What to remember from the African news of the week of July 17
In Kenya, for the third time, on Wednesday 19 July, the opposition called on the population to demonstrate against the high cost of living and the taxes imposed by the government. During these rallies, clashes between police and protesters left at least two dead and more than 300 people were arrested.
Beatings, arbitrary detentions, theft of money … In recent months, Tunisian security forces have committed “serious abuses” against black African migrants, which should prompt the EU to “stop supporting” this country in the fight against irregular immigration, the NGO Human Rights Watch pleaded on Wednesday, July 19, in a report.
Senegalese lawmakers passed a law on Thursday (July 20th) abolishing a special anti-corruption court, which the government says has not “helped curb economic and financial crime” and was denounced by opponents as a court set up to “repress” them.
Yevgeny Prigojine, the commander of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which led a failed uprising against Moscow in late June, announced that his men will no longer fight in Ukraine, but that their activities will be concentrated in Africa, according to a video, impossible to identify, posted on Wednesday, July 19, on the group’s Telegram channel.
The KGB in Africa: light on the modus operandi of a USSR in search of influence
Supporting an attempted coup in Ghana, training African fighters not far from the beaches of Crimea or even spreading “fake news” in Algeria… In the midst of the Cold War, the spies of the Soviet bloc did not lack imagination to try to advance the interests of the Kremlin in Africa . Back to some practical matters.
A complaint against “unknowns” was filed on Monday (July 17) in Kinshasa by the family of an opponent who was murdered four days earlier in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where political tension is high six months before elections, his lawyer announced. Chérubin Okende, spokesman for presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi’s party, was found dead in his vehicle on one of the capital’s main roads, his body riddled with bullets.
Increase in illegal emigration: in Senegal, families are plagued with worry
In Senegal, dozens of young candidates for emigration to Spain have lost their lives in recent weeks in the Atlantic Ocean, while many others are missing. No official assessment has yet been given by the government. It is the emotion and dismay of the victims’ families that calls for drastic measures to put an end to these repeated tragedies.
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Investigation: Russia-Africa, Network of Influence
In France, Pan-African influencers have more and more followers on social networks. Advocating a radical anti-Western and sovereignist ideology, some of them claim responsibility for regime change in Mali and Burkina Faso. A narrative close to that of the Kremlin trying to promote its peasants on the continent. paints the portrait of two French influencers who appear to have taken up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s case.
Senegal: The emergence of synthetic football pitches in Dakar
In Senegal, many young people want to play football on artificial grass, which they say is easier to play than the traditional sand pitches where they are used to playing. Dozens of pitches on this surface have been built in Dakar over the past five years. “It allowed us to play all the time (…) Synthetic pitches you can play at night” rejoices Abdoul Tabara, putting on his shoes at the Temple du Foot in Dakar.
02:32 Senegal: The emergence of synthetic football pitches in Dakar © AFP
