Protests in Sudan Demand Ouster of Military Leaders in Power, Reject Slow Transfer
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Sudan’s capital Thursday, demanding the ouster of its military rulers and rejecting a deal for the gradual transfer of power to civilian leaders…In Khartoum, demonstrators headed for the Republican Palace, the seat of the ruling military council, before being intercepted by security forces who fired tear gas and water hoses at the crowds. There are no confirmed reports of any casualties. Thursday’s protest was led by the Resistance Committees, a grassroots group that has steadfastly rejected any negotiations with Sudan’s military leaders, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The protest group has called for both men, who led last year’s coup, to be tried in court. PBS
Nigeria: After African Union, China Sets Eyes on $32M ECOWAS Headquarters
China will begin building the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in Abuja, Nigeria to the tune of $32 million, setting a trend where Beijing has influential fingerprints over regional blocs on the continent. The Chinese have already broken ground for the head offices of the Ecowas secretariat, which China says is a donation of friendship. Beijing has already built the headquarters of the African Union (AU) and several institutional buildings across Africa, including the parliament building in Harare, Zimbabwe. East African
World’s Longest-Serving President Begins Sixth Term in Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea’s long-serving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been sworn-in for his sixth seven-year term…Despite being the third-largest oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa, the vast majority of Equatorial Guinea’s population currently living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. The country has a reputation as one of the most closed and authoritarian countries in the world, with its international relations marred by corruption, according to Amnesty International…It was another disappointment for the opposition, which said during the election that the people “need a message of hope” different from what has been conveyed by Obiang’s rule. TRT World
Angola Hosts OACPS Meetings
The fight against poverty, sustainable development and integration into the world economy of the countries that make up the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States remain the major objectives of the organization and these will be the major flags of Angola, which now assumes the rotating presidency of the EACP for the next three years. A commitment that comes out of this third day of meetings that precede the 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government that starts this Friday in Luanda…Georges Chikoti, Secretary General of the EACP, says the heads of state of the member countries are expected to commit to the consolidation of solidarity but not just that…It is expected that on Saturday the work will end with the signing of the Luanda Declaration where these commitments will be signed. AfricaNews
Zambia to Bring Home Body of Student Killed in Ukraine War
The body of a Zambian student who died while fighting in Ukraine after being jailed in Russia will be repatriated on Sunday, Zambia’s foreign ministry said. Lusaka had demanded an urgent explanation from Moscow over the death of Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, 23, in September while fighting on the Russian side. “The body of Lemekhani has today 9 December arrived in Moscow and will arrive in Zambia on December 11,” Zambia’s Foreign Affairs minister Stanley Kakubo told parliament on Friday. In November, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted he recruited Nyirenda from prison, claiming the Zambian willingly agreed to go and fight against Ukraine. “The Russian laws allow prisoners to be pardoned in special military operations. Unfortunately, Lemekhani was killed,” Kakubo told lawmakers. AFP
Tunisia Law Failing to Protect Women from Domestic Violence: HRW
Authorities in Tunisia have not done enough to protect women against domestic violence despite the country adopting progressive legislation five years ago, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW)…Tunisia passed Law 58 in 2017 to tackle domestic violence against women and it was regarded as a pioneering initiative, but the HRW report said that “insufficient” implementation has kept women in the North African country unsafe…Tunisian police in 2021 registered nearly 69,000 complaints of violence against women, but “the real magnitude of domestic violence is however difficult to gauge, in part due to poor data collection and the social and economic pressure on women to tolerate men’s violence,” the report stated. Al Jazeera
Perthes Tells UNSC: ‘Political Framework Agreement in Sudan Could Signal a Way Out of the Uncertainty and Insecurity Sparked by October 2021 Coup’
The political framework agreement signed in Khartoum on Monday “now offers a path to realise the aspirations of Sudan’s youth, women and men,” the head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes told the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York yesterday, in a briefing via video link from Khartoum. Perthes told the UNSC that “the signing of a political framework agreement in Sudan could signal a way out of the uncertainty and insecurity sparked by the October 2021 coup”…Though describing it as an important breakthrough, Perthes said “critical contentious issues” will need to be addressed in the final accord. They include security sector reform and the merger of forces, transitional justice, and implementation of the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement signed by the transitional government and several armed groups in Darfur. Dabanga
Uganda Receives 1,200 Doses of Ebola Trial Vaccines
Uganda has received 1,200 doses of Ebola trial vaccines, officials from the country’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have said. According to the ministry officials, this is first batch of one of the three candidate vaccines against the Sudan Ebola virus. The vaccines will be evaluated in a clinical trial called Tokomeza Ebola, according to WHO officials…And according to Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Uganda’s Health minister, the East African nation has not registered any new confirmed Ebola case in the last nine days. Daily Monitor
German Investment in Africa Stalls Despite Government Push
Germany’s potential to invest in Africa was trumpeted at the 2022 German-Africa business summit in Johannesburg. But German foreign direct investment on the continent is stagnant…The summit, which is held every two years in a different African country, brings together business and government leaders from Germany and Africa. It is Germany’s biggest business event on the continent. The day before the summit kicked off, Habeck had called for a “restart” and a new approach to relations between Germany, Europe and Africa. The foreign minister is on a five-day trip to Namibia and South Africa…But in terms of Germany’s total direct foreign investment around the globe, only around 1% ends up in Africa. Not only is this sum tiny, but it has also been at the same level for years while other countries have increased their African portfolios. DW
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Samia Suluhu and Mo Abudu Among Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women
Nigeria’s former minister of finance and current Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu, and Nigeria media mogul Mo Abudu are the three Africans who have made it to the Forbes’ annual list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Okonjo-Iweala is ranked 91, Suluhu 95, and Abudu 99 in the 19th annual list that spotlights “innovators and instigators who are leading on the world stage to redefine traditional power structures.” This is the sixth time that Okonjo-Iweala has made the list. Forbes wrote that the World Trade Organization head continues “to play a crucial role in providing financial assistance and promoting global trade as the threat of a global recession rises.” Bird Agency
Why Africa’s Physically Challenged Remain ‘Invisible’
Millions of African people living with disabilities remain invisible despite laws that call for inclusion and equality. As a result, they lack access to basic needs. Some are now fighting to improve their situation…Although Ghana is among the few countries in Africa with laws that protect and guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities, implementing the policies has remained another challenge. Like Ghana, Uganda has also enacted a Persons with Disabilities Act which, among others, promotes the education and welfare of disabled people. But stigma remains high, said Robert Nkwangu, the executive secretary of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf, which does advocacy and policy influence for its members. In an interview with DW, Nkwangu said the stigma begins at the family level, where children with hearing difficulties are not a priority regarding education and providing other life skills. DW