CONTINENTAL DRIFT
Zimbabwe’s insecurity forces
Zimbabwean soldiers clashed with police on the streets of central Harare on Tuesday afternoon. Eyewitnesses saw soldiers armed with sjamboks and sticks beating up any police officers they could find. Others described watching policemen sprint to safety in the nearest police station. The army attack was allegedly in response to an incident the day before, when police threw spikes at an army truck. The spat might also be related to the ruling party’s factional battles.
Wanted: Malawi ex-president
Malawi has issued an arrest warrant for former president Joyce Banda. She is wanted in connection with a corruption investigation. A police spokesperson said: “Malawi fiscal and fraud police have unearthed credible evidence which raises reasonable suspicion that the former president committed offences relating to abuse of office and money laundering.” Banda is in the United States, but has said she will return to Malawi to fight the charges.
Bad luck, Jonathan
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan’s Abuja home was burgled this week. The six policeman guarding the house have been arrested. Jonathan’s spokesperson said: “The house was totally stripped bare by thieves who stole every movable item in the house, including furniture sets, beds, electronics, toilet and electrical fittings, as well as all internal doors and frames.” He added that media reports of what was stolen were exaggerated. “Being that the house is a modest, four-bedroom duplex, it couldn’t have been fitted with 36 plasma television sets and 25 refrigerators as falsely reported by some media outlets.”
China shows its strength
China has opened its first overseas military base — in Djibouti. Officially, the base will be used to resupply navy ships supporting humanitarian work in Yemen and Somalia. But analysts suggest it is the first stage in ambitious programme to expand China’s global military footprint. Djibouti, the tiny but strategically important Horn of Africa nation, is getting fairly crowded with military bases: the United States, France and Japan already have a presence there.
Free pads for Batswana girls
Botswana’s Parliament has called on the government to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls, and has passed a motion to that effect. The move is designed to improve their attendance at school because many girls miss some days of education because they can’t afford to buy sanitary pads. Activists are urging South Africa’s Parliament to follow suit.
DRC demonstrators held
More than 100 protesters in the Democratic Republic of Congo were arrested while participating in anti-government demonstrations across the country. The heavy police response was probably designed to send a message ahead of even larger opposition protests planned for later this month. The opposition parties are demanding that President Joseph Kabila announce a date for elections. These were supposed to have been held in 2016. —