Daybreak Africa - VOA Africa

On Daybreak: Somali officials say security forces have ended a 24-hour siege at a hotel in the central city of Beledwyne killing all attackers. Plus, Angola announces new peace talks between the DRC and M23 rebels as SADC leaders meet Thursday. The Islamic State in the Sahel expands terror threat beyond its strongholds. IGAD urges South Sudan to release detained officials and relax security. ECOWAS activates its counter-terror standby force. A look at Ramadan celebrations in Morocco. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

Women in South Sudan are making strides in the information technology field, breaking barriers in a male-dominated sector. Analysts, however, say the government and communities need to do more to help women enter the field. Denis Logonyi reports from Juba

On Daybreak Africa: The spread of meningitis in the Northern state of Kebbi began late January with over two hundred suspected cases recorded. Plus, South Sudan women make gains in the field of information technology. Malawi lions given birth control to prevent a population boom. South African President Ramaphosa wants to continue trading with the US through AGOA – the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Europe hosts talk on the details of rearming. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

A British charity for the disabled, citing World Bank data, says the world could gain trillions annually in Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, if women were employed at the same rate as men. The World Bank says the failure to close gender employment gaps reduces a country’s GDP by 20 percent on average. Experts are calling for greater efforts to improve women's access to jobs — especially for women with disabilities. Mohammed Yusuf reports.

Residents of Chipinge (Chee-pee-ngeh), in Eastern Zimbabwe are surveying their losses a day after a dam burst in the area, causing at least four deaths. Several people are still missing. Reporter Kudzayi Zvinavashe has more from Harare, Zimbabwe

South Sudan’s fragile peace is once again under threat as renewed fighting erupts in parts of Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, and Western Bahr el Ghazal States. As tensions rise, faith-based institutions, diplomats, and regional bodies are urging political leaders to uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement and work toward dialogue rather than violence. Sheila Ponnie in Juba reports on the growing concerns.

A spokesperson says Eswatini will engage the government of Ireland to learn the reasons for the banning of visa-free travel by emaSwati to Ireland. The online Swaziland News reports that Ireland has banned emaSwati from traveling to the country without visas amid alleged fraudulent immigration to the country. The paper said the process was hijacked by a syndicate collecting as much as $2,500 to facilitate travel there. Eswatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo tells VOA’s James Butty, Ireland has not provided Eswatini a specific reason or reasons for the visa-free travel ban

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama Monday met with Burkina Faso’s military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are three Sahellien countries that have left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to form their own bloc – the Alliance of Sahel States. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Ghana’s information minister, tells VOA’s James Butty, while President Mahama did not visit Burkina Faso as an emissary of ECOWAS, the Ghanaian president said it was time that the region’s leaders work towards restoring confidence in one another.

Each morning, Daybreak Africa looks at the latest developments on the continent, starting with headline news and providing in-depth interviews, reports from VOA correspondents, sports news as well as listener comments.

A Global Index report on terrorism shows that Nigeria has risen to sixth in global terrorism with dozens killed in 2024.This comes as the Nigeria Human Rights Commission says that human rights violations rose to 25 per cent in the country in February. Mohammed Sanu Abubakar, researcher with the Department of Military Studies with the Abuja Leadership Center at the University of Abuja, tells VOA’s Chinedu Offor, the report is a wakeup call for the government to do more in fighting jihadist groups

South Sudan’s information minister Michael Makuei says all is well in his country and that a U.S. State Department travel advisory issued on March 8 is not necessary. The advisory ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees from South Sudan last week due to continued security threats. It said armed conflict is ongoing and includes fighting between various political and ethnic groups. In addition, the advisory said cattle raids occur throughout the country and often lead to violence. Makuei tells VOA’s James Butty, President Salva Kiir has assured the country that South Sudan is not going back to war again

A spokesperson for former Malawi President Arthur Peter Mutharika says a proposed Presidential Age Limit Bill would be unconstitutional. It would limit anyone older than 80 years of age from running for president. Malawi will hold presidential and parliamentary elections in September, and 85-year-old former President Mutharika is the likely candidate for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Shadrick Namalomba, spokesperson for former President Mutharika, tells VOA’s James Butty, Malawi’s constitution guarantees every citizen has the right to participate in elections irrespective of age. In addition, he says wisdom comes with age

A Gambian activist says the country’s Diaspora is feeling betrayed and disenfranchised by President Adama Barrow and the ruling National People’s Party. This, after the parliament defeated a bill that would have granted Gambians living abroad the right to vote in this year’s general elections. Justice Minister Dawda Jallow was quoted in local media as saying that the voting rights bill was rejected because of logistical and legal hurdles, such as the absence of Diaspora constituencies in the electoral framework. Pa Samba Jow, a Gambian activist and co-host of the podcast “For the People, By the People.”, tells VOA’s James Butty, there has been a lack of political will by successive governments to guarantee voting rights for the Gambian Diaspora.

On Daybreak Africa: The United Nations says fighting between M23 rebels and pro-DRC militias was underway Sunday in Nyabiondo, about 100 km north of Goma in eastern Congo Democratic Republic of Congo, residents said, days after a nearby attack left a heavy civilian death toll. Plus, South Sudan reacts to a travel advisory by the U.S. State Department. Nigeria rises to sixth place in a new Global Terrorism Index report. The Gambian Diaspora is feeling betrayed and disenfranchised for being denied the right to vote. Malawi’s opposition DPP says a proposed presidential age limit bill targets former President Mutharika and is unconstitutional. The US and Ukraine hold talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end the war with Russi. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

A Sudanese political leader says the country's military-led government has every right to sue the United Arab Emirates for supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Hussein Shingrai, the foreign affairs secretary of the People’s Democratic Party of Sudan, says the war would have ended long ago without that support. The International Court of Justice announced Thursday that Sudan accused the UAE of violating the genocide convention by arming and funding the rebel RSF. The Associated Press reports that UAE has described the case as nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt. Shingrai tells VOA’s James Butty, evidence

A Guinean political leader says the country is ready to have elections to end military rule but only if the conditions are rife. This, after the country’s Prime Minister Bah Oury announced this week that 2025 will be the year of elections, including for president. He did not say whether military leader General Mamady Doumbouya is going to run for president or not. Faya Millimono is leader of the opposition Liberal Bloc Party. He says Guinea does not have a constitution, electoral list, or even an electoral commission to manage any election. Yet he tells VOA’s James Butty, supporters of General Doumbouya have already been campaigning around the country

As the global community commemorates International Women's Day March 8, activists are calling on individuals, organizations and governments to take measurable action toward gender equality and women's empowerment in Africa. Our reporter has the details from Abuja

South Sudan’s main opposition group says its members are in a state of panic as government security operatives intensify a crackdown, arresting senior officials and forcing others into hiding. The office of First Vice President Riek Machar has confirmed that the National Minister of Peace Building, Stephen Par Kuol, was arrested Thursday along with his bodyguards and a secretary in his office. For VOA News, Deng Ghai Deng reports from Juba

On Daybreak Africa: Africa’s top public health agency says that Uganda’s Ebola caseload increased to 14 in the last week with a new cluster emerging from a 4-year-old child who recently died of the infectious disease, the Associated Press reports. Plus, Sudan files a case against the paramilitary RSF at the International Court of Justice. South Sudan’s SPLM/A-IO condemns what it calls the arbitrary detention of its members. Activists call for measurable action toward gender equality as the world marks International Women’s Day Saturday. Guinea’s military junta says 2025 will be the year of elections, but some ask “is the country ready. the US and Britain talk war in Ukraine and European defense; and a summit of European Union leaders vows to increase investments in defense. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

Tensions are rising in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, following the arrest of senior military and political leaders of the opposition group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and Army-in-Opposition, SPLM/A-IO. The government has confirmed the arrests. For VOA News, Deng Ghai Deng reports from Juba