Kenya Insights

Category: Africa

  • Senegal Seeks To Be Enjoined In Case Filed By South Africa Against Israel At The Hague

    Senegal Seeks To Be Enjoined In Case Filed By South Africa Against Israel At The Hague

    Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko called Sunday for solidarity with the people of Palestine, denouncing what he described as an ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

    Addressing a political gathering that drew hundreds of youth in the capital Dakar, Sonko accused the world’s major powers of complicity in the eight-month tragedy of death and destruction in Gaza.

    In a direct appeal to Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, he mentioned the need for Senegal to back South Africa’s case against Israel at The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its war on the Gaza Strip.

    “I will begin my address by asking for a minute of prayer for the martyred people of Palestine…a people today subjected to genocide with the complicity of all the powers of this world,” he said.

    “Those who define themselves as the great democracies, those who defend human rights, are today the greatest accomplices in the genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people.”

    Last December, South Africa filed its case against Israel, accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

    More than a dozen countries have since joined or declared their intention to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

    Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

    More than 37,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 84,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

    Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

    Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

  • Three Americans Among The Foreign Nationals On Trial For Failed Coup In The DRC

    Three Americans Among The Foreign Nationals On Trial For Failed Coup In The DRC

    Three Americans and three other citizens of Western countries are among more than 50 suspects who have gone on trial for their alleged roles in a failed effort to overthrow the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

    The defendants in the case – including US, UK, Canadian, and Belgian citizens – appeared at a military court hearing on Friday in Kinshasha, the DRC capital. They face counts of criminal conspiracy, murder, terrorism, and other charges for their alleged roles in last month’s failed coup bid.

    The charges were read out to the suspects as their trial began in a tent outside the Ndolo military prison. If convicted, at least some of the alleged coup participants could be sentenced to the death penalty or lengthy prison terms. Judge Freddy Ehume said the actions of the three Americans were “punishable by death.”The open-air court proceedings were shown live on a local television station.

    A group of gunmen in military uniforms briefly occupied an office of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi on May 19 in Kinshasha after storming the home of Vital Kamerhe, the outgoing economy minister and a candidate for speaker of the National Assembly. Six people were reportedly killed during the raids, including two police officers who were assigned to protect Kamerhe.

    The alleged coup leader was Christian Malanga, a former DRC politician who obtained US citizenship while living in exile. He was killed by security forces during the attempted government overthrow, according to a DRC military spokesman. His 21-year-old son, Marcel Malanga, is one of the US citizens charged with taking part in the plot.

    The DRC ended its moratorium on capital punishment in March, saying it was needed to rid the army of traitors and respond to a surge in terrorism. Tshisekedi won a second term as president in December, winning 73% of the reported votes in a disputed election.

    Earlier this year, Tshisekedi’s government demanded that UN peacekeepers leave the country, saying they had failed to protect civilians from armed rebel groups. The UN mission operated in the DRC for two decades and involved thousands of troops, mostly from Pakistan. DRC security forces are taking over 14 UN bases as they step in to battle the insurgents.

  • Rwanda Opposition Leader Diane Rwigara Barred From Presidential Election

    Rwanda Opposition Leader Diane Rwigara Barred From Presidential Election

    A prominent opponent of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, has been barred from standing in next month’s election to challenge his three-decade rule.

    Diane Rwigara, the leader of the People Salvation Movement, who was also barred in 2017, launched her election bid in May and submitted her candidacy last week. Her name was missing from the provisional list of candidates announced by the electoral commission on Thursday.

    “After all the time, work and effort I put in, I am very disappointed to hear I am not on the list of presidential candidates,” Rwigara said on X. “Paul Kagame, why won’t you let me run?”

    The election commission said she had failed to provide a criminal record statement as required, and that she had not met the threshold of 600 supporting signatures from citizens.

    Only two other candidates – Frank Habineza, of the Democratic Green party, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent – were cleared to run against Kagame.

    A final candidate list is due on 14 June, a month before the presidential and parliamentary votes on 15 July.

    Rwigara was barred from the 2017 race over accusations she had forged supporters’ signatures for her application. She was arrested and charged with forgery and inciting insurrection, and held behind bars for more than a year.

    Rwigara is the daughter of Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist and former significant donor to Kagame’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party before he fell out with its leaders.

    Kagame, Rwanda’s de facto ruler since the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, has won three elections with more than 90% of the vote and is widely expected to be victorious again in July.

    He has been praised for putting the country on the path of economic transformation after the genocide but he faces frequent criticism over rights abuses and intolerance of the opposition.

    In the run-up to this year’s vote, Rwandan courts had already rejected appeals from the prominent opposition figures Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to remove previous convictions that in effect barred them from standing.

  • Why This Year’s Elections Are South Africa’s Most Salient Elections Ever

    Why This Year’s Elections Are South Africa’s Most Salient Elections Ever

    By Williams Steve

    As South Africans hit the polls, one thing was clear, the beginning of the end of ANC, South Africa’s ruling party, was nigh. True to the predictions, ANC lost the majority for the first time since 1994 when the Apartheid rule in South Africa ended. With 75% of voting districts counted, the ANC leads with 42%, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) at 22%. Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) achieved 13% of the vote, with the Economic Freedom Fighters of the boisterous Julius Malema receiving approximately 9%. The results are not expected to divest much with the final tally expected over the weekend.

    South Africa is a parliamentary democracy where the voters elect their preferred party candidates and then the elected leaders elect the president and form the government if their party gets the majority of seats. If they don’t crack the majority, they have to form coalitions with other parties in order to reach the majority which would allow them to form the government. Kenya is a Presidential republic where the President is elected by popular vote.

    Load shedding is a staple among South African online cliches. On X (formerly Twitter), you would find South African users talking about terms such as “base load”, “inverters”, and “power banks”. This comes as a result of the beleaguered power company, Eskom, turning off power between six to twelve hours per day to ease electric supply and pressure on the ailing national power grid which has been hit with corruption, non-maintenance, debt, brain drain, and copper wire theft. The South African national energy provider Eskom was created in 1923 with a grid system that has since failed to match generation capacity.

    The electricity shortage has been accumulating for years, owing to factors such as delays in the construction of new coal-fired power plants and looser regulations to allow renewable energy providers to bring projects online quickly. The load-shedding debacle has been a source of ridicule and pain for the ordinary South African. Several companies have folded and left South Africa due to the incessant load shedding woes which has further worsened the unemployment crisis. Every decent-sized business and private homes have their own generators as a backup and fallback because trusting Eskom to act right is very hard.

    In the 1990s, the country was brimming with enthusiasm and hope for a new beginning with Mandela in charge as the apartheid regime collapsed. The country was leading in various metrics like gold production, industrialization, and progressive legislation. That sentiment has now turned into a sour and bitter feeling. People are filled with profound disappointment at the turn of events. China overtook South Africa as the top gold producer in the world in 2007 and South Africa never recovered. Nigeria overtook it in 2014 as the largest economy in Africa. While South Africa reclaimed that title in 2023, South Africa’s economy is deeply underperforming and struggling despite the human capital and resources it has.

    ANC has been hit with scandal after scandal and voters were simply tired of its rudderless leadership. Jacob Zuma, the former leader and president was jailed for refusing to appear before an inquiry for corruption and was given 15 months in prison. Cyril Ramaphosa, the current president and party leader was himself caught up in a scandal dubbed “Farmgate” but he was later cleared in preliminary reports.

    The race itself has been dubbed a four-horse race which includes Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent ANC leader and President. A former mine boss and union leader, was one of the earliest possible successors of Nelson Mandela. Next, we have John Steenhuisen, who is the current opposition leader and DA party leader. The DA party which John leads has been accused of championing white people’s interests alone and was criticized for having an all-white leadership when its first black leader Mmusi Maimane quit. Another familiar face is Jacob Zuma. Many remember him from 2010 when South Africa hosted the first-ever World Cup on African soil. Mr Zuma was jailed last year for contempt of court and is also facing 16 charges of corruption stemming from a multibillion-dollar arms sale, in a case that has dragged on for years as the former president opposes the prosecution’s attempts to put him on trial. Last we have the exuberant and radical Julius Sello Malema who is known for his animated debates and controversial takes including the infamous “Shoot A Boer” chant. A darling among Pan Africans, Malema was expelled from ANC in 2012 and he went on to form the signature red EFF party which performed very well in the 2019 elections garnering an impressive 11% of the total votes. He has also been convicted for hate speech twice.

    In the diplomatic world, South Africa has ruffled several feathers and angered several Western powers and allies. In Early 2023, the US Ambassador to South Africa accused them of supplying Russia with weapons as a US-sanctioned ship, Lady R docked in South Africa despite its professed neutrality against the war in Ukraine. The accusation caused a lot of friction with the US and a later report alleged there was no evidence of weapons being shipped to Russia.

    In late 2023, South Africa once again ruffled the feathers of the US and its allies after instituting proceedings against Israel at the ICJ alleging that Israel was committing “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s military action against the militant group Hamas which had launched attacks in Israel on Oct 7th, 2023. The US and its allies accused South Africa of playing politics with the Court and labeled the case as “without merit”. Israel also rejected the claim as unfounded and accused South Africa of providing Hamas with legal cover and preventing Israel from achieving its military objectives against the militant group which came into power after ousting Fatah from the Strip. Fatah is the world-recognized representative of the Palestinians in the international arena. US lawmakers threatened to review US cooperation with South Africa in response to the move.

    South Africa is also part of BRICS, a group that is presenting itself as the alternative to the Western-led world order. The group which originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa has expanded and added members such as Ethiopia, UAE, and Iran among others. Argentina was invited to join but later decided not to after the libertarian president Javier Milei won power. Several countries have also applied to join the group. While the group doesn’t pose any significant threat to the West due to internal wrangles, South Africa’s bromance with Russia has been a bone of contention and Western countries fear Russia and China may influence South Africa to steer it away from them.

    Whatever happens to ANC’s impending loss of power and monopoly in South African politics is definitely pretty dire. Political experts and pundits predict that ANC will be a former shell of itself and may not even be in a position to form the government by the next election. South African politics is about to become extremely competitive and to woo voters, ANC politicians should better start fixing the dilapidated schools, rotting infrastructure, energy needs, and the ailing railway if they want to win. The old era is gone and patronage isn’t enough to win votes.

  • ‪Tens Of Billions Of African Gold Is Smuggled To The UAE Yearly; Report‬

    ‪Tens Of Billions Of African Gold Is Smuggled To The UAE Yearly; Report‬

    Gold smuggling out of Africa, mainly to the United Arab Emirates, has surged over the last decade, with hundreds of tonnes of gold worth tens of billions of dollars illegally leaving the continent every year, according to a report published on Thursday.

    Analysis by Swissaid, an organisation that focuses on development aid and advocacy, found that a total of 435 tonnes of gold, mostly mined by small-scale miners and worth more than US$30 billion, was smuggled out of Africa in 2022.

    Swissaid said the UAE was the main destination for Africa’s smuggled gold and took in 405 tonnes in 2022. Over the previous decade, UAE accepted more than 2,500 tonnes of smuggled gold with a total value of over US$115 billion, the organisation said.

    The report singled out Dubai as an international hub for trade in African gold, which then makes its way to countries including Switzerland.

    It arrives in Dubai by plane, “in hand luggage or in the hold, on scheduled flights or in private jets”.

    Asked to comment on the findings, a UAE official said that the country had taken significant steps to address concerns about gold smuggling and implemented new regulations on gold and other precious metals.

    The scale of the flow underscores how small scale, or artisanal, mining has mushroomed into an industry involving millions of people producing volumes of gold on a par with or even bigger than industrial mining.

    Artisanal miners pan for gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo. File photo: AFP
    Artisanal miners pan for gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo. File photo: AFP

    In 2019, a Reuters investigation found that billions of dollars’ worth of gold was being smuggled out of Africa every year through the UAE, which served a gateway to markets in Europe, the United States and beyond.

    Aside from the loss in tax revenues, experts and governments have warned that smuggling on this scale indicates a vast parallel illicit economy vulnerable to potential money laundering, terrorist finance and sanctions evasion.

    Marc Ummel, the commodities lead at Swissaid and one of the authors of the report, said the UAE contributes to gold laundering because large quantities of smuggled gold acquire a legal existence by transiting through the UAE.

    “If we keep on seeing more than 400 tonnes of illegal gold entering the UAE every year, this is a clear sign that the implementation of the regulations in the UAE is seriously lacking.”

    For its analysis, Swissaid compared total gold exports from all African countries with gold imports into non-African countries. The organisation filled gaps in UN COMTRADE data with individual country statistics and identified errors by comparing the data with figures reported by trade associations and speaking with governments and refineries.

    These discrepancies between declared exports and declared imports do not exist for Switzerland and India, the other two major gold importing countries for African gold.

    The Swissaid report found that there were 12 countries in Africa involved in smuggling 20 tonnes or more per year.

    In response to accusations that it was not doing enough to enforce regulations on the sector, a UAE Ministry of Economy spokesperson said the UAE cannot be held accountable for other government’s export records.

    “Only our own, where we have sophisticated technologies and systems to track and verify the data.”

    With the gold price having doubled since 2009, the number of people turning to artisanal mining has surged. Swissaid estimates that artisanal and small-scale gold mining in African countries produced between 443 and 596 tonnes of gold in 2022.

    Of this, more than 70 per cent is not declared.

    By comparison, industrial miners have produced around 500 tonnes of gold a year.

    The report found that the majority of African gold imported into the UAE each year comes from informal artisanal and small-scale mining. These methods provide a livelihood to millions of Africans but often come at a high cost to local communities and to the environment.

    “There’s a certain hypocrisy with some of the Swiss refineries,” said Ummel. “They don’t want to source African artisanal gold directly but at the same time import very high quantities of gold from the UAE, which is the main hub for African artisanal gold.”

    Between 80 per cent and 85 per cent of Africa’s artisanal gold in 2022 was exported to the UAE, according to the researchers.

    A UAE official said the country recognises the importance of artisanal and small-scale gold mining to the sector and that its “inclusive approach” has allowed artisanal miners to realise more value for their extracted gold.

    Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

  • South Africans Begin Voting In An Election Seen As Their Country’s Most Important In 30 Years

    South Africans Begin Voting In An Election Seen As Their Country’s Most Important In 30 Years

    South Africans began voting Wednesday in an election seen as their country’s most important in 30 years, and one that could put their young democracy in unknown territory.

    At stake is the three-decade dominance of the African National Congress party, which led South Africa out of apartheid’s brutal white minority rule in 1994. It is now the target of a new generation of discontent in a country of 62 million people — half of whom are estimated to be living in poverty.

    Africa’s most advanced economy has some of the world’s deepest socioeconomic problems, including one of the worst unemployment rates at 32%.

    The lingering inequality, with poverty and joblessness disproportionately affecting the Black majority, threatens to unseat the party that promised to end it by bringing down apartheid under the slogan of a better life for all.

    Any change in the ANC’s hold on power could be monumental for South Africa. If it does lose its majority, the ANC will likely face the prospect of having to form a coalition with others to stay in government and keep South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the ANC, in power. An ANC having to co-govern has never happened before.

    The election will be held on one day across South Africa’s nine provinces, with nearly 28 million people registered to vote at more than 23,000 polling stations. Final results are expected by Sunday.

  • DRC: Tshisekedi Appoints First Female PM As He Announces New Cabinet

    DRC: Tshisekedi Appoints First Female PM As He Announces New Cabinet

    Democratic Republic of Congo has appointed a new government, spokesperson Tina Salama said in the early hours of Wednesday, ending an impasse that has mired the country in political uncertainty for months.

    President Felix Tshisekedi won a second term after elections in late 2023 that also handed his Sacred Union coalition a large majority in parliament. But internal jostling for jobs has delayed the formation of a new cabinet of ministers.

    The president eventually named Judith Suminwa as Congo’s first female prime minister on April 1 and his ex-chief of staff Vital Kamerhe as parliament speaker on May 22, paving the way for the appointment of the government.

    The new cabinet comprises 54 ministers versus 57 in the last government – a smaller-than-expected downsizing despite pressure to reduce costs.

    In an announcement on state broadcaster RTNC, Salama said Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita had been appointed defence minister – a key role given Congo’s costly two-year conflict with the M23 rebel group in eastern territories.

    Muadiamvita, a lawyer by training, was previously head of Congo’s official gazette, the journal of record for legal acts.

    Doudou Fwamba Likunde was named finance minister and Kizito Pakabomba was appointed to oversee the mines ministry and Congo’s globally significant reserves of coltan, copper and other minerals.

    Referring to the delay forming a government, the president’s communications director Erik Nyindu said it took time for the different parties in the ruling coalition to find a compromise.

    “Better that than a country full of conflict,” he said on RTNC.

    Tshisekedi formed his first government when he was elected in 2019. It was a coalition with his predecessor Joseph Kabila that broke up in 2021.

    Tshisekedi then formed another coalition.

    Since the last election in December, the Sacred Union has held around 95% of National Assembly seats.

  • Burkina Faso Junta Extends Military Rule For 5 Years

    Burkina Faso Junta Extends Military Rule For 5 Years

    Burkina Faso’s military regime will extend its rule by five years under a new agreement reached during national consultations on Saturday, the talks’ chairman Colonel Moussa Diallo said on state television.

    Diallo said the extension would start on July 2 and last five years, at the end of which coup leader and acting president Captain Ibrahim Traore will be allowed to run in any elections.

    A video of Traore signing the amended accord in front of a cheerful crowd was broadcast on Burkinabè state TV on Saturday.

    The former ruling majority did not attend the talks, according to government press agency Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB). Most political party activities have been suspended in the country under the military rule.

    Burkina Faso, plagued by recurrent jihadist violence that has claimed thousands of lives for almost a decade, has seen two military coups in 2022.

    The first one in January brought Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba to power, before being himself overthrown in September of the same year by Captain Traoré.

  • The Hypocrisy Of African Union As Troubles For Refugees In Tunisia Deepens

    The Hypocrisy Of African Union As Troubles For Refugees In Tunisia Deepens

    By Williams Steven

    On May 10th, an X (formerly Twitter) account called “Refugees in Libya NGO” posted a harrowing video purportedly showing the manhunt and eviction of “Black” Africans which denotes Africans of Sub-Saharan descent. “In the last two weeks a door to door and street collection of any dark skinned persons even those identified as Tunisians are crammed into police vans & deported to the eastern border regions.

    Women, men and children are caught and deported without any of their possessions, documents, savings and other materials they have worked for and accumulated over the years.

    Most of those arrested during the house to house raids are legally entitled to stay in Tunisia, they are students, workers and refugees.” The account said.

    “The African Union is silent while the so—called democratic European countries with their values for human rights are the very ones supporting and financing Kaïs Saeid to act as the border guard of the Fortress Europe. This must STOP” The account added.

    The post garnered 3.5M views which immediately attracted sympathy for the refugees and criticism for various international bodies that are supposed to take care of refugees. “The violent anti-blackness in the Arab world needs to become a major talking point in political discourse. I hate how so many people are willing to ignore it in the hopes of withholding their delusional “POC” ideal. People are dying!!” X user Vuyiswa said.  “cc. African “truth accounts” on Twitter. Tunisia is committing pogroms on blacks. Will you cover this or continue talking about American segregation in the 1950s?” Christopher Haslett quipped.

    The post also happened to attract white supremacist accounts who saw it fit to celebrate the misfortune of “Blacks” for reasons best known to them. Steve Laws, a failed politician and former “migrant hunter” activist from Kent, UK took the opportunity to decry how “Tunisians are finally doing it” which in this case is deportations. Klaus Arminius, who goes by “Independent Reporter Covering Stories The Media Doesn’t Show” byline but is a regular race baiter and rabble-rouser said “Tunisia is expelling millions of black immigrants, launching house to house manhunt.

    Tunisia’s President accused the UN of trying to change the nation’s Berber-Arab demographic with black Africans. If Tunisia can deport millions of immigrants, why can’t the West? The difference is will power. Tunisian politicians want them gone; Western politicians want them to stay. NGOs and pro-open border groups are urging #EU countries to offer ‘free passage’ to sub-Saharan migrants expelled from Tunisia.”

    The coverage and other earlier incidents received limited coverage but an earlier pogrom was reported by The New Humanitarian paper which decried the hostility and ill-treatment of the refugees. The pogroms are part of a concerted effort led by Tunisia’s president Kais Saied. Mr Saied continued his assertion that there was a plot to resettle these migrants in Tunisia, accusing some groups, without offering details, of obtaining millions of euros and dollars to carry out the plan.

    He stated that he had read a document confirming that more than 20 million dinars ($6.4 million) had been allocated through unauthorized means to a single migrant center in the province of Sfax.

    Ironically, Mr. Saied and his government received 105 million Euros from the EU for “border management”. The EU deal with Tunisia was harshly criticized by human rights observers and the EU was accused of “bankrolling dictators”. MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) also denounced the deal.

    The Human Rights Foundation in a May 15th statement, condemned Saied’s “aggressive crackdown on dissidents speaking against the deportation and arrest of migrants and asylum seekers”.

    Amnesty International had earlier decried Mr Saied statements by saying “President Saied must retract his comments and order investigations to clearly signal that anti-Black racist violence will not be tolerated. The president must stop finding scapegoats for Tunisia’s economic and political woes. The community of Black African migrants in Tunisia is now gripped by fear of assault or being arbitrarily arrested and summarily deported”.

    The African Union has been woefully silent on the horrible treatment of migrants in Tunisia. No official statement has been issued so far and efforts by Kenya Insights to reach Ebba Kalondo, who is the “Spokesperson to the Chairperson” yielded no fruits as our emails were not answered by the time of publishing this piece.

    We also tried to reach Esther Tankou Azaa Yambou who is the head of the Media and Information Division but our emails also went unanswered. Emails to the Directorate of Information and Communication were also un-replied by the time of publishing this piece.

    A brief perusal of the social media pages of the African Union indicated no activity or concern about the situation in Tunisia. Suspension of Tunisia from the AU for its grave violation of human rights is suspiciously missing. Ironically. The African Union was quick to issue a statement about Israel’s pending military operation in Rafah. Ebba Kalondo was also particularly harsh on the Israeli delegation. “Have no clue, but I hope they know better than to attempt the thuggish behavior of their officials experienced at our last summit.” she is quoted as having said in reference to the Israeli accreditation saga in Addis Ababa.

    Seeking refugee and asylum is a human right enshrined under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Tunisia is a party to both. Failure to implement the Convention is an indictment on the Tunisian government and non-state bodies like the African Union. We hope for the best.

  • Wife of Nigerian Rapper MohBad Blames His Father for Failed Autopsy

    Wife of Nigerian Rapper MohBad Blames His Father for Failed Autopsy

    Mohbad’s widow Omowunmi Aloba has accused Joseph Aloba, her deceased husband’s father, of being accountable for the failure of an autopsy test that was unable to determine the precise cause of the musician’s death, Western media reported on Thursday.

    Earlier, Wahab Shittu, the legal representative for MohBad’s family, reportedly said that pathologist Sunday Osiyemi claimed that the exact cause of the singer’s death could not be determined. One of the reasons behind it was the fact that 21 days had passed before the autopsy, and by that time the body had already started to decompose.

    According to the report, Aloba was devastated by the medical expert’s verdict and lamented her father-in-law’s decision to bury her husband too quickly, despite her requests and those of her relatives to delay the funeral to establish the cause of MohBad’s death.

    “I have been sad. I have been heartbroken since yesterday when I got the news on what the pathologist said about the autopsy of my husband. […] He [Aloba’s father-in-law] buried my husband hurriedly,” she was quoted as saying.

    Had MohBad not been buried so quickly, “the autopsy would have been done, and I would have known everything that happened to my husband,” she reportedly added.

    MohBad was a popular rapper. In 2021, he was listed in Audiomack’s top 21 Afrobeat artists. His song “KPK (Ko Por Ke)” with Nigerian songwriter Rexxie was nominated three times for The Headies awards 2022, a local hip-hop music awards. Last September, he ranked number one on the Official Artiste Top 100 of Nigerian music and entertainment magazine TurnTable.

  • Harry, Meghan Visits Nigeria

    Harry, Meghan Visits Nigeria

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived in Nigeria for a three-day visit.

    This is their first trip to the country as a couple, and it comes after Prince Harry concluded a brief visit to London, where he told the BBC it had been “great” to be back in the UK.

    Prince Harry and Meghan were invited by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, General Christopher Musa, and will meet injured service personnel.

    Their visit is part of a series of events linked to the Invictus Games, the sporting event for injured service men and women founded by Prince Harry which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

    The couple landed in Abuja on Friday morning, and began their visit with a tour of Lightway Academy, a primary and secondary school in the capital city.

    They were greeted by traditional dancers and met some of the primary schoolchildren.

    One group of year five pupils told the BBC they were really excited to have the duke and duchess visit, saying they hope it will raise the profile of their school.

    The couple then went on to launch a two-day mental health summit, after which the prince will head to a military rehabilitation centre in Kaduna.

    The Duke and Duchess will also visit Lagos.

  • Maasai Fight Carbon Project That Sold Credits To Meta, Netflix

    Maasai Fight Carbon Project That Sold Credits To Meta, Netflix

    Members of Kenya’s Maasai pastoralist community are clashing with managers of a major carbon project, raising new concerns that international demand for carbon credits generated in Africa could have damaging consequences for local communities.

    The Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project (NKRCP), which describes itself as the world’s largest soil carbon removal project, has sold carbon credits to corporations including Meta, Netflix and UK bank NatWest. It restores and maintains grasslands to absorb carbon by managing the grazing patterns of livestock herds on the 4.7 million acres it covers. Absorbing carbon allows it to generate carbon credits, which can be purchased by corporations to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions.

    Many members of affected local communities say the project is disrupting their ways of life and denying them access to their ancestral land. Some also say it puts women at risk due to harsh work conditions in some areas.

    Community activists working in Baringo, Narok and Kajiado counties in Kenya, where the project operates, say that NKRCP had failed to undertake proper public participation or educate local communities, leading to complaints from members of affected communities and resistance to the project’s efforts to fence off land in some areas.

    They claimed that the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), which runs the project, has failed to gain the informed consent of affected communities for the carbon project as is legally required, despite the NRT’s insistence that it has letters of consent.

  • Russian Troops Enter US Military Base In Niger, Reuters Says

    Russian Troops Enter US Military Base In Niger, Reuters Says

    Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, following a decision by Niger’s junta to expel U.S. forces from the country, Reuters reports.

    The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington’s fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

    According to Reuters, a senior U.S. defense official said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hanger at Airbase 101, next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital.

    The move by Russia’s military puts U.S. and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations’ military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.

    It also raises questions about the fate of U.S. installations in the country following a withdrawal. The situation is not great but in the short-term manageable, the official said.

    The U.S. and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups eager to distance themselves from Western governments.

    In addition to the impending departure from Niger, U.S. troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso.

    Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a friendly country with no colonial baggage in the continent.

  • Nigeria Increases Govt’s Workers Salary By 35pc

    Nigeria Increases Govt’s Workers Salary By 35pc

    Nigeria on Tuesday raised salaries for government workers by between 25% and 35%, backdated to January, the salaries commission said, as Africa’s biggest economy grapples with its worst cost of living crisis in nearly three decades.

    The lowest-paid government employee will earn 450,000 naira ($323.97) a year or 37,500 monthly, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission said in a statement.

    The increase covers all federal government employees, including those in the health, education and security sectors.

    The government is separately negotiating with labour unions on a new national monthly minimum wage, which was last reviewed in 2019.

    Nigerians are facing inflation of 33.20%, the highest in 28 years, after the government removed a popular petrol subsidy and foreign currency controls, which weakened the naira currency.

    The country’s electricity regulator this month hiked tariffs for some consumers as the government tries to wean the economy from subsidies to ease pressure on public finances.

  • Macron Urges Rwanda To End Support For M23 Rebels In DRC

    Macron Urges Rwanda To End Support For M23 Rebels In DRC

    Rwanda must end support for M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and withdraw troops from its neighbor’s territory, French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday.

    “We argue for territorial integrity on the African continent as well” as in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Macron told a joint press conference with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.

    “Rwanda must halt support for M23 and withdraw its forces from Congolese territory,” he added, insisting, “France will never give any ground on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC.”

    Tshisekedi welcomed France’s “even stronger support at the side of the Congolese people”, saying it showed his country “can count on France.” Kinshasa would be open to new talks with Kigali once its troops “have left” DRC territory, he added.

  • UK Sanctions Corrupt Ugandan Politicians Including Speaker Anita Among

    UK Sanctions Corrupt Ugandan Politicians Including Speaker Anita Among

    UK Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell has announced sanctions on Ugandan politicians and the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, marking the first time the UK government has used the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions regime on individuals involved in corruption in Uganda.

    The sanctions apply to three former ministers, Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu, who stole thousands of iron sheets from a Ugandan government-funded project aimed at housing vulnerable communities in the region.

    The Speaker of the Parliament, Anita Annet Among, benefited from the proceeds.

    “Today the UK is sending a clear message to those who think benefiting at the expense of others is acceptable. Corruption has consequences and you will be held responsible.” Andrew Mitchell, said.

    “The actions of these individuals, in taking aid from those who need it most, and keeping the proceeds, is corruption at its worst and has no place in society. The Ugandan courts are rightly taking action to crack down on those politicians who seek to line their own pockets at their constituents’ expense.” He added.

    Terms of UK sanctions

    The sanctions follow previous UK sanctions under the Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime, which has targeted individuals involved in serious corruption cases globally, including Bulgaria, Lebanon, Moldova, Russia, South Africa, South Sudan, and Venezuela.

    Since its introduction in April 2021, the UK has introduced sanctions on 42 individuals and entities under this regime globally to combat corruption across the world.

    An asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person and which are held in the UK. It will also prevent funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person or entity.

    A travel ban means that the designated person is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971, and must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom (any leave given to a person who is an excluded person is invalid).

    Parliament’s rebuttal

    The Ugandan Parliament responded by calling the allegations rumors that were prompted by the Speaker’s support for Uganda’s anti-LGBT* legislation.

    “The iron sheets have been used as a ruse to conceal the real, unstated but clearly obvious reason for the sanctions, which is the Speaker’s stance on the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act,” the parliament said.

    The lawmakers also advised London to “respect Uganda’s sovereignty” and avoid “interfering in local politics, including arm-twisting decision-makers to align with their value systems, especially on homosexuality.”

    Since the Ugandan president signed a law that prohibits same-sex relationships and imposes the death penalty for certain related aggravated crimes, including engaging in homosexual acts with minors, Uganda has been criticized by Western countries and Western-backed organizations. The US, for instance, announced several rounds of visa restrictions for Ugandan officials involved in the enforcement of the law.
    In early December, the US imposed a new package of sanctions on Ugandan officials involved in the law, which Ugandan Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem criticized, accusing Washington of pushing its LGBT agenda in Africa.

    Under the UK’s Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regulations 2021, individuals and entities anywhere in the world can be sanctioned for their involvement in bribery or misappropriation of property involving a foreign public official.

    This could include those who facilitate, profit from or try to cover up serious corruption, as well as making efforts to prevent authorities from carrying out justice for these actions.

    UK Aid was not involved in the Ugandan Government project.

  • South Sudan Agrees To $13 Billion Loan For 20 Years Crude Oil Deal With Dubai Firm

    South Sudan Agrees To $13 Billion Loan For 20 Years Crude Oil Deal With Dubai Firm

    South Sudan government has agreed to allow a deal with a Dubai-based company to lend South Sudan $12.9 billion in exchange for oil over a 20-year period, according to a leaked UN report cited by Bloomberg.

    The deal, negotiated on the sidelines of the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai, amounts to almost double South Sudan’s GDP and five times its current external debt of 2.5 billion US dollars. The government has earmarked 70% of the loan for infrastructure and 30% for the country’s working capital against the approved budget.

    The report by a UN Security Council panel indicates that Dubai’s Hamad Bin Khalifa Department of Projects (HBK DOP) reached the agreement with South Sudan’s former finance minister, Bak Barnaba Chol, between December 2023 and February 2024.

    The deal is controversial as it’s nearly twice South Sudan’s GDP. The report notes that 70% of the funds would be used for infrastructure, despite the country facing famine and conflict.

    The UN panel of experts said in the unpublished report, that the loan deal will trap most of South Sudan’s oil revenues for many years.

    Under the terms, South Sudan would receive $10 less than the international benchmark price per oil barrel.

    Terms of the deal

    The agreement obliges the South Sudan government to pump 3,000,000 barrels of oil per month to the Abu Dhabi firm with an unspecified increase in over 6 months.

    In the first phase of the deal, the company will pay over 5 billion US dollars to South Sudan government after which it will receive two cargoes of Nile and Dar Mix crude oil at 600,000 barrels per month.

    In Phase II, South Sudan will receive more than 3 billion dollars in exchange for two additional cargoes of Dar Mix amounting to 600,000 barrels per month within four months.

    HBK DOP will further send over 3 billion South Sudanese pounds to Juba for reimbursement of one cargo of Nile at 600,000 barrels per month within six months.

    It is further stipulated that if oil prices drop, South Sudan will provide additional barrels to meet the loan, whereas when oil prices rise, the number of barrels can be reduced or the difference can be paid back to suit the market.

    The loan will give the UAE discounted oil for up to two decades, and under the agreement, South Sudan will receive $10 less per barrel of oil in comparison with the international benchmark, Bloomberg reported.

    The UAE company further offered to provide additional funding for building the pipeline, refinery, and petrochemical complex and 1,000 megawatts of power for the project.

    According to the terms and conditions, the government shall direct the Bank of South Sudan to open a lender bank account and deposit of sovereign guarantee backed “by crude oil only” to receive funds from the company’s designated bank coordinates.

    The deal is based on English laws, where disputes will be resolved in accordance with the London Court of International Arbitration.

    South Sudan is heavily dependent on oil, with the commodity being responsible for 90% of the country’s revenue and nearly all of its exports, according to the World Bank.

    Former finance minister, Agak Acuil said in May 2022, that the government had been struggling to pay civil servants because the country’s oil proceeds have been sold in advance up to 2027.

    HBK DOP was founded by Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a distant relative of Abu Dhabi’s royal family. It’s unclear if South Sudan has yet received an initial $5 billion installment from the deal.

    The UAE has pledged over $97.3 billion in African investments from 2022-2023, seeking to become the continent’s largest investor.

    In February 2024, Abu Dhabi’s ADQ sovereign wealth fund pledged $35 billion to develop Egypt’s Ras El Hikma peninsula.

    Oil-rich nations often turn to oil-backed loans when they struggle to access conventional financing. Nigeria recently secured a $3.3 billion oil-backed loan from Afreximbank in August 2023.

  • Zimbabwe Backs Raila’s AUC Bid

    Zimbabwe Backs Raila’s AUC Bid

    President William Ruto has secured Zimbabwe’s support for Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship.

    Kenya has presented its candidature for AUC Chairperson for 2025 – 2028.

    This comes in the wake of a unanimous decision by the African Union Executive Council, on 15th March 2024, that the Eastern Africa region submit candidates for the AU Chairperson.

    President Ruto said Kenya candidature is informed by the role that the country plays in enhancing the Pan – African Agenda.

    “I am assured that Kenya and Zimbabwe will persist in conferring and backing each other on multitude issues of bilateral, regional and continental significance alongside the African Union
    Agenda 2063,” said President Ruto.

    President Ruto made the remarks at the Bulawayo State House, Zimbabwe on Saturday, during bilateral talks with his counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa.

    During the bilateral meeting, Kenya and Zimbabwe signed nine MoUs in the fields of transport, infrastructure, health, education, defense, trade and investments among other areas.

    President Mnagangwa emphasized on the need for investors to exploit existing opportunities in the two countries.

    Meanwhile, Kenya and Zimbabwe will leverage on their rich shared history, socio-cultural, political and economic ties as well as abundant natural resources for the mutual benefit of their citizens.

    President Ruto said the two countries have a deep understanding which underpins our mutual support over the years in diverse arenas.

    “Based on this, I wish to declare Kenya’s unreserved support for Zimbabwe’s readmission to the Commonwealth, and for the African Union’s call for the immediate lifting of all illegal sanctions against the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said President Ruto.

    Kenya’s commitment to the principle of sovereign equality of nations and states, and a rule-based multilateral system makes no room for the contemplation or imposition of unilateral coercive measures.

    “I stand here to affirm Kenya’s commitment to the flourishing of our bilateral relations, and our shared determination to advance and enhance mutual benefit through partnership and consultation,” said President Ruto.

    President Ruto made the remarks on Friday evening during a banquet hosted in his honour at the Bulawayo State House in Zimbabwe.

    Dr Ruto said President Mnagangwa’s emphatic commitment to accelerate the development of energy, transport and communications infrastructure as enablers of trade and investment, productivity and efficiency and, ultimately rapid economic growth is a substantial testament to the boldness and ambition of his vision for Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround.

    “To underscore this observation, I further note your government’s decision to break new ground in monetary policy and inaugurate a new currency backed by gold and other asset reserves, as compelling proof of Your Excellency’s irrevocable intent to usher in a new era of economic recovery and transformation,” said President Ruto.

    The Head of State said he was confident that the two countries are poised to accomplish immense growth together, on the basis of the bilateral frameworks of cooperation the numerous areas of potential mutual gains.

    President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will forever be grateful to Kenya for standing resolutely with the country, particularly in the clarion and unequivocal call for the removal of illegal Western-imposed economic sanctions.

    “We have a common and rich liberation war history and a shared vision for prosperity, peace and progress. As we look into the future, we must now leverage on the current social, political and economic ties as well as natural endowments for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples,” said President Mnagangwa.

    He said Zimbabwe also took a leaf from Kenya, especially in infrastructure development that is now ubiquitous in the country as roads, that were in a state of disrepair, were now being resurfaced in every part of the country.

    “We are on course to attain our national Vision 2030 to become an empowered upper middle-income economy. The reforms undertaken since the inception of the Second Republic have seen a conducive business environment, which has in-turn increased both local and foreign investments across all sectors,” he said.

  • Tanzanian Journalist Erick Kabendera Demands Vodacom To Pay Him $1M For Aiding His Abduction

    Tanzanian Journalist Erick Kabendera Demands Vodacom To Pay Him $1M For Aiding His Abduction

    Erick Kabandera, a freelance investigative journalist from Tanzania now wants Vodacom Tanzania Plc a sister company to Kenya’s Safaricom to pay him 1,000,000 US dollars for aiding and abetting the dictatorial government to arrest him in 2019.

    He has also threatened to sue the company in the international courts for damages.

    Mr. Kabendera was abducted and arbitrarily detained for 7 months and forced to enter a plea deal.

    He had been charged with money laundering, tax evasion and leading organized crime. These offences are not bailable.

    Kabendera was a known critic of the government who ultimately paid the high price for his articles criticizing the economy, the government and corruption, and fell a victim of the late president Magufuli’s media crackdown.

    Background

    Dar es Salaam court sentenced Erick Kabendera to a three-month jail term or the option of a fine, equivalent to about $74,110, on two counts of failure to pay tax, and another $44,000 for money laundering, all amounting to about $118,110.

    In October 2019, he petitioned the Director of Public Prosecution to initiate the plea bargain process, a move Amnesty International believes was borne out of his desperation to end his suffering at Segerea Prison. His lawyer said his health had deteriorated dramatically since he was incarcerated. He developed difficulties in breathing and suffered paralysis in his right foot.

    Kabendera’s mother died while he was in custody shortly after she was filmed pleading with President John Magufuli to let her son free.

    At the time of his arrest, Mr Kabendera’s ailing mother was living with him.

    Demand

    Through his lawyer Peter Madeleka, the journalist has given the communications firm 14 days to pay him or face a lawsuit.

    In the letter seen by Kenya Insights, the journalist says Vodacom Tanzania played a crucial part in his abduction by laying a trap for the police leading to his arrest.

    Kabendera alleges that the mobile services provider disabled his phone line shortly before he was abducted by state operatives, mostly from the intelligence services who later handed him over to the police after public outcry.

    The letter outlays how the company conspired with the police:

    “On the 27% July 2019, at 3:00 pm, our client turned on his mobile phone after turning it off the previous night, only to find out that it had lost network connectivity. He borrowed another phone and called the service provider to inquire about the circumstances which led to the service provider suspending services without a prior warning. A Vodacom customer care representative informed our client that, our client’s mobile phone number had technical challenges that required him to report to the nearby customer care centre at Tegeta. He asked the representative to explain the problem to him before going to the centre, but she refused, stating that it was a “sensitive matter” that required him to go there physically. However, He was hesitant to go because there had been numerous cases of people being kidnapped or arrested after visiting the customer care centre since 2016.”

    “On Monday, 29 July 2019, at around 10:00 am, our client called customer care again to complain that he needed to withdraw money from his mobile wallet to buy medicine for his sick mother. The customer care representative who attended him, asked him to wait until she consulted her senior manager. She returned a few minutes later and explained that his case was very sensitive and beyond their ability to resolve. They insisted that he should report to their Mlimani City offices that morning.”

    “Our Client mobile phone abruptly began functioning at 3:00 pm on the
    29th July 2019. The Vodacom customer care representative asked him to

    For it’s role in enabling the arrest of the journalist, Vodacom came under harsh criticism from human rights organizations that accused them of subverting democracy in Tanzania.

    In a quick rejoinder then, the Tanzania’s mobile services provider issued a vague statement citing that they were required to comply with legal and regulatory laws in the countries they operate in. The statement failed to specifically deal with concerns of the infringement of privacy of subscribers who now face risks with their lines.

    incidentally, Safaricom, the sister company owned by Vodafone Group has also been accused of conspiring with state agents to trail and kill targets.

    Vodacom is currently facing similar tribulation that could set a precedent for future data protection lawsuits in the East African country. In a landmark case filed at the Shinyanga High Court in northern Tanzania, a local businessman sued the telecommunications company for a staggering 10 billion Tanzanian shillings (approximately $4.1 million).

    Sayida Masanja alleged that Vodacom, which was founded in South Africa and is Tanzania’s leading mobile operator with a 29.4% market share of mobile subscriptions and an extensive customer base of over 17 million, unlawfully and intentionally facilitated unauthorized access to his personal data and confidential network information by a third party without his consent.

    The information allegedly shared includes details of incoming and outgoing calls, IMEI and IMSI numbers, SIM identity and personally-identifiable information. Masanja also accused the company of sharing information about his various locations. As part of his evidence, he has collected printouts of the shared data.
    The businessman, who is represented by lawyer Paul Kaunda of Kaunda and Co. Advocates, argued that the unauthorized disclosure of his personal data has caused him great distress due to its sensitive nature.
  • Burkina Faso Suspends BBC And VOA

    Burkina Faso Suspends BBC And VOA

    Burkina Faso has temporarily suspended the programs of Voice of America and BBC/Africa following the broadcast of news stories about a Human Rights Watch report accusing the Burkinabè army of abuses against civilian populations.

    The Superior Council of Communication Thursday ordered the immediate halt of the rebroadcasts and suspension of the programs of both international radio stations for two weeks.

    Access to the websites and digital platforms of BBC, VOA, and Human Rights Watch was also suspended within Burkina Faso.

    In its broadcast of the story on the Human Rights Watch report, VOA said they had sought reactions from several Burkinabè officials but did not receive any response.

    Military-ruled Burkina Faso has in recent months suspended other Western news outlets, including the French television broadcasters LCI and France24; French radio broadcaster Radio France Internationale, the French daily newspaper Le Monde and the French magazine Jeune Afrique.

    Burkina Faso is one of several West African nations in the Sahel region, including Mali and Niger, that have been combatting Islamist insurgencies. The military seized power in a 2022 coup, citing the government’s failure to put down a jihadist insurgency that erupted in 2015.

    Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.