A Road Through South Africa's Karoo

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook A Karoo road trip on 35mm film Ten days, 1 700km, and a cheap pocket camera through South Africa’s semi-arid interior By Andrew Thompson When my email pinged with a notification that 74 film photographs from a solo 1 700km cross-Karoo journey were ready for collection, I felt an odd pang of excitement. By then, the trip was long over. I had scraped the remains of dead bugs off the bumper, told the odd tale to those interested, replied to the most important neglected emails, and reinstalled the deleted social media apps. The 1 229 phone photos and videos I had taken along the way had already disappeared deep into the camera roll. My route took me on 1 700 km of Karoo backroads and highways. Then the film photographs arrived. They offered an imperfect record. Many were bang average. Several did not come out at all. One frame I had been looking forward to featured little more than my misplaced thumb. Others, though, returned memories I had almost lost. Of an abandoned church on a rural hill, a windmill turning noisily in an icy breeze beside a rutted dirt road, a shy but inquisitive horse in a green field, and the first spring flowers catching the last rays of sunlight beside seldom-used train tracks. Developing a contact sheet of the negatives may cost extra, but it delivers a full dose of 35mm film nostalgia. Carrying a budget 35mm Kodak through the Karoo changed the rhythm of the trip. I stopped for things I might otherwise have driven past or snapped through the window. I took fewer photographs because each one would cost money. And when I did take one, it came with the cheap thrill of a mechanical clunk, the whirr of film advancing inside the plastic body, and no idea whether the picture would be worth the cost of developing. The camera was Kodak’s Snapic A1, a modern 35mm point-and-shoot that sells locally for about R2 000. It has a pocketable plastic body, a glass lens, two focus zones, automatic film advance, built-in flash, and a fun double-exposure mode. I shot on Kodak Gold 200 film, which suited the bright roads and open landscapes. The photographs that follow are unedited and uncropped, exactly as the lab delivered them. A car driving down a road with yellow and white stripes, surrounded by lush green grass and plants on either side. In the background, majestic mountains and a clear blue sky can be seen. The road after Montagu's Hole in the Wall feels like the unofficial start of Route 62. CAPE TOWN TO CALITZDORP Onto Route 62 Ronnies Sex Shop, a roadside bar that fell victim to a prank, is a quintessential Route 62 stop. Barrydale seems to have bottled the mood of the Klein Karoo road trip. I pulled into Diesel & Crème, the closest thing South Africa has to a classic roadside diner, and ordered a hot dog from the caravan outside. It arrived quickly, and generously sized, and I ate it among a smattering of midweek tourists speaking French and German on road trips of their own. Barrydale's Diesel and Creme is the quintessential road trip stop. A quick pause as you leave Barrydale on the far side offers a view over the valley. But this was not my overnight stop. As charming as the restaurant and a few other quirky establishments are, I wanted to head deeper into the quieter, less curated country beyond it. And shortly before Calitzdorp, I found the solitude I was after at River View Cottages, a quiet farm stay overlooking the Gamka River, with the Swartberg rising behind it. Walking in the foothills of the Swartberg mountains near Calitzdorp. The view from the stoep at River View Cottages. With no cellphone signal, the fire and stars became the evening’s entertainment. By day, the river, mountain paths, and a hammock offered a gentle introduction to a week on the road. Flowering aloes are a common winter sight in the Karoo, their thick leaves holding water through the dry months. Canoes set aside for guests beside the dock at River View Cottages. CALITZDORP TO PRINCE ALBERT Over the Swartberg A lone horse at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains. After a weekend of tranquillity, I steeled myself for the drive up Swartberg Pass, officially opened in 1888. It is a classic road for good reason. As I geared down at its foot, the look of relief on the faces of the passengers in a rental car coming down towards me said everything I had forgotten since I last drove it a decade earlier. The drive up from the southern side of the Swartberg Pass is just a taste of what's to come. I emerged through the mist at the summit into perhaps the most daunting part of the drive. Ahead lay the long descent towards Prince Albert, a dirt road damaged in places by recent floods, with only dry-stacked stone walls offering a rough suggestion of protection. If this were in Germany, I imagined my Diesel & Crème compatriots saying, it would be uninsurable. But here I was, feathering the brakes and white-knuckling the steering wheel down one of the world’s great mountain roads, grinning broadly. A dirt road winding through a canyon, with a stone wall on one side and hills in the background. The sky is filled with clouds, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Stone walls edge the gravel descent from Swartberg Pass toward Prince Albert. PRINCE ALBERT A perfect pit stop A view of the Swartberg across Gay's Guernsey Dairy farm, on the town's outskirts. Prince Albert, at the foot of the Swartberg, has long been shaped by its position between the Great and Klein Karoo. The town grew from an 18th-century farm, and its old Cape Dutch, Karoo, and Victorian buildings still give its streets a settled, prosperous air. De Kleine Prince, more homestead than guest house, also exudes this, and a stay there allowed me to fall into a slower rhythm before the wide-open spaces of the Great Karoo that lay ahead. Prince Albert from above, seen from its nearby koppie. Also from the koppie are views of the vast, wide-open Great Karoo. From the koppie above town, Prince Albert sat below in a neat arrangement of streets, whitewashed houses, and trees, with the Swartberg rising behind it. To the other side, the land opened into scrub and soft oblique winter light, with the vast Great Karoo still ahead. A slow walk through the quiet back lanes of Prince Albert offers glimpses of tranquil farm life. PRINCE ALBERT TO SAMARA KAROO Backroads of the Eastern Cape A lone windmill sits stationary on a Karoo backroad. Although there was a temptation to become one of the many Capetonians who visit Prince Albert and start plotting a permanent move, I pressed on into the Eastern Cape towards a game reserve Samara. I ignored the recommended routes on Google Maps and chose, perhaps somewhat foolishly, the thin, faded grey lines that soon turned to long stretches of isolated dirt. For hundreds of kilometres, there was so little traffic that I could stop in the middle of the road to take photographs. Many roads are so quiet and remote that you'll likely not encounter a bar of signal or another vehicle for dozens of kilometres. The town of Willowmore is a common pit stop for road trippers from upcountry heading to the coast. Occasional small towns, like Willowmore and Steytlerville, offered intrigue and a chance to stretch my legs and click a few photos. But the real pull was out on the open gravel roads, corrugated and empty for long stretches, with creaking windmills, disused railway lines, and even an abandoned church on a hill breaking up the drive. Avoiding the recommended routes delivers long stretches of classic Karoo driving on scenic gravel roads. An abandoned church sits on a hill somewhere between Steylerville and Robert Sobukwe Town. A set of long-unused railway tracks runs along the road in parts. SAMARA KAROO TO ROBERT SOBUKWE TOWN Into the Great Karoo Few Karoo drives are as atmospheric as the one to Nieu-Bethesda. Eventually, I had little choice but to rejoin the tar, though it was no less dramatic. The Karoo has a way of making you feel very small. And as the plains opened around me and the kilometres slipped by, I had the strange, overwhelming sense that I could keep going for days, maybe weeks, and never tire of it. A view over the plains at the Karoo reserve Samara. The Owl House in Nieu-Bethesda is a classic Karoo stop. A lone tree beside the road to Nieu-Bethesda provides the only shade on a warm winter's day. ROBERT SOBUKWE TOWN An old town with a new name The Dutch Reformed Church is a prominent, long-standing monument in the centre of Robert Sobukwe Town. Graaff-Reinet may have a new official name as Robert Sobukwe Town, but there is an unflappable familiarity to one of South Africa’s old Karoo stopovers. The church at its centre still anchors the streets around it. As does the recently refurbished historical Drostdy Hotel. But from above, from the surrounding Camdeboo National Park and its Valley of Desolation, the Karoo once again snaps into perspective. The Valley of Desolation in Camdeboo National Park, where dolerite columns rise above the plains outside Robert Sobukwe Town. The view over Robert Sobukwe Town from Cambdaboo National Park. ROBERT SOBUKWE TOWN TO MATJIESFONTEIN The national highway home Distant mountains from an N1 picnic spot, as the Karoo gives way to the long road back to Cape Town. Roughly 1 000km into the trip, two days behind schedule, and still 700km from home, I realised it was probably time to return to reality. I pointed the car towards the crisp white and yellow lines and roadside stops of the N1. Classic roadside picnic spots line the busy road, but are often all but abandoned outside of peak times. But for decades, I had wanted to spend a night at the historic Lord Milner Hotel in the Victorian railway village of Matjiesfontein, now in its 142nd year. So despite being behind schedule and still hundreds of kilometres from home, the temptation to pull in and ask for a balcony room overlooking the old station proved irresistible. The historic Lord Milner Hotel, with its balcony suites and railway views, make an overnight stop in Matjiesfontein hard to pass up. With orange daisies lining the road, the seldom-used railway nearby, and one last night in an old Karoo hotel, it felt like a fitting send-off to nearly two weeks of blissful bumbling through the region’s backroads, passes, highways, and occasional eerie stops at roadside picnic spots. Weeks later, when the scans arrived, this imperfect version of the trip stayed with me. The soft edges, blown highlights, vibrant colours, and missed frames were part of it, along with the memory of standing in the middle of empty Karoo roads, pointing a cheap camera into the distance, and hoping it would do the scene justice.

Botswana Slammed For Killing Elephants For Independence Day Feasts

Botswana Slammed for Killing Elephants for Independence Day Feasts BOTSWANA Botswana Animal rights groups criticized Botswana’s decision to slaughter 23 elephants to provide meat for the country’s Independence Day celebrations, a move that also raised public health concerns and reignited the debate over the country’s wildlife management policies. The southern African country, home to the world’s largest elephant population, held a series of festivities Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain. The government issued a special license authorizing the hunting of 23 elephants and other wild animals for “complimentary purposes.” The game meat was reportedly served as part of the traditional feasting associated with the Independence Day celebrations. It was unclear how many animals had been killed by Wednesday, but local media published images of people across Botswana gathering around elephant carcasses, with some carrying knives and sharing the meat. The decision drew criticism from animal rights and conservation groups, which called for greater protections for elephants. They warned that slaughtering the animals for celebrations could undermine conservation efforts and send the wrong message to poachers by suggesting that killing elephants is acceptable when sanctioned by the government. Social media users and lawmakers also questioned the decision to distribute game meat, raising concerns about hygiene and the spread of foot-and-mouth disease across the country. Tshenatshe Monwela, an elder in the northwestern tourist town of Maun, said the community should have received buffalo meat instead. He pointed to Botswana’s history of wildlife conservation and the particular cultural and ecological significance of elephants. The controversy has reignited a broader debate over how Botswana manages its population of elephants, numbering more than 130,000. The government currently permits trophy hunting, arguing that proceeds from regulated hunts support conservation and development in local communities. Environment and Tourism Minister Wynter Mmolotsi told parliament last year that special elephant quotas raised $1.1 million in 2025 for projects in areas where elephants roam. Conservation groups, however, have questioned whether current levels of hunting are sustainable. Government officials and other supporters argue that regulated hunting helps control elephant populations and reduce human-wildlife conflicts. Communities living near elephants have long complained about the animals destroying crops and property and, in some cases, killing residents.

Zimbabwe Starts To Pay White Farmers For The Loss Of Their Farms

Zimbabwe’s massive payout to former farmers: What the latest figures show Zimbabwe has issued US$508.8 million (about R8.36 billion) in Treasury bonds to former commercial farmers, it has been reported. Author image By Dumani Moyo Published Sep 29, 2026, 19:41 in Zimbabwe News Zimbabwe’s payout to former farmers 0 Zimbabwe’s payout to former farmers. Image: Pexels Google Preferred Badge Google News Badge Zimbabwe has issued US$508.8 million (about R8.36 billion) in Treasury bonds to former commercial farmers as the Government continues its long-running compensation programme. The latest figures were reported by The Herald following an update by the country’s Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa in Parliament. According to Mnangagwa, 623 claimants have received upfront cash payments, while Treasury bonds worth US$508.8 (about R8.36 billion) million have been issued to beneficiaries under the first two batches. ADVERTISEMENT The first batch comprised 378 claimants who received US$3.19 million (about R52.5 million) in cash and Treasury bonds worth US$305.47 million (about R5.02 billion). The second batch involved 245 claimants, who received US$2.09 million (about R34.4 million) in cash and bonds valued at US$203.29 million (about R3.34 billion). A third batch of 258 claimants has received US$2.15 million (about R35.4 million) in upfront cash payments, but Treasury bonds for this group have not yet been issued. Zimbabwe’s US$3.5 billion compensation deal The payments are part of the Global Compensation Deed signed by the Government and representatives of former commercial farmers in 2020. The agreement commits Zimbabwe to paying about US$3.5 billion (R57.6 billion.) to approximately 3 500 former farm owners for improvements made on compulsorily acquired land during the fast-track Land Reform Programme. The compensation for these farmers covers improvements rather than the value of the land itself. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, farmers whose properties were protected under qualifying Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements are entitled to compensation for both land and improvements. What the Treasury bonds offer The Treasury bonds issued to former farmers carry a fixed annual coupon rate of 2% and have a 10-year maturity period. According to The Herald, payments associated with the bonds, including annual coupon payments, are exempt from taxation. The Government also intends to engage the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange to list the bonds, potentially allowing beneficiaries to sell them before maturity if they require access to cash. The bonds have also been classified as liquid assets and granted prescribed asset status, potentially making them attractive to institutional investors such as pension funds. The latest compensation payments form part of broader Government efforts to address its outstanding obligations and support Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance and debt resolution programme. 0 comments

Is There An Active Serial Killer In South Africa?

Discovery of 11 Women’s Bodies Shakes South Africa as Serial Killer Fears Rise SOUTH AFRICA South Africa South African police are investigating the deaths of 11 women whose bodies have been discovered near Johannesburg since mid-July, in a series of murders that has shaken the country with one of the world’s highest femicide rates. South African police said this week that another body of a woman was discovered in an open field in Springs, in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg. The cause of death, her age and identity remain unknown. This discovery came a day after another woman’s body was found near a cemetery in the same municipality. Police said that the victim appeared to have been stoned to death. The spate of killings and bodies of women discovered in the area since July has sparked fears that a serial killer or killers are responsible. The first remains were found in July and August within about 4.3 miles of one another. Six more bodies were found in Ekurhuleni over a 10-day period earlier this month. Police have cautioned that there is no conclusive evidence linking all the cases. A 36-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection with the killing of the 10th victim, police said. The suspect allegedly fled nearly 250 miles to Limpopo province after the killing and was arrested there. Two women also face murder charges in connection with the death of another woman whose body was found Sept. 17. The killings have inspired fury in South Africa, which has high rates of femicide and violent crime toward women and children, despite years of government pledges to tackle the problem and even declaring it a national disaster.

Fighting Resumes In Ethiopia's Tigray Region

Fighting Resumes in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, Sparking Fears of Wider Conflict ETHIOPIA Rebels from the northern region of Tigray launched a major offensive against Ethiopia’s federal government Wednesday, threatening a return to full-scale war and effectively breaking the 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) seized control of airports in the Tigrayan cities of Mekelle and Shire, and reportedly Axum, while also launching attacks against government positions in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to all three cities. Getachew Reda – an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a former TPLF leader – accused Tigrayan forces of launching an "all-out offensive" against government positions. The Afar regional government also accused the TPLF of launching an invasion and said its forces would defend the region alongside their allies. The TPLF-led regional administration, however, described its actions as a “defensive” war and accused Abiy’s administration of intensifying aggression against the northern region. Wednesday’s fighting followed months of growing tensions and sporadic clashes. The Ethiopian military has carried out a number of drone strikes against Tigrayan forces and massed troops near the regional border. In May, the TPLF seized control of Tigray’s government from the interim administration established under the peace deal. Ethiopia and the TPLF previously clashed during a 2020-2022 civil conflict that killed around 600,000 people. A 2022 peace agreement ended the fighting, but many conditions of the deal remain unfulfilled and both sides have accused each other of violations. Tensions escalated over the weekend after the TPLF also announced an alliance with six other armed groups aimed at overthrowing Abiy’s government. The armed coalition included former rivals of the TPLF, which had fought with the government during the Tigrayan war. But Wednesday’s offensive showed Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside a local armed group in Afar and the Fano militia in Amhara. The Fano fought alongside the federal government during the 2020-2022 Tigray war before rebelling against it in 2023. Meanwhile, there were concerns that Eritrea could be involved in the conflict: Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor and historical adversary, militarily backed the federal government against the TPLF during the war, although relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have since deteriorated. Eritrea has repeatedly denied accusations that it supports Ethiopian armed groups and declined to comment Wednesday on the latest developments. Diplomats and analysts have warned that renewed war could turn into a broader regional conflict and further destabilize the Horn of Africa and the wider Red Sea region.

Ethiopian Armed Groups Form Alliance Against The Government

Ethiopian Armed Groups Form Alliance Against Government ETHIOPIA Ethiopia Seven Ethiopian armed groups, including factions that fought on opposing sides of the 2020-2022 Tigray war, announced an alliance Sunday aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and establishing an inclusive transitional administration. The Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival brings together geographically and ethnically diverse groups, including the three major ones: the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). In a statement, the groups accused Abiy’s government of imposing “dictatorial rule,” centralizing power and marginalizing Ethiopia’s regions. A source close to Fano said discussions over forming the alliance had been ongoing for about a year. Some members have previously fought each other and remain divided over territorial disputes. The Fano fought alongside federal forces against Tigrayan forces during the 2020-2022 war in the Tigray region, which killed hundreds of thousands. Amhara and Tigray also both claim Western Tigray, which Amhara nationalists have administered since the war ended. The alliance comes amid renewed concerns over conflict across Ethiopia. Fighting has continued in Oromia since 2018 and in Amhara since 2023, while recent clashes between federal and Tigrayan forces have raised fears of the outbreak of another full-scale war. A 2022 peace agreement ended the Tigray war, but left disputes over disarmament and the TPLF’s legal status unresolved. The TPLF reasserted control over Tigray’s political administration in May, accusing the federal government of failing to uphold the agreement, and declared the deal “effectively dead” in mid-July. Abiy’s government did not immediately comment on Sunday’s announcement. An adviser to the prime minister said last month that any such coalition would seek to create havoc but could not overthrow the government. Abiy came to power in 2018 promising political reforms and initially freed political prisoners and lifted bans on several parties. However, opponents and human rights activists have accused his government of backsliding.

Five Stunning Mountain Towns To Visit In South Africa

5 stunning mountain towns to visit in South Africa this spring Looking for a spring getaway? These 5 mountain towns offer some of SA’s best spring scenery, from wildflowers and forests to dramatic peaks. Author image By Sundeeka Mungroo 25-08-26 20:18 in Travel mountain towns south africa 1 Clarens in the Free State, South Africa. Image: canva Google Preferred Badge Google News Badge Spring is one of the best times to explore South Africa’s mountain towns. The cold of winter begins to ease, hiking trails become more inviting and, in many parts of the country, the landscape bursts into colour as wildflowers and other mountain plants come into bloom. From the Maluti Mountains to the Drakensberg and the Cape Fold Mountains, these five towns make particularly good spring getaways. Take a look… ADVERTISEMENT 1. Clarens, Free State Clarens is one of South Africa’s classic mountain escapes, sitting in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains near Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Spring brings fresh green landscapes and colourful blossoms to the town, while the surrounding mountains provide a spectacular backdrop. The town itself is worth exploring, with galleries, cafés, craft shops and restaurants clustered around the village. For something more adventurous, the surrounding area offers hiking, mountain biking, horse trails and other outdoor activities. 2. Hogsback, Eastern Cape Swallowtail Falls in Hogsback, South Africa. Image: canva High in the Amathole Mountains, Hogsback is surrounded by indigenous forests, waterfalls and mountain trails. Spring is a particularly lovely time to visit, when the landscape starts coming alive after winter. The misty forests and green hills give the town a distinctly magical atmosphere. Spend the day hiking to waterfalls and viewpoints before returning to the village for a relaxed meal or a browse through its small collection of cafés and craft shops. ADVERTISEMENT 3. Montagu, Western Cape Surrounded by the dramatic Langeberg Mountains, Montagu is a great choice for a spring weekend in the Western Cape. The town combines mountain scenery with historic buildings, hiking trails, rock climbing and the famous Route 62. The warmer spring weather also makes it a good time to explore the mountains without the intensity of summer heat. For something more relaxed, visitors can explore the town’s cafés, restaurants and nearby wine farms. 4. Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal Montane grasslands in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal. Image: canva If you want mountain scenery with a distinctly South African spring twist, head to Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal. The town sits below the southern Drakensberg and provides access to some of the country’s most spectacular high-altitude landscapes. Spring is a wonderful time to explore the Drakensberg grasslands, which can produce an impressive display of lilies, orchids, pelargoniums and other wildflowers. Nearby Himeville and the Sani Pass area also offer plenty of opportunities for scenic drives, hiking and exploring. 5. Ceres, Western Cape Surrounded by mountains and fertile farmland, Ceres is a particularly beautiful spring destination. The valley is famous for its deciduous fruit production and dramatic mountain scenery, while the surrounding area offers hiking, scenic drives and outdoor adventures. It is also an excellent base for exploring the wider Cape mountain region, with scenic mountain passes leading into and out of the valley. Why spring is the time to go Spring gives these mountain towns a completely different character. The days become warmer, landscapes turn greener, and wildflowers begin appearing across parts of the country. In the Drakensberg, montane grasslands can be particularly rewarding for flower lovers, while the Western Cape’s mountain landscapes start emerging from winter. And if you prefer your spring getaway to involve mountains, hiking, small-town charm and spectacular scenery rather than crowds at the coast, these five are well worth putting on your list. 1 comments WIN R5 000: Take The South African’s Winter Reader Survey Tags: Featured getaways Important small towns South Africa Spring Travel South Africa Post navigation Next Article

Congo and M23 Rebels Agree on Peace Roadmap

Congo and M23 Rebels Agree on Peace Roadmap DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23-led rebel alliance agreed this week on a roadmap for peace negotiations after five days of talks in Switzerland, even as fighting continues in the country’s volatile east. In a joint statement over the weekend, the two sides said the roadmap establishes “sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations” under the Qatar-mediated framework agreement signed last year. The Swiss talks included representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission. The parties also agreed on a standardized method for reporting ceasefire violations and a mechanism to address problems implementing the agreement. On Monday, a mission began observing implementation of the ceasefire in Minembwe, South Kivu province, marking the first field deployment under the monitoring mechanism established by the Qatar-mediated agreement. The area has experienced renewed fighting in recent weeks, with government forces and the rebels accusing each other of ceasefire violations. M23 rebels on Monday accused Congolese forces of shelling a village near Minembwe, causing civilian casualties and displacement. The Congolese military did not immediately respond. The conflict reignited in 2021 when M23 resumed its offensive in eastern DRC. The group has since captured large areas, including the provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu in early 2025. The fighting has killed thousands and displaced an estimated 5.3 million people. The DRC, the UN and Western governments accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 with troops and weapons, which Kigali denies. The Doha process is proceeding alongside separate US-mediated talks between the DRC and Rwanda. Earlier this month, Congolese authorities also released 15 prisoners to the M23-led alliance in the first known prisoner transfer under the agreement.

South Africa's Land Seizure Law Challenged In Court

South Africa’s Land Seizure Law Challenged in Court SOUTH AFRICA South Africa A South African court this week began hearing a challenge to the country's land expropriation law, legislation that has strained relations within the governing coalition and was cited by US President Donald Trump last year as a reason for suspending aid to South Africa. The White-led Democratic Alliance (DA) – a senior partner in the ruling coalition with the African National Congress (ANC) – asked the Western Cape High Court to declare key provisions of the Expropriation Act unconstitutional. The party has argued that the law gives the government "vague and ​sweeping powers" to expropriate private property and undermines legal certainty over property rights. Signed last year by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Expropriation Act allows the government to seize land in the public interest and, in some cases, without compensating the owners. The government insists that the legislation is aimed at redressing the economic inequality that is a legacy of the policy of apartheid, when millions of non-White South Africans were forcibly displaced from their lands. Despite the end of apartheid in the 1990s, around three-quarters of South Africa’s privately owned farmland today remains under the control of White South Africans – who make up less than 10 percent of the country’s population. No land has been seized so far, but the law has been the subject of lengthy debates and remains a major point of contention within the ruling coalition. The ANC and DA teamed up after the 2024 parliamentary elections, which saw the ANC lose its absolute majority for the first time since 1994. The legislation and other affirmative action policies have also heightened tensions with the Trump administration, which has accused South Africa of allegedly enabling a “genocide” against white South Africans. Last year, Trump signed an executive order suspending US financial aid to South Africa and creating a refugee program specifically for Afrikaners – most descendants of Dutch settlers – citing concerns they were being persecuted. South Africa has strongly rejected those claims. Analysts noted that the case will be heard alongside two similar legal challenges brought by groups representing Afrikaner interests. The court could take years to reach a verdict. Still, the proceedings come as the country gears up for pivotal local elections in November.

Why Didn't The Rhodesian Army Defeat The Insurgents?

Profile photo for Rick Brindle Rick Brindle · Follow Ex RAF Regiment, Registered Nurse, authorJun 4 If the Rhodesian soldiers were so effective, why did they lose the Bush War? Winning the battles but losing the war springs to mind. Let’s be clear, man for man, the Rhodesian soldiers were seriously effective. They were really well trained and highly motivated. They were also surrounded. At the time of the Bush War, there were about 300,000 white Rhodesians, controlling a country of 5 million black Rhodesians, and all of the power was in the hands of the whites. Faced with those kind of numbers, it was never going to end well for the whites, and it’s a tribute to the Rhodesian war machine that the minority regime lasted as long as it did. It’s worth noting though, that black soldiers made up a big part of the Rhodesian military, and they fought very well. At its peak, the Rhodesian Army numbered 20,000, the British South Africa Police, 40,000, the Air Force, 2,300. In total numbers, they faced a roughly equal number of insurgents/guerrillas/freedom fighters (delete as per opinion). The Rhodesians had to concentrate their forces to meet the insurgent threat, and they developed a tactic called Fireforce, which was very effective. Militarily, that worked. Politically, it didn’t. The black population had to be won over, and that was a problem that the military couldn’t solve, and in all fairness, that wasn’t really their job. There is a school of thought that the Bush War could have been won by both sides in 1979 with the Muzorewa government, and the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia situation. And looking back, maybe it should have been left at that. 99.8K views View 548 upvotes View 5 shares 1 of 6 answers

Gold And Geopolitics Continue To Fuel Sudan's Civil War

Gold and Geopolitics Continue to Fuel Sudan’s Civil War as It Imperils El Obeid SUDAN Sudan Nadjat Mohammed, a 43-year-old Sudanese civilian from Bara, in central Sudan, fled in September to El Obeid, the state capital, after the civil war reached her town. The fighting pitted the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the national army, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group battling the army for the country’s control. Now the RSF, accused by the United Nations and rights groups of crimes against humanity, is threatening El Obeid, too, leaving Mohammed facing the prospect of being uprooted again. “The war is hunting us down,” Mohammed told Le Monde. “We are being displaced like cattle.” The fighting has now spread deeper into central Sudan, leaving El Obeid under siege. The war, in its fourth year, has already displaced more than 14 million people and killed at least 59,000, though some estimates put the toll far higher. The war began in April 2023 as a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the RSF, but has evolved into a conflict sustained by foreign arms, illicit gold and regional rivalries. The United Arab Emirates, drawn by Sudan’s mineral wealth, has been accused of routing arms, fuel and mercenaries to the RSF through Chad, Libya and Ethiopia. The US and Britain have sanctioned RSF figures, but not the UAE, a key Gulf energy and finance partner of the West. Egypt, alarmed by instability on its border and the RSF’s rise, backs the army with military aid. Because of the politics involved and riches to be had, both in Sudan and outside of it, there is little chance of the war stopping anytime soon, analysts say. “Although its roots are domestic, it is non-Sudanese actors that have kept the war alive,” wrote British think tank Chatham House. “Externally procured weapons and cross-border logistical pipelines have sustained the battlefield capacity of both the SAF and RSF. … The UAE’s role in sustaining the war remains the most consequential, and the most documented.” “The multi-billion-dollar trade of gold sustains and shapes Sudan’s conflict,” it added. Human rights groups and UN officials have accused the RSF of mass killings, ethnic cleansing and other atrocities, warning that its advance on El Obeid could lead to another catastrophe, as occurred in El-Fasher, which the RSF captured after a brutal siege. The UAE’s role is especially explosive, even as it vociferously denies involvement. Its ties to the RSF predate the war, and its involvement is not just ideological, analysts say. RSF fighters served Emirati interests in Yemen and Libya, while analysts say Abu Dhabi now sees the force as a means to grow its power in Sudan and the Red Sea as well as keep it supplied in gold. The RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, built his wealth and power through Darfur’s gold trade with the UAE. Sudan produced about 80 tons of gold worth more than $6 billion in 2024, with more than half smuggled to countries including the UAE. “Dubai is the world’s largest gold market, and Sudan has immense reserves,” Marc Lavergne, emeritus research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, told Radio France Internationale. “Miners are controlled by the RSF, who collect the gold and bypass the central bank and official channels. The gold is then flown directly to Dubai to be refined. This ensures the prosperity of the RSF and, at the same time, that of Dubai.” Sudan sued the UAE at the International Court of Justice in March 2025, accusing it of complicity in genocide by the RSF in Darfur. The court threw out the case in May, citing a UAE opt-out that critics say weakens accountability for such crimes. The UAE continued to deny its role in the war during the case. Meanwhile, UN investigators and rights groups have accused the SAF of unlawful killings, indiscriminate airstrikes and other abuses, too, though the RSF has faced the most extensive allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur. The imbalance has raised questions about why the UAE has faced so little direct pressure even as its regional ambitions have fueled conflicts across the region, said a commentary in the Guardian. “But it has been supported in that by the US and the UK, not only political allies but financial beneficiaries,” it said. “Both countries have gone to farcical lengths to express concern over the war in Sudan while avoiding any mention of the UAE.” In the absence of pressure, El Obeid remains at grave risk of falling. In the meantime, it’s sheltering thousands of civilians who face daily drone strikes and hunger. “In El Obeid, families are starving while dodging indiscriminate attacks just to stay alive,” said Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland. “The world has been warned about this crisis and let it happen anyway.”

Sudanese Court Sentences RSF Leader To Death for War Crimes and Genocide

Sudanese Court Sentences RSF Leader to Death for War Crimes and Genocide SUDAN Sudan A Sudanese court on Sunday sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo and 15 co-defendants to death in absentia for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar. The ruling, issued by a court in the army-controlled city of Port Sudan, marks the first judicial conviction of the RSF’s senior leadership since Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023. The case focused on the June 2023 killing of Abbakar, who was slain hours after publicly accusing the RSF and allied Arab militias of targeting civilians in West Darfur. The charges also relate to widespread war crimes committed during the RSF’s capture of El Geneina, where United Nations experts estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people, predominantly from the Massalit ethnic community, were killed. Those sentenced include Dagalo’s brother and deputy, Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, along with a number of RSF commanders and tribal leaders. The court announced it would forward the case to Sudan’s Supreme Court for review, as well as seek the arrest and extradition of those convicted through Interpol and other international mechanisms. The international community has accused the RSF of genocide and both the RSF and the Sudanese army of war crimes and other abuses, allegations both sides deny. The verdict represents a symbolic legal step by the Sudanese judicial system, although the defendants remain outside government custody and the likelihood of enforcement is uncertain. The ruling comes amid Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023 after a power struggle between army chief Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Dagalo following their joint role in the 2021 military coup. Now entering its fourth year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million, and created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis, with no political resolution currently in sight.

One Million South Africans Say Goodbye To Medical Aide

1 million South Africans say goodbye to medical aid Is the sun beginning to set on medical aids in South Africa? Recent data shows medical schemes have lost more than 1 million members. Author image By Mary Alson 09-07-26 16:53 in News Medical aid/ man in ambulance 4 Medical aid becomes to expensive for consumers. Image: Pexels Google Preferred Badge Google News Badge In the current economic climate, South Africans are opting out of expensive medical aid schemes. Rather than spend their salaries on medical aid, consumers are choosing hospital and healthcare plans. According to experts, this consumer action is making the model unsustainable. Medical Aid Membership Declines The tide is turning for medical schemes. Despite generating billions, these schemes have to extract value from a declining customer base. ADVERTISEMENT According to data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), fewer South African households have medical aid today than 10 years ago. Medical aid membership declined from 18.1% of the population in 2014 to 15.5% in 2024. Dr. Paula Armstrong, speaking at the Board of Healthcare Funders conference, explained, according to Business Day, that if membership grew in relation to population growth, there would be 10.4 million medical aid beneficiaries. However, there are only 9.17 million beneficiaries, a deficit of 1.24 million members. Medical Schemes Face Collapse In an interview with CNBC Africa, Luyanda Njilo, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Nedbank CIB, explained that medical schemes fund their business model through contributions. They rely on premiums from younger and healthier members to subsidise the cost of medical care for older members. But with youth unemployment rising, that model risks becoming unsustainable. When asked why membership is declining, Njilo noted that the “main issue is affordability.” ADVERTISEMENT The cost of living had increased, but salaries were lagging. If medical aid fees increased by 10% annually, but salaries only increased at the rate of inflation, young people couldn’t justify the cost of membership. Njilo explained that the thinking among younger people was to opt out while they were still in their 20s. Then, when they reach their 30s, they would join. Consumers Search for Alternatives to Medical Aid Medical aid typically costs R2 000 for the primary beneficiary. Despite this cost, members may still have to pay some medical expenses out of pocket. A growing number of working South Africans are choosing to self-fund their medical costs. Those who don’t want to rely on savings or credit are choosing to leverage health care plans and hospital cover. This type of health care cover, offered by the likes of Dischem, has helped make access to private medical care more affordable for thousands of South Africans. 4 comments WIN R5 000: Take The South African’s Winter Reader Survey Tags: Featured Important medical aid South Africa Post navigation Next Article Previous U.S. Privacy PowerBall jackpot winner yet to claim R179 million Discover Coloured Afrikaner ‘refugees’ in US speak out: ‘We’re tired of lies’ Discover USA Consumer California: Program Will Install Solar At No Cost If You Live In These Zip Codes Read More Skip Transfer report: Premier League club target Bafana Bafana star Mbokazi Discover Orlando Pirates let go of Sesane because they already have ‘the new Mbokazi’ Discover California: Program Will Install Solar At No Cost If You Live In These Zip Codes Fed up with rising energy costs? 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Seven Beautiful South African Small Towns

7 South African towns that look like they’re straight out of a postcard Some South African small town destinations are so picturesque they look like they’ve been lifted from a postcard. Take a look… Author image By Sundeeka Mungroo 10-07-26 11:45 in Travel south african towns small towns 0 Stanford, Western Cape. Image: Matt MacGillivray / Flickr Google Preferred Badge Google News Badge Some places simply stop you in your tracks. Whether it’s colourful cottages framed by mountains, whitewashed fishing villages overlooking turquoise water or tree-lined streets that seem frozen in time, South Africa is filled with towns so picturesque they hardly look real. They’re the kind of destinations where every corner seems made for a photograph and where even a quick coffee stop somehow turns into an afternoon spent wandering the streets. ADVERTISEMENT If you’re planning your next road trip or simply looking for inspiration, these seven towns are as close to postcard-perfect as South Africa gets. 1. Matjiesfontein Lord Milner Hotel, Matjiesfontein. Image: wikimedia commons Stepping into Matjiesfontein feels like stepping back more than a century. This tiny Karoo village has preserved much of its Victorian charm, with beautifully restored heritage buildings, red post boxes, old-fashioned street lamps and the grand Lord Milner Hotel standing proudly at its centre. Because so much of the town has remained unchanged, every street seems ready-made for a vintage postcard. 2. Kaapschehoop Landscape in Kaapschehoop. Image: canva Perched high above the Lowveld escarpment, Kaapschehoop is one of South Africa’s most enchanting villages. Wild horses roam freely through its quiet streets, mist regularly drifts between the trees, and sweeping viewpoints stretch for kilometres across the valleys below. ADVERTISEMENT On some mornings, the clouds sit beneath the town, making it feel as though it’s floating above the landscape. 3. Stanford south african towns small towns Winelands near Stanford, Western Cape. Image: canva Often overshadowed by nearby Hermanus, Stanford quietly delivers some of the Western Cape’s prettiest scenery. Historic white cottages line peaceful streets shaded by oak trees, while the nearby Klein River winds lazily through green farmland. The slower pace of life, combined with mountain backdrops and beautifully preserved architecture, makes every stroll feel like a scene from a storybook. 4. Franschhoek Franschhoek, Western Cape. Image: canva Few places combine natural beauty and elegance quite like Franschhoek. Nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains, the town is famous for its Cape Dutch architecture, vineyards and tree-lined streets. Every season offers something different. Summer brings green vineyards, autumn paints the valley in shades of gold and red, while winter often dusts the surrounding peaks with snow. Add world-class restaurants and boutique cafés, and it’s easy to understand why this South African town appears on so many travel bucket lists. 5. Hermanus south african towns small towns Hermanus, Western Cape. Image: canva While famous for whale watching, Hermanus is equally photogenic. Its dramatic cliffs, colourful fynbos, crashing waves and spectacular coastal walks create some of the country’s most beautiful ocean views. Whether you’re photographing the coastline or simply enjoying the scenery from one of the cliff-top benches, Hermanus rarely disappoints. 6. Wakkerstroom Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga. Image: wikimedia commons Rolling grasslands surround one of South Africa’s most underrated towns. Historic buildings, quiet streets and nearby wetlands attract birdwatchers from around the world, while winter often blankets the landscape in frost before revealing bright blue skies. Wakkerstroom is a place where every season creates a different picture. 7. Cullinan south african towns small towns A sandstone house in Cullinan, Gauteng. Image: wikimedia commons Most people know Cullinan for its famous diamond mine, but the town itself is every bit as impressive. Its sandstone buildings, jacaranda-lined streets and beautifully preserved mining-era architecture create a timeless atmosphere just a short drive from Pretoria. Antique shops, cafés and boutique guesthouses add even more charm, making this South African town an easy weekend escape. Which other town would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below. 0 comments

South Africa: Thousands Flee As Anti Migrant Protests Grow

In South Africa, Thousands Flee as Anti-Migrant Protests Grow SOUTH AFRICA South Africa For months, thousands of anti-immigrant protesters with sticks and signs have been marching through the streets of Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and other South African cities chanting “Abahambe” (“they must go” in Zulu) and ‘arresting’ those they deem immigrants. The demonstrators have attacked foreign-owned businesses, chased people from their homes and stopped foreigners from entering clinics and hospitals. They set a deadline for foreigners to leave, or else. Some immigrants are listening. Thousands of Malawians, Zimbabweans and other Africans have begged their countries to rescue them. Some countries, such as Nigeria and Ghana, alarmed at the spiraling violence over the past few months – the demonstrators have already killed at least four foreigners – have already moved quickly to repatriate their citizens. For those foreigners who are still in the country, fear is rising. “They tell me to go back to my country – I can’t, I still remember what happened to me,” Bona Mapezi Bahati, 33, who is eight months pregnant, told NPR, describing how she fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a teenager 15 years ago after being gang-raped by members of a militia in the war-torn nation. “My kids are scared,” she added from her home in a Johannesburg slum. “I’ve told them if the protesters come, you must run away and hide because there’s nothing I can do. I feel so sad, especially as I’m pregnant, I’m scared they’ll kill me. It’s like I’m in Congo. I feel like it’s a war zone here.” Late last month, thousands of South Africans held the biggest demonstrations yet against migration since 2008, when anti-immigrant protesters killed more than 60 people. One of the leaders of a protest group called March and March, is a former radio presenter from Durban named Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. She says it’s time for South Africans to take back their country. “South Africa will be great again,” she said. “It just needs all of us to rise and defeat our enemy.” Other groups participating, such as Operation Dudula, (“force out” in Zulu) have joined in, as have some political parties with an eye toward local elections later this year. They all say immigrants have promoted crime and stolen jobs from South Africans in a country where the unemployment rate tops 30 percent, and more than 60 percent among 15-to-24-year-olds, and violent crime rates are some of the highest in the world. They argue foreign nationals are burdening already strained public services. Ngizwe Mchunu, one of the protest leaders, told the Associated Press that he blamed illegal migration for a proliferation of illicit drugs in South Africa and says informal neighborhood shops run by immigrants should all be owned by South Africans. “It’s a very sad story that we have been telling our government since the dawn of democracy that illegal immigration here is out of hand,” Mchunu said. “It is time for our government to put South Africa first.” South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies and a nation of 63 million people, has long attracted migrants seeking work or refuge. Official data puts the migrant population at 3.1 million, or about 4.1 percent of the population, while anti-immigration groups claim there are roughly as many undocumented migrants, although there are no official figures. Meanwhile, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has tried to calm the protests. He has promised to tighten borders, crack down on undocumented immigrants, and address the economic grievances. “We recognize that many communities are frustrated by crime, unemployment and pressure on public services,” he said recently. “The roots of these challenges lie primarily in inequality, slow economic growth and weaknesses in service delivery. Addressing these challenges requires practical solutions, not the scapegoating of vulnerable people.” Analysts say the country’s problems largely stem from years of poor governance, corruption, industrial decline and weak growth following the end of apartheid in 1994. They add that the president is correct when he notes that the anti-immigrant backlash is a result of the inequality that is a legacy of apartheid. More than three decades after that system was dismantled, the inequality it entrenched has endured. South Africa’s economy is still dominated by wealth and ownership patterns that heavily favor the White minority. Meanwhile, much of the Black majority still lives in poverty, with limited job opportunities and growing disillusionment with a democracy many feel has failed to deliver. Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg found that less than 4 percent of formal jobs are held by foreigners, adding that even giving every foreign-held job to South Africans would cut unemployment by only six points. “The question is not whether these grievances have merit. They do. It’s whether immigrants are, in fact, responsible for them,” they said. That’s cold comfort for migrants like Top of Form 38-year-old Nyirenda from Malawi, who’s been in South Africa since he was 22 and works as a gardener. He’s not waiting around for the situation to calm down. He got the message after two men threatened him last month. “They asked me: ‘When are you going to leave the country? We want to fix our country. If you don’t leave now, you’re going to leave in a coffin…,’” he told CNN. “They (the protesters) only have energy (to target) fellow poor Black Africans,” he added. “But why fight someone who is hungry like you while leaving the ones who have taken all your wealth?”

Thousands of Protestors In South Africa Demand Removal Of Undocumented Migrants

Thousands of Protesters in South Africa Demand Removal of Undocumented Migrants SOUTH AFRICA South Africa Thousands of demonstrators marched across South Africa on Tuesday to demand that undocumented migrants leave the country, prompting authorities to deploy a heavy police presence as officials warned against violence. The protests, organized by the group March and March, took place in major cities, including Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. Police said thousands of officers were deployed to prevent clashes following attacks on foreign nationals in recent months. President Cyril Ramaphosa urged demonstrators to protest peacefully, adding that immigration enforcement must remain the responsibility of the government. The demonstrations follow months of escalating anti-migrant sentiment in the context of South Africa’s economic struggles. The country’s 30 percent unemployment rate and persistent inequalities have sparked claims about undocumented migrants taking jobs and increasing crime rates. An Afrobarometer survey found that most South Africans view immigration negatively, with seven in 10 saying immigrants hurt the economy and 85 percent supporting tighter restrictions on refugees. Around 25,000 migrants from countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique have returned home in fear of the violence. Nigeria has separately flown out around 600 of its citizens. Government officials have said the protests have mostly been peaceful, aside from a few incidents including protesters throwing bricks in Yeoville, a suburb of Johannesburg. South Africa has experienced large-scale xenophobic violence in the past, with a 2008 attack on foreign nationals killing more than 60 people and displacing thousands. Similar outbreaks occurred in 2015 and 2019. National statistics from 2023 show migrants made up a little more than 4 percent of South Africa’s population, a lower share than in other Anglophone countries such as Canada, where migrants account for 22 percent, according to United Nations data. Anti-migrant advocates claim the figures do not include undocumented migrants, but officials insist they use census data that is designed to capture them too.

Niger Becomes A Battlefield For Islamic State and Al Qaeda

Niger Becomes a Battlefield for Islamic State and al-Qaeda as They Expand in the Sahel NIGER Niger Earlier this month, gunmen stormed Niger’s main airport in the capital, Niamey. It was the second attack this year on the facility. The first, in January, was claimed by Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP). The second, which killed 11 soldiers and two civilians, was claimed by ISSP’s rival, the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The airport is a strategic target because it hosts military facilities, drone infrastructure and the headquarters of the Alliance of Sahel States, the bloc formed by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso after their juntas seized power promising to defeat Islamist insurgencies. For militants, striking is a way to expose the gap between the juntas’ promises and their results and send a warning about the government’s shrinking control as the country becomes caught in a war between two competing terror groups. “(The earlier attack, in January,) shattered the city’s long-held reputation as a safer haven than its regional counterparts,” World Politics Review wrote. “The attack confirms both the growing strength and the strategic evolution of jihadist groups in the region, enabled by their expanding capabilities.” The attack shows Niger edging toward the dangerous pattern already seen in Mali and Burkina Faso in the central Sahel, analysts say. Islamist militants are pushing beyond rural strongholds to test state nerve centers, exploit broken regional ties and challenge government control. Niger is not lost yet, but unless it rebuilds intelligence, cooperation and civilian trust fast, it may soon be fighting to hold much more than its borders, analysts add. The airport attack “highlights a dangerous escalation in both the capability and ambition of these groups, marking a departure from localized rural insurgencies to coordinated strikes on vital national infrastructure,” said Héni Nsaibia, senior West Africa analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). “The attack also fits a broader regional pattern of jihadist groups expanding their operational reach toward major population centers and critical infrastructure.” Niger now sits between overlapping jihadist theaters. JNIM is stronger across Mali and Burkina Faso, while Islamic State’s Sahel branch, known as Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), has built strength in western Niger and near routes toward Nigeria. The groups are rivals, but their competition can make the violence worse, not better, as each tries to prove reach, power and relevance. Niger recorded more than 1,900 violent deaths in 2025, with ISSP, JNIM and the Nigerien military all linked to civilian harm. “Niger is a territory of competition between them,” Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told the Associated Press. “If JNIM loses the upper hand in Niger against the Islamic State, it will jeopardize its upper hand in Mali and Burkina Faso. … You have an open space like the Wild West, where each is looking to mark its territory.” The junta’s answer has been to promise more force and blame outsiders. After taking power in 2023, Niger’s junta expelled French and US forces and turned toward Russia. Niger then joined Mali and Burkina Faso in leaving the powerful regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), weakening the regional cooperation needed against groups that cross borders with ease while aiming to expand to the coastal areas, analysts say. Some analysts argue that Niger remains better positioned than Mali and Burkina Faso to combat the insurgency. “Niger’s military is seen as more professional and disciplined than its Malian and Burkinabe counterparts,” the Sahel Research Group wrote. Niger has also largely avoided relying on civilian or ethnic militias, it added. Its capital is not under the kind of pressure Mali’s capital, Bamako, faced during JNIM’s recent fuel blockade, its government has not lost the same breadth of territory as Burkina Faso and its security forces repelled both airport assaults. Those advantages may buy Niger time, but not a way out. Analysts say it needs to rebuild the strategy weakened after Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani seized power in the 2023 coup. That means restoring security partnerships that provide intelligence and training, reviving cross-border cooperation against militants and showing restraint at home to avoid worsening grievances that insurgents exploit. “Niger before the coup was pursuing a strategy that was, by realist standards, coherent: building a balance of power through alliances and managing threats with available capacity,” Modern Diplomacy wrote. “The junta dismantled that strategy, triggered a new security dilemma, and worsened the very conditions it claimed to be remedying.”

As Ebola Spreads, The DRC Struggles To Contain It

As Ebola Spreads, the DRC Struggles to Contain It DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO At the epicenter of the latest Ebola outbreak, doctors despair. At Mongbwalu General Hospital’s Ebola ward, patients young and old languish, and some are already dead. In a nearby ward, medical personnel lie sick and dying, after treating patients without protective gear, which is hard to come by in the town of Mongbwalu in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Relatives come at all hours, bringing food for the sick because there is none at the hospital, or wailing in grief because their loved one has died. No one here has ever dealt with Ebola or even knows how to. Prior outbreaks had passed them by. As a result, local medical personnel couldn’t identify what was killing the people of their town for weeks. Now, the hospital, which finds itself in the middle of a growing crisis, is understaffed, under-resourced and overwhelmed. Alex Bogole, a Congolese doctor in the intensive care department of the hospital, told the New York Times he is angry. The virus had been spreading for months, virtually unimpeded, “and this is the best we can do?” he wondered. He’s referring to the slow response by the government and the world. “They hold meetings and meetings,” he said. “What is the purpose of these meetings? People are dying, people are getting infected, people are in danger. It’s very slow.” The latest outbreak of Ebola was declared in the middle of May. But medical officials believe it’s been spreading for months undetected. Now they worry that it’s going to surpass the death toll of the last major outbreak: From 2014 to 2016, Ebola killed more than 11,000 people out of nearly 29,000 infected in West Africa. It was the largest and deadliest outbreak in history. To date, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 635 confirmed cases and 127 deaths from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases and two deaths. There is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for this strain. Now, scientists are scrambling to develop vaccines and treatments to stop Bundibugyo from spreading further. The location of this outbreak is making it difficult, however. Mongbwalu is in Ituri province, a volatile region being fought over by armed groups, all competing for access to its gold and other minerals. It is part of the wider conflict zone in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized large amounts of territory and are currently fighting government troops. As a result, Mongbwalu attracts people from other areas displaced by the fighting, as well as those seeking work mining gold or selling to those who do. But as people come and go, they could easily spread Ebola, officials say. Meanwhile, traditional burial practices in the Congo and elsewhere often involve family members touching the body of the deceased. But that can transmit the virus, doctors say. Officials have restricted traditional burials but those orders are being defied. As a result, violence has broken out at the hospital and others in the region. In late May, dozens of locals attempted to storm the hospital to reclaim their loved ones’ remains. It was the third attack in a week. It also sent Ebola patients fleeing, potentially spreading the disease. At the same time, some locals believe Ebola is a hoax. One conspiracy theory is that nonprofit workers brought the disease to make money. Another is that the outbreak has been fabricated to frighten the population and gain access to minerals, including gold. “We are looking at a lot of superstition and misinformation around this disease,” Saki Roger, a Congolese neurosurgeon who contracted Ebola during a prior outbreak in 2018 while treating a patient, told the Washington Post. Roger recounted how people with the illness are often rejected by their families. Some infected people also shun the few health facilities that exist in the region. “Instead of coming to healthcare services, (the sick) take alternative solutions with traditional healers or other alternatives, and contribute further to spread the outbreak,” said Abdou Sebushishe, a medical doctor with the International Medical Corps in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in an interview with CBS News. Meanwhile, the US has moved to set up a facility in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus, setting off outrage across the country. Davji Atellah, a physician from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, said the group would not “sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony.” “If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya,” he said. While the government agreed to the proposal, a Kenyan court said no – at least for now. Protests broke out over the issue this month, with demonstrators saying they don’t want Kenya to become a dumping ground for wealthy sick foreigners. Two people have died in the protests. In Nanyuki, where the facility is to be located, locals worry about becoming infected with Ebola, which has not been reported in Kenya. They are also concerned about what Ebola infections could do to their lives, their livelihoods and their children, citing curfews and a disruption of business and education. “What’s shocking is that the Americans don’t want their infected fellow citizens to step into their own country but to come to Kenya, David Mulinge, a souvenir seller, told the Guardian. “That’s like treating us as lesser beings.”

Ethiopia: Conflicts Pull The Country Apart

Ethiopia’s Leader Touts Unity as Conflicts Pull It Apart ETHIOPIA Ethiopia The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention recently sounded the alarm about violence against the ethnic Amhara community in Ethiopia. In an alert, the US-based organization said the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), have been systematically raping, displacing and killing the Amhara, who are largely Christian and trace their heritage to the imperial dynasty that ruled the Horn of Africa country from 1270 through the early 1970s. “The killings, the targeting of the youth, the systematic sexual and gender-based violence, the enforced disappearances, and the deliberate destruction of private property showcase a coordinated campaign against the Amhara, intended to destroy their communities and threaten their survival as a people,” it said. And while Abiy and the TPLF have both been accused of targeting the Amhara, they continue to fight each other for control of Tigray, a restive region where TPLF fighters had been in full-scale revolt against the central government before a fragile peace took hold in 2022, one that analysts say is disintegrating. The TPLF ran the country until Abiy took power in 2018. Abiy then won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending Ethiopia’s war against Eritrea. In his early years, he won Western plaudits for ushering in political reforms, privatizing state-owned enterprises, spending big on infrastructure, and welcoming foreign investment to stoke an economic boom. IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva recently hailed Ethiopia’s economic progress, noting one of the highest economic growth rates in Africa. And Abiy has more ambitious plans for the country: While Ethiopia has long been associated with famine, the country is now working on becoming self-sufficient in food production. Abiy’s tenure has stoked controversies, however. Critics say he has consolidated power in ways that have favored his Prosperity Party and fellow Oromo, members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, while cracking down on human rights activists, dissidents, journalists and others who criticize his policies. Critics also accuse the prime minister of stoking division at home to expand his power even as his government boasts that Ethiopia is more united than ever. In fact, analysts say Abiy has been at war with other groups within Ethiopia’s borders for years, which is threatening the fragile unity of Ethiopia. For example, the government has been fighting insurgents in Oromia, Amhara – the country’s second-largest region – and the Somali Region. Meanwhile, Tigray is heating up again. The TPLF recently pushed out government-backed regional leader Tadesse Werede and reinstated the prewar regional council. The move was led by TPLF chair Debretsion Gebremichael, who was the region’s leader during the 2020-2022 war between Tigray and the federal government. Now the Ethiopian government accuses Eritrea, which helped the government during that war and committed atrocities in Tigray, of working with the TPLF. Analysts say another war in Tigray is likely: The peace agreement is disintegrating with the TPLF ouster of Tadesse Werede. Eritrea, which felt betrayed by the 2022 peace agreement, has been supporting the Fano rebels in Amhara and other rebel groups in Oromia. As a result, analysts believe another war with Eritrea is brewing, too, especially because of Ethiopia’s renewed demand for access to the Eritrean port of Assab on the Red Sea, 40 miles from the Ethiopian border. Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of wanting to reverse its secession from that country three decades ago. At the same time, Ethiopia has a strained relationship with Egypt over its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and is in growing danger of becoming a new front in Sudan’s civil war. Analysts say Sudan’s rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) may have a new base of operations in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, near the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, on Sudan’s eastern border. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have accused Ethiopia of hosting, arming and otherwise supporting the RSF. Analysts say Ethiopia’s growing involvement in Sudan’s civil war may push the SAF closer to Eritrea and Eritrean-backed rebels in Ethiopia. Sudan’s government supported the TPLF during the Tigray war. Commentators say that Ethiopia is in a volatile situation of its own making. “Growing friction between Ethiopia and its neighbors has added to the volatile mix as diplomatic disputes threaten to escalate into proxy fights or even open confrontation,” wrote Foreign Affairs. This backdrop is one reason why Africa Center researchers are wondering if parliamentary elections in Ethiopia on June 1 will yield stability or empower the centrifugal forces that threaten to rip the country apart. The prime minister’s Prosperity Party is expected to win easily in elections analysts say are just a formality. While opposition candidates complain of harassment, the Prosperity Party is running uncontested in 64 of the country’s 547 constituencies. No voting will occur in Tigray and parts of Amhara. Abiy will keep his job, say observers. Whether or not he can keep the country together is another matter.

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.