Africa Intel

🇹🇳 Tunisian Presidential Candidate Sentenced to Prison In Tunisia, a court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 20 months in prison. The head of the opposition Azimun party, Zammel, was arrested in early September on charges of falsifying voter signatures. The candidate himself called the case "fabricated." The presidential elections will take place on October 6, and the current head of state, Kais Said, is considered the main candidate. #Tunisia @africaintel

🇳🇬 400,000 displaced as Nigerian floods worsen Large parts of Borno state in Nigeria are submerged. Floods have forced thousands into displacement camps, compounding the region's existing humanitarian crisis caused by ongoing armed conflict. Earlier this month, 30 people died after a dam collapse, and more floods are expected following water releases from Cameroon. In Maiduguri, the state capital, 15% of the city remains underwater. Aid agencies warn that the situation is worsening, especially for those already displaced by violence. #Nigeria @africaintel

🇲🇱 Jihadist attacks in Mali capital killed more than 70: Security sources Last Tuesday's jihadist attack in the Malian capital targeting a military police training camp and a military airport left more than 70 dead and 200 wounded, security sources said Thursday. Mali's military-led authorities have so far not released a precise death toll from the attacks, claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group JNIM. The Malian capital is normally spared the sort of attacks that often occur in some parts of the country. #Mali @africaintel

🇬🇳 Guinea stadium massacre fugitive extradited from Liberia Guinea's most wanted fugitive - a former senior military officer who escaped from prison last November - has been extradited from neighbouring Liberia, along with his son, officials say. Ex-Col Claude Pivi will now serve his life sentence after being convicted in absentia for his role in a massacre of opposition supporters at a stadium in the capital Conakry in 2009, Guinea's military prosecutor said. He and his son, Verny Pivi, were arrested on the border of the two states during a routine security check on Tuesday. #Guinea @africaintel

🇬🇭 Ghana's opposition NDC stages protests over alleged voter roll irregularities Ghana’s biggest opposition party held nationwide protests in regional capitals across the country Tuesday demanding an audit of the voter roll for the general election set for December. “We are not asking for a big favor from the electoral commission, we are demanding our right to free and fair elections," Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, the chairman of the National Democratic Congress party, the country’s main opposition party, told party members before the protest march in Accra. The NDC claims that nearly 300,000 anomalies have been discovered, including illegal transfers of voters’ names and the removal of names from the register without their knowledge. The protest march in Accra ended with the presentation of a petition to the parliament and the electoral commission. The petition calls for a bipartisan probe into the conduct of the Electoral Commission, an independent forensic audit of the voters register, and the immediate publication of the audit's findings once conducted. #Ghana @africaintel

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe's new currency faces headwinds five months on Five months after its launch, Zimbabwe's new currency is under pressure as increased grain imports eat away at foreign reserves, putting at risk the government's plan to make it the only currency in the market by 2026. The gold-backed ZiG, which stands for Zimbabwe Gold, is the country's sixth attempt at a stable currency in 15 years. It was introduced in April at a rate of 13.6 ZiG per U.S. dollar and has since lost almost 80% of its value on the black market. Persistence Gwanyanya, a member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Monetary Policy Committee, said that although uptake in the local market had been slow, it was too soon to consider the new currency a failure. Gwanyanya said the government could increase use of the ZiG by charging more taxes in the local currency. "Government more than any other should show preference for its own currency and there is need for urgent intervention by injecting more foreign currency on the market," he said. #Zimbabwe @africaintel

🇨🇲🇳🇬 Nigeria warns of new flooding as Cameroon releases water from dam Fresh flooding threatens 11 Nigerian states after Cameroon started releasing water from one of its largest dams at Lagdo. Cameroon has several dams on the Benue River, which flows into Nigeria. The decision to open the dam was made because it was in danger of being overwhelmed . Cameroon has said dam managers will gradually release water to avoid exceeding the river's capacity downstream and prevent flooding. #Cameroon #Nigeria @africaintel

🌍 Gavi Alliance secures 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine for Africa amid outbreak The Gavi vaccine alliance has reached an agreement with Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic to obtain 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine for African countries dealing with an outbreak of the virus. Between January and the end of August, the DR Congo had recorded nearly 22,000 cases and more than 700 deaths linked to the virus. By late August, the new strain of the disease had also been detected in neighbouring Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, plus Kenya, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. A single case has been detected in both Sweden and Thailand. #DRCongo @africaintel

🇪🇬🇪🇹 Could the Egypt-Ethiopia Dispute Escalate into War? Tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia are escalating as Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) nears its final filling phase. Egypt, reliant on the Nile for freshwater, fears the dam will threaten its water security. However, it has been unable to secure an agreement from Ethiopia that guarantees its continued access to water. The dispute has further intensified with Egypt’s new security deal with Somalia, which Ethiopia sees as an effort to increase influence near its borders. Ethiopia, meanwhile, signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland in which it promised to recognize Somaliland’s independence in return for access to the Red Sea. The agreement sparked anger from Mogadishu which regards Somaliland as part of Somalia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has warned against threats to Ethiopia’s sovereignty, promising retribution to any country that dares threaten its interests. Experts believe war is unlikely despite the aggressive rhetoric. #Egypt #Ethiopia @africaintel

Botswana licences its first manganese mining project Botswana has awarded Giyani Metals a 15-year mining licence, the company announced on Wednesday, paving the way for it to become the country's first battery-grade manganese producer. Manganese is a key component in batteries and its demand is expected to be driven by growth in electric vehicles, among other clean energy applications. Giyani's Kgwakwe Hill project will process manganese oxide material on-site to produce high-purity manganese sulphate, making it one of the few battery-grade manganese projects outside China. The Asian country controls 90% of global high-purity manganese supply. The mine will have an initial annual output of 80,000 metric tons of high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate annually over a 57-year life, according to a 2023 preliminary economic assessment. #Botswana @africaintel