are not going to accept those scholarships. We should remember that we are a multireligious community, we have the Christian community, which is the largest chunk. And from our principles, we do not condone such practices.”

He continued, “We are going to seek permission very soon from our government to act upon those people or bring down their banners and act accordingly to them.”

Lloyd Damba, spokesman for Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, did not entirely disagree with the vice president’s statement.

“As a Christian nation, the Christian community believes that man can only marry a woman and, based on that, I think he is correct in this sense,” Damba said.

Also, he said, “I think [Chiwenga] is basing his communique [on] the laws of the land do not permit such things.”

Treasure Basopo, 28, expressed a different view, arguing that the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe has been a legal organization in the country since 1990.

He criticized Chiwenga, a former army general before he became a vice president in 2017 after the military coup that ousted former President Robert Mugabe.

“He is a man of misplaced priorities, excitable character,” Basopo said. “General Chiwenga must first give reference to section 78 of the constitution, which talks of people of same sex being banned from getting into a marriage. But the constitution is silent about the conduct and activities of these people before marriage.”

Speaking to VOA, Sally Ncube, a representative for rights group Equality Now in southern Africa, called on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and other such institutions, as well as the Southern African Development Community, to ensure Harare protects the rights of everyone in the country.

“The statement in tone is contrary to Zimbabwe’s commitment and obligations under international law to uphold the rights of all, including its LBGTQ citizens,” Ncube said. “The government must not only refrain from making discriminatory statements, but actively work toward creating an environment that respects and protects diverse identities within its nation.”
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Senegal’s Sall to Comply with Court Ruling That Said Election Delay Unconstitutional

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Burundi Takes Steps to Decriminalize Journalism

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UN Chief: Current Global Order Fails Millions

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Elections in Africa Not Off to Good Start

NAIROBI, KENYA — The democratic process in sub-Saharan Africa is not off to a good start in what is supposed to be a busy election year.

The small island nation of Comoros was the first to host presidential elections in 2024. Incumbent president Azali Assoumani – a former military officer who first came to power in a coup in 1999 – won a fourth term.

Sahel Region

Election results were immediately rejected by the opposition, triggering violent protests that killed one and injured 25.

Next on the list was supposed to be Mali, followed by Senegal, but elections were postponed in both countries. Mali is ruled by Assimi Goita and right? a military junta that overthrew a democratically elected government in 2020.

At the time, Goita promised to return the country to civilian rule but eventually had a second coup months later, forcing out the chosen transitional civilian leaders.

Edgar Githua of the United States International University-Africa told VOA OK? that elections may not take place in Sahel countries that have recently experienced coups.

“Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, have promised they are going to transition, they will not … All these military juntas are trained military soldiers, they do not know how to govern. The learning curve to learn how to govern is too long.”

Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that elections will be delayed because of allegations of corruption in election-related cases and the disqualification of some leading candidates.

Some in the opposition called the delay a constitutional coup, though in July, Sall said he would not seek a third term after deadly clashes protesting his possible run for another term.

Lloyd Kuveya, of the University of Pretoria law school in South Africa told VOA it seems like Sall wants to stay a little longer.

“Can we really trust Macky Sall? Everybody knows that his intentions were going for a third term, and if it hadn’t been for the protests of the people of Senegal, I am quite sure he would’ve gone ahead to change the constitution.”

On Thursday, Senegal’s top election authority, the constitutional council, ruled that delaying the elections was not in line with the constitution. It is not clear if elections will still be held as previously planned on February 25, as many candidates had suspended their campaigning due to the postponement.

Senegal has been seen as a beacon of democracy in a region plagued by coups as Momadou Thior, Senegalese journalist and political analyst recently told VOA.

“We witnessed, in 2000, the first change in power with the opposition leader then named Abdoulaye Wade defeating the incumbent President [Abdou] Diouf, who was in power for 20 years, and 12 years later, the current president, Macky Sall, defeating the same Abdoulaye Wade after 12 years in power.”

East Africa

In East Africa, Rwanda has had the same president since 2000. While some analysts credit Paul Kagame for bringing unity and economic development to Rwanda after the country’s OK? genocide, others question his popularity within the country.

“Rwanda is the paradox of Africa. Paradox of Africa because the Rwandese themselves are afraid to talk about their own elections. If you have a vote where 98% votes for one candidate, that is a red flag. Nobody is that popular in this world,” Githua said.

He said Kagame will once again win the elections with over 90% of the vote in his favor but said he is more worried about the post-Kagame era.

“Rwandese democracy is not mature because we’ve had some very negative experiences of past leaders who’ve tried to run against Kagame, the system kind of muzzles them. …The bigger question for me in Rwanda is not even the elections they will have right now. Are they ready for that political landscape if Paul Kagame says he’s walking away?”

A 2022 Human Rights Watch report said the space for political opposition, civil society, and media remained closed in Rwanda.

Southern Africa

In South Africa, the African National Congress has been governing since 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president following the end of apartheid in the early 1990s, but there may not be business as usual, Kuveya says.

“The ANC will win the elections but not with an outright majority. It’ll be below 50[%],OK? and therefore, the African National Congress must brace for coalition politics although they are saying there will never be [a] coalition, they are going to win outright.”

He said allegations of corruption, scandals, and disunity within the ANC – as former president Jacob Zuma recently said he will vote for a different party – are already helping the opposition, including the Economic Freedom Fighters party led by Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader.
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Malawi Police Seize Journalists’ Equipment Over Fake Facebook Account

Blantyre, Malawi — Police in Malawi have seized mobile phones and laptops from at least 14 journalists working at the state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation or MBC. The journalists are suspected of running a fake Facebook account bearing MBC’s name, where they allegedly posted false and anti-government stories. Press freedom groups have faulted the police for invading the journalists’ privacy.

A spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service, Peter Kalaya, told VOA that the probe is in response to complaints from the management of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation.

“In the process of the investigations, we secured a search warrant in the court of law which we have used to confiscate electronic gadgets from suspects,” he said. “And the gadgets include phones and laptops.”

Kalaya declined to reveal the exact number of people being investigated and how they were identified for allegedly committing cybercrimes.

However, local media reports say that 14 journalists associated with MBC, including some who have left the channel, have had their devices searched.

MBC Public Relations Manager Chisomo Mwamadi refused to comment on the investigation, saying the channel has left everything in the hands of police.

Greyson Chapita, former controller of news for MBC TV in Blantyre, is among the suspects.

He told VOA that on Wednesday, police officers forced him to log into all his devices which have access to the internet.

“They searched my laptop,” he said. “They were so much into my Facebook account. They did not check my emails, but they looked for the passwords and Facebook recovery in the system and other emails that were in the system. They check close to 20 minutes, and they took some screenshots.”

Chapita said police returned his devices after one of the police investigators said they did not find what they were looking for.

Chapita said he stopped accessing all online platforms for MBC long before he stopped working at the state-run media organization.

“In fact, that was four years ago,” he said. “I have nothing to do with MBC anymore. And for them just invading my privacy just like that you know, torturing us, traumatizing my 12- year-old daughter. You know being accused of running a fake Facebook account, that’s absurd. I am a church elder at my church. How are people going to look at me? I am so bitter.”

Some journalists who had their devices confiscated refused to give their names for fear of reprisals but told VOA they fear police will gain access to confidential information they shared with news sources.

“This is something which is worrying because it puts them at a vulnerable position because everything that the police might access or even the management at MBC might access which they were not supposed to access can be used to harm their careers, can be used to harm their sources,” said Golden Matonga, chairperson for the Media Institute for Southern Africa in Malawi.

However, national police spokesperson Kalaya said journalists are not immune from any type of police investigation.

“Some of the people we are following up are not employees of the MBC,” he said. “And you cannot run away from a criminal investigation just because you are a journalist or because you are in this or that profession. No person is above the law.”

Kalaya said police will keep confidential all the private information they find in the confiscated phones and laptops. He said the equipment will be returned after the police are done with their investigation.
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Senegal Constitutional Council Finds Election Delay Unlawful

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Senegal’s Constitutional Council on Thursday ruled that parliament’s unprecedented postponement of the February 25 presidential vote was not in line with the constitution, pitching the country into a new phase of electoral uncertainty.

Opposition presidential candidates and lawmakers last week filed several legal challenges to the bill that delayed the vote to December and extended President Macky Sall’s mandate in what critics said amounted to an institutional coup.

The standoff has fueled widespread unrest and raised international concerns that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat.

In the latest twist, the Constitutional Council decided that “the [postponement] law … is contrary to the constitution,” according to its minutes.

The council also ruled to cancel a decree announced by Sall ahead of the vote that had set the postponement in motion.

The presidency and government did not reply to requests for comment.

What happens next is unclear. Sall, who is not standing in the vote and has reached the constitutional limit of two terms in power, said he delayed the election because of a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption within the Constitutional Council.

In its decision, the council did not specify when the election should be held. There are 10 days left before the original poll date, and most candidates have not been campaigning since Sall issued his decree on February 3, hours before campaigns were meant to kick off.

The council’s decision has “left a window of opportunity open for discussion,” said Ali Ngouille Ndiaye, a former minister and opposition candidate, on local radio.
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Israel Urges UN Court to Reject New South African Request on Gaza

the hague, netherlands — Israel on Thursday urged the United Nations’ highest court to reject an urgent South African request to consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting the southern Gaza city of Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide.

South Africa asked the International Court of Justice to decide whether Israel’s strikes on Rafah, and its intention to launch a ground offensive on the city where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering, breaches both the U.N. Genocide Convention and preliminary orders handed down by the court last month in a case accusing Israel of genocide.

In a three-page submission released Thursday by the court, Israel labeled the new South African request “highly peculiar and improper.”

It goes on to say the request is “evidence of a renewed and cynical effort by South Africa to use provisional measures as a sword, rather than a shield, and to manipulate the Court to protect South Africa’s longtime ally Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, from Israel’s inherent right and obligation to defend itself” and seek to free the more than 130 hostages still being held by Hamas.

Israel strongly denies committing genocide in Gaza and says it does all it can to spare civilians and is targeting only Hamas militants. It says Hamas’ tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties.

Israel’s assault has wrought destruction in Gaza, with more than 28,000 people killed, over 70% of them women, children and young teens, according to local health officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave. Around 80% of the population has been displaced, and the U.N. says more than a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are being pushed toward starvation.

Israel says it has killed thousands of militants in its aim of crushing Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

In a statement Tuesday, South Africa’s government called Rafah “the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza.” It asked the top U.N. court to consider using its powers to issue additional preliminary orders telling Israel to halt the deaths and destruction there.

South Africa already alleged Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in its war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza and filed a case with the world court in December. A ruling on the genocide allegation could take years.

In its latest submission to the world court, Israel says South Africa “now seeks essentially to relitigate — through a truncated process in which it alarmingly sought to deprive Israel of the right to be heard — what the Court has only recently considered and decided” following hearings last month.

Israel says that the situation in Gaza is “not qualitatively different” to what South Africa claimed in its original request for urgent measures and says South Africa misuses one of the court’s rules in filing its latest request.

“What is more, nothing in South Africa’s present request establishes that the provisional measures already indicated by the Court would no longer be sufficient,” Israel’s document says. It also notes that the request came “less than three weeks after the Court delivered its Order indicating provisional measures, and a very short time prior to the due date for the submission by Israel of a report pursuant to that Order.”

It is not clear when the court will make a decision on South Africa’s request.
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US Signs Agreement to Build Bases for Elite Somali Army Force

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Health Agencies Call for Stepped-up Action to Eliminate Cervical Cancer

GENEVA — Health agencies are urging governments and civil society to step up action to eliminate cervical cancer, a vaccine-preventable disease that kills a woman every two minutes, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.

“It is the fourth-most common cancer among women worldwide. It is also one of the few types of cancer that can be prevented by a vaccine,” said Herve Verhoosel, spokesperson for Unitaid, an organization that provides affordable lifesaving health products for people in low- and middle-income countries.

“Vaccination against human papillomavirus, the leading cause of cervical cancer, together with HPV screening and treatment, is a proven path to elimination,” Verhoosel said Tuesday in advance of the first global forum on elimination of cervical cancer.

The forum, which takes place from March 5 to 7 in Cartagena, Colombia, is hosted by Spain, Colombia and nine leading development and health agencies.

348,000 women died in 2020

Verhoosel said, “The forum offers a watershed moment for the world to collectively accelerate progress on a groundbreaking promise made in 2020, when nearly 200 countries signed on to the WHO’s global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer.”

The World Health Organization, Unitaid and other aid agencies provided the statistics on case rates. The WHO estimates 348,000 women died of cervical cancer in 2020, 90% of them from low- and middle-income countries. It warns annual deaths from cervical cancer will likely reach 410,000 by 2030 “if we do not change course.”

To put countries on the path to elimination, the WHO has set three targets: It calls for 90% of girls to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by age 15; 70% of women to be screened with a high-performance test by age 35 and again at 45; and for 90% of women with cervical disease to receive treatment.

The WHO says sub-Saharan Africa has the highest cervical cancer burden globally. It notes the HIV epidemic has worsened the situation because the common HPV virus is sexually transmitted.

Prebo Barango, cross-cutting specialist on noncommunicable diseases and special initiatives at the WHO, explains that the prevalence of cervical cancer in some countries “demonstrates the inequity of access to prevention and health care as well as social and economic deprivation” in the affected communities.

He stressed the importance of vaccinating young girls and making access to screening and early treatment for older women more widely available.

“It is not an either-or approach,” he said. He notes, however, that “access to screening and treatment has been very, very low because most countries have no coverage for these procedures.”

Barriers to vaccination

The WHO reports that only one in five adolescent girls has been vaccinated against HPV, despite the vaccine’s proven efficacy. Barango explained that a key constraint related to its use is that the recommended age of 14 for receiving the vaccine “falls outside of the normal vaccination age for children.”

Besides that, he said, “During COVID-19 there was a significant drop in the uptake of these vaccines because schools were closed” and many health facilities were focused on dealing with the pandemic.

The World Health Organization says cost effective and evidence-based tools for screening and treatment are available. Despite this, it says barriers and inequities in the hardest-hit areas remain unacceptably high. The WHO notes that fewer than 5% of women in low- and middle-income countries are ever screened for cervical cancer.

Unitaid spokesperson Verhoosel observed that the WHO’s recommendation of a one-dose HPV vaccine instead of the previous two-dose recommendation could prove to be a game changer.

“A one-dose HPV vaccine opens new opportunities to reach more girls worldwide and will significantly reduce costs and logistical barriers,” he said.

The nonprofit GAVI vaccine alliance is providing millions of low-cost HPV vaccine doses to developing countries at the affordable price of around $5.00 per dose. And Unitaid says that, together with its partners, it “has secured agreements that have reduced the price of HPV tests by nearly 40%.”
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