AfricaWorld News 11th June 2022

EDIT ORIAL

D O E S
 B E L G I U M ' S

A P O L O G Y
 H E A L

R I P S
 I N
 D R C ?

d
 t his
 week,
 w e w e r e
 treated
 to
 a
 barrage
 of
 regrets
 b y
 B e l g i u m ' s
 K i n g
 P h i l i p p e
 o v e r h i s
 a n c e s t o r s '
 atrocities
 a n d
 l o o t i n g o f
 resources
 i n t h e
 D e m o c r a t i c

R e p u b l i c
 o f C o n g o
 during
 the
 7 5 y e a r s
 o f c o l o n i a l i s m T ruthfully
 speaking,
 we
 were
 happy
 to
 hear
 him
 agree
 to
 the
 fact
 that
 his
 a n c e s t o r s w e r e e v i l ,
 brutal,
 blood­thirsty
 and
 unjust.

H o w e v e r , w e s t r o n g l y
 f e e l e x p r e s s i n g r e g r e t
 alone
 for
 past
 deeds
 is
 n o t e n o u g h . E v e n
 r e p a r a t i o n s a r e n o t

enough
 too.
 Y ou
 may
 label
 u s a s p e o p l e w i t h a
 victimist
 mindset
 but
 we
 will
 not
 stop
 believing
 that
 Belgium
 is
 the
 reason
 for

D R C o n g o ' s
 u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t a n d
 u n e n d i n g r e l i g i o u s a n d
 boarder
 conflicts.

What
 an
 average
 African
 m a y n o t r e a l i z e
 i m m e d i a t e l y i s t h a t
 E u r o p e i s b e g i n n i n g t o

own
 up
 its
 past
 colonial
 sins
 not
 for
 anything,
 but
 t o f u r t h e r i t s
 n e o c o l o n i a l i s m a g e n d a W h o d o e s n ' t k n o w t h a t
 E u r o p e t h r i v e s o n
 c o n t r o l l i n g A f r i c a
 c u l t u r a l l y , e c o n o m i c a l l y
 a n d p o l i t i c a l l y ? I f
 E u r o p e a n s a r e r e a l l y
 s o r r y f o r t h e i r
 mistreatment
 of
 Africans,
 w h y c a n ' t t h e y
 c o m p e n s a t e i n d i v i d u a l

A f r i c a n
 l e a d e r s
 c a n
 share
 a
 m e d i a
 p l a t f o r m w i t h

E u r o p e ans
 and
 start
 asking
 them
 t o c o m e b a c k a s
 i n v e s t o r s . A f r i c a n s m u s t
 think
 twice
 and
 start
 living
 a s t h e o n l y p e o p l e o n
 e a r t h . T r u s t i n g p e o p l e
 w h o s h i t t e d i n o u r
 ancestors'
 face
 is
 nothing
 short
 of
 insulting
 our
 own
 existence.
 Let
 Europeans
 e n j o y t h e w e a l t h t h e y
 smuggled
 without
 further
 seeking
 to
 fool
 us
 again.

c o u n t r y ' s
 u n l i k e
 r e t u r n i n g
 t h o s e
 o u t o f
 f a s h i o n
 w o o d e n
 m a s k s ?

I t i s
 even
 a
 p i t y
 t h a t

i n u b u

s
 N i g e r i a
 V o t e s

e x t

e a

By:
Ollus
Ndomu

after
 defeating
 his
 competitors
 in
 landslide.

Addressing
 the
 n a t i

a

P r e s i d e

M u h a m m a d

Buhari,
 shortly
 a f t e r b e i n

d e c l a

winner

T inubu
 said:

M

m a l i a

a

s
 M o h a m u d

 B o u n c e s
 B a c k

a t e d
 U n d e

i g h t
 S e c u r i t y

S o m a l i a ;
 a d d i n g
 t h a t h e
 would
 also
 c o n s u l t
 w i t h t h e
 t w o
 p r e v i o u s
 p r e s i d e n t s ,
 who
 were
 h i s
 c o m p e t i t o r s d u r i n g
 t h e M a y
 2 0 2 2
 elections.

By:
Joshua
Illya

A h e a d o f F r i d a y ' s p o w e r
 t r a n s i t i o n , s e c u r i t y h a d
 b e e n b e e f e d u p i n
 M o g a d i s h u a f t e r i t w a s
 rumored
 that
 rebels
 were
 p l a n n i n g t o d i s r u p t t h e
 event.

R e g i o n a l l e a d e r s f r o m
 D j i b o u t i , E t h i o p i a , K e n y a
 a n d E g y p t a r r i v e d e a r l y
 Friday
 morning
 to
 witness
 the
 ceremony
 which
 many
 th i n k i s S o m a l i a ' s tu r n i n g
 point.

m a i n p r i o r i t y w a s t o
 w o r k f o r p e a c e a c r o s s

H e h a s
 t a k e n o v e r a c o u n t r y
 grappling
 with
 a
 daunting
 insecurity ,
 in
 the
 face
 of
 a
 devastate
 drought
 that
 has
 c a u s e d w i d e s p r e a d
 hunger

Mohamud
 was
 sworn­in
 on
 May
 15
 immediately
 after
 his
 election
 by
 the
 country's
 b i c a m e r a l p a r l i a m e n t a n d
 received
 the
 instruments
 of
 power
 from
 his
 predecessor
 on
 May
 23.

By

Prince
Mathias

K i t e n d e , U g a n d a | A p a s s i o n a t e a n d
 t e n s e m a t c h a t S t
 Mary's
 stadium
 saw
 Niger
 fi g h t b a c k b r i l l i a n t l y f r o m
 one
 goal
 down
 to
 draw
 with
 Uganda
 Cranes,
 but
 weren't
 quite
 able
 to
 find
 the
 winner .

M i l t o n K a r i s a s c o r e d t w o
 minutes
 to
 the
 break
 to
 give
 Uganda
 a
 1­0
 lead
 in
 their
 Nations
 Cup
 qualifier The
 Cranes
 had
 missed
 several
 chances
 at
 goal
 in
 the
 first
 45
 minutes
 of
 their
 African
 C u p o f N a t i o n s q u a l i fi e r
 against
 Niger
 at
 St
 Mary's

W i t h t h e s e c o n d h a l f
 u n d e r w a y , N i g e r w h o
 s e e m e d m o r e c o m f o r t a b l e
 l e v e l l e d t h e s c o r e t h r o u g h
 M a h a m a d o u A m a d o w i t h
 twenty
 one
 minutes
 left
 of
 play .

I n t h e e n d , N i g e r h e l d
 Uganda
 Cranes
 to
 a
 1­1
 draw
 to
 grab
 a
 vital
 point
 away
 from
 home.

Uganda
 Cranes
 started
 the
 Nations
 Cup
 qualifiers
 with
 a
 2­0
 loss
 away
 to
 Algeria
 last
 week.

Mary's
 stadium
 in
 Kitende.

U g a n d a C r a n e s s t a r t e d i t s

A f r i c a n C u p o f N a t i o n s ­
 AFCON
 qualifiers
 campaign
 on
 a
 low
 note
 after
 falling
 to
 A l g e r i a 2 0 i n A l g i e r s o n
 Saturday
 night.
 According
 to
 Micho,
 his
 side
 tried
 to
 create
 a n e a r l y o p p o r t u n i t y b u t
 F a r o u k M i y a ' s f a i l u r e t o
 convert
 a
 penalty
 in
 the
 first
 half
 lowered
 the
 morale
 of
 the
 other
 players
 for
 the
 entire
 first
 half.

The
 gaffer
 believes
 that
 the
 game
 was
 a
 good
 test
 for
 the
 Uganda
 Cranes
 as
 they
 look
 forward
 to
 hosting
 Niger .
 He
 says
 that
 despite
 the
 fact
 that
 Algeria
 was
 a
 far
 better
 side,

his
players
tried
to
control
the
 domination
 but
 they
 finally
 fell
 to
 the
 brilliance
 of
 Algeria's
 forwards.

Uganda
 Cranes
 are
 currently
 sitting
 at
 the
 bottom
 of
 Group
 F
 with
 no
 point
 while
 Niger
 is
 third
 in
 the
 group
 with
 one
 point
 after
 holding
 T anzania
 in
 o n e a l l d r a w a t S t a d e d e
 I'Amitie.
 Uganda
 Cranes
 is
 in
 its
 campaign
 to
 return
 to
 the
 c o n t i n e n t ' s b i g g e s t f o o t b a l l
 c o m p e t i t i o n a f t e r f a i l i n g t o
 qualify
 in
 the
 last
 edition
 of
 the
 c h a m p i o n s h i p A w i n f o r
 Uganda
 in
 their
 next
 game
 will
 p o l i s h t h e i r h o p e s d e s p i t e
 having
 a
 poor
 beginning.

Independent

e P o r t u g u e s e w a s
 meant
 to
 spearhead
 a
 P r e m i e r L e a g u e t i t l e
 challenge
 but
 he
 instead
 had
 to
 perform
 one
 rescue
 act
 after
 another

What
 followed
 was
 United's
 w o r s t s e a s o n i n P r e m i e r
 League
 history
 –
 when,
 once
 again,
 they
 had
 to
 watch
 on
 as
 their
 fiercest
 rivals
 City
 and
 Liverpool
 dominated.

If
 this
 is
 rock
 bottom,
 then
 the
 only
 way
 is
 up.
 At
 least
 that
 is
 w h a t n e w c h i e f e x e c u t i v e
 Richard
 Arnold
 is
 hoping
 for

Player
 of
 the
 Season: It
 is
 slim
 pickings
 given
 j u s t h o w a b j e c t U n i t e d
 were.
 T wo
 stand
 out
 by
 a
 mile
 in
 Ronaldo
 and
 David
 de
 Gea.

O n f a r t o o m a n y
 o c c a s i o n s , p o s t F e r g u s o n , U n i t e d h a v e
 h a d t o r e l y o n t h e
 b r i l l i a n c e o f D e G e a ,
 which
 speaks
 for
 itself.
 In
 t i m e s o f t r o u b l e , t h e S p a i n
 international
 excels
 –
 simply
 because
 he
 is
 called
 into
 so
 much
 action.

W h a t m a d e t h i s s e a s o n
 r e m a r k a b l e w a s t h e f a c t i t
 came
 after
 a
 period
 when
 his
 position
 has
 been
 under
 so
 much
 scrutiny .

But
 the
 honour
 has
 to
 go
 to
 R o n a l d o F o r m u c h o f t h e
 season,
 he
 has
 been
 painted
 as
 the
 problem
 and
 the
 cure
 b u t , w i t h o u t h i m , t h e
 campaign
 could
 have
 been
 so
 much
 worse.

F A S H I O N

S h e - b a n g
 F a s h i o n

C e l e b r a t e s

W o r l d
 M e n s t r u a l
 D a y

Wo r l d
 M e n s t r u a l
 H y g i e n e D a y o f
 2 0 2 2 w a s
 c e l e b r a t e d
 f a s h i o n a b l y a t
 t h e s e c o n d
 e d i t i o n o f t h e
 s h e b a n g
 fashion
 show
 in
 U g a n d a
 o r g a n i z e d b y
 W uzi
 Africa.

W orld
 Menstrual
 Day
 is
 an
 annual
 c o m m e m o r a t i o n
 o b s e r v e d o n
 28th
 May
 meant
 t o s t o p
 s t e r e o t y p e s ,
 t a b o o s a n d
 s t i g m a a r o u n d
 m e n s t r u a t i o n
 and
 to
 spread
 the
 awareness.

T h e s h e b a n g
 f a s h i o n s h o w
 w a s a b u b b l y
 e v e n t t h a t t o o k
 p l a c e a t t h e
 d e s i g n h u b o f
 B u g o l o b i ,
 Uganda,
 themed
 ' T o i n c r e a s e
 a w a r e n e s s a n d
 understanding
 of
 s e x u a l
 r e p r o d u c t i v e
 health
 and
 rights'. It
 was
 styled
 by
 seven

t a l e n t e d a n d
 s o p h i s t i c a t e d A f r i c a n

By:
Jemimah
Chungu

f a s h i o n d e s i g n e r s
 w h o s h o w c a s e d
 their
 apparels
 and
 a c c e s s o r i e s
 e l e g a n t l y w i t h a
 t o u c h o f r e d a n d
 Afrik
 vibe.

The
 founder
 of
 the
 w e l l b e i n g
 f o u n d a t i o n , S l y k a
 L w a n y a n g a
 declared
 that
 this
 y e a r , t h e y a r e
 f o c u s i n g o n
 u n b l o c k i n g t h e
 potential
 of
 young
 p e o p l e e s p e c i a l l y
 t h o s e f r o m
 m a r g i n a l i z e d
 c o m m u n i t i e s
 t h r o u g h
 storytelling.

"Just
 like
 the
 first
 edition
 where
 most
 o f t h e m o d e l s
 showcased
 outfits
 with
 a
 touch
 of
 red
 [ t o m i r r o r t h e
 t h e m e ' p e r i o d
 shame'],
 the
 same
 w i l l h a p p e n t h i s
 y e a r s i n c e t h e
 s h o w i s a b o u t
 menstrual
 hygiene
 a n d a d d r e s s i n g
 s e x u a l
 r e p r o d u c t i v e
 health
 and
 rights,"
 Lwanyaaga
 said.

N

G E R

A D

S U

A N

A

D

A R R I A G E
 S C A M

A Nigerian
 man
 i d e n t i fi e d a s
 B a l a M u s a , a
 c i v i l s e r v a n t o f
 Z a m f a r a S t a t e h a s
 s u e d K a n n y w o o d
 a n d N o l l y w o o d
 a c t r e s s H a d i z a
 G a b o n f o r w h a t h e
 t e r m e d a s m a r r i a g e
 scam.

A c t r e s s H a d i z a w a s
 sued
 mid
 this
 week
 for
 allegedly
 going
 against
 h e r p r o m i s e o f
 marrying
 Mr Musa.

The
 complainant
 said
 h e h a d b e e n i n a
 r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e

actress
 and
 spent
 on
 her
 a
 colossal
 amount
 of
 money
 amounting
 to
 N396000.

T h e m a n w a n t s t h e
 c o u r t t o o r d e r M s .
 Hadiza
 to
 repay
 the
 money
 he
 spent
 on
 her

to
 be
 seen.

But
 her
 legal
 team
 told
 t h e c o u r t t h a t t h e i r
 client
 missed
 the
 court
 appearance
 for
 safety
 reasons.

The
 trial
 was
 however
 adjourned
 to
 June
 13.

By:
A yishie tu
A siedu

W O R L D
 E A R T H

D A Y
 2 0 2 2
 M A K E S

M A J O R
 G R E E N
 L E A P

By:
Jemimah
Chungu

G r e e n
 e n v i r o n m e n t a l
 a c t i v i s m
 e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t s a n d
 t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c
 e n v i r o n m e n t a l
 c o n s e r v a t i o n ,
 p r e s e r v a t i o n a n d
 r e s t o r a t i o n c a n n o t a r e
 c e l e b r a t e d , r e v i e w e d
 and
 rewarded
 during
 the
 W o r l d E n v i r o n m e n t a l
 Day

T h e W o r l d
 Environmental
 Day
 is
 the
 l a r g e s t g l o b a l p l a t f o r m
 for
 environmental
 public
 o u t r e a c h c e l e b r a t e d
 annually
 on
 5th
 June
 by
 millions
 of
 people
 across
 t h e w o r l d l e d b y t h e
 U n i t e d N a t i o n s

E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o g r a m
 (UNEP)
 since
 1973.

This
 year ,
 global
 citizens
 joined
 the
 conversations
 o n s o c i a l m e d i a ,
 demanding
 urgent
 action
 to
 conserve
 and
 restore
 t h e e n v i r o n m e n t w h i l e
 o t h e r s o r g a n i z e d o w n
 a c t i v i t i e s t h e m e d
 # o n l y o n e E a r t h w h i c h
 i n c l u d e d t r e e p l a n t i n g
 w e r e m i l l i o n s o f t r e e s
 w e r e p l a n t e d , w a s t e
 m a n a g e m e n t a m o n g
 others.

The
 official
 celebration
 of
 t h e 4 9 t h W o r l d
 E n v i r o n m e n t a l D a y
 ( 2 0 2 2 ) w a s h o s t e d i n
 Stockholm,
 Sweden
 with

the
theme
#onlyoneEarth
 b y w o r l d w i d e
 environmental
 leaders.

The
 W orld
 Environmental
 D a y o f 2 0 2 2 m a d e a
 m a j o r g r e e n m o v e

the
 future
 by
 accelerating
 t h e c l i m a t e t r a n s i t i o n i s
 one
 of
 the
 top
 priorities
 for
 the
 Swedish
 government.

As
 part
 of
 our
 efforts
 to
 i m p l e m e n t o u r c l i m a t e
 ambitions,
 we
 must
 take
 a c t i o n s a g a i n s t a c t i v i t i e s
 t h a t h a v e a n e g a t i v e
 impact
 on
 our
 health
 and
 o u r e n v i r o n m e n t , ” s a i d
 Minister
 Strandhall.

“ O u r m e s s a g e t o t h e
 global
 community
 is
 clear .

The

a r e d b y S w e d e n ' s
 M i n i s t e r f o r C l i m a t e
 C h a n g e a n d t h e
 E n v i r o n m e n t , A n n i k a
 Strandhall.

“Making
 the
 green
 jobs
 of

The
 winners
 in
 the
 global
 race
 will
 be
 the
 ones
 that
 s p e e d u p t h e t r a n s i t i o n ,
 n o t t h e o n e s t h a t l a g
 b e h i n d a n d c l i n g t o a
 d e p e n d e n c y o n f o s s i l
 fuels,”
 she
 added.

W I T H
 V E R O N I C A
 N S A M A

U N A P O L O G E T I C
 B E L G I A N
 R O Y A L T Y

R E G R E T S
 P A S T
 W O U N D S
 O N
 D R C

victim
 soil.

King
 Philippe
 was
 speaking
 during
 his
 maiden
 visit
 to
 the
 mineral
 rich
 country
 since
 h i s a s c e n s i o n t o t h e
 throne
 in
 2013.

He
 also
 acknowledged
 that
 Belgium
 looted
 the
 Central
 African
 country
 o f i t s r e s o u r c e s a n d
 a r t e f a c t s t h a t h e
 handed
 back
 a
 wooden
 c e r e m o n i a l m a s k
 s m u g g l e d o u t t o h i s
 country

“This
 [colonial]
 regime
 w a s o n e o f u n e q u a l
 r e l a t i o n s , u n j u s t i fi a b l e
 i n i t s e l f , m a r k e d b y
 p a t e r n a l i s m ,
 discrimination
 and
 racism,”
 h e t o l d t h e c o u n t r y ' s
 parliament
 in
 Kinshasa,
 the
 c a p i t a l , o n W e d n e s d a y ,
 Reuters
 quoted
 him.

“On
 the
 occasion
 of
 my
 first
 trip
 to
 Congo,
 right
 h e r e , i n f r o n t o f t h e
 C o n g o l e s e p e o p l e a n d
 t h o s e w h o s t i l l s u ff e r
 today ,
 I
 wish
 to
 reaffirm
 m y d e e p e s t r e g r e t s f o r
 t h o s e w o u n d s o f t h e
 past.”

A r r i v i n g i n C o n g o e a r l y
 th i s w e e k ,
 P h i l i p p e a n d
 his
wife,
Queen
Mathilde,
 r e c e i v e d a w a r m
 w e l c o m e , w h i l e t h e
 g o v e r n i n g p a r t y s u p o r t e r s
 waved
 Belgian
 flags
 as
 a
 banner
 was
 seen
 hanging
 from
 parliament,
 a
 “common
 h i s t o r y , ” a c c o r d i n g t o
 Reuters.

Congolese
 President
 Félix
 T shisekedi,
 handshaked
 the

royals
 on
 a
 red
 carpet
 rolled
 out
 at
 the
 Kinshasa
 airport

T uesday
 but
 some
 sections
 o f s o c i e t y i n c l u d i n g
 p o l i t i c i a n s a n d r e s i d e n t s

Congolese
 population
 lives
 b e l o w t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l
 poverty
 line,
 according
 to
 the
 W o r l d B a n k , W a s h i n g t o n
 Post.

U n d e r h i s b r u t a l r u l e , a n
 e s t i m a t e o f 1 0 m i l l i o n

C o n g o l e s e d i e d f r o m
 violence,
 famine
 and
 disease
 a n d l a t e r d i s c o v e r e d
 gruesome
 accounts
 s h o w e d
 d i s m e m b e r m e n t o f
 c h i l d r e n i n v i l l a g e s
 that
 did
 not
 produce
 e n o u g h r u b b e r t o
 satisfy
 their
 colonial
 overlords.

Leopold's
 rule
 was
 s o b l o o d y t h a t i t
 drew
 condemnation
 f r o m o t h e r
 E u r o p e a n l e a d e r s ,
 and
 the
 government
 of
 Belgium
 later
 took
 o v e r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
 of
 the
 colony

demanded
 Belgium
 to
 atone
 for
 the
 atrocities
 and
 looting
 DRC
 suffered.

“W e
 have
 not
 dwelled
 on
 the
 past,
 which
 is
 the
 past
 and
 w h i c h i s n o t t o b e

F o l l o w i n g G e o r g e F l o y d ' s
 killing
 in
 the
 United
 States
 [in
 2020],
 protesters
 in
 Belgium
 took
 down
 statues
 of
 Leopold.

A c c o r d i n g t o B B C
 A f r i c a , P h i l i p p e ' s
 c o m m e n t s t h i s w e e k
 e c h o e d t h o s e h e
 m a d e i n a l e t t e r t o
 T shisekedi
 that
 June,
 o n t h e 6 0 t h
 a n n i v e r s a r y o f
 C o n g o ' s
 i n d e p e n d e n c e , w h e n
 h e b e c a m e t h e fi r s t
 Belgian
 official
 to
 voice
 regret
 for
 the
 country's
 imperial
 abuses.

A t a n e w s c o n f e r e n c e
 a l o n g s i d e B e l g i a n P r i m e
 Minister
 Alexander
 De
 Croo,
 who
 traveled
 with
 the
 king
 and
 queen,
 T shisekedi
 said
 he
 hoped
 stronger
 ties
 with
 B e l g i u m w o u l d b r i n g
 i n v e s t m e n t t o C o n g o a n d
 i m p r o v e h e a l t h c a r e A n
 estimated
 73
 percent
 of
 the

reconsidered,
 but
 we
 need
 to
 look
 to
 the
 future,”
 T shisekedi
 said.

B e l g i u m ' s K i n g L e o p o l d I I
 seized
 power
 in
 the
 Congo
 in
 1 8 8 5 a t t h e h e i g h t o f
 Europe's
 scramble
 for
 Africa.

E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s a r e
 beginning
 to
 own
 up
 to
 their
 colonial
 pasts,
 as
 activists
 at
 home
 and
 in
 former
 colonies
 d e m a n d a r e c k o n i n g o v e r
 historical
 atrocities.
 Additional
 r e p o r t i n g b y R e u t e r s ,
 W ashington
 Post.

Asiedu
A yish etu
-