Black Axe—Nigeria’s Most Notorious Transnational Criminal Organization
First founded in 1977 at the University of Benin in Edo State as a pan-African Black Power student confraternity, Black Axe has since morphed into a sophisticated multinational criminal enterprise…Known for its violence and brutality in Nigeria, Black Axe members (referred to as Axemen) routinely engage in drug dealing, smuggling, kidnapping, and extortion…The organization’s most profitable criminal enterprise, cybercrime, transcends geographic boundaries and is thought to have netted the organization tens of billions of dollars…A culture of impunity persists around prosecuting criminal groups like the Black Axe given that that many senior officials, jurists, and law enforcement officers are confraternity members…Given the political interference limiting prosecutions of Black Axe crimes in Nigeria, the federal and state governments will need to augment their existing legislation to better insulate the judiciary from criminal intimidation. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Botswana Votes with Ruling Party Seeking to Extend Six Decades of Power
Southern Africa’s diamond-rich nation of Botswana voted in general elections Wednesday with the ruling party seeking to extend its nearly six-decade rule and hand a second term to President Mokgweetsi Masisi…Masisi was elected in 2019 with around 52% of the vote. While the party is not expected to fare much better this time, the opposition is fractured. The main opposition alliance is the left-leaning Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), led by youthful human rights lawyer, Duma Boko, 54. It lost two key members in the run-up to voting day with the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) quitting and each fielding their own presidential candidates…While the surprise return six weeks ago from three years of self-exile of the previous president Ian Khama to campaign against Masisi added some energy to the opposition, analysts said his influence was limited to a few districts. AFP
In Botswana’s Election, Diamond Profits Are a Defining Issue
For generations, diamonds have been the beating heart of the economy of Botswana, which ranks as one of the world’s top two diamond producers, regularly competing with Russia. The diamond industry has transformed Botswana into a beacon of hope on the African continent, and what the World Bank considers an upper-middle-income country. But a global decline in diamond demand has hit Botswana’s economy hard. That has only deepened financial hardship for a population in which many believe that the government has upset the nation’s great rise through corruption and bad administration…Unemployment has increased to nearly 28 percent, and it’s even worse among youth, at 38 percent. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the country’s economy will grow just 1 percent this year, down from 5.5 percent in 2022. The decline is largely because of challenges in the diamond industry, which accounts for about 90 percent of Botswana’s exports, according to the World Bank. The New York Times
Niger State Lawmakers Raise Alarm as Bandits Take over Nigerian Military’s Largest Training Camp
The Niger State House of Assembly has raised an alarm over the occupation of Nigeria’s largest military training camp in Kontagora Local Government Area by bandits. The lawmakers said the bandits’ activities have displaced 23 communities around the Nagwamase military cantonment in the Kontagora local council headquarters. According to the lawmakers, the cantonment hosts the largest military training camp in Nigeria, where personnel of the Nigerian Army’s artillery corps undergo training. The Assembly said that bandits had taken over the training camp and urged the state government to immediately liaise with the military authorities to flush them out…[Assembly member Abdullahi Isah] said in the last month, communities near the training camp had been under intense attacks by bandits operating with impunity, adding that the gunmen were still holding some members of the communities abducted during a recent operation. Premium Times
Bloody Attack in Mali’s Capital Shows Al-Qaeda’s Shifting Strategy
When [JNIM] militants struck Bamako before dawn last month, filming much of their assault, they ambushed a military training school and set fire to planes at the international airport, where Russia’s Wagner Group is reported to have one of its bases in Mali…Western and Malian officials and analysts say the Bamako attack underscored both Wagner’s inefficacy in countering Islamist violence and a strategic shift by JNIM, which has used Wagner’s abuses to win support and increase its attacks in Mali’s south, potentially threatening coastal West African nations long considered stable…Daniel Eizenga, a research fellow focused on the Sahel at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said there has been a “pivot” by JNIM from “demonizing the French to demonizing Wagner” that is in some ways justified by Wagner’s tactics — which are often more brutal than that of JNIM. The Washington Post
Sudan: RSF Committing Widespread Sexual Violence, Amounting to War Crimes: UN
A UN fact-finding mission reported on Tuesday that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are responsible for widespread sexual violence, including gang rapes and the abduction and detention of women in conditions amounting to sexual slavery. The report, which expands on findings presented to the Human Rights Council in September, concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that these acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture, rape, sexual slavery, and persecution on ethnic and gender grounds. While the report also documented cases involving the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied groups, it emphasized that the majority of the rape and sexual violence has been perpetrated by the RSF, particularly in Greater Khartoum, Darfur, and Al Jazirah states. This violence, the report argues, is a deliberate tactic to terrorize civilians, punish those perceived to be associated with the SAF, and suppress any opposition. Sudan Tribune
War in Sudan Has Displaced over 14 Million, or about 30% of the Population, UN Says
The war in Sudan has displaced more than 14 million people, or about 30% of the population, since it broke out over a year ago, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis this year, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. Of those, 11 million are internally displaced and 3.1 million have fled to neighboring countries, Amy Pope, director-general of the IOM, said in a press briefing from Port Sudan. The number of the displaced had increased by 200,000 since September, she said. More than half are women and over a quarter are children under 5 years old, according to Pope. “The scale of the displacement and the humanitarian needs are growing every day. Frankly, half of the population now needs help,” she said, noting they have no access to shelter, clean drinking water or health care. AP
Kenya’s Supreme Court Quashes Ruling that Voided 2023 Finance Law
Kenya’s Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed a decision by an appeals court nullifying the 2023 finance law, a victory for the government after protests forced President William Ruto to withdraw this year’s finance bill. The finance bills form the main vehicle for the government to set out revenue-raising measures, and Ruto’s administration has been relying on the 2023 finance law to continue collecting taxes after the rollback of this year’s legislation…The 2023 law was challenged in court following a round of opposition-led protests last year, after Ruto’s government used it to double the value-added tax on fuel, introduce a housing levy and raise the top personal income tax rate, among other measures.
Ruto’s government, which took office in September 2022, sought to impose a new round of tax hikes this year, angering many citizens and culminating in deadly protests in June and July in which more than 60 people were killed. Reuters
Congo Wants UN Peacekeepers Gone. But Endless War around Minerals Is Complicating That
The end of one of the world’s deadliest and yet most shadowy wars is as difficult to predict as the end of the large peacekeeping force meant to contain it. Congo desperately wants stability in its mineral-rich east, of intense interest to the global economy. But political friction means the government wants the longtime United Nations peacekeeping force there to get out…[T]he international community has warned that the U.N. force’s pullout would leave a security vacuum. More than 80% of Congo’s 7 million displaced people live in areas protected by the U.N., according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies…Global interest in eastern Congo’s minerals is one reason the violence is so difficult to be contained, experts said. Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. It also has substantial gold, diamond, copper and cobalt reserves. AP
Spats over Russia and Ukraine Show Cracks in South Africa’s Unity Government
South Africa’s unity government has been rocked by a spat between its main political parties, the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance, over a deal to grant visa-free access for Ukrainians holding diplomatic, official and services passports. The arrangement was announced by Leon Schreiber, the home affairs minister from the Democratic Alliance, but was repudiated by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson and his African National Congress. ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said on Tuesday that Ramaphosa would not sign off on the agreement despite the announcement by Schreiber this past weekend…South Africa has officially adopted a non-aligned stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and has been calling for dialogue to bring an end to the conflict, while it continues to maintain diplomatic relations with both countries. The Democratic Alliance, however, has condemned Russia and openly backed Ukraine. AP
Macron Pledges French Investment in Western Sahara under ‘Moroccan Sovereignty’
President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara Tuesday, October 29, and pledged French investment in the largely Moroccan-controlled but disputed territory…Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front has campaigned for its independence since before Spanish forces pulled out in 1975. Deals with Morocco involving Western Sahara have been a problem for European governments with the EU’s top court earlier this month upholding the cancellation of trade deals allowing Morocco to export Sahrawi products to the bloc. The United Nations considers Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory” and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991 whose stated aim is to organise a referendum on the territory’s future…France’s stance on the issue has been ambiguous in recent years, which – in addition to Macron’s efforts to reconcile with Algeria – strained ties between Rabat and Paris. Le Monde with AFP
In Algeria, Activists Deplore the Government’s Failure to Curb Femicides
According to the Féminicides Algiers collective’s calculations based on cases reported by the press, 38 femicides have been committed in Algeria since the beginning of the year. But this figure is vastly underestimated, given the extent to which these crimes remain undisclosed…Despite amendments introduced to the family code in 2005 – including the removal of the “wife’s duty of obedience” provision – and the adoption of a law on domestic violence and street harassment in 2015, the problem remains unresolved…Lawyer and activist Aouicha Bekhti noted that “most of the women killed recently had filed for divorce.” Le Monde
‘People Didn’t Believe Africa Could Be a Source of Innovation’: How the Continent Holds the Key to Future Drug Research
Africa has the greatest variety in human genes anywhere on the planet but the world is failing to capitalise on it, according one of the continent’s leading scientists, Prof Kelly Chibale, a man determined to change that…About 18% of the global population lives in Africa – a proportion set to rise over the next few decades – and it accounts for 20% of the global disease burden. But only 3% of clinical trials take place on the continent, and most of those in just two countries – South Africa and Egypt…Testing a drug in people with a wider variety of genes, rather than the historic standard of a Caucasian man, means the frequency and amount of a drug given to patients can be better calibrated for everyone before it gets to market. Some global regulators now require genetic diversity in trials before they will approve medicines…The 2023 recipient of the Royal Society’s Africa prize, Chibale…leads the H3D research centre at the University of Cape Town, a unit he founded in 2011, which is working on drugs to fight diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, and combat antimicrobial resistance – conditions that predominantly affect people in Africa. The Guardian