The Continent With

African journalism. MAY 8 2021 | ISSUE 44 The Continent with Fossil fuel scramble Shutdown in Mozambique as Uganda and Tanzania sign up for massive oil and gas development (Photo: Rodger Bosch / AFP) The Continent | issue 44. may 8 2021 2 Inside: ■ Chaos in Chad: With the president’s death, residents in the capital fear for their future (p9) ■ Everyone is a red beret: How the Ugandan state puts iconic berets on those it wants to sentence and silence (p14) COVER: The High Cost of Fossil Fuel ■ Climate inequality: As After attacks near its operations in crucial climate negotiations Mozambique, Total is reconsidering go virtual, African states its future there. But to the north, are set to lose more (p20) Tanzania's new president is rolling ■ Vaccine diplomacy: Are the out the red carpet to petroleum giants dominos about to fall, eager to tap its gas reserves, while freeing up global Covid-19 Uganda is relishing the prospect vaccine production? (p22) (and pooh-poohing the risks) of an ■ Nax Vegas: Nakuru is more imminent oil boom. than just a stopover (p23) The Continent | issue 44. may 8 2021 3 The week in numbers 78,000 25 > 1,000 The age of the The years in prison The number of cases recently discovered Dominic Ongwen of Covid-19 reported remains of a small was sentenced to in the Seychelles child buried in a by the International this week. The Middle Stone Age Criminal Court island nation has grave in Kenya, this week. Ongwen the most vaccinated the oldest burial was kidnapped by population against site in Africa. the rebel Lord’s Covid-19 in the Archaeologists Resistance Army at world: 85% of the believe the child was age 9, and made into population has two to three years a child solider who received the jab. In old and buried in later grew into a response to the new the fetal position. feared commander. surge, authorities Researchers said In February he was banned social and they were struck by convicted of 61 of sports events, closed how the grief and 70 charges ranging schools, instituted a loss of the child was from rape and sexual curfew and told non- expressed in how he slavery to murder essential workers to was buried. and torture. work from home. 1 /3 The proportion of children found to (Photo: Dhiraj be malnourished in Singh/ the Tigray region of Bloomberg) Ethiopia, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres, which 1 billion reports “alarming” The number of Covid vaccines that could be rates of malnutrition produced each year if intellectual property in rural areas and protections are waived. This would let countries (a says not enough aid number of African nations among them) produce is making its way their own vaccine doses if they have the capacity. past the main cities. datadesk Datadesk, the M&G centre for data Brought to you by the Mail & Guardian’s Data Desk. journalism, produced this story The Continent 4 issue 44. may 8 2021 News Egypt Big boat. Still stuck. he world may have moved on but Tthe Big Boat has not. TheEver Given, the large container ship that got stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal for nearly a week in March, captured the internet’s attention and brought maritime trade to a standstill, costing the global sector billions of dollars. The internet saw the funny side of the Far canal: Dear Ever Given, just like incident — but it was no laughing matter Barry White and Rick Astley, Egypt’s to the Egyptian authorities who barred the never (ever) going to give you up. ship from leaving the Canal after it was freed in a rescue operation by tugboats. fees for the week the Canal was blocked, as A court in Ismaila, where the Suez well as the costs of stalled traffic. Canal is located, ordered the seizure of the At 400 metres in length, the Ever Given Ever Given; after which the ship’s Japanese is the size of a skyscraper and is one of the owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, filed an biggest container ships in the world. appeal hoping to overturn the decision. But another court in Egypt, the At 400 metres in length, Economic Court of Ismaila, has now the Ever Given is the size rejected that appeal and it seems the of a skyscraper Ever Given will remain in situ until an agreement is reached. It was heading to the port of Rotterdam The Suez Canal Authority, the in the Netherlands, carrying 18,000 government agency responsible for the containers, when it was caught in a Canal, is demanding a $916-million sandstorm on March 23. compensation from the vessel’s owner. The blockage forced some ships to take The compensation is expected to cover the an alternate route around South Africa’s costs of the salvage operation, lost transit Cape of Good Hope. ■ A FEW MILESTONES After a year of fighting disinformation... We’re read in We’ve published We have 105 150 10,000 countries journalists subscribers Help us fight fake news by subscribing to high quality journalism, and share that instead Get your copy delivered to HOW TO SUBSCRIBE your phone or inbox every Email: TheContinent@mg. Saturday. And if you like what co.za with ‘SUBSCRIBE’ in you read, forward it to your the subject box friends, family and colleagues WhatsApp/Signal: Save – not indiscriminately, but +27 73 805 6068 on your only with people who might phone, and send us a appreciate it. message saying ‘NEWS’ Share real news. The Continent 6 issue 44. may 8 2021 Editorial We’re back. hen The Continent launched just important to abandon. So we took Wover a year ago, the Covid-19 inspiration from news organisations such pandemic was tearing into Europe and the as 263Chat in Zimbabwe and created countries of Africa were either reacting something packed with good journalism quickly to stave off a first wave, or they that could be shared by anyone, anywhere. just... weren’t. People were falling ill, Ten thousand of you have subscribed businesses – including media houses – and shared: each edition now reaches were struggling, and journalism looked to nearly 100,000 people, and the work of be in a very bad place: it seemed inevitable 150 journalists has been read in 105 there would be far less scrutiny of corrupt countries. Our core team is now ten companies, ruthless regimes and people, with help from the Mail & unscrupulous figures. Guardian newsroom and a growing It also seemed there would be fewer number of donors. Along the way we have stories about the people of Africa enraged dictators, informed people in themselves and what the world is like for countries denying the reality of Covid-19 those on the continent trying to get on and taken you into people’s favourite with their lives, often with the odds cities. And now we’re back to tell the stacked against them. stories of what happens next. But this sort of journalism was too Welcome to Season Two. ■ Share real news If you like our journalism, please share it with your friends and family - not indiscriminately, but with people and networks who you think might value the work that we do. The Continent 7 issue 44. may 8 2021 Feature Settle down: The military’s show of strength is meant to inspire confidence. (Photo: Christophe Petit Tesson/AFP) Chad finds itself in jeopardy after Déby’s sudden death Mobey Malmalari in N’Djamena launched their offensive, crossing into Chad from their base in southern Libya. fter the president’s death, N’Djamena Now the rebels are advancing on the Ais nervous and tense. Where possible, capital city, and President Déby is dead. parents have sent their children to their Although details of his death remain home villages for safety. No one can vague, a spokesperson for the army – that predict what comes next, but everyone bloated institution through which Déby is worried. kept himself in power for more than three Less than a month ago, the late Idriss decades – said that the self-proclaimed Déby Itno was riding high, having secured field marshal,le Maréchal, had died from his sixth term in office in the April 11 wounds sustained during an intense clash election with yet another landslide win. for control of Kanem province, just 300 On that same day the rebels with the Front kilometres north of the capital. for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) He had built his reputation on The Continent | issue 44. may 8 2021 8 (Photo: Christophe Petit Tesson/AFP) personally leading his soldiers into battle, a transitional military council composed and now he had paid the ultimate price. of 14 top generals, all drawn from the late The news was announced on April 20, president’s inner circle. at 11 in the morning. It arrived like a clap The swift transition was designed to of thunder, instantly throwing the country project confidence in the government, but into chaos and uncertainty. For most of N’Djamena residents are not reassured. Chad’s relatively young population, Déby There are too many unanswered – president since 1990 – was the only head questions: How did the president really of state they had ever known. die? Is this in fact a coup? Are foreign powers supporting the rebels? Will the For most of Chad’s seasoned generals in the transitional relatively young council actually listen to the young and population, Déby – untested Déby junior, and how far beyond the capital city does their authority president since 1990 – extend? When will power be handed back was the only head of state to civilians? How will France, the colonial they had ever known.

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