Paul Ndiho

 By Paul Ndiho

A large number of armed groups continue to exact violence on the Banyamulenge people, who are already in the dire humanitarian situation in South Kivu, the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic Congo. Since May, hundreds have been killed, and tens of thousands displaced from their homes. For nearly two decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the scene of deadly ethnic violence. The United Nations says it has claimed millions of lives.

A recent spate of inter-ethnic fighting in eastern Congo is raising new fears of death and displacement in the region.  The Banyamulenge people, an ethnic minority with Rwandan ancestry, say they’re being targeted by armed groups from the Mai Mai community.

Jean-Paul Ruhosha is among several activists who are sounding the alarm abroad.

 “A Massacre is going on in Congo – The Mai Mai are killing the Banyamulenge people. They’ve killed more than 250 people, they have been taking their cows, and the Congolese Government is watching all this.”

Critics say the government has done little to quell the violence, which has left thousands of people displaced in areas like Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu provinces.

It’s a challenge for President Félix Tshisekedi, who came into power promising to solve the country’s problems.

Earlier this month, a top U.N. official urged the Security Council to help bring stability to the country.

“While continuing to support the Congolese authorities, to neutralize the unacceptable threat posed by armed groups, for the civilian population, we need to come together to strengthen state functions and its capacity to govern the country following the rule of law.”

Ruhosha and other activists want the international community to actively intervene, and stop, what he calls, the systematic killings of the Banyamulenge people.

“This has been going on since May. It’s a long term conflict, and they’ve been saying that the Banyamulenge are not Congolese people, and they started this massacre since May year.”

Another activist, Gedeon Bihonzi, says the Banyamulenge are DR Congo’s most oppressed minority. He wants protection from the U.S. government.

“We need that genocide to be stopped by either by the Government of Congo or the international community. Even here in the U.S, where I am. The Government of the U.S should stand up because over two hundred people have been killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and nobody is doing anything.” People need food, need shelter, and need to be supported in all ways.”

Bihonzi warns Congo is on a dangerous path to genocide.

“The Government is systematically killing its people. Government forces deployed in the area, and when these Mai Mai rebels come in, they start to kill in discriminatory in the presence of the government soldiers.”

Some critics say part conflict is driven by politics in neighboring countries, as foreign armed rebels try to establish a base in southern Kivu. Ruhosha says politicians are capitalizing on the political insecurity. The Congolese government categorically denies these allegations.

President Félix Tshisekedi has promised to end the violence and has called for national reconciliation. But his critics say that’s not good enough. Meanwhile, violence in Eastern Congo rages on, and there appears to be no end in sight.

Ghana is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa. Since 1992, the country has held competitive multiparty elections that have led to peaceful transfers of power. But relatively little is written about the role of women in Ghana’s political history. Its former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has written a new memoir, called, “It Takes a Woman”

You have probably heard the saying that “behind every successful man there’s a strong woman’. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Ghana’s former First Lady, is a perfect example of one.

She was thrust into the political limelight, when her husband Jerry John Rawlings, seized power in Ghana in successive coups, first in 1979, and then in 1981. He ruled the country until 2001. Some scholars say the secret to much of Jerry Rawlings’ success is his wife.

A politically ambitious woman in her own right, Mrs. Rawlings was elected first vice-chairperson of Ghana’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2009. Two years later, she challenged the late President John Atta Mills in a bid to be the ruling party’s presidential candidate but lost. 

In 2016, she became the first woman in Ghana to run for president, in an election that dubbed her the African Hillary Clinton. Rawlings lost after garnering less than 1% of the national vote. Her supporters blamed a narrow electoral college and too few women delegates for her defeat. 

But analysts say besides Ghana’s founding father and first President, Kwame Nkrumah, perhaps no other political leader has made as much of an impact in Ghana as Mrs. Rawlings. She is known for being a fierce advocate for women’s rights. 

She’s the founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement, an organization that works to eliminate poverty among women and children. In her memoir, Mrs. Rawlings writes about championing the causes of women and under-served citizens, while her husband worked to transform Ghana into a model of African democracy.

Ghana has seen years of difficult economic recovery and transition from authoritarianism to multiparty democracy. Today, working-class people widely cite her husband, Jerry Rawlings as one of Ghana’s best presidents. And, while they remain an influential political power couple, the country remains split over the Rawlings legacy:  some point to Jerry Rawlings’ association with political violence and see him as a military dictator whose Forces Revolutionary Council executed eight senior military officers, including three former heads of state.  Others are willing to forgive the violence and human rights abuses as necessary steps to achieve lasting change and those who suffered under his rule.

In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress, and became the first President of the Fourth Republic. He was re-elected in 1996 for a second term. He recently served as the African Union envoy to Somalia. Ghana has remained a peaceful and thriving democracy but lags behind other African countries, such as Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, in women’s political participation.

 

Since 2001, four other leaders – all men — have served as presidents. They include John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor; New Patriotic Party (NPP) was President of Ghana from January 7, 2001, to January 7, 2009. President Kufuor also was Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008.

John Evans Atta Mills President of Ghana from 2009 to 2012. He is the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.  John Mahama first served as the vice president who later took over the presidency after the death of his predecessor, Prof. John Atta Mills. John Mahama, President of Ghana, was later elected and served a full term from July 24, 2012, to January 7, 2017.  President Nana Akufo-Addo has been in been in office since January 2017.

 

 

BY PAUL NDIHO

Thousands of Africans are joining the climate change protest movement.  Across the continent and elsewhere, they are calling for efforts to save the planet.

Africans worldwide are demonstrating and voicing their concerns about climate change.

“We’re marching because we want to stop climate change, we want to save the planet.”

Young people in 160 countries recently protested, calling for a climate emergency to be declared, before it’s too late.

“It’s going to affect everybody, rich or poor. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are in the world; it’s going to influence you. So it’s going to force us to work together.”

The demonstrations are partly inspired by the activism of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who has staged weekly demonstrations, over the past year, under the heading, “Fridays for Future.” She is calling on world leaders to step-up their efforts against climate change?

“Essentially, young people have come together and said they are not going to allow this generation not to take decisive action on climate change. They are going to take action themselves and demonstrate to our leaders that the climate change is a catastrophe, that we need to reduce the levels of global warming.”

Experts say Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change — and the least equipped to deal with it. Many African governments are pleading for more support from the international community.

 “We started this when we saw the effects in Kenya like the droughts in the north, the fires that were on Mount Kenya. We are troubled that no one did anything about it, and we were seeing people in Europe and the US, they were protesting about this, but we realized that in Kenya, nothing was being done.”

A new United Nations report, entitled “The Heat is On,” showcases how the world can take swift and meaningful action on climate change. At a launch event in New York, Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations spoke about what she would like to see happen.

 “When I look back on this Climate Action Summit, I want us to see it like a slingshot that helped to change our common trajectory towards sustainability.; where we built trust between this generation of adults and the next between our children and ourselves  that we are all working together to our fullest potential to tackle the climate emergency.”

The Central African nation of Gabon is working diligently to battle climate change. The United Nations announced this week that it is set to become the first African country to be paid with international funds to preserve its forests to fight climate change.

“Each year, our forests absorb a certain amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. And we are looking to find a new model to reward countries like Gabon, that have high forest coverage but with very little deforestation.”

 Norway will provide funding of up to $150 million dollars to battle deforestation, according to the Central African Forest Initiative, a program launched by the United Nations to bring together the region’s countries with Western donors.

The UN invited 500 young activists and entrepreneurs to participate this week in the UN climate change meeting, the first of its kind. Unfortunately, some activists were unable to attend after being denied a U.S. visa.

 

By Paul Ndiho

 

South African government condemned a recent wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks against foreigners.  Last week, some Nigerians returned to Lagos on a free flight from Johannesburg, following a series of attacks that have stoked tensions between Africa’s two largest economies.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned a recent wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks on the homes and businesses of foreign nationals.

“No amount of anger and frustration and grievance can justify such acts of wanton destruction and criminality. There can be no excuse for the attacks on the homes and businesses of foreign nationals, just as there can be no excuse whatsoever for xenophobia or any form of intolerance.”

Many Nigerians living in South Africa were repatriated back home last week following a wave of xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in Pretoria before spreading to nearby Johannesburg. Both cities, in Gauteng province, have large immigrant populations.

A free flight carrying nearly 200 Nigerians landed in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, with some of those on board singing their national anthem while waving pictures of burnt shops.

“The situation is terrible, my brother, I am telling you. We were all scared, to the point that they go from home to home looking for Nigerians, that is what they are looking for.  South Africa, the apartheid in South Africa and the policy is continuing in South Africa, that is the policy of segregation. This time it’s not about segregation from white, from black, it is about the oppression of other Africans.”

Violence in South Africa has killed at least 12 people, and police say they had arrested more than 700 people in the attacks spread across Gauteng province, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located. Rose Uzoma, a Democratic Republic of Congo citizen boarded the flight with her five children, leaving her Nigerian husband behind.

“With my kids, I am not a Nigerian, foreign citizen, but I am happy to be Nigerian because what I saw in South Africa it was terrible. For the past four days, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t do anything because of the fear, because of the fear of being killed, because of the fear of being attacked, because of the fear of my children being killed, or being burnt alive. So I am happy to be in Nigeria right now.”

The surge of anti-foreigner violence has forced some foreign nationals to seek refuge in a community hall after being displaced in the east Johannesburg township of Katlehong.
“I am terrified, but in the news, they are saying the fighting is finished, but we are still fighting, they are fighting with us, even today. So now I am homeless, they burnt everything that belongs to me. I thank God that I am still alive.”
An alleged drug dealer shooting sparked part of the unrest in South Africa, along with the killing of a taxi driver, which led to South African taxi drivers and locals instantly retaliating.
Over 50 shops and businesses were destroyed last Monday.  The shops targeted are mainly owned by Africans from other countries on the continent, such as Nigeria and Somalia.

“let’s go back home now to start afresh’. My brother, you know. You go home empty-handed, you know what it means? To go home empty-handed to your own country, to start from grassroots again. It’s like when you are born again.
South Africa is a major destination for economic migrants from neighboring countries. Those migrants have often borne the brunt of anger from locals frustrated over jobs. But the latest surge of attacks on businesses and homes is extremely troublesome.  The embassies of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique have liaised with the International Organization for Migration to carry out voluntary repatriations.

By Paul Ndiho

A Nigerian boy has launched a “Hide and Seek” gaming app using a free programming application called ‘Scratch.’ His mobile game, which is accessible online, features animation and storytelling. He has incredibly created over 30 games.

Basil Okpara Junior loves playing video games, but he loves making them even more. At the age of 9, he has created dozens of games. He called the first one ‘Frog Attack’ – gamers shoot alien frogs that have attacked the earth.

“Frog Attack is my favorite because it was my first game that I built on Construct 2 and it is full of action,”

Basil has created 34 other games using a free coding application called ‘Scratch 2’. Which allows users to create games, animation, and other digital stories, online or offline.

Earlier this year, Basil’s father signed him up for a Bootcamp called ‘Codefest’ where he learned coding, computer programming, and how to create mobile games and other skills. The Bootcamp targeted young Nigerians of ages 5 to 15.

“I started coding this year, and it was the first a boot camp that taught me how to code, the name of the boot camp was “Code Fest” and why I like to build games is because the games are much fun to play, and when I play them I feel like I am the owner of a game,”

Leapfrogging into technological innovation is a quick way to attain lasting economic growth and development, according to some tech experts. Basil’s most recent game is “Falling Apples”, where a player tries to catch as many apples as possible, receiving one point for each apple found.

“My mom and my dad have already tried my games, and they say that they love it, my mummy says she loves the falling apples, and my daddy says he loves the Frog Attack.”

During his spare time, he teaches other kid coders game programming skills. Like many kids his age, Basil’s biggest fan and inspiration is his father.

“When I found out that he is interested in technology, I was excited because I know that there is a huge potential in the technology industry around the world. You know being able to write code, being able to build things, being able to program robots, to program something to behave the way you want it to behave is very exciting.”

Basil has great potential to grow as a game developer — Especially in Africa, where only 16 percent of its 1.2 billion people use the internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union.