Month: July 2023

With police deployed, streets deserted and schools closed, Kenya was gearing up for another tense day of opposition protests on Wednesday.

The government has promised to respond firmly to any excesses, following deadly violence at previous rallies.

The Azimio coalition, led by veteran politician Raila Odinga, has called for three consecutive days of demonstrations starting today against the policies of President William Ruto, whom they accuse of exacerbating the rising cost of living in this East African country.

“We call on Kenyans to take back their country before this dictatorship takes firm root”, Azimio said in a statement on Tuesday.

For the government, these demonstrations are “nothing more than a threat to national security”.

On Wednesday morning, public schools remained closed, at the request of the authorities, in the country’s three major cities: the capital Nairobi, Mombasa (south) and Kisumu (west).

The usually busy streets of Nairobi were empty, security forces were deployed at several points in the city, and many shops kept their curtains down, our source observed.

This is the third time since early July that the opposition has organised such days of action. During the previous one, on 12 July, rallies were banned by the authorities and were marred by looting and clashes between demonstrators and the police.

At least nine people were killed and more than 300 arrested. The police, who fired tear gas and live ammunition, were strongly criticised for their crackdown on the demonstrators.

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said that the authorities had deployed “all available resources” to ensure that the scenes “we witnessed do not happen again”.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, thirteen Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, expressed their concern at the “high levels of violence” during the latest demonstrations, urging the various parties to “resolve their differences peacefully”.

Elected in August 2022 on the promise of reviving the economy and supporting the most disadvantaged, President Ruto enacted a finance bill introducing new taxes at the beginning of July, despite criticism from the opposition and the population.

Kenya, the economic powerhouse of East Africa, is facing high inflation and a large debt, contracted in particular under the presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta, of whom William Ruto was Vice-President.

Guinea’s ruling junta has suspended the export of several agricultural products, including rice, potatoes, and palm oil, for six months to preserve its “food sovereignty” and “social peace”.

This decision is linked to the concern to preserve stocks before the next harvests, and “not at all” to the expiry on Monday of the agreement between Moscow and Kiev, which allowed Ukraine to export cereals, notably to Africa, despite the war, the Guinean Ministry of Trade said.

“We are entering a (lean) period. We need to replenish our reserves to ensure food sovereignty and social peace”, a trade ministry official told our source on Tuesday.

The suspension of exports concerns around fifteen staple foods (rice, onions, potatoes, dried chilli peppers, fresh chilli peppers, aubergines, okra, fresh tomatoes, taro, cassava, maize, cassava, and maize flours, yams, sweet potatoes, and palm oil), the ministry said in a statement dated Monday and sent to our source on Tuesday.

Exports of these products are “prohibited for a period of six months”, on pain of fines or even criminal prosecution, it warned.

Guinea, one of the poorest countries in the world despite its rich subsoil (iron, bauxite, and gold in particular), usually exports these agricultural products to many West African countries.

On Monday, Moscow refused to extend the cereals agreement signed with Ukraine in July 2022 under the aegis of the United Nations and Turkey, and subsequently extended several times, denouncing the obstacles to trade in fertilisers and Russian products.

This agreement allowed Ukrainian cereals to be exported via the Black Sea despite the Russian invasion, to the benefit of African countries in particular.

Guinea has been ruled since 2021 by a junta that seized power in a putsch. Under international pressure, the military agreed to hand over power to elected civilians by the end of 2024.

Four countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) discussed democratic transitions and security in the region in Nigeria on Tuesday, the organization said.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was elected ECOWAS President last Sunday, held talks in Abuja with officials from Niger, Guinea-Bissau and Benin.

They notably discussed security in Mali after the withdrawal of the UN mission (MINUSMA), created in 2013 to support the country threatened by the jihadist push.

At the end of June, the UN Security Council put an end to the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission at the request of the Malian military junta, which is critical of Westerners and which has moved closer to Russia.

Three of the 15 member countries of ECOWAS – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea – are today ruled by military juntas, after a recent series of military coups (five since 2020).

At the same time, the jihadist groups Al-Qaeda and Islamic State have gained ground in the Sahel, extending their attacks south to countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

Supported by Niger, Nigeria, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau have set up a tripartite commission to find alternative security solutions after the withdrawal of the UN mission in Mali, including the possible deployment of soldiers from countries of ECOWAS.

On behalf of this task force, the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, will soon travel to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea to discuss security and democratic transitions after the coups, indicated Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, to the press in Abuja.

The four countries meeting in Abuja “reaffirmed their support for rapid democratic transitions in these countries”, he added. In terms of security, “they are committed to providing a solid response”, referring to the possible deployment of troops from ECOWAS countries, he added, without further details.

Last December, the ECOWAS countries decided to create a regional force dedicated to intervening not only against jihadism but also in the event of a coup. But few details have emerged since about its Constitution and funding, which still need to be clarified.

The European Union wishes to negotiate with Egypt and Morocco partnerships similar to the one it has just concluded with Tunisia, relating in particular to the fight against irregular immigration, a European source said on Monday.

The EU and Tunisia signed a memorandum of understanding in Tunis on Sunday for a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, which also concerns the country’s economic development and renewable energies.

On the migratory aspect, it provides for European aid of 105 million euros intended to prevent the departure of migrant boats to the EU from the Tunisian coasts and to fight against smugglers. But also to facilitate the return to this country of Tunisians who are in an irregular situation in the EU, as well as the return from Tunisia to their countries of origin of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted the partnership to be a model for future agreements with countries in the region.

Egypt and Morocco are two countries that could be affected, said a senior European official speaking on condition of anonymity, stressing the benefits of this type of partnership for both sides of the Mediterranean.

But this agreement with Tunis has also drawn criticism because of the treatment of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa by the authorities of this Maghreb country.

Hundreds of migrants were arrested in Tunisia and then “deported”, according to NGOs, to inhospitable areas on the borders with Algeria and Libya. Women and children are abandoned in the middle of the desert without water, food or shelter, according to testimonies collected by telephone by our source and videos sent to NGOs in Tunisia.

It is “not about signing a check” to the Tunisian authorities, stressed the European official, indicating that the agreement provided for a series of contracts with different actors, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The memorandum of understanding concluded on Sunday between the EU and Tunisia, in the presence of Ursula von der Leyen, President Kais Saied, but also Italian heads of government Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Mark Rutte, will have to be approved by all. of EU member states.

While European countries like Italy wanted to be able to send migrants back to Tunisia who had simply transited through that country, Tunis has made it clear that it does not want “to be a country of settlement for irregular migrants”. The agreement therefore only covers the return of Tunisian nationals who are in an irregular situation in the EU.

The protocol signed plans to devote 15 million euros – out of the 105 million – to the “voluntary” return of some 6,000 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from Tunisia to their countries of origin.

In addition, the EU intends to deliver to the Tunisian coastal authorities eight boats for search and rescue operations and drones.

At the age of 18, she is the role model for dozens of girls in the small village where she grew up, has joined the elite with Real Madrid and is about to play in her third World Cup in less than 12 months: Linda Caicedo, the best player in Colombian women’s soccer.

With braided hair and a permanent smile, the striker is making great strides in her career. When she makes her debut at the Australia-New Zealand World Cup on July 24, she will be taking part in an international competition for the third time, just five months after reaching adulthood.

In 2022, she played with the U-20s in Costa Rica and with the U-17s in India, where the Cafeteros narrowly missed out on the title.

On the stony pitch of Villagorgona, a hamlet near Cali (south-west), Linda honed her body and spirit to perfection, as the only girl to measure her talent against dozens of men.

She’s “one of those people touched by God, who were born for this”, explains Diego Vásquez, her first coach, to our source from the sparse pitch.

Today, her dribbling skills enable her to play for Real Madrid, she is ranked as the best player under 20 and, according to the Globe Soccer Awards, second best player in the world.

A Kenyan evangelical pastor suspected of stealing children presented as “miracle babies”, the result of his prayers, was acquitted on Monday by a Nairobi court due to insufficient evidence.

Gilbert Deya, a former stonemason who moved to London in the 1990s, was accused of stealing five children between 1999 and 2004.

But Gilbert Deya, 86, was acquitted by Robison Ondieki, a magistrate in a Nairobi court, who ruled that the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence.

“The charges were fabricated and could not be brought before a court,” the reverend’s lawyer, John Swaka, told our source, assuring the press that his client was “very happy”.

Gilbert Deya, who owns several churches, including in London, Liverpool and Nottingham, was extradited from Britain to Kenya in 2017 after a legal battle lasting almost 10 years.

The reverend and his wife Mary claimed that infertile or menopausal women could become pregnant in four months, without having sexual relations, thanks to their prayers.

According to the prosecution, the babies had in fact been stolen, most of them from the maternity ward of Pumwani Hospital in Nairobi, a poor suburb of the capital.

A predominantly Christian country in East Africa, Kenya is home to around “4,000 churches”, according to official figures, including those run by self-proclaimed pastors with no theological training.

The discovery in April of the bodies of worshippers linked to a sect that practised starvation in order to “meet Jesus Christ” raised questions about the need for greater regulation of churches.

Nearly 400 bodies have so far been found in the Shakahola forest on the Kenyan coast. The sect’s leader and self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a 50-year-old former taxi driver, is facing terrorism charges.

Leaders from Sudan’s six neighbouring countries met in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, on Thursday for the most high-profile peace talks since conflict erupted across the north-eastern African country in mid-April.

The meeting, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya.

“We express our deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan and condemn the repeated attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities and public service outlets. We call upon the international community leaders to intensify efforts in providing necessary humanitarian assistance and address the urgent severe shortage of food and medical supplies in Sudan as a measure which reduces the serious repercussions of the crisis on innocent civilians“, said Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Thursday’s meeting comes weeks after talks, involving the US and Saudi Arabia in the city of Jeddah broke down after both sides repeatedly failed to stop fighting and violated cease-fire agreements.

“An agreement has been reached to form a ministerial mechanism regarding the Sudanese crisis at the level of foreign ministers of neighbouring countries. Its first meeting will be held in Chad to take the following steps, putting an executive work plan that includes practical and implementable solutions, stop the fighting and reach a comprehensive solution to the Sudanese crisis through direct communication with the various Sudanese parties, in coordination with existing mechanisms IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Ed.) and the African Union. The RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and Sudan’s military have agreed to at least 10 cease-fires, many of which were brokered during the Jeddah talks”, concluded Egypt’s President.

Sudan has been rocked by violence since April when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces burst into open fighting.

Senegalese authorities have banned rallies of opponent Ousmane Sonko’s party scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, according to an official statement released Thursday.

The July 15 rally was organized in particular to officially nominate Mr. Sonko as his party’s candidate, Pastef, for the 2024 presidential election, although the opponent has been ineligible since a recent conviction.

“There are indications that these gatherings constitute real risks of disturbing public order” , justified the governor of Dakar, Al Hassan Sall.

“Calls through social networks invite supporters of this political formation (Pastef) to already invest in the major markets and the main axes and places of gatherings,” said the press release.

However, according to the governor, individuals had attacked public and private property, businesses and other facilities during a call to demonstrate by Mr Sonko in early June.

Supporters of Mr. Sonko said that their candidate’s inauguration would be held on Saturday at the Amadou Barry stadium in Guédiawaye, in the Dakar suburbs, and not on the “public road”.

Mr. Sonko, the fiercest opponent of President Macky Sall, who will turn 49 on Saturday, was sentenced a month ago to two years in prison in a vice case. He has been blocked by the security forces at his home in Dakar, “kidnapped” according to him, since May 28.

This sentence led to the most serious disturbances in Senegal in early June for years, which left 16 dead according to the authorities, around thirty according to the opposition.

The leader of Pastef promised a week ago “indescribable chaos” if he is prevented from being a candidate in the next presidential election.

President Macky Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, announced in early July that he would not seek a third term.