🔅 Colonial-era Senegalese riflemen granted pension rights
Today’s Issue: Nigeria single-handedly boosts OPEC's fortunes, Cameroon's attempts to combat football age frauds backfires, and how Zambia's president became the subject of Zambian ridicule.... ☕
The poll results are in and it what close. You voted for the newsletter to have 1 long write-up alongside shorter pieces, instead of all short piece. Thanks for your contribution! 👇
Photo of the day: Preparing of traditional tea in the village of Maden, Mauritania
Markets — Year to Date:
🔻 Nigerian SE: 51,222.34 (-0.06%)
🔺 Johannesburg SE: 76,858.94 (+5.22%)
— Ghana SE: 2,443.91 (0.00%)
🔺 Nairobi SE: 126.85 (+0.49%)
🔺 US S&P 500: 3,893.86 (+1.82%)
🔺 Shanghai Composite: 3,157.64 (+0.07%)
Kenya: Kenya Airways will have to fly the unfriendly skies for a bit longer: The Nairobi Securities Exchange has suspended trading in its shares for yet another year. The airline, owned by the government, Air France-KLM, and private owners, has been struggling to stay afloat since the pandemic and the government is considering selling its entire stake in the airline.
Nigeria: OPEC has the Niger River delta region to thank for its increased crude oil production last month. That’s because Nigeria boosted its output by 150,000 barrels a day. How did they do it? By cracking down on oil theft with the help of… former warlord Government Ekpemupolo’s security companies, which the government hired to protect the oil.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
COLONIALISM
Senegalese riflemen who fought for colonial France granted pension rights.
What’s the story?
The French government has done an about-face on the pension rights of the “tirailleurs Sénégalais”—a colonial-era infantry corps of African soldiers who fought in French wars worldwide.
After a long campaign, the former tirailleurs won’t have to spend at least six months each year in France to be eligible for their pensions, allowing them to spend their final days with their families back in Africa.
Isn’t this a little too late?
Some think so. The youngest tirailleur is 90, and many have already died alone, separate from their families and loved ones in Africa.
Mamadou Lamine Thiam, whose father fought during Algeria’s war of independence and passed away in 2015, said, “many soldiers died, they didn’t get this opportunity despite the role they played in liberating France.”
Still, 37 former tirailleurs are alive and living in France, and this decision is a relief for those who remain. As Aïssata Seck, who campaigns for the tirailleurs, said, “we have finally won. The former tirailleurs will be able to see their lives in their countries of origin.”
The head of the National Office for Veterans and Victims of War in Senegal said the decision was overdue and noted that many veterans had died without ever seeing their families again.
You’ll soon be able to learn a lot more about the “tirailleurs”:
It is the subject of the new movie “Tirailleurs,” starring Jurassic World’s Omar Sy.
The film will be a timely reminder of the sacrifices made by African soldiers on French battlefields in World War I.
OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇨🇲 Samuel Eto’o, President of Cameroon’s football governing body, Fecafoot, has taken it upon himself to end the age cheating scandals tarnishing the country’s football reputation. Eto’o has ordered MRI screenings for Cameroon’s Under-17s, but somehow, the tests have backfired: a whopping 32 players failed, leaving the team scrambling for replacements before the African Cup of Nations qualifiers next month. In an effort to be fair, Eto’o wants to make sure that only players of the right age get the chance to play, and so far, the public is behind him. The scans work by looking at the wrist bone structure to see how developed it is.
🇰🇪 Police in Kenya are investigating the death of Edwin Chiloba, an LGBTQ activist whose body was stuffed in a metal box on the road in Uasin Gishu County. They said they were tipped off by a motorcycle taxi operator who reported seeing the box being dumped by a vehicle with no license plates. Chiloba has been attacked and assaulted in the past for his activism. This incident is just the latest example of the struggles faced by LGBTQ people in Kenya, where same-sex relationships are illegal.
🇨🇲 The EU has banned seafood imports from Cameroon and labelled it as “non-cooperating” in the fight against illegal fishing. Cameroon is one of four non-EU countries on the Commission’s “red card” list. The EU says it has zero tolerance for illegal fishing, which is estimated at 15% of the world’s total catch — worth between 10 billion and 20 billion euros annually.
🇿🇲 A few weeks ago, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema was confidently boasting that his government had ended electricity blackouts. Fast-forward to this week, and Zambians are up in arms over the country’s power utility announcing indefinite blackouts of up to 12 hours daily. The video of Hichilema’s speech has been making the rounds on WhatsApp, and the public outcry has forced the president to backpedal. The president says that the government is “doing everything” to find immediate and long-term solutions and that they’ll be “unlocking domestic rigidities that affect economic growth”.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it chased it.”
— South African Proverb.
Like Baobab?
Don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with friends and colleagues using the one-click button below:
Otherwise, lest us know how we’re doing by replying to this email.