Tag: Africa

‘Structureless party’: How Chamisa led Zimbabwe’s main opposition astray | Politics

Harare, Zimbabwe – On January 25, exactly two years and three days after Zimbabwe’s main opposition party the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) was launched, its leader Nelson Chamisa quit, leaving the party in turmoil.

In a 13-page statement, the 46-year-old lawyer and clergyman listed a litany of reasons why he was taking the extraordinary step of abandoning the party he and others formed in 2022. His main gripe was what he called “infiltration” by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

The opposition leader, who is expected to form a new party sometime soon, said he would not “swim in a river with hungry crocodiles”, in reference to CCC members he accuses of being sellouts workng for the ruling party.

But Harare-based analyst Alexander Rusero says Chamisa bailed because he had lost control of the party.

“You don’t run away from a movement that you are leading because of infiltration; if you are in control, you purge the infiltrators,” Rusero told Al Jazeera. He added that infiltration is par for the course for political parties, and Chamisa needs to learn to live with it if he wants to continue in politics.

A history of divisions

Divisions and tussles in Zimbabwe’s opposition are nothing new.

In 2018, longtime opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, founding president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), died.

Chamisa claims Tsvangirai appointed him as acting leader of the country’s then-largest opposition before passing away. So he proclaimed himself party leader at the late Tsvangirai’s burial, ran under the MDC banner in 2018 for president, and came second to incumbent Mnangagwa.

However, the leadership battle spilled into court, which ruled that Chamisa’s leadership of the MDC was unconstitutional, and Thokozani Khupe, Tsvangirai’s deputy, was the rightful successor. That led to Chamisa forming the CCC in 2022, with some of those who broke away from the MDC joining.

Chamisa losing his grip on the CCC leadership became evident only weeks after last August’s elections, when the party won more than 100 of the 280 seats in the Parliament of Zimbabwe, denying the ruling party a two-thirds majority that could allow it to change the Constitution.

Sengezo Tshabangu, who claimed to be the party’s interim secretary-general, started recalling MPs and councillors, saying they were no longer CCC members. Under Zimbabwe’s constitution, an MP who ceases to be a member of the party under which he or she got elected has to vacate the seat, thus triggering a by-election.

Tshabangu wrote to the speaker of Parliament advising him to recall the MPs. The CCC labelled him an impostor and a proxy of the ruling party, but its request to ignore the recall letter was denied.

The MPs lost their court challenges of the recalls and were barred from contesting the resultant by-elections. Emboldened by the court’s ruling, Tshabangu recalled more MPs and councillors. Again, the courts stopped Chamisa’s faction from running at Tshabangu’s behest. He backed his candidates who all lost to ZANU-PF, which now has the two-thirds majority it yearned for.

Still, Tshabangu claimed to be loyal to Chamisa, referring to him as “president”, as is common practice in the CCC. He said his problem was the selection of candidates for the August poll, and he alleged the party leadership disregarded those chosen by the people during primaries and imposed their preferred candidates instead on ethnic grounds.

Tshabangu is widely believed to be the face of leaders in the CCC unhappy with Chamisa’s one-man leadership style.

The fate of the elected officials is currently a leading topic of national debate. Some people say they should follow their leader out of the CCC, while some argue they should stay in place to represent those who voted for them.

Of the two MPs who have resigned in solidarity with Chamisa, one, Rusty Markham, spoke to Al Jazeera. Markham said most MPs fund election campaigns from their own pockets and may be reluctant to leave Parliament before realising a return on their investment.

Some  MPs, however, argue they need to remain to represent the interests of those who elected them.

University of Western Cape’s Brian Raftopoulos, a Zimbabwean professor of democratic governance, feels they are right to do so.

“They should hang on to the seats they have, I don’t think they should walk away from Parliament because giving that space would be donating it to ZANU-PF,” he told Al Jazeera.

Supporters of Nelson Chamisa, the opposition leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), hold up banners [John Wessels/AFP]

A ‘structureless party’

The ruling party has, however, denied involvement in the upheaval within the opposition. “We are only commenting on this because of our name being mentioned falsely by Chamisa. We have our organisation to run and the nation to provide for,” said Farai Marapira, ZANU-PF acting information director.

However, analysts say ZANU-PF may have taken advantage of a situation of Chamisa’s making as his leadership style comes under scrutiny.

His hardcore cheerleaders refuse to fault his moves and will go wherever he goes. But some say the CCC’s problems stem from the lack of organisation within it.

Analysts say that when Chamisa formed the party, he used strategic ambiguity  – keeping it as an amorphous entity without clear leadership organisation or a constitution – to avoid infiltration. This led to Chamisa personalising power.

“His gamble of having a structureless party failed,” said Ibbo Mandaza, director of the Harare-based think-tank the Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust.

Former cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo, in self-imposed exile in Kenya, has also criticised the CCC in The Herald, a state-controlled daily, saying that “while a structureless and constitutionless formation may work for a cultic church, it can never work for a political party.”

Other critics accuse him of promoting a cult of personality.

But former CCC MP Markham claims the party had a structure, “How do you get thousands of people to attend a rally without structures?” he asked rhetorically. He blamed a compromised Parliament and judiciary for accepting Tshabangu as a CCC official without any paperwork to prove it. “The goal was to destroy the CCC and get ZANU-PF the parliamentary two-thirds majority it failed to get at the polls,” he said.

Markham was cagey about whether Chamisa would form a new party, but observers say this will be the case, as he is not done with politics yet.

In the statement rebuffing the CCC, Chamisa also asked Zimbabweans “to rally behind fresh politics, new politics, and genuine fresh and credible leaders who want to serve and not to be served”.

Chamisa agreed to speak with Al Jazeera, but did not show up for the appointment. He subsequently said he would call to arrange another appointment but failed to do so.

Nobody but Chamisa

However, the nagging issue of Chamisa’s perceived personalisation of the CCC just won’t go away. The day he disowned CCC, a senior party member told Al Jazeera anonymously that he learned about his leader walking away from the party on social media, “just like everyone else”.

Critics are also concerned about Chamisa’s frequent invocation of God. He has used the catchphrase ‘Godsinit’ for years and regularly posts Bible verses on X, formerly known as Twitter. He recently told the Voice of America that he took advice from God. “People make the mistake of thinking I do things as an individual,” he said, noting “I have one chief adviser … the Holy Spirit is a powerful adviser”.

That has not gone down well with some who feel politics and religion should be separate.

Regardless, Chamisa is still seen by many as the Pied Piper of opposition politics in Zimbabwe; at 46, he is still young, charismatic, and articulate, but Mandaza feels he stands out merely because of the mediocrity and a limited pool of potential leaders in Zimbabwe.

“Some of the people who could lead have joined the exodus out of the country. There is also the belief that ZANU-PF is too entrenched and intolerant towards newcomers,” he says.

Rusero also weighed in, noting “Chamisa may have the numbers but whatever he does next, he needs to be clear about what his party stands for besides removing ZANU-PF from power. They need to go beyond just mobilising a multitude of people and hoping that change is coming; they need to articulate what their ideology is.”

While Zimbabweans await Chamisa’s next move, his supporters have been holding meetings clad in blue, rumoured to be his next party’s colours, a departure from the CCC’s yellow. Whatever the new party name, they hope they can use its acronym to create a catchy slogan the way CCC became Chamisa Chete Chete, Shona for “Nobody but Chamisa”.

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Did Ivory Coast’s 2023 AFCON defeat of Nigeria cap ‘a story for the ages’ | Sports News

As Ivory Coast came from a goal down to beat Nigeria and complete the most remarkable of sporting redemptions, it also encapsulated not only their own journey but that of a tournament, a continent and a man.

The 2-1 victory in the final for the Elephants was a huge achievement against the Super Eagles, who were heavy favourites and led by the African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen.

Yet this was a tournament that sparked into life and never let go of a flame that burned with the dreams in every corner of Africa, producing upsets and stories that will live long in the memory of all and not just the Elephants.

To be capped by a winning goal scored by Sebastian Haller, diagnosed with testicular cancer in July 2022, was poetic to a wider audience, yet it is impossible to put into words what it must mean to the player and his family. As the sport’s governing body on the continent, the Confederation of African Football, dubbed it: “Haller’s story is one for the ages.”

It all began with Ivory Coast’s capitulation in Group A. It was the first major story of the tournament and made Sunday’s turnaround against Nigeria all the more spectacular.

The hosts, far from one of the favourites, opened the tournament with a solid 2-0 win against Guinea, it laid a marker that perhaps there was hope for the two-time champions among their more celebrated rivals.

Indeed it was the Super Eagles who entered the second group-stage match against the Elephants under some pressure. Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong settled the match, and Nigerian nerves following their point in the first match, from the spot.

The Ivorians’ implosion in the 4-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan in the final group match was the moment that confirmed a special AFCON was unfolding.

Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was removed from his post despite the possibility that the team might still progress. An urgent call was made to the former Ivorian coach and two-time AFCON winner as manager, Herve Renard. The French Football Federation rejected the request for a loan from their women’s national team boss.

Gasset’s assistant and former Ivorian international, Emerse Fae, who was forced to retire by illness as a player at 28, was handed the reins. Qualifying narrowly as one of the four best third-place finishers, the Elephants marched to a meeting with the defending champions, Senegal.

Franck Kessie’s 86th-minute spot kick took the tie to extra time and then penalties but their comeback against Mali in the quarterfinal was an even closer call. A 90th-minute equaliser and an injury-time winner in extra time led to belief that a stampede was forming. The Congolese players’ seemed tired in the semifinal, as it would appear were Nigeria’s in the final, perhaps under the weight of pressure.

For Fae, a door had been blown off its hinges for his coaching ambitions after his enforced career switch in his 20s.

For the scorer of the winning goal, a moment for the world to cherish and celebrate with him as Haller found both the net and the hearts of millions after his recovery from a diagnosis that was delivered only 18 months ago.

For a team, a redemption from a group stage to forget that saw the replica jerseys piled high in bins across the country but now worn with pride once more. The comeback of comebacks was complete.

Where were the Nigerians?

Nigeria, with the continent’s largest population, entered this edition as a clear contender. They boasted the strongest squad with depth in every position and were led by one of the world’s most prized talents in attack, Osimhen – crowned Africa Footballer of the Year in December.

Defence was clearly to be their best form of attack as Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro set up a five-man backline, with an onus on Osimhen to press from the front. A goal in the opening game from the Napoli striker rescued a point against Equatorial Guinea but, by the time the knockout rounds were progressing, that solitary strike was hanging over the 25-year-old forcing Peseiro to celebrate his performances based on Osimhen’s work rate for the team.

Just two goals were conceded in six games before the final, and once Troost-Ekong gave Nigeria a half-time lead after a nervy first 45 minutes, it appeared the Elephants were likely to face some task to trample the Super Eagles’ backline. As they had done throughout the first half, stamp all over it they did.

The build-up of pressure on the backline was too much for Nigeria, who registered just one shot on target. Osimhen, the leading scorer in Serie A last year as Napoli secured their first Italian title since 1990, was an isolated figure in attack.

Starved of opportunity by a structure that was focused on shutting out the opponent. “We should’ve pressed higher, but we didn’t. We conceded a goal and that’s where things went wrong,” reflected Nigeria defender Kenneth Omeruo in a conversation with Al Jazeera.

Nigeria were set, they had the squad, the stars and the plan but things fell apart. It was not quite something from a Chinua Achebe novel for Osimhen and the Nigerians, the striker and the team will go on. With AFCON taking place every two years, the nation of 213.4 million will target that elusive fourth title in Morocco in 2025.

The famous five disappear in a flash

When Senegal, Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon and Tunisia qualified for Qatar 2022, they created history as the most teams from Africa to appear in a World Cup.

When Morocco reached the quarterfinals, they became only the fourth nation from the continent to reach that stage.

When they reached the semifinal they created African history, and the continent and the world were taking note.

So in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

A mighty array of talent with wounded Super Eagles determined to make up for the World Cup playoff heartbreak at the hands of the Ghanaians. Indeed it was Ghana who suffered the first shock of the tournament, losing to Cape Verde, but their blushes were spared when 2004 champions Tunisia were beaten by Namibia.

Two African giants fell at the group stage. They were not among the favourites and it was a welcome story of one back for the underdogs.

By the end of the round of 16, all five 2022 World Cup qualifiers were felled and something greater was that just an upset was unfolding. Where some of Africa’s biggest teams has battled to make a mark on the global stage for the continent for so many years, the smaller nations are now emerging to challenge their dominance in Africa.

The quarterfinals were made up of four teams yet to lift an AFCON title in Cape Verde, Mali, Angola and Guinea. Furthermore, there were four teams in the last 16 which were yet to hold aloft the trophy. Two-time winners DR Congo had refound former glories and defeated the record seven-time winners Egypt. South Africa, with their one victory in 1996, overcame Morocco.

No new winners were added to the list of AFCON champions in the end, but Ivory Coast’s revival, with their comeback tales, wrote the defining chapter in undoubtedly AFCON’s greatest story ever told.



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Ivory Coast people ‘deserve’ dramatic 2023 AFCON title win against Nigeria | Football News

The Elephants of Ivory Coast came from behind to complete a dramatic recovery and redemption on home soil at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as they claimed a third continental title by beating Nigeria 2-1 in Abidjan on Sunday.

The Super Eagles had taken a first-half lead, against the run of play, through their captain William Troost-Ekong, but goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastian Haller condemned Nigeria to their fifth defeat in eight appearances in AFCON finals.

For striker Haller, and for even the most ardent Nigeria fan, it was a fitting finale to a journey back to full health having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in July 2022.

Ivory Coast were on the brink of elimination in the group stage, for which Haller was injured, and lost their coach Jean-Louis Gasset as a result.

Their victory on Sunday, secured against a Nigerian side that were heavy favourites, also marked the first win by any hosts since Egypt claimed the crown in 2006.

Let the Elephants’ party begin

The triumph, all the sweeter for so many side stories, left the people of the West African nation, gripped by a five-year civil war until 2007, dancing long into the night. Heavy traffic jams with cars blaring horns and the sound of vuvuzelas, a horn instrument blown by football fans, took over a 3km radius of the Ebimpe area of Abidjan.

“We are the champions of Africa. Long live the Elephants,” jubilant Ivorian fan Siaka Kouassi told Al Jazeera.

“No team was better and we deserve to win against Nigeria. We are ready to party all night long,” a sweaty Maimouna Yaya added.

On the pitch, Nigeria had taken the lead through Troost-Ekong’s powerful first-half header before Kessie equalised with his aerial effort from a corner just past the hour-mark for the hosts.

Haller, who returned to playing in January 2023 after four rounds of chemotherapy and surgery in November 2022, steered Simon Adingra’s cross into the net to break Nigerian hearts with less than 10 minutes to play.

“It’s the power of the group and the mindset that put us through,” said Ivorian man of the match Adingra.

“We had some challenging moments but we rescued ourselves, although it wasn’t easy. The mental fortitude saw us restore our chances and do what we achieved today.

“Our people deserve this victory because they stood with us even when many thought we were dead.”

Pressing problems for Nigeria

The Super Eagles made surprise changes to the starting 11 with Samuel Chukwueze preferred over Moses Simon in attack, while the fit-again Zaidu Sanusi was picked ahead of Bright Osayi-Samuel on the flank.

It meant Nigeria, unbeaten with four clean sheets in six matches previously in the tournament, adopted the same defensive approach they used until their semifinal against South Africa. As a result, they failed to press their dominant opponents on the night.

“The Ivorians fought till the end. We should’ve pressed higher, but we didn’t,” Nigeria defender Kenneth Omeruo told Al Jazeera.

“We conceded a goal and that’s where things went wrong. Congratulations to the Ivorians.”

The tournament’s most valuable player and Nigeria captain Troost-Ekong said he would trade his best player award for the AFCON trophy. “No one gave us a chance before the start of the tournament but we exceeded expectations,” he said.

“It’s an unfortunate end to a great campaign and heartbreaking for us as a team. Ivory Coast wanted it more.”

Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka says most of the Nigerian players are shattered and broken. “I feel sad. We fought till the end. It just wasn’t our day, and we were made to pay for it.

“We tried to play as the coach asked us to do by playing our game, but this was simply not a solid Super Eagles performance.”

Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro, whose future is now in the air, as his two-year contract expired at the end of the tournament, admitted his side were second best.

“Our team had a fantastic tournament but today Ivory Coast was better,” the 63-year-old said. “Our team didn’t show our level. That’s the truth. It was not the same job as we did in the previous rounds.”

The Elephants stamp past the Super Eagles

For Peseiro’s opposite number, Emerse Fae, the future is clouded for a very different reason.

The 40-year-old was appointed as interim manager to replace Gasset following two defeats in the group stage.

It was not so much a comeback for Fae, as in the sense of his side’s redemption and the recovery of their match-winning hero Haller, but rather the completion of an evolution following the cards life dealt him.

The former Ivorian international, who played in the Premier League with Reading, focused on coaching at the age of 28 when he was forced to retire from playing due to Phlebitis, the inflammation of veins close to the skin.

Fae said it was too soon to speak about his future and instead insisted he just wanted to celebrate a significant achievement in the history of Ivorian football.

“Everyone suffered to achieve this, now we can celebrate being African champions,” he said.

“This victory is for our people who stood by us and never stopped supporting us.”

For Fae, Haller and the Ivorian team as a whole at the tournament, this AFCON was the story of mighty Elephants who never stopped marching through terrain that seemed ever inclining in front of them.



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Al-Shabab claims attack on UAE military in Somalia | Al-Shabab News

The group claimed the attack as it considers the UAE an ‘enemy’ for backing the Somali government.

Three Emirati troops and a Bahraini military officer have been killed in an attack in Somalia.

Al-Qaeda-linked armed group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack on a training mission at a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities said on Sunday.

The attack on Saturday targeted troops at the General Gordon military base. Details about the attack and casualties remain scarce. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offered his condolences to the UAE.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence announced the death of three of its troops and a Bahraini soldier in a “terrorist act”, adding only that two others were wounded.

Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, offered condolences to those killed and a quick recovery for those wounded.

“No treacherous act will prevent us from continuing the message of security and safety and combating extremism and terrorism in all its forms,” Gargash wrote on X.

Bahrain, an island nation in the Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

Al-Shabab claimed the attack in a statement online, alleging it killed multiple people involved in the Emirati military effort. It described the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, as an “enemy” of Islamic law for its backing of the Somali government in battling the armed group.

Al-Shabab, or “the youth” in Arabic, was born out of Somalia’s many years of anarchy following a 1991 civil war. The affiliate of al-Qaeda once held Mogadishu. Over time, an African Union (AU)-led force, with the backing of the United States and other countries, pushed the group out of the capital.

Since then, al-Shabab has been battling the country’s federal government and the AU-mandated peacekeeping mission as it seeks to establish a new government based on its interpretation of Islamic law.

The group routinely carries out bombings in highly densely populated areas across the country.

On Tuesday, at least 10 people were killed and about 20 were injured in multiple attacks in a crowded market in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab has carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya as well since Nairobi provides troops and materiel to the AU force in the country.

The UAE in recent years has increasingly invested in ports in East Africa, including in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region.

Securing Somalia fits into the Emirates’ wider concerns about security in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Somali piracy has recently resumed after several years amid the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

In 2019, al-Shabab claimed an attack that killed a man working for Dubai’s P&O Ports.

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Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: CAF AFCON 2023 final preview | Africa Cup of Nations News

Who: Nigeria vs Ivory Coast
What: CAF AFCON 2023 final
When: Sunday, February 11, 2024, 20:00 GMT
Where: Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro has sought to play down his side’s tag as favourites for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations crown while talking up his misfiring African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen.

The Super Eagles face the hosts, Ivory Coast, who they beat 1-0 in the group stage in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday.

The Elephants were nearly eliminated at the first hurdle having also lost to Equatorial Guinea in the final group-stage match, and parted company with their manager Jean-Louis Gasset while they awaited clarification as to whether they would progress as one of the four best third-placed finishers.

“There is no favourite for the final,” insisted the Portuguese coach. “Each side has a 50 percent chance, but we are determined to win this final.”

Osimhen, meantime, has previously received praise from his coach for his work rate and performances at the tournament.

The Napoli striker earned his side a point in Nigeria’s opening match against Equatorial Guinea but has yet to find the net again.

“He doesn’t play like he is the star. He fights for the team and is completely unselfish,” said Peseiro.

“He knows he is an important player and he gives us the best energy. He has suffered a lot in this tournament with all the attention he receives from the opposing defenders because he knows it is a team game.”

Ivory Coast’s interim coach Emerse Fae was not his country’s first choice to replace the outgoing Gasset yet now he leads his country in the final.

Now Fae can now join an elite list of Africa Cup of Nations-winning managers just weeks after taking charge of a senior match for the first time.

It would be an extraordinary achievement for the 40-year-old French-born former Ivorian international, who played for his country in the 2006 final – albeit on the losing side.

He had been assistant to Gasset over the last 18 months so was well versed in what happened and what needed to be done.

“We had difficult days emotionally and mentally and we came through the back door,” admitted Fae. “Losing 4-0 at home was terrible, and then afterwards we had to wait. Honestly, it was very difficult to work, to heal the wounds while crossing your fingers.”

Fae made several key changes and the Ivorians showed impressive mental fortitude in overcoming holders Senegal in the last 16 and neighbours Mali in the quarterfinal, coming from behind in both matches.

Their semifinal victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo continued the comeback. Local press have dubbed Fae the “Special One”.

“No, no, no, that’s not true,” he replied on Saturday when asked about the tag first used for Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho.

“It has been a collective to get us all here.”

Nigeria’s players to watch

The African footballer of the year has yet to find his goalscoring touch at this tournament but has won praise from his coach for his work rate and performances.

Ademola Lookman

The former Everton forward scored all three goals his side managed in the round of 16 and quarterfinal wins against Cameroon and Angola. Where Osimhen is drawing the attention of numerous opposition players both in and out of possession, it has created openings for others which Lookman has fully taken advantage of.

William Troost-Ekong

The captain has been a leader in every sense for his side. The rock of the side’s defence, which has only conceded two goals at the tournament, Troost-Ekong has also scored two penalties, including one against Ivory Coast in the group, in normal time and netted in the shootout win against South Africa.

Ivory Coast’s players to watch

Sebastian Haller

The Borussia Dortmund striker was only fit enough to start for the first time in the tournament against DRC in the semifinal. It was his goal, albeit somewhat of a miss-kick, that sent the Elephants to the final. As much as an Ivorian win would be an incredible redemption at this edition, it would also mark a remarkable comeback for Haller, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022.

Simon Adingra

The Brighton and Hove Albion winger is becoming something of a sensation at the tournament and is undoubtedly a fan favourite among the host nation’s supporters. Every time the ball arrives at Adingra’s feet the level of expectation and volume inside the venues lift. It was Adingra who netted the 90th-minute equaliser against Mali in the semifinal that took the tie to extra time.

Franck Kessie

The midfielder signed for Al-Alhi in the Saudi Pro League last year having been one of the hottest properties in European football for some time. The 27-year-old joined Serie A club Atalanta as a teenager before being snapped up by Italian giants AC Milan in 2019. Barcelona brought Kessie, who has been a driving force in the centre of the park, to Spain in 2022 before his move to Saudi Arabia.

Form guide

Nigeria: W W W W W
Ivory Coast: L L W W W

Prize money

Champions: $7m
Runners-up: $4m

Head-to-head record:

Matches: 12
Nigeria won: 4
Ivory Coast won: 6
Draws: 2

Team news

Nigeria will hope there is no repeat of the abdominal complaint that resulted in Osimhen having to travel a day later than the rest of the squad for their semifinal.

Left-back Zaidu Sanusi missed the semifinal with South Africa due to a hamstring injury but will be given a late-fitness test in the run-up to the final, having been a constant prior to the meeting with Bafana Bafana.

Nigeria’s predicted starting XI: Stanley Nwabali, Semi Ajayi, William Troost-Ekong, Calvin Bassey, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Moses Simon, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman.

Ivory Coast welcome back the suspended pairing of Odilon Kossounou and Oumar Diakire, both of whom were sent off in the quarterfinal win against Mali. Kossounou was a starter in that game and is expected to return to the defence in place of Willy Bolly.

Ivory Coast’s predicted starting XI: Yahia Fofana, Wilfried Singo, Odilon Kossounou, Evan Ndicka, Ghislain Konan, Frank Kessié, Jean-Michael Seri, Seko Fofana, Max Gradel, Sebastian Haller, Simon Adingra.



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Preview: India vs Australia – ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup final | Cricket News

Who: India vs Australia
What: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup final
When: Sunday, February 11, 2024, 10am (08:00 GMT)
Where: Willowmoore Park, Benoni, South Africa

India’s Under-19 team step onto the field to play the ICC World Cup final with a desire for redemption, hoping to avenge their senior counterparts’ home defeat to Australia in international cricket’s showpiece event.

Three months ago, India’s senior squad suffered a six-wicket defeat to Australia in the World Cup final on home soil in front of a crowd of 92,000. The loss was painful for fans of the Indian team, who had been unbeaten in the tournament en route to the final.

On Sunday, India’s U-19 team has the chance to rewrite history and chase a record sixth world title.

‘Indian team carries the dreams of a billion hearts’

India captain Uday Saharan, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, and his side are eager to create a legacy for the future players.

Playing in their fifth successive U-19 World Cup final, India are looking to defend the trophy they won in 2022.

“As we approach the World Cup final, we carry the dreams of a billion hearts on our shoulders,” Saharan told reporters ahead of the final. “Our journey has been a testament to our hard work, unity, and love for the game.

“In this final battle, we aim to create a legacy that inspires the next generation. It’s not just a game; it’s a chance to etch our names in history.”

Aiming for a record sixth World Cup victory, Saharan knows that Australia will pose a huge challenge for the Boys in Blue.

“Right from our first game, we have played with passion, determination, and a belief that we will get the coveted title home,” Saharan added.

“In the final, against Australia, it is going to be no different as we go one step closer to defending the title successfully.”

‘Australian boys want to make family, friends proud’

Australia captain Hugh Weibgen said his squad has done a “terrific job” throughout the tournament and they want to finish their campaign by lifting the trophy on Sunday.

“This is an opportunity to make our coaches as well as family and friends extremely proud. They have helped and supported us along the journey,” said Weibgen.

“India have obviously also had an outstanding tournament so far and are a class team. We’re expecting they will provide a challenge for us, and we are looking forward to it.”

Form guide

Both India and Australia enter the final undefeated, having topped their respective groups in both the initial stage and the Super Six stage.

India booked their spot in the final after beating hosts South Africa by two wickets in a tense matchup on Tuesday. Chasing 245 for victory, India fought back from 32-4 to seal a memorable win, thanks to a brilliant match-winning partnership between Sachin Dhas and captain Saharan.

Australia also had a dramatic route to the final as they defeated Pakistan by one wicket in the final over of Thursday’s second semifinal. Having bowled out Pakistan for a seemingly below-par total of 179, Australia stuttered in their chase before their middle and lower order formed crucial partnerships to help them edge home in a thrilling fashion.

Head-to-head record

India and Australia have met twice before in an ICC U-19 Men’s World Cup final, with India having won on both occasions – in 2012 and 2018.

Teams

Australia’s predicted lineup: Harry Dixon, Sam Konstas, Hugh Weibgen (captain), Harjas Singh, Ryan Hicks (wicketkeeper), Ollie Peake, Tom Campbell, Raf MacMillan, Tom Straker, Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler.

India’s predicted lineup: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (C), Priyanshu Moliya, Sachin Dhas, Aravelly Avanish (wk), Murugan Abhishek, Naman Tiwari, Raj Limbani, Saumy Pandey.



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Student killed in Senegal protests over election delay | Elections News

Violent protests erupt after President Macky Sall postponed presidential elections by several months.

A student has been killed in the Senegalese city of Saint-Louis during violent protests against the postponement of the presidential election.

Clashes between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal’s capital and other cities on Friday, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a vote that many fear could lead to protracted instability.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Interior and Public Security said it had been informed of the death of student Alpha Yero Tounkara and that it would be investigated, but denied its forces were to blame.

“The Defence and Security Forces did not intervene to maintain order on the university campus where the death occurred,” it said.

It was not immediately clear if protests continued on Saturday. Further violent standoffs with security forces will add to fears of democratic retreat.

Less than three weeks before the February 25 presidential vote, parliament voted to push it back to December, sealing an extension of President Macky Sall’s mandate, which has raised concerns that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat.

Sall has reached his constitutional limit of two terms.

The vote in parliament took place after opposition lawmakers were forcibly removed from the chamber as the debate was ongoing.

After parliament voted, 39 lawmakers in the opposition coalition, Yewwi Askan Wi, and several opposition presidential candidates filed legal challenges against the delay with the Constitutional Court.

In an attempt to quell the anger, Sall said he had postponed the election to restore trust in the electoral process after the list of candidates was put into question.

But anger remained high, with critics denouncing the move as an “institutional coup”.

“We are fed with Macky Sall, he already had two terms what else does he want?” a protester told Al Jazeera.

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Protesters and security forces clash in Senegal over election delay | Elections News

Parliament voted to push the polls back to December after President Macky Sall announced a postponement last week.

Security forces in Senegal have clashed with hundreds of protesters who are opposed to the delay of the presidential election that was supposed to take place on February 25.

In Dakar, police fired tear gas on crowds and prevented people from meeting and gathering to protest, according to Al Jazeera’s Nicholas Haque, reporting from the capital on Friday.

“There have been running battles between protesters and police and security forces. Most of the demonstrators are quite young, many 18-year-olds. They were barely 12 when President Macky Sall came to power. They want to have a say in this election,” Haque said.

Less than three weeks before the polls were meant to take place, parliament voted to push it back to December 15, upholding Sall’s earlier postponement announcement and sealing an extension of his mandate.

But the move has provoked fears that one of the remaining healthy democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat.

In the capital on Friday, some demonstrators waved Senegalese flags, while others shouted slogans like “Macky Sall is a dictator”, the Reuters news agency reported.

At Blaise Diagne high school in Dakar, hundreds of pupils left their lessons mid-morning after teachers heeded the call to protest. History and geography teacher Assane Sene said it was just the start of the battle.

“If the government is stubborn, we will have to try different approaches,” he told the AFP news agency.

A protester throws a stone during clashes with police in Dakar [Guy Peterson/AFP]

Sall, who has reached his constitutional limit of two terms, said he delayed the elections due to a dispute over the candidate list that threatened the credibility of the electoral process.

The decision has unleashed widespread anger on social media and the opposition has condemned it as a “constitutional coup”.

Some critics also accuse Sall of trying to cling to power, while the West African bloc and foreign powers have criticised the move as a break with Senegal’s democratic tradition.

‘Calm spirits’

“Senegal has perhaps never experienced a crisis like the one we are experiencing and we must overcome it,” said Senegal’s Justice Minister Aissata Tall Sall. “We must calm spirits.”

In an interview, Tall Sall said the postponement was not the president’s decision, but the parliament’s, and “was done in perfect conformity with the constitution”.

After parliament voted, 39 lawmakers in the opposition coalition, Yewwi Askan Wi, and several opposition presidential candidates filed legal challenges against the delay with the Constitutional Court.

Tall Sall said the challenges did not fall under the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction. But she said the fact that opponents were turning to the courts meant that “we are in a functioning democracy.”

However, she conceded the postponement had pitched Senegal into unprecedented uncertainty.

This is the first time that a presidential election has been postponed since Senegal’s independence from France in 1960.

In a statement on Friday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell expressed concern about the situation in Senegal, urging the nation to “preserve democracy”.

“Fundamental freedoms, and in particular those to demonstrate peacefully and express oneself publicly, are fundamental principles of the rule of law that the Senegalese authorities must guarantee,” Borell said, and called on authorities to organise elections “as quickly as possible.”

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Zimbabwe nurses seek better conditions abroad but fear for patients at home | Health

Harare, Zimbabwe – In December 2021, Setfree Mafukidze, his wife and four children moved to Somerset in Northern Ireland, joining a long list of health workers who have fled Zimbabwe to escape economic and political turmoil.

For four years, he had worked as the head nurse at the only clinic in Chivu, a town about 140km (90 miles) south of Harare.

By his estimate, he cared for more than 10,000 people there. Despite earning only about $150 a month, he would often dip into his own pockets to pay his patients’ bills.

Once, a patient with meningitis needed $200 to buy lifesaving medication, a huge sum in a country where a third of the population live on no more than $1 a day. Neither the patient nor his mother had the funds, so Mafukidze appealed to well-to-do Zimbabweans in the diaspora to help. After they did, he drove back and forth to the capital, Harare – a 12-hour journey in all – to get the drugs.

For Zimbabweans who saw people like Mafukidze as heroes, their departures are seen as a great loss.

“He would attend to people at any given time during emergencies and could make follow-ups at our homes,” said Tawanda Mabuwu, a Chivhu resident. “When my sister who was his patient died after he departed for the UK, he sent his wife with clothes for Christmas for the two orphans my sister left. He was just good, and we keep on losing our best.”

Fleeing Zimbabwe

After Brexit in 2016 and COVID-19 four years later led to a shortage of skilled professionals in the UK, the country eased entry rules, leading to an increase in work visas issued to foreign health and social care workers.

From September 2022 to September 2023, 21,130 Zimbabweans were given visas to work in the UK, according to Home Office data. It was a 169 percent increase from the same period the year before, putting Zimbabwe among three countries – alongside Nigeria and India – with the largest number of citizens heading to the UK on this visa.

In November, the World Health Organization said the number of public sector health workers in Zimbabwe had been reduced by at least 4,600 since 2019 despite increased recruitment.

Five health workers told Al Jazeera they would jump at an opportunity to work abroad. Dozens of WhatsApp groups have been created with those who have left offering tips to members who are looking to leave or are in the process of doing so.

“Nurses in Zimbabwe are not paid well enough to stick around when an opportunity to leave arises. It’s all about remuneration. It’s all about conditions of service,” said Mafukidze, who decided to leave to give his children better opportunities and advance himself academically.

A healthcare worker who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Al Jazeera said he used to earn the equivalent of $150 per month but now gets 3,000 pounds ($3,782) per month after taxes.

Beyond pay, many healthcare workers in the African nation said they opted to migrate because of the general state of the healthcare sector. Health training schools are ill-equipped and have too few tutors. Hospitals lack functioning equipment and have inadequate drug supplies and poor working conditions.

The situation has been worsened by a deepening economic crisis that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been unable to halt since toppling Robert Mugabe in November 2017 in a military coup.

“At the moment, there are shortages of staff, leading to burnout to those who are there. … The buildings are dilapidated. People need competitive salaries, and the issue of the economy must be addressed,” said Enock Dongo, president of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association.

Zimbabweans living in border towns are increasingly crossing to neighbouring South Africa and Zambia for healthcare. In 2022, an official in South Africa’s Limpopo province was caught on camera saying the country’s healthcare system was being overwhelmed by an influx of Zimbabwean patients.

Donald Mujiri, spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s questions about the continuing migration or the state of healthcare in Zimbabwe.

Solwayo Ngwenya attends to a patient at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe [Clemence Manyukwe/Al Jazeera]

A continuing dilemma

Despite being separated by oceans, many health workers abroad still keep in touch with their former patients and become sad whenever they get news of a death.

“I’m emotionally attached because I know that when someone has to reach a person who is more than 10,000 miles (16,000km) away from them for that kind of assistance, it means there is a gap. There is definitely a gap,” said Mafukidze, who is in his 40s.

That continuing bond has now led to a personal dilemma for dozens of these emigrants watching helplessly as Zimbabwe’s healthcare system and economy continue to deteriorate: to remain in their new homes where their time and talents are better rewarded or return home to help the patients they left behind.

“I have had a long list of patients, people who believed in my services, who constantly reach out to me, … and I have constantly helped them over the phone, but I have always felt I was better off on the ground,” Mafukidze said. “Unfortunately along the way, some have been lost, and it gives me some sadness to say maybe if I was there, things could have been different. … That feeling grips me [like] I neglected people back home.”

He delivers consultations virtually by WhatsApp or calls, focusing on diabetes care after having lost his mother to the ailment when he was only 12 years old.

Another nurse who left for Somerset in 2019, Tapiwa Mujuru said he was attached to teenagers who were born HIV-positive while working at a Harare facility.

“I used to tell them that they were going to make it, … but when I told them I was leaving, I saw self-doubt in their eyes. To tell you the truth, I felt bad about leaving, but I had to leave. I feel better that we still talk on WhatsApp,” he said.

In one WhatsApp group with 48 health workers, there was a unanimous agreement that they would like to return home one day. In similar groups, the matter is being debated too.

In one such group, members said once they build houses in Zimbabwe and secure their future through investments and savings, they will return. But for now, they are staying away until the pay increases and working conditions improve.

The group’s members have other complaints. The list of patients at British public hospitals are longer than back in Zimbabwe. For instance, waiting times for general practitioner appointments often take three to six months. Some said they are still finding it tough adapting to the weather. Others feel homesick and crave the communality and social life back in Zimbabwe.

Some nurses also said they need a second job to get by. While they earn more, their bills have increased. But the skilled worker visa allows them to work only 20 extra hours at a second job, Mafukidze said, so finding one is tough.

Back in Zimbabwe, there are calls for them to start returning home to help rebuild.

Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, clinical director at Mpilo Hospital in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, once worked in the UK’s National Health Service. Six years after leaving for the UK, he retraced his footsteps and set up the 30-bed hospital he now heads.

“I had always wanted to return home, where I always felt I would do well and treat the local population. … I returned home in 2006 since I had accomplished what I had set out to achieve and for personal reasons,” he said.

He attributes his later achievements in life to returning to home soil and believes “home could be the best”.

Mafukidze is convinced that he and some of his peers abroad will return to Zimbabwe one day to help their compatriots.

“I know these people need me,” he said.

N.B. All dollar figures are in US dollars due to hyperinflation and the rapidly changing value of the Zimbabwe dollar.

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S Africa’s Ramaphosa renews call for Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian state | Politics News

In annual State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa addressed domestic issues and Israel’s war on Gaza.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to helping secure a ceasefire in the war on Gaza and an eventual two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, during his annual State of the Nation Address.

Speaking before lawmakers at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, the president said that “guided by the fundamental principle of human rights and freedom”, South Africa had taken up the Palestinian cause “to prevent further deaths and destruction in Gaza”.

South Africa has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Last month, the court issued an interim ruling, saying it has jurisdiction to hear the case and ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts.

“We have welcomed the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians,” Ramaphosa said in his address.

“We condemn the killing of civilians on all sides and call on all parties involved in the conflict to commit to a peace process that will deliver a two-state solution,” he added.

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Johannesburg after the address, said South Africa thus far considers its case at the ICJ “a success”.

“Ramaphosa had said that there really is no conflict across any part of the world that is intractable and can’t be resolved through negotiations, and that’s what he said when dealing with the issue of the war on Gaza and saying that South Africa was firmly behind the Palestinian people … and that they would use all diplomatic and legal methods to continue that fight and bring a ceasefire and a two-state solution to that region,” our correspondent added.

30 years of democracy

This year is a key election year for South Africa. Ramaphosa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has led the country since the first democratic election after the end of apartheid took place in 1994.

Though historically dominant, the ANC is struggling in the polls, and many analysts say it will for the first time get less than the 50 percent parliamentary majority it has won in past elections.

On Thursday, the third-largest opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also boycotted the State of the Nation Address after its leader and deputy leader were suspended from parliament for storming the stage during last year’s address.

Ramaphosa, 71, used his address to highlight how far the country has come since the end of apartheid.

“Ramaphosa used the occasion to talk about some of the progress that has been made over the past 30 years,” Miller said. “The ANC is going through a very difficult time. The governing party in South Africa, many would say, has failed millions of South Africans in that little has changed, but the ANC would say something different.”

“Ultimately [Ramaphosa] used the speech to try and highlight what the governing party has done over the past three decades, and to try to get South Africans to come out to the polls, and try and sort of renew their hope in the party, try and fix some of the difficulties the party has experienced,” she added.

Ramaphosa also spoke about the steps his government has taken to address the country’s prolonged energy crisis. “We are confident that the worst is behind us and the end of load shedding is finally within reach,” he said using the local term for blackouts.

He also pledged thousands of new jobs, saying his government “made significant progress on measures to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty”.

Without naming him, Ramaphosa also took a swipe at his predecessor Jacob Zuma, 81, who last month was suspended from the governing party after backing a breakaway party that threatens to take votes away from ANC.

Listing the challenges South Africa has faced in recent decades, Ramaphosa said “perhaps the greatest damage” to the nation was inflicted by the period of massive corruption that marked Zuma’s rule.

“For a decade, individuals at the highest levels of the state conspired with private individuals to take over and repurpose state-owned enterprises, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions,” he said.

“Billions of rands that were meant to meet the needs of ordinary South Africans were stolen.”

South Africans are expected to go to the polls sometime between May and August this year.

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