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This is Uganda, not Kenya, Museveni warns planned protesters against ‘playing with fire’

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Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has warned demonstrators that they will be “playing with fire” if they march to parliament on Tuesday to protest corruption.

In a televised address, Mr Museveni warned the Ugandan organisers that their planned protest would not be tolerated.

“We are busy producing wealth… and you here want to disturb us. You are playing with fire because we cannot allow you to disturb us,” he said.

Kenya’s anti-tax bill has sparked a wave of anti-government protests across Africa, with reports of planned nationwide protests also growing in Nigeria.

Mr Museveni is accused by his critics of ruling Uganda with an iron hand since taking power in 1986, but his supporters praise him for maintaining stability in the East African state.

The president also accused some of the protest organisers of “always working with foreigners” to cause chaos in Uganda. He did not elaborate.

Police had earlier announced that they had refused to permit the march to take place. Meanwhile, One of the main protest leaders told journalists that they would go ahead with it.

“We don’t need police permission to carry out a peaceful demonstration. It is our constitutional right,” Louez Aloikin Opolose was quoted as saying.The United Kingdom and the United States sanctioned Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, Anita Annet Among, for corruption earlier this year. Although she has denied any wrongdoing.

The sanctions prevent her from visiting the UK and the US. The UK also threatened to freeze her assets.

The United Kingdom has also sanctioned two government ministers fired by Mr Museveni for corruption.

The theft of thousands of metal roofing sheets for needy communities in north-eastern Karamoja has led to charges against Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu. They deny the charges.

Political behaviours are observed to often have contagious effects in African politics, and the protest wave might spread further. For instance, in the post-independence era of the 1960s – 1990s military interregnums swept through the continent, and have recently returned notably amongst French-speaking African countries.

Museveni declared himself president of Uganda on January 26, 1986, after leading the National Resistance Movement (NRM) armed group in guerrilla war against Milton Obote’s regime. He has remained the leader of the East African country since then in an almost four-decade-long reign that put him in the league of longest-serving leaders in the continent with his peers being Paul Biya (Cameroon), Obiang Teodoro (Equatorial Guinea), Denis Sassou Nguese (Congo DR), Isaias Afwerki (Eriteria) Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (Djibouti) amongst others.

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Botswana’s new president wants swift resolution of De Beers diamond deal

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Duma Boko, the recently elected president of Botswana, stated on Friday that he hoped to wrap up negotiations for a new sales agreement with the multinational diamond mining conglomerate, De Beers, as quickly as possible.

“The relationship with De Beers could have been damaged by the way the negotiations were handled,” President Boko said in a televised statement from Gaborone, Botswana’s capital. “The first thing that needs to be done is to engage the other party”.

 

The government’s portion of diamonds from the Debswana joint venture will progressively rise to 50% over the following ten years, according to a new diamond sales agreement reached last year by De Beers, a division of Anglo American.

Currently, De Beers purchases 75% of the production from Debswana Diamond Company, which is jointly controlled by Botswana and De Beers.

The agreement has not yet been signed, even though the Botswana government and the departing president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, praised its benefits Beers was “thinking about walking away, not signing at all… (a) very dangerous position to be in as a country,” according to Boko.

According to Boko, his new government wishes to communicate with De Beers to comprehend its issues.

“A proper negotiation involves compromise, where you get a bit of what you wanted, the other person gets a bit,” Boko said. “Then…you have a durable, sustainable agreement.”

As part of a larger reorganisation of its extensive operations, Anglo is developing a strategy to sell out De Beers. In July, Masisi stated that the Botswana government might increase its 15% stake in De Beers.A decline in worldwide demand has severely impacted diamond prices, just like it has for other luxury items. De Beers has been providing contracted clients with flexibility and limiting supply.

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President Maisi concedes as Botswana’s ruling party loses 58-year reign

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Following preliminary results showing his party lost its legislative majority by a landslide in this week’s election, Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, announced his party’s defeat on Friday, ending nearly 60 years in power.

The opposition coalition, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), held a sizable lead with over half of the constituencies reporting, placing its leader, attorney Duma Boko, in a strong position to win the presidency.

According to analysts, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has controlled the small southern African nation since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, was overthrown by growing socioeconomic dissatisfaction, especially among young people.

Botswana has always relied heavily on its diamond industry for revenue, but this year’s economic growth was severely hampered by a decline in the world diamond market, and unemployment increased to 28%.

According to results from 41 of the 61 constituencies up for election, the UDC had gained 26 seats in parliament, while the BDP had only three, according to state television. The president is chosen by the members of parliament.

Boko, who hasn’t made any public statements since the outcome, ran on a platform of increasing social grants and the minimum wage.

“Although I wanted to stay on as your president, I respect the will of the people and I congratulate the president-elect. I will step aside and I will support the new administration,” Masisi said at a press conference.

Small groups of supporters of the opposition celebrated in the streets of Gaborone, the capital, on Friday morning, which was peaceful.

“I did not ever think I would witness this change in my life,” said 23-year-old student Mpho Mogorosi. “The BDP had stayed too long in power and I am proud to be part of the people that removed them for a better Botswana.”

After South Africa’s African National Congress lost its legislative majority after 30 years in power and was compelled to form a coalition government, the BDP became the second long-ruling party in southern Africa to lose at the polls this year.

Later this month, elections will be held in neighbouring Namibia, where the SWAPO party, which has ruled since 1990, is anticipated to face fierce opposition.

“The outcome of Botswana’s elections should serve as a warning to long-time ruling parties across southern Africa and beyond that without economic progress and employment opportunities, political dominance will falter,” said Zaynab Hoosen, an Africa analyst at Pangea-Risk.

 

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