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Myanmar. They survived the Loikaw inferno.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Former Burma has become an open-air prison since the military junta took power three years ago. Little news manages to arrive from a country where communications are precarious.
Kayah State is one of the worst affected. The testimony of the bishop of Loikaw and the story of the missionaries in the refugee camps on the border with Thailand.

Three years after the coup d’état of February 1, 2021, by the military junta in Naypyidaw, the political capital of Myanmar, the country remains locked in internal violence and international isolation. A few months afterwards, the powerful general Min Aung Hlaing appointed himself prime minister, while all the deputies of the National League for Democracy – the party that had won the 2020 legislative elections – were put in prison, starting with the leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last April, Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, moved from prison to house arrest. She has spent nearly two decades under some form of arrest since 1989. CC BY-SA 3.0/ C.GEORGE

Telecommunications and the internet blacked out, the blanket search of homes, violence and tanks in the streets of cities are among the few pieces of news that in recent years have managed to cross the borders of a country that seemed to be on the road to democracy. Instead, the hard fist of the military junta in power has reignited the ethnic conflicts of former Burma with the consequent formation of local armed organizations which have coalesced into the Alliance of the Three Brotherhoods (made up of the Arakan army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance and the Ta’ang-Tnla National
Liberation Forces).

Loikaw Cathedral burnt down
Since last November, clashes have intensified in the state of Kayah, the smallest in Myanmar, in the mountainous area on the northern border with Thailand. The Burmese military junta has used heavy weapons, fighter planes, armoured vehicles, ballistic missiles and mobile defence systems. As a result, 80% of the civilian population fled their villages into the forests and mountains or sought refuge in refugee camps on the Thai border and other locations in neighbouring Shan State.
The diocese of Loikaw was particularly affected, where in the previous months around eighty people, including 10 priests, 16 religious and some employees, had taken refuge in the Pastoral Center near the Cathedral of Christ the King which the government soldiers attacked three times, and finally burned, as told by the bishop, Monsignor Celso Ba Shwe who was forced to abandon Loikaw. “We tried to convince the military of the importance of religious sites, asking them to spare the place, which among other things welcomed displaced people. However, on the night of November 26, the military intentionally hit the Pastoral Center several times with artillery shells, destroying the roof of the Pastoral Center chapel. For safety reasons, we decided to leave the Pastoral Center. Shortly before our departure on November 27, 50 soldiers came and occupied the structure to use it as a base.

Burma Military helicopter landing. The Burmese military junta has used heavy weapons, fighter planes, helicopters, armoured vehicles, ballistic missiles and mobile defence systems. iStock/Tanes Ngamsom.

Since November 2023, nearly 40,000 people in Loikaw, out of a total population of 50,000, have fled their homes after junta offensives, including artillery shelling against Karennis rebels, who were fighting in an attempt to take control of the city.
In recent months, Msgr. Celso Ba Shwe, 51, continued to move, visiting the various refugee camps. Bishop Celso says: “A bishop has a great responsibility in caring for the people entrusted to him, not only for their spiritual well-being but also for their physical well-being in times of crisis and conflict. Being the bishop, I am involved in emergency humanitarian response, when people are affected as in this case by man-made disasters through conflict.”
Speaking of his diocese he comments: “In my diocese, out of 41 parishes, 31 have been displaced and temporarily closed. More than 40 buildings in the diocese were destroyed. The population of the diocese is approximately 89,000 inhabitants, of which almost 70,000 are displaced. The priests, men and women religious, including myself, are displaced together with our people, fleeing under the fire of artillery and attacks from the air.”The bishop continues: “Only solidarity, justice with mercy, love with compassion while respecting human rights can bring about the change we need. I am very encouraged to see our Catholics maintaining their faith in the midst of such great difficulties: in almost all the camps where there are Catholics, there is a simple place of worship, even if made only with bamboo, for the prayer of the rosary and for the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday. Where there is faith in God there is always hope. In this seemingly dark time in which we sometimes feel disoriented in the face of the evil and violence that surrounds us, in the face of the hardship of so many of our brothers and sisters, we need hope. We must not let hope abandon us because God with his love works and walks with us.”

Monsignor Celso Ba Shwe, bishop of Loikaw. “As a bishop, I am involved in emergency humanitarian response, when people are affected as in this case by man-made disasters through conflict.” File swm

Mgr. Ba Shwe was unable to celebrate the rites of Holy Week and Easter in his cathedral in Loikaw so he did so in a new “bamboo cathedral” dedicated to Christ the King, a simple wooden chapel, specially built in the forest to be able continue to celebrate the Eucharist: this, he recalls, “creates the community, which gathers around Jesus, even if dispersed across the territory, remaining united in prayer in a time of tribulation”. This is what the Bishop said to the displaced people who, traumatized and suffering, find themselves in spontaneous refugee camps, improvised in some areas, or in other camps organized with the help of the local Church. “We have no idea how long this situation and this time of precariousness will last. I don’t know in what conditions we will find the cathedral or when we will be able to return to it. We pray to the Lord and we entrust ourselves to Him as a community that desires and asks for peace and salvation, the gift of Easter that we all await with great hope”, the bishop concludes.

Solidarity
The Church, missionaries and nuns are mobilized to help the affected populations. “I am also with them in the refugee camps”. Commenting, a missionary from Thailand who is involved in assisting refugees.
He continues: “Just over the mountains we have Mae Hong Son camp which contains 8,000 refugees who come from Loikaw province. They are the ones who managed to get there. Many people gather at the borders, while village leaders of various ethnic groups try to prevent people from fleeing so as not to abandon the territories to the violence of the military junta.”

Good Shepherd Sisters use a boat to go to a safer location as fighting becomes more intense in Loikaw, last November.

Father Dominique and Father Joseph are two Thai priests trying to organize aid to be brought to Myanmar. “We try to provide the essentials: medicines and rice because the situation of extreme poverty of the people is worsening and there is widespread hunger.”
The missionaries add that people say that, while escaping, they were bombed several times by military planes.
Meanwhile, last December the Missionary Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament of Loikaw, managed to bring the orphaned girls of their school to safety, even at the risk of their own lives, trying to testify to their faith in God and love for the Burmese people. Sister Pansy says: “In every place where people live in a state of war, Jesus is close to those who suffer, whether in the forest, the refugee camps or in the tents waiting for food and care. He gives them hope and resilience, supports them and becomes a means of conveying the affection of the prayers and solidarity of their brothers and sisters.” (Open Photo: Shutterstock/ Suphapong Eiamvorasombat).
M.F.DA

EU Bishops in view of the 2024 elections.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Given the elections for the European Parliament to be held on 6-9 June 2024, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has issued a statement inviting all citizens, especially Catholics, to prepare for the elections and vote responsibly “promoting Christian values and the European project”.
Below is the statement.

We, bishops representing the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, call on all citizens, especially Catholics, to prepare for and vote in the coming European elections of June 2024. The European project of a Europe united in diversity, strong, democratic, free, peaceful, prosperous and just is a project we share and for which we feel ownership. We are all called to express this also by casting our votes and choosing responsibly the Members of the European Parliament who will represent our values and work for the common good in the next European Parliament.

The European integration project was born from the ashes of the terrible wars that devastated our continent in the last century causing great pain, deaths and destruction. It was conceived with the intention of guaranteeing peace, freedom and prosperity. It was brought about due to the courage and foresight of persons who were able to overcome historical enmities and create something new that would make war practically impossible in our continent in the future.

At first, this project was an economic project, but it entailed also a social and political dimension and shared values. Many of the founding fathers of the European Union were committed Catholics who maintained a strong belief in the dignity of every human being and the importance of community. We believe that this project, that started more than 70 years ago, must be supported and carried forward.

Today Europe and the European Union are going through challenging and uncertain times with a series of crises in the last years and difficult issues to face in the near future, like wars in Europe and in the neighbourhood, migration and asylum, climate change, growing digitalization and use of artificial intelligence, Europe’s new role
in the world, enlargement of the European Union and change
in the Treaties, etc.

To address these crucial issues in the light of the foundational values of the European Union and to construct a better future for us and the next generations, not only in Europe but also in the world, we need courageous, competent and value driven policymakers who honestly pursue the common good. It is our responsibility to make the best possible choice in the coming elections.

As Christians we must try to discern well for whom and for which party to vote in this important moment for the future of the European Union. Thus we have to consider factors that also may differ from one country to another – for example, the possibility of choosing candidates or only parties, the electoral programmes of the different parties, the candidates themselves who present themselves.In regard to such matters,
the Bishops’ Conferences in each member state can also
offer useful orientations.

Moreover, what is important is that we vote for persons and parties who clearly support the European project and who, we reasonably think, will promote our values and our idea of Europe, such as respect and promotion of the dignity of every human person, solidarity, equality, family and the sanctity of life, democracy, freedom, subsidiarity, care for our “common home”….

We know that the European Union is not perfect and that many of its policy and legal proposals are not in line with Christian values and with the expectations of many of its people, but we believe that we are called to contribute and improve it with the tools democracy offers us.

Many young people will vote for the first time in the coming elections, some of them as of the age of 16. We encourage strongly young people to exercise their vote in the coming European elections and
so construct a Europe that assures their future and does justice to their genuine aspirations.

We also encourage young European Catholics who feel the call to engage in politics to follow this call, preparing themselves well, both intellectually and morally, to contribute to the common good in a spirit of service to the community. In a frequently quoted speech delivered by Jacques Delors in Bruges the 17th October 1989 in the College of Europe, the then President of the European Commission addressed the young students with the following words: “For you are being invited to play your part in a unique venture, one which brings peoples and nations together for the better, not for the worse”.

As European bishops, we make this call to the young students our own and address it to all European citizens. Let us engage in the European project, which is our future, also voting conscientiously in the coming elections!

Angola – DR Congo – Zambia. The Lobito corridor. The mineral railway.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

This infrastructure will change the trade routes of Southern Africa. It will be used, above all, as a route for the transport of critical raw materials and strategic minerals. American, European
and Chinese interests.

It was in 1902 that the Portuguese administration undertook the construction of the Benguela railway, 430 km from Luanda. As often happened during Portuguese colonialism, a rich British entrepreneur, Robert Williams, was chosen to carry out the work. The idea was to connect the port of Lobito (in southern Angola) by rail with Katanga, in DR Congo, rich in copper. The work was ready in 1929 and was immediately very profitable. It became even more so in 1973 when the Southern Rhodesia-Zambia border was closed. The Angolan civil war destroyed a good part of this infrastructure, which therefore had to be almost entirely rebuilt when the conflict ended between the Angolan government and Savimbi’s Unita (Savimbi died in 2002).

Map: Usa

Infrastructure and China’s role
Financing began to come from China, given Western reluctance towards Angola, whose government was recognized by the United States only in 1993. In 2004, an agreement between Luanda and the Export-Import Bank of China provided for an exchange of oil and infrastructure, worth $2 billion. Three railway routes were built, all heading east, starting from the ports of Luanda, Lobito and Namibe, as well as the redevelopment of Luanda airport, the construction of the industrial centre of Viana and roads in 17 provinces of the country.
After China, other countries entered to finance infrastructure and housing in Angola, including Brazil, Portugal, Spain, South Africa and Canada. The port of Lobito has also seen important Chinese investments, as well as that of the Angolan government, for around 1.2 billion dollars. The port will have the capacity to handle approximately 4 million tons of goods, while an airport was built in Catumbela, halfway between Lobito and Benguela, with Angolan national funds and thanks to the intervention of the Brazilian Odebrecht, the Portuguese Somague
and the Cuban Imbondex.

American interests
If China was the first country to understand the importance of the Lobito Corridor, in recent times a central role has been assumed by the United States which will probably continue to do so in the coming years. Through the African Finance Corporation (AFC), President Joe Biden’s advisor on infrastructure and energy, Amos Hochstein, recently said in Lusaka that the AFC has already allocated $1 billion to build or improve the rail line of the Lobito Corridor up to Zambia.

Lobito Port is the second largest seaport in Angola. CC BY 2.0/ David Stanley

The line should become operational by 2028. American interests essentially concern the Zambian side. Zambia, in fact, is becoming one of the reference countries for US policy in the region, thanks to a huge boost to its economy. Lusaka and Washington signed a bilateral agreement on 30 March 2023, while the European Union also recently agreed with what Washington proposed. The EU joined the financing of the Lobito Corridor, having signed, together with the USA, an agreement initially stipulated between the African Development Bank and the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, together with the Africa Finance Corporation.
The American and European enthusiasm for the Lobito Corridor is now so passionate that this infrastructure was even the subject of discussion at the G20 in New Delhi, in September 2023. Complete with statements from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke of a “turning point” not only for the entire regional trade
but also for the world.

Lobito, what is at stake?
The veritable race to finance the Lobito Corridor has very specific causes: the mining sector of Zambia and DR. Congo. In these countries, in fact, there are raw materials such as copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, but above all the new “white gold”, lithium, necessary for electric car batteries and more.
Today, Africa holds 5% of the world’s lithium reserves, of which Australia is the largest producer. However, there are only two countries that currently manage to exploit it: Zimbabwe, the sixth world producer, and Namibia, where the Chinese company Xinfeng Investments, which manages the Uis mine, has been accused by the NGO Global Witness of exploiting excess local labour and of bribing the Namibian government to receive licenses, which should have been granted to small local consortia. In Zambia there are enormous copper deposits: it is the second African producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lobito Corridor is to become the third most key corridor in the SADC region by 2050. Photo: Government of Angola.

However, the declining production in recent years, due to technical difficulties, has induced the government led by Hichilema (in office since 2021) to commit more to this sector, seeking partnerships to energize the entire local economy. The other element that Westerners covet is cobalt, of which Kinshasa is the world’s leading producer. Cobalt is also necessary for electric cars and the Democratic Republic of Congo has the Kisanfu reserve, in the south-east of the country, among the largest in the world but currently unexploited.

Competition without borders
Following China, Western governments have also understood the importance of this strategic mining area and the Lobito Corridor, starting a competition without borders which, at the moment, is seeing China still prevailing in Angola, while the United States and the European Union are seeking closer collaboration with Zambia and DR Congo. The latter country is experiencing a profound crisis, and not just today, with neighbouring Rwanda.
For the future, there are at least two elements to evaluate. On the one hand, the cases of Namibia and Zimbabwe should set a precedent: the new appetites for mineral resources, once secondary, risk repeating unsustainable models of human and environmental exploitation, as has historically happened with oil and gas. On the other hand, the movement towards Lobito, resulting in important commercial traffic on the Atlantic coast, could further impoverish the other side of the continent, that of the Indian Ocean, already affected by conditions of poverty and marginalization which could worsen today.(Open Photo:123rf)

Luca Bussotti

Talitha Kum against people trafficking.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Fifteen years ago, Talitha Kum was established as an International Network of Consecrated Life against Trafficking in Persons by the International Union of Superiors General (UISG.) A long journey of commitment alongside many exploited people. We talk about it with Sister Abby Avelino, the international coordinator of the Network.

“We live in a world where human relationships are valued based on what people “have”, rather than what they “are”. This last dimension is often discarded and forgotten, leaving the field open to the first: to be, I must have, at any cost. We need a paradigm shift in society and in individual mentality,” Sr. Abby affirms.
Born in Tanauan, in the Philippines, Sister Abby Avelino, 58, of the Congregation of the Sisters of Maryknoll has been the international coordinator of Talitha Kum, the Rome-based international network against human trafficking and exploitation, since last year.Founded in 2009 by the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), the network celebrates this year the fifteenth anniversary of its foundation.

Sister Abby Avelino, the international coordinator of the Network. Talitha Kum operates on five continents, with 58 inter-congregational networks spread over 97 countries. (Photo:TK)

Sister Abby has a degree in Engineering and worked as a mechanical engineer as a young woman. Then, having become a missionary, for years she carried out her activity in Japan with migrant women, who suffer abuse and are exploited as domestic workers. “Coming African and Asian countries, many of them had been deceived by traffickers; that’s where I started thinking about getting involved in the anti-trafficking ministry. We founded Talitha Kum Japan in 2016, so I was appointed regional coordinator for Asia,” she says.
The next step was her appointment as international coordinator: “My commitment is to proclaim the loving presence of God through service in mission, with care, love and healing for all, regardless of culture, creed, race, nationality, gender or age”.
Talitha Kum operates on five continents, with 58 inter-congregational networks spread in 97 countries. Last year it reached more than half a million people. Talitha Kum’s mission is to end human trafficking and exploitation through collaborative initiatives focused on prevention, protection, social reintegration and the rehabilitation of survivors, partnership and advocacy, as well as promoting actions that
impact systemic causes.

Talitha Kum group from Burkina Faso. The network aims to “Share our lives with those in situations of social vulnerability and the risk of trafficking”

“Our network, including religious, lay people and young people, exceeds 16,000 members. It is based on the rich tradition of Catholic women inspired by the life-giving ministry of Christ, who engage in community work,” says the missionary.
The network aims to “Share our lives with those in situations of social vulnerability and the risk of trafficking. We have accepted the invitation to stand with those who are discriminated against, exploited and victimized by modern slavery, breaking the silence, indifference and conformism that support human trafficking and every form of commodification of life. We value and promote collaboration and partnership with all organizations that are committed to eliminating human trafficking and its causes”, Sr. Abby tells us.
“In the face of so many situations of violence and exploitation, the Talitha Kum network not only wants to provide physical and emotional support but also spiritual support”, the religious Sister explains. “We promote access to justice, and we invite everyone to oppose what promotes and supports human trafficking, denouncing the arrogance and violence of economic-financial power, when it acts against the dignity of the person.”
In 2022, the profit generated by trafficking exceeded 150 billion euros. “Networking is key to building a world free from human trafficking. Each of us has a role to play and has gifts to manage with deep faith in God”, the Sister comments”.
For Sister Abby, it is important to give a political response to the phenomenon of trafficking. For this reason, the religious woman highlights three aspects in particular.

Talitha Kum group from The Philippines. “Networking is key to building a world free from human trafficking”.

The first is to create accessible and practicable legal migration channels. Especially for the many people trapped in conflict zones, there is often no choice but to turn to traffickers to escape hunger, despair and death.
The second is to create dignified working conditions that respect people. The demand for cheap, unprotected labour is increasing, not only in developing countries but also in modern, rights-based societies. Trafficked people are the ideal commodity to be included in a labour market increasingly devoid of rules, where profit maximization brings matters to extremes, to the point of denying rights related to work.
The third is the worrying increase in the gap in treatment and opportunities for men and women.
The progressive privatization of education pushes girls increasingly to the margins, while those already included in the job market are still often forced to choose between family and career, to the detriment of their economic autonomy. Dependent women are vulnerable women who often choose to believe traffickers’ promises to escape a life of subjugation, humiliation and violence.

Talitha Kum group from South Africa. The network includes religious, lay people and young people.

Sr Abby says: “We at Talitha Kum are concerned about the rampant throwaway culture, where everything is disposable – goods, food, land and even the lives of those on the margins. Talitha Kum calls for a change in the dominant paradigm towards greater legal, social and economic justice for those on the margins and at risk of falling into the hands of traffickers and exploiters, for survivors who ask for recognition and help to repair their broken lives. The victims remind us of the need to define norms and policies to support the fulfilment of men and women as individuals and members of the community, but above all to promote a culture of dignity and an economy of care.”
Since its foundation, Talitha Kum has continued to promote courses for the formation of new territorial networks, networking and collaboration with various organizations committed against human trafficking. (C.C.)

The Mask of Genius.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

It was a scorching dawn. Scattered across the vast grassy savannah beyond the rocky mountains, the villages seemed to bleach under the thick blanket of clay dust that accompanies the dry season. Birds were singing in the azure sky.

On that day, a genie decided to make all butterflies disappear from the face of the earth at will. In truth, he was taking revenge for his own hideous appearance on all beautiful creatures. Cheeky and cynical, he captured everything he found that was superlative and wonderful.

Around midday, a little girl would chase butterflies in the fields for fun. It was her favourite game. She saw a strange creature eating all the butterflies at a bend in the path. Outraged, she approached the creature to complain but was greatly disturbed by its appearance.
Nevertheless, the little girl found the courage to speak up: “Give back the butterflies! You are bad.” Astonished, the genie said to her: “What are you interfering in?”

The genie, realising that he was dealing with a defenceless child, told her not to be afraid. But the little girl, expressing her disapproval and indignation, asked him: “Why do you eat poor butterflies?” “Nature has not been good to me – replied the genie -. I have all the powers in the world except the power to make myself more beautiful than I am. But don’t worry. The butterflies I swallow don’t die”.

“If that is the case – the girl said – then I can help. I will give you a beautiful mask in return, but you must release the butterflies you have swallowed from the earth.

Intrigued, the genie promised to free all the beings he had imprisoned within him. Then he opened his belly as colourful as a rainbow and as immense as the horizon, within which one could see radiant flowers and lustrous green plants, and said: the rising sun, laughing in
the perfumed air.

Looking at them so beautifully he was moved! Now they could flutter with life. Thousands of white, yellow, violet, ochre and amber butterflies were seen flying out of her heart and soaring towards her heavenly soul.

They flew, danced and twirled, happy to see the light of day again. Splendid sulphurous veils spread in the wind breeze like heaps of gold. Particles of emerald mixed with crystalline dust filled the sky all around.

The child felt happy! Thrilled that the genie had kept his promise, she gathered the most beautiful flowers and made for him the most beautiful mask ever seen, with intoxicating fragrances.

Moved by so much human affection, the genie was amazed. Every time he wore his mask, butterflies would run to rest on it to enrich it with their beauty! (Photo:123rf)

Folktale from Kenya

Ghana. Living Art in Tamale.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

In recent years the inhabitants of this northern city have witnessed the birth of innovative cultural institutions that challenged conventions and brought contemporary arts closer to local communities.

Travelling from Accra to Tamale is like going to another country. The language, habits and geography itself are very different, similar to those of the Sahelian countries. Most southern Ghanaians have never set foot in Tamale, and don’t intend to. These premises are fundamental to understanding how revolutionary and exciting the recent developments that have occurred in the city are. Before diving into this scenario, it is useful to provide a little background.

Red Clay Studio in Tamale. Photo courtesy of Red Clay

At the turn of two millennia, the very essence of Ghanaian art began to be questioned with the accusation of being dated and neocolonial: in most cases, artistic production aimed mainly at creating goods to be sold to visitors and tourists.
Furthermore, the lack of economic support forced artists to rely on foreign patrons and platforms, often limiting the diffusion of what was considered art of a certain value. A collective of thinkers, artists and professors began to question the status quo. Coming from the art faculty of the Kwame Nkrumah School of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, they became known as blaxTARLINES Kumasi.

Renewal
Led by teacher and artist Karî’kachä Seid’ou, the collective fought to redefine the narrative that surrounded and actually produced Ghanaian art. Specifically, their goal was to revolutionize the Ghanaian art space, empowering and challenging artists to explore new horizons. And the world took note: blaxTARLINES made Art Review’s annual Power100 list, a list of the industry’s 100 most influential figures globally. One particularly prolific student of blaxTARLINES Kumasi is Ibrahim Mahama: over the last decade, he has established himself as one of the most relevant contemporary artists in the world. His installations have been exhibited in the most important museums and institutions on the planet.

Ibrahim Mahama. Founder of the Savanna Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and the Red Clay studio. CC BY 4.0/George Darrell.

Mahama, too, is originally from Tamale, and his work here is as grand as his enormous installations. In 2019, he founded the Savanna Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and the Red Clay studio, soon followed by the purchase of an abandoned silo, now renamed Nkrumah Volini. Those who come to visit these places are struck first and foremost by the vastness of their dimensions. Large structures to display, discuss and create, spread across acres of land. These spaces are more than just artistic hubs: they are dynamic community centres that welcome local and international guests and connect them with the many students who come to visit them. Indeed, the endless flow of young people, whose minds seem enraptured by the experience, is as grand a sight as the spaces that host it. Mahama and his institutions place great importance on connecting with young people. One of the issues they have addressed with great commitment is that of transport. For primarily rural communities, getting to the centres can be a challenge. In this context, SCCA and the Red Clay studio are always ready to make shuttles available or provide funds for fuel: «In our vision, all this is done for the students, and transport cannot be an obstacle», explains Selom Kudje, director of SCCA.

Community Centres
Once logistical barriers have been overcome, Mahama says it is crucial to ensure that the community understands the value of the work done in the centres. Fishbone, the publisher of the popular blog Sanatu Zambang, dedicated to the arts and culture of northern Ghana, warns: «In the Tamale area, if a family has enough money to send their children to school, they do so in the hope that they will become teachers or nurses. Art is generally seen as a path of failure.” This is the reason why when Mahama gained notoriety, his art was seen as somehow foreign and aimed at foreigners.

Workshop with students at SCCA. Photo courtesy Scaa

Aware of these assumptions, Mahama has regularly organized conferences to bring the community together, to explain the vision and the art exhibited in its centres. The vision of photographer Nii Obodai, founder of Nuku Studio, is also on the same wavelength as Mahama, who also sees sustainability and connection with the community as priorities. His reality, housed inside an unused warehouse in Tamale, aims not only to provide a space that is available to photographers but also to foment the creation of an entire creative ecosystem, from publication to design to exhibition. Obodai also works to connect Tamale with other international showcases such as Addis Foto Fest, LagosPhoto and Johannesburg’s Market Photo. Nuku Studio collaborates with international institutions and develops locally sourced products to support its vision. At the heart is the connection between sustainability and community development, an approach that reflects Obodai’s commitment to making the creative industry an integral part of Tamale’s economy. All these collective efforts aim to create a space where art is not only a form of expression but also a catalyst for social change.

Routes of Rebellion. Vision Arts of Jesse Weaver Shipley. Photo courtesy Red Clay

The generosity, energy and desire to experiment and find a home in these places encourage young people to broaden their reach and redefine their function in society. The impact is profound, setting the foundation stones of Tamale’s cultural renaissance, which goes far beyond the confines of traditional art spaces. (Open Photo: Blindfolding The Sun and The Poetics Peace. A Retrospective of Agyeman Osei at the Savanna Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA). Photo: Elolo Bosoka/Courtesy SCCA.)

Benjamin Lebrave

Ivory Coast. The three rivers.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

The two ethnic groups of the Agni-Baulé in Ivory Coast have developed a particular cosmogony, a ritual and social system that deserves interest and sometimes admiration. Through legends, the Agni-Baule explain their origin.

With a population of over 27.5 million, Côte d’Ivoire has around sixty ethnic groups. The Agni – Baulé belong to the large Akan group, originating from present-day Ghana.
According to tradition, the Akan left their ancestral lands in northern Ghana to settle in the gold-rich forests of the south. Gold was used in many ways among the Akan. On the one hand, it was used for the sumptuous ornaments of the chiefs and constituted the family or royal treasure. On the other hand, it was a currency necessary for the purchase of wool from Sudan (now Mali) and dried fish from Niger.
Underlying political problems and greed for the precious metal, a sacred symbol of power, caused numerous internal wars, giving power to the nucleus of Ghana’s Ashanti (concentrated around their capital, Kumasi), while the defeated factions were forced to look for new lands elsewhere. Those who moved west (the current territory of Ivory Coast), reached the Comoé River, also settling in the plains near the Bandama River. This portion of immigrants is today known as the Agni and Baulé.

Baulé Mask. There are eight Baulé subgroups. CC0/ Clevelandart Museum

According to oral tradition, the first settlers of this migratory flow, led by the warrior chief Brindu, settled with the name of Agni Diabe (Djuablin) in the region of Assikasso, today known as Agnibilékru. The first camps, and later the first Agni villages, were established in this region.
The ethnologists Delafosse and Tauxier define the Agni complex as an ethnic conglomerate, whose main components are the Diablé or Djuablin, the N’dénié, the Sanwi or Brafé, the Moronu, the Ano, the Bini, the Bétié, the Bona and the Abi. The Agni are known not only for their great agricultural tradition but also for their love of gold. Indeed, gold panning is still one of their main occupations on several rivers that pass through the country.
As for the Baulé, while maintaining ties with the Agni through their historical origins and a common language, they are the least culturally faithful of the Akan. This is partly explained by the influx of blood from other ethnic groups since they settled in the heart of the Ivorian savannahs. These peoples include the Alanguira or Denkyéra, who settled around 1700 and then became part of the kingdom of Baulé, the Guro or Kuéni, the Senufo and the Malinké. There are eight Baulé subgroups: the four free ones are the Uarebo, the Sâafué, the Fâfué and the N’zipri. They are accompanied by four vassal families: the Aitu, the Nananfué, the N’gban and the Agba, who found their homogeneity under the reign of the legendary queen Abla Poku.

Three River Deities
The traditional religions of Agni-Baulé can be divided into the religion of the land (celebrated by farmers in the plains and mountainous areas), the religion of pastoralism and the religion of water (Tanoé, Bia, Comoé, N’Zi, etc.). Around this theme, the Agni-Baulé have developed a particular cosmogony, a ritual and social system that deserves interest and sometimes admiration. Through a legend, the Agni-Baule explain their origin.Bia, Eholié and Tanoé are three rivers, three gods, three brothers born from the same mother and three enemies. Bia was the oldest and Tanoé the youngest. During childhood, they did not receive the same amount of affection from their elderly, blind mother.
Despite being the eldest, Bia was shy, but obedient and docile, and much loved by his mother.

Comoé River. CC BY-SA 4.0/ ETF89

Eholié, the middle child, was very fond of the old goddess. As for Tanoé, cunning, insolent and vain, he spent all his time arguing in public meetings. Gambling was his only concern.
Death, always implacable – even for the gods – came to the old woman who decided to divide her fortune among her children. She called them one after another into her smoke-filled cabin. First, she called Bia. The door opened and closed again: “My son, may God give you health, fortune and glory for all the favours you have done me in my old age. Leave this region today and go and settle southeast of the great lake. You will thus serve as a common god to two strong peoples: the Agni-Brafé and the Ashanti. You will be the object of endless worship. Great quantities of pure gold, flocks of white sheep and all the riches that men possess will come to your altar as a sign of submission and recognition. You will be the most glorious of all your companions. Go, my son. May the Almighty bless you.
The goddess took leave of her beloved son, after blessing him. Then it was the turn of the middle one. Eholié – said the old and blind mother -, death has taken me. I have little time left to live. Gather your things and go settle in Siman Forest. You loved me with infinite love. You will be marked forever with the sign of mourning that will remind you of my death. No impure woman, no funeral convoy will cross your bed. You will be a singular but feared god. The humans will trust your vigilance and offer you black goats and rams from their herds. The Brafé rulers will choose you as protector of their kingdom and will keep your commandments. In difficulties as in triumphs, you will lend a hand to Bia, your older brother.”

Baulé Mask. Bia, Eholié and Tanoé are three rivers, three gods, three brothers born from the same mother and three enemies. CC0/ Moon Mask MET

The goddess took leave of her beloved son, after embracing and blessing him. She didn’t bother calling the ungrateful Tanoé. However, the door opened: “Mother, God bless you – said a nearby voice. I just returned from the pier where I was waiting for the fishermen to arrive.”
“Who is he? “- asked the blind old woman, who lay on her bed, shaken by the anguish and suffering of death.
“I am Bia, your dearest son,” said the voice at the door. “Why haven’t you gone to your kingdom yet?” The anguished goddess asked. “I have no kingdom, mother,” the voice again replied. “But who did I talk to just now? Wasn’t it the evil Tanoé?” With what little strength she had left, she called out: “Tanoé! Tanoé! Tanoé!” But no one answered. Then she noticed that Tanoé was gone. “Yes, he is the one I gave my all; it is to Tanoé that I have bequeathed all my treasure.” The old woman shed her last tears of sorrow. To the best of her three sons, the one who had served her, their mother could only bequeath the least, the part that brought no glory. And she died of sorrow.
Bia went to tell his misfortune to his younger brother. Eholié was furious and promised him help and protection against Tanoé. Bia had occupied the cursed territory that should have belonged to Tanoé and so it became the river that drains impurities and is never invoked. But the Eholié-Bia alliance is eternal. Today, under penalty of shipwreck and being devoured by a crocodile, it is strictly forbidden to pronounce the name of Tanoé when sailing on Bia or Eholié.

The River Comoé and the Legend of Baulé
Located on the banks of the forest and savannah, the Baulé people have a history inseparable from the Comoé River, the longest in Ivory Coast
at 1,160 kilometres.
This river is a promise of freshness, especially when it is possible to navigate its waters in the shade of the trees, whose shapes, heights and thicknesses vary depending on the region. Its waters are a source of life: they contain fish that are sometimes sacred in a country with an animist majority, and even hippos and crocodiles.The latter have a discreet presence, as seen in some legends of the Baulé people.

Baulé Mask. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin

In fact, after having undergone the domination of the Denkyéra – this kingdom exercised its authority over much of what is now southern Ghana – during the 17th century, the Ashanti, under the leadership of Oséi Tutu, organized themselves by founding the city of Kumasi. Having settled north-east of the kingdom of Denkyéra, in 1695 they made Kumasi the centre of a new power. The warlike vocation of the Ashanti kingdom was immediately evident. During Oséi Tutu’s approximately thirty-year reign, several victorious expeditions were undertaken against the Doma, Denkyéra, and Akim kingdoms.Around 1731, after the death of Oséi Tutu, a succession conflict between two of his grandsons, Apoku Waré and Dakon, nearly destroyed the Ashanti kingdom. In the end, the former won and the followers of the defeated pretender migrated westward. Finding the eastern region of present-day Ivory Coast occupied by their Agni cousins, they decided, under the leadership of Queen Abla Poku, to continue westward, until they encountered the Comoé River, which stopped them. But not for long.
This is where legend meets history. The total absence of bridges and the immensity of the river forced the queen to seek the favours of the water gods. After some prayers to the spirits of the river, the sorcerers revealed to the queen that to cross it it was necessary to make a sacrifice. For this, chickens, rams, gold and all the riches that the queen possessed were offered. But the gods did not accept them, since they still asked for more. They asked for something of great importance from the queen… the sacrifice of her only son.

Located on the banks of the forest and savannah, the Baulé people have a history inseparable from the Comoé River, the longest in Ivory Coast at 1,160 kilometres. Filr swm

To save her people, the queen sacrificed her son and suddenly hippos came out in a line on whose backs the queen, her court and her servants passed. The latter, not having the right to attend the sacred ceremonies, did not know of the death of the crown prince. When they noticed his absence on the road, they inquired about him. In response, and according to the current version of this legend, the queen said bauli, meaning “the son is dead”. Hence the name that this people would take, with the modification to baulé made by the French colonizers.
Having no grandchildren, it was Ak’va Boni, the queen’s nephew, who succeeded him around 1760. The Baulé formed a large kingdom around Sakassu, which remained in a centralized form for about 50 years. Until the first half of the 19th century, there was a single throne that exercised absolute authority over all the Baulé. But then this authority weakened and was replaced by that of the leaders of the eight tribes that make up the Baulé nation. (Open Photo: from left: CC BY-SA 4.0/ Mickey Mystique – CC BY-SA 4.0/Isabelle Ferreira Cult – CC0/ Daderot) – (J-A.Y.)

Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), total global military expenditure reached $2443 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8 per cent in real terms from 2022. This was the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009. The 10 largest spenders in 2023 – led by the United States, China and Russia – all increased their military spending,

World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2443 billion. For the first time since 2009, military expenditure went up in all five of the geographical regions defined by SIPRI, with particularly large increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.
“The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security,” said Nan Tian, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. “States are prioritizing military strength but they risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical
and security landscape.”

123rf

Russia’s military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated $109 billion in 2023, marking a 57 per cent rise since 2014, the year that Russia annexed Crimea.
In 2023 Russia’s military spending made up 16 per cent of total government spending and its military burden (military spending as a share of gross domestic product, GDP) was 5.9 per cent.
In the same way, Ukraine was the eighth largest spender in 2023, after a spending surge of 51 per cent to reach $64.8 billion. This gave Ukraine a military burden of 37 per cent and represented 58 per cent of total government spending.
Ukraine’s military spending in 2023 was 59 per cent the size of Russia’s. However, Ukraine also received at least $35 billion in military aid during the year, including $25.4 billion from the USA. Combined, this aid and Ukraine’s own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent
of Russian spending.

USA and NATO
In 2023 the 31 NATO members accounted for $1341 billion, equal to 55 per cent of the world’s military expenditure. Military spending by the USA rose by 2.3 per cent to reach $916 billion in 2023, representing 68 per cent of total NATO military spending. In 2023 most European NATO members increased their military expenditure. Their combined share of the NATO total was 28 per cent, the highest in a decade. The remaining 4 per cent came from Canada and Türkiye.

A Bradley Fighting Vehicle. U.S. Army/Pfc. Santiago Lepper

“For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook,” said Lorenzo Scarazzato, Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. “This shift in threat perceptions is reflected in growing shares of GDP being directed towards military spending, with the NATO target of 2 per cent increasingly being seen as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach.’
A decade after NATO members formally committed to a target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on the military, 11 out of 31 NATO members met or surpassed this level in 2023 – the highest number since the commitment was made. Another target – of directing at least 20 per cent of military spending to ‘equipment spending’ – was met by 28 NATO members in 2023, up from 7 in 2014.
Poland’s military spending, the 14th highest in the world, was $31.6 billion after growing by 75 per cent between 2022 and 2023 – by far the largest annual increase by any European country.

China’s rising military expenditure
China, the world’s second-largest military spender, allocated an estimated $296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6.0 per cent from 2022. This was the 29th consecutive year-on-year rise in China’s military expenditure.

Chinese warship on the background of the flag. Shutterstock/FOTOGRIN

China accounted for half of total military spending across the Asia and Oceania region. Several of China’s neighbours have linked their own spending increases to China’s rising military expenditure.
Japan allocated $50.2 billion to its military in 2023, which was 11 per cent more than in 2022. Taiwan’s military expenditure also grew by 11 per cent in 2023, reaching $16.6 billion. India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023. At $83.6 billion, its military expenditure was 4.2 per cent higher than in 2022.

War and Tensions in the Middle East
Estimated military expenditure in the Middle East increased by 9.0 per cent to $200 billion in 2023. This was the highest annual growth rate in the region seen in the past decade.
Israel’s military spending – the second largest in the region after Saudi Arabia – grew by 24 per cent to reach $27.5 billion in 2023.

Israeli Army troops on the Israel-Gaza border.iStock/chameleonseye

The spending increase was mainly driven by Israel’s large-scale offensive in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel by Hamas in October 2023. Iran was the fourth largest military spender in the Middle East in 2023 with $10.3 billion. According to available data, the share of military spending allocated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps grew from 27 per cent to 37 per cent between 2019 and 2023.
In North Africa, Algeria’s military spending grew by 76 per cent to reach $18.3 billion. This was the highest level of expenditure ever recorded by Algeria and was largely due to a sharp rise in revenue from gas exports to countries in Europe as they moved away from Russian supplies.

Central America and the Caribbean
Military spending in Central America and the Caribbean in 2023 was 54 per cent higher than in 2014. Escalating crime levels have led to the increased use of military forces against criminal gangs in several countries in the sub-region.Military spending by the Dominican Republic rose by 14 per cent in 2023 in response to worsening gang violence in neighbouring Haiti. The Dominican Republic’s military spending has risen steeply since 2021 when the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse threw Haiti into crisis.

Mexican army soldiers in Chiapas, Mexico. Shutterstock/ photoshooter

In Mexico, military expenditure reached $11.8 billion in 2023, a 55 per cent increase from 2014 (but a 1.5 per cent decrease from 2022). Allocations to the Guardia Nacional (National Guard) – a militarized force used to curb criminal activity – rose from 0.7 per cent of Mexico’s total military expenditure in 2019, when the force was created, to 11 per cent in 2023.“The use of the military to suppress gang violence has been a growing trend in the region for years as governments are either unable to address the problem using conventional means or prefer immediate – often more violent – responses,’ said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.In South America, in 2023 Brazil’s military spending increased by 3.1 per cent to $22.9 billion.
Citing the NATO spending guideline, members of Brazil’s Congress submitted a constitutional amendment to the Senate in 2023 that aims to increase Brazil’s military burden to an annual minimum of 2 per cent of GDP (up from 1.1 per cent in 2023).
In Sub-Saharan African countries, the largest percentage increase in military spending by any country in 2023 was seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+105 per cent), where there has been protracted conflict between the government and non-state armed groups. South Sudan recorded the second largest percentage increase (+78 per cent) amid internal violence and spillover from the Sudanese civil war. (Open Photo: Military Drone.123rf ) – (Sipri)

How to stem the progress of Jihad.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Nouakchott has not suffered large-scale attacks for 12 years. There are three reasons: collaboration with neighbouring countries, the intervention of religious authorities and having “institutionalised” the demands of Islamist parties and movements.

The Sahel is an endemically poor region and Mauritania struggled significantly after independence, to achieve economic development that lived up to expectations. Over the last 5 years, the country’s GDP has grown by 5% on average and according to more recent estimates, it should even reach 8% this year. This remarkable economic development is the result of two characteristics of the country’s geopolitics in relation to the main trends in the region. Firstly, in an almost proportional relationship between the two components: the more the instability of the Sahel region has worsened in the last 10 years, the more Mauritania has emerged as a happy island.

Putting the brakes on terrorism
The first factor of three which have secured Mauretania from large scale terrorist attacks is the country’s institutions successfully collaborating with the institutions of Morocco and Algeria. The second is the deradicalization campaign carried out by the political and religious authorities, thanks to the training of dozens of religious leaders, to respond to jihadist propaganda.

The Great “Friday Mosque” in Chinguetti town in northern Mauritania. File swm

Finally, and most importantly, the Mauritanian political debate has managed to institutionalize the demands of Islamist parties and movements. The foundation of parties such as the Rassemblement Nationale pour la Réforme et le Développement (RNRD) has made an important contribution in this sense.
Simply put, by guaranteeing the possibility of advancing certain demands peacefully and countering the propaganda of terrorists, Jihad has progressively lost its appeal in Mauritania.

A Force for Stability
Internal stability has increased Mauritania’s role at the regional level. The increasing instability in the Sahel has allowed Nouakchott to emerge as a barrier to migration and systemic collapse for Europe, a role exercised in tandem with Niger until the Niamey coup last July. Capitalizing on this new perception, Mauritanian authorities have made diplomatic efforts to promote regional stability.

The gates of Nouakchott City Hall. iStock/mtcurado

Nouakchott acted in concert with Chadian authorities to avert the collapse of the G5 Sahel, with little success. While Mauritania left the ECOWAS in 2000, it maintained solid relations with the regional community which culminated in the signing of an association agreement in 2017. Even after the coup in Niger in July, the Ghazouani presidency continued to strengthen cross-border cooperation with Senegal and Mali. Energy cooperation projects for the development of solar energy have also been launched with Bamako.
In a region characterized by the return of military authoritarianism, Mauritania is today the only Sahelian country led by an elected government, presided over by Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, leader of the El Insaf party. The transition to democratic government was not free from moments of great complexity and, above all, from the need to combine economic development with the overcoming of some archaic customs present in Mauritanian society and the fight against corruption.
On the economic level, Ghazouani played a more proactive role in the country’s development and modernization policies, continuing along the lines of the policies started by his predecessor. The fight against corruption has continued with illustrious victims, including former president Ould Abdel Aziz, sentenced last December to 5 years in prison. With regards to the abolition of slavery (officially outlawed in 1981), the government has broadened the area in which the rules must be applied against the phenomenon (including, for example, child labour), but difficulties still remain in the effective implementation of these laws and slavery is still practiced in rural areas of the country.

Mauritania is today the only Sahelian country led by an elected government. File swm

Energy remains one of the driving factors behind Mauritania’s centrality for regional balances. Between 2014 and 2015, vast gas deposits were discovered on the maritime border with Senegal which Nouakchott wants to exploit both to satisfy internal demand and to enter fully the regional hydrocarbon market. Within this year, Mauritania will begin extracting natural gas from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field, for which 4.8 billion dollars have been invested. The GTA, managed by the English British Petroleum (BP) and the American Kronos, has a production capacity of 15 trillion cubic feet of gas and in the first extraction phase (which should last until 2025) will be capable of producing 2. 5 million tons of gas per year.

The legendary iron ore train of Mauritania. iStock/Jon_Johnnidis

In addition to the extraction of its own natural resources, Mauritania also aims to become a strategic hub for the West African energy market by taking advantage of its geographical location. Under the aegis of Cedeao, in September 2022 the energy companies of Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco signed an agreement of intent for the construction of the Gas Atlantic Pipeline (Gap). The Gap should connect Nigerian fields to Morocco and potentially reach European markets via Spain. The project involves the construction of 7 thousand kilometres of infrastructure with the capacity to transport approximately 3 billion cubic meters of gas per day passing through 13 African states.
This enormous and very fast process of economic development which involves a country hitherto considered endemically poor is not without its grey areas. Despite the positive results achieved by Mauritania, there is growing dissatisfaction among the population with the democratic system in the country. According to a July 2022 survey conducted by Afrobarometer, more than 70% of the population are not satisfied with the current regime and do not consider Mauritania a true democracy. This data highlights the challenge of combining modernization with the equitable redistribution of gas revenues. (Photo: Jihadist fighter. Shutterstock/Getmilitaryphotos)

Luciano Pollichieni

Uganda. The King. Looking for a wife.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

The marriage of the Kabaka of Buganda renews his royal status. We look at how the king goes through this process.

The Buganda Kingdom of the Baganda tribe, which is known to be the largest and most powerful traditional kingdom, is found in Central Uganda. Buganda Kingdom was founded in the 13th Century under the first king (Kabaka) Kato Kintu, it is a monarchy and the crown is hereditary. The kingdom is represented by 52 clans, which make up the Baganda tribe. According to tradition, the Kabaka has the right to marry any girl or woman he desires in the kingdom and a saying state, “Bazaana/muzaana wa Kabaka” which means the woman, or slave, of the Kabaka.It is said that in Buganda all women belong to the Kabaka, whether she is married or not is irrelevant. If the Kabaka desires a married woman, her husband is supposed to hand her to him gladly and also be proud that his wife has been chosen by the Kabaka.

The Kabaka Palace in Kampala. CC BY-SA 3.0/ NatureDan

In Buganda, clan members are not necessarily related by blood but they are considered relatives so the Kabaka cannot marry anyone from his mother’s clan nor can he marry a woman from the Bbalagira (Royal) clan which is his clan and he is also not allowed to marry any Naava (daughter of a mumbejja – Princess) because that would be considered incest, which is an abomination in Buganda.
In the past the Kabaka of Buganda had many women, some were captured as prisoners of war and brought to the Kabaka. He would choose the women he desired and they would then be given to him as gifts. Some of his Bataaka (officers) would also offer him their daughters as gifts because they wanted to be in-laws (Baako) of the Kabaka.
Apart from all his women and concubines, he was supposed to have an official wife who is called the Nnabagereka (Chief wife). The marriage of the Kabaka differs from the one of his subjects or the Bakoopi (commoners) as they are referred to.

His Majesty Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. Photo Kabaka Office

There are a few rituals and customs carried out before the Kabaka can get his Nnabagereka. First of all, a young girl has to be identified by either the Katikiro (Prime Minister) or one of his confidants living in the Lubiri (Palace) but the Kabaka can also choose one of his own likings. As a matter of fact, the current Nnabagereka, Lady Sylvia Nagginda, from the Muusu clan (edible rat clan), was chosen by the Kabaka himself. The first requirement for the future Nnabagereka is that she must be a virgin.In the past, once the date and day of Kabaka’s marriage was announced, all his subjects all over the kingdom were supposed to abstain from sex with their wives and lovers until the Kabaka had gotten married and consummated his marriage after which the ban was lifted.
The current Kabaka Ronald Maenad Mutebi is a modern-day Kabaka and he did not impose this ban on his subjects. After the girl has been chosen for marriage to the Kabaka, the Kkatikiro and the Bambejja (princesses) will do what they call okulinga (the first visit to the would-be Nnabagereka’s family).
For the Bakoopi this first visit is referred to as Okukyala. The reasons for the Kkatikiro and Bambejja’s visit to the girl’s parents are, to ensure that the girl is fit to be the official wife of the Kabaka and also to see the kind of family the Kabaka would be marrying into. They then return to the Kabaka with the report and if the girl is approved of, another visit is made to the girl’s parents to bring them gifts.
Okulalira takes place when the Kkatikiro and his entourage return to the girl’s home carrying special gifts. The gifts are referred to as endalira.

Her Royal Highness the Nnabagereka (Queen) Sylvia Nagginda. Photo Queen Office

In Buganda no cows are given as gifts because they don’t have them but if the Kabaka does have cows, some are sent to the girl’s parents along withbales of bark clothes (embuggo), animal skins, some of his subordinates (who would then become servants of the girl’s parents) and other gifts preferred by him.After the gifts are taken to the girl’s parents the entourage returns to the palace and only on the third visit, is the girl taken to the palace, this visit is referred to as Okunenya (blaming).
During the visit the Kkatikiro and his entourage teasingly accuse the girl’s family of hiding the Kabaka’s wife, saying that she is amongst their daughters and they have no business hiding her in their home, so the entourage pretends to look for the girl and when she is found they then return with her to the Palace.
While all this is happening, the Kabaka also performs some rituals and customs before the marriage date. He visits his mother’s palace and this act is called Okukyala, (the Queen mother is referred to as Nnamasoole), according to tradition, the King and Nnabagereka don’t live together in the same palace in Buganda.
At the Nnamasole’s palace, his maternal uncles will be waiting for him but the Nnamasole leaves because, among the Baganda, parents don’t attend the traditional marriages when children are getting married. His father is not mentioned here because in Buganda the title of Kabaka can only be inherited when the father passes.

Baganda people in their cultural outfits. Men put on Kanzu, and ladies Gomesi. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Vincent kayondo.

His uncles will give him an honor called Mondo (wild cat) and he will also be advised on good governance. This advice is not only wisdom from the uncles but also closely linked to the ancestral spirits.
After Kukyala, the Kabaka performs another ritual known as okuvuma Kabaka. He is taken to amasiiro (royal tombs) and he is made to sit by his father’s grave, his uncles will give him more advice on how to treat the princes and princesses and also how to care for the Kingdom.
After the Kabaka has gone through all this, Mugema who is the person who crowns the Kabaka in Buganda and is also considered the grandfather of Buganda comes in and gives the king an ablution, a ritual cleansing, because the marriage of Kabaka is like a renewal
of his coronation.

View of Kampala. Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in modern-day East Africa, covering the central region of Uganda, including the Ugandan capital, Kampala. File swm

Before Christianity arrived in Uganda, the Buganda kingdom was originally built on the traditional Kiganda religion where they believed in ancestral spirits and worshipped many gods. The Kabaka is considered to be a spirit and human too so on the day of the marriage ceremony, a young virgin girl, called Nnaku, from the Enkima clan (Monkey clan) is brought in to represent the wife of the Kabaka’s spirit.
Nnaku is expected to remain a virgin for the rest of her life until she dies. Kabaka Mutebi’s Nnaku was eight years old at the time of his marriage in 1999.
After Mugema has performed his duty, a big feast is organized in the evening and the celebration of the king’s marriage begins.
In the celebration, the princesses are the main people celebrating, and there will be drumming and singing and dancing and food will be served. The Kabaka is seated holding a shield, in Buganda the shield symbolizes protection which is why the king will hold it during this celebration, he is protecting his family – the Buganda Kingdom.
When Kabaka Daudi Chwa II inherited the crown after his father’s death, Christianity was already introduced in Buganda so after his traditional wedding, he was the first king to take his bride (Nnabagereka) to church for matrimony and since then, after the traditional marriage of the Kabaka, everyone goes to the Anglican church for holy matrimony.
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi was wed in holy matrimony with Lady Sylvia Nagginda, the current Nnabagereka of Buganda, on 27th August 1999 at St. Paul’s Cathedral Namiremba. (Open Photo: Buganda traditional dance. CC BY-SA 4.0/Tashoya)

Irene Lamunu

Urbanisation and Climate Change in Africa.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

About 53% of Africa’s population lives in rural areas. Six decades ago, it was 85.38 percent. The percentage varies greatly from country to country: 85.58% in Burundi, 83.11 in Niger, 82.28 in Rwanda, 9.27 in Gabon, 18.70 in Libya and 21.62 in Djibouti.

These data show that more and more people are migrating to cities in Africa. The United Nations predicts that more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2025. And Africa, together with Asia, will lead to this increase.

Of the 2.5 billion people who will join the world’s urban population, 90% will be concentrated on these two continents. These sources estimate that the tipping point will occur around 2033, when the urban population in Africa surpasses rural areas reaching, by 2050, 60% of the total inhabitants of the continent.

Today, Southern Africa is the most urbanized region on the continent. Northern and Central Africa have more than 50% of people living in cities. West Africa is slowing down but is progressively catching up with other areas.

In this region is Nigeria, with the city of Lagos, home to the largest percentage of the continent’s urban population, and it looks like it will continue to hold this title for a long time, although the metropolis that hosts the largest number of inhabitants is Cairo. Likewise, the Democratic Republic of Congo stands out as a country that will reach 126 million people living in cities by 2050, especially in Kinshasa.

Sixty percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population live in what is known as informal areas, according to the African Cities Research Consortium. And this is where one of the main problems of these cities lies. They reflect the rapid, unplanned and sometimes chaotic growth of cities. These areas are increasingly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Furthermore, they have little, if any, ability to adapt.

It is known that despite having lower emissions and therefore contributing less to global warming, Africa faces serious risks. They threaten to reverse the progress made in recent decades in development or poverty reduction.

The lack of infrastructure to help reduce risks, the high percentage of the continent’s population dependent on natural resources or climatology for their livelihoods, as well as the strangulation of public health services and the low levels of formal education accentuate the risks of a catastrophe. Some analysts predict that by the middle of this century, nearly 80 million Africans will be at risk of starvation, most of them urban dwellers.

We don’t have to wait until 2050. Climate change is already here. It affects African cities stressed by huge floods or recurring droughts. Families, businesses, infrastructure or supply chains are already disrupted by this phenomenon. In the coming decades, this situation will go further. Thus, the sustainable development dreamed of by the SDGs is difficult to achieve in Africa.

Solid waste collection and treatment, recycling, transportation and infrastructure deficiencies, etc., are issues that also filter down through African cities. And despite this, few solutions are offered.

The most appropriate option is that, where possible, African metropolises opt for more sustainable, clean and ecological development. This would make these cities more liveable and resilient to climate change. However, the impression is that most of them are left behind on this path. They choose to give more space to cars, large buildings and development projects that do not take into account respect for the environment.

An example of a person who understood the need to change the way cities are designed is the mayor of Freetown. Torrential rains that normally inundate the city caused a landfall in August 2017 that took the lives of 1,141 citizens and destroyed parts of Sierra Leone’s capital. Once Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr took office, she launched the “Freetown the Treetown” initiative in 2020.

Funded by the sale of carbon credits, 600,000 trees have already been planted in and around the city. Eighty per cent survived. And at the end of this year, we want to reach the figure of one million. This project was accompanied by extensive efforts to clean up Freetown’s streets and upgrade its drainage system. Furthermore, it promoted the use of renewable, particularly photovoltaic, energy.

A bit of an exception, Aki-Sawyerr understood that only the transformation of her city into a more sustainable model that harmonizes its growth with the environment is the only thing that can save it and its inhabitants. (Photo: Kibera on the outskirts of Nairobi. It is one of the largest settlements in Africa. File Swm.

Chema Caballero

Djibouti. Conflicts of Interest.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

The country is closely watching the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The small barracks state, dealing with a cumbersome tenant like the USA, risks losing its centrality due to the memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland.

If there is a man who has been touching the hot issues concerning the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa for weeks, it is the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh. From the Camp Lemonnier base, the United States conducts attacks in response to the incursions of the Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

map: 123rf

A former base of the French Foreign Legion, Camp Lemonnier is a strategic outpost for Africom, the US African Command. Opposite is the strategic Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, where 9% of maritime trade in petroleum products transits.About a hundred miles away is the southwestern Yemeni coast controlled by the Houthis. The headquarters of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is located here. There are approximately 4 thousand units deployed. About ten kilometres to the southwest is the Chabelley airfield, from where F15E fighter bombers take off and Predator MQ-9 Reaper drones take to the skies.
To protect the area, the US has deployed the MIM-104 Patriot tactical defence missile system.

The USA, a Cumbersome Tenant
President Guelleh is struggling to carve out margins of autonomy in relations with this cumbersome tenant. For the time being, Washington has been denied the ability to deploy missile launch systems. Despite being part of Task Force 153, whose objective is to guarantee maritime security in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti did not join Operation Prosperity Guardian, activated by Washington in mid-December and supported on the front line by the United Kingdom to neutralise Houthi attacks and defuse the Iranian response to Israel’s military escalation in the Gaza Strip.

President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh. Photo: US/ Robert D. Ward

For the moment the only defence measure activated by the Horn of Africa country has been the intensification of patrols by its coastguard to monitor the trade routes that pass near its coasts. Djibouti took an independent position on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, requesting last November – together with South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Comoros – the launch of an investigation “on the situation in the state
of Palestine” at the
International Court of Justice.

Relations with Ethiopia and Somaliland
As president of IGAD (the intergovernmental authority for the development of the countries of the Horn of Africa) until next June, Guelleh is trying to highlight the role of mediator of his small barracks state in the various tensions that permeate the region. In the most delicate game, that of the normalisation of relations between Somalia and Somaliland, he was however caught off guard. A few days after receiving the respective presidents, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Muse Bihi Abdi, in Djibouti to relaunch the talks that had been stuck since 2020, Guelleh witnessed helplessly the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Abdi himself and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, which gives Addis Ababa commercial access to the Gulf of Aden through the port of Berbera, managed by the Emirates giant DP World, and 20 kilometres of coastline in exchange for the recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.
With the creation of a direct corridor between Addis Ababa and Berbera, through Hargeisa and Jijiga, Djibouti now risks seeing heavily reduced revenues from Ethiopian import-export which until now transited towards the Gulf of Aden mainly through its territory.

Djibouti. Camp Lemonnier is a strategic outpost for Africom, the US African Command. File swm

With the achievement of this agreement, Ethiopia would not need to invest in the redevelopment of an old port in Zeilah, in the northwestern tip of Somaliland, and above all, it could aspire to the construction of a military base about one hundred kilometres from the Djibouti border. The outpost would exacerbate tensions in an area of western Somaliland that has long been subject to a territorial dispute between the Issa communities (to which President Guelleh belongs) and the Gadabursis, with direct repercussions on the maintenance of security in Djibouti. After the diplomatic setback suffered, Guelleh ordered the withdrawal of the passports that had been issued to various members of the Somaliland government and called an extraordinary meeting of IGAD in Kampala, where on 18 January the principle of sovereignty and integrity was reaffirmed for the territory of Somalia.

Hargeisa, Somaliland. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 at Freedom Square, Independence Avenue. A Soviet-built fighter plane used by the Somali Air Force in the 1988 bombardments of Hargeisa. CC BY-SA 2.0/ joepyrek.

Internal Tensions
In the most militarized state in the world, there is no shortage of internal tensions. At the end of December, clashes broke out between the Somali and Afar communities in the Warabaley neighbourhood, in the suburb of Balbala, southwest of the capital, with hundreds of people forced to abandon their homes that were set on fire and at least five people killed. A few weeks earlier, near Tadjourah, in the central part of the country, other clashes had occurred between members of the opposition party Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy and the security forces. (Open Photo: 123rf)

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