The government of Democratic Republic of Congo and the International Criminal Court prosecutor signed Thursday (June 1st) a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation.

The parties vowed to intensify the fight against impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

For pledges not to become vain wishes, the ICC chief prosecutor eyes “a new paradigm”.

“I think the president has said repeatedly and he’s shown that he’s open to imaginative solutions. The MOU we’ve signed today is the first step in that and now we need to make sure we don’t just speak; we deliver more effectively for the people of this country.”

The ICC has handed down three sentences for crimes committed in the DRC since 2002.

Justice minister Rose Mutombo represented the Congolese government during the signing in Kinshasa.

President Tshisekedi reiterated his country’s aspiration for an end to impunity.

“This renewed commitment reflects our desire to strengthen cooperation with your office [Editor’s Note: Addressing the ICC chief prosecutor], which we see above all in the context of active and dynamic cooperation, geared towards the ideals of justice and peace that my country is leading today.”

Armed groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

The ICC handed down three sentences for crimes committed in the DRC since it started operating in 2002. The body launched its first investigations in the northeastern Ituri region in 2004.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan had spent four days in DR Congo, mainly in the conflict torn east.

“There has been good cooperation with the DRC,” Khan said Thursday. But unfortunately, too many girls, too many boys, too many men and too many women continue to be violated and raped,” he said.

“I have seen those victims. I have seen children who were raped that themselves have given birth to children that have been raped. And that cycle will continue unless we build these new partnerships,” Khan added.

In late May, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo filed a complaint at the ICC in The Hague (Netherlands) against the “Rwandan army-M23 coalition” for crimes committed in the east of the country.

Two pro-democracy MPs in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, Eswatini, were found guilty on Thursday of terrorism and murder in connection with the wave of anti-regime protests that rocked the country in 2021.

The two men, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, were tried by a court in the capital Mbabane almost two years after their arrest in July 2021.

Charged with inciting demonstrations, they had pleaded not guilty.

“I find the accused guilty of all the charges against them”, said Judge Mumcy Dlamini. They face up to 20 years in prison. Their sentences will be handed down “at a date to be determined”, the judge continued.

Mr Mabuza and Mr Dube were arrested in the midst of a wave of demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. These protests were severely repressed by the regime’s police and dozens of protesters were killed.

The two MPs had in particular called for reform of the complex system of elections in which political parties, although theoretically authorised, are not allowed to participate. Parliamentary elections are due to be held on 29 September in the country formerly known as Swaziland.

However, these elections are unlikely to change the political landscape in the southern African country of 1.2 million inhabitants, ruled since 1986 by King Mswati III, who is criticised for his extravagant lifestyle and regularly accused of rights violations.

Elections in Eswatini are held in such a way that no one seriously challenges the monarch’s power.

The King appoints ministers, controls Parliament, the police and the army. He also appoints judges.

The Nigerian police have successfully rescued six pregnant women after raiding a suspected “baby factory” in Rivers state, according to local media reports.

The authorities apprehended a 39-year-old woman, who is believed to be the owner of the alleged child trafficking facility.

Following her arrest, the suspect admitted her involvement in the heinous crime and disclosed her long-standing engagement in the trafficking business.

State Commissioner of Police, Polycarp Emeka, stated on Wednesday that the primary suspect and her accomplice are currently in custody.

Moreover, a thorough investigation is underway to identify and apprehend any additional individuals connected to the criminal network.

The existence of “baby factories” is sadly not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, where women are abducted with the intention of impregnating them and selling the newborns.

This distressing practice has plagued the country for some time, with similar cases surfacing in the past.

Notably, in 2019, the Nigerian police liberated 19 pregnant women from properties in Lagos that were described as “baby factories.”

Furthermore, in the preceding year, over 160 children were rescued from two unregistered orphanages in the city, shedding light on the widespread nature of this illicit trade.

Tobacco farming is booming in some African countries. Big producers include Zimbabwe and Malawi. However, as the world marks on May 31st the “No tobacco day”, the world health organization sounded the alarm on the increase in tobacco farming land at the expense of food crops.

Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest tobacco producer.

The size of the tobacco crop increased despite increased fertiliser prices caused by the war in Ukraine, Zimbabwean officials say.

“There are more than 350 million people having hunger and food insecurity issues, and many of the countries where these issues are a concern are also big tobacco growing economies. In Africa, for example, in the last 15 years. The growing of tobacco has gone up by nearly 20%,”  Dr. Vinayak Mohan Prasad Programme Manager, Tobacco Control, WHO Senior Advisor Focus said.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity rose to 258 million in 58 countries in 2022, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC).

Dr. Prasad says that food insecurity is growing in countries that should be able to feed their own people.

“There are countries now which are requesting for food because of the various crises. The access to food is limited and many of these countries are well endowed with enough land – fertile land, water to grow food for many other countries. And so it’s ironic that they are ending up importing food from other countries.”

Industrial tactics’

Currently, China funds the bulk of production and buys the lion’s share of Zimbabwe’s tobacco.

Once harvested, tobacco leaves are dried and prepared and will go on to make products such as cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco.

“The largest growers of tobacco continue to be China, India, Brazil. But growing of tobacco has increased many fold in Africa in the last couple of years. Big ones are Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia and to some extent Uganda, Kenya and other eastern African countries. And then on the western side is Cote d’Ivoire, which is also a big grower of tobacco. Down south is Mozambique. And some tobacco plants are grown in Angola and South Africa. So, it’s nearly 124 countries in the world that grow some form of tobacco,” explains the Programme Manager, Tobacco Control, WHO Senior Advisor Focus.

The southern African country now wants to make its tobacco industry more lucrative by manufacturing more cigarettes at home and limiting foreign funding of farmers.

Despite the financial gains, the WHO Senior Advisor called out the industry’s influence, denouncing the effects of tobacco growing.

“The industrial tactics, tobacco industry tactics to push tobacco farming as economically viable, most profitable crop. And then leading to countries providing millions of dollars of subsidies; to promote tobacco. So, the farmer gets into a poverty trap after some time. The government is into subsidies and the onus understanding is that these crops are good for the economy”, Vinayak Mohan Prasad said.

According to a study published by Tobacco Control, a journal on tobacco research in 2021, Zimbabwean tobacco farmers, close to 60% of farmers said they were in debt. The sample involved of 381 farmers.