Guest: Andre Aiton: Managing Director of Beagle Watch

 

 

Guest: Ronald Lamola: Minister of International Relations & co-operation

 

 

Guest: Musa Mdunge: Political analyst based at the University Of Dundee

 

 

Guest: Prof Jasper Knight: Professor for Geography And Environmental Science, Wits University

 

 

Guest: Emma Louise Powell: DA National Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Member Of Parliament

7 March 2025

 

1. South Sudan – Juba

South Sudan arrests key Machar allies as tensions rise

South Sudanese authorities have arrested several key allies of First Vice President Riek Machar, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and Deputy Army Chief General Gabriel Duop Lam, amid rising political tensions. Soldiers have also surrounded Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba.

The arrests follow an attack by an armed group allied with Machar on a military base in Upper Nile state. No official reason has been given for the detentions, but Machar’s party warns that the move threatens the 2018 peace deal that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war.

 

1. Lesotho- USA

The mountain kingdom of Lesotho has formally registered its discontent with comments made earlier this week by US President Donald Trump.

In a speech to the Congress on Tuesday listing wasted foreign spending, Trump said nobody had ever heard of the African country.

The authorities in Lesotho say they are “shocked and embarrassed” by the mockery in the US president’s speech.

"When somebody as high-powered as President Trump denies us in such a high-profile set-up, it is understandable we would have to do something. So we have followed all diplomatic channels to register our discontent," said government spokesperson Thabo Sekonyela.

 

 

1. DR Congo- Kivus ,Uvira,Kisangani- Lubumbashi

The DRC conflict enters a dangerous new phase

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered a new and more destabilizing stage. A call for a pause in the fighting by leaders from the 8 member states of the East African Community (EAC) and 16 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was dismissed by Rwandan-backed M23 rebel forces, who have continued their offensive to seize more territory in the eastern DRC.

 

1. Mozambique – Rwanda – European Union

 EU will continue to fund Rwandan presence in Cabo Delgado

The European Union is continuing to support the Rwandan assistance for Mozambique’s fight against islamist terrorism, despite Rwanda’s role in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Cited by the daily electronic paper “Mozambique Times”, Jennifer Sanchez da Silva, the EU press officer for foreign affairs and security policy, said Rwanda is continuing to comply with the contractual terms governing EU funding for counter-terrorism efforts in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

 

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day 7 March 1994 when the late ANC President Tata Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela rejected the demand by white right-wingers for a separate homeland in South Africa, saying it would never happen in his lifetime.

 

 

Guest: Patrick Jaca - newly appointed JMPD Chief

 

 

Guest: Amos Masondo – ANC Gauteng Provincial Convener

Guest: Adv Simba Chitando – who represents the ZEP Permits Holders Association

 

 

 

06 March 2025

 

1. Mozambique- Maputo

 Mozambican police shoot at Mondlane’s caravan and injure a member of the entourage

A member of former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane’s caravan was injured after police fired shots to disperse a crowd following a march in Maputo led by the Mozambican politician.

The incident occurred at around 1 pm (two hours less in Lisbon) in the Hulene neighborhood, along Julius Nyerere Avenue, when the caravan accompanying Venâncio Mondlane was heading towards Praça dos Combatentes, leaving from Praça da Juventude, in the Magoanine neighborhood, in the suburbs of Maputo.

 

2.North Sudan – Egypt

North Sudan's military leader General Abdel -Fattah Burhan has proposed roadmap for constitutional transition and possibility of free elections in the future.

Amid the civil war, the foreign ministry associated with the Sudanese army has proposed a strategy for conducting elections. The initiative includes establishing a transitional government, appointing a civilian prime minister, and facilitating a national dialogue with civil society.

Sudan's military leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, mentioned that Sudan has proposed a potential "roadmap" that includes a "constitutional transition" and the possibility of free elections in the future.

 

3.Guinea- Bissau

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said he will run for a second term in November, amid tensions with an opposition that refuses to recognize him as the country’s current president.

“I will be a candidate for my own succession,” Embalo said. Guinea-Bissau’s constitution sets the presidential term at five years, renewable once, and Embalo would be running for an allowed second term.

But the details of his first term are complicated, and the opposition argues that his first term already has ended.

 

4.Ghana – Accra

Ghana's 68th Independence Day celebration will be held at the seat of the government, Jubilee House, instead of the traditional grand-scale event at Black Star Square or various regional capitals.

The Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, announced the decision, explaining that the move is to reduce the financial burden on the national purse.

According to him, the celebrations in recent years have incurred significant costs, which the government cannot currently afford.

 

5.In our historical archives, it was on this day 6 March 1957 when Ghana (then Gold Coast) was liberated from its former colonial occupier Britian.

The flag of the newly independent state was designed by Theodosia Salome Okoh.

The red signified those who had died for independence, the gold is the mineral wealth with the green representing the rich grasslands of the area. The black star is the symbol of the people and of African emancipation.