Nigerian police say they are investigating an officer who shot and killed an unarmed pregnant lawyer after she left a Christmas church service. A spokesman for the Lagos city police vowed the investigation would be swift but critics say Nigerian authorities aren’t doing enough to stop police brutality that sparked protests in 2020.

Police in Lagos condemned the Sunday shooting and say they are holding the officer and his teammates in detention pending the outcome of the investigation.

Spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said the case is being handled by the criminal investigation department for in-depth analysis.

He said police will re-appraise their rules of engagement to avoid future incidents.

The victim, Omobolanle Raheem, was on her way home from a Christmas Day service when the officer shot at her family’s vehicle at a checkpoint in Ajah, killing her and her unborn child.

The circumstances remain unclear, but according to local media, the officers were conducting a stop-and-search operation.

The incident has triggered widespread criticism of police and Nigerian authorities by citizens and rights groups, including Amnesty International.

On Monday, Lagos state police authorities met with the leaders of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).  Hussein Afolabi, a human rights lawyer, said there are too many open questions. 

“The only reason why you have to use your firearm is if somebody is armed,” he said. “There’s no reason, there’s no justification for that kind of shooting, I don’t know whether they’re going to do any drug test for that guy. Was he drunk? What was the guy’s mental state? Nobody knows.”

Afolabi has been trying to help four families that were victims of police brutality in Oyo state, including the family of Jimoh Ishiak, who was allegedly shot and killed near his house by officers during the widespread protests against police brutality in October 2020.

For two weeks that month, activists marched in the streets, calling on authorities to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS and dismiss its members from the police force.

Nigerian authorities said they were disbanding the unit but Afolabi says two years later, the officers are still employed.

“Were they retrenched? They said they disbanded,” Afolabi said. “Where are those people? They’re somewhere. They’re no longer SARS. I have friends who are SARS. They’re still in the Nigerian police force.”

End SARS protest leader Rinu Oduala said the government lacks the political will to address police brutality issues.

“[The] Nigerian government is a major perpetrator of police brutality against its own citizens and you can see that today,” Oduala said. “This has shown that the Lagos state government and the Nigerian government have learnt nothing and they’re not willing to address the grievances of police brutality protesters.”

Amnesty International said the police investigation must be impartial and made public.

Many will be waiting to see how — or if — justice is served.
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Somalia’s president over the weekend said the vast majority of paid civil servants were neither in the country nor working. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said 3,500 of 5,000 people on the government payroll appear to be so-called ghost workers.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s assertion that most government employees do not show up for work was condemned by Somalis.

While there have been similar claims in the past, the president’s statement was met with outrage and calls for action.

Mahad Mohamud is a fruit vender in Mogadishu. 

He notes the government relies heavily on donor support to fund its budget yet it pays people who do not report to work. Mohamud says the so-called ghost workers should be made to refund their salaries and be prosecuted for corruption and abuse of public trust.

Somalia’s 2023 national budget stands at about $960 million, more than two-thirds of it expected to come from donors. 

University graduate Deka Elmi says the president and prime minister must swiftly deal with the issue of ghost workers.

She says the government is paying more than 3,500 people who are not present at their offices while students who completed their education are jobless.  Elmi says the president and prime minister should urgently do something about it.

President Mohamud talked about the so-called “ghost workers” while addressing officials during Friday prayers at the presidential mosque.  

He said the government’s biometric time and attendance system shows the number of staff that are present. Mohamud says the machine does not lie but indicates whoever puts their thumb on it. Civil servants are more than 5,000, he says, but only 1,500 are present.

Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Saturday confirmed the problem and ordered ministries to inspect and ensure that staff follow working hours. 

University of Somalia political scientist Mohamed Matan doubts there are so many government workers not actually working. 

He says threats from al-Shabab militants, who target public servants, may also be keeping some away. 

Matan says fear of al-Shabab has forced everyone to trust only a few and to keep away from others.  Although, he notes, civil servants cannot be fired and that has also led them not to be committed (to work).  And even if they do go to the office, says Matan, they do not work.

Transparency International has for the last two decades ranked Somalia one of the most corrupt countries in the world. 

Mahad Wasuge is executive director of Somali Public Agenda, a research institution focusing on governance. 

He says ghost workers should be removed from public service, which should be reformed.

Wasuge says that can be achieved with a broad government plan regarding the reform of the civil service, which is based on open, transparent recruitment.  He says even director generals should be transparently recruited because they are not politicians but are there for administration and technical expertise.

Somalia is hoping to secure debt relief from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank by the end of 2023.

But it requires strict adherence to fiscal procedures, including prudent management of public resources and streamlining Somalia’s public service.  
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Ethiopia’s flagship carrier Ethiopian Airlines has announced it will resume daily flights to Tigray region’s capital Mekelle as an African Union-brokered peace deal moves forward.

The national carrier said it would operate daily flights from Wednesday and increase the number of daily flights depending on demand.

The airline halted flights to the region weeks after the war broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

In a statement, head of the airline Mesfin Tasew said the resumption of flights would help families connect as well as facilitate business and tourism.

A CNN investigation last year accused Ethiopian Airlines of transporting troops and weapons to fight the Tigrayan rebels.

The airline denied the allegations, saying the photo evidence was manipulated.

The announced resumption of flights comes just a day after Ethiopian officials arrived in Tigray’s capital Mekelle for the first time in nearly two years for implementation of a November peace deal.

The speaker of Ethiopia’s parliament Tagesse Chaffo Dullo led the delegation, which included a security advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, leaders of state companies, and members of Ethiopia’s National Dialogue Commission.

National Security Advisor Redwan Hussein tweeted Tuesday that Ethio Telecom, which was part of the delegation, was expected to announce further resumption of services to Tigray.

Hussein also tweeted the TPLF was expected to work until Thursday on handing over heavy weapons and control of Mekelle to Ethiopia’s military as agreed during meetings this month in Nairobi.

The delegation’s visit to Tigray was welcomed by a Tigrayan spokesman as a milestone in the peace agreement to end the war.

Getachew Reda tweeted Tuesday that the government’s gesture to green light what he called the long overdue restoration of services was commendable.

He noted that none of the delegation members were accompanied by security guards, which he called a testament to their confidence in Tigray’s commitment to the peace agreement.

Mediators from Kenya and the African Union are also expected to visit Tigray after Ethiopia and the TPLF agreed last week in Nairobi to a joint monitoring team.

Ethiopia has gradually lifted a blockade on much needed food and medical aid to Tigray and already restored some telecommunications.

Ethiopian federal and Tigrayan officials signed the African Union-brokered peace deal in South Africa on November 2, agreeing for hostilities to end, rebel groups to disarm, foreign fighters to leave, and blocked aid and other services to be restored.
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Reporters Without Borders has called on Algerian authorities to release journalist Ihsane El Kadi, director of the news outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent.

Radio M said El Kadi was taken into custody after six agents from Algeria’s Directorate General of Internal Security searched the offices of Radio M and Maghreb Emergent and seized computers and documents.

Radio M, an internet station, and Maghreb Emergent, its sister website, were seen as Algeria’s last outlets for independent news.

The news outlets said the arrest and search were part of a long-running intimidation and harassment campaign by authorities.

Reporters Without Borders tweeted that it “regrets these methods and calls for the release of the journalist and respect for the work of the media in the country.”

 
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Critics of Zambia’s law against insulting the president have welcomed the government’s repeal of the controversial measure as a step forward for democracy. Rights groups say the colonial-era law has been used to silence government critics. President Hakainde Hichilema announced the repeal over the weekend along with the abolition of the death penalty.

Daniel Sinjwala Libati, a human rights lawyer, told VOA that he is happy with the repeal of the defamation law, announced late Friday by Hichilema.

“Very good, very good,” he said. “It allows people to freely criticize, not insult, freely criticize the presidency and provide checks and balances and constructive criticism in line with freedom of expression under our bill of rights.”

Political analyst Guess Nyirenda said while he is happy with the amendment of the law, a lot still needs to be done to promote freedom of expression in Zambia.

“We would like to urge President Hakainde Hichilema to set the tone and continue doing good especially in attending to the draconian and archaic laws,” he said.

Opposition National Democratic Party leader Saboi Imboela has been arrested multiple times under the defamation law.

She told VOA that while she welcomes the repeal of the law, she urges Zambians to exercise caution. She noted that the existence of cybersecurity laws is a concern, as they still restrict freedom of expression.

“I see a situation whereby they are going to use any laws whatsoever to ensure that they get to the political opponents, so the people in Zambia should not even feel comfortable,” said Imboela. “They should be careful now actually more than ever before about what they say on Facebook because the president and his people are now going to use the cyber laws to come after you for whatever it is you are going to say.”

In a statement late Friday, Hichilema also announced the repeal of the death penalty. Zambia’s last execution took place in 1997 but some 250 people were still on death row as of 2021, including nine people newly sentenced.

Mwelwa Muleya, spokesperson for the Zambia Human Rights Commission, which oversees human rights issues in the country, told VOA the repeal of the laws will improve Zambia ‘s human rights record following increased arrests of political opponents.

“The signing of that bill into law is a landmark development towards enhancing fundamental rights to life and freedom of expression and must be commended by everyone,” said Muleya.

Earlier in 2022, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, met with Hichilema in Zambia, urging his government to repeal the defamation law, which had been used to silence critics since its enactment in 1965.

During his election campaign last year, Hichilema promised to uphold human rights and freedom of expression.

In the past year alone, at least 12 critics and opponents of Hichilema were arrested for insulting the president, some multiple times.
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Three prominent Congolese figures, including Nobel winner Denis Mukwege, on Monday accused President Felix Tshisekedi of pushing the country towards breakup by bringing in outside nations to tackle its security crisis.

In a sign of mounting pressures on Tshisekedi over DR Congo’s deeply troubled east, the trio said sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country faced “fragmentation” and “Balkanization.”

This is “the result of a blatant lack of leadership and governance by an irresponsible and repressive regime,” they said in a communique.

In addition to Mukwege, a gynecologist who co-won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping women victims of sexual violence, the statement was signed by politician Martin Fayulu, whom Tshisekedi defeated in controversial elections in 2018, and former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo.

Scores of armed groups roam eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, many of them a legacy of two regional wars that raged at the end of the last century.

The latest emergency is over a resurgent armed group called the M23, which has seized swathes of territory in North Kivu province since emerging from dormancy last year.

With the DRC’s armed forces floundering, Tshisekedi has called in a seven-nation body, the African Community (EAC), to deploy troops.

The EAC’s members include Rwanda and Uganda, which critics have long accused of stirring up friction in the east.

The DRC in particular accuses Rwanda of abetting the rebels — a claim Rwanda denies, although the assertion is supported in a new report by independent UN experts.

“Instead of providing the country with an effective army, the government has prioritized externalizing national security, (placed in the hands of) foreign forces and, even worse, of countries which are behind the destabilization of this country,” the three said in their statement.

The EAC force is under Kenyan command and Kenyan troops have already been deployed. But key details about its planned size, scope and composition remain unclear.

The M23, under pressure from the international community, took part in ceremonies last Friday to hand the strategic town of Kibumba over to the EAC force.

But the following day, the DRC army said the rebels’ purported withdrawal was a “sham” and accused the group of reinforcing its positions elsewhere.

Tshisekedi, a veteran opposition figure, was elected president in December 2018.

He succeeded Joseph Kabila, who had ruled with an iron fist since 2001, and whose decision to step down marked the country’s first-ever peaceful handover of power.

However, the vote was marked by allegations of rigging, and Fayulu insists he is the legitimate president, claiming more than 60% of the ballot.

Tshisekedi, Fayulu and Matata have already declared their intention to contest the next presidential elections, due on December 20, 2023.
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