Senegal dissolves opposition party

By Zane Irwin, DAKAR Senegal

Senegal’s government Monday dissolved a major opposition party hours after the party’s popular president and opposition leader said a judge ordered his arrest.

Ousmane Sonko (pictured above), a towering opposition figure widely supported by Senegal’s youth, was in prison Monday as he awaited trial for new criminal charges, said his party’s communications director, El Malick Ndiaye. It is unclear when the trial will take place. He is accused of calling for insurrection, conspiring against the state, threatening national security and other charges.

“I’ve just been unjustly placed under a committal order,” Sonko wrote on his Facebook page Monday, which communications director Ndiaye confirmed.

Earlier on Monday, Senegal’s interior minister issued a statement claiming Sonko’s opposition party had been dissolved. The Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) party has “frequently called on its supporters to take part in insurrectionary movements,” Antoine Félix Diome, Senegal’s interior minister, alleged in a statement.

Diome blamed the opposition party’s leaders for causing loss of life and the looting of properties during protests in June against the prosecution of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is seen as a key challenger in the election.

The opposition party’s dissolution was criticized by former Prime Minister Aminata Touré as an “unprecedented setback” in the West African nation’s democratic history. It further raised concerns about next year’s presidential election in Senegal, long considered a bastion of democracy and a regional leader in diplomacy.

“In his despotic determination to hold on to power in Senegal, albeit by proxy, Macky Sall has just opened the floodgates to chaos by imprisoning, on spurious grounds, his main opponent Ousmane Sonko,” said a PASTEF communiqué Monday, after Diome’s claimed to have disbanded the party.

“Even if they dissolve PASTEF, they can’t dissolve its spirit,” Ndiaye said.

The Senegalese government, meanwhile, restricted mobile internet services on Monday, a measure taken “due to the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages on social networks,” according to Moussa Bocar Thiam, the communications minister.

President Macky Sall

Residents throughout the country reported they were not able to access the internet.

Sonko said a local judge in the capital Dakar ordered him held temporarily following fresh charges against him Saturday, including conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrection. The charges are different from an earlier one of corrupting youth. That led to Sonko’s conviction in June, which ignited deadly protests across the nation with 23 people killed.

Sonko is popular among Senegal’s youth and has been seen as a threat to the ruling party ahead of the 2024 election. His supporters have said the charges are to prevent him from running again for president after he placed third in the 2019 race.

From his cell in Sebikotane prison, just outside the capital Dakar, Sonko can run for president in the 2024 election, communications director Ndiaye said, a claim our reporter could not immediately verify.

“If the Senegalese people, for whom I have always fought, abdicate and decide to leave me in the hands of (President) Macky Sall’s regime, I will, as always, submit to God’s will,” Sonko wrote on his Facebook page.

Niger junta says France planning strikes to free toppled president

NIAMEY, Niger

The Niger military junta that seized power last week and ousted democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum, on Monday (July 31) alleged that the toppled government had authorized France to carry out strikes at the presidency to try to free Bazoum.

The military junta, which has confined Bazoum to the presidential palace since Wednesday, has previously warned against foreign attempts to extract him, saying it would result in bloodshed and chaos.

The military's comments were made by army Colonel Amadou Abdramane, one of the coup plotters, on state television.

France has condemned the coup and urged that Bazoum be reinstated but has not announced any intention to intervene militarily.

The coup in Niger followed military takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso over the last two years, all of which have come amid a wave of anti-French sentiment.

France has had troops in the region for a decade helping to fight an Islamist insurgency, but some locals say they want the former colonial ruler to stop intervening in their affairs.

Niger has been a key ally in Western campaigns against insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel, and there are concerns the coup could open the door to greater Russian influence in the region, and also allow the insurgency to spread.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions and said it could authorize the use of force if Niger's coup leaders fail to reinstate ousted president Bazoum within a week.

Curfew declared in Nigerian state after warehouses and shops are looted

By Chinedu Asadu, ABUJA Nigeria

Residents of northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state were prohibited from leaving home Monday as authorities enforced a 24-hour lockdown period in response to what they said was widespread looting of shops and warehouses.

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri declared the around-the-clock curfew Sunday in response to “escalating violence by hoodlums attacking people and businesses” in the state capital, his spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement alleged the law-breakers assaulted residents in Yola while breaking into businesses and homes and “carting away property.”

Several government policies introduced by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who took office in late May, have further squeezed millions of people battling with hunger and poverty in Africa’s biggest economy. The government ended decades-long gasoline subsidies, more than doubling the price of gas and causing a spike in prices of food and other essential commodities.

Images posted on social media appeared to show youths in Yola running away from shops carrying bags and household items. Additional security forces were deployed to the city, where the situation appeared calm as of Monday morning.

The state police command said it arrested 44 suspects and was investigating Sunday’s unrest. “Items like water pumps and seeds looted from the stores were seized from the suspects,” police spokesman Suleiman Nguroje said.

Tanzania challenges $110 million award to Indiana Resources

By Kelvin Matandiko, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

The government of Tanzania has challenged an order to pay nearly $109.5 million to a foreign nickel mining firm that claimed costs over legislation that revoked its project license.

A World Bank tribunal, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), recently ordered Tanzania to pay the money to Indiana Resources and other claimants as compensation for a breach of obligation.

The tribunal delivered its award on July 14, 2023, and Tanzania was ordered to pay compensation of more than $109.5 million (including interest already accrued) to the claimants for the cancellation of the nickel mining retention licence.

Attorney General Eliezer Feleshi confirmed yesterday that the application for annulment of the award and request for a stay of enforcement of the award had already been filed.

In a letter dated July 28, the Secretary-General of the ICSID, Meg Kinnear, notified the case parties that the Centre registered the application for annulment of the award filed by the United Republic of Tanzania.

“The Secretary-General registers an application for annulment of the award filed by the United Republic of Tanzania and notifies the parties of the provisional stay of enforcement of the award,” the ICSID letter reads in part.

Solicitor General Boniphace Luhende said the application for a stay of the court decision’s enforcement is aimed to protecting the government’s aircraft, which might be seized in connection with the award.

Dr Luhende said the government has about 15 reasons that it will present before the judges to justify the annulment.

“Unfortunately, we cannot divulge more details, but we are ready to fight against the award,” he said.

In addition to Indiana, a 62.4 percent shareholder of the combined holdings of Ntaka Nickel Holdings Ltd, other claimants include Nachingwea UK Ltd, and Nachingwea Nickel Ltd.

On April 21, 2015, Tanzania issued a Retention licence for the Project, covering the same area as the Ntaka Hill Prospecting licence, for a period of 5 years.

In July 2017, the Government of Tanzania amended the Mining Act 2010 by, inter alia, abolishing the legislative basis for the Retention licence classification with no replacement classification.

On January 10, 2018, Tanzania published the Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations 2018, which made it clear that all Retention Licences no longer existed and that the underlying rights over all areas under Retention Licences, including the Retention Licence held for the project, reverted to the Government of Tanzania.

During the period from January 2018 to December 2019, the company actively engaged with the Tanzanian Minister for Minerals and the Mining Commission in an effort to resolve a suitable tenure mechanism for the project licence to be reinstated.

Some commentators supported the move by the government of Tanzania to seek annulment of the award, which recently attracted debate over local resources.

Former general secretary of the National Union of Mine and Energy Workers of Tanzania (Numet), Mr Nicomedes Kajungu, said there is now hope that the government may win against the firms, which he said were holding the mining blocks without development.

“The government had noted that some investors conducted exploration and collected the mineral data but held the land without developing it. That’s why it decided to revoke the licences,” he said.

“Some companies sold the mineral data at a high cost while the government gained nothing,” he added.

Other observers who reacted to the issue advised the government to initiate dialogue with the investors who are already in disputes with Tanzania to avoid damaging awards in the future.

According to the Tanzania Trade and Investment Coalition (Tatic), which analyses international trade treaties, the government has signed 20 bilateral investment treaties between 1965 and 2019, of which others are ongoing.

Until yesterday, Tanzania lost five cases related to the bilateral investment treaties.

These include the agreements with Sweden (2022), The Netherlands (2021), and England and Northern Ireland (2008).

Two other cases involving Canada are awaiting decisions by the international tribunal.

On July 20, UK real estate developer Pennyroyal Limited filed another case over a terminated lease for a Zanzibar resort project.

The government has confirmed that it has started paying compensations worth $165 million to Eco Energy Group, which won its case against Tanzania. The government had revoked the company’s ownership of 20,400 hectares of sugar plantations.

African leaders agree on vision to tap youth talent

By Emmanuel Onyango, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

African leaders gathered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last week agreed on a seven-point declaration that could chart the future of youth contribution to development.

The Human Capital Development Summit was about gaps in employment opportunities, especially for those coming out of school.
It brought together more than a dozen leaders and development partners from across the continent.

According to a declaration read by Tanzania President Samia Suluhu on Wednesday, all leaders agreed that human capital development was critical for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa.

“Investment in human beings through quality education, healthcare, nutrition, job creation and skills development are necessary for improved social and economic outcomes,” President Samia said.

However, massive effort and coordinated financing is needed to strengthen the quantity, efficiency and impact of investment in people.
The declaration borrows heavily from the UN Sustainable Development Goals and African Union’s Agenda 2063.

“Challenges that are impeding youth productivity including low access to quality education and skilled development, high adolescent’s fertility, drugs and substance abuse and child marriages”, said Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera.

“We have to make sure that education and skills development, science, technology and innovation health and nutrition are central area to focus on.”

Malawi’s 2018 population census showed as many as eight in ten people, in a population of 17 million, were aged 35 or below.

Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said his government was taking steps to improve the number of women in the labour force through compulsory basic education and practical training.

“If we invest in human capital and believe in gender equality, we will be able to overcome many challenges that face us,” he said.
Kenya President William Ruto called for collaboration.

“We have a chance to transform our population explosion and youth bulge into a demographic dividend,” he said.

The Kenyan president Africa was a green continent of the future where its young people are the global driver of a new industrial revolution.
The São Tomé and Príncipe President Mr Carlos Vila Nova, said half of his country’s population is aged under 35 years, something he said may be good or bad.

“If the youth workforce is not used well, it will become a problem, so what we need is to implement strategic policies that will enable us to benefit from the dividend of human capital,” he argued.

Sierra Leone president Mr Julius Maada Bio they have launched deliberate policy to ensure parents send girls to school.

“And they have been doing well in classes than boys. On average, out of 12 students who pass exams, eight are female students,” he said.

Apart from army support, Rwanda gives cows to Mozambique president

KIGALI, Rwanda

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, on Saturday, July 29, gifted his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi with long horned Rwandan cattle locally known as Inyambo from his farm in Eastern Province.

“Earlier today, President Kagame received President Nyusi of Mozambique for a tour of his farm where he gifted him with Inyambo cows,” read a tweet by the President’s office.

Nyusi who is on a visit to Rwanda was driven, as seen in one of the tweeted pictures, by Kagame during the tour around the farm.

Rwanda enjoys good relations with Mozambique in various fields, especially security.

President Nyusi in September 2021 thanked the people of Rwanda and President Kagame, who was then visiting in northern Mozambique, for having quickly understood his country’s need for help and acted accordingly to help thwart a threat posed by terrorists in his country’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado.

Earlier, in July 2021, Kigali, at the request of Maputo, deployed 1,000 troops to Cabo Delgado to help fight the terrorists, stabilise the area and restore the authority of the state. Kigali sent troops to work closely with Mozambique Armed Defence Forces (FADM) and forces from SADC, in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado.

Joint efforts between Rwandan and Mozambican forces quickly yielded good results, circling many bases of the terrorists, capturing them and restoring security.

How poor begging Africa leaders were duped in Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin courted leaders from Africa at a summit on Friday, hailing the continent’s growing role in global affairs and offering to expand political and business ties.

Addressing the Russia-Africa summit for a second day, Putin said Moscow would closely analyze a peace proposal for Ukraine that African leaders have sought to pursue.

“This is an acute issue, and we aren’t evading its consideration,” the Russian leader said, emphasizing that his government was treating the African initiative with respect and “looking at it attentively.”

He encouraged the African leaders to talk to Ukraine, which has refused to engage in talks until Russian troops pull back. “I believe it’s necessary to also talk to the other side, although we are grateful to our African friends for their attention to the issue,” Putin said at the St. Petersburg summit.

In his speech, Putin reaffirmed his pledge that Russia will maintain steady supplies of grain and other agricultural products to the continent after its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine. Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has fueled concerns of a global food crisis.

“Russia will always be a responsible international supplier of agricultural products and will continue to support the countries and region in need by offering free grain and other supplies,” the Russian leader said.

He declared at the summit’s opening Thursday that Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic each will receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of Russian grain in the next three to four months.

In comparison, the U.N. World Food Program shipped 725,000 tons of grain to several countries, including Somalia, under the Black Sea deal.

Constitutional referendum to remove presidential term limits divides Central African Republic

By Jean Koena, BANGUI Central African Republic

The Central African Republic went to the polls Sunday in a highly anticipated vote on a new constitution that would remove presidential term limits.

President Faustin Archange Touadera wants to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and remove the previous two-term limit, enabling him to run again in 2025.

The new constitution would replace the one adopted at Touadera’s inauguration in 2016, when the country was in a civil war and 80% of it was not under state control. If the new constitution is passed, it could entrench the ruling party’s power indefinitely, analysts say.

“This referendum basically confirms the fears of authoritarian drift” in Central African Republic, said Enrica Picco, Central Africa project director with the International Crisis Group. The new constitution would weaken checks on the executive by opposition parties, closing the space for Central Africans to participate in democratic decision-making, she said.

The proposed changes also would lift requirements that executive decisions be debated by the legislature and would permit Central Africans with dual nationality to vote.

The mineral-rich but impoverished nation has faced intercommunal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced then-President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias later fought back, also targeting civilians in the streets. The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting has killed thousands and displaced over a million people, one fifth of the country’s population.

When Touadera won re-election in 2020, barely a third of Central Africans made it to the polls, largely due to threats of violence by rebel groups. Touadera’s government has relied on support from U.N. peacekeepers, soldiers from neighboring Rwanda and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to keep rebels out of the capital Bangui.

“Now that there is peace … the time has come for us to take action,” said Fidel Gouandjika, a presidential adviser.

Opposition groups accuse the ruling party of making a draft of the new constitution publicly available too late for people to make informed decisions, less than three weeks before the referendum, said Picco.

Together with opposition parties they are calling on Central Africans to vote against the proposed constitution, or abstain from the referendum.

“Touadera wants to see himself as an emperor, and he wants to make our country what he wants, not what Central Africans want,” said former Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye.

The preliminary results of the referendum are expected to be announced in just over a week, to be finalized by the constitutional court in late August.

Africa leaders give Niger Junta week to cede power

ABUJA, Nigeria

African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists, after the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.

In the third coup in as many years to fell a leader in the Sahel, Niger's elected president and Western ally, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since Wednesday.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard, has declared himself leader.

Bazoum is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where since 2020 a jihadist insurgency has triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger following the coup, while the United States warned that its aid could also be at stake.

At an emergency summit in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc demanded Bazoum be reinstated, within a week.

Otherwise, the bloc said it would take "all measures" to restore constitutional order.

"Such measures may include the use of force for this effect," it said in a statement, adding that ECOWAS defence chiefs were to meet on Sunday.

"No more time for us to send a warning signal… It’s time for action", said Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria and ECOWAS chairman.

It was not immediately clear how the 15-member ECOWAS could use force. Last year, the bloc agreed to create a regional security force to intervene against jihadists and prevent military coups, but details on the force and its funding have not been outlined.

The bloc also slapped financial sanctions on the junta leaders and on the country, freezing "all commercial and financial transactions" between member states and Niger, one of the world's poorest nations, often ranking last on the UN's Human Development Index.

Late on Saturday, the junta condemned the ECOWAS summit, saying its aim was to "approve a plan of aggression against Niger, in the form of an imminent military intervention in Niamey".

The intervention would be "in cooperation with African countries who are not members of the regional body and certain Western nations", junta member Amadou Abdramane said on national television.

The president of Chad, which neighbours Niger but is not a member of ECOWAS, attended the summit and then left for Niger's capital.

General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno was in Niamey "to see what he could bring to solving the crisis," a Chad government spokesman told AFP, adding that he was not mandated by the bloc.

Former Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou, whom Bazoum succeeded as head of state, on Sunday said that he intended to negotiate with the junta to restore Bazoum to the presidency.

"I have undertaken, by various ways, to find a negotiated solution that will allow to free President Mohamed Bazoum and to reinstate him," Issoufou wrote on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X.

In the capital Niamey on Sunday, thousands of people waving Russian and Niger flags rallied outside the national parliament in Niamey in a show of support for the junta.

They then moved on to the French embassy, shouting "long live Putin" and "down with France". Some tried to storm the embassy, but were dispersed with tear gas, an AFP journalist saw.

France condemned the assault on its embassy, warning it would retaliate if its citizens or interests were attacked.

"Should anyone attack French nationals, the army, diplomats and French interests, they will see France respond in an immediate and intractable manner," the French presidency said.

Niger's neighbours and fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso have both been beset by military coups since 2020, fuelled by anger at the civilian authorities' failure to quash long-running insurgencies by jihadists linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.

Tiani said the putsch in Niger was a response to "the degradation of the security situation" linked to jihadist bloodshed, as well as corruption and economic woes.

After a wave of condemnation for the coup, punitive measures have already begun in the West.

France -- which has 1,500 soldiers in Niger -- said on Saturday it was suspending development aid and budgetary support to the West African nation.

European Union diplomatic chief Josep Borrell meanwhile said the EU would not recognise the putschists, and announced the indefinite suspension of security cooperation with Niger with immediate effect, as well as budgetary aid.

The United States -- which has about 1,000 troops in Niger -- has offered Bazoum Washington's steadfast support and warned those detaining him that they were "threatening years of successful cooperation and hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance".

The African Union condemned the coup and expressed deep concern over the "alarming resurgence" of military overthrows in Africa.

It has had a turbulent political history since gaining independence in 1960, with four coups as well as numerous other attempts -- including two previously against Bazoum.

President of Kenya reveals details of meeting with opposition leader

NAIROBI, Kenya

President of Kenya, William Ruto has admitted meeting with opposition leader Raila Odinga and has stated that he has given his conditions that will guide their negotiations.

Ruto stated during interdenominational thanksgiving prayers at the Ukunda Showgrounds in Kwale County that he told Rails Kenya is a democratic country and that no leader should orchestrate violence that results in the loss of life and destruction of property.

"It will not continue that there are leaders either present, past or future that will plan violence that will lead to killings and destruction of property or destroy businesses" he said.

The President stated that while he is open to  talk about anything else, he cannot negotiate Kenyans' safety.

"We have agreed because you know I am the head of state I am obligated to make sure that every Kenyan whether they support my policies or not that their property is guaranteed, that there is peace in the country and I have given a commitment that going forward there will be no violence in Kenya" he added.

The President also reacted angrily to critics who questioned the absence of the cost of living as a topic to be discussed during the negotiations, claiming that the cost of living is addressed in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto.

"I have seen other leaders asking where is the cost of living in the list of things to be deliberated, I want to tell them that the issue is in the manifesto of Kenya Kwanza and we have a plan that we are implementing. The cost of living cannot be addressed through how they are proposing to hold demonstrations and causing violence" he said.

The President stated that the government is implementing various development projects in the blue economy and housing sectors to create jobs for the youth in order to prevent them from participating in protests.

Some of the President's allies, on the other hand, urged him not to engage in any negotiations with opposition leaders that are not focused on the interests of ordinary mwananchi.

According to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the opposition wishes to internationalise their election loss and create a crisis where none exists.

"If our opponents wants to talk let's talk but don't lie to Kenyans that we are in a crisis. Let us talk as Kenyans but do not internationalize your loses" he said.

Salim Mvurya, Cabinet Secretary in charge of Mining and Blue Economy, and House Speakers Moses Wetangula and Amason Kingi maintained a hard line, urging the President not to meet Raila and instead focus on implementing his agenda.

"I don't want you to be cajoled, to be arm-twisted because you were the clear winner...sasa kama itakua kila baada ya uchaguzi kuna mazungumzo basi kuna haja gani ya kushinda uchaguzi" said Mvurya.

Members of Parliament, led by Mwangi Kiujuri of Laikipia East, Gonzi Rai of Kinango, Chiforomodo Mangale of Lungalunga, and Tita Taveta woman member of the national assembly Ludia Haika, also urged the President not to engage in negotiations that are not in the best interests of Kenyans. - Africa

African leaders leave Russia summit without grain deal

NAIROBI, Kenya 

African leaders are leaving two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin with little to show for their requests to resume a deal that kept grain flowing from Ukraine and to find a path to end the war there.

Putin in a press conference late Saturday following the Russia-Africa summit said Russia’s termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies. 

He added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the “poorest nations.”

That commitment, with no details, follows Putin’s promise to start shipping 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain for free to each of six African nations in the next three to four months — an amount dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the U.N. World Food Program to several hungry countries, African and otherwise, under the grain deal. Russia plans to send the free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic.

Fewer than 20 of Africa’s 54 heads of state or government attended the Russia summit, while 43 attended the previous gathering in 2019, reflecting concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even as Moscow seeks more allies on the African continent of 1.3 billion people. Putin praised Africa as a rising center of power in the world, while the Kremlin blamed “outrageous” Western pressure for discouraging some African countries from showing up.

The presidents of Egypt and South Africa were among the most outspoken on the need to resume the grain deal.

"We would like the Black Sea initiative to be implemented and that the Black Sea should be open,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said. “We are not here to plead for donations for the African continent.”

Putin also said Russia would analyze African leaders’ peace proposal for Ukraine, whose details have not been publicly shared. But the Russian leader asked: “Why do you ask us to pause fire? We can’t pause fire while we’re being attacked.”

The next significant step in peace efforts instead appears to be a Ukrainian-organized peace summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in August. Russia is not invited.

Africa’s nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Delegations at the summit in St. Petersburg roamed exhibits of weapons, a reminder of Russia’s role as the top arms supplier to the African continent.

Putin in his remarks on Saturday also downplayed his absence from the BRICS economic summit in South Africa next month amid a controversy over an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court. His presence there, Putin said, is not “more important than my presence here, in Russia.”

Sudan want Kenya president out of IGAD group as peace efforts stall

By Aggrey Mutambo, NAIROBI Kenya

Regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), is grappling with the next step on the Sudan peace bid, weeks after a proposed face-to-face meeting collapsed on the perceived impartiality of a mediator.

And sources told The EastAfrican the beef is centred on a squabble between Nairobi and Juba on who should handle the meeting.

Until last month, South Sudan had been trying to prevail upon the main protagonists in Khartoum; Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudan Armed Forces and Mohammed Hemedti Daglo of the Rapid Support Forces to lay down the arms.

President Salva Kiir’s efforts didn’t quite succeed, even though he spoke to both leaders.

Then an Igad Summit on June 15 decided to recalibrate the quartet of leaders pursuing peace in Sudan. Juba was dropped to be a member and Nairobi was selected to lead the mediation. Addis Ababa and Djibouti were also included.

Yet, sources told The EastAfrican this week, the move did not please Juba, even though it has not publicly criticised the decision.

A senior diplomat familiar with the movements said that while President William Ruto has not been accepted in Khartoum yet, it is South Sudan pushing for the rejection of Kenya, indicating that even the quartet is not on the same page.

"Nothing has moved as far as the peace process is concerned,” the official said, choosing to remain on the background due to sensitivity of the matter.

The feeling in Juba, explained the diplomat, is that the mediation role had given South Sudan a chance to show its usefulness to the region, having been in trouble itself, including a civil war which only ended after Igad brokered a peace deal there.

"They were leading this thing and it gave them legitimacy. Now they feel the opportunity has been snatched from them,” the source said.

Officially, South Sudan denies stifling Igad moves. James Pitia Morgan, South Sudan’s ambassador to Ethiopia, African Union and Igad, said his country supports regional efforts as long as they do not amount to interference.

"Juba has no interest in the internal affairs of other nations. Sudan’s problem is an internal matter of Sudan, which we believe Sudan as an old country in the region has the capability of resolving its own problems without foreign interference,” he told The EastAfrican.

"Kenya and South Sudan, like other Igad member states, are doing their best to convince the warring parties in Sudan to stop fighting and get into dialogue. There is no military solution, only peace through dialogue can bring peace. But still it depends on the Sudanese people because peace belongs to them.”

As is tradition with Igad, a decision of the Summit can only be reversed by another sitting of the same level.

In fact, last month’s was an ‘ordinary’ summit, which implies that it was a normal debate dealing with planned issues within Igad. 

The EastAfrican understands there has not been any scheduled ‘ordinary’ summits yet, at least for August, even though the bloc may call for ‘extra-ordinary’ meetings, which will not reverse the decision.

Naming Kenya’s President William Ruto continue leading a quartet, which the bloc named last month, however, remains divisive even in Khartoum.

The Sudan Armed Forces under Burhan have been critical of Ruto, accusing him, without evidence, of being a supporter of the RSF ostensibly because Hemedti is a past business partner. 

Nairobi rejected the claims.

This week, Kenya’s Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said Nairobi has no intention of taking sides, and argued Kenya only wants a stable neighbourhood.

"Kenya, acting in concert with Igad, has been invited. Kenya is neutral,” he said in an interview with NTV.

"Kenya is committed to its neighbours and the peace of our neighbourhood. It is not involved in any internal developments that have taken place.”

Earlier this week, a Sudanese military officer dared Kenya to intervene in the conflict. General Yasir al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Sudan Armed Forces, in an address to the media on Sunday, accused President Ruto of “being a mercenary for another country” — which he did not name.

Nairobi has denied taking sides in the conflict. Gen al-Atta maintained that Sudan was still opposed to the proposal by the Igad for the deployment of an East African standby force to protect civilians and aid workers.

Instead, Khartoum says any of the Igad offers can only be considered once President Ruto is replaced as the chairman of the quartet.

The deputy commander-in-chief, while inspecting a special Engineering Division in Khartoum, claimed that the unnamed country that supports President Ruto is also a major backer of the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

In a bid to prevail upon SAF, on July 15, President Ruto spoke with the Sudan junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan by phone to persuade him to cooperate with the Igad quartet and consider a ceasefire that would allow humanitarian agencies to reach the more than 2.5 million people displaced internally by the conflict that started on April 15.

President Ruto also proposed that parallel mediation talks under the Jeddah Initiative fronted by the US and Saudi Arabia should work hand-in-hand with Igad to avoid duplicity.

Sudan’s Saf, however, insists neighbours should consider Burhan as the bonafide leader of Sudan, even though he came on via coup and has faced deadly battles against the RSF which is competing with SAF to align with other local armed groups and political movements.

Igad now faces a dilemma, on how to proceed with the peace bid while facing a member who is openly rejecting a decision it was part of.

On June 15, Malik Agar, the Sudan deputy leader of the Transitional Sovereignty Council chaired the Summit, then protested its plan to mediate in the conflict.

The Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said then that it “expressed its disagreement and objection to a number of paragraphs that were mentioned in the draft final statement of the summit due to the fact that they were not discussed and agreed upon, and the delegation called on the Igad Secretariat to delete them.”

"These paragraphs relate to changing the chairmanship of the Igad Committee, as the delegation demanded that President Salva Kiir Mayardit retain the chairmanship of the Committee and demanded the deletion of any reference to the subject of mediation.”

Two weeks later, Kenya pledged neutrality. A dispatch from the virtual meeting of the quartet foreign ministers said Kenya would “ensure that all the concerns and requests of the Sudanese people are duly considered and addressed”.

"As we have always stated Kenya’s only interest in Sudan is regional peace. We remain a neutral arbitrator on matters of peace for our neighbours as a precursor to the much sought-after development,” Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said.

Niger coup mastermind declares himself leader

NIAMEY, Niger

General Abdourahmane Tchiani has declared himself the new leader of Niger after a dramatic coup.

Also known as Omar Tchiani, he staged a takeover which started on Wednesday when the presidential guards unit he led seized the country’s leader.

This shatters Niger’s first peaceful and democratic transition since independence in 1960.

President Mohamed Bazoum is thought to be in good health, and still held captive by his own guards.

The coup has been roundly condemned by international bodies including the African Union, West African regional bloc (Ecowas), the EU and the UN.

However, the leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has reportedly praised the coup, describing it as a triumph.

"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers,” Yevgeny Prigozhin was quoted as saying on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel.

The BBC has not been able to verify the authenticity of his reported comments.

Gen Tchiani, 62, has been in charge of the presidential guard since 2011 and was promoted to the rank of general in 2018 by former President Mahamadou Issoufou.

He had also been linked to a 2015 coup attempt against the ex-president, but appeared in court to deny it.

Speaking in a televised address, Gen Tchiani said his junta took over because of several problems in Niger, including insecurity, economic woes and corruption, amongst other matters.

Niger’s coup is the latest in a wave of takeovers that have hit the West African region in recent years, toppling governments in countries including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

Singapore executes woman for the first time in 20 years

WASHINGTON, US

Singapore has on Friday hanged a 45-year-old citizen who was caught with 31 grams of heroin, the first time the city-state has executed a woman in nearly 20 years.

Saridewi Binte Djamani was hanged on Friday after being convicted of trafficking “not less than 30.72 grams” of the drug in 2018, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The bureau said Djamani had been accorded “full due process under the law” and had access to legal counsel throughout the process.

Djamani’s execution proceeded despite protests from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which argues Singapore’s use of capital punishment for drug offences violates international law and does little to deter drug use.

“We call on the international community, particularly States who have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, to help halt this inhumane, ineffective and discriminatory practice in Singapore,” Amnesty International said in a statement earlier this week.

Transformative Justice Collective, a local advocacy group, had condemned authorities for their “bloodthirsty streak” ahead of the execution.

In April, a group of United Nations experts described the rate of executions in Singapore for drug offences as “highly alarming” and called for an immediate moratorium after claims a 46-year-old ethnic Tamil citizen was hanged despite being denied adequate interpretation during police interrogations.

Singapore’s government, which tightly controls public protest and the media, has defended its use of the death penalty as a deterrent against drug trafficking and cited surveys showing most citizens support the law.

Singapore has hanged 15 people, including foreigners, for drug-related offences since March 2022, when it resumed executions after a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, 57, was hanged for trafficking about 50 grams of heroin.

Despite a reputation as a well-run business hub, Singapore’s ultra-strict laws place it in the company of a handful of authoritarian states, including China and North Korea, that impose the death penalty for drug offences.

Niger military coup ‘Giant Step Backwards’ for democracy - Ecowas

WASHINGTON, US

Regional and international groups have thrown their support behind Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, ousted Wednesday in a military coup, and currently in detention in the presidential palace.

The Economic Community of West African States on Thursday joined the chorus of those calling for Bazoum’s reinstatement as the democratically elected president.

“We insist…that Bazoum remains the legitimate and legal president, and he must be reinstated as soon as possible,” Abdel Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security told VOA.

Describing the coup as “a giant step backwards on the path to democratic consolidation in the region,” Musah said the regional body will meet this weekend to discuss the way forward.

“The heads of state of the region will hold an extraordinary summit, and emergency summit, on the situation over the weekend to determine what measures to take to ensure the reinstatement of the democratically elected president,” Musah said.

Meantime, the United States also condemned the coup, and reiterated its support for Bazoum, who remains in detention following his ouster, announced on public TV. Addressing the press in Washington, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre called for Bazoum’s immediate reinstatement.

“We strongly support the democratically elected president there, and we condemn in the strongest terms any effort to cease power by force and disrupt the constitutional order. We call for the immediate release of the president and respect for the rule of law and public safety,” said Jean Pierre.

Niger is the latest West Africa country to experience a coup in the last four years, preceded by Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Musah attributed this to several factors, including poor governance, climate change and an increase in terrorism, which he said has destabilized the region to the point where the military is taking advantage.

“You dare say that all the ingredients are there for instability, but that does not give them (the military) literally the license to overthrow democratically elected governments, because in the first place, the military’s first duty is to fight these terrorists, and not remove governments,” he said. “So if terrorism is spreading in the region, the military should take the lion’s share.”