Continued……Sachs further notes how neo-colonialism operates today in the DRC, where Western companies unethically extract resources while the population remains impoverished and is denied its fundamental rights, recognised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

Imperialist powers may have stopped enslaving and colonising Africans, but they still plunder the continent’s resources, assassinate its incorruptible leaders and fuel wars that stiffle growth.  Today’s renewed cycle of war in the Congo is yet another chapter in the long history of neo-colonialism and imperialism.

Questions of internal governance miss the point. The real question should be: what is wrong with the West?

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

WHITE COUPLE WHO ENSLAVED BLACK KIDS FOUND GUILTY

In a shocking case, a white couple will head to prison for abusing and enslaving their five adopted Black children. A jury in a West Virginia court found Jeanne Whitefeather guilty on all 19 charges, which included violations of civil rights, while convicting her husband, Donald Lantz, on 12 out of 16 counts.

A June 2024 indictment charged the couple with child neglect, trafficking of a minor, and forcing the children into labour, among other counts. Surveillance footage obtained following their October 2023 arrest revealed that Whitefeather and Lantz had confined the children in a shed for extended periods, compelled them to sleep on the floor without furniture, and deprived them of sufficient food and hygiene. Text messages submitted to the court as evidence indicated that Whitefeather employed racial slurs to refer to the children and refused to share plates because they were ‘dirty.’

The judge has scheduled the couple’s sentencing for 19 March.

Continued………Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-couple-adopted-children-neglect-trial-6a889bf21cb138bdad4b65839a2dc194

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/west-virginia-human-trafficking-children-b2688814.html

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/parents-locked-adopted-children-barn-211618298.html

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

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE CONGO?

The war in Congo can be confusing, but in this video, @dylan.page gives a nice, clear summary of some of the key factors: vast mineral resources, the West’s dependency on them, ethnic tensions and Rwanda’s role.

In the latest escalation of violence, Kigali-backed M23 rebels have seized Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC - with their sights reportedly set on Bukavu further south. Some 800 people have been killed in the recent fighting, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee to safer regions. There are severe shortages of food and water, and the suspension of US humanitarian aid has left many communities without essential support.

Video credit: @dylan.page

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

Continued……In her letter, Wagner implored the clubs to reflect on the ethical implications of their partnerships, suggesting that funds from Rwanda could be tainted by the exploitation of conflict minerals sourced from Congo. She said that it was time to cut ties with this “oppressive regime.”

Arsenal entered into a sponsorship agreement with Rwanda in 2019, followed by PSG in the same year, while Bayern Munich established a partnership for football development and tourism promotion in 2023.

The ongoing resource conflict in the DRC has persisted for three decades, involving over 120 armed groups, some supported by foreign powers. The toll has been devastating, with approximately 6-million Congolese lives lost, more than 7-million people displaced and countless women and girls enduring the horrors of sexual violence.

HOW THE WEST ENABLES RWANDA TO LOOT CONGO

Kayumba Nyamwasa, former Rwanda Army chief of staff and head of Rwandan intelligence from 1998 to 2002, dropped a bombshell on 2 February when he told @newzroomafrika’s @AldrinSampear that Western countries like France, the United Kingdom and the United States do not comment on Rwanda’s military operations in neighbouring countries like Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mozambique because Rwandan companies process smuggled minerals that benefit said Western powers. 

The recent escalation in violence as the Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 militia seized mineral-rich lands in eastern DRC on its way to entering Goma city has renewed the conversation about Rwanda’s and Uganda’s roles in the foreign-instigated three-decade-long conflict over resources. 

How the West has ignored Rwanda’s activities contrasts sharply with sanctions imposed against Rwanda and aid cuts in 2012 that forced M23 to go underground. 

Continued……. As early as 1998, Burundian, Rwandan, Ugandan and/or Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) soldiers emptied DRC warehouses. The looting remains a prominent feature across successive proxy campaigns, casting doubt on claims that Rwanda or M23 intervenes in the DRC only in the interests of marginalised Tutsis in the DRC.

Since M23’s resurgence in 2021, reportedly due to Rwanda fearing isolation following increased DRC-Uganda cooperation, the militia has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in eastern DRC. Reports indicate M23 is closing in around the city of Bukavu after entering Goma on 27 January. In Rubaya, which M23 captured in 2024, the group has generated around $300,000 monthly in taxes from tantalum mining. 
 
Video credit: @newzroomafrika (X)

Sources:

West vs Rwanda 2012
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/uk-freezes-21m-aid-to-rwanda-1.751902

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/suspended-aid-could-return-to-rwanda-but-on-different-terms--1314648

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/world/africa/us-cutting-military-aid-to-rwanda-for-the-year.html

Goma seized
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2025/02/02/rwandan-backed-m23-rebels-seize-goma-and-advance-further-into-eastern-drc

M23 $300,000 a month
https://apnews.com/article/congo-mining-m23-un-security-council-b11207ba887b352d702c3e4603d0c891

Western interests in Rwanda
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/world/africa/rwanda-france-kagame.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/14/europe/uk-rwanda-migrant-deal-gbr-intl/index.html https://www.mod.gov.rw/news-detail/rwanda-deploys-force-protection-troops-to-central-african-republic

Rwanda plunder ongoing for a while
https://docs.un.org/en/S/2001/357

After taking control of Goma, the largest eastern city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, M23 rebels - who are backed by Rwanda - are reportedly moving towards Bukavu in southern Kivu.

M23 is part of the political-military group Congo River Alliance (Alliance Fleuve Congo), whose commander, Corneille Nangaa, says his forces intend to advance all the way to Kinshasa to overthrow President Félix Tshisekedi. Nangaa previously led the DRC’s Electoral Commission, which oversaw the controversial and delayed 2018 elections that brought Tshisekedi into power.

His plan faces the challenge of the Congo’s vast size - roughly the same as that of Western Europe. The Alliance would need to advance 2,600 km (1,600 miles) to reach Kinshasa.

Continued……. Meanwhile, Rwanda is facing increasing international pressure to stop supporting the M23 and pull its troops out of Congo.

In a televised address after Goma’s capture, President Tshisekedi announced that a “robust and coordinated response” is underway to reclaim territory from the rebels. “Rest assured, the Democratic Republic of Congo will not allow itself to be humiliated or defeated. We will resist and we will prevail,” he stated on 29 January.

According to the UN, half a million Congolese have been displaced in January alone, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis. The ongoing resource conflict in the country has displaced over 7-million people, resulted in more than 6-million deaths and been marked by horrific sexual and human-rights violations.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgn1k9nleno

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congos-ex-election-chief-turned-rebel-boss-builds-insurgency-2025-01-27/

https://www.koaci.com/article/2025/01/31/afrique/politique/rdc-corneille-nangaa-au-nom-du-m23-annonce-leur-avancee-vers-kinshasa_184158.html

https://globaldashboard.org/2011/12/06/how-big-is-the-congo-very-big/

https://www.voanews.com/a/five-things-to-know-about-dr-congo/6941146.html

https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war/

THE U.S. THINKS REVOLUTIONARIES ARE TERRORISTS

On 14 January 2025, outgoing US president Joe Biden announced that he would remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. On 21 January, just one week later, newly inaugurated president Donald Trump reversed the decision, adding Cuba back to the list. But why was Cuba ever considered a sponsor of terrorism in the first place?

According to the US State Department’s website, “Cuba was designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1982 because of its long history of providing advice, safe haven, communications, training and financial support to guerrilla groups and individual terrorists.” But who were these terrorists that Cuba was helping? Well, it turns out they were revolutionary anti-colonial freedom fighters from Latin America and Africa.

Continued……. Beginning in 1975, Cuba sent soldiers to Angola to assist the revolutionary Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in its fight against apartheid South African forces and CIA-backed death squads. 10,000 Cubans are reported to have died fighting to liberate Angola from neo-colonial, pro-apartheid forces. Cuba’s intervention in Angola was so significant that it brought the apartheid system to its knees.

Cuban revolutionaries also fought for Africa’s freedom in the Congo, where they backed pro-Lumumba forces in their battle against CIA-installed Mobutu Sese Seko. Cubans contributed to the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, fighting alongside the great pan-African, Amílcar Cabral.

Cuba fought for Africa, and Cuba has paid a price.

When the United States talks about a history of “Cuban support for terrorism,” what they are actually saying is that our African freedom fighters - from Agostinho Neto and the MPLA, to Amílcar Cabral and the PAIGC - are terrorists. This is not just an insult to Cuba, it’s a major insult to us!

Africans must stand unequivocally with Cubans as they face economic attack due to their solidarity with our people.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17e0k92g41o

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/trump-reinstates-cuba-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/3456711#

https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2019/cuba/

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-16-mn-7734-story.html

DJIMON HOUNSOU ON HOLLYWOOD RACISM

In a now-viral clip, Actor Djimon Hounsou recently shed light on systemic racism in Hollywood during a disheartening CNN interview.

With over three decades in the film industry, several award nominations and a face instantly recognisable to any film enthusiast, Honsou revealed he is still struggling financially. Despite successfully playing numerous roles, he said his talent and contributions have repeatedly been overlooked - and not received the recognition they deserve.

The interview is sobering, reminding us that Africans globally should have no illusions: there is no such thing as ‘cracking the code’ to success in an inherently flawed system. Regardless of how brilliant we are, we are still viewed through the same racialised lens - regardless of achievements.

Continued……. Of course, there are a few us who have made it to the so-called top - they are the exceptions, not the rule, and are arguably put there to maintain the illusion that Black success is possible within the White supremacists structure.

That’s something confirmed by ‘Black faces in high places’ such as Oprah Winfrey - who’s been accused of gatekeeping on behalf of the systemically racist film industry. In 2023, for instance, actress Taraji P. Henson, following her role in The Colour Purple (produced by Winfrey), broke down in an interview with SiriusXm, saying, “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost.”

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2023/12/20/entertainment/taraji-p-henson-sobs-over-being-underpaid-in-hollywood-the-math-aint-mathing/

https://vnhsmirror.com/224651/entertainment/wake-up-hollywood-the-racial-wage-gap-is-real/

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/systemic-racism-permeates-all-levels-our-society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUzqD5UcLwo

Continued……. It was the era of Jim Crow Laws on racial segregation, and Parks was charged with violation of the Montgomery City code.

Her arrest for civil disobedience motivated the African community to boycott Montgomery buses for over a year and ignited the civil-rights movement that changed America. This act of defiance became an important symbol for the movement, and Rosa became an international icon of resistance against racial segregation.

In her autobiography, My Story, she wrote:

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Parks died on 24 October 2005, leaving behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to the struggle for our people’s freedom and dignity.

Continued…….. Julius Malema (@julius_s_malema on X), president of the Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFsouthafrica), a South African political party that seeks a united Africa, replied that nothing would undermine South Africa's sovereignty. He emphasised that depending on foreign investment and aid compromises national sovereignty, asserting that threats from Trump would not deter South Africa's progress, currently governed by a coalition of parties of which EFF is not a part. White-led parties also oppose the law.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also addressed Trump's remarks, affirming that South Africa is committed to law, justice and equality, and has not confiscated land.

Tesla CEO and major Trump donor Elon Musk replied to Ramaphosa on X, ‘Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?’

The new land policy replaced the apartheid-era Expropriation Act of 1975, which mandated compensation for landowners under the ‘willing seller, willing buyer’ principle. The revised law allows for expropriation without compensation when deemed ‘just and equitable’ and in the public interest, particularly for unused properties or those posing risks.

British colonial authorities enacted a 1913 law that restricted property rights for the Black majority, resulting in the white minority controlling most land and forcibly relocating Black South Africans to impoverished areas until the end of apartheid in the early 1990s. In 2017, a government report revealed white settlers held 72 per cent of privately owned farmland, yet they make up 7.3 per cent of the population, according to a 2022 census.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn01z1yy0jno?at_ptr_name=twitter&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_id=480F2C6A-E220-11EF-B589-BA7A2E75F565&at_campaign_type=owned&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=BBCAfrica&at_format=image

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg9w4n6gp5o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsMT3-BraRU