Ethiopia: Expanding Representation While Managing Centrifugal Forces
Ethiopia will hold its first national elections since the end of the devastating conflict with Tigray in 2022, which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. This, along with Ethiopia’s limited legacy of competitive elections, underscores the importance—and daunting challenges involved—of this country of 130 million people holding elections in 2026. Ongoing frictions surrounding Tigray and clashes between federal forces and other armed, ethnically based separatist groups in Amhara and Oromia make the electoral environment even more fraught. … The persistent security tensions are, in part, symptomatic of a fundamental flaw in Ethiopia’s constitution. Established in 1991 under the minority Tigrayan-dominated Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the constitution enshrines an ethnic federal model for the country. Despite the advantages of devolving power closer to local communities in a populous and diverse population, by overlaying ethnic, regional, and political jurisdictions (including the right to secede), the ethnic federal model creates centrifugal pressures on the state incentivizing fragmentation. … Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali is seeking to extend his leadership through these elections by maintaining a parliamentary majority with his Prosperity Party. … Abiy has fashioned an image as a reformer and modernizer to his supporters. At the same time, he is criticized for consolidating power and being intolerant of dissent. … Despite these challenges, there are 48 opposition parties accredited for the 2026 elections. … Ethiopia is also a target of Gulf State rivalries, though Addis has a long tradition of balancing its regional and international partnerships. … Ethiopia’s 2026 elections, therefore, represent a multitiered balancing act of storylines. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
New Sudanese Declaration of Principles Forces Charter ‘Towards Building a New Nation’
The Sudanese Declaration of Principles Forces coalition of leading Sudanese independent democratic civil society groups has announced the signing of a new political charter under the slogan ‘Towards Building a New Nation’ with the aim of “restoring the spirit of the Sudanese revolution and sustaining peace in the country,” they say. … The charter stipulates a national vision that establishes a unified and democratic Sudanese state based on a decentralised federal system that separates religion and state and establishes equal citizenship as the basis for rights and duties. It also emphasises the need for the authority during the transitional period to be entirely civilian and without any participation from the military, with the rebuilding of the security and military system, including the army, police, and intelligence, according to professional and national foundations and international standards that reflect demographic diversity and are fully subject to civilian authority, while keeping them away from political work and economic activities. … The charter proposes a clear mechanism for drafting a permanent constitution based on binding and irrevocable principles to protect the democratic civilian state. Dabanga
Sudanese Medical Group Accuses Paramilitary Force of Killing 27 in Attack Targeting Civilians
A humanitarian organization on Friday accused forces affiliated with a Sudanese paramilitary group of targeting civilians in an area of Sudan free of any military presence during a major Muslim holiday, killing 27 people, among them elderly people. Sudan Doctors Network, a group that tracks violence across the country, blamed forces affiliated with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for carrying out the attacks on Thursday on villages in al-Murrah area located west of Barah town in North Kordofan. It said the attacks worsened already “catastrophic humanitarian conditions that citizens are enduring due to the ongoing war.” … The paramilitary RSF and its allies control the western Darfur region and areas in the Kordofan region along the border with South Sudan — both regions rich in oil fields and gold mines. The RSF also repeatedly clashed with the army over Barah. AP
Islamic State Claims First Attacks in North-west Nigeria
The Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) has claimed what appears to be its first reported attacks in North-west Nigeria, in which 18 soldiers and a police officer were killed in Kebbi and Sokoto states. The claims were published in Al-Naba, an Islamic States’ weekly propaganda magazine published on Thursday. … However, similar attacks were recorded mid-May in Illela LGA, Sokoto, and Shanga LGA, Kebbi. Both attacks were blamed on Lakurawa, a terror group that has been operating in the region for years. The latest claims are expected to renew the debate around Lakurawa’s affiliation. Analysts hold differing opinions regarding the group’s ideological and operational affiliation. While some believe Lakurawa is aligned with an al-Qaeda franchise operating across the Sahel, others argue that the group may instead be operating as a local affiliate of the Islamic State. The uncertainty surrounding the group’s allegiance has continued to complicate efforts to clearly define the evolving militant landscape in Nigeria’s North-west, where armed banditry, cross-border insurgency and extremist infiltration increasingly overlap. Premium Times
WHO Chief in Capital of Ebola-hit DR Congo
The UN health chief, who is in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help fight an Ebola outbreak, was due Friday to meet Congolese authorities before heading Saturday to the violence-hit region at the centre of the crisis. World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the capital, Kinsasha, late Thursday, two weeks after the outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared. He had been due to travel Friday to Ituri, a remote northeastern province that is the epicentre of the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak, but the trip has been pushed back by a day. … State services are largely lacking in Ituri province, where access is hindered by insecurity due to the presence of ADF militants and other community-based militias that regularly kill civilians. Ituri neighbours both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, both of which have also seen Ebola cases in the latest outbreak and have been plagued by near continuous violence for three decades. Swathes of the two regions are under the control of the Rwanda-backed anti-government armed group M23, which re-emerged in late 2021 but stepped up its campaign early last year. AFP
DR Congo: Doctors Combat Ebola with Supportive Care as Patients Show Signs of Recovery
One doctor is closely supervising the construction of a World Food Programme (WFP) VIP clinic for healthcare workers infected with Ebola in Bunia, after he announced on Wednesday that the first Ebola patient had recovered. Dr Richard Kitengé said that they provided therapeutic medical care, taking into account the patient’s clinical progress, but they didn’t administer any specific treatment to achieve this recovery. “And the same applies to the other patients who will recover, because there are many patients who are making excellent progress and will be discharged within 48 to 72 hours”, he added. The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. … African Union’s health agency vows an Ebola Bundibugyo vaccine by end of 2026. … Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, said there were already “some candidates” for a vaccine. “What we can tell you for sure, by the end of this year, 2026, Africa CDC will make sure that we have a vaccine and medicine against Bundibugyo,” he told reporters in an online briefing. Africanews
African Nations Seek Security Ties with Turkey through ‘Somalia Model’
African nations are increasingly pursuing the “Somali model” that Ankara and Mogadishu have developed over the years, seeking deeper ties with Turkey in hopes of receiving security and economic assistance, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told journalists over the weekend. … Turkey and Somalia have a multifaceted relationship that began in 2011, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, visited the country as it was suffering from a severe drought. What started as a humanitarian mission has, over the years, evolved into a full-fledged security and economic alliance. Turkey has its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu and has established hospitals and companies there, while also operating the city’s port and airport. … An Ankara insider familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye that the proposal being put forward by these African countries is simple: Ankara would provide security and help establish stability, then support the development of economic infrastructure and share in the resulting profits with local communities. Middle East Eye
Madagascar’s Top Court Dismisses Lawmaker’s Bid to Oust Military Ruler
Madagascar’s top court on Thursday dismissed a bid by an opposition lawmaker to oust the country’s military ruler. Prominent MP, Antoine Rajerison, had asked the High Constitutional Court to remove army Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who has led the country since last October. Rajerison accused him of treason for what he called “serious and repeated violations of the constitution”, including in making appointments. But the court said the request was “inadmissible” because it did not meet the constitutional requirements for removing a head of state. Randrianirina came to power after his predecessor Andry Rajoelina fled the country as youth-led protests over lack of water and energy escalated. … In March, the military leader dissolved the government, dismissing the prime minister and the entire cabinet. Rights groups say the authorities have arrested demonstrators and used heavy-handed tactics. In recent weeks, young Madagascans have mounted scattered protests over what they describe as the slow pace of reforms. Africanews
South African Impeachment Committee to Hold First Meeting on President’s Scandal
South Africa’s parliament has scheduled for Monday the first meeting of an impeachment committee that will probe allegations around President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Farmgate” scandal, the Democratic Alliance party said on Thursday. The meeting is the next stage in an impeachment process against Ramaphosa that was revived by the Constitutional Court this month, in a setback for the leader for whom the affair has been a major embarrassment during his presidency. Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing in the scandal, in which bundles of cash were stolen from a sofa on his farm in 2020, raising questions about where he had acquired the money and why it was hidden in furniture. … Ramaphosa on Tuesday filed a legal challenge against an independent panel report which found preliminary evidence he had committed misconduct, which some legal analysts said may delay the impeachment proceedings. The president has also threatened to seek an urgent court order to halt impeachment proceedings if parliament moves ahead with the process while his legal challenge is pending. Reuters
Senegalese President Pardons Journalist over 2018 Massacre
The president of Senegal has pardoned a journalist convicted to life in prison over a 2018 massacre in the southern Casamance region, the Committee to Protect Journalists watchdog said in a statement. Journalist Rene Capain Bassene was convicted over the rounding up and killing of 14 loggers in January 2018 by armed individuals in the Bayottes forest in Casamance. … The organisation said that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Tuesday granted pardon to Bassene, who was freed from prison in Dakar the following day. Following the massacre of the loggers in 2018 in a protected forest, a separatist group, the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC), was blamed but the organisation denied all involvement. Casamance rebel fighters used the forest as a base and the Senegalese authorities accuse them of financing their activities by trafficking the wood, as well as cannabis. … Bassene had spent most of his career covering the conflict between the MFDC and Senegalese government, and has written several books on the topic. CPJ said its review of court documents and interviews with Bassene, his co-accused and witnesses revealed a severely flawed investigation into the journalist. Several defendants who were subsequently acquitted said they were forced to implicate Bassene or sign inaccurate interview records, the organisation said. Africanews
Ghana Welcomes Pope’s Apology over Catholic Church’s Role in Slavery
Ghana has welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Catholic Church’s historic role in slavery, describing it as an “act of moral courage” that was important in the global pursuit of “truth, human dignity and justice”. The Pope issued the clearest apology yet for the Church’s involvement in legitimising slavery and its delay in condemning it for centuries. The apology was published on Monday in the Pope’s first major teaching document of his papacy, which also focused on the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI). … The Pope’s apology was delivered in what is known as a encyclical – technically a letter to Catholic bishops, but which over recent decades have been how a pontiff passes on messages to the world. In the papal letter – titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”) – Pope Leo sincerely asked for a pardon in the name of the Church, adding that it was “impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many”. Leo said Church authorities had at times responded to requests of rulers by “regulating and legitimising forms of subjugation, including the enslavement of of [non-Christians]”. He also acknowledged that earlier in the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical institutions had their own slaves. BBC