Liberia President suspends electoral commission chief

By Kemo Cham, MONROVIA Liberia

President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai has suspended the head of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Liberian, Mrs Davidetta Browne-Lansanah indefinitely.

According to a statement from the presidency on Wednesday she is accused of violating the country’s electoral laws.

Her suspension follows an investigation into recent protests by NEC workers regarding administrative decisions taken without proper consultation, the statement said.

Madam Browne-Lansanah, who was appointed by former President George Weah, presided over the elections that saw Boakai defeated Weah. Her administration had been faced with protests by some employees of the Commission who were calling for her resignation over alleged corruption and lack of accountability.

She is accused of unilaterally announcing the closure of the NEC office and dismissing 25 employees without the knowledge or approval of the NEC Board of Commissioners.

The government had set up the committee to investigate the issue.

“While the committee constituted to investigate the grievances of NEC workers was actively addressing the matter, Madam Browne-Lansanah took precipitous and unilateral actions, thereby undermining the integrity and stability of the institution,” President Boakai is quoted in the statement.

He also reportedly expressed concern that such actions could adversely impact the NEC’s ability to conduct by-elections scheduled within the next two months, while also creating a toxic working environment at the Commission.

“The Government of Liberia remains committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law in all institutions, particularly the NEC, which plays a critical role in upholding Liberia’s democratic principles,” the statement signed by Presidential Press Secretary, Kula Bonah Nyei Fofana, reads.

South Africa authorities face scrutiny over mine response

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

South African authorities face growing anger over their handling of a standoff with illegal miners trapped in an abandoned gold mine, as the death toll from the incident reached at least 87.

Authorities may face an investigation over their initial refusal to help the miners and instead “smoke them out" by cutting off their food supplies.

The miners are suspected to have died of starvation and dehydration, although no causes of death have been released.

Community groups launched their own rescue attempts when authorities said last year they would not help the hundreds of miners because they were “criminals.”

That tactic to “smoke them out,” as described by a prominent Cabinet minister, was condemned by one of South Africa's biggest trade unions.

Police and the mine owners were also accused of taking away ropes and dismantling a pulley system the miners used to enter the mine and send supplies down from the surface.

A court ordered authorities last year to allow food and water to be sent down to the miners, while another court ruling last week forced them to launch a rescue operation.

Mannas Fourie, CEO of the Mines and Rescue service, hailed the rescue and recovery operation as a "world first" with a "unique" machine that was "developed and designed in South Africa by the mining industry."

"We didn't anticipate that we will be so quick with the operation," he added.

Many say the unfolding disaster underground was clear weeks ago, when community members sporadically pulled decomposing bodies out of the mine, some with notes attached pleading for food to be sent down.

"This government must make a plan and they must go to court. They must account for these bodies," said Mandla Charles, a community volunteer helping with the rescue operation.

South Africa's second biggest political party, which is part of a government coalition, called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish an independent inquiry.

Authorities now believe that nearly 2,000 miners were working illegally in the mine near the town of Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, since August last year.

"I am the real Mozambique President" - Mondlane

MAPUTO, Mozambique

Former Mozambican presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane on Wednesday claimed that he is the legitimate head of state, and not Daniel Chapo, the general secretary of the ruling Frelimo Party, who was sworn into office earlier in the day.

In a live broadcast transmitted on his Facebook page, Mondlane described himself as “the President elected by the people”.

He accused Chapo of plagiarising his election manifesto, claiming that “95 per cent” of the measures announced in Chapo’s inaugural speech “were what I advocated during the election campaign. He’s a good pupil”.

Mondlane says he swore himself into office at Maputo International Airport a week ago, when he returned to the country after two months abroad, although nobody else takes this claim seriously.

He insists that he won the 9 October presidential election but has never produced the polling station results sheets (“editais”) that could prove his victory. Indeed, neither Frelimo nor Mondlane has shown the public the evidence backing their competing claims.

The Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of electoral law, also failed to produce the crucial documentation from the polling stations – and even admitted that the results were riddled with “irregularities”.

It claimed that this made no difference to the final result, but in the same ruling admitted that it had adjusted the figures it received from the National Elections Commission (CNE) in order to avoid a recount.

A recount may now prove impossible, since the CNE is pushing ahead with the destruction on Friday of all the electoral materials – including the votes cast in October.

Mondlane also announced that on Friday he will announce “governance measures for the first 100 days of his term of office”. But, unless he works with Chapo, he will have no way of implementing these measures.

Guinea cocaine bust prompts Sierra Leone to summon ambassador

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has urgently recalled its ambassador to Guinea after suspected cocaine was discovered in an embassy vehicle.

Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba announced the recall Thursday, following Guinea’s seizure of the embassy vehicle. Guinean authorities detained the driver and another occupant, uncovering seven suitcases of substances believed to be cocaine.

“The government has recalled Ambassador Alimamy Bangura to Freetown to provide a full account of this grave incident,” Kabba stated.

Kabba emphasized that Bangura was not in the vehicle during the incident and is not under arrest. “It has not been proven that the ambassador is involved in this trafficking,” he clarified.

The seized vehicle contained $2,000 in cash alongside the suspected drugs. Authorities have yet to disclose the exact quantity of the substances.

Kabba assured the public that a thorough investigation is underway, vowing accountability for anyone involved. He also highlighted ongoing cooperation between Sierra Leone and Guinea to address the issue.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that West Africa seized over 126 tonnes of cocaine between 2019 and 2024.

Nigerian army says 76 Islamist militants killed in Borno state

ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigerian troops have killed 76 Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in the country’s northeastern Borno state in recent weeks, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

The militants were believed to belong to the armed group Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP, who have been waging a deadly insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009 that has displaced millions and killed thousands, with Borno at its epicentre.

The militants have stepped up attacks in Borno since the turn of the year, including an assault on Dumba community on Sunday where at least 40 farmers were killed.

Military spokesperson Major-General Edward Buba said troops killed 24 fighters during offensive operations in Damboa, Bama, and Chibok areas of Borno between Jan. 7 and 13.

He did not provide details on troop casualties during the operations.

Troops arrested 72 suspects and rescued eight hostages during the operations, he said in a statement.

Buba said weapons and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and improvised explosive devices, were recovered during the operations.

Putin, Iranian president to sign strategic partnership treaty

MOSCOW, Russia

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran will hold talks at the Kremlin on Friday and sign the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The meeting’s agenda includes global and regional issues of mutual interest, including developments in the Middle East.

The parties will also discuss the situation in the South Caucasus and the state of affairs around Iran’s nuclear program.

The bilateral agenda includes ways to expand trade, investment, transport, logistics and humanitarian cooperation.

Putin and Pezeshkian are supposed to make statements to the media after the talks.

The treaty is designed to bring Russia-Iran relations to a new level, cementing their status as strategic partners.

According to officials from both counties, the document will cover all areas, including defense, the fight against terrorism, the energy sector, finances, transport, industries, agriculture, culture, science and technology.

Russia and Iran are currently guided by the 2001 Treaty on the Foundations of Relations and Principles of Cooperation. It was concluded for ten years and automatically renewed for subsequent five-year periods.

The new document will be concluded for 20 years.

Professor Ruhollah Modabber, Iranian political scientist and the country’s leading Russia expert, told TASS that the new treaty would not only boost cooperation between the two countries but would also allow them to better resist US sanctions.

The document also contains provisions on respect for each other’s territorial integrity.

According to the Kremlin, the treaty is in line with aspirations of both Moscow and Tehran and is not directed against the interests of other countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted that the treaty did not provide for the establishment of a defense alliance.

The Kremlin pointed out that Russia-Iran relations "are on the rise," progressing based on the principles of mutual respect and the consideration of each other’s interests.

The parties maintain active dialogue via all channels, including intergovernmental, interparliamentary, inter-agency and inter-regional ones. In November, Russia’s prime minister made a visit to Iran, the first in recent years.

Both countries give high priority to the development of trade and economic ties.

A Russian-Iranian permanent commission on trade and economic cooperation operates effectively.

Bilateral trade rose by 15.5% to $3.77 bln between January and October 2024.

The share of national currencies in mutual payments has exceeded 96%.

The parties work on a number of major joint projects, primarily in the fields of transport and energy.

In particular, the first power unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran is in operation, and work is underway to construct the second and third units.

The two countries also seek to boost humanitarian ties.

The Days of Russian Culture are expected to take place in Iran this year.

Efforts continue to establish a Russian Cultural Center in Tehran.

The number of Iranian students enrolled in Russian universities has passed 9,000.

"Close coordination between Russia and Iran on the international stage is based on common approaches, including commitment to building a just multipolar world order based on universally recognized principles of international law, equal and indivisible security, mutually beneficial and equitable cooperation between countries, the desire to pursue an independent foreign policy and determination to resist external pressure and the practice of illegitimate sanctions," the Russian presidential press service stated.

This will be the third meeting between Putin and Pezeshkian.

The first two took place on the sidelines of an international forum in Turkmenistan and the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024.

Besides, Putin and Pezeshkian held two phone calls in 2024.

Cuba frees opposition leader Ferrer after deal with Biden

HAVANA, Cuba

Cuba freed opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and some other prisoners on Thursday as part of a deal with outgoing United States President Joe Biden.

Biden agreed to remove Cuba from Washington's list of terrorism sponsors, after which Cuba on Wednesday started freeing about 553 prisoners. The Biden administration said many of these were political prisoners.

"I am fine, surrounded by family and friends," Ferrer said. "I had been arbitrarily imprisoned for the third time, and a false judicial process had been set up," he told the AP news agency.

Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the last 20 years, was one of the most high-profile prisoners to be released.

"Thank God we have him home," his wife, Nelva Ortega, told AFP news agency.

Ferrer, 54, hails from the province of Santiago. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2003 but released in 2011 after mediation by the Catholic Church.

He founded the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), an active opposition organization. Political opposition to the Communist Party is prohibited in one-party Cuba.

Ferrer was arrested again in 2021 during the anti-government mass protests.

After being released, Ferrer urged Cubans on a Miami-based radio program not to be afraid to stand up against an "increasingly scared" and "increasingly weak" Cuban government.

Many of those released were arrested during the 2021 demonstrations, where they were protesting against power outages, food shortages and rising prices.

Netanyahu's office says hostage deal now agreed

TEL AVIV, Israel

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a "deal to release the hostages" has been agreed.

Netanyahu had delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, due on Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement.

On Friday morning his office said Netanyahu had been informed by the negotiating team that agreements on the deal had been reached.

He has ordered the political-security cabinet to convene later on Friday and the government "will then convene to approve the deal", Netanyahu's office said. Families of the hostages have been informed, it added.

Representatives of Israel, Hamas, the United States, and Qatar have officially signed the deal in Doha, Israeli media reports.

The ceasefire deal was first announced on Wednesday by mediators the US and Qatar.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday, pending Israeli cabinet approval.

At the time, Netanyahu said the deal's final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for "promoting" it.

Netanyahu then delayed a cabinet vote to approve the deal on Thursday, accusing Hamas of trying to "extort last minute concessions".

Hamas said it was committed to the deal, but the BBC understands it was trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners that would be released under the deal.

Although Israeli negotiators have agreed to the deal, which follows months of talks, it cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and government.

US sanctions Sudan army chief Burhan over civilian deaths

By Damian Zane, NAIROBI Kenya

The United States government has imposed sanctions on the head of Sudan's army and de facto president, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the treasury department said.

He has been leading one of the two sides in the 21-month civil war that has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

In a brief statement, the US accused Gen Burhan of "destabilizing Sudan and undermining the goal of a democratic transition".

The announcement follows reports of the killing of civilians in the central city of Wad Madani in recent days, however this was not mentioned in the statement.

Last week, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary group fighting the army, was also sanctioned by the US.

The US accused Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide during the conflict.

In announcing the sanctions on Burhan on Thursday, Washington said that the army under his command "has committed lethal attacks on civilians" including targeting "schools, markets and hospitals".

The US also alleges that the army is "responsible for the routine and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a war tactic".

During the first year of the conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the army had committed war crimes.

Earlier, Gen Burhan ordered an investigation into allegations that his troops carried out widespread atrocities after recapturing the capital of Gezira state from their paramilitary rivals.

His move came after widespread concern that civilians - including foreign nationals - were killed after the seizure of Wad Madani.

Neighbouring South Sudan said on Wednesday that it had summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest against "the loss of lives among our innocent citizens".

Wad Madani, which is 87 miles (140km) south of the capital, Khartoum, fell to the RSF about a year ago. The military regained control of it on Saturday.

The city serves as a strategic crossroads, connecting several states through key supply highways. It is also the closest major town to Khartoum.

A Sudanese rights group accused the military of going on a rampage, killing at least 13 people in Camp Taiba, a village about 20km away.

The UN's humanitarian chief in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said she was deeply concerned about reports of retaliatory attacks against civilians in Gezira "based on alleged affiliation or ethnicity".

The US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello called the reports "appalling" and urged the army and allied groups to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Gen Burhan said he had set up a committee to investigate the alleged killings in Camp Taiba, and has asked it to report back within a week.

He did not comment about the concerns raised by South Sudan, and whether the investigation would focus on alleged atrocities elsewhere in Gezira.

South Sudan's foreign ministry said that it had received a "comprehensive report" from its embassy in Sudan "detailing the unfortunate events that have resulted in the loss of lives among our innocent citizens, who maintain a non-combatant status".

The military has previously accused the RSF of hiring South Sudanese as "mercenaries" to fight on its side.

Social media videos of various incidents, including one showing a man in civilian clothing being thrown over a bridge and then shot at by a group of men, have been widely shared online.

BBC Verify has confirmed the video was filmed along the Hantoub bridge over the Blue Nile river.

We have matched key elements in the video including the railings and the painting on the railings as seen in the video to earlier videos filmed at the bridge.

One of the men involved in the incident, and who is carrying a Sudanese flag, is wearing clothing with a logo used by the al-Bara'a bin Malik Brigade which has been fighting alongside the Sudanese army in Khartoum and neighbouring states.

Two other videos filmed elsewhere show at least 30 bodies of men in civilian clothing laid out on a ground next to a wall.

BBC Verify has established, through matching objects seen in the video with satellite imagery, that the videos were filmed at a location north-west of Wad Madani just a few metres from where the army appears to have ambushed RSF fighters.

It is not clear how the men died and whether they were killed before the bodies were gathered there.

It is also not possible to identify them nor whether they were affiliated to any of the fighting parties, as it is common for armed fighters not to wear uniforms.

Videos of the ambush, heavy exchange of fire, and the aftermath are also circulating.

The Sudanese armed forces on Tuesday condemned what it called "individual violations" in some parts of Gezira state, and promised that those responsible would be held accountable.

The RSF was itself accused of carrying out retaliatory attacks in Gezira following the defection of their commander Abu Aqla Kaikal in October last year.

Kaikal was heavily involved in the operation that led to the army wrestling back control of Wad Madani.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 17/01/2025