Windhoek, Namibia — Namibian activist Jimmy Areseb appeared in court Monday after being arrested for allegedly violating public order laws during a protest at a local traditional authority’s offices. Areseb and others at the rally accused officials of accepting bribes from a Chinese mining company in return for access to lithium deposits. The confrontation highlights growing tensions in Namibia’s Erongo region, where activists say the Chinese company, Xinfeng, is acting illegally.

Images of an elderly woman being carried off by members of Namibia’s paramilitary Special Field Force on Saturday set the Namibian social media space abuzz, with some comments likening it to the apartheid era when the country was controlled by South Africa.

In another circulating video, members of the widely feared police unit are seen confronting elderly men and women who had gathered at offices of traditional chiefs and councilors, whom they accuse of allowing the Chinese company Xinfeng permission to mine for lithium without following the proper channels and procedures.

The tensions at Uis, a mining settlement in the mineral-rich Erongo region, culminated in the arrest of activist Jimmy Areseb for interfering with the Special Field Force, who were enforcing a court order for demonstrators to vacate the offices where they had camped for a week demanding to see the chief.

At the center of the storm is Xinfeng, a company that Namibia’s commissioner of mines has charged with illegal mining.

Community members are asking why police arrested Areseb but not anyone from Xinfeng.

Speaking to VOA, police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi said the two cases cannot be compared.

“Those, were obstructing officers, right there at the scene, now. The other one requires investigation, and there must be evidence, that’s why investigations take so long, to have evidence, that indeed an arrest can be affected or not. You can never compare that and that! It doesn’t make sense,” said Shikwambi.

Xinfeng is accused by the activists of paying bribes to the chiefs, in order to gain consent for the mining.

However, a Xinfeng spokesperson, Kuvee Kangueehi, said those claims are false. He said the company makes a contribution of about $550 per month to the traditional authority as part of its corporate social responsibility and this is being misconstrued by the community as a bribe. 

“EPL’s, and mining claims, and all the rights are granted by the Ministry. So for what reason will Xinfeng bribe an entity that does not grant the license? And it’s not in the business of Xinfeng to bribe anybody,” he said.

Local chief Sagarias Seibeb, who is being accused of turning a blind eye to the interests of his community in favor of the Chinese company, told VOA the people camping at his office, including Jimmy Areseb, are his in-laws.

He said family members feel they are not benefiting from his position as a chief, and are using the Xinfeng issue to settle family disputes.

“I cannot deny someone access to do prospecting, or whatever, in my area. I am just a custodian of the area. The land belongs to the state and there is a section that deals with that consent letter, and that can be done with or without my consent letter,” said Seibeb.

On Tuesday, the chief is to meet with protesters in the presence of police officers and officials from the central government to try and find a solution to the tensions troubling the community.  

Meanwhile, police say they are investigating the charge against Xinfeng.
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UNITED NATIONS — The United States accused Russia at the United Nations on Monday of funding the two warring parties in Sudan, an apparent step up from Washington’s previous assertion that Moscow was playing both sides of the conflict to advance its political objectives.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

In November Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that called on the warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid. The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the text.

“Russia chose obstruction: standing alone as it voted to imperil civilians, while funding both sides of the conflict – yes, that’s what I said: both sides,” the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council on Monday, without giving further details.

When asked to elaborate, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the U.N. said Washington was aware of Russia’s “ongoing interest in Sudan’s gold trade” and condemns any material support for the warring parties – “whether it be through illicit gold trading or the provision of military equipment.”

“We believe Sudanese authorities’ gold mining cooperation with sanctioned Russian entities and individuals could prove inimical to Sudan’s long-term interests and the aspirations of the Sudanese people for an end to the war,” the U.S. mission to the U.N. spokesperson said.

In response, Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said: “We regret that the U.S. tries to judge other world powers by its own yardstick.”

“It’s obvious that in the Pax Americana which our American colleagues try to preserve at any price, relations with other countries are built only on their exploitation and criminal schemes aimed at U.S. enrichment,” he said.

Reuters was unable to immediately contact Sudan’s warring parties for comment.

In December, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected what he called “fabrications spread by Western countries and their media” that Moscow was trying to play both sides to gain an advantage from the war.

At what she said would likely be her last council meeting, Thomas-Greenfield became visibly emotional while addressing her counterparts on Sudan, a crisis that has been a focus for her during her four years at the world body.

“For all the disappointment that I couldn’t do more, that we – all of us – didn’t do more – I still remain hopeful,” she said. “Hopeful that the representatives sitting around this table – the colleagues who have become friends – will continue this sacred mission, this ultimate responsibility.”

Thomas-Greenfield was appointed by President Joe Biden. Donald Trump will succeed Biden on Jan. 20.
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NAIROBI, KENYA — The head of Uganda’s military, who is also the son of longstanding President Yoweri Museveni, said he wanted to behead the country’s most prominent opposition leader.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba is widely believed to be the heir apparent to his father, who has governed Uganda since 1986. Kainerugaba routinely makes inflammatory posts on social media, including a threat in 2022 to invade neighboring Kenya.

Kainerugaba later apologized for that threat. He sometimes says that certain posts are meant ironically.

In a post on X on Sunday evening, Kainerugaba said his father, whom he referred to by the honorific Mzee, was the only person protecting opposition leader Bobi Wine from him.

“If Mzee was not there, I would cut off his head today,” Kainerugaba posted.

Bobi Wine, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who finished second to Museveni in the 2021 presidential election, responded on X that he did not take the threat lightly, saying there had been several previous attempts on his life.

Kainerugaba responded: “Finally! I woke you up? Before I behead you, repay us the money we loaned you,” suggesting the government had previously bought off Wine to undermine the opposition.

Spokespeople for the government and Kainerugaba were not immediately reachable for comment. A spokesperson for the armed forces declined to comment.

The government spokesperson has previously said Kainerugaba’s social media posts should be understood as “casual” comments and not taken seriously or as reflecting government policy.

Wine, a popular musician turned politician has parlayed his star power into a career as Museveni’s most formidable challenger. He rejected the results of the 2021 election, alleging ballot stuffing and intimidation.

Human rights activists have also accused Museveni’s government of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and arbitrary detention.

Uganda’s government has repeatedly denied allegations of election fraud and human rights abuses.
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Kinshasa, DRC — Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized a strategic eastern town near the provincial capital Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local politicians said Sunday.

The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging a renewed insurgency in eastern Congo since 2022. Congo and the United Nations accuse neighboring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda says it has taken what it calls defensive measures.

Fighting has flared in recent weeks, leading to territorial gains for M23, which is now in control of Masisi, a town and local administrative center about 80 km (50 miles) from Goma, provincial parliament member Alexis Bahunga told Reuters.

“The government will take measures to restore state authority over the entire territory,” he said.

Another parliamentary deputy, Jean-Pierre Ayobangira Safari, said Masisi had been taken “for now.”

An army spokesperson declined immediate comment.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the anti-government Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes M23, said rebel forces had reached the center of Masisi mid-afternoon on Saturday.

The advance and continued fighting in defiance of a ceasefire agreement further undermined efforts to curb the conflict. A rare high-level meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents was postponed in December, dashing hopes of a deal to curb the violence that has displaced more than 1.9 million people.

The head of an international organization working in Masisi said staff members there were in shock and unable to continue operations as businesses were closed, making it hard to source supplies.

“They don’t know how to leave the town since we fear that the … [Congolese forces] will launch a counteroffensive,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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Ethiopia’s government said it is evacuating approximately 80,000 people following a series of small-scale earthquakes in the Afar, Oromia and Amhara regions.

At least 10 earthquakes were reported in Ethiopia since Friday, and there are signs of possible volcanic activity.

The latest earthquakes shook the Awash Fentale district, which stretches between the Afar and Oromia regions, at 3:52 a.m. Saturday.

The United States Geological Survey recorded an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.8 about 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Ambosa, in the Oromia region, in the early hours of Saturday.

Atalay Ayele, head of the Seismology Department and a professor of seismic science at Addis Ababa University, says the epicenter was in the middle of Dofen Mountain, Awash Fentale district, in the Afar region.

Just hours later a second tremor, measured at 4.7, was reported about 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Awash in the Afar region.

“The events are increasing in size and frequency from time to time. In particular, this week, data shows that an earthquake measuring up to 5.8 on the Richter scale,” according to a statement issued by the federal government Saturday.

The earthquake was felt in the capital, Addis Ababa, and cities such as Adama and Metehara. Residents living in condos and high-rise buildings felt it, too, reports say.

As many as two dozen quakes and aftershocks were reported in Awash Fentale district since September, according to residents and officials.

In the Afar region, frequent quakes created a natural hot spring water crater that is reportedly widening.

No casualties were reported, but the quakes damaged dozens of homes in Afar.

Fears of volcanic eruptions

Friday’s tremor in Afar resulted in fears of volcanic eruptions after smoke came from vents in the Dofen volcano, signaling potential volcanic activity.

“The government is closely monitoring the events with experts in the field. In addition, it has identified the epicenter of the earthquake and deployed emergency workers from various fields in 12 kebeles [districts] to assess the extent of the damage,” the statement from Ethiopia’s government said.

“It is making great efforts to identify the most vulnerable among the 80,000 citizens living in those kebeles and to evacuate them from the area. It is also monitoring the possible impact of the earthquake on social service institutions, economic institutions, and infrastructure.”

The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission announced in a statement issued on Saturday that over 51,000 residents in the Afar and Oromia regions are at risk due to recurring earthquakes in the past two months. To mitigate the risk, more than 13,000 people have already been relocated to safer areas, the commission said.

In the Fentale district of the Oromia region, over 16,000 residents face similar risks, with more than 7,000 of them relocated to secure locations, the statement added.

Some residents in the affected towns said they left their homes after the quake.

Zumara Mamo is a resident of Abomsa, where the quake was felt. She says the earthquake happened while she was asleep.

“I was sleeping on the floor with my child. Suddenly I felt the Earth beneath me shaking. The shock displaced the glass on my door,” she told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.

According to Zumara, the shock lasted nearly a minute and was greater than the previous shock reported in the area in October.

Fentale district in the Oromia region lies less than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the epicenter of the Saturday morning earthquake near Abomsa town.

Abayneh Urgo, who lives in Fentale district, said a strong earthquake shock was felt in his town and now residents are sleeping outside.

Efrem Wakjira, who lives near German Square in Addis Ababa, said earthquakes have been frequent this week.

“The shock of the earthquake has been common during the past five days, but Saturday morning was quite strong. It happened at around 4 a.m. local time, and I was awakened from sleeping by the shock.”

The government said the earthquake has not yet had a significant impact on major towns and has urged citizens to “follow and strictly implement the precautionary messages issued by experts.”

Ethiopian cities are vulnerable to quakes

Ethiopian experts have warned that many buildings in the country, particularly in Addis Ababa, are highly vulnerable to earthquakes.

Esayas Gebreyohannes, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Addis Ababa University’s Institute of Technology, said Ethiopia introduced building code standards in 1983 that need updating every 10 to 20 years, with the next update scheduled this year.

“Despite these updates, significant gaps persist in adherence to the standards during building design and construction,” he said.

“Many buildings evaluated at Addis Ababa University reveal design faults due to noncompliance with the standards. Additionally, construction materials and workmanship often fall short of required quality levels. Most buildings in Addis Ababa exhibit these deficiencies, compromising their safety and quality,” Esayas said.

“The recent frequent earthquake[s] is a sign that we are living in an active volcanic area,” professor Ayele told VOA by phone.

“The state should be careful while building infrastructures at those places. The relief agencies should stand by, and the public must also get awareness regarding the shocks,” he said.

Government engineers say plans are underway to reinforce major public buildings to withstand high-magnitude earthquakes.

Engineer Mesfin Negewo, director general of the Ethiopian Construction Authority, acknowledged growing concerns over the increasing frequency of earthquakes.

“We have observed frequent seismic activity over the past two months, and we are actively assessing the situation,” he said by phone to VOA.

He said to address the emerging risks — the government has established task forces to study the situation and monitor incidents closely.

“These teams will present a comprehensive report to authorities,” he said.

VOA’s Kennedy Abate and Mesfin Aragie contributed to this report.
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ACCRA, GHANA — Flipping through a family album, Keachia Bowers paused on a photo of her as a baby on her father’s lap as he held the 1978 album “Africa Stand Alone” by the Jamaican reggae band Culture.

“When I was 10 years old, I was supposed to come to Ghana with him,” she said. A day earlier, she had marked 10 years since her father’s death. Though he was a Pan-Africanist who dreamed of visiting Ghana, he never made it here.

Bowers and her husband, Damon Smith, however, are among the 524 diaspora members, mostly Black Americans, who were granted Ghanaian citizenship in a ceremony in November.

Bowers and Smith moved to Ghana from Florida in 2023 after visiting the region several times between them since the ’90s. They now run a tour business that caters to Black people who want to visit Ghana or elsewhere in West Africa, or like them have come to consider a permanent move.

The November group was the largest one granted citizenship since Ghana launched the “Year of the Return” program, aimed at attracting the Black diaspora, in 2019. It marked 400 years since the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619.

Ghana’s Tourism Authority and the Office of Diaspora Affairs have extended the program into “Beyond the Return,” which fosters the relationship with diasporans. Hundreds have been granted citizenship, including people from Canada, the U.K. and Jamaica.

Bowers said moving to Ghana gave her family a certain feeling of ease they didn’t have in the U.S.

“When we see Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, all these stories of people being murdered just in their home, living in their home and being murdered at the hands of police brutality, hearing about it creates trauma,” she said.

She also worried about her son Tsadik, 14.

Tsadik towers over loved ones in the way that lanky teenage boys often do. He is shy but opens up around his younger sister Tselah, 11, and the family’s dog, Apollo.

“In America, being a Black male with locs who’s very tall for his age, he is treated like a threat,” Bowers said.

Americans face few obstacles to living in Ghana, with most people paying an annual residency fee. But Bowers said getting citizenship signified more than simply living in Ghana.

“I didn’t need (citizenship) to tell me that I’m African. Anywhere that I go in the world and someone looks at me, I’m melanated,” she said.

“But my ancestors who wanted to return and come back home, those ancestors who never made it back,” she said, “that passport, for me, is for them.”

Between 10 to 15 million people were forcibly taken from Africa to the Americas during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the majority from West and Central Africa.

Ghana, then a British colony known as the Gold Coast, was a main point of departure.

As memorials to the slave trade become tourist destinations across West Africa, painful reminders of its brutality are easily accessible. From Ghana to Senegal to Benin, one can visit variations of the “Door of No Return,” haunting doorways that open to the Atlantic Ocean where slaves left Africa, and their families, for the last time.

The joy that people feel in finding connections that were broken long ago is palpable. Videos of the recent citizenship ceremony show men and women of all ages waving Ghanaian flags and cheering.

Deijha Gordon, 33, was one of them.

“I first visited Ghana in 2015. From then on, I knew this is a place that I wanted to be and a place where I wanted to show other diasporans, African-Americans, that we have a place where we belong,” she said.

She moved from Brooklyn to Ghana in 2019 and opened a food truck, Deijha Vu’s Jerk Hut, selling Jamaican food.

Between bagging to-go orders and speaking to a Black American tourist couple, she explained how she built the business from scratch.

Gordon was giddy while recalling the moment she got citizenship.

“It just feels good to have a connection to an African country as an African-American, as a Black American. Because back in America we don’t have anything to trace our roots to but Africa. To have that connection here, I feel like I’ve done something right,” she said.

Like Bowers, Gordon has had a stream of people reaching out and asking about the citizenship process.

The path is not clearly defined. Citizenship must come from a concession from Ghana’s presidency, a process made legal under the 2000 Citizenship Act. It’s granted to those residing in Ghana who have told the Office of Diaspora Affairs that they are interested in citizenship.

Ghana’s government in part describes the program as a benefit to the economy and focuses on investment opportunities for those wishing to relocate.

Festus Owooson with the local nonprofit Migration Advocacy Center said that though the government emphasizes the economic angle, the real benefits of citizenship are intangible.

“I don’t think (recipients) were crying because they have landed a gold mine, or they’ve found oil or some kind of business opportunity. But it’s something so relieving, which you cannot put value or a price on,” he said.

President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration, which launched the “Year of the Return,” is on its way out. Ghana’s main opposition party won the presidential election on Dec. 7.

But Owooson said Black Americans and other diaspora citizens are likely to continue receiving citizenship by presidential concession.

Citizenship also can pass to the next generation. The children of Bowers and Smith received it automatically after their parents’ ceremony.

Bowers’ father, like her husband and children, was a follower of the Rastafari faith. “Part of the Rastafarian tradition is to repatriate. We see repatriation as the ultimate experience that you can have on this earth,” she said.

She believes that her father is proud of her. “I really feel like he’s smiling, where he is. He wanted to experience this for himself, so he’s experiencing it through me.”
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GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO — Rwanda-backed M23 rebels moved closer Friday to a key town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, capturing a nearby area, sources told AFP.

The March 23 Movement (M23), a militia supported by neighboring Rwanda and its army, has seized vast swathes of the eastern territory of the DRC since 2021, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Angola-mediated talks between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were abruptly canceled in mid-December over disagreements on the terms of a proposed peace deal.

Sources told AFP Friday that the M23 had taken control of the Katale area — the last place the rebels must pass before entering Masisi, the administrative capital of the Masisi territory.

“We have been attacked by the rebels … the enemy controls Katale,” a security source told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

“We confirm the capture of Katale by the M23 rebels, for the moment the population has fled towards Masisi center,” Thierry Muhindo, the head of a locality comprising Katale, told AFP.

Telesphore Mitondeke, Masisi civil society president, told AFP that several deaths in clashes in the area had been reported among the population, although no figures are currently available.

“It is necessary to note the serious human damage … it is revolting,” he said.

Masisi is located around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma.

In late December, the rebels were continuing their latest offensive, launched just ahead of a planned summit in the Angolan capital that was supposed to return peace to the region.

M23 forces were only around 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the town of Lubero and around 100 kilometers from the key commercial hub of Butembo.

For 30 years, the DRC’s mineral-rich east has suffered from the ravages of fighting between local and foreign armed groups, dating back to the regional wars of the 1990s.
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JOHANNESBURG — The dance world mourned Tuesday the internationally acclaimed South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo, who died in the hospital over the weekend at age 39.

Masilo died unexpectedly on Sunday after a brief illness, a spokesperson for her family said in a statement.

Born in Soweto, she was described as a sprite-like, energetic dancer and a fearless rule-breaker, who brought African dance motifs to classic European roles in a career that spanned two decades.

“Deeply respectful of European and contemporary music traditions, but unafraid to go bare on stage and voice her own opinions, she effectively changed the shape and appearance of contemporary dance in South Africa,” family spokesperson Bridget van Oerle said in the statement, announcing her death.

Among the most recent in a series of acknowledgements of her work, Masilo in September received the Positano Leonide Massine lifetime achievement award for classic and contemporary dance, which praised her as “powerful and topical.”

Her revisited versions of the great classics of romantic ballet drew on African dance to speak of the society in which she lived and of tolerance across borders, the award announcement said.

“A brilliant light has been extinguished,” the Joburg Ballet company said, praising Masilo’s “creative force as a choreographer and her wisdom as a human being.”

“Her groundbreaking work reshaped the world of contemporary dance, and her spirit will continue to inspire generations of artists and audiences,” the University of Johannesburg’s arts and culture department said.

The U.K.-based Dance Consortium, which toured with Masilo in Britain twice, called her death a “tragic loss to the dance world.”

“Her fresh perspective, extraordinary presence and stunning creations wowed and inspired audiences and artists across the U.K. and around the world,” it said.

‘Extraordinary role model’

Masilo was best known for her iconic re-invention of the great ballet classics such as Swan Lake and Giselle, said Lliane Loots, artistic director at the JOMBA! dance center at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

She used her “remarkable skill as a ballet dancer” to meld this European dance form “with the rhythms and intentions of her own histories of African dance and of being South African,” Loots said.

In 2016, Masilo’s Swan Lake was nominated for a New York Bessie Award and the following year her Giselle won Best Performance by the Italian Danza and Danza Award, the family statement said.

In 2018, she won the Netherlands’ Prince Claus Next Generation award, where she was described as an “extraordinary role model for young people and girls.”
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WASHINGTON — Bomb blasts in Mogadishu and a town in the country’s Middle Shabelle region killed at least six people and injured 10 others Saturday, police said and witnesses confirmed to VOA.

“An explosives-laden vehicle, which was parked on the road near a restaurant in the busy Hamar Weyne district, went off. I could see the dead bodies of at least three people, two of them women,” Mohamed Haji Nur, a witness, told VOA.

The explosion site is opposite of Somalia’s National Theater, about one kilometer from the president’s office.

The target of the attack is still unknown, but the affected Gel Doh restaurant is frequented by government staff and people from the diaspora for serving traditional Somali food.

In a separate incident, a bomb planted in a livestock market in Jowhar city in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region killed one person and injured three other civilians, Jowhar police Commander Bashir Hassan told a news conference.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attacks. However, the Islamist militant group al-Shabab is known for orchestrating bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa country.

Barre addressed UN General Assembly

Somalian Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre publicly accused Ethiopia before the U.N. General Assembly on Friday of actions that he says “flagrantly violate” Somalia’s territorial integrity.

This accusation comes as tensions continue to escalate between the two neighboring countries since January, when Ethiopia struck a controversial maritime deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

This region, at the northern tip of the country, declared independence in 1991 but lacks international recognition.

Under the deal, Somaliland would lease 20 kilometers of shoreline to Ethiopia in return for recognition, a move that raised alarms in Mogadishu.

“Somalia currently faces a serious threat from Ethiopia’s recent actions, which flagrantly violate our territorial integrity,” Prime Minister Barre stated at the U.N. General Assembly.

Somalia has accused Ethiopia of unlawfully attempting to build a naval base and commercial port in Somaliland.

“Ethiopia’s attempt to annex part of Somalia under the guise of securing sea access is both unlawful and unnecessary,” Barre emphasized, highlighting the gravity of the situation.

Ethiopia, a landlocked nation, has long sought access to the sea, but its move to deal with Somaliland infuriated the Somali government.

Barre elaborated on the implications of Ethiopia’s actions, saying, “Somalia ports have always been accessible for Ethiopia’s legitimate commercial activities, reflecting our commitment to regional trade and cooperation.”

He warned, though, that “Ethiopia’s aggressive maneuvers undermine Somalia’s sovereignty and embolden secessionist movements, which could threaten national unity.”

“These actions also serve as propaganda for terrorist groups like al-Shabab, who exploit Ethiopia’s provocations to recruit and radicalize vulnerable individuals,” he said.

Ethiopia denies accusations

Addressing the General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Taye Atske-Selassie, minister for foreign affairs of Ethiopia, denied Somalia’s accusation.

“Ethiopia’s memorandum of understanding with Somaliland is based on existing political dispensation in Somalia,” he said.

“Our objective is a shared growth and prosperity in the region. Similar agreements have been concluded by other states, and there is no reason for the government of Somalia to incite hostility that obviously intends to cover internal political tensions. I therefore reject the unfounded allegations leveled against my country.”

In a show of defiance, several times Somalia has threatened to expel Ethiopian troops who have been part of an African Union mission against al-Shabab militants since 2007.

Afyare Abdi Elmi, a Mogadishu-based professor of international affairs, told VOA that recent Egyptian military cooperation with Somalia raised concerns in Addis Ababa.

“The stakes are raised further, as Mogadishu has signed a military deal with Cairo and received weapons shipments that have alarmed Ethiopian officials.”

“I am afraid that the unfolding events signal a crucial moment in the Horn of Africa, with the potential to reshape the region’s geopolitical landscape and security dynamics,” said Somalia analyst Abdiqafar Abdi Wardhere, who is based in Virginia.

Last week, the Somali government accused Ethiopia of sending an “unauthorized shipment of arms and ammunition” to Somalia’s semiautonomous region of Puntland.

“Ethiopia must be held accountable for actions threatening to destabilize the Horn of Africa,” Barre warned in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

As the African Union mission prepares to transform at the end of the year, Egypt has offered to replace Ethiopian troops for the first time.

Somalia may also push for the removal of the estimated 10,000 Ethiopian troops stationed in Somalia’s regions along the border, aimed at preventing incursions by Islamist militants.

Although he did not name Egypt, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said that other actors’ actions are undermining regional stability.

“The recent maneuvers of actors from the outside of the Horn of Africa region undermine these efforts. Ethiopia will not be deterred from its resolute commitment to combating terrorism,” Atske-Selassie said. “I am confident that the government of Somalia will reckon and recognize the sacrifice we made to Somalia’s liberation from the grip of terrorist groups.”

Some information in this report is from Reuters.
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New York — On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Kenyan President William Ruto sat down with VOA’s Peter Clottey for an in-depth conversation Thursday. 

Ruto discussed his recent visit to Haiti, where he met with the top police commanders leading efforts to combat gangs and restore order in the Caribbean nation. He also addressed the proposal for Africa to secure two permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, as well as the growing protests by Kenya’s Gen-Z demanding reforms in the East African country.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA’s Peter Clottey: Thank you very much, Mr. President, for having us this morning. What was your overarching message during your speech at the U.N. General Assembly?

Kenyan President William Ruto: Three messages: the ravaging war around the world, tensions and conflict — you know, from Ukraine, Darfur, Sudan, DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] — and the failure of the multilateral system, especially the U.N. General Assembly and specifically the U.N. Security Council, to be a force of good and a place where we resolve issues.

In fact, it has become a gridlock and part of the problem. There is urgency in reforming the U.N. Security Council so that it reflects the dynamics and responds to the urgency of the situation that we face at the moment. It is our position that the U.N. needs to be reformed yesterday — to make it democratic, representative and agile — so that it can respond to the times of challenges of our time.

Number two is the challenge we have about the debt situation, the economic situation globally, and the fact that many countries in the Global South, many countries are facing the possibility of debt default. And a need to reform the international financial system, deal with credit rating agencies, ensure that there is longer-term financing, there is concessional financing, there is financing that is at scale to make sure that countries can be able to push their development programs, pay for social services and manage the serious challenges of debt.

Thirdly, climate change and the huge potential and opportunity that we have, especially in the Global South, and more particularly in Africa, for the huge resources, energy resources that we have, mineral resources that are in plenty, and the human capital that exists, that we can use to turn the climate change that is ravaging the world into an opportunity for Africa to industrialize, to create jobs, and to decarbonize the whole world. So, these were my very three pointed messages. Of course, not forgetting the challenge we have in Haiti and what Kenya is doing about it.

VOA: You were there recently and met with Kenyan police officers. What were your observations, and what did the Kenyan police officers tell you about the challenges they face in Haiti?

Ruto: I met with Haiti’s political leadership, and we had a candid conversation. I was supposed to be there for an hour but stayed for four. I also met the commanders of the Kenyan contingent, the Multinational Security Support Mission [MSS] and the Haitian police leadership. My assessment was more positive than I initially thought. The reports I received indicated that the pessimists and critics who saw no hope in Haiti are changing their tune. The airport, which used to be under gunfire, is now safe, with more flights coming in and out. The palace is secure, the National Hospital is in good hands, and the National Police Academy, which had been overrun by gangs, is now training officers. I see a very positive trajectory.

The Kenyan commanders on the ground and the Haitian police confirmed this to me, though they still face logistical challenges and need more resources and personnel.

VOA: Will Kenya provide that additional support?

Ruto: I immediately made the decision that Kenya is going to have another 600 security officers sent to Haiti to add on to the 400 already there — 300 next month, and 300 in November. And I am going to mobilize the rest of the global community to make sure that by January, we have 2,500 police officers so that we can execute the mandate that was given to us by the U.N. resolution setting up the MSS in Haiti.

VOA: There are suggestions that perhaps the U.N. should lead this effort. Where does Kenya stand on that?

Ruto: Whichever way we go, so long as we deploy the requisite personnel on the ground, mobilize resources necessary, the logistics that are needed for us to do the job in Haiti, whatever name we call it, whatever color we give it, my position is that we must focus on making sure that within a year.

VOA: What is your plan for the youth of Kenya in terms of listening to them instead of coming up with specific plans to meet their calls and demands? And how do you react when they said, “Mr. President must go. He has not kept his promises. He has to go”?

Ruto: Kenya is a robustly democratic country. I mean, because we are a democracy, I see people even in New York here demonstrating and making all manner of statements, and that is the beauty, that is the diversity of democracy.

I have a very clear, elaborate plan on job creation, our housing plan. Our digital footprint plan, our plan on export of labor. We just signed today here in New York a bilateral labor agreement with Austria, where Kenyan young people, the best resource we have, will find jobs in Austria. I came last week from, the other week, from Germany, doing the same thing, creating opportunities for the young people of Kenya to work in Kenya and to work abroad.

This is my plan. It is elaborate, understood, and I’m rolling out, and I’m confident that before leaving Nairobi, I launched Climate Works. That is going to hire another 200,000 young people across Kenya on climate action and make sure that we deal with the environmental issues and climate change that is threatening humanity and having significant adverse effects on the people of Kenya swinging from drought to floods, and that program is now on its way beginning 1st of October.

This Q&A originated in VOA’s English to Africa Service.
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Abuja, Nigeria — Leaders in Africa say the fight against malaria on the continent is facing significant funding gaps due to the ongoing global financial crisis and the impact of climate change.

African leaders this week met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and called for a concerted effort to avert a funding crisis they say could set back decades of progress in the fight against malaria.

The African Leaders Malaria Alliance, or ALMA, which hosted the high-level meeting, said if malaria funding continues to shrink, there will be an expected additional 112 million cases and some 280,000 deaths by the year 2029.

Africa already accounts for an estimated 236 million malaria cases — or 95% of the global total — and 97% of deaths. Nigeria accounts for nearly a third of that burden.

Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who serves as chair of ALMA, said that Africa stands at a critical moment in the fight against malaria.

“We must act urgently to protect lifesaving malaria intervention,” he said. “This is very important because our target is to finish with malaria in Africa.”

Experts said Africa needs up to $6.3 billion in malaria funding annually to eliminate the disease and called for continued support for malaria financing within the global funding framework.

ALMA also said the impact of climate change and growing resistance to insecticide and antimalarials are further hampering progress against the disease in Africa.

Ngashi Ngongo, head of the Executive Office at the Africa Union, said, “Achieving the elimination of malaria alongside progress toward other endemic diseases such as HIV and TB will lay the foundation for reducing Africa’s disease burden and further propel the achievement of universal health coverage on the continent.

“This progress is essential for strengthening health systems, and it is a necessity as we prepare for future pandemics, which are inevitable,” he said.

Following the World Health Organization’s approval last year, the first malaria vaccines are being introduced into routine child immunization schedules across Africa.

And on Thursday in New York, Nigerian health authorities signed a deal with U.S.-based drone company Zipline to use artificial intelligence-powered drones to expand access to medical supplies, including blood and vaccines.

Abdu Muktar, who is the national coordinator of Nigeria’s Unlocking Healthcare Value-Chain Initiative, commended the “very bold agenda” for producing health care products locally.

“But now we also have to be able to deliver,” he said. “What Zipline is doing is using technology to make sure you deliver. You’ll be able to reduce wastage in whatever it is — vaccines, therapeutics. You’ll be able to be accountable. … You are able to reach more people.”

In 2022, governments of malaria-endemic countries contributed about $1.5 billion toward combatting the disease.
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United Nations — Sudan’s de facto ruler said Thursday that he wants to end the war in his country, but he said he will not sit with his rival general unless he withdraws his fighters.

“We are keen on stopping the war and restoring peace and security, without any pre-conditions,” Army Chief Abdel-Fattah al Burhan told reporters in New York, where he was attending U.N. General Assembly meetings.

However, he stated several conditions for talks to start.

“We will never sit with Hemedti unless his forces pull out, and unless they implement what we agreed to,” he said referring to his rival, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.”

Once allies in Sudan’s transitional government following a 2021 coup, the two generals have turned into bitter rivals for power. On April 15, 2023, fighting erupted between their forces in the capital, Khartoum. It has since spread across Sudan, resulting in widespread atrocities and killing.

Burhan was asked about new fighting that erupted between his forces and the RSF in Khartoum on Thursday, but did not offer any new details.

Earlier Thursday, Burhan addressed the U.N. General Assembly annual debate. He used most of his speech to talk about the war in his country. Not to be outdone, his rival, Hemedti, issued a “General Assembly speech” of his own, on the social media platform X.

Ten million people have been displaced and half of Sudan’s population, 26 million people, are struggling with crisis levels of food insecurity.  Famine was confirmed in August in Sudan’s Darfur region, which has seen heavy fighting. At least 14 other areas of Sudan are considered at risk of famine in the coming months.

“The food gap is there, but it hasn’t reached the level of famine yet,” Burhan told reporters.

Regarding efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to bring the parties to the negotiating table in Switzerland in August, the army chief said it didn’t happen because “external parties interfered” with the process.

The Sudanese military accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming and equipping the RSF. The UAE was invited to a meeting in Switzerland in August and Burhan did not attend.

He said he was also not happy with how the invitation was sent to him – in his personal capacity, not as head of state. He added that any peace process should be purely Sudanese-led.

Asked about a July phone call he had with the leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Burhan said he told the Emirati that the RSF has received either direct or indirect assistance from the UAE in the forms of weapons and training.

He said MBZ, as the UAE leader is known, “promised to reconsider the situation.”

A report by a U.N. panel of experts earlier this year said there was substance to media reports that cargo planes originating in the UAE capital had landed in eastern Chad with arms, ammunition and medical equipment destined for the RSF.

Publicly, the UAE denies that it arms the RSF and says it has only sent humanitarian aid to Sudan.
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