🔅 The Release of Rusesabagina: Hero of 'Hotel Rwanda'
Plus: DRC's Bemba — who was formerly detained for war crimes — is now Defence Minister, Nigeria's Ariline Money Woes, Gabon's Elephants are on the Run, Chad Gets Tough on Big oil, And much more... ☕
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Argentina's Inflation is No Joke: The price of many consumer goods in Argentina has more than doubled since 2022, and the country’s inflation rate has shot up past 100% for the first time since the end of hyperinflation in the early 90s. As if things weren’t bad enough, the food and drink sectors saw a 9.8% increase in February. Beef prices went up by almost 20% in the space of a month due to weather conditions and a prolonged heatwave. In response, the Argentinian government has tried to cap prices, but divisions in the country’s economic policy have hampered its efforts.
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POLITICS
The Release of Rusesabagina: Hero of 'Hotel Rwanda'
Paul Rusesabagina, the man the 2004 film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ was based on, was released from a Rwandan prison on Friday:
He was sentenced in September 2021 to 25 years due to his ties to a group opposed to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
How did he get out?
Rusesabagina was accompanied by a US embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in Kigali late on Friday.
His release was due to the Rwandan government commuting his sentence, with US President Joe Biden sending out a statement to welcome the news.
The US had designated him as “wrongly detained” partly because of what it called a lack of guarantees of a fair trial.
The US also made interventions, with State Secretary Antony Blinken meeting Kagame during a visit to Kigali in August.
Why was he released?
Rwanda and the US want to reset the relationship; the Rwandan government acknowledged a desire to “reset US-Rwanda relationship”, and the US congressional aide noted that this case “was not going to go away”.
Rusesabagina, who had been a vocal critic of Kagame, will remain in Rwanda for a couple of days before travelling to Doha and then to the United States.
What had Rusesabagina done exactly?
Rusesabagina had acknowledged having a leadership role in an opposition group, the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change. He denied responsibility for attacks carried out in Rwanda by its armed wing, the Forces for National Liberation (FLN).
The 2004 film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ portrayed him saving more than 1,000 refugees, including his family, during the genocide in 1994 by sheltering them in the besieged hotel he managed in Kigali.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇨🇩 DRC's President Tshisekedi Shuffles the Deck | In a surprise move, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has gone all-in with a major government reshuffle, appointing two political heavyweights to key positions. He tapped former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was detained for over ten years for war crimes, as the country's Defence Minister. Meanwhile, his former Chief of Staff, Vital Kamerhe, who was released from prison in Dec. 2021 following an embezzlement conviction, was made Economy Minister. While Tshisekedi's picks bring a lot of political clout to the government, experts have noted that neither Bemba nor Kamerhe has much expertise in their respective ministries.
🇳🇬 Nigeria's Money Woes for Airlines | Nigerian airlines have had to take a seat and wait for their money to come in from ticket sales. The country is facing a severe dollar shortage, and with it, a total of $743 million that's owed to international carriers. The government has promised to release the money, and it looks like Emirates airlines is already seeing some of its funds come in: President Buhari ordered the Central Bank to increase the amount of foreign currency allocated to Emirates after they suspended flights to and from Nigeria. This money shortage could be a sign of a bigger issue though—Nigeria’s oil production and export have taken a hit due to theft and underinvestment, which means the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner isn’t coming in like it used to.
🇬🇦 Elephants on the Run | It was supposed to be a safe haven, but it wasn’t enough. The tropical rainforest of Minkébé National Park in Gabon had kept its elephant population safe from poachers—until now. According to a study published in February in Current Biology, poachers have killed over 25,000 of the park’s elephants since 2004—that’s 80 per cent of the population. The authors of the study took a novel approach to the tally: counting the number of elephant poo piles. Sure, it sounds a bit goofy, but the poop counts were validated by mathematical models and the results were pretty clear: The closer to the border with Cameroon, the fewer elephant droppings. With a population 15 times larger than Gabon’s, Cameroon is much poorer—and that poverty drives the poaching.
🇹🇩 Chad Gets Tough on Big Oil | In a move that’s sure to ruffle some feathers, Chad has nationalised the assets of Exxon Mobil, including a 40% stake in its Doba oil project. The West African nation had warned of such a move after Exxon sold its assets to London-listed Savannah Energy in a $407m deal. Exxon’s assets included the more than 1,000km Chad-Cameroon pipeline and the country’s Doba oil project, which produces 28,000 barrels of oil per day. Savannah Energy said it plans to pursue all its legal rights to contest Chad’s decision.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“The water of the river flows on without waiting for the thirsty man.”
— Kenyan Proverb.