Global Pulse

标签： Africa

非洲

  • Kenya eagerly awaits zero-tariff export boom to China

    Kenya eagerly awaits zero-tariff export boom to China

    Across Kenya’s sprawling agricultural and manufacturing export sectors, anticipation is reaching a fever pitch as China prepares to implement a sweeping zero-tariff policy for most African exports starting May 1. Industry leaders across the East African nation say this landmark trade measure has the potential to reshape bilateral trade routes and unlock unprecedented opportunities for small and large producers alike, granting unrivaled access to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing consumer markets.

    For many Kenyan exporters, the policy shift is far more than a simple reduction in shipping costs: it removes a longstanding trade barrier that has kept many competitive Kenyan goods out of reach for most Chinese buyers. Joel Mwiti Kobia, managing director of Kenyan agro-exporter Nutri Nuts and Fruits, noted that the combination of zero tariffs and China’s 1.4 billion consumers creates an unparalleled growth opportunity for African agricultural producers.

    Kenya already launched its first zero-tariff test shipment to China in late March, loaded with high-demand fresh products including avocados, coffee, and green beans. For Kobia’s firm, which focuses on nut and fruit exports, early forays into the Chinese market have already exceeded expectations. The company began shipping macadamia nuts to China in 2021 with a single 16-metric-ton container; by 2025, annual exports had skyrocketed to 120 tons. With the existing 15 percent tariff set to drop completely, Kobia projects exports will more than double again, hitting nearly 250 tons in the next few years, while also creating new formal jobs at local processing facilities.

    Shifting consumption trends in China are working heavily in Kenyan producers’ favor. Kobia pointed out that China’s rapidly expanding middle class, driven by rising disposable incomes, rapid urbanization, and growing public focus on health and wellness, is driving soaring demand for high-quality, nutrient-dense premium food products. This changing demand landscape has created a particularly fertile market for unique African agricultural exports.

    Margaret Njoki, commercial manager for fresh and frozen produce at Vertical Agro Group, said Kenyan avocado exporters are already positioning for a major breakthrough in the Chinese market. Currently, Kenya competes with established avocado exporters like Peru and Mexico for Chinese market share, but Njoki said the elimination of tariffs will cut her product prices enough to expand both the volume and quality of avocado shipments to China.

    The benefits of the policy are expected to ripple across the entire Kenyan agricultural value chain, from large exporting firms down to smallholder farmers. Njoki explained that higher export demand will encourage more Kenyan smallholders to plant avocado orchards, boosting household incomes and creating new rural employment opportunities across growing regions.

    Even Kenyan tea producers, who have long been sidelined in the Chinese market due to uncompetitive pricing, are newly optimistic about their prospects. Kelvin Mbugi, a representative of Kenya Tea Packers, noted that zero tariffs will finally give quality Kenyan tea a fair shot at gaining traction in the world’s largest tea consumer market. “Currently we are unable to export tea to China because we are not competitive in prices. However, with zero tariffs, we will now have a chance not only to deliver quality, but also to have a competitive advantage in pricing,” Mbugu said.

    Kenyan exporters are specifically targeting China’s growing cohort of health-conscious consumers with unique specialty tea offerings. Products like antioxidant-rich purple tea and antiaging-focused white tea, which are already produced in Kenya at scale, align perfectly with shifting Chinese consumer preferences, and producers say they are already prepared to meet rising demand.

    The new zero-tariff framework opens doors beyond traditional agricultural food exports too. Small-scale Kenyan manufacturers are already exploring entry to the Chinese market with niche products, including premium pet food, that would become far more price competitive with tariffs eliminated. Irene Nzovo, a Kenyan manufacturer focused on pet food, said the policy will allow her to secure larger bulk orders and expand her customer base across China.

    While industry leaders widely welcome the policy, they also emphasize the work that remains to help Kenyan producers fully capitalize on the opportunity. Erick Rutto, president of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed that targeted training is critical to help smallholder farms and small exporting companies meet China’s strict sanitary and phytosanitary standards, ensuring their products can clear customs and access the mainstream Chinese market.

    As the May 1 implementation date approaches, the entire Kenyan export sector is poised to test the transformative potential of this new trade arrangement, with many expecting long-term benefits for both bilateral trade and Kenyan economic growth.

  • More than a half-million people expected at Pope Leo XIV’s Mass in Cameroon

    More than a half-million people expected at Pope Leo XIV’s Mass in Cameroon

    As Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, approached the midpoint of his 11-day four-nation African tour on Friday, his schedule in Cameroon centered entirely on lifting up and engaging the Central African nation’s massive youth population, a demographic that sits at the heart of growing political and economic friction in the country.

    The day kicked off with a high-profile trip to Douala, Cameroon’s largest commercial port city, where Leo planned to lead an open-air Mass and visit a local hospital. Vatican organizers projected that as many as 600,000 worshippers and attendees would gather for the liturgy — a turnout that would mark the largest crowd the pontiff has drawn over the entire course of his African journey, his first visit to the continent since assuming the papacy.

    After the Douala events, Leo returned to Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé to meet with students, faculty and senior leadership at the Catholic University of Central Africa. For popes visiting developing nations, these campus encounters have long served as a key platform to urge young people to persist through systemic challenges ranging from entrenched poverty to widespread public corruption.

    Cameroon offers a striking case study of the gap between Africa’s burgeoning youth population and its long-tenured aging leadership. Roughly 29% of the nation’s 29 million residents identify as Catholic, and the country has one of the youngest age profiles in the world, with a median age of just 18 years old. At the same time, Cameroon is led by 93-year-old President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, who has held uninterrupted power since 1982 and secured an eighth consecutive term in deeply contested presidential elections held last October.

    In his opening address to Biya and senior government officials shortly after arriving in Cameroon, Leo did not shy away from the country’s most pressing tensions. He called for the immediate dismantling of what he termed the “chains of corruption” that have held back widespread progress, and emphasized that Cameroon’s young people are the sole source of the nation’s future and lasting hope.

    While Cameroon is an oil-rich state that has recorded modest economic growth in recent years, the vast majority of young Cameroonians report that economic benefits have never trickled down beyond a small circle of political and business elites. Official World Bank data puts the country’s overall unemployment rate at 3.5%, but more than half — 57% — of workers between the ages of 18 and 35 are stuck in unstable, unregulated informal employment that offers little to no job security or social benefits.

    Widening economic frustration has triggered two interconnected crises for the nation: widespread brain drain, and a catastrophic shortage of skilled workers in critical public sectors including healthcare. According to Cameroon’s Ministry of Higher Education, roughly one-third of all newly graduated trained doctors left the country in 2023 alone, lured by higher-paying roles and better working conditions in Europe and North America. The outflow of medical professionals has left already under-resourced public hospitals and clinics critically understaffed.

    In his address to government leaders, Leo warned of the risks of leaving youth grievances unaddressed. “Of course, when unemployment and social exclusion persist, frustration can lead to violence,” the pontiff said. “Investing in the education, training, and entrepreneurship of young people is, therefore, a strategic choice for peace. It is the only way to curb the outflow of wonderful talent to other parts of the world.”

    Tensions over Biya’s decades-long rule boiled over after last October’s election, when main opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary challenged the official election results, sparking deadly protests across the country. The visit comes as Cameroon continues to grapple with nearly a decade of armed conflict in its Anglophone regions, with many local residents hoping the papal tour will bring progress toward national healing.

  • Iran war energy shock drives nuclear power plans in hard-hit Asia and Africa

    Iran war energy shock drives nuclear power plans in hard-hit Asia and Africa

    The ongoing conflict between Iran and Western powers has sent shockwaves through global fossil fuel markets, triggering ripple effects that are reshaping long-term energy policy across two of the world’s fastest-growing regions: Africa and Asia. Disruptions to key shipping lanes for Middle Eastern oil and natural gas – which supplied the bulk of Asia’s energy demand – have sent energy prices soaring worldwide, with both developing Asian and African economies feeling the strain earliest and most acutely. Even wealthy Western nations including the United States and across Europe have not escaped the pressure of inflated energy costs driven by the conflict.

    Against this backdrop of market volatility, nations across both continents are moving rapidly to expand nuclear power generation. Countries with existing nuclear infrastructure are ramping up output to address immediate short-term energy gaps, while nations with no operational nuclear capacity are accelerating long-term nuclear development plans to insulate themselves against future fossil fuel supply shocks. Experts note that while nuclear energy cannot resolve the current energy crisis overnight, as new nuclear projects can take decades to complete for first-time nuclear nations, today’s policy commitments will permanently embed atomic power in many countries’ future energy portfolios.

    “The war has accelerated a global ‘nuclear renaissance,’ as countries seek an escape from the volatility of global fossil fuel markets,” explained Rachel Bronson, executive director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Data from the International Atomic Energy Agency underscores this growing momentum: 31 countries currently operate nuclear power plants, which generate roughly 10% of the world’s total electricity, and an additional 40 nations are either exploring nuclear technology or actively preparing to break ground on their first facilities.

    In hard-hit Asia, the shift toward nuclear power is already well underway. Across the region, where governments have turned to emergency measures from increased coal burning to discounted Russian crude imports to shore up supplies, nations with existing reactors are maximizing output from their current fleets. South Korea has boosted generation at all operational plants and fast-tracked maintenance work on five idled reactors, with restarts scheduled for May. Both Taiwan and Japan are rolling back post-Fukushima policies that shuttered large numbers of nuclear facilities after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the catastrophic Fukushima Daiichi meltdown.

    Taiwan is now launching the multi-year process of restarting two mothballed reactors, a move that requires extensive safety inspections, system upgrades and regulatory approval. In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has moved aggressively to expand nuclear power since the outbreak of the Iran war, signing a $40 billion reactor development deal with the United States, a nuclear fuel recycling agreement with France, and a new cooperation pact with Indonesia. Japan also restarted the world’s largest nuclear facility, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, in January. While the conflict has also boosted public and policy support for renewable energy, historically high electricity prices have swung Japanese public opinion firmly in favor of nuclear acceptance, according to Michiyo Miyamoto of the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Critics, however, note that renewables remain a more affordable and secure long-term solution.

    Further south in Asia, Bangladesh is rushing to commission two new reactors built by Russia’s state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom, with plans to connect 300 megawatts of capacity to the national grid by summer to ease crippling domestic gas shortages. Vietnam signed an agreement with Moscow in March to develop two Russian-designed reactors, while the Philippines – which declared a national energy emergency earlier this year – is weighing plans to activate a half-built nuclear plant constructed after the 1973 oil crisis but never brought online. “The Iran war is providing a needed push for nuclear,” said Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.

    Across Africa, the energy crisis triggered by the Iran conflict has reinvigorated long-dormant nuclear energy plans, with more than 20 of the continent’s 54 nations now advancing atomic energy projects. Global nuclear powers including the United States, Russia, China, France and South Korea have identified Africa as a key growth market for nuclear technology, and are pitching small modular reactors (SMRs) as a flexible solution to the continent’s widespread energy shortages. Unlike large conventional nuclear plants, SMRs offer a cheaper, more compact alternative that can be scaled to meet weak grid capacity.

    While proponents frame SMRs as a faster path to nuclear deployment, projects still require years of planning and regulatory work: Kenya for example, which launched its first nuclear planning phase in 2009, targets bringing an SMR online only by 2034. Even so, African leaders frame nuclear power as an urgent strategic priority. “Nuclear energy is no longer a distant aspiration for African countries; it is a strategic necessity,” said Justus Wabuyabo of Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency. Speaking at a March summit hosted by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, Rwandan President Paul Kagame predicted Africa will become “one of the most important global markets” for small modular reactors in the coming decades. SMRs are seen as a particularly strong fit for Africa, as they can deliver low-emission baseload power that matches the continent’s rapidly rising electricity demand, addresses underdeveloped national grids, and reduces overreliance on expensive imported diesel. South Africa, which hosts the continent’s only operational nuclear plants, plans to grow nuclear’s share of its energy mix from roughly 5% today to 16% by 2040, with SMRs playing a central role.

    The race to develop nuclear energy in Africa has also intensified great power competition between the United States and Russia, which are both vying for market share as leading nuclear exporters. Russia’s Rosatom already holds a dominant position, building Egypt’s first operational reactor and signing cooperation agreements with Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania and Niger covering everything from full-scale plant construction to research facilities and workforce training. The U.S., which has only secured commitments from Kenya and Ghana to join its American-led modular reactor initiative, is working to close the gap, hosting a high-level nuclear development conference in Nairobi last month alongside South Korea. “Washington is working with African nations to rapidly develop secure and safe civil nuclear reactors,” said Ryan Taugher of the U.S. State Department.

    Despite the growing momentum for nuclear expansion, critics and experts continue to highlight the significant risks that accompany the technology. Beyond the persistent threats of catastrophic meltdowns and long-term radioactive waste management, nuclear development also carries proliferation risks, as civilian nuclear programs can provide a pathway to developing nuclear weapons. Advocacy groups also note that most countries remain reliant on imported enriched uranium for nuclear generation, keeping them exposed to global supply chain volatility. “Nuclear is very risky,” said Ayumi Fukakusa of Japanese environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth Japan.

    Critics add that because nuclear projects take decades to deliver, governments should prioritize rapid expansion of renewable energy to achieve long-term energy security. Bronson also notes that nuclear plants themselves are vulnerable targets during conflict, pointing to targeted attacks on reactors during both the ongoing Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a stark reminder of this risk. Even so, Bronson acknowledged that for many developing nations facing immediate fossil fuel disruptions, the tradeoffs are clear: “Countries are now weighing those kinds of risks against the other risks, which Asia and Africa are seeing first and foremost, about what happens when gas and oil stops.”

    This reporting from the Associated Press, with contributions from correspondents based in Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo and Hanoi, is supported by private foundation grants, with the AP retaining full editorial control over all content.

  • ‘I was tortured and lost my hand’ – one student’s struggle to get an education in Nigeria

    ‘I was tortured and lost my hand’ – one student’s struggle to get an education in Nigeria

    Six years after Nigeria passed landmark anti-discrimination legislation for people living with disabilities, widespread systemic barriers continue to lock millions of citizens out of education, employment and public life, even as activists push for faster, more meaningful inclusive reform across the country.

    For 19-year-old Ovey Friday, the lifelong trauma of a childhood attack nearly cost him the educational opportunity he had worked his entire life to earn. At age 13, Friday’s stepmother falsely accused him of witchcraft and turned him over to a traditional herbalist in Nigeria’s central Nasarawa State, where he was brutally tortured. When a neighbor finally intervened and alerted police, the damage to his hands was too severe to repair. Surgeons were forced to amputate his entire left hand, and remove or permanently scar most of the fingers on his right hand, leaving him without usable thumbprints for biometric verification.

    When Friday qualified to take Nigeria’s national university entrance exam administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Jamb) two years ago, the testing system’s mandatory fingerprint scan could not recognize his damaged hands. It was only through the urgent advocacy of his guardians and disability rights activists that officials agreed to accept a toe print as a valid form of identification. Today, Friday is the first member of his family to attend university, where he studies English and literary studies, re-learning how to write and adapt to independent life on campus. Despite his traumatic past and the barriers he has faced, Friday has emerged as an example of what disabled people can achieve when given access to opportunity. “Not everyone has someone to push for them. Some people will just stop trying,” he reflected.

    Friday’s struggle is far from unique. Scarlett Eduoku, a radio presenter based in Nigeria’s northern Kano State, lost her left eye when she was just 18 months old, and she now faces constant barriers to basic digital services. Most modern facial recognition-enabled identity verification apps are unable to scan her face correctly, preventing her from completing routine tasks remotely. When she needed to upgrade her mobile SIM card from 3G to 5G, she was forced to travel across the city to her provider’s main headquarters to complete the process in person, a time-consuming and frustrating inconvenience that most Nigerians never have to navigate.

    Invisible disabilities bring their own unique set of challenges. Opeyemi Ademola, a 28-year-old project manager based in Lagos, lives with mixed hearing loss, an invisible condition that creates constant communication barriers. “People assume that if you can speak fluently, you don’t experience communication challenges,” Ademola explained. He requires intense focus to follow conversations in meetings, and crowded, noisy environments leave him completely mentally exhausted. Simple, low-cost adjustments like post-meeting written summaries and closed captions for video calls would drastically improve his ability to participate fully in the workplace, he said. “Accessibility is not about ability. It’s about support.”

    Experts estimate that more than 35 million Nigerians – roughly 15% of the country’s total population – live with some form of disability. In 2019, Nigeria’s national parliament passed landmark legislation that banned discrimination against disabled people and guaranteed equal access to public services, leading to the creation of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to advocate for disabled rights. But according to NCPWD executive secretary Ayuba Burki-Gufwan, progress on implementation has moved at a glacial pace.

    Burki-Gufwan notes that small, incremental gains have already proven how impactful policy change can be. Jumb has eliminated exam fees for disabled students and set up dedicated testing centers for people with diverse accessibility needs. At the Federal University of Lafia in Nasarawa State, officials have waived up to 75% of tuition fees for disabled students, which led to an immediate surge in disabled enrollment as hundreds of students rushed to access the opportunity they had long been denied.

    Disability advocates emphasize that true inclusion requires far more than incremental adjustments. Lagos-based special educator Chukwuemeka Chimdiebere argues that accessibility extends well beyond physical building ramps, a common afterthought in most Nigerian infrastructure. True inclusion requires sign-language interpreters in all classrooms, adaptive learning materials for students with visual impairments, specialized training for educators, and digital platforms designed from the start to accommodate diverse user needs. “Many persons with disabilities are not limited by their impairment. They are limited by systems that were never designed with them in mind,” Chimdiebere said. “Inclusion is not a favour. It is a responsibility.”

    Physical infrastructure remains one of the most persistent daily barriers for disabled Nigerians, especially for people who use wheelchairs. Abiose Falade, a 48-year-old author and wheelchair user based in Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, says disability “is part of the circle of life,” but public spaces are not built to welcome people like her. In most Nigerian cities, sidewalks are uneven, blocked by open drainage ditches, or non-existent, and accessibility-focused dropped curbs are extremely rare. Rural areas have no paved sidewalks at all, forcing wheelchair users to travel on unsafe, unpaved public roads. Most public buildings, from banks to hospitals to government offices, do not have ramps, meaning wheelchair users cannot enter without physical assistance from another person. “There’s a list of places I can go and a list I can’t,” Falade said. “When I want to go out, I take someone with me so that when people start staring, start pointing, I don’t notice. It’s easier than facing it alone.”

    Compounding these challenges is a total lack of local manufacturing for assistive devices. Every wheelchair, hearing aid and mobility aid used in Nigeria must be imported, driving up costs and making critical tools inaccessible to most low-income disabled Nigerians. “If nine out of every 10 person with disabilities requires some form of assistive device and none are locally manufactured, then we have a huge challenge on our hands,” Burki-Gufwan said.

    Disability advocates are calling for all levels of Nigerian government to set aside 1% of public budgets for accessibility initiatives and disabled rights. They acknowledge that limited public funding and competing national priorities slow progress, even for government leaders who support inclusion. Expanding accessible infrastructure and local assistive device production will require significant upfront investment, but activists stress that stronger political commitment and consistent enforcement of existing anti-discrimination laws are just as critical as increased funding.

    For Burki-Gufwan, the end goal is clear: true accessibility that leaves no one behind, in education, in employment, and in public life. For young students like Ovey Friday, that vision is already becoming a reality – one hard-won victory at a time.

  • Denis Sassou N’Guesso sworn in for another term in Republic of Congo, extending 42-year rule

    Denis Sassou N’Guesso sworn in for another term in Republic of Congo, extending 42-year rule

    On a busy Thursday in the Republic of Congo, long-serving leader Denis Sassou N’Guesso officially took office for another five-year presidential term during a well-attended inauguration ceremony held at a stadium in Kintélé, a small community located just north of the national capital Brazzaville. The venue was filled to capacity with supporters and dignitaries gathered to mark the start of his new mandate.

  • Benin court confirms Finance Minister Romauld Wadagni’s election as next president

    Benin court confirms Finance Minister Romauld Wadagni’s election as next president

    COTONOU, Benin — Benin’s highest constitutional judicial body has formalized the landslide presidential election win of the country’s long-serving Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, wrapping up the initial vote counting process for the West African nation’s weekend poll.

    The 49-year-old candidate, widely recognized as a close political protégé of outgoing two-term President Patrice Talon, secured a commanding 94.27% of the valid ballots cast across the country, according to the official declaration released by the Constitutional Court Thursday. His sole challenger, independent opposition candidate Paul Hounkpè, took just 5.73% of the total vote. Turnout for the election reached 63.57%, a figure that aligns with pre-election projections, court officials confirmed.

    Under Benin’s electoral rules, the opposition candidate now holds a five-day window to submit any formal appeals to the Constitutional Court before the body publishes the final, legally binding election results. The outcome had been widely predicted by regional political analysts for weeks, who noted that Wadagni’s unassailable lead was all but guaranteed by the full backing of Talon, who is stepping down after a decade in national leadership.

    The election has not been without controversy, however. Talon’s administration has faced repeated international and domestic criticism over accusations of systematic opposition restrictions in the lead-up to the vote. Most notably, Renaud Agbodjo, leader of the Democrats — Benin’s largest registered opposition bloc — was barred from running for failing to meet new eligibility requirements that demand parliamentary backing for presidential candidates. Opposition figures argue the regulation was explicitly crafted to exclude major challengers from the ballot, creating an uneven electoral playing field.

    As Wadagni prepares to take office, he will immediately inherit a set of pressing national security and governance challenges. Northern Benin has grappled with a growing Islamist insurgency linked to regional extremist groups, which has displaced thousands of civilians and strained the country’s security forces. In addition, just last year, a faction of military personnel carried out a failed coup attempt aimed at ousting Talon, highlighting underlying instability within the country’s security establishment that the new president will need to address.

  • Activist Kemi Seba arrested in South Africa, faces extradition to Benin

    Activist Kemi Seba arrested in South Africa, faces extradition to Benin

    PRETORIA, South Africa — Law enforcement authorities in South Africa announced Thursday the arrest of high-profile Beninese dissident Kemi Seba, who is facing extradition to his home country on charges tied to last year’s unsuccessful coup attempt against Benin’s sitting government.

    Seba, 45, whose legal birth name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, was taken into custody during a coordinated police sting operation in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital. He was arrested alongside his son, with both men facing two counts: conspiracy to commit a crime and violations of South African immigration law. The charges stem from allegations the pair plotted an irregular migration journey to Europe via neighboring Zimbabwe, authorities confirmed. A third individual accused of facilitating the plot by paying roughly 250,000 South African rand, equal to $15,000, to enable unauthorized cross-border movement is also in police custody.

    South African police confirmed the operation was carried out with direct support from Interpol, which had flagged Seba as an international fugitive wanted by Benin for crimes against the state. All three suspects made their first court appearance at Brooklyn Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where the judge scheduled the next hearing for April 20. Seba remains in pre-trial detention as South African authorities move forward with formal extradition proceedings.

    The legal pursuit of Seba traces back to December 2023, when Benin issued an international arrest warrant for the activist on charges of “incitement to rebellion.” The charge followed a viral social media video in which Seba publicly expressed support for the failed coup attempt against President Patrice Talon. In the clip, Seba incorrectly announced the coup had succeeded, hailed the attempt as “the day of liberation,” and labeled the soldiers who launched the putsch as “patriots.”

    Beyond his connection to last year’s coup attempt in Benin, Seba has built a regional profile as a vocal critic of French influence across West Africa, openly supporting a string of successful military coups in neighboring countries that brought pro-Russian military leaders to power. His long-standing anti-French rhetoric and advocacy for Russian-aligned governance in the region led to France revoking his French citizenship earlier this year in 2024.

  • A look at the South African politician sentenced to jail on gun charge who described Trump as Hitler

    A look at the South African politician sentenced to jail on gun charge who described Trump as Hitler

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Julius Malema, the firebrand leftist leader of South Africa’s populist opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been handed a five-year prison sentence Thursday for unlawful firearm use stemming from an incident at a 2018 political rally, where he fired a rifle into the air. The sentence comes amid decades of polarizing politics that have made Malema one of the most divisive figures on the African continent, and one that has even drawn high-profile international attention from former U.S. President Donald Trump.

    Malema’s career has been defined by unapologetic radicalism that has earned him fierce loyalty from his base and equally fierce condemnation from his critics. To his supporters, mostly among South Africa’s poor Black majority who still face systemic inequality decades after the end of apartheid, Malema is a champion of the marginalized, a rare politician willing to confront the lingering inequities of white minority rule and the slow pace of transformative change from the long-governing African National Congress (ANC). To his detractors, he is a provocateur whose inflammatory rhetoric stokes racial division and undermines the post-apartheid reconciliation that has held South Africa’s fragile multiracial democracy together.

    Malema first rose to national prominence as the head of the African National Congress Youth League between 2008 and 2012, when his outspoken views quickly put him at odds with the ANC’s senior leadership. Once a staunch ally of former South African President Jacob Zuma — even infamously declaring “we are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma” — Malema eventually turned on Zuma, launching public criticisms that tested the ANC’s patience past its breaking point. A series of controversial incidents culminated in his 2012 expulsion from the party, after he labeled the government of neighboring Botswana a Western puppet regime, drawing condemnation from ANC leadership.

    Throughout his early career, Malema established his signature anti-Western stance, repeatedly accusing the United States and United Kingdom of maintaining imperialist, racist attitudes toward South Africa. A 2010 incident exemplified this confrontational style: he expelled a BBC journalist from a press conference, calling the reporter a British “agent” and using abusive language, a move that drew widespread rebuke from the ANC and international press freedom groups.

    After his expulsion from the ANC, Malema founded the EFF in 2013, positioning the party as a far-left, anti-capitalist alternative to the long-governing ANC. The EFF’s core policy platform calls for radical economic restructuring, most notably the expropriation of white-owned land for redistribution to Black South Africans, who were systematically dispossessed under apartheid. Though the party has never won enough national support to enter government, taking just 10% of the vote in the 2024 national election and remaining outside the current ruling coalition, it holds parliamentary seats and has become a major disruptive force in South African politics.

    Malema, who styles himself the EFF’s “Commander in Chief,” has repeatedly drawn criticism for racially charged rhetoric. In one widely condemned speech targeting South Africa’s white minority, he remarked, “We are not calling for the slaughter of white people — at least for now,” and has also made derogatory comments about South Africans of Indian descent. He has also revived the apartheid-era chant “Kill the Boer” — a phrase targeting white South African farmers — which opponents have decried as overt hate speech.

    Malema’s inflammatory rhetoric has not just stirred domestic controversy; it has spilled over into international diplomacy, creating a rift between South Africa and the United States during the Trump administration. Trump and his allies, including South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, have seized on Malema’s rhetoric to push the unsubstantiated claim that South Africa’s Black-led government is overseeing a widespread campaign of violence against white farmers. During a high-stakes 2023 Oval Office meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, a video reel featuring Malema and the EFF was played, with Trump confronting Ramaphosa over the alleged anti-white agenda. The exchange marked a major low point in diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    Domestically, Malema and the EFF have become a consistent thorn in the side of Ramaphosa and the ANC, repeatedly disrupting parliamentary proceedings over the past decade. Multiple times, EFF lawmakers have been ejected from the national legislature for interrupting speeches and government business. The most high-profile incident came in 2023, when Malema and a group of EFF members, clad in the party’s signature red worker overalls, stormed the stage during Ramaphosa’s annual address, leading to physical scuffles with parliamentary security.

    Thursday’s sentencing stems from a 2018 incident, when Malema fired a rifle into the air at a political rally. He was formally convicted of unlawful firearm offenses in October, after a legal push from an Afrikaner minority rights group pressured prosecutors to bring the case to trial. Immediately after the sentencing, Malema’s legal team filed an appeal, and he has been released on bail while the appeal process proceeds. If his conviction is upheld on appeal, Malema will be forced to serve his five-year sentence, and will be barred from serving as a member of parliament for five years after the completion of his sentence — a outcome that would reshape South Africa’s opposition political landscape ahead of the next national election cycle.

  • BP sued in Kenya over alleged toxic waste from 1980s oil exploration

    BP sued in Kenya over alleged toxic waste from 1980s oil exploration

    NAIROBI, Kenya — In a landmark decision that opens the door for affected communities to seek accountability for decades of alleged environmental harm, Kenya’s High Court ruled Thursday that a high-stakes class action lawsuit against global energy giant BP can proceed to trial. The legal challenge centers on claims of widespread toxic contamination of northern Kenya’s drinking water from negligent waste disposal practices during 1980s oil exploration activities.

    The suit was first brought in February by 299 local petitioners to the Land and Environment Court in Isiolo, the regional administrative hub for the affected area in northern Kenya. At the heart of the allegations is the claim that waste generated during oil exploration operations, including hazardous radioactive materials, was improperly handled, resulting in severe and long-lasting damage to local ecosystems and public health.

    The exploration work at the center of the dispute was originally conducted by U.S.-based Amoco Corporation, which drilled multiple dry wells in the Chalbi Desert near the remote communities of Kargi and Kalachi in the 1980s. BP acquired all of Amoco’s global assets and operations, including its Kenyan exploration holdings, in a 1998 merger, leaving BP as the primary corporate defendant in the current case.

    Court documents detail damning allegations: contaminants including radioactive radium isotopes, arsenic, lead, and nitrates were allegedly dumped in unlined, uncovered pits rather than being disposed of according to regulated safety standards. Over decades, these toxins have leached into the region’s groundwater, the primary source of drinking water for local residents and their livestock. The petition claims this contamination has directly caused the death or illness of hundreds of local people and thousands of area animals. More than 500 resident deaths are linked to cancers and other chronic conditions tied to exposure to heavy metals and carcinogens in the contaminated water supply.

    Beyond the corporate defendant, the lawsuit also names multiple Kenyan national government agencies — including the ministries and regulatory bodies overseeing environment, water resources, mining, and public health — accusing them of negligence for failing to intervene and address the contamination even after receiving clear evidence of the public health risk.

    BP has not issued any public statement addressing the allegations, and did not respond to requests for comment from media ahead of the court’s ruling. The case is scheduled to resume for further proceedings in May.

    This reporting, part of the Associated Press’ global climate and environmental coverage, receives financial support from multiple private philanthropic foundations. The AP maintains full editorial independence over all its reporting, and public details of its partnership standards, funding sources, and covered areas are available on AP.org.

  • World Athletics rejects 11 athlete transfers to Turkey

    World Athletics rejects 11 athlete transfers to Turkey

    Global track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, has formally rejected nationality transfer applications from 11 top-tier athletes seeking to compete for Turkey, in a high-profile decision that exposes controversy over state-sponsored athlete recruitment in international sport.

    Among the high-profile names turned away are Brigid Kosgei, the former women’s marathon world record holder who claimed Olympic silver for Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and Roje Stona, the Jamaican athlete who shocked the field to win men’s discus gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The cohort of applicants also includes four other Kenyan athletes: Catherine Relin Amanang’ole, Brian Kibor, Ronald Kwemoi and Nelvin Jepkemboi; three additional Jamaican competitors: Rajindra Campbell, Jaydon Hibbert and Wayne Pinnock; Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili; and Russian athlete Sophia Yakushina.

    In its official statement on the ruling, World Athletics argued that all 11 applications formed part of a coordinated, government-backed recruitment strategy designed by Turkey to attract elite foreign athletes to the country with highly lucrative financial contracts. The transfers were organized through a club fully owned and funded by the Turkish government, with the explicit goal of having these athletes represent Turkey at major international competitions, most notably the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

    The decision follows a lackluster performance for Turkey at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the country secured eight total medals but failed to claim a single gold medal, a outcome widely interpreted as pushing Turkish authorities to accelerate efforts to recruit established foreign talent. World Athletics’ review panel, which assessed all 11 applications together due to their shared structural characteristics, ruled that approving the transfers would directly undermine the core principles and regulatory objectives of the organization’s rules on athlete eligibility and nationality transfers.

    “Such an approach is inconsistent with the core principles of the regulations,” the panel concluded in its final ruling. As a result of the decision, none of the 11 athletes are currently eligible to represent Turkey in national team competitions or any other relevant international track and field events, leaving their future competitive careers in limbo as they weigh potential next steps.