08 July 2021
Congo-Kinshasa: Kambale Kabamba, leader of the Mai-Mai militia, has been arrested by police in North Kivu. He is to be handed over to a military tribunal.
BBC Africa Live 08 July 2021. 5:24
Mozambique: A commission of inquiry set up by the government has confirmed reports of sexual abuse and exploitation including rape and forced prostitution in a women’s prison in Maputo.
BBC Africa Live 08 July 2021. 9:45
Terrorism: In Africa, terrorists do not yet use drones as strike platforms (as they do in other parts of the world, e.g. Western Asia), but they do use them for surveillance and precision targeting (e.g. in Somalia, Mozambique, DRC). It is “only a matter of time before drones get deployed more actively across Africa”, so – states, armies, etc. – better be prepared!
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/drones-in-the-hands-of-insurgents-how-africa-can-prepare
Mali: The Kayes region “produced an estimated 73% of the country’s 26 tons of artisanal gold in 2019 and generated US$1.23 billion”. Use of chemicals (especially mercury and cyanide smuggled from Burkina Faso and Senegal) endangers human and animal health and the environment. The “trafficking network also serves as a potential financing source for violent extremist groups”.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/going-for-gold-in-western-mali-threatens-human-security
Eswatini: “Mswati remains an absolute monarchy, not a constitutional one, so the rest is all essentially window-dressing or democratic opera.” The recent escalation of protests could be more serious than “periodic episodes of protests against autocratic rule (that) have in the past eventually burnt themselves out”. The article’s author thinks that SADC should (have) become more active or the situation will get out of hand.
https://issafrica.org/amp/iss-today/turning-a-blind-eye-to-eswatini
06 July 2021
Agriculture: In colonial times, farmers were forced to grow export commodities and had no choice but to neglect food crops. Before, agricultural systems adapted to local conditions had managed the “biophysical challenges”. “These systems were initially responsive to external influences brought by the Europeans” and could, for example, accommodate demand for cotton, groundnuts and palm oil nuts from the Europeans. But this changed when the system was entirely reoriented towards the outsiders’ needs. With “self-organisation, based on local feedback mechanisms”, durably eliminated, and export-orientation maintained post-independence, the colonial legacy still weighs heavily on agriculture (and its productivity) today.
https://theconversation.com/tracing-the-history-of-farming-across-africa-gives-clues-to-low-production-outputs-163386
Egypt/Ethiopia: Egypt says it has been notified by Ethiopia of the latter’s filling the Renaissance dam for a second year. Egypt rejects the “unilateral” move and has written to the UN Security Council which is due to discuss the matter on Thursday.
BBC Africa Live 06 July 2021. 4:33
Ethiopia: The Tigray “rebels” are reported to be mobilising for fighting the Amhara militias that had supported the federal army in the conflict.
BBC Africa Live 06 July 2021. 8:45
South Africa: In Gauteng province, jacarandas (invasive aliens introduced to Pretoria and Johannesburg in the early 1800s) used to flower in mid-November in the 1920s and 1930s. Then it became October and now they flower in September. This is due to climate change and it is called a “phenological shift” in biometeorology. But this shift cannot go on forever and eventually, the trees may succumb to heat stress.
https://theconversation.com/jacarandas-in-parts-of-south-africa-are-flowering-earlier-why-its-a-warning-sign-163554
Eswatini: Even though calm has returned, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says it is deeply concerned, having “received allegations of disproportionate and unnecessary use of force, harassment and intimidation by security forces in suppressing last week's protests, including the use of live ammunition by police”. It calls for an investigation and for “long-term dialogue” to address people’s concerns.
BBC Africa Live 06 July 2021. 10:55
Ghana: Thousands, many of them members of the opposition National Democratic Congress, have taken to the streets in Accra to protest against the government’s lack of action about recent killings. Vigilante forces on the side of the ruling party are amongst the accused.
BBC Africa Live 06 July 2021. 13:40