Much of Kenya awoke Saturday morning to find it was still without electricity after an unexplained power outage Friday night shut down the country’s main international airport and led to a rare public apology by a government minister. Major hospitals and even the president’s office compound were affected.

“I am really sorry for what has happened,” transport minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement close to midnight. “There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness.”

This latest outage affecting much of the country comes just weeks before Kenya’s government hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy will be key on the agenda. Kenya gets almost all its energy from renewable sources, but infrastructure and alleged mismanagement remain an issue in the country of more than 50 million people.

The majority government-owned Kenya Power announced in a brief statement a “system disturbance leading to loss of bulk power supply” to parts of the country just before 10 p.m. Friday. Shortly after midnight, it reported that power had been restored to the Mt. Kenya region, a longtime political stronghold, and added that initial reports indicated a fault in a generation plant.

Around 3 a.m., Kenya Power said power had been restored to the international airport in the capital, Nairobi, and other “critical areas” in the capital region.

However, three of Nairobi’s largest hospitals — and its State House, the site of President William Ruto’s office — told The Associated Press they were still using generators hours after Kenya Power’s assertion.

The power outage approached the 12-hour mark Saturday. Calls to Kenya Power’s communications department did not go through.

Tourism is an important part of Kenya’s economy, and stranded travelers quickly posted images on social media of the darkened airport. The Kenya Airports Authority said a generator serving the main terminal had failed to start after the national power outage.

Meanwhile, Kenyans already coping with rising costs of living woke up to find food spoiling and some backup power options running out.

The most recent national power outage was in May.
…

Niger’s junta, which seized power in a coup on July 26, said on Friday it had ordered French Ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the West African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further. 

Like recent coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, the military takeover in Niger came amid a growing wave of anti-French sentiment, with some locals accusing the European country of interfering in their affairs. 

In a statement, the junta-appointed foreign ministry said the decision to expel the ambassador was a response to actions taken by the French government that were “contrary to the interests of Niger.” 

It said these included the envoy’s refusal to respond to an invitation to meet Niger’s new foreign minister. 

The French foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

Official-seeming statements were shared widely online on Friday that appeared to show Niger ordering the U.S. ambassador and German ambassador to leave the country in similar terms to the statement about the French envoy. 

The U.S. State Department on Friday said Niger had informed it that this had not been issued by its foreign ministry. “No such request has been made to the U.S. government,” it said. 

A source in the junta and a Nigerien security source said only the French ambassador had been asked to leave.  

The coup has pushed Niger’s long-standing relationship with France to the breaking point, and this latest move raised further doubts about the future of joint military efforts to fight an Islamist insurgency in the conflict-torn Sahel region. 

France has called for President Mohamed Bazoum to be returned to office following his ouster and has said it would support efforts by West African regional bloc ECOWAS to overturn the coup. 

It has also not officially recognized a decision by the junta in early August to revoke a raft of military agreements with France, saying these had been signed with Niger’s “legitimate authorities.” 

The deterioration in Niger-France relations echoes post-coup developments in Mali and Burkina Faso, which have booted out French forces and severed long-standing ties. 

Niger has strategic significance as one of the world’s biggest producers of uranium and as a base for French, U.S. and other foreign troops that are helping to fight Islamist militant groups in the region.
…

Mozambican President Filipande Jacinto Nyusi on Friday reported the killing of reputed terrorist leader Bonomade Machude Omar, known as Ibn Omar, in troubled Cabo Delgado province.

Speaking live on state Radio Mozambique from his seaside palace, Nyusi said the terrorist leader was fatally shot Tuesday during a gunbattle against Mozambique’s defense forces that was supported by the Rwandan military and troops from the Southern African Development Community.

Nyusi made the announcement after a meeting with visiting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is on a two-day visit to the country.

There has been no independent confirmation of the deaths.

Nyusi emphasized that the fight against terrorists would continue, even when they operate in small groups.

Ibn Omar, considered the leader of the radical Islamic State group in Mozambique, was targeted by the second phase of the “Coup Duro II” operation in Cabo Delgado.

On the ground in Cabo Delgado, the Mozambican defense forces have been fighting terrorism since July 2021, with support from Rwandan troops and the SADC contingent.

The chief of staff of the Mozambican defense forces, General Joaquim Rivas Mangrasse, said the killing of the terrorist leader did not mean the end of the insurgency in Mozambique. He noted that continual combing through forests was needed to flush out the militants.

Rivas Mangrasse said that with Ibn Omar, two more of his direct followers — still unidentified — were also killed.

Little is known about the history and lifestyle of Bonomade Machude Omar, but it is believed that he is one of the few Mozambican terrorists who spent his childhood in Mocimboa da Praia, a district inside Cabo Delgado province with about 65,000 inhabitants.

He has often been described as the brains behind jihadist attacks over the past five years, claimed by a group known as Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama.

The United Nations says violence in the region has forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes.

Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Total are among big international energy companies developing offshore natural gas projects near northern Mozambique, and one huge project has been put on hold because of the violence.
…

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS held a news conference Friday in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, hours after coup leaders in Niger announced an alliance with neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. ECOWAS said it was worried about reports that made it sound as if the bloc is beating the drums of war toward Niger.

ECOWAS President Omar Touray told journalists that Friday’s press conference was convened to set the record straight.

Touray said ECOWAS was worried that its announcement earlier this month that it might use military action to restore constitutional order in Niger was being misinterpreted in media reports.

He said, “ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plan, as has been purported, to invade the country.”

Touray said the ECOWAS heads of state and government only activated a full-scale application of sanctions against Niger’s military rulers, including the possible use of force.

He said that authorities would resort to this measure only after deciding that dialogue alone is not deterring coups in the region.

“The current development in the Republic of Niger adds to the list of attempted coups d’etat in the region,” Touray said. “So, you can understand why the heads of state and government have decided that this is one coup too many and resolved that it was time to end the contagion. The situation in the Republic of Niger is particularly unfortunate, as it comes at a time the country is comparatively well in terms of security and economic growth.”

Military takeovers are increasing in West Africa, with seven coups since 2020.

The ECOWAS president said the bloc was concerned about the welfare of the people of Niger and that it had noted reports of increased insecurity and human rights violations since the military took over in late July.

Touray said military administrations in the region have not demonstrated capacity to deal with complex political, social and security challenges.

On July 26, soldiers of the presidential guard overthrew Niger’s democratically elected leader, President Mohamed Bazoum, and have since held him hostage, ignoring calls for his release.

ECOWAS on August 10 said it had activated a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.

Touray spoke to journalists Friday.

“In the interim, the region is employing other elements of its instruments and engaging with the military authorities, as can be attested to by the several missions that have been fielded to the country,” he said. “Nonetheless, preparations continue towards making the force ready for deployment.”

Last week, Niger’s junta announced a three-year transition plan and, on Thursday, authorized Mali and Burkina Faso’s forces to intervene in the country in the event of any military invasion by ECOWAS.

Both countries had warned that invasion of Niger by ECOWAS would mean a declaration of war.

Security analyst Chidi Omeje says there’s too much at stake to risk military action.

“I expect them not to put the issue of military intervention on the table at all,” Omeje said. “It shouldn’t be discussed because you have to look at the consequences of a military intervention in Niger Republic. In that region, how are you going to mitigate the influx of refugees in Nigeria?”

ECOWAS is hoping that diplomatic efforts will pay off and make it unnecessary to deploy forces. But so far, the junta has resisted pressure to relinquish power.
…

At least 13 people, including seven children, were killed Friday in a crowd stampede at a stadium in the Madagascar capital of Antananarivo, according to the Red Cross and a local member of parliament. 

“So far 13 people have been killed and 107 injured,” said opposition MP Hanitra Razafimanantsoa on a local radio station.  

The Red Cross, who were on the scene, added: “We don’t yet have the final list. Seven minors died.” 

The prime minister of the Indian Ocean nation Christian Ntsay had initially put the toll at “12 dead and some 80 injured.” 

50,000 gather

The stampede occurred at the entrance to the Barea stadium, where a crowd of around 50,000 spectators had arrived to attend the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.  

The cause of the tragedy was not immediately known but the Red Cross said the toll could climb.  

“There were a lot of people at the entrance, which triggered a stampede,” Antsa Mirado, a communications manager with the Red Cross, told AFP. 

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, who was present at the opening ceremony, called for a minute’s silence.  

“A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” he said in a televised speech.  

Images show people in shock

Images broadcast on television showed dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled amongst objects lost in the deadly crush. 

Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with spectators. 

The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-sport competition being held in Madagascar until September 3.  

They have been staged every four years in different islands in the south-west Indian Ocean for around 40 years. The previous games took place in Mauritius. 
…

Zimbabweans waited anxiously for election results Friday as security forces sealed off roads leading to the national election center, the scene of protests and deadly violence after the last vote in 2018.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the ruling Zanu-PF party had won 38 parliamentary seats, while the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change had won 32, according to Reuters. 

The commission has yet to release results from the presidential election.

Voting wrapped up Thursday after delays in distributing ballots, mostly in urban areas, prompted officials to extend voting by one day.

The U.S. has accused Zimbabwe of intentionally undermining its election for the presidency, the legislature and municipal councils.

Police say they arrested 41 election monitors and seized their equipment in raids Wednesday.  They said the monitors were using their computers and cell phones “to unlawfully tabulate election voting statistics and results from polling stations,” an activity the police characterized as “subversive and criminal.” 

“The police raid on civil society conducting legitimate election observation demonstrates the government of Zimbabwe’s lack of respect for free and fair elections,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.  “Dismayed at the lengths they will go to undermine their own election’s credibility.”

In the presidential vote, 80-year-old incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa is seeking a second term. Nelson Chamisa, 45, the leader of the CCC, is challenging the president for the country’s top spot.

Mnangagwa took power after staging a coup that ousted the late Robert Mugabe in 2017.
…

The U.N.’s humanitarian chief said Friday the conflict in Sudan and the humanitarian crisis it has spawned are threatening to consume the entire country.

In a statement issued Friday, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths said the intense fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that has ravaged the capital city Juba, Khartoum and Darfur since mid-April has spread southeast to Kordofan state.

The top U.N. humanitarian official said that as a result of clashes and road blockages, food stocks have been fully depleted in South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, and aid workers have been prevented from reaching the hungry. In West Kordofan’s capital, El Fula, humanitarian offices have been ransacked and supplies have been looted. 

The U.N. aid chief said he also is extremely worried about the safety of civilians in Al Jazira State, as the conflict moves closer to Sudan’s breadbasket region.

“The longer the fighting continues, the more devastating its impact,” said Griffiths. Some places have already run out of food. Hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if left untreated.” 

He called on the international community to “respond with the urgency this crisis deserves.” 

Griffiths’ warning comes as Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was seen Thursday outside the army command compound in Khartoum for the first time since fighting erupted more than four months ago.

In video and pictures posted to social media, Burhan also can be seen speaking to soldiers in what is said to be the city of Omdurman, across the Nile River from Khartoum, with paramilitaries.

Agence France-Presse reports some of the video appears to have been filmed before dawn. One photo of Burhan has a caption indicating it was taken at the Wadi Seidna Air Base 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) north of Khartoum. None of the posts have been independently verified.

The army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, for control of the capital and several major cities since April 15. All attempts to mediate have failed, and diplomats say both sides are asserting they can win. 

Neither side has gained an advantage during the fighting that has inflicted high civilian casualties, and the U.N. says it has displaced more than 4.5 million people. 

In the video at the Wadi Seidna Air Base, Burhan greeted cheering soldiers. “The work you are doing should reassure people that the army has men, and that Sudan is being protected by the army,” he said. 

Burhan’s video appearance comes on the heels of the RSF’s multiday attack on the Armored Corps base in southern Khartoum, which is the army’s single remaining stronghold in the capital outside its headquarters. 

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the RSF, has frequently mocked Burhan for what he has called hiding in a bunker, although Dagalo has only been seen in video once since the war began, speaking to soldiers last month outside a house at an unidentified location. 

The fighting already has generated a humanitarian crisis that has closed hospitals, and caused electricity and water outages, along with food shortages. Now, the rainy season is underway, threatening to make the situation worse, sparking disease outbreaks and hindering transport.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse. 
…

Political analysts say a last-minute rule change in Gabon’s August 26 national elections, which now stipulates voters must select their presidential and parliamentary candidate from the same political party, poses a governance issue — if the ultimate winner is anyone other than a candidate of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, or the PDG.

The Gabonese Center for Elections announced the new rule last month, which critics immediately denounced, saying it is meant to favor the ruling PDG.

According to the rule, any vote for a local deputy would automatically be a vote for that deputy’s presidential candidate.

But critics say some opposition parties have not fielded candidates for the National Assembly elections.

Annaick Moubouyi-Boyer, a political analyst in the Gabonese capital Libreville, told VOA that the change, coupled with a constitutional change reducing two rounds of presidential voting to one, raises concerns as the stakes rise ahead of Saturday’s ballot.

“What’s at stake is thus to know if Gabon will find itself for the first time in its history with a president elected without a majority in parliament, which could pose a problem of governance,” she said.

Moubouyi-Boyer said that unlike previous elections, “everything will be played out in the first round,” adding that if the results are close — because of the support of a recently announced opposition coalition known as Alternance 2023 — “tensions will be high.”

Fourteen candidates are vying for the Gabonese presidency, including the ruling party’s incumbent, Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Five candidates joined the Alternance 2023 coalition to support the candidacy of Albert Ondo Ossa, 69, a former education minister and main challenger to President Bongo.

Although Ondo Ossa is the candidate for Alternance 2023, the coalition does not have corresponding candidates for the parliamentary vote.

Bongo, who is 64 and the son of former President Omar Bongo, is seeking a third term after serving two seven-year terms.

Gabon has no presidential term limits.

Moubouyi-Boyer said like voters in many other African countries, Gabonese are waiting for change.

“The population is waiting for a change with its concerns at the center — access to water, electricity, quality education, an efficient retirement system,” she said. “These are in particular the demands of an African youth, increasingly frustrated and who no longer have anything to lose.”

She said political leaders in the Central African nation must put in place policies to address the challenges or “risk exacerbating the already existing tensions.”

Ondo Mengue Jean-Cyrille, a Libreville-based political analyst, told VOA that the rule change puts at a disadvantage any candidates who are not running on a political party’s ticket — like Alexandre Barro, who is part of the opposition supporting the candidacy of Ondo Ossa.

“This is the case for all those movements, political parties which have decided to support Albert Ondo Ossa — they have decided not to have any MP at the National Assembly,” Jean-Cyrille said.

“But the big question is that if Albert Ondo Ossa is elected president, how is he going to rule because he’s not going to have any member of parliament at the National Assembly.”

In response, Ondo Ossa has said he would dissolve the National Assembly if elected and organize separate elections for members of parliament, because he will be unable to govern with a majority of seats being held by the PDG, which has been in power for over five decades.

Mays Mouissi, a Paris-based Gabonese political analyst, says that the coalition’s support for Ondo Ossa could undermine Bongo’s resolve for a third term, adding that the opposition’s formation is “significant.”

“I think that (the coalition) will change the game in the election, because this coalition is made up of very important opposition parties that could help give power to Mr. Ondo Ossa, and he could win the election,” Mouissi said.

“This is a strategy to give more push to the group of opposition parties to wrest power from Ali Bongo Ondimba and his ruling PDG party.”

Mouissi also regretted the non-participation of election observers in this year’s elections, saying this will be the first vote in the Central African nation where independent national and international election observers will be absent.

“International journalists have been denied accreditation to cover the elections, as have diplomats in Gabon who have been shunned from visiting voting centers,” he said.

“I am very concerned about the lack of election observers in this election. This is not good and not enough.” 
…

Vote counting has started in Zimbabwe after a general election Wednesday that was marred by delays at polling stations and ballot paper shortages. Rights groups and observers have expressed concerns about the electoral process. Columbus Mavhunga files this report from Harare, where the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission extended voting an additional day in some places.
Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
…

The BRICS bloc of developing nations agreed on Thursday to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.

In deciding in favor of an expansion, the bloc’s first in 13 years, BRICS leaders left the door open to future enlargement as dozens more countries voiced interest in joining a grouping they hope can level the global playing field.

The expansion adds economic heft to BRICS, whose current members are China, the world’s second largest economy, as well as Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. It could also amplify its declared ambition to become a champion of the Global South.

But long-standing tensions also could linger between members who want to forge the grouping into a counterweight to the West — notably China, Russia and now Iran — and those that continue to nurture close ties to the United States and Europe.

“This membership expansion is historic,” Chinese President Xi Jinping, the bloc’s most stalwart proponent of enlargement, said. “It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries.”

The six new candidates will formally become members on January 1, 2024, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said when he named the countries during a three-day leaders’ summit he is hosting in Johannesburg.

“BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous,” Ramaphosa said.

“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow.”

The countries invited to join reflect individual BRICS members’ desires to bring allies into the club.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had vocally lobbied for neighbor Argentina’s inclusion, while Egypt has close commercial ties with Russia and India.

The entry of oil powers Saudi Arabia and UAE highlights their drift away from the United States’ orbit and ambition to become global heavyweights.

Russia and Iran have found common cause in their shared struggle against U.S.-led sanctions and diplomatic isolation, with their economic ties deepening in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“BRICS is not competing with anyone,” Russia’s Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. He is attending the summit remotely because of an international warrant for alleged war crimes. “But it’s also obvious that this process of the emerging of a new world order still has fierce opponents.”

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi celebrated his country’s BRICS invitation with a swipe at Washington, saying on Iranian television network Al Alam that the expansion “shows that the unilateral approach is on the way to decay.”

Beijing is close to Ethiopia and the country’s inclusion also speaks to South Africa’s desire to amplify Africa’s voice in global affairs.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended Thursday’s expansion announcement, reflecting the bloc’s growing influence. He echoed BRICS’ longstanding calls for reforms of the U.N. Security Council, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

“Today’s global governance structures reflect yesterday’s world,” he said. “For multilateral institutions to remain truly universal, they must reform to reflect today’s power and economic realities.”

BRICS countries have economies that are vastly different in scale and governments with often divergent foreign policy goals, a complicating factor for the bloc’s consensus decision-making model.

Though home to about 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of global gross domestic product, internal divisions have long hobbled BRICS ambitions of becoming a major player on the world stage.

It has long been criticized for failing to live up to its grand ambitions.

The regularly repeated desire of its member states to wean themselves off the dollar, for example, has never materialized. And its most concrete achievement, the New Development Bank, is now struggling in the face of sanctions against founding shareholder Russia.

Even as BRICS leaders this week weighed expanding the group — a move every one of them publicly supported — divisions surfaced over how much and how quickly.

Last-minute deliberations over entry criteria and which countries to invite to join extended late into Wednesday evening.
…

A Kenyan innovator is recycling fish skin into leather clothes through a process known as fish skin tanning. As Juma Majanga reports from Kisumu, Kenya, Newton Owino’s enterprise also aims to sustainably manage waste emanating from the fish-filleting industries along the Lake Victoria coast.
…

The BRICS group of emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – is admitting six new members, its leaders announced Thursday on the final day of their annual summit. The group considers itself an alternative to the U.S.-led world order.

On the third and final day of the summit in Johannesburg, its host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, announced that BRICS had decided to admit Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in January of 2024. 

While the bloc’s leaders all expressed their support for the decision, analysts say expansion has been spearheaded mainly by a Russia increasingly isolated by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine — and China, which hailed the move as “historic.”

While critics are divided over the success of the bloc so far, with some saying it’s mainly symbolic, the group already collectively accounts for 40% of the world’s global population and about a quarter of global GDP — and the new members will certainly add to both.

But like the current disparate group, which includes three democracies and two autocracies, the new members are not all natural allies, noted Priyal Singh, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.  

“My first impression is that it’s quite a strange, odd grouping of countries to be admitted,” he said. “It’s, you know, very highly concentrated amongst Middle East and North African countries, which is going to give that region of the world a lot of sway over the BRICS grouping moving forward.”

Singh said that like two of the bloc’s current members, China and India, which are involved in a border dispute, several of the new additions also have tense relations.

“Tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt, for example, will also very likely escalate over the coming years and could undermine the coherence of the BRICS grouping, very similar to what we’ve already seen between India and China over the last couple of years.”

Ethiopia and Egypt have had differences over the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam on the Nile River.

Likewise, Iran and Saudi Arabia have a history of diplomatic and military hostility, and they have been involved for years in a proxy war in Yemen.

They also make strange diplomatic bedfellows, according to Steven Gruzd, from the South African Institute of International Affairs.

“There might be some surprises there, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia in the same organization, given their rivalry over many years … although the Chinese did broker a rapprochement earlier in the year,” he said.

The six nations that will be admitted next year are only a fraction of some 40 countries that have expressed interest in joining the bloc, which positions itself as a champion of the developing world, or what’s dubbed the Global South.

In its final declaration at the end of the summit, the BRICS leaders also spoke about the need to reform global financial institutions and move away from the dollar-dominated system toward greater use of local currencies.

Throughout the summit, Ukraine was the elephant in the room, with Russian President Vladimir Putin attending remotely to avoid possible arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant. While all BRICS leaders expressed their desire for peace, there was no direct criticism of Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine also went unmentioned, at least directly, in the group’ s final declaration, which referred to numerous other conflicts by name and expressed support for other nations’ sovereignty.
…

Emergency officials in Nigeria said Thursday rescue efforts were ongoing after a building collapse in Abuja killed at least two people.

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency said crews had rescued 37 people.

An agency statement said rescue teams planned to use excavators to search the rubble for any remaining victims.

The two-story residential and commercial building collapsed late Wednesday, the statement said.
…

Zimbabwe’s election on Wednesday was marred by massive delays and shortages of ballot papers that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission blamed on legal problems it had faced ahead of the polls. At some polling stations, voting was extended for another day. Columbus Mavhunga has the story from the capital, Harare, where both main presidential candidates are hopeful of victory.
Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
…

More than 200,000 refugees fleeing Sudan’s civil war have arrived in the town of Adre, Chad, since the middle of June. Before the crisis, the town had a recorded population of just 40,000. In this report, Henry Wilkins asks Adre residents and newly arrived refugees what they are doing to help the influx of new residents.
…

China and Russia used the second day of the BRICS Summit of emerging economies to criticize the West, while also throwing their support behind the proposed expansion of what’s seen by some as an alternative power bloc.

The leaders of Brazil, India, and China are all in South Africa — which is hosting the event — while Russian President Vladimir Putin is participating virtually to avoid arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant over war crimes in Ukraine.

Via video link, Putin — who ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year — said the West’s actions had led to that conflict by trying to “promote their hegemony,” “exceptionalism,” and policies of “neo-colonialism.” 

“Our actions in Ukraine are guided by only one thing, to put an end to the war that was unleashed by the West,” said Putin, speaking through a translator. 

Meanwhile, the leaders of Brazil and South Africa stressed the need for a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war — though there were no words of criticism for Moscow. 

For his part, Chinese leader Xi Jinping noted the world was undergoing major shifts and had entered a new period of “turbulence and transformation.” He blamed countries that form “exclusive blocs” for the problems. 

“The cold war mentality is still haunting our world and the geopolitical situation is getting tense,” he said through a translator. 

Xi had baffled China-watchers the day before by failing to turn up when the leaders each made a first-day address, instead sending his commerce minister to fill in for him. 

Paul Nantulya, a researcher at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said one could only speculate. 

“What I think is happening is there are some headwinds back home in China …which are upsetting the domestic dynamic, and I think something must have erupted that required the president’s attention,” he said. 

In other developments, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw his support behind the group expanding, after reports India was only lukewarm about the idea. 

High on the agenda of this summit is possible expansion of the BRICS group — with Argentina, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia among the countries that have applied to join. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also expressed support for expansion. However, he said BRICS must not aim to rival the U.S., and Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, also stressed BRICS was not in opposition to anyone. 

“While firmly committed to advance the interests of the Global South, BRICS stands ready to collaborate with all countries that aspire to create a more inclusive international order,” he said. 

Another theme of the summit is de-dollarization and a move towards greater use of the BRICS currencies. Xi said he would like to see reform of the international financial system. 

The summit concludes Thursday, with a final statement from the group expected. 

 
…

A human rights group says the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government is blocking opposition parties from campaigning ahead of December elections and trying to intimidate the party leaders.

Human Rights Watch says it has documented a surge in political violence as well as growing incidents of arbitrary arrests, abductions and threats against political rivals. 

The group says authorities in the DRC are targeting opposition leaders and groups, curtailing their freedom, and arresting officials ahead of the December general election. 

HRW’s DRC senior researcher, Thomas Fessy, said opposition parties find it difficult to even hold a rally.  

“Opposition leaders and their supporters have seen their rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement severely restricted with demonstrations either violently broken up by the security forces, banned or prevented from taking place, and some political party officials of the opposition have been arrested and detained sometimes by the intelligence services and their rights to due process not respected,” said Fessy.

Moise Katumbi, a presidential contender, was barred in May from visiting Kongo-central province, where he had planned political meetings and rallies to publicize his party and candidacy. Authorities cited “security reasons” for disallowing the trip. 

Days later, police blocked four opposition candidates and their supporters from gathering at the electoral commission offices in Kinshasa to protest what they termed a chaotic electoral process. 

Last month, Cherubin Okende, a member of parliament and spokesman for Katumbi’s political party, died of gunshot wounds in the capital. Okende had joined Tshisekedi’s main challenger, Katumbi, late last year.  

Opposition parties suffer

Assani Kizunguruka is a member of the former ruling party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. He told VOA that opposition parties in the country are suffering. 

“As of now, the political environment is not as we were expecting,” he said. “Everyone was hoping for strengthening democracy and freedom of expression and all that. But what we have seen at this time, we have seen the declining of the political environment, whereby the opposition didn’t have its space as well as the freedom of press. We have a lot of journalists now who are in prison. We have a lot of opposition leaders who are now living abroad.”  

The incumbent, Felix Tshisekedi, is seeking a second five-year term. He was declared the winner of the 2018 presidential vote with 38 percent of the vote, though many, including his opponents, disputed his win. 

Election not ‘inclusive,’ ‘transparent’ 

The United Nations said the narrowing of the civic space, the arbitrary arrests, and detentions risk damaging the credibility of the electoral process and political violence. 

Kizunguruka said the existing political climate does not promote free, fair and credible elections. 

“It’s not very helpful,” he said. “And we’re not really seeing an election that will be inclusive. We are not seeing an election that will be transparent. We’re not seeing an election that will really fulfill all the requirements for a democratic election. So we are really very doubtful of the outcome of this election as the opposition party.” 

Fessy said authorities must give opposition groups free space to operate so the country can have a credible election. 

“The Congolese government should urgently reverse course or risk escalating tensions,” said Fessy “Arresting those close to opposition leaders and preventing them from moving around the country or from organizing political rallies and demonstrations sends a frightening message, really, ahead of the official electoral campaign.” 

The government’s minister of information, Patrick Muyaya, did not respond to a request for comment. Back in June, the president said he would target without hesitation any Congolese who endanger the security and the stability of the country. 
…

Encroaching waters from the Atlantic Ocean have destroyed several hundred homes and buildings along parts of Cameroon’s 400-kilometer coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Officials in the central African state have temporarily suspended fishing and tourism in the coastal town of Kribi because of the damage. Affected civilians are begging for help from the government.

Waves pound crumbling walls, seaside shops and abandoned fishing boats in Kribi, a tourist and commercial city along Cameroon’s Atlantic coast.

Remnants of buildings, especially fishermen’s homes, are still very visible, though civilians say some buildings were completely swept away by waves this week.

Tina Richard, a 70-year old tourist guide, says he lost his property because of the encroaching water.

He says he was helpless on Tuesday when high waves swept through and destroyed coastal villages, plantations, hotels and residential areas including parts of his house.

This is not the first time ocean waters have swept across Kribi. But Tina said the current destruction is more devastating than the floods in 1977, 2003 and 2013.

Nouhou Bello, the highest Cameroon government official in Kribi district, says the government is trying to limit the destruction and the danger to town residents.

Nouhou says he has prohibited the construction of buildings within 200 meters from the ocean and ordered the police to stop tourists and their host community members from swimming in the Atlantic ocean until further notice. He says there is a high risk of civilians drowning in ocean waves which are increasing in volume, power and speed and threatening to destroy more houses, villages, plantations and fishing communities.

Kribi is home to 70,000 civilians and is one of the most popular seaside resorts in central Africa. About 60,000 tourists, a majority of them Europeans, Americans and Asians, visit Kribi each year, according to the government of the central African state.

Nouhou said economic activity has nosedived because of the encroaching ocean waters that also killed goats and devastated poultry farms.

Several hundred fish sellers from Cameroon’s economic hub Douala and the capital Yaounde who visit Kribi every day say they have not been able to get enough supplies since high waves chased fishing boats from the ocean this week.

Cameroon government officials say scores of scared tourists fled from Kribi and dozens who were expected this week are scared to visit the seaside resort.

The fishers and farmers who constitute a majority of the Kribi’s population say they are poor and hungry and expect immediate government support.

Nouhou did not say if the government is planning to give assistance to civilians affected by the ocean waters.

Cameron’s environment ministry blames global warming and rising sea levels for the encroaching of ocean water into its coastal lands.

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, reports that the ongoing rise in sea levels is potentially catastrophic for an economic bloc whose 30 percent of civilians live along the coastline.

CEMAC is a six member state economic bloc that groups Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.

Cameroon’s ministry of the economy says it is looking for funds to construct a 100-kilometer long coastal dike to stop erosion and reduce floods. The government has neither disclosed how much it needs nor when the construction is expected to begin.
…

Voting began in Zimbabwe Wednesday morning amid reports of massive delays that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission blamed on what it calls “logistical problems.” Columbus Mavhunga files this report from the capital, Harare, where both main presidential candidates are hopeful of victory. VOA footage by Blessing Chigwenhembe.
…

A Kenyan court has given Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and the content moderators who are suing it for unfair dismissal 21 days to resolve their dispute out of court, a court order showed on Wednesday.

The 184 content moderators are suing Meta and two subcontractors after they say they lost their jobs with one of the firms, Sama, for organizing a union.

The plaintiffs say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at the second firm, Luxembourg-based Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.

“The parties shall pursue an out of court settlement of this petition through mediation,” said the order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which was signed by lawyers for the plaintiffs, Meta, Sama and Majorel.

Kenya’s former chief justice, Willy Mutunga, and Hellen Apiyo, the acting commissioner for labor, will serve as mediators, the order said. If the parties fail to resolve the case within 21 days, the case will proceed before the court, it said.

Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A judge ruled in April that Meta could be sued by the moderators in Kenya, even though it has no official presence in the east African country.

The case could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. social media giant works with thousands of moderators around the world, who review graphic content posted on its platform.

Meta has also been sued in Kenya by a former moderator over accusations of poor working conditions at Sama, and by two Ethiopian researchers and a rights institute, which accuse it of letting violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia flourish on Facebook.

Those cases are ongoing.

Meta said in May 2022, in response to the first case, that it required partners to provide industry-leading conditions. On the Ethiopia case, it said in December that hate speech and incitement to violence were against the rules of Facebook and Instagram.
…

After three months of crossing the desert and then watching other migrants die at sea in his failed attempt to reach Europe, Sahr John Yambasu gave up on getting across the Mediterranean and decided to go back home.

The 29-year-old from Sierra Leone reached Niger in June on his return journey, but United Nations officials said he had to wait for packed migrant centers to empty before he could be repatriated.

Then mutinous soldiers toppled Niger’s president a few weeks later, bringing regional tensions and the shuttering of the borders. Yambasu was trapped.

He is one of nearly 7,000 migrants trying to get home elsewhere in Africa that the U.N. estimates have been stranded in Niger since late July when members of the presidential guard overthrew the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamad Bazoum. Niger’s junta closed its airspace and regional countries closed border crossings as part of economic and travel sanctions, making it hard for people to leave.

Niger is an important route both for Africans trying to reach Libya as a jumping off spot to cross the Mediterranean to Europe and those who are returning to their homes with help from the United Nations.

Yambasu and others like him are unsure when they will be able to leave.

“I feel sad because it’s a country that I don’t belong to. It’s not easy,” Yambasu said.

Recounting his story, he said he left Sierra Leone in June because of political unrest and was hoping to reach Germany. He got rides across the region until arriving in Libya, where he boarded a boat with some 200 other migrants. The boat spent days at sea, with some people dying onboard before it was intercepted by Libya’s coast guard and taken back to Libya.

That was enough for him and he headed for home. Helped by aid groups, he made it as far as Niger but has been unable to go farther.

U.N. officials estimate about 1,800 in Yambasu’s predicament are living on Niger’s streets because centers run by the International Organization for Migration are too crowded to take in more. The centers hold about 5,000 people trying to get home.

The U.N. agency had been assisting approximately 1,250 people a month return to their countries this year. But the closure of borders and airspace has forced it to temporarily suspend returns and its centers are now jammed at 14% over capacity, said Paola Pace, acting interim chief of mission for the agency in Niger.

“This situation poses challenges for migrants as migrants staying in these centers may experience heightened stress and uncertainty with limited prospects for voluntary return and already crowded facilities,” she said.

Pace worries the stall in the transiting of Africans seeking to get home could increase exploitation of vulnerable people by traffickers and smugglers who normally focus on individuals trying to migrate to Europe.

The shelters are helping people who are making their way home, rather than would-be migrants heading to Europe — a northern flow that has seen more than 100,000 cross the central Mediterranean to Italy so far this year, according to Italy’s interior ministry.

COOPI, an Italian aid group that provides shelter for migrants in Niger’s northern town of Assamakka near the border with Algeria, said that since the coup an additional 1,300 people have entered its center trying to return home.

COOPI assists the U.N. in hosting people but has warned that it will run out of food and water if the borders don’t open soon.

Not only are migrants unable to leave but aid groups are unable to bring in food and medical supplies.

Morena Zucchelli, head of mission for COOPI in Niger, said it has only enough food stocks to last until the end of August and its funding will run out at the end of September.

“If the situation doesn’t change … we can’t guarantee things will continue running,” she said.

Before the coup, Niger worked with the European Union in trying to slow the flow of migrants north to Libya and Algeria. The EU had been scheduled to provide more than $200 million to Niger to help it address security, socio-economic and migration challenges.

It’s unclear how cooperative the new military leaders will be with the EU, which has now frozen assistance to Niger.

Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, could not say Tuesday whether cooperation on migration had been suspended, saying only that the EU would continue to “monitor and evaluate the situation.”

Momo Kmulbah, from Liberia, is another of those trying to get back home. He says many of refugees have nowhere to turn for help. He says U.N. officials have told him to be patient.

The 36-year-old has been sleeping on the pavement in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with his two daughters and wife since June and they beg for food.

“Our children don’t have food to eat. I feel confused when I wake up in the morning,” Kmulbah said.
…

Polls opened in Zimbabwe on Wednesday as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks a second and final term in a country with a history of violent and disputed votes.

These are the second general elections since the ouster of longtime repressive ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017.

There are 12 presidential candidates on the ballot. The main contest is expected to be between the 80-year-old Mnangagwa, known as the “the crocodile,” and 45-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Mnangagwa narrowly beat Chamisa in a disputed election in 2018.

Chamisa hopes to break the ruling ZANU-PF party’s 43-year hold on power.

A runoff election will be held on Oct. 2. if no candidate wins a clear majority in the first round. This election also will determine the makeup of the 350-seat parliament and close to 2,000 local council positions.

In the poor township of Mbare in the capital, Harare, some people were at polling stations two hours before voting opened, fearing long lines.

Ahead of the election, the opposition and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused Mnangagwa of seeking to silence dissent amid rising tensions due to a currency crisis, a sharp hike in food prices, a weakening public health system and a lack of formal jobs.

Mnangagwa was a close ally of Mugabe and served as vice president before a fallout ahead of the 2017 coup. He has sought to portray himself as a reformer, but many accuse him of being even more repressive than the man he helped remove from power.

Zimbabwe has been under United States and European Union sanctions for the past two decades over allegations of human rights abuses, charges denied by the ruling party. Mnangagwa has in recent years repeated much of Mugabe’s rhetoric against the West, accusing it of seeking to topple his regime.

Ahead of elections, observers from the EU and the U.S. have come under criticism from officials and state-run media for allegedly being biased against the ruling party.

The Carter Center, invited by the government to observe the polls, has said 30 members of its 48-member observer team were yet to be accredited on the eve of the elections and any further delay will “hinder its ability to observe polling, counting, and tabulation in many locations.”

Several local human rights activists, including lawyers and a clergyman viewed as critical of the government, have been denied accreditation to observe the vote.

The U.S. State Department has condemned Zimbabwe’s decision to deny accreditation to several foreign journalists and local civil society members.

The southern African nation of 15 million people with vast mineral resources, including Africa’s largest reserves of lithium which is a key component in making electric car batteries, has known only two leaders since gaining independence from white minority rule in 1980.
…

The Malawi government says it will forcibly open 125 containers confiscated from refugees and asylum-seekers living outside a refugee camp. Police say the containers were confiscated on suspicion they contain, among other things, firearms and counterfeiting machines.

Malawi police said in a statement that the exercise, expected to start on Aug. 28, is in line with a court order on appropriate procedures to open the confiscated containers.

“Basically the court ordered that during the date of opening, all the bonafide owners of the containers should be present,” Malawi Police Service spokesman Peter Kalaya said. “Again, the whole process should be supervised by the court itself, so there will be a judge or magistrate in charge. Again, the court identified a number of stakeholders to be present as witnesses.”

Kalaya said the witnesses would include officials from the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Homeland Security and the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security.

Police in Malawi confiscated the containers during an exercise to forcibly relocate refugees staying outside the country’s Dzaleka refugee camp.

The Malawi government said the forcible relocation, which started in May, was in line with its encampment policy, which prohibits refugees from staying outside the refugee camp.

The government also said by staying outside a designated camp, the refugees were posing a threat to national security.

However, local and international rights campaigners have long been asking the government to stop the relocation exercise, saying it was being carried out in a dehumanizing manner.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement in June that forcible relocation violates international conventions for refugees, which Malawi ratified.

The rights organization also said it had learned that some refugees were allegedly assaulted during raids and that their money was taken.

However, Kalaya said police confiscated the containers for safekeeping.

“When we started our operation, most of the containers were abandoned by the owners. But looking at the situation, the way it was, we just added padlocks to the containers and moved them to police national headquarters for safety. While others that were too heavy to be moved were left at the scene, we left our officers to guard them,” he said.

Kalaya also said the containers were confiscated on suspicion that they contained instruments for committing various crimes, including firearms and machines for making fake currencies and minerals.

In a statement, the police asked owners of the confiscated containers to bring relevant identification, which include refugee identity cards, permits to own firearms, permits to keep foreign currency, and business registration permits.

The statement also said those who fail to attend the exercise or bring the required documents will have their property disposed of in line with Malawi legislation.

Burundian refugee Ngendakumana Zakayo, the community leader at the Dzaleka refugee camp, told VOA there is a likelihood that some of the confiscated containers have already been tampered with and then locked by police themselves.

He says they have information that some of the containers suspected of containing a lot of money were opened, and all the money that was there was taken, and new locks were fitted.

“We also fear that those who were doing this would also have a chance to put some things inside the containers to tarnish the image of the owners,” he said.

Charles Kajoloweka represents 12 civil society organizations that last week wrote the Malawi police to stop the forcible relocation of refugees.

He told VOA it would be difficult to believe that the forcible opening of containers confiscated from refugees will be done in good faith.

“Basically what we are seeing is that there is a potential bias to portray asylum-seekers and refugees as a threat to national security and economy,” he said. “Just from that perspective already, you can see that this exercise to open the containers is aimed at justifying the narrative the government has been parading so far.”

Police spokesperson Kalaya dismisses those speculations, saying the exercise to forcibly open the confiscated containers was sanctioned by the court and not the police.

Police said the aim is to show transparency and accountability on how the relocation exercise is being conducted.
…

Zimbabwe holds general elections on Wednesday, August 23, with just one woman presidential candidate out of 11 contenders. While the number of women running for parliamentary and council seats has improved, gender activists say more work is needed when just one woman is running for the nation’s highest office. Columbus Mavhunga files this report from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
…