US Accuses Sudan Of Threatening To Expel UN Mission
The US has accused Sudan of having threatened to expel the United Nations mission from the war-torn country if the UN envoy, already in Khartoum’s crosshairs, speaks before the Security Council on the atrocities of the conflict. During a session devoted to Sudan and South Sudan, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose country is chairing the Council in August, slammed the absence of Volker Perthes, the special representative of the secretary-general in Sudan and head of the UN mission there, known as Unitams. “We had expected SRSG Perthes to brief the Council. We now understand that the Sudanese government warned it would end the UN mission in Sudan if the SRSG participated in this briefing. And that is unacceptable,” the US ambassador said in front of her Sudanese counterpart, Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed. The Sudanese ambassador denied the charge. “The mission of Sudan has not sent a letter or a correspondence saying that we are threatening to boycott the session,” he said.
Source: The East African
Ecowas Leaders Champion Dialogue, Approve Stand-By Force In Niger
After a meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) ordered the immediate deployment of a standby force “to restore constitutional order” in Niger. The regional body also called for partner countries and the United Nations to support the efforts “aimed at ensuring a quick restoration of order in conformity with its normative instruments.” The current Ecowas chairperson, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said in a statement that the regional bloc “will continue to champion diplomacy and dialogue, as well as earnest discussions with all parties involved.” Earlier on Thursday, the military junta that took control of Niger in a coup late in July declared the members of a new government. Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian economist, will lead the 21-member government, with generals from the new military governing council heading the defence and interior ministries.
Source: All Africa
Burkina Faso Junta Suspends Radio Station For Criticising Niger Coup
Niger continues to dominate African politics and various countries are making their stance clear. Burkina Faso made its stance clear when the junta-led government on Thursday suspended one of the country’s popular radio stations, Radio Omega for criticising the Niger Republic coup. The radio reportedly had an interview with Ousmane Abdoul Moumouni, the spokesman of a newly established Nigerien group campaigning to return the country’s elected President, Mohamed Bazoum to power. Reacting to the interview, Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo in a statement on Thursday, announced that the radio station was immediately suspended in the higher interests of the nation until further notice. “Moumouni made insulting comments with regard to the new Nigerien authorities. His organisation is clearly campaigning for violence and war against the sovereign people of Niger and seeks to restore Bazoum by every means,” Ouedraogo said.
Source: Daily Post
Amid Russia Concerns, US Diplomat Arrives For 3-Nation Africa Tour
Victoria Nuland, Acting Deputy Secretary of State for the United States, has begun a three-nation tour to Africa on Saturday that follows both the just-completed Russia-Africa summit and a coup in Niger that’s renewed concern over African reliance on Russia and Wagner Group Russian fighters. She will visit South Africa, the Ivory Coast and Congo. Nuland is expected to lead the US team participating in the U.S.-South Africa Working Group on African and Global Issues (WGAGI) discussions. Past meetings have emphasized U.S. commitment to Africa through a host of issues, including support for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and security priorities like the conflict in Ethiopia.
Source: Africa Times
Former South African President Zuma Released On Remission After Quick Prison Stop
South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma was admitted to the Estcourt Correctional Centre and released in less than two hours. The Correctional Services national commissioner said Zuma’s release was part of a remission program aiming to address prison overcrowding. As pressure from the opposition mounted Friday (Aug. 11), authorities and correctional services defended their decision. “The law has taken its course with regards to the former president Zuma. The national commissioner has taken a decision and that decision was not interfered with, neither did we meddle with it,” the Justice and Correctional Services minister Ronald Lamola told the press. Lamola added that the former leader immediately benefited from a remission of non-violent offenders approved by President Ramaphosa.
Source: Africa News
Kenya’s Banks Strike High-Profile Borrowers In Default Panic
Kenya’s banks are aggressively going after high-profile clients, including giant corporations and prominent billionaires, amid a fresh wave of corporate defaults that are leaving lenders with a pile-up of bad loans. Ecobank is the latest to tap the services of auctioneers as it moves to sell properties belonging to Kenyan oil marketer Hashi Energy in Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret and Mombasa counties to recover a Sh5 billion debt. A number of other banks, including KCB, Equity Group and Absa Bank Kenya, have moved to courts seeking orders to seize the assets of defaulters, reflecting a tough business environment where economic activities have been largely muted. KCB Group, Kenya’s largest bank by asset size, has been the busiest in the courts, applying for the seizure of various properties for unpaid loans running into billions of shillings.
Source: Business Daily Africa
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