Monthly Archives: January 2022

31, January 2022

Burkina Faso court suspends Sankara assassination trial following coup ⁰

A long-awaited trial in Burkina Faso over the 1987 assassination of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara is being suspended until “the restoration of the constitution”, a court said Monday, a week after a military coup.

The trial of Sankara’s alleged killers was to resume at a military court in the capital Ouagadougou on Monday.

But Judge Urbain Meda announced the hearing was suspended and told parties “to remain alert for the resumption, which will be after the restoration of the constitution”.

He made the announcement after civil parties in the case called for a suspension pending “judicial normalisation” by Burkina’s new ruling junta.

“Civilian plaintiffs feel that a trial has to take place within a reasonable time, but we do not want a trial (with) flaws,” said lawyer Prosper Farama, representing the Sankara family.

The trial opened last October and has been closely followed by the Burkinabe public.

It has been showcased as the chance to shed light on one of the murkiest chapters in the troubled country’s history.

Revered among African radicals, Sankara was an army captain aged just 33 when he came to power in a coup in 1983.

The fiery Marxist-Leninist railed against imperialism and colonialism, often angering Western leaders but gaining followers across the continent and beyond.

He and 12 of his colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad on October 15, 1987, at a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council.

Their assassination coincided with a coup that brought Sankara’s erstwhile comrade-in-arms, Blaise Compaore, to power.

Compaore ruled for 27 years before being deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fleeing to neighbouring Ivory Coast.

Fourteen defendants are on trial, two of them in absentia, including Compaore.

Compaore and his former right-hand man General Gilbert Diendere are charged with harming state security, complicity in murder, concealing bodies and witness tampering.

Compaore has repeatedly denied entrenched suspicions among Burkinabe that he ordered Sankara’s killing, while Diendere has pleaded not guilty.

On January 24, mutinous soldiers overthrew Compaore’s elected successor, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, amid rising public anger at his failure to stem a bloody jihadist insurgency.

They set up a military junta that has dissolved the government and parliament and suspended the constitution.

It has vowed to re-establish “constitutional order” within a “reasonable time”. It has also pledged to guarantee the “independence” of the judicial system.

But Farama argued that the independence of the court was guaranteed by the constitution.

As a result, hearings in the court should be suspended since the constitution itself has been suspended, he maintained.

Source: AFP

31, January 2022

African Union suspends Burkina Faso over coup ⁰

The African Union said Monday it had suspended Burkina Faso in response to the January 24 coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

The bloc’s 15-member Peace and Security Council said on Twitter it had voted “to suspend the participation of #BurkinaFaso in all AU activities until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country”.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, had already condemned the coup before the military junta officially announced that it had ousted Kaboré.

Burkina Faso’s coup is the latest bout of turmoil to strike the impoverished, landlocked state that has suffered chronic instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.

The coup leader, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, has not set a timeline for Burkina Faso’s return to constitutional order besides a vague promise to do so “when the conditions are right”.

Insecurity and coups

A jihadist insurgency that spread over Mali’s border has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.5 million to flee their homes since 2015.

Between 2015 and 2018, terrorist attacks targeted the capital Ouagadougou and other centres of power. Since 2019, attacks by mobile combat units targeted mostly rural zones in the north and east of the country, fuelling displacements en masse and intercommunal violence. Some 2,000 people were killed, among them civilians and members of the armed forces or the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, a civilian auxiliary group of the army created in 2020.

Islamist militants now move freely across entire swaths of the country and have forced inhabitants of some regions to conform to a strict version of Islamic law. Meanwhile, the army’s continuing fight against the Islamists has depleted the country’s already meagre resources.

The West African bloc ECOWAS suspended Burkina Faso on Friday and sent a delegation to meet with the ruling junta Saturday.

Mali and Guinea, also in West Africa, have also seen coups in the past 18 months that have prompted AU suspensions. In opening remarks at Friday’s summit, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, the acting ECOWAS chairman, acknowledged the organisation has work to do convincing people of the benefits of democracy.

The AU has also suspended Sudan following a coup there on October.

The spate of coups is expected to be a major point of discussion at the AU summit in Addis Ababa this weekend, diplomats say.

Source: REUTERS

31, January 2022

Biya regime honours Claude Le Roy as man who got things done ⁰

The Indomitable Lions that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984 were already suffering from fatigue and aging legs and needed a new generation of players. Cameroon had to rebuild. Soon the work began.

In 1985 Claude Le Roy arrived in Cameroon and took charge of the Indomitable Lions. He was en route to winning his first Africa Cup of Nations in 1986. But the Indomitable Lions lost in a penalty shootout against host nation, Egypt.

On Thursday last week, the 40 year old Biya regime paid tribute to French man Claude Le Roy. He was received at the Civil Cabinet at the presidency of the republic by one Mr. Samuel Mvondo Ayolo who also moonlights as Minister- Director.

The renowned Claude Le Roy was awarded a knighthood of Cameroonian Order of Valor.

In return, the French football technician handed over to Minister Samuel Mfondo Ayolo a signed copy of his book titled “Claude Le Roy, blond magician”, published by Arthand editions, in May 2021 for onward transmission to President Biya.

It is vital to include in this reprot that Claude Le Roy won the African Cup of Nations in 1988 with the Indomitable Lions.

Source: Awanireview

31, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Indomitable Lions donate to Olembe stadium crush victims ⁰

Cameroon’s national football team, the Indomitable Lions, Sunday donated $85,000 and dedicated their 2-0 victory over the Scorpions of Gambia to victims of the stampede that killed eight and injured 38 at Yaoundé’s Olembe stadium this week. The Indomitable Lions say they cannot be indifferent after people died or were injured as they turned out to support Cameroon players taking part at the ongoing Africa Football Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon.

Members of Cameroon’s national football team, the Indomitable Lions, sing that God will bless victims of this week’s crush at Yaoundé’s Olembe stadium. The players sang on Saturday evening in Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub and coastal city, after beating the Scorpions of Gambia in a quarter-final game in the Africa Football Cup of Nations, AFCON.

A statement after the match from Serge Guiffo, the Indomitable Lions press officer, said the players had donated $85,000 and dedicated their 2-0 victory over the Scorpions of Gambia to victims of the stampede that killed eight and injured 38.

The statement did not say how the money would be distributed to the victims, but said family members of those who died in the stampede will be given a share.

Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, Cameroon’s minister of sports and physical education, addressed the players at Douala’s Japoma stadium after the match.

Kombi said Cameroonians are happy that their national football team players have helped people who died or were injured while they struggled to watch the Indomitable Lions play. He said Cameroonians are happy that the donation comes after a historic victory against the Scorpions of Gambia.

The crush occurred as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium in the capital city Yaoundé. Cameroon President Paul Biya ordered the injured to be treated free of charge.

Ndukong Edward, a family member of a stampede victim, said the president did not make a statement about any assistance to the families of dead victims. Ndukong said he hopes the government will assist the injured and family members of the dead. He said security lapses by Cameroon’s police might have caused the stampede.

“If the gate was opened as it was supposed to be, nothing would have happened because people would have had access to the field. But if the gate was closed by some overzealous security officers for whatever reasons, then they should take responsibility,” he said.

Cameroonian authorities Friday blamed the deadly stadium crush on what they said was a massive influx of ticketless fans who arrived late to the game involving the host team and tried to force their way in to avoid security checks and COVID-19 screening.

Nasseri Paul Bea, governor of Cameroon’s Centre region, where Olembe is located, said the government will assist victims of the crush after the tournament. He said people attending football matches during AFCON should stop uncivil behavior such as jumping fences to get into stadiums.

“We are calling on this population to follow and respect the institutions, to be able to cooperate to be sure that Cameroon does not represent a bad image by being very patriotic and responsible. It should never happen again. Cameroonians should put in their mind that what happened in Olembe should never happen again,” he said.

Bea said some government ministers, senior state officials and well-wishers have been giving financial assistance to the victims in solidarity with the state of Cameroon.

After the crush, the Confederation of African Football suspended AFCON matches at Olembe until further notice.

Cameroon is hosting AFCON for the first time in 50 years. The tournament, which is the continent’s main football event, was originally scheduled in 2019. The confederation stripped the event from Cameroon that year because stadiums were not ready.

The competition that ends on February 6 began January 9.

Source: VOA

31, January 2022

The rise and rise of Samuel Eto’o ⁰

On Monday morning, 17 January, Samuel Eto’o officially began a new job.

At the age of 40, Cameroon’s most famous son has already completed one glittering career. His magical right foot took him all the way from Ngambé, a small village in the Littoral region, into a starring role at some of the world’s biggest football clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan. At Barcelona he was part of arguably the greatest club team ever assembled, playing alongside Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho and winning two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles in the process.

He is perhaps the greatest African footballer of all time. He won his first cap for the Indomitable Lions the day before his 16th birthday, and went on to lead the team to two Africa Cup of Nations trophies and Cameroon’s first ever Olympic gold medal.

After retiring from football in 2019, he could be forgiven if he were to sit back in one of his four houses – he splits his time between Paris, Milan, Abidjan and Douala’s New-Bell neighbourhood – and admiring his many, many trophies.

Instead, the world-famous striker threw himself into the messy politics of Fecafoot, Cameroon’s football federation – and, with tactical acumen reminiscent of his brilliance on the pitch, emerged on top. As of this week, he is officially the federation’s new president.

But few believe that Eto’o’s political ambitions will stop there.

The Continent reached out to Eto’o for comment via his foundation, Fecafoot, and a close friend, but received no response.

A natural politician

Despite his sporting pedigree, and his enormous popularity within Cameroon, no one thought Eto’o stood a chance when he first announced that he was running for the Fecafoot presidency. Except Eto’o himself, that is. “I will be the next president of the federation despite all the cheating,” he said as he filed his nomination papers in November.

One obstacle in his way was his dual citizenship. Having acquired a Spanish passport during his Barcelona days, Eto’o was initially ineligible to take part. But this rule was later thrown out in court.

Another hurdle was that the position was already occupied by a powerful member of the country’s ruling elite. Seidou Mbombo Njoya is royalty: a son of the Bamum Kingdom in western Cameroon, which wields enormous political and cultural power. Having assumed the position in 2018, Mbombo Njoya had no intention of relinquishing it, and enjoyed strong support from both the Confederation of African Football and Fifa, the sport’s global ruling body – neither of which welcomed Eto’o’s promise to clean up Cameroonian football.

But Eto’o outmanoeuvred the incumbent at every turn. He did it by running a sophisticated political campaign that would not have been out of place in a presidential election. Instead of focusing his attention on the 76 delegates who actually vote, he criss-crossed all of Cameroon’s ten districts visiting schools, community centres and army bases, charming local authorities and traditional leaders as he did so. Every moment was documented on social media. He forged alliances with prominent businessmen and key power brokers like the new lamido (Fulani ruler) of Garoua, Ibrahim el Rachidine, who helped sway delegates to his side. And he appointed the services of a top PR consultant, who carefully framed Eto’o as a champion of the people.

“People were asking themselves: Is this guy paving his way to become Fecafoot president or the president of the republic?” said one journalist who followed the campaign closely, speaking to The Continent on condition of anonymity. In Cameroon, where President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982, it can be dangerous to even speculate about who might come next.

More curious still was Eto’o’s energetic courting of regional leaders, who could have no influence on the Fecafoot vote. In 2021, he met with the presidents of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritania and Togo; the prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire; and even Assimi Goïta, the colonel who orchestrated Mali’s military coup – an itinerary more typically associated with statesmen than footballers.

Seeking Biya’s blessing

On 11 December, with 11-million people watching on TV – the first televised election in Cameroon’s history – Samuel Eto’o was elected as president of Fecafoot. Thousands of young Cameroonians gathered outside the Fecafoot headquarters in Yaoundé to cheer him on. In Eto’o, they saw hope for change.

When it comes to Cameroonian politics, and the country’s octogenarian president, change is a commodity that is in short supply.

But Eto’o has close links with Cameroon’s presidency – so close that online publication Africa Is A Country once described him as a “PR pawn for the protracted rule of the country’s ageing and hard-line head of state”. In 2011, in the run-up to the national election, he was among the guests invited to party with Biya and his wife at the president’s residence in Mvomeka. In 2018, Eto’o enthusiastically endorsed Biya’s bid for a seventh consecutive term in office, saying that he would be voting for Biya and that “the most important thing is that my brothers do like me”.

(Eto’o is not the only footballer to shill for the regime. Roger Milla, hero of the 1990 World Cup, is the president’s “special goodwill ambassador”. Rigobert Song, the former Indomitable Lions captain, also parties in Mvomeka and wears ruling party attire.)

Before launching his bid for the Fecafoot presidency, Eto’o sought the blessing of Biya, whom he refers to as his “father”. Biya gave it, but attached one condition, according to the magazine The Africa Report: Eto’o’s political ambitions must go no further. Biya is thought to be grooming his son, Franck Biya, to succeed him, and does not need a wildly popular football star to get in the way.

A shiny distraction

Earlier this month, the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off at Yaoundé’s shiny new $326-million Olembe Stadium (also known as the Paul Biya Stadium). Cameroon’s hosting of the tournament is three years late, delayed first due to security concerns and then because of the pandemic. Finally, however, President Biya got his moment in the international limelight, waving regally to his subjects as the presidential motorcade did laps around the pitch.

It was easy to forget, amid all the exuberance and flag-waving, that this is a nation at war with itself. For the last five years, a bitter conflict has raged between Biya’s security forces and separatists from Cameroon’s Anglophone regions (English speakers make up about 20% of the country’s population, and have been historically marginalised). At least 4 000 people have been killed, and a million more forced from their homes. A generation of children have been denied access to education. Both sides have been accused of war crimes including extrajudicial killings and sexual assault.

The separatists have pledged to disrupt the tournament, and have made good on that promise: shots were fired to disrupt a Malian team practice, while Gambia’s team bus was near the scene when a homemade bomb went off in the town of Buea, injuring three police officers. “Do not put football fans’ lives at risk thinking Africa’s most corrupt regime will guarantee security,” said a spokesperson for the rebels.

Samuel Eto’o has carefully steered clear of the conflict – pretending, for the most part, that it doesn’t exist. In 2018, he announced a plan to tour schools in the conflict-affected areas, but was forced to cancel after a public outcry from Anglophone leaders who saw it as an endorsement of the regime’s brutal approach.

But a clearer endorsement came in January last year when Eto’o visited a battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade, or BIR – the elite military unit that reports directly to Biya himself. The BIR is one of the key ways that Biya keeps himself in power, and it has been repeatedly implicated in human rights abuses including torture, assault and the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Eto’o is a fan. “Had the pleasure of spending time in Maroua with my brothers and sisters in the army and witnessed their discipline, professionalism and selfless commitment to putting their lives on the line for our country,” he tweeted. “Good luck to the BIR and to those who fight for the honor of 237!” (+237 is Cameroon’s dialling code).

Monsieur le Président

As the crowds cheered Biya on Afcon’s opening day, Eto’o was conspicuously absent from both the ceremony and the television coverage. He was spotted walking alone in a tunnel into the stadium, without any escort or protocol. Later, a video emerged of him speaking to his long-time friend Fally Ipupa, the Congolese singer who performed at the ceremony. Fally said he was going to give Eto’o a shout-out on stage, but Eto’o told him not to. “No, please, I don’t want any problem. There’s just one president and he’s here today.”

But not everyone is so circumspect. “Wherever Samuel Eto’o goes these days, everyone calls him president. We don’t know whether they are referring to him as Fecafoot president or president of the republic,” said the veteran journalist.

Either way, and no matter how loudly Eto’o affirms his loyalty, Paul Biya will be watching his back very closely indeed. If Samuel Eto’o is as skilled at politics as he is at football – and the early signs suggest that he is – then the president might just have something to worry about.

Culled from The Continent

31, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Senegal beat giant-killers Equatorial Guinea 3-1 to reach semis ⁰

Senegal saw off the threat of giant-killers Equatorial Guinea and won 3-1 in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Sunday to advance to the final four of the tournament in Cameroon.

Famara Diedhiou opened the scoring for Senegal, who then conceded a surprise equaliser to Jannick Buyla, only for substitutes Cheikhou Kouyate and Ismaila Sarr to come on and restore Senegal’s lead and put the result beyond doubt.

Senegal, one of the pre-tournament favourites, booked a semi-final meeting with Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

Earlier on Sunday in the first of two matches at the Ahmadou Ahidjou Stadium, Egypt edged Morocco 2-1 after extra time and will play host nation Cameroon in the other semi-final on Thursday.

Diedhiou got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Sadio Mane after 28 minutes, outsprinted the centre backs and hit home with a first-time effort with his left foot.

It looked as if it might open the floodgates in a mismatch between Africa’s top-ranked team and an Equatorial Guinea side, who are 94 places beneath them in the FIFA rankings.

But Senegal were unable to add any more goals despite dominating the first half and then found themselves in a sticky situation five minutes after the resumption.

They had a penalty awarded against them when a pass from Iban Salvador struck captain Kalildou Koulibaly on the hand, but referee Victor Gomes changed his mind after reviewing his decision on the pitchside VAR screen.

Koulibaly was struck on the hand, but at close range and without his arm being away from his body.

Despite the disappointment of not getting a spotkick, Equatorial Guinea came storming forward and an interchange of passes on the edge of the area allowed Buyla to stab home a 57th-minute equaliser.

They had already beaten defending champions Algeria, Sierra Leone and Mali in their previous matches and were eyeing another major scalp.

Yet parity lasted less than 10 minutes as Kouyate restored his side’s lead, three minutes after coming on in the 65th minute.

A mix-up in the Equatorial Guinea defence saw the two centre backs challenge for the same high ball, spilling it backwards where Kouyate cleverly stole in and lifted his finish over goalkeeper Jesus Owono.

Senegal made sure of the result when Sarr had an easy tap-in in the 79th minute. He had come on for his first appearance of the tournament and immediately took hold of the ball, dominating the later stages of the contest.

It was his first game since he suffered a serious knee injury playing for Watford against Manchester United in November and his arrival at the tournament followed a tug-of-war over his availability between club and country.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

30, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Salah inspires Egypt to place in semi-finals ⁰

Mohamed Salah inspired Egypt to a place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals on Sunday as the record seven-time champions came from behind to defeat Morocco 2-1 in extra time in Yaounde.

Sofiane Boufal’s early penalty put Morocco in front in the last-eight tie but skipper Salah equalised for Egypt early in the second half and then made the winner for Mahmoud Trezeguet 10 minutes into extra time.

Egypt will play hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals in Yaounde on Thursday.

Morocco took a 3-2 lead with one match drawn into the seventh showdown between the north African giants in the marquee African tournament.

Coaches Vahid Halilhodzic of Morocco and Carlos Queiroz of Egypt made two changes each after last-16 victories over Malawi and the Ivory Coast respectively.

Aymen Barkok was introduced on the right side of the Moroccan midfield in place of Imran Louza and forward Munir el Haddadi replaced injured Ayoub el Kaabi.

Star Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy failed to recover from an injury incurred against the Ivorians and Mohamed Abou Gabal took his place.

Midfielder Hamdy Fathy was also ruled out and Ayman Ashraf, normally a defender, came in with Queiroz conscious of the threat posed when Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi drifts forward.

It took Hakimi just three minutes to make a major impact as Ashraf failed to connect with the ball and fouled the Paris Saint-Germain star, leading to a penalty after a VAR monitor check by the referee.

After fluffing a penalty against the Comoros, Morocco changed takers, and Boufal did not let the Atlas Lions down, slotting his kick into the right corner as Abou Gabal dived in the opposite direction.

The last time Egypt fell behind in the tournament, against Nigeria in their opening group match, they failed to equalise and had to settle for second place behind the Super Eagles in the final standings.

Desperate to atone

Desperate to atone for conceding the penalty, Ashraf brought a great two-hand parried save out of Morocco goalkeeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou midway through the opening half.

Egyptian defenders were not shy to shoot from long range and Ahmed Fatouh tested Bounou, with the Sevilla shot-stopper once again proving equal to the task of preventing an equaliser.

Hakimi, who scored a brilliant match-winning goal direct from a free-kick against Malawi at the same ground five days ago, got a set-piece opportunity not far from the box, but fired wide.

Queiroz, the former Real Madrid manager and twice assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, was constantly agitated and both the referee and the fourth official spoke to him.

The first half ended with Morocco retaining their one-goal advantage, and not much seen of Egypt captain and talisman Salah, with the Liverpool star seeking his second goal of the tournament.

Egypt replaced injured defender Ahmed Hegazy with Trezeguet at half-time and the Aston Villa forward was narrowly wide with a snap shot just four minutes into the second half.

Morocco were under the cosh and assertive Egypt levelled on 53 minutes as Salah tapped in from close range after Bounou could only parry a Mohamed Abdelmonem header off a corner.

Tempers boiled over minutes from time after Hakimi objected to being fouled by Mostafa Mohamed, triggering pushing from the teams and both players were booked by the overworked referee.

As Morocco gradually regained the ascendancy, Abou Gabal rescued Egypt, pushing a Nayef Aguerd header on to the underside of the crossbar, and with no further goals the match went to extra time.

Egypt went ahead on 100 minutes when three Moroccan defenders failed to stop Salah, whose cross was turned in at the far post by Trezeguet.

Source: AFP

30, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Olembe stadium given green light to host final ⁰

The final of the Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Sunday lifted its suspension of the venue where eight people died in a crush on January 24.

CAF’s announcement means that the second semi-final scheduled for February 3 will go ahead at the ground along with the February 6 final.

“Having noted the recommendations and undertakings from government in regard to additional security provisions…the CAF Organising Committee unanimously agreed to lift the suspension imposed on the Olembe Stadium,” African football’s governing body said in a statement.

“The Local Organising Committee and the government of Cameroon having significantly increased security and resources at the Olembe Stadium, (CAF) are confident that the safety and security of spectators and visitors will be assured.”

The disaster happened prior to last Monday’s last-16 tie between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros, when supporters were caught in a crush at the south entrance gate of the stadium.

The eight dead included a child, while 38 people were also injured.

The semi-final to be played at Olembe will see Cameroon play Egypt.

The other semi-final will be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, also in Yaounde, on February 2.

Source: AFP

30, January 2022

Congo-Kinshasa court sentences 51 to death over 2017 murder of UN experts ⁰

A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced 51 people to death over the killing of two United Nations experts.

Michael Sharp from the US and Swedish Zaida Catalan were killed in 2017 in the volatile Kasai region while on mission for the UN.

The military court on Saturday convicted the defendants, who were almost all militia members, on multiple counts including terrorism, murder, participation in an insurrectional movement and war crime through mutilation.

Of the 54 suspects on trial, 22 fugitives were tried in absentia. Two defendants, including a journalist and a police officer, were acquitted.

The two UN experts were on a UN mission to investigate a conflict between government forces and an armed group in the central Kasai region in March 2017 when they were stopped on a road and executed summarily by the armed men in a nearby field.

Catalan was then decapitated.

The bodies of the two UN experts were found on March 28, 2017, days after they went missing.

Congolese officials have blamed the incident on the Kamuina Nsapu militias, who were in conflict from 2016 to mid-2017 with the Congolese army forces in the region.

However, the DR Congo has been the scene of deadly violence for decades with armed militant groups oftentimes raiding villages and killing civilians.

DR Congo is a mineral-rich country that produces diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, cassiterite (tin ore) and coltan, which is used in mobile phones, personal computers, automotive electronics, and cameras, as well as oil, coffee and timber.

Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the Congolese people live in poverty. In 2019, DR Congo ranked 178th in Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

Sources

30, January 2022

CAF Comments and Supports FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s Council of Europe Speech ⁰

The President of the Confederation Africaine de Football (“CAF”) (www.CAFonline.com) Dr Patrice Motsepe received cellphone calls yesterday from numerous football Presidents of African nations supporting the speech that FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivered at the Council of Europe on Wednesday 26 January 2022; as the speech was in line with previous CAF resolutions.

Several commentators unfortunately seem to have misunderstood and misinterpreted President Infantino’s speech. He stated that football is one of the tools that should contribute to the economic and social development and upliftment of many Africans and also to building a better future and dignity amongst many people on the African Continent. President Infantino did not say that the FIFA World Cup every 2 years will stop Africans from crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The leadership of the 54 African football nations that are members of CAF have at previous meetings expressed their unanimous support for the FIFA World Cup taking place every 2 years due to the developmental and upliftment benefits to Africa and the developing world.

CAF and the African football community are aware that if African governments, domestic and global businesses and investors and other development and social partners do not significantly contribute, to the provision of quality education, jobs, health services and other infrastructure facilities and create an inclusive and better future for the poor, and particularly Africa’s approximately 300 million youth between the ages of 15 and 25; Africa will experience periods of consistent and sustained political and social instability and uprisings as well as migrations of millions of people within and outside the African Continent, seeking a better and brighter future.

It is in this context that football is seen in Africa as an important tool and partner for governments, investors, philanthropists and the domestic and global football community in contributing to improving the living conditions of the poor and building an inclusive and bright future for the people of Africa and particularly the youth.

CAF appreciates the partnership and commitment of FIFA and President Infantino to the development and growth of football in Africa and the world.

Source: APO Group on behalf of Confederation of African Football