Judge blocks Trump plan to put thousands of USAID staff on leave

WASHINGTON,  United States 

A judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, hours before it was due to happen.

Judge Carl Nichols issued a "limited" temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.

The order will remain in place for a week, until 14 February at midnight.

Trump has argued that USAID, the overseas aid agency, is not a valuable use of taxpayer money and wants to dismantle it - he plans to put nearly all of the agency's 10,000 employees on leave, except 611 workers.

Some 500 staff had already been put on administrative leave and another 2,200 were due to join them from midnight on Friday (05:00 GMT).

But the last-minute lawsuit on Friday argued the government was violating the US Constitution, and also that the workers were suffering harm.

Judge Nichols sided with the unions, saying they would suffer "irreparable harm" if the court did not intervene, while there would be "zero harm to the government".

"All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date," Nichols wrote.

The judge will also consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing on Wednesday.

It is unclear from the court order what will happen to the remaining staff's jobs.

As the ruling came, officials had been removing and covering USAID signs at the organisation's headquarters in Washington DC.

USAID is the world's biggest aid donor - with much of its budget spent on health programmes around the world. Two-thirds of its 10,000 staff work overseas.

It is one of many federal agencies his administration is targeting as it works to slash federal spending in the US.

The Republican campaigned on overhauling the government and formed an advisory body named the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - led by tech billionaire Elon Musk - to slash the budget.

Friday's ruling by Judge Nichols came in response to an emergency petition by the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees - two unions representing employees of the agency.

During the hearing, Judge Nichols - who was nominated by Trump during his first term - did not seem likely to grant other requests as part of the lawsuit, including to restore grants and contracts or reopen USAID buildings.

The legal action argued that the president was violating the US Constitution and federal law by attempting to dismantle the agency.

"Not a single one of defendants' actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization," it said.

"And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency."

Representing the Trump administration, justice department official Brett Shumate told the judge that the president "has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID".

Hours after Trump took office on 20 January, he signed an executive order halting all foreign assistance until such funds were vetted and aligned with his "America First" policy.

That led to a stop work order at USAID, which runs health and emergency programmes in around 120 countries, including in the world's poorest regions.

Trump signs order freezing aid to South Africa over land law

WASHINGTON,  United States 

United States President, Donald Trump has signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa, after threatening to do so earlier this week.

Trump said he was bringing in the order because of South Africa's new land law, which he says is violating people's rights, and also because of its international court case accusing Israel of genocide.

It escalates a dispute between the two countries nearly a week after Trump threatened to cut funding without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and "certain classes of people" were being treated "very badly".

Trump's close adviser Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, also joined in the criticism asking on X why Ramaphosa had "openly racist ownership laws".

President Cyril Ramaphosa has not yet commented but previously defended South Africa's land policy after Trump's threat on Sunday.

He said the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land.

President Ramaphosa's law was signed last month, and allows land seizures without compensation in certain circumstances.

Land ownership has long been a contentious issue in South Africa with most private farmland owned by white people, 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

There have been continuous calls for the government to address land reform and deal with the past injustices of racial segregation.

South Africa's new law allows for expropriation without compensation only in circumstances where it is "just and equitable and in the public interest" to do so.

This includes if the property is not being used and there is no intention to either develop or make money from it, or when it poses a risk to people.

The order said the US "cannot support the government of South Africa's commission of rights violations in its country", and as long as it "continues these unjust and immoral practices" then the US will not provide aid or assistance.

The White House said Washington will also formulate a plan to resettle South African farmers and their families as refugees.

It said US officials will take steps to prioritise humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Afrikaners in South Africa, who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers.

The executive order also references South Africa's role in bringing accusations of genocide against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The order said: "In addition, South Africa has taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the ICJ, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements."

On Sunday, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: "I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!"

He later said, in a briefing with journalists, that South Africa's "leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things".

"So that's under investigation right now. We'll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing - they're taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that."

But, on Monday, Ramaphosa moved to defuse the row with Trump's new US administration over the new land law by speaking to Musk on the phone.

Ramaphosa's office said, in that call to Musk the president "reiterated South Africa's constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality".

Kenyan police reinforce Haiti mission amid U.S. funding freeze

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  Haiti 

A fourth group of Kenyan police arrived in Haiti on Thursday to help combat violent gangs, despite a partial U.S. funding freeze for the U.N.-backed mission.

The 200 officers join over 600 Kenyans already working alongside Haitian police, as part of a multinational effort including Jamaica, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

This comes after the U.S. froze $13.3 million in aid, part of a broader foreign assistance freeze by President Donald Trump. 

However, mission commander Godfrey Otunge downplayed concerns, saying the cut represents less than 3% of total funding, with ongoing support from the U.S. and other partners.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that $40.7 million in aid was approved, including armored vehicles and logistical support. During a visit to the Dominican Republic, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s commitment, urging an expansion of the mission to tackle Haiti’s worsening security crisis.

Gangs control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the mission faces funding and personnel shortages as violence escalates.

DR Congo issues arrest warrant for M23 chief

KINSHASA,  DR Congo 

An international arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for M23 rebel group chief Corneille Nangaa by the military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to state media.

Nangaa (pictured above), the former president of the Electoral Commission and now leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23, is facing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and insurrection charges.

He was also sentenced to death in August for similar crimes committed by the M23 rebels in the province of North Kivu in November 2021.

The report said that Nangaa, with the support of Rwanda, commits massacres in North Kivu and more recently in South Kivu -- constituting a crime under Congolese legislation as well as international law.

The court ordered Nangaa to be arrested wherever he may be found and brought to Congolese territory.

Jean-Jacques Mamba

A warrant has also been issued for Jean-Jacques Mamba, a former member of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo and national deputy for the Lukunga district, who joined the AFC rebel movement after he lost the December 2023 elections.

The violence in Goma erupted two weeks ago when the M23 launched a major offensive against government forces.

Thousands have been displaced, with many fleeing to neighboring Rwanda, including staff from international organizations such as the UN and the World Bank.

About 2,900 people were killed in violent clashes between the M23 rebels and Congolese forces in the eastern city of Goma.

The M23 declared a ceasefire Monday after fighting the Congolese army for control of Goma.

Despite a unilateral ceasefire, intense fighting erupted between the M23 and the army Wednesday and the rebels reportedly seized Nyabibwe city.

Kinshasa has called the M23 ceasefire declaration a "lie" and vowed to reclaim Goma.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 08/02/2025

 

Guterres urges de-escalation as regional leaders convene on eastern DRC conflict

NEW YORK, United States

As the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) spirals, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a stark warning, calling for an immediate de-escalation ahead of a high-stakes regional summit in Dar es Salaam.

Speaking to the media on February 6, 2025, the Secretary General, gave an opinion on the meeting involving the leaders of SADC and the East African Community to come up with a solution regarding the ongoing situation in DR Congo.

"Tomorrow (February 07, 2025) the leaders of the East African Community and SADC will participate in a meeting in Tanzania. These talks will aim to resolve the crisis caused by the attacks of the M23 supported by the Rwandan army." Explained António Guterres.

"When the Tanzania conference starts, my message is this: silence the guns, stop promoting conflict, respect the borders and independence of DR Congo." He continued.

“Thousands of people have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. Silence the guns! Stop the escalation. Respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

The UN chief affirmed that there is no military solution to the crisis. 

He said it is time for all signatories to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region to honour their commitments. 

His remarks come as the latest chapter in a decades-long conflict unfolds, with the M23 rebels consolidating their hold over North Kivu with reports indicating that Goma, the provincial capital, is effectively under siege, with exit routes blocked and its airport shut down indefinitely.

United Nations reports show that from January 2024, approximately 4,000 Rwandan soldiers entered DR Congo to help M23 directly.

The report also shows that after the rebels of M23 captured the town of Rubaya with the rare mineral Coltan, the mineral has been smuggled in large quantities through Rwanda using trucks.

Against this backdrop, regional leaders from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will meet in Dar es Salaam under the leadership of Tanzanian President Samia Hassan.

The summit aims to chart a path towards a lasting solution, but expectations remain low.

Previous diplomatic efforts have yielded little beyond statements of concern and recycled resolutions.

Both the EAC and SADC have a stake in the conflict — some member states have deployed troops, others are navigating the complex web of alliances and rivalries.

But history suggests that without concrete action, this latest gathering risks being yet another exercise in diplomacy without consequence.

For now, the guns remain loud, and the exodus from eastern Congo continues.

U.S. cannot withdraw from a body it no longer belongs - UNHRC

GENEVA, Switzerland

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated on Thursday that as of Jan. 1, 2025, the United States' term as a member had ended, making it ineligible to withdraw from an intergovernmental body it was no longer part of.

"For the record, the United States was a member of the Human Rights Council from Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2024. Since Jan. 1, 2025, the United States is no longer a member of the Human Rights Council and automatically became an observer state, like any of the 193 UN member states that are not Council members. An observer state of the Council cannot withdraw from an intergovernmental body it is no longer a part of," Pascal Sim, spokesperson for the UNHRC, said in a statement.

"As a matter of principle, and in the spirit of multilateral dialogue that characterizes the Council, we welcome and encourage the engagement of every UN Member State - whether as a Council member or an observer - in the work of the Council and its mechanisms," the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order, withdrawing the United States from the UNHRC.

The UNHRC is composed of 47 member states, with approximately one-third of its seats up for election each year. Member states serve three-year terms and may be re-elected once.

During Trump's first term, the United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018. In February 2021, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Joe Biden administration would re-engage with the Council as an observer.

The United States returned to the body in January 2022 as a full member.

Trump sanctions International Criminal Court, calls it 'illegitimate'

WASHINGTON, United States

The US President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".

The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington.

Last November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

The Netherlands, which hosts the court, said it "regrets" Trump's order.

"The court's work is essential in the fight against impunity," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.

A White House memo circulated on Thursday accused the Hague-based ICC of creating a "shameful moral equivalency" between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.

Trump's executive order said the ICC's recent actions "set a dangerous precedent" that endangered Americans by exposing them to "harassment, abuse and possible arrest".

"This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel," the order said.

The US is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens.

The White House accused the ICC of placing constraints on Israel's right to self-defence, while ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.

In his first term in office, Trump imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were lifted by President Joe Biden's administration.

Last month, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC, but the bill foundered in the Senate.

More than 120 countries are members of the court, including many European nations, but the US nor Israel are not.

The ICC is a court of last resort and is meant to intervene only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

Trump's executive order said that "both nations [the US and Israel] are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war".

During his last weeks in office, President Biden also criticised the ICC's warrant for Netanyahu, calling the move "outrageous" and saying there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

Trump's signing of his latest executive order follows his announcement during a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister on Tuesday about a plan for the US to "take over" Gaza, resettle its Palestinian population and turn the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

After Arab leaders and the UN condemned the idea, the US president restated it on his Truth Social social media platform on Thursday.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," Trump wrote, referring to the war between Israel and Hamas that is currently under a ceasefire.

He repeated that the plan would involve resettling Palestinians, and that no American soldiers would be deployed.

His post did not make clear whether the two million residents of the Palestinian territory would be invited to return, leaving officials scrambling to explain.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday any displacement would be temporary.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Gazans would leave for an "interim" period while reconstruction took place.

Netanyahu has praised Trump's "remarkable" plan to re-make Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare for "voluntary departure" of Gaza's residents.

He said the plan would include departures via land, sea and air.

Trump signed the order as Netanyahu continued his visit to Washington, meeting lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties on Capitol Hill.

The Israeli prime minister also presented a golden pager to Trump.

The gift was a reference to Israel's deadly operation against Hezbollah in September last year, using booby-trapped communications devices.

Dozens were killed and thousands injured in the attacks, including some civilians, according to Lebanese officials.

War crimes tribunal closely monitoring Congo bloodshed

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

International Criminal Court prosecutors said on Wednesday they were closely monitoring events in Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels are trying to expand their territory after capturing the city of Goma.

"Credible sources indicate that thousands of persons have been wounded and hundreds killed in and around Goma, including civilians and peacekeepers, following months of clashes between the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the March 23 Movement ("M23") and their allies," ICC prosecutors said in a statement.

They urged all parties to deliver information on possible crimes.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said last year he would renew an investigation into Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on alleged crimes committed in North Kivu province, whose capital is Goma, since January 2022.

"This investigation is active and continues with urgency and focus," his office said on Wednesday.

More than 2,000 bodies of people killed in last week's conflict require burial in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo's communications minister said early on Wednesday.

The United Nations has said that at least 900 people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in the days of fighting in Goma that led up to its capture by M23.

Tshisekedi to join regional summit on eastern DRC conflict

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi will take part in a joint summit of Eastern and Southern African leaders starting on Friday to discuss the conflict in its east, where Rwandan-backed rebels are seizing more territory.

The high-stakes summit in Tanzania could bring together Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who is accused by Congo, the United Nations and other Western partners of arming and supporting the rebels. Rwanda has consistently denied these allegations.

A presidential spokesperson told Reuters Tshisekedi would take part in the two-day joint summit, which Kagame is also participating in, without specifying whether he would fly to Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam or attend virtually.

The situation is at a "pivotal moment" United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier, saying the conflict "risks engulfing the entire region" and urging the parties to work together for peace.

The rebels who seized Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, last week, on Wednesday took another mining town in the South Kivu province in a push towards the provincial capital Bukavu, violating a unilateral ceasefire they had declared.

Reports of rebel advance towards Bukavu on Thursday sparked panic in several towns and villages including in Bukavu, where the Catholic university suspended academic activities scheduled for Friday, a statement said.

Meanwhile, in a signal of their intention to govern areas they have seized, the rebels gathered hundreds of people in a stadium in Goma, where they presented new administrators they have appointed and urged residents to return to work and school.

Guterres said hundreds of thousands of people are on the move in Goma, with many of the previous sites hosting displaced people north of the city now looted, destroyed or abandoned.

"Healthcare facilities are overwhelmed. And other basic services – including schools, water, electricity, phone lines and the internet – are severely limited," he added.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Wednesday estimated that at least 2,800 people died in Goma.

Congo will present a motion to the United Nations Human Rights Council seeking an investigation into what it called "mass violations" of rights in the city of Goma, its envoy told reporters on Thursday.

The presidents of Congo and Rwanda were supposed to meet in December in Angola and sign a peace agreement but the meeting was cancelled. Both parties blamed each other for failed talks as tensions escalated.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud are also expected to attend the summit on February 7-8.

Tunisia jails opposition politicians and journalist as crackdown on political dissent resumes

TUNIS, Tunisia

A judge in Tunisia handed down lengthy sentences to prominent politicians and at least one leading journalist in a move criticized by a media union and leading opposition parties as the latest move targeting critics of President Kais Saied.

Among those sentenced Wednesday include 83-year-old Rached Ghannouchi, the country’s most prominent opposition leader, who has been behind bars for nearly two years.

Ghannouchi, the co-founder of the Islamist movement Ennahda and Tunisia’s former Assembly Speaker, was sentenced to an additional 22 years in prison for undermining state security. He boycotted the proceedings against him.

Ennahda condemned the trial as politically motivated and said the prosecutions were “aimed at revenge, violating basic human rights and freedoms, undermining the rule of law and blatantly politicizing the judiciary.”

The National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition parties that includes Ennahda, said in a statement that the sentences issued against bloggers, politicians and former government officials totaled more than 760 years and marked “one of the darkest periods” for the country’s judicial branch, which has seen judges dismissed and power wrested from it by Saied's executive branch.

“This particular chamber is becoming a specialized tool for issuing harsh sentences against politicians,” said one of its leaders, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.

The charges stem from a 2019 case against a media company that provided services for Ennahda during that year’s presidential elections. Those involved are accused of defamation, spreading falsehoods, money laundering, undermining state security and illegally accepting funds from abroad.

Human rights groups have criticized such cases as a way to target Saied’s opponents. Saied won a second term last October in a landslide election while his leading opponents, including Ghannouchi, languished in prison.

“These rulings bring Tunisia back to a period the people sought to leave behind through their revolution,” an Ennahda statement on Thursday said, referring to the 2011 ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first Arab dictator toppled as part of the Arab Spring uprising that swept the region that year.

In the years that followed, the North African nation was seen as a success story for its transition to democracy, rewriting its constitution and winning a Nobel Peace Prize for political compromise. But signs of authoritarianism have re-emerged since Saied took power in 2019.

Throughout his tenure, Saied has suspended parliament, rewritten the constitution to consolidate his power and arrested politicians, activists and journalists who criticized him.

The court on Wednesday also sentenced in absentia a group of Ennahda politicians who’ve fled the country and now live in exile, including former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, who was sentenced to 35 years on state security charges similar to Ghannouchi’s.

Journalist Chadha Haj Mubarak was sentenced to five years in prison as part of the same case, the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists said. The union called for her immediate release and in a statement denounced the court’s lack of respect for press freedoms. In a statement Mubarak’s attorney, Souhail Medimegh, said his client was being charged purely for her journalism.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 07/02/2025