What to Expect from Africa-China Relations in 2025
Africa-China relations in 2025 kicked off with a trip to the continent by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi from January 5-11. Since 1991, China’s foreign minister has made Africa his inaugural international trip for the year. The trip marks Wang’s 57th visit to Africa since 2013…The tour follows the ninth FOCAC Summit in September 2024 and reinforces policy measures announced in June at China’s regular closed-door conclave or plenum that sets policy targets…[The FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027)] would continue mobilizing African participation in the alternative global institutional architecture that China has created over the past 20 years. African diplomatic support would likewise continue to be leveraged to support China at the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral bodies. The Plan also prioritizes implementing the Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI), and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI)—a trifecta of concepts underlying China’s effort to advance alternative global norms and practices…The top three items on the African agenda for relations with China in 2025 are market access, balanced trade, and value addition. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
US Declares Sudan’s Paramilitary Forces Have Committed Genocide during Civil War
The United States has formally declared that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces have committed genocide during the country’s ongoing civil war, marking the second time in less than 30 years that genocide has been perpetrated in Sudan. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, announced the determination on Tuesday while imposing sanctions on the RSF commander Mohammad Hamdan Daglo – known as Hemedti – for his role in what he described as “systematic atrocities”, many perpetrated in west Darfur. While both the RSF and rival Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of committing war crimes during the civil war which broke out in 2023, and which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Blinken detailed a pattern of systematic ethnic violence in which RSF had killed civilians as they tried to flee, and blocked access to essential supplies. The Guardian
John Mahama Sworn in as Ghana’s President, Promises to ‘Reset’ the Country
John Mahama has been sworn in for a second term as Ghana’s president at a ceremony in the capital Accra, with around 20 African leaders in attendance. Mahama won 56 percent of the vote in the nation’s presidential election on December 9, defeating ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who secured 41 percent. Mahama takes over from outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo, who served two terms in power…Among those present were Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traore, Kenyan President William Ruto, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon’s Brice Oligui Nguema. Mahama, 66, was sworn in alongside Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the first woman to become vice president in Ghana. Mahama’s return to the presidency ends eight years in power for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by Ghana’s worst economic turmoil in years, a bailout by the International Monetary Fund, and a debt default. Mahama, who led Ghana from 2012 to early 2017, had previously failed twice to win back the presidency…With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the ruling NPP and the NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992. Al Jazeera
DR Congo Conflict Displaces More than 100,000 People in a Week
Recent fighting in part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced more than 100,000 people over the last week, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office said Tuesday. M23 rebels on Saturday seized control of Masisi, a key town in the mineral-rich DRC…Masisi, with a population of around 40,000 people, is about 80 kilometers north of North Kivu’s provincial capital, Goma. Relative calm returned to Masisi by January 5, prompting some displaced families to begin returning, OCHA said…Between Friday and Monday, Doctors Without Border, or MSF, and health ministry teams treated 75 people at two hospitals in the area, MSF said in a statement Tuesday…The March 23 Movement (M23), a militia that the DRC and U.N. say is being supported by neighboring Rwanda and its army, has seized vast swaths of the east of the DRC since 2021, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis…Angola-mediated talks between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were abruptly canceled in mid-December over disagreements on the terms of a proposed peace deal. AFP
Zimbabwe: President Mnangagwa Appoints Ally to Head Police in Latest Power Consolidation Matrix
On 20 December, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga, an ally of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. He replaced him with his deputy Stephen Mutamba. Mutamba, whom the US sanctioned for restricting the activities of opposition parties under the guise of enforcing Covid-19 lockdown rules, is close to the president…Mnangagwa’s allies and supporters are plotting to extend the president’s term to 2030, even though his second and final term is supposed to run from 2023 to 2028. “Mutamba will play a critical role in silencing Mnangagwa critics and opposition activists as he did in 2022,” [Martin Mureri, a member of parliament of the main opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC)] tells The Africa Report…Harare-based political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya says Zimbabweans should brace themselves for a new era of human rights violations. “Birds of the same feather flock together. With a man like Mutamba in his corral, Mnangagwa can have a good night’s sleep since his autocratic interests are well protected,” he says. During his tenure as deputy commissioner general, Mutamba was sanctioned by the US in 2022 for ordering the police to engage in the violent oppression of political opposition. In 2024, he was designated under the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Programme alongside Mnangagwa and Chiwenga. The Africa Report
It’s the Only Way’: Migrants, Army Face-off along S Africa-Zimbabwe Border
Deployed under the SANDF’s Operation Corona, groups of soldiers with rifles in hand, patrol along the 145 mile Limpopo border on the lookout for smugglers and people crossing illegally…The enhanced border operation, which began in September and will run until the end of April, covers South Africa’s borders with Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe…The South African Border Management Authority (BMA), set up in April 2023 to improve border control, has deported and arrested more than 410,000 people at different sites since a new coalition government came to power in May last year. The government, made up of 11 parties that campaigned on curbing migration, has promised to speed up deportations as some cases take months to resolve…However, permanently clamping down on illicit trade could be difficult for South Africa as the runners and goma-gomas who have crossed the river route for decades could find other paths. “Whenever we invest in more border security there is a race with smugglers, the more we securitise, the more sophisticated people become in getting their goods across, they will always find other means,” [Loren Landau, a professor at the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, which produces academic research on migration trends across the continent] told Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera
Africa Takes Centre Stage as South Africa Maps Ambitious G20 Agenda
As the first African country to lead the trillion-dollar G20 group, South Africa will spend 2025 pushing debt relief, climate change and international justice issues. This means there’s a lot at stake for Brics and developing nations…Pretoria aims to put African development priorities firmly on the G20 agenda – and more broadly, those of the Global South. South Africa took over the rotating presidency of the grouping in December, and will host its main annual summit in November 2025, before handing over to the United States. The forum unites 19 of the world’s largest economies plus the European Union, who meet regularly to coordinate global policies on trade, health, climate and other issues. The group granted the African Union membership in 2023. South Africa is the last member of the G20 to hold the presidency of the group, which was set up in 1999 to create a platform for the world’s most dynamic economies beyond the G7…Debt relief, climate change and peacekeeping are expected to dominate this year’s G20 discussions. RFI
An African at the Helm of UNESCO? Khaled El‑Enany Emerges as Frontrunner
In the race to succeed France’s Audrey Azoulay as director-general of UNESCO, the UN’s Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organisation, two recent developments have shaken things up: the withdrawal of the Gabonese candidate and the announcement of Spain’s official support for the Egyptian one. These two events are not necessarily related, but they illustrate the subtle dynamics of the international alliances around Khaled El-Enany. More than ever, the renowned 51-year-old Egyptologist is emerging as the big favourite in this campaign, with a number of assets to his credit. The withdrawal of Gabonese candidate Noël Nelson Messone reflects a desire to forge a united African front behind El-Enany, supported from the outset by the African Union (AU)…The last appointment of an African director-general dates back to Senegalese Amadou Mahtar Mbow, who headed the institution from 1974 to 1987…But while El-Enany’s qualifications, international network and inclusive vision for UNESCO shine through, his career has not been without its critics. During his ministerial term, certain modernisation initiatives gave rise to controversy, notably the partial destruction of listed sites in Egypt. This paradox between modernising ambition and heritage protection has fuelled debate about his ability to manage the institution’s fundamental missions. The Africa Report
Arrest of Activist Spotlights Alleged Illegal Lithium Mining in Central Namibia
Namibian activist Jimmy Areseb appeared in court Monday after being arrested for allegedly violating public order laws during a protest at a local traditional authority’s offices. Areseb and others at the rally accused officials of accepting bribes from a Chinese mining company in return for access to lithium deposits. The confrontation highlights growing tensions in Namibia’s Erongo region, where activists say the Chinese company, Xinfeng, is acting illegally…The tensions at Uis, a mining settlement in the mineral-rich Erongo region, culminated in the arrest of activist Jimmy Areseb for interfering with the Special Field Force, who were enforcing a court order for demonstrators to vacate the offices where they had camped for a week demanding to see the chief. At the center of the storm is Xinfeng, a company that Namibia’s commissioner of mines has charged with illegal mining…Xinfeng is accused by the activists of paying bribes to the chiefs, in order to gain consent for the mining. VOA
Nigerian Atheist Freed from Prison but Fears for His Life
A prominent Nigerian atheist, who has just been freed after serving more than four years in prison for blasphemy, is now living in a safe house as his legal team fear his life may be in danger. Mubarak Bala, 40, was convicted in a court in the northern city of Kano after, in a surprise move, he pleaded guilty to 18 charges relating to a controversial Facebook post shared in 2020. Nigeria is a deeply religious society and those who may be seen as having insulted a religion – whether Islam or Christianity – face being shunned and discriminated against. Blasphemy is an offence under Islamic law – Sharia – which operates alongside secular law in 12 states in the north. It is also an offence under Nigeria’s criminal law…Bala, an outspoken religious critic, was arrested after a group of lawyers filed a complaint with the police about the social media post. He then spent two years in prison awaiting trial before being convicted in 2022…His conviction was widely condemned by international rights groups and sparked a debate about freedom of speech in Nigeria. His detention also sent shockwaves across Nigeria’s small atheist and humanist communities, and his release has come as a relief to many, but there are still concerns. BBC
9 Million Children in Ethiopia Out of School; Hijab Ban in Tigray Adds Tension
Over nine million children are currently out of school across Ethiopia due to conflict, violence and natural disasters, with more than 6,000 schools shut down, according to the United Nations…UNICEF said Ethiopia’s education sector has been “devastated” because of conflicts, natural disasters and internal displacement…Conflict has forced the closure of many schools in the Amhara and Oromia regions, where rebel groups are fighting government forces…Meanwhile, some public schools in the ancient Tigray city of Axum have banned Islamic headscarves, forcing 159 female students to miss school, Muslim organizations in Ethiopia said…Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education allows Muslim female students to wear headscarves in schools. The Islamic affairs council said the actions of Axum schools are not acceptable…A source from the Education Bureau in Axum who requested anonymity as he is not allowed to speak with media, told VOA that out of the 15 schools in Axum, four have banned the wearing of the hijab. However, the students said they wore the hijab when attending schools in previous years, including last year. VOA
The UN Lists Hundreds of Paternity Claims Against Peacekeepers: Do Member States Care?
747 women who have filed a paternity claim against UN peace operation officers deployed to various crisis zones through Security Council mandates. A newly created dashboard of the UN Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance that records all paternity claims showed that more cases were reported in 2023 than any other year since 2006. Most of the cases recorded are in Africa, with South Africa accounting for 15 percent of the global percentage. The department is led by Catherine Pollard, an undersecretary-general. The UN has led attempts to collect DNA samples from soldiers being deployed to join peacekeeping missions…Of the 747 cases, only 29 cases have been solved…Pollard blamed the low number of resolved cases on member states, who are ultimately responsible for the conduct of their soldiers, she said…UN Secretary-General António Guterres has asked member states to create a national agency to manage the resolution of claims…Guterres said the children born to peacekeepers who often leave the country of assignment before the mothers carry the pregnancy to term face poverty, stigma and insecurity…Pollard said the mothers whose cases are settled receive assistance to care for their children and to start a business through the UN Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. PassBlue