Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

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French trial reveals vast wealth of Equatorial Guinean president's son


Teodorin Obiang, accused of plundering $115m, owns luxury properties, yachts, cars – and Michael Jackson’s crystal glove



Teodorin Obiang, 47-year-old vice-president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. Photograph: Jerome Leroy/AFP/Getty
Jason Burke Africa correspondent

Monday 2 January 2017 10.25 ESTFirst published on Monday 2 January 2017 09.54 EST

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The days of the Bugattis, the chateau Pétrus and the fine Parisian restaurants may be over for Teodorin Obiang – at least in western Europe.

The son of Equatorial Guinea’s leader is due to go on trial for corruption and money laundering in a landmark case in France.

Obiang, the 47-year-old vice-president of the oil-rich but impoverished African country, faces an array of legal cases across Europe as authorities on the continent investigate the sources of his vast wealth and uncover new and even more extravagant ways that he spent some of it.

US officials have already forced Obiang to forfeit property after accusing him of “shamelessly” looting his country. In a settlement, Obiang agreed to hand over more than $30m (£24.5m) worth of properties, including a vast villa in Malibu, California, and a dozen luxury cars.

Obiang, however, managed to keep his $38m private jet and collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia, which includes a crystal-studded glove.


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Two Ferraris belonging to Teodorin Obiang are towed off the freight zone by police at Geneva airport. Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/AP
In Europe, Dutch, Swiss and French authorities have seized property including Obiang’s 76-metre yacht, the Ebony Shine, and a mansion in Paris estimated to be worth $200m.

The mansion includes a cinema, spa, hair salon and sports room. Bathroom taps were covered in gold leaf while original paintings by Degas and Renoir hung on the walls.

Cars seized in Geneva included a Swedish-manufactured vehicle worth $2.8m and a $2m Bugatti Veyron.

French prosecutors allege that Obiang plundered nearly $115m between 2004-11 when he was agriculture minister for his father, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979.

The post gave Obiang control over the lucrative timber industry. Proceeds from a so-called revolutionary tax imposed on wood sales was transferred to his personal accounts, prosecutors allege.

In court on Monday, one of Obiang’s lawyers asked for the trial be suspended on the grounds that his client had not been given enough time to properly prepare his defence, having been summoned to trial just three weeks ago.
“We’re not talking about a moped theft charge,” Emmanuel Marsigny told Reuters.

The trial marks a major shift for France, which has long turned a blind eye to corrupt African dictators buying Parisian real estate, enjoying spending sprees in the capital or on the Coôte d’Azur, or simply fleeing to the country when in difficulty.

The policy was seen as part of a wider attempt by France to maintain influence in former colonies, but also in Africa. Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony.


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A crystal glove worn by Michael Jackson at the 1983 Grammy awards. Photograph: EPA
The change is in part due to evolving popular and political values, greater media scrutiny at home and abroad, and nearly a decade of lobbying by anti-corruption campaigners.

“In the beginning, there was simply no political will in France to listen to us,” wrote one of the campaigners, William Bourdon from the Sherpa group, in September.

The move by Swiss authorities also indicates a tougher stance, observers say.

Obiang is expected to plead not guilty in the Paris court to charges of laundering the proceeds of corruption, embezzlement and misuse of public funds.

He has “always said he earned the money legally in his country”, Marsigny told Agence France-Presse news agency.

The defendant, who has failed with previous legal efforts to stop the trial, is not expected to attend or serve any sentence if he is convicted.

Campaigners say the case will set an important precedent and has cost Obiang’s father diplomatic capital in the region.

Now the longest-serving African ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo made his son vice-president in June just after being re-elected with his usual score of more than 90% of votes cast.

Born in 1969, Obiang was 10 when his father overthrew his bloodthirsty uncle, the dictator Francisco Macías Nguema. He has denied all wrongdoing and, during one of his appeals against the French trial, a lawyer acting for the French government said his client had a “compulsive need to buy”.

Obiang is known to have bought a crystal-covered glove worn by Michael Jackson during his Bad tour, which is worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Its whereabouts are unclear.

The US justice department said he “embarked on a corruption-fuelled spending spree in the United States” after racking up $300m through embezzlement, extortion and money laundering.


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Seized: Teodorin Obiang’s Malibu estate. Photograph: Celebrity Home Photo/Barcroft
Equatorial Guinea is regularly criticised by human rights groups for its repressive laws, unlawful killings, use of torture and corruption.

In December, Obiang’s lawyers failed to convince the international court of justice that he had diplomatic immunity and so had no case to answer in France.

Obiang has denied ownership of the luxury yacht seized by Dutch authorities,claiming it belonged to his country’s government.

According to specialist media, Obiang has another yacht, worth even more, in Tangier, Morocco.

The life expectancy in Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third largest oil producer, is 57 years for men and 60 for women, one of the lowest levels in the world.
 

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In New Year message, Seychelles' president drops controversial June holiday, adds Easter Monday

Victoria, Seychelles
| January 1, 2017, Sunday @ 10:56 in National » GENERAL | By: Betymie Bonnelame | Views: 1767

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Seychelles’ President Danny Faure (State House)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles’ President Danny Faure in his New Year's message said the Monday after Easter will become a new holiday, essentially replacing a controversial day in June that will revert back to a normal working day.

President Faure in his message wished every Seychellois a Happy New Year, saying, “I hope that this year brings everything that it should for each and every one of you.”

In his broadcast on national television on Sunday, President Faure said after having done a lot of thinking he has come to two conclusions.

“We need to make a greater effort to follow a spiritual and moral compass that will give direction and enlighten us on the meaning of our lives,” Faure said.

Following that line of thinking, the head of state of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, announced that the Monday following Easter will become a public holiday.

The island nation has a population of 93,000 and according to the National Bureau of Statistics 76.2 percent of the Seychelles population is Roman Catholic, 6.1 percent Anglican, 2.4 percent Hindu, 1.6 percent Muslim, and 13.7 percent other faiths.

Another amendment aimed at reinforcing the country’s national unity is that June 5 will become a normal working day.

“I believe that all of us, including myself, we need to work harder to bring unity to our country,” Faure said.

The public holiday on June 5 'Liberation Day' had been a point of contention between the Government and the opposition, as it was marked by a coup d'état where the president at the time, James Mancham, was deposed and France Albert Rene took over power.

For the first time since the start of multi-party politics, in September this year, an opposition coalition -- Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) -- won the majority in the National Assembly.

LDS won 15 out of 25 directly contested constituencies, while the ruling Parti Lepep secured the remaining 10 districts.

In New Year message, Seychelles' president drops controversial June holiday, adds Easter Monday
 

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Mozambique: Tete industrial investment zone on the cards, say analysts

Mozam-small.jpg


The government of Mozambique is to develop an industrial development zone (IDZ) in Tete Province, to make use of the area’s plentiful coal reserves, analysts told African Business.

Rovubué Industrial Free Zone will be developed on the border of Chiúta and Moatize districts with mainly private sector funding, although the government may commit some money to infrastructure, such as power, water and road services. Some Maputo-based security analysts – who declined to be named – confirmed that the government is in talks with likely private sector investors in the IDZ but they are unlikely to put pen to paper until the final investment decision is taken on the project’s anchor tenant, a steel plant.

The Tete Iron & Steel Project is to be developed by Baobab Resources of the UK, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and Metallurgical Corporation of China. According to Mozambique’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Max Tonela, the Chinese group will provide technical support.

The $905m plant will be supplied with locally mined metallurgical coal and also local iron ore. Tete’s iron ore deposits have not yet been developed but reserves are currently estimated at 759m tonnes.

The government hopes that both local and regional manufacturing companies that require steel will be attracted to the IDZ, but there is also the potential for the steel to be exported to other countries. Industrial and manufacturing companies that invest in the IDZ will also be able to transport their goods via the three new railways that are either already in place or under construction between Tete and the Indian Ocean ports of Nacala and Beira.

Metallurgical Corporation of China and ABB completed the feasibility study into the steel plant at the end of November. The first $770m phase, with production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of steel rods per year, is planned by 2020. And thereafter,

And thereafter, output will be ramped up to 1.5m tonnes per year in phase two. The provincial government estimates that up to 2,500 jobs will be created in iron ore mining, although it is not clear whether this includes employment at the steel plant.

Coal plants

Several coal-fired plants are also planned in the area. The Tete reserves include thermal as well as metallurgical coal, so there will be plenty of convenient feedstock.

Most of the main coal mining investors in the province have pledged to develop coal-fired power plants that will be able to supply electricity to Tete, the rest of Mozambique and the Southern African Power Pool. As well as creating some employment in their own right, the power plants can provide electricity to industrial consumers in the Rovubué IDZ.

On 20 December, Ncondezi Energy reported that it was close to finalising the terms of investment on its 300 MW coal-fired plant in Tete, which it expects to jointly develop with Shanghai Electric Power Company. Jindal Steel and Power has severely reduced the size of its Tete power plant from the original vision of 2,640 MW, which was announced in 2011, to the current plans for 300 MW, which is to be developed in two phases.

Boosting regional growth

Tete’s economy is currently built on the export of energy resources: coal from the Moatize Basin and electricity from the Cahora Bassa hydro scheme. With coal prices recovering and new rail lines soon to be completed, it would be easy for Maputo to rely on coal exports to drive economic growth in the region.

While the government faces criticism over the ongoing debt crisis, the proposed IDZ will provide a welcome boost to the local economy. It is hoped that the Rovubué scheme will create much-needed employment for north-west Mozambique. Despite strong national growth over the past 20 years, development has focused on the south of the country.

Neil Ford

http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/...cards-tete-say-analysts/#sthash.CWs714g0.dpuf
 

The Odum of Ala Igbo

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Mozambique: Tete industrial investment zone on the cards, say analysts

Mozam-small.jpg


The government of Mozambique is to develop an industrial development zone (IDZ) in Tete Province, to make use of the area’s plentiful coal reserves, analysts told African Business.

Rovubué Industrial Free Zone will be developed on the border of Chiúta and Moatize districts with mainly private sector funding, although the government may commit some money to infrastructure, such as power, water and road services. Some Maputo-based security analysts – who declined to be named – confirmed that the government is in talks with likely private sector investors in the IDZ but they are unlikely to put pen to paper until the final investment decision is taken on the project’s anchor tenant, a steel plant.

The Tete Iron & Steel Project is to be developed by Baobab Resources of the UK, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and Metallurgical Corporation of China. According to Mozambique’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Max Tonela, the Chinese group will provide technical support.

The $905m plant will be supplied with locally mined metallurgical coal and also local iron ore. Tete’s iron ore deposits have not yet been developed but reserves are currently estimated at 759m tonnes.

The government hopes that both local and regional manufacturing companies that require steel will be attracted to the IDZ, but there is also the potential for the steel to be exported to other countries. Industrial and manufacturing companies that invest in the IDZ will also be able to transport their goods via the three new railways that are either already in place or under construction between Tete and the Indian Ocean ports of Nacala and Beira.

Metallurgical Corporation of China and ABB completed the feasibility study into the steel plant at the end of November. The first $770m phase, with production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of steel rods per year, is planned by 2020. And thereafter,

And thereafter, output will be ramped up to 1.5m tonnes per year in phase two. The provincial government estimates that up to 2,500 jobs will be created in iron ore mining, although it is not clear whether this includes employment at the steel plant.

Coal plants

Several coal-fired plants are also planned in the area. The Tete reserves include thermal as well as metallurgical coal, so there will be plenty of convenient feedstock.

Most of the main coal mining investors in the province have pledged to develop coal-fired power plants that will be able to supply electricity to Tete, the rest of Mozambique and the Southern African Power Pool. As well as creating some employment in their own right, the power plants can provide electricity to industrial consumers in the Rovubué IDZ.

On 20 December, Ncondezi Energy reported that it was close to finalising the terms of investment on its 300 MW coal-fired plant in Tete, which it expects to jointly develop with Shanghai Electric Power Company. Jindal Steel and Power has severely reduced the size of its Tete power plant from the original vision of 2,640 MW, which was announced in 2011, to the current plans for 300 MW, which is to be developed in two phases.

Boosting regional growth

Tete’s economy is currently built on the export of energy resources: coal from the Moatize Basin and electricity from the Cahora Bassa hydro scheme. With coal prices recovering and new rail lines soon to be completed, it would be easy for Maputo to rely on coal exports to drive economic growth in the region.

While the government faces criticism over the ongoing debt crisis, the proposed IDZ will provide a welcome boost to the local economy. It is hoped that the Rovubué scheme will create much-needed employment for north-west Mozambique. Despite strong national growth over the past 20 years, development has focused on the south of the country.

Neil Ford

http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/...cards-tete-say-analysts/#sthash.CWs714g0.dpuf

Basically a Chinese operation
 

The Odum of Ala Igbo

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Is the World Ignoring Possible Genocide in Southern Kaduna in Nigeria? · Global Voices
Is the World Ignoring Possible Genocide in Southern Kaduna in Nigeria?
Posted 6 January 2017 9:49 GMT


A man riding a horse in Kaduna. Image released under Creative Commons by Flickr user Allan Leonard.

In a series of attacks throughout the past months, armed bandits have left over 800 people dead and many others displaced in southern Kaduna, a Nigerian state with a history of ethnic tensions, according to local Catholic Church leaders.

The gunmen have raided dozens of villages, the church officials stated:

The herdsmen and their ilk turned the towns into killing fields and killed mostly women, children and the elderly who couldn’t run for cover.

The level of barbarity was such that pregnant women got their wombs blown out and massacred before their children. And these innocent children were not spared either.

Many of the those targeted have been farmers, who have referred to the assailants as herdsmen (cattle-rearers). The farmers are accusing the herdsmen of trespassing on their farmland to graze their cattle, thereby destroying their crops. An aggrieved farmer who did not want to be named said:

that’s why they attack villages – they don’t just attack because of quarrels with villagers. They burn homes and farms so that we will have to start again somewhere else. But we can’t, and will not leave because this is our land.

Some residents also feel the attacks are part of an effort to get farming communities to leave their land, allowing the herdsmen to settle without competition for resources.

Southern Kaduna is a Christian-dominated community in Kaduna, and some residents have termed the crisis as an attack on Christians. Others on social media have gone so far as to call the violence a genocide.

Among those killed recently was Gimbia Morik, a senior secondary school student and the daughter of local politician Gideon Morik. Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kafanchan, Morik said:

the attackers just stormed the village and started shooting; they killed six people including my daughter and five others.

He said that the attackers injured many others and burnt several houses in the village of Goska. A senior officer of the Nigerian police who confirmed the incident there described the destruction as “very devastating.” He said the corpses had been deposited at the Kafanchan General Hospital where the injured were also being treated.

Reacting to a related attack in October last year, Rev. Danladi Yarima, the secretary of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria – responsible for the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory – blamed the state government for failing to stop the killings:

We are disheartened that despite the re-occurrence of the attack, the government has not come out with a security plan to stop it […] We expected that the government should have mobilised more security personnel to the area. Every day, Christians are being attacked and killed and their homes and property destroyed. The killings have continued unabated and we are very worried. We urge the government and well-meaning Nigerians to stop the killings

The state's Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has continuously condemned the attacks and vowed to fish out the attackers.

Kaduna is among Nigeria's north-central states, which is dominated by the Hausa and Fulani ethnicities and the Muslim religion. Christians are a minority, and tensions between the two groups have boiled over many times in recent Nigerian history. According to Musa Simon Reef, a respected journalist and media professional, Kaduna “represents the symbol of the long war of attrition that has existed between the Hausa-Fulani hegemony and its northern minorities” and “is best described as a theatre of blood letting.”

‘We need answers. This is genocide.’
Ndi Kato (also known as YarKafanchan on Twitter) is a political commentator, philanthropist and indigene of southern Kaduna. She shared a video of Evangelical Church Winning All representative, Barrister Wakili Kadima, speaking about the alarming situation in Southern Kaduna:


yW-dxAyojmAaR_Cz.jpg


Follow
Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan

Barrister Wakili Kadima spoke with us on Thursday. The situation with our people; their lives and their farms is dire. #SouthernKaduna

5:16 AM - 31 Dec 2016


In the video, Kadima said:

…one of the major message we really like to pass on to the international community and particularly the government in their deployment of troops, is that the farmlands of all these refugees that you see here have been ravaged and grazed upon by cattle, have been set on fire and the youth of these communities have been fighting raging battles in the farmlands with the Fulanis for the past more than two weeks, we have had to bury some of them who have been killed in the battlefield, in the farmlands…

Yarkanchan, emotionally scarred by the gruesome murders of her people, revealed some images showing the enormity of the mayhem and accused the country's leaders of not doing enough to stop the violence.

Warning: Graphic image below:
View image on Twitter
C0jMFMgWEAApVuy.jpg


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Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan

The 14 year old daughter of Barrister Gideon Morik, former Chairman of Jema'a LGA, was killed in last night's attack.
1f494.png
#SouthernKaduna

3:47 PM - 25 Dec 2016


25 Dec
Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan
Aftermath of the attack on Goska in Jema'a LGA, #SouthernKaduna they have destroyed everything. pic.twitter.com/JURF4elnwI


Follow
Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan

This is what is left of Goska in Jema'a LGA. No Christmas for my people. We need answers. This is genocide. #SouthernKadunapic.twitter.com/L5FZdHRdxY

4:41 PM - 25 Dec 2016


LGA stands for local government area. NAN reports that Jemaa as well as Kaura and Zango-Kataf were put under a 24-hour curfew following incessant attacks by unknown gunmen.

She also posted photos of young people protesting against the attacks, with a banner that read, “Stop killing us”:

19 Dec
Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan
More photos to show you what has been happening to the people of Southern Kaduna in the last 5 months #SouthernKadunaGenocidepic.twitter.com/KQgiaV7Zyf


Follow
Syria's mummy @YarKafanchan

So today, after enduring FIVE MONTHS of MURDER AND MAYHEM, the Youths of Kafanchan came out to protest. #SouthernKadunaGenocide pic.twitter.com/T3W4FKIrjZ

5:16 PM - 19 Dec 2016


The images in YarKafanchan's tweets have not been independently verified. However, Global Voices contacted YarKafanchan on the authenticity of these images. Her response:

The images are real. We have been sending supplies to the affected areas, so we have our people on ground who also send us these images and reports.

#StopSouthernKadunaKillings
Ahmed Maiyaki, a media and communications specialist, also tweeted:

View image on Twitter
C0YR6A7XcAAZpUr.jpg:small


Follow
Ahmed Maiyaki @ahmedmaiyaki

Oh Lord, grant Southern Kaduna and indeed the entire Kaduna State peace & tranquility now and forever, ameen!

12:57 PM - 23 Dec 2016


Audu Maikori, an indigene of Kaduna State, public speaker and social activist, pressured politicians to speak out:

https://twitter.com/Audu
 

Yehuda

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Cameroon civil society urges Anglophone regions to continue protests

Ismail Akwei 05/01 - 06:42

1024x576_354064.jpg


A Cameroonian civil society organisation has urged the Anglophone North West and South West regions of Cameroon to embark on a peaceful protest until the demands of lawyers and teachers in the regions are met.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium on Wednesday called for a sit-in strike to be held on January 9, 2017 to continue the fight against marginalization.

“Ever since lawyers and teachers of West Cameroon raised critical issues relating to their existence, Government has not taken any concrete steps to resolve them. Rather, they have been moving around trying to undermine the people,” the group said in a statement.

“We must stand together and continue our peaceful resistance until the demands of the lawyers and teachers tabled, relating to our existence have been satisfactorily addressed,” they added.

Late last year, Cameroon security services clashed with Anglophone protesters who were supporting teachers’ strike against the “imposition” of French in schools in Anglophone parts of the country. Ahead of the strike by the teachers, lawyers in the regions were on strike for two months after being ordered to use French in legal proceedings.

In December, Anglophone journalists condemned a government order banning all radio and television discussions on the political situation in the English-speaking South-West Region.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium called on the people in the region not to open their businesses, attend the market or school as they continue the protest.

“No street marches, no public demonstration, no confrontation with the police. Our peaceful resistance continues,” the group advised.

Cameroon civil society urges Anglophone regions to continue protests
 

BigMan

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Cameroon civil society urges Anglophone regions to continue protests

Ismail Akwei 05/01 - 06:42

1024x576_354064.jpg


A Cameroonian civil society organisation has urged the Anglophone North West and South West regions of Cameroon to embark on a peaceful protest until the demands of lawyers and teachers in the regions are met.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium on Wednesday called for a sit-in strike to be held on January 9, 2017 to continue the fight against marginalization.

“Ever since lawyers and teachers of West Cameroon raised critical issues relating to their existence, Government has not taken any concrete steps to resolve them. Rather, they have been moving around trying to undermine the people,” the group said in a statement.

“We must stand together and continue our peaceful resistance until the demands of the lawyers and teachers tabled, relating to our existence have been satisfactorily addressed,” they added.

Late last year, Cameroon security services clashed with Anglophone protesters who were supporting teachers’ strike against the “imposition” of French in schools in Anglophone parts of the country. Ahead of the strike by the teachers, lawyers in the regions were on strike for two months after being ordered to use French in legal proceedings.

In December, Anglophone journalists condemned a government order banning all radio and television discussions on the political situation in the English-speaking South-West Region.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium called on the people in the region not to open their businesses, attend the market or school as they continue the protest.

“No street marches, no public demonstration, no confrontation with the police. Our peaceful resistance continues,” the group advised.

Cameroon civil society urges Anglophone regions to continue protests
So many things wrong in that picture
 
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