Elections in Africa are often marked by high stakes and heightened tensions, which is decidedly unhealthy for voters. Experts in Ghana say campaign activities, voter fatigue, and fear of political tension and violence can be deadly. Senanu Tord reports from Accra, Ghana.
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CONAKRY, Guinea — A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a crush at a soccer match in southeast Guinea, killing 56 people according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday.

The fatalities occurred during the final of a tournament in honor of Guinea’s military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the nation’s largest cities.

Some fans threw stones, triggering panic and a crush, the government statement said, promising an investigation.

A video authenticated by Reuters showed dozens of people scrambling over high walls to escape.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official from the city’s administration said many victims were minors caught in the turmoil after police started firing tear gas. The official described scenes of confusion and chaos with some parents retrieving bodies before they were officially counted.

Videos and pictures shared online showed victims lined up on the ground. In one video, over a dozen inert bodies could be seen, several of them children.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify that footage.

Opposition group National Alliance for Change and Democracy said authorities bore responsibility for organizing tournaments to bolster political support for Doumbouya in contravention of a transition charter prior to a promised presidential election.

There was no immediate response from the military junta to that accusation.
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WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Namibia’s top opposition presidential candidate, Panduleni Itula, said Saturday that his party would not recognize the results of a controversially extended election marred by chaos and allegations of foul play.

Speaking just before the close of polls on the final day of voting, Itula, whose Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) is hoping to end 34 years of rule by the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), said that no matter the result, “the IPC shall not recognize the outcome of that election.”

“The rule of law has been grossly violated, and we cannot call these elections by any means or measure as free, fair and legitimate,” said Itula, who finished second in the 2019 vote.

With just 10 of the country’s 121 constituencies counted, partial results showed SWAPO’s candidate, Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, leading with 48% of the vote, followed by Itula with 29%.

Electoral authorities decided to prolong voting in the presidential and legislative polls, after the original election day — Wednesday — was marred by logistical and technical failures that led to hours-long queues, which some voters eventually abandoned.

Opposition parties have complained about the chaos and alleged voter suppression by the authorities in the face of a strong turnout for the ruling party’s rivals.

An organization of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors said that the delays at the ballot box were intentional and widespread.

“There were deliberate delays of voting processes in more than 63% of the total polling stations across the country,” the lawyers said in a report.

Itula said that the IPC would “fight… to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process,” calling on Namibia’s President Nangolo Mbumba to call a cabinet meeting “to determine exactly what should be done.”

On Saturday, hundreds of people queued up at the sole polling station in the capital Windhoek, where some 2,500 voters had cast their ballots Friday.

Sielfriedt Gowaseb, 27, managed to vote in less than 30 minutes Saturday but was critical of the arrangements.

“They should have set up at least another polling station where the majority of Namibians live. We would have needed more venues, one in the suburbs. Most Namibians don’t live in the central business district,” he said.

Namibia’s opposition is hoping to unseat SWAPO, which is facing its toughest challenge ever as disenchanted younger voters across southern Africa reject traditionally dominant liberation-era parties.

SWAPO has governed Namibia since leading it to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, but high youth unemployment and enduring inequalities have eroded its support.

Around 42% of the 1.5 million registered voters are aged under 35.

Naita Hishoono, executive director of the Namibia Institute for Democracy, a nonpartisan group, echoed popular dissatisfaction.

“It would have been helpful to open more than 36 polling stations… each constituency should have at least one polling station open to accommodate everybody. Every voter should only stay half an hour to an hour in line and the whole voting process should take no more than 15 minutes,” she said.

SWAPO’s Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, could become the first woman to lead the country if she is elected.

But she is facing a fierce challenge from Itula, who said that Namibia had been “betrayed” by the electoral authority’s incompetence.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has admitted to failures in the organization of the vote, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.

Itula, a former dentist and lawyer, came second in the last presidential election with 29% of the vote while standing as an independent.

That performance was all the more remarkable for the fact it reduced SWAPO leader Hage Geingob’s vote share to just 56%.

Geingob, who died in February, had won nearly 87% of the vote five years before that. 
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WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs Saturday against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. 

His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. 

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members of the alliance, and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. 

While the U.S. dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system. 

Trump, in a Truth Social post, said, “We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.” 

At a summit of BRICS nations in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of “weaponizing” the dollar and described it as a “big mistake.” 

“It’s not us who refuse to use the dollar,” Putin said at the time. “But if they don’t let us work, what can we do? We are forced to search for alternatives.” 

Russia has specifically pushed for the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network, SWIFT, and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with partners. 

Trump said there is “no chance” BRICS will replace the U.S. dollar in global trade and any country that tries to make that happen “should wave goodbye to America.” 
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NAIROBI, KENYA — Kenyan President William Ruto said Saturday that he and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will help mediate a dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia, which threatens the stability of the region.

Landlocked Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in Somalia to fight al-Qaida-linked insurgents, has fallen out with the Mogadishu government over its plans to build a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland in exchange for possible recognition of its sovereignty.

Somaliland has struggled to gain international recognition, despite governing itself and enjoying comparative peace and stability since declaring independence in 1991.

The spat has drawn Somalia closer to Egypt, which has quarreled with Ethiopia for years over Addis Ababa’s construction of a vast hydro dam on the Nile River, and Eritrea, another of Ethiopia’s foes.

“Because the security of Somalia … contributes significantly to the stability of our region and the environment for investors and businesspeople and entrepreneurs to thrive,” Ruto said at a news conference.

Several attempts to resolve the feud in Ankara, Turkey, failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Ethiopia’s government and foreign affairs spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Somalia’s foreign minister could not immediately be reached by Reuters.
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WHITE HOUSE — President Joe Biden will make his first presidential trip to Africa next week, visiting Angola and making a stop in the island nation of Cabo Verde, a top White House official told VOA. His short visit will center around the Lobito Corridor, a 1,300-kilometer rail line that brings resources from the continent’s rich interior to Angola’s busiest port.

VOA’s Philip Alexiou spoke exclusively with Frances Brown, senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: How is the president feeling about this trip and what does he want to accomplish?

Frances Brown, White House director for African affairs: He is excited and really looking forward to the trip. The president often talks about how it’s impossible to meet today’s global challenges without African leadership and African partnership, and we really see Angola as exhibit A. We are working with Angola on a few really important things. One is bolstering peace and security in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Another is growing economic opportunities in the region. A third is technological and scientific cooperation.

VOA: What are the deliverables? Are they going to be substantial?

Brown: You will see a lot of announcements and deliverables on the Lobito Corridor. Already the U.S. has mobilized billions of dollars towards the corridor. I think you can expect the president to engage with various components of that infrastructure effort. I think you can expect to hear more as well on the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which recently signed a compact in Zambia. And I think you’ll hear a lot of new deliverables on global health security, on agribusiness, on new forms of security sector cooperation.

VOA: With so many moving parts in these efforts, what level of transparency can the U.S. ensure? What kind of accountability can it offer the people in the region?

Brown: This is something that’s really important to the president. The Lobito Corridor is about investment, it’s about infrastructure, but it’s also about ensuring that it benefits communities more broadly. It’s part of the broader initiative, the Partnership on Global Investment and Infrastructure, that the president has laid out. And this is really signaling how under President Biden’s administration, we’ve gone from an aid-driven model on engagement with Africa to an investment-driven model, and how we’re thinking creatively about how to demonstrate that value proposition. When we think about the Lobito Corridor, it’s all about sustainable economic development, it’s all about a transparent contracting process. It’s about ensuring that it boosts regional trade, that it creates quality jobs and improves lives.

VOA: Is President Biden going to bring up human rights issues with Angolan President Joao Lorenzo?

Brown: President Biden never shies away from talking about democracy and human rights issues with counterparts. And I think that’s pretty consistent with the way he’s been throughout his long career in public service.

VOA: Focusing now on Sudan, President Biden has called for peace. It’s one of the worst crises that we’ve seen in a long time. The U.N. is saying it’s a neglected and ignored crisis, the worst humanitarian situation in recent history. Does the administration see it that way? And what can be done?

Brown: President Biden has been really outspoken on Sudan. You might have seen in his big speech at the U.N. General Assembly, he talked about the level of suffering in Sudan. He talked about how it was essential that the generals silence the guns and that we avert a wider famine. He’s also been pretty forthright on calling for those who are obstructing humanitarian assistance to let that aid in. He’s also talked about outside actors being an important part of this equation.

This month, every member of the Security Council at the U.N., except for Russia, voted in favor of a resolution that would have further called for humanitarian assistance, protections for civilians and an end to the violence. The president has instructed his team to work this hard. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, in the last couple of weeks, has continued to engage regional states and other actors to press for unhindered humanitarian access.

VOA: Moving on to the Sahel, a number of Francophone countries are forming new regional blocs, shifting away from the West and sort of aligning themselves with Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group, and groups of this nature. How concerning is this to the administration?

Brown: Even though there have been those changes that you’ve mentioned in the Sahelian states — particularly Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali — other West African partners, including those along the coast, have been really clear to us that they want the durability and longevity of U.S. security engagement in the region. So, we continue to work very closely on that. I’d also say more broadly that President Biden has made it really clear that he thinks it’s important we continue to engage particularly with democratic partners. And on this trip that is forthcoming, the president will be stopping as well in West Africa, in Cabo Verde, which is a key democratic partner on the continent.

VOA: Is there anything that the U.S. can do to counter extremism on the continent, especially since U.S. influence has been sort of downgraded since they’ve had to leave Niger?

Brown: It’s worth remembering that we don’t have a military footprint in the majority of countries on the continent. And that’s been the case always. We make security arrangements with host countries, with partners based on specific shared interests. And through the administration, we’ve worked to foster mutually beneficial security partnerships by working by, with and through African partners. So that’s how we see those collaborations.

VOA: Finally, the continent is very young — the median age around 19 years old. And its leaders are really old. How does the U.S. leadership deal with that?

Brown: You’re absolutely right. It is an extremely young continent, and it is the future. President Biden often talks about how by 2050, one in four humans on Earth will be from Africa. So that’s very much guiding President Biden’s engagement with the continent. I think the way the administration takes that forward is by thinking about how no challenge that we’re trying to solve globally, we can solve without African partnership and African leadership. That’s why we’ve championed African voices at the U.N. Security Council, on the boards of the international financial institutions, at the G20 — we successfully got the African Union seat there. So, I think from the administration’s perspective, just continuing to elevate and champion African voices so they can be part of shaping the future is how we think that’s best approached.

VOA: What does the president want to leave behind when he departs the continent and he winds down as president?

Brown: I think the president wants to leave, first, the recognition of U.S. leadership and partnership, particularly on trade, investment and a new approach to the continent that’s not defined by assistance, but instead by investment and partnership. I think he wants to leave behind his recognition that African leadership for solving some of these challenges is essential, and that’s why he’ll be amplifying Angola’s role mediating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere. And I think he wants to convey the remarkable evolution of the U.S.-Angolan partnership, which is in many ways the story of the remarkable evolution of the U.S.-African relationship over many centuries.
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NYANGAMBE, ZIMBABWE — At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn.

After multiple cholera outbreaks in the southern African nation resulting from extreme weather and poor sanitation, flies were largely seen as something to exterminate, not breed.

“We were alarmed,” Choumumba said, recalling a community meeting where experts from the government and the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, broached the idea.

People had flocked to the gathering in hope of news about food aid. But many stepped back when told it was about training on farming maggots for animal feed and garden manure.

“People were like, ‘What? These are flies. Flies bring cholera,’” Choumumba said.

A year later, the 54-year-old walks with a smile to a smelly cement pit covered by wire mesh where she feeds rotting waste to maggots — her new meal ticket.

After harvesting the insects about once a month, Choumumba turns them into protein-rich feed for her free-range chickens that she eats and sells.

Up to 80% of chicken production costs were gobbled up by feed for rural farmers before they took up maggot farming. Many couldn’t afford the $35 charged by stores for a 50-kilogram (110-pound) bag of poultry feed, said Francis Makura, a specialist with a USAID program aimed at broadening revenue streams for farmers affected by climate change.

But maggot farming reduces production costs by about 40%, he said.

Black soldier fly

The maggots are offspring of the black soldier fly, which originates in tropical South America. Unlike the house fly, it is not known to spread disease.

Their life cycle lasts just weeks, and they lay between 500 and 900 eggs. The larvae devour decaying organic items — from rotting fruit and vegetables to kitchen scraps and animal manure — and turn them into a rich protein source for livestock.

“It is even better than the crude protein we get from soya,” said Robert Musundire, a professor specializing in agricultural science and entomology at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe, which breeds the insects and helps farmers with breeding skills.

Donors and governments have pushed for more black soldier fly maggot farming in Africa because of its low labor and production costs and huge benefits to agriculture, the continent’s mainstay that is under pressure from climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In Uganda, the maggots helped plug a fertilizer crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. In Nigeria and Kenya, they are becoming a commercial success.

In Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean government and partners piloted it among farmers struggling with securing soya meal for their animals. A World Bank-led project later used it as a recovery effort for communities affected by a devastating 2019 cyclone.

Now it is becoming a lifesaver for some communities in the country of 15 million people where repeated droughts make it difficult to grow corn. It’s not clear how many people across the country are involved in maggot-farming projects.

At first, “a mere 5%” of farmers that Musundire, the professor, approached agreed to venture into maggot farming. Now that’s up to “about 50%,” he said, after people understood the protein benefits and the lack of disease transmission.

The “yuck factor” was an issue. But necessity triumphed, he said.

With the drought decimating crops and big livestock such as cattle — a traditional symbol of wealth and status and a source of labor — small livestock such as chickens are helping communities recover more quickly.

“They can fairly raise a decent livelihood out of the resources they have within a short period of time,” Musundire said.

Reduces waste, too

It also helps the environment. Zimbabwe produces about 1.6 million tons of waste annually, 90% of which can be recycled or composted, according to the country’s Environmental Management Agency. Experts say feeding it to maggots can help reduce greenhouse emissions in a country where garbage collection is erratic.

At a plot near the university, Musundire and his students run a maggot breeding center in the city of 100,000 people. The project collects over 35 metric tons a month in food waste from the university’s canteens as well as vegetable markets, supermarkets, abattoirs, food processing companies and beer brewers.

“Food waste is living, it respires and it contributes to the generation of greenhouse gases,” Musundire said.

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, food loss — which occurs in the stages before reaching the consumer — and food waste after sale account for 8% to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, or about five times that of the aviation sector.

The university project converts about 20 to 30 metric tons of the waste into livestock protein or garden manure in about two weeks.

Choumambo said people often sneer as she goes around her own community collecting banana peels and other waste that people toss out at the market and bus station.

“I tell them we have good use for it, it is food for our maggots,” she said. She still has to contend with “ignorant” people who accuse maggot farmers of “breeding cholera.”

But she cares little about that as her farm begins to thrive.

‘Sweet smell of food’

From bare survival, it is becoming a profitable venture. She can harvest up to 15 kilograms (about 33 pounds) of maggots in 21 days, turning out 375 kilograms (826.7 pounds) of chicken feed after mixing it with drought-tolerant crops such as millets, cowpeas and sunflower and a bit of salt.

Choumambo sells some of the feed to fellow villagers at a fraction of the cost charged by stores for traditional animal feed. She also sells eggs and free-range chickens, a delicacy in Zimbabwe, to restaurants. She’s one of 14 women in her village taking up the project.

“I never imagined keeping and surviving on maggots,” she said, taking turns with a neighbor to mix rotting vegetables, corn meal and other waste in a tank using a shovel.

“Many people would puke at the sight and the stench. But this is the sweet smell of food for the maggots, and for us, the farmers.”
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Previously all-powerful, the Wagner Group has slowly been reduced in size and dismantled in many of the countries it operated in since the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August 2023. VOA Russian spoke to U.S. and Russian researchers who have written books about the Wagner Group in the past year, and they tell a story of the military group now narrowly focused only on certain countries in Africa where they continue to serve the Kremlin’s interests.

See the full story here.  
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Abuja, Nigeria — Human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday said its investigation into Nigerian authorities’ crackdown on anti-government protests in August showed state officials killed at least 24 protesters and detained more than 1,200 others. Amnesty’s findings come amid growing concerns of a shrinking civic space in Nigeria.

A 34-page document report released by Amnesty International Thursday was based on eyewitness testimony and interviews with medical workers and families and friends of the victims.

Amnesty said Nigerian police used excessive force on demonstrators who had gathered to protest the soaring cost of living.

It said police killed at least 24 people, including two children. The casualties were recorded across Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Niger states.

According to the report, police fired live rounds at close range targeting the victims’ heads and torsos, while some other victims were suffocated by the indiscriminate use of tear gas.

Isa Sanusi, Amnesty’s Nigerian country director, believes the actual death toll could be much higher.

“Even today as we’re launching this report in Kano, many families were coming out to tell us that their children are missing and many are believed to have been killed or be in secret detention. Therefore, the whole issue is far broader than what we have talked about in that report. This just goes to show that Nigerian authorities are not ready to accept the fact that the people have the right to peaceful protest,” he said.

The August protests, which organizers called “Ten Days of Rage,” were in response to the soaring cost of living many believed was caused in part by President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies.

Nigerian police authorities have not responded to Amnesty’s allegations, but have previously denied using live bullets to quell the demonstrations.

A national police spokesman did not take VOA’s calls for comment.

Nigeria has a long history of police brutality despite repeated promises to be more accountable. 

During the protests in August, heads of security agencies held an emergency meeting and the chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, addressed journalists.

“None of us here is happy to hear any Nigerian is injured for whatever reason. It’s our duty the protect Nigerians. We’re going to remain focused, committed, we’re going to respect human rights, the rights of everyone who’s lawfully performing his task or duty. But we will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional takeover of government or subversion or those ones that are into vandalism or destruction of lives and property,” he said. 

Amnesty’s report comes amid growing concern by human rights groups that Nigerian authorities are trying to stifle political dissent.

Sanusi said authorities are not serious about stopping the use of excessive force.

“The lack of accountability, the denial of the killings by the police and other government officials are just signs of the fact that impunity is still reigning in Nigeria and that has to stop. It happened during End SARS protests. We have consulted them to ask for their comment and they didn’t say anything. What we want them to do is to hold those responsible of those killings to account,” he said.

In October 2020, police brutality sparked massive protests against the Special Anti- Robbery Squad or SARS unit of the police.

The protests ended in a deadly shooting at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.
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WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Logistical issues on Wednesday left thousands of Namibians waiting in queues to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections, some for up to 12 hours, with polling stations staying open hours later than planned.

The vote could usher in the desert nation’s first woman leader even as her party, the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power.

Some voters told AFP they queued all day, blaming technical problems that included issues with voter identification tablets and insufficient ballot papers.

“It’s absolutely disappointing,” said Reagan Cooper, a 43-year-old farmer among the hundred or so voters outside the town hall polling station in the capital, Windhoek.

“The voters have turned out, but the electoral commission has failed us,” Cooper told AFP.

In the face of criticism from all the political parties, including SWAPO, the Electoral Commission of Namibia extended voting hours for “no specified time,” according to Windhoek region ECN head Rakondjerua Kavari.

Voting was halted for an hour at the Windhoek town hall site due to a lack of ballots, with applause welcoming the delivery of more waking sleepy, seated voters around 11:30 p.m.

The last voter there cast his ballot more than four hours after the scheduled closing time — 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) — and vote counting then began almost immediately.

According to Namibia’s electoral law, those in queues before polls are scheduled to close should be allowed to vote.

Petrus Shaama, chief officer of the ECN, said it was obligated to ensure voters could cast a ballot.

But the main opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), blamed the ECN for the long lines and cried foul play.

“We have reason to believe that the ECN is deliberately suppressing voters and deliberately trying to frustrate voters from casting their vote,” said Christine Aochamus of the IPC.

Armed with folding chairs and umbrellas to cope with the slow-moving lines and blazing sun, many Namibians spent half the day waiting to vote.

At one polling station inside the University of Science and Technology in Windhoek, hundreds of people were still in line at 9:00 pm despite some having arrived at 6 a.m., an hour before polls opened.

Polling site managers told AFP that problems with tablets used to check voters’ identities using fingerprints included untimely updates, overheating and dead batteries.

Unemployment

SWAPO’s candidate and current vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was one of the first to vote and called on Namibians “to come out in their numbers.”

An estimated 1.5 million people in the sparsely populated nation were registered to vote.

SWAPO has governed since leading mineral-rich Namibia to independence from South Africa in 1990 but complaints about unemployment and enduring inequalities could force Nandi-Ndaitwah into an unprecedented second round.

IPC leader Panduleni Itula, a former dentist and lawyer, said Wednesday he was optimistic he could “unseat the revolutionary movement.”

Itula, 67, took 29% of votes in the 2019 elections, losing to SWAPO leader Hage Geingob with 56%. It was a remarkable performance considering Geingob, who died in February, had won almost 87% five years before that.

Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but not many of its nearly 3 million people have benefitted from that wealth.

“There’s a lot of mining activity that goes on in the country, but it doesn’t really translate into improved infrastructure, job opportunities,” said independent political analyst Marisa Lourenco, based in Johannesburg.

“That’s where a lot of the frustration is coming from, (especially) the youth,” she said.

Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46%, according to the latest figures from 2018, almost triple the national average.

First-time voter and environmental health student Sophia Varela, 24, told AFP she was “hoping for change” and “jobs for the youth.”

Second round

For the first time in Namibia’s recent history, analysts say a second voting round is a somewhat realistic option.

That would take place within 60 days of the announcement of the first round of results due by Saturday.

“The outcome will be tight,” said self-employed Hendry Amupanda, 32, who queued since 9 p.m. the night before to cast his ballot.

“I want the country to get better and people to get jobs,” said Amupanda, wearing slippers and equipped with a chair, blanket and snacks.

Marvyn Pescha, a self-employed consultant, said his father was part of SWAPO’s liberation struggle and he was not going to abandon the party.

“But I want SWAPO to be challenged for better policies. Some opportunistic leaders have tarnished the reputation of the party, they misuse it for self-enrichment,” the 50-year-old said.

While lauded for leading Namibia to independence, SWAPO is nervous about its standing after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favor with young voters.

In the past six months, South Africa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority and the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted after almost six decades in power.
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Nairobi — A Kenyan government requirement that foreigners register online three days before traveling to the country has made the East African nation among the most difficult countries to visit in Africa, according to an index that ranks countries for ease of travel. 

Kenya’s introduction of new visa policies earlier this year has made the country less accessible, according to the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index. 

The East African country slid 17 places on the index, and now ranks 46 out of 54 African countries. 

The index, compiled by the African Development Bank and African Union Commission, tracks visa openness and the ease of visiting African countries. 

Kenya recently launched its Electronic Travel Authorization program. The cost of a visa dropped from $50 to $30, but prospective visitors have to register for the visa online, and approval takes three days. 

That is causing problems for people who are used to traveling with little advance planning, said Esther Mutwiri, an immigration consultant based in Kenya. 

“Whenever there is an application to be made, people who don’t like changes … will feel a little bit of a challenge,” Mutwiri said. “And this is expected; there is a little challenge. I always advise my clients, for example, if you know you are flying in next week, just apply early enough.” 

Before the introduction of the online visa application, citizens of many African countries could travel to Kenya, get a visa upon entry, and get their passport stamped. 

Now, they have to plan ahead, which is made more challenging when the registration system goes down or gets backed up. Sometimes users have to wait for hours to complete the registration process. 

Some users physically visit an immigration office after turning in their application, just to make sure they get their visa. 

Professor Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, an expert in diplomacy and international relations, said Kenya must improve ease of travel to benefit from visitors. 

“The openness status when you allow people to get your visa in an easy way means that you can receive more guests and visitors. And the more visitors you receive, the more business people do with the expenditure of various services that are provided,” Chacha said. “So, it’s important as a country we strive to always ensure that guests and visitors are welcomed and to see that our visa application process should be seamless.” 

Mutwiri said travelers should apply for visas early to avoid challenges and ensure a smooth process. 

“We should embrace change. Nowadays, it’s all about going digital, and I think that’s what our government is trying to do. So, the people who should do something are the applicants. If I know I am traveling to a country that requires a visa, then I should apply for it beforehand. That way, if most of the travelers do that, they are going to experience less challenges when they come in,” Mutwiri said. 

Despite the difficulties with the visa system, the Kenya Tourism Board said the country welcomed more than 1 million visitors in the first six months of this year, a 21% increase from 2023. 

Nnenna Lily Nwabufo, vice president of regional development, integration, and business delivery at the African Development Bank Group, said 39 African countries have improved their scores on the visa index. 

Benin, Gambia, Rwanda and Seychelles are among the countries ranked high for easy travel within Africa. Sudan, Libya, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea are ranked the lowest.
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In a November interview, Morocco’s foreign minister said his country plans to bring Central Sahel countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali “out of isolation” with a joint development and port access package known as The Atlantic Initiative. As they battle militants linked to terror groups, Central Sahel countries have turned away from regional and international partners, so what can their neighbors do to reach out to them? Henry Wilkins reports.
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