Eye on Africa

Djibouti-Dikhil: On the morning of Wednesday, September 30, a dozen people were arrested in Dikhil Prefecture in the southwestern part of the country. Arbitrary arrests against civilians are complicit in the armed movement FRUD (Front for Restoration of Unity and Democracy), according to the Djiboutian League for Human Rights (LDDH). A routine operation meets the flow. LDDH speaks of a gendarmerie strike against innocent civilians. A dozen people were arrested on suspicion of having links to the political-military…

Cocoa at 1000 CFA francs per Kilo and Côte d'Ivoire. One month before the expected date of the presidential election, Alassane Ouattara announces a purchase price for the farm gate for the cocoa bean, which has risen sharply. On the occasion of the launch of the 2020-2021 cocoa campaign, President Alassane Ouattara, who is currently campaigning for a third term, strongly opposed by the opposition, actually announced yesterday, Thursday in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, a purchase price for plants of 1000 CFA…

This Thursday, October 1, marked the launch of the Cocoa Campaign 2020-2021 in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It was also this Thursday that the launch took place in Yamoussoukro of the National Cocoa and Chocolate Days, an annual meeting marking the start of the season. The possibility for Alassane Ouattara, president of the world's largest cocoa producer with 2 million tonnes a year, to announce a sharp rise in the price of the plants just less than a month before the presidential election. Côte d'Ivoire is the world's…

When will Félicien Kabuga be tried? France, where the alleged Rwandan genocide was arrested in May, gave the green light on Wednesday to define its surrender to the mechanism of international courts seeking to try him for war crimes and genocide. An important step has been taken, but the road to trial is still long. Serge Brammertz, lawyer for this mechanism, is our guest this morning. .

Representatives of the United Nations, the African Union and West African countries have been on missions in Conakry since Thursday, October 1st. They welcomed the assurances of President Alpha Condé, a candidate for a controversial third term, to a peaceful election. This visit comes in the middle of the election campaign, the presidential election, which will be held on October 18. The mission has launched vigorous consultations with actors in the Guinean crisis. At the end of an audience with Alpha Condé at the…

Cotton production is in free fall in Mali. The former African fiber champion is expected to harvest a quarter of what he produced last year. The poor textile economy associated with Covid-19 is not the only reason. It will be one of the worst cotton crops in Mali's history. Less than 80,000 tons of fiber compared to nearly…

From New York to Bamako via Paris and Algiers, one of the priorities of the Chancelleries accredited in Mali is the implementation of the Algerian peace agreement signed in 2015 between the armed groups in northern Mali and the government. This provides a better representation of the peoples of the northern part of the country and disarms movements of ex-rebels or loyalists to integrate them into the army to put an end to the tensions in these regions. But for five years, this deal has slipped. A diplomatic meeting was…

In Madagascar, civil society is sounding the alarm. Environmental activist Raleva is due to appear this Friday, October 2, for the public prosecution of Mananjary, a town located on the island's east coast. The man took part in a demonstration by local people on September 1 to protest against gold mining in a Chinese company. Environmental associations are concerned about the possible consequences of this call. Environmental activist Raleva is summoned to Friday, October 2, by the National Gendarmerie with three other…

From Washington to Brussels, the children mobilize for Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of the film Hotel Rwanda, and call for more international support for their father detained in Kigali. Paul Rusesabagina, who is known to have saved more than 1,200 people during the genocide, now an opponent, is detained since late August in Kigali. He was charged in mid-September with "terrorism, murder and financing of riots". This Friday, 2 October, the Rwandan judiciary is due to rule on a request for bail. His children condemn the…

More than 700 civilians died from 5 to 10 June 2000 in Kisangani after heavy arms conflicts between the Rwandan and Ugandan armies. Even today, the traces of this violence are still there and the pain is still alive. Monsignor Samuel Lotika has gray hair and well-worn glasses. The provincial president-bishop of Christ Church in Congo barely hides his teary-eyed eyes at the mention of the Six-Day War. “The first one was going to fall in the classroom where my son was studying. Many of the students were dead. It was also…