12 March 2021
Algeria: Early legislative elections will be held on 12th of June. The president had dissolved parliament on 18th of February, one year ahead of schedule, amongst other measures to try and calm protesters.
BBC Africa Live 12 March 2021. 7:32
Central African Republic: While “confirming Touadera’s re-election, the constitutional court revised the voter turnout from 76% (as announced by the National Electoral Commission) to 35%. It then decided to confirm the election of only 22 members of Parliament, out of 140 seats. The remaining 118 seats will have to be filled by 2 May”, thus casting doubt on re-elected president Touadera’s legitimacy and the entire election’s credibility which “does not bode well for stability” in the country.
On 6th of February 2019 the government and 14 armed groups signed the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation. With the attacks of the Coalition for Change (Coalition pour le changement/CPC) that was formed by six armed groups/signatories of the agreement, the agreement could be considered dead. But “the AU and the UN have reaffirmed that the agreement is the only viable framework for peace and reconciliation in the CAR. It will, however, take more than pronouncing the agreement alive for it to be so.”
https://issafrica.org/pscreport/psc-insights/car-election-outcomes-do-not-bode-well-for-stability?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=ISS_Weekly_FR&utm_medium=email
Mozambique: The president has sacked Ezequiel Isac Muianga, head of the army, Messias André Niposso, head of the air force and also the commander and deputy commander of the Marechal Samora Machel Military Academy and the deputy commander of the Higher Institute of Defence Studies. No reasons were given. In a report published on 2nd of March, Amnesty International had accused the army, private military contractors and militants operating in Cabo Delgado of committing war crimes.
BBC Africa Live 12 March 2021. 10:58
Nigeria: Once more, students have been abducted last night. In Mando in Kaduna State in the country’s north-west, an unknown number of students, mostly female, have been abducted by attackers storming the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation located near a military training academy.
BBC Africa Live 12 March 2021. 8:15
30 students are thought to be missing. 180 are said to have been rescued by the army. “A recent report released by Kaduna state authorities said nearly 3,000 people in the state were killed or abducted by criminal gangs last year.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56373690
Mauritius: The “Chinese-flagged fishing vessel that ran aground on reefs off the coast of Mauritius on Sunday has been safely towed to port.” The incident had caused anguish – 8 months after the environmental catastrophe when a Japanese vessel leaked hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil off the Mauritius coast.
BBC Africa Live 12 March 2021. 5:13
South Africa: King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation has died of diabetes at age 72. He had ruled “the Zulu nation under the Traditional Leadership clause of South Africa's republican constitution” since 1968.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56370621
Cameroon: Human Rights Watch has published a report stating that hundreds of people have been kidnapped by separatist fighters since 2017. Very often, this has been for ransom. The report gives the example of a doctor released for 544 USD. Sometimes the separatists kidnap and kill to punish cooperation with the military, for example three chiefs from Essoh Attah village in the South-West region. “The rights group said the Cameroon military was also guilty of abuses in its operations against the separatists.”
BBC Africa Live 12 March 2021. 16:55
South Africa quelling protests: Despite a 2018 Constitutional Court judgment (Mlungwana and Others v S and Another) affirming people’s right to protest there is “(m)unicipal over-regulation of protests, coupled with over-policing (…). Instead of recognising protests as a democratic right and legitimate form of expression, increasingly protests have been framed as threats to domestic stability and, consequently, national security.”
https://theconversation.com/a-close-look-at-how-the-net-has-tightened-on-the-right-to-protest-in-south-africa-156966
11 March 2021
Namibia/beer: A résumé of a book about Namibian beer, from its beginnings in 1900 to the present day. Including the change “from beer as a white Germanophone preserve to the embodiment of the newly independent Namibian nation after 1990”.
https://theconversation.com/beer-politics-and-identity-the-chequered-history-behind-namibian-brewing-success-155719
Cabo Verde: The country depends heavily on food imports. It has not yet eradicated hunger – 5.3% of its people suffer from food insecurity. Research shows that indigenous beans could help prevent and combat such food insecurity. “We concluded that legumes grown on the island are an excellent, yet relatively inexpensive, source of essential nutrients and minerals. Dry beans are low cost, low fat, low cholesterol and low maintenance – balanced with high macro and micronutrients content, high fibre, high versatility and very long shelf life.”
https://theconversation.com/how-cabo-verde-indigenous-beans-could-boost-food-security-155896
Rwanda: Tricked or kidnapped? Paul Rusesabagina, hero of the film Hotel Rwanda, says he was kidnapped and his arrest was thus illegal, but the court in Kigali where he is presently being tried for terrorism says he was tricked by his friend Constantin Niyomwungere into coming to Rwanda in a private jet – so the trial must continue. “Mr Niyomwungere said he agreed to co-operate with Rwandan investigators to get a private jet for their trip, after he <believed Rusesabagina should face justice for his soldiers’ deadly attacks>”.
BBC Africa Live 11 March 2021. 11:41
Nature conservation undermined by Covid-19: The collapse in tourism is proving to be a serious threat. “Patrols and anti-poaching operations have been halted or reduced in more than half of Africa's protected areas”. And “growing poverty in communities near parks has seen a rise in poaching for bush meat.”
BBC Africa Live 11 March 2021. 10:15
Sudan: The Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal was granted pardon despite being suspected of atrocities in Darfur. The pardon is part of a peace deal signed last October between the government and rebel groups.
BBC Africa Live 11 March 2021. 17:19