Sunday 26 may 2024 {HMC} For years, the African National Congress rose above politics in South Africa. It was a movement dedicated to freeing Black people from the oppression of white minority rule and to the lofty principle of democracy, equality and a better life for all South Africans.

It was widely revered as a force for good under Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his opposition to the apartheid system of racial segregation.

But 30 years after the ANC transformed from a liberation organization to a political party in government at the end of apartheid in 1994, it faces growing dissatisfaction from South Africans who feel it has failed to live up to its promises.

South Africans will vote on May 29 in a national election that could be the biggest rejection yet of the ANC, which has governed one of Africa’s most important countries largely unchallenged since it led the fight to bring down apartheid.

Now, the ANC is for many a byword for graft and failed government. Here’s how the famous party lost its way:

Broken promises

While the end of apartheid gave every South African the right to vote and other basic freedoms, the challenge for the ANC was to convert that into a better life, especially for the Black majority who had been systematically repressed.

That has been difficult for the ANC government to sustain after some early success in raising living standards in its first 10 years in power. South Africa sits today with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, is still ranked as one of the most unequal countries, and its widespread poverty — which still disproportionately affects Black people — spurs most of the criticism of the ANC’s three decades in charge.

The ANC has often pointed to the difficulties in reversing nearly a half-century of racist laws under apartheid and hundreds of years of European colonialism before that, which kept millions in poverty. It maintains that South Africa is a better country than it was under apartheid and that is undoubtedly true.

But the most pressing problems for many South Africans in 2024 boil down to a failure of basic government services, with communities across the nation regularly protesting against the lack of electricity in their neighborhoods, broken or nonexistent water and sewage systems, garbage piling up on streets, and a shortage of proper housing that leaves millions living in shacks.

Corruption

While around half of South Africa’s population of 62 million live under the poverty line, according to the World Bank, ANC officials have been implicated in enriching themselves in a succession of corruption scandals.

Corruption is alleged to have been especially bad under former President Jacob Zuma, who was accused of allowing a decade of rampant graft to play out before he stepped down in disgrace in 2018.

There were countless stories of wrongdoing, with politicians receiving bribes in return for influence or lucrative state contracts as a culture of graft pervaded all levels of government. South Africans heard how senior ANC figures allegedly received money to buy expensive suits, throw lavish parties or renovate their homes.

The disappearance of $15 million designated for the removal of harmful asbestos from the houses of poor people was one of many cases that enraged the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to clean up the ANC when he succeeded Zuma, but he was involved in his own scandal and survived an impeachment vote.

The ANC’s reputation hasn’t recovered.

Infighting

The ANC has been hampered by infighting since Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 after one term and handed over to a younger generation.

His successor, Thabo Mbeki, was forced out as Zuma undermined his position as the head of the ANC. The party turned on Zuma, who is disqualified from running in next week’s election, when the corruption allegations became overwhelming.

Ramaphosa has spent his first term as president since 2019 battling a part of the party still loyal to Zuma. In its early days, the ANC celebrated that it was a “broad church” of people dedicated to freedom and democracy. It now has factions much like any other political party, affecting its ability to solve South Africa’s problems.

The future

From a dominant position when it once commanded 70% of the vote, the ANC has seen people gradually desert it, especially among a new generation of South Africans who don’t remember apartheid.

The election is widely expected to be a landmark moment for the country’s post-apartheid democracy as recent polls have the ANC’s support at less than 50%, suggesting it might lose its parliamentary majority for the first time.

The ANC is still expected to be the biggest party but dropping below 50% would lead to it having to govern alongside others in a coalition.

That would be the biggest political shift in South Africa since the ANC ascended into the government and a humbling moment for a party Zuma once said would rule “until Jesus comes back.”

SOURCE VOA

Sunday 26 may 2024 {HMC} When Gazali Mahaman Abdou heard about the military coup in his home country of Niger last July, he went to work reporting on developments.

A journalist for more than 20 years, Abdou reports for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle from his base in Niger’s capital, Niamey.

But with a transitional military leadership in power, Abdou said, covering the situation has become too risky, with some journalists detained.

“Sometimes the menace is not coming from the junta directly but the supporters of the junta. That’s why we are afraid,” he said. “Someone can attack you anywhere. That is why we’re so careful. It’s not easy.”

Some journalists left Niger because they couldn’t work, Abdou said, adding, “After three or four months, they returned to the country, but they can’t critique the junta directly.”

Risky to report

Media advocates say that since the military coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, journalists are at risk of arbitrary arrests and intimidation by transitional authorities.

In January, the junta suspended Niger’s media association, known as the Maison de la Presse, replacing it with a committee headed by the Interior Ministry’s secretary general.

Abdou said journalists like himself who have stayed have changed how they report to ensure their safety.

“We’ve become more careful with our choice of words,” he said. “When I work, I know that the junta doesn’t like to hear about the number of soldiers who died at the front line. We have to be more careful — we don’t give the number, but the government number is not the good [correct] number.”

It’s a situation that worries press freedom and rights advocates. Groups that include Amnesty International report Niger’s transitional leaders are targeting and arbitrarily arresting journalists who report on the conflict and security-related topics.

Amnesty has called for the immediate release of journalists unjustly detained, including Soumana Maiga. Authorities detained the newspaper editor in April over a story about Russian agents allegedly installing listening equipment in state buildings.

Days before that arrest, authorities detained a journalist and former adviser to the ousted president.

A regional trend

Busola Ajibola, deputy director of the journalism program at the West Africa-focused Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, says the trend is concerning.

“When journalists are arrested arbitrarily and held incommunicado, it sends signals to other journalists to begin to self-censor,” she said. “That pattern is spreading not just in Niger but in places like Burkina Faso.

“What we worry about is not just the shrinking of the atmosphere for accountability journalism, but … the total shrinking of the civic space,” she said.

VOA’s attempts to reach the transitional government were unsuccessful. But the military has said that those journalists detained are accused of trying to undermine national security and destabilize the country.

In a tense environment, Ajibola said, media collaboration is one way for Niger’s journalists to get their stories out.

“This is the time we need to begin to advocate for regional collaboration among journalists themselves,” she said. “The government of Niger does not constitute a major threat to a journalist in Ghana, Mozambique or Nigeria, so we can now have a situation where journalists that are in Niger find a way to amplify their voices. They necessarily do not have to be the ones telling the stories, especially if they can’t tell the stories within a safe zone.”

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, last year joined with 80 media groups and journalists to demand the military respect press freedom. But since the coup, Niger has dropped 19 points on the RSF World Press Freedom Index rankings.

SOURCE VOA

Saturday 25, May 2024 {HMC} –Somali Police Force (SPF) detectives in Hirshabelle State have completed a five-day intensive training on fingerprint investigation and evidence gathering.

Organised by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) Police component, the training held at the Jowhar Airfield base aimed to equip the officers with skills and knowledge to investigate and handle complex criminal cases.

The team of detectives were taken through a range of topics including forensic collection of fingerprints at crime scenes, analysing and matching the fingerprints with the database which is critical in identifying and arresting criminal suspects.

“This training is important for our officers because it will help them to easily investigate crimes committed or in the process of being committed and arrest the suspects. I therefore urge the participants to be more attentive, focused and eventually apply the skills acquired in discharging their duties,” said Lt. Ahmed Abdulle Madoobe, deputy commander of Jowhar airfield police station.

Lt. Madoobe appreciated ATMIS for organising the training, noting that, “it will enable the Somali Police Force to investigate crimes thoroughly and professionally”.

The ATMIS Police lead trainer in Jowhar, ASP Earnest Agbo, underscored the training’s role in enhancing the investigative skills of the officers to handle complex criminal cases using modern scientific methods.

“The specialised knowledge acquired will go a long way in helping the police to identify suspects and solve complex crimes, effectively supporting Somalia’s quest for peace and stability. We are very happy to have imparted our Somali counterparts with the relevant skills that are vital in their investigations and law enforcement responsibilities,” said ASP Agbo at the closing ceremony of the training.

Abdullahi Mohamed Osman, a participant in the training, thanked ATMIS for organising the training and called for more capacity building initiatives to help Somalia’s Police force conduct professional investigations.

“I am happy to have attended this training on fingerprint investigation, I have acquired valuable skills from the course. I would like to thank ATMIS in collaboration with the Hirshabelle State Police for coming up with this valuable initiative,” said Abdullahi.

ATMIS has conducted similar capacity building trainings for the Somali Police Force in other Federal Member States, including Baidoa (South West State), Kismayo (Jubaland State) and the capital, Mogadishu to improve policing standards in Somalia.