14th Edition

Good Afternoon folks! 😁😁

Delighted to have you here. And if you joined us this week, it’s great to finally connect with you… so here we go!

Welcome to The Friday Briefing, your weekly brief on geopolitics.

This is our fourteenth edition. It’s still a bit of a test, so if something does go wrong be sure to let us know… but anyway, we plan to send out your brief every Friday lunchtime 12pm GMT.

Our goal is to provide you with a balanced and insightful overview, allowing you to stay informed without being overwhelmed with information. But above all, we understand the value of your time. With our summaries, you can quickly grasp the major events shaping our world, deepen your understanding and be on your way in no time!

Our starting point…yes…Africa, but our vision extends beyond the boundaries of a single continent.

Oh don’t forget, feel free to leave behind any feedback, suggestions or further ideas you would like us to run with 🙂 

^{Why Africa? maybe because we don’t hear much…}

Back in 2013, the 42nd President of the United States tweeted the above tweet, “Just touched down in Africa…” ⬆️

Although Mr Clinton’s tweet was true, despite the brazen mistruths our leaders spout these days, he nonetheless could’ve worded it a lot better.

But the tweet tells us a lot more. It exposes an attitude that many of us may have towards Africa, either through ignorance or laziness or maybe because we don’t hear enough about African countries in our national news media.

This is a continent as diverse as it is complex, a continent home to over 1.4 billion people and 54 countries, making it the second-most populated continent in the world.

Events in Africa aren't isolated, they hold global importance too. Political transitions, economic developments and conflicts in Africa have ripple effects that stretch far beyond its borders.

And yes, while we begin with Africa, we’re dedicated to expanding our weekly round-ups to other continents in due course, taking our mission to new frontiers by connecting the dots between nations and continents.

So stay tuned! 👌

^{So, what’s been happening this week?}

• Unrest in the Comoros Islands as President declared winner

• UK MPs pass Rwanda migration bill but hurdles remain

• US Secretary of State set to visit West African countries

• Somalia strongly rejects mediation with Ethiopia  

• Sudan suspends ties with East African bloc “IGAD”

• Protesters feared on inauguration day in DR Congo

^{What does this mean?}

The Comoros President Azali Assoumani has been re-elected for the fourth time as President despite opposition leaders calling the election “fraudulent”. According to the electoral body, the President secured the win with 63% of the vote.

However, with the opposition boycott, the turn out was pretty low with just 16% of people voting in the election. Opposition leaders alleged instances of ballot stuffing to favour Mr Assoumani and others say polls closed really early. Mr Assoumani’s campaign strongly denies the allegations.

After the results, security forces clashed with protesters in several parts of the capital, Moroni. More than 300,000 people are registered to vote out of a population of 836,000.

A few minutes ago, authorities in Comoros have cut access to the internet with aim of preventing demonstrators from communicating and sharing images on social networks.

According to the Comoros Infos news website, violence protests erupted following the announcement which led to unprecedented acts of rebellion. Among the most notable incidents was the fire attack on the Ministry of Planning and Equipment. The violence was not limited to official buildings, private residences of government officials were targeted including the Prime Minister Bianrifi.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk called for calm and restraint. He said;

“The security forces’ response, marked by the use of tear gas, has exacerbated the crisis”.

Did you know…

The three Comoros Islands are called Anjouan, Grande Comore, and Moheli

The country is a major source of irregular migration to the nearby French Island of Mayotte, which was historically part of the Comoros.

The Comoros Islands have endured years of poverty and political turmoil since its independence from France in 1975

The House of Commons passed the Rwanda bill which aims to stop legal challenges against the government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda by 320 votes to 276 votes.

A number of of Conservative MPs including the deputy chairman for the party thought the bill was flawed and threatened to vote it down, with only 11 voting against it in the end.

Over the weeks, MPs on the right of the Conservative Party tried to change the bill, arguing that without any amendments the bill could be blocked by the courts. Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick MP brought fourth amendments that would allow the UK government to ignore parts of the Human Rights Law in relation to the sending people to Rwanda.

The amendments was not approved by MPs, but received the backing of 61 MPs making it the biggest rebellion of Mr Sunak’s premiership.

The Prime Minister urged the House of Lords to pass the bill, as he warned peers not to “frustrate the will of people”.

So, what next?

After passing its third reading in the House of Commons, the bill has to go through the exact same processes in the House of Lords. It is worth noting, the government does not have a majority in the Lords, - with 270 of 785 peers belonging to the Conversative Party.

Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame was asked about the frustrations around the bill. He said; “ As the UK, it is the UK’s problem, not Rwanda’s problem”. Asked about why he was taking the money, the President responded by saying “it’s only going to be used if those people will come. If they don’t come, we can return the money.” ⬇️

Watch the clip here.

Did you know…

Rwanda borders Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Uganda. With a population of 13.8 million and an estimated population at 274.6 people per square kilometre making the most densely populated country in Africa.

Rwanda is ranked amongst the cleanest countries in the world. That is partly due to the ban on plastic bags in the country from 2008.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to visit four key African countries as the United States tries to keep its eyes on all corners of the world with much of the news agenda consumed by crisis in the Middle East, Red Sea and Ukraine.

The State Department announced the Secretary of State will go to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola for talks focused on regional security, conflict prevention and trade. Nigeria is with doubt West Africa’s regional heavyweight and plays a major role in security issues in the region.

The Secretary of State has been incredibly busy with this being his third overseas mission in the new year. He recently returned from a Gaza focused 10 nation trip to the Middle East and spent the last 3 days in Davos’s World Economic Forum.

The US and China are in a battle for influence throughout Africa. In December 2022, President Biden hosted 50 leaders from Africa where he announced billions of dollars in new trade investments and an effort to boost economic growth. He also promised to visit an African country by the end of 2023.

However, we are in 2024, and the President is yet to make a visit. Presidential trips can come together very quickly if necessary. Biden pulled off a last-min trip to Israel and Vietnam as well as a secretive journey to Ukraine.

The Somali government believes there is no room for mediation in a dispute with Ethiopia unless it cancels a controversial deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi. As part of the agreement, Somaliland will lease 20km (12.4 mile) stretch of land alongside its coastline of Berbera to Ethiopia in exchange for recognition as well as shares in its flagship carrier, Ethiopian Airlines.

Somalia has vowed to defend its territory by “any legal means” and reiterated that Somalia will not allow “an inch of Somali territory to be taken away.”

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its official social media pages; “There is no space for mediation unless Ethiopia retracts its illegal MoU and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”

This week, Somalia turned away a plane transporting officials from Ethiopia to the self-declared republic of Somaliland. Somalia’s information minister said the plane did not have permission to be in the country’s airspace.

The US and African Union have backed the territorial integrity of Somalia and urged all parties to cool tensions.

Did you know…

Ethiopia was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded and declared independence in 1993 after a three-decade war making Ethiopia the world’s most populous country without sea access.

Sudan has suspended its involvement in mediation efforts with the East African regional block commonly known as the IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the decision came after IGAD added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting set for Jan 18 in Uganda and invited the RSF’s leader, Hemedti to attend.

The Ministry which is loyal to Army Chief and Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accused IGAD of “violating Sudan’s sovereignty” and setting a “dangerous precedent”.

In recent weeks, RSF’s leader Hemedti toured 6 capitals including IGAD members, as the army chief is growing more isolated diplomatically.

The country has been in turmoil ever since a popular uprising forced the removal of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The short-lived transitional government was derailed when the two generals joined forces to lead a military coup in October 2021.

After falling out, the war began with more than 13,000 people dead, around 7.5 million displaced and nearly half of Sudan’s 49 million people requiring aid.

Did you know…

Established in 1996, IGAD is an eight-country trade bloc and it succeeded the earlier Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) founded in 1986

Its current headquarters is in Djibouti

The 8 members are; Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda

Three opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have jointly declared a nationwide protest this Saturday coinciding with recently re-elected President Felix Tshisekedi inauguration.

The Court recently confirmed the landslide victory as the President won 73% of the vote. However, allegations of fraud and ballot stuffing have been raised by the opposition leaders, leading to their call for a demonstration on the inauguration day.

Protests and clashes with security forces in DRC can lead to serious outcomes and so this story is one to watch.

More to follow next week…

^{Book of the week…. DEAL IN THE WORKS!}

The idea is every week we will hold a poll on our social media pages, asking our readers to recommend a book for the week…

STAY TUNED!

You’re done for the week. Follow us on our socials and see you next Friday!