Africa

The majority of people in Africa don't have a bank account or access to formal financial services, but mobile and web tech is stepping in to fill the gap.

Elizabeth Blunt, who witnessed her first African election in Nigeria in 1979, looks at how to spot the tell-tale signs of possible rigging.

A delegation from the United Nations Security Council is expected to visit South Sudan this week.

Zimbabwe's rap queen tells Newsbeat how she's using hip-hop to help other women in her country.

A look at Kenya's fast-growing crocodile farm industry, which is enjoying a big rise in demand for the animal's meat, led by China.

The first-ever aerial survey of Africa’s savannah elephants has shown a dramatic reduction in their numbers.

Elephants used to roam between borders of southern- African countries but threatened with poaching, the animals are now seeking refuge in Botswana which has strict conservation laws.

A plan to give Nigerian police recruits lie-detector tests is no guarantee of trustworthy officers, writes film-maker and columnist Farai Sevenzo.

August 29, 2016 (YAMBIO) – Over 160 members of the armed group initially lined to the armed opposition movement (SPLM-IO) in South Sudan's Western Equatoria have reportedly surrendered to government as part of the amnesty pardon from the president.

The map of Western Equatoria in red

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Yambio town mayor, Daniel Badagbu said the armed youth were surrendering to the army and other security organs in large numbers.

“We have been receiving members of the armed group in Gbudue state who are abandoning the bush to come home to benefit from the amnesty the president gave to all armed groups in the country,” said Badagbu.

According to the mayor, a committee comprising of government officials, members of the organized forces and the security organs to receive those surrendering as they wait for directives from government on reintegration plans.

Directives were also given to all commissioners to receive those surrendering peacefully and hand them to authorities.

The inter-faith based council for peace and civil society groups have been encouraged to organise a reconciliation workshop and trauma healing sessions in communities to assist the armed groups who surrender to the government.

Hundreds of people died and thousands displaced during the conflict, which also led to the destruction of properties.

The mayor, however, said the state was relatively calm in the past few weeks without gunshots and killings except for a few cases of night theft, which could not be avoided.

He appealed to all armed youth to surrender in order to benefit from the amnesty pardon.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KAMPALA) – A South Sudanese armed opposition (SPLM-IO) youth leader allied to the country's former first vice president Riek Machar has called on young people to join the rebel movement, which he described as the only party organisation that represents diverse ideology.

Rebel fighters hold their weapons as they march through a village in rebel-controlled territory in South Sudan's Upper Nile state on 9 February 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

Omojok Obac said South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) lacked the basis of democracy and equality and should be abandoned infavour of the SPLM-IO's “inclusiveness”.

He urged South Sudanese youth to join the armed opposition and champion democracy, freedom and equality.

"The SPLM/A-IO youth league also urges all south Sudanese to Join this Party with great political vision, objectives, and goals that are able to tackle all problems and challenges our country is currently facing,” he told Sudan Tribune.

The youth leader welcomed the recent solidarity shown by the Congolese government after it aided the exit of Machar from the bushes of Western Equatoria state where he had been holed up for weeks after leaving Juba last month.

The armed opposition leader was forced out of the South Sudan capital following clashes between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir near the presidential palace on 8 July. More than 270 soldiers died in the clashes.

According to Obac, President Kiir's government allegedly failed to implement the peace agreement mediated by leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

The armed opposition youth leader insisted that the young men and women in the country had a role to play to end the fighting as they did during decades of war with Sudan. He claimed South Sudan will never be a free state unless all sector reforms for the liberty and equality of people takes place.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Monday received an invitation from his Malian counterpart, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to attend the summit meeting of La Francophonie in the capital, Bamako next January.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir as they pose for photographers ahead of the African Union summit in Johannesburg June 14, 2015 (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko)

On Monday, al-Bashir has received Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop who handed him a written message from Keïta pertaining to bilateral ties between the two countries and ways to promote and enhance relations.

In his message, President Keïta has also invited al-Bashir to attend the summit meeting of La Francophonie in Bamako next January.

Meanwhile, President of Guinea-Bissau José Mário Vaz on Monday has concluded a two-day visit to Khartoum where he met with al-Bashir and senior government officials.

Sudan's State Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Ismail told the official news agency (SUNA) that Mário Vaz has discusses with al-Bashir bilateral relations between the two countries besides a number of regional and international issues.

Ismail pointed the visiting president expressed appreciation for the Sudanese leadership, saying he demanded Sudan to assist his country in the economic and agricultural domains.

According to Ismail, Mário Vaz also called for the need to open a Sudanese embassy in Guinea-Bissau and to continue economic, political, cultural, education and training cooperation between the two countries.

The Sudanese minister added that al-Bashir agreed to provide Guinea-Bissau with all needed assistance, saying the latter accepted an invitation by Mário Vaz to visit Guinea-Bissau and promised to carry it out soon.

Al-Bashir is under two International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants since 2008 for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

Mali has ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC on 16 August 2000 and therefore has an obligation to arrest al-Bashir.

The Sudanese president visited several African states members of the ICC but he was not arrested. However, the issue generated a large literature in the international law on Bashir's immunity.

His June 2015 visit to South Africa for an African Union summit stirred up a domestic controversy after the government there refused to arrest him and ignored a High Court order barring his departure. He managed to escape hours before the court ordered his apprehension.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) on Monday revealed that 40,620 families have been affected by the heavy rains and floods that hit the country recently.

A flooded area in Sudan (OCHA)

At a press conference held on Monday, SRCS secretary general Osman Gaafar said his organization provides assistance to the affected population directly and not through any government agency, pointing the aid is being distributed with high level of transparency.

He added that aid was so far distributed to 48,6% of the affected, expecting the current ratio would increase to 76% the during this week.

Gaafar pointed they received significant assistance from the Arab nations, saying that a Saudi air cargo plane carrying aid for the affected has arrived this week.

He stressed that more than 21,000 houses have been completely destroyed by the rains and flood, saying about 1400 SRCS volunteers are helping to distribute the assistance.

The Sudanese authorities had earlier said more than 100 people were killed by rain and flash floods.

Earlier this month, the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cited Sudanese government and humanitarian partners as saying that heavy rain and flooding since early June have affected over 122,000 people and destroyed over 13,000 houses in many parts of Sudan.

The most affected states are Kassala, Sennar, South Kordofan, West Kordofan and North Darfur.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Donald Booth, on Monday has visited Blue Nile State to assess the humanitarian situation in the region.

Booth has arrived in Khartoum on Sunday in for the second time in less than a month.

On Monday, Booth and his accompanying delegation met in Ed-Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile State, with the Governor Hussein Yassin, senior officials and humanitarian aid commission workers.

During the meeting, the governor accused Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) of repeatedly attacking civilians and aid workers in the state.

“The humanitarian situation in Blue Nile State is stable thanks to federal government efforts in providing services and supporting stability in the state,” said Yassin.

According to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Yassin also accused the SPLM-N of attacking the staff of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society.

The Ministers of Health and Urban Panning briefed the U.S. envoy on the provision of services and humanitarian needs.

Official sources told Sudan Tribune that Booth was interested to learn about the general conditions of civilians affected by the armed conflict in the state and the humanitarian assistance provided to them.

In a statement on Sunday, U.S. Department of State pointed that Booth will engage with a range of people in Blue Nile State affected by conflict. The statement said he will meet with Sudanese government officials, civil society, community leaders, and the staff of international organizations to open discussion and unimpeded exchanges.

“The United States remains deeply committed to the Sudanese people. Through visits like this, the Special Envoy will continue to engage constructively with the Government of Sudan and all parties to realize inclusive dialogue and a peaceful and stable Sudan,” says U.S Department of State statement.

Meanwhile, the opposition alliance of the Future Forces of Change (FFC) said they discussed with staff members of the U.S. special envoy's office the national dialogue and ways to engage all political forces in the process.

By the end of last July, the U.S. envoy visited Darfur to asses the humanitarian situation in the war-torn region.

After the visit, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on August 1st, arrested 15 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) leaders in Nertiti town, Central Darfur state, following a meeting with Booth.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour denied that NISS arrested the IDPs, but admitted that some of them “May be (...) arrested by the local authorities."

Booth will meet on Tuesday in Khartoum with the Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid who also heads government delegation to the talks on the Two Areas to discuss preparations for the next round of negotiations with rebel groups.

Earlier in August, the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) suspended peace talks on Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states after the parties failed to agree on security arrangements and humanitarian access.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011 and a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) – The body monitoring implementation of South Sudan's peace agreement said it would work with the controversially-appointed First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, although hopes for honouring last year's peace accord were diminishing.

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) said President Salva Kiir and former first vice President Riek Machar “lack political will” to work together and implement the peace agreement.

“Although the legitimacy of Taban Deng [Gai] as First Vice President is questionable, diplomats will work with him because they don't have an option,” JMEC chairman and Festus Mogae told the Associated Press.

Gai was appointed to replace Machar, a move described as “illegal” by supporters of the former rebel leader.

Machar fled the South Sudanese capital Juba when his bodyguards clashed with soldiers loyal to President Kiir. He is now in Sudanese capital Khartoum.

JMEC's position to work with Gai come days after U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and regional countries vowed last week to cooperate with the country's new vice president.

Mogae said Kiir and Machar lack the political will to work together for peace in South Sudan.

“There is no political will to implement the peace agreement. They [Kiir and Machar] are bent on a military solution, not political solution,” he said.

He said Gai's appointment adds weight to efforts to realize peace in the country.

“I am more disillusioned or less optimistic than I was when I first came. I thought that common and logic could persuade them to do right thing,” said the former Botswana president.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) - August 29, 2016 (JUBA) - A United States congressional Subcommittee on Africa and Global Human Rights on the visit to South Sudan has urged the African Union (AU) to speed up the establishment of the hybrid court for South Sudan in order to bring to book South Sudanese leaders accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity from 15 December 2015.

Christopher Henry Smith, who is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations at the U.S. House of Representatives, said he is in South Sudan with his team to listen, learn and hear from the leaders what are their plans with regards to the establishment of the hybrid court in accordance with the August 2015 peace agreement.

“This is an important mission to this country. It is a country of world people and a country where the United States has investment of a lot in terms of resources and diplomatic engagement. Because of the conflict, the congress decided to come here to be able to meet, listen, learn and hear directly from the leaders their plans to address the situation,” said Smith head of the delegation.

The congressman said he was a believer of the hybrid court stipulated in the peace agreement to try South Sudanese leaders implicated in the crimes committed in Juba and beyond from 15 December 2015.

“As for me I'm a strong believer in hybrid court. So I would hope the AU should move faster and I think also should go intending with the reconciliation effort as well which is articulated in the peace accord,” he said.

The peace agreement gives the hybrid court the jurisdiction on genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and any other serious crimes under international law and any other relevant laws of South Sudan.

The court will have seven judges, four from the AU-member countries and three from South Sudan. This court, according to the peace agreement, should be established by the African Union to investigate and try individuals responsible for violations of human rights during the conflict and throughout the transitional period.

It also stresses that the court should have been established six months after the formation of the transitional government.

AU last year released a report implicating senior officials of South Sudan's government in the ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Thousands of civilians, mainly from the Nuer ethnic group, were murdered in Juba by presidential guards loyal to President Kiir from the onset of the conflict in December 2013.

Other civilians from other ethnicities, mainly the Dinka, were also killed in retaliatory action by forces loyal to Riek Machar, leader of the opposition.

However, the current government in Juba seems to be reluctant to establish the hybrid court in fear of punishing senior government's political and military officials.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government on Monday disclosed the First Vice-President of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai has promised during his recent visit to Khartoum that Juba would evict Sudanese rebels from its territory within three weeks.

Last week, Gai concluded a three-day visit to Khartoum where he handed over President Omer al-Bashir a special message from South Sudan's President Silva Kiir Mayardit.

Sudan's Minister of Information and official spokesperson Ahmed Bilal Osman on Monday told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that his government is waiting for Juba to fulfil the promises made by Gai to drive out Sudanese rebels from South Sudan's territory within three weeks.

He described his government's relations with South Sudan's government as good, saying they work to maintain unity within the newborn nation and to support efforts of the United Nations to achieve stability in the country.

Following his meeting with the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir last week, Gai didn't rule out that the outstanding security issues between Juba and Khartoum would be settled within three weeks, directing his defence minister to immediately implement instructions of the top leadership in both countries to resolve the security issues.

He said that his government wouldn't allow Sudanese rebels to work within South Sudan's territory to threaten Sudan's security, stressing his country wouldn't harbour rebel groups who wage war against Khartoum.

“We hope that Sudan wouldn't serve as a launching pad for Machar,” he added.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan's independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues, particularly accusations of support to rebel groups .

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Trial of Christian pastors resumed on Monday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum amid remarkable presence from western diplomats and rights groups.

South Sudanese worshippers attend Sunday prayers in Baraka parish church in Haj Yusif on the outskirts of Khartoum on 10 February 2013 (Photo: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

Last week a Sudanese court began the trial of two Sudanese Christian pastors, a Czech missionary filmmaker and a human rights activist. The four are accused of conducting intelligence activities and providing material support for the rebels in South Kordofan.

Charges were filed against the defendants under articles of the Criminal Code and article (29) of the Passports and Immigration Law on sneaking into the country illegally besides article (23) of the Humanitarian and Voluntary Work Act pertaining to running a voluntary organization without registration.

Some of those charges are punishable by death.

During the court session, the prosecutor displayed several photos and videos seized from the Czech missionary filmmaker showing sites from the war-affected areas in South Kordofan, saying the latter handed over these photos to a foreign organization by the name of BBF.

He added that the photos show a team from the BBF looking at a map of the Nuba Mountain and planning to go to areas claimed to be destroyed by the Sudanese army, pointing they were intending to interview civilians who they say tortured by the Sudanese authorities.

The prosecutor also presented pictures in which the accused appear with members of the BBF and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/North besides photos of destroyed buildings that were claimed to be bombarded by government warplanes.

The judge, Osama Ahmed Abdallah, pointed the photos underscored that the accused was present alongside the BBF team in the Nuba Mountains in 2012.

On Saturday, the SPLM-N) called on the United States Special Envoy Donald Booth who is visiting the country nowadays to help to secure the release of detained pastors and activists in Sudan.

Last August, a Sudanese court acquitted two South Sudanese pastors who were charged with espionage and inciting tribal sentiments and ordered their immediate release after they spent seven month in detention.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) - The South Sudanese army (SPLA) command has dismissed reports alleging that forces targeted innocent civilians perceived to be hoarding food items and sympathizing with youth suspected to have links with the armed opposition.

A SPLA soldier stands in front of a vehicle in Juba on December 20, 2013. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

The deputy spokesperson of the SPLA, Col. Santo Doming the report was an attempt to tarnish the image of the army by "anti-peace elements within the community".

He said the army command was unaware of such allegations against the military, but admitted the existence of hostile groups opposed to restoration of law and order in the area.

“For sure these are allegations do not carry any single truth. They are the work of anti-peace elements who are determined to concoct such divisive allegations to appeal an ethnic attention the activities of our gallant forces who are working hard to restore law and order in the country so that civilians to stay safe in their homes so as to resume their normal life”, said Doming.

The officer's remarks came in the wake of allegations that security forces slaughtered five family members, who included three elders in Yei county of Central Equatoria state.

Government forces, the locals say, entered a village in Mukaya county in the early hours of Wednesday and hacked a family of five to death. They allegedly returned on Thursday in a large number estimated to be about 180 heavily armed personnel and hacked three others elders before ransacking the whole village and made away with the looted items.

The three elders, sources told Sudan Tribune on the condition of anonymity, were killed because of alleged allegiance of their sons to politicians allied to the armed opposition.

This incident came days after government forces with armed opposition forces in Gimunu, an area located 8 miles on Yei-Juba road, resulting in the death of two civilians.

Eyewitnesses said government soldiers burnt down everything in Gimunu, forcing civilians to flee the area for safety. The incident triggered a massive exodus of civilians to neigbouring Uganda, where millions of people from different ethnic groups in the country are seeking safety since 2013 in refugee camps located in neighboring nations.

(ST)

August 29, 2016 (JUBA) – Paramount chiefs in South Sudan hailing from the Nuer community have issued a joint statement disowning the newly appointed First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai, who on 24 July replaced Riek Machar, another Nuer fellow, in a controversial process contested by supporters of the latter.

Jikany-Nuer community leaders posing picture with South Sudan Vice President, Riek Machar in Juba, May 4, 2013 (ST)

In a statement bearing names of 14 paramount chiefs representing Nuer communities in the 14 greater counties in the states of Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei, inhabited by the Nuer, they rejected what they said was an illegal replacement of Machar.

“The above communities do not support the illegal move by Pres. Salva Kiir replacing Dr. Riek Machar Teny as the First Vice President of South Sudan with Gen. Taban Deng Gai,” partly reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

“The Naath communities believe that Gen. Taban Deng Gai defected from the SPLM-IO and joined the SPLM In Government (IG). So, we take Gen. Taban Deng Gai treacherous manoeuvres as a mere propaganda played by the tribal Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) to prolong the suffering of the people of South Sudan for the selfish and tribal interests,” it reads.

“Therefore, we stand strong behind the able and wise leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, the undisputed First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan,” the statement further asserted.

The chiefs also condemned the continued attacks by government forces “on civilians in Upper Nile Region, Equatoria and Northern Bhar el Ghazel”, including what they said was the “earth scorching searches” to eliminate them and Machar.

“So, we reject the defected Gen. Taban Deng Gai from our Nuerland and do not support him. We also condemn President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Gen. Taban Deng Gai government for violating the peace agreement (ARCISS) signed by both leaders in August 2015.”

The traditional leaders also called on President Kiir to resign, charging that his leadership has been a reason for the prolonged suffering of the people of South Sudan.

(ST)

August 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim has promised to release Prisoners of War (POWs) from government forces at the request of a Sufi Islamic cleric.

JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim talks to reporters in Addis Ababa on 13 August 2016 (ST Photo)

On 10 August, the leader of the Kabashi Sufi sect Abdel-Wahab al-Khalifa al-Hibir al-Kabashi sent a letter to JEM's leader appealing to him to release government POWs.

In a letter he wrote in response to al-Kbashi's message, Ibrahim said he appreciates the latter's request, pointing the religious leader and the POWs families would soon hear good news in this regard.

According to the political advisor of the (JEM-Dabago), a breakaway group from JEM, Nahar Osman Nahar, more than 100 POWs and detainees are currently being held in JEM's prisons including former members of the executive office and commanders from the movement such as Hashim Haroun besides other civilian detainees.

He told Sudan Tribune that nine detainees from JEM-Dabago are still detained by JEM after 9 others managed to flee from the movement's prisons in Deim Zubeir Camp in Western Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan.

For his part, JEM-Dabago leading figure Issa Mohamed Issa said that JEM currently detains 48 people besides a similar number of POWs from the Sudanese army.

Issa, who escaped from JEM prisons in South Sudan, added the movement had more than once in the past released government POWs through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

He called upon the humanitarian groups and the international community to check on the conditions of the detainees at JEM prisons.

JEM-Bashar, a breakaway group from JEM, inked a peace agreement negotiated with the Sudanese government on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in the Qatari capital in 2013.

Following that, JEM killed the leader of JEM-Bashar, Mohamed Bashar, and his deputy Suleiman Arko, and detained more than 20 others in an attack near the Chadian border while they were returning to Khartoum.

JEM-Bashar subsequently appointed Bakheit Abdallah Dabago as Bashar's successor.

(ST).