ADF

ADF STAFF Two workers from the Samira gold mine in western Niger died when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in October 2020. Five months later, another bomb killed members of the nation’s Independent National Electoral Commission on the day of the presidential election. IEDs have become a major safety issue in Niger, where porous borders allow extremists to cross over from neighboring Mali. “Improvised explosive devices are one of the major concerns in our operations,” Col.-Maj. Hamadou Djibo, head of the Niger Armed Forces (FAN), said at a meeting with members of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). “The…

ADF STAFF In the town of Goulfey in Cameroon’s extreme north, a 12-meter-tall clay tower is a reminder of a bygone era. The Kotoko people built the Goto-Goulfey Tower about 500 years ago. It was part of a walled fortification that protected the city from invaders and offered a high vantage point from which to view the surrounding area. Today, the structure has been converted into a museum that tells the history of the region with a focus on the weaponry and battle strategy used to defend the town. “This museum is first and foremost the history of the Kotoko…

ADF STAFF The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) has established a Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Center (RMCSC) to help counter illegal fishing. Headquartered in Tema, Ghana, the center will help member countries Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo manage their fishing sectors. The new center was integrated into the FCWC West Africa Task Force, which is financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. The center opened in May 2021. It is equipped with vessel-tracking systems and can collect data on authorized fishing vessels across the region where illegal, unreported and unregulated…

ADF STAFF With piracy increasing in the waters off West Africa, Nigeria launched its Deep Blue Project, a multipronged approach to confronting crime in the Gulf of Guinea. The $195 million effort brings together a mix of ships, aircraft and drones to patrol the busy shipping lanes off Nigeria’s coast. It will identify potential problem areas and respond quickly to piracy. The project comes after Nigerian legislators passed the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act in 2019 to strengthen maritime security. “This assemblage of new maritime security assets comes at a critical time when global discussions are centered…

ADF STAFF The Kenya Defence Forces’ National Defence College has received a charter to become a full-fledged university. The upgrade will let it offer graduate and postgraduate training to local and foreign military and civilian leaders on current and emerging security challenges. President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded the charter, making the institution the first specialist university in the country under the Universities Act of 2012. In an address given during an award ceremony at the institution in May 2021, Kenyatta said the renamed National Defence University-Kenya will help the nation’s military address the most pressing security problems.  “As you know, our…

REUTERS Beneath the scorching sun that beats down on Senegal’s savanna, the verdant gardens of Ndem village are a sanctuary. Within a hibiscus fence, rows of vegetables grow under fruit trees. Men with dreadlocked hair and women in colorful robes dye fabrics and stitch handbags destined for luxury boutiques and furniture companies. They are members of Baye Fall, a branch of Senegal’s Muslim Mouride brotherhood, who believe that labor is a form of prayer. In Ndem, they have created an oasis in a region long plagued by drought. “We are pushed towards the love of sharing, of work, reflecting on…

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome as the East African country’s first female chief justice and head of the judiciary. She won the chief justice position over nine other candidates, including some of the country’s most prominent lawyers and academics. The candidates were interviewed live on TV by the Judicial Service Commission in April 2021. Koome, 61, has had a distinguished career with more than 33 years in private legal practice and as a member of the judiciary. None of the sitting Supreme Court judges applied for the position of chief…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed The Gambia’s elimination of trachoma as a public health threat, saying it will save families, including children, from blindness. Health workers have been urged to closely monitor the trend to “sustain the gains.” Trachoma is caused by the chlamydia bacteria and is spread from person to person by contaminated fingers, flies and towels. If untreated, the eyelids become chronically inflamed, and this can eventually lead to blindness. Trachoma remains endemic in 29 African countries, according to the WHO. The Gambia eliminated trachoma after almost four decades of work, the…

REUTERS In a flowing hijab, Karima M. Imam walks through her fields in northern Nigeria’s scrubland as workers harvest ginger, a gnarled brown root that has turned gold since COVID-19 struck. “If I had the capital, I’d plant more. People are looking for ginger now, and there is not enough,” she said at her 5-hectare farm on the outskirts of Kaduna. As the pandemic rages, people around the world have sought to guard against illness by turning to so-called healthy halo foods. Although scientists have dismissed many claims on social media about how superfoods can fend off the virus, their…

ADF STAFF The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is taking the lead on development projects designed to get the country’s economy moving after COVID-19. Projects include operating a meat production facility and rehabilitating a railway and port. Although these are not traditional military tasks, civilian and military leaders say the country needs the KDF’s manpower and expertise. “Security and development are intrinsically related. They are two sides of the same coin,” Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces Gen. Robert Kibochi told the Kenyan Broadcasting Corp. In September 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave the KDF the authority to begin running the Kenya…