🔅 Tanzania’s President Lifts Six-Year Ban on Opposition Rallies
Today’s Issue: Mozambique welcomed to the UN Security Council, Botswana's ex-President Ian Khama is charged with the illegal possession of firearms, and the IMF warns of a global recession.... ☕
Photo of the day: Malawi
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A Global Recession: According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one-third of the global economy will be in recession this year. This is despite the fact that China, the world’s second-largest economy, has taken steps to re-open its economy since January. The IMF indicates that Europe is likely to enter recession, with the US on the verge of one. Higher interest rates in the US will result in currencies losing value against the mighty dollar — for Africa, that means less cash to pay for essential imports.
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POLITICS
Tanzania’s President Lifts Six-Year Ban on Opposition Rallies
What’s the story?
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan is ready to let the people speak. Hassan announced on Tuesday that she’s lifting a ban on political rallies imposed by her predecessor John Magufuli, who earned the nickname “The Bulldozer” for his curbing of free speech and his targeting of dissidents.
Amongst other things during his time in office, Magufuli forced bloggers, social media influencers, and online platforms to apply for a licence and pay a one-time fee of $930 to keep their sites up.
So what is the opposition allowed to do now?
Hassan had already made some conciliatory moves to the opposition over the past few months—including lifting a ban on four newspapers and meeting with an exiled opposition leader.
But now, political parties are allowed to hold rallies, as long as they follow the rules, notably that authorities are informed before each rally is held. Security will evaluate the request, and won’t allow the rally if they believe there is any “threat”.
But it’s not all sunshine and roses. Critics have previously branded Hassan a “dictator” and have raised questions about her commitment to political and media freedoms. A newspaper owned by the ruling party was suspended for publishing a story saying she wouldn’t run for office in 2025, and an opposition leader was detained for seven months before a court order freed him.
Nevertheless, it looks like Tanzania’s political parties can return to what they do best—talking, debating, and rallying.
OTHER HEADLINES
🇲🇿🇺🇳 Move over, Kenya—it’s Mozambique’s turn to make a splash at the UN Security Council. On Tuesday, the African country was officially welcomed as a non-permanent member replacing Kenya for the next two years. The country’s ambassador, Pedro Comissário, promised it would prioritise tackling terrorism. Mozambique has been dealing with a nasty Islamist insurgency in its Cabo Delgado province for the past five years. The conflict has displaced over one million people and killed around 4,000 others. The country also wants to push for reforms at the Security Council to address “African concerns” and to reflect the fact that there is no permanent African member.
🇸🇳 The Dakar court has just convicted two lawmakers of assaulting a pregnant colleague during a heated parliamentary session. The brawl began when lawmaker Massata Samb of the opposition Party for Unity and Rally (PUR) slapped his pregnant colleague Amy Ndiaye Gniby of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition in the face. In response, Gniby threw a chair at Samb, and then the room went wild with shoving, kicking, and chaos. This week, Samb and his buddy Amadou Niang were sentenced to six months and a hefty fine. The fight has added fuel to the political tensions that have been simmering in Senegal over President Macky Sall’s potential third-term bid.
🇧🇫 The France-Burkina Faso relationship is going south in a hurry. France’s foreign ministry recently confirmed that it had received a letter from Burkina Faso’s transitional authorities requesting the removal of France’s ambassador from the country—a move that the ministry called “not standard practice.” The French embassy in Ouagadougou is tight-lipped about the ambassador’s current whereabouts. It’s not hard to see why tensions are rising. Protests have been breaking out in Burkina Faso over France’s perceived failure to help tackle an Islamist insurgency spreading in the region. The protests have become increasingly heated, with mobs targeting the French embassy, cultural centre, and military base. Only last week, the bodies of 28 men killed by gunfire were found in the northwestern Burkina Faso town of Nouna.
🇧🇼 Ex-President of Botswana Ian Khama’s got a warrant for his arrest. He’s being charged with illegal possession of firearms, which he denies. The former president’s been in South Africa for about a year since he fell out with his hand-picked successor, President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama claims the warrant is just a way for Masisi to target him ahead of the 2024 general elections. Botswana hasn’t asked South Africa to extradite Khama yet. Khama, the son of Botswana’s first President, Seretse Khama, served two five-year terms as president before quitting the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in 2019 and becoming the patron of the splinter Botswana Patriotic Front.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“He that has never traveled thinks that his mother is the only good cook in the world.”
— Kenyan Proverb.