Fight Anti-foreigner Violence, Group Tells Zuma
A year after a surge in attacks on immigrants in the country, a group is asking new President Jacob Zuma to do more to confront xenophobia, reports the BBC. The organization, the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants, says that the attacks have not ceased and called on authorities to investigate the problem. “Little has been done by authorities to address the root causes of the violence and as a result, threats of violence against foreigners remain common in some communities,” a statement from the group read. Last year, more than 60 immigrants (mostly from neighboring Zimbabwe and Mozambique) were killed and thousands were displaced when they were attacked by mobs, many of whom blamed them for the nation’s lack of jobs and crime problem. Twenty-one native South Africans, thought to be foreigners, were also mistakenly killed, reports the BBC. Officials in the country, however, said there have been few attacks since then and that they had done all they could to prevent them from occurring in the future.
 

Peacekeeper Murdered in Darfur Attack
An African Union-United Nations Mission peacekeeper was shot and killed in Darfur late last week while being carjacked, reports CNN. The man, who served as a military observer, was shot by gunmen as he was opening the gate to his Darfur home and died soon after going to receive medical attention. Officials from the group are condemning the attack on one of their members, calling it “deplorable.” The mission is “here to assist the people of Darfur, and any attack on them is totally unacceptable …I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper who lost his life” Rodolphe Adada, a special representative, said in a statement. The group, along with Sudan’s government, is investigating the murder. The peacekeeper is the 15th killed since the mission was deployed in the nation last year, reports CNN.

Kenyan Man Sues Over Sex Boycott
A Kenyan man, James Kimondo, is suing the activists in the nation who asked women to boycott sex for seven days, claiming that the sex ban caused him stress, mental anguish, backaches and lack of sleep, reports CNN. The sex boycott, called for by the country’s women’s rights groups, was to protest the increasing rift in the country’s coalition government. But Kimondo claims that the action, or lack thereof, negatively affected his marriage and his lawsuit is asking for undisclosed damages from an umbrella group for women organizations, according to the Kenya Broadcasting Corp. At least on Kenyan activist can’t wait to take a look at the court papers. “I have not been served with the papers, but I was told they are coming and I am eagerly waiting. It will be interesting to see the face of a man who is not willing to abstain for the sake of his country,” Ann Njogu, executive director of Center for Rights Education and Awareness told CNN. After post-election violence in the nation killed more than 1,000 people in 2008, a coalition government between the former opponents and current President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga was created. Since then, the infighting and disagreements within the government has upset Kenyans, prompting the boycott to get the two sides to meet with each other. And, according to Njogu, it looks like it worked. “The prinicipal leaders met as a result of the boycott, and I understand that they are setting up reforms to look into the country’s internal security,” she told the news service.
 
South Africa Swears in New Leader
South Africans celebrated the inauguration of popular African National Congress leader and new president Jacob Zuma at Union Buildings in Pretoria Saturday. Other leaders and former presidents, including Nelson Mandela, were among those in the crowd. The crowd was excited and sang songs during the ceremony, reports CNN. South Africa’s parliament, where the ANC still holds the majority, elected Zuma last week.  Unlike the more reserved former leaders Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, Zuma has a more colorful personality. A Zulu, he often wears traditional clothing, which have included leopard skins and a spear, to events reports CNN.

Mandela Supports Zuma
Former South African leader Nelson Mandela surprised about 100,000 supporters of the African National Congress party Sunday when he made a rare appearance, just days before the nation’s presidential election. In a glowing endorsement of the ANC’s candidate, Jacob Zuma, Mandela wore a shirt with Zuma’s face on it as he rode around a field in a golf cart seated next to Zuma, reports The Associated Press. The 90-year-old political icon was then helped on stage and seated next to another ANC leader and ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, where he waved at the crowd and watched his pre-recorded message praising the ANC.  The party is the best suited to help Black South Africans, who suffered the effects of apartheid, out of poverty, the message said. Zuma, an overwhelming favorite to win Wednesday’s election, joined the ANC in 1959 and was imprisoned with Mandela in Robben Island for 10 years. And many in the nation have high hopes for Zuma. “All the people love Jacob Zuma,” one ANC supporter told the AP. “He’s the man who’s going to deliver – deliver water, electricity, houses, jobs, everything.” At the rally, Zuma said his administration would “do things differently” from the previous one led by Thabo Mbeki, who was forced to resign late last year.

 Jamaican Teachers Ponder Strike
Teachers in Jamaica are considering going on strike, after the government informed them that they would not be able to make retroactive salary payments this month, reports the BBC. The government had agreed to pay the teachers the due salaries in a deal signed by the Jamaica Teachers Association and the nation’s finance ministry. An official from the union recently met with Ministry of Finance officials and will decide Friday if the school system would be affected by a strike, reports the news service.

Zimbabwe Leader’s Grandson Dies
The grandson of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 2-year-old Sean Tsvangirai, drowned in a swimming pool Saturday afternoon, reports CNN. This is the second tragedy to hit the family t his year; last month Tsvangirai’s wife, Susan, died in a car crash. Sean was at Tsvangirai’s home when he was found. “He had wandered off and was found later in the pool of the house,” a spokesman for Tsvangirai said. Tsvangirai was attending a retreat for government officials in Victoria Falls at the time of the accident. The child will be laid to rest in the village of Buhera Monday.

New South African Party Feels ‘Intimidated’
The Congress of the People (COPE), a new South African political party hoping to make waves in this month’s elections, is accusing the powerhouse African National Congress (ANC) of trying to intimidate them by showing up to and disrupting their rallies, reports the BBC. ANC members have sent in loud hecklers to the COPE gatherings and some have blocked entrances to the rallies, according to COPE’s deputy leader Mbhazima Shilowa. The alleged actions are making a fair election nearly impossible, he said. ‘The ruling party has determined that any other party will not be allowed to campaign. I therefore cannot continue to say that the poll will be free and fair,” said Shilowa. COPE is made up of former ANC members and current loyalists to ex- President Thabo Mbeki, who was forced to step down last year under pressure from his party.

Zimbabwe’s Cholera Numbers Decreasing
It looks like the cholera epidemic that has been devastating Zimbabwe for months has passed its peak, according to the World Health Organization. In the most recent numbers, the number of new cases dropped to 2,000 a week in middle of March, reports the BBC. Earlier in the month, there were 3,800 new cases a week and there were 8,000 cases a week in February. “The situation with the current cholera outbreak is improving. …The overall trend over the last two months is of a decreasing number of cases and deaths,” the health organization said. But the weekly data aren’t always exact, WHO says, and the country’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said that the numbers were most likely a huge underestimate, reports the BBC. In addition, while the numbers have decreased nationwide, the number of cases in the capital, Harare, has been increasing. “The risk of the outbreak restarting in those areas of the country is real,” the report said. Since the start of the epidemic last August, there have been more than 90,000 cases of cholera in the country. About 4,000 people have died from the water-borne illness. 

Mandela’s Ex Can Run for S.A. Parliament
Even though she was convicted of fraud, Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Mandela, is eligible to run for a spot in South Africa’s Parliament during next month’s elections, officials ruled. Her opponents had argued that the nation’s constitution prevented her from running because of her conviction. But her party, the African Nation Congress, contended that since she was never actually sent to jail, she’s still eligible. And South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission agreed. The Constitution says that anyone who is “sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine” cannot serve in Parliament until “five years after the sentence has been completed,” reports the news service. Winnie Mandela got a three-and-a-half year sentence in 2004 for the charges, but it was suspended for five years. Critics have argued that even though the sentence has been delayed, it’s still active. The commission has stood by its ruling stating, “The candidate is not disqualified from standing as a candidate in the election of April 22, 009. The objection is accordingly dismissed.” The opposing party, the Democratic Alliance, is waiting on further explanation before planning their next steps, reports the BBC.

Zambia elects and swears in new president. Zambia swore in a new president Sunday. The country’s newly elected leader, Rupiah Banda, 72, already had been serving as interim president after the nation’s popular leader, Levy Mwanawasa, died in August. Banda was sworn in right after the close poll results were announced. “I promise to be an agent of continuity, good governance and will campaign against corruption. I also promise to fight poverty because poverty is demeaning,” Banda said during his inauguration, reports CNN. The vote was not without controversy, however. Opposition leader Michael Sata (who won 38 percent of the vote to Banda’s 40 percent) accused the ruling party of attempting to rig the ballot before the results were released and said he’d challenge the results. But international observers say the poll was legit.  Leaders from Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe (of whom Mwanawasa was very critical) attended the inauguration ceremony. Banda, who will serve out the last three years of Mwanawasa’s five-year term, will keep Zambia’s economy a priority; the nation saw foreign investments skyrocket from $71.7 million in 2001 to $4 billion in 2008 under Mwanawasa’s rule.
South African leader blasts ex-party members. Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), didn’t mince words when talking about ex-party mates. In the past few days, Zuma called former ANC members who plan to launch a breakaway party in December poisonous snakes and even compared them to bigamists, reports CNN. “Even before the divorce has been concluded, they have now announced that they will be getting married to the Democratic Alliance and other opposition parties to form a coalition,” he told rally goers in Soweto. And because they are planning to unite with other opposition groups, he called them “bigamists.” His comments came as members of the breakaway party held a meeting this weekend. The new party, which currently has no name, has lofty goals- including winning next year’s presidential elections, according to Mbahazima Shilowa, who was the premier of Gauteng. But the odds of that happening are slim because ANC has been a dominant force in the country ever since 1994, the year apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela became president. But members of the breakaway faction accuse ANC of going against the ideals of Mandela, and if the new party unites with other opposition parties, the coalition could be a force in various local elections.

South Africa government chooses new leader.

Not too long after Thabo Mbeki resigned as president under pressure from the African National Congress, the party has named his successor, reports the BBC. Kgalema Motlanthe will serve as interim president until a new leader is elected next year. He will be sworn in on Thursday. The party asked Mbeki to step down, after a judge ruled he may have interfered in the corruption case of political rival Jacob Zuma, a popular leader in the ANC. Although he agreed to step down, Mbeki denies the charges and says they have cost him dearly. “Unless the errors in the judgment are rectified immediately by means of judgment, I will continue to suffer and may even suffer great harm,” he said while challenging the ruling. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a Mbeki ally, also resigned on Monday. No word yet on any additional fallout from Mbeki’s resignation. Zuma is highly favored to win the presidency in the election next year.