Equatorial Guinea announced on Monday it was closing its embassy in London after the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the vice president and son of the country’s veteran president, over for allegedly syphoning state assets into his own bank accounts.

Foreign Minister Simeon Oyono Esono told national TV that he did not “accept interference” in the central African state’s “domestic affairs,” and said the sanctions were “breaching the principle of international law”.

“The first decision that the government has taken is the total closure of our diplomatic mission in London,” Foreign Minister Simeon Oyono Esono told state broadcaster TVGE.

He gave no details as to when the decision would take effect.

Equatorial Guinea on Saturday lashed the sanctions as “unilateral and illegal”.

“The baseless sanctions imposed by the British government find their justification in manipulation, in lies… that certain non-governmental organisations are fomenting against the good image of Equatorial Guinea,” it said.

The younger Obiang “has not made any investment in the United Kingdom”, the government added.

This reaction from Equatorial Guinea comes days after British government decided to freeze Obiang’s assets and bar him entry to the United Kingdom.

According to British autorities, the president’s son would have concluded corrupt contracting arrangements and solicited bribes to support his jet-setting lifestyle.

They claim he has splurged $500 million on mansions around the world, luxury cars and a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia including a $275,000 crystal-covered glove that the singer wore on his 1987-89 “Bad” tour.

Allegations that resonate with charges brought against him in France, where he is accused of money laudering.

The junior Obiang is already entangled in a dispute with France over a 107-million-euro mansion on Paris’s swanky Avenue Foch that was seized along with a fleet of luxury cars in a probe into so-called “ill-gotten gains.”

In February 2020, a French court handed him a three-year suspended sentence, a 30-million-euro fine and confiscation of his assets in France.

A final ruling by the Court of Cassation, the paramount tribunal in France’s judicial system, is expected on Wednesday.

“A step in the right direction”

The only Spanish-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa, Equatorial Guinea is one of the most enclosed nations on the continent, and many of its people live in deep poverty despite oil wealth.

Its ruler Obiang, 79, is the world’s longest-serving sitting president and is frequently accused by rights groups of abuses.

In 1979, he ousted his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema, who had ruled the country since independence from Spain in 1968, and had him shot by firing squad.

His son Teodorin, 53, is vice president with responsibility for defence and security and has long been considered as his likely successor.

Tutu Alicante, head of EG Justice, a group that campaigns for human rights in Equatorian Guinea, said the sanctions were, “a step in the right direction, which shows that corruption is not victimless crime.”

Most of the country’s 1.4 million citizens have no access to running water or decent education, said Alicante, who lives in exile.

The economy has been badly hit since a slump in oil prices in 2014 crimped government revenue.

In its 2020 budget, Equatorial Guinea allocated 95 billion CFA francs, the equivalent of $170 million to defence spendings, compared to 59 billion francs to education.

Source: Africa News

At least 57 migrants drowned after their boat sank off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday, the latest tragedy on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing to Europe.

“Horrified by yet another painful loss of life off the Libyan coast,” Federico Soda, the IOM’s Libya mission chief, said on Twitter. “At least 57 people drowned today in the latest tragedy… Silence and inaction are inexcusable.”

The ship sank off the Libyan port of Khoms, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, the IOM added.

Libya is a key gateway for Europe-bound migrants.

It was not immediately clear what caused the boat to sink, but vessels leaving the North African coast for Europe are often heavily overloaded makeshift crafts, departing at night even in rough weather to avoid detection by the coastguard.

“Survivors who spoke to our staff said 20 women and two children were among those who lost their lives,” the IOM said, adding the latest tragedy “highlights the immediate need” for “state-led SaR (search and rescue) capacity” on the dangerous route.

The Libyan coast guard picked up more than 13,000 people in the first half of this year, exceeding the total figure for 2020, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Earlier this month, the IOM said that the number of people who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean nearly doubled in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

The European Union has for several years supported Libyan forces to try to stem migration, despite often grim conditions in detention centres in Libya.

International agencies have repeatedly denounced the return to Libya of migrants intercepted at sea.

Oil-rich Libya was torn by conflict after toppling and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

But last October, rival groups signed a truce, setting in motion a UN-led process that saw a new transitional government installed.

Source: AFP

Street clashes erupted on Monday outside Tunisia’s army-barricaded parliament, a day after President Kais Saied ousted the prime minister and suspended the legislature, plunging the young democracy into a constitutional crisis.

Saied sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and ordered parliament closed for 30 days, a move the biggest political party Ennahdha decried as a “coup”, following a day of angry street protests against the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic.

Soldiers from early Monday blockaded the assembly in Tunis while, outside, the president’s supporters hurled volleys and stones at backers of Ennahdha, whose leader staged a sit-in to protest being barred entry.

Saied’s dramatic move – a decade on from Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, often held up as the Arab Spring’s sole success story – comes even though the constitution enshrines a parliamentary democracy and largely limits presidential powers to security and diplomacy.

It “is a coup d’etat against the revolution and against the constitution,” Ennahdha, which was the biggest party in Tunisia’s ruling coalition, charged in a Facebook post, warning that its members “will defend the revolution”.

The crisis follows prolonged deadlock between the president, the premier and Ennahdha chief Rached Ghannouchi, which has crippled the Covid response as deaths have surged to one of the world’s highest per capita rates.

“I have taken the necessary decisions to save Tunisia, the state and the Tunisian people,” Saied declared in a statement on Sunday, a day that had seen angry Covid street protests in multiple cities.

The president’s announcement sparked jubilant rallies by his supporters. Large crowds took to the streets of the capital late Sunday to celebrate and wave the national flag, as car horns sounded through the night and fireworks lit up the sky.

“Finally some good decisions!” said one Tunis protester, Maher, celebrating in defiance of a coronavirus curfew. Others held up signs with a simple message to the sacked government: “Game Over”.

‘Most delicate moments’

Before the president’s announcement, thousands had marched in several cities protesting against Ennahdha, criticising the largest party in Tunisia’s fractious government for failures in tackling the pandemic.

A senior Ennahdha official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, alleged that the protests before the president’s announcement, and the subsequent celebrations, had all been choreographed by Saied.

“We are also capable of organising large demonstrations to show the number of Tunisians who are opposed to these decisions,” this official said.

Since Saied was elected president in 2019, he has been locked in a showdown with Mechichi and Ghannouchi, who is also house speaker. The rivalry has blocked ministerial appointments and diverted resources from tackling Tunisia’s many economic and social problems.

“We are navigating the most delicate moments in the history of Tunisia,” Saied said Sunday.

He said the constitution did not allow for the dissolution of parliament, but did allow him to suspend it, citing Article 80 which permits it in case of “imminent danger”.

In a later Facebook post, he clarified that the suspension would be for 30 days.

Saied said he would take over executive power “with the help” of a government, whose new chief will be appointed by the president himself.

He also said that parliamentary immunity would be lifted for deputies.

‘Birth of a dictator’

In the 10 years since the revolution which toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has had nine governments, some of which have lasted only a few months, hindering the reforms necessary to revamp its struggling economy and poor public services.

Tunisia has recently been overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases which have raised the death toll to more than 18,000.

Last week, Mechichi fired his health minister over his handling of the pandemic as cases skyrocketed – the latest in a string of health ministers to be sacked.

In Sunday’s Covid protests, hundreds rallied in front of parliament, shouting slogans against Ennahdha and premier Mechichi.

Demonstrations were also reported in the towns of Gafsa, Kairouan, Monastir, Sousse and Tozeur.

Several protesters were arrested and a journalist was injured when people hurled stones and police fired tear gas canisters, an AFP reporter said.

“The people want the dissolution of parliament,” the crowd had chanted.

After Saied’s announcement, many Tunisians expressed relief.

Nahla, brandishing a Tunisian flag, was jubilant and told AFP: “These are courageous decisions – Saied is unblocking Tunisia. This is the president we love!”

But one man, aged in his forties, watched on without enthusiasm and said: “These fools are celebrating the birth of a new dictator.”

(AFP)

Prosecutors in Madagascar said Thursday they had foiled an attempt to assassinate President Andry Rajoelina and made several arrests.

“Several foreign and Madagascar nationals were arrested on Tuesday, July 20, as part of an investigation into an attack on state security,” prosecutor Berthine Razafiarivony said in a statement released overnight.

There was “a plan to eliminate and neutralise various Madagascan figures, including the head of state,” Razafiarivony said.

“At this stage of the investigation, which is ongoing, the prosecutor-general’s office assures we will shed light in on this case,” she added.

Two French nationals are among those who were arrested on Tuesday, diplomatic sources told AFP.

The two suspects are reputedly retired military officers, according to the Taratra, a local news agency operation to the Communications ministry.

During the country’s Independence Day celebrations on June 26, the gendarmerie announced that they had foiled an assassination attempt on their boss, General Richard Ravalomanana, who is also Rajoelina’s right-hand man.

Rajoelina, 47, first seized power in March 2009 from Marc Ravalomanana with the backing of the military.

He won the last vote in December 2018 beating his main rival and predecessor Ravalomanana in an election beset by allegations of fraud.

The former French colony has had a long history of coups and unrest since gaining independence from France in 1960.

The island is internationally famed for its unique wildlife and vanilla but is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Nine out of 10 people live on less than $2 a day.

The country has been under a lockdown since the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year and its southern region is in the grips of a famine.

Source: AFP

Mali’s interim president Colonel Assimi Goita was “safe and sound”, his office said, after an assassination attempt by two men, one wielding a knife, during prayers at a mosque in Bamako on Tuesday.

An AFP journalist who witnessed the attack said the assailants lunged at Goita, who was quickly whisked away by security.

The journalist also said he saw blood at the scene, though it was not clear who had been wounded.

An official in the president’s office later said Goita was “safe and sound”, after what was labelled an assassination attempt.

Goita arrived at the military camp of Kati, outside the capital, “where security has been reinforced”, the official added.

Security had subdued one attacker, and “investigations are ongoing”, the presidency added in a statement.

The incident occurred after prayers for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha in the great mosque of Bamako.

Assailants went for the president as an imam was directing worshippers outside the mosque for a ritual animal sacrifice.

Religious Affairs Minister Mamadou Kone, who was at the mosque, told AFP that a man had “tried to kill the president with a knife” but was apprehended.

The mosque’s director, Latus Toure, said an attacker had lunged at the president but wounded someone else.

Later, a security official who requested anonymity said that two people had been arrested and were now in detention.

Political turmoil

The shocking attack follows months of political turmoil in Mali, which is also battling a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Goita was sworn into power in June, after leading the country’s second coup in less than a year.

The colonel had already led a putsch last August, when he and other army officers ousted elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after weeks of mass protests over corruption and the long-running jihadist conflict.

The second coup in nine months sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali, calling for the appointment of a civilian prime minister.

Jihadist insurgency

France, which has thousands of troops stationed in the war-torn country, also suspended military cooperation with Mali.

The former colonial power followed by announcing that it would wind down its 5,100-strong Barkhane force that has battled jihadists in the Sahel since 2013.

The military junta handed power to a civilian-led transitional government, which promised to restore civilian rule in February 2022.

In June it unveiled its new government, appointing military figures in key roles.

Goita vowed at the time that the government would “uphold all its commitments”, pledging to stage “credible, fair and transparent elections”.

A large majority of the 15-nation UN’s Security Council later called for free and fair elections to go ahead in the country without the participation of its current leaders.

Mali also faces unrest outside the political arena.

It has been struggling to contain an jihadist insurgency that first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, and has since spread to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

The conflict has also been mirrored by political instability in the capital.

Source: AFP

Jacob Zuma’s long-running corruption trial will resume on August 10, a South African judge ruled on Tuesday after the ex-president sought to have the case postponed because of the pandemic and recent unrest.

“The trial is adjourned to 10 to 13 August,” Judge Piet Koen said.

Zuma on Monday appeared in court via a video link from his prison, where he is serving a jail term for contempt of court on an unrelated matter.

His lawyers had applied to have the case postponed by up to three weeks because of the unrest and the Covid pandemic to allow time for the trial to resume physically.

The 79-year-old faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.

He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

Both Zuma and Thales have entered pleas of not guilty.

His foundation immediately lauded the decision, tweeting: “The Constitution has prevailed at last!”

“There can be NO virtual criminal proceedings in the absence of an accused person who is unable to consult with his lawyers,” it said.

Zuma, once dubbed the “Teflon president”, began serving a 15-month jail sentence for contempt on July 8.

He was arrested for disobeying a Constitutional Court order to testify before a panel probing the plunder of state coffers during his nine-year presidency

Source: AFP

A South African government intelligence body said on Monday that six people had been killed in violent protests in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces since last week, following the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma.

The unrest erupted shortly after Zuma started serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Wednesday night.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has been confirmed to be in jail at the Estcourt Correctional Centre.

The embattled former president was brought to the fairly new correctional facility to start his 15-month sentence in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola told journalists that he had seen Zuma. “I have seen him, he is in very good spirit and he has taken his breakfast, he’s taking his medication. And then he is, as I said, we spoke and I also told him that I’m going to tell the nation that he is here in this facility. And he said it’s important that this country must know. So he’s in very good spirits.”- Lamola said.

The Estcourt Correctional Center is located in KwaZulu-Natal province about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from his rural home in Nkandla. The facility, which opened about two years ago, consists of two units, and has a capacity to accommodate 512 inmates.

It also has a hospital section, training centre, maintenance workshop, logistics and other support structures.

“If we wanted the former president to stay in a hotel and in a highly privileged area, we would have taken him to the hotel. In Carradine, there in the south coast, or we would have taken him to one of our beautiful guest houses, breathtaking in the Western Cape where you can even see the sea. But the policies and the Correctional Services Act is clear. He must be incarcerated where is declared and in a correctional facility, in terms of incarceration.” the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola explained.

79 year old Zuma was convicted and sentenced for defying a court order to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his 2009-2018 presidency.

Source: Africa News

At least 43 people were missing off the southeastern coast of Tunisia after a boat carrying more than 120 migrants sank, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Saturday.

“Eighty-four migrants were rescued and 43 others disappeared after a boat carrying 127 migrants sank off the coast of Zarzis” on Friday night, Mongi Slim of the Red Crescent told AFP.

The vessel had set off from Libya’s coast, he added, citing the accounts of survivors.

The Tunisian navy rescued “84 illegal migrants of various nationalities” including from Bangladesh, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan, the defence ministry said.

The survivors picked up off Zarzis were aged between three and 40, the ministry said, without giving any number for those missing.

It said that the boat had departed the port of Zuwara, in northwestern Libya during the night between Monday and Tuesday.

Source: AFP

Mourners waving white handkerchiefs, Kenneth Kaunda’s trademark symbol, paid tribute Friday at a memorial service for Zambia’s first president, who died last month aged 97, as VIPs hailed him as one of southern Africa’s great statesmen.

Neatly distanced in compliance with Covid rules, scores of Zambians stood on the terraces of the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, swaying to dirges and solemn music played by a military band.

A hero of the struggle against white-minority rule, Kaunda died on June 17 at a military hospital where he had been admitted with pneumonia.

He always carried a white handkerchief – an item that he said symbolised love and peace, and which he started carrying while incarcerated during the struggle for independence.

Zambia’s founding father was given full military honours, including a 21-gun salute and an airforce jet display.

A casket draped in the Zambian flag was driven on a gun carriage into the 60,000-capacity stadium and placed under a white marquee.

Braving the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the southern African country, several foreign dignitaries and presidents flew to Lusaka to pay their respects.

Zambia is among Africa’s top three countries reporting the highest number of new cases over the past week, after South Africa and Tunisia, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“Today is a passing of an era,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told mourners.

“Kaunda was the last surviving leader of the generation who lit the path to Africa’s freedom from colonial misrule.”

“We will never be able to pay back the debt that we owe you,” Ramaphosa said, while Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu lauded Kaunda’s record as an anti-imperialist who “believed that … Africans deserved to decide our own destiny as a people and that we could not be discriminated against”.

The African Union’s commission chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, described Kaunda as “a unifier”, a “giant among men”.

“Had it not been for the selfless efforts of his generation, I would not be before you today, as the African Union would not exist,” he noted.

‘Defeated Goliath of oppression’

Also present were the presidents of Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, the prime minister of Lesotho, Britain’s Minister of African Affairs and Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

“He was a warrior who defeated the Goliath of oppression,” said Scotland.

British junior foreign minister James Duddridge, representing Zambia’s former colonial ruler, said Queen Elizabeth II was saddened by Kaunda’s death and that “the world has lost a great man”.

In a message, the British monarch said Kaunda’s “maintaining Zambia as a bastion against apartheid has earned him a place in history”.

Kaunda, popularly known by his initials of KK, was president of Zambia for 27 years, taking the helm after the country gained independence in October 1964.

He headed the main nationalist group, the left-of-centre United National Independence Party.

He was nicknamed by some “Africa’s Gandhi” for his non-violent, independence-related activism in the 1960s.

He hosted many of the movements fighting for independence or black equality in other countries around the continent – sometimes at a heavy cost.

But his popularity at home waned as he became increasingly autocratic and banned all opposition parties.

Taxi tribute

Zambia declared a period of mourning after his death, with flags flown at half mast, while his body was taken around the country for the public to pay their respects.

He will be buried next Wednesday at the country’s presidential burial site situated opposite the cabinet office in Lusaka.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said Kaunda’s burial would signify the “planting of a vibrant seed”.

“From this seed, let’s harvest a new African generation with new pan-Africanism… free from corruption,” he urged.

Some taxi drivers in Lusaka drove with their headlights on as a way of mourning the country’s founder.

“We have agreed here that we will be driving with our lights on as a way of mourning Dr Kaunda, shikulu (grandfather). The loss is too huge, not only here in Zambia but the entire world,” driver Lazarus Daka, 37, told AFP.

Sources: AFP, REUTERS