Africa Media Review for August 9, 2024

Nigeria: Military Coups Threaten West Africa, Warns Defence Chief
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, said on Wednesday that military takeovers of governments in West African countries have had negative consequences and threatened democratic values in the region. Speaking at the opening of a meeting with West African Defence Chiefs in Abuja, the CDS said the threat of military coups must be eradicated as it negates the core responsibilities of the military profession. “Recent challenges like the military coups in some countries in the region have had unintended consequences and have threatened our collective democratic values,” the CDS said. “This threat must be destroyed as it negates our core responsibilities as military professionals. Let me, therefore, use this opportunity to emphasise that, as democratic countries, we in the military must uphold democratic values in line with our various constitutions.” General Musa expressed hope that the meeting would help prevent coups and ensure peace and sustainable development for citizens in the West Africa region. The Sun

Burkina Faso Security Ministry Urges Citizens to Report on Each Other
Burkina Faso’s junta has urged its citizens to report suspicious neighbours and activity in the name of national security as the Sahel nation battles a near decade-long jihadist insurgency…It warned citizens against parking for long periods of time near “sensitive sites”, taking photographs of sensitive “installations” and providing information such as security forces positions, sites or strategic routes that could facilitate a terrorist attack. It also urged citizens not to rent out cars or houses without collecting adequate information about the lessees. Burkina’s military leaders, who seized power in a 2022 coup, have faced criticism by rights groups over measures they have taken in the name of national security. Reuters

Ukraine says Niger’s Move to Cut Relations is ‘Regrettable’
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Thursday Niger’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Kyiv was “regrettable” and that Kyiv saw the move as based on groundless and untrue allegations.
Niger’s junta said on Tuesday it was acting in solidarity with Mali which earlier broke off ties with Kyiv over remarks by a Ukrainian military intelligence official that it said showed Kyiv’s support for rebels fighting in northern Mali…Tuareg rebels said they killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries during fighting in July in what appeared the heaviest defeat for Wagner since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali’s military authorities fight insurgent groups…The row stems from televised remarks by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military spy agency, who said that Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to conduct their attack. Reuters

Sudan Sends Delegation to Jeddah for Pre-Geneva Talks with U.S.
Sudan’s Sovereign Council said on Friday it has sent a delegation to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to consult with the United States on an upcoming invitation to participate in negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Geneva. The delegation, headed by Minerals Minister Mohamed Bashir Abu Nommo, left for Jeddah this morning. Military sources told Sudan Tribune the Sudanese team has been authorized to discuss the agenda for the Geneva talks, the countries monitoring the negotiations, and potential monitors for any resulting agreement. The fate and implementation of the Jeddah Agreement, a previous ceasefire deal that the U.S. State Department said would form the basis for the new talks, is a key priority for the Sudanese delegation…The U.S. has invited both the Sudanese army and the RSF to negotiations in Geneva on Aug. 14, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and under international observation. Sudan Tribune

Somalia’s Cabinet Approves Bill for Universal Suffrage
Somalia’s cabinet approved a bill on Thursday that, if confirmed by parliament, will revert the country’s election system to universal suffrage for the first time in decades, ending a process of indirect voting, the government’s spokesperson said. Amid widespread insecurity caused by an Islamist insurgency and weak state structures, in recent years lawmakers voted for the president, while clan heads and elders elected lawmakers in both the federal government and regional states. The country had initially been scheduled to move to direct voting in 2020, but protracted squabbles among politicians and persisting insecurity across the country forced the government to retain the indirect ballot. The policy was announced last year by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected by lawmakers for a five-year mandate in May 2022. Its roll-out faces significant logistical and security challenges because of the lack of infrastructure and al Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, maintains control over large swathes of the country. Reuters

Somalia, Ethiopia to Resume Talks on Port Deal under Turkish Mediation, Ankara Says
The foreign ministers of Somalia and Ethiopia will meet in Ankara next week to discuss disagreements over a port deal Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland earlier this year, Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said. Turkey is now mediating talks between the east African neighbours, whose ties became strained in January when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland, in exchange for recognition of its independence. Mogadishu called the agreement illegal and retaliated by expelling the Ethiopian ambassador and threatening to kick out thousands of Ethiopian troops stationed in the country helping battle Islamist insurgents. Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers met in Ankara last month along with Fidan to discuss their disagreements, and agreed to hold another round of talks. Reuters

China Deploys Large Force to Tanzania for Peace Unity 2024 Joint Exercise
Tanzania is currently hosting what appears to be the largest ever Chinese military deployment to Sub-Saharan Africa for Exercise ‘Peace Unity (Amani Umoja) 2024′. The Chinese, Mozambican and Tanzanian militaries are currently holding the Peace Unity 2024 joint exercise in Tanzania, which focuses on counter-terror military operations…Sea drills will conclude on 5 August and land drills on the 11th…The Chinese forces in the Peace Unity 2024 exercise consist of both ground units sent by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Central Theatre Command and a naval flotilla sent by the PLA Southern Theatre Command…Peace Unity 2024 marks the fourth joint military exercise between Tanzania and China, after exercises in 2014, 2019/20, and September 2023 when the two countries held the Transcend 2023 Marine Corps joint training exercise in Dar es Salaam. Military Africa

South Sudan: Communal Violence Worries Peace Monitors
The peace monitors of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) on Thursday expressed concerns about communal violence in three states in South Sudan. Speaking during the 37th Monthly Meeting of the R-JMEC at the Beijing Hotel in Juba, the Interim Commission Chairperson, Charles Tai Gituai, said reported incidences of violence and abductions in different states were concerning. “The permanent ceasefire continues to hold, but sporadic episodes of inter-communal violence such as in Unity, Jonglei and Lakes states continue to be concerning, compounded by some security related incidences in Juba in Central Equatoria State. CTSAMVM report indicates an increase in the abduction of youths allegedly by National Salvation Front (NAF) of Gen Thomas Cirillo,” Gituai said. Radio Tamazuj

UN Rights Chief Calls for Access to Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights requested on Wednesday better access to Cameroon’s restive separatist regions and called for revisions to an anti-terror law that rights groups say has been used to silent dissent. Factions of secessionist militias have been battling government troops in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions since 2017, leading to thousands of deaths and displacing nearly 800,000 people…Amnesty International has described that law, which mandates the death penalty, as repressive and says it curtails rights protected in Cameroon’s constitution. In a 2022 report, Amnesty found that the majority of people jailed from the Anglophone regions had been sentenced under the law. Reuters

Congolese Military Court Hands down Death Sentence to Leader of Rebel Coalition and 25 Others
A military court in Congo on Thursday sentenced 25 people, including the leader of a rebel coalition, to death after a high-profile televised trial that started late last month. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo, or AFC, was found guilty of war crimes, participation in an insurrection and treason. Naanga and 19 other defendants sentenced to death were absent from the trial as they are currently on the run…The AFC is a political-military movement launched by Nangaa in December with the aim of uniting armed groups, political parties and civil society against Congo’s government. One of its most renown members is the M23, an armed group accused of mass killings in eastern Congo’s decadeslong conflict…The court’s decision against Nangaa follows the announcement of a cease-fire between Congo and Rwanda last week following talks mediated by Angola. The cease-fire took effect on Sunday but prospects are slim with previous truces not lasting more than a few weeks and fighting having already resumed near the border with Uganda. AP

Mozambique Ex-minister Guilty of One of Africa’s Biggest Corruption Scandals
A US court has convicted a Mozambican former finance minister over a 10-year-old conspiracy that triggered the worst economic crisis in his home country since independence. Manuel Chang was found guilty of accepting pay-offs through US banks for approving secret loans. The loans were intended to pay for a fleet of tuna fishing ships and other projects, leading to the affair being dubbed the “tuna bond” scandal. But the loans were plundered, leaving Mozambique $2bn (£1.5bn) in debt…Missing funds to the tune of £500m were siphoned off, according to an independent audit that was ordered by the International Monetary Fund who later withdrew their support from Mozambique. It is still not known what happened to that money. BBC

Ghana Opens First Gold Refinery after Centuries of Mining
Ghana opened its first commercial gold refinery in Accra, the capital, on Thursday as part of an effort by Africa’s leading gold producer to add value and earn more from the precious metal, which has been mined for centuries. The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, with capacity to process 400 kilogrammes (kg) of gold per day, will source gold dore from small-scale and artisanal miners before acquiring licences to process gold from large-scale miners…Ghana’s gold from licensed producers is exported in raw form while a sizeable amount of output from unregulated artisanal miners, locally called galamsey, is smuggled outside the country…Ghana retained its spot as Africa’s biggest gold producer last year, as increased production from small-scale and artisanal miners pushed output to 4.03 million ounces. Reuters

Botswana Gets Afternoon off to Celebrate Letsile Tebogo and First Olympic Gold
President Mokgweetsi Masisi gave Botswana the afternoon off on Friday, August 9, to celebrate Letsile Tebogo, the country’s first gold medallist and the first African to be crowned 200-metre Olympic champion. Masisi hailed the 21-year-old sprinter as “Botswana’s Sensation” after his outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics on Thursday…To put the cherry on the cake, he also set an African record of 19.46 seconds…Tebogo is only the second athlete from Africa to win a medal in the 200m and the first ever to take gold. Namibian Frankie Fredericks won silver in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. Le Monde