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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Tanzania warns foreign envoys over ‘alarming’ alerts

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Tanzania’s foreign minister on Monday met the heads of diplomatic missions and foreign organisations in the capital, Dodoma, to warn them against issuing “alarming statements” on the country’s security.

Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax

It came after the US embassy warned of a possible terror attack in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam on 25 January.

Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax asked the foreign diplomats to “observe diplomatic communication channels as stipulated by the Vienna Convention… to avoid creating unnecessary tension within and without the country”.

She said Tanzania would “remain to be a peaceful, secure and stable country that gives due attention to matters of security internally, regionally and internationally”.

Two days after the US warned that areas in Dar es Salaam frequented by Westerners “continue to be attractive targets to terrorists planning to conduct attacks”, Dutch airline KLM sent an alert to its customers regarding possible disruptions to its Tanzania flights due to “civil unrest”. - BBC

‘Hands off Africa!’: Pope blasts foreign plundering of DR Congo

By Our Correspondent, KINSHASA, DR Congo

Tens of thousands of people lined the main road into the capital, Kinshasa, to welcome Francis after he landed at the airport, some standing three or four deep, with children in school uniforms taking the front row.

Pope Francis, left, sits with President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo during a welcome ceremony at the "Palais de la Nation" in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. 

"The pope is 86 years old but he came anyway. It is a sacrifice and the Congolese people will not forget it,” said Sultan Ntambwe, a bank agent in his 30s, as he waited for Francis’ arrival in a scene reminiscent of some of Francis’ earlier trips to similarly heavily Catholic countries.

Francis plunged headfirst into his agenda upon arrival, denouncing the centuries-long exploitation of Africa by colonial powers, today’s multinational extraction industries and the neighboring countries interfering in Congo’s affairs that has led to a surge in fighting in the east.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Francis said to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasa’s national palace.

Calling Congo’s vast mineral and natural wealth a “diamond of creation,” Francis demanded that foreign interests stop carving up the country for their own interests and acknowledge their role in the economic “enslavement” of the Congolese people.

"Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,” said history’s first Latin American pope, who has long railed at how wealthy countries have exploited the resources of poorer ones for their own profit.

The six-day trip, which also includes a stop in South Sudan, was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed because of Francis’ knee problems, which were still so serious on Tuesday that he couldn’t stand to greet journalists in the plane heading to Kinshasa and forced him to use a wheelchair on the ground.

It was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Program.

Instead of travelling there, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy on Wednesday. The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony jointly committing to forgive their assailants.

Sylvie Mvita, a student in economics in Kinshasa, said the pope’s arrival would focus the world’s attention and television cameras on Congo and the fighting in the east to show how its suffering has been forgotten by the rest of the world.

"This will allow the world to discover the atrocities of which our brothers in the east of the country are victims. And maybe for once, the little humanity that remains in some people will cause an awakening and the international community will not only be interested in what is happening in Ukraine but also in what is happening in this country,” she said.

President Felix Tshisekedi voiced a similar line in his speech to the pope, accusing the international community of forgetting about Congo and of its complicit “inaction and silence” about the atrocities occurring in the east.

"In addition to armed groups, foreign powers eager for the minerals in our subsoil commit cruel atrocities with the direct and cowardly support of our neighbor Rwanda, making security the first and greatest challenge for the government,” he said.

Rwanda has been accused of — and has repeatedly denied — backing the M23 rebels operating in Congo.

Francis’ tough words at the start set the tone for the trip, in which the pontiff is aiming to bring a message of peace, a warning to the international community to not look the other way and a recognition that Africa is the future of the Catholic Church.

The continent is one of the only places on Earth where the Catholic flock is growing, both in terms of practicing faithful and fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

And Congo stands out as the African country with most Catholics hands down: Half of its 105 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than 6,000 priests, 10,000 nuns and more than 4,000 seminarians — 3.6% of the global total of young men studying for the priesthood.

That makes Francis’ trip, his fifth to the African continent in his 10-year pontificate, all the more important as the Jesuit pope seeks to reshape the church as a “field hospital for wounded souls,” where all are welcome, poor people have a special pride of place and rivals are urged to make peace.

Aid groups had hoped Francis’ six-day visit would shine a spotlight on the forgotten conflicts of Congo and South Sudan and their soaring humanitarian costs, and rekindle international attention amid donor fatigue that has set in due to new aid priorities in Ukraine.

The Pope answered their call, pointing the finger at the role colonial powers such as Belgium played in the exploitation of Congo until the country, which is 80 times the size of Belgium, gained its independence in 1960, and neighbouring countries are playing today.

He didn’t identify Belgium or any neighbouring country by name, but he spared no word of condemnation, quoting Tshisekedi as saying there was a “forgotten genocide” under way.

"The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood,” PopeFrancis said. “May the world acknowledge the catastrophic things that were done over the centuries to the detriment of the local peoples, and not forget this country and this continent.”

"We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths that remain mostly unknown elsewhere,” he said.

At the same time, he urged Congolese authorities to work for the common good and not tribal, ethnic or personal interests; and put an end to child labor and invest in education so that “the most precious diamonds” of Congo can shine brightly.

Congolese faithful were flocking to Kinshasa for Francis’ main event, a Mass on Wednesday at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as 2 million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis’ biggest Masses ever.

Banners emblazoned with the pope’s image carried messages including “Pope Francis, the city of Kinshasa welcomes you with joy.”

Some women wore colourful dresses and skirts made of pagne, a wax print fabric featuring images of Francis, the Virgin Mary or the Vatican keys, in a celebratory sign of welcome.

Jean-Louis Mopina, 47, said he walked about 45 minutes to Kinshasa’s airport before the pope’s arrival on Tuesday.

"He has come like a pilgrim sent by God,” Mopina said. “His blessing will give us peace in our hearts." - AP

At least 88 people killed in Pakistan mosque blast

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Dozens of people have been killed in a bomb attack targeting a mosque in a security compound in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to authorities.

Muhammed Asim, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that 88 people had died.

He said that, out of the more than 170 injured people taken to hospital, 57 injured people were still receiving treatment and six remained in critical condition.

Siddique Khan, a police official, said the attacker blew himself up while among the worshippers. Authorities said more than 90 percent of the casualties were police officials.

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistan Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban, or TTP), initially claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places. His did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

“Tehreek-e-Taliban has nothing to do with this attack,” a TTP statement said.

The mosque is located inside a highly fortified compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counterterrorism department.

Authorities said part of the building collapsed and that many people were feared to be trapped under the rubble.

Peshawar’s Police Chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan said in a televised statement that the capacity of the main hall of the mosque was nearly 300 and it was “nearly full” at the time of the explosion.

The mosque is within Peshawar’s Police Lines, an area that is part of the city’s red zone where a number of important government installations are, including the Chief Minister House, Governor House, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly building.

Monday, January 30, 2023

France, Australia to supply Ukraine with artillery shells

PARIS, France

France and Australia announced Monday plans to jointly produce and send several thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine, starting in the coming weeks.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, second right, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, attend a joint press conference with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, second left, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Paris

The multimillion-dollar plan is the latest offer of support for Ukraine by both countries, and comes amid growing appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for heavy weaponry and long-term supplies from Western allies nearly a year into Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The joint announcement, made by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, also appeared aimed at sending a signal that the two countries have overcome a damaging dispute over submarines.

Australia secretly jettisoned a $60 billion contract for conventional French submarines in 2021 in favor of a deal for nuclear-powered submarines made by the U.S. and Britain instead, deeply harming French-Australian relations.

The production of artillery shells for Ukraine will be led by French manufacturer Nexter in cooperation with Australian manufacturers, the defense ministers said. They did not provide further details, citing national security.

“I’m pleased to announce that Australia and France are working together to supply 155-millimeter ammunition to Ukraine, to make sure Ukraine is able to stay in this conflict and see it concluded on its own terms,” Marles said.

Lecornu said they aim to send the first shells in the first quarter of this year, and that the project is meant to secure a steady supply of shells to Ukraine over time. - AP

Regional forces hammer Lake Chad basin Jihadists

NIAMEY, Niger

The vast basin has become the epicentre of violence led by Nigeria's Boko Haram and its rival branch Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“The aim of this special operation was to neutralize the ISWAP bases in the Matari forest (of Nigeria) from where every year attacks are led” on three towns with army outposts in Niger, the multinational force said.

The bombardment took place late last week after observing “about 50 terrorists” in the region on Friday and Saturday, a statement said, adding that much of the operation was carried out by troops from Niger “with the support of a drone from American partners.”

The multinational force said it suffered no losses but said 36 suspected terrorists were captured and an encampment and base camp were “destroyed.”

“A large number of these criminals on the run ... were intercepted,” the statement said.

The three towns of Maine Soroa, Chetinari and Chetimari Wangou, located in the Diffa region of southeastern Niger have suffered repeated jihadist attacks since 2015.

Maine Soroa, located some forty-five miles from Diffa, had been spared until 2019 when a violent attack saw international NGO, Doctors without Borders (MSF) pull out after suspected jihadists raided its offices there.

The military post at Chetimari Wangou, some 25 kilometers from Diffa, has been attacked by ISWAP on several occasions.

In June last year, the multinational force announced it had killed more than 800 ISWAP fighters over two months in the vast marshy Lake Chad area, bordering the four nations.

Nigerian security forces are battling Boko Haram and ISWAP jihadists in the country's northeast, where the conflict has killed 40,000 people and displaced 2.2 million more.

The four nations set up the 8,500-strong multinational force in 2015 to tackle the armed groups.

Last week, states around Lake Chad and international donors pledged more than $500 million at a conference in Niamey, the Nigerien capital to help the millions of civilians threatened by jihadist insurgents and climate change in the region.

George Weah to seek re-election in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia

The announcement comes amid mounting criticism of Weah, who is accused of being out of touch with the population who are reeling under rising prices and food shortages.

“My fellow citizens, I will be coming to you shortly to ask you to renew (...) for a second time the mandate that you gave me six years ago,” Weah said in his annual State of the Nation address.

The election is slated for October 10.

Weah, who is also a former international football star, came to power in 2018 after winning an October 2017 election. The 56-year-old was absent from the West African nation for more than a month late last year, prompting criticisms.

He went abroad at the end of October for a string of political gatherings in several countries, including a chance to watch his footballer son, Timothy Weah represent the United States at the World Cup in Qatar.

Until Dec. 18 last year, Weah was not seen in his homeland, where people have been battling soaring prices and shortages of basic goods.

On Dec. 17, several hundred Liberians had held peaceful protests at the invitation of the opposition to denounce what they term “the incompetence” and Weah's indifference to the plight of ordinary Liberians.

Fighting corruption had been one of Weah's major campaign promises, but in September he accepted the resignations of three close allies after the U.S. accused them of corruption.

Weah had initially suspended the men from their roles after Washington imposed sanctions on them over allegations tied to multi-million-dollar contracts and at least $1.5 million in diverted public funds.

Graft remains endemic, with watchdog Transparency International ranking Liberia 136th of 180 countries in its 2021 corruption perceptions index.

Founded as a colony in 1822 by former U.S. slaves, Liberia became a republic 25 years later — Africa's first. The country's first female President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ruled between 2006 and 2018.

It is still recovering from back-to-back civil wars that left 250,000 people dead.

Cyclone killed 25 in Madagascar - Officials


ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar

The cyclone, which reached land on Jan. 19, triggered heavy rains that left large parts of the country's capital Antananarivo flooded.

Madagascar's office for risk and disaster management (BNGRC) said that assistance had begun on Monday in affected communities.

In a statement, the office said more than 55,400 people had been affected.

Cheneso is the first for 2023 of an annual series that typically forms in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the island nation.

Last week, officials said 19 people were missing after the storm flooded several districts and cut roads linking them to the capital Antananarivo.

In recent years, Madagascar and Mozambique have been repeatedly hit by severe storms and cyclones that have destroyed homes, infrastructure and crops with large numbers of people displaced.

Early last year, four major storms hit Madagascar, killing at least 138 people and destroying 124,000 homes. The storms displaced nearly 130,000 people.

Namibia reports record level of rhino poaching


WINDHOEK, Namibia

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia last year was the highest on record and almost twice as many as the year before, officials say.

A total of 87 rhinos were killed compared with 45 in 2021, official government data show.

Most were poached in Etosha, Namibia's biggest national park, officials say.

Rhino numbers in Africa have dropped significantly in recent decades to feed demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam.

Poachers killed 61 black and 26 white rhinos mainly in Etosha, where 46 rhinos were found dead, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said.

"We note with serious concern that our flagship park, Etosha National Park, is a poaching hotspot," Mr Muyunda said.

International criminal gangs now use sophisticated equipment to track and tranquilise the animals before hacking off the horn, leaving them bleeding to death.

Poaching in South Africa and Botswana has led to wildlife teams sawing off the rhino horns in order to keep them alive.

For many generations rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine despite there being no proven medical benefit.

Poaching is also being fuelled by demand in Vietnam, where horns are displayed as a sign of wealth.

The most endangered is the black rhino with just over 5,000 still alive.

However, elephant poaching in Namibia has declined from a high of 101 in 2015 to four last year. - BBC

Will Pope silence the guns in DR Congo and South Sudan?

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Pope Francis begins his tour of the Democratic Republic of Congo on January 31 with a message of peace and reconciliation, a trip that is hoped to bring the much-needed balm in the conflict-scarred nation.

The Catholic Church in Kinshasa says purpose of “the pastoral trip of Pope Francis to the Congo is to invite the Congolese men and women to intensify prayer to heal the wounds of all kinds in the manner of the Good Samaritan towards each other to face together the real perils of the country’s upheavals, the symptoms of which are visible today.”

When he touches down in Kinshasa, the head of the Roman Catholic Church will be making his 40th trip abroad since he ascended to the papacy. But DRC, the 59th country in his itinerary, is just as unique as the 60th, South Sudan. He will stay in Kinshasa until February 3 when he departs for the Juba tour with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.His trip to the DR Congo is themed “All Reconciled in Jesus Christ” and he has spoken passionately about the importance of letting the Congolese decide their future, subtly lampooning foreign players for looting local resources while conflict rages.

ALSO READ: Catholics from eastern Congomake cross-country journey to meet pope

"The Democratic Republic of Congo ... it’s like a fortress, a bastion of inspiration. You only have to look here in Rome at the Congolese community,” he told Mundo Negro Magazine, run by the Comboni Missionaries in Spain, earlier in January.

"I have been looking forward to this trip, wishing it to be as soon as possible. South Sudan is a suffering community. (Even) Congo is suffering at this time due to armed conflict, which is why I am not going to Goma, since it is not possible due to the fighting. It’s not that I’m not going because I’m afraid, but with this (volatile) atmosphere and seeing what is happening... we have to take care of people.”

Pope Francis’ initial trip to the two countries back in July 2022 was postponed due to a knee problem. Now, the timing could not have been better. The pontiff comes to the region amid high tensions between DRC and its neighbour Rwanda over security breaches and accusations of support for armed groups hostile to both governments.

This week, Kinshasa declined a mediation offer by Qatar which is keen to have the two sides climb down and give peace a chance. Sources in Kinshasa said President Felix Tshisekedi withdrew from the Doha talks, in spite of earlier indicating willingness to the Qataris, after a former aide gave an interview saying Kinshasa had approached Kigali to end their feud and agree on business cooperation.

ALSO READ: South Sudan set for Pope Francis visit

The official, whom Kinshasa says has since been detained, had claimed DRC approached Rwanda to help reach out to investors in the mineral refining sector in exchange for rapprochement.

Sources indicated the official’s claim had infuriated President Tshisekedi, who last year suspended business dealings with Rwanda in protest over Kigali’s alleged support of the M23 rebel group fighting the Congo army in the east.

When this week’s talks fell through, Doha was reportedly furious. The Qataris have an obvious stake in harmony between Rwanda and DR Congo: They are investing in the aviation business in Rwanda, whose growth requires more routes to places such as Kinshasa and other Congolese cities.

Then on Tuesday, the Rwandan military shot at a Congolese military jet over alleged breach of its airspace, raising more heat in an already simmering situation.

While the exact airspace in which it was shot at was unspecified, Rwanda said it had taken “defensive measures” against what it said was Congolese aggression.

"At 5.03pm, a Sukhoi-25 from the DRC violated Rwandan airspace for the third time,” said a brief statement from the Rwanda Defence Forces.

The Sukhoi-25, however, managed to land at Goma airport in North Kivu, eastern DRC. The DRC government said that the plane was “attacked as it began its landing on the runway of Goma International Airport.”

"The Rwandan fire was directed at a Congolese aircraft flying inside Congolese territory. It did not fly over Rwandan airspace in any way,” the statement from DRC said.

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta accused the DRC of disregarding peace agreements and using Rwanda as a scapegoat for “issues that date back to colonial times.”

In an address to the Lower Chamber of Parliament on Thursday, Mr Biruta said that the DRC had boycotted mediation meetings and continued to violate the African Union 1977 Convention for the Elimination of Mercenaries in Africa by hiring mercenary groups, a claim that the DRC has denied.

"Most of the mediation meetings are requested by the DRC and yet they boycott or disregard what we discuss with them. The goal is to distract the international community as they continue to provoke Rwanda,” Minister Biruta said.

He said Rwanda was ready to defend its sovereignty since peace agreements have been ineffective.

Kinshasa made similar accusations against Rwanda on Tuesday, after Rwanda shot at its military jet.

Kinshasa termed the firing of the missile “a deliberate action that amounts to an act of war whose objective is to sabotage the ongoing efforts in the implementation of the actions agreed upon in the framework of the peace process.”

Kinshasa was referring to the Luanda mini-summit of regional leaders whose aim is to seek a solution between the escalating tensions.

Both countries accuse one another of fanning rebel movements against authorities in each other’s territories.

At the summit in November, the DRC and Rwanda committed to seeking peace. Huang Xia, the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region said he was deeply concerned with the incident and asked the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and other regional instruments to “help ascertain the facts surrounding this incident and address any misunderstanding.”

22 dead in Benin bus crash

COTONOU, Benin 

At least 22 people were killed and nearly two dozen injured when a public bus crashed into a truck in the center of Benin, the government said on Monday.

The president’s director of communications posted on Facebook that first responders had immediately been dispatched to the scene of the crash that occurred near the town of Dassa-Zoume on Sunday.

"In this painful circumstance, the government expresses its sympathy to the whole nation and presents its deepest condolences to all the grieving families. This tragedy has once again reminded us that safety on our roads remains a constant challenge and urges us to take even stronger actions for a more effective safety of people and goods,” the director said. 

A crisis unit has been set up for relatives to get information.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. An investigation has been opened into the circumstances of the crash, said authorities.

Images and videos of the crash shared on social chat groups and seen by The Associated Press show the bus in flames and a charred body on the ground as one man tried to put out the fire with a jerry can of water.

About 21 people had burn injuries to varying degrees, said Benjamin Hounkpatin, the health minister during an interview with state television on Sunday. 

Speaking outside the hospital in Cotonou where the injured had been taken, he said they were alerted about the crash early evening Sunday and that health staff were doing everything they could.

"For the people who were burned we can’t guarantee what will happen to them,” said Hounkpatin.

Transport accidents occur in Benin due to narrow roads in parts of the country, however, the death toll is not usually so high, according to locals. 

In July, three people were killed in a crash between a bus and a car near the town of Parakou, according to local media. - Africa

Six Mozambican vehicles torched in South Africa

DURBAN, South Africa

Criminals in South Africa on Saturday set alight six vehicles belonging to Mozambicans, including a passenger bus, which were carrying around 35 people to Durban, Notícias online reports this Monday.

The incident took place about 90 kilometres from the Ponta do Ouro border post between the two countries.

In addition to setting fire to the vehicles, the criminals also robbed their owners and passengers.

Matutuíne district administrator Júlia Mwitu told TVM what happened.

"The attacks took place just outside Durban, about 90 kilometres from the border. Six vehicles belonging to Mozambicans were set on fire,” Mwitu said, adding that everything indicated that the incidents were linked to protests carried out by criminal gangs.

There are no reports of deaths or injuries, and the victims were rescued by the South African authorities and escorted back to the Ponta do Ouro border.

Police authorities promised to comment on the matter shortly.

This is the second report of Mozambican vehicles being set alight in South Africa in less than a week, Notícias concludes.

KLM adamant over Tanzania civil unrest claim


DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Dutch Airliner- KLM has maintained its stand over the civil unrest in Tanzania, but has apologised to Kenya regarding a statement they issued on Friday, January 27 that said that there was a potential civil unrest in the two East African countries.

The position comes at a time when Tanzanian authorities have urged the public to ignore the statement calling it baseless.

“This statement is baseless, alarmist, unfounded, inconsiderate and insensitive and has caused unnecessary fear and panic to the general public and aviation industry at large,” said Prof Makame Mbarawa the minister of works and transport.

In a statement released on late Saturday, January 28, the airline said the alert, which was only meant for our customers in Tanzania, was inadvertently and erroneously also shared with our customers in Kenya. We made a mistake in our rebook policy and initially included Kenya.

“This is incorrect and we would like to apologize for this,” reads the statement.

It adds: KLM takes this opportunity to sincerely apologize to its customers, partners and to the Government and people of Kenya for the inconvenience and damage the said erroneous alert may have caused. The correct position is that at KLM flights in and out of Nairobi remain as per schedule and no interruptions are anticipated.

The statement further said Air France-KLM group has communicated the correct position to the relevant government authorities through its Nairobi office but did not make similar efforts in Tanzania where they maintained their stand. - The Citizen

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Why Tanzania democratic reform is still a dream ...

By Dan Paget, Lecturer in Politics, University of Aberdeen

In Tanzania, the political rally is back. Chadema, Tanzania’s leading opposition party, held mass rallies outside the official election campaign for the first time in six and a half years on 21 January 2023.

It could do so because three weeks earlier, President Samia Hassan lifted the ban on public rallies. Assassination-attempt survivor and opposition politician Tundu Lissu returned to Tanzania on 25 January to take part in them.

The ban on rallies was introduced in June 2016 by the late President John Magufuli. It became a central plank of an authoritarian turn initiated by the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), but ultimately propelled by Magufuli. The ban, however, appeared to affect only the opposition – CCM continued to convene rallies with impunity throughout.

Magufuli’s death on 17 March 2021 raised the dual possibilities that the CCM regime might loosen its iron grip, and that in such a context, the opposition might rebuild. The end of the ban on rallies has implications for both these possibilities.

I have spent 10 years researching Chadema’s grassroots organising and what it calls the struggle for democracy. I am writing a book on rallies in Tanzania.

In my view, the unbanning of rallies will tremendously alter the space in which the opposition has to operate. However, this doesn’t set Tanzania on any path of democratic reform. The timing and wider context still leaves the opposition with a big task ahead.

The very real possibility remains that Hassan has unbanned rallies to signal that she plans future democratic reforms – without actually enacting any.

It’s easy to underestimate the importance of the rally in Tanzania. In much of the global north, political rallies are things seen on TV and attended by ultra-partisans. But not in Tanzania.

In 2015, I oversaw the collection of a nationally representative survey in Tanzania. It showed that in the last month of the country’s election campaign, 69% of all people attended rallies. This figure dwarfs its equivalents in the global north. In the 2016 US campaign, just 7% of people attended public meetings.

Not only did a large proportion of Tanzanians attend rallies. They also attended them frequently. The same survey data showed that the average person attended seven such rallies in the last month of the campaign, or just under one every four days.

In Tanzania, the rally is, or in political campaigning becomes, a medium of mass communication, just as it does across much of the global south. Indefinitely banning rallies does to public communication in Tanzania what indefinitely banning television, or the internet, would do in the global north.

Tanzania’s ban on rallies was doubly painful for the opposition. First, it was a ban, in effect, only on opposition rallies.

Second, the opposition needs rallies in a way that the ruling party does not. In the shadow of state coercion, media outlets offer the opposition scarce and hostile coverage. The rally offers the opposition a way to reach the 73% of Tanzanians who say they don’t (directly) get news via social media.

The ban on rallies was lifted for the election campaign in 2020, but the opposition needs rallies between elections too – this is when they organise.

Chadema leaders and activists told me that between 2007 and 2015, they founded party branches across much of Tanzania. Their work paid off. The survey data I collected showed that in the 2015 campaign, Chadema’s ground campaign was so strong that it made at least as many house-to-house visits as the ruling party, perhaps more.

They achieved this party-building feat in large part through rallies. Teams of party leaders toured the country convening rallies. They imparted their messages and recruited attendees. Follow-up teams organised these new recruits into branches.

In parallel, lone organisers ran their own solo party-building initiatives. These local leaders, among them the 2020 presidential candidate Tundu Lissu, held public meetings in villages. Incrementally, they recruited local activists who became the leaders of new branches.

Today, though, it’s hard to know how well these structures have endured. Opposition activists were subjected to everyday oppression. It peaked during the violence of the 2020 election, and was designed to demoralise and demobilise them.

This means that opposition parties have their work cut out. They have to re-join public debates after years of censorship, and reorganise and remotivate their supporters all at once.

This makes the timing of the end of the ban important.

Chadema’s grassroots organising for the 2015 election began just months after the 2010 election. Revoking the ban now, just over two and a half years before the October 2025 election, leaves opposition parties with a greater task than they have faced before – and less time in which to do it.

Unbanning the rally is perhaps the most concrete opening of political space that Hassan has introduced since she was sworn in as president.

Some will be tempted to read the unbanning of the rally as a sign of things to come. But that would be unduly optimistic.

It may be that Hassan plans to enact a wider programme of democratic reforms. Or it may be that she lifted the ban precisely so that it looks like that’s her plan.

Ultimately, either reading could turn out to be right. Interpreting the intentions of the often inscrutable Hassan is a matter of guesswork. But there are reasons to be sceptical.

First, the rally ban was part of an authoritarian architecture. The ban is gone, but the architecture remains. This leaves the regime with means aplenty to preserve its dominance.

Second, with the exception of the Magufuli years, the regime has long maintained the appearance of being the sort that would oversee democratic reforms – while implementing few of them.

The significance of the rally’s return may not be in what the regime will grant. Instead, it may be in what the opposition can demand. Chadema used its first rally to call again for a new constitution.  

Eritrea troops still on Ethiopian soil, U.S. says

By Dawit Endeshaw, NAIROBI Kenya

A senior U.S. official said on Saturday that Eritrean troops are still in Ethiopia although they have moved back the border, contradicting Ethiopian authorities who say the Eritreans have already left.

A building is seen through a bullet hole in a window of the Africa Hotel in the town of Shire, Tigray region, Ethiopia

Eritrean troops fought alongside the Ethiopian military and allied militias in the two-year conflict that pitted the Ethiopian government against rebellious forces in the northern region of Tigray.

In November, however, the Ethiopia government and the Tigray forces signed an agreement to end the hostilities. That agreement mandated the withdraw of all foreign forces from Tigray.

"With respect to Eritreans we understand they have moved back to the border and they have been asked to leave," U.S. Ambassaor to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said at a news conference during a visit to the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

She did not provide any evidence or source for this assessment. Eritrea's information minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

The Tigray war, which begun in November 2020, resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and forced millions to flee their homes. The possible continuing presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray thus has been seen as a key obstacle to effective implementation of the deal.

A senior Ethiopia military officer briefing foreign officials on Saturday denied there were any Eritrean troops in the country.

"There is no other security force in the Tigray region except the FDRE Defense Forces," Major General Teshome Gemechu said, using an acronym for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

A spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, Getachew Reda,

dismissed claims that the Eritrean troops had left Tigray and said "thousands" were still there.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, Redwan Hussein, national security advisor to the prime minister, and Colonel Getnet Adane, spokesperson to Ethiopian Army also did not respond to requests for comment on claims by Thomas-Greenfield and Getachew.

Catholics from eastern Congo make cross-country journey to meet pope

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo

Father Adeodatus Muhigi is among the Roman Catholic faithful in Democratic Republic of Congo's restive city of Goma who prepared to welcome Pope Francis last July, before the pontiff had to postpone a trip to Africa because of a knee ailment.

File photo

Now instead of welcoming the pope in Goma during the rescheduled trip, Father Muhigi will join dozens of other Catholics from the east, including victims of violence and natural disasters, who are making the cross-country journey to the Congolese capital Kinshasa this week.

When the plan for Francis' visit to the Central African Country, the first by a pontiff in 38 years, was revived in December, there was no longer any mention of a visit to Goma after rebel violence flared in the region.

"We were looking forward to it with great joy," Father Muhigi said. "It's not a disappointment for me, because it's understandable," he said.

"We know that it was in his heart to come to Goma, that is why he insisted that there should be a group from Goma, especially victims of the violence who he wanted to meet. So, we understand. It shows that he really wanted to come."

Eastern Congo has witnessed a resurgence of fighting between the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group and the Congolese army. The rebels have seized territories in a rapid onslaught and advanced to around 20 km (12 miles) from Goma. The fighting has displaced at least 450,000 people.

Father Muhigi said many of the people from the east who would meet the pope were those affected by the fighting.

"We have focused on victims - victims of the various wars, violence, and those who suffered natural disasters," he said.

He held a last service on Sunday before the 1,500 km (930 mile) trip to the capital, leading a congregation in prayer in a simple blue-painted chapel.

"Here we have volcanic eruption and war. He is coming so that we always know that God is here, he is with us. God does not abandon us despite our suffering," said congregant Sister Marie-Julienne Mwene Bikira, who is also travelling to Kinshasa.

In 2021, a volcanic eruption outside Goma left a smoking trail of destruction half a mile wide, burying hundreds of houses and displacing thousands of people. - Reuters

Ukraine calls for faster weapons supplies as Russia presses eastern offensive

KYIV, Ukraine

Russian missile strikes killed three people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson while fighting raged in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia again shelled the key town of Vuhledar, Ukrainian officials said.

resident Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was facing a difficult situation in Donetsk and needed faster weapons supplies and new types of weaponry, just days after allies agreed to provide Kyiv with heavy battle tanks.

“The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region — there are constant Russian attacks,” Zelensky said in a video address late on Sunday.

“Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine.”

Three people were killed and six injured on Sunday by Russian strikes on Kherson that damaged a hospital and a school, the regional administration said.

Russian troops had occupied Kherson shortly after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and held the city until Ukrainian forces recaptured it in November. Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro River.

Later on Sunday a missile struck an apartment building in the northeastern town of Kharkiv, killing an elderly woman, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said.

A Reuters picture from the scene showed fire engulfing part of a residential building in the country’s second most-populous city.

Russia on Saturday accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately striking a hospital in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine, killing 14 people. There was no response to the allegations from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement late on Sunday that Russian forces had shelled Bakhmut, the focus of Moscow’s offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as Vuhledar to the southwest where fighting has intensified in recent days.

Ukrainian military analyst and colonel, Mykola Salamakha, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Russian troops were mounting waves of attacks on Vuhledar.

“From this location we control practically the entire rail system used by the Russians for logistics ... The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there,” he said.

“This is a repetition of the situation in Bakhmut — one wave of Russian troops after another crushed by the Ukrainian armed forces.”

Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.

Sunday’s civilian casualties came three days after at least 11 people were killed in missile strikes which were seen in Kyiv as the Kremlin’s response to pledges from Ukraine’s allies to supply battle tanks.

After weeks of wrangling, Germany and the United States last week said they would send Ukraine dozens of tanks to help push back Russian forces, opening the way for other countries to follow suit.

While a total of 321 heavy tanks had been promised to Ukraine by several countries, according to Kyiv’s ambassador to France, they could take months to appear on the battlefield.

Ukraine is keen to speed up the delivery of heavy weapons as both sides in the war are expected to launch spring offensives in the coming weeks.

Talks were also under way between Kyiv and its allies about Ukraine’s requests for long-range missiles, a top aide to Zelensky said on Saturday. Ukraine has also asked for US F16 fighter jets.

Zelensky said he had sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron as part of his campaign to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Olympic Games.

He said that allowing Russia to compete at the 2024 Paris Games would be tantamount to showing that “terror is somehow acceptable.”

“Attempts by the International Olympic Committee to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Referring to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin when the Nazis were in power, he said: “The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths.”

Russia, he said, must not be allowed to “use (the Games) or any other sport event as propaganda for its aggression or its state chauvinism.”

The International Olympic Committee said last week that it welcomed a proposal from the Olympic Council of Asia for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be given the chance to compete in Asia.

Russia says it launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine to fend off a hostile West and “denazify” the country. Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked act of aggression. - Reuters