Mutineers in Gabon appoint a military leader after detaining the president

LIBREVILLE, Gabon

Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader Wednesday after placing the just-reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, alleging betrayal and massive embezzlement during his long-time rule over the oil-rich Central African nation.

Ali Bongo Ondimba and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, July 21, 2023.

The coup leaders said in an announcement on Gabon’s state TV that General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema had been “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo, who earlier Wednesday had been declared the winner of the country’s latest presidential election following 55 years of rule by him and his late father.

In a video from detention in his residence, Bongo called on people to “make noise” to support him. But the crowds who took to the streets of the capital instead celebrated the coup against a dynasty accused of getting rich on the country’s resource wealth while many of its citizen’s struggle.

“Thank you, army. Finally, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment,” said Yollande Okomo, standing in front of republican guard members who had helped stage the takeover.

Coup leaders said there would be a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time but that people would be allowed to move about freely during the day on Thursday.

“The president of the transition insists on the need to maintain calm and serenity in our beautiful country ... At the dawn of a new era, we will guarantee the peace, stability and dignity of our beloved Gabon,” Lt. Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi said on state TV Wednesday.

Oligui, the new military leader, used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo, said Desire Ename a journalist with Echos du Nord, a local media outlet. Oligui also was head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard.

Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years, and there has been widespread discontent with his reign. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered.

The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

FILE - President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Nine members of the Bongo family, meanwhile, are under investigation in France, and some face preliminary charges of embezzlement, money laundering and other forms of corruption, according to Sherpa, a French NGO dedicated to accountability. Investigators have linked the family to more than $92 million in properties in France, including two villas in Nice, the group says.

A spokesman for the coup leaders said that Bongo’s “unpredictable, irresponsible governance” risked leading the country into chaos. In a later statement, the coup leaders said people around the president had been arrested for “high betrayal of state institutions, massive embezzlement of public funds (and) international financial embezzlement.”

Analysts warned that the takeover risked bringing instability, and could have more to do with divisions among the ruling elite than efforts to improve the lives of ordinary Gabonese.

The Bongo family has been associated with “systematic misappropriation of state revenues,” but the latest events “should be viewed with great caution, as they offer no guarantee of good governance and democratic transition,” Sherpa said in a statement.

The coup came about one month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups across West and Central Africa in recent years. The impunity those putschists enjoyed may have inspired the soldiers in Gabon, said Maja Bovcon, senior analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a risk assessment firm.

In weekend elections, Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by Albert Ondo Ossa, an economics professor and former education minister. Minutes after Bongo was declared the winner, gunfire was heard in the capital, Libreville. Later, a dozen uniformed soldiers appeared on state television to announce they had seized power.

Libreville is a stronghold of the opposition, but it was unclear how the coup was seen in the countryside, where more people traditionally back Bongo.

The president pleaded for support in a video showing him sitting in a chair with a bookshelf behind him.

“I’m calling you to make noise, to make noise, to make noise really,” he said in English. The video was shared with The Associated Press by BTP Advisers, a communications firm that helped the president with polling for the election.

Shortly after the video went public, people with Bongo had their phones seized by soldiers, said Mark Pursey, the chief executive officer of BTP Advisers. Bongo’s son and communications director were being held at military headquarters, Pursey said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the coup, and called on military leaders to ensure the safety of Bongo and his family, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Ossa, the opposition leader, told The AP he wasn’t ready to comment and was waiting for the situation to evolve.

The mutinous officers vowed to respect “Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.” But the coup threatened to bring the economy to a halt.

A man who answered the phone at the airport said flights were canceled Wednesday, and the private intelligence firm Ambrey said all operations at the country’s main port in Libreville had been halted. Several French companies said they were suspending operations.

“France condemns the military coup that is underway in Gabon and is closely monitoring developments,” French government spokesperson, Olivier Veran, said Wednesday.

France has maintained close economic, diplomatic and military ties with Gabon, and has 400 soldiers stationed there for a military training operation. The U.S. Africa Command said it has no forces stationed in the Central African nation other than at the U.S. Embassy.

Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the events in Gabon were being followed with “great concern.” He said it was too early to call it part of a trend or a “domino effect” in military takeovers on the continent.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, however, cited a “contagion of autocracy we are seeing spread across our continent,” in a statement issued by his office. It said he was conferring with other heads of state and the African Union, whose commission condemned the coup and called for a return to “democratic constitutional order.”

Tanzania president reshuffles cabinet once again

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Tanzania's President Samia Hassan on Wednesday named a new Foreign Minister in a reshuffle to her Cabinet, the second such changes she has made since she took power in March 2021.

In a statement, she named former minerals minister Doto Biteko as Deputy Prime Minister and placed various other existing ministers in new dockets.

Biteko will also take over the Energy Ministry portfolio from January Makamba who became Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation. 

Former foreign minister Stergomena Tax will return to the Defence Ministry which she held before moving to foreign affairs last year.

"As deputy to Kassim Majaliwa who was retained as Prime Minister, Mr Biteko will be in charge of coordinating government activities," Chief Secretary Moses Kusiluka said in a statement.

The deputy premier position is unconstitutional and at the president's discretion. 

It has had only two other previous occupants, Augustine Mrema and Salim Ahmed Saliim, who held it on separate occasions during the tenure of former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi (1985-1995).

The surprise reshuffle also saw the works and transport ministry being split in two and the appointment of Stephen Byabato as deputy minister for foreign affairs directly responsible for EAC affairs. 

Makame Mbarawa, previously Works and Transport Minister, became Minister of Transport while the former defence minister Innocent Bashungwa was named Minister of Works and Anthony Mavunde was promoted from deputy minister for agriculture to Minister of Minerals in place of Biteko.

Four ministers swapped dockets with Pindi Chana becoming Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs where she will handle among other matters the government's side of the constitutional review process. 

She takes over from Damas Ndumbaro who moves to Ms Chana's previous post of Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture.

Angellah Kairuki was appointed as Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources switching places with Mohamed Mchengerwa who became Minister of State in the President's Office in charge of Local Governments.

The only cabinet newcomer was Jerry Silaa as Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, replacing Angelina Mabula who was dropped. 

In several changes also announced among permanent secretaries, Kennedy Gastorn became Principal Secretary in the Foreign Ministry in charge of EAC affairs.

The new appointments took effect immediately and the swearing-in ceremony will be held in Zanzibar on Friday, where President Samia could shed light on some of the reasons behind the changes.

New data shows how many Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine

By Erika Kinetz, BRUSSELS Belgium

Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia’s war dead.

Two independent Russian media outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, working with a data scientist from Germany’s Tübingen University, used Russian government data to shed light on one of Moscow’s closest-held secrets — the true human cost of its invasion of Ukraine.

To do so, they relied on a statistical concept popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under age 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side’s casualties. Russia has publicly acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers. Reports about military losses have been repressed in Russian media, activists and independent journalists say. Documenting the dead has become an act of defiance; those who do so face harassment and potential criminal charges.

Despite such challenges, Mediazona and the BBC’s Russian Service, working with a network of volunteers, have used social media postings and photographs of cemeteries across Russia to build a database of confirmed war deaths. As of July 7, they had identified 27,423 dead Russian soldiers.

“These are only soldiers who we know by name, and their deaths in each case are verified by multiple sources,” said Dmitry Treshchanin, an editor at Mediazona who helped oversee the investigation. “The estimate we did with Meduza allows us to see the ‘hidden’ deaths, deaths the Russian government is so obsessively and unsuccessfully trying to hide.”

To come up with a more comprehensive tally, journalists from Mediazona and Meduza obtained records of inheritance cases filed with the Russian authorities. Their data from the National Probate Registry contained information about more than 11 million people who died between 2014 and May 2023.

According to their analysis, 25,000 more inheritance cases were opened in 2022 for males aged 15 to 49 than expected. By May 27, 2023, the number of excess cases had shot up to 47,000.

That surge is roughly in line with a May assessment by the White House that more than 20,000 Russians had been killed in Ukraine since December, though lower than U.S. and U.K. intelligence assessments of overall Russian deaths.

In February, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said approximately 40,000 to 60,000 Russians had likely been killed in the war. A leaked assessment from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency put the number of Russians killed in action in the first year of the war at 35,000 to 43,000.

“Their figures might be accurate, or they might not be,” Treshchanin, the Mediazona editor, said in an email. “Even if they have sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense, its own data could be incomplete. It’s extremely difficult to pull together all of the casualties from the army, Rosgvardia, Akhmat battalion, various private military companies, of which Wagner is the largest, but not the only one. Casualties among inmates, first recruited by Wagner and now by the MoD, are also a very hazy subject, with a lot of potential for manipulation. Statistics could actually give better results.”

Many Russian fatalities - as well as amputations - could have been prevented with better front-line first aid, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence assessment published Monday. Russia has suffered an average of around 400 casualties a day for 17 months, creating a “crisis” in combat medical care that is likely undermining medical services for civilians in border regions near Ukraine, the ministry said.

Independently, Dmitry Kobak, a data scientist from Germany’s Tübingen University who has published work on excess COVID-19 deaths in Russia, obtained mortality data broken down by age and sex for 2022 from Rosstat, Russia’s official statistics agency.

He found that 24,000 more men under age 50 died in 2022 than expected, a figure that aligns with the analysis of inheritance data.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it harder to figure out how many men would have died in Russia since February 2022 if there hadn’t been a war. Both analyses corrected for the lingering effects of COVID on mortality by indexing male death rates against female deaths.

Sergei Scherbov, a scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, cautioned that “differences in the number of deaths between males and females can vary significantly due to randomness alone.”

“I am not saying that there couldn’t be an excess number of male deaths, but rather that statistically speaking, this difference in deaths could be a mere outcome of chance,” he said.

Russians who are missing but not officially recognized as dead, as well as citizens of Ukraine fighting in units of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, are not included in these counts.

Kobak acknowledged that some uncertainties remain, especially for deaths of older men. Moreover, it’s hard to know how many missing Russian soldiers are actually dead. But he said neither factor is likely to have a huge impact.

“That uncertainty is in the thousands,” he said. “The results are plausible overall.”

Asked by the Associated Press on Monday about the Meduza and Mediazona study, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters he wasn’t aware of it as the Kremlin had “stopped monitoring” Meduza. Peskov also refused to comment on the number of deaths mentioned in the study, saying only that “the Defense Ministry gives the numbers, and they’re the only ones who have that prerogative.”

Meduza is an independent Russian media outlet that has been operating in exile for eight years, with headquarters in Riga, Latvia. In April 2021, Russian authorities designated Meduza a “foreign agent,” making it harder to generate advertising income, and in January 2023, the Kremlin banned Meduza as an illegal “undesirable organization.”

Moscow has also labeled independent outlet Mediazona as a “foreign agent” and blocked its website after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Mali signs new mining code to boost profit

BAMAKO, Mali

Mali adopted a new mining code allowing the state to take up to a 30% stake in new mineral projects and collect more revenues from the vital industry.

Junta leader Assimi Goita signed the code into law on Monday, his office announced on social media Tuesday.

The mining code reform could boost the national budget by 500 billion CFA francs ($820 million), economy minister Alousseni Sanou said this month.

The new mines minister, Amadou Keita, said the state hoped the mining industry would eventually contribute to between 15 and 20% of GDP.

According to analysts, the reform allows the government to hold up to 10 percent equity in new projects with the option to buy an additional 20% during the first two years of commercial production. And it allows the Malian private sector to hold up to five percent.

The new code also removes tax exemptions for mining companies during operations.

Mali, a poor Sahel country, is one of Africa's leading gold producers.

It is also boasts manganese and lithium — two minerals key to the global energy transition — though these have not been extensively explored.

Mali produced 72.2 tonnes of gold in 2022, including six tonnes by artisanal gold panners, then-mines minister, Lamine Seydou Traore, said in March.

Gold accounts for 25% of the national budget, 75% of export earnings and 10 percent of GDP, he added.

Mali's mining sector is dominated by foreign companies, including the Canadian firms Barrick Gold and B2Gold, Australia's Resolute Mining and the British Hummingbird Resources.

They have continued to operate despite political instability and an expanding jihadist insurgency.

"Mali's demand for higher stakes in mining projects ... reflects a wider trend across the continent where resource-rich countries, impacted by the knock-on effects of global shocks, aim to increase their control over the mining sector," Mucahid Durmaz, an analyst with Verisk Maplecroft, said.

But, he added, the Malian government is "walking a tightrope" and must be "cautious not to scare away investors."

Coup in Gabon as army officers declare nullification of election results.

DAKAR, Senegal

Mutinous soldiers in Gabon said Wednesday they were overturning the results of a presidential election that was to extend the Bongo family’s 55-year hold on power.

The central African country’s election committee announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, had won the election with 64% of the vote early Wednesday morning. Within minutes, gunfire was heard in the center of the capital, Libreville.

A dozen uniformed soldiers appeared on state television later the same morning and announced that they had seized power.

The soldiers intended to “dissolve all institutions of the republic,” said a spokesman for the group, whose members were drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and other elements of the security forces.

Ali Bongo Ondimba

The coup attempt came about one month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France, the region’s former colonizer.

Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable.

In his annual Independence Day speech Aug. 17, Bongo said “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country Gabon to be hostages to attempts at destabilization. Never.”

At a time when anti-France sentiment is spreading in many former colonies, the French-educated Bongo met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in late June and shared photos of them shaking hands.

The coup’s leaders vowed to respect “Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.”

Bongo was seeking a third term in elections this weekend. He served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in January 2019, while Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, but they were quickly overpowered.

In the election, Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose surprise nomination came a week before the vote.

There were concerns about post-election violence, due to deep-seated grievances among the population of some 2.5 million. Nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.

After last week’s vote, the Central African nation’s Communications Minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, announced a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and said internet access was being restricted indefinitely to quell disinformation and calls for violence.

Every vote held in Gabon since the country’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence. Clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed four people, according to official figures. The opposition said the death toll was far higher.

Fearing violence, many people in the capital went to visit family in other parts of the country before the election or left Gabon altogether. Others stockpiled food or bolstered security in their homes.

China calls for support for Mali after UN peacekeepers leave

UNITED NATIONS, US

A Chinese envoy on Monday called for continued international support for Mali after the planned withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the country.

Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council that with Mali's political and peace process at a critical juncture, the international community should put the overall peace and stability of Mali and the region first, help Mali address challenges of all kinds, and facilitate deeper cooperation between the United Nations and Mali in the new context.

There is a need to continue to support the political and peace process in Mali, he added.

Noting that Mali is facing many difficulties as the authorities are preparing for general elections, promoting political reform and implementing the peace agreement, Dai said that the international community should respect Mali's sovereignty and ownership and provide constructive support based on Mali's actual needs.

China encourages regional organizations to strengthen communication with Mali in order to create synergy, he noted.

Pointing out that MINUSMA is withdrawing from Mali and the UN Secretariat is formulating a withdrawal plan and the mission's camps are scattered across the country with a large number of personnel and equipment, making the task of withdrawal a heavy one, Dai emphasized that MINUSMA and the UN Secretariat should strengthen communication with the Malian government and the troop-contributing countries and refine plans for the handover of camps, withdrawal of personnel and the liquidation of assets. 

China commends the active counter-terrorism efforts of the Malian authorities, he added.

At present, the political situations in the countries in the Sahel region are volatile, and terrorist and extremist forces are taking advantage of the volatility, threatening regional stability, Dai noted.

"The countries in the region should resolve their disputes and differences and unite to meet the challenges. After the withdrawal of MINUSMA, the international community should not stand aside and do nothing with regard to the efforts by Mali and the countries in the region to counter terrorism and maintain stability. Instead, it should continue to provide supporting equipment, logistics and funding and enhance the capacity of the Malian authorities to combat terrorism and protect civilians," he said.

There's also a need to continue to support the countries of West Africa and the Sahel region in maintaining the momentum of counter-terrorism and security cooperation, revitalizing cooperation mechanisms and maintaining common security, he said.

The UN agencies should provide more support in poverty reduction, development, food security, and the protection of women and children, he said, urging international humanitarian agencies and major donors to maintain the scale of assistance to Mali and avoid attaching any political conditions to their assistance.

Sudan’s military leader visits Egypt

By Khalid Abdelaziz, DUBAI

Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived in the Egyptian coastal town of El Alamein on Tuesday to meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a military statement.

The statement said the two leaders would discuss the latest developments in Sudan and the ties between the neighboring countries.

Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when simmering tensions between the military, led by Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.

The conflict has reduced the capital to an urban battlefield, with the RSF controlling vast swaths of the city. The military command, where Burhan has purportedly been stationed since April, has been one of the epicenters of the conflict.

In his trip to Egypt, Burhan was accompanied by Acting Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq and General Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadel, head of the General Intelligence Authority, and other military officers.

Burhan managed last week to leave the military headquarters. He visited military facilities in Khartoum’s sister city of Omdurman and elsewhere in the country. Burhan traveled to Egypt from the coastal city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Despite months of fighting, neither side has managed to gain control of Khartoum or other key areas in the country. Last week, large explosions and plumes of black smoke could be seen above key areas of the capital, including near its airport.

Egypt has longstanding ties with the Sudanese army and its top generals. In July, el-Sissi hosted a meeting of Sudan’s neighbors and announced a plan for a cease-fire. A series of fragile truces, brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, have failed to hold.

The conflict has turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Many residents live without water and electricity, and the country’s health care system has nearly collapsed.

The sprawling region of Darfur saw some of the worst bouts of violence in the conflict, and the fighting there has morphed into ethnic clashes with RSF and allied Arab militia targeting ethnic African communities.

Clashes also intensified earlier this month in the provinces of South Kordofan and West Kordofan.

The fighting is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to the U.N. human rights office, though activists and doctors on the ground say the death toll is likely far higher.

More than 4.6 million people have been displaced, according to the U.N. migration agency. Those include over 3.6 million who fled to safer areas inside Sudan and more than 1 million others who crossed into neighboring countries.

Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan's graft conviction suspended

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana case.

Former prime minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The IHC announced the short verdict that it reserved a day earlier wherein it directed the authorities to release the PTI chief on bail.

The court said it would elaborate on the reasons for the suspension of the sentence in the detailed verdict to be issued later.

According to sources, the PTI chief has been directed to submit a surety bond of Rs100,000 against the bail.

The verdict comes as a major legal victory for Khan who had challenged his conviction and sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana case.

Earlier this month, a district and sessions court in the federal capital had sentenced Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000, after finding him guilty of corrupt practices related to the state gift repository — in a move that barred him from contesting elections due later this year.

The former prime minister, who has been disqualified from holding any public office due to the conviction, was arrested immediately after the trial court's ruling on August 5 and has since been incarcerated in Attock jail. 

Subsequently, Khan petitioned the high court against the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar decision to convict him in the Toshakhana case filed by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

On Monday, a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri concluded the proceedings on the plea and reserved the verdict.

Before the conclusion of proceedings, the counsel representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Amjad Pervaiz presented his arguments opposing the pleas by the PTI chief.

The PTI counsel Sardar Latif Khan Khosa had focused on three aspects — suspension of his client’s short sentence, jurisdictional defect and improper authorisation — to defend the plea.

However, the electoral body's lawyer termed the objections to the maintainability of the ECP’s complaint as baseless during Monday's hearing.

He claimed that the witnesses presented by the defence were not relevant as these were tax consultants, whereas the complainant accused the ex-PM of submitting a false declaration of assets.

He also objected to the request for suspension of Khan’s sentence, saying this is not a matter of right but the discretion of the court which could be exercised judiciously.

Ahead of the Toshakhana verdict, the PTI filed a new plea seeking the court's directive to stop authorities from arresting Khan in any case.

The plea was filed in the IHC by PTI chief's lawyer Salman Safdar.

The petition filed in the court to restrict the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau and police from arresting Khan.

What is Toshakhana?

Established in 1974, Toshakhana — a Persian word meaning "treasure house" — is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries as a goodwill gesture.

It has valuables ranging from bulletproof cars, gold-plated souvenirs and expensive paintings to watches, ornaments, rugs and swords.

Under the rules governing Toshakhana, government officials can keep gifts if they have a low worth, while they must pay a dramatically reduced fee to the government for extravagant items.

At least 14 killed in eastern DRC church attack

BENI, DR Congo

At least 14 people were killed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo province of Ituri on Sunday, after militia attacked worshippers praying in a church, a local official and a civil society leader said on Monday.

The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, CODECO, group, one of many militias operating in the conflict-ridden east, was behind the attack, said Djugu territory administrator Ruphin Mapela and civil society leader Dieudonne Lossa.

"The victims were praying to the Lord, but unfortunately militiamen identified as CODECO opened fire on them," Lossa said.

Both said that 9 civilians, 4 assailants and a soldier were killed.

Mapela said that militants attacked Mesa, Cepac and Aumopro churches located near the shore of Lake Albert in the Bahema-Nord chiefdom.

"We call on the population to remain calm as the armed forces pursue these criminals to put them out of action," Ituri army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tshikudi said.

CODECO claims to defend the interests of Lendu farmers, who have long been in conflict with Hema herders.

The CODECO raids have worsened a longstanding humanitarian crisis in Ituri province, where some 3 million people are in desperate need of aid, according to a United Nations humanitarian agency.

Tanzania President fires her Spy Agency chief amidst rising political tension

By Kizito Makoye, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

In a dramatic turn of events, Tanzania’s president Samia Hassan yesterday August 28 ousted her spy chief who served for less than eight months, Said Massoro, in a surprising move that left people in a state of pandemonium.

Surprisingly, the president wasted no time in appointing a new spy chief, a seasoned spy named Ali Idi Siwa, who was swiftly sworn in at the State House.

The shocking dismissal comes as the country finds itself entangled in heated political tension over the controversial deal to relinquish control of vital ports to Dubai Port World.

The president's reasons for the changes in the covert security organ remain privy to insiders.

Barely a week after Catholic Bishops strongly opposed the government's decision, in their hard-hitting pastoral letter they warned the government over the tendency to disregard people’s opinions, prompting President Hassan to make a short remark suggesting that “No one has guts to sell Tanzania"

On June 10, Tanzania’s national assembly approved an “intergovernmental agreement” the Tanzanian government entered into with the Emirate of Dubai in October 2022 aimed at “developing, improving, managing and operating the sea and lake ports in areas like special economic zones, logistic parks and trade corridors.”

The authorities have since cracked down harshly on protesters and activists who criticized the agreement for giving another country excessive control of Tanzania’s ports. The critics contend that the government’s action violated Tanzanian and international law.

On June 19, police arrested and detained 18 people for two days during a protest in Dar es Salaam.

President Hassan’s critics have it that the government's move potentially compromises the country's sovereignty.

Ordinary citizens have voiced their deep concerns, likening the move to pawning national sovereignty to her former oppressors.

As the nation grapples with the implications of this surprising move, intelligence analysts are tirelessly trying to draw inferences on the motivations behind this sudden shuffle at the highest echelons of power.

In the midst of this uncertainty, the country watches with bated breath as the aftermath of the president’s decision unfolds.

One question looms large: What lies ahead for the political future of this country?

**Makoye Kizito is an international journalist and researcher based in Tanzania

Gabon opposition candidate claims 'victory', calls for Ali Bongo to concede defeat

LIBREVILLE, Gabon

The camp of Albert Ondo Ossa, President Ali Bongo Ondimba's main rival in Saturday's election in Gabon, whose official results are still awaited, again claimed on Monday to have won and called on the Head of State to "Organize the transfer of power".

Mr. Ondo Ossa, behind whom the main opposition parties have lined up, had already denounced "fraud" by the Bongo camp on Saturday, two hours before the polls closed, and asked to be "declared the winner".

"We call on our compatriots who gravitate around this power that is more devoid of legitimacy than ever, particularly those around Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba" to "bow humbly before the will of the Gabonese people", declared Mike Jocktane, the director of campaign of Mr. Ondo Ossa, during a press conference in Libreville.

"What is now expected of Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba, (c') is that he accepts the sovereign choice of the Gabonese people, that he respects it and that he organizes, without bloodshed, the transfer of power to favor of Professor Albert Ondo Ossa", hammered Mr. Jocktane.

He invoked, in support of this request, a "trend", which he quantified, based on "the consolidation of more than 50% of the votes" cast, without supporting document. Gabonese law prohibits any media from reproducing figures put forward by Mr. Jocktane or anyone else, pending the official results that only the Gabonese Elections Center (CGE) is empowered by law to proclaim.

Questioned several times by AFP on Sunday and Monday, the CGE refused to give any indications on the progress of the counting and on the date and time scheduled for the proclamation of the official results.

At the time scheduled for the closing of the polling stations on Saturday, and while the CGE had postponed it by several hours for many of them having opened very late, the government suspended internet access in the whole country and declared a curfew for the following day, until further notice. This by invoking the risk of violence after the declarations of Mr. Ondo Ossa who demanded to be proclaimed the winner.

Internet access was still not restored on Monday evening and the army and the police had set up roadblocks throughout the capital in the evening to enforce the curfew for the second consecutive night. - Africa

French ambassador stays in Niger, defying junta, as Macron defends French poli

PARIS, France

French President, Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France’s ambassador is staying at his post in Niger despite being asked to leave by the ruling junta, speaking out firmly against the coup leaders while insisting that France is not Niger’s enemy.

Since ousting Niger’s democratically elected president a month ago, the junta has been exploiting grievances among the population toward former colonial ruler France, and has turned to Russian mercenary group Wagner for help.

Macron dismissed concerns that standing up to the junta could be dangerous.

“Our policy is the right one. It depends on the courage of President Mohamed Bazoum, the commitment of our diplomats, of our ambassador on the ground who is remaining despite pressure,” Macron told a gathering of French ambassadors in Paris.

French Ambassador Sylvain Itte was asked to leave Niger within 48 hours in a letter Friday from the Nigerien Foreign Ministry that accused him of ignoring an invitation for a meeting with the ministry. The letter also cited “actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger.”

France has consistently acknowledged only the authority of Bazoum. He is still detained by the junta, which is now under sanctions by Western and regional African powers.

“One shouldn’t give in to the narrative used by the coup leaders that consists of saying France has become our enemy,” Macron said Monday.

’’The problem of Nigeriens today is the coup leaders who put them in danger because they are abandoning the fight against terrorism, because they are abandoning a policy that was economically good for (the population) and they are in the process of losing international funding that was helping them emerge from poverty.”

France has about 1,500 troops in Niger helping local forces fight Islamic extremists. The military cooperation has been suspended since the coup, whose leaders say Bazoum’s government wasn’t doing enough to protect the country.

Niger coup underscores dangers of Presidential Guards

By Our Correspondent, NIAMEY Niger

In little more than two years, Niger has exemplified the power of presidential security forces — and what can happen when that power is unchecked.

In March 2021, Niger’s presidential guard quelled an attempted coup by elements of the military two days before the inauguration of President-elect Mohamed Bazoum.

In July 2023, the presidential guard led a coup that deposed Bazoum.

The mutiny within the president’s innermost circle was led by the same man who protected the presidential residence in 2021 — General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the presidential guard since 2011.

On July 26, 2023, Tchiani detained Bazoum in his home, which is located within the presidential guard’s military base in the capital, Niamey. Hours later, Tchiani declared himself head of a transitional government with no mention of returning to civilian control.

Bazoum had been in the process of diminishing the power of his presidential guard, reducing its numbers from 2,000 to about 700 during his term in office. Multiple reports say the president planned to force Tchiani into retirement within days of the coup.

“When you try to change that, there are going to be actors within the military that perceive that as their interests being negatively affected,” researcher Daniel Eizenga told Vox Media.

Eizenga, a research fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said the presidential guard had enough influence and autonomy from the regular military to have created a sense of impunity.

“The coup justifications have no foundation to stand on in Niger,” he said, adding that the uprising appears to be due to “the egotistical motivations of this individual.”

Bazoum’s mentor and predecessor as president, Mahamadou Issoufou, had a hand in building up the presidential guard.

During his two terms in office from 2011-2021, Issoufou directed Tchiani to “transform the presidential guard into a powerful machine equipped with sophisticated weapons,” a government official told Agence France-Presse.

Issoufou believed an elite guard would protect him against coup attempts in a country that had four since it gained independence in 1960.

Abdourahmane Idrissa, a Nigerian researcher at the Netherlands-based African Studies Centre Leiden, said Tchiani and the “presidential guard [were] imposed on Mohamed Bazoum against his will.”

“These security forces were the only ones in direct contact with him, so it was very easy for them to take control,” Idrissa told France 24.

In recent months, while Bazoum reduced the size of the presidential guard and began to scrutinize its budget, the relationship between him and Tchiani reportedly deteriorated.

Eager to chart his own course, Bazoum removed Gen. Salifou Mody, Niger’s military chief of staff, in April 2023. Analysts say the decision created a sense of ambivalence and mistrust among many military officers.

Mody played a key role in rallying the military to support the coup, an advisor to Bazoum told The New York Times.

Tchiani appointed Mody vice president of the junta on August 2.

Alex Thurston, who studies African politics at the University of Cincinnati, speculated that Bazoum was attempting to gradually replace the upper echelon of the military.

“Thus Tchiani was not the only one who saw his job under threat,” Thurston wrote in an August 3 post on his Sahel blog.

“He [Tchiani] may be tapping into a strain of grievance against civilian leaders — or against the situation of the past decade or more in general — that makes soldiers willing to try a radical experiment in military rule.”

Maj. Gen. Prince C. Johnson III, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia since 2018, has a deep understanding of authoritarianism and military coups in West Africa. His father fought in the first Liberian civil war and also led the Liberian military.

One day after Niger’s latest coup, Johnson urged government leaders in the region to limit the power of “presidential guards or elite forces that have direct control over the commander-in-chief.”

“If you look at what is happening in Niger, it is the presidential guards,” he said to reporters on the sidelines of a July 27 committee meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“Look at our history in Liberia. We have seen the issue of these guards being misused.”

Johnson said ECOWAS member states must be mindful of how much control they have given their militaries.

“When you have this political interference into the command and control of the military, like having a presidential guard, the commander-in-chief selecting somebody to head it instead of allowing the chief of defense staff to go through that process … then it becomes a problem.”

Sudan army chief denies deal with RSF, flees to Port Sudan

TRIPOLI, Libya

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrived Sunday in the coastal city of Port Sudan, an official statement said, as the country reels from over four months of war with paramilitaries.

Burhan made his first public foray in months earlier this week, having been cloistered within army headquarters in the capital Khartoum ever since the conflict erupted on April 15.

Armed forces have been fending off an unceasing offensive on the headquarters by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Burhan's deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

According to a statement from the ruling sovereign council, Burhan was met Sunday by his deputy Malik Agar and other government officials who -- like the United Nations -- have relocated operations to Port Sudan, which has been spared the fierce fighting that has gripped other parts of the country.

Also on Sunday, "rockets fell on houses, killing five people", a medical source told AFP from the capital Khartoum, where witnesses also reported air strikes.

Burhan has been the de facto leader of Sudan since October 2021, when he -- in collaboration with Daglo -- led a coup that ousted civilian leaders from government and derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule.

Videos of Burhan's first foray outside army headquarters were posted Thursday, with captions indicating he was at the Wadi Seidna air base north of Khartoum.

More footage was posted by the army Friday, showing Burhan greeting troops, assuring them of impending "victory" and visiting an army hospital in the city of Atbara, 300 kilometres northeast of Khartoum.

While the capital's airport has been out of service since the conflict began, the airport in Port Sudan has remained operational for evacuation and relief flights, fuelling speculation of an overseas trip for the army chief.

Local journalists, who have flocked to the coastal city to track the army chief's movements, have floated the possibility that he is travelling to Cairo -- traditionally Burhan's closest foreign ally -- or Jeddah, the site of ceasefire negotiations previously brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Conservative estimates from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project show that nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The real figure is thought to be much higher, with many victims unable to reach health services, entire cities cut off from the world and both sides refusing to report their fatalities.

More than 4.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting both across borders and within Sudan, where six million people are "one step away from famine", according to the UN.