09 December 2021
Jailed journalists: According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Egypt is the African country with the most jailed journalists (25) before Eritrea (16), Ethiopia (9), Rwanda (7) and Cameroon (6).
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 13:32
Nigeria: Aid agencies are forbidden to distribute food to IDPs whom the government has moved back from camps to their towns or villages. The measure aims at “weaning people off aid and helping them to become self-sufficient”.
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 16:58
Niger/Lake Chad/Boko Haram: With disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) of Boko Haram associates a priority in Lake Chad’s 2018 regional stabilisation strategy, a reception centre for people who voluntarily surrendered was created in Goudoumaria, Niger. At that centre, more than 375 ex-Boko Haram associates, 30 of them women, have so far benefited from a socio-economic rehabilitation programme. The article describes problems of the programme and urges more efficient DDRRR so as to further weaken Boko Haram.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/getting-goudoumaria-right-are-boko-haram-defectors-reintegrating-safely
Mali: Humanitarian Working Group of the International NGOs Forum in Mali (Fongim), a coalition of 22 humanitarian organisations, says that 1.2 million people presently face hunger – the number has tripled since 2020, with insecurity, droughts (mainly in the regions of Mopti, Ségou, Timbuktu), and the socio-economic impact of coronavirus to blame.
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 11:30
Mali/Senegal: Women are thought to constitute about half of the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining labour force – an industry that is estimated to be worth 1.1 billion euros per year. But the women “face discrimination and obtain little benefits from (the) lucrative sector”. The article describes women’s working and living conditions, including human trafficking, in mines in western Mali and eastern Senegal.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/gold-doesnt-shine-for-women-in-mali-and-senegals-mines
Cameroon: Clashes between Choas herders and Mosgoum farmers have killed 12 or more and wounded “scores” in Kousseri in the country’s extreme north. The market of Kousseri town and at least 6 villages were burnt. A land dispute over scarcity of water had triggered the clashes.
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 5:56
Mali/Togo: 7 Togolese Minusma soldiers have been killed by an improvised explosive device near Bandiagara in central Mali.
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 6:46
Gambia: Voting is done differently in The Gambia, a system that the British introduced in 1965 still being in use because it is simple and makes cheating difficult: “In the place of ballot boxes, there is a metal cylinder with a hole in the top. The containers are arranged on a table inside a voting booth and painted with the party colours of candidates as well as their photos for ease of identification. Each voter drops a marble into the container representing the chosen candidate.” The 4th of December presidential elections were mainly a contest between the incumbent, Barrow (of the National People’s Party), and his former vice-president Darboe (United Democratic Party). Issues were the economy, security, corruption, falling standards of healthcare delivery and “a concerning increase in ethnic and tribal politics never seen before in the country.” The first-past-the-post elections were won by Barrow who received 53% of the votes (Darboe 28%).
https://theconversation.com/the-gambias-55-year-old-marbles-voting-system-is-simple-but-difficult-to-cheat-173263
Uganda: Two soldiers have been sentenced to life respectively 35 years in prison for killing three in protests in 2020. “These are the first convictions related to killings by the security forces during last year’s protests. More than 50 people were killed over two days.”
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 8:59
Somalia: The African Union mission to Somalia (Amisom) is set to end on 31st of December. Are the country's security forces ready to take over?
BBC Africa Live 09 December 2021. 14:03
08 December 2021
Ethiopia: In Mekelle, hyenas provide a great service to humans: consuming more than 200 tons of waste per year in and around the city, they clean the city and “by eating discarded carcasses, the hyenas are reducing the potential spread of diseases like anthrax and bovine tuberculosis”. A The Conversation podcast of 5’36’’.
https://theconversation.com/hyenas-unpicky-feeding-habits-help-clean-up-a-town-in-ethiopia-173340
Sudan: Several days of inter-communal fighting (Arabs against Masalit) has killed more than 100 and displaced thousands in Kreinik area in Western Darfur.
BBC Africa Live 08 December 2021. 10:23
South Africa: The Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance, by voting against it, prevented an amendment to the constitution that would have made land expropriation possible without compensation. This is no surprise as far as the white-dominated Democratic Alliance is concerned, but the EFF?
BBC Africa Live 08 December 2021. 5:12
Uganda: According to the US Treasury, Major General Abel Kandiho, the country’s head of military intelligence and other military intelligence officers have “arrested, detained and physically abused people ‘due to their nationality, political views, or critique of the Ugandan government’ (and) those arrested were ‘subjected to horrific beatings and other egregious acts... including sexual abuse and electrocutions, often resulting in significant long-term injury and even death’.” It has imposed financial sanctions on Abel Kandiho. The Ugandan army has protested.
BBC Africa Live 08 December 2021. 11:10