21 July 2021
South Africa: 276 killed (234 in KwaZulu-Natal and 42 in Gauteng) and counting – but unrest has largely subsided since the deployment of 25,000 soldiers. Several thousand have been arrested for looting.
BBC Africa Live 21 July 2021. 18:12
Zimbabwe: After a significant rise in teenage pregnancies during Covid lockdown and 2,000 below 16 years old, “rights groups are pushing for schoolgirls to be able to obtain contraceptives without parental consent.”
BBC Africa Live 21 July 2021. 18:11
20 July 2021
Mozambique: “Frelimo has squandered the enormous political capital it enjoyed at independence. The party remains in power by using violence, intimidation, harassment and threats.” True, it was difficult from the very beginning. Rhodesia feared that the example could spread – and did everything in its power to get rid of Frelimo. Afterwards, the apartheid regime took over from Harare and continued the destruction of the country. The 16-year war of destabilisation conducted directly or by the surrogate terrorist movement Renamo had deep-reaching effects. After its end, the Frelimo elite went on a looting tour that is still ongoing.
https://theconversation.com/how-frelimo-betrayed-samora-machels-dream-of-a-free-mozambique-163435
Mozambique: “(W)ealth from central and northern regions disproportionately benefits the small, politically connected elite in Maputo” – Cabo Delgado’s natural gas is no exception. All the others are left behind.
https://theconversation.com/mozambiques-fossil-fuel-drive-is-entrenching-poverty-and-conflict-163597
São Tomé: A second round of the presidential elections will see former infrastructure minister Carlos Vila Nova and former prime minister Guilherme Posser da Costa compete to become the country’s next president. In the first round, Nova obtained 39.5% of votes, da Costa 21%.
BBC Africa Live 20 July 2021. 6:40