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African journalism. MARCH 12 2022 | ISSUE 78
The Continent
with
The herders’
dilemma
The fight to keep
Ugandan cows alive in
a changing climate Photo: Stuart Tibaweswa
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 2
Inside:
■ Welcome! Award-winning
cartoonist Gado joins The
Continent for season 5 (p3)
■ Uganda’s army kills a
student after football fight (p7)
■ War and uncertainty mean
it’s boom time for commodities,
but we’ll pay (p8)
■ Fleeing war and facing
racism in Ukraine (p13)
■ G.O.A.T. Eliud Kipchoge
has three of the four fastest
marathon times in history
COVER: A Karamojong herder (p15)
watches over his cattle as ■ Travel: Taking a slow boat
they search for scarce water. down the Nile (p26)
The climate in north-eastern
Uganda is already changing,
with droughts and floods mixing READER SURVEY:
to make life harder. This month Thanks to the hundreds of
it means dry riverbeds and readers who completed The
digging holes to find drinking Continent’s reader survey last
water. Next month it can mean week. If you like our journalism
heavy rains that destroy topsoil and haven’t already done it,
and ruin crops. Herders, please help us by answering a
documented in a stunning photo few questions on thecontinent.
essay by Stuart Tibaweswa, org/survey. Your responses will
have no choice but to adapt help us attract advertising and
(p19). That adaptation needs donor funding so that we can
data to understand how things keep doing what we do.
are changing, and will change.
But just 0.5% of the money for
climate research is spent in Get the latest edition of
Africa and there are big gaps in The Continent plus every
knowledge (p17). back issue (all 77 of them!)
on thecontinent.org
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 3
Cartoon: Godfrey Mwampembwa
SHELL CORONAVIRUS
Crude behaviour, Six million are dead,
slick comeback and still more will die
Shell, the petrochemical giant and The official global death toll from
renowned polluter of the Niger Basin, Covid-19 is on the verge of passing
says it will stop doing business in and 6-million – underscoring that the
with Russia. It has promised to shut pandemic, now entering its third year,
down over 500 service stations and is far from over. The Africa Centers
all its aviation fuels and lubricants for Disease Control and Prevention is
operations in the country which still pressing for more vaccines, despite
invaded its neighbour, Ukraine. To some shipments arriving with little
begin, Shell will stop all spot purchases warning for countries’ health systems
of Russian crude oil. This was after it and others near the expiration date –
came under heavy criticism for buying forcing doses to be destroyed. Experts
Russian oil at the weekend, at a knock- believe the true global death toll will
down price. never be known.
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 4
Ship happens: SA
Agulhas II (left),
Endurance (right)
ANTARCTIC and sank in 1915. The lost ship was on
an expedition commanded by explorer
Unshackled at last Ernest Shackleton, to cross the South
Pole’s landmass. It got trapped in ice
The world’s most difficult ship-hunt for almost a full year before slipping
ended this week when, after a month underwater. The crew survived, and
of searching, the South African science marked the coordinates of the wreck. The
vessel SA Agulhas II found the wreck of South African scientists found it after a
Endurance, which was crushed by ice month of searching.
UKRAINE KENYA
Europe by gaslight Sonko sanctioned
European Council President Charles Nairobi’s ex-governor Mike Sonko
Michel claims the reports of racism is banned from the United States
and bigotry meted out against fleeing because of “involvement in significant
African students from Ukraine corruption”, said a spokesperson for
was simple “Russian propaganda”. the US embassy in Kenya. Sonko’s
According to Michel, “Russia activated family may also not enter the country
hostile propaganda to try to instil or do business there. He faces more
doubt in African countries during a than 30 charges, from conflict of
diplomatic battle at the UN”. No word interest to receiving bribes and money
yet on verified firsthand accounts and laundering, to which he pleads not
depictions of racism making the rounds guilty. He has previously served jail
on social media. (See page 13) time for not honouring court dates.
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The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 6
POP CULTURE
Photo:
O2 e choke Twitter/
Davido
Davido became the third Afrobeats star
to sell out London’s O2 Arena, following
in the footsteps of Wizkid and Burna
Boy. Supported by a long list of popular
artists, from Africa and its diaspora, the
musician performed a set so stacked that
the show ran overtime by 34 minutes,
earning him a hefty fine – allegedly
$448,222. He didn’t seem bothered,
though. Days later he flashed two newly
acquired Rolex watches and a Mercedes-
Maybach SUV on his social media. All’s
well that ends well.
MODERNA ZAMBIA
Covid patents ‘will Former president
never be enforced’ dies after cancer
On Monday Biotech Moderna signed a
fight
memorandum of understanding with Rupiah Banda died on Friday night
Kenya to build its first mRNA vaccine after a long struggle with colon cancer.
manufacturing facility in Africa. This He was 95. Banda served as president
week it also updated its promises not from 2008-2011, but his tenure was
to enforce and police its Covid-19 marred by corruption allegations.
patents at all for the duration of the
pandemic, as pledged in October
WILDLIFE
2020. Now it has undertaken to “never
enforce” them against manufacturers Cheetahs fading fast
in, or producing for, 92 low- and
middle-income countries. The wider Fewer than 7,000 cheetahs are left in the
global pharmaceutical industry has world. Many are poached in Ethiopia,
faced accusations of putting profits Kenya and Somalia, says Somaliland
before people by not addressing global Heritage’s Cheetah Safe House, and
vaccine inequity around the world, and “trafficked to the Arabian Peninsula
especially on the continent. and sold to the highest bidder”.
The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 News 7
Uganda
national security personnel to end the
A tragic riot. The first armed forces to go to the
scene were soldiers of the UPDF – Uganda
chain of People’s Defence Forces, the national army.
Eye witnesses said they appeared drunk.
overreaction The Gulu army commander, Bonny
Bamwiseki, didn’t respond to The
The actual army was Continent’s question on the sobriety
of the soldiers and the regional police
called to rein in unruly commander, Damalie Nachuha,
students, and they did neither confirmed nor denied it, saying,
what soldiers do “drunkenness is determined by an expert”.
According to Caroline Alarokuma, the
Andrew Arinaitwe in Kampala deceased student’s aunt, Gabriel was in the
dormitory when he heard the chaos, ran
A 17-year old student, Gabriel Rwot
Omiya, was killed in what appears to
have been a drunken shooting by soldiers
out and climbed the mango tree to hide.
“The soldiers were pulling them out of the
dormitories!” she said.
of Uganda’s national army, at a school in It’s unclear how the tragedy then
Gulu. The soldiers, who were called to unfolded but Gabriel’s family says the
quell a riot, reportedly shot the boy out postmortem report says that a bullet
of the tree he had been hiding in to escape struck his back, went through his chest
the chaos on the school grounds. and throat, and exited through the mouth,
The mayhem began when school scattering teeth and dislocating his jaw.
authorities denied the pupils permission A Uganda Police deputy spokesperson,
to watch a football match between Claire Nabakka, said that they arrested
Manchester United and Manchester City. two soldiers, “RO11337, Lt. Oryema John
“A few students started throwing Obit, RA194594 Private Denis Ochola
stones on the roofs,” Jimmy Owani, the and the suspects have been charged with
headteacher of the private school told The murder by shooting.”
Continent. The windows of some school “Five girls collapsed as a result of
buildings were broken and some computer shock and three boys got cut with broken
equipment was destroyed. bottles,” Owani told The Continent. One
An unidentified person called for teacher also suffered a head injury. ■
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 8
World
Not digging it:
The Ukraine
conflict has
driven up
commodity
prices, but only
already-rich
mine owners
will benefit.
Photo: AFP
economic crises around the world. These
The economic exacerbated the existing crises that
Covid-19 had, in turn, aggravated.
aftershocks of Among these chain reactions was a
precipitous rise in the value of nickel.
Putin’s war The precious metal, essential to the
production of smartphones and electric
The impact of the invasion vehicles, has doubled in price. That’s
of Ukraine on commodities because Russia has the world’s third
biggest supply, and it is facing a barrage
will make some Africans of economic sanctions from the western
very rich – and the rest of world.
us poorer and hungrier The London Metal Exchange
suspended the nickel market early
W hen Russia invaded Ukraine,
it set off a chain reaction
of humanitarian, diplomatic and
Tuesday, after the price of the metal, used
in stainless steel and electric-vehicle
batteries, nearly doubled in a few hours.
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 9
It was the first time the exchange paused significantly more from their mining
trade in a metal since 1985. sector this year, while the companies that
On the southern tip of Africa, the actually run the mining operations can
continent’s ninth-richest man was expect bumper profits.
watching these developments closely. “Exporters of metal commodities like
Patrice Motsepe, the billionaire and platinum, palladium and bauxite are also
brother-in-law of South Africa’s President likely to see their current account balances
Cyril Ramaphosa, happens to own a major improve under stronger prices,” Yvonne
nickel mine. The mine – Nkomati Nickel Mhango, an economist for Sub-Saharan
in Mpumalanga – had been mothballed, Africa at Renaissance Capital, told The
because the price of nickel was not high Continent. She said that the currencies of
enough to keep it going. Suddenly, this Africa’s commodity exporters are likely
has changed, and Motsepe’s company to strengthen.
announced this week it was considering
reopening the mine. The question is who
This is the nature of war: Even as profits, and how – and what
some people suffer, others will profit. The happens to the rest of us?
question is who profits, and how – and
what happens to the rest of us? It is in Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous
country and its largest economy, that this
Implications for Africa commodities boom is likely to have the
It’s not just nickel: the war in Ukraine has biggest impact. Specifically the boom in
made many other commodities more one particular commodity: Oil.
expensive. Russia is a major producer The oil price has been fluctuating
of rare precious metals like tungsten, wildly in recent days, at one point hitting
tantalum and palladium. Big American $139 a barrel – that’s 30% higher since
companies like Apple, who can no longer the invasion began. Suddenly, Nigeria’s
purchase from Russia, need to find new federal budget is looking a lot healthier.
suppliers of these metals, and fast.
Take tantalum: a blue-grey metal Pain for everyone
prized because it is almost completely None of this is necessarily good news
resistant to corrosion. This quality makes for ordinary citizens. In Rwanda and
it essential in smartphones, as well as Ethiopia, mining operations are closely
nuclear reactors, aircraft and missile parts, linked to the state – states which have
and some surgical appliances. Rwanda is been strongly implicated in human rights
the biggest exporter of tantalum in the abuses.
world, with the Democratic Republic of In Ethiopia, especially, the state is
Congo not far behind. Ethiopia, too, is a currently engaged in a brutal civil war in
major exporter. which it has been implicated in multiple
These governments can expect to earn massacres of civilians and other major
The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 10
Hot take: A metallurgy
worker melts nickel,
the price of which
has suddenly shot up.
Photo: AFP
human rights abuses. Increased profits said Michael Nderitu, head of trading
from mining will keep funding that war. at AZA Finance, a Nairobi-based forex
(On a similar theme, read on p11 about trading firm. “While revenue from crude
how an oil boom in the 1990s entrenched exports may give some support to local
an autocratic dictatorship in Equatorial currencies, the cost of importing refined
Guinea – Ed) petroleum is likely to put pressure on
Besides, profits from individual Africa’s forex markets in the near term,
commodities are unlikely to offset the with the biggest net importers – such as
general economic pain caused by a world Kenya – suffering the most.”
in crisis. Even before the Ukraine war, the The picture is similar when it comes
World Bank estimated that the Covid-19 to wheat. Russia and Ukraine together
pandemic had already wiped $165-billion export 29% of the world’s wheat, and all
off Africa’s total wealth. of that is currently under threat. That has
And the rising oil prices caused by the led to a spike in the price of grain, amid
European conflict will make petrol more fears of a global shortage. Expect the cost
expensive, even in Nigeria, which still of bread to rise substantially in African
imports all of its refined petroleum. This countries that import wheat – Egypt,
may even offset the extra income Nigeria Ghana and Kenya among them. All of this
receives from selling its unrefined oil. will make the cost of living significantly
“Even for leading oil producers such more expensive – unless, of course, you
as Nigeria, the picture is more complex,” happen to own your own nickel mine. ■The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Comment 11
How Equatorial Guinea became
a textbook kleptocracy
A massive oil find enabled an authoritarian regime
Enrique N. Okenve Martínez resources from the country’s oil to develop
a very effective clientelist system. This
I n the mid-1990s, offshore oil extraction
began in Equatorial Guinea, and many
believed that the small, poverty-stricken
grants access to national wealth through
an intricate network of multilayered
loyalties and support – all controlled by
country in the west of Central African had the ruling elite.
struck gold under its territorial waters. The ruling party was turned into
Along with the wave of democratisation an efficient co-option tool to widen
that was sweeping through the African loyalties across all corners of the country
continent at the time, this was a second in exchange for political and state
chance to start all over again (after the appointments that enable illicit access to
economic and humanitarian disaster of public resources.
its first post-independence government). State-sponsored corruption has
Optimism, however, was misplaced. turned many Equatorial-Guineans
Oil extraction has not brought about the into accomplices of the generalised
change so many dreamt of. Instead, vast misappropriation of state resources.
revenues have strengthened the 43-year- While most citizens have not benefited
long autocracy headed by President directly from this scheme, it would be
Obiang Nguema and his family. difficult to find a family in which none
Obiang took over in a coup in 1979 of its members has got their hands dirty.
that was supposed to usher in democracy. The country’s spectacular economic
But it was only in the late 1980s that other growth from the beginning of the century
political organisations were legalised gave way to a massive expansion of the
and multiparty elections organised. country’s infrastructure. Not only did
Soon, it became clear that he was not as this change the face of a country which,
popular as he had assumed, and Obiang’s until then, had been isolated and poor,
government soon resorted to rigging but it quickly facilitated the expansion and
elections to stay in power. deepening of corruption.
In the absence of political legitimacy Every infrastructure project – and their
and social support, the president has been number grew exponentially – became an
able to rely on the immense economic opportunity for the misappropriation ofThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 12
Forever Obiang:
President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo wishes
you all a very
happy new year.
state resources and further enrichment in oil production since 2012 has revealed
of the president, who proudly claimed how the government of Equatorial Guinea
that the import of cement – a monopoly wasted an opportunity for meaningful
of his company – was the only business in economic and social transformation and
which he was personally involved. the sustained benefit of its people.
Today, when locals refer to the Of course, it is not just dictators and
country as the president’s finca – Spanish their local cronies who are complicit
for farm or estate – one should not take in the creation of a kleptocracy. It also
this as an exaggeration but, rather, as an requires the collaboration and complicity
accurate portrayal of President Obiang’s of international corporations, an army
kleptocratic system: Not only does he of sophisticated lawyers, bankers,
effectively control the country’s main accountants and other professional
economic resources, but he also has the enablers, and the governments that
power to take away whatever wealth is harbour them.
owned by any citizen, should he wish to Too often, the international
set an example to encourage “loyalty”. community seems to think that the
combination of power-hungry autocrats,
This is the way profit-hungry corporations and clearly-
Equatorial Guinea has become a clear flawed elections will somehow lead to
case of how autocratic rulers can easily democracy.
benefit from capitalist activities that, far Equatorial Guineans can attest that
from generating democratic and social this is not the case. ■
transformations, bolster dictatorial
regimes and foster widespread corruption.
The consequences of this wasted Enrique N Okenve Martínez is a lecturer
and head of the department of history and
opportunity will be felt by citizens for archaeology at the University of the West
many generations to come. The steady fall Indies in Jamaica.The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Eye Witness 13
My escape from Ukraine
Caught up in the invasion, Bisola Ehi Ogolowa
recounts how she made it to safety – experiencing both
kindness and blatant racism on her arduous journey
I am in Budapest in Hungary now, but
the journey here has been intense,
frustrating, depressing and confusing.
By Saturday, we were hearing that
Russian troops were heading towards
Zaporizhzhya, about an hour-plus from
I’ve been in a state of constant fear and where I resided. We decided it was time
uncertainty since the Russian army, with to leave! We headed for the train station
the collaboration of Belarus, started with nothing but the most essential items:
amassing troops on Ukraine’s borders. documents and clothes for a week. Mine in
Russia said the troops were there for a hand-luggage box and a hand bag.
training exercises, but most in Ukraine Once again, everyone had made the
saw through that ruse. In fact, many same decision as us! The station was
speculating over a potential invasion had crowded with Ukrainians and foreigners
initially diarised 16 February as D-Day. alike. Cue the racism! Though some trains
Then, on the morning of Thursday the were free, the one we needed required
24th, we heard two bomb blasts, our first tickets – but railway workers were only
experience of the war in Dnipro, the city selling to Ukrainians.
in eastern Ukraine where I lived. It had We decided to wait for the train anyway,
started four days earlier and was already without tickets. But no one was sure of the
raging in Kyiv, the capital and other cities right track. We kept running up and down
like Kharkiv, Sumy, Odessa. the stairs to different platforms trying to
We knew that the next stage for Dnipro figure out the right one, only for the train
would be implementation of curfew and to leave us behind because we didn’t have
martial law so, on Friday, my roommates the tickets they refused to sell to us. But we
and I went out to buy some groceries, forced our way onto the next train. A few
hoping to get enough to last us a month of our friends were aboard already, and
indoors. But everybody had had the same they made space for us.
thought! The stores and ATMs were The journey out of Dnipro was for 18
queued up. We managed to get some hours, during which we neither ate nor
groceries, but no cash. The situation was slept properly. Arriving in Lviv, a city in
so stressful that one of my roommates kept western Ukraine, 70km from the Polish
throwing up. It didn’t help that we were all border, our initial plan was to go to Poland
recovering from typhoid fever. but the trains were unavailable and weThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 14
were hearing that foreigners were being station, I spoke to other African people/
rejected at that border. students listening to their stories of escape
By this point, there were many black from Kyiv or Kharkiv. Some said they
men among us. They helped us, black initially went to the Polish border, walking
women, get on the train to Uzhgorod, nine hours to the border, only to have to
towards the border with Hungary. It was a walk the distance back to Lviv after they
five-hour journey. We still hadn’t eaten. In failed to cross through because of the
Uzhgorod, we took a bus to Chop station; discriminations against foreigners.
the last stop before crossing into Hungary.
Chop station was so choked up that Respite from the storm
soldiers had to come to create some A Ukrainian lady, mother of an
order. Exhausted and famished, we acquaintance named Christina, let four
decided to stay the night in Uzhgorod, of us sleep in her house that night. She
accommodated by an acquaintance. We treated us perfectly; gave us food, clean
were able to eat at last, and rest, before towels and a very spacious room with a
setting off for Chop station early on very comfortable bed. The next day, 1
Monday the 28th. March, we left early for Chop Station and
More racism! We stood over four to our surprise found the place empty. A
hours in a ticket queue because soldiers charmed day! We sailed through, got on
were stopping people from going through the train and in 15 minutes we were in
unless they were Ukrainian women and Zahony, Hungary!
children. Now, I had no problem with There we met a Nigerian embassy
letting women and children be the priority representative who got us train tickets for
but are we not women? to Budapest, where we were welcomed by
Then soldiers escalated the whole every Hungarian there with free food and
thing by asking us to move backwards and offers of free accommodation.
pushing us when we didn’t. At the head I chose not to take the evacuation flight
of my queue was a Ukrainian woman. provided by the Nigerian government on
A black guy stood just behind her. The 3 March: I have been trying to earn my
soldier pushed the guy backwards, saying medical degree in Ukraine for nine years
that he wouldn’t touch a woman – but now. Twice it has been interrupted by
when I got to the front, the soldier again Russian wars. The first time by the 2014
demanded we move back and pushed me war in Crimea. I’m not ready to give it
so badly I screamed. He didn’t care where up yet. I got a temporary but renewable
he was touching me, using his body to permit to stay in Hungary for a month,
push me, his hands pressing my breasts. although I’m not allowed to cross into the
Most of the friends I had travelled rest of Europe or the Schengen area. ■
with left for Hungary but I stayed behind
waiting for a friend from Zaporizhzhya so Bisola Ehi Ogolowa is a Nigerian student
we could go to Hungary together. At the who was studying medicine in Ukraine.The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Sport 15
Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Two hours
in Tokyo
Kenyan runner Eliud
Kipchoge won the Tokyo
Marathon last weekend.
Despite taking a wrong
turn, the 37-year-old came
within a minute of the world
record of just over two
hours and one minute – his
own world record. Kipchoge
now holds three of the four THE WORLD’S FASTEST
fastest times in history MARATHONS:
across the 42km distance. 2:01:39 (Kipchoge)
And he’s won four of the six 2:01:41 (Kenenisa Bekele)
biggest marathons, as well 2:02:37 (Kipchoge)
as two Olympic gold medals. 2:02:40 (Kipchoge)The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Data 16
When will they than four in 10 Africans (43%) don’t have
access to piped-water systems, and only
have water? three in 10 (30%) live in areas served
by sewage systems. A growing number
of people – 56% in the past year – are
T his month brings us World Water Day
(22 March) and the first World Water
Forum held in sub-Saharan Africa (22-27
experiencing shortages of clean water.
Access to piped water varies widely,
from 99% in Mauritius to just 24% in
March in Dakar, Senegal). Burkina Faso. But one reality shared by
Decision-makers from around the most countries is that rural residents and
globe will confront the grim reality that poor people are farthest from achieving
billions of people – including millions of the basic human right to clean water.
Africans – still lack access to safe drinking In rural areas, only 20% of people
water, improved sanitation services, and have piped water at home – one-third as
basic handwashing facilities. many as in cities (64%). The gap is wider
Findings from Afrobarometer surveys between the poor (those in “high lived
in 34 African countries show that more poverty”) and the wealthy (23% vs. 71%).
Main source of water for household use | by urban-rural
location and lived poverty | 34 African countries | 2019/2021
Piped water into dwelling Piped water into yard, plot or compound
Public tap or standpipe Tubewell or borehole Other sources
Source: Afrobarometer, a non-partisan African research network that conducts
nationally representative surveys on democracy, governance, and quality of life.
Face-to-face interviews with 1,200-2,400 people in each country yield results with a
margin of error of +/- two to three percentage points.The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Climate 17
Africa’s climate science
problem
As climate chaos envelops Africa, local scientists point
to the need for urgent action – and the hope that this
action will bring. But huge disparities in funding mean
they are a small voice, with little data to work from.
Justina Asishana and Sipho Kings but will see the most extreme impacts
of climate change. But that window
T he mega climate change report
released by the United Nations last
week spelled out massive problems for
of opportunity is important, she said,
pointing to two key actions that need to
be taken: Look after the ecosystems that
Africa. These range from drought to already exist and rethink how African
wildfires, flooding, sea level rise and mass cities work (or don’t).
migration. It also concluded its over 3,000
pages with an urgent call to action: “Any The climate report found
further delay … will miss a brief and that less than four percent
rapidly closing window of opportunity of the money spent on
to secure a liveable and sustainable future
climate research between
for all.”
Debra Roberts is the co-chair of the
1990 and 2010 was spent
group of hundreds of scientists from on Africa. Only a fraction of
around the world who volunteered their that went to research done
time to put this report together. A South inside the continent
African, she was one of several scientists
from the continent who were involved. Edmond Totin, a climate scientist
She told The Continent that from Benin and an author of the UN
“widespread losses and damages in report, said cities are key because so many
every sector” will “affect everyone”. As people are already moving into them.
things collapse, so much of Africa’s recent More than half of Africa’s population
development could be reversed. As ever, now lives in cities, with over half of
this will affect those who are the least those people forced to live in informal
responsible the most — Africa emits settlements.
about 3% of global carbon emissions Feeding those cities — and keepingThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 18
Dire warnings:
Debra Roberts, one
of Africa’s leading
climate scientists,
co-chaired the 3,000-
page UN report. Photo:
Twitter/IPCC_CH
people working in agriculture — is a spent on Africa. A fraction of that went
huge challenge, he said. Africa’s food to research done inside the continent:
sector is not resilient enough to changes $140-million went to the United States
in climate, especially in the majority of and $120-million to the United Kingdom
countries that rely on rainfall instead of to do research on Africa, while Kenya and
irrigation systems. This is something that South Africa each got $10-million.
will need to change. As the report politely notes: “Research
led by external researchers may focus less
The data problem on local priorities.”
The UN’s report highlighted the Climate models are therefore largely
significant disadvantages African imported. There is also a massive problem
scientists face, both in terms of financial with data on temperature, weather and
resources and in how much data they socioeconomic indicators across much
have to make climate projections. Totin of Africa. Rwanda, for example, had little
said real investment has to be made in temperature data in the 1990s thanks to
early warning systems that can detect big, the genocide and change in government.
sudden disasters such as a cyclone earlier This makes it hard to say how rainfall,
and more accurately, and also predict temperature and livelihoods are changing
the onset of longer-term problems, like and will change at a local level. In the UN
drought. This requires data. report this comes across with notes about
And the climate report found that less low certainty on projections – in contrast
than 4% of the money spent on climate with the very detailed projections on
research between 1990 and 2010 was countries in western Europe. ■The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 19
PHOTO ESSAY But the climate here is changing.
More intense rainfall yet less overall
Uganda’s rain. Drought, high temperatures
and generally unpredictable weather
climate and patterns are making their lives harder.
Cattle need a clean and regular supply
cattle problem of water, as do the communities that
keep them. They also need healthy
soil so their grazing grass grows.
The Karimojong of north-eastern Long-term climate projections
Uganda are some of the country’s suggest this unpredictability will
last remaining pastoralists. Their only get worse. Photojournalist
Stuart Tibaweswa spent a week
region is home to a fifth of the
with one community in Karamoja to
country’s livestock and their way document their daily work, which
of life has developed to a precise starts at 5am, and to see how they
rhythm over centuries. are being forced to adapt.The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 20
Peter Lemukul, 5,
milks one of his
father’s cows in
Ariamaoi Village,
Nabilatuk district.
He does this
every morning
and evening with
his brother and
cousins.
At 7am in Ariamaoi village in the Nabilatuk district, Angelle Peter and his
fellow herders sit together, cleaning their teeth with sticks while sharing news
and discussing which grazing routes to use after receiving an alert about an
expected raid by a group of rustlers in their area. The dangers here are not
just environmental: as the interpreter translates their conversation, it sparks
very real concerns about our physical security.The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 21
In Kotido district, a
Karimojong herder
watches over his
cattle. This river was
the herders’ first
water encounter of
the day after walking
for about four hours.
It is very common in
the Karamoja region
to see young boys
between the ages
of 6 and 15 moving
with their cattle,
especially in safer
grazing grounds
around Moroto and
Amudat.
In Ariamaoi village, Nabilatuk district, a family of Karimojong elders walk
home after escorting herders and advising them on grazing routes that are
safe to use. Iriama Anthony, 34, leading them at the front, is a household head
of the manyatta (homestead) in the village. He plays a major role in providing
information regarding the quantity of water and pasture versus the number
of livestock in the area.The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 22
A woman washes her clothes in the river Ajijim in Nabilatuk district. It’s the
dry season, so the basic sources of water in this area – like boreholes – are
dry with no water at all. People therefore have to travel further to access the
water they need – most would rather store the little water they are able to
collect from boreholes and rainwater for drinking and cooking, and use river
water for their livestock and other domestic needs.
A Karimojong boy
digs a small hole for
freshwater at the River
Loidiri bank. The boy
and his brothers were
herding their livestock
when they stopped by
a river to take water.
On reaching the water
underneath, they pour
out the surface water,
leaving fresher water
to sprout seconds
later. With this method,
the pastoralists can
drink water that is not
contaminated.The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 23
A Karimojong
pastoralist cools
himself with surface
water left over from
the heavy downpour
the previous
night in Amudat
district. During
the dry season,
temperatures can
reach as high as
40°C, but averages
at about 29°C in the
afternoon.
Some areas of Karamoja benefit from the unusual rains, but certainly not
all. River Omaniman, one of Karamoja’s longest and fast-running rivers
through Kotido district, was left completely waterless over the dry season
in October. When it rains in this area of Kotido, the river fills rapidly with
dense and furious water flow, which can sometimes claim the lives of
people and animals.The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Feature 24
Inside Liberia’s
overcrowded prisons
Liberian prisoners are living in shocking conditions –
even though most have not yet been convicted
Dounard Bondo in Monrovia soup is usually bad so we have to buy
some from outside. If you’re lucky to have
L iberia’s most populated prison –
Monrovia Central Prison – went into
lockdown in January because it couldn’t
people on the outside, they will bring food
for you,” he said.
In January, Duo and many others
feed its inmates and its keepers feared a weren’t able to at all for two days. It might
food riot would erupt. have been longer but for the intervention
This was not an isolated incident. of a local businessman, Upjit Singh
Food shortages are an issue at prisons Sachdeva, who donated food to the
across the country – but they are far from prison.
the only issue.
“We are suffering,” Duo*, a 35-year-old Overcrowded, underfunded
inmate of the Monrovia prison tells The A major part of the problem is that
Continent. Prisoners don’t have running Liberia has way more prisoners than
water, he says, and get no skills training. it should. Sixty-three percent of the
The cells hold far more prisoners than prison population across the country are
they were designed to. “People sleep on pretrial detainees, according to a 2020
the floor. Some tie rice bags high up on human rights report by the United States
the walls and sleep in them. Sometimes government.
they fall and get injured.” In Monrovia Central Prison, where
Last year, the director of prisons, Duo is incarcerated, that figure is 77%.
Reverend Sainleseh Kwaidah, said that There are cases where the pre-trial
only six out of 16 prisons had any clinical detention has exceeded the maximum
facilities or a clinician on duty each day. length of sentence that could be imposed
In the other 10 prisons, medical staff were for the alleged crime, the report noted.
only available on a rotational arranged Reverend Francis Kollie, the country
schedule. director of Prison Fellowship Liberia,
But, Duo says, it is the food situation siad: “We have a high number of pre-
that is truly dire. “We eat only once a day trial detainees and overcrowded prisons.
and it is just a small plate of rice. The This is due in part to the lack of a publicThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 25
Photo: Jose
Cabezas/AFP
defence program that can adequately meet food budget was cut from $5,000 per
the demand of citizens.” In a country prison to $3,000. The year before, $19,000
where the national per capita income of the money meant to feed prisoners was
was just $570 in 2020, most people cannot diverted to cover security for a senatorial
afford bail or to hire a lawyer. election in one of Liberia’s counties.
The government does employ public In a 2022 February press release,
defenders to represent the poorest citizens the government said it would build a
but they are stretched thin, having to new prison facility for the Monrovia
cover large areas in rural Liberia, leaving Central Prison, which can’t hold any
many people without adequate legal more prisoners than it already has. “The
representation. ministry of justice and stakeholders are to
As a result, the prison system heaves explore avenues for possible funding for
with a population that far exceeds what the construction of a new prison facility,”
it was built to hold. The Monrovia central the statement said. In February, the
prison was built to hold 374 people but in president also declared that he would be
2020 it held 1,230. granting clemency to 500 inmates.
Funding prisoner welfare remains a But Duo has a suggestion that does
low priority. A 2021 audit of the prison not involve investing even more of the
system by Liberia’s auditing commission country’s scarce resources in locking
showed that inmates had not been fed up even more citizens. “They need to
fish or meat for six months, from January introduce probation for good behaviour.
2021 to June 2021, because their monthly I would have qualified by now.” ■The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Travel 26
Five days on the river Nile
A four-night cruise on Africa’s longest river offers
scenic views and a memorable experience
Wale Okediran
W e were still having lunch in a lovely cavernous restaurant on board
our 150-passenger cruise ship, Radamis 11, when we upped anchor
and set sail from the Egyptian port of Aswan.
The five-deck, 65-cabin ship nosed her way past other ships still at the
dock, moving from the bank of the Nile towards the river’s wide belly to
commence our 220km voyage to the city of Luxor.
A number of activities had been arranged for our enjoyment. These
included a “Tea Time” and “Special Dinner” on the sun deck as well as a
colourful “Galabeya party” which gave guests the opportunity to dress up
in traditional Egyptian clothing and dance to Arabic music, and enjoy a
performance by an Egyptian belly dancer
All the activities were listed in daily bulletins that were slipped under
the door of our cabin every morning and were arranged in addition to the
generous and delicious buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner.
With lunch over, I climbed to the sun deck, where I joined other
passengers who, like me, had come to enjoy a better view of the River Nile.
By now the ship was picking up speed as we passed barges and
fishermen in canoes who could be seen throwing their nets into the water
at the edge of the great river.
Also at the edge of the river was lush farmland laden with mangoes andThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 27
Dipping a toe:
Families gather
on the shallow
waters of the
Nile. Photo: AFP
bananas, as well as forests and swamps with palm and date trees.
In the distance were estuaries of smaller rivers as they joined the Nile.
These estuaries, according to one of the sailors, were full of Nile crocodiles
– which are known to be very ferocious. Not quite as ferocious but getting
there was the midday sun itself, directly above our heads on the deck as
we watched local traders could be hawking their wares from small boats
on the river to passengers four decks above them.
The young traders roped their boats to the side of the ship and, after
displaying their wares, would take the clothing and scarves that had caught
a passenger’s eye and deftly throw them up, over and on to the sun deck.
The passengers in return would throw money down to them in their
canoes. Wonderful in theory. In practice many of the purchase failed to
gain purchase – instead landing straight back in the river.
An hour later, we arrived at Esna as the golden sun slipped below the
fluffy late afternoon clouds to cast a beautiful orange glow on the river.
From minarets in some of the town’s mosques came the ringing calls
for the afternoon prayers. Radamis 11 was called in a different direction
however, and we continued sailing as afternoon tea was served.
After a dinner of mashed potatoes, baked salmon and fruit salad, I
returned to the deck for a final nocturnal view of the great river. Standing
there alone at that height with the rarefied air all around me, the whispers
of the river evoked myriad creative images in my mind. Suddenly, my
solitude was interrupted as another ship hove into view. On its own sun
deck, passengers danced to lovely music whose melody wafted in the cool
evening air to cascade down the calm surface of the river. ■
Wale Okediran is the secretary-general of the Pan-African Writers AssociationThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 28
THE QUIZ Photo: Guillem Sartorio / AFP
1_ Muhoozi Kainerugaba motorcycle taxis called in
is the son of which sitting East Africa?
African president? 8_ Djibouti has two
0-3 2_ True or false:
Zimbabwe does not
official languages. One is
Arabic. What is the other?
“I think I need to
border Mozambique. 9_ David Adedeji Adeleke
start reading more 3_ Which country is is the birth name of which
newspapers.” Africa’s largest copper Afrobeats star?
producer and the world’s 10_ Which African
largest cobalt producer? president became the
4_ Mike Sonko is a chairman of the African
4-7 politician from which
country?
Union last month?
“I can’t wait to
5_ In which year was
explore more of
this continent.”
Kariba Dam opened:
1955, 1959 or 1965?
HOW DID I DO?
6_ What is the demonym WhatsApp ‘ANSWERS’ to
for people from Chad? +27 73 805 6068 and we’ll
7_What are bicycle/ send the answers to you!
8-10
“My Afrobeats
name is Quizzo. Would you like to send us some quiz questions
See you on or even curate your own quiz? Let us know at
TheContinent@mg. co.za
Spotify.”The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 29
Who wore out Women’s Day best?
wore it best” of sorts, in this case with the
Continental “best” being just the absolute worst.
Drift Let us start with Kenya, where a video
began to circulate in which a woman
Samira Sawlani
driver was attacked, stripped and sexually
assaulted by a group of boda boda drivers.
There were those that watched and those
What a week it’s been, dear reader. that joined in until a police officer arrived
Featuring no less a day than the day so at the scene.
many companies, organisations and As the video surfaced on social media
governments wait so desperately for each Kenyan women spoke out regarding
year. The one day a year they can put on similar experiences they have faced while
their most Oscar-worthy performance, others shared just how triggered watching
to show the world how wonderful, the video or even just hearing about it had
progressive and committed they are to been. The following day a large group of
the rights of half the global population. women took to the streets of Nairobi as
International Woman’s Day. demanding that authorities do more to
After all, who needs equal pay when protect women.
instead they can have a rose left on their Amid all this President Uhuru
desk by the HR department? And sure Kenyatta, clearly a champion of women’s
the government could roll up its sleeves rights considering he featured in the
and actually do something about gender papers of a woman named Pandora,
based violence, maternal health and ordered a “crackdown” on boda drivers,
income disparity, but why bother with demanding that they go through a vetted
something boring like that it could post a re-registration process.
tweet instead about how women hold up Meanwhile, the country’s interior
one half of the world? minister Dr Fred Matiang’I provided the
Which woman amongst us would not drinkers amongst us with a game which
choose speeches from our inglorious could see them get tipsy pretty quick if
leaders about how incredible women they drank a shot every time certain
are over, say, actually stopping funding words frequently trotted out by Kenyan
conflicts and supporting regimes that government officials were mentioned.
actively harm women ever single day? Matiang’I said he was “shocked” (take
In fact we at Continental Drift think a shot) and “disgusted” (take a shot)
there should be a competition, a “who and has asked that the perpetrators beThe Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 30
“swiftly apprehended” (two shots), for
their “heinous act” (take a shot), and that
taskforce must be established (just finish
the bottle at this point).
Party like there’s no junta
From Keeping up With The Kenyans we
flip channels over to Keeping Up With
The Coupdashions in Burkina Faso, where
authorities have approved a transition
plan which would see the military junta
remain in power for up to three years.
Days later, coup leader Lieutenant-
Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba was sworn in Shocked: Surely Kenyan minister Fred
again as president of the country, less than Matiang’I is not driving us to drink?
a month after the first time he was sworn Photo: Twitter/FredMatiangi
in! Still, it was an excuse to get dressed up
and have a party, though definitely not people’s stuff. But others seem to be...
in attendance were any Ecowas leaders: giving it back? This week brought news
Following the adoption of the transition that The Smithsonian Institute wants to
plan by the Burkinabe government, repatriate its collection of Benin Bronzes
Ecowas announced that the presidents to Nigeria, and relinquish any “technical”
of Ghana and Niger had cancelled their ownership. This comes after two bronzes
planned visit to Ouagadougou, and once looted by the British were returned by the
more demanded the release of former universities of Cambridge and Aberdeen
president Roch Marc Christian Kabore. to Benin City in Nigeria. Over to you,
We’re not sure how that will go, British Museum! Hello? Hello? Oh dear.
but someone who has been released is They hung up.
Tanzanian opposition party Chadema’s While we at Drift were keen to end
Chairman Freeman Mbowe, after this week’s column by acknowledging the
terrorism charges against him and his incredible women all across the African
co-accused were dropped. Continent, we are here to remind you
After his release, Mbowe, who had that the fight for women cannot be
been in police custody since July last year, reduced to one day. We need better
even met with President Samia Suluhu policies, representation, protection and
Hassan – leaving some optimistic that opportunities to create any kind of real
the crackdown on the opposition during empowerment. And our hearts are with
her predecessor’s reign is slowly being those who have been let down by society,
reversed. But while some are being set and the authorities who promised to keep
free, some are still clinging on… to other them safe. ■The Continent
issue 78. march 12 2022 Analysis 31
The struggle against women’s representation. Although
the constitution suggests attention to
for gender gender and regional balance, the norm of
appointing one minister from each region
is considered to be essential, which is not
parity in the case when it comes to gender. Another
challenge is that the constitution requires
African that at least half of the 19 cabinet ministers
must come from parliament, and only
cabinets 15% of MPs are women.
The fact that which ministries are
Gretchen Bauer and included in the cabinet varies between
Akosua K Darkwah leaders is also challenging. Under
President Nana Akufo-Addo, for example,
M ore governments are moving in
the direction of gender parity
cabinets. In early 2021, according to
the ministry of gender, children and
social protection has been excluded.
Additionally, dozens of ministers – non-
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, about cabinet ministers, regional ministers,
a dozen countries had 50% women or ministers of state – are appointed outside
more in “ministerial positions”, but this of cabinet, many of whom are “friends and
only included two African countries – family appointments.” Thus, it is easy to
Rwanda and Guinea Bissau. This raises see how women’s voices get lost.
the question of how cabinet appointment Unless there is a significant change to
processes are gendered and what can be both the formal and informal rules and
done to promote gender parity in cabinets to the large number of ministers outside
in other African states. of cabinet and to which ministries are
To look at this we built on a model inside cabinet, women’s ability to access
developed by Claire Annesley, Karen and deploy political power will continue
Beckwith and Susan Franceschet to to be undermined.■
interrogate the cabinet appointment
process in Ghana, where women have Gretchen Bauer is a professor of political
never made up more than 32% – and are science and international relations at the
currently just 20% – of cabinet ministers. University of Delaware. Akosua K. Darkwah is
associate professor of sociology and acting
We found that while Ghana has a dean, school of information
fully “empowered” president who could and communication studies,
appoint a gender parity cabinet, the at the University of Ghana.
This analysis was produced in
formal and informal rules governing collaboration with Democracy
the selection of cabinet ministers work in Africa.The Continent | issue 78. march 12 2022 32
THE BIG PICTURE
Avocado attack: An elephant grazes with a view of Mount Kilimanjaro in the
background at Kimana Sanctuary in Kimana, Kenya. A turf war has erupted
over a 180-acre avocado farm near one of Kenya’s premier national parks,
where elephants and other wildlife graze against the striking backdrop
of Africa’s highest peak. Opponents of the farm say it obstructs the free
movement of the iconic tuskers -- putting their very existence at risk -- and
clashes with traditional ways of using the land. The farm’s backers refute
this, saying their development poses no threat to wildlife and generates
much-needed jobs on idle land. The rift underscores a broader struggle for
dwindling resources that echoes beyond Kenya, as wilderness is constricted by
expanding farmland to feed a growing population. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP
The Continent is published by the Adamela Trust, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Mail &
Guardian journalists that is dedicated to fostering quality journalism. It is produced with the M&G,
Africa’s leading independent newspaper, and upholds strict editorial standards. For queries and
complaints, or to make a donation, please contact TheContinent@mg.co.za.You can also read
