Senegal Indicts Fifth Minister In Ongoing Corruption Crackdown

Senegal Indicts Fifth Minister in Ongoing Corruption Crackdown Senegal Senegal’s anti-corruption special court on Monday indicted former Minister of Community Development Amadou Mansour Faye on charges of embezzling more than $4.6 million of Covid-19-related public funds, Africanews reported. Faye, who is the brother-in-law of former president Macky Sall, is the fifth official from the previous administration to be charged by the High Court of Justice, a special organ responsible for trying former government officials for crimes committed while in office. According to Faye’s lawyer, the court denied the minister bail and ordered his detention. This case is part of a broader crackdown on corruption by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was elected last year on promises to promote transparency and accountability. Last week, the anti-corruption court charged two other former ministers from Sall’s administration for embezzlement and misappropriation related to Covid-19 funds, and two others for taking bribes and “complicity in embezzlement.” These cases highlight the new government’s focus on fighting corruption at the highest levels of governance. According to a government spokesman, Senegal intended to summon Sall to court after officials found irregularities in the treasury’s bookkeeping made during his presidency. The former president dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.

Tanzania: When Promises Wither Tanzania's Leaders Start Using An Old Playbook

When Promise Withers: Tanzania’s Leader Starts Using an Old Playbook Tanzania When Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office in 2021, the hope was that she would be a different kind of Tanzanian leader, one that would allow civil liberties, stop repression, and promote the development the country so desperately needs. In the first year, she go off to a good start, say observers, promoting the “Four Rs” of reconciliation, resilience, reforms, and rebuilding, becoming a marked contrast to her predecessor, dictator John Magufuli, who, when he died, catapulted his vice president, Hassan, into the country’s top post. The president, from the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has held power since 1977, released political prisoners, removed restrictions on media outlets, began working with the opposition, lifted a ban on opposition party rallies, and started a program of electoral reform. But that was then, before a crackdown on the opposition began last year and is intensifying in the runup to elections later this year. “The façade of progressive change that had been constructed under Samia is crumbling and could presage a return to authoritarian rule in Tanzania,” wrote World Politics Review. Recently, the government arrested the country’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, for treason and other crimes, charges he denies as politically motivated, and come ahead of elections in October. The accusations are in relation to social media posts he made calling for Tanzanians to boycott the elections, citing the possibility of rigging. His party last year began a “No Reforms, No Election” campaign, which calls for reforms to the country’s electoral system, such as an independent election commission and an ability to challenge the results in court. Without these, the party says, the current system is weighted on the side of the ruling party. The treason charge carries the death penalty. As the BBC explained, Lissu, who was shot 17 times in an assassination attempt in 2017 and arrested multiple times over the years, “is the great survivor of Tanzanian politics – and one of its most persecuted politicians.” At the opening of his trial last week, Lissu, the chair of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) appeared sanguine and said he was “hopeful,” telling his supporters that “all will be fine.” Still, the government has also banned his party from running candidates in the election after it refused to sign a code of conduct mandated by the Independent National Electoral Commission in order to participate in the elections. Party officials say they refused to sign because of the absence of election reforms, Africanews reported. Now, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, October’s election promises to be a repeat of local elections in November, where many CHADEMA candidates were disqualified, and the CCM ended up winning 99 percent of the local races. Meanwhile, the abductions and disappearances of CHADEMA members continue, say human rights groups. Dioniz Kipanya, a CHADEMA party official, disappeared in July after leaving his house, Amnesty International detailed, calling him and others who have disappeared the victims of a “campaign of repression.” Among these are two CHADEMA youth activists who were kidnapped in August by a group of men suspected to be police officers. And the body of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior CHADEMA member, was found in September after suspected security agents had abducted him from a bus while he was travelling home. According to a post-mortem his body had been soaked in acid and bore signs of a beating. Some say the wasted promise of Hassan’s presidency is due to hardliners in her party whose support she needs to remain in power and whose influence is very strong. “President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s ascent to power following Magufuli’s death provided an opportunity for the country of 67 million to exhale and (pivot) back toward Tanzania’s historically more moderate political culture,” wrote the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. “In the process, the lines between the party and the state have become blurred. Like other liberation parties in Africa, some CCM members feel entitled to govern indefinitely and, emboldened by Magufuli’s tenure, are willing to resort to whatever tactics needed to maintain their absolute hegemony.”

South Africans Dispute Claims Of "white Genocide"

South Africans Dispute US Claims of ‘White Genocide’ South Africa South Africans on Thursday reacted with dismay to US President Donald Trump’s claims of a White genocide in South Africa, accusations that dominated a meeting between the American leader and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and led many to wonder if his trip overseas accomplished its purpose – to repair relations, Reuters reported. Ramaphosa had said before the trip that he hoped the conversation with Trump on Wednesday could be an opportunity to make a fresh start with the US, after relations between the two countries became strained since January. Since February, Trump has canceled aid to South Africa, offered asylum to White Afrikaners, and expelled the country’s ambassador. During the meeting, however, Trump repeatedly said that South Africa’s White minority farmers are being systematically killed and that their land is being seized, according to the BBC. Data collected by White farmers themselves, however, does not indicate a genocide. South Africa, meanwhile, has one of the highest murder rates in the world, but the overwhelming majority of victims are Black. Ramaphosa signed a new law this year that defines how land appropriations for “a public purpose” or “in the public interest” are to be compensated. It also allows for a limited number of cases where land expropriation would not be compensated.

Former Congolese Leader to DO Hard Labor for Corruption

Former Congolese Leader To Do Hard Labor For Corruption Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) constitutional court this week sentenced a former prime minister to 10 years of hard labor on embezzlement charges, in a high-profile case brought by the administration of President Félix Tshisekedi against his predecessor’s government, Reuters reported. On Tuesday, the court found former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo guilty of embezzling approximately $245 million in public funds, along with Deogratias Mutombo, former governor of the central bank, and South African businessman Christo Grobler. Mutombo and Grobler each received five-year sentences of hard labor. All three were tried in absentia and remain at large, according to the newswire. The charges stem from the misappropriation of funds meant for the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park, a large-scale agricultural project launched under former President Joseph Kabila. The initiative aimed to reduce food insecurity and create jobs, but it collapsed in 2017. Three years later, Congolese authorities under Tshisekedi discovered that funds were stolen from the project and initiated a probe over the previous government’s conduct, the BBC wrote. Matata, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2016, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer condemned the verdict as politically motivated. Following the ruling, both Matata and Mutombo have been barred from holding public office for five years.

Miracle Derailed? Ivory Coast's Success Threatened by Election Gambit

Miracle, Derailed? Ivory Coast’s Success Threatened By Election Gambit Ivory Coast The small, West African country of Ivory Coast experienced an economic “miracle” from the 1950s until the 1980s. Now, it seems as if it is on the verge of a second one. Devastated by two civil wars, from 2002 to 2007 and from 2010 to 11, which combined killed thousands, it has since become West Africa’s economic success story with growth rates hovering around 7 percent in the past decade and one of the highest GDP per capita rates in the region. With much of sub-Saharan Africa grappling with coups, wars, jihadist insurgencies, and economic stagnation, Ivory Coast, a country of 32 million people known for cocoa exports – it is the world’s largest producer – is a rare exception on the continent, say analysts. Still, while the first “Ivorian miracle” was driven by cocoa, part of the country’s recent success is attributed to diversification, an ability to attract investment over the past decade, and the smart economic policy of the government of Alassane Ouattara, a former deputy director of the International Monetary Fund, who has been president since 2010, and the relative political stability that followed over the next decade. That, however, is now being threatened in the runup to elections later this year. Ouattara, 83, won his third term in 2020, despite a constitutional limit of two terms, in an election that was boycotted by the opposition and led to unrest. Now he has signaled that he may run again, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, in April, a court banned Tidjane Thiam, the presidential candidate for the leading opposition party, Democratic Party of Ivory Coast–African Democratic Rally (PDCI), from running in the election, saying he wasn’t an Ivorian citizen. Thiam became a French citizen in 1987 but gave it up in March. The decision is not open to appeal. “While we had the right to hope for inclusive, transparent, and peaceful elections, it is clear that the unjustified removal of the PDCI candidate is part of the logic of eliminating the leaders of the main opposition parties to ensure tailor-made elections and a certain victory,” he said, before stepping down as head of his party recently. Protests have already broken out, led by the opposition. Meanwhile, former President Laurent Gbagbo announced he would run in this fall’s elections, before the court also banned his candidacy along with those of former minister Charles Blé Goudé and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.  The exclusion of Blé Goudé and Gbagbo has stoked uproar among their political supporters, Africanews wrote. In other countries, this situation might lead to a cycle of protests and crackdowns by the government before melting away, say analysts. But Ivory Coast has a history of politics turning bloody. For example, the first civil war broke out after the presidential election in 2000 when transitional military government leader Robert Guéï refused to step down after losing to Gbagbo. Then, in 2010, the country’s second civil war broke out after Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede the election to Ouattara. Now that cycle could continue and threaten the economic ‘miracle’ on the horizon. The Council on Foreign Relations said Ouattara is playing an old game, one where he pretends to hesitate to run again, but where his party pushes for his candidacy, leading to a situation in which the “father of the nation” reluctantly accepts to carry on for the good of the country. The think tank called it “a dangerous gambit.” “To say that President Ouattara’s shillyshallying is the last thing that Côte d’Ivoire needs is an understatement,” it wrote. “In the first place, the fact that previous electoral contests have been dogged by violence means that the country has little margin for error and can nary afford a potentially combustible situation … It is regrettable that Ouattara, (who was) the clear winner (of the 2010 elections but one who) Gbagbo was reluctant to hand over (power) to, has learned very little from the tragic episode.”

Alabama Native Issues 'Warning' To Afrikaner Refugees

Alabama local issues ‘warning’ to Afrikaner refugees An Alabama resident has given a ‘friendly warning’ to the group of Afrikaner ‘refugees’ set to settle in the state… By Megan van den Heever 19-05-25 06:58 in Featured Afrikaner refugees A clip of an Alabama resident 'warning' Afrikaner 'refugees' has gone viral. Images via X: @enna_original2 A black Alabama resident has gone viral after sharing a video warning Afrikaner “refugees” about relocating to the state. The clip surfaced shortly after 49 white South Africans arrived in the US through President Donald Trump’s resettlement programme. The group, which will largely settle in the Southern state, claims that they are being “persecuted” based on their race. ALABAMA RESIDENT ‘WARNS’ AFRIKANER ‘REFUGEES In a clip that was posted on X, two black female Alabama residents express their shock that Afrikaner “refugees” will now take up residence in their state. One of the women dramatically says, “Alabama? Lord help them. They better not talk to these people, they better not run into black people, or you’ll be missing. Pray for them.” In the comment section, other American citizens shared their views… @itsjustNiecy__: “Should they come and try that disrespectful stuff here. My they be met with the energy of the ancestors here” @broussard52: “They won’t like Alabama can tell you that right now” @0hhAudie: “Good, I will hire them on my farm!” Elsewhere, an opinion writer on Alabama news site Al.com wrote of their new Afrikaner neighbours: “Y’all shouldn’t be here. “Y’all shouldn’t have been able to skip the line. Y’all should not be here before the tens of thousands of people throughout the world who, just like you, were vetted and prepared to leave their homeland — who must leave out of true fear for their lives. But were denied, not expedited”. FLEEING WAR, FAMINE AND ‘WHITE GENOCIDE’ Meanwhile, NGO Inspiritus will assist the Afrikaner “refugees” as they settle down in Alabama. The organisation has helped displaced people who had fled countries with “violence, war and persecution”, and now “white genocide”. However, the resettlement programme was halted by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. “I feel like it’s disrespectful to the refugees that we are assisting and helping, who are running from violence and forced displacement, to be helping this population,” an employment specialist within the organisation told Al.com. Outright shunning of the Afrikaner refugees is the US’s Episcopal Church, who were initially tasked with resettling the minority community. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said: “It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years”. Tags: DMumani featured Important refugees South Africa Post navigation Next Article

Sasol Faces Do Or Die Moment

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