WPR Africa Watch: Anglophone Cameroon Gets Back Online, but Biya’s Problems Are Far From Finished
After three full months of no internet access, residents of Cameroon’s marginalized Anglophone regions were able to log back online Thursday when President Paul Biya ordered connections restored. The internet outage was part of Biya’s attempt to curb anti-government protests that began last year with complaints about the use of French in the regions’ courts and schools. Cameroon is officially bilingual, but political power is concentrated in the French-speaking capital, Yaounde. Anglophone Cameroonians regularly complain of a lack of development and attention from the state.
Internet outages have become a popular tool of repression in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, and activists praised the end of Cameroon’s blackout. But Biya’s government has done little to address the substantive concerns that gave rise to the protests, and there are fears that unrest could spread. On Monday, a doctor’s strike forced angry patients to go untreated in hospitals in the capital.
Cameroon also faced new allegations that it was forcibly repatriating Nigerian refugees who had fled Boko Haram—claims a spokesman rejected as “ungrounded.” And press freedom advocates on Thursday condemned a guilty verdict in the trial of a Radio France Internationale journalist accused of “non-denunciation of terrorism.” The fresh wave of negative press highlighted the array of problems that could destabilize the government in the run-up to a presidential election planned for next year.
AP photo by Sunday Alamba
Here’s a rundown of news from elsewhere on the continent:
East Africa
Uganda: The military said it was withdrawing troops from Central African Republic, signaling the end of a U.S.-backed mission to capture Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony. Though Kony remains at large, the head of U.S. armed forces in Africa said the mission had successfully forced the rebel group’s leadership “off the battlefield.”
Ethiopia: The government’s human rights commission reported that 669 people had been killed in anti-government protests but nonetheless defended the actions of security forces and rejected calls for outside investigations.
Central Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo: Authorities returned the body of Kamuina Nsapu, the tribal leader whose death last year at the hands of Congolese security forces triggered violence that has killed hundreds. The U.N. reported that 17 additional mass graves had been found in central Congo—bringing the total to 40—and U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein vowed to push for an inquiry by the International Criminal Court if President Joseph Kabila’s government didn’t act on its own to investigate the violence. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the killing of two U.N. investigators.
West Africa
Mali: Islamic extremists killed four soldiers in an attack on an army camp in the north, prompting a joint operation by French and Malian forces that killed 12 militants. The government extended a state of emergency, citing the security situation. But officials were able to complete the installation of interim authorities in the north—a rare sign of progress in the implementation of the country’s peace deal.
Nigeria: The U.N. warned it would need to cut food aid for populations in the north affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. President Muhammadu Buhari, meanwhile, announced an investigation into the possible mishandling of funds intended to address the humanitarian crisis.
Cote d’Ivoire: President Alassane Ouattara said the budgets of all ministries were being cut by 5 to 10 percent as the government struggles to respond to plunging cocoa prices.
North Africa
Algeria: As the country prepares for legislative elections on May 4, officials warned two Islamist opposition parties they would be barred from the ballot if they refused to show female candidates’ faces in campaign materials. The parties’ earlier decision to publish faceless portraits of female candidates stoked fears about the possible “revival of political Islam.” Separately, on Thursday, authorities said they had thwarted a suicide attack on the northeastern city of Constantine, where a senior member of the local Islamic State affiliate was killed a few weeks ago.
Southern Africa
Zambia: Following his arrest after a violent raid on his home on April 11, opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema appeared in court this week, where he was charged with treason. Hakainde had originally been accused of endangering President Edgar Lungu’s life by refusing to yield to his motorcade, but prosecutors now say he should be tried for allegedly spending months plotting to overthrow the government. Speaking to WPR, analysts said they worried the case could be a sign of the further erosion of democratic freedoms in a country that enjoys a reputation for peaceful elections and transfers of power.
Zimbabwe: The parties of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and former Vice President Joice Mujuru vowed to team up to challenge President Robert Mugabe in next year’s presidential vote. Tsvangirai said more parties would likely join the alliance.
South Africa: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said leaders should listen to the concerns of tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets calling for the ouster of President Jacob Zuma.
Off the Radar News
Burkina Faso: Police staged a nationwide protest “against corruption and a lack of transparency among their leaders.”
Chad: Three civil society activists appear to have been arrested—one of them more than 10 days ago—but their relatives say they don’t know why or where they’re being held.
Uganda: The mayor of the capital, Kampala, warned against xenophobic attacks after hundreds of traders turned out to protest Chinese traders, citing “unfair competition.”
Top Reads From Around the Web
“‘We’ve Never Seen This Drought, This Disease’: Somali Families Bury Their Dead”: Jason Burke of The Guardian reports from Baidoa, Somalia, where a two-year drought has left 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. “Spend an hour with those pouring into the town, 180 miles north-west of Mogadishu,” he writes, “and you will find fathers who have buried four children in as many days, grandparents left to fade away in villages and breastfeeding mothers who have carried twins for 70 miles under a searing sun in a last ditch bid to find help.” Separately, IRIN reported on drought victims in Ethiopia.
“Al-Qaida’s Nigerian Chapter”: Writing for the Center on Religion and Geopolitics, analyst Ryan Cummings explains that, despite the dominant focus on possible links between Boko Haram and the so-called Islamic State, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that al-Qaida “perceives Nigeria as a theater of interest.”
Coming up on WPR: Reports on violence in the Pool region of Republic of Congo and how Ethiopia's ongoing crisis is affecting the country's youth.
—Robbie Corey-Boulet, Associate Editor
WPR Articles April 14—April 21
Can the Next French President Chart a New Course for Africa Policy?
By: Karina Piser | Trend Lines
On Sunday, France will vote in the first round of a heated presidential election after a contentious campaign dominated by terrorism, immigration and the economy. But foreign policy hasn’t been absent from the debate, and nowhere in the world does France have a larger imprint than in Africa.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
Senegal’s system of Islamic schools, known as daaras, has been a frequent target of criticism by human rights groups, who condemn the practice of having students beg in the streets. In an email interview, Sarah Mathewson with Anti-Slavery International describes the system’s history and efforts to reform it.
By: Robbie Corey-Boulet | Trend Lines
Zambia’s opposition leader is facing a charge of treason following an encounter between his convoy and that of President Edgar Lungu earlier this month. Analysts see the charge as extreme, and warn it could herald a further erosion of freedoms in a country that enjoys a reputation for peaceful politics.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In 2008, Rwanda announced that it was switching the language of scholastic instruction from French to English. The move was implemented rapidly, and with mixed success—at least at first. In an email interview, Maria Ambrozy explains the reasons for the change and the political controversy it generated.
