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Hundreds of refugees demonstrate outside UNHCR office in South Africa, demand resettlement

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Hundreds of Africans refugees seeking asylum in South Africa on Thursday, gathered outside the offices of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), demanding that they be relocated to other countries, claiming they have been victims of xenophobia in the country.

Prior to the rally, the group has been living in the Lindela repatriation and detention center, where they have complained of the poor living conditions and xenophobic attacks by South African gangs.

Some of the refugees who are from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been pushing to be repatriated to their respective countries.

One of the leaders of that asylum seekers, Lukombo Kaese, who is from Congo, told journalists:

“We are here at UNHCR to ask for protection because we are so tired of xenophobia; the lives of our kids are in danger, the future of our kids is in danger, that’s why we come to UNHCR to give us protection.

“We have the right as refugees, here’s the agreement between the government of South Africa and UNHCR, here’s the agreement and we know about it, we have the right to ask for a third country.”

“It is still our right, to come and ask for the third country, it’s written in the agreement, they know it as much as I can pretend to know it, the South African government and UNHCR,” another refugee, Johnny Moose, said.

The spokesperson at the UNHCR in the country, Buchizya Mseteka, who addressed the asylum seekers, said it was investigating their cases including the initial place where they had taken refuge at Lindela, but added that resettlement to other countries was not possible at the moment.

“But what I will tell you is this, the UNHCR has no control over which country can pick up these individuals for settlement, that’s up to the host country to decide.

“But to tell you how difficult it is, the last year 2021 only one percent of those who applied for settlement globally were accepted, only one percent, so it tells you things are tight even in host countries,” Buchizya said.

South African Home Affairs spokesperson, Siyabulela Qoza, who also addressed the refugees, said of the people outside the UNHCR, 22 have since opted for voluntary repatriation to their countries and are being assisted to do so.

Metro

65% of Nigerian households lack money for healthy food—Survey

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A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that around 65% of Nigerian households, which is about two-thirds of the population, lack the financial means to eat healthy food.

According to the survey by the agency, the decline is a reflection of the multidimensional poverty in the country and the impact of continuous reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians due to rising prices of goods and services.

And as a result, two-thirds of households in the country lack money to eat healthy, nutritious food, the NBS said.

Titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024),” the survey examined demographics, education, and health trends in Nigeria, comparing data from Wave 4 (2018/19) and Wave 5 (2023/24).

On food insecurity, the survey stated:

“Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.

“Similarly, 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.”

It added that between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.

On access to energy, the survey revealed said:

“82.2 percent of urban households have electricity, compared to 40.4 per cent in rural areas. Nigerian households face an average of 6.7 power blackouts weekly.

“Cooking typically involves traditional three-stone stoves (65.0 percent), primarily using wood as fuel (70.2 per cent), but with use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rising significantly.

“Many households lack toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is mostly informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets,” it added.

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Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

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Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.

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