Togo to Vote for First-Ever Senate Despite Opposition Outcry
Togo’s first-ever senatorial elections will take place on Saturday, cementing a new constitution vehemently rejected by opposition parties that say it will let President Faure Gnassingbe hold on to power indefinitely. Several have said they will boycott the vote, and civil society groups have also denounced the parliamentary reform for the small west African nation as rigged. Gnassingbe has led the country of around nine million people since 2005, when he took over from his father who had been in power for 38 years…The new constitution replaces the direct election of the head of state by a parliamentary system, making the presidential position merely honorific. Power will be transferred to the president of the Council of Ministers, a position currently held by Gnassingbe…Under the previous constitution, Gnassingbe was limited to one last presidential run, in an election set for this year. AFP
Congolese President to Miss AU Meeting on Eastern DRC Violence
Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi will participate in an African Union summit this weekend but will not attend a meeting on the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the president’s office told AFP on Thursday…An African Union Peace and Security Council meeting on the crisis in eastern DRC is due to take place on Friday…The formal AU summit is due to take place on Saturday and Sunday and will include the election of the African Union Commission’s new president — the highest representative of the pan-African organisation. “The president will come to Addis Ababa and will participate in the leaders’ summit” on February 15, the Congolese president’s communications unit told AFP, without mentioning Sunday’s session. “It is the prime minister (Judith Suminwa Tuluka) who will attend the Peace and Security Council”, the unit added with regard to Friday’s meeting. In a statement released Thursday evening, the Congolese president’s office announced that Tshisekedi had arrived in Germany to participate in the Munich Security Conference from February 14 to 16. AFP
Scores of Children Raped by Armed Men in Eastern DRC, UNICEF Says
Scores of children caught up in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been subjected to sexual violence including rape by armed men, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. The targeting of children has soared to unprecedented levels in recent weeks, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned on Thursday, making an urgent appeal for the violence to stop as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels expand their footprint, clashing with Congolese forces and their allied militias…The agency’s partners in the region reported that the number of rape cases treated across 42 health facilities jumped five-fold in one week from January 27 to February 2, Russell said. “Of those treated, 30 percent were children. The true figures are likely much higher because so many survivors are reluctant to come forward.” Al Jazeera
DR Congo Singer Killed Filming Video in Conflict City
A popular musician in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed while filming a music video in the conflict-hit eastern town of Goma. The body of Delphin Katembo Vinywasiki, better known as Delcat Idengo, was found in a street on Thursday with his head partially covered with blood. Unconfirmed reports say the artist was shot. Idengo, famous for his songs critical of both the government and the rebels, was among hundreds of inmates who escaped from a prison in Goma, after M23 militants seized the city last month. The east of DR Congo has been engulfed in fighting as armed groups and the army battle it out for control of the mineral-rich region. It is not clear who was behind the killing. The musician had just released a track called Bunduki (meaning “weapon” in Swahili), condemning the rebel occupation in Goma…Idengo was awaiting trial after his jailing last year for inciting people to take up arms and force UN peacekeepers to leave the country. In 2021, he was prosecuted for insulting President Félix Tshisekedi and spreading “false rumours” in one of his songs where he accused the president of not fulfilling his promises. He was sentenced to 10 years, but was later acquitted. BBC
Sudan Urges African Union to Lift Suspension
Sudan’s foreign minister, Ali Youssef, on Thursday called on the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to reconsider its assessment of the situation in Sudan and lift the country’s suspension from the continental body. In a written message to the Peace and Security Council, ahead of its meetings on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Youssef urged the council to “re-evaluate the situation in Sudan in light of recent developments and the need for Sudan to return to its rightful place in the continental organization,” according to a foreign ministry statement. The African Union suspended Sudan’s membership on October 27, 2021, two days after the military ousted a civilian government formed after the ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. The statement added that the minister’s message also outlined the roadmap announced by Sovereign Council leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan after consultations with political and community forces. Sudan Tribune
United Arab Emirates Calls for ‘Humanitarian Pause’ in Sudan War
United Arab Emirates, the country accused of being one of biggest sponsors of the war says it wants the guns silenced during the month of Ramadan. United Arab Emirates (UAE) is calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the war in Sudan, state minister for international cooperation Reem Al Hashemiy said on Friday. On the sidelines of a conference held in Addis Ababa and co-organised by the UAE, Ethiopia, the African Union and IGAD, Al Hashemiy urged the warring parties to “respect the holy month of Ramadan”, which begins in two weeks, and allow humanitarian aid into the devastated country. The conference was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Kenya President William Ruto, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and outgoing AU Commission chair Moussa Faki…The UAE has been widely accused – including by a UN panel of experts – of supplying weapons to the RSF, which the US and others have accused of committing genocide in Darfur. The UAE denies the allegations. Sudan’s government had earlier reacted furiously to news of the planned conference, slamming the UAE for posing as a humanitarian actor whilst arming the RSF. The Africa Report
Africa Corps: How Russia Is Conquering the Sahel, Base by Base
Located in the strategic triangle of southern Libya, bordering Egypt, Sudan and Chad – the border of which is 100km away – Maaten al-Sarra dominates the Sahel-Saharan strip. It stands at the centre of Russia’s new area of influence in Africa. Eventually, it will be able to serve, without refuelling, the air bases at Niamey in Niger, Loumbila in Burkina Faso and Gao in Mali, as well as the future naval base promised to the Russians at Port Sudan…Maaten al-Sarra is not the only Libyan base to benefit from the modernisation of its facilities. Similar efforts have been made at two other air bases, Al-Jufra in the centre of the country and Al-Khadim, near the coastal city of Benghazi…The formation of this Russian logistics hub will complete an archipelago of bases stretching from the north of Libya to the south of the Central African Republic. It will enable Moscow to create an air bridge between the Mediterranean and the Sahel, making it easier to deliver troops and equipment to its allies in the region. It could also make it even more difficult for French and US forces to access these areas…The renovation of Maaten al-Sarra in Libya will also open up a transport route to neighbouring Chad…Although Abderaman Koulamallah, then Chad’s foreign minister, told France 24 in early December 2024 that his country wished to put an end to “any foreign military presence”, insisting that “there will be no French soldiers on Chadian territory, nor Russian soldiers”, several sources have since confirmed the presence of Africa Corps emissaries – calling themselves the “precursors” – in Chad. The Africa Report
European Naval Force Helps Free Ship Seized by Suspected Somali Pirates off Horn of Africa
A European naval force in the Middle East helped free a Yemeni fishing boat seized by suspected Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa, authorities said. The naval force, known as EUNAVFOR Atalanta, said late Thursday the incident remained under investigation. It said the 12 mariners on board were safe and uninjured. It said the attack that began last week targeted a dhow, a traditional ship that plies the waters of the Mideast, off the town of Eyl in Somalia…Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 when 237 attacks were reported. The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and other efforts. However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels launching their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. AP
Senegal Begins Domestic Oil Refining for First Time
New oil producer Senegal has begun producing various fuels in its own refinery near the capital Dakar, the company behind it said on Thursday. Although the African Refinery Company (SAR) was created in 1961, it is the first time that it is refining domestically produced oil, having only handled imported oil until now. The company said they had refined 650,000 barrels of crude oil since Saturday, which had in turn produced 90,000 tonnes of various products, including diesel, kerosene, petrol and butane gas. Senegal began producing oil in June in the Sangomar oil field, where the Australian group Woodside Energy operates. The country also became a gas producer at the end of December, which it shares with Mauritania, on the maritime border between the two countries. AFP
UN Torture Expert Warns Senegal on Prison Overcrowding
The UN’s top expert on torture on Thursday criticised overcrowding in Senegal’s prisons, warning that it could spark violence at any moment or lead to the spread of disease. Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on torture, called the overcrowding “dramatic and inhumane” after a fact-finding visit to the west African nation…Edwards, who was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the UN, visited five prisons and saw prisoners lying head to toe and sharing mattresses in “severely congested” sleeping quarters…Edwards said she welcomed moves to increase electronic-tagging and the construction of new facilities. But she urged the repeal of an amnesty law brought in before the last election in March 2024 by the administration of former president Macky Sall. AFP
Liberia’s President Suspends over 450 Government Officials for Failing to Declare Their Assets
Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has suspended more than 450 government officials who failed to declare their assets on time, in a move that comes as part of an anti-corruption drive by the West African country’s leader. The suspensions are to last for a month or until those suspended declare their assets to the anti-corruption agency. Liberia was shaken by anti-government demonstrations in December that included the parliament building in Monrovia, the country’s capital, catching fire. Boakai was elected in November 2023 on a promise of fighting corruption in the small country of 5 million people. Liberia ranked 135th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index last year, according to Transparency International…Liberian law requires all government officials to declare their assets upon taking and leaving office. AP
Nigeria: London High Court Probes Shell over Niger Delta Pollution Claims
The High Court in London commenced a hearing to address allegations that the oil company Shell has polluted vast areas of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, particularly in regions traditionally claimed by the Ogoni people. Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC claim that the spills in the region were caused by sabotage or illegal refining. The villagers, supported by Amnesty International Nigeria, say that decades of spills have damaged farms and waterways…Ten years ago, residents from the Bille and Ogale communities in Nigeria claimed their livelihoods had been destroyed and homes damaged by hundreds of oil spills caused by Shell, according to Amnesty’s report…The month-long trial will determine issues of Nigerian law and whether SPDC can be held liable for oil spills caused by third-party interference, ahead of a further trial in 2026. The case, parts of which began nearly a decade ago, has already been to the Britain’s Supreme Court, which ruled in 2021 that the case should be heard in the English courts. RFI