Africa

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and of Africans elsewhere this week.

Refugees should never be pressured to decide if they should return to their home countries, a senior UN official has said.

After decades of gold mining, large swathes of Johannesburg's population are thought to be exposed to toxic and radioactive waste.

These two Ghanaians are happy in new surroundings after a perilous journey two years ago nearly cost them their lives.

South Africa is gripped by the mysterious death of an ex-policeman who exposed an alleged paedophile ring in the former regime.

Investigations point to a corrupt court syndicate keeping rhino killers beyond the reach of the law.

Many landlords in Nigeria suspect single women of being prostitutes, making it difficult for them to rent.

Following a two-day mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday repeated his call for warring parties in conflict-riven North Kivu to stop fighting, and allow health teams access to areas affected by the recent Ebola outbreak in the region.

Libyan militias have forced nearly 2,000 people from an ethnic minority likely targeted for their alleged links to the former Gadaffi Government, to flee long-established shelters in the capital Tripoli, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

Following the conclusion of the second round of presidential elections in Mali, political leaders in the West African country are being encouraged by the UN Secretary-General to promote a peaceful atmosphere and avoid incendiary rhetoric.

By Roger Alfred Yoron Modi

For a very long time now since the war in South Sudan erupted in 2013, there have been accusations that some South Sudanese political actors together with others in the region and in the international community are conspiring to make South Sudan ungovernable so that the situation could be used as a pretext for the Country to be taken over by a foreign body in collaboration with those South Sudanese or have the country placed under the United Nations for some years.

As a journalist and South Sudan's citizen, I followed and investigated this matter keenly in several ways over the years. In my findings, this conspiracy involves South Sudanese politicians who are not for genuine peace since they see themselves unable to compete with some of the current senior leaders in the Country even when there shall be a democracy, thereby they prefer continuity of war or a win of their conspiracy against South Sudan existence.

Those politicians have over the years placed their South Sudanese allies in strategic positions with influence into the affairs of the Country in order to promote their agenda, even ones that are against genuine peace.

Dishonest efforts by foreigners holding South Sudan's Citizenship

The second category of people involved in this conspiracy are individual foreign nationals who have acquired South Sudan's citizenship by virtue of being in the Country either decades ago and those who got South Sudan citizenship in recent years through shady deals.

Some of those individuals were already systematically placed in several strategic positions since our previous liberation wars. The new ones also have now got positions in strategic posts with influence into the affairs of the Country.

The institutions, organizations, and bodies those conspirators are generally found in include: influential civil society and human rights organizations in the Country and the region, embassies of powerful foreign nations in South Sudan, religious organizations and very likely the security sector.

Foreign and local journalists are also involved in this conspiracy, though at different rates and not necessarily motivated by the same reasons. Those journalists I am talking about know what I have found out about them.

Over the years, those entire conspirators consistently continue to carry on with their conspiracy in several ways to ensure that South Sudan become ungovernable for the reasons I mentioned above.

The problem is some of those who got into the Country decades ago are engaged in the peace process in a manner that they want to win against others, for some ulterior motives about their own historical wrongs, not a genuine search for peace per se.

On social media, the language of such individuals claiming to be South Sudanese have been consistently inciting, with no compromise for peace. It is easier to detect them when one looks carefully around the various sectors engaged in the talks. Giving many details about them shall not help the process as intended that is why the author has chosen not to mention names.

It is more harmful that, in addition to being in reputable organizations to damage genuine peace efforts, some of those individuals have key positions within the different parties to the conflict and they use those positions to fuel war and disagreements, instead of finding lasting solutions.

The allegiance of many of these individuals are not for South Sudan and it is very shocking to see why South Sudanese political and civil society actors would like to rely so much on advice from such people on very crucial national matters such as the ongoing peace process. In fact, they have seriously derailed how the civil society and even the religious groups ought to perform on matters peace in the current talks and all other important tasks in the Country.

However, there are those who are not originally from South Sudan but they continue to make honest efforts for a lasting peace in the Country. Those are known and we appreciate.

A continues to fight against me personally

I have been a very critical journalist and I offer solutions for permanent peace in South Sudan, through my articles and journalistic profession in general. On one hand, the solutions I provide through my profession do not conform with the agenda of those conspirators who do not like to see a permanent peace in South Sudan any soon. As result, they continue to see me as an enemy. And further worst, they continue to be a source of insecurity and harm for me.

On the other hand, being critical of the government also continue to put me into threats.

The third major issue which I struggle with and finally made public is the participation of my mother, my step-sister, other members of my maternal family and others close to me in sustained efforts to harm me and end my life in several ways.

In general, all those people from the first to the last category continue to try several methods against me my life, while I was in the Country and even when I fled the into exile over a year ago. I have reliably documented what they have done against me so far, including on damaging my health in several ways and other attempts to take away my life.

Their interests are both political and historical. The historical aspect got to do with their role or attempt to cover up for those who implicated or killed my father, Alfred Yoron Modi who was a journalist and chairperson of Justice and Peace Committee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba during our last liberation war.

I have come to know some bitter truths which have been intentionally hidden from me over the years with regards to the killing of my father and since then my relationship with those people deteriorated, leading to them intensifying more efforts into their mission to kill or harm me.

I continue to believe that these matters shall be resolved peacefully, even though those people (my maternal family and/or in collaboration with others) have already seriously damaged my health, using different substances and approaches on several occasions, even up to recently. They have been so powerful to the extent that sometimes I had to tolerate them, just to avoid losing my life instantly, as I knew what they were capable of while my options were limited.

Collusion with officials in reputable human rights organizations

Against me for example, South Sudanese and others working for reputable human rights organizations continuously exploited details about my security threats and planned and carried out harmful, deadly actions against me using the information they obtained about the nature of my challenges.

I have well documented these and they know very well that I have legitimately and successfully squeezed them and their conspirators into a corner they truly belong to.

In relation to that, last week, I posted that as a journalist, “I have enough evidence against several institutions, organizations and individuals trying to spoil the ongoing South Sudan peace efforts being made by the region but I will not publish, instead, as an incentive, I urge them to ensure an all-inclusive peace agreement and I urge the government, all the parties, the civil society and the mediation to speed up the process and signing of the modalities of implementation of the revitalized ARCSS as soon as possible and within the process of the IGAD-led HLRF. Speeding up the process means first officially releasing the signed Agreement on Outstanding Issues of Governance.”

That is true. If I publish the evidence I have, including on how harmful some individual officials in embassies of powerful countries have been harmful to attainment of a genuine peace in South Sudan, several institutions and the talks shall likely collapse, leading to, I believe, a return to square one, when already a lot of progress has been made.

I shall continue to suffer all that they have done and continue to attempt against me but I would not like to be distracted from the fact that the time for a comprehensive peace in South Sudan has come. The government and all the parties have a chance to bring a lasting peace. This opportunity should never be squandered.

Finally, it is worth noting that this is just a brief information on the nature of harm done to me by those I mentioned herein. Their network and methods are wide. But they have never and shall never succeed for reasons they know very well, including the reliable, systematic documentation made so far. The people I intend to see read this article know the rest of the information. I have the details with relevant authorities, credible human rights organizations and journalists to follow up and publish in case that becomes necessary.

I just have to keep this short and I urge all to exert honest efforts for the sake of a lasting peace in South Sudan. In return, I promise I will neither prosecute any of them nor make their names public for the various harm they continuously executed on me.

South Sudanese and all looking for a comprehensive peace should take serious note of all the above-mentioned and seek appropriate redress for the purposes of attaining a comprehensive peace agreement.

Roger Alfred Yoron Modi, a South Sudanese journalist, is the former Managing Editor of Juba Monitor Newspaper and former Chief Editor of Bakhita Radio. He can be reached via his email: rogeryoron@gmail.com

August 13, 2018 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) - The IGAD mediation has formally launched in Khartoum the final phase of talks on the pending issues and the modalities of implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, as they have one week to finalize their discussions before the 19 of August.

According to the agenda seen by Sudan Tribune, the parties will discuss the Article 4 of the governance chapter on the number and boundaries of states, the creation of five new ministries and their clustering, judicial reforms, composition of National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC), roles and responsibilities of the presidency and any other business.

On 6 August, the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) said they accepted to sign the agreement on the outstanding issues of governance on 5 August because their concerns about article 4 will be discussed in the final phase.

After a meeting with the IGAD mediators in Khartoum on Sunday, South Sudanese government spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth stated that the talks will commence by the outstanding issues and then they will move to the implementation matrix.

Once an agreement on the modalities of implementation is reached, it will be followed by the draft agreement that will be given to the parties for consideration before it goes to the Council of Ministers of IGAD.

According to Lueth, the discussions on the outstanding issues will deal with only two issues bracketed when the talks were in Ethiopia. The first issue is the composition of the judiciary reform committee and the second on the composition of the national constitutional amendment committee (NCAC).

"These are very minor issues because we only disagree on the composition. it is a question of figures only," stressed the information minister without mentioning the Article 4 of the governance deal.

Following his return from Khartoum on 6 August after the signing of the governance deal, President Salva Kiir said South Sudanese will not accept to review the 32 states.

The discussions on the implementation matrix will focus on the chapter one and chapter two, plus the review of any other chapters that are actually affected by the amendment of the two chapters.

The one-week talks will touch the power-sharing especially the other five ministries. But more important, the parties will discuss the powers, functions and duties of the President, the First Vice-President and the other four Vice-Presidents.

"These are new positions we have created and we need to revisit the competence," said the government spokesperson.

The IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan Ismail Wais took part in the first meeting of the final phase of talks in Khartoum on Monday.

Also, the Kenyan experts took part in the meeting.

(ST)

August 13, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Supreme Court on Monday has revoked death sentence against University of Khartoum student Asim Omer who was charged for killing a policeman during protests in 2016.

Omer, 23-year-old and member of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) was accused of killing an anti-riot policeman who died after a hit by a Molotov cocktail during the student protests in April 2016.

Last September, Khartoum North Criminal Court found Omer guilty of premeditated murder of a police officer and sentenced him to death by hanging.

In December of 2017, the Khartoum Court of Appeals issued a ruling supporting the conviction of Omer.

In a press release seen by Sudan Tribune on Monday, SCoP said the Supreme Court judge revoked the sentence and ordered to return the case to the trial court for further hearings.

The SCoP welcomed the court ruling and renewed confidence on the defence team, stressing the party would follow every possible legal path to revoke all charges against Omer and secure his immediate release.

The press release pointed out that Omer has spent 30 months in jail for a fabricated crime he didn't commit, stressing his family and those who expressed solidarity with him are confident of his innocence.

(ST)

August 13, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf said relations with Russia are developing steadily, particularly military cooperation, describing ties between the two countries as historic.

Ibn Ouf, who received the Russian Ambassador to Sudan Vladimir Zheltov on Monday at his office, pointed to Moscow's supportive stances towards Khartoum.

For his part, Zheltov described relations between the two countries as close and friendly, saying they are based on mutual interests in all economic and military fields to serve the joint interests.

It is noteworthy that the meeting was held in the presence of Sudan's head of the Military Intelligence, Lieu. Gen. Gamal Omar Mohamed Ibrahim, and deputy military attaché at the Russian embassy Anthony Kaplan.

During a visit to Moscow last month to attend the 2018 World Cup Final, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir was met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders pledged to promote military cooperation in the near future.

The two leaders last met in November 2017 in the Russian city of Sochi, with both expressing a desire to enhance military ties.

At the time, al-Bashir offered to construct an airbase for Russia on the Red Sea coast and to re-equip the Sudanese army with the Russian weapons including SU-30 fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles.

Politically, Russia is seen as a major ally of the government of al-Bashir that faces isolation from the West. However, economic cooperation between the two countries has remained very low, with a trade balance that does not exceed $400 million.

In December 2015, Sudan and Russia signed 14 cooperation agreements in different domains, including oil, minerals and banks.

The agreements also include a concession contract between Sudan and the Russian Rus Geology to prospect for oil in Sudan's Bloc E57 and another accord for the geological mapping of the Jebel Moya area, North Kordofan State.

(ST)

In a report released on Monday, the United Nations urged Somalia to take steps to ensure future elections are not marred by the human rights violations and abuses committed during the 2016-2017 electoral process.

August 13, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Ethiopian rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) Sunday declared a unilateral ceasefire pointing to the call for peace by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

ONLF fighters (file/Getty)

The ONLF “declares Unilateral ceasefire from today – 12:00 pm, August 12, 2018, that and will cease all military and security operations directed against the Ethiopian Security Apparatus in the Somali territory (Ogaden), until a negotiated comprehensive cessation of hostilities is reached with the Ethiopian government,” says the rebel group.

Prime Minister Ahmed who was picked by the ruling party in April this year has called for democratic reforms in the country coupled with reconciliations with Eritrea ending the 20-year-old border conflict.

The separatist group said it takes “into account the positive steps taken by the Ethiopian government to lay the groundwork for talks and peaceful negotiations to find an available and lasting solution to the Ogaden conflict”.

Further, it called on the government to reciprocate the cessation of hostilities and announce à similar measure creating a conducive environment for the proposed peace process.

Established in 1984, the ONLF launched a series of attacks on the Ethiopian army in 1994.

The ONLF aims to create an independent state in Ethiopia's southeastern Ogaden territory, which is inhabited by 7 million ethnic Somalis.

In September 2012, peace talks in Nairobi between the government and the ONLF failed after the rebel refusal to recognize the Ethiopian constitution which divides the country into nine ethnically based administrative regions including the Somali region.

(ST)

August 13, 2018 (NAIROBI) - Aid groups exclude older people, including those that live with disabilities during their emergency operations, reveal two new studies by the Humanitarian Policy Group of the Overseas Development Institute focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda.

Pakam elders at a community peacebuilding meeeting Rumkoor, Lakes state, South Sudan (ST)

Commissioned by HelpAge International with funding from Age International, the studies uncover experiences of displaced older people and the role and vulnerabilities of drought-affected older people in East Africa.

"They show that neglect is happening against a background of eroded social cohesion after years of conflicts and repeated, long droughts in East Africa, which have increasingly driven rural families to either urban areas or displacement camps," says a statement released by HelpAge International.

Older people tend to be less physically mobile than the wider population, and often live with chronic illnesses and disabilities. When they are affected by disasters or conflict, these vulnerabilities are exacerbated.

Droughts lead to a scarcity of appropriate food for older people, it can leave them weak and reduce their mobility and they increase their dependence on others.

During conflicts, older people who form a large proportion of those left behind have difficulties to accessing information, services and assistance. Also; they are at greater risk of abuse, physical and sexual violence, neglect and theft.

"Older people with disabilities reported receiving less support from their families during displacement as resources were scarce and families grew tired of caring for them," according to the study Older people in displacement: falling through the cracks of emergency responses. This loss of “power, dignity and respect” can have a harmful impact on older people's psychological health.

"Continued conflicts and the frequent cycle of droughts in East Africa dismantle communities' power and support structures, breaking down older people's traditional positions of influence and power within communities," said Dr Prafulla Mishra, Africa Regional Director at HelpAge.

The reports pointed out at the important role older people play as mediators and carers in their societies saying they have unique skills, experiences and a lifetime of knowledge.

Humanitarian agencies should recognise these important roles and utilise the invaluable knowledge older people have from experiencing prior disasters said the reports adding "This could strengthen older people's role in the community during emergencies, rather than see it weaken, and improve the overall quality of the programming".

(ST)

August 12, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Foreign Minister El-Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed will start a two-day visit to Turkey on Tuesday to discuss ways to develop an economic partnership, says a statement by the Turkish foreign ministry.

Ahmed during his visit on 14-15 August will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart on bilateral relations as the two countries hold the first meeting of a joint committee to develop bilateral relations.

"During the visit, the first meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group between two countries will be held under the chairmanship of [Turkish Foreign Minister] Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Sudanese counterpart," the Turkish foreign ministry.

The fisting minister also will deliver a speech at the 10th Conference of Turkish Ambassadors, which is held between August 12-17 in both the capital Ankara and in the central Konya province.

During a visit to Sudan in December 2017, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday have agreed to raise trade exchange between the two countries to $1 billion within one year.

Furthermore, the two countries signed 12 cooperation agreements and agreed to launch a strategic partnership covering agriculture, industry, minerals and health.

The countries approved the establishment of a higher political committee headed by the two presidents, saying the committee would annually meet in Khartoum and Ankara alternately.

(ST)

August 12, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government has decided to develop sustainable solutions to integrate, resettle and provide basic services for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Minister of Welfare and Social Security Mashai'r al-Dawalab on Sunday met with governors of Darfur's five states in the presence of the Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed Adam.

The meeting reviewed a number of successful voluntary return experiences in Darfur and stressed the need to strengthen coordination among the various concerned bodies.

Also, the meeting called to form a unified intervention mechanism to develop water, health and education projects according to the technical agreements signed between the government and the competent organs.

The meeting further called to strengthen and activate humanitarian work coordination councils in the various states and provide sustainable solutions to all problems and challenges encountering humanitarian aid work.

Last June, Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed Adam stated that the government has no plan to forcibly evicting the IDPs camps, but has set a number of options for IDPs, including resettlement in the area where they are, or in another area according to their desire.

Since the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur in July 2011, the government constructed several villages and vowed to support IDPs who return to their home areas.

However, IDPs representatives in several camps say they refuse to return to their areas before the disarmament of the armed militias and the evacuation of their land from the newcomers.

In a report released on 5 February, UNOCHA estimates there are about 386,000 returnees in Sudan conflict areas including Darfur and the Two Areas.

The Sudanese army has been fighting a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict, and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)

Scenes resembling a coup Nigeria have left many scratching their heads.