Nairobi — Former Ghanaian President John Mahama is one of the main challengers of ruling party candidate Mahamudu Bawumia in the West African nation’s December 7 national elections.

If he wins, Mahama vows to cultivate a 24-hour business environment to bolster job creation and improve an economy recovering from a $30 billion external debt default in 2022. Bawumia, the current vice president, says despite the recent woes associated with the post-COVID pandemic and some internal pressures he too is committed to strengthening the economy.

Candidates

Since 1992, the country has been governed by either the National Democratic Congress or the New Patriotic Party, and that is not likely to change, University of Ghana senior lecturer Kwame Asah Asante told VOA.

“It’s the dominant parties; one of them is going to carry the day. … From 1992 up to 2020, the minor parties, if you put all their performance together, on average … they have not gone up to 5%. … But it’s also true … if they can hit more than 4% of their strength … they are able to push the election to a second round.”

On the streets of the capital, Accra, billboards of the various candidates in the December presidential election are everywhere, and voters’ excitement is palpable.

Some say they are tired of the two parties and have not decided yet for whom they’ll vote.

“Since 1992 to this year, we haven’t changed parties … every day it’s NPP NDC … we want [to] change to [a] different party so that we would see more improvements,” Angela Ofori, an undecided voter told VOA.

John Taden, an international political economist and an assistant professor of international studies at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, said that outside the main two political parties, there are newcomers that “appear to be exciting to the youth … [Nana] Kwame Bediako also known as Cheddar. He’s popular…but he hasn’t gained that much ground to make an impact in the outcome of the election…the best he can do this time might be to force a runoff.”

The 44-year-old Bediako who calls himself a visionary is running as an independent candidate. In addition to focusing on improving the everyday lives of Ghanaians, the vision in his manifesto includes developing “eco-friendly policies that ensure Ghana’s progress is not only economically sound but also environmentally responsible.”

Issues/economy

Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world according to the United Nations Development Program, but the country defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt in 2022 after the effects of years of borrowing were made worse by the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grain supply disruption caused by the war in Ukraine also had its effects. It triggered a shortage of about 30 million metric tons of grain in Africa in the first year of the war alone, according to the Atlantic Council, a policy research organization based in Washington.

Asante said there are many critical issues at stake in this year’s elections, including infrastructure development, health, education, corruption, and unemployment, but many voters are zeroing in on one matter.

“The economy will play an important role because it’s a bread-and-butter issue; we’ve seen time and again that anytime you have a very difficult economy, campaigning becomes difficult for the government of the day,” he said.

A view echoed by Taden.

“In the U.S., we saw [President-elect Donald] Trump come back to power because of inflation and, in Ghana, inflation at some point was at a historic 54% over the last 18 months …but domestically, they have faced a lot of sustained protests over illegal mining, a crisis that has taken place in the south, where people without mining licenses have engaged in consistent destruction of the environment without any government oversight or restriction,” Taden said.

Illegal mining, known locally as “galamsay”, is affecting forest cover and arable land for agriculture purposes, and now poses a serious threat to the cocoa production, Asante said.

These issues have pushed some voters, such as Wisdom Gavor and Janet Bawah, to say they will not vote for the current government. Instead, they want Mahama, the former president who has made a comeback and promises a 24-hour economy.

“Currently we are using a one shift system. So, if the 24-hour economy comes, it’s going to be three shifts. For example, a hundred staff is working in one organization, so if the 24-hour economy comes, it’s going to be 300 staff,” Gavor said.

“The suffering is too much for us … today you go to buy this, the price is different. The next day, different prices. So, we want a change in the system,” Bawah told VOA.

Others say they will stick with the ruling NPP candidate and current Vice President Bawumia, giving him full credit for some of the policy changes his party brought to the country.

“One policy I am very happy about is the digitization policy. … This policy is about creating jobs online, making everything more accessible and taking it away from the traditional ways of doing things, to the modern way,” NPP voter Ivan Duke told VOA.

Taden agreed with that assessment saying “Dr. Bawumia is called Mr. Digital because he did promise to digitize the Ghanaian economy and to some extent he has delivered on a lot of those promises. He has introduced some digitization into the health sector and to government operations that have created a lot of efficiency. They have eliminated some backlogs in some government operations and some ghost names in government payrolls.”

Ghana is generally viewed as a stable democracy in a region plagued by coups. Despite some polls suggesting the results could sway one way or the other, this year’s election is expected to be highly competitive.
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ADDIS ABABA / WASHINGTON — Ethiopia, home to the African Union, is grappling with intensified military operations, rebel attacks, drone strikes on villages, unverified reports of beheadings, abductions, school and hospital closures, and growing calls for peace — all unfolding simultaneously.

On November 5, residents of the town of Gojam in the Amhara region were enjoying a quiet day when they heard a drone overhead. In quick succession, they said, the drone dropped bombs on a market and a health center. Locals said more than 40 people were killed.

One resident told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service that the bomb that hit the health center landed on a waiting room for pregnant mothers. “It hit that room and killed five mothers and two assistants. Seven people died in that single room,” he said.

Locals blame the attack on the federal government, which has been fighting Fano rebels in the region, though the government denies responsibility.

The incident underscored the chaos and violence that have engulfed much of Ethiopia despite promises of peace from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed when he took power in 2018. Abiy brought a formal end to the country’s long-running conflict with Eritrea, but his time in office has been marked by ethnically driven conflicts in the Oromia, Tigray and Amhara regions, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the displacement of millions.

 

A country divided internally

The conflict in the Oromia region began when the Oromo Liberation Army, or OLA, refused to disarm and split from the Oromo Liberation Front, or OLF, which had returned from neighboring Eritrea after Abiy came to power. The OLA claims it is fighting for the self-determination and rights of the Oromo people.

This conflict was followed by a two-year war in the Tigray region, which ended with a 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement concluded in Pretoria.

In the Amhara region, the conflict has been ongoing since April last year, after the government attempted to disarm regional paramilitary forces. That sparked resistance from the Fano militias, who had previously allied with the government during the brutal war in Tigray.

Clashes between Ethiopia’s army and Fano militias surged in October, according to the independent data collecting organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, or ACLED, which said drone strikes in the Amhara region have resulted in over 430 fatalities since April 2023.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said human rights abuses affected more than 8,200 victims in Ahmara and Oromia in 2023, a 56% increase over the year before. It accused state actors of responsibility for most of the incidents.

The rights office also said the use of drones by the Ethiopian National Defense Force resulted in disproportionate levels of civilian casualties.

The OLA is also blamed for deadly attacks, including an incident last week in which nine civilians were rounded up and killed in Arsi Zone of Oromia region. The OLA denied attacking civilians.

Ethiopian Communications Service Minister Legesse Tulu denied that the government is targeting civilians, saying its actions have been falsely portrayed by media outlets that weren’t identified. In a statement, Legesse said the government’s actions against “the extremist forces” in the Amhara region were “measured and planned.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Abiy last month, expressing concern about the “growing violence” in the region.

 

Targeting of civilians denied

In August 2023, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region, which is home to around 23 million people. All parties involved in the conflict have been accused of human rights violations, though each has denied responsibility.

Many schools in Amhara have been closed, leaving millions of children without education. On September 18, two teachers were killed in Sinan district of East Gojam, causing fear and concern among local educators.

The regional administration, without naming specific groups, accused armed factions “claiming to represent the Amhara people” of being responsible for the killings.

Fano militias have also been accused of killing civilians in the Oromia region, where two attacks in June and July left a total of 39 civilians dead. They were also accused in the deaths of a judge and other civilian officials in Amhara.

Eskinder Nega, a former journalist, an activist and now one of the leaders of the Fano militia, denied that the group targets civilians.

“Of course not,” he said in an interview with VOA last week. “We are fighting the government because civilians were attacked.”

Eskinder acknowledged that there are multiple factions of the Fano militia operating in the Amhara region. When asked about the group’s justification for closing schools and opposing their reopening, he said it was for the safety of students and the community.

Ethiopian officials, including Legesse, did not respond to repeated VOA requests for comment regarding the interview with the Fano official.

An independent Ethiopian analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity because of safety concerns, said the conflict in the Oromia and Amhara regions was becoming more intense and complex.

“The government mainly controls cities and towns, while the rural areas are contested by insurgents and pro-government forces,” he said. “The government’s strategy remains the same in both regions: using its military and local police to eliminate the insurgency. The OLA has remained fairly cohesive until recently. Fano, however, is highly fragmented.”

Mixed results

On the fifth anniversary of his Prosperity Party’s foundation last week, Abiy reiterated his call for rebels to engage in peace talks.

“As I have repeatedly stated, our brothers in the Amhara and Oromia regions will not defeat us, even if they fight for a thousand years. They will not bring about change, no matter how many times they rise and fall. I once again call on them, at this esteemed conference, to abandon that path and seek peace,” he said.

Just hours after his remarks, the Oromia regional government signed a peace agreement with Jaal Segni Negassa, a renegade commander of the Oromo Liberation Army who broke ties with OLA’s overall commander, Jaal Marroo.

OLA official Jiregna Gudeta dismissed the peace agreement, saying it was made with individuals who had been “expelled” from the organization.

In the Amhara region, the Fano militia group also rejected the government’s peace efforts, calling them “insincere.”

Government officials “believe in a military victory. Unless they change their approach fundamentally, it’s very difficult to take them seriously when they speak about peace,” Eskinder said.

This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.
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NAIROBI, KENYA — Naomi Kolian recounts the ordeal at her parents’ house at the age of 13. Kolian, now a mother of five, said her parents arranged for her genital mutilation during a school break. She had just taken her national examination.

”They stripped off my clothes, poured cold water on me. I passed out,” she said. “When I recovered, I realized that a certain woman was already cutting me, out of pain I tried to jump so they tied both of my legs with ropes.”

As of 2021, at least 14.8% of Kenyan women like Kolian had undergone female genital mutilation, or FGM, according to the Britain-based FGM/C Research Initiative; 45.6% are cut between 5 and 9 years of age. It is seen as a rite of passage for girls and considered a compulsory step before marriage.

Now men are stepping up to end the practice. Through a movement called “MenEndFGM,” they are educating others on the dangers of FGM and sensitizing communities where cultural norms and traditions such as FGM run deep.

The movement’s executive director, Tony Mwebia, said most men in the communities that support FGM are ignorant of what the cut entails and are always providing resources and guarding the FGM ceremonies.

”As MenEndFGM, what we do is we go and have conversations with men,” said Mwebia. “We show the visual materials, we use a lot of chats, we use videos, photos of complications in labor wards.”

At least 600 men like Noah Sampeke, a senior chief in Kenya’s Kajiado County, have joined the movement that started as an online campaign. Sampeke said he regrets keeping the tradition of marrying only women that have undergone the cut.

Sampeke said he comes from a community where “it was compulsory for women to get the cut and if she got pregnant without the cut, she was considered an outcast. But now I will not force my girls to get the cut.”

In November, Kenyan women’s rights activists began 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, among which female genital mutilation is the most egregious violation, according to advocates. They said a collective movement for change is crucial.

Ajra Mohamed is country representative for Nguvu Collective, a women’s advocacy group.

”They might [say] that because we have very strict regulations, people will avoid FGM, while on the ground, people are actually hiding it and community leaders are supporting that,” said Mohamed. “So, if you have connected them with grassroots activists, they will be able to inform them to be the whistleblowers.”

Kenya ratified the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act in 2011 and established an anti-FGM board, an agency that spearheads campaigns to eradicate FGM. The agency’s CEO, Bernadette Loloju, told VOA that the board is promoting alternative rites of passage such as training girls into adulthood without a cut.

FGM rates slightly declined from 21% to 15% in a 2022 demographic health survey. Officials believe that the approach of incorporating men will help eradicate FGM.
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ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s former state minister for peace was released from jail Thursday, a day after he was rearrested by security forces just minutes after a court cleared him to be freed on bail.  

Taye Dendea was taken by security forces wearing police uniforms shortly after he walked out of prison Wednesday, according to his family. 

Taye’s wife, Sintayehu Alemayehu, told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service that he was released a second time Thursday. She said he was taken to a federal police facility where she met him and gave him food this morning. 

“We visited him at the facility in the morning hours and no one explained to us why they took him after the court granted him bail,” she added. 

Sintayehu says after she left him at the station, her husband called her on the phone and asked to be picked up.  

“He is at home now,” she said. 

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission also has confirmed his release. 

The family and politicians expressed concern for Taye’s safety after his rearrest as he stepped out of the Kilinto Prison Center in Addis Ababa at about 4:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. 

“Before he could reunite with his family, they intercepted him right at the gate, with his personal belongings still in his hands,” Sintayehu said in a phone interview. “It happened so abruptly that it’s difficult to say he was truly released.” 

Taye was arrested in December last year after he posted comments criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government. Following the post, he was initially charged with collaborating with groups aiming to destabilize Ethiopia. He also was charged with using social media platforms to endorse violence. 

A judge later dropped those charges without requiring him to present a defense but ordered him to defend against a third charge concerning the “illegal” possession of firearms.  

Ethiopia’s Supreme Court rejected his request for bail but after a lengthy hearing, the Federal Appeals Court on Monday ruled Taye was to be released on bail of 20,000 birr (about $158) pending his gun charge case. 

He is to appear at the Lideta Federal High Court on December 10 on the firearm charge. 

Prominent Ethiopian politician and activist Jawar Mohammed welcomed the release. 

“Taye Dendea’s release is good news for the family and friends after he was abducted yesterday by security forces while leaving prison after he was granted bail,” he wrote on social media platform X. 

“The lawless act of abducting people after they are released by the court of law has become a common pattern of intimidation and violence by security forces. We all must fight back to end is to allow a meaningful exercise of the rule of law by the judiciary.”

Ethiopian communications officials did not immediately respond to VOA requests for comment. 

Rebel defections 

Taye’s original criticism included blaming the government for the failure of peace talks with the Oromo Liberation Army, or OLA, in Tanzania last year. 

On Sunday, authorities in Ethiopia’s Oromia region announced signing a peace deal with a commander belonging to the OLA. 

Shimelis Abdisa, president of the Oromia regional state, announced the agreement with Jaal Segni Nagassa, a former member of the OLA executive committee and former commander of the group in the central region. 

The details of the agreement have not been released but the state media outlets described the deal as “one of the steppingstones to solve the ongoing insecurity crisis across Oromia.” 

In his televised speech on state-run outlets, Shimelis said the region appreciated the step taken by Segni “to take such measures to bring normalcy to the region.” 

Segni said he decided to take the peace deal after “seeing the suffering of the people of Oromo.” 

It was in late September that Segni announced during a teleconference arranged by the Ethiopian military officials that he was “ready to resolve the conflict in the Oromia region peacefully,” and had broken ties with overall OLA commander Jaal Marroo, who also is known as Kumsa Diriba.  

An official with the OLA, Jiregna Gudeta, dismissed the peace agreement as a “meme.” Jiregna said the government entered an agreement with individuals “expelled” from the organization. 

On Monday, federal communications minister Legesse Tulu was among officials who shared photos of reported defection of OLA fighters following the peace agreement with Segni.

“Bravery means understanding the current needs of the people and taking a peaceful stand and standing firm for peace,” Legesse posted on Facebook.

Girma Lelo, a local administrator for Kelbe Kebele, in Jeldu Wereda of West Shewa Zone, says OLA fighters are gathering in small towns and entering designated areas set aside for them.  

“This is good for our area where recently over 19 militiamen were killed after fighting with OLA forces,” Girma said. 

“It is a relief for the residents, people are being killed day in and day out, and no one is held accountable due to this crisis,” said another resident, Jaleta Bekele. 

This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service. 
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Yaounde, Cameroon                  — Activists in Chad have launched a campaign to educate clerics and traditional rulers against early marriages, female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices on women. The campaign is part of the United Nations “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.”

Government officials in Chad say about 70% of girls under 16 are forced into marriage to men who are at times older than their parents. More than 25% of women in the conflict-ridden country say they have been sexually abused.

That’s why 27-year-old Voyang Claudine told a crowd at the N’djamena Central Market to fearlessly denounce all forms of abuses on women and girls.

She said women activists in Chad strongly condemn early marriages and what she calls a culture of gang rape spreading through conflict-ridden towns and villages in Chad.

Claudine is a victim of sexual violence and spokesperson for the Association of Chad’s Indigenous Women. She said more than half of the women who asked the association for help were either sexually assaulted or raped, while about 80 were forced into early marriages by their parents.

She said all the women and girls who resisted abuses on their rights were physically assaulted.

Activists in the central African nation say they are using the ongoing 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence to educate civilians, especially traditional rulers and religious leaders, against traditional practices they say are harmful to women.

Epiphanie Dionrang is president of the Chadian Women’s Rights League, a non-governmental organization that fights to empower women with rights, freedoms and opportunities. She said this year’s theme for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in Chad is “Fight Back and Rebuild after Violence.” It is a clarion call, Dionrang said, to all civilians to amplify voices of survivors, give moral, psychological and financial support to women and girls and strengthen feminist movements to reduce and prevent all forms of violence against women and girls, and protect women’s rights.

Speaking on state TV, Dionrang said her organization is part of several dozen humanitarian and rights groups that are visiting towns and villages in Chad to raise awareness, educate civilians and make sure women are protected.

She said their aim is to encourage communities to give equal access to education for boys and girls and stop female genital mutilation, which some men erroneously think makes women remain faithful in marriage.

Amina Priscille Longoh, Chad’s Women’s and National Solidarity minister, spoke on Chad state TV Tuesday.

She said Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who has a strong political will to end all forms of violence, has ordered his government to make sure women who are abused or whose rights are violated have free access to justice and medical and psychological care. She said Deby has ordered his government to prosecute troops and rebels who sexually abuse women.

The government of Chad said it will also persecute traditional and religious leaders who promote the use of outdated and harmful cultural practices on women.
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NAIROBI, Kenya — Businesses started by women have received less than 5% of venture capital funding in Africa over the past decade, according to a new report. The report says investment in female-started businesses decreased further last year, frustrating businesswomen and those who want investors to give them greater consideration.

Female-founded businesses are the driving force behind innovation and inclusive growth in Africa, but those businesses face many challenges when seeking investment, according to the report by business research platform Briter Bridges and non-profit organization V54 Open Impact.

Akosua Lefty, a Ghanaian businesswoman who specializes in developing products for natural hair, said she has struggled to attract interest from potential investors over her two years in business.

An investor will express interest then never reach out again, she said, or will want to make money immediately, which may not be possible.

Briter Bridges and V54 Open Impact say that of all the capital venture funding across Africa in the past 10 years, less than 5% went to women founders.

Elizabeth Mwangi, founder of Gwiji, which connects women cleaners to clients, got her first funding in 2020, which helped her develop an app that could help support and empower women to make a living.

She said the next funding she got was in 2023, when she was nearly giving up on Gwiji. She earned the Aurora Tech Award, a global honor that focuses on women. Following that, she was able to get $30,000 in funding that enabled the company to get an office and launch secondary programs that help women.

Mwangi said she is partnering with more organizations, like the U.K. government-backed Transform, to widen her reach beyond Nairobi.

The aim, she said, is to empower more women from informal settlements, because every day she gets calls from women across Kenya who want to join Gwiji and earn a decent income. Partnering with Transform, she said, allows Gwiji to diversify its services and employ more women.

African women face more challenges beyond funding, including gender bias, lack of access to support networks, culture and policy changes.

Lefty said she is ready to be patient and build a business that can withstand the challenges of being a woman.

Mwangi and Lefty are urging other women in business not to be discouraged, but to build businesses that help solve community problems and to keep seeking opportunities and investors who support their dreams.
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WINDHOEK, Namibia — Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party has been elected president and will be the country’s first female leader, results released by the country’s electoral commission showed on Tuesday.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, is the current vice president. Her victory will extend SWAPO’s 34 years in power since it led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

She received roughly 57% of valid votes in the presidential race, according to a breakdown given by the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

Nandi-Ndaitwah needed to secure more than 50% of the votes to secure a win.

“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said after being declared president-elect.

She joined SWAPO in the 1960s when it was fighting for independence and has served in numerous senior roles including foreign minister in the democratic era.

Her main challenger in this election was Panduleni Itula from the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party, who came second with roughly 26% of votes.

Namibians voted separately for the National Assembly. SWAPO won a majority there, securing 51 of the 96 elected seats. The IPC won 20 seats and will be the official opposition.

The IPC has said it will challenge the results in court, calling the electoral process “deeply flawed.”

The Nov. 27 vote was marred by technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages, leading to a delay in results as voting was extended in some places.

Political analysts had said a SWAPO victory was uncertain due to growing frustration with high levels of unemployment and inequality, but that the party retained strong roots in rural areas and loyalty among older voters due to the national liberation struggle.

Analyst Rakkel Andreas said Nandi-Ndaitwah had managed to unite different factions within SWAPO and that her reputation had not been tarnished by corruption allegations, unlike other party members.

“She is a stateswoman. She has been in some form of leadership since we gained independence,” Andreas said. “She understands the system.”
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PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — The United Nations environmental agency UNESCO is calling for more studies and closer working relations between journalists and scientists to ensure the effects of climate change are understood and can be mitigated, especially in poorer African countries, which more acutely feel the pinch of extreme weather events.

On Tuesday, scientists gathered in Pretoria, South Africa, to discuss climate change with journalists from the Southern Africa Development Community region.

Meeting under the theme “Building Science Communication Capacity in the SADC Region,” the journalists were asked to report more often on climate change to ensure people are prepared before disasters such as floods and droughts.

In an interview with VOA, Martiale Zebaze-Kana, head of the science unit of UNESCO in southern Africa, said more awareness of climate change and studies into how communities can adapt to it are crucial.

“I think we should focus essentially on really building in the capacity around the whole climate-related issues,” said Zebaze-Kana. “And for us, in terms of mitigation also.”

Zebaze-Kana also said it is important to look at what’s happening in a region, to build resilience and to watch for early warning signs across the SADC region.

After being hit by El Nino-induced drought, Southern Africa is experiencing its worst food insecurity in years. Millions of people across several countries are dependent on food handouts from aid organizations.

Sosten Chiotha, the director of a nongovernmental organization called Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa, said he wants developing countries to do more climate adaptation studies because developing countries experience the worst effects of global warming.

“Climate change amplifies existing vulnerabilities,” said Chiotha. “So, you have poor that are poor, it means their infrastructure is not going to stand storms of speeds. In Malawi, winds of 70 to 80 kilometers were strong enough to blow off houses. But in places where they receive tornadoes frequently — they have been receiving them for a long time — the buildings will withstand that kind of [speed]. So, it’s a question of changing the way we do things, constructing our roads, make sure we have [proper] drainage. Also, people where they are staying — should not stay in flood-prone areas. So, all these things are what need to be done.”

Charles Chikunda, UNESCO’s officer for climate education, said it’s also important that children learn how to deal with a changing environment.

“In fact, we should start to teach everything that we went from an early age,” said Chikunda. “Let’s not wait for children to go to university. We want them to start thinking about their issues at an early age, how to solve them.”

Chikunda added that some countries in the SADC region, such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe, have already started infusing climate change into their curriculum.
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KINSHASA, CONGO — A flu-like disease that has killed dozens of people over two weeks is being investigated in southwestern Congo, local authorities said. 

The deaths were recorded between November 10 and November 25 in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province. Symptoms include fever, headache, cough and anemia, provincial health minister Apollinaire Yumba told reporters over the weekend. 

The deputy provincial governor, Remy Saki, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that between 67 and 143 people had died. 

“A team of epidemiological experts is expected in the region to take samples and identify the problem,” he added. 

Yumba advised the population to exercise caution and refrain from contact with the bodies of the dead to avoid contamination. He called on national and international partners to send medical supplies to deal with the health crisis. 

Congo is already plagued by the mpox epidemic, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 suspected deaths from the disease in the Central African country, according to the World Health Organization. 

WHO is aware of the unidentified disease and has a team on the ground working with local health services to collect samples, according to an organization employee who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media.
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In Zambia, an education and prevention program known as the Total Control of the Epidemic project is focused on ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Kathy Short reports from Petauke, Zambia. Camera: Jawadu Sumaili
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YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby has defended his decision to break military ties with France, saying at a news conference Sunday that their defense pact no longer meets Chad’s security needs.

The decision requires France to withdraw its troops from the central African nation and echoes growing anti-French sentiment with civil society groups who say it is long overdue. 

Deby said military ties with France that have existed for close to 65 years are in no way helping to rescue Chad from what he calls growing security challenges, including terrorism and armed conflicts. 

In a Sunday broadcast on state TV, Deby said his decision to end cooperation agreements with the French military is part of a promise he made during his May 23 inauguration, ending three years of military transition. 

In the message, Deby said he would build reciprocal relations only with friendly nations that respect each other’s independence and sovereignty and assist each other in times of crisis. Deby promised to stop ties with countries he said behaved as if Chad had remained their colony.  

The central African state first announced that it was ending military ties with France last week. The announcement came after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Chad and was told that Chad’s military is strong enough to protect civilians and their property, according to government officials. 

Last Friday, the French foreign ministry said it had taken note of Chad’s decision to end the military agreement with Paris, but gave no further details. 

Deby’s decision has reignited debates on what civil society and opposition groups call France’s overbearing influence provoking tensions in several African countries, especially Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Senegal. Mamadou Doudet, coordinator of Chad’s Patriotic Movement, an opposition political party, said he was part of several dozen civil society organizations and opposition parties that met in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, on Monday to ask Deby to order the departure of over a thousand French troops stationed in Chad. 

Doudet said the presence of French troops in Chad is of no use. He said Chad’s civil society and opposition find it very difficult to understand why French troops did not assist Chad last month when Boko Haram attacked and killed 40 Chadian soldiers in a military garrison in Lake Chad shared by Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. 

It is not the first time Chadian civil society and opposition groups sought the expulsion of French troops. In November 2023, the groups said Deby should ensure some 1,000 French troops stationed in Chad and several thousand others expelled from Niger should leave Chad before the end of 2023. Yet, close to 1,000 French troops remain in Chad.  

On Monday, the Concertation Group of Chad’s Political Actors, or GCAP, condemned Deby’s decision to end military cooperation with France. 

GCAP spokesperson Max Kemkoye said Chad’s military is not strong enough to handle the many security challenges facing the country. He accused Deby of not consulting his government before making the decision, a claim VOA could not independently verify.
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Nairobi — After promising to visit Africa two years ago at the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, President Joe Biden makes his first presidential trip to the continent where he is visiting Angola with a quick stop in Cabo Verde. Analysts in Africa say the trip should’ve come sooner and some are asking why Angola is the primary destination – given its troubling human rights record.

White House officials say President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting the continent after a promise he made in 2022. But some analysts tell VOA that Biden’s trip, which comes weeks before he steps down, would’ve had more weight if he had done it earlier.  

Louw Nel, senior political analyst for Oxford Economics Africa, spoke to VOA from South Africa. 

“I think his trip is less significant than it would’ve been otherwise just because of the fact that he withdrew as presidential candidate and, of course, now [is] not returning for a second term. So, it really feels like an afterthought to his presidency,” said Nel. 

After a short stop in the island nation of Cabo Verde off Africa’s northwestern coast, President Biden heads south to Angola.  

There, officials say he plans to focus on U.S. leadership on trade, investment, and infrastructure in Africa. He’ll also recognize Angola’s President João Lourenço’s regional leadership and global partnership on trade, security, and health. 

More importantly, President Biden will highlight one of his signature initiatives, the investment of the Lobito Corridor — a regional railway project linking natural resource-rich areas stretching from the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.  

The corridor is part of a wider joint effort between multiple partners aimed at closing the infrastructure gap in growing economies around the world, officials say.  

Dr. Frances Brown, special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, speaking about the broader benefits associated with the project. 

“What I found really notable about the Lobito Corridor is that it isn’t just about a railroad or critical minerals. It’s also about the communities that are strengthened along the way, it’s about more access to education, it’s about agricultural products moving to market, and it’s about increases in digital connectivity,” said Brown.

Last year, U.S.-Angola trade totaled approximately $1.77 billion, making Angola America’s fourth-largest trade partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Angola has vast mineral deposits and is Africa’s third largest oil producer. But according to Amnesty International, the country’s natural resource wealth has not translated to prosperity for most of its people, resulting in numerous peaceful protests against poverty, unemployment and high cost of living.  

Nel says some Angolans may see a benefit with this Biden visit. 

“Many ordinary Angolans will recognize that Angola desperately needs to diversify its economy, and this is an enormous opportunity to do so, to move away from oil and gas and bolster other parts of the economy and it has massive potential,” said Nel.  

But others including human rights campaigners and opposition parties, Nel says, will feel aggrieved by President Biden’s visit because they see the Lourenco administration as being rewarded despite growing concerns about the shrinking space for independent civil society organizations and freedom of expression.  

In a new report, Amnesty International said that anyone who publicly criticizes the Lourenço government risks arrest. And “if human rights are central to President Biden’s foreign policy, then he must demand Angola’s government immediately …free arbitrarily detained government critics.”   

Adriano Nuvunga, who runs the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, echoes that sentiment.  

“I commend the people of Angola and president Lourenço for hosting President Biden. It means a lot for the people of Angola. While I commend them, I would also want to encourage President Biden to ask those tough questions to President João Lourenço,” said Nuvunga. “We have a number of human rights defenders in Angola that are detained unjustly, unfairly for doing nothing. They are languishing in jails, some of them in critical conditions,” said Nuvunga.  

Nuvunga hopes that this could be addressed during this trip.  
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