Eye on Africa

The Ivorian opposition "United Front" organized three joint meetings in Abidjan in the municipalities of Yopougon, Anono and Gonzagueville on Saturday 26 September. RFI visited the Anono field and noted that the crowd was not there this first day of mobilizing the opposition coalition. A fine fog is watering the land in Anonos' headquarters, where one of the opposition coalition meetings is being held. All opposition sensitivities, with the exception of the independent candidate Kouadio Konan Bertin, called for…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Journalists' freedom in Somalia may be far from achieved after all, even with the recent appointment of a special prosecutor, who will look into the atrocities suffered by journalists, and despite frequent assurances from President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo himself. During a roundtable on the country's upcoming elections on Saturday night, Farmajo fired warning shots at journalists accusing them of lacking journalism knowledge and experience, in a statement that secretly exposes the strained…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's parliament on Saturday approved the electoral deal ending months of wrangling that almost threatened to disintegrate the country, in another dramatic occasion that would definitively define the nation's future political realignments. Ahead of the historic bicameral chamber session, there were concerns that Parliament would sabotage the implementation of the deal, after months of disagreements between the Senate and the Lower House, who were heavily divided over the quest to resolve the…

"I got to break and get into theater writers." Author and director Souleymane Bah, 46, will receive the RFI Theater 2020 award for La Cargaison on Sunday 27 September at the Festival des Francophonies, Les Zébrures d'Automne, in Limoges. The text from the Guinean author, exiled in France for four years, invites us to a "macabre stroll" populated by ruined destinies, stranded somewhere. Relaxed and determined at the same time, equipped with an easy opportunity to choose words and speech, during our meeting with the winner,…

Interview with Gilles Olakounlé Yabi, economist and political analyst. He is the founder of the West African Citizen Think Tank, Wathi (www.wathi.org). Commentary on the future of democracy in French-speaking Africa. RFI: What is your assessment of the state of democracy in Africa in 2020?? Gilles Yabi: Difficult to answer this question without first remembering the diversity of the continent. This diversity has profound implications for the assessment that can be made of the state of democracy in Africa. Political…

NGO Human Rights Watch investigated the violence that shook the city of Nzérékoré in southern Guinea during the double vote on March 22. It takes stock of at least 32 dead, 90 wounded and extensive property damage and also involves the security forces in this tragedy. Polling stations were attacked, places of worship burned down and dozens of dead have done so Nzérékoré mourned in a double vote of March 22nd. HRW believes the defense and security forces "did not do enough" to stop the inter-municipal clashes that erupted…

Libyan talks in Bouznika, Morocco, resume this Sunday, September 27. Two opposing delegations, representing the State High Council in Tripoli and the parliament in Tobruk, are meeting for another round of negotiations after starting in early September. Delegations must define the mechanism for selecting the personalities who will take the head of state sovereign positions. They must also decide on the new restructuring of the Presidential Council and the next government of national unity. These new meetings in Bouznika…

It is a project that worries Benin and is unanimous in Nigeria. Last Wednesday, the Nigerian director announced that it had released pledges of $ 1.9 billion for the construction of a 250km railway line that will connect Nigeria to neighboring Niger. A project whose foundations were launched in 2015, but whose costs and real interest rates are discussed. The future railway line will connect the city of Kano in Nigeria with Maradi in southern Niger and pass through Jigawa, Katsina and Jibia. But the announcement of this…

Two months after the sinking of a Japanese ship in Mauritius, the first overview of the consequences of the oil spill on biodiversity. It will take several months to assess the impact of the 1,000 tonnes of fuel spilled on the coral reef. Also on land, oil spills can have consequences, especially for two bird species that are already in danger. The water in the lagoon is petrol blue. Two months after the oil spill that hit Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, "we sometimes find oil products on the surface," said Vikash Tatayah,…

In Madagascar, we are measuring the impact of Covid-19's crisis on education. Civil society raised this issue during an online debate this Saturday, September 26th. For six months, classes have been suspended on the Big Island, except for graduate class students, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. With our correspondent in…