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African journalism. JULY 10 2021 | ISSUE 53
The Continent
with
Zuma’
downfa
South Africa jails a
former president
Graphic: John McCann
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 2 Inside: WE’LL BE BACK ■ Cover story: On Thursday, The Continent takes regular South Africa jailed a former publication breaks to allow president. Jacob Zuma was booked our journalists (and our into the Estcourt Correctional finances) to recover. You Centre to start a 15-month term won’t hear from us for the for contempt of court, but this next three Saturdays, but might just be the beginning of his normal service will resume problems (p14) on August 7. If you’re not ■ Refugees in Malawi: The not-so- subscribed already, make warm heart of Africa (p11) sure to do so before then ■ Interview: Musician Nubian Li so that you don’t miss out recounts his prison ordeal (p18) (WhatsApp us on +27 73 ■ Too good to be true: Why do 805 6068 or email us on young Nigerians keep falling for TheContinent@mg.co.za). Ponzi schemes? (p21) Like all the really good ■ North vs South: Al Ahly and Kaizer things in life, it’s free! Chiefs fight for supremacy (p25) Absolut Power: King Mswati III rules over Africa’s last absolute monarchy. But as unrest grows, how much longer can he keep it up, and his subjects down? (p9)
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 3
The week in numbers
RIP
4-million
RIP RIP RIP
10
... the number of
confirmed Covid deaths
globally, a milestone
passed this week. ... South Sudan's birthday.
1,174
1,130
... the number of Benin
... carats, the
size of a diamond
found in Botswana,
Bronzes Nigeria has making it the third
called on Germany to largest diamond
return. ever found.
170 – 250-billion
The amount in US dollars that Africa’s
tourism industry has lost in revenue
because of the pandemic.
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 4
Photo: Wakil RWANDA
Kohsar/AFP
Soldiers sent to
fight insurgency
in Mozambique
On Friday, Rwanda began deploying
a 1,000-strong force to Mozambique
to help combat the insurgency in
Cabo Delgado, comprising soldiers
and policemen trained “to deal with
terrorism and security-related issues”,
Good luck?: An Afghan National Army
President Paul Kagame’s government
soldier takes a selfie with his mobile said. This force is separate to the
phone inside the Bagram US air base deployment approved by the Southern
after all US and Nato troops left. African Development Community last
month. The insurgency has displaced
WORLD 800,000 people and halted work on
West abandons $20-billion worth of energy projects.
Afghanistan TOGO
Two decades after invading Afghanistan
– and $2-trillion later – the United
Pirates jailed in
States is withdrawing all its forces as of historic verdict
August 31. The massive effort to defeat
the Taliban appears to have ended in Nine pirates who attempted to hijack
failure, with the Islamist militant group a ship in Togolese waters have been
currently on the resurgence. It has sentenced to prison terms ranging
already reclaimed half of the country’s from 12 to 20 years, marking the first
407 districts, and some intelligence time pirates have been tried in the West
analysts expect them to overrun the African nation. Ten pirates, including
capital Kabul within six months. seven Nigerians, two Togolese and one
Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Ghanaian, went on trial for “maritime
civilians have died since the invasion. piracy, wilful violence and groups of
Millions have been displaced. But criminals”. One of the Togolese men
American companies had a place to was acquitted. They were found guilty
profit with little oversight, so it’s mission of attacking the tanker G-Dona 1 in
accomplished in the land of Empire. May 2019.
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 5
SPORTS
Tokyo bans fans
’mid podium odium
The Tokyo Olympics will be held in
empty arenas after Japan announced
a Covid-19 state of emergency for
the capital city. Fans from abroad had
already been barred from attending
the world’s pre-eminent athletics event, HAITI
which is scheduled to begin on July 23,
after being postponed last year due to
President Moïse
the pandemic. The decision to go ahead assassinated
with the Olympics at all has been widely
criticised in the Japanese media. Jovenel Moïse, Haiti’s president
since 2017, was killed in his private
residence by unknown gunmen early
SOUTH AFRICA on Wednesday morning, plunging
the nation further into political crisis.
Dubai’s DP World His wife, Martine, was injured and
goes all in on has been flown to a Miami hospital.
There have been protests in Haiti since
South African February urging Moïse to step down.
His opponents say his term ended on
logistics company February 7, which marked the fifth
anniversary of his predecessor stepping
Dubai-based DP World, a multinational down; Moïse argued it started a year
logistics company, is set to acquire later when he took office. A referendum
South African logistics company on the constitution planned for June 27
Imperial after making an all-cash offer was postponed and is expected to take
of 12.73-billion rand ($887-million) place in September when elections for
as it seeks to expand its footprint in a new president and parliament are
Africa. The publicly listed Imperial scheduled to be held. It is unclear how
will be delisted from the Johannesburg Moïse’s demise affects both. Acting
Stock Exchange when the deal goes Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who was
through. DP World already has due to be replaced this week, says he is
operations in Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, now in charge of the country. Haitian
Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, police have arrested two Americans and
Somaliland and South Africa. 15 Colombians for the hit.
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The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 7 AFRICA NIGERIA The pandemic is Yet another worse than ever school kidnapping The continent recorded more than In depressingly familiar news, dozens 251,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the of schoolchildren were kidnapped on week ending July 4, a 20% increase from Monday in Nigeria’s northwestern the previous week. This makes it the Kaduna State by armed men who continent’s worst week of the pandemic, raided Bethel Baptist High School. the World Health Organisation Twenty eight of the abducted students announced Thursday. Sixteen African and one of their teachers have now countries are experiencing a surge in been reunited with their families, infections fuelled by the Delta variant of but about 120 are still missing. It is the virus, and case counts are doubling the latest in a string of incidents that every 18 days. Cases have been rising have rocked north and central Nigeria, for seven straight weeks. “For Africa, where heavily armed criminal gangs the worst is yet to come,” warned Dr have embarked on a campaign of Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Africa rustling cattle, sacking villages and chief. “The end to this precipitous kidnapping people for ransom. About rise is still weeks away.” Vaccination 1,000 students have been abducted remains painfully low: with just over since December; most of them have 53-million vaccine jabs administered, been released after negotiations, though only about 1% of Africa’s population is some remain missing and others have fully vaccinated. been killed. EGYPT Ever Given finally comes unstuck Egypt has released the Ever Given, the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for days in March, after reaching a compensation agreement with the ship’s owner and insurers. It is unknown Photo: Maxar how much exchanged hands but Egypt Technologies had demanded $550-million.
The Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 News 8
Ethiopia
and an unknown number of troops.
“After the defeat of Abiy’s forces,
we are saying, let’s have a negotiated
ceasefire,” Gebretensae told Reuters. “We
are restraining ourselves for a realistic
political solution to the whole problem. I
Defatigable: Captured Ethiopian
would like the international community
Army soldiers are guided towards the to understand this situation.”
Mekelle Rehabilitation Centre in the Gebretensae did not rule out the
Tigray regional capital. Photo: AFP possibility of continued fighting should a
solution prove elusive. “If there is no other
choice, then the next choice will be: try to
Tigray offers resolve it militarily.”
The call for a ceasefire comes as the
olive branch United Nations warns that food shortages
in Tigray have worsened over the past two
T he head of the Tigray Defence Forces,
the armed wing of the Tigrayan
People’s Liberation Front, has called on
weeks, with 400,000 people affected by
famine and another 1.8-million estimated
to be at imminent risk.
the Ethiopian government to engage with Reaching Tigray has been difficult
the northern region’s leaders to find a path for aid agencies, but the Ethiopian
to a political solution to the conflict. government has denied that it is blocking
Last week, General Tsadkan aid or using hunger as a tactic of war. The
Gebretensae led Tigrayan forces in country’s aviation authority said flights
a stunning comeback as they retook to Tigray from the capital Addis Ababa
Mekelle and other key towns in the region. are now allowed with the approval of the
Amid renewed fears that famine and foreign ministry, though no such flights
deprivation will affect millions of people had taken off yet.
in Tigray, he said this week that the Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières
Ethiopian government could not win the has called for an investigation into the
war and that a bilateral ceasefire was the killing of three of its staffers in Tigray
only way out from the eight months of and announced it would be scaling back
crisis that has killed thousands of civilians operations in some parts of the region. ■
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 9
Eswatini
Unrest shakes
the kingdom
T he Kingdom of Eswatini has been
rocked by unrest over the past couple
of months. Protests have turned violent,
King Mswati III is said to have fled the
country, government buildings have
been damaged and police have reportedly
assaulted protesters.
It appears that a considerable segment
of Eswatini’s 1.2-million people no longer Road worrier: A burnt truck in Manzini,
want the tag of “Africa’s last absolute Eswatini, where dozens of protesters
monarchy” and would rather live in a have been killed and scores injured in
democracy. Thanks to Mswati’s use of clashes with police. Photo: AFP
force – and the assistance of cellphone
companies who helped switch off the the maltreatment of journalists.
internet – it is hard to say how many of Two journalists from New Frame, a
his subjects would prefer to opt out of South African publication, were allegedly
subjugation, though. detained and tortured by security forces
Aggrieved citizens and rights groups after being forced to delete material
have accused His Majesty and the greater from their devices. The regime seems to
royal family of enjoying lives of splendour think that if there are no records, it didn’t
while the general population descends happen.
into poverty. Magnificent Mndebele and Cebelihle
Security forces have killed at least Mbuyisa also say they had plastic bags
20 people and 150 others have been placed over their heads during their
hospitalised from gunshot wounds, ordeal.
according to Amnesty International. Through the publication’s legal
At first, the government denied intervention, the reporters were released
any knowledge of casualties but later and they returned to South Africa when
confirmed 27 people had died last week. it was safe to do so. Most Swati reporters,
Missing in their acknowledgement is however, do not have this luxury. ■
The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 10
Sorry for the inconvenience
O n Wednesday, MTN Eswatini issued
the above announcement to its
customers. What its jaunty corporate
shutdown directly helped an authoritarian
state to keep repressing its people.
On the African continent, MTN also
tone failed to acknowledge, however, operates in Benin*, Cameroon, Congo-
is the reason for the “unavailability of Brazzaville*, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea,
these platforms”: that the government Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria,
had ordered it to suspend access to social Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan,
media and the internet, as it sought to Uganda* and Zambia. If any of those
quell opposition to King Mswati III. MTN, governments order an internet shutdown,
along with the state-owned Eswatini how will MTN respond? After all, “we’re
Mobile and eSwatini Telecommunications in this together – everywhere you go”. ■
Corporation, complied.
Without the internet, protesters found *In Benin, Congo-Brazzaville and Uganda,
it difficult to organise demonstrations we already know the answer: MTN has
or coordinate support for victims of the previously assisted governments to block
government’s brutal crackdown. The internet access.The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 11
Malawi
Refugees once immediate shift in policy. In a press
briefing, he issued an ultimatum for all
found safety refugees to return to the sole refugee
camp at Dzaleka, Dowa in central Malawi
within 14 days.
here. Those Rattled, and fearing attacks from
xenophobic opportunists, members of
days are over. the expatriate population rushed to court
to obtain an injunction.
Citing security concerns, “People came to my shop and started
the state told refugees to telling us they will attack us when the
deadline expires,” said Elie Umukunzi,
report to Malawi’s only a foreign expatriate who is not a refugee.
camp – which is already “Everyone regards me as a refugee but I
well over capacity. am a businessman of Rwandese origin
with working permits.”
Golden Matonga in Lilongwe Umukunzi joined forces with other
foreign nationals who have considerable
F or years, Malawi has been welcoming
to refugees. Unlike many other
countries, the country has for the
investments in the country in the court
action. One day before the expiry of
the government ultimatum, the high
most part allowed refugees to settle court granted Umukunzi an injunction
and live in harmony with the local restraining the government from going
population: intermarrying, investing ahead with the action. Another group
in business and contributing to the of foreign nationals obtained a similar
country’s development in the fields of injunction in another court, but the state
medicine, nursing, teaching, arts and continues to press its case and another
entrepreneurship, among others. key ruling is expected in the next week.
Though there have been sporadic The state has been at pains to explain
tensions in past decades as foreign its decision. It says refugees are welcome,
nationals assimilated into the population, but must stay at Dzaleka. Addressing
these have been relatively muted. journalists after a visit to the camp,
Yet suddenly, in April this year, Chimwendo said security both at home
Malawi’s homeland security minister and in neighboring Mozambique was the
Richard Chimwendo announced an motivation for the government’s actions.The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 12
But rights activists are not convinced.
The Human Rights Defenders Coalition,
the most prominent civil society group in
Malawi, has warned that any move must
be handled with caution.
“The government should make sure
that it is not promoting xenophobic
attacks against foreigners. It should
make sure it allows people who have
legal documents of doing business and
residence to stay. The state should adhere
to principles of human rights as they are
Not pumped: Refugees draw water at
Dzaleka camp. It is reportedly over implementing their action,” chairperson
capacity, and residents fear the health Gift Trapence told The Continent.
implications of further crowding. “Refugees are one of the most vulnerable
groups. As such, the government should
Chimwendo assured the refugees make sure that they execute the actions
that their lives and property would be within the laws of this country and
protected and that, after all refugees international refugee law.”
had registered at the camp, those who Refugees say the Dzaleka camp is
have substantial investments and had no longer habitable. Initially meant
intermarried with the local population to host up to 10,000 refugees, it is now
could formally make applications to home to 50,000 living in dilapidated and
continue living outside the camp. congested housing, and facing water
“They will be allowed to live outside and sanitation challenges. The state says
only to wind up their businesses, not another 2,000 refugees are living among
for good,” the minister said. “We are not various communities outside the camp.
chasing them, and we just want them to The government has said it will expand
be where they should be. Those who have the camp to accommodate new arrivals,
businesses ... will have to operate from but this has done little to reassure those
Dzaleka. If they are married they must affected.
apply for permanent residence...We are “With the Covid-19 pandemic, the
not sending them back to their countries.” conditions make the camp a time bomb
The state’s security concerns for diseases as we already have poor
appear to be focused on neighbouring sanitation and it’s already congested,”
Mozambique, where foreign fighters have said Romain Bijangala, a leader of the
been blamed for fueling an insurgency Congolese community inside the Dzaleka
in Cabo Delgado. Malawi is among the camp. “We are asking for government to
regional countries that have pledged to allow those who are outside to continue
provide troops to combat the insurgency. staying there.” ■The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 13
South Africa
Jacob Zuma
goes to jail
S outh Africa has several former
leaders who ought to be in prison.
The architects of apartheid remain
free, and one, FW de Klerk, even has a
Nobel Peace Prize. This week, though, a
man who fought that regime – and then
allegedly looted the country to the brink
of collapse – did end up behind bars.
Despite evidence that he lived well
beyond his means, former president Contempory contretemps: Former
Jacob Zuma is only now facing any South African president Jacob Zuma
consequences. That’s in part because has been jailed for contempt of court.
during his time in charge of South Africa,
Zuma oversaw the dismantling of many before an inquiry investigating allegations
of the institutions that might hold him to of corruption during his nine-year tenure.
account, such as police investigative teams Zuma himself set up the investigation
and the tax ministry. while he was president but then claimed
But he failed to neuter the judiciary. it was prejudiced against him.
And after his party, the ruling African He will be eligible for parole in four
National Congress, replaced him to secure months, according to the justice minister.
its electoral future, he has shown nothing In the meantime, his corruption trial
but scorn for the courts. alongside French arms manufacturer
On Thursday, however, Zuma handed Thales will continue. He is accused of
himself over to police to begin a 15-month receiving bribes as deputy president
sentence – not for any malfeasance in 1999 through his associate Schabir
committed while in office, but for Shaik, who was convicted of corruption
contempt of court. charges in 2005. Shaik went to jail, Thales
The sentence, delivered by the kept profiting, and Zuma ascended to the
Constitutional Court, the nation’s highest presidency. Only now is he beginning to
judicial body, follows his failure to appear face the music. ■The Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 Feature 14
Inglorious husband:
Jacob Zuma with Gloria
Bongekile Ngema, one of
his four current wives.
Photo: AFP
All the president’s women
It was the women in Jacob Zuma’s life who threw the
former South African president’s character flaws
into sharpest relief. And it was women who ultimately
brought him down.
Kiri Rupiah – was already married to several women.
He met his first wife, Gertrude Sizakele
I n 2002, Jacob Zuma asked a princess
to marry him. But this was no fairytale
romance. Sebentile Dlamini, sister to
Khumalo, in 1959 as a 17-year-old boy, but
she had to wait until 1973 for him to make
an honest woman of her. In the meantime,
Eswatini’s King Mswati III, said yes, and Zuma had joined the fight against South
the families agreed on a lobola of 50 cattle. Africa’s racist apartheid regime, and spent
And then they waited. And waited. ten years in prison on Robben Island (the
At the time, Zuma – then deputy same place Nelson Mandela served his life
president of the Republic of South Africa sentence for sabotage).The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 15
His fourth wife was Nompumelelo
Ntuli, whom he married in 2008.
By then, South Africa was well into its
new democratic dispensation, and Zuma
had risen to become ANC president and
was soon to become president of the
country. Later, Zuma accused MaNtuli of
trying to kill him with poisoned tea and
banished her from Nkandla. She denies
the allegation, and later described her
marriage to Zuma as “five years of hell”.
Thobeka Madiba became his fifth wife
Rest in peace: The late Kate Mantsho in 2010, but later sued him for failing
described her marriage to Zuma as to pay R14,000 ($1000) in monthly
‘24 years of hell’. Photo: Gallo Images maintenance for one of their children. She
was also barred from Nkandla.
MaKhumalo has always been the often He married his sixth wife, Bongekile
unseen and always unheard matriarch of Ngema-Zuma, in 2012.
Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla – even in All this time, Princess Sebentile was
the long, lonely years when Zuma was in waiting for a wedding that never came. In
exile. 2008, when she learned that Zuma would
It was in exile that he met his second be marrying MaNtuli first, she checked
wife, Kate Mantsho. They married herself into a hospital for depression.
in Mozambique, where Zuma was Given Zuma’s track record, some
overseeing intelligence operations for the considered this a lucky escape.
African National Congress, in 1976.
She spoke all 11 of South Africa’s An unsuitable man
official languages and contributed to the In December 2005 Zuma was charged
fight against apartheid. But she would with rape. Khwezi, his accuser, was the
not leave their union alive. She died by 31-year-old daughter of a deceased
her own hand in 2000, leaving a note struggle comrade. She chose to be
addressed to her husband, whom she identified by a pseudonym, for her own
forbade from attending her funeral. Their safety. Zuma at the time was more than
marriage was “24 years of hell”, she wrote. double her age.
It was also in exile that Zuma met Zuma denied the charges, claiming
and married his third wife, Nkosazana Khwezi had consented. The trial made
Dlamini-Zuma, who would go on to serve international headlines, but it was his
in his cabinet and lead the African Union comments during the trial and the
Commission. They married in 1986, and behaviour of his supporters that would
divorced in 1999. propel the case into infamy.The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 16
On the first day of the trial, Zuma’s
supporters carried a poster asking: “How
much did they pay you, nondindwa
[bitch]?” – a reference to Khwezi. The
next day, a group of mostly female Zuma
supporters set fire to pictures of the
complainant, shouting: “Burn this bitch.”
To his critics, Zuma’s own words
during the trial demonstrated precisely
how unsuitable he was for the office
of president: Admitting to having had
unprotected sex with Khwezi, who was
HIV-positive, Zuma said that he had
taken a shower afterwards to minimise
the chances of contracting the virus.
Zuma testified further that he went
ahead with condom-less sex because, in
his Zulu culture, he could be accused of
rape for leaving a woman sexually aroused
without relief.
Zuma was acquitted in 2006. In Jacob’s folly: In 2009, journalist
the aftermath, Khwezi was revealed to Mandy Roussow exposed Zuma’s
be Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo. After use of public funds to finance a lavish
her home was burned down, and after refurbishment of his homestead.
receiving multiple death threats, Kuzwayo
was offered asylum in The Netherlands. million of taxpayers’ money (then worth
She died in exile in October 2016. $7.8-million) to refurbish his personal
accommodation – his Nkandla homestead
Consequences, at last – that really turned the tide of public
In 2009, after a bitter intra-party faction opinion. That story was broken by the
fight, Zuma became president of a nation journalist Mandy Roussouw in the Mail &
that is often hostile to its women. The rate Guardian in 2009. She and the newspaper
of femicide in South Africa is five times were accused by the presidency of “setting
higher than the global average, and most out to embarrass the president”.
South African women will experience These allegations were investigated
some form of gender-based violence in and then confirmed in 2014 by advocate
their lifetime. Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s public
Although Zuma was no stranger protector. In a report that was more than
to corruption allegations, it was the 400 pages long, Madonsela explained
revelation that he had spent R65- in excruciating detail how ZumaThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 17
had “benefited unduly” from these
refurbishments, which ultimately cost the
state around R246-million ($23-million
at the time). Some of these details – like
the bit where he tried to describe his
fancy new swimming pool as a necessary
firefighting tool – made Zuma the butt
of national jokes. Zuma’s allies hit back,
questioning Madonsela’s credentials and
suggesting that she was a CIA agent.
Zuma himself, just last weekend, said
his problems began with a conspiracy
organised by that “beautiful little girl”, Leopards, spots, etc: Jacob Zuma and
referring to Madonsela. fifth wife Thobeka Madiba, who would
Despite the damning evidence later sue him for child maintenance.
presented by Madonsela, Zuma clung on
as president for another four years. The would be to effectively sentence the
corruption scandals increased in volume legitimacy of the judiciary to inevitable
and scope. Soon, South Africans began decay,” said acting chief justice Sisi
using the term “state capture” to describe Khamepepe, as she signed the warrant.
the relationship between the president Predictably, the former president
Zuma and the Guptas, a family of Indian – through his foundation, the Jacob G
businessmen who had allegedly bribed Zuma Foundation – attacked the decision.
their way into the heart of government It was “judicially emotional,” he said, and
(they deny these allegations, but fled the inconsistent with the Constitution.
country before facing justice). But this time around, his patriarchal
Under enormous public pressure, objections made no difference, and late
Zuma set up a commission of inquiry on Wednesday evening this week Zuma
into state capture shortly before he was handed himself over to the Estcourt
unseated as president by his party rival, Correctional Centre, a low-security
Cyril Ramaphosa. By December 2020 prison where he will begin serving his
the commission had interviewed 278 15-month sentence for contempt of court.
witnesses and amassed 159,109 pages and South African prisons are gender-
one exabyte of data and evidence. segregated, which means he will be
None of that evidence has come from surrounded entirely by men. Perhaps
Jacob Zuma. His refusal to appear before Major General Nonhlanhla Zulu, the
the commission is what ultimately led to policewoman who was part of the
his arrest this week. “The only appropriate team who persuaded him to surrender,
sentence is a direct, unsuspended order convinced him he would be happier in
of imprisonment, because the alternative their company. ■The Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 Interview 18
Mutima: Nubian
Li visits Bobi
Wine when
he was under
house arrest.
Nubian Li recounts his
prison ordeal
Bobi Wine and Nubian Li have made a lot of music
together. And when Bobi Wine transformed himself
into the leader of Uganda’s political opposition,
Nubian Li stayed by his side.
Andrew Arinaitwe in Kampala – sought to end the 35-year tenure of
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in
F or Ali Bukeni, joining Bobi Wine on
the campaign trail was a no-brainer –
despite the dangers.
January’s elections, Bukeni was at his side.
Bobi Wine’s team was regularly
intimidated and increasingly targeted by
Bukeni, better known by his stage security forces, culminating in the arrest
name Nubian Li, is one of the 39-year- of Bukeni and many other members of
old singer-turned-politician’s musical Bobi Wine’s entourage at one of their
partners. The pair had recorded many campaign events last December in
songs together, and when Bobi Wine – Kalangala, an island town in central
real name Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert Uganda.The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 19
“I told them I would comply and that
there was no need to use force,” Bukeni
told The Continent.
He was held in a truck along with
scores of other campaign staffers and
supporters – 127 of them, all told, were
hauled to the police station in Kalangala.
A crowd had gathered to barricade the
route to the station. Police shot tear gas to
disperse them and pushed through.
They were held for three hours at
the station before being sent on a ferry
to another police station, handcuffed in
pairs. “We tried to contest the way they Deep cuts: Bobi Wine and Nubian
handled us but they told us it was an order Li – partners in music, politics and
from above,” Bukeni said. principle.
Upon reaching land, they were driven
to the station where soldiers wielding The soldiers poured water into the
electric cables and batons awaited their cell and ordered the inmates to remove
arrival. Everyone who disembarked from their shirts. “We were left in a wet room.
the truck was made to frog-jump into the It would become so cold, we would sit
station as they were whipped, beaten with close to one another to keep warm. It was
batons and pepper-sprayed. horrible, you would sleep on one side,
Reports of the maltreatment of those then turn to another until all sides were
arrested during election season abound. hurting and the only option was to sit. Life
Bukeni said he and nine others were was really very bad in that cell.”
transferred to an army encampment Police spokesperson Fred Enanga
where hellish conditions prevailed. told The Continent in a text message
“We were forced into a very dirty cell: that allegations of torture are
it had no electricity, no bathroom, no “unsubstantiated” but urged Bukeni and
blanket. We were provided a bucket and others arrested to file a formal complaint
we were all bundled into that one cell. as it will “help prove or disprove their
That’s where we spent the night,” he said. allegations”.
“It was a very cold night.” The torture did not stop there.
The ordeal continued the next Pictures, blood samples, statements and
morning when they had to clean the cell swabs of the detainees were taken. At one
and dispose of the bucket containing their point during their ordeal, Bukeni’s group
own waste. Thirty masked military officers and four others were stripped naked at
stood guard outside. Their presence gunpoint.
“psychologically affected us,” Bukeni said. Men claiming to be from humanThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 20
rights groups asked for their phones and on. Visitors were eventually allowed
addresses. But they had guns on their and Bukeni saw his children for the first
waists and it was obvious they were from time in months. He had to explain to his
the military. distraught daughter why he had to wear
Amid the chaos, there was a glimmer the yellow prison uniform.
of shared humanity. On New Year’s Day, While most prisoners spent the day
two days after the arrest, a soldier gave basking in the sun, Bukeni read. Bobi
Bukeni and his group a bottle of juice. Wine had brought him some books but
To show them it wasn’t poisoned, he they were deemed unacceptable by the
took a swig of the juice before passing it prison authorities. These included books
on. Other soldiers apparently expressed by Malcolm X. Bukeni asked for Sowing
support for the movement and admitted the Mustard Seed, written by none other
they were carrying out the detentions than Museveni himself in 1997; the
because it was paid work. request was denied.
When they were arraigned at the Eventually he was allowed books
magistrate court on January 4, Bukeni delivered by his wife. His favourite?
and his fellow detainees were charged Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor
with inciting violence and spreading Frankl’s account of his time in a Nazi
Covid-19. When both judges dismissed concentration camp.
the state attorney’s arguments against bail, In mid-June, six months after his initial
Bukeni and his colleagues thought their detention at Kalangala, Bukeni was finally
ordeal was over. They were wrong. granted bail.
Instead of being sent home, Bukeni He says his passion for a better Uganda
and 48 others were driven to a military remains undimmed even after spending
barracks in Kampala. Communication half a year behind bars. “I am for a system
with their lawyers was terminated. They that works for every Ugandan,” he said. He
were now being tried in military court, said he dreams of a free Uganda, and that
accused of being in possession of bullets. he has warned Bobi Wine never to hold on
They were held at the Kitalya to power should he ever gain it.
Maximum Security Prison, notorious for Meanwhile the Museveni train moves
its poor conditions, and they all slept in on. He won election in January and is
one cell. Disease outbreaks are common now serving a sixth term, in power until
at the prison; medicines are not. Prison at least 2025. Last week, he named his son,
officials shaved their heads, stripping Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as commander of
Nubian Li of his signature look. the army’s land forces. All the institutions
Bukeni said he knew their suffering of the state are firmly under his control.
was meant to deal a blow to Bobi Wine. But Bukeni retains hope that citizen
“We were detained to isolate Kyagulanyi participation remains important. “It starts
throughout the election period.” with us, just like in Sudan, it took citizens
The hardship lessened as time wore to rise up against the system.” ■The Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 Feature 21
Ponzi schemes flourish in
Nigeria’s declining economy
With opportunities dwindling, Nigerian youths are
investing in dubious enterprises – and paying the price
Ope Adetayo in Lagos back,’’ Jamiu told The Continent.
It has been four months and the
‘I want to introduce you to one of
the biggest investment platforms
in Nigeria, RackSterli,” the pop star
comeback has yet to happen, and the
office that helped to convince Jamiu no
longer exists, if it ever truly did.
Davido told his millions of fans in a “I thought if there was an issue, I could
video last December. “If you invest with just go there [to the office],’’ he said.
RackSterli, you’ll get paid within 12 to 24 Jamiu is one of many Nigerians who
hours, instant payment. It has built many have lost money to suspected Ponzi
millionaires.” schemes – scams that promise enormous
Damilare Jamiu, a painter in his 20s, returns within a short period, paying
was looking for extra income to launch existing investors with money from new
a dry cleaning business. Last December, users. They collapse as numbers grow and
he came across RackSterli, and although the founders and early adopters bolt with
he was sceptical, Davido’s full-throated their investors’ money.
backing and RackSterli’s claim that it had Ponzi schemes are not new in Nigeria;
a physical office in Lagos convinced him. they first surfaced in the 1980s, a decade
The scheme seemed straightforward: it marked by the poor economic leadership
invested its clients’ cash in cryptocurrency of the country’s military dictators. The
and real estate and promised a 40% earliest recorded schemes were the
monthly return on investment. Umama Umama scheme in Calabar in the
Jamiu did not become a millionaire. 1980s and the Planwell in Edo state in the
Instead, he was burned to the tune of early 1990s. More recently, however, such
560,000 naira ($1,365) when RackSterli scams have proliferated as never before
went up in flames in March. He had been thanks to the internet. Despite repeated
looking forward to a payout of about losses, Nigerian youth in particular still
$2,073. patronise the schemes in droves.
“I was expecting it to crash but I was In 2016, three million Nigerians lost
not expecting it to go [for good]… like, $44-million when MMM – a popular
they would have some issues and come Russian enterprise promising a 30%The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 22 return – crashed, according to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. T h e c o u n t r y ’s w o r s e n i n g unemployment problem and widespread poverty also share blame for making Ponzi schemes fashionable. Some 33% of Nigerians were unemployed in the last quarter of 2020, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Many more are underemployed. Kalu Aja, a finance expert, told The Continent that the recent success of bitcoin and the stock market has made people embrace risky ventures in return for astronomical rewards. “Investors believe high returns are still possible, though risky. They do not believe it is impossible to make 25% [return] a month, they only Goliatho: Suspected Ponzi schemes are believe it carries a higher amount of risk.’’ being fronted by celebrities like Davido. Tempting fate Every single detail, including Adanna’s When MyBonus2u, an alleged Ponzi profile, turned out to be false. The name scheme that surfaced online last October, was a nom de guerre and the mastermind crashed earlier this year, hundreds of behind the scheme is unknown; Nigerians were left high and dry. Uche MyBonus2u’s social media accounts have Azeh, 26, was one of the unfortunates; been silent since January. the university student lost 500,000 naira “They were really convincing. If you ($1219.5). Google them, you would see they are The scheme was promoted as an somehow linked to many high profile e-commerce platform with a three to five organizations like Amazon,’’ Uche told percent daily ROI after users made 60 The Continent. ‘’I don’t know how they orders. The wannabe investors believed were able to pull that off.” they were helping products from well- Uche was well aware of the risks known e-commerce companies like involved in investing in a questionable Alibaba, Jumia, Amazon and others venture like MyBonus2u. But he believed gain market prominence in Nigeria. that he would be able to reap his rewards MyBonus2u’s CEO, Omotola Adanna, before the whole thing came tumbling had degrees from Stanford and Harvard down. and was named one of Africa.com’s Top Like so many Nigerian youth before 50 Standout Entrepreneurs. him, he was wrong. ■
The Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 Analysis 23
Elections, weak institutions
and the Covid-19 crisis in
Cabo Verde
Abel Djassi Amado many mass meetings were held, with few
of those attending wearing masks.
H ailed as a democratic example on
the African continent, Cabo Verde
held its seventh round of multi-party
The spike in cases that followed led
to shortages of oxygen in hospitals,
prompting National Health Director
parliamentary elections on April 18. Jorge Barreto to say that the situation was
The election was effectively a two- “serious [and] it is not under control.”
horse race between the incumbent Although the number of cases (in low
Movement for Democracy and the main 30,000s) and deaths (fewer than 300) may
opposition party, the African Party for look low, this is because Cabo Verde has a
the Independence of Cabo Verde. In the tiny population.
end, voters preferred the status quo, but On the continent, Cabo Verde is
for some this was secondary to the impact second only to South Africa in the
of the elections on Covid-19. number of cases per one million citizens
The National Electoral Commission – and the fifth highest African country in
(CNE) developed measures to lessen terms of deaths per one million people.
the possible spread of the virus during Although the number of cases has
the campaigns and entered into a pact since subsided, Cabo Verde nevertheless
with the parties to take appropriate offers us an important reminder
precautions. that electioneering can have serious
Yet in contrast to cases like South consequences for public health during a
Korea where elections did not lead to a big pandemic when basic social distancing
increase in Covid-19 cases, the parties put rules are not followed. ■
winning the election before public health,
and the CNE was not strong enough to
enforce the rules. Abel Djassi Amado is
Despite being a high-quality an assistant professor
democracy, the country also features of political science and
international relations at
aspects of neo-patrimonial politics, Simmons University. This
including weak institutions. analysis was produced in collaboration
As caution was thrown to the wind, with Democracy in AfricaThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 24
THE QUIZ
1_ Where was former Miguel?
South African president 7_ Joseph Kabila is a
Nelson Mandela former head of state of
imprisoned for 27 years? which country?
2_ In which country is 8_ Who was the last
one most likely to find active ruler of the
Akabanga oil? Ptolemaic Kingdom of
3_ NBA star Giannis Egypt?
Antetokounmpo was born 9_ Zangalewa by
and raised in Greece. An Cameroonian group
African country claims Golden Sounds laid the
him, though. Which one? foundation for which
4_ Which country did international hit by
Italy not colonise: Liberia Shakira in 2010?
or Somalia? 10_ Which country is
5_ What currency is used Africa's most recent
in Namibia? sovereign state or
6_ In which city can one country (with widespread
visit the Fortaleza de São recognition)?
0-4
“I think I need to
start reading more
newspapers.”
5-7
“I can’t wait to
explore more of this
continent.”
8-10
“You haven't tried
Akabanga oil? Let's
hook you up.”
How did I do? WhatsApp ‘ANSWERS’ to +27 73 805
6068 and we’ll send the answers to youThe Continent
issue 53. july 10 2021 Sport 25
North v. South
Egypt’s Al Ahly take on South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs
in next Saturday’s Champions League final. The sub-
Saharan divide has never felt more real – and one
coach is stuck in the middle
After Sundown: Kaizer Chiefs fans are all too familiar with Al Ahly manager Pitso
Mosimane, who has plenty of form keeping their side in check. Photo: Gallo Images
Luke Feltham the enemy he had been warring with for
the past 90 minutes.
O ne of the more remarkable football
interviews in recent years took
place amid the detritus of a Sundowns –
Eventually turning his attention
to the microphone in front of him he
blurted: “They do this to us in Morocco!
Wydad Casablanca game in early 2019 We go anywhere, everybody bullies us.
in Pretoria. A furious Pitso Mosimane It’s about time Sundowns comes up and
entered the press area still screaming at plays Champions League. They come toThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 26
South Africa and want to bully us? No it. And I think you know the answer.
... we know what to do – if people bully “It would be nice for another South
us, we give it back. Gone are the days … African team to get a star, to be honest, if I
The North Africans are always bullying look at the other side. It will be a boost for
everybody, they don’t want to lose.” our country to have three big teams with
The battlelines could not have been a star, why not? But we are not a welfare
more clearly marked if he had drawn or charitable organisation of handing out
them with the groundsman’s chalk. stars here. You have to earn it.”
Indeed throughout his career in South
African football, Mosimane has never “It would be nice for
hidden the glee it brought him to slay another South African
North African giants; to be the pest they team to get a star, to be
could never swat away for good. And since
winning the Champions League in 2016,
honest, if I look at the
his side was perpetually the problem team other side. It will be a
no one wanted to draw. boost for our country to
The sub-Saharan renaissance he have three big teams with
threatened never materialised, however– a star, why not?”
a team from the region hasn’t appeared in
the final since that victory. As much as he undoubtedly loved
Until now, that is. the Sundowns project and everything it
But in a somewhat ironic twist of fate, represented, Mosimane could not resist
this time Mosimane is on the other side. the allure of Africa’s most successful
He has the opportunity to make it team. At the time of his signature to the
back-to-back titles when his Al-Ahly of Egyptian team he reasoned it was akin to
Egypt confront Kaizer Chiefs in the final an advance by Real Madrid or Barcelona
next Saturday. The South African side will – a call you simply can’t say no to.
be shooting for their first “star”, joining Where he once fought against the
rivals Orlando Pirates and Sundowns as legacy of North African football it is now
the only teams from the country to have intimately tied to his own. Victory next
won the Champions League. weekend will earn Al Ahly title number
Compounding his internal conflict is 10; or in local parlance “El Ashra” –
the fact that Mosimane was raised a fan of inspired by Madrid’s “La Decima”.
Amakhosi – the Kaizer Chiefs. As novel as the final dynamic is, the
“But at this point in time it’s about me sight of Mosimane will be ominously
and my family and my team. Those come familiar to Chiefs. His most successful
first,” he told the South African Football period back home ran adjacent to some
Journalists Association over a Zoom call of Amakhosi’s most painful. Labouring
this week. “It’s either I want to give the under a six-year trophy drought that
medal to [Stuart] Baxter or I want to keep belies the club’s stature, the famous teamThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 27
Red Sea: Al Ahly
fans are deeply
invested in the final
in Casablanca,
where a victory
would earn them
‘El Ashra’ – their
10th title. Photo:
NurPhoto via Getty
Images
from Soweto were forced to watch as their of their continental journey. “It’s very
Mamelodi rivals hoarded both talent and awkward, I’ve never seen something like
silverware. this. One day you’re good, six months
Even his parting gift, tellingly, was to later you’re completely different; and you
snatch the domestic league from their have the same players.
desperate clutches in the last 30 minutes “Kaizer Chiefs are in the final because
of the 2020 season. they play a different type of football,
Chiefs have endured a peculiar year especially away. They can hold on, they
since his departure. To rectify the final- are strong with set pieces, they have good
day disappointment, Gavin Hunt – height.”
another of South Africa’s elite coaches With historical prestige now in his
– was appointed manager. But what in corner, the emphasis is on Mosimane to
theory was a dream marriage quickly solve the underdog’s enigma. In doing so
turned to divorce following pathetic he will deny his homeland what would be
domestic form. a momentous accomplishment.
What he had managed to do, When he first entered his new Cairo
however, was hang around in the palace, The Continent wrote of his
Champions League. Scot Stuart Baxter, appointment: “It would seem the fate
upon returning to helm his former club, of South African, Egyptian and African
finished the job. Something about the pride intersect in a manner never before
competition was calling this season. seen on the football pitch.”
“To be honest I’d like to know what We didn’t realise quite how right we
happened in that story,” Mosimane says would be. ■The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 28
He came, and hell, you know? So let’s try to keep
winning to keep them happy.”
he saw, he Announcing his departure this
week, his tone was similarly dramatic,
conquered. describing his tenure as “a nightmare that
ended the best way possible”.
He left. He leaves behind a club laden with
accolades, but also one that seems plagued
by internal strife. The general manager
A season of trophies
responsible for recruiting Julbe was
was not enough to keep out a week after signing him. The team
Zamalek’s basketball president is an interim appointment (after
coach in Cairo the former president was banned from all
sports-related activities for four years).
Refiloe Seiboko That president has also publicly alluded
to issues he has with the country’s sports
O ver the course of eight months,
Agustí Julbe signed on as Egyptian
powerhouse club Zamalek’s head coach,
minister. Speaking to The Continent about
the non-basketball side of the mega club,
Julbe said: “I don’t like to talk bad about
led his team to triumph in the Basketball people or things when they don’t have the
Africa League’s inaugural season, and [opportunity] to defend themselves but
emerged victorious from the Egyptian there have been situations in the club, in
Basketball Super League. the structure of the club, the organisation,
That meant a 15th national title for which I did not like much.”
the team. Like their football siblings, they Zamalek now need to find another way
have earned the right to carry the “most to continue their sporting domination. ■
titled in the 20th century” accolade.
And then he left.
Speaking to The Continent in June, he
said that as a Spaniard he saw parallels
between his new team and European
behemoth Barcelona. “Somehow,
Zamalek is pretty similar: a big sports
club, the main sport that is football, with
a 110-year history with a tradition of
winning championships.”
It also had one other key ingredient: a
serious rivalry with Cairo’s Al Ahly.
Julbe said of the fans that “they are
so passionate ... everything is heavenThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 29
PROFILE
I t’s cutting season in Mara, one of
Tanzania’s northernmost regions.
Rhobi Samwelly stands outside a safe
house in Butiama as the sound of a car
Rhobi rumbles across the rough road. She is
anticipating the arrival of a new guest.
Samwelly
A young girl is sitting in the back seat,
her head tilted against the window. A
police officer sits by her side.
The girl has been brought to the safe
house after Samwelly’s team received
information she was at risk of female
genital mutilation (FGM).
This is one of two safe houses in Mara
region that Samwelly has built. The other
is in Serengeti district. They provide a
refuge for those escaping FGM, an all too
common practice in Mara, where around
40% of girls are cut. In certain tribes, the
practice is believed to increase a girl’s
value for marriage.
Before the safe houses existed,
Samwelly says there was no place for
girls to go to be protected against FGM.
She knows this because she considered
running away when she was 13 and
her mother told her she was to be cut.
Saving Tanzania’s Samwelly was scared after a close friend
died from the same procedure, but she
girls from the cruel had nowhere to go.
traditions of FGM
Samwelly was scared after
Priya Sippy a close friend died from the
Illustration: Wynona Mutisi
same procedure but she
had nowhere to go.
“I thought about leaving home and
going to the nearby town, but I did not
know where I could stay, how I could getThe Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 30
food or who would pay my school fees. married early, they cannot achieve their
I had many questions and no answers.” dreams,” she says.
With no alternative, Samwelly was cut FGM is illegal in Tanzania and
against her wishes. The procedure left therefore shrouded in secrecy. Samwelly’s
her unconscious, and she almost bled to network of volunteer across villages
death. “I cried and cried, but my parents report girls facing FGM, and they work
did not listen. A piece of my brain broke with the police and social welfare to bring
when I was cut.” girls to the safe house. More than 1,800
She has since made it her mission to girls have been sheltered.
help women and girls escape FGM. Her After three months of sheltering them
activism started at home by forgiving her and educating their parents, Samwelly
parents for cutting her on the condition reunites the girls with their families. They
that they would not cut her six younger return to their parents on the condition
sisters. that they will not be cut and that their
education will resume.
Her activism started at However, deeply entrenched customs
home by forgiving her mean that some parents continue refuse
to respect their daughters’ wishes.
parents for cutting her, on
Behavioural change remains the biggest
the condition that they challenge in the fight against FGM, often
would not cut her six simply because of the financial stakes
younger sisters. involved: families receive a higher dowry
if their daughter is cut. As such, Samwelly
In 2017, she started her NGO, Hope has faced many threats over the years,
for Women and Girls, which runs safe with community members also seeing
houses and campaigns against FGM. her as the “enemy” of their way of life.
Campaign volunteers educate schools Despite such threats and resistance
and communities, highlighting the from traditional communities, she
dangers of cutting, and aiming to change continues to push for change. She has
the social norms that sustain it. The safe spoken at the UN Assembly, addressed
houses provide counselling, schooling, the United Kingdom’s House of
and vocational training – equipping girls Commons, and engaged with Tanzanian
with skills that will help them to find government officials on the issue.
employment and become independent. And she advocates for the laws to be
Samwelly says that those who survive upheld against those who practice this
the procedure will have a difficult time illegal ritual. ■
reaching their potential as FGM is
typically a precursor for forced marriage.
“Many of these girls want to be doctors This article is part of a series on human
and lawyers. When they get cut and are rights defenders, funded by Internews.The Continent | issue 53. july 10 2021 31
Field of dreams
with Zambia during an address at the
Continental funeral of Kenneth Kaunda. (At least he
Drift remembered not to call it Rhodesia?)
Samira Sawlani
Alike in indignity
As England beat Denmark on Wednesday
night, social media feeds were divided on
If you’re a football fan – or if you have the subject of “home”.
English people living near you, spend any On one side football fans were posting
time on social media, or even just breathe “IT’S COMING HOME”.
the same air as people who do – you may On the other, South Africans
have heard the phrase, “It’s coming home” wondered, “Is he still at home?” as the
once or twice over the past few weeks. midnight deadline for former president
“Bring it home” – once the mantra of the Jacob Zuma to hand himself over to police
British Museum’s fleet of archaeologists, edged ever closer.
tomb-robbers and cultural appropriators With a convoy of elite police forces en
– has become the rallying cry of England’s route, journalists gathered outside Zuma’s
football fans as their national side’s home observed to his son Edward that
success in the UEFA European Football the clock was ticking. To which Zuma Jr
Championship brings the final to their was quick to reply: “I suggest the clock
green and purportedly pleasant land, with untick itself.”
supporters’ glee running the full gamut Fortunately for both home crowds, a
from garden-variety hooliganism to penalty shoot-out was avoided in both
outright cardiganism. instances.
Just below the final whistle, Zuma
We wish them luck – not handed himself over and has now begun
necessarily on the field, but serving a 15-month jail sentence handed
certainly getting to it. to him by the Constitutional Court for
contempt of court.
We wish them luck – not necessarily The Law: 1. Jacob Zuma: 0
on the field, but certainly getting to it. But is the game really over? Or are we
The UK’s grasp of basic geography leaves in for extra time? Ref says play on!
something to be desired, as demonstrated
by its minister for Africa, James Dam nations
Duddridge, who confused Zimbabwe While the Euros final will be a clash ofYou can also read
