Africa

As Africa gets more connected, so online services increase but they cannot just be a carbon copy of Western tech.

How a Welsh seaside town hosted an institute for African students, including Nelson Mandela's mentor.

As Uhuru Kenyatta wins a second term in office, what did we learn about the Kenyan leader from his first?

A recent court ruling has got South Africans of all ages discussing the merits, and otherwise, of smacking children, as the BBC's Pumza Fihlani reports.

The lifting of US sanctions after two decades brings hope to cancer patients and crippled businesses.

Meet the knitting group helping Kenyan women with breast cancer.

The 2CV is a vintage French car. But it is the car of choice for taxi drivers in the African island of Madagascar.

In an historic first, starting today all refugees in Ethiopia will be able to register their vital life events, including birth, death, marriage and divorce, directly with national authorities, the United Nations refugee agency announced on Friday.

October 27, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday has carried out forcible disarmament operations in Jebel Amer gold mines, North Darfur state.

An RSF field commander told Sudan Tribune on the condition of anonymity his militia conducted a wide search campaign at Jebel Amer area, saying they seized large quantities of illegal weapons and unregulated motorcycles.

He added the RSF had forced the militiamen who were controlling Jebel Amer gold mines to flee the area.

“Our forces had also carried out another campaign in the Ghira Al-Zawiya area where they captured large quantities of weapons and motorcycles which were used in looting and stealing the property of the residents,” he said.

Last August, the Sudanese authorities launched a six-month disarmament campaign to eliminate illegal weapons in the conflict-affected areas in Sudan, particularly in Darfur region.

The higher committee for the collection of weapons and unregulated vehicles started the forcible phase of the campaign in all the states of Sudan on 15 October.

On 11 October, 10,000 RSF militiamen arrived in North Darfur to contribute to establishing security in the troubled state and support the mandatory phase of the disarmament campaign.

Large parts of the Jebel Amer gold mines are controlled by militias led by the tribal leader Musa Hilal who refuses to hand over his militias arms and defy the government.

In a report released in July 2016, UN experts said Hilal's militiamen control at least 400 gold mines. They said the group earns some $54 million annually from levies on prospectors and support businesses, direct prospecting and the illegal exporting of mined gold.

Hilal, a former Janjaweed leader, rejects government call to merge his Border Guards Forces (BGF) with the RSF militia which is attached to the Sudanese army and led by one of his former aides.

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October 27, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Thursday has released the leading member of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) Nabil al-Nuweiri.

Al-Nuwairi, a member of the SCoP branch in the United Kingdom and Ireland, was arrested on 5 September at the Khartoum North Criminal Court while he was attending a ruling session on the case of SCoP member Asim Omer who is accused of killing a policeman during student protests in 2016.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, SCoP spokesperson Mohamed Hassan Arabi said the NISS released al-Nuweiri “at 9:00 pm (local time) on Thursday following 53 days of detention without giving reasons”.

He described the detention of al-Nuweiri without a judicial order as a violation of the right to live in freedom and safety as well as a violation of the freedom of organization and expression prescribed by the constitution.

Arabi added the detention of al-Nuweiri for over 53 days also violates the National Security Act “which is in itself unconstitutional”.

He stressed the SCoP would continue to mobilize the masses “to overthrow the regime which doesn't deserve to stay in power for a single day”.

The SCoP was established in January 1986. It was first chaired by the former chief-justice Abdel-Mageed Imam who was succeeded by Ibrahim al-Sheikh and has elected al-Digair as its third president in 2016.

The centre-left reformist party calls for social justice and separation of religion and state. It also believes that peaceful transfer of power is the only way to stability and unity of the country.

In recent months, the SCoP has challenged the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and organized political activities in public and open places calling on the citizens to resist the regime and take to the streets in protest against the deterioration of living conditions at all levels.

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October 27, 2017 (JUBA)- Rival forces in South Sudan have on Friday issued statements in which each side attempted to portray itself as being in full control of Kuergeng, an area under Guit County in Northern Liech, part of greater unity.

The resumption of heavy fighting pitted a coalition of troops under the control of President Salva Kiir and his first deputy in coalition government on one and those loyal to the exiled former First Vice President turned rebel leader Riek Machar on the other.

The fighting occurred on Thursday morning, just a day after President Kiir assured the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during a meeting on Wednesday that his government would implement 2015 peace agreement and would do the best to stop the violence by declaring a permanent ceasefire.

Kiir further told the top U.S. official his administration will also participate in the proposed revitalization forum of the agreement without laying preconditions.

It was not immediately clear who of the rival sides initiated the attack. Sudan Tribune was not able to independently verify their claims.

Northern Liech State information minister Lam Tungwar said Friday that government forces on Thursday came under “heavy attack by rebel forces” at Kuergeng area, resulting in the death of at least nine people including four policemen. 13 others including the Kuergeng commissioner Nyok Kier sustained injuries during the fight over what appears as a renewed military offensive.

Col. Dickson Gatluak Jock, spokesman of the SPLA-IO faction allied to the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai said in a statement released on Friday that their forces under command of Major Gen. Gabriel Gatwech Puoch, verified that some disgruntled generals of Riek Machar crossed the Nile River from Fangak.

“They were led by Col. Malek Wictuor Nyak and Lt. Col. Pan Kueth. This group made a surprise attack on SPLA-IO's defensive area this morning (Thursday) but they were repulsed by our Mobile forces. They simultaneously attacked our controlled areas that is Boaw Payam in Koch County but spoilt. They are now being given a hot pursuit by Mobile fighters back to their barracks where they came from and inflicted heavy casualties,” said Jock.

The pro-government force's spokesman said his group will not return to their defensive positions but will keep pursuing them till they are sure the rival forces have crossed back to where they came. Jock said eight people lost their lives including the civilians and other fourteen more wounded.

“The wounded civilians are being treated in Bentiu main Hospital,” he said.

Meanwhile, the military spokesman of Riek Machar SPLA-IO faction William Gatjiath released a statement on the same incident on Thursday confirming their forces under the command of Brigadier General Malek Weituor had captured Kuergeng area after fighting. The rebel military spokesman claimed their group had killed more than 17 government soldiers during the fighting.

“In addition to Kuergeng, the gallant and brave SPLA-IO forces under Major Nhial Kam Both, SPLM-SPLA (IO) Commissioner of Koch County entered and occupied Boaw and Pakur following the withdrawal of the visibly hungry and demoralized Juba regime soldiers from the area”, the statement reads.

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October 26, 2017 (WASHINGTON) - Juba has delayed the meetings of Sudan-South Sudan joint body on Abyei until a meeting between President Omer al-Bashir and his counterpart Salva Kiir, an international official said.

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) says the presence of armed elements from Sudan and South Sudan is causing further instability in the contested Abyei area, which is claimed by both countries (FILE)

In a briefing to the UN Security Council about the situation in Abyei on Thursday, Alexander Zuev, Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, explain why the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee didn't convene a meeting last July and stopped its activities.

Also, a meeting scheduled for 16 August in Addis Ababa had been postponed after South Sudan cited the need to await the outcome of the expected meeting between the Presidents of South Sudan and Sudan, Zuev said.

President Kiir will be in Khartoum on Tuesday 31 October according to the Sudanese foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour.

The international official urged both Governments to engage in discussions to resolve the deadlock over establishing the temporary institutions that should lead to the determination of Abyei's final status.

However, Akuei Bona Malwal the South Sudanese Ambassador to the UN told the meeting that the call to establish the Abyei Interim Administrative structures had been superseded by events.

Rather, he called for final settlement of the matter on the basis of the African Union High Implementation Panel proposal of 21 September 2013 which provides to hold the referendum without the participation of the Misseriya nomads. Sudan refused the proposal.

For his part, Sudanese Ambassador Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed regretted Juba "lack of enthusiasm" to implement the agreement of 20 June 2011 and renewed calls on the Government of South Sudan to establish the Abyei institutions to achieve a "lasting peace" as he said.

LACK OF WILLINGNESS

However, Luis Bermúdez, Uruguay's Ambassador to the UN warned the two parties against the lack of willingness to settle their dispute over Abyei.

"Since UNISFA was hamstrung by the lack of willingness on the part of both sides to resolve the conflict, it was their primary responsibility to implement the 2011 agreements," Bermúdez stressed.

The last mandate extension for UNISFA had been a conditional one because the Council stipulated in resolution 2352 (2017) that it would be the final extension unless both sides demonstrated that the Mechanisms established in the 2011 Agreement could function.

"The future of UNISFA was entirely in the hands of the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan," he emphasized.

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October 26, 2017 (JUBA) - A former South Sudan ruling party official has vowed to challenge President Salva Kiir in the country's next general elections.

Suzane Jambo, former SPLM secretary for external relations (File photo)

Suzanne Jambo, formerly the ruling party's (SPLM) secretary for foreign relations, said the current political situation in the young nation shaped her decision to bring changes in the young nation.

“I believe that I have the characters of leadership and strength through my ability and courage from my compatriots, comrades in the SPLM party to lead the nation,” Jambo told Sudan Tribune in a phone interview Thursday.

“I have an obsession for South Sudan, besides my ability such as programs and vision of my party SPLM, so I believe that I can deliver whatever this country wants to be done to its people,” she added.

Jambo, who currently lives in the United States, said she intends to form her own political party ahead of polls, due to be held in 2018.

The former ruling party official also appealed to President Kiir to allow the country undergo free and fair elections without any intimidation.

Before becoming secretary for external affairs in the ruling party, Jambo, a renowned human rights and civil society activist, also worked with various non-governmental organizations in South Sudan.

“Being from South Sudan, I am a direct victim of the war. I have seen a lot of suffering, particularly among women. I hate to see women being victimized. I really hate to see that. But it's a reality and it's happening,” she further said during the interview.

In August, President Kiir called upon the country's opposition groups to prepare for the country's general elections, earmarked to take place after the end of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) period in 2018.

To fast track processes leading to the polls, the South Sudanese leader officially launched the much-awaited national dialogue initiative and declared a unilateral cease-fire with rebels in May, although it has repeatedly been violated.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in South Sudan's conflict triggered by political differences between President Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar.

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October 26, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - A delegation of Sudanese refugees in Chad visited their home villages in Darfur region to see if the situation is good enough to return permanently from exile.

In May 2017, Chad, which hosts over 300,000 Sudanese refugees, Sudan and the refugee agency UNHCR signed an agreement to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees residing in eastern Sudan areas near the joint border.

"Twenty-five Sudanese refugee leaders are returning to their home villages for the first time this week on go-and-see visits organised by UNHCR and its government counterparts in Chad and Sudan," the UNHCR said in a statement released on 26 October.

The UN agency said this first official organised visit is a "positive step" to prepare the Sudanese refugees to return home.

“These visits are vital for refugees to see the situation in their villages so that they make informed choices about returning”, said Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR's Deputy Representative in Sudan.

She added that UNHCR in Sudan and Chad will continue to have a dialogue with Sudanese refugees and local states in Darfur, in coordination with Sudan's Commission for Refugees (COR), to help design supports for refugees interested in returning.

“The way forward requires that we assess and plan needs with refugees. The process must be sustainable and give people a real chance to re-establish their lives in Darfur in safe conditions that enable them to plan for their futures,”

Last week, the Commissioner for Voluntary Return and Reconstruction in Darfur Taj Eddin Ibrahim, who received the delegation of the Darfurian refugees in the border town of Aska, said the visiting refugees will be divided into three committees to visit the three return areas of the western, central and northern Darfur states.

He further told the official SUNA that the government is committed to providing the necessary means of return, including the provision of necessary services and livelihoods.

However, the rebel Sudan Liberation Forces (SLF) called on the Chadian government and the UNHCR to stop the voluntary return of refugees due to the lack of suitable conditions including security and compensations.

The Sudan Liberation Forces (SLF) appeals to the Chadian government and High Commissioner for Refugees to stop implementing the agenda of the Sudanese regime, which aims at deporting Sudanese refugees from the Chadian territory to Sudan without paying the internationally recognized peace bill.

The SLF Spokesperson Salah Abdel Mola called on the Chadian government and the international community to put the needed pressure on Khartoum government to achieve peace, security and stability in Sudan.

He called to create a platform for a just and comprehensive peace.

Further, he called to recruit the sons of these displaced and the refugees in the national army, police and security services to protect their relatives.

The SFF is a gathering of several rebel factions led by Taher Hajer who was close from the Chadian President Idriss Deby but declined to his call to sign a peace agreement with Khartoum and join the national dialogue process.

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Addressing lawmakers in the Central African Republic, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday stressed the international community&#39s commitment to helping tackle the myriad challenges plaguing the conflict-torn country, and strongly defended the role of the UN peacekeeping force there.

By Amb. Gordon Buay

There is an ongoing debate about the story of a Nuer woman in a refugee camp in Gambella who told Amb. Nikki Haley that she was forced to eat the flesh of her baby that was thrown into the fire. Such a false allegation from the woman became viral in the social media because it was mentioned by Amb. Haley in a press conference after she left the Refugee Camp.

In South Sudan, there is no practice of forcing people to eat human flesh. The story is definitely untrue. The Western journalists should take time to interview the woman who said it and find out which area did the incident take place.

According to AU report of 2015, the Nuer woman who claimed to have been forced to eat a human flesh is in Juba POC camp. That was the woman who made the first allegation that she was forced to eat human flesh in Juba on December 17, 2013.

Every Nuer in Greater Upper Nile, who claims to have been forced to eat a human flesh, is definitely lying because, in Malakal conflict, the White Army controlled the town five times. Most Nuer who were in Malakal ran to UNMISS PoC site after the White Army attacked the town.

When the SPLA forces captured Nasir on May 4th, 2014, there were no civilians in the town. Civilians fled while the SPLA forces were still 35 KM away from the town.

No single civilian died in Nasir let alone an allegation that a woman was forced to eat a human flesh.

Most Nuer refugees in Ethiopia are from Jikany and Lou Nuer. No one among them can persuade us that he or she was mistreated by the SPLA army. They ran to Ethiopia because of a conflict, not because they were forced to eat human flesh.

In South Sudan context, the only act which was practised by Murle was to throw a baby into a burning fire. The Nuer White Army did it to Dinka Bor toddlers in 1991. They threw them into a burning fire.

But no South Sudanese would force another South Sudanese to eat a human flesh. It is a taboo among the Nuer and Dinka.

Throwing babies into the fire was practised by the White Army in 1991 in Bor. But they didn't force Bor women to eat the flesh of their babies.

Not only that, if the perpetrators of such an incident could burn the baby, why then spare the mom, and how she ended escaping to Ethiopia? For those of us who are familiar with the war situation, none of such stories adds up.

The author is the Deputy Chief of Mission of South Sudan Embassy in Washington

By John Sunday Martin

When we knowingly or unknowingly taken by our selfish interests to defend untruth,
and to act unjustly to the cause of injustice in our society, we became knowingly or unknowingly. Devils in our society and as results, many innocent souls suffer because of the evil in us.

The violation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflicts in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCRSS) is a real crisis that the region is part too, because the agreement is not only violated by the SPLM-IG but the region itself – who are desperately now, trying to resolve it through application of means that is biased, and unhelpful to the people of South Sudan, the very victims of the crisis. The region knows the facts that, the battle that started in J1, from 8th July 2016 was well coordinated, and ordered by both President Salva Kiir and his army chief, Paul Malong Awan, yet the world sidelined with untruth, and injustices because of their corrupted political interests, and their deep hatred toward the person of Dr Riek Machar.

The corruption of those regional leaders resulted in their collaboration with President Salva Kiir and Taban Deng Gai against the interested of the south Sudanese for peace, justices and democracy and in this regards, the July 2016 coup staged against the person of Dr Riek Machar is contrived of Salva Kiir and Taban Deng Gai in collaboration with some corrupted regional leaders against the leadership of Dr Riek Machar and this is seconded by the decision of the regional leaders to sideline with the very evil regime of the SPLM-IG under Salva Kiir, and to confine Dr Riek Machar in the Republic of South Africa.

The July 2016 crisis is indeed a regional coup against the South Sudan democratization system and this act of the Regional leaders undermined the South Sudan's sovereignty – as the regional leaders indirectly attempted to impose a leader of their choice – that is Taban Deng Gai on the people – by trying all they can to force the nation to fully implement the agreement under his leadership while confining the leader of our choice in South Africa. This act of the region if not resisted, then our national sovereignty and democracy, can be lost to the region and in this regards, our struggle for the past decades for our freedom as South Sudanese was for nothing.

Therefore, the sideline of the regional leaders with untruth and injustices in South Sudan, became another crisis for the nation because the confinement of Dr Riek Machar as while imposition of Taban Deng Gai on the revolutionary forces, makes any peaceful resettlement of the political conflicts in the country far from reality special amongst the SPLM/A–IO political and military cadres. Today if there is no peace in South Sudan, it is because the region is imposing unwanted leadership on us, and this act of imposition of unwanted leaders likes of Taban Deng Gai becoming the strength of the SPLM-IO special in Equartoria, and this has helped the Equarorians through their tribal communities to be strong and united special in mobilization of the resources as well development of strong military and political leadership amongst the Equartorians to resist the regime in Juba, even without any single provisions from the SPLM/A–IO National leadership, or Dr Riek Machar.

The support of the regional leaders to the coup staged against Dr Riek Machar by the President Salva Kiir and Taban Deng Gai through confinement of Dr Riek Machar, as well imposing of Taban Deng Gai in leadership of the SPLM/A–IO, is the impossible project ever by President Salva Kirr and his International Partners (Region) that every democratic oriented, and patriot will resist. We are resisting this act of the regime and the region today because it is an act of ignorance of the most horrific atrocities and war crimes committed by the regime, and demeaning of not only South Sudan's democracy but national sovereignty – that most SPLM/A–IO cadres has willingly committed themselves to fight against even as Dr Riek Machar is in confinement. For us as rebel commanders of the SPLM/A–IO, the fight is not about bringing Dr Riek Machar back, or supporting his leadership, but to defend the causes of our national constitution and flag that defines south Sudan's sovereignty – the sovereignty that is now under threats no longer only from the regime of Salva Kirr, but the region at large.

In this regard, if the region really want peace, the first step is the release of Dr Riek Machar from confinement, and then open space for new political settlement and if they (region) want to bring Taban Deng Gai for their own interests in the leadership, it must seek other ways but not through, and use of the name of the SPLM-IO and ARCSS.

The author can be reached at john.sunday99@gmail.com

October 26, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir has requested the United States government to play its role in mending and helping to improve its current relations with neighbouring Sudan.

The senior presidential adviser and special envoy, Nhial Deng Nhial said president Kiir held a meeting with the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley on Wednesday, reiterating the role Washington played in negotiating the settlement of the conflict that led to the secession of South Sudan from Sudan in July 2011.

“Such roles can be replicated, enhanced and turned into building ties,” Nhial told Sudan Tribune Thursday.

“The Government of South Sudan thinks the US can do more and provide additional inputs that will improve the relations,” he added.

The South Sudanese leader, Nhial further said, also acknowledged the role played by the US in negotiations that led to the signing of the 2005 peace deal, which culminated into a peaceful secession.

“President Salva decided to express the gratitude of the People of South Sudan to the United States for its role to resolve the conflict in the country, which led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. He further urged the US to continue and play their role with the same spirit because the US has invested a lot in terms of promoting peace, harmony, and solidarity in South Sudan”, stressed Nhial.

The appeal comes just days before Kiir visits Sudan for bilateral talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Omer al-Bashir to discuss issues relating to peace implementation and revaluation of issues agreed upon in the 2012 cooperation agreement.

The visiting US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley on Wednesday said it was time for the South Sudanese president to act, not talk, if the civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people in the young nation is to come to an end.

“What I told him [Kiir] was that the United States does not want to hear a lot of talks. I was not to listen what he wants to say. I was here to say the United States is at a cross point. It not about the talks, it's about the action. We have to see a willingness of the Government and the military to stop the violence and stop the abuses that are happening in the country," Haley remarked.

While in Juba, however, Haley had what she described as a “very frank” conversation with President Kiir about the lack of progress towards peace since civil war broke out almost four years ago.

The senior US diplomat said Washington, particularly under the new Donald Trump administration, would not accept to wait anymore.

“We have lost trust in this [Kiir] government and we now need to regain that trust. The only way to regain that trust is through the actions of taking care of all of the people. President Kiir is the president of everyone, not just one tribe, not just one group. In order to be a leader you have to be willing to take care of all of your people,” said Haley.

“Time for action is now, we are not waiting anymore, we need to see a change and we need to see it right away”, she further stated.

Last month, President Trump announced Haley's visit to Africa during a meeting with African leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. Haley becomes the highest-ranking US official to visit Africa during President Trump administration.

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October 26, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The European Union has announced a $124 million humanitarian and development aid package for Sudan.

A woman sitting on the rubble of her destroyed home in Kalma IDP camp, South Darfur on 22 June (UNOCHA Photo)

The donation, the EU Commission said Monday, would go towards urgent food, water, sanitation, health and education needs, as well as supporting people who have been forced from their homes and the communities that host them.

EU's commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, Christos Stylianides, said the aid was necessary to meet the needs of displaced Sudanese as well as refugees who came from neighboring South Sudan.

"The humanitarian aid I am announcing today will help bring life-saving relief to the most vulnerable populations," said Stylianides during a visit to South Darfur in Sudan.

"Full humanitarian access throughout the country is crucial so that humanitarian workers can deliver aid safely to those in need," he added.

According to the UN, 4.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, with the majority located in the Darfur region.

Aid agencies were seeing improved access, particularly to places they had not been able to reach for several years, while thousands of displaced persons were able to return to home, the UN said.

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A selection of the best photos from across Africa and of Africans this week.