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CAIRO — A leading rights group said on Thursday that attacks by Sudanese paramilitary forces and their allied militias, which killed thousands in the western region of Darfur last year, constituted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the area’s non-Arab population.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been fighting Sudan’s military for over a year, allied with armed militias to carry out attacks against the ethnic Masalit and other non-Arab groups in El Geneina, the capital city of West Darfur state, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April 2023, when tensions between the military and the rival paramilitary erupted into open fighting. Clashes quickly spread to other parts of the country, and Darfur was engulfed in brutal attacks on African civilians, especially the Masalit tribe.

According to the New York-based watchdog, the paramilitary forces and their allied militiamen targeted predominantly Masalit neighborhoods in El Geneina from April to June 2023, with attacks intensifying last November.

At least thousands of people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were displaced during the attacks, according to the report, titled “The Massalit Will Not Come Home: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan.”

Masalit who were captured were tortured, women and girls were raped and entire neighborhoods were looted and destroyed, the report says. HRW said it interviewed more than 220 people who fled Darfur into neighboring countries and analyzed photos, videos and satellite imagery connected to the attacks.

United Nations experts have estimated that at least 10,000 people were killed in the city of El Geneina in 2023. More than 570,000 people, mostly Masalit, were displaced and sought refuge in neighboring Chad.

Human Rights Watch said the campaign of attacks on the non-Arab people in Darfur, including the Masalit, with the “apparent objective” of pushing them out, “constitutes ethnic cleansing.”

“Governments, the African Union, and the United Nations need to act now to protect civilians,” Tirana Hassan, HRW’s executive director, said Thursday.

“The global inaction in the face of atrocities of this magnitude is inexcusable,” Hassan said. “Government should ensure those responsible are held to account.”

The group called for the United Nations, African Union and states from the International Criminal Court to investigate whether the atrocities documented in the report reveal a specific intent by the RSF paramilitary and armed allies “to commit genocide” by destroying the Masalit and other non-Arab groups in West Darfur.

The media office of the Rapid Support Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.

In late January, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, said there are grounds to believe both the RSF and the Sudanese military may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations that identify as Central or East African.

The Rapid Support Forces were formed from Janjaweed fighters by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.
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With the number of deaths nearing 240 and about 235,000 people displaced, Kenyans are mourning their lost ones and trying to rebuild after weeks of heavy rains that resulted in deadly floods and landslides. And it’s not over yet as more rains are expected through June. VOA Nairobi Bureau chief Mariama Diallo has this report. VOA footage by Amos Wangwa.
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Windhoek, Namibia — The World Health Organization (WHO) says Africa has a shortage of health care workers. The issue was addressed in Namibia this week at a forum in Windhoek.

Speaking at the first WHO Africa Health Workforce Forum held in the capital, Namibia’s minister of health and social services, Kalumbi Shangula, warned that Africa’s shortage of health workers will impede the continent from achieving universal health coverage by 2030. 

In order to reach universal health coverage by 2030 as envisaged in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals report, Africa needs to invest in training programs, offer incentives for health practitioners to remain in their home countries, and create initiatives to attract health professionals in the diaspora back to the continent. 

Shangula spoke at the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter event this week.

“The number of Africans who have left the continent in search of greener pastures in other parts of the world are staggering,” Shangula said. “It is a matter that needs to be addressed as a top priority for African governments and indeed all those who wish to see a shift in the historical as well as current trends.”

Africa has a ratio of 1.55 health workers per 1,000 people. That is below the recommended WHO threshold of 4.55 health workers per 1,000 people.

Africa’s Center for Disease Control Director-General Jean Kesaya says achieving universal health coverage by 2030 will require an additional 1.8 million health workers on the continent. 

He says the critical shortage is projected to reach about 6.1 million by 2030 and is made worse by recurrent public health emergencies faced by countries on a daily basis.

“In 2023 alone, Africa recorded 166 disease outbreaks and the trend I see in 2024 is not good,” Kesaya said. “AU member states are far from realizing the 2017 AU Assembly decisions that called for rapid recruitment, training and deployment of 2 million institutionalized community health workers by 2030.”

Global Health Director for the Africa Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) Lee Whitaker says the institution has opened doors for diasporan healthcare workers to return to Africa and reverse the brain drain. He says the organization has “access to over forty-five-thousand black African physicians in America and only needs an invitation from the heart of any African state to come abroad.”

Dr. Arikana Chihombori is the president of the ADDI, an organization that is mobilizing the African diaspora to return and invest in the continent.

“Let the diaspora come in and invest in for-profit-clinics in Africa as well as for volunteer work in Africa,” Chihombori said. “It has to be balanced! Because if they are going to leave their work where they are in Europe, in America, they can be here a little bit longer if they are going to make money and also donate some of their time. So a program that allows them to make money while they are stopping Africans from going to India and at the same time also giving to those who are less fortunate is actually a program that can be sustained but to completely hundred percent volunteer is not going to work, it’s not sustainable”.

The forum, which was attended by health dignitaries from all over the world, concluded Wednesday with the launch of the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter that aims to mobilize and sustain development, performance and retention of the health workforce in African Union countries.
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DAKAR — A Boeing 737 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, injuring 10 people, the transport minister said Thursday. 

Transport Minister El Malick Ndiaye said the Air Sénégal flight operated by TransAir was headed to Bamako late Wednesday with 79 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew. 

The injured were being treated at a hospital, while the others were taken to a hotel to rest. 

No other details were immediately available. 

The Aviation Safety Network, which tracks airline accidents, published photos of the damaged plane in a grassy field surrounded by fire suppressant foam on X, formerly known as Twitter. One engine appeared to have broken apart and a wing was also damaged, according to the photos. 

ASN is part of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to promote safe air travel and tracks accidents. 
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Issue of hiring intern doctors is still under discussion
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NAIROBI — Kenyan public hospital doctors on Wednesday signed a return to work agreement with the government meant to end a strike that started in mid-March, union and government officials said. 

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), which represents more than 7,000 members, went on strike on March 15 to demand payment of their salary arrears and the immediate hiring of trainee doctors, among other grievances.  

Television footage showed the union’s officials and senior government officials shaking hands after signing the documents. 

“We have signed a return to work formula and the union has called off the strike,” said Susan Nakhumicha, the minister of health. 

The doctors’ arrears arose from a 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the union said. Doctors were also demanding the provision of adequate medical insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents. 

“One thing we must assure everybody, every doctor, every person that the rights of workers as enshrined in the collective bargaining agreement that is signed is that it is sacrosanct, we will always endeavor to protect that,” said Dhavji Atellah, KMPDU’s secretary general.  

He said the hiring of interns demand was still pending in court, but it was agreed they would be posted within 60 days. 

The government had said it cannot afford to hire the trainee doctors due to financial pressure on the public purse. 

The Kenyan health sector, which doctors say is underfunded and understaffed, is routinely beset by strikes. 

A strike in 2017 lasted three months, and some doctors in individual hospitals downed their tools at various times during the COVID-19 pandemic to protest lack of personal protective equipment and other grievances. 

The end of the strike will provide relief to those seeking services, especially following heavy rains and flooding that has killed 257 people since March, and displaced 293,661 people. 

“We will wish they can go back in the next few minutes because we really want our health to be back on track,” said Muthomi Njuki, the governor of Tharaka Nithi County, citing cholera cases that have arisen in some parts of the country. 

Another group of health workers, clinical officers, are still on strike.
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Nairobi, Kenya — Digital experts called on African countries Tuesday for laws to protect the data of individuals and businesses, saying that a single digital market in which data can safely flow across borders would help overcome barriers to commerce and trade on the continent.

African government information and communications technology representatives, international organizations, diplomats and experts are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to discuss how data can move freely from one country to another without risking people’s privacy and safety.

Kenyan Information, Communication and Digital Economy Minister Eliud Owalo said Africa needs to improve its laws to deal with emerging issues in the digital space.

“What will enable African countries to remain relevant in the digital marketplace will be our level of creativity and innovation, strategic agility and maneuverability in the digital space,” he said. “And that means we need to continuously, based on what is happening in our operational environment, look at our laws, policies and regulations.”

In its 2023 Londa report, the Paradigm Initiative — an organization that monitors digital rights, environment and inclusion in Africa — said internet shutdowns and disruptions, data protection, disinformation, cybersecurity, surveillance and a lack of freedom of expression and information affect the continent’s digital growth and sustenance.

Experts say that data plays an important role in every sector and that sharing it makes information more accessible, increases collaboration and facilitates knowledge exchange, leading to innovation and growth in business and relations among states.

Paul Russo, the head of Kenya Commercial Group, which operates in seven African countries, says the discussion about data sharing and security is important for businesses.

“This is not only a new area that we need to work together to bring to life, but I also think it’s important for our own businesses to be sustainable,” he said. “At the heart of every business, particularly for those of us in the private sector, is data — both integrity and confidentiality and protection of that data.”

Data misuse and abuse is a worldwide concern, and fears continue to spark debate on how best to safeguard, regulate, monitor and benefit from the available data.

European Union Deputy Head of Mission to Kenya Ondrej Simek said that data protection requires global effort and that gaps must be filled through law.

“Collaboration between data protection authorities around the world is needed to advance the regional and global harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks,” Simek said.

“One area of specific importance is that of safe cross-border data flows,” he said. “A first step is ensuring the data protection laws are in place. The second one is obviously to operationalize them effectively. These are critical steps toward Africa’s single digital market and toward a global area for safe data exchange.”
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ABUJA, NIGERIA — In Nigeria, soaring inhaler costs pose a significant challenge for asthma patients, especially as the world marked Asthma Day this week.

The departure of multinational firms like GSK, coupled with inflation, has driven prices skyward, rendering essential medications unaffordable. As a result, patients are turning to alternative treatments.

World Asthma Day 2024 finds Nigeria facing a mounting health crisis with asthma medication costs soaring more than 500% in less than a year. 

That has led many like Khalida Jihad, an asthma sufferer for nearly 30 years, to cut down on their medical supplies.

“I hardly buy and stock up any more…but I definitely have to have inhaler no matter the cost I definitely have to have it but then what about people who can’t afford to have it?” she said.

Some, like Rita Joseph, a college student, unable to afford inhalers, turn to untested alternatives.

“For four months now, I can’t afford inhaler because of the high price so, I now use ginger, garlic, cloves, lemon and other natural ingredients because they are cheaper,” she said.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease causing breathing difficulties. It affects millions globally, and results in more than 450,000 preventable deaths annually according to the World Health Organization.

While Nigeria lacks recent official data, a 2019 survey estimated the country has 13 million asthma sufferers, among the most in Africa.

Public health experts like Ejike Orji fear the rising cost of medication could lead to a crisis.

“If the drug to manage that is not handy when someone has an acute attack, it leads to loss of life,” Orji said. “As one asthma is finishing attack, another one is starting and that is why affordability of those drugs is very important. Good example, Ventolin inhaler is a standard drug people buy, now Ventolin inhaler is not even in the market.”

Asthma’s burden falls heavily on low-income countries. More than 80% of deaths occur there due to lack of awareness, poor management of the disease, and limited healthcare access as disclosed by WHO.

Orji emphasizes the need for Nigeria’s government to promote asthma awareness.

“One area the government can do something is to increase the public education and community engagement to create comprehensive awareness of what to avoid if you are an asthmatic, what to do to prevent yourself getting into trouble and when you are having an attack, what to do immediately,” Orji said.
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windhoek, namibia — Two alleged poachers were recently shot to death by Namibian law enforcement officials who say the men had opened fire on police while being pursued for suspected poaching in the Etosha National Park.

A press release issued by the Namibian police on Friday said that an exchange of gunfire at the Etosha National Park earlier that week led to the death of two suspected poachers. They were pursued for more than 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) and opened fire on the police, resulting in them returning fire that led to their deaths.

A Namibian activist says poverty and inequality lead to wildlife crime. But police say they may shoot at anyone who brings guns into the park, where weapons are banned.

Namibia has seen a recent surge in rhino poaching, with 28 rhinos killed in the first four months of this year, compared to seven in the same period of 2023.

The police commander for Etosha National Park, Theopolina Nashikaku, said officers will not hesitate to use deadly force against suspected poachers.

“Only authorized personnel, and only authorized security personnel are permitted to carry firearms,” said Nashikaku. “So, if we meet you being the person who wants to carry firearms in that restricted environment, if we just meet you trying to cross the boundary into the national park or if we find you inside the park off course, we shall assist you to return to your maker.”

Poverty fuels crimes

Michael Amushelelo, a Namibian activist and commissar for Economic Development of the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters, a political party in Namibia, said the high levels of poverty and inequality fuel wildlife crime.

“You cannot tell me that you have an entire army, you have an entire police force, you have a directorate of ranger parks but still our wildlife are still being killed like there is no one protecting them,” Amushelelo said.

Romeo Muyunda, the spokesperson of the environment ministry tasked with the protection of Namibia’s wildlife, said the killing of the suspects is an isolated incident that doesn’t take into account the many arrests that are made without the suspects being harmed.

“This incident is isolated,” Muyunda said. “I am sure this is the first of many that one [may] have heard [of] in Namibia, happening in Namibia. That means that we have been apprehending poachers sometimes in the park sometimes outside the park without fire.”
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Blantyre, malawi — Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima was arrested in November of 2022 after being named among 84 individuals suspected to have received bribes from a U.K.-based businessman, Zuneth Sattar. 

Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau accused Chilima of receiving kickbacks from Sattar in exchange for government contracts.   

However, early this month, Director of Public Prosecutions Masauko Chamkakala filed a notice to the High Court to drop the case in which Chilima had not taken a plea after 18 months. 

An order from High Court Judge Redson Kapindu issued Monday says all charges Chilima was answering to in connection to the case have been dropped. 

Moses Mkandawire, the chairperson for the National Alliance Against Corruption, told VOA that the Malawi government should have let the case proceed in court if it wants to be taken seriously in its efforts to curb corruption. 

“We have to look at what the law says if someone has offended, violated, abused a particular law,” Mkandawire said. “It’s extremely important that that person is brought before the courts of law because otherwise, we are just paying lip service to the fight against corruption.” 

Mkandawire said it’s unfortunate that Malawi’s fight against corruption continues to favor high-profile individuals despite commitments by President Lazarus Chakwera to fight corruption without fear or favor.   

In May of last year, the DPP dropped a corruption case against former President Bakili Muluzi, who was accused of diverting $11 million donation to his personal bank account while in office between 1994 and 2004. 

This came a month after President Chakwera pardoned a former minister of homeland security, Uladi Mussa, as an act of mercy during Easter. Musa was jailed in 2020 for corruption and placed on a U.S. travel ban. 

In July of last year, Chakwera also pardoned the country’s former minister of information Henry Mussa on poor health grounds. He was serving a nine-year jail term after being convicted of conspiracy to steal government property. 

George Phiri, a former lecturer of political science at the University of Livingstonia, said dropping the case against Chilima is detrimental to the fight against corruption. 

“Discontinuing a high-profile case, forgiving people whom the court has justified that they were guilty of an offense, I think, does not send a good message in the fight against corruption in Malawi,” he said.

Malawian government authorities said dropping court cases is constitutional because the country’s laws give the director of public prosecution the power to discontinue any case. 

Reacting to the development, members of the United Transformation Movement party of Chilima on Tuesday took to the streets of the capital, Lilongwe, to celebrate the discontinuation of the case. 

“We are excited of course as a party but the chief factor in this whole thing is the behavior of the vice president during the process,” said party spokesperson Felix Njawala. “We have understood that really he is a man who respects the rule of law because he advised members of the party not to interfere with the process.” 

According to the court order, the director of public prosecutions must brief parliament on the reason for dropping the case against Chilima within 10 days. 
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Maputo — Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo party picked Daniel Francisco Chapo, the 47-year-old governor of a southern province, to be its candidate for October’s presidential election, after heated internal debates that lasted three days. 

Sunday’s selection of Chapo halted speculation that President Filipe Nyusi planned to cling to power at the conclusion of his term through an amendment to the constitution. 

Nyusi said the endorsement puts an end to a soap opera of rumors, including talk of a possible third term. Frelimo respects the laws, he added, so there was no reason to speculate about new term limits.

Nyusi also encouraged party members to support Chapo in the upcoming elections.

Since Mozambique’s independence in 1975, all heads of state have been nominated by Frelimo.  

The party has won all elections since multi-party democracy was introduced 30 years ago at the end of a crippling 16-year civil war which left over one million people dead and five million others internally displaced.  

Chapo has been governor of Inhambane province since 2016. He holds a master’s degree in development management from a university in Mozambique. Prior to entering politics, he taught constitutional law and political science at the Universidade Catolica in the port city of Beira, and worked as an announcer at a private radio station in the same city.  

After being confirmed as Frelimo’s candidate, Chapo promised to work to promote the country’s economic development.  

If elected, Chapo will become Mozambique’s fourth democratically elected head of state.  

Chapo is viewed by analysts as a leader who may be able to restore security in the troubled oil- and gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado, where Islamic State-linked insurgents have been terrorizing civilians and destroying public infrastructure since 2017, forcing the interruption of multibillion-dollar projects. 

The violence has continued despite support by troops from other countries of the Southern African Development Community, and soldiers from Rwanda. 

Economic analyst and university lecturer Alcidio Bachita has high hopes for Chapo. 

“He is an individual who has not been accused of any corruption schemes,” Bachita said. “And I believe that this change of leadership will open a new page in the history of Mozambique, given that he is a young man and was born after [the] independence period of the country. So I believe that the economy of Mozambique will witness a great performance in the coming years.”  

Mozambique will hold its seventh presidential and legislative elections on October 9.

The deadline for presenting lists of candidates for president to the Constitutional Council is June 10.  
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Limited medical resources in Africa force some patients to travel abroad for specialized surgeries. Now, a new special surgery institute has opened in Ghana to try and help. Senanu Tord reports from Accra, Ghana.
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Abuja, Nigeria — The warning notice, signed by five civil society groups and a former chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, came in an open letter Friday to Nigeria’s president and the National Assembly 

The coalition, without providing evidence, accused the United States and France of lobbying authorities in the Gulf of Guinea countries, especially Nigeria, to redeploy troops expelled from the Sahel states. 

It said the alleged move could have “wide ranging implications for defense and internal security” and that hosting a military base in Nigeria could potentially divert state funds and resources away from important local projects like education, health care and infrastructure development. 

Kabiru Adamu, founder of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, said the letter has a political undertone.

“It looked like it was just based on the desire to create a political outcome,” Adamu said. “There’s no fact supporting the allegation that either the U.S. or France has approached Nigeria for the establishment of a base anywhere in Nigeria, even though that is likely to happen. Of course, because we’ve seen the influence of both countries reducing in the Sahel region, Nigeria will offer a likely fallback option for both countries, especially the U.S.”

The coalition also said the alleged plan to set up a U.S. military base in northern Nigeria could aggravate regional tensions with neighbors, cause a notable environmental impact and worsen the high cost of living for the local population. 

Nigerian authorities have yet to respond to the letter. 

Political affairs analyst, Ahmed Buhari, said authorities must heed the caution.

“It’s what I call interfering in people’s spaces. As it is right now, we need our neighbors more than we need any foreigner whatsoever from any part of the world,” Buhari said. “I rather we live side by side with our neighbors more peacefully and with trust than for us to be frolicking at this moment with the United States or France for that matter. All the places you will find the United States military base — you can do your findings — there’s no peace around the region.”

The U.S and French militaries have been operating in Africa’s Sahel for many years, helping the region in its fight against terrorism.

But a wave of coups in recent years has strained that relationship, with military juntas accusing foreign powers of being overbearing without significant progress against jihadist militants. 

Some juntas have instead turned toward Russia for help fighting the armed groups.

Adamu cautions the letter might be an example of Russian propaganda.

“There’s also the possibility that we’re seeing the propaganda mercenaries by Russia and Niger playing out in this regard,” Adamu said. “We know that since the coup in Niger, the putschists and Russia have been engaged in massive propaganda and they have used the prominent individuals from the Nigerien and Northern Nigeria extraction to achieve political objectives.”

Despite counterterrorism interventions in Africa, a 2023 Global Terrorism Index report shows deaths from terrorism in the Sahel increased by an alarming 2,000% over the last 15 years. 

Burkina Faso ranked first among countries most impacted by terrorism, Mali was third, Nigeria eighth and Niger was 10th.

Last month, African leaders met in Nigeria and pledged to collaborate against terrorism. But experts say with troops leaving the region, armed groups could intensify attacks on targets.
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Zimbabwe’s parliament has started nationwide consultations after the Cabinet in February agreed to abolish the death penalty to conform with international standards. Columbus Mavhunga has the story from a public hearing in Bindura, Zimbabwe.
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abuja, nigeria — A Nigerian journalist’s arrest last week has triggered criticism of worsening press freedoms in the West African country.

Daniel Ojukwu with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went missing last Wednesday in the economic hub of Lagos. His family and employer found out on Friday that he was detained and held in a police station for allegedly violating the country’s Cybercrime Act, often criticized as a tool for censorship.

The arrest of Ojukwu, who was later transferred to the Nigerian capital of Abuja, follows his report about alleged financial mismanagement of over 147 million naira ($104,600) involving a senior government official, according to his employer, the foundation.

Nigeria is ranked 112th out of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. It is known for the country’s tough environment for journalists who face frequent abductions, arrests and prosecution, usually after reporting on chronic corruption and bad governance plaguing the oil-rich country.

At least 25 journalists have been prosecuted under the country’s Cybercrime Act since it was introduced in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. They include eight detained under President Bola Tinubu whose government, in power since May last year, touts itself as one encouraging press freedoms — a claim it repeated last week during World Press Freedom Day events.

The Cybercrime Act was amended this year to remove some harsh provisions but the police still use it to “silence journalists and critics,” Amnesty International’s Nigeria office said.

Nigeria’s law requires a suspect to be charged or released within 48 hours following arrest. Ojukwu, however, was not allowed any means of communication or access to a lawyer until his third day in custody, said Oke Ridwan, a human rights lawyer who met with the journalist at the police station where he was held.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information Mohammed Idris Malagi told The Associated Press that he is making efforts to resolve the case and is “on top of the issue.” Local and international civil society groups have condemned the detention.

It is a “symptom of a larger problem within Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies, and their relationship with politically exposed persons undermining democratic principles,” a coalition of at least 30 civil society groups known as the Action Group on Protection of Civic Actors said in a statement on Monday.

“The Nigerian Police Force has veered off course from its duty to uphold law and order to become an oppressive tool in stifling dissent and independent journalism,” it added.
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Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya Airways said Monday that it would resume flights to Kinshasa after military authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo released two of its employees who were detained last month. 

The airline announced on April 29 that it would suspend flights to the DRC capital, calling the arrests “unlawful.” 

“Kenya Airways confirms that military authorities have unconditionally released our two employees who had been detained since 19 April 2024,” Kenya’s flag carrier said in a statement. “With the necessary ground support in place, we are pleased to announce that Kenya Airways will resume flights to Kinshasa on 8 May 2024.” 

Earlier, the Kenyan government had announced the release of one of the employees. 

“Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ [Kenya Airways] manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa,” Korir Sing’Oei, Kenya’s principal secretary for foreign affairs, said on X, formerly Twitter. 

The two employees, who work at the airline’s office in Kinshasa, were arrested on April 19 by a military intelligence unit, according to Kenya Airways. 

The airline had described it as “harassment targeting Kenya Airways’ business,” while the head of a powerful parliamentary committee called it a breach of diplomatic rules. 

Kenya Airways said the employees were held allegedly because of “missing custom documentation on valuable cargo.”  

The DRC government has not commented on the allegations. 

But the airline’s CEO, Allan Kilavuka, had said it did not accept the cargo, whose contents were not specified, because of incomplete documentation. 

This cargo “was still in the baggage section being cleared by customs when the security team arrived and alleged that KQ was transporting goods without customs clearance,” he said. “All efforts to explain to the military officers that KQ had not accepted the cargo because of incomplete documentation proved futile.”  

The airline said its employees were held incommunicado in a military facility until April 23, when embassy officials and a KQ team were allowed to visit them.
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Yaounde — Chad’s presidential election concludes Monday with civilians going to the polls, a day after members of the military cast their ballots. Transitional President General Mahamat Idriss Deby is facing nine challengers, including his current prime minister. The election, designed to end three years of a military government, has been peaceful so far. However, there is tension over a ban on taking pictures of election result sheets at polling stations.

Hundreds of people started arriving at polling stations in Chad’s capital N’djamena as early as 5:30 am local time.

Among the voters at the University of N’djamena was 29-year-old student Abdel Koura. He says he came out early to vote because he wants a president that will bring peace and provide jobs for youths who are unemployed after completing their education.

Koura says voting is his civic right. He says he is calling on all civilians, especially youths, to come out in huge numbers and vote for their leader in peace. He says he is also pleading with Chad’s transitional government to avoid chaos by ensuring that the elections are transparent and free and the winner would be who civilians have voted for.

Early voting was peaceful. However, Chad’s National Election Management Agency, known as ANGE, said that several thousand polling stations opened late due to what they call logistical difficulties.

Chad’s transitional president General Mahamat Idriss Deby voted in N’djamena’s second district and pleaded with civilians to go out en masse and perform their civic duty of voting for the person who will manage Chad’s affairs for the next five years.

ANGE says 8.2 million people are registered to vote. It says Chad’s military has been deployed to protect voters’ safety in over 26,500 polling stations.

Chad says over 2,500 national and international observers from 120 groups are accredited to monitor the elections. It says applications from another 60 groups were rejected for not respecting the country’s laws.

Cyrille Nguiegang Ntchassep is the spokesperson for observers from the six-nation Central African Economic and Monetary Commission. He has concerns that peace will not hold.

He says perceivable tensions over a ban on filming or taking photos of result sheets in polling stations and publishing them on social media and radio and television are likely to degenerate into violent clashes because civilians think that the central African state’s elections management body is controlled by Deby who created it. Ntchassep says he does not understand why Chad is reluctant to proclaim election results in a day or two as was the case in Senegal’s March 24 presidential polls.

Opposition and civil society groups, including the Transformers Party of Deby’s main challenger Succces Masra, said they planned to photograph the election result sheets and distribute them to the international community. They say the move is to prevent ANGE from rigging the elections in favor of Deby.

Tahir Oloy Hassan is ANGE’s spokesperson. Hassan says ANGE is a permanent, independent and impartial body that does not receive orders from any state authority including Deby.

He says the ban on filming and taking photos of result sheets and prohibition of media organs from having access to some polling stations and sensitive areas is to reduce tensions that may arise from misinformation and manipulation by people who want to see Chad in chaos.

He said claims by opposition candidates that Chad’s military was instructed to vote for Deby when they went to the polls on Sunday are unfounded.

ANGE says it has up to May 21 to publish provisional results and only Chad’s Constitutional Council has the powers to proclaim definitive results.

The elections are design to end three years of transition that followed the death of Idriss Deby Itno in 2021.

Chad’s opposition and civil society says the younger Deby’s rule was marked by political tensions including October 2022 pro-democracy protests during which the central African state’s security forces killed at least 50 people, injured 300 and arrested several hundred others.
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N’DJAMENA, Chad — Chadians go to the polls on Monday three years after their military leader seized power, in the first presidential election in Africa’s Sahel region since a wave of coups.

Analysts say Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power the day rebels killed his long-ruling father Idriss Deby in April 2021, is most likely to win, although his chief opponent has been drawing larger-than-expected crowds on the campaign trail.

Deby has promised to bolster security, strengthen the rule of law and increase electricity production.

The vote coincides with a temporary withdrawal of U.S. troops from Chad, an important Western ally in a region of West and Central Africa courted by Russia and wracked by jihadism.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., with some 8.5 million people registered to vote.

Soldiers began early voting on Sunday.

Provisional results are expected by May 21 and final results by June 5. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, a run-off will be held on June 22.

Since replacing his father at the helm of the oil-producing Central African country, Deby has remained close with former colonial power and longtime ally France.

While other junta-ruled Sahel countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have told Paris and other Western powers to withdraw and turned to Moscow for support, Chad remains the last Sahel state with a substantial French military presence.

The U.S., however, announced a temporary withdrawal of at least some troops last month, saying it would continue with a review of security operations after the election.

Opposition concerns

Monday’s vote pits Deby against his prime minister Succes Masra, previously a political opponent who fled into exile in 2022 but was allowed back a year later. Also running are former prime minister Albert Pahimi Padacke and seven other candidates.

Yaya Dillo, an opposition politician who had been expected to run against Deby despite coming from the same clan, was shot and killed in the capital N’Djamena on Feb. 28, the day the election date was announced.

Padacke has accused Masra of collaborating with Deby. But Masra has attracted large crowds to his own rallies.

Some opposition members and civil society groups have called for a boycott, citing concerns about possible vote-rigging.

That has raised fears of potential violence.

“This presidential election is of capital importance for the country because an entire people aspires for change,” said Baniara Yoyana, a former minister and magistrate.

“The process must be conducted with transparency to avoid any risk of confrontation.”

One Deby supporter, however, said he expected no problems.

“We want the election to go well and peacefully,” said Abdelkhader Sougui, a 28-year-old student.

“My wish is to go out and vote the morning of May 6 to confirm our victory… in the first round.”
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Niamey, Niger — Several gold mines in northern Niger managed by a Chinese company were ordered to temporarily close after dozens of animals died from drinking wastewater, local authorities told AFP on Sunday.

Herders around the town of Tabelot had pointed to Sahara SARL’s mines as the only explanation for their animals’ deaths, saying the region was not suffering from drought or any epidemics.

“We counted 24 dead over two days and at the end of April we finally realized that the slaughter was being caused by harmful products in the water the mines were rejecting,” said Youssaf Houssa, the chief of Tamannit, one of the affected villages.

Almou Akoli, who lives in Fasso, another village, said he lost 16 animals while some of his “neighbors cannot keep track of how many they have lost.”  

China’s Sahara SARL started mining gold in January in the middle of grazing grounds where there are hardly any natural waterholes.  

Following a visit Friday by police investigators, Niger’s Ministry of Mines ordered the temporary closure of at least four of the mining sites, according to the sources.

“The Chinese have suspended work, and we are monitoring our animals,” said Houssa.

Private local newspaper Air Info said an official report confirmed that “the catastrophe” was caused by chemical products used in the mines that threaten the water table in what is already a hostile environment for animal husbandry.  

French company Orano (formerly Areva), which has been extracting uranium in northern Niger for more than 40 years, is regularly accused by NGOs of polluting the environment.   
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Nairobi — Kenya said Sunday that the death toll from weeks of devastating rains and floods had risen to 228 and warned that there was no sign of a let-up in the crisis.

While Kenya and neighboring Tanzania escaped major damage from a tropical cyclone that weakened after making landfall on Saturday, the government in Nairobi said the country continued to endure torrential downpours and the risk of further floods and landslides.

In western Kenya, the River Nyando burst its banks in the early hours of Sunday, engulfing a police station, school, hospital and market in the town of Ahero in Kisumu County, police said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but local police said water levels were still rising and that the main bridge outside Kisumu on the highway to Nairobi was submerged.

Weeks of heavier than usual seasonal rains, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern, have wreaked chaos in many parts of East Africa, a region highly vulnerable to climate change.

More than 400 people have been killed and several hundred thousand uprooted from their homes in several countries as floods and mudslides swamp houses, roads and bridges.

“It’s a serious situation and we should not take it lightly,” Kenyan government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said at a briefing on the crisis on Sunday.

‘Concerns of wider humanitarian crisis’

Across the border, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority declared that Tropical Cyclone Hidaya, which had threatened to pile on more misery, had “completely lost its strength” after making landfall on Mafia Island on Saturday.

“Therefore, there is no further threat of Tropical Cyclone ‘Hidaya’ in our country,” it said.

Tanzania remains one of the countries worst hit by the floods, with 155 people dead since early April.

In Kenya, Mwaura said while the cyclone had weakened, it had caused strong winds and waves on the coast and heavy rains were likely to intensify from later Sunday.

One fisherman had perished and another was missing, he added.

Across the nation, the disaster has claimed the lives of 228 people since March with 72 still missing, according to government figures.

More than 212,000 people have been displaced, with Mwuara saying many were “forcibly or voluntarily” evacuated.

The government has ordered anyone living near major rivers or dams to leave the area or face “mandatory evacuation for their safety,” with many dams or reservoirs threatening to overflow.

Mwaura also warned of the risk of waterborne diseases, with one case of cholera reported as well as incidents of diarrhea.

Jagan Chapagain, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said on X on Saturday that forecasts of more rains raised “serious concerns about a wider humanitarian crisis.”

The Kenyan government has been accused of being unprepared and slow to respond to the crisis despite weather warnings, with the main opposition Azimio party calling for it to be declared a national disaster.

President William Ruto said in an address to the nation on Friday that the weather picture remained “dire,” blaming the calamitous cycle of drought and floods on a failure to protect the environment.

In the deadliest single incident in Kenya, 58 people perished when a dam burst on Monday near Mai Mahiu in the Rift Valley north of Nairobi, the interior ministry said.

Several dozen remain missing.

Rescuers are also hunting for 13 people still missing after a boat capsized in Tana River County, killing seven, the ministry said. 
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Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — Tanzania said a cyclone that made landfall on Saturday has lost its strength and was no longer a threat to the country.   

Tropical Cyclone Hidaya had triggered heavy rains and winds as it rolled towards Tanzania and neighboring Kenya, countries already battered by torrential downpours and floods that have left more than 400 people dead across East Africa in recent weeks.  

In a statement published early Sunday on X, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority said that Hidaya had “completely lost its strength” after making landfall on Mafia Island in the Indian Ocean on Saturday.   

“Therefore, there is no further threat of Tropical Cyclone ‘Hidaya’ in our country,” it added.   

Beaches on the Indian Ocean coast were deserted, shops were closed and marine transport suspended in the Zanzibar archipelago as the country braced for the cyclone.   

As it approached, the storm had caused much heavier rainfall than normal in coastal areas but no casualties or damage were reported.   

At least 155 people have died in Tanzania as heavier-than-usual torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern triggered floods and landslides last month.   

In neighboring Kenya, which had also taken precautions for the cyclone, a total of 210 people have been killed in flood-related incidents. 

 
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NAIROBI, Kenya — When Ademola Adesina founded a startup to provide solar and battery-based power subscription packages to individuals and businesses in Nigeria in 2015, it was a lot harder to raise money than it is today.

Climate tech was new in Africa, the continent was a fledgling destination for venture capital money, there were fewer funders to approach and less money was available, he said.

It took him a year of “running around and scouring” his networks to raise his first amount — just under $1 million — from VC firms and other sources. “Everything was a learning experience,” he said.

But the ecosystem has since changed, and Adesina’s Rensource Energy has raised about $30 million over the years, mostly from VC firms. 

Funding for climate tech startups in Africa from the private sector is growing, with businesses raising more than $3.4 billion since 2019. But there’s still a long way to go, with the continent requiring $277 billion annually to meet its climate goals for 2030.

Experts say to unlock financing and fill this gap, African countries need to address risks like currency instability that they say reduce investor appetite, while investors need to expand their scope of interest to more climate sectors like flood protection, disaster management and heat management, and to use diverse funding methods.

Still, the investment numbers for the climate tech sector — which includes businesses in renewable energy, carbon removal, land restoration and water and waste management — are compelling: Last year, climate tech startups on the continent raised $1.04 billion, a 9% increase from the previous year and triple what they raised in 2019, according to the funding database Africa: The Big Deal. That was despite a decline in the amount of money raised by all startups in total on the continent last year.

That matters because climate tech requires experimentation, and VC firms that provide money to nascent businesses are playing an essential role by giving climate tech startups risk capital, said Adesina. “In the climate space, a lot of things are uncertain,” he said.

The money raised by climate tech startups last year was more than a third of all funds raised by startups in Africa in 2023, placing climate tech second to fintech, a more mature sector.

Venture capital is typically given to businesses with substantial risk but great long-term growth potential. Startups use it to expand into new markets and to get products and services on the market.

Venture capitalists “can take risks that other people cannot take, because our business model is designed to have failures,” said Brian Odhiambo, a Lagos-based partner at Novastar Ventures, an Africa-focused investor. “Not everything has to succeed. But some will, and those that do will succeed in a massive way.”

That was the case for Adetayo Bamiduro, co-founder of MAX, formerly Metro Africa Xpress, which makes electric two- and three-wheelers and electric vehicle infrastructure in Nigeria and has raised just under $100 million since it was founded in 2015.

Adetayo said venture capitalists “are playing a catalytic role that is extremely essential.”

“We all know that in order to really decarbonize our economies, investments have to be made. And it’s not trivial investment,” he said.

The funds can also bridge the gap between traditional and non-traditional sectors, said Kidus Asfaw, co-founder and CEO of Kubik, a startup that turns difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into durable, low-carbon building material. His company, which operates in Kenya and Ethiopia, has raised around $5.2 million since it was launched in 2021.

He cites waste management and construction as examples of traditional sectors that can connect with startups like his.

“There’s so much innovation in these spaces that can transform them over time,” he said. “VCs are accelerating that pathway to transforming them.”

Besides venture capital, other investments by private equity firms, syndicates, venture builders, grant providers and other financial institutions are actively financing climate initiatives on the continent.

But private sector financing in general lags far behind that of public financing, which includes funds from governments, multilaterals and development finance institutions.

From 2019 to 2020, private sector financing represented only 14% of all of Africa’s climate finance, according to a report by the Climate Policy Initiative, much lower than in regions such as East Asia and Pacific at 39%, and Latin America and the Caribbean at 49%.

The low contribution in Africa is attributed to the investors putting money in areas they’re more familiar with, like renewable energy technology, with less funding coming in for more diverse initiatives, said Sandy Okoth, a capital market specialist for green finance at FSD Africa, one of the commissioners of the CPI study.

“The private sector feels this (renewable energy technology) is a more mature space,” he said. “They understand the funding models.”

Technology for adapting to climate change, on the other hand, is “more complex,” he said.

One startup working in renewable energy is the Johannesburg-based Wetility, which last year secured funding of $48 million — mostly from private equity — to expand its operations.

The startup provides solar panels for homes and businesses and a digital management system that allows users to remotely manage power usage, as it tries to solve the problems of energy access and reliability in southern Africa.

“Private sector financing in African climate is still rather low,” said founder and CEO Vincent Maposa. “But there’s visible growth. And I believe that over the next decade or so, you’ll start to see those shifts.”

Investors are also starting to understand the economic benefits of adapting to climate change and solutions as they have returns on investment, said Hetal Patel, Nairobi-based director of investments at Mercy Corps Ventures, an early-stage VC fund focused on startups building solutions for climate adaptation and financial resilience.

“We’re starting to build a very strong business case for adaptation investors and make sure that private capital flows start coming in,” he said.

Maelis Carraro, managing partner at Catalyst Fund, a Nairobi-based VC fund and accelerator that funds climate adaptation solutions, urged more diverse funding, such as that which blends private and public sector funding. The role of public financing, she said, should be to de-risk the private sector and attract more private sector capital into financing climate initiatives.

“We’re not gonna go far enough with just the public funding,” she said. “We need the private sector and the public sector to work together to unlock more financing. And in particular looking beyond just a few industries where the innovation is writ large.”
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