Why Is Mozambique in Chaos?
Since Dec. 23, when the nation’s top court upheld a disputed presidential election result in favor of the candidate for the long-governing party, at least 125 people have died in street protests across the country, according to a civil society organization. That makes 252 deaths since the election in October, as protesters accusing the governing party, Frelimo, of rigging the election have repeatedly clashed with the police and soldiers. The top opposition candidate has declared himself the actual winner of the election and has called on Mozambicans to shut down the country…Mozambique’s instability carries big implications for the region and the globe. It is a strategic port country connecting southern Africa to other parts of the world. Its offshore natural gas reserves have attracted the largest foreign direct investment ever on the continent. And the country has been battling an insurgency for several years that Western powers fear could allow terrorist organizations to gain a foothold in the region if it is not contained…For years, Frelimo, the party that has governed Mozambique since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, has faced allegations of election rigging. The New York Times
Guinea Opposition Groups Challenge Military Rule after Missed Deadline
Guinea’s opposition and civil society groups say they will no longer recognise the country’s transitional authorities after 31 December, when a promised return to constitutional rule was meant to take place. The deadline was agreed with the West African regional bloc Ecowas, but government officials confirmed two weeks ago they would not meet the target date. Instead, authorities announced a second phase called “refoundation of the state” without providing further details. In a statement, Forces Vives – which unites opposition parties and civil society groups – called for the establishment of a civilian-led transition, accusing the current authorities of failing to deliver on their promises…[Abdoul Sacko, coordinator of the Forum of Social Forces of Guinea,] criticised the lack of progress towards democratic rule, saying there is “no relevant, visible and perfectible approach to returning to constitutional order”…The missed deadline raises fresh concerns about the military’s grip on power in Guinea, where authorities have not specified a new timeline for elections or return to civilian rule. The announcement comes amid growing regional pressure on military-led governments in West Africa to honour their commitments to restore democracy. RFI
France Hands over First Base in Chad amid Withdrawal
France has handed over its first military base as part of the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad, the French and Chadian militaries said Thursday, December 26. Chad’s military chief of staff said the base at Faya-Largeau in the north of the country had been handed over and that it would inform the public about progress concerning the withdrawal of French forces from bases in the eastern city of Abeche and the capital, N’Djamena. It said French troops had left in vehicles for the capital N’Djamena, 780 kilometers to the south, without providing a precise figure…Chad last month abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial power and French troops began leaving the country last Friday, ten days after French warplanes left…The move comes as Chad holds parliamentary and local elections on Sunday. The French army had some 1,000 personnel in the country. Chad’s military said an Antonov 124 took off Thursday with 70 tonnes of cargo as part of the withdrawal. French authorities said military vehicles would leave by January and be repatriated via the Cameroonian port of Douala.
Le Monde avec AFP
Nigeria: Villagers Killed by Military Airstrike Buried in Sokoto
At least 10 civilians killed in a military airstrike on Christmas Day in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State have been buried, residents have said. The residents said the Christmas Day airstrike also killed dozens of livestock at Gidan Sanma and Rumtuwa villages…Residents told a local news outlet, Sokoto Obstacles, that several food silos and houses were also burnt…They said nine victims died instantly while the other later succumbed to their injuries. Many residents, largely peasant farmers, have been displaced as a result of the attack. The military has, however, claimed that the attack was based on intelligence and that those hit were terrorists. The state governor, Ahmed Aliyu, has demanded an investigation of the incident…Although the military is yet to take responsibility for the killing of the civilians, this would not be the first such fatal errors during air attacks. PREMIUM TIMES has reported similar incidents in Borno, Niger and Kaduna states leading to the deaths of dozens of civilians. Premium Times
Nigeria: Security Operatives Arrest Notorious Kidnapper in Anambra
Security operatives have arrested a notorious kidnapper in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east. The suspect, Pablo Mamu, a 38-year-old man, hails from Ughelli in Delta State, South-south Nigeria…The spokesperson said the operation was conducted by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and members of the vigilante operatives…One OFN rifle, one locally made pistol, one live 9mm ammunition, eight live cartridges and one black Lexus 330 SUV with a different number plate were among the items recovered from the suspect, according to the police. The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Nnaghe Obono, has commended the synergy between security operatives and residents of the state who provide information for operations, Mr Ikenga said. Mr Obono, according to the statement, stressed the importance of continued collaboration between security operatives and residents in ensuring security, especially during and after this festive season. Premium Times
Sudan: Only Functioning Hospital in El Fasher Destroyed by RSF Shelling
The only remaining operational hospital in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been rendered unusable after repeated shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), doctors said on Wednesday. The Saudi Hospital, which had been providing critical care and surgical services to the war-torn city, has been hit at least 16 times by RSF artillery and drone fire, culminating in a devastating attack on Wednesday that destroyed the facility. The hospital is out of service and will not be able to receive any more patients due to the repeated targeting by RSF artillery and drones, doctors told Sudan Tribune…Most patients, including those wounded in previous shelling, have been forced to flee to other areas, including the Zamzam camp for displaced people and the locality of Tawila, in search of safety and medical care. Sudan Tribune
Sudan Quietly Returns to Igad
Sudan is returning to the table of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), the regional bloc that tried to mediate the conflict in Khartoum but was rebuffed. And after nearly a year of frozen relations with the bloc, Port Sudan (the interim headquarters of the military government) is showing interest in participating in the activities of the organisation it had initially derided…Last week, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) sent two senior officials to a high-level security meeting in Mombasa to discuss cross-border security challenges in the Horn of Africa…Sudan suspended its membership of the Igad bloc in January over an attempt to mediate in the country’s brutal conflict. This came after Igad tried to mediate between the SAF and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). After a summit in Kampala, Uganda, Igad had asked both the army and the RSF to meet face-to-face, a move that angered Khartoum…Igad was originally involved in mediation in Sudan, which helped create South Sudan after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. South Sudan seceded in 2011, but went to war soon after, and Igad also helped mediate a peace deal known as the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS)…Igad is made up of eight states – Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia. The East African
South Sudan: Foreign Ministry Regrets Harassment of Diplomats during Juba Gun Search
According to several diplomatic sources who spoke to Radio Tamazuj on condition of anonymity, elements from the Presidential Guard, also known as the Tiger Division, raided several diplomatic premises and forcefully demanded to be let in to search for firearms and conduct security sweeps, disregarding and violating diplomatic norms and breaching Geneva Conventions. The soldiers also stopped and forcefully searched several diplomatic vehicles. The presidential guard soldiers also disarmed, arrested, and drove away with Diplomatic Police Guards (DPU) from several diplomatic compounds. Another diplomat intimated that several foreign missions are penning a joint diplomatic protest note to send to the South Sudan Foreign Ministry. Radio Tamazuj
Eritrean, Somali Leaders Discuss Stability amid Regional Tensions
President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia held extensive discussions at the State House in Asmara, Eritrea, on Wednesday, focusing on the consolidation of bilateral ties and addressing regional and international issues of mutual concern. A statement from the Eritrean Foreign Ministry said the two leaders underlined the importance of Somalia’s stability for the entire Horn of Africa region…In October, the leaders of Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia met for a three-way summit in Asmara against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa region between Somalia and Ethiopia…The discussions come against the backdrop of Egypt’s commitment to contribute troops to the African Union Somalia peacekeeping mission, highlighting the growing collaboration between Somalia and Egypt amid regional tensions, particularly concerning Ethiopia’s plans to get sea access in Somaliland. Eritrea has been training thousands of Somalia forces for at least four years. Most of the military has received regular and specialized training, including the naval force, as well as mechanized units. VOA
The South African Gold Mines Taken over by Criminal Gangs
South Africa was once the world’s top gold producer, but ageing infrastructure and muddled policymaking have forced many commercial operators to shut. That has left up to 6,000 disused mines which, with gold prices reaching record highs this year, have become sites of turf wars between notoriously violent gangs competing to smuggle the precious metal…Thousands of zama zamas, isiZulu for “take a chance”, have flocked from [neighbouring countries] which during apartheid provided a vast and brutalised migrant labour force for extracting precious metals. Gang leaders recruit or coerce these men into working in disused quarries, forcing them to spend weeks or months at a time inside before they are allowed to resurface…Since last month, police officers have formed blockades around Buffelsfontein, a former gold and uranium-producing mine where zama zamas have long operated. The heavily-armed officers gathered around every known exit shaft, then cut ropes used to ferry down food and water. The aim was to force gang leaders to allow miners to resurface by “smoking them out”, as one minister controversially called it. So far, more than 850 bedraggled, dazed miners have resurfaced from Buffelsfontein, among more than 12,000 wildcat miners rescued in total…But the authorities’ “surrender or starve” siege tactic has angered rights groups, who have reignited a debate about unemployment and xenophobia in South Africa. Financial Times
Illegal Trade Booms in South Africa’s ‘Super-Strange Looking’ Plants
A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become the hub of an illegal trade in protected plant species, with organised crime groups capitalising on overseas demand…Most of the plants in question are a variety known as succulents, named for their ability to hold water and survive in arid climates…Many of the world’s succulent species are only found in the Succulent Karoo desert, which spans South Africa and Namibia…While these varieties can be cultivated in nurseries, global demand is also fuelling the poaching of these plants from the wild which are then smuggled and sold online to buyers in the US, Europe and East Asia…Some of the species are highly localised, and so can be wiped out by just a small amount of poaching…It is hard to obtain figures for how many plants are being poached, but the non-governmental organisation Traffic reports that 1.6 million illegally harvested succulents were seized by South Africa’s law enforcement agencies between 2019 and 2024…[According to conservationists] plant poaching has been booming since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. With international traders unable to travel to South Africa during that time, they turned to local people to collect succulents for them and post them out of the country…This has been seized upon by organised crime syndicates who hire teams of plant poachers and then market the wild plants on social media and e-commerce platforms. BBC
Parliament Blaze and a Deadlock: Why Is Liberia in a Political Crisis?
More than a week ago, a devastating blaze raged through the halls of power in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, when the parliament building caught fire, destroying vital offices and archives. The incident was the second fire in a week and came a day after several people were injured when police used tear gas to disperse protesters demanding the rule of law be followed in the removal of the speaker of the House of Representatives, amid an ongoing legislative impasse. While a link between the protests and the fire, in which no casualty was reported, has not been proven, the police have questioned several people, including Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa…[A] day before the December 18 fire, hundreds protested in the capital, calling for adherence to the rule of law amid a controversial move by lawmakers to remove Speaker Koffa – something that has resulted in a legislative impasse…[O]pposing legislators have attempted to remove Koffa from office over claims that in his previous role as deputy speaker, he overspent his budget and manipulated the budget to divert millions of dollars to his office…With Koffa’s refusal to resign from the speakership despite pressure, analysts say the saga is far from over, and how it ends would not only set a precedent as to how legislative political matters can be settled but could have further implications for democracy. Al Jazeera
Scholars Highlight Trends for Media Freedom across Africa in Panel in Accra
A group of renowned African media professors from around the world convened in Accra, Ghana, in early December to present academic research and highlight emerging trends in media freedom for journalists and media professionals across Africa. Professors presented research articles that touched on studies from Nigeria, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa and Zimbabwe, often exploring the connection between media and a country’s emerging democratic structure…The media scholars all submitted original research studies for the workshop titled “Evolution of Democracy, Media, Identity and Citizenship in Africa: Critiques and Contestations.” …”[I]n terms of things to takeaway for people who work in this field, from journalists to policymakers and civil society organization for that matter, is understanding that these freedoms cannot be taken for granted, that they are fragile and we have to continue to push for their consolidation.,” [the future president of Carleton University in Canada, Dr. Wisdom Tettey said]. Global Voices