Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.
Week 41, 2022
Very few African countries had an independent status before 1960. These countries included Ethiopia in East Africa, Liberia and Ghana in West Africa. When many of the dependent countries began to accede to both national and international sovereignty in the 1960s, coup-making was generally presented as an instrument to achieve better governance and not necessarily for good governance. Click here to read... [2]
At first glance the images of soldiers in a television studio on September 30th, some of them masked and bristling with guns were almost indistinguishable from those broadcasts in Burkina Faso in January, when the army overthrew an elected president, Roch Kaboré. Click here to read... [3]
vWho is Peter Obi, and why is he making the Nigerian establishment so nervous?
It is not easy to get 2 000 Nigerians to sing the national anthem as if they mean it. On a Monday evening earlier this month, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Peter Obi did exactly that. He was there to give a speech on the role of the Nigerian diaspora in civic leadership, as part of his global tour. Click here to read... [1]
Captain Ibrahim Traore has been appointed as president of Burkina Faso after Paul-Henri Damiba was removed in the West African country’s second coup in less than nine months. Click here to read... [4]
As a heavily armed convoy drove through a cheering crowd in Burkina Faso’s capital on Sunday morning, the boyish face of the country’s latest military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traore, emerged from the turret of an armored personnel carrier. Click here to read... [5]
Several dozen protestors waving Russian flags rallied in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Tuesday as West African delegates arrived on a fact-finding mission following the country's second coup in less than nine months. Click here to read... [6]
Protesters in Burkina Faso's capital have attacked the French Embassy after the military junta in charge accused France of sheltering the ousted interim president. Click here to read... [7]
Protesters waving Russian flags gathered in Burkina Faso's capital where West African regional envoys were meeting on Tuesday to press the country's latest coup leaders to swiftly return the country to civilian rule. Click here to read... [8]
Burkina Faso's new military leaders met with representatives of West Africa's main political and economic bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday to discuss plans for a democratic transition after the country's second coup this year, the interim presidency said. Click here to read... [9]
vOusted Burkina Faso Leader Leaves Country for Togo
Burkina Faso's ousted coup leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba left the country for Togo Sunday two days after he himself was overthrown in a coup, while the new junta urged citizens not to loot or vandalize. Click here to read... [10]
Ethiopia’s government on Wednesday said it has accepted an invitation from the African Union to take part in peace talks aimed at ending a nearly two-year-long ongoing civil war in the country’s northern Tigray region. Click here to read... [11]
Chad has adopted resolutions that push back democratic elections by two years and allow interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby to stay in power and be eligible to run for president in the eventual vote. Click here to read... [12]
Lesotho citizens were due to vote in an election on Friday, after years of political instability that the southern African mountain kingdom's lawmakers have yet to resolve. Click here to read... [13]
Naturally enough, Gabon is focusing on Africa as the country leads the United Nations Security Council this month. Gabon’s UN ambassador, Michel Xavier Biang, detailed his country’s plans for the rotating presidency, elaborating on a climate change agenda as well as counterterrorism, alignment of UN and African Union interests plus strengthening women’s resilience in conflicts. Click here to read... [14]
President Yoweri Museveni has apologized to Kenyans over tweets posted by his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba that had repeatedly threatened to invade Uganda’s East African neighbor. Click here to read... [15]
A Russian pilot and a member of ground crew staff died Tuesday when a plane that Russia recently delivered to Mali's armed forces crashed near the northern city of Gao, an official and the military said. Click here to read... [16]
More than 50 Sudanese pro-democracy groups have agreed on a new draft constitution, in one of the largest shows of unity from the country’s opposition since the 2019 popular uprising. Click here to read... [17]
A report by Malawi’s anti-corruption body has landed Vice President Saulos Chilima in hot water. With pressure from President Lazarus Chakwera, his second-in-command might be tried in court at some point, a scenario that could lead to a political deadlock. Click here to read... [18]
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has replaced the head of the country’s armed forces as part of broader military reforms aimed at boosting efficiency. Click here to read... [19]
The House of Elders in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has extended the term of office of President Muse Bihi Abdi by two years, a decision expected to cause more unrest by opposition groups. Click here to read... [20]
Tunisia's powerful UGTT labour union has no deal with the government on reforming subsidies and publicly owned companies and will lead street protests over any "painful" changes, it said on Monday, potentially complicating foreign bailout talks. Click here to read... [21]
The head of Nigeria's petroleum company told a legislative committee this week that a 4-kilometer pipeline from the Forcados export terminal has been used to steal oil for nine years, resulting in the theft of hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day. Click here to read... [22]
The World Bank has ranked the Ghana cedi as the worst-performing currency in Africa since the beginning of the year with a depreciation of 60 per cent against the United States dollar. Click here to read... [23]
Somalia and Ethiopia say they will work together to protect each other’s territories, including requesting the UN Security Council to lift an age-old arms embargo on Mogadishu. Click here to read... [24]
Popular wisdom dictates that you will not die as long as you stay in politics, which means that every leading politician does their best to remain in the local political landscape, just like 86-year-old Silvio Berlusconi, who was seen during Italy’s election weekend. Click here to read... [25]
Cameroon's president has ordered officials to enforce a 2019 law on bilingualism and make life easier for English speakers in the French-speaking majority country. Click here to read... [26]
Sudanese youth drove the demonstrations and uprising that toppled former president Omar al-Bashir’s nearly 30-year-long rule. They were instrumental in mobilising and creating a social movement urging the military to eventually step in to remove al-Bashir from power in a popular coup in April 2019. Click here to read... [27]
A US airstrike in Somalia killed an al-Shabaab militant leader on Saturday in coordination with the Somali government, US Africa Command said in a statement. Click here to read... [28]
For years, Somali clans and villages have tried to resist demands from the Islamist group al-Shabab, which can include taxes called "zakat," plus livestock, weapons and boys they can turn into fighters. Click here to read... [29]
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "conveys his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers and the people in government of Bangladesh," he added. Click here to read... [30]
Mozambique marks five years since extreme violence erupted in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, forcing nearly 1 million people to flee during that time in October. Click here to read... [31]
A regional court on Friday dismissed a case brought by a group of Maasai villagers claiming the Tanzanian government used violence to evict them from their ancestral lands in the north of the country. Click here to read... [32]
Rwanda has secured $310 million (approximately Rwf318 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to tackle climate change. Click here to read... [33]
In August, Kenya held its fifth general elections since the introduction of multiparty politics in 1991. Four of the 93 registered political parties were green parties. Click here to read... [34]
Uganda’s ambitions of joining the oil producer’s club almost entirely rest on a pipeline being built between the oil fields in the Lake Albert region and the Tanzanian port of Tanga on the east African coast. Click here to read... [35]
Zimbabwe is poised to become Africa’s largest steel producer and one of the biggest steel players in the world. A multi-billion steel plant is being constructed in Manhize, central Zimbabwe, that has the potential to meet all of the country’s requirements plus that of most countries in Africa and beyond. Click here to read... [36]
Namibia and Zambia on Thursday inked an agreement in Swakopmund, Namibia, to facilitate a private sector-led infrastructure development project. Click here to read... [37]
Nigerians celebrated the 62nd anniversary of their independence Saturday with the country’s leader acknowledging the economic and security hardships citizens are facing as they prepare to vote for a new president in four months. Click here to read... [38]
Botswana celebrates 56 years of independence on Friday after attaining self-government in 1965, following 80 years as the British protectorate Bechuanaland. Click here to read... [39]
On the sidelines of the UNSC High-Level debate at New York, MoS for External Affairs V Muraleedharan met with the foreign minister of Gabon Michael Adamo and held discussions on various aspects of bilateral relations. Click here to read... [40]
V Muraleedharan said terrorist organisations were exploiting resources to bolster their finances. "These regions have remained vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing. Click here to read... [41]
New Delhi played host to the second round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Nigeria on 29 September 2022. Click here to read... [42]
Indian Navy warship, INS Tarkash visited Port Walvis Bay at Namibia from Oct 3-6 as a part of an ongoing extended-range operational deployment, the Indian Navy said in an official statement. Click here to read... [43]
The Indian Naval Ship Sunayna participated in the capacity-building exercise Operation Southern Readiness conducted by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) at Seychelles during September 24-27, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. Click here to read... [44]
India is in talks with Angola and Algeria to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) on long-term contracts, said two officials aware of the development, amid concerns of a global gas shortage fuelled by the Ukraine crisis. Click here to read... [45]
Togo’s minister of education and research, Dr Wateba said that they will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Andhra University and will work in various fields. Click here to read... [46]
With the recent visit of the Indian defense minister to Egypt, the two nations are boosting their security cooperation. However, their defense ties stretch back to the 60s, when India played a pivotal role in Egypt’s attempts to develop a supersonic aircraft. Click here to read... [47]
New Delhi's rice export restrictions herald higher prices for many West African countries, including big rice importers Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana. Click here to read... [48]
Tunisian sugar reserves have run out, according to the secretary general of the Ben Arous regional office of the tourism, trade and industry federation of the UGTT trade union Souhail Boukhris. Click here to read... [49]
Several Indian states and at least one foreign country have red-flagged the quality of medicines manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceutical, whose contaminated cough syrups has reportedly led to the deaths of more than 60 children in The Gambia, in west Africa, prompting the WHO to issue an alert. Click here to read... [50]
The World Health Organisation has issued an alert about four Indian-manufactured cough syrups that it said could have caused 66 deaths in Gambia. What do we know about the cough syrups? Are they sold in India? Should you be worried? Click here to read... [51]
In his annual Vijayadashmi speech in Nagpur, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat called for a comprehensive population control policy, citing “religion-based population imbalance”. Click here to read... [52]
The India Community in Ghana has commemorated the 153 anniversary of Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi, late leader and the foremost campaigner for India’s independence, in Accra. Click here to read... [53]
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Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/october/10/2022/africa-now-weekly-newsletter-week-41
[2] https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/10/09/coups-detat-as-instrument-of-france-non-grata-in-africa-the-cases-of-mali-and-burkina-faso/
[3] https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/10/01/for-the-second-time-this-year-soldiers-stage-a-coup-in-burkina-faso
[4] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/6/ibrahim-traore-declared-burkina-faso-president-after-coup
[5] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/04/africa/ibrahim-traore-burkina-faso-intl/index.html
[6] https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221004-pro-russia-demonstrators-rally-in-burkina-after-coup
[7] https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/protesters-attack-french-embassy-in-burkina-faso-after-coup/article65960585.ece
[8] https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2022/oct/04/burkina-faso-coup-supporters-gather-near-regional-mediation-2504926.html
[9] https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/burkina-fasos-new-military-government-meets-west-africa-bloc/article65970599.ece
[10] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-02/burkina-faso-junta-urges-calm-after-french-embassy-attack
[11] https://sudantribune.com/article264973/
[12] https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/junta-set-stay-power-after-chad-delays-elections-by-two-years-2022-10-02/
[13] https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/lesotho-votes-election-with-political-crisis-still-unresolved-2022-10-06/
[14] https://www.passblue.com/2022/10/05/gabon-takes-the-un-security-council-hot-seat-sticking-to-african-views/
[15] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/06/africa/museveni-kenya-invasion-apology-intl/index.html
[16] https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/05/two-including-russian-pilot-killed-in-mali-plane-crash-a78978
[17] https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-africa-sudan-democracy-charters-bceb23bfa4ecc61173132e7c89bb9d3b
[18] https://www.theafricareport.com/244947/malawi-political-crisis-looms-as-vp-chilima-graft-scandal-unfolds/
[19] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/dr-congo-appoints-new-army-chief-as-part-of-military-reforms
[20] https://apnews.com/article/africa-somalia-government-and-politics-b30ea24f131394528d6b0b20f9153c99
[21] https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-labour-union-warns-strikes-imf-talks-loom-2022-10-03/
[22] https://www.voanews.com/a/nigeria-discovers-huge-pipeline-used-for-oil-theft/6780727.html
[23] https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/cedi-worst-performing-currency-in-africa-world-bank.html
[24] https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/somalia-ethiopia-renew-cooperation-3969292
[25] https://www.theafricareport.com/245904/south-africas-phoenix-president-zuma-wants-to-rise-from-the-ashes/
[26] https://www.voanews.com/a/cameroon-s-biya-orders-enforcement-of-bilingualism-law-/6775131.html
[27] https://issafrica.org/iss-today/youth-are-vital-for-sudans-post-coup-stability
[28] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/03/politics/us-somalia-airstrike-al-shabaab/index.html
[29] https://www.voanews.com/a/ma-awisley-militias-in-central-somalia-mobilizing-against-al-shabab-/6776048.html
[30] https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/blast-in-central-african-republic-kills-3-bangladesh-un-peacekeepers-101664918568885.html
[31] https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/10/08/mozambique-marks-five-years-of-extreme-violence-in-cabo-delgado/
[32] https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/regional-court-dismisses-maasai-eviction-case-against-tanzania-government-ea45akra
[33] https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/1600/news/environment/rwanda-imf-agree-on-310m-deal-on-climate-financing
[34] https://chinadialogue.net/en/climate/in-kenya-green-parties-struggle-for-votes/
[35] https://www.africanews.com/2022/10/06/amid-climate-politics-uganda-presses-on-with-oil-pipeline-business-africa/
[36] https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/zimbabwe-is-poised-to-become-africas-largest-steel-producer/
[37] https://english.news.cn/20221007/542a2d3d77dd4f9cb400a9a93f7f8e61/c.html
[38] https://apnews.com/article/africa-business-presidential-elections-economy-a31749fe5cda0cb2136ced1d55bb002d
[39] https://www.news24.com/news24/africa/news/botswana-turns-56-from-one-of-the-poorest-countries-to-an-upper-middle-income-economy-20220930
[40] https://theprint.in/world/mos-muraleedharan-meets-gabon-fm-conveys-wishes-on-unsc-presidency/1157440/
[41] https://www.opindia.com/2022/10/india-aware-growing-terrorism-in-africa-indian-minister-v-muraleedharan-at-unsc/
[42] https://www.livemint.com/news/world/india-and-nigeria-hold-foreign-office-consultations-11664725403082.html
[43] https://theprint.in/world/ins-tarkash-visits-namibias-port-walvis-bay/1158770/
[44] https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ins-sunayna-participates-in-combined-maritime-forces-exercise-in-seychelles-11664356636541.html
[45] https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/india-in-talks-with-angola-algeria-for-lng-supplies-11665161913595.html
[46] https://www.siasat.com/togo-govt-plans-to-sign-mou-with-andhra-university-on-it-space-2429634/
[47] https://eurasiantimes.com/a-hell-of-a-fighter-why-indias-joint-collaboration-with-egypt-failed/
[48] https://www.theafricareport.com/245521/nigeria-ghana-senegal-indias-export-restrictions-complicate-rice-supply/
[49] https://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/economics/2022/09/09/tunisia-runs-out-of-sugar-to-import-from-algeria-and-india_cb3f242a-fb12-45ce-ac52-cc84a74790af.html
[50] https://www.deccanherald.com/national/gambia-deaths-4-states-had-red-flagged-maiden-pharma-1151339.html
[51] https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-health/india-haryana-cough-syrup-gambia-children-deaths-explained-8196790/
[52] https://theprint.in/politics/why-bhagwat-brought-up-east-timor-south-sudan-kosovo-in-speech-about-population-imbalance/1155732/
[53] https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2022/10/03/india-community-in-ghana-commemorates-gandhis-153-anniversary/
[54] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=Africa Now - Weekly Newsletter (Week 41, 2022)&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/october/10/2022/africa-now-weekly-newsletter-week-41
[55] http://twitter.com/share?text=Africa Now - Weekly Newsletter (Week 41, 2022)&url=https://www.vifindia.org/october/10/2022/africa-now-weekly-newsletter-week-41&via=Azure Power
[56] whatsapp://send?text=https://www.vifindia.org/october/10/2022/africa-now-weekly-newsletter-week-41
[57] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Samir-Bhattacharya