Congo: Violence Disrupts Ebola Response

Violence Disrupts Ebola Response as Cases Surge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday as suspected cases of the disease surged past 900 and infections spread into neighboring Uganda, complicating efforts to contain the outbreak. Gunfire erupted around Mongbwalu General Hospital in Ituri province after attackers demanded that the bodies of two relatives be handed over, according to medical staff. Sunday’s attack was the third in a week targeting healthcare facilities responding to the outbreak. On Saturday, residents in Mongbwalu burned down a treatment tent run by Doctors Without Borders, allowing 18 suspected Ebola patients to flee. Another treatment center in Rwampara was torched Thursday after relatives were prevented from retrieving the body of a man suspected of dying from Ebola. Observers noted that the violence reflects growing fear and distrust among residents as authorities impose strict burial measures because Ebola victims’ bodies can remain highly contagious. On Friday, DRC banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in northeastern parts of the country. The recent outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which spread undetected for weeks before authorities declared the outbreak in mid-May. Last week, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, warning that rising infections in DRC and Uganda point to a potentially larger regional outbreak. On Sunday, Congolese authorities said there were 904 suspected Ebola cases, mostly in Ituri province, where confirmed cases have surpassed 100. Officials also reported 119 suspected deaths, although figures released separately for each region added up to 220 deaths. Officials could not immediately explain the discrepancy. Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that at least 220 people were now suspected to have died and warned health workers were “playing catch-up” after delays in detecting the outbreak. Elsewhere, Uganda has confirmed seven linked infections after two new cases were reported Monday. The WHO noted that while the outbreak poses a “very high” risk for DRC, the risk of global spread remains low. The organization’s officials added that scientists at Britain’s University of Oxford are working on a vaccine that could begin clinical trials soon.

Congo: New Ebola Strain Kills 130, WHO Declares Emergency

New Ebola Strain Kills More Than 130 in Congo as WHO Declares Emergency DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO A fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed more than 130 people and prompted the World Health Organization to declare an international health emergency, amid fears the virus could spread across central and eastern Africa. Health officials said the outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which was first identified in 2007. It has no approved vaccine. The strain has a fatality rate of up to 50 percent. The virus was first detected late last month in a nurse in Bunia, in eastern Congo. Additional cases have since been reported in that region and in neighboring Uganda. The DRC health ministry has recorded more than 513 suspected cases and at least 131 deaths. On Monday, officials also reported that at least six US citizens had been exposed to the virus. Authorities and civil society groups warned that the outbreak is spreading in densely populated eastern regions affected by years of conflict and weak infrastructure. Among the areas of concern is the eastern city of Goma, which is currently occupied by rebel forces. Officials said insecurity and poor healthcare access could hamper efforts to contain the virus and sparked fears that cases could be underreported. The WHO said the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the organization’s second-highest alert level. The organization warned that the high positivity rate, confirmed cases in two countries and rising reports of suspected infections “all point towards a potentially much larger outbreak.” The WHO advised DRC and Uganda to introduce cross-border screening measures to limit further spread. Neighboring Rwanda announced it would tighten screening along its border with DRC as a “precautionary measure,” while Nigeria said it was “closely monitoring the situation.” This is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in DRC. The country’s deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people. Ebola spreads through bodily fluids and can cause fever, vomiting and hemorrhaging. The incubation period can last up to 21 days.

Botswana Bets That Diamonds Are Forever

Botswana Bets That ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ BOTSWANA Botswana In a village outside Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, Keorapetse Koko sat on an aging couch, facing the collapse of a career built on diamonds. “I have debts and I don’t know how I am going to pay them,” the mother of two told the Associated Press. “Every month (creditors) call me asking for money. But where do I get it?” Koko lost her job in 2024, becoming one of many diamond workers pushed out of the industry as inexpensive laboratory-grown stones made in China and India cut into Africa’s natural diamond trade. “The appeal of diamonds was always partly based on scarcity – and now they are no longer scarce,” mining historian Duncan Money told the Continent, an African weekly. For Botswana, the question is no longer whether diamonds are forever, but whether the country can afford to bet even more heavily on them. The government is currently trying to buy more control over De Beers, the diamond giant at the center of its economy. Botswana already owns 15 percent of the company, while Anglo American, the firm’s parent, owns the remaining 85 percent and wants to sell. A mid-April deadline for potential buyers to bid for Anglo American’s stake passed without a buyer being publicly named. Anglo said in its April 28 quarterly statement that the sale is still ongoing. “Buying De Beers is a risky undertaking – we do not have the money to buy De Beers,” Keith Jefferis, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Botswana, told business news publication the Executive. “We would have to borrow and repay that debt, and that is highly risky given diamond market performance and our current fiscal position.” Jefferis, managing director of Econsult Botswana, also warned that if De Beers struggled, Botswana might have to use tax revenue to prop it up, further straining public finances. The risks are already visible. Mining and Quarrying – official categories in the country – dropped 14 percent last year, while Diamond Traders, which refers to the buying, sorting, valuing, marketing and selling of diamonds, fell 17.6 percent. Botswana ended 2025 with 12 million carats of unsold rough diamonds in stock, nearly double the target of 6.5 million carats. It is easy to see why Anglo American wants to shed De Beers. But Botswana wants more of it because diamonds remain too important to leave to someone else. Botswana’s President Duma Boko says the larger stake is a strategic necessity. Mines Minister Bogolo Kenewendo told the Financial Times that Boko wanted “to ensure Botswana’s full control over this strategic national asset and the entire value chain including marketing.” The urgency is also political. Boko is under growing pressure less than two years after winning office in November 2024 on promises to raise the minimum wage and increase student allowances. But the diamond slump has hit state revenues and public services, while the economy shrank in 2024 and 2025. The stones account for about 80 percent of exports and roughly a quarter of GDP. When the market weakens, the whole country feels it. Diamonds turned Botswana from one of the world’s poorest countries into one of Africa’s most admired development stories, helping fund health care, education and infrastructure. Botswana is currently the world’s second-largest producer behind Russia, but that ranking offers less comfort than it once did. Boko has acknowledged that Botswana cannot keep relying so heavily on diamonds. “We’re looking to diversify…,” he told Reuters, explaining the government would focus on the green economy, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and a broader mining sector. Analysts said that the shift remained essential and that gaining more control of De Beers could not be a substitute for it. “The diamond strategy must therefore interact with, and not compete with, other national priorities,” wrote investment firm AInvest. “This includes infrastructure investment and the development of other sectors to build a more resilient economy.” For Joseph Tsimako, president of the Botswana Mine Workers Union, the stakes are counted in livelihoods, not strategy papers. “Diamonds built our country,” Tsimako told diamond trading platform IDEX Online. “Now, as the world changes, we must find a way to make sure they don’t destroy the lives of the people who helped build it.”

South Africa's Top Court Revives Impeachment Case Against The President

South Africa’s Top Court Revives Impeachment Case Against President SOUTH AFRICA South Africa South Africa’s Constitutional Court revived the impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, ruling that parliament acted unconstitutionally when it blocked an inquiry in 2022. The case centers on a decision by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to reject an impeachment inquiry after Ramaphosa became embroiled in an investigation into the theft of around $580,000 in cash hidden inside a sofa at his farmhouse in 2020. The scandal, dubbed “Farmgate,” triggered accusations that Ramaphosa failed to properly account for the source of the money. An independent panel later found preliminary evidence that the president may have committed serious misconduct and recommended that parliament open an impeachment inquiry. But the ANC used its parliamentary majority at the time to stop the proceedings. On Friday, South Africa’s top court ruled that parliament’s decision “is inconsistent with the Constitution, invalid, and … is set aside.” Judges ordered that the independent panel’s report be referred to an impeachment committee. The case was brought before the court by two opposition parties, the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African Transformation Movement, which have renewed calls for Ramaphosa to resign. Ramaphosa has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He said the money came from the sale of buffalo at his farm and rejected allegations that he tried to conceal the theft to avoid questions over why such a large amount of foreign currency was being stored on a private property instead of in a bank. The impeachment committee will now review the evidence and decide whether to recommend formal proceedings against the president. Political analysts, however, said the process could take months and suggested Ramaphosa is likely to survive any eventual impeachment vote. Removing the president through impeachment requires the support of two-thirds of parliament.

Zimbabwe To Return Seized Farms

Zimbabwe to Return Seized Farms and Pay Compensation to Foreign Landowners ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe Zimbabwe said this week it will return 67 foreign-owned farms and pay $146 million in compensation to landowners whose properties were seized during its land reform program more than two decades ago. Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka told lawmakers that the agreement settles claims involving property owners from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia. He added that the government would also return 840 affected farms owned by Black farmers and around 400 owned by white farmers. The move stems from Zimbabwe’s violent land redistribution campaign launched in 2000 under then-President Robert Mugabe. Seeking to strengthen political support, Mugabe encouraged Black subsistence farmers and youths to seize land from white commercial farmers, describing the policy as a correction of colonial-era injustices. The seizures turned violent, with several white farmers and hundreds of their workers killed, while around 4,000 commercial farmers were forced off their land. The land reform program triggered international sanctions against Zimbabwe and severely damaged investor confidence. It also contributed to the collapse of the country’s commercial agriculture sector, sharp declines in food production and years of hyperinflation. In 2020, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration agreed to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers in an attempt to restore relations with international creditors and regain access to global capital markets. But authorities later revised the compensation plan to include dollar-denominated bonds as part of the payout package, though many farmers rejected the new terms.