With Rivals Restricted, Kagame Looks Set for Another Term in Rwanda
On Monday, more than nine million people are casting their ballots in a presidential and parliamentary election that analysts and rights groups say is a rubber-stamp vote with a foregone conclusion. Even though hundreds of candidates have registered to run for various seats, only Mr. Kagame’s face dots the landscapes of this hilly, landlocked nation of 14 million people. … Opposition members say they have been operating against the backdrop of severe restrictions and animosity toward their campaigns. In interviews, opposition party members say they have been threatened, harassed, beaten and detained without charges during the election season. Mr. Habineza, who leads the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, said that officials in two districts organized campaigns for the governing party right next to them. Voters, he said, were ordered to go to the other rallies, and a shop that sold energy drinks to his staff members in one of the districts was fined about $40. “They just don’t respect the law,” Mr. Habineza said in an interview. The authorities have also ordered local leaders and business operators to collect contributions from residents and their staff and give them to the governing party’s campaign, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. One employee of a financial institution said he parted with 20 percent of his salary for three months. NY Times
Rwanda’s 99% Man Who Wants to Extend his Three Decades in Power
There is very little room for improvement for Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame in Monday’s election after getting almost 99% of the vote last time round. The scale of his victory in 2017, along with his 95% in 2003 and 93% in 2010, raised some questions about how truly democratic the elections were. Criticism that the former refugee and rebel leader confidently bats away. “There are those who think 100% is not democracy,” Mr Kagame told thousands of cheering supporters at a campaign rally in western Rwanda last month. Referring to elections elsewhere, without naming a specific country, he added: “There are many who are voted in office with 15%… Is that democracy? How?” What happens in Rwanda is Rwanda’s business, the president insisted. … The president is not backward when it comes to criticising the West, but he also tries to secure its backing by sometimes playing on the guilt over the failure to prevent the genocide. … Mr Kagame has also been accused of silencing, through imprisonment and intimidation, other potential opponents. He once told the Al Jazeera news channel he should not be held responsible for a weak opposition. His powerful network of spies has allegedly carried out a spate of cross-border assassinations and abductions. … “You can’t betray Rwanda and not get punished for it,” [Kagame once] told a prayer meeting … “Anyone, even those still alive, will reap the consequences. Anyone. It is a matter of time.” BBC
Security Council Concerned about Dire Humanitarian Situation in Sudan
The members of the Security Council reiterated their extremely grave concern at the dire humanitarian situation and acute food insecurity in Sudan, a statement said. They also expressed their deep concern at the continued violations of international law in Sudan and the heavy toll of the ongoing conflict on civilians, including women and children. Council members welcomed the convening in Geneva, by the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, of proximity talks between the Sudanese warring parties. “They urged the Sudanese warring parties to de-escalate tensions, cease hostilities, and ensure the protection of civilians, including in El Fasher, in accordance with international humanitarian law and, as applicable, human rights law,” the statement said. “They called on the parties to use the opportunity of the talks to agree to steps to rapidly deliver these goals and work towards a sustainable end to the crisis in Sudan.” Radio Tamazuj
DR Congo Faces Catastrophic Health, Humanitarian Crisis
The World Health Organization warns that millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are facing a health and humanitarian crisis because of escalating conflict and violence, mainly in the eastern part of the country in recent months. The agency said the surge in violence by armed groups, principally Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels, an accusation denied by the Rwandan government, is leading to “mass displacement, widespread disease, gender-based violence and severe mental trauma.” Dr. Adelheid Marschang, a WHO senior emergency officer, told journalists in Geneva Friday, “The DRC now has the highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the entire world, with 25.4 million affected.” She said the DRC “remains one of the most underfunded crises,” which hampers the ability of people to receive the relief supplies and care needed to protect them from infectious diseases, hunger, and sexual and gender-based violence. … Marschang said 1 million children out of 6.9 million are malnourished and at risk of becoming severely acutely malnourished if they do not receive specialized therapeutic treatment. VOA
Congo Says May Need UN Peacekeepers to Stay to Deter Rwanda
Congo has said it will not require the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from its North Kivu province due to the presence of Rwandan forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said that the situation in the east of the country was not conducive for a troop pullout. A U.N. report said this week 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting the Congolese army and overseeing rebel operations. On Friday, the Congolese army accused the rebels of violating a humanitarian ceasefire announced by the US. President Felix Tshisekedi last September demanded the withdrawal of peacekeepers, accusing them of refusing to confront the rebels. Dozens of people were killed in demonstrations targeting MONUSCO bases in eastern Congo. A first phase saw peacekeepers complete their departure from South Kivu province in June. The M23 rebels rekindled their insurgency in 2022, taking vast areas of North Kivu from government hands and displacing close to a million people. AfricaNews
Radio Show Suspended, Prominent Musician Reprimanded after Criticising DRC Army in Fight against M23
Criticism of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) army has seen a prominent morning radio show taken off the air, while an artist has promised to be more diplomatic in the future when talking about the fight against M23 rebels. “There is no war. We are beaten, we are slapped, we are made to do whatever they [M23] want,” the eccentric rhumba music stalwart Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba, better known as Koffi Olomide, said about the war between government troops and rebels. The army was “weak”, he said. Olomide, who last year sang praises of President Felix Tshisekedi, was being interviewed by journalist Jessy Kabasele on the “Le Panier, the Morning Show” aired by the state-controlled Congolese National Radio and Television (RTNC) on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Higher Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC) said Olomide’s comments were “in violation of the CSAC directive relating to broadcasts on the progress of military operations at the war front”. Kasabele’s show was shelved, and the RTNC suspended him. News24
Children Killed in Nigeria School Collapse
Twenty-two children have died and at least 132 have been injured after a school building collapsed in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, local officials say. Saint Academy in the state capital Jos caved in while students were in class on Friday morning. Children were left trapped under the debris. Volunteers used excavators, hammers and their bare hands to break through the piles of concrete and twisted iron rods to reach many of those trapped. … Residents said the collapse came after three days of heavy rains in Plateau. … The state government said an investigation is underway and cited the school’s “weak structure and unsafe location near a riverbank”, advising other schools “with structural concerns” to close immediately. … There have been several major building collapses in Nigeria in recent years, with observers blaming a mix of bad workmanship, poor quality materials and corruption. BBC
Car Bomb Kills Nine Outside Restaurant in Somalia’s Capital during Euro 2024 Final
The death toll from a blast at a cafe in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu has climbed to nine, security sources told AFP Monday, after a car bomb struck the venue packed with football fans watching the Euro 2024 final. “Nine civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in the explosion,” Mohamed Yusuf, an official from the national security agency said, raising the official toll of five given by the authorities late Sunday. “There were many people inside the restaurant, most of them youth who were watching the football match… but thanks to God, most of them made their way out safely after using ladders to climb up and jump over the backside perimeter wall,” he said. … No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the state-run Somali National News Agency said Sunday that the attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab jihadists. News24/AFP
At Least Eight Killed in Shootout during Somalia Prison Breakout Attempt
At least eight people have been killed after gunfire erupted between security forces and inmates at a prison in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The confrontation broke out on Saturday at the city’s main prison when armed inmates attempted to escape, prompting an exchange of fire that left five prisoners and three soldiers dead, said Colonel Abdiqani Khalaf, spokesperson for the Somali army’s custodial corps. … Eighteen other prisoners and three soldiers were wounded in the incident, he said. No prisoners escaped. Security sources said that the inmates who had attempted to escape were from al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked group. Having obtained weapons, they had launched what appeared to be a well-orchestrated escape plan. Al Jazeera
Somalia Will Require Foreign Troops Past ATMIS Exit, Experts Says
As Somalia moves towards African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) exiting the country and ushering in another foreign force on its shores, security experts say financial reasons and political expediency are to blame for the short transition timelines. As a result, they say Somalia’s push to be the architect of its security will again not be achieved when all AU troops exit the country. This will come nearly three years after Atmis was authorised by the United Nations Security Council to mentor the Somali National Army (SNA) to take up security responsibilities, handover military outposts and deliver the transition that guarantees protection for civilians, against al Shabaab militants. But, in his June 24 briefing to the UNSC, head of Atmis Mohamed el-Amine Souef observed that despite the AU force’s progress towards delivering the transition, al Shabaab remains resilient and retains the ability to conduct devastating attacks. … Mr Mahmood observes that there has been progress, as the SNA has taken over some bases from the AU force, and increasingly leads the fight against al Shabaab, but a full transition is a long-term process, and more time is required to continue to develop the Somali security sector to stand on its own. The East African
The Bear Brigade, the Kremlin’s New Paramilitary Outfit in Africa
Since Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death on August 23, 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense has taken over the Wagner Group’s activities in Africa. Among the many paramilitary units it supervises is the Bear Brigade, whose men made a conspicuous arrival in Burkina Faso. The terrace of the Hotel Sonia offers a great view over Ouagadougou airport’s runways. In late May, gone were the Western guests who used to frequent the new establishment in the center of the Burkinabe capital before Captain Ibrahim Traoré took power on September 30, 2022. Instead, they have been replaced by some 30 white men in fatigues, face masks and sunglasses. These paramilitary soldiers who let themselves be filmed belong to the Bear Brigade, a Russian private military company – a type of company officially forbidden in the country – under the Russian Ministry of Defense’s supervision. Initially created in March 2023 in Crimea, the Bear Brigade is comprised of volunteer Russian soldiers. Grouped into different units, they serve alongside the regular army in the war in Ukraine and the Donbas. In images geotagged by Le Monde, some of its fighters can be seen training at the Perevalne camp in occupied Crimea, which was visited by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov on April 5, 2023. Le Monde
Top Official Warns of Weakened Regional Security Following Withdrawal from West African Economic Bloc by Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger’s decision to pull out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “even as terrorism and transnational organized crime remain a pervasive threat”, will be damaging to regional relations all round, said the UN’s top official in the region on Friday. Leonardo Santos Simão, who heads the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), told the Security Council that by “renouncing ECOWAS”, the three military-led governments would be “relinquishing key benefits” including regional integration, freedom of movement, security cooperation and an integrated regional economy, hurting both themselves and remaining ECOWAS members. The three transitional governments severed ties with ECOWAS after senior officers staged military takeovers in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Military leaders have consequently “postponed the return to constitutional rule and sparked fear of prolonged uncertainty”, as civic space “continues to shrink” said the UN Special Representative. The transitional regimes have added to instability in the already precarious and vast Sahel region, marked by increasing insecurity, worsening humanitarian crises, and slow economic growth exasperated by political vulnerability, he said. UN News
UN Urges Release of Detained Libyan Journalist
The United Nations mission in Libya called Saturday for the “immediate” release of a prominent journalist arrested this week, warning against a “crackdown” on media freedoms in the war-torn country. Ahmed Sanussi, chief editor of Libyan financial news website Sada, who has long covered corruption in the hydrocarbon-rich country, was arrested in his Tripoli home after returning from Tunisia, his family said. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said, it was “deeply concerned about the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalist Ahmed Sanussi on July 11 in Tripoli.” … “The crackdown on journalism fosters a climate of fear and undermines the necessary environment for democratic transition in Libya,” it said. Libya has been wracked by division and unrest since the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi and remains divided between two rival administrations. The U.N. mission highlighted the need for a “thriving civic space where Libyans can engage in open and safe debate and dialogue by exercising their right to freedom of expression.” VOA/AFP
In Tunisia, Those Running for Office Risk Repression
In the run-up to Tunisia’s October presidential election, authorities are stepping up their crackdown on potential candidates and critics of the incumbent president, Kais Saied, who has yet to announce his candidacy. Lotfi Mraihi is in prison, facing serious charges. The Secretary General of Tunisia’s Republican People’s Union and a candidate for the country’s upcoming presidential elections, Mraihi has been accused of money laundering and illegally moving money abroad. Mraihi was arrested this week after he announced his intention to run in the early October vote. When Mraihi ran in 2019, he received around 6.5% of the vote. Other politicians who have expressed an interest in running for the country’s highest office or are considered potential candidates have also been targeted by authorities. … Moreover, the authorities are not just cracking down on potential candidates but on critical voices in general. In May, Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer known for her criticism of the increasingly authoritarian President Kais Saied, was arrested in a television studio as cameras were recording. In early July, she was sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly spreading false news. … “The most important prerequisites for free elections have not been met,” Riad Chaibi, opposition politician and advisor to Ghannouchi, told DW. Tunisia’s political scene has witnessed a flurry of arrests, trials and imprisonments. DW
Civilian Kidnappings in Chad: ‘You Can Thank Your Friends, They’re the Ones Who Betrayed You!’
The population and NGOs who are present in the south-west of the country, a neglected region where kidnappings for ransom are frequent, suspect the complicity of the law enforcement agencies. In southwestern Chad – a neglected outlying region on the borders of Cameroon and the Central African Republic – more than 1,500 people have been kidnapped in the last 20 years, according to an estimate by the Organization to Support Development Initiatives (OAID), a national NGO. This figure is probably underestimated, as families do not always contact the law enforcement agencies out of fear of reprisals or being asked for money by the authorities themselves. Livestock breeders, farmers, or civil servants: anyone suspected of having savings, however meagre, can be targeted. Sometimes, all it takes to attract the attention of kidnappers is to have sold an ox at the market. Le Monde
Extremists in Northern Mozambique Use Rape as a Weapon
Forced marriages of girls are common in Cabo Delgado. NGOs report that minors are abducted and systematically forced to marry members of extremist groups. “Here, in this area, there are many girls who were kidnapped and forced to marry terrorists,” said 17-year-old Telma from the Chiure district in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. A brutal war between an “Islamic State”-affiliated extremist group and Mozambican security forces and their allies has been raging in her home region since October 2017. “In our neighborhood, there is a girl who managed to escape the terrorists after three years of captivity and return to her family,” Telma said. “But most never come back. The jihadis also abduct very young girls. They grow up with the terrorists until they reach puberty. Then they are forced into sex and have to bear children.” Telma’s account was one of the hundreds of testimonies collected and analyzed by aid workers in northern Mozambique and summarized in a recent report on “forced child marriages in Cabo Delgado.”, published by Save The Children Mozambique. The escalation of the conflict in Cabo Delgado in 2023 has led to a 10% increase in child marriages, according to the NGOs involved in the study. DW
Kenyans Combat the Threat of Logging with Hidden Beehives
Dressed in protective clothing and armed with a smoker, Peter Nyongesa walked through the mangroves to monitor his beehives along the Indian Ocean coastline. The 69-year-old Nyongesa recalled how he would plead unsuccessfully with loggers to spare the mangroves or cut only the mature ones while leaving the younger ones intact. “But they would retort that the trees do not belong to anyone but God,” he said. So he has turned to deterring the loggers with bees, hidden in the mangroves and ready to sting. Their hives now dot a section of coastline in Kenya’s main port city of Mombasa in an effort to deter people who chop mangroves for firewood or home construction. It’s part of a local conservation initiative. … Mangroves, which thrive in salty water, help in preventing erosion and absorbing the impact of severe weather events such as cyclones. But more than half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse, according to the first global mangrove assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Ecosystems released in May. AP
Zambia Made Education Free, Now Classrooms are Crammed
It’s 07:00 on a chilly winter morning and a group of students has just arrived at Chanyanya Primary and Secondary school, a little over an hour’s drive south-west of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka. “You need to come early to school because there is a shortage of desks,” says 16-year-old pupil Richard Banda. “Two days ago I came late and I ended up sitting on the floor – it was so cold.” His discomfort encapsulates the problem of a lack of resources and overcrowding that has come as a result of offering free primary and secondary school education here. … These start-of-the-day rituals have become part of a new routine for two million extra children who since 2021 have been able to go to state-run schools without having to pay, because the government made schooling free for everyone. But without enough infrastructure investment, experts say overcrowding is now threatening the quality of education, especially for low-income students. … In one of the classrooms, 75 boys and 85 girls are squeezed into a space that would comfortably fit only 30 pupils. “When I started in 2019 I had about 40 students, but now it’s around 100 plus, and that is just in one class,” says 33-year-old teacher Cleopatra Zulu. “Each and every day we receive new learners because of free education. Talking one-on-one is difficult, even marking is a challenge. We have even reduced the number of subjects that we are giving them”. BBC