War criminal forms rebel group to topple eastern DRC; Zimbabwe police block anti-Mnangagwa protests

Police deployed heavily in Zimbabwe’s capital and other cities on Monday, largely neutralising a call by veterans for massive protests against plans to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule.

Lassa fever killed 118 people in Nigeria in the first three months of this year, according to the West African country’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

Convicted war criminal announces new rebel group to topple eastern DRC

A convicted war criminal based in Uganda has announced a new rebel movement intent on toppling the government in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Ituri province, creating another potential security threat in the war-scarred region.

The formation of the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR) by Thomas Lubanga, an Ituri native, comes as Congo’s army faces an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels elsewhere in eastern DRC.

The International Criminal Court secured its first conviction against Lubanga in 2012 on charges of recruiting child soldiers and sentenced him to 14 years in prison.

He was released in 2020, and President Felix Tshisekedi appointed him to a task force to bring peace to Ituri. But in 2022 he was taken hostage for two months by a rebel group, which he blames on the government, and is now based in Uganda.

In written responses to questions from Reuters, Lubanga said the CPR had both political and military elements, including armed men in three areas of Ituri.

Bringing peace to the area “requires an immediate change in governance and government”, he said, though he added that the group has not launched military operations.

It is unclear how many combatants Lubanga might control. UN experts last year accused him of mobilising fighters to support a local militia and M23.

Ituri has been rocked by violence by various armed groups for decades. Doctors Without Borders last week described “a renewed spike in atrocities” that had killed more than 200 civilians and displaced around 100,000 people since the beginning of the year.

Ugandan troops are present in Ituri to help the government fight the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is affiliated with the Islamic State and stages brutal attacks on villages.

Zimbabwe police deployed to block demonstrations against Mnangagwa

Police deployed heavily in Zimbabwe’s capital and other cities on Monday, largely neutralising a call by veterans for massive protests against plans to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule.

Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party said in January it wanted to extend Mnangagwa’s term in office by two years until 2030. Mnangagwa, who first came to power in 2017 after his long-term mentor Robert Mugabe was ousted in a coup, is serving his final term.

Independence war veterans led by Blessed Geza previously supported Mnangagwa but have turned against him, accusing him of seeking to cling to power.

Anticipating possible unrest, businesses barricaded their premises and car dealerships cleared their showrooms over recent days.

Most businesses, schools and vendors across the capital, Harare, as well as in the second-largest city, Bulawayo, and other towns, stayed closed, as large numbers of police patrolled the empty streets.

“The situation in the country is peaceful,” said police, encouraging people to continue with daily activities.

Still, in the western outskirts of Harare, police used tear gas to disperse a small group of protesters chanting “we reject 2030!”, a reference to the plans to extend Mnangagwa’s term.

Some political analysts said the economic shutdown could still send a message to political leaders.

“The stayaway is a massive statement by the masses of Zimbabwe. Those in power have reason to fear,” said political analyst Ibbo Mandaza.

Geza, the veteran leader who called for the protest and has mostly communicated through videos posted on social media platforms, did not react publicly on Monday morning.

The veterans remain influential within Zanu-PF and appear to be filling a void left by opposition parties weakened by internal divisions and a war of attrition with the ruling party.

Mnangagwa has repeatedly denied intending to prolong his presidency, but the veterans accuse him of pursuing the plan using proxies.

Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms.

Scores die from Lassa fever in Nigeria

Lassa fever killed 118 people in Nigeria in the first three months of this year, according to the West African country’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

The virus, which is carried by rodents and was first recognised in 1969 in the northeastern state of Borno, has killed thousands of people over the years, especially in rural areas due to unsanitary handling of food.

Despite years of campaigning on how to prevent the disease, there have been no significant improvements in the environmental hygiene of impoverished rural Nigerians that could prevent rats from accessing homes, food and utensils.

In the January-March period, 645 Lassa fever cases were confirmed with 118 deaths, a fatality rate of 18.3%, said NCDC director-general Jide Idris on Monday.

Nigeria has been recording around 100 deaths from Lassa fever every quarter recently.

Among the latest cases, Idris said, more than 20 health workers had been infected with Lassa fever in five of the 33 affected states of the country.

He said treatment centres were suffering staffing shortages while many patients were delaying seeking medical care in favour of self-medication and other unorthodox practices that were mostly ineffective.

South Africa grants Eskom coal plants limited emissions exemptions

South African coal-fired power stations had received limited exemptions from air quality laws and harmful emissions reduction regulations, said Environment Minister Dion George on Monday, but he stressed that the measures did not constitute a “blanket reprieve”.

The government is struggling to strike a balance between calls to reduce its carbon footprint and stop harmful emissions and the need to provide electricity to Africa’s most advanced economy, which has stagnated due to power cuts.

Eskom, whose fleet of old coal-fired power plants generates most of South Africa’s electricity, had applied to exempt eight of its plants from minimum emission standards prescribed in air quality regulations.

In granting the exemptions, the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said it would require Eskom to step up monitoring, appoint environmental health specialists and provide mobile health clinics, among other measures.

“These exemptions are not a blanket reprieve but are tailored to each facility with stringent conditions,” George told a press conference.

Six of the plants — Lethabo, Kendal, Tutuka, Majuba, Matimba and Medupi — will have exemptions capped at five years, expiring on 1 April, 2030, while the Duvha and Matla power stations will be exempted until their planned decommissioning dates in 2034.

Eskom said it was reviewing Monday’s decision and was committed to reducing negative societal impacts on health and the environment.

The utility, one of the continent’s worst polluters, has been running its plants hard in an attempt to end a decade of economically devastating power cuts and clear a maintenance backlog amid regular breakdowns.

It has previously said that retrofitting its plants, many of them 30 to 40-years-old, with new technology to reduce harmful emissions is too costly.

This month, a 10-year study found that people living near coal-fired power stations, mostly concentrated in Mpumalanga’s coal belt, had a mortality rate 6% higher than their peers elsewhere in South Africa.

The report from the South African Medical Research Council and Britain’s Department for International Development found higher rates of birth defects and cardiovascular and lung disease in communities near plants. It recommended phasing out the coal-fired plants.

“We want enough electricity to grow our economy, and we want clean, breathable air,” said George. “It is completely unacceptable when our children have problems with their lungs, and babies are born with cleft palates.”

China says crew members safe after suspected piracy kidnapping on Ghanaian vessel

All crew members aboard a Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel that was hit by a “suspected pirate attack” were safe, said the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday.

Three Chinese nationals went missing from Ghanaian waters and were believed to have been kidnapped after seven armed people boarded their ship and fired warning shots on 27 March, said the West African nation’s military at the weekend.

“All crew members are currently safe,” ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference when asked about the incident.

“Upon learning of the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Ghana immediately activated its emergency response mechanism and has been maintaining close communication with the Ghanaian side,” said Guo. DM