ADF

ADF STAFF The ongoing fight between government forces and rebels in the Central African Republic (CAR) has taken an explosive turn with the addition of land mines and improvised bombs, putting civilians directly in harm’s way. In the latest demonstration of how the situation in the CAR is escalating, a roadside bomb in September exploded under a relief convoy in the nation’s northwest, killing one aid worker. A United Nations analysis found that Russian mercenaries known as the Wagner Group are driving the increased violence. Wagner forces are working with the CAR government under President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to put down…

ADF STAFF A huge net swings across an industrial fishing trawler in Ghana. It opens, and the deck fills with a pile of glistening, silver-scaled fish. The ship’s double-net system, which helps catch larger amounts of smaller fish, is illegal in Ghana, as is the presence of the foreign-owned vessel. “Sometimes we select the biggest ones (fish) and label them,” said a Ghanaian fisherman who works on foreign trawlers and spoke anonymously to the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). “If we get 2,000 to 2,500 slabs, we call the canoes who collect them from the vessels.” On industrial trawlers frozen fish…

ADF STAFF Kenyan Army Lt. Col. Irene Machangoh looked around the room, then looked at the women seated at her table and noticed something they had in common that drew them to serve their countries. “We all believe there is power in the uniform we wear,” the foreign liaison officer to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) said at the gathering in Djibouti. The uniform, she said, is a symbol that helps service members — particularly women — visualize their strength. Empowering and encouraging women was one of many objectives at the inaugural Women in Security Symposium in…

U.N. MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN Chief Inspector Doreen Mazuba Malambo of Zambia believes in a simple motto: “When you teach a woman, you teach a nation.” She has brought that wisdom to more than a decade of service in peacekeeping missions on the African continent where she has helped protect women and children caught in conflict. Now serving in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), she has been named U.N. Woman Police Officer of the Year. “I’ve always believed that women need to be heard on any issue that has a direct bearing on their day-to-day life,” she…

ADF STAFF The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is improving its ability to investigate, arrest and prosecute criminals, including those who traffic illicit goods.   The NAF graduated 15 people from the Advanced Crime Scene Investigation Course at the 057 Provost Investigation Group in Lagos. The intensive four-week course taught Air Force personnel how to approach crime fighting scientifically. The course covered topics such as evidence recovery, crime scene photography and fingerprinting. Graduates learned how to lift and preserve DNA evidence and how to present evidence during legal proceedings. During the graduation ceremony, Air Vice Marshal Lawal Alao told graduates that…

ADF STAFF A pilot project by Chad’s Armed Forces aims to create a self-sustaining food supply for the military by developing farms on military outposts. Graduates of the Chadian Army Farm School started the first on-base farm at the military’s training center in Koundoul. The tilled and irrigated farm, which covers about 6.5 hectares within the military compound, has raised crops such as rice, okra, beans, melons, hibiscus, tomatoes, eggplant and onions. “The creation of the Land Forces Farm jump-started skills we learned at Koundoul,” Lt. Adam Eritero Cordubo, a 2019 graduate of the farm school, told ADF. “Our skills from…

VOICE OF AMERICA The COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out an estimated 2 million jobs in Kenya, forcing many into the informal economy. Kenyans, however, also have a secret that is keeping many of them financially afloat — the largest cooperative savings and loan movement in Africa.  With more than 14 million members making monthly contributions, Kenya’s cooperatives offer loans during tough times, helping many to ride out the pandemic or even start their own businesses.  Judy Muthama was selling shoes and utensils in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum in central Nairobi. Sales were good until the pandemic wiped out her…

VOICE OF AMERICA Sudanese Muslim and Christian leaders have joined to promote religious freedom in the country, now that the government of Omar al-Bashir is out of power. The groups signed a peace deal declaring freedom of religion a human right. At the end of a two-day conference, the religious leaders agreed to promote peace and freedom of worship among all Sudanese communities and to encourage community dialogue among people of different faiths. Khartoum Catholic Archbishop Michael Didi said the declaration will help create space for more religious freedom in Sudan as the country embarks on a new era after…

VOICE OF AMERICA A Somali mother and daughter who have dedicated their lives to rehabilitating victims of conflict are gaining international acclaim, receiving a $1 million award. Fartuun Adan and her daughter Ilwad Elman operate Elman Peace, an organization that helps victims of sexual violence and works to rehabilitate and provide job training to child soldiers in Somalia.  They were the 2020 recipients of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, given each year to a person or group risking their lives to protect people in conflict. The award is given on behalf of victims of the Armenian genocide. They are…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Agrowing trend in Nairobi, Kenya, sees more people switching to cycling since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a critical lack of bike paths. It’s a promising sign in the capital city where air pollution has increased 182% since the 1970s, and traffic jams cost an estimated $1 billion in lost productivity every year. In his store for used bikes in the city, Jimmy Karumba said he experienced a more than 50% rise in sales in 2020. The shopkeeper, who mainly sold children’s bikes before the pandemic, said he welcomed many adult customers looking to avoid public…