Africa Top10 News

The CAR’s Ambitious Institution to Address Ethnic Cleansing and War Crimes

The Special Criminal Court is a hybrid court of national and international elements. Consultants are sourced from western countries; donors include France, Holland, the EU and the US. But its creators are keen not to be seen as meddling foreigners. Prosecutors at the embryonic SCC are now tasked with indicting militants for crimes in CAR since the 2003 coup, and hope their endeavours will mark the denouement of this bloody tragedy, fuelled in part by a culture of impunity. The SCC’s precarious funding model was highlighted by a recent HRW report that uncovered a gap of approximately $1m for 2019 operations, with no money pledged for future years. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

The Gagging of Media Freedom is Reversing the Continent’s Recent Gains

Across Africa, there is a new wave of attacks on the media, on activists and trade unionists, and all those who are demanding good governance and genuine democracy. Analysts believe that whatever gains Africa made in the last decade are being reversed. One country after another is strangulating social media with taxes and imposing stiff penalties for use of these platforms in any way the government deems negative. By the time the West regains its composure, Africa will have taken two steps backward. As for Africa, by the time its young population wakes up, much-heralded Africa rising would have once again turned into another era of unfulfilled potential.

SOURCE: OZY

Top Somali Journo Reflects on the State of His Country

Jamal Osman, a Somali journalist, has watched his country be torn apart by civil war for three decades. He thought that in Kismayo, a city in Jubbaland, southern Somalia, he had found a society that offered hope of an end to the cycle of violence. But a horrific al-Shabab attack on the city’s Madina Hotel in July 2019, which left 26 dead and 56 injured, shattered the fragile hope of lasting security in the region. As part of Jamal’s journey into Jubbaland, he meets alleged al-Shabab fighters in prison as well as a Jubbaland army unit made up of former al-Shabab members, now supporting the government.

SOURCE: BBC

How the EPL Helps to Market African Brands 

It’s hard to miss the SportPesa logo at an Everton FC home soccer match in the English Premier League. The Kenyan sport betting firm’s logo is slapped on the team’s shirts and across the stadium as part of a five-year $62 million deal as Everton’s main sponsor. The league’s popularity has held firm even though the cost of broadcasting league games has rapidly spiked. SuperSport, the main broadcasters of the Premier League in most sub-Saharan African countries is estimated to have paid $381.3 million to air games for the 2016-2019 broadcast cycle—44% more than it did for the 2013-2016 cycle. In fact, airing Premier League games alone has become a cornerstone marketing asset in the pay TV business across Africa.

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA

Giving the Ethiopian Girl Child Peace of Mind

On average, one in 10 girls in Ethiopia misses school for reasons related to their periods; in some rural areas, this increases almost 50%. Freweini Mebrahtu believes no girl should miss school because of her period. In 2005, she designed and patented a reusable menstrual pad. Today, she and her team produce 750,000 pads a year at her Mariam Seba Sanitary Products Factory, named for her daughter. In Ethiopia — and many other parts of the world — menstruation is still considered taboo. According to UNICEF, the subject is generally not taught in schools and most girls never discuss it with another person. Disposable sanitary products are very expensive and often unavailable, so nearly 75% of Ethiopian women and girls don’t have access to the menstrual supplies they need to manage their periods.

SOURCE: CNN

Weekend Carnage Shakes Up Tunisia

Tunisia’s health ministry has said a bus carrying local tourists crashed off a hill, killing 24 people and injuring 18 others. The bus, which belonged to a private company, veered off track after its driver failed to maneuver a sharp turn in the country’s northern Ain Snoussi region and crashed at the bottom of a ravine. Local media showed images of the crash site where the bus stood at the bottom of the hill, its windows smashed. Ain Draham is located at an altitude of 800 meters on the slopes of the Djebel Bir, one of the Kroumirie mountains, on the border with Algeria. Following the accident, the Tunisian Soccer Federation said it would observe a one-minute silence before all scheduled games on Sunday.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

The AU Orders the UK to End its Colonial Administration over Chagos Island

After missing a United Nations(UN) deadline to return the territory to Mauritius. Chagos islands have been at the centre of a decade-long dispute over Britain’s decision to separate them from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the United Nations on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles. In May, an overwhelming majority of UN member states voted in favor of a non-binding resolution that urged the UK to “withdraw its colonial administration” from the Chagos Islands within six months, a deadline that expired on Friday. The AU said it was deeply concerned by the non-withdrawal of the United Kingdom from its colonial administration.

SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA

South Africans Charged an Arm and a Leg for Data

South Africa’s Vodacom Group and MTN Group could face prosecution if they do not agree with the Competition Commission in the next two months to lower data prices, the watchdog said in findings from an inquiry published on Monday. The data services inquiry was launched in August 2017 in response to a request from the minister of economic Development and after complaints from consumers about high data costs. In its final report, the Commission recommended that the two mobile operators must independently reach an agreement with the competition watchdog on substantial reductions on tariff levels, especially prepaid monthly bundles, within two months of the release of the report. It said the preliminary evidence suggests that there is scope for price reductions in the region of 30% to 50%.

SOURCE: REUTERS AFRICA

The Importance of African Storytelling in Film

Africans are continuing to take charge of their stories using the big screens. Lupita Nyongo’o is just an example of the new generation of young Africans leading the way. She is currently producing the screen version of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book, Americanah, where she will also star in the main role. She describes it as a project that she is very passionate about as it’s a story that gives us a whole other African perspective”.

SOURCE: AFRICA.COM

A Positive Spin on an African Stigma

Nearly one-third of Uganda’s new HIV infections occur among 15-to-25-year-olds, who say that although there has been progress, stigma is still a problem. To raise awareness ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, Uganda holds an annual fashion show and beauty pageant for young people infected with the virus that causes AIDS and calls them the Young Positives. Education on HIV prevention is also a key part of the Young Positives pageant, which displays condoms and promotes safe sex. UNAIDS says about 6 percent of Ugandans are HIV-positive, one of the highest rates in East Africa. But there has been progress in Uganda’s fight against HIV. AIDS-related deaths dropped by nearly 60% in 2018, UNAIDS said. 

SOURCE: VOA