4 March 2021
South Africa: The two authors of this The Conversation article analyse Jacob Zuma’s language. The ex-president, under attack for corruption and state capture, “uses warfare metaphors to defend himself and persuade his supporters to continue supporting him” presenting himself “as the ultimate warrior for the economic liberation of the poor.” According to him, it is his “stance on the transformation of this country and its economy” that makes him the “target” of a campaign of “propaganda, vilification and falsified claims.” He draws a parallel between the apartheid system and his enemies of today, “security agencies, ‘white monopoly capital’, the commission and Constitutional Court”. Against them, Zuma is a defenceless victim. And “evidence of his alleged wrongdoing can be (…) rejected, or be reinterpreted, as falsehoods concocted by his opponents.”
https://theconversation.com/how-zuma-uses-war-metaphor-to-fight-allegations-of-graft-in-south-africa-156223
Ethiopia: The Oromo Federalist Congress/OFC withdraws from the June parliamentary election until its jailed leaders be released and its offices allowed to operate. For the same reasons, the Oromo Liberation Front/OLF is also considering withdrawing from the election.
BBC Africa Live 04 March 2021. 8:40
“When you find yourself in the same place in the forest twice, then you are lost"
BBC’s African proverb of the day. A Beti proverb sent by Christian Messina Mvogo in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
BBC Africa Live 04 March 2021. 4:30.
Ethiopia: Michelle Bachelet, the UN’s human rights commissioner, has asked Ethiopia to allow independent investigations into possible war crimes in Tigray. According to corroborated information, “Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Amhara Regional Forces are all implicated.”
BBC Africa Live 04 March 2021. 12:06
Nigeria: Boko Haram has developed links with bandits in north-western and north-central Nigeria. Expanding to outside the north-east of the country has several advantages, enlarging the recruitment and financial (ransom, income from gold-mining) basis and drawing the security forces’ attention away from the north-east. Bad governance – corruption, human rights abuses, but most of all bad policing (“(m)any communities don’t feel the presence of government, especially in the area of safety and protection”) allows criminals to step in and to establish social contacts with local communities.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/boko-haram-teams-up-with-bandits-in-nigeria?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=ISS_Weekly_FR&utm_medium=email
3 March 2021
Tanzania: Haven’t they prayed enough? According to the Catholic Church, over the last 2 months, 60 nuns and 25 priests have died after showing Covid-19 symptoms though it is not possible to know whether the deaths had been caused by coronavirus as they had not been tested. The church’s about 500 health centres across the country are not allowed to test. This is the second time after January that the Catholic Church has indirectly criticised the Tanzanian president.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2021. 12:14
Ghana: After Brexit, Ghana and the UK had to sign a new trade agreement to reduce tariffs and remain lucrative export markets for each other. This has now been done and products including bananas, tinned tuna and cocoa (for Ghana) and machinery, electronics and chemical products (for the UK) will benefit.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2021. 9:28
Ethiopia: Why he’s been arrested, remains unknown. But the BBC’s reporter Girmay Gebru for the Tigray region has been released from detention. Local journalist Tamirat Yemane and translators Alula Akalu and Fitsum Berhane working for the Financial Times respectively AFP news agency have also been released.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2021. 8:27