Photo : Peter Dejong, Pool | Reuters
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Peter Dejong, Pool | Reuters
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar and Anu Maria Joseph
Uganda: ICC upholds Ongwen’s sentence
On 14 December, the International Criminal Court upheld the conviction of a former child soldier Dominic Ongwen, who later became the commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In 2021, Ongwen was sentenced to 25 years in prison for rape, murder and child abduction. During the appeal against the conviction, Ongwen’s lawyers argued that he could not be held responsible for his acts because he was kidnapped as a nine-year-old and recruited as a child soldier. However, the judges maintained that Ongwen was acting independently at the time of the crimes. (“ICC upholds sentence of Uganda child soldier turned LRA commander,” Al Jazeera, 15 December 2022)
Central African Republic: Last French troops depart
On 15 December, the last French troops deployed - 47 personnel of a logistical unit - departed from the Central African Republic. France24 referred to an AFP news report quoting the commander of French forces in Gabon: “France decided that the conditions were no longer appropriate for us to continue working for the benefit of the Central African armed forces.” (“Last French troops leave Central African Republic amid closer Bangui-Moscow ties,” France24, 15 December 2022)
US assures support for AU membership at G20
On 15 December, US President Joe Biden extended support to the African Union’s bid to join the G20 and to have an African representative at the UN Security Council. Biden said: “Africa belongs at the table in every room – in every room where global challenges are being discussed, and in every institution where discussions are taking place.” Currently, only South Africa is a member of the G20 from Africa. Speaking at the second US-Africa Leaders Summit, Biden also announced that he would visit sub-Saharan Africa shortly. (“Biden calls for African Union to become permanent member of G20,” France24, 15 December 2022)
Zambia and Zimbabwe: Water level drop in Lake Kariba forces to ration power supply
On 15 December, BBC reported, Zambia began to ration its power supply following a large decrease in the water levels at Lake Kariba, a major source for its hydro-electric power plants. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe, which shares the lake with Zambia, had introduced an 18-hour power outage the previous week. Zimbabwe is now restricted to producing 300MW and Zambia 800 MW daily. Frequent droughts along with low rainfall and excessive use of water for power generation has caused the significant decrease of water levels in Lake Kariba. In Zambia, domestic consumers currently face a six hour outage per day and authorities say the power rationing is to avoid a complete shutdown. (“Zambia forced to ration power supply,” BBC, 15 December 2022)