MEND ENDS CEASEFIRE, TO RESUME ATTACKS

A hardline faction in Nigeria’s main armed group says it is ending a three-month ceasefire and will resume attacks on the oil industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) had called the truce in the wake of an amnesty offer from the president.

Most Mend commanders and thousands of militants have disarmed under the deal.

Correspondents say the splinter group is tiny and is believed to be led by Henry Okah, freed from prison in July.

It says the Nigerian government has done nothing to address the underlying problems in the oil-producing Niger Delta.

“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta resumes its hostilities against the Nigerian oil industry, the Nigerian armed forces and its collaborators with effect from 0000 hours Friday, Oct. 16,” the group said in an e-mailed statement.

Mend declared the 60-day ceasefire on 15 July to allow for peace talks shortly after Mr Okah was freed from prison.

It extended the ceasefire by a month in mid-September despite not having held any formal discussions with the government.

Last week, the authorities in Nigeria said as many as 15,000 oil militants active in the delta had surrendered under the two-month amnesty, which expired on 4 October.

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EX-INTERPOL BOSS, JACK SELEBI PLEADS NOT GUILTY

South Africa’s former chief of police Jackie Selebi has pleaded not guilty at the start of his corruption trial.

Mr Selebi resigned as head of Interpol after he was charged with having links to organised crime and accepting bribes worth 1.2m rand ($157,000, £98,000).

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says his case is seen as a test of a much-criticised justice system.

He is a senior member of the ruling African National Congress and the trial could have political ramifications.

As he left court, Mr Selebi said: “I am ready to drop bombshells.”

His lawyers said the charges were part of a conspiracy against him by the National Prosecuting Authority.

JACKIE SELEBI

1987: Head of ANC Youth League

1991: In charge of repatriating ANC exiles

1994: Elected MP

1995: South Africa’s ambassador to UN

2000: Appointed police chief

2004: Elected head of Interpol

2008: Charged with corruption, resigns as Interpol head, suspended as SA police chief

2009: Denies charges at start of trial

They said the NPA had offered criminals immunity from prosecution if they testified against Mr Selebi.

The NPA has previously been accused of being heavily politicised, especially in its prosecution of President Jacob Zuma.

During the case at Johannesburg’s High Court, prosecutors will seek to prove that Mr Selebi, 58, received corrupt payments over a five-year period.

The South African Press Association says he stood solemnly in a grey suit as the charges against him – two of corruption and one of defeating the end of justice – were read out.

“I plead not guilty,” he said.

At the heart of the allegations is Mr Selebi’s relationship with convicted drug smuggler, Glen Agliotti, who is also accused of links to the murder of a prominent mining magnate.

Prosecutors allege that Agliotti paid bribes and gifts to the police commissioner in exchange for turning a blind eye to drugs trafficking.

Mr Selebi, who was South Africa’s first black police chief, was a close ally of former President Thabo Mbeki, a bitter rival to Mr Zuma.

Corruption charges against Mr Zuma were dropped shortly before he became president after elections in April. He said those were part of a plot against him by Mbeki allies.

Mr Selebi was a political appointee and had no previous experience of policing when he was appointed as police chief in 2000.

When the allegations of corruption first surfaced, opposition parties accused Mr Mbeki of protecting Mr Selebi.

His contract was extended even after he had been charged with corruption.

The case has now been postponed until Tuesday.

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GUINEA BISSAU HOLDS RUN-OFF ELECTION

Guinea-Bissau has held a run-off vote to replace President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was assassinated in March.

The poll pits two former heads of state against each other – Malam Bacai Sanha, seen as the favourite, and Kumba Yala.

Guinea-Bissau has a history of coups and its people say they are tired of broken promises and violence, a BBC correspondent reports.

President Vieira was killed in March in apparent revenge for the death of the head of the army in a bomb blast.

Mr Vieira led Guinea-Bissau for most of the period after independence from Portugal in 1974 – serving as president for a total of 23 years between 1980 and 2009.

There were no reported incidents of violence during Sunday’s voting, and turnout among the 600,000 registered voters was estimated to be similar to the first round at around 60%.

The first round of polling on 28 June saw Mr Sanha win nearly 40% of ballots, 10% more than Mr Yala, the AFP news agency reports.

When the two faced off in 2000, Mr Yala emerged as the winner.

In their final campaign rallies, both men repeated promises to bring peace and stability to the country.

Mr Sanha, who served as interim president from 1999-2000, is the candidate of the ruling PAIGC, the party of the 1970s struggle against Portuguese colonial rule.

This is the third time he has stood for president, having been defeated once by Koumba Yala and in 2005 by Mr Vieira.

His motto is “Hora Tchica” – meaning “the time has come”.

Mr Yala, who was overthrown in a 2003 coup, is the leader of the opposition PRS.

Many Bissau-Guineans hold him responsible for changing the political and economic course of the country for the worse, the BBC’s Luis Cardador says.

During Mr Yala’s presidency, the IMF and the World Bank suspended aid to the country after accusations of mismanagement and a string of sackings in the government.

But he is believed to have wide support within the military.

Guinea-Bissau is cash-starved and heavily dependent on just one product – the cashew nut.

In recent years it has become a major transit point in drug smuggling between South America and Europe.

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SOUTH AFRICA SET FOR WEEK OF STRIKES

South Africa is bracing itself for a week in which bus, train and municipal workers are all set to go on strike.

The industrial action will see more than 160,000 people stop work in support of claims for higher wages.

This is the latest in a series of challenges for South Africa’s new President Jacob Zuma, who has called for understanding from workers.

There were violent demonstrations in several townships last week, during which some 200 people were arrested.

It is proving to be a cold and difficult winter for Jacob Zuma.

Just two months after taking power, he is facing South Africa’s first recession since the end of apartheid.

Crowd-pleasing promises are proving hard to keep.

An early pledge to create 500,000 new jobs has already been retracted and demonstrations in the townships turned violent this month over long-held grievances about the delivery of services and housing.

As if that wasn’t enough, this is strike season.

On Monday, 150,000 municipal employees responsible for, among other things, rubbish collection and the city police will refuse to work after being denied a 15% wage increase.

A separate strike by transport workers will see most train and bus services grind to a halt.

Several other unions say they are considering their options.

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ALGERIANS OBSERVE WEEKENDS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME

Algeria’s government has decided to break with the 33-year-old practice of observing the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, a move investors greeted as a step to improving the difficult business climate.

Algeria is a major exporter of oil and gas but outside its energy sector, growth and investment have been modest. Business people blame heavy state regulation that makes it tough to trade with the outside world.

The Algerian cabinet ruled that starting from next month the official weekend would be moved to Friday and Saturday — in line with the practice in many Middle Eastern states.

“It’s excellent news. It will reconnect Algeria with the world,” said Lyes Kahouadji, a financial specialist at Algerian consultancy Strategica, part-owned by Deutsche Bank Group.

Investors complain that having the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturdays and Sundays as working days, meant they only had three days a week to conduct business with partners outside Algeria.

The practice had been costing Algeria between $500 and $700 million in lost business each year, according to estimates from business lobby groups.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen also mark the weekend on Thursday and Friday. Kuwait switched to a Friday-Saturday weekend two years ago as part of efforts to promote its non-oil economy.

Friday is a day off in large parts of the Muslim world to allow people to attend prayers at the mosque.

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4 GABONESE MINISTERS SACKED FOR OPPOSING ALI BONGO

Gabon’s interim government has sacked four ministers who are standing against the ruling party’s choice of Ali Ben Bongo, son of the late president, in upcoming elections, state television reported late on Wednesday.

Another minister has been removed in a government reshuffle that comes just weeks before Gabon is due to hold an election to replace late President Omar Bongo, who died in June after ruling the central African nation for over four decades.

Casimir Oye Mba and Andre Mba Obame, former stalwarts of the ruling Gabonese Democractic Party (PDG) who have complained that Bongo, the son, was imposed on the party and are now running as independent candidates, have been sacked.

Oye Mba was minister for mines and oil and Mba Obame had been serving as minister in charge of government coordination. They have been replaced by Julien Onkogho Bekale and Josue Mbaeinga, respectively, state television reported.

No official reason for the reshuffle was given.

But two other politicians from the government, who were not members of the PDG but belong to allied political parties, have also been replaced after they announced plans to challenge Ali Ben Bongo in a poll that is expected to take place on August 30.

Paul Mba Abessolo, a vice prime minister who was also minister for culture and human rights, has been replaced by Philippe Nzengue Mayila after he announced that his party wanted him to run for president rather than support the PDG choice.

Likewise, Pierre Andre Kombila, who had held the hydrolectric resources and alternative energy portfolio has been removed after he joined the opposition against Bongo.

Kombila has been replaced by Sylvain Momoadjambo, another deputy minister who has been promoted. Meanwhile, a fifth minister, Vincent Essono Mengue, has been replaced in a government that now has 45, instead of 49 ministers.

Omar Bongo’s death left a void in a political landscape he had tightly managed but his son is widely seen as favourite to replace him as head of the oil-producing nation despite challenges from within the ruling party.

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RAILA ODINGA: CABINET IS UNITED IN POST ELECTION COURT

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told lawmakers on Wednesday there were no splits in the coalition government’s cabinet about how to deal with perpetrators of last year’s post-poll violence.

How to deal with the masterminds of the bloodshed has worried markets, donors and Kenyans alike. The cabinet has twice postponed a decision on whether to try suspects locally or at the Hague-based International Criminal Court.

“There is no stalemate in the cabinet on the issue of post-election violence. There were no disagreements. It is a matter of extensive and intensive consultations, and I am sure the cabinet will reach an agreement,” he said.

Locals and Western governments are pushing the authorities to punish the suspects of the worst bloodshed in the east Africa nation’s post-independence history that killed at least 1,300 people and displaced 300,000.

Crisis mediator Kofi Annan handed over an envelope with the names of 10 suspects to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo this month, increasing the pressure on the shaky coalition.

Analysts and some legislators say the delay was a sign that cracks in the cabinet were deepening and that matters are further complicated since some ministers are probably suspects.

In a stormy session in parliament, some legislators accused the cabinet of playing political games.

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GHANA’S EX FOREIGN MINISTER ARRESTED

Ghana’s former Foreign Minister Akwasi Osei-Adjei has been charged with causing financial loss to the state.

Mr Osei-Adjei has been under investigation over rice imports from India earlier this year.

In an interview with the BBC, the former minister said he had not been informed of the exact details of the charges, but he denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Osei-Adjei had previously taken the government to court after he had his passport seized during the inquiry.

The BBC’s James Afedo in the capital, Accra, says several members of the previous government are being investigated for alleged corruption.

“ Never in my wildest dreams [did I think] they were going to arrest me and charge me ”
Akwasi Osei-Adjei

Mr Osei-Adjei is the first official from ex-President John Kufuor’s administration to be formally charged, he says.

The former minister told the BBC’s Network Africa programme that prosecutors had not informed him why he was being summoned to the Bureau of National Investigation.

“I knew we had a case pending in court so I thought perhaps they wanted to talk to me about how we could resolve the issue,” he said.

“Never in my wildest dreams [did I think] they were going to arrest me and charge me.

“To go the extent of labelling me, that I caused financial loss, I don’t seem to accept it,” he said.

He was released on a $333,000 (£203,000) bail and said a hearing date had been set for Friday.

Mr Kufuor stood down as president after serving the maximum two terms after his ruling party narrowly lost elections in December.

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NIGERIAN MILITANTS RELEASE ABDUCTED CREW MEMBERS

Militants in Nigeria have released six crew members they seized from an oil tanker, the Sichem Peace, nearly three weeks ago.

The ship’s managers, EMS, said the six, including the Russian captain, were on their way to Lagos for medical checks.

The militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), said the release was part of a 60-day ceasefire announced last week.

The ship had already resumed commercial operations with a supplemented crew.

AFRICA HAVE YOUR SAY Amnesty in Niger Delta will not work. Problems are not treated from its symptoms and that is what Wiwa died for Monkeytrick, Lagos

Armed men boarded the ship on 4 July. They took hostage six crew members – three Russians, two Filipinos and an Indian.

The rest of the crew were released and took the ship – which flies under the flag of Singapore – to a safe distance offshore.

The Mend statement said that the releases were a “dividend of the current ceasefire” and added that it hoped the Nigerian government would reciprocate.

The group wants the Nigerian military to withdraw from the Gbaramatu community in Delta State, and allow displaced people to return home.

The ceasefire was proposed by President Umara Yar’Adua in May. It was accepted by Mend after the government released its leader Henry Okah on 13 July, and dropped the treason charges against him.

The violence in the Niger Delta has sharply cut Nigeria’s oil production, costing it billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Mend says it is fighting for a fairer share of the wealth of the Niger Delta.

But many criminal gangs have taken advantage of the lawlessness in the area.

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MAURITANIA’S LEADER VOWS TO TACKLE TERROR

Gen Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz has vowed to tackle terrorism, as well as its causes, after being declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential election.

Gen Abdelaziz, who came to power in a coup last year, said the army would be strengthened.

Al-Qaeda’s North African cell has claimed several attacks in Mauritania – a US man was killed last month.

Gen Abdelaziz, who denied the election had been rigged, said fighting poverty and ignorance would also be priorities.

On Sunday officials announced he had won the poll outright, with 52% of the vote.

Even before the results were announced, his challengers said the outcome had been “prefabricated” and called for an international inquiry.

But the general challenged the opposition to provide evidence to back up their claims.

“Whatever [they] say, our camp did not engage in fraud,” he said.

“It’s not enough just to say there has been fraud – you have to provide proof.”

In his first news conference after being declared the winner, Gen Abdelaziz said he took the threat of terrorism seriously.

“We need to fight terrorism in terms of security but also by improving the living conditions of the people and fighting ignorance.”

Earlier, one of the main opposition candidates, Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, told a news conference: “The results which are starting to come out show that it is an electoral charade which is trying to legitimise the coup.”

A statement from the group of four challengers read: “We firmly reject these prefabricated results, secondly we call on the international community to put in place an inquiry to shed some light on the electoral process.”

Mr Boulkheir, the outgoing speaker of parliament, came second with 16% of the vote, while veteran opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah came third with 14%, according to the official results.

Voter turnout was 61%, the election commission said.

Fighting terrorism had also been one of Gen Abdelaziz’s justifications for staging the August 2008 coup, which ousted Mauritania’s only democratically elected leader Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

He had been in power for less than a year and a half.

Last year’s Paris-Dakar rally was cancelled after the killing of a family of French tourists in Mauritania.

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