NEITHER TRUMP NOR HARRIS GOOD FOR AFRICANS

With polling underway in the US, the Black vote could prove decisive. Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to woo our brothers and sisters in America, in a race that’s billed to be one of the tightest yet. Unfortunately, Black voters face a conundrum, as neither party really has their interests at heart.

While Trump is openly racist, Harris is widely seen as part of the imperalist establishment. She’s been compared to Obama: the Black vote was crucial to his first victory, yet he deeply disappointed many by prioritising bailouts for the banks that caused the 2008 financial crisis over support for the hardest-hit (including Black) communities.

Topics such as reparations and the prison-industrial complex have gone largely unaddressed in this cycle of electioneering.

Continued.....For Africa, too, there’s little optimism about either outcome in the 2024 US presidential race. Red and blue administrations alike have beefed up America’s military presence on our continent. The argument that Uncle Sam is providing essential security is for the birds, as stats show terrorism has only spiked in places like the Sahel, where America’s intervened.

Whatever happens on 5 November, it will be business as usual in US-Africa relations, and for the oppressors of the stateside diaspora.

SOurces:
Two party duopoly
https://secondratedemocracy.com/the-two-party-duopoly/

How Obama sold out African Americans
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/how-barack-obama-failed-black-americans/511358/

Kamala Cheney endorsement
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/06/dick-cheney-vote-kamala-harris-liz-cheney-00177784

Benin to send cops to Haiti
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/benin-offers-2000-troops-haiti-force-us-ambassador-2024-02-26/

Ghana fearmongering about Russians in Burkina
https://www.ft.com/content/8ff6b17e-a782-4345-9f0f-853d037fe63c

Terrorism getting worse despite Western presence
https://theintercept.com/2023/04/02/us-military-counterterrorism-niger/

African debt and the share owed to multilateral institutions like World Bank
https://data.one.org/topics/african-debt/

PROTESTERS SEIZE TRUCKS OVER MOZAMBIQUE'S ELECTION

Protesters reportedly seized trucks on the busy N4 highway in Mozambique, bringing traffic to a standstill as tension continues to run high over the disputed 9 October elections in which the election body declared ruling-party candidate Daniel Chapo the winner.

That is among many feats protesters have reportedly undertaken.

The running battles between protesters and security forces have led the latter to k*ll at least 11 people, according to Human Rights Watch.

Continued........According to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Chapo of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) amassed 70.6 per cent of votes, beating his closest challenger, Venancio Mondlane, who garnered 20 per cent.

However, Mondlane, who ran on the ticket of the Partido Optimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique (PODEMOS or Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique in English) has rejected the results, saying they are fraudulent, asking his supporters to take to the streets in protest.

Demonstrations have been held in most parts of the country nearly daily, bringing business to a standstill, especially in the major urban centres.

SOURCES:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/10/29/mozambique-post-election-protests-violently-repressed

https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-elections-mondlane-protesters-stirred-to-vandalism-violence-theft-minister-tells-diplomats-270069/

https://www.voanews.com/a/clashes-in-mozambique-as-police-disperse-election-protests/7848911.html

https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambican-protesters-blockade-main-road-link-with-south-africa-bloomberg-270067/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/24/mozambique-ruling-party-declared-winner-of-election-amid-fraud-claims
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gunmen-kill-two-mozambique-opposition-figures-ahead-election-protests-2024-10-19/
https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241104-mozambique-opposition-chief-says-he-escaped-assassination-attempt

REMINDING AMBER ROSE OF TRUMP'S RACISM

Former President Trump has declared victory and is set to be the next US president, securing a second term nearly four years after he left Washington. Regardless of who occupies the White House, no US presidential candidate seemed to have a bonafide or even hint of a Black People's Agenda. However, in the run-up to the election at the Republican National Convention, American TV personality Amber Rose spoke in support of Trump's bid. Her mind-boggling speech claimed that Trump is not a racist and will save America's new generation of babies! Well, don't take her word for it. During his previous presidential term, Trump was quoted referring to Haiti and African countries as ‘sh*thole countries,’ he claimed that Haitian immigrants ‘all have AIDS' and that Nigerian immigrants should 'go back to their huts.’ More recently, during a televised debate, he referred to labour-intensive, low-wage gigs as 'Black jobs.'

Continued......African Stream's Ahmed Ghoneim (@ahmed.ghoneim.official) has a reality check for Amber Rose in this bumper edition of Africa in 90. He runs through a host of cases that leave little doubt that Donald is America's racist-in-chief.

TRUMP NOT SORRY FOR WANTING INNOCENT BLACK TEENS DEAD

All indicators show that Donald Trump is set to return to the White House for a second stint in January of next year after emerging victorious over his Democrat rival Kamala Harris in the 5 November elections.

Trump gave a victory speech from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after projections indicated that he was on course to win the critical battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Because of how the outgoing Joe Biden administration has treated people in the Global South - from enabling Israeli war crimes in Palestine, to placing unilateral sanctions on progressive African leaders, to curtailing pan-African independent media outlets such as our own - many might be tempted to celebrate the Trump victory over the Democrats.

However, the reality is that Trump is no better.

Continued.....The businessman-cum-politician is known for his controversial statements, and Africans, in particular, have been on the receiving end of some of Trump's most derogatory vitriol - for example, his branding Haiti and African nations 'sh*thole countries.' He's pledged to curb immigration from countries he deems beneath America's dignity.

In this clip, we get a taste of Trump's deep disrespect for and devaluation of Black lives. You hear him expressing hate for a group Black and Latino teenagers - the so-called Central Park Five - who were falsely accused of assault and rape in 1989. At the time, he took out full-page ads in several newspapers to advocate for the death penalty - in the hope that it would be applied to them. The accused each served between five and thirteen years after a jury convicted them, based on a confession they said was obtained through coercion by the police - before being exonerated in 2002 when the actual attacker confessed. His DNA matched that found at the crime scene.

However, despite the confession and DNA evidence clearing the Five of the crime, Trump still insists that they were guilty and that New York City's 2014 decision to pay them $41 million to settle their case for wrongful imprisonment was a 'disgrace.' In 2019, when asked if he would be willing to apologise to the men for calling for their execution, Trump said he would not do that.

It is not hard to guess why Trump was so determined to label the men guilty despite the legal system (ultimately) saying otherwise.

This is the mentality that Trump will take with him to the White House and highlights why we stated that we had no horse in this presidential race months ago, as none of the two parties have our people's best interests at heart.

The US portrays itself as the most democratic nation in the world, placing itself on a pedestal as the supreme example for the rest of the world to emulate. It acts as the self-appointed judge of which nations are democratic, intervening in those countries it sees as falling short.

Our words of wisdom this Wednesday are widely attributed to anti-colonial freedom fighter and first president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere (1922-99). They pierce right through America's facade of a two party-state, which presents the illusion of choice to Americans.

Let us know if you agree with his assessment.

Continued........SOURCES:

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/severe_housing_problems

https://missionrollcall.org/veteran-voices/articles/the-state-of-veteran-homelessness-2024

https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs

https://www.citizen.org/news/big-pharma-is-ripping-off-america

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/16/us-prisons-jail-private-healthcare-companies-profit

https://www.damemagazine.com/2023/03/06/america-propaganda-disinformation

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/saint-or-not-nyerere-led-an-exemplary-life--1357580

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518297

https://thecorbynproject.com/us-briefing/

NIGERIAN CHILDREN FACE DEATH PENALTY

On 1 November, dozens of children detained during August’s #EndBadGovernance protests against the cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria were arraigned for charges punishable by death, sparking global outrage and condemnation. 

Accused of treason, destruction of property, public disturbance, and inciting a military coup, the children appeared malnourished and unkempt after three months in detention—far beyond the mandatory 48-hour holding period—with four children collapsing in court and required urgent medical care. 

In August, Nigerians took to the streets to oppose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, which included removing fuel subsidies and devaluing the Naira, a move the International Monetary Fund advised. These policies triggered 30 per cent inflation, making necessities— like food—difficult for many Nigerians to afford. The government and the United Nations recently predicted that 33 million Nigerians will be food insecure next year, a one-third rise.

Continued......Nigerians have widely condemned authorities detaining these children as unconstitutional and a violation of children’s rights. They also were held with adult detainees. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar defended the children, noting their vulnerability to the current economic crisis and their right to protest. Amidst the backlash, Tinubu has reportedly directed Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi to review the case and provide recommendations, according to Sahara Reporters.

Sources:
News
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/02/africa/children-face-death-penalty-cost-of-living-nigeria-intl-latam/index.html

https://www.africanews.com/2024/11/02/nigerian-children-could-face-death-penalty-for-taking-part-in-protests/

Protests against cost of living
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxyqwlwq5qo?at_format=link&at_bbc_team=editorial

President Tinubu reforms cause pain
https://businessday.ng/business-economy/article/tinubus-reforms-under-spotlight-as-economic-hardship-worsens/

Detention a violation of children rights
https://punchng.com/outrage-as-police-arraign-32-hungry-children-for-treason-four-collapse/

Tinubu calls for case review
https://saharareporters.com/2024/11/01/breaking-tinubu-directs-attorney-general-review-case-minors-charged-treason-after

Despite a long history of interfering in elections, the United States often accuses other countries and organisations of precisely that, claiming foreign actors threaten what it refers to as its 'democracy.'

This is even more ironic when examining the powerful lobbying efforts of groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which influences legislative outcomes in the US.

For six decades, AIPAC was an issue-based lobbying group. That changed in 2022 when AIPAC began funding congressional campaigns. Then, earlier this year, it announced it would spend $100 million to unseat anti-Zionist US politicians. AIPAC unleashed ads to influence 80 per cent of congressional races, resulting in 210 of the 362 AIPAC-backed pro-Israel members of Congress and candidates winning their respective seats in the 5 November elections.

Continued......
With millions of dollars from wealthy donors, it has positioned itself as a significant player in US elections, targeting progressive candidates that oppose the US arming and funding Israel's gen*cidal onslaught in Gaza, which has k*lled an estimated 186,000 Palestinians, according to the Lancet medical journal's July figures.

AIPAC supports any candidate—Democrat or Republican—that supports Israel. According to news outlet Politico, 'AIPAC is becoming an existential threat for progressives, who are bracing to be hit hardest.' Earlier this year, AIPAC's targeted ads helped defeat congresspeople like Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman in their primary elections. According to the Intercept, after each of its preferred candidates won this year, AIPAC would post on X: 'Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!'

Over the years, some have referred to Israel as the '51st state.' In 1982, a former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig (1924-2010) called Israel 'the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk, does not carry even one American soldier, and is located in a critical region for American national security.'

Considering how well Israel's interests are represented—and protected— in the US, let us know in the comments why you think AIPAC's influence is widely welcomed within US administrations. Why has it not met the same level of scrutiny directed towards other actors working in the interest of a foreign state?

SOURCES:

https://theintercept.com/2024/10/24/aipac-spending-congress-elections-israel

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/does-united-states-still-interfere-in-foreign-elections-by-jack-goldsmith-2020-10

https://x.com/aipac/status/1853977336305074384?s=46

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/03/aipac-israel-spending-democratic-primaries-00144552

https://www.commondreams.org/news/aipac-100-million

https://embassies.gov.il/washington/Obama_in_Israel/Pages/The-Ultimate-Ally.aspx

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-state-media-giant-cgtn-registers-as-foreign-agent-in-u-s-11549387532

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/production-company-registers-under-foreign-agent-registration-act-agent-russian-government

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/05/scientists-death-disease-gaza-polio-vaccinations-israel

https://www.instagram.com/aipac/p/DCBGFy0MUtD

https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/12/11/the-war-has-already-shown-that-israel-needs-to-rethink-its-approach-to-us-aid

BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER’S U-TURN ON TRUMP

British foreign secretary David Lammy seems to have changed his tune. This is him a few years ago on Donald Trump. And this is him today congratulating him on his 2024 election win. Might be a bit awkward when they eventually meet face to face.

SOUTH AFRICA TO STRIP BEAUTY QUEEN OF ID DOCS

South Africa has decided to revoke the identification documents of beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina and her mother after they failed to meet a deadline to provide justifications for retaining their IDs. The 23-year-old gained attention during the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant, during which she faced a xenophobic backlash due to her dual identity as both a South African and Nigerian. Critics - including lawmakers - questioned her eligibility to compete, citing her mother's Mozambican roots and her Nigerian father.

Continued.....During the controversy, allegations emerged that Adetshina’s mother had committed identity fraud in order to obtain South African nationality for herself and her daughter (while the latter was still an infant). After withdrawing from Miss South Africa, Adetshina was invited to take part in Nigeria’s Miss Universe pageant. She won that and will now compete in the final in Mexico on 16 November.

SOURCES:

https://www.dw.com/en/south-africa-to-revoke-beauty-queens-id-documents/a-70645405

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0lpdl2lweo

E. GUINEA: TOP OFFICIAL ARRESTED AMID SEX-TAPE SCANDAL

A sex-tape scandal has rocked Equatorial Guinea. Baltasar Engonga, the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency, has been arrested after investigators discovered more than 400 explicit videos featuring the wives of prominent public figures.

The investigation began as a probe into alleged corruption and the embezzlement of public funds. During a search of Engonga's computer, investigators found up the phonographic home videos.

A number of the clips have been leaked online and are circulating on social media. Some of the steamy clips appear to have been recorded in his office, with the national flag visible. Those reportedly featured in the recordings are the spouses of high-ranking officials in government.

Continued......
In response to the scandal, Vice President Teodoro Obiang Mangue announced that government offices will soon be equipped with surveillance cameras "to eradicate improper and illicit behaviour" - warning that officials caught having sex at work would be fired.

SOURCES:

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2024-11-06-senior-equatorial-guinea-official-under-fire-after-400-sex-tapes-leak

https://www.africanews.com/2024/11/05/equatorial-guinea-official-arrested-over-400-sex-tapes-with-presidents-sister-high-profile/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyx32945gqo

For instance, both sides have supported arming and funding Israel's military onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza. The Democrats have also never shown any reservations against imposing unilateral economic sanctions on African countries and other parts of the Global South, which starve and deny necessities, like medicines, to the citizens of those countries. So far, according to the US-based Sanctions Kill campaign, US sanctions impact one-third of humanity, approximately 39 countries.

Even at times when Black people occupied senior positions in the Democratic Party, things did not get better for Africans. When Barack Obama was elected US president, Africans across the world were optimistic that his administration would finally address their concerns and turn around their fortunes. However, nothing of this sort happened. The mass incarceration of Black men in the US continued unabated. In Africa, he led the 2011 NATO bombardment of Libya, destroying what was once Africa's most prosperous nation and breaking it into three warring territories; Western media demonised African migrants working in Libya, paving the way for open slave markets to spring up.

As Brother Malcolm warned us, as we look out for the conservative wolf, whose sharp teeth are always plain to see, we should equally be wary of the liberal fox that masks its evil plans behind a smile.

SOURCES:

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/10/g-s1-27633/barack-obama-kamala-harris-black-men-pennsylvania

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/06/black-women-grieve-kamala-harris-loss/76093045007/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/05/black-voters-washington-dc-kamala-harris

https://www.scidev.net/global/opinions/if-trump-wins-africa-will-spiral-into-climate-hell/

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/19/barack-obama-libya-airstrikes-1224550

https://sanctionskill.org

MALCOLM X ON WHITE LIBERALS

Pan-Africanist organiser Malcolm X (1925-65) warned of the dangers of Africans in the US getting sucked into the country's political duopoly, bouncing between Democrats and Republicans. For him, the two major parties were simply different pockets from the same jacket. One is a sly fox, while the other is a fierce wolf, but both will bite.

His words still ring loud today, as Republican candidate Donald Trump triumphed over his Democrat rival, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 US presidential election.

In the run-up to the elections, Harris and the Democrats were presented as the better choice for the Black community. Following her loss, some are trying to make it seem like the African community, and the Global South are now more threatened than they would have been under a Harris administration. The truth is Democrats might not be as openly racist as Trump, but merely different sides of the same imperialist coin.