24 March 2021
Ethiopia/Eritrea: One day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed acknowledged that Eritrean troops had been in Tigray following the outbreak of conflict in November, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published a report that claims that Eritrean soldiers committed a massacre over two days in the city of Aksum at the end of November, killing more than 100 civilians.
According to a 26 February report by Amnesty, the number of dead was significantly higher.
BBC Africa Live 24 March 2021. 10:39
Uganda: 18 men arrested in the run-up to the January elections have been freed, some of them were “dumped by security services in different parts of Kyotera district, south of Kampala, late on Monday night.” Hundreds of opposition activists and campaigners are thought to have been “picked up during the election campaign. The government admits it is holding more than 200 people on charges related to violent acts during the elections, but many still remain unaccounted for and are believed to be still in the hands of the security services.” The 18 released are not part of the 200 that the government admits to holding.
BBC Africa Live 24 March 2021. 9:14
In this context also read:
Uganda: An interview with the human rights expert Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi. According to the Uganda Human Rights Commission, there is continued long and arbitrary detention of suspects in police custody – which is illegal, an arrestee has to be brought before court no later than 48 hours from the time of arrest. Detentions are often meant to intimidate, persecute and weaken the opposition. Furthermore, alleged cases of torture seem to be on the rise, most of it carried out by police, army and prison authorities. None of the perpetrators has been prosecuted. The army must stop being involved in law enforcement. The culture of impunity must stop.
https://theconversation.com/arbitrary-detention-and-torture-in-uganda-the-government-ignores-the-law-157607
Mozambique: The cost of bread is to rise by 25% in Maputo from 1st of April. The bakers say they have no other choice, the cost of flour having increased by 27%. In 2010, a 30% rise in the price of bread sparked riots across Mozambique with a dozen people dead and more than 400 injured. The government then subsidised bread for some time and since then, price rises had been small.
BBC Africa Live 24 March 2021. 16:53
Kenya: Once more, the government wants to close down the Dadaab refugee camp, saying it poses a security threat as some of the refugees are linked to the Somalian terrorist group al-Shabab. UNHCR has 14 days to close the camp as well as the Kakuma camp. “In 2017 a High Court judge blocked a similar bid to close the camp, ruling that it was tantamount to an act of group persecution.” Dadaab was set up in 1991.
BBC Africa Live 24 March 2021. 7:58
African cities: “Walking cities” that aren’t walkable – walking conditions in African cities are precarious and unsafe although many have no other choice but to walk. Auto-mobility is prioritised. Risks abound – research found 120 risks walkers are exposed to in Moyiba, an informal settlement in Freetown, Sierra Leona. The article provides some insights and recommendations from that research.
https://theconversation.com/people-living-in-african-urban-settings-do-a-lot-of-walking-but-their-cities-arent-walkable-156895
Libya: “On March 16, the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring and NATO’S intervention, a government uniting the east and west of Libya took power for the first time since 2014. This opportunity is Libyans’ last and best chance for stability and prosperity.” According to the author, the odds of this succeeding or failing are even.
https://theconversation.com/ten-years-after-the-arab-spring-libya-has-another-chance-for-peace-157041
23 March 2021
Tanzania: A short biography of Samia Suluhu Hassan, the country’s new president. Here’s how she rose to prominence:
The ruling party’s “presidential nomination of 2015 was a tight contest. After the party’s National Executive Committee votes were counted, three candidates were selected; John Magufuli and two other women – Asha-Rose Migiro, a Tanzanian who had served as the United Nations deputy secretary general, and Amina Salum Ali – a Zanzibari who had served as permanent representative of the African Union to the United States.
In the end, John Magufuli was nominated as a compromise candidate. He was viewed as candidate who could walk the middle line in a party that had been divided by competing interests.
Because there were two female finalists during the nomination process, it was deemed appropriate for Magufuli to nominate a woman as a running mate at a time when the country was already making great strides towards gender inclusion. Five years earlier, in 2010, Anna Makinda had broken barriers by becoming the first female speaker of the National Assembly.
Magufuli went ahead and nominated Samia Suluhu Hassan as his running mate. With Magufuli’s victory in the 2015 general elections, Hassan became the first female vice-president.”
As vice-president, she has gained lots of international experience (Magufuli rarely travelled abroad). Thought to be compassionate, rational and calm, she “has the chance to heal a polarised nation”.
https://theconversation.com/tanzanias-samia-hassan-has-the-chance-to-heal-a-polarised-nation-157523
Nigeria/feminism: A historical overview, focussing on the post-colonial period and on transnational feminism. “Gender studies is a catalyst for the empowerment of women. It has increased awareness of patriarchy in Nigeria, and resistance to it.”
The article is a summary of an 8 page article: Olutayo, Seunfunmi & Yalley, Abena. (2019). Feminists across Borders: Transnational Feminism, Knowledge Production and University Education in Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. 9. 35-41. 10.30845/ijhss.v9n8p5. It can be downloaded on https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336319248_Feminists_across_Borders_Transnational_Feminism_Knowledge_Production_and_University_Education_in_Nigeria.
https://theconversation.com/how-feminist-research-and-teaching-gained-a-foothold-in-the-nigerian-academy-156598
Ghana: Ghana’s lockdown triggering job losses and business closures illustrates the challenge of designing targeted policies that ensure the most vulnerable are not being left behind – “the labour market recovery has remained partial and uneven, and the economic burden of the pandemic continues to fall on the most vulnerable”. Workers in informal employment were harder hit than in formal employment and women were harder hit than men in terms of both employment and earnings. “Our research shows that future containment policies will need to be coupled with protective measures that prevent the most vulnerable workers from being left behind in the crisis.” Income support in the form of cash payments will then be necessary.
https://theconversation.com/ghanas-lockdown-hit-vulnerable-workers-hard-what-needs-to-happen-next-time-156876
Gambia: Parliament upheld a ban (firsts introduced in 1996) on skin bleaching on Monday, as “chemicals used in the production of skin-bleaching creams is hazardous to human health”.
BBC Africa Live 23 March 2021. 8:40
South Africa: The third wife (among six wives) of the recently deceased Zulu King was named interim successor in the late king’s will. She will appoint the new king from among her sons after discussion of succession by senior members of the royal family.
BBC Africa Live 23 March 2021. 7:29
Niger: Sunday’s attacks on villages in Tahoua region are now known to have killed 137, substantially more than first announced.
BBC Africa Live 23 March 2021. 4:31
“A silent tongue does not betray its owner”
BBC Africa Live 23 March 2021. African proverb of the day. Sent by Jacob Ekele and Abdul Jakusko, both from Nigeria.
Dust storms: Dust is produced by wind erosion of arid or semi-arid surfaces. “Dust storms increase eye infections and the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and are associated to meningitis incidence rates in the African Sahel. Intense outbreaks can disrupt communications, force closing of roads and airports due to poor visibility and can damage croplands and livestock.” The potential for large-scale source mitigation being rather limited, impact mitigation becomes crucial. Prediction and warnings play important roles. Doing this for haboobs – “immense walls of blowing sand and dust produced by strong downdrafts” that regularly occur in Saharan and Sahelian Africa – is a big challenge.
https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-mitigate-the-impacts-of-dust-storms-156688