31 January 2025

1. DR Congo- North Kivu- Kinshasha

DR Congo rebels vow to march all the way to capital and DRC president warns of "vigorous" military response to M23 rebel advance

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.  Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi this week that the army was mounting a “vigorous” military response as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advance in the east of the country.

1. Mozambique: Election irregularities affected integrity – EU mission

The European Union Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the general elections in Mozambique announced on Thursday that its final report concluded that “several irregularities and discrepancies” affected the “integrity of the electoral process and results.”

The position was conveyed to journalists by the head of mission, Laura Ballarín this morning in Maputo, after handing over the conclusions of the Final  Report of the EU Election Observation Mission  to the head of state, Daniel Chapo, with the conclusions of two months of observation of the process.

 

3.Chad- France

France hands over last army base in Chad

Two months after Chad severed its defence agreement with Paris, the French army has handed over its last military base in the country, the Kossei base, in N'Djamena.

Though it was Chad who announced the end of the defence pact, the head of the French Armed Forces' Africa Command stated that the handover was partly France’s decision.

Pascal Ianni, head of French Armed Forces' Africa Command, said, “The transfer of the (Adji) Kossei base today marks a new stage. It is part of the French decision to end permanent (military) bases in Central and West Africa.''

 

4.Uganda - Kampala

Uganda records first Ebola death since 2023 outbreak ended

A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, a health official said Thursday, in the first recorded fatality since the last outbreak ended in 2023.

The 32-year-old male nurse was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters Thursday.

After developing a fever, he was treated at several locations in Uganda before multiple lab tests confirmed he had been suffering from Ebola. The man died on Wednesday and the Sudan strain of Ebola was confirmed following postmortem tests, Atwine said.5

 

5.In our historical archives, it was tomorrow in our story 1 February 1974, while still in Botswana, Onkgopotse  Ramothibi Abraham Tiro was completing an application form to continue his studies through Unisa when a student known only as Lawrence handed him a parcel supposedly forwarded by the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF). As he opened it, a parcel bomb exploded, killing him instantly.

 

 

Guest: Khuselwa Dyanti:  Attorney in the Health Rights Programme at SECTION27

 

 

Guest: Sophie Mokoena - International News Editor for SABC

 

 

Guest: Lenin Ndebele: News24 International Journalist

 

 

Guest: Dr Mgcini Tshwaku: MMC for the Department of Public Safety: City of Joburg

 

 

Guest: Roland Henwood: Political Scientist And Commentator University of Pretoria

 

 

Guest: Dr Faith Mabera - Post Doctoral Fellow: International Relations: Wits University

 

 

Guest: Professor Bonke Dumisa: Independent Economic Analyst

 

 

Guest: Dr Laurette Marais: CSIR senior researcher

 

 

29 January 2025

1.DR Congo – North Kivu- Goma

Protesters attack embassies in Kinshasa after increase in fighting between M23 and Congolese forces. Hundreds of young Congolese men took to the streets of Kinshasa to express their outrage at the entry of the M23 rebels in the eastern city of Goma.

They barricaded roads and attacked the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, France, and the United States. The French embassy was set on fire and vandalized.

 

1. Sudan – Darfur- ICC

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Monday that his office will be seeking arrest warrants for those accused of atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region.

Karim Khan told the United Nations Security Council that crimes are being committed in Darfur “as we speak and daily” and are being used as a weapon of war.

He said that conclusion is the result of “a hard-edged analysis” based on evidence and information collected by his office.

 

1. Niger - Niamey

Global Push Grows to Free Niger's Former President Mohamed Bazoum

Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum has spent 550 days as a hostage of the military junta in the capital, Niamey. His lawyers say that his detention is setting a dangerous precedent and have launched a global campaign to have him released.

 

1. Mozambique – Europea Union

The EU EOM returns to Mozambique to present its Final Report and recommendations for future electoral processes

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has returned to Mozambique to present its Final Report on the General and Provincial Assembly Elections of 9 October 2024.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the electoral process, as well as recommendations for the improvement of future elections.

 

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day 29 January 1991 when a political summit meeting was held in Durban between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

The meeting was addressed by the late Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi and the then late ANC Deputy President Nelson Mandela, this was the first time in 30 years that these two political rivals had met.

In a joint statement called the Royal Hotel Minute, both parties expressed their commitment to political tolerance and called on the security forces to play an effective peace-keeping role.