Mapping Gulf State Actors’ Expanding Engagements in East Africa
Driven by economic interests, rivalries, and ambitions to be a dominant regional power, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, and Turkey have become leading sources of capital, private sector engagement, and weapons flows into East Africa in recent years. Combined with heightened engagements from Qatar and Kuwait, this has amounted to roughly $75 billion in investments for East Africa in recent years. These Gulf states (and Turkey), thus, have become increasingly intertwined with the economies, port operations, politics, and security forces of East Africa—with far reaching implications for the region’s roughly 415 million citizens. These engagements highlight stark political and economic disparities between the regions. The median per capita income for Gulf state investors is 22-fold greater than that of the targeted East African countries. The East Africa region, moreover, has been wracked by instability with 9 out of the 12 countries in the region facing armed conflict. This fragility has, at times, been amplified by the Gulf states’ rivalries—seen most vividly in Sudan where regional actors are sponsoring opposing sides of the armed conflict. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
EU Boosts Aid to Chad and Darfur as Violence Displaces Thousands
The European Union is ramping up humanitarian assistance to eastern Chad and Sudan’s Darfur region in response to deadly attacks on displacement camps that have forced hundreds of thousands to flee since April, the EU delegation in Chad said on Tuesday. The bloc has allocated an immediate €2 million in emergency funding to address the critical needs of new arrivals in Chad’s Wadi Fira province, which borders Sudan….To bolster the aid response, the EU has also operated a series of seven humanitarian flights, delivering 531 tonnes of vital supplies. The cargo includes medical equipment, essential medicines, hygiene kits, and emergency shelter items. The aid, which arrived in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, is intended for distribution to vulnerable populations in both Darfur and eastern Chad. The EU noted that 159 tonnes of the supplies were drawn from its own stockpiles. Sudan Tribune
UN Airdrops Food Aid in South Sudan to People Hit by Conflict
The World Food Programme said Monday it had airdropped food aid to help tens of thousands of people in remote parts of South Sudan where surging conflict has pushed some communities “to the brink of famine”. The unstable east African nation has seen a drastic uptick in violence since simmering rivalry between President Salva Kiir and his vice-president Riek Machar boiled over into open hostilities in March. The tensions raised fears of a return to full-scale war in the impoverished country, the world’s youngest, where a civil war killed some 400,000 people in 2013-2018. “These distributions mark WFP’s first access in over four months to deliver life-saving food and nutrition assistance to more than 40,000 people… in the most remote parts of Nasir and Ulang counties, areas only accessible by air,” the United Nations agency said in a statement…Fighting has blocked main river routes, which are the most cost-effective way to reach large swathes of Upper Nile and northern Jonglei state to deliver assistance, the UN agency added. Across South Sudan, 7.7 million people, or 57 percent of the population, face “crisis, emergency or catastrophic” levels of hunger, it said. AFP
Why ‘Pan-Africanist’ Influencers Pushed Rumours of a Coup
Social media was full of posts claiming a coup was under way [in Ivory Coast]. Dramatic footage of soldiers on the street flooded platforms, while AI-generated and presenter-led reports were racking up millions of views on YouTube...But the claims shared around 19 May were false. They are the most recent example of untrue rumours being spread about coups in West Africa, increasing tensions in a region that has seen several military takeovers in recent years. Ivory Coast, one of the few French-speaking countries still closely aligned with the West, is due to hold presidential elections later this year. Experts believe it could be an increasing target for this type of disinformation with narratives attacking the electoral process…Ivory Coast’s Communications Minister Amadou Coulibaly told the BBC they had traced the origin of the fake information to “neighbouring countries”, but did not specify further. The rumours appear to have grown out of a rift with Burkina Faso and have been promoted by a growing wave of self-styled pan-Africanist influencers. They reject ties with the West, often express support for Russia and generate conversations across the continent – reaching countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa…The most popular YouTube videos about the alleged turmoil in Ivory Coast, viewed millions of times, were shared by channels that often style themselves as dedicated to pan-Africanism or discussions about Burkina Faso’s junta leader. BBC
Mali Parliament Member Arrested in Ivory Coast
A member of the transitional parliament in military-ruled Mali has been arrested and imprisoned in neighbouring Ivory Coast, his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday. Mamadou Hawa Gassama, who is part of the National Transitional Council, the west African country’s legislative body, made remarks critical of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in September 2022. He is being prosecuted for “serious offences” and is in custody in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic capital his lawyer Mamadou Ismaila Konate said on X...Gassama criticised Ouattara in a September 2022 interview with Malian media after the regional bloc ECOWAS imposed an economic and financial embargo on Mali over the pair of military coups. AFP
Rwandan Opposition Leader Ingabire Appears in Court on Subversion Charges
Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire on Tuesday appeared in a courtroom in the capital, Kigali, for the first time since her arrest on subversion charges last month. A long-time critic of President Paul Kagame, Ingabire was previously jailed and has been at times the only government opponent to keep up her activism from inside Rwanda. Most of Kagame’s other opponents are in exile. Rwandan prosecutors accuse her of plotting to incite public unrest. The charges could send her back to prison for many years if convicted. Prosecutors say she was in contact with nine other suspects, including a journalist named Theoneste Nsengimana. The others are members of the DALFA-Umurinzi group, a party led by Ingabire that is not recognized by authorities. Ingabire has denied the charges, previously calling offenses against her politically motivated. Her bail hearing on Tuesday was postponed to July 15 after she refused a court-appointed local defense attorney and prefered her choice of a Kenyan team of lawyers. The court ruled that the case will be heard in a week whether or not she assembled a defense team of her choice. AP
Tunisian Court Sentences Opposition Leader Rached Ghannouchi to 14 Years in Prison
A Tunisian court on Tuesday, July 8, sentenced one of the country’s most prominent opposition leaders to 14 years in prison, adding to a string of convictions that he received in other cases. Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, was among those sentenced as part of a sweeping case in which politicians were charged with conspiring against state security. Several other detained members of his party were sentenced to 12 years. Ghannouchi’s party rose to power after Tunisia became the first country in the region to oust a longtime dictator as part of the Arab Spring. He later served as speaker of the country’s assembly and is among the opposition figures that have faced prosecution since President Kais Saied took power six years ago. His defense team denied the charges and said in a statement that proceedings didn’t meet the standards of a fair trial. Le Monde with AFP
Four Chad Journalists Found Not Guilty of Conspiring with Russia
Four Chadian journalists, three of whom have been in prison since March, were found not guilty on Tuesday by the N’Djamena high court on charges of “conspiring” with Russia’s Wagner Group. The public prosecutor last Wednesday had requested two years imprisonment for the four defendants. They were suspected of having provided “information relating to the country’s security and economy” and of “having worked with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner”, the public prosecutor, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, said in a statement…The accused included Olivier Monodji, a director of local weekly Le Pays and a correspondent for Radio France Internationale; Ndilyam Guekidata, another editor at Le Pays; and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a reporter at Tele Chad. The three were arrested and jailed in March, while Ahmat Ali Adji from Toumai Web Media was later accused but not detained. AFP
Toll from Kenya Anti-government Protests Rises to 31
Thirty-one people died in Monday’s nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya, the country’s National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said on Tuesday, more than tripling its previous toll of 10. The KNCHR also reported two forced disappearances in the wake of the marches commemorating a 1990 uprising against autocratic rule in the east African nation. Clashes between protesters and police had erupted on the fringes of the capital Nairobi, with the KNCHR accusing the police of cooperating with armed gangs in the wake of the violence. Monday’s marches marked Saba Saba day — meaning Seven Seven — which celebrates the date when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multi-party democracy on July 7, 1990 after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel arap Moi. Besides the 31 dead and two disappearances, the commission said on Tuesday that it had counted 532 arrests and 107 people wounded. AFP
Ghana’s President Inaugurates a Special Task Force to Tackle Illegal Gold Mining
Ghana’s president launched a special task force on Tuesday to combat rampant illegal gold mining and smuggling that has long plagued the West African nation. The chronic challenge of illegal gold mining — known locally as “galamsey” — was a major issue during Ghana’s presidential election campaign last year and a source of concern for voters, triggering protests and criticism against the outgoing government. Ghana’s President John Mahama inaugurated the GOLDBOD Task Force, saying its creation “signals our readiness to act decisively.” The task force — comprised of officers from various security agencies and the military — is empowered to arrest and detain suspects. It follows the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board agency in January as the sole legal entity managing all transactions and exports of gold mined in the country by small mining companies…The illegal gold mining industry has resulted in significant economic losses and environmental degradation for Ghana, Africa’s largest gold-producing country. It has flourished as a result of a massive slump in Ghana’s economic fortunes as millions of young people struggle to find jobs. AP
Gambia Lawmakers Reject New Draft Constitution
Gambian lawmakers have rejected a draft constitution aimed at strengthening the tiny west African country after years of dictatorship, with opposition leaders saying it had failed to include important stakeholders. The draft, which was rejected Monday, was intended to replace the 1997 constitution, which enabled former dictator Yahya Jammeh to consolidate his hold on power after a 1994 coup. The measure failed to reach the necessary three-quarters of votes in the single-chamber legislature, with only 35 of the National Assembly’s 56 members coming out in favour…The Gambia’s Constitutional Review Commission, set up in June 2018, published its first draft of a new constitution in November 2019. Lawmakers allied to current President Adama Barrow rejected it in 2020 due to a retroactive clause imposing two-term presidential limits. Four years later, the government drew up a second draft removing the retroactive clause. That bill was rejected Monday. If passed it would have meant that Barrow, in power since 2017, could serve two further terms after the new constitution came into force. AFP
Indian PM Modi Eyes Namibian Minerals as Part of State Visit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Namibia this week in a bid to strengthen ties with the resource-rich nation. It’s his second and final stop in Africa on a five-nation tour that began in Ghana last week, sandwiched around a visit to Brazil for the BRICS summit. In Namibia, Modi is expected to discuss access to critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium, uranium supplies, and the diamond trade — with the African country home to rich deposits in all. The visit “is being seen as pivotal in India’s quest for critical minerals essential to new-age technologies and electric vehicles,” reported The Times of India. The Indian premier is also likely to emphasize the idea of south-south cooperation during his tour. Semafor
Libya Authorities Intercept Over 100 Migrants Off Coast
Libyan authorities on Monday said they had intercepted 113 migrants off the country’s coast and recovered three bodies in separate operations over three days… [Libya] has become a hub for tens of thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe, risking their lives at sea. Migrants intercepted by Libyan authorities — even in international waters before reaching the Italian coast, some 300 kilometres away — are forcibly returned to Libya and held in detention under harsh conditions frequently condemned by the United Nations. AFP
First Malaria Treatment for Babies is Approved
Medicine to treat babies and infants suffering from malaria has been approved for the first time and is expected to be rolled out in Africa within weeks. Malaria treatment for infants weighing less than 4.5 kilograms has been unavailable until now, due to the risk of overdose. Coartem Baby, the new medicine, was produced by pharmaceutical giant Novartis and has been approved by Swissmedic, Switzerland’s regulator for therapeutic products. Nekoye Otsyula, global medical affairs director at Novartis, told Semafor that the medicine would be most effective when adopted alongside other anti-malarial tools used by families, such as vaccines and bed nets…Eight African countries — Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda — are expected to approve the medicine within around 90 days after studying the trial findings used by Swissmedic to reach its decision, Novartis officials told Semafor. They said Ghana has already approved the medicine. Semafor
France MPs Approves Return of Colonial-era ‘talking Drum’ to Côte d’Ivoire
France’s parliament approved on Monday, July 7, returning to Côte d’Ivoire a “talking drum” that colonial troops took from the Ebrié tribe in 1916, in the latest greenlight to the repatriation of colonial spoils. The Ayôkwé Djidji drum is a communication tool more than three meters long and weighing 430 kilos that was once used to transmit messages between different areas, for example to warn others of a forced recruitment drive. The lower house of the French parliament approved separating out the artefact from national museum collections to enable its return, after the upper-house Sénat backed the move in April. In 2018, Côte d’Ivoire officially asked Paris to return 148 works of art taken during the colonial period, including the Ayôkwé Djidji. President Emmanuel Macron promised to send the drum and other artefacts back home to the west African country in 2021. Le Monde with AFP