‘Left at the Mercy of Jihadists’: Niger’s Junta Fails to Curb Surge in Violence
On 12 December, Hadjara Zibo and her three young daughters ran to the hills from their home in Libiri as armed jihadists stormed their village in Niger’s Tillabéri region, near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali. … “I think the end is near,” she says. “Women face horror and humiliation, and with no help from the junta, we are left at the mercy of the jihadists.” Before Niger’s military seized power in July 2023, pro-Russian narratives in the country had blamed the insecurity on western alliances under the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, despite Niger outperforming its Moscow-aligned neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, in combating jihadists. The new military government, led by Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, has leaned into anti-western sentiment, claiming they could better address extremist threats. However, jihadist violence has escalated in the 18 months since the coup, with about 1,599 deaths reported – more than double the 770 recorded under democratic rule, according to the civilian violence monitor Acled. … The media bans and expulsions of journalists have allowed propaganda to flourish, claiming military success against the insurgents and covering up attacks. Guardian
Mali Court Jails Dissident over Remarks About Burkina Junta
A Malian court jailed a political figure Monday for making critical remarks about the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso, a legal source and his family said. Issa Kaou N’Djim, who previously supported Malian junta leader Assimi Goita before distancing himself, made the comments during a program aired on local television station Joliba TV News. N’Djim was sentenced by a court in the capital, Bamako, to two years in prison, one of which was suspended. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 million CFA francs ($1,600) by the national anti-cybercrime office, the legal source said. Mali authorities closed Joliba TV News in November because of the remarks and handed the private television station a six-month ban earlier this month. N’Djim’s jailing follows the disappearance Saturday morning of another opposition figure, Ibrahim Naby Togola, who was due to hold a news briefing that day. AFP
South Africa’s G20 Presidency Brings Unprecedented Opportunity for Continent
South Africa’s presidency of the Group of 20 major economies in 2025 gives Africa’s most influential nation an unprecedented opportunity to put the continent’s development at the heart of the global economic agenda. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government will oversee the G20′s work in the final year of its rotating leadership cycle, and the workload involves a marathon series of meetings that culminates in a leaders’ summit in Johannesburg next November. As the first African country to lead the G20, South Africa is expected by its continental peers to drive a progressive, Africa-centric and development-orientated agenda over the coming year. Speaking on December 3rd, Ramaphosa confirmed this would be the case, saying that advancing Africa and the country’s agendas at the G20 was one of his main goals in 2025. Irish Times
Kenya Police Fire Tear Gas at Protest Against Alleged Government Abductions
Police in Kenya’s capital Nairobi have fired tear gas to disperse protesters demonstrating against what they say is a wave of unexplained abductions of government critics. Dozens of Kenyans have been abducted in recent months, according to human rights groups, who blame the extrajudicial arrests on Kenya’s police and intelligence services. Kenyan authorities have said the government does not condone or engage in extrajudicial killings or abductions. … The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights last week raised concern about a growing number of alleged kidnappings of government critics, saying that the total number of such cases stands at 82 since antigovernment protests started in June. … Four social media users went missing after they shared AI-generated images of Ruto that were deemed offensive by government supporters. … The rights commission had warned that Kenya was heading back to the “dark days” of the disappearance of government critics. Al Jazeera
Ghana’s President Faces Tough Start as Economic Crisis Drives People to Leave
Mahama has been Ghana’s main opposition figure for several years, having previously served as president from July 2012 to January 2017. He failed in his bid to be re-elected in 2016’s elections, and then again in 2020. But while his party and supporters are rejoicing his win in December, the challenges he is facing are considerable – with rising poverty and a new study finding six out of 10 Ghanaians wish to emigrate, chiefly in search of better job opportunities. Ghana is in the midst of an economic crisis. The country remains the world’s number two cocoa producer, but there is turmoil in the industry as well as in gold. … During his campaign, Mahama said unchecked procurement processes are a major source of corruption in the country. He vowed to make fighting this and reclaiming misappropriated state funds a key pillar of his mandate, and last week appointed an anti-corruption task force. RFI
ISWAP’s ‘Tax’ System is Bleeding Farmers Dry in Northeastern Nigeria
In northeast Nigeria, farmers pay for their survival. Twice a year, they hand over thousands of naira to boys barely old enough to be called men — foot soldiers of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), now masters of a chilling taxation system that bankrolls one of the world’s deadliest insurgencies. … The Nigerian military tried to counter ISWAP’s revenue stream. In 2020, the military banned fish transportation through the Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga and Maiduguri-Gamboru-Ngala routes. Security forces intercepted and destroyed fish consignments, detaining traders suspected of supporting Boko Haram. But the blockade backfired. It pushed thousands of families into poverty, spiked fish prices, and fractured households. Many still smuggle fish to avoid starvation. And in the absence of government support, ISWAP positioned itself as a provider of security, food, and services in these communities. HumAngle
East Africa Envoy Set to Mediate with Rival Factions in Sudan Conflict
Monday’s announcement from IGAD’s special envoy Lawrence Korbandy comes a year after the government in Sudan froze relations with the regional bloc and suspended its membership of the body. Since April last year, Sudan has been mired in a brutal conflict, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under Mohamed Hamdan Daglo fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. IGAD – in parallel with the United States and Saudi Arabia – has repeatedly attempted to mediate between the two warring generals, but to no avail. In January, the bloc invited Daglo to a summit in Uganda, prompting a furious response from the Sudanese foreign ministry in the army-aligned government. … Korbandy said the visit had been scheduled for December before being postponed to January. He referred to Sudan’s suspension from IGAD as a “minor problem” – noting that Sudan was a founding member of the regional body – and said the proposed visit was “absolutely” a positive step. RFI
Sudanese Army Says It Destroyed Emirati Plane in Darfur
The Sudanese army said on Monday it had destroyed an Emirati cargo plane supplying the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, South Darfur, on Saturday. The army said in a statement that its air force had conducted a series of strikes on RSF positions in Nyala, including the airport, which it said the RSF had been using to receive weapons and evacuate wounded fighters. “The air force succeeded… in striking an Emirati cargo plane as it was taking off from Nyala airport, leading to its crash,” the statement said. The army also said it had destroyed drones west of Nyala and killed foreign nationals who were on the roof of a building near Nyala Technical College. Reuters could not independently verify the army’s account. In a short statement, the RSF accused the army of targeting civilians in Nyala with barrel bombs, resulting in numerous casualties. Sudan Tribune
Jimmy Carter Sought to Expand Democracy Worldwide Long After He Left the White House
… Three decades later, Carter, who was long out of office, found the door slammed shut when he and other dignitaries sought to visit Zimbabwe on a humanitarian mission to observe reported human rights abuses after a violent disputed election in 2008. He had become a critic of Mugabe’s regime and was denied a visa. Carter didn’t give up. From neighboring South Africa, he relied on emissaries from Zimbabwe for testimony on violence and allegations of electoral fraud. The effort reflected the former president’s long commitment to promoting democracy worldwide. “Carter didn’t change. Zimbabwe did. Mugabe swayed from the democratic ideals that Carter held so dear,” [Eldred Masunungure, a former political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe] said. “The incident demonstrates Carter’s consistency, the steadfastness.” Zimbabwe’s evolution toward autocracy turned out to be the kind of scenario that the Carter Center has long sought to prevent by deploying observers and developing voting standards in countries struggling to form democracies. AP
Burna Boy, Tyla, and Ayra Starr Shaped Africa’s Global Sound In 2024
This year, African music reached new heights on the global stage, with artists from around the continent breaking new ground and redefining what it means to be a global music star. Earlier in the year, Tyla made history by becoming the first and youngest person to win a Grammy in the newly established Best African Music Performance category. Later in the year, R&B star Tems was nominated for Best R&B at the 2024 Grammys alongside Sza and Khelani. Yemi Alade also earned her first solo Grammy nomination for her hit song “Tomorrow,” while Rema was nominated for his genre-shifting record, Heis. In North Africa, artists like Soolking and Sherine merged traditions with modern musical sensibilities to push music from North Africa into global conversations. With even more achievements, it’s no surprise that Africa greatly impacted the music scene. According to recent Spotify data, Burna Boy, Tyla, and Ayra Starr were the top most streamed African artists globally, rounding out a strong year for these three artists. Okay Africa