While on the campaign trail, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama criticised now-former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s closeness to Western states. Akufo-Addo advocated for French troops to remain in West Africa, which would have worked against the newly-established anti-imperialist bloc known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Mahama, 66, stated that under his leadership, he would seek to build stronger ties with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Ghana’s three neighbouring states in Africa’s arid Sahel region that ousted Western-aligned leaders and announced their exit from the Western-backed regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to establish a confederation among themselves. The AES states will officially depart ECOWAS by the end of January.

Continued…….. Merely weeks since his inauguration, Mahama seems to be keeping his word. On 21 January, he appointed retired Army Commander Larry Gbevlo-Lartey as Ghana’s special envoy to the AES. Appointing Gbevlo-Lartey, Ghana’s former national security coordinator and the African Union chairperson’s former special representative in charge of counter-terrorism cooperation, is a significant step that recognises the AES’ sovereignty and strengthens ties between the Sahel and Ghana.

Is Ghana moving toward better and friendlier relations with the AES? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Sources:

https://westafricaweekly.com/ghana-president-mahama-appoints-special-envoy-to-aes-strengthens-ties-amid-tension-with-ecowas/

https://archives.au.int/handle/123456789/6425

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N5iTO_Avdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvMaSnnwt_Y

https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/alliance-of-sahel-states-and-a-new-era-for-west-africa

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Among the 26 executive orders that US President Donald Trump issued during his first few days in the White House is the removal of Joe Biden-era sanctions on violent, expansionist Zi*nist-settler groups in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).

Trump’s pro-Zi*nist views are already public knowledge. However, another factor could be behind giving free rein to settler gangs to expand the illegal settlements.

Just days before Trump was sworn in for his second stint in the White House, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a real estate investor who served as a senior adviser during the first Trump presidency, doubled his stake in Phoenix Financial, the biggest Israeli insurance and financial firm with business interests in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israeli regulators approved the deal to increase Kushner’s Affinity Fund’s holding in Phoenix Financial from 4.95 per cent to 9.9 per cent, making it the biggest shareholder.

Continued……. Phoenix Financial’s tentacles in the OPTs include financing and insuring construction projects and providing financial services to the settlements’ local governance bodies. It also owns an 80 per cent stake in the Ramot neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.

The firm’s subsidiary has participated in the bidding process for constructing and operating a light rail line connecting settlements in East Jerusalem with the city’s western areas.

The Zi*nist settlements are in contravention of international law. According to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal for an occupying power to ‘deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.’

With Israel now accusing the East African country of Eritrea of aiding Iran, it would serve our people well to pay attention to the Zi*nist expansionist project.

Sources:

https://jacobin.com/2025/01/kushner-cease-fire-israel-settlements

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kushner-affinity-gets-nod-double-135411193.html?guccounter=1

https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-jared-kushner-set-to-become-biggest-shareholder-in-phoenix-1001499509

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155861

https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/7348?the-phoenix-holdings

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/17/west-bank-israel-responsible-rising-settler-violence

https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.33_GC-IV-EN.pdf

KWAME TURE ON AFRICAN WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN STRUGGLE

In this clip, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (@aaprp on X) co-founder Kwame Ture (1941-98) reminds us that African women have consistently stood on the frontlines of resistance and leadership, both on the continent and in the diaspora.

For instance, Queen Amanirenas of Kush resisted Roman expansion by fighting Julius Caesar's army in 30 BC. Much later, in the 17th century, Angola’s Queen Nzinga Mbande (1583-1663) waged a war against Portuguese settler colonialists. In Ghana, Yaa Asantewaa (circa 1840-1921) led the resistance against the British. Meanwhile, the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female regiment in Benin, fiercely defended their kingdom.

Continued……By the same token, modern women have also questioned and stood up to oppressive powers. In the United States, for example, 77-year-old Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur and civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005) played immeasurable roles in fighting for the rights of Black people against white supremacy. Meanwhile, 75-year-old Malawian human rights activist Joyce Banda and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) shattered gender barriers, empowering many communities.

Throughout history, African women have indeed been at the forefront of our people’s fight for liberation, as Ture said, whether on the continent or beyond. Their continued contributions to the struggle must be recognised and valued.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/african-female-warriors

https://www.africanlibraryproject.org/african-women-whove-made-history/

https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/women-in-the-civil-rights-movement/

UNITED STATES SHOULDN’T DEFINE WHO A TERRORIST IS

Does the United States have the right to define who a terrorist is? In this video clip, podcaster Penuel, known as ‘The Black Pen,’ and Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Movement chairperson Rutendo Matinyarare discussed the hypocrisy.

In Hollywood blockbusters, bomb-dropping, gun-wielding villains are often portrayed as Arabs or Muslims, while criminals tend to be played by Africans. This racial profiling is also evident in the US system, as the white ruling elite has established rules of profiling under the pretence of protecting domestic security. In 2017, an FBI report referred to activists as part of a ‘Black Identity Extremist’ movement. Authorities have slapped domestic terrorism charges on activists participating in street protests.

@matinyarare (X) concluded by stating that a country that exterminated an Indigenous community to create a ‘white world’ is, in fact, a terrorist itself.

Video credit: @godpenuel (X) / @konvo_za (YouTube)

CHAPPELLE: TRUMP LIED ABOUT HAITIANS IN SPRINGFIELD

In his 18 January stand-up monologue on NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live,’ comedian Dave Chappelle (@DaveChappelle on X) set the record straight on the subject of migrants using the wit he’s famous for. He began by pointing out the irony in how foreigners are vilified but welcomed when their assistance is needed. Chappelle cited Canadian and Mexican firefighters arriving in the US to aid in quelling fires that had displaced over 100,000 people in the Los Angeles area, as of 13 January.

Continued……Then, Chappelle highlighted the treatment of immigrants in the US, with a commentary on US President Donald Trump and his camp’s widely circulated false remarks on Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, ‘eating pets’. In an effort to counter the false narrative, the comedian chose to eat at a Haitian restaurant, using his celebrity status to show people they are safe. He further noted that Haitians have boosted Springfield’s economy.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said Haitian migrants ‘came to Springfield to work,’ filling a labour gap that is expected to continue rising. According to 2023 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), immigrants make up 19 per cent of the US workforce and participate at higher rates than native-born workers.

The US is a country that was built on and continues to rely on enslaved and migrant labour. Discrediting their contributions with stereotypes is part of a ruling class effort to keep the plantation dynamic in place.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY OF OUR TIME?

Is ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’État’ the most important documentary of 2024? For Africans who understand the necessity of Pan-African unity, it just might be. 

Director Johan Gilmonprez’s film explores the role of the CIA and the US State Department in the assassination of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first prime minister, the renowned Pan-Africanist Patrice Lumumba (1925-61). The film also examines US State Department-funded cultural programming, such as their now-infamous ‘jazz ambassadors’ programme that dispatched US-based Black jazz artists worldwide, including to Congo. They may not have known that the US touted their performances as cover for destructive regime-change operations.

In this video, Jared Ball (@imixwhatilike on X), a professor, Pan-African organiser with @aaprp, and host and member of Black Liberation Media (@BLM_edia on X), breaks down why this film is a must-watch.

Continued…. Let us know what you took away from watching ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’État’!

Sources:

https://revsoc21.uk/2025/01/03/review-soundtrack-to-a-coup-detat/

‘White Malice’ by Susan Williams

SAHELIAN WOMEN SPEAK OUT AGAINST IMPERIALISM, PART 2

In part 2 of our video series on women in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), an anti-imperialist Pan-African confederation regrouping Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, African Stream’s Inemesit Richardson travelled in the three countries to hear from outspoken, daring women, who are deeply committed to the emancipation of not just of their respective countries, but Africa as a whole.

Continued……All three states in Africa’s arid Sahel region have a profound history of women’s engagement in revolutionary anti-imperialist struggle. In Mali, women such as Aoua Keïta (1912-80) played key roles during the socialist revolution of the 1960s. As shown at the beginning of the clip, Malian women organised marches in solidarity with revolutionary struggles around the world, including Vietnam’s. Pan-Africanist and assassinated Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara (1949-87) elevated Burkinabé women to significant positions within the government and other political bodies. Over in Niger, organisations such as the Association of Women of Niger (ASN), Women Committed to Safeguarding the Homeland (Les Femmes Engagées pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie), and Sentinels of the Homeland (Sentinelles de la Patrie), represent mass women’s organisations within the revolutionary process today.

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) cannot advance without women. In the words of Sankara, ‘Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence.’

Part 1 was published on 19 December and can be viewed on Bluesky, Patreon, Rumble, Telegram and X.

Sources:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/34665.Thomas_Sankara

https://www.lesahel.org/declaration-de-lassociation-des-femmes-du-niger-afn-lafn-apporte-son-soutien-indefectible-au-conseil-national-pour-la-sauvegarde-de-la-patrie/

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-13127-1_19

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/123122/

Dwindling global resources and a booming world population might be one way to look at this week’s African proverb - or is it a reminder that you’re better off venturing out on your own branch rather than clustering together in the (potentially dangerous) comfort of the familiar? How do you read it?