Sudan Plans Prosthetic Limb Factory as War Casualties Mount
Sudan on Tuesday announced plans to build a factory producing prosthetic limbs, a grim testament to the rising number of amputations resulting from the country’s ongoing conflict. Speaking during a visit to the National Mine Action Center in Omdurman, Health minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said the factory would help rehabilitate those who lost limbs in the fighting. While official figures are unavailable, Ibrahim acknowledged the scale of the problem, noting that “scores of children” are among those requiring amputations. … The minister also underscored the crucial role played by the mine action center in clearing unexploded ordnance, which poses a significant threat to civilians in areas retaken from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He urged the center to intensify its efforts as the army seeks to consolidate its control over the capital. Sudan Tribune
Sudan Media Forum: ‘Women Forced to Trade Sex for Survival’
As Sudan’s war continues to devastate lives, women are resorting to extreme measures to survive. Displacement, poverty, and the collapse of protective mechanisms have left many with no choice but to use their bodies to feed their families. … Reports indicate the destruction of livelihoods in rural and urban areas has pushed families to extreme measures. These include marrying off girls to fighters in conflict zones and children joining armed groups in exchange for food. … In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, aid workers from eight international organisations confirmed cases of girls being forced to marry fighters to survive. Khaled Ibrahim, also using a pseudonym, shared his experience. After losing his job due to the conflict and fleeing to the Zamzam camp, he married off his 16-year-old daughter to a fighter. Dabanga
10 Children Killed in Mozambique Election Protests: HRW
Mozambique security forces killed at least 10 children and injured dozens of others while trying to suppress weeks of protests following a disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said Monday. Security forces detained hundreds of other minors, some of them for days in violation of international law, since election results were announced a month ago, the rights group said. The southern African country has been beset by unrest after the ruling party’s candidate was declared the winner of the Oct. 9 election despite the opposition’s claims of fraud and international observers’ criticism of the vote, including a team from the European Union. … The leftist party, known as Frelimo, has often been accused of rigging elections to remain in power. … International rights groups say at least 30 people have been killed by security forces firing live bullets at protesters, while Mozambican groups say the death toll is around 50. The Mozambique Bar Association said earlier this month that it had secured the release of more than 2,700 people who had been detained by security forces, many of them teenagers. AfricaNews
Mali Arrests Top Politician for Criticizing Burkina Faso’s Ruling Junta
Mali’s junta arrested one of the country’s top politicians Wednesday for criticizing the military rulers of neighbouring Burkina Faso, according to his son and a judiciary source. Issa Kaou N’Djim, who previously supported Mali’s current military leader Col. Assimi Goita before distancing himself, was arrested on charges of insulting a foreign head of state, which is a crime in Mali, an employee of the court system said. The court employee spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters. N’Djim had claimed on the Joliba TV News broadcaster on Sunday that the military rulers of Burkina Faso, a close ally of Mali, made up evidence of a foiled coup in November. … N’Djim was one of the vice presidents of the National Transitional Council (CNT), Mali’s legislative body under the junta. He later distanced himself from the military regime and said he favoured a return to electoral democracy. In 2021, he was handed a six-month prison sentence after he criticized the military regime on social media. AfricaNews/AP
Opposition MPs Question Besigye Arrest in Kenya
A section of Opposition Members of Parliament are seeking explanations over the controversial arrest of former presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye in Nairobi, Kenya.During the plenary sitting on Tuesday, 26 November 2024, legislators questioned the country’s adherence to international and regional laws following the arrest of the Opposition leader. Dr. Kizza Besigye was reportedly arrested in Nairobi on 16 November2024 where he had gone to attend an event organised by Kenya’s Martha Karua and is now on remand in Luzira Prison, after facing trial at the General Court Martial. He is set to appear in court on 02 December 2024. Kiira Municipality Member of Parliament, Ssemujju Nganda led the call for a thorough investigation citing procedural violations in Besigye’s arrest. Ssemujju condemned the charges against Besigye including possession of weapons and holding meetings in foreign countries allegedly aimed at undermining Uganda’s security, as baseless. The Independent
Whistleblowers Exposed to Danger in Nigeria, 13 ECOWAS States without Legal Protection – AFRICMIL
Whistleblowers in Nigeria and 13 other West African countries face severe risks, including harassment, job loss, and even death, due to the absence of comprehensive legal frameworks to shield them, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) said Tuesday. The AFRICMIL Coordinator, Chido Onumah, said this at the ongoing Sub-regional Conference on Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection in West Africa on Tuesday in Abuja. … In the absence of legal protection, Mr Onumah said, whistleblowers face all kinds of retaliation ranging from stigmatisation and discrimination, dismissal from place of work, criminal sanctions and death in extreme cases for daring to take what is obviously a delicate conscious action. … Of the 15 member states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), only Ghana has implemented legislation to protect whistleblowers. … “The pervasiveness of entrenched structural corruption in most countries in West Africa, despite abundant endowment in mineral and natural resources, has no doubt made it a region infested with poverty. Lack of accountability, integrity and transparency in the management of resources by the governments in power are mostly identified as the reasons for this deplorable trend,” Mr Onumah said. Premium Times
Senegal’s Optimism Rises with Diomaye’s Reform Mandate
Senegal’s parliamentary election has handed President Bassirou Diomaye Faye a powerful mandate for change. Citizens now look to his ambitious Senegal 2050 agenda for transformative reforms. Senegal’s ruling party, PASTEF (The African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity), secured an overwhelming parliamentary majority following the country’s legislative election held earlier this month. PASTEF won 130 of 165 seats, up from the 56 it held before the vote, according to provisional results announced by the national vote-counting commission last week. The win gives President Bassirou Diomaye Faye a clear mandate to implement the ambitious reforms he promised during the election campaign. Elected in March on an anti-establishment platform, Diomaye dissolved the opposition-led Parliament to allow the early elections. Diomaye, who at 44 is Africa’s youngest elected leader, pledged economic transformation, social justice and anti-corruption reforms under the Senegal 2050 agenda, which sketches out a political roadmap over the next 25 years. … Former President Macky Sall lost popularity due to a repressive style of governance and stagnating economic policies. However, high living costs, energy prices, growing poverty and unemployment — which led to violent popular protests — persist. DW
Namibia Prepares for a Choice by Mostly Young, Mostly Women Voters
Almost a million of the registered voters for Namibia’s general elections on Wednesday are below the age of 42, and there are more women than men registered to vote, according to the Namibian Electoral Commission, in what promises to be a historic plebiscite. Those voters will be choosing from 15 presidential candidates in the country’s seventh general elections since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, but only five are expected to draw any serious level of support. Among those candidates are the youngest, 37-year-old Job Amupanda of Affirmative Repositioning (AR), and the oldest, South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, the first female candidate in the history of the party and the only woman in the race. … According to the Afrobarometer, Namibians are confident that elections are the best way to choose leaders, but trust has been gradually decreasing in the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s capability to run a free and fair election. News24
Migrant Boat Sinkings off Madagascar Highlight Desperation Felt by Many Somalis
The Somali government says it will begin evacuating the survivors of two boats, carrying mostly Somali migrants, which capsized off the coast of Madagascar Saturday. Twenty-four passengers were killed while 46 others survived. The passengers were attempting to migrate in search of a better life, away from Somalia’s chronic drought, violence and food insecurity. … Migration from Somalia has been on the rise in recent years, mainly due to a lack of security and lack of employment opportunities in the country. There are no reliable estimates of how many have migrated. Zakariye Yusuf Abdirahman, program manager of the Coalition of Somalia Human Rights Defenders, said many Somali youths have a sense of hopelessness that drives them to seek opportunities elsewhere, even if it means facing dangerous conditions. … One major reason people say they are leaving is the heavy taxes placed on businesses by both the government and militant group al-Shabab, which has led to widespread protests in recent months. This situation has forced many individuals to shut down their businesses. VOA
Report Exposes Legal Loopholes Protecting Rapists in Africa
A report by the international NGO Equality Now says the definition of rape in 25 African countries has allowed many perpetrators to go unpunished. Such narrow definitions, it says, often allow charges against accused rapists to be reduced to lesser crimes with lower penalties. The findings are part of a 46-page study uncovering gaps in legislation, implementation, and access to justice for rape victims in 47 African countries. The report says globally, 35% of women have experienced either physical or sexual violence, and that about 33% of women in Africa have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. High rates of sexual violence have been documented during conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, says the report, which adds that in those countries, rape was used as a weapon of war to denigrate, disempower, and demoralize communities. VOA
New Mpox Vaccines for Congo’s Children Held Up by Old Problem
Adults started getting vaccinations against mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital this week. But there were no shots available for children, the most vulnerable group, after a key dose donation was held back by an old legal hurdle. Japan pledged in September to donate three million doses from its national stockpile of LC16m8 vaccines, first developed by local firm KM Biologics for smallpox. It is the only vaccine effective against mpox that is approved for use in children, and the pledge was the biggest single donation yet to fight the disease anywhere. But the two countries took time to negotiate over a common issue in global health: who pays if there are unexpected side effects caused by the vaccine. Congo said the issue has now been resolved. But the delay once again showed the need for a better system, global health experts said, to stop the seemingly technical point holding up life-saving responses. Without clear terms, governments of poorer countries fear being left on the hook for claims. Donor governments are also often unwilling. But the payouts can be so huge, in the rare cases of problems, that an agreement over who is responsible needs to be signed before doses can be shipped. Reuters
Tanzania Mourns WHO Africa Director-elect Faustine Ndugulile
Dr Faustine Ndugulile, Kigamboni MP and World Health Organisation Africa director-elect, died early Wednesday morning while undergoing treatment in India, officials said. Tanzania Parliamentary Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson confirmed the news in a brief statement shared on Parliament’s social media platforms. “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Faustine Ndugulile, the MP for Kigamboni and WHO Regional Director-elect for Africa. On behalf of all Members of Parliament, I extend heartfelt condolences to his family, residents of Kigamboni, and all Tanzanians,” Dr Ackson said. The statement did not disclose the nature of Dr Ndugulile’s illness. He was aged 55. A former deputy minister of Health, Dr Ndugulile was nominated WHO Africa regional director at the 74th WHO Regional Committee Session in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in August 2024. He was to take over the post from Botswana’s Dr Matshidiso Moeti in February 2025. The East African