Zimbabwe's opposition leader reportedly detained amid term‑limit row

By Louis Oelofse, HARARE Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe's former Finance Minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police, along with several fellow activists, amid mounting tensions over President Emmerson Mnangagwa's bid to extend his stay in power.

Biti's civic‑rights group, the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), said he had been organising a rally in Mutare at the time of his arrest.

Police have not commented on Biti's detention, and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.

Zimbabwe's cabinet last month backed draft legislation that would amend the constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and allow lawmakers, rather than voters, to choose the president.

The changes would enable Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, a move Biti, his organization and opposition parties strongly oppose.

Opponents campaigning against the constitutional changes said they had been subjected to beatings or intimidation.

David Coltart, the mayor of Bulawayo, the country's second‑largest city, condemned the arrest, saying it appears Biti's outspoken criticism of the proposed constitutional changes is what landed him in trouble.

"Why is [Mnangagwa's] Zanu PF so paranoid about pushing these amendments through using such illegal, authoritarian and unconstitutional means? It clearly knows that it does not enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans,” he wrote on X.

Mnangagwa, who is 83, was due to step down in 2028 after completing two five‑year terms. ZANU‑PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

Legal challenges to the proposal are expected, with constitutional experts arguing that any change to presidential term limits would require a referendum — and noting that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president.

"Zimbabweans have got the right to approach the courts of law,” Biti said late last year.

Chad to deploy 800 troops to Haiti's Gang Suppression Force as Kenya steps back

N'DJAMENA, Chad

Chad is getting ready to deploy some 800 police officers to Haiti, Chadian officials told our reporter on condition of anonymity. They’ll join an international effort aimed at tackling widespread gang activity in the Caribbean nation.

The United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force succeeds a smaller Kenyan-led mission that began operations in 2024. The multinational force is staffed by countries including Jamaica, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

The GSF works with Haitian security forces and has the power to arrest and detain suspected gang members.

It’s expected to reach its full capacity of more than 5,500 police and soldiers by October, although efforts to deploy new troops have been slow.

Hundreds of Kenyan officers who have been in Haiti since 2024 will gradually withdraw. Three members of the Kenyan deployment have been killed in the course of their mission.

Haiti has seen a wave of violent crime and escalating gang warfare since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Gangs now control about 90 percent of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 22/03/2026

 

South Sudan peace depends on Kiir, Machar, South Africa says

PRETORIA, South Africa 

South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile said on Thursday that the success of South Sudan’s fragile peace process rests squarely on the country’s leaders, warning that international partners cannot replace their responsibility.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session in the South African parliament, Mashatile said he serves as special envoy of President Cyril Ramaphosa on South Sudan, with a mandate to support the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

“Ultimately, the peace process in South Sudan depends on the political will of its leaders,” he said. “Our role is to support them and not substitute their responsibility.”

South Africa, alongside the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), acts as a guarantor of the agreement through the C5 grouping, which also includes Algeria, Chad, Nigeria and Rwanda.

The bloc was established by the AU Peace and Security Council in December 2014 and has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities, the release of opposition leader Riek Machar, and inclusive political dialogue.

Mashatile said he had undertaken two working visits to Juba since assuming his role, most recently in October last year. During a 2024 visit, he met with key parties to the peace agreement, including President Salva Kiir, and held discussions alongside then foreign minister Naledi Pandor with the head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan.

He paid tribute to Nicholas Haysom, the UN chief in South Sudan and a South African national, who died in New York on Wednesday, describing him as committed to democracy and peace on the continent.

During the visit, Mashatile said the delegation held about 15 additional meetings with other stakeholders over four days in Juba and initially believed progress was being made, including prospects for democratic elections.

However, renewed violence has since highlighted the fragility of the process.

“In January this year, fighting erupted once again among the belligerent forces and intensified early this month,” he said, adding that clashes displaced large numbers of civilians in Jonglei state.

The resurgence of violence underscores the complexity of achieving peace, Mashatile (above) said.

He noted that South Africa and its partners have stepped up diplomatic engagement this year. In January 2025, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola led a ministerial delegation of C5 countries to Juba. This was followed in February by a C5 heads of state summit in Addis Ababa, chaired by Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the African Union summit and attended by representatives of the UN Secretary-General.

The summit, he said, reiterated calls for a cessation of hostilities and for the release of Machar, who had been under house arrest and facing court proceedings during Mashatile’s last visit.

“They have also asked for the promotion of inclusive political dialogue and the creation of a conducive political and security environment necessary for the holding of elections,” he said.

Mashatile said all South Sudanese parties had previously agreed to travel to South Africa for further dialogue, an offer Pretoria intends to pursue, including engagement with President Kiir.

South Africa will also use its tenure on the AU Peace and Security Council from April 2026 to March 2028 to mobilize diplomatic, technical, and financial support for credible, free and fair elections in South Sudan, he added.

He warned that the conflict has deepened a humanitarian crisis, compounded by instability in neighbouring Sudan, and said Pretoria would engage regional actors, international partners, and humanitarian organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to coordinate a response.

Despite these efforts, Mashatile stressed that ultimate responsibility lies with South Sudan’s leadership.

“To resolve this conflict, it is incumbent upon the broad leadership of South Sudan to demonstrate the requisite political will and responsible leadership necessary to implement the agreement they have signed,” he said.

“Achieving this will require mutual trust and the promotion of political consensus.”

US lifts sanctions on some Iranian oil as gas prices soar

By Natalie Sherman, WASHINGTON United States 

The United States has lifted sanctions on some Iranian oil, as it scrambles to contain the impact of its war in Iran on energy markets.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the issuing of a narrowly tailored, short-term authorisation permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea.

The move marks a stunning reversal of longstanding American policy - and one with highly uncertain pay-off.

Experts said it was likely to have a limited effect on prices, and could boost funds going to the Iranian regime that the US is attacking. Around the world, energy prices are shooting up as the war takes a toll on shipping and production.

On Friday Bessent said the permit was applicable to the sale of crude oil and petroleum products of Iranian origin currently loaded on vessels.

The authorisation will last until 19 April, the treasury department added.

The treasury secretary said the move would quickly bring about 140m barrels of oil to global markets.

Before the war, China was the primary buyer of the oil coming out of Iran, scooping up the barrels at a steep discount due to sanctions imposed by the US and other countries.

In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Bessent said a waiver on sales restrictions could help divert more of those supplies to other countries in need of oil, such as India, Japan and Malaysia, while forcing China to pay "market price".

But Bessent did not go into detail about how the waiver would work or whether it could include rules to prevent money from the sales flowing back to the Iranian government.

"To put it mildly, this is bananas," David Tannenbaum, director of Blackstone Compliance Services, a consultancy specialising in maritime sanctions, told the press on Thursday.

"Essentially we're allowing Iran to sell oil, which could then be used to fund the war effort."

President Donald Trump, when asked about whether he would move forward with the idea, did not provide a clear answer, telling reporters on Thursday that "we will do whatever is necessary to keep the price".

The waiver would not have much impact on prices, experts warned.

"I don't think it's a game changer and it raises a whole lot of questions," said Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank, on Thursday.

Ziemba said she did not think the US would want money from oil sales to go to Iran's government - but it could be hard to prevent in practice.

"The US government is definitely in an every-barrel-counts situation because of the scale of the supply shock," she added. "They're looking to find additional oil wherever they can."

The US has already undertaken other efforts to boost supply, including the release of millions of barrels of oil reserves and the suspension of some sanctions on Russian oil last week.

That second decision sparked significant blowback from leaders in Europe, who said it would strengthen Vladimir Putin's regime and prolong the war in Ukraine.

About a fifth of the 100m barrels of oil that the world consumes every day usually travels via the Strait of Hormuz, which runs along part of Iran's coast. 

But since the war began at the end of February, shipping in the channel has come to a halt.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 21/03/2026

 

AFCON 2025 title "cannot be taken away" from Senegal, says FSF

DAKAR, Senegal 

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said Thursday that the Africa Cup title cannot be taken away from Senegal, following a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip the country of its title earlier this week.

CAF defended its decision Wednesday, which hinged on a moment during the chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final when Senegalese players walked off the field.

Though the players returned, CAF ruled this week that they had violated the rules of the tournament and thus forfeited the game.

The title was given to Morocco instead, and the decision has been met with widespread controversy.

The FSF called the decision “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable”.

"We know very well that from a legal standpoint, from a legal standpoint, Senegal cannot lose this match by forfeit, and we cannot take this title away from Senegal,” said Abdoulaye Fall, the federation’s president.

Fall also addressed the Senegalese soccer fans that remain in detention in Morocco following the match, where they were arrested and later charged with damaging sporting facilities and committing violence during a sporting event after they tried to storm the field.

He said that though those fans are not officially under the soccer federation’s responsibility, the federation was providing them legal support.

“We are going to fight for them to be released and for them to come back to us,” he said.

Referring to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by its French acronym, TAS, the secretary general of the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee Omar Diagne said his organization was offering legal support to the football federation.

“The Olympic Committee is at your disposal so that some of our lawyers who know a lot about sports law can join the pool of lawyers that you have already established, so that today we can fight the battle at TAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) so that victory can be returned to Senegal. And of that, we are sure and we are certain. God willing, TAS will rule in our favor,” he said.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 20/03/2026