🔅 The Fashion Industry Is Taking Advantage of African Models, South Africa Deals with Hamas
Plus, Terror Attack in Uganda Kills Newlyweds, Sudan's Burning Villages Shows Evidence of Ethnic Cleansing
Photo of the day
River in the Tarangire reserve in Tanzania
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Kenya's Debt Dilemma: Kenya is facing a bit of a financial pickle. They owe $2 billion in international debt by June and are unsure how to repay it. Options on the table include borrowing from multilateral and bilateral lenders or dipping into their reserves.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
Fashion's Refugee Runway: How the Industry is Taking Advantage of Models from Kakuma
London Fashion Week may seem glamorous and exciting, but for Achol Malual Jau, a South Sudanese model, it was a bittersweet experience. She strutted her stuff on the catwalk in a gold dress, but when she returned to her refugee camp in Kenya, she had no money to show for it. A Sunday Times investigation reveals that top fashion labels use models recruited from the Kakuma refugee camp—home to 280,000 people displaced by civil and tribal warfare in South Sudan. While some models have had varying degrees of success in Europe and beyond, many have returned to the camp with nothing. Even worse, some come back saddled with debt. One model signed a contract she barely understood and was told she owed her agency over €2,000. The fashion industry may claim that recruiting from Kakuma gives refugees a better chance in life and makes the catwalk more diverse, but there are concerns about the welfare of these models.
South Africa and Hamas: A Call for Aid or Trouble?
South Africa's foreign minister chatted with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh about getting aid into Gaza and other Palestinian territories. But don't get it confused—this doesn't mean South Africa is team Hamas: The country has long supported Palestinian rights, comparing their struggle to their own fight against apartheid. President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson clarified that the call doesn't mean South Africa has a bilateral agreement with Hamas, and only wants to provide aid to Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after it attacked and killed 1,300 people in Israel on October 7th. Its response — a series of air strikes in Gaza — has led to the deaths of over 2,800 Palestinians.
Sudan's Burning Villages: Evidence of Ethnic Cleansing
The British government is calling out Sudan for ethnic cleansing in the western region of Darfur. Satellite and social media data have revealed that at least 68 villages have been set on fire, some completely wiped out, since fighting broke out between two rival military factions in April. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are pointing fingers at each other. Still, the evidence is clear: militias affiliated with the RSF have been torching villages and targeting non-Arab groups like the Massalit. It’s a chilling reminder of the violence that erupted in Darfur 20 years ago when hundreds of thousands of people were killed in ethnic conflict. In that instance, non-Arabs fought with a militia called the Janjaweed, which has since grown into the RSF.
Guinea-Bissau's Blackout Due to Unpaid Debt
Imagine an electricity company cutting off your power for not paying your bill. Now imagine that on a much larger scale—like, for an entire capital city. That’s what happened in Guinea-Bissau this week when a Turkish company called Karpowership stopped supplying electricity to Bissau due to an unpaid debt of $17 million. The government is scrambling to pay off $15 million of the debt within 15 days, but in the meantime, the city remains in the dark. This isn’t the first time Karpowership has pulled the plug on a country—they did the same thing in Sierra Leone in September because of a $40 million debt.
Newlyweds Killed in Uganda National Park
A romantic honeymoon in Uganda turned deadly for a British and South African couple and their Ugandan guide, who were killed in a "cowardly terrorist attack" at a national park. The Ugandan police are pursuing members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, who are suspected of the attack. The shadowy ADF began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in the lawless eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo since the late 1990s. It pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in mid-2019 and is accused of killing thousands of villagers in frequent raids over the past decade. Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, expressed his condolences on X, and the UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for the country.
Food for Thought
"The water of the river flows on without waiting for the thirsty man."
— Kenyan Proverb