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Followed by map of US military operations in Africa, followed by an overview of the Boko Haram in Nigeria and all the Al-Qaeda aligned terrorist groups across Africa and Middle-East as they continue their operations. We provide a closer look at Boko Haram and al-Shabaab organization - READ MORE

In this section we present the official U.S. government statements, public opinion polls and general comments America makes about Africa to keep Africa officialdom aware of the Africa temperament in the USA –and to see “What America Sees” –– in this post we report on a historic victory of a Somali-American Muslim woman in U.S. Legislative Elections; followed by a reprint of a Commentary which appeared in the recent issue of The New Yorker Magazine-READ MORE

Conversely this section presents comments by Africa which the U.S. and other overseas quarters should be aware of and understand. Current posting reports on Africa’s major gate for those trying to get to Europe – Tebu,Libya on the Sahara Desert -READ MORE

Overview of the Africa’s economics, business, investments and banking. In this posting we name the top 10 philanthropists in Africa. Followed by an insightful article of Sub-Sahara economic standing, plus a report of Recent Africa airlines meeting and the Open Skies developments. Africa Development Bank President warns of coming economic problems, followed by a report “Africa Loses More Money to Illicit Financial Flows Than It Receives in Foreign Aid”-READ MORE

Visit to the land of the Black Pharaohs, Nubia, Sudan - TENERIFE – the sophisticated island retreat off Africa’s Atlantic coast with much to offer any visitor. Nairobi art galleries get a review and a look at Nairobi’s oldest hotel, the Stanley admits fabulous Exchange Bar. And then we tell you about a destination with a WARNING! The following is not a place to visit now, but you should put it on your Africa travel bucket list, because when all will become peaceful it will be the top Africa destination -READ MORE

The global art world discovers contemporary artists, and is ready with $$$ millions - plus one of Nigeria’s most accomplished artist – Peju Alatisa, who is now a Museum Fellow of the African Art Museum in Washington D.C. With all the political events taking place in Egypt, its history and grandeur still comes to life - until a decade ago, no one knew of, an ancient harbor city Heracleion -READ MORE

Safari Cuisine overview. Followed by Art of Sushi-Making African-Style. The unique drinks of Africa. Then we tell you of Morocco and its saffron crop. France's cherished culinary tradition holds big attraction for foreign visitors. But few tourists realize that many chefs and most kitchen staff in Paris and other big cities are immigrants from Africa. Review of a classic Nairobi restaurant Carnivore – Plus a great Senegal food article which appeared in the “Saveur” magazine, courtesy of Peirre Thiam, our chef colleague. Link to the U.S. based African Dinner website listing African restaurants in all the major metropolitan areas of the U.S.-READ MORE

"Foreign Gods, Inc." a new must-read book by a Nigerian author reviewed. Nelson Mandela's autobiography turned into a film – our review. From orphan to author, the self-help guru is turning the spiritual world upside down by exploring a new concept, African Spirituality. “Our ancestors believed in African deities and gained their strength to survive one of the worst atrocities in American history," Followed by a review of a book by the President of Ghana “My First Coup D'état” – and a review of a 19th Century travel book of West Africa by Mary Kingsley, published in 1892, a must read before your visit to Sierra Leone - READ MORE

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Role of Fake News in Africa’s Polity

With the coming of Donald J. Trump into our collective political consciousness, our lexicon has witnessed the introduction of such words as “fake news” and “Enemy of State” borrowed from the 1998 Will Smith caper. How these words have affected the perception of the free press globally has been remarkably negative.

Across Africa, the ruling class and politicians have exploited these words to cast aspersions on the work of journalists not only on Social Media but in the mainstream press thus poisoning public perception.

This trend has given a political rationale to those in leadership in many African countries and the license to distract and defraud the public and consequently provide government-controlled media the cover to counter press reports when they reflect badly on their principals. It is therefore not uncommon these days to hear government spokespersons conveniently dismiss press reports as “fake news” or its purveyors as “enemies of the state”.

Our concern therefore in The African Times-USA is that the fledgling democracies in Africa risk the empowerment of closeted despots and dictators who are intolerant of the truth and averse to free press. As much as we do not support any form of rascality on the part of the media, we believe that there is a greater danger to the public in allowing the press to be muzzled under any guise. The right to be informed is the inalienable right of the public while the right to free speech is a divine endowment of every human, more so for members of the fourth estate.

We are of the opinion that these times call for increased oversight duties by watchdog and human rights groups as to checkmate how leadership in Africa and the rest of the world hide under the “fake news” and "enemy of state” syndrome to subvert the people’s right to free dissemination of information, and the ploy to give the media a bad name, just to kill it.

Debate - knowledge - opinions - ideas are all part of the AFRICA DIALOG. This is your opportunity to debate, come under the traditional village tree and become a part of the community.

We look forward to your comments:

editor@theafricantimes.com

An American Show of Shame in Africa

This flag photo of these US visitors to Africa depicts the worst of American arrogance. The logic of hoisting the U.S. flag on the poor hippo hunted down in the wilds of Africa defies the most simplistic logic. By the way, this is no “Fake News” – only a thoughtless bunch of idiots who should have in the first place been denied access - visa, permits and all to Africa to showcase a shameful show of patriotism, and a cruel display of violence on the continent’s endangered and most vulnerable species.

ERITREA

Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara, this is the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations. Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara, where he and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony,

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change Alliance senior official, Tendai Biti. who fled the country to seek post-election political asylum in neighboring Zambia, has been freed on bail after being deported back to Zimbabwe. The charges against Biti accused the politician of announcing false election results, saying opposition leader Nelson Chamisa had won Zimbabwe's July 30 polls. Further, the state said Biti took part in the violence that rocked Harare during the post-election opposition protest and destroyed property worth $345,000. Magistrate Francis Mapfumo granted Biti $5,000 bail. He was ordered to surrender his passport, and report to police twice a day.

ERITREA

Security agents in Eritrea have arrested and are hunting for Pentecostal Christians who attended an informal sermon given by an Ethiopian evangelist last month. Preacher Surafiel Demssie had travelled to the capital, Asmara, on the first Ethiopian Airlines flight to Eritrea after the two countries ended their 20-year feud. Eritrea banned Pentecostal churches in 2002. Eritrea recognizes four religions - Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Evangelical-Lutheran church of Eritrea. Other religious groups are considered illegal. Human rights activists say hundreds of followers and several religious leaders of the illegal churches have been detained incommunicado for more than a decade. Those arrested have not appeared before a court. Prisoners of conscience, including followers of evangelical churches, do not get charged formally before any Eritrean court of law.

CAMEROON

Cameroon's government said it will investigate a video, which according to Amnesty International shows the "brutal killings" of at least a dozen unarmed people by the country's security forces in the village of Achigaya. Cameroon's Far North region. The video shows multiple persons opening fire on a group of unarmed people cowering against a wall. Amnesty International, alleged that the "horrifying" video provides "credible evidence" that "Cameroon's armed forces have committed grave crimes against civilians", and called for an "immediate, thorough and impartial investigation" of the footage. Cameroonian government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said they would open an investigation, but he also stated the video was aimed at discrediting the country's army and President Paul Biya, who has been ruling Cameroon for 36 years and seeks a seventh term in this October's elections.

MALI

Mali's Constitutional Court has confirmed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's win in last month’s runoff election, rejecting fraud accusations by the opposition candidate, Soumaila Cisse. The verdict clears the way for the 73-year-old Keita to begin his second five-year term on September 4. More than 2.7 million Malians voted in the runoff election, a 34 percent turnout despite threats by armed groups. Keita got 67.2 percent of the votes, comfortably beating Cisse, who received 32.8 percent. Cisse said he would have won 51 percent of the vote but for ballot box stuffing and other cheating by Keita's camp. European Union observers said there were irregularities during the vote but did not say there was fraud. After results were declared, Keita received congratulations from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose military has been engaged in Mali in the fight against the rebel groups.

KENYA

Kenyan authorities have arrested several senior officials on suspicion of corruption over their management of NLC’s $3.2bn railway project. The National Prosecution Authority stated that it had agreed to charge 14 civil servants and business people, as well as three companies, over compensation for land purchased for the construction of the Chinese-funded rail line linking the capital, Nairobi, to the coastal city of Mombasa. The charges followed an investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) into allegations the NLC made phony compensation payments for land used for the project. The Nairobi-Mombasa line is part of a "master plan" agreed to by East African leaders to connect Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Ethiopia by rail. Project is financed by China’s Export-Import Bank with China’s state-owned Road and Bridges Corporation in charge of construction, maintenance and operating the railway.

SUDAN

Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has backed President Omar al-Bashir as its candidate for the 2020 election. The council said it has endorsed Bashir for a third term after long consultations among the party's leadership, even though the country's constitution allows for only two five-year terms. The 74-year-old veteran leader has been in power since a 1989 military coup and has only faced contested elections since the new constitution went into effect in 2010, his second term ends in 2020. Bashir had previously said he would step down in 2020. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of war crimes in Darfur.

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa's top court has ruled that the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Shaun Abrahams, was not validly appointed and was a beneficiary of former President Jacob Zuma’s abuse of power. Mr. Abrahams was appointed in 2015 after his predecessor Mxolisi Nxasana was given $1.1m as a “golden handshake” by Mr. Zuma's government. However, Mr. Nxasana later went to court claiming he had been forced out of his position because Mr. Zuma was convinced that he intended to prosecute him for corruption. Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, reading a majority opinion, ruled that Mr. Zuma had unlawfully retired Mr. Nxasana, and therefore his subsequent appointment of Mr. Abrahams was invalid. The court rejected Mr. Nxasana's appeal to get his former job back and ordered him to return the $1.1m "golden handshake" to the government. Mr. Abrahams, was seen by Mr. Zuma's critics as his lackey. The court gave President Cyril Ramaphosa, who forced Mr. Zuma out of office in February, 90 days to appoint a new NPA head. When he became President, Mr. Ramaphosa had said that “leadership issues” at the NPA was one of his key concerns.

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