Each week, we share an African proverb - and try to relate it to what’s happening in Africa today. As so often, we think again of the immense suffering being inflicted on the Congolese people.

Even if the ‘axe’ of Rwandan proxies stops coming down, the pain will take generations to heal. It will never be forgotten.

The sooner the proxy war in DRC - aided and abetted by the resource-hungry West - comes to an end, the sooner the Congo can regrow and finally flourish the way it should.

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

MALEMA: TAKE NETANYAHU TO THE HAGUE

Amidst US President Donald Trump’s attacks on South Africa over the recently enacted Land Expropriation Act that has seen a section of Afrikaners call for US intervention, South African opposition parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (@effsouthafrica), see the bone of contention being Israel. 

South Africa lodged a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on 29 December 2023, alleging Israel had committed and was committing g*nocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, contravening the UN Genocide Convention.

The US has exerted pressure in an attempt to scuttle proceedings, including sanctioning ICC officials. Israel, on the other hand, had lobbied US congresspeople to threaten South Africa with consequences following the legal challenge.

Continued……However, with South Africa refusing to bow, some say the aid cuts (about 17 per cent of its HIV/AIDS programme) are less about the land law and really punishment for taking a stand against Israel.

South Africa’s legal move against Israel has broad support across the political spectrum, except for among white-led right-wing South African parties like the Democratic Alliance. 

In this November 2023 video clip, Economic Freedom Fighters President Julius Malema (@julius_s_malema on X, @julius.malema.sello on IG) called for the prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In recent weeks, Malema has called for closing the Israeli embassy in the country.

Video credit: @effsouthafrica 


Sources:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-06-we-will-not-be-bullied-resolute-ramaphosa-stands-up-to-us/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/icj-southafrica-israel-genocide-29dec2023

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm27g2jzd78o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itVb-RPkKGk

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-lobbying-us-congress-south-africa-icj-genocide

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/17/will-south-africas-new-coalition-govt-change-tack-on-israel-palestine

https://sundayworld.co.za/politics/ramaphosa-must-deal-with-trump-by-closing-israeli-embassy

Today, 17 February, we celebrate the remarkable legacy of Huey P Newton, visionary leader and co-founder of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Had he lived, he would have been 83 years old.

Huey was born the youngest of seven children in 1942 in Monroe, Louisiana. His family's migration to Oakland, California, was not just a search for safety but a step toward fighting for justice.

In 1966, alongside his classmate Bobby Seale, Newton co-founded the BPP, becoming its leading theorist and political strategist and introducing internationalism among the party's ranks. Newton viewed the Black people in the US as an internal colony.

The party challenged police brutality, but the over 60 social programmes—renamed Survival Programmes—by 1971 were equally impactful. The groundbreaking Free Breakfast for Children initiative fed youths in US cities where BPP had chapters, transforming communities and uplifting countless lives.

Continued…. Despite the relentless opposition from figures like J Edgar Hoover, the BPP inspired people from all walks of life. In 2021, a plaque for 'Dr. Huey P. Newton Way' was placed at the corner of the three-block section of the city's 9th Street, where a gang member murdered him, serving as a tangible reminder of his indomitable spirit and the fight for equality.

Today, as we honour Huey P Newton, we recognise his contributions and his enduring struggle for justice and liberation.

Happy birthday to this inspiring elder!

Sources:

https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/newton-huey-p-1942-1989

https://www.ktvu.com/news/part-of-ninth-street-in-west-oakland-named-for-huey-p-newton

HUEY P. NEWTON SPEAKS

Today, 17 February, would have marked Huey P Newton’s 83rd birthday. A gang assassinated the Black Panther Party (BPP) co-founder after he dedicated his life to socialism, the liberation of the Black working class, and fighting against the US empire.

The BPP transformed the Black freedom struggle within the United States, cultivating new dimensions, garnering global attention and forming relationships on the world stage.

While misinformation about the party and Newton abound, the best source of information comes directly from Newton himself. In this clip from the PBS documentary, ‘Eyes on the Prize II’ (1987), he explained the party’s 10-point programme. Those included building a socialist economy, fighting for Black community control over neighbourhood institutions, and the right to self-defence for Black people and other oppressed people.

Continued……. In 1967, police arrested Newton for allegedly shooting a police officer. This led activists to launch the ‘Free Huey’ movement to force authorities to drop the charges and release Newton from political imprisonment. In May 1970, the California Court of Appeals reversed Newton’s conviction because of the judge’s incomplete instructions to the jury. A court tried Newton for a second time in August 1971, with the charge changed to manslaughter, but a deadlocked jury produced a mistrial. A hung jury delivered another mistrial during the third trial in November 1971.

The party also sparked the establishment of other revolutionary groups, such as the Young Lords for Puerto Ricans, the Brown Berets for Chicanos (Mexicans in the US), and Yellow Peril for revolutionaries of Chinese heritage. 

Newton, a staunch anti-imperialist, connected the party to revolutionary organisations in China, Palestine and Cuba. He authored numerous books, including his autobiography, ‘Revolutionary Su*cide’ (1973), and ‘Revolutionary Intercommunalism and the Right of Nations to Self-Determination’ (2004). He also has a speech collection noscriptd, ‘To Die for the People’ (1972)

Video credit: ‘Eyes on the Prize II’ (1987)


Sources:

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/newton-huey-p-1942-1989/

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/newton-huey-p-1942-1989/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/what-united-black-panthers-puerto-ricans-white-southerners-new-doc-n1119101

https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/young-lords-organization

https://researchrepository.universityofgalway.ie/server/api/core/bitstreams/b3d4a4b3-b608-4f22-b3d4-21c4fd61a4a7/content

https://ia903401.us.archive.org/9/items/revolutionary-intercommunalism-and-the-right-of-nations-to-self-determination/Revolutionary%20Intercommunalism%20and%20the%20Right%20of%20Nations%20to%20Self-Determination.pdf

https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780863163272

https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/huey-p-newton-trial-1968

Continued……. M23 has now achieved its largest territorial expansion since its insurgency began more than a decade ago. With both of Kivu’s provincial capitals under its control, the group now effectively controls eastern DRC’s transit hubs, which lie on the border with Rwanda.

Congo's 30-year resource war had k*lled around 6-million people by 2010, with many more casualties since then. The UN says over 700,000 have been displaced since January 2025 alone, adding to the 7-million displaced in previous conflicts and more recent fighting in the mineral-rich country.


Sources:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/un-experts-call-urgent-humanitarian-relief-and-political-solution-protect

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/conflict-natural-disaster-displace-nearly-7m-in-dr-congo-un-migration-agency/3370582

Continued….. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rqr8q5v52o

https://www.citizen.digital/news/m23-seize-key-city-amid-mounting-fears-of-dr-congo-breakup-n357726

https://www.theafricareport.com/376993/au-summit-kagames-anger-congolese-delegation-blocked/

Continued….. But, make no mistake, this war isn’t just the RSF’s doing. It’s an imperialist proxy conflict fueled by foreign powers that profit from Sudan’s collapse. The bloodshed began in April 2023 and had k*lled at least 150,000 people by May 2024, according to US envoy Tom Perriello. Half the population faces acute hunger, and more than 11 million are internally displaced.

SOURCES

News
https://sudantribune.com/sudans-rsf-committed-890-documented-rapes-in-al-jazirah-state

South Kordofan
https://www.voanews.com/a/human-rights-watch-accuses-sudan-s-rsf-of-rape-sexual-slavery/7903527.html

Death toll
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crln9lk51dro

Hunger
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158511

Internal displacement
https://dtm.iom.int/reports/year-review-displacement-sudan-2024?close= true

Continued….. Ivory Coast - whose president, Alassane Ouattara, is a close ally of Emmanuel Macron - announced Paris would be handing back its military base by the end of January 2025, though that date has now been pushed back to 20 February.

Meanwhile, Chad - governed by Mahamat Déby, the son of one of France's longest-standing allies - cut all military ties with Paris in November of 2024, with the final French troops departing last month.

Meanwhile, the Central African Republic expelled French military forces in 2022 in favour of collaboration with Russia. However, Colonel Olivier Ducret - deputy director for Sub-Saharan Africa at France’s Directorate for Security and Defence Cooperation - visited Bangui on 28 January 2025 in an attempt to convince the country to reestablish military ties with Paris.

How long do you give the French army in Africa?

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/france-senegal-say-talks-arrange-departure-french-troops-2025-02-12/

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/burkina-faso/france-and-burkina-faso-65116/#:~:text=On%2018%20January%202023%2C%20the,agreement%20on%20technical%20military%20assistance.

https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/côte-divoire-alassane-ouattara-annonce-la-rétrocession-de-la-base-de-larmée-francaise-à-abidjan/3439376

https://lanouvelletribune.info/2025/02/cote-divoire-la-france-transfere-le-camp-du-43e-bima-le-20-fevrier/#google_vignette

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-military-presence-ends-in-chad-as-last-base-in-capital-city-vacated/3466960

https://www.lebledparle.com/emmanuel-macron-reaffirme-son-soutien-a-mahamat-idriss-deby-et-lui-promet-une-aide-budgetaire/

On Saturday, the head of the Ugandan army’s ground forces threatened to attack the city of Bunia in eastern DR Congo if “all forces” did not surrender their arms “within 24 hours.”

In a post on X, Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba - who is also the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni - claimed he had his father’s authority to make the threat, and stated he would not issue any further comments.

Kainerugaba known for his provocative remarks on social media, made unverified allegations that members of the Bahima ethnic group were being k*lled in the Democratic Republic of Congo, warning, “That’s a very dangerous situation for those attacking my people. No one on this earth can k*ll my people and think they will not suffer for it.”

Kainerugaba’s comments sparked concerns about a potential escalation of the violence in DRC between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese forces.

A 2024 UN report raised the alarm over Uganda’s involvement in the conflict in eastern Congo.

Continued……. It said Kampala had, since 2022, been allowing M23 to use its territory for troop movements and supply lines, pointing to Ugandan complicity in destabilising the DRC.

Since late 2023, Ugandan military intelligence reportedly coordinated directly with M23 forces in Bunagana, providing essential logistics and transport support.

M23 military chief Sultani Makenga, who is under UN travel restrictions, visited Uganda for meetings in 2023, suggesting deeper ties. Additionally, the UN highlighted Uganda’s backing of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a political umbrella for M23.

Kainerugaba has also openly supported Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. In 2022, he described the M23 as “brothers of ours” fighting for the rights of Tutsis in Congo. Despite increasing evidence of Rwanda and Uganda’s involvement, both countries have denied providing direct support for, or harbouring, M23 fighters.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-military-chief-threatens-attack-eastern-congo-town-bunia-2025-02-15/?taid=67b0eb47e6d2760001470aeb&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-president-apologises-sons-tweets-invading-kenya-2022-10-05/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmj00zjrpo?at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=BBCAfrica&at_link_type=web_link&at_format=image&at_medium=social&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_id=CDB05812-EB80-11EF-A73F-C658329CA122&at_ptr_name=twitter

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-provided-support-m23-rebels-congo-un-report-says-2024-07-08

‘ORIGINAL SIN’ AGAINST AFRICANS: COLONIAL LAND GRABS

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa says the colonial land grab by European settlers in Africa is the original sin committed against our people.

In an address to parliament on 13 February, he noted that many of the social and economic problems affecting his country - and Africa more widely - can be linked to the violent land dispossessions committed by Europeans as they invaded the continent, starting in the 15th century.

Ramaphosa also pointed out that the colonial settlers not only forcibly remove Black people from their land but also created laws that made it impossible for Africans to own land or property on their continent. Because key economic activities are tied to land or property ownership, these laws subsequently locked Africans out of the economic sphere, resulting in millions being trapped in poverty, even decades after their countries attained flag independence.

Continued……. Ramaphosa’s comments come in the wake of a public spat between his government and the Trump administration over a law he signed in January in an attempt to redress land-ownership inequalities that stem from South Africa’s apartheid-era. Trump has cut US financial support to South Africa’s health budget and has offered refugee status to Afrikaners - White South Africans of mostly Dutch descent he claims are being persecuted by Ramaphosa’s government.

Afrikaners own the majority of the country’s land despite accounting for less than 8% of the population.

Credit: SABC News

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