Continued……. Chief among these allies is RSF weapons supplier the United Arab Emirates (which London has been offering diplomatic cover for), with Kenya and Chad also among the offending invitees.

Swipe through for a breakdown of why Sudan is indignant.

Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg815277g5o

https://sudantribune.com/article298961/

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/uk-tries-to-block-critics-of-uae-s-weapon-supply-to-sudan-wa

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-condemns-uk-excluding-it-summit-while-including-uae

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/15/uk-foreign-office-holding-secret-talks-with-sudans-rsf-paramilitary-group

https://www.geeska.com/en/chads-role-sudans-civil-war

https://www.geeska.com/en/chads-role-sudans-civil-war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w1nzpg5dgo

NIGER SAYS ‘GOODBYE FRENCH, HELLO HAUSA!’

Niger has broken free from another colonial chain - the French language - by adopting Hausa as the country’s new national idiom. Hausa is indigenous to, and widely spoken in, West Africa. Along with fellow Alliance of Sahel States members Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger also recently ditched the body representing La Francophonie - i.e., the ‘French speaking’ world (or rather, those parts of the world that had French imposed on them by colonial France). Hausa is one of the most commonly spoken African languages. More Nigerians speak Hausa than French. In 2012, only 20% of Nigerians were literate in French. Switching to Hausa is a powerful affirmation of African heritage, identity and sovereignty.

Sources

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/niger-downgrades-french-as-it-distances-from-its-colonial-past-with-a-new-official/xl6ldbr

https://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/odsef_rr_alphab_niger_2015_final2.pdf

Continued……Some have even claimed that the murder was the work of ANC leaders who were clandestinely working for the apartheid intelligence establishment.

One of the ANC leaders around whom suspicions linger is the country’s former president, Jacob Zuma - who headed the ANC intelligence wing during the liberation struggle. Certain ANC figures have insinuated that he could have been a regime collaborator and, conceivably, part of a plot by the establishment to kill Hani, whom they saw as uncompromising.

Reports that Zuma paid a prison visit to Derby-Lewis have only intensified speculation that the veteran intelligence supremo could have had prior links to the assassin’s accomplice, and to Waluś. Zuma’s supporters, however, dismiss this allegation as the work of his enemies in the ANC, whom they say are the ones who actually worked for the apartheid intelligence apparatus.

Sources

https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/derby-lewis-complains-about-zuma-visit-report-285941
https://x.com/Newzroom405/status/1883971168853532696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1883971168853532696%7Ctwgr%5E75c36f83ef95d9f81b03ddafbb2b8631d3cb73c8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbriefly.co.za%2Fpolitics%2F208558-mk-party-jacob-zuma-obliged-explain-meeting-clive-derby-lewis-mzansi-suspicious%2F
https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/anc-unaware-of-zuma-visits-to-hanis-killer-286220
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/zuma-promised-hani-killers-pardon-report/

https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/zuma-broke-his-promise-to-hani-murderers-witness-20250131

https://www.africaninsider.com/politics/zuma-allegedly-promised-pardons-to-chris-hanis-killers-report/
https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1997/9711/s971107a.htm
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/jacob-zuma-was-on-robben-island-as-an-agent-of-enemy-forces-mbeki/
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/mbalula-warned-of-apartheid-era-spies-still-operating-within-anc/

KENYAN EX-VP ALLEGES RUTO’S HAND IN SUDAN WAR

Kenya’s former vice president, Rigathi Gachagua, who was ousted from his position following impeachment in October 2024, has made explosive claims that President William Ruto is implicated in the ongoing two-year proxy war in Sudan.

Gachagua asserts that, in 2023, Ruto pressured him to host Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, the head of the United Arab Emirates-supported paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Kenya. This visit occurred on 3 January 2024, at State House in Nairobi, which sparked condemnation from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) government, then located in Port Sudan, leading to the recall of Sudan’s ambassador.

Once a key member of Ruto’s administration, Gachagua has since become a vocal critic. His fallout with Ruto has turned him into a source of much fodder for political discourse thanks to his blowing the whistle on issues bedevilling the country.

Continued……Ruto has been criticised for hosting the RSF in Nairobi, meeting its leaders and recently allowing them to hold a signing ceremony for a parallel government in parts of Sudan they control.

Gachagua has also alleged that the RSF is involved in gold smuggling through Nairobi to the UAE, using the proceeds to fund weapons purchases.

In January 2024, a UN expert panel reported ‘credible’ claims that the UAE was supplying military equipment to the RSF via an airstrip in Chad.

The proxy war in Sudan has led to the displacement of 12.9-million people and left nearly 25 million facing acute hunger, according to the UN. In May 2024, US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello indicated that up to 150,000 people may have died in the first year of conflict, with the actual number likely higher due to the collapse of the healthcare system, which has made accurate reporting difficult.

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/18/kenya-deputy-president-rigathi-gachaguas-impeachment-why-it-matters

https://apnews.com/article/kenya-sudan-rsf-9d80a4306c39c2d8936903a0e241b07f

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j9j72lvdvo

https://sudantribune.com/article299377/

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250222-sudan-recalls-ambassador-from-kenya-as-nairobi-hosts-meeting-with-rivals-rsf

https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/sudan-s-booming-wartime-gold-trade-flows-through-the-uae

Continued……Sources

https://www.wakatsera.com/bobo-dioulasso-le-constructeur-du-plus-grand-chu-du-burkina-designe/

www.leconomistedufaso.com/2024/07/29/sante-la-chine-au-chevet-de-lhopital-de-tengandogo/

https://tacticsinstitute.com/analysis/china-strengthens-military-ties-with-niger-amid-western-withdrawal/

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/niger-china-sign-crude-oil-mou-worth-400-mln-says-niger-state-tv-2024-04-13/

https://www.sidwaya.info/cooperation-bilaterale-mali-chine-les-presidents-goita-et-jinping-sengagent-a-porter-le-partenariat-a-un-niveau-strategique/

https://thesudantimes.com/africa/niger-expels-chinese-oil-executives-revokes-hotel-license/

https://apanews.net/mali-niger-tighten-regulations-on-chinese-mining-and-oil-companies/

THE UPC: CAMEROON’S TRAGIC INDEPENDENCE HEROES

On 10 April 1948, courageous Cameroonian workers and trade unionists came together in the Chez Sierra bar in Bassa to found the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, a revolutionary political party that would fight for Cameroon’s total independence.

The party cadres demonstrated immense commitment to the revolutionary struggle and the enduring fight for pan-African unity. The UPC fought and died for the independence and unity of Cameroon, as well as that of Africa - but they paid a terrible price.

In 1955, after the violent repression of protests led to an anti-colonial uprising, the UPC was outlawed in Cameroon. This year often marks the start of the Cameroon War. By 1960, president Ahmadou Ahidjo - backed by France - was waging a genocidal war against not just the UPC but also the Bamiléké people, among whom the party enjoyed significant support.

Continued……. The UPC organised the peoples of Cameroon and fought to keep the country together, even across linguistic lines, despite the brutal repression and violence.

While the Cameroonian War of Independence is often referred to as the ‘Forgotten War’ because the more successful Algerian Revolution overshadowed it at the time, the history of this struggle continues to shape Cameroon in the present.

Since independence in 1960 and the elimination of the UPC, a single political party and only two presidents have ruled the country: Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya.

Despite many setbacks, the UPC worked tirelessly to build relationships with other pan-African organisations and leaders, from Kwame Nkrumah to Patrice Lumumba and Ahmed Ben Bella. Though not yet achieved, their objective of a unified and liberated Africa continues to inspire us in the ongoing struggle.

Today, as Cameroon reflects on its independence, it is crucial to rekindle the revolutionary spirit of the UPC and the broader pan-African movement. With this milestone, let us honour the legacy of the country’s revolutionaries by working toward the realisation of their dreams: a Cameroon and an Africa that is truly free.

Sources

https://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroon-upc-is-not-dead-leaders-insist-198654.html
https://marxist.com/the-crimes-of-french-imperialism-in-cameroon.htm
https://time.com/archive/6647852/foreign-news-appointment-in-geneva/
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/in-yaounde-macron-recalls-massacres-and-abuses-of-de-gaulle-and-foccart/2647588
https://jacobin.com/2016/12/cameroon-france-colonialism-war-resistance

South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) and Patriotic Alliance (PA) members of parliament have reportedly embarked on a secret mission to Israel. Publicly available details are scanty, but the trip appeared to include a visit to Israeli president, Isaac Herzog. Given the current frosty state of relations between Tel Aviv and Pretoria, this trip is likely to further strain relations within the already tense Government of National Unity (GNU) where the DA and the pro-Palestine African National Congress (ANC) are the largest parties.

In an 11-minute Facebook video recorded in Israel and posted on around 6 April 2025, PA MP Ashley Sauls told his followers: “We’ve already met a governor; we’re going to meet the president. We’re not meeting the prime minister, Netanyahu, but we will meet the president, so keep your fingers crossed.”

Continued……. The delegation included PA MPs Ashley Sauls and Millicent Mathopa, as well as DA MPs Nicholas Myburgh and Bridget Masango. Western Cape Provincial Parliament MP Brett Herron from the GOOD Party brought the trip to light, suggesting in a statement on Wednesday that the entire trip was deliberately shrouded in secrecy. In his statement, Brett said, “Details of the South African visit — such as who paid, who the delegation has met, its political objectives, whether the South African government or Parliament were informed and the date of its return — are unknown.”

The DA and PA have historically maintained a consistently pro-Israel stance. On South Africa’s g*enocide case against Israel at the ICJ, both parties condemned ANC-led government’s decision to drag Tel Aviv to court. The DA described the case as “one-sided and potentially damaging to South Africa’s international credibility” while the PA vocally opposed the case, calling it “misguided and politically motivated.”

In November 2023, the country’s National Assembly adopted a motion calling for the government to “suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire.

Sources

https://forgood.org.za/da-and-pa-parliamentarians-secret-frolic-to-israel/

https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/national-assembly-adopts-motion-suspend-diplomatic-relations-israel

IN GAZA: A HAIRCUT A DAY TAKES THE SADNESS AWAY

In the heart of occupied Gaza, during a time of immense loss, a simple gesture is cutting through the despair—literally.

A youth-led group, @we.aregaza, in collaboration with Gaza’s paracycling team @gazasunbirds, set up a pop-up barbershop for displaced children.

Amidst the rubble, laughter returned—if only for a moment—as youngsters lined up for fresh haircuts, a rare treat that brought back smiles and pockets of joy.

As of early February, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that Israel’s military campaign had k*lled at least 61,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—since the escalation began on October 7, 2023. By July 2024, the British medical journal The Lancet projected the true death toll could exceed 186,000.

Continued……. These staggering numbers underscore the profound toll on Gaza’s children who have survived, but lost homes, families and bright futures. In the face of unimaginable trauma, small acts of care, like a fresh haircut, carry a powerful message: You are seen and you are loved.

Video credit: @gazasunbirds (IG)

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/8/gaza-toll-could-exceed-186000-lancet-study-says

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129722

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/quotable/2025/2/3/qt-mohamad-elmasry-030225