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'It was surprising, it was heartbreaking because their trip here had urgency because people are dying,' a pro-democracy parliamentarian has said.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
… first African American to fill the position. He was also the first Black American … is under pressure to name Black Americans to top posts. Biden has … Biden needed to pick a Black American for top cabinet positions, like …
Jonas Savimbi , in full Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (born August 3, 1934, Portuguese Angola—died February 22, 2002, near Lucusse, Angola), Angolan politician, the leader of a long-continuing guerrilla insurgency against the postindependence government of Angola.
The son of a railroad stationmaster, Savimbi was educated in mission schools and won a scholarship to study abroad. He studied medicine at the University of Lisbon in Portugal and then obtained a doctorate in political science at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1965. In 1961 Savimbi joined the Angolan independence leader Holden Roberto’s Popular Union of Angola (UPA), the rival of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). He broke with the UPA’s leader in 1966 and formed the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which fought against Portuguese colonial rule.
Savimbi was the only Angolan guerrilla leader who continued fighting within Angola until the nation reached independence from Portugal in 1975; by this time he had expanded his initially small band of supporters into a guerrilla army numbering in the thousands. UNITA was based in southeastern Angola and relied for its support on the Ovimbundu people, the largest ethnic group in the country. At various times, Savimbi obtained support from China, South Africa, and the United States as a counter to the Marxist, Soviet-supported MPLA, which controlled the central government. Savimbi continued to wage a disruptive guerrilla war against the MPLA throughout the 1970s and ’80s. In 1991 he signed a peace agreement with the MPLA-led Angolan government that halted the civil war and resulted in free, multiparty national elections in 1992. After losing these elections, Savimbi and UNITA resumed their military struggle for control of the country, with UNITA dominating most of the countryside. Talks were held again, leading to the Lusaka Accord of 1994: hostilities were to cease and forces were to be disengaged. José Eduardo dos Santos, president of Angola, offered
[Nation] The greatest concern in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, which has been hit by a bloody and violent insurgency for over three years now, has mostly been about the lives lost and people displaced.
DEAR President Emmerson Mnangagwa, BY JASMINE OPPERMAN I write this article addressing you as the immediate past chairperson of the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. Your Excellency, I also am addressing you as a neighbour to a country which has been troubled by terrorism, wherein your country Zimbabwe has interests. This year, as the insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has intensified, calls for regional intervention have grown louder. This is more than just talk: the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) is actively exploring ways to intervene, including some kind of military response. A virtual meeting of relevant Sadc committees on June 25-26 resulted in some progress. This included, according to sources, commitment from some countries for boots on the ground, but an overall strategy has not been locked down. Your Excellency, the process of doing so is frustrated by the reluctance of some countries to get involved; practical realities, such as who will fund an intervention; and Mozambique’s determination to remain “in charge” of the situation. There is no doubt that some kind of intervention is necessary, to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. But caution is required. Walking in blindly — without understanding the complexities at play, and without addressing some of the socio-economic factors that underpin and exacerbate the violence — could make the situation even worse. A complex insurgency Your Excellency, the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, a coastal province in northern Mozambique, began in 2017 with an attack on a police station in the town of Mocimboa da Praia. Since then, the insurgency has gone from strength to strength, even though little is known about its motivations or intent. The insurgents go by the name Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama, and have reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. This year, both the frequency and intensity of attacks have increased, and the insurgents have gained access to more sophisticated weaponry. They are yet to attempt to set up any kind of parallel governance structure, but are showing sufficient sophistication to take on Mozambique’s security forces directly. They have also demonstrated the ability to briefly occupy towns such as Mocimboa da Praia and Macomia. Your Excellency, the response from Mozambique’s security forces has been characterised by coercive tactics and human rights abuses, which risks entrenching local grievances against the State. This is a challenge for any potential regional intervention: a close alignment with the Mozambican State could make it difficult to earn trust among affected communities, which is essential for any kind of peacekeeping effort. A recent MediaFax report noted that the Mozambican government’s hardline response had left young men in Cabo Delgado feeling sympathetic to the insurgents; they are more likely to support the insurgency in response to human rights violations by the State than out of any ideological conviction. Your Excellency, Sadc and member countries risk implicating th
Blog - The protests in eSwatini, one of the world's last absolute monarchies, call renewed attention to the gulf between Southern Africa's professed principles and the region's realities. In recent weeks, demonstrations against police brutality and in favor of democracy gained momentum, eliciting a violent reaction from authorities that reportedly left dozens dead.
[Namibia Economist] The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Russia met this week to discuss the COVID-19 situation in their respective jurisdictions where the Russian government presented a proposal regarding the availability of personal protective equipment and other medical equipment from Russian manufacturers to help the region in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police are investigating the discovery of a female body at an abandoned house at Graham Alley, Beckwith Street, Bridgetown, St Michael on Monday. Police said: “A telephone call was received by Police Operations Control Room about 5:05 p.m. on Monday, July 2. The caller reported that there was a naked, lifeless female body in a […]
The post Police continue investigations to identify female body found on Monday appeared first on Barbados Today.
By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — There were no clear signs that an attack last year on two New Zealand mosques was imminent, but police should have done a better job vetting the lone gunman when he applied for a gun license, and intelligence agencies should have focused more on threats such as white supremacism, according to a new report. Among 44 recommendations, the report released Tuesday says the government should establish a new national intelligence agency. The report details how the attacker, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, was able to live a solitary, almost ghostlike existence […]
The post Report finds lapses ahead of New Zealand mosque attack appeared first on Black News Channel.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the employment contracts of the police and tax commissioners should be made public. However, he said there may be “legal hurdles” that have to be surmounted before the documents for Major General Antony Anderson...
[FrontPageAfrica] Monrovia -- The Government of Sweden supports transparency and accountability as important measures for anti-corruption in Liberia through contribution of 15 million Swedish Krona (USD 1.7 million) to Center for Transparency & Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL).
[ANGOP] New York -- Angola urged on Monday in New York the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation to \"actively\" support the efforts of the UN secretary-general to relaunch the peace process in Western Sahara.
[Daily News] THE East African Community (EAC) has been rated as the most integrated bloc among the eight Regional Economic Communities in Africa.
The new Malawi Electoral Commission, MEC, chief Chifundo Kachale also urged the public to observe necessary legal processes in dealing with electoral grievances.
June 23: Malawians vote in crucial presidential poll rerun despite virus
\tVoters in Malawi have already started casting their ballots today in crucial presidential election rerun pitting incumbent Peter Mutharika and opposition coalition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
Malawi joins a number of African countries that went ahead with elections despite the virus .
Confirmed cases = 749
\t\tActive cases = 480
\t\tRecoveries = 258
\t\tNumber of deaths = 11
\t
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 22, 2020
\tU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “all political actors and stakeholders to renew their commitment to credible and peaceful elections, while observing all preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19,” the U.N. spokesman said.
VIDEO
\tA number of local and international organizations will observe the new elections, in an effort to make sure that they are free and fair, the newly-elected chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission Chifundo Kachale said.
[ANGOP] Moçâmedes -- The governor of sout-west Namibe province, Archer Mangueira, today, Thursday, requested the collaboration of civil society in combating the plague of locusts that is affecting the province, with technical and human means.
June 27: Chakwera declared winner
\tMalawi Electoral Commission (MEC) late Saturday declared opposition alliance leader Lazarus Chakwera as the winner of Tuesday’s presidential re-run election.
June 25: Opposition celebrates unofficial Chakwera victory
\tOpposition chief Lazarus Chakwera has ‘taken the lead’ in Malawi’s poll count, according to unofficial results being projected by multiple local media outlets.
The third candidate in the rerun, MMD’s Peter Kuwani has also appealed to the elections body to disqualify incumbent Mutharika and opposition coalition chief Chakwera.
Read more – Malawi election commission appeals for calm as it tallies votes
June 23: Voting ends, ballot counting begins
\tPolls have closed in most parts of Malawi privately-run newspaper The Nation reports.
[The Conversation Africa] Cabo Delgado, the northernmost province of Mozambique, has been under attack for three years. The violence was triggered in 2017 when armed men attacked a police station, killing one police officer and critically injuring another. Locals identified the assailants as \"al-shabaab\", alluding to an Islamic connection.
[Nation] The Tana River County administration has allocated Sh100 million in its 2021/22 budget for the completion of a ghost county headquarters.
A Cape Town paramedic was shot while driving a patient to hospital in Mitchells Plain at 03:00 on Tuesday.
Major General Antony Anderson will continue as commissioner of police for at least another three years as the Office of the Services Commissions (OSC) continues to face criticisms for refusing to disclose the top cop’s employment contract. “I...
The Chinese Embassy in Kingston says it firmly rejects assertions posited by John McIntyre, chargé d'affaires at the United States Embassy in Kingston, about China’s growing presence in the Caribbean and its drive in...
[Nation] The clamour for constitutional amendments through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) has already taken a 'Yes' versus 'No' trajectory after civil society groups and a section of political leaders on Sunday expressed their opposition to the push for the changes spearheaded by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Kenya’s Chief Justice David Maraga publicly accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of trying to control the Judiciary and disrespecting court orders.
Justice Maraga in a statement read on June 8 made a withering attack on President Kenyatta for refusing to appoint 41 additional judges and snubbing requests for a meeting to discuss a dispute that has strained the relationship between the executive and judiciary for the past eight months.
AG Kariuki, himself a former judge who was head of the Appeals Court at the time of his appointment in 2018, accused his former boss of engaging in personalised attacks against the president, whipping up public emotions and prejudicing cases that may end up before him at the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice has in the past complained of deep cuts to the Judiciary budget, which have frustrated efforts to hire more judges and magistrates, build more courts and clear a backlog that stood at more than 460,000 cases by February.
TENSE RELATIONS
[UN News] Although UN peacekeeping missions can help put a country on the right track following conflict, only a commitment from national governments can keep it there over the long term, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a Security Council meeting on Wednesday to examine support for the transition towards lasting peace.
History will be made this Tuesday, September 7, when the inaugural CARICOM-Africa Summit takes place. Kenya will host the virtual event under the theme ‘Unity Across Continents and Oceans: Opportunities for Deepening Integration’. President of...
Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has come out strongly against the call for a merger of the Emancipation Day and Independence Day holidays, labelling such a move as a retrograde step for the country.\tPatterson charges that this would be a...
POLITICISATION of subsided mealie-meal and food aid by ruling Zanu PF party officials during the COVID-19-induced lockdowns compounded hunger among vulnerable communities in most parts of the country, a Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) report has revealed.
