Monday, July 07, 2025

BRICS Call for IMF Reform, Fairer AI Governance

World leaders pose for a group photo at the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

By Africa News

Brazilian President Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva addressed the second plenary session of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, focused on "Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic and Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence."

Alongside leaders and authorities from the bloc’s countries, Lula called for an inclusive reform of the IMF and highlighted the bloc's efforts to develop faster, cheaper, and more secure cross-border payment systems.

“While unilateralism creates barriers to trade, our bloc is working to develop faster, cheaper, and more secure cross-border payment systems. This will boost our flow of trade and services," said Lula.

Lula also stressed the importance of fair governance for artificial intelligence.

“By adopting the Declaration on Artificial Intelligence Governance, BRICS is sending a clear and unequivocal message: new technologies must operate within a fair, inclusive, and equitable governance framework. The development of artificial intelligence cannot become a privilege of a few countries or a tool of manipulation in the hands of billionaires,” Lula said.

BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. As well as new members, the bloc has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created at last year’s summit that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam.

Ramaphosa: SA & Brazil in Strong Agreement Over How Key Minerals That Come From Africa Should Be Treated

Ramaphosa, who has been attending the summit since Sunday and is expected to arrive back in the country on Tuesday, says it was important for South Africa to lend its voice to some of the issues faced by the continent.

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 7 July 2025. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X

JOHANNESBURG - Africa’s inclusion in the United Nations Security Council, issues of climate change and the condemnation of conflicts in Iran, Gaza and South Sudan were some of the critical takeaways for President Cyril Ramaphosa during the BRICS summit in Brazil.

Ramaphosa, who has been attending the summit since Sunday and is expected to arrive back in the country on Tuesday, said it was important for South Africa to lend its voice to some of the issues faced by the continent.

He said that Brazil and South Africa were in strong agreement over key minerals within the two countries.

"A key issue, such as how our critical minerals that come from largely African countries should be treated, that there should be beneficiation and there should be value addition and this we, as South Africa and Brazil, articulated very strongly during this summit."

ANC's Mbalula: Mkhwanazi's Allegations 'Projecting Us As a Banana Republic'

Mkhwanazi held a media briefing in Durban on Sunday, where he alleged Police Minister Senzo Mchunu is complicit in the cover-ups of high-profile cases.

The ANC's national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu (left) and party secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula (right), during a media briefing on 7 July 2025. Picture: Thabiso Goba/EWN

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) said that recent allegations by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi were tantamount to painting the country as a banana republic.

Mkhwanazi held a media briefing in Durban on Sunday, where he alleged Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was complicit in the cover-ups of high-profile cases.

The ANC said that Mkhwanazi’s allegations must be investigated fully.

At a media briefing on Monday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, said the party was against any political influence in police operations.

"We fully support the statement of the president that this matter is receiving attention, and the president will fully attend to this matter as it borders on lawlessness, projecting us as a banana republic, but at the same time, it is important that all those matters have been raised are attended to."

Ramaphosa Commits to Personally Dealing With Claims Made by KZN Top Cop Mkhwanazi

During an unprecedented speech, Mkhwanazi made explosive allegations about police leadership, claiming that senior ranking officials were complicit in the cover-up of high-profile investigations into underworld figures in Gauteng.

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 7 July 2025. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed his commitment to personally deal with the damning allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on Sunday. 

During an unprecedented speech, Mkhwanazi made explosive allegations about police leadership, claiming that senior-ranking officials were complicit in the cover-up of high-profile investigations into underworld figures in Gauteng.

Speaking from the BRICS Summit in Brazil, Ramaphosa admitted that he was caught off guard by Mkhwanazi's claims.

"This is not a matter that we should not give attention to. It is a serious matter, it has to do with the safety of our people but it also has to do with the rule of law."

Ramaphosa issued a stern warning to those found guilty of wrongdoing within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

"The police play a critical role in enhancing the rule of law, the safety of South Africans and that those that have done wrong should be dealt with and should be dealt with thoroughly in terms of our Constitution and our laws. So, this matter is going to be addressed."

Nairobi Locked Down as Kenya Police Clash with Protesters

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and INAARA GANGJI

8:50 AM EDT, July 7, 2025

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya clashed with demonstrators Monday during anti-government protests as the authorities blocked major roads leading into the capital, Nairobi, and most businesses closed.

Protesters lit bonfires and hurled stones at police in roadblocks and police fired and hurled teargas canisters, injuring one demonstrator.

Associated Press journalists witnessed an injured person being carried by protesters who were chanting against police.

Kenyans had planned demonstrations on July 7 to protest police brutality, poor governance, and to demand President William Ruto’s resignation over alleged corruption and the high cost of living.

July 7 , known as Saba Saba, is a significant date in Kenya’s recent history, marking the first major protests 35 years ago that called for a transition from a one-party state to a multiparty democracy, which was realized in the 1992 elections. Saba Saba is Swahili for Seven Seven, representing July 7.

Police officers were stopping private and public vehicles from accessing the city center. They were also blocking most pedestrians from entering the capital, only allowing through those deemed to have essential duties.

“There is no reversing the Gen Z Saba Saba-like spirit,” said Macharia Munene, professor of history and international relations at United States International University Africa in Nairobi. “Attempt to criminalize protests is reactive and will not work. It instead makes the government appear retrogressive and desperate enough to subvert the constitution.”

Public Service Minister Geoffrey Ruku had urged all government employees to report to work on Monday, insisting that the demonstrations would not disrupt public services.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Sunday that the government would not tolerate violent protests and that police would be deployed to ensure public safety.

The roads leading to the country’s parliament and the president’s office were barricaded using razor wire.

In the outskirts of the city in Kitengela town, police fired tear gas Monday to disperse protesters who had lit bonfires on the road that connects to neighboring Tanzania.

“They have blocked the roads, blocking us from our work. I am a roadside vendor and I am supposed to get to town and buy merchandise to sell along the road,” said protester Caleb Okoth. “What do they want us to eat? People are being beaten like dogs for protesting for their rights.”

The country has recently experienced a wave of violent demonstrations, initially sparked by calls for police accountability following the death of a blogger in police custody.

During protests on June 17, a civilian was shot at close range by police officers, further angering the public and prompting plans for additional demonstrations.

On June 25, at least 16 people were killed and more than 400 injured during protests against police brutality, which were timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of anti-tax protests where over 60 people lost their lives.

South African Woman Beer Manufacturer Makes Waves in Industry

By MICHELLE GUMEDE

1:07 PM EDT, July 6, 2025

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — After pouring brown, gritty liquid from a huge silver tank into a flute-like container known as a refractometer, South African beer brewing master Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela gives an expert nod of approval and passes it around to her students, who yell their observations with glee.

“When you are brewing you must constantly check your mixture,” Nxusani-Mawela instructs them. “We are looking for a balance between the sugar and the grains.”

The 41-year-old Nxusani-Mawela is an international beer judge and taster, and is believed to be the first Black woman in South Africa to own a craft brewery, a breakthrough in a world largely dominated by men and big corporations. Her desire is to open South Africa’s multibillion-dollar beer-brewing industry to more Black people and more women.

At her microbrewery in Johannesburg, she’s teaching 13 young Black graduates — most of them women — the art of beer making.

The science behind brewing

The students at the Brewsters Academy have chemical engineering, biotechnology or analytical chemistry degrees and diplomas, but are eager to get themselves an extra qualification for a possible career in brewing.

Wearing hairnets and armed with barley grains and water, the scientists spend the next six hours on the day’s lesson, learning how to malt, mill, mash, lauter, boil, ferment and filter to make the perfect pale ale.

“My favorite part is the mashing,” said Lerato Banda, a 30-year-old chemical engineering student at the University of South Africa who has dreams of owning her own beer or beverage line. She’s referring to the process of mixing crushed grains with hot water to release sugars, which will later ferment. “It’s where the beer and everything starts.”

Nxusani-Mawela’s classes began in early June. Students will spend six months exploring beer varieties, both international and African, before another six months on work placement.

Beer is for everyone

Nxusani-Mawela’s Tolokazi brewery is in the Johannesburg suburb of Wynberg, wedged between the poor Black township of Alexandra on one side and the glitzy financial district of Sandton — known as Africa’s richest square mile — on the other.

She hails from the rural town of Butterworth, some 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away, and first came across the idea of a career in beer at a university open day in Johannesburg. She started brewing as an amateur in 2007. She has a microbiology degree and sees beer making as a good option for those with a science background.

“I sort of fell in love with the combination of the business side with the science, with the craftsmanship and the artistic element of brewing,” she said.

For the mother of two boys, beer brewing is also ripe for a shakeup.

“I wanted to make sure that being the first Black female to own a brewery in South Africa, that I’m not the first and the last,” she said. “Brewsters Academy for me is about transforming the industry ... What I want to see is that in five, 10 years from now that it should be a norm to have Black people in the industry, it should be a norm to have females in the industry.”

South Africa’s beer industry supports more than 200,000 jobs and contributes $5.2 billion to South Africa’s gross domestic product, according to the most current Oxford Economics research in “Beer’s Global Economic Footprint.” While South Africa’s brewing sector remains male-dominated, like most places, efforts are underway to include more women.

One young woman at the classes, 24-year-old Lehlohonolo Makhethe, noted women were historically responsible for brewing beer in some African cultures, and she sees learning the skill as reclaiming a traditional role.

“How it got male dominated, I don’t know,” Makhethe said. “I’d rather say we are going back to our roots as women to doing what we started.”

With an African flavor

While Nxusani-Mawela teaches all kinds of styles, she also is on a mission to keep alive traditional African beer for the next generation. Her Wild African Soul beer, a collaboration with craft beer company Soul Barrel Brewing, was the 2025 African Beer Cup champion. It’s a blend of African Umqombothi beer — a creamy brew incorporating maize and sorghum malt — with a fruity, fizzy Belgian Saison beer.

“Umqombothi is our African way, and everybody should know how to make it, but we don’t,” she said. “I believe that the beer styles that we make need to reflect having an element of our past being brought into the future.”

She’s used all sorts of uniquely African flavors in her Tolokazi line, including the marula fruit and the rooibos bush that’s native to South Africa and better-known for being used in a popular caffeine-free tea.

“Who could have thought of rooibos beer?” said Lethabo Seipei Kekae after trying the beer for the first time at a beer festival. “It’s so smooth. Even if you are not a beer drinker, you can drink it.”

A Road Collision Kills at Least 21 People in Northwestern Nigeria

5:14 AM EDT, July 7, 2025

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — At least 21 people were killed in a road collision in Nigeria’s northwestern Kano state, officials said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps said a heavy-duty truck and a commercial vehicle carrying passengers collided Sunday along the Zaria-Kano expressway, a major road linking cities in the country’s northern region.

The agency said in a statement its preliminary investigation revealed the commercial vehicle driver “contravened established traffic regulations, drove against traffic flow, resulting in a fatal head-on collision with the oncoming truck.”

Only three people survived the crash with injuries, while 19 men and two women were killed, the statement said.

Accidents are common on Nigeria’s major thoroughfares, often resulting in loss of lives. In 2024, 5,421 people were killed across the country in 9,570 incidents, according to the agency’s data.

Boko Haram Rebels Kill 9 People and Injure 4 in Northeastern Nigeria, Authorities Say

A woman and young girl displaced from Boko Haram attacks push a cart in Dikwa, Borno province, northeast Nigeria, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

By DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN

3:54 PM EDT, July 6, 2025

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic extremists killed nine people and injured four in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, authorities said Sunday.

The attack was carried out by Boko Haram militants on the Malam Fatori community, Babagana Zulum, the state governor, said. He did not say when the attack happened.

The community, very close to the border of Chad, is about 270 kilometers (167 miles) from Maiduguri, Borno’s capital city.

The governor, represented by Sugun Mai Mele, the commissioner for local governments, visited the community and warned residents against collaborating with Boko Haram militants.

“Anyone found collaborating with the insurgents to bring harm or attack to the people of Malam Fatori will be cursed,” he said, adding that there are measures being put in place to fortify the town against future attacks.

A resurgence of Boko Haram attacks has been shaking Nigeria’s northeast in recent months, as Islamic extremists have repeatedly overrun military outposts, mined roads with bombs and raided civilian communities, raising fears of a possible return to peak Boko Haram-era insecurity despite the military’s claims of successes.

Last month, a suicide bomber suspected to be female killed at least 10 people and injured several others in an explosion in a restaurant in the Konduga area of Borno, as the state struggles to curb attacks by the extremists.

U.S. Measles Cases Reach 33-year Record High as Outbreaks Spread

Johns Hopkins University data reflects the public health reversal in defeating the vaccine-preventable disease since measles was officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.

July 7, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Summary

Seminole Hospital in Seminole, Texas, an area where measles cases have been prevalent. (Ramsay de Give/For The Washington Post)

By Lena H. Sun

The United States has reached its highest annual measles case tally in 33 years, hitting at least 1,277 confirmed cases across 38 states and the District of Columbia.

The milestone marks a public health reversal in defeating a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease as the anti-vaccine movement gains strength.

The nation surpassed infections reported in 2019, reaching the largest number of cases since 1992, when officials recorded more than 2,100 infections, according to data published Friday from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI).

“It’s devastating,” said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, a national organization of state and local immunization officials. “We worked so hard to eliminate the threat of measles and to keep it at bay.”

Authorities said at least 155 people have been hospitalized and three people have died of measles-related complications this year. The dead include two otherwise healthy children in Texas and a man in New Mexico, all of who were unvaccinated. In contrast, only three measles deaths were reported between 2001 and 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 92 percent of measles cases in 2025 were in people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the CDC.

Data from the CDC does not yet reflect the record as it is updated weekly on Wednesdays, while the Johns Hopkins’ site validates data every weekday.

The largest outbreak has been in West Texas, where officials have recorded more than 750 cases since late January and believe the true toll is much higher. Data shows that outbreak has slowed, but that it has spread to surrounding states.

Unrelated clusters of cases emerged elsewhere, usually originating with an unvaccinated person who traveled abroad.

Measles was officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 with high vaccination coverage and rapid outbreak response. Cases still popped up periodically. But in recent years, large outbreaks with 50 or more cases have become more frequent, especially in close-knit communities with low vaccination coverage.

Public health experts say the U.S. is on track to lose the elimination status if there is continuous spread of linked measles cases for more than 12 months.

“It’s a harbinger of things to come,” said Eric Ball, a pediatrician who heads the California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Once we see a resurgence of measles, we know that other diseases are going to come behind it.”

Consequences of vaccine distrust

Misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine fueled the 1,274 cases recorded in 2019, according to public health officials and researchers.

More than 700 cases have been reported and at least two related deaths. As measles spreads in the United States, The Post’s Lena Sun explains how to stay safe.

The outbreaks that year were concentrated in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in New York, highlighting the risks in tight-knit communities where vaccine distrust takes hold.

Confidence in public health measures, especially vaccines, has fallen since then, and is sharply divided along political lines.

The national rate for MMR vaccination among kindergartners was slightly above 95 percent in 2019, the level of community protection scientists say is needed to prevent measles outbreaks. But that rate is now under 93 percent and falling, according to the CDC.

Even in states with high vaccination coverage, pockets of unvaccinated people tend to cluster together. Measles is so contagious that a person without immunity exposed to the virus is highly likely to be infected and to spread it days before they develop symptoms.

A recent study showed that if U.S. vaccination rates continue to decline, the nation could face millions of cases over the next 25 years.

A poll conducted in March by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation found that 79 percent of adults say parents should be required to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella to attend school. Support was stronger among Democrats, 90 percent, than among Republicans, 68 percent.

Five years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, less than half the public says it has at least some confidence in federal health agencies to carry out core public health responsibilities, according to a poll conducted in April by the health care think tank KFF.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who ascended to be the top U.S. health official, has offered mixed messages about measles and the vaccine to prevent it.

He initially downplayed the seriousness of the Texas outbreak after the first child died, saying: “We have measles outbreaks every year.” He accompanied his calls for vaccination with caveats, raising concerns about the shots that public health experts called unfounded.

Nola Jean Ernest, a pediatrician in rural southeastern Alabama, said many of her patients trust others who share their political views more than her when it comes to vaccination.

She now sees patients who vaccinated older children refuse to vaccinate their infants.

“I’ve had several conversations in the last few months where they will say, ‘We still trust you, we just don’t trust the vaccines,’” Ernest said recently. “That really breaks my heart.”

Anatomy of an outbreak

In Texas, infections in late January spread quickly within Gaines County’s Mennonite community, some of whom educate their children at home or at private schools without vaccine mandates. The county had among the lowest kindergarten MMR vaccination rates in Texas, about 82 percent, according to state immunization data.

Public health officials said they faced challenges in controlling the outbreak because many people were not getting tested or vaccinated for measles.

The United States is experiencing one of the worst measles outbreaks in decades. Here’s what to know about the highly contagious, vaccine-preventable respiratory virus.

How does measles spread?

Measles spreads through respiratory droplets, often when a person coughs or sneezes.

It can spread four days before and four days after the rash appears. The measles virus particles can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, making for efficient spread in crowded settings.

What are measles symptoms?

Symptoms typically appear between seven and 14 days of exposure to the virus. They begin with classic respiratory illness symptoms including high fever, red eyes, cough and runny nose. Several days later, the telltale rash appears with flat red spots near the hairline that spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet.

What are complications from measles?

As many as 1 in 20 children develop pneumonia and 1 or 2 in 1000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Severe, rare complications include brain swelling, known as encephalitis, permanent deafness and blindness. The infection also significantly weakens a person’s immune system, putting them at very high risk for other potentially serious infections.

How do you protect yourself against measles?

Public health officials say the best way to protect yourself is through the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses are 97 percent effective.

How is measles treated?

There is no licensed antiviral treatment for measles, leaving doctors to provide supportive care to manage symptoms.

Public health experts have warned people not to rely on vitamin A for prevention or treatment. Vitamin A has been used in some cases, generally for children abroad with nutritional deficiencies, but it is not a front-line treatment and there have been cases of toxicity from misuse.

End of carousel

Anti-vaccine groups mobilized quickly on the ground. Many Mennonite families turned to a prominent anti-vaccine doctor who offered unproven alternative treatments. Kennedy praised that doctor and his methods in a visit to the region.

Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy, interviewed the parents of a 6-year-old girl who died of measles, blaming her death on medical error rather than vaccination status. The organization did not immediately return a request for comment.

Eventually, 36 Texas counties reported measles cases.

Young adults from El Paso who work in oil fields close to Gaines County were among those infected this spring.

El Paso went from five cases to 53 in a month, said Hector Ocaranza, director of the city and county health authority. Ocaranza said his community was vulnerable because a growing number of young adults, listening to what they see and hear on social media, are not getting vaccinated.

Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health Department, said last week that the reporting of new measles cases has slowed, crediting rising population immunity from infections and increased vaccination.

But the outbreak is not over.

Transmission is continuing in Gaines County, as well as Lamar County, in northeast Texas bordering Oklahoma, according to health department data.

In Chihuahua, Mexico, which borders Texas and New Mexico, a child who visited Texas in February started a large measles outbreak that now exceeds 2,400 cases and eight deaths as of last week, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization.

A costly disease

Measles outbreaks require vast personnel, time, dollars and messaging, public health experts say.

The 2019 outbreak cost New York City $8.4 million with 550 staff involved in the response, according to a 2020 report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Funding for state and local public health agencies, including immunization programs, has been slashed after increasing during the pandemic. Public health workers have been laid off because of widespread budget cuts across the federal health agencies.

Because of the decreased funding, Texas had to pull resources and staff from other parts of its health department to respond to the outbreak, David Sugerman, a senior CDC scientist, told a committee of agency vaccine advisers in April.

In Dallas, which has had one measles case this year, health officials had to lay off 16 immunization staff because of federal cuts, said Philip Huang, director of the county’s health and human services department.

“The fact that this is occurring at the same time that we are seeing more measles cases in Texas than we have seen in more than 30 years makes absolutely no sense,” Huang said.

Sunday, July 06, 2025

Attacks on African American History Continues

National Museum of African American History and Culture comes under fire by the White House

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Thursday April 3, 2025

All recognitions and acknowledgements of African people in United States and world history have come under vicious attack by the White House under President Donald Trump.

Both Trump and the MAGA-dominated House of Representatives and Senate have decried any policy efforts aimed at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within public and private institutions based in the U.S.

Moreover, the character of historical, social scientific and cultural studies has become a major cause of concern on the part of the Trump administration and its constituency. The Smithsonian Museums of Art, Women’s and African American History have been deliberately slandered by the administration claiming that the exhibits and displays in these institutions foster divisions within U.S. society.

With specific reference to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, its director, Kevin Young, has been on a leave of absence since mid-March. Whether his absence is related to the hostile atmosphere created by the administration is not clear at the time of this writing. However, in light of the massive layoffs and resignations among federal employees, it would not be surprising that the situation at the NMAAHC is equally impacted by the hostility towards government workers.

Young, an acclaimed poet, essayist and author of 16 books, previously worked at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as part of the New York Public Library (NYPL) system. He has served in the role of director of the National African American Museum at the Smithsonian since 2021. This museum is the largest in its field even surpassing the Detroit-based Dr. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (CHWMAAH).

In one of his many executive orders, Trump on March 27, took specific aim at the Smithsonian Institution saying of the museums that:

“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.  This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.  For example, the Smithsonian American Art Museum today features ‘The Shape of Power:  Stories of Race and American Sculpture,’ an exhibit representing that ‘[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.’  The exhibit further claims that ‘sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism’ and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating ‘Race is a human invention.’” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/)

Despite this distorted right-wing view of U.S. historiography and cultural studies, the reality is that the country and its institutions have their origins in forced removals, genocide, enslavement, gender discrimination, national oppression and class exploitation. There is no way to rationally ignore the actual circumstances under which the U.S. was founded and expanded between the 17th and 20th centuries.

The U.S. became the leading imperialist power in the world due to its historical legacy of the mass extermination of the Indigenous people and the importation and enslavement of Africans for more than two-and-one-half centuries. Numerous studies have traced the correlation between African enslavement and the rise of industrial capitalism.

On the African continent where the enslaved were kidnapped and exported, the important natural resources remain essential to the world capitalist system. There are large-scale deposits of critical minerals and strategic metals in Africa which continue to be extracted and exploited to the benefit of imperialism.

To mention these facets of U.S. and world history generates opprobrium among the MAGA grouping. They are in denial over the institutional racist nature of the U.S. and committed to a return to legalize segregation, sexual discrimination and the gross exploitation of workers absent of labor unions. Another recent executive order is designed to eliminate collective bargaining rights for federal workers. Therefore, racism and the super-exploitation of labor are inextricably linked.

In reference to the same March 27 executive order, it says of the African American Museum:

“The National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that ‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture.’  The forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports.  These are just a few examples. It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.  Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

Such a statement from the White House is a complete insult to the history of the African American people who were brought to the U.S. with full-time unpaid jobs related to agricultural production, construction and other forms of manual labor. During the course of the centuries of enslavement and legalized segregation, African Americans fought for freedom, equality and self-determination.

The Trump administration and its followers are seeking to eliminate genocide, enslavement, economic exploitation, sexism and other forms of bigotry from the historical memory of the U.S. within the educational and social institutions. These efforts will undoubtedly fail due to their blatantly false narratives and absurd suppositions.

Attacks on the National African American Museum Are Not Isolated

Similar efforts by the Trump administration and its adherents are taking place throughout the U.S. and the world. In the early weeks of the Trump White House, they issued executive orders banning the commemoration of African American and Women’s History Months.

Universities and colleges have been subjected to cuts to their research grants from the federal government under the guise of combating antisemitism. Columbia University, a private Ivy League higher educational institution in New York City, has gone through two presidents over the last year.

In response to the severing of $400 million in government grants, the Columbia administration agreed to monitor Middle Eastern, African and Gender Studies for signs of antisemitism. It is important to note that the leadership of both capitalist-oriented parties in the U.S. have equated Palestine solidarity with antisemitism.

The genocidal onslaught against the Palestinian people since October 7, 2023, has generated tremendous solidarity efforts marked by mass demonstrations, boycotts and encampments on campuses. Rather than take heed to the call for the liberation of the Palestinian people, the previous administration of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump have targeted activists and their organizations for sanctions, prosecution and detention.

Just five years ago after the police and vigilante executions of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others, millions throughout the U.S. and the world rose up against institutionalized racist state violence. It was the advent of these mass mobilizations, boycotts and urban rebellions which created the political atmosphere for the electoral defeat of Trump when he sought a second term.

Nonetheless, the ascendancy of President Joe Biden did not result in any qualitative improvement of the status of African Americans. The much-promised legislation to curb police brutality and to guarantee the right to vote was never passed during the first two years of the Biden term even though the Democratic Party controlled the House and Senate between 2021-2023.

What is needed is an independent movement which fights for the eradication of institutional racism and class exploitation. The Trump administration and its unbridled racist and sexist rhetoric translated into policy changes represent an existential threat to the national oppressed and working class as a whole in the U.S.

The extent to which “democracy” exists in the U.S. has been very much contingent upon the popular struggles of African Americans and other oppressed peoples. Consequently, the movement to reverse the reactionary trends within the U.S. must include the oppressed peoples and workers united to build a society where racism and economic exploitation are eliminated.

White House Quest for Critical Minerals Cannot Bring Peace and Development to the DRC

A history of colonial exploitation and neo-colonialism has proven that the salvation of the African state is by no means based upon the exploitation of natural resources

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday March 26, 2025

Geostrategic Review

Reports have surfaced during the early months of 2025 regarding a possible deal between the current government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under President Felix Tshisekedi and the United States administration of President Donald Trump to exchange critical minerals for military assistance in the eastern region of the vast central African state.

M23 rebels who are backed by the neighboring Rwandan government have taken control of the two largest cities in North and South Kivu.

The fighting has prompted widespread dislocation, injuries, deaths and uncertainty among the millions of people living in these two provinces. The Congolese national army battalions have failed to secure these important areas of the country while some of their soldiers have joined the M23 rebels in response to the collapse of their own military forces.

Military court martials have been held to prosecute those soldiers who abandoned their positions during the advances of the M23 insurgents. Efforts to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict have not been successful in its latest phase where the Republic of Angola President Joao Lourenco attempted to bring about an agreement between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his DRC counterpart Tshisekedi.

The problems in the eastern DRC can be traced back at least to the internal struggle which overthrew the previous leader Mobuto Sese Seko who had ruled the former Belgian Congo since a series of coups which occurred between 1960 and 1965. After the holding of the first democratic elections in the country which brought Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba to power in late June 1960. Nonetheless, the Pan-Africanist politics of Lumumba made him a target for the outgoing Belgian colonialists and their allies in the United States.

Lumumba was removed in a coup and after he fled the capital of Leopoldville was captured in later months where he was tortured and executed in the breakaway southern province of Katanga. It has been documented that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Belgian military were behind the charge to assassinate Lumumba and consequently derail the independence process in Congo.

Laurent Kabila, who was a veteran follower of Lumumba, led the Congolese Alliance of Democratic Forces for Liberation (AFDL) to victory in May 1997 ending the rule of neo-colonialist puppet Mobuto. Yet, the same Rwandan and Ugandan military forces that assisted in the removal of Mobuto then attempted on behalf of the U.S. to overthrow Kabila and take over the entire country beginning in August 1998. These efforts failed and the western-backed forces of Rwanda, Uganda and the anti-Kabila Congolese rebels were forced into reaching a peace agreement by 2003 after five years of war which drew in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Burundi on the side of the administration of Kabila. The DRC would eventually join the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which is still involved in seeking to stabilize the country.

Minerals in Exchange for Imperialist Security

The latest scheme to foster economic growth and an end to the threats posed by M23 and other rebel groups operating in the eastern DRC has attracted some media attention in the West. DRC President Tshisekedi has floated a proposal to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to supply important minerals while the imperialist state would provide security against the rebels.

In a recent article published by the London-based Financial Times it says of the proposal that:

“A letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on behalf of Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi late last month proposed that DR Congo could give U.S. companies extraction rights for mining projects and collaborate on developing a strategic stockpile of minerals. In exchange, the letter requests American support for training and equipping Congolese armed forces. While the terms of a deal have yet to be worked out, the interest shown by the U.S. underscores the Trump administration’s focus on acquiring access to resources around the world.” (https://www.ft.com/content/3f638e29-4790-4a10-b5b7-a79f9ef55491)

This letter from the DRC government is clearly related to the efforts on the part of the Trump administration to secure critical minerals in other geopolitical regions of the world. The White House has advanced the notions of taking over full control of Canada and Greenland saying the conquering of these states are important to the national security of the U.S. The purported efforts aimed at a ceasefire and a lasting peace in Ukraine is also related to the U.S. objectives to secure rare metals and other strategic resources in this Eastern European state.

Many voters were persuaded into believing during the 2024 national elections in the U.S. that a second Trump administration would end overseas adventures and focus attention on lowering prices and creating employment opportunities. Yet, since taking office on January 20, not only has the stock market been marked by volatility and decline, the threat of continuing imperialist war remains a central focus of the White House.

Trump’s foreign policy imperatives have resulted in the escalation of military spending by the British government and within the EU member-states. Threats emanating from the State Department and the Pentagon aimed at intimidating European states will undoubtedly create more tensions and hostility on a global scale.

Within the first two months of the Trump administration, the bombing of the Palestinians in Gaza has resumed. The Pentagon is periodically engaging in aerial strikes against the people of Yemen killing civilians and destroying important infrastructure in a country which is ranked as the most impoverished in the West Asia region.

Somalia in the Horn of Africa has been subjected to renewed bombing operations by the Pentagon under the guise of fighting ISIS-affiliated groupings inside the country. The breakaway Somaliland region in the northeast with its port at Berbera on the Red Sea has been a focus of discussion and debate by the Trump administration where some elements within the leadership of the secessionist area are lobbying the White House for recognition.

The internationally recognized Somalian administration in Mogadishu under the leadership of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has responded to the reported talks on U.S. recognition of Somaliland by initiating its own appeal to the State Department aimed at squashing the efforts of the breakaway region. For decades, successive U.S. administrations have intervened militarily and politically in the internal affairs of the Somalian people.

These possible scenarios related to further U.S. exploitative and militarist efforts in Africa should serve as a warning to the AU and the people of the continent. At the most recent AU Summit in Ethiopia, the continental body called for the payment of reparations for the ongoing legacy of enslavement and colonialism. The demand for adequate compensation for the centuries of exploitation and national oppression cannot be achieved if the leading imperialist state is being invited to engage in nefarious plots to further enrich and empower transnational corporations and international finance capital.

Trump must be viewed as an agent of imperialism whose approach to global hegemony will prove detrimental to the peoples of Africa and the world. The history of U.S. involvement in Africa must serve as a lesson for dealing with the contemporary manifestations of imperialism.

Unity Based on Anti-Imperialism is the Only Solution to Underdevelopment

The leaders in the DRC and Somalia must recognize that any deal agreed to with the Trump White House will only deepen the internal conflicts inside their own states. Inviting the Pentagon to station troops in the Eastern DRC and to enhance their presence in Somalia will only intensify anti-U.S. sentiment in their respective states.

A report on the prospects for the placement of large numbers of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) troops in eastern DRC points out some of the potential risks for imperialism, noting:

“As a strategy for securing minerals, a U.S.-DRC minerals-for-security deal would come with significant risks. The most obvious and consequential would be U.S. forces being drawn into a complex, multiparty civil war, as happened following the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Both of those conflicts became quagmires, with the U.S. ultimately withdrawing on less than ideal terms after significant U.S. blood and treasure had been shed and spent.” (https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2025/why-us-drc-minerals-security-deal-could-backfire)

This assessment only deals with the risks for U.S. imperialism and fails to take into consideration the impact of continuing exploitation of African strategic resources on the 111 million people living in the DRC. A solution to the lack of growth and development in the DRC and other African states calls for continental unity based upon an anti-imperialist program.

Trump is advancing imperialist-militarism as his predecessors from both the Republican and Democratic parties have done for more than a century. These overtures for resource deals in exchange for security will not solve the problems plaguing the continent. Only the people of Africa through their organization and mobilization can defeat the imperialist destabilization of the continent. 

South African Ambassador Returns Home to a Hero’s Welcome

Ebrahim Rasool was labeled as persona non grata by the Trump White House and ordered out of the United States within three days

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Tuesday March 25, 2025

Geostrategic Analysis

A veteran anti-apartheid organizer and later politician now turned diplomat, Ebrahim Rasool, has returned to the Republic of South Africa where people swarmed the airport in Cape Town to express their support for the envoy and what he represents in their historical trajectory.

Ambassador Rasool was accused of making statements which expressed a hatred for the United States and its President Donald Trump.

The leader of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has rejected these allegations along with others made by the Trump administration. There are claims which suggest that the white minority in South Africa are being targeted for land seizures and mass killings. Some suggest that the Boer (Afrikaner) population suffer from genocide inflicted by the overwhelming African majority.

Rasool has refused to be cowed by the actions of the U.S. administration and after arriving in South Africa he stated that the expulsion would be worn as a “badge of honor.” President Ramaphosa has echoed this sentiment noting that the government and people of South Africa would not be intimidated by the administration in Washington, D.C.

In the official statement issued by Rasool it emphasizes:

“We can negotiate a lot, but we cannot negotiate away our case against genocide in the ICJ — imagine today, with the ceasefire ended by Israel, that SA did not have the case —what would hold Israel accountable and what hope would the Palestinians have? While we gratefully value our trade with the USA, imagine we withdrew from BRICS and dropped our non-alignment, and we were left with a USA that is unpredictable? We can transact many things, but the historical victims in SA of institutionalized racism, xenophobia, sexism, islamophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and every other ism and phobia, we can never transact the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” (https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/ebrahim-rasools-statement-on-his-return)

After filing the case for the violations of the Genocide Convention by the Israeli state, the U.S. under the previous administration of President Joe Biden rhetorically dismissed the lawsuit filed by South Africa as having no merit. This same hostility towards South African foreign policy towards the Palestine question and other issues in West Asia and North Africa which are at variance with Washington and Wall Street undergirds the worsening in relations.

There has been an historical pattern of deepening solidarity between the African National Congress (ANC) along with other liberation movements, parties, trade unions, religious leaders and mass organizations which are demonstrating against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The solidarity from the youth-led movement in support of Palestine in South Africa has fueled the posture of other governments throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region as well as the entire African Union (AU).

Former President Nelson Mandela, the first head-of-state elected in a nonracial democratic election in 1994, noted that the liberation of South Africa would be incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians. Consequently, it was not surprising that the Ramaphosa government would take the lead in bringing a case before the highest United Nations judicial institution, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

After making arguments before the ICJ in late 2023 and early 2024, the court delivered a favorable ruling in saying that the claims brought by South Africa of violations of the Genocide Convention were plausible. Despite these developments, the U.S. and the settler-colonial Israeli regime in Palestine ignored the ruling of the ICJ and continued its genocidal policies against the Palestinians and other states throughout the West Asia region.

Rasool emphasized that the foreign policy of South Africa must be consistent with certain principles derived from its own historical development. He went on to explain that:

“In 50 years of a complex and nuanced relationship with the USA, we must fight for the relationship, but not at the expense of our dignity because we will not be bullied. We must have an ambassador urgently in Washington, but not to confirm the idea that only a white ambassador devoid of our values can speak to a white president. We must export to the USA our cars, our fruit, and our critical minerals, but we must also export our integrity, our values, and our non-racialism. We must enter into trade negotiations with the USA, because our economy and our people need them. But we must never trade our sovereignty, lest we be told that China and Cuba cannot be our friends. Our friends are the mighty in the G20. But they are also the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the occupied, whether in Sudan or whether in Palestine. Withdrawing from the International Court of Justice is not an option until Palestine is free and Israel is accountable.”

Russia, China, BRICS and the Movement Towards a Multipolar World System

The disagreements between the current ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU) and successive administrations in Washington extend beyond the Palestinian question. South Africa has refused to accept the U.S. policy towards the Russian Federation particularly involving the special military operation in Ukraine. Although Trump claims that his administration wants a ceasefire and a long-term solution to the fighting between Russia and the NATO-backed government in Ukraine, the real reasons behind the talks with Moscow are aimed at securing valuable natural resources in Ukraine. Nonetheless, the actual conditions of an effective ceasefire and peace agreement will inevitably impact the European Union (EU) states and the UK through the pressure to raise defense spending while cutting social welfare programs. While the administration promotes the notion that peace is approaching, it is deliberately agitating states within and outside the western alliance which emerged after World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist states in Eastern Europe. The aggressive tariff’s policy and threats to seize Greenland and Canada indicate a view aimed at the reconfiguration of U.S. dominance within several geopolitical regions throughout the world.

The People’s Republic of China has been clearly identified by U.S. imperialism as a strategic adversary. A renewed 21st century Cold War is directed against both Beijing and Moscow. The Brazil, Russian, India, China and South Africa plus (BRICS) Summits have generated tremendous interest in many geopolitical regions from South America and the Caribbean to Africa and Asia. South Africa served as the chair of the BRICS grouping during 2023. BRICS has been identified by the Trump administration for aggressive economic measures.

Working alongside BRICS is the New Development Bank (NDB) which is designed to provide alternative forms of financing for sustainable economic and infrastructural projects in the Global South. These objectives are essential in the current period when there is a sharp rise in international debt obligations for the African Union (AU) member-states and other developing countries and regions. At present the affiliates of BRICS plus represent 54% of the world’s population.  

South Africa is the most industrialized state on the continent. Its population of 63 million has the potential to play an even greater role in the transformation of Africa. For these very reasons related to the Palestinian question and relations with Ukraine, Russia, China along with the rapid growth of BRICS plus, U.S. imperialism is working to destabilize the government and society to deter the people from their contemporary role in domestic and international affairs.  

AU and its People Must Defend South Africa

The history of the South African people has served as an inspiration to other oppressed nations throughout the continent and the world. The transformation of the apartheid system of settler-colonialism was a major victory for the people of South Africa, the entire SADC region and the oppressed and freedom-loving masses throughout the globe.

Therefore, the attempts by the U.S. to generate division and social chaos in South Africa or any other AU member-state should be responded to with maximum solidarity. As the world witnesses the exertion of genuine independence and sovereignty in many regions of the African continent, progressive and anti-imperialist forces are obligated to support the demands for the withdrawal of imperialist military bases and the renegotiation of economic agreements with mining firms and financial institutions.

President Ramaphosa was quoted recently as saying he is not in any hurry to replace Rasool as the ambassador to the U.S. He reflected on this recent diplomatic row within the context of the suspension of U.S. aid to South Africa saying:

“It is entirely within their own right. I mean, it is their own money. In many ways, it’s a wake-up call on our part as South Africans that we’ve got to find ways of being self-reliant, of relying on our own resources, and that is what our people expect, even within our fiscal constraints and challenges. So, this is a matter that we are discussing, and our sovereignty is important, and our sovereignty as a country should also mean that we must find ways all the time to look after the welfare of South Africans, with our own resources.” (https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/ramaphosa-us-cutting-aid-sa-wake-up-call/)

These observations by Ramaphosa hold true for the rest of the AU continental region. Africa must utilize these attacks to build internal cooperation, unity and self-reliance.

White House Expels South African Ambassador

Ebrahim Rasool is a veteran activist within the African National Congress (ANC) and was serving his second term as the country’s top envoy to Washington

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday March 19, 2025

Geopolitical Analysis

Republic of South Africa diplomat Ebrahim Rasool was declared persona non grata by the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 14.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated even further in recent years under both the administrations of former President Joe Biden and his successor Donald J. Trump.

Rubio described Rasool as a “race-baiting” political figure who is not welcome in the U.S. The Secretary of State then went on to say that Rasool hated Trump and the country he purportedly represents.

These developments represent a continuing pattern of hostile attacks on various states throughout the world by the Trump administration. Even those considered longtime allies of the U.S. have been subjected to tariffs and other forms of economic warfare.

Canada, which shares a long border with the U.S., has been slapped with 25% tariffs on numerous strategic resources and commodities. In response, Canadian merchants have been removing U.S.-imported products from the shelves as hostility towards Washington has reached unprecedented levels.

In regard to South Africa, the U.S. has halted all humanitarian assistance while falsely claiming that the white minority were being subjected to land seizures and genocide by the African majority. These accusations have been rejected by the African National Congress (ANC)-led Government of National Unity (GNU) which has been attempting to resolve its difference with Washington diplomatically.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the expulsion of Rasool was “regrettable” urging other diplomatic personnel to maintain their decorum in dealing with the current crisis. Nevertheless, people inside South Africa have been angered by the actions of the Trump administration saying that Rasool’s expulsion was completely unjustified.

Rasool, who is 62 years old, was born in 1962 in Cape Town. His family was forced to move when he was a child after the area in which they lived was designated for “whites only.” Rasool was born into a Muslim household, while being labeled as a person of mixed race (Colored). These categories were designed by the former apartheid system to maintain their divide and rule strategy inside the country. Rasool became an activist during his high school and university years when he would join the revolutionary movement fighting apartheid for national liberation.

Diplomat Has Background in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle

During the mid-1980s, Rasool became an organizer for the United Democratic Front (UDF) and ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He became a target of the apartheid regime and was imprisoned for his activist work.

After the first nonracial democratic elections in April 1994, Rasool was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature. He served as a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health and Social Services from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, Rasool was elected Provincial Chairperson of the ANC. In later years he was selected as the MEC for Finance and Economic Development in 2001 and maintained the position until his appointment as the 5th Premier of the Western Cape in April 2004.

In 2010, Rasool was appointed as the South African Ambassador to the U.S. He served with distinction for five years until his recent order of expulsion by Rubio.

Since the Russian Special Military Operations in Ukraine, relations between Pretoria and Washington have worsened. The government of President Ramaphosa has been adamant about the need for a diplomatic resolution to the war. This has been the position of the 55-member African Union (AU) since the situation in Ukraine has disrupted agricultural trade and aggravated food deficits on the continent.

Under the previous Biden White House, Washington accused the South African government of selling arms to the Russian Federation during 2022. Despite the fact that there was no evidence to support these allegations by the U.S., the Biden administration never retracted its claims or issued an apology to the South African government.

Land Reform and the GNU

The system of racial oppression in South Africa was based upon settler-colonialism which encompassed the gross economic exploitation of the African population. African traditional lands were seized by the European settlers who mainly originated from the Netherlands and Britain.

A series of wars were fought between the African population and European settlers between the 17th and 19th centuries. In 1910, the so-called Union of South Africa was formed which gave most of the arable land to the Europeans. The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa and neighboring territories in the 19th century set the stage for mass dislocation and the imposition of a system of color discrimination.

Between 1910 and 1948, the British settlers were the politically dominant grouping inside the country. Just three years after the conclusion of World War II, the Boers (Afrikaners) through their National Party became the absolute political force in South Africa.

From 1948 to the 1970s, a series of political developments occurred in South Africa aimed at solidifying the dominance of the racist capitalist system. In 1950, the Suppression of Communism Act was passed by the apartheid legislature enhancing the undemocratic character of the state.

Later the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign during 1952-1956 resulted in the Treason Trials (1956-1960) where over 150 activists from the oppressed African, Indian-Asian, mixed race communities and progressive whites had formed an alliance to protest the apartheid laws. Although the defendants in the Treason Trials of the period were all acquitted, this did not resolve the need for a nonracial democratic system. In August 1955, the Congress of the People was held in Kliptown where the Freedom Charter was drafted, designed to provide an alternative political program to the settler-colonial apartheid system.

One of the major demands of the Freedom Charter is that the land should belong to those who work it. Land reform has been one of the most contentious questions in the national liberation movements throughout Africa since the 1950s and 1960s. Even after the democratic breakthrough of 1994, the establishment of a land commission and ministry, has still not adequately addressed the necessity of the redistribution of land.

In a recent policy decision by the National Assembly, the Land Expropriation Act was passed in Cape Town. One media source on this new law says:

“In a press release, the president's office explained that the law will not allow the government to expropriate property ‘arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.’ The expropriation authority will be required to enter into negotiations with property owners and provide ‘just and equitable compensation.’ There are some scenarios, however, where the government is not obligated to do so. In an interview with 702's (radio station) Stephen Grootes, President's Land Reform Advisory Panel member Bulelwa Mabasa, who also serves as head of land reform at Werksmans, explained that these include abandoned land where the owner is not traceable, as well as land which is solely being held to increase its value. State-held land that is not being used will also be subject to expropriation without compensation.” (https://perma.cc/5Z6P-DFKE)

After the bill was passed by the National Assembly, the largest party within the GNU, the ANC, issued a statement noting that the new law is a:

“Progressive and transformative tool to advance land reform in ways that enable inclusive economic growth and social cohesion. This is a direct response to the needs of millions of South Africans who have been excluded from land ownership and access to natural resources for far too long. This law is a critical step towards fulfilling the vision articulated in the Freedom Charter, which declared, 'The land shall be shared among those who work it'." (https://perma.cc/5Z6P-DFKE)

The passage of the Expropriation Bill was opposed by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the largest opposition party which garnered approximately half of the electoral support as the ANC in the most recent elections of 2024. When Trump entered the White House for the second time on January 20, this legislative action in South Africa was utilized by the administration to aggravate tensions between the two countries. (https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Acts/2024/Act_13_of_2024_Expropriation_Act_2024.pdf)

Since the DA and other smaller parties represent the interests of the white landowners and corporate magnates, the Trump administration views these events as another opportunity to destabilize the ANC-led GNU administration. This posture from Washington is reminiscent of the role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the capture and detention of former ANC President Nelson Mandela in 1962. (https://www.axios.com/2023/02/27/cia-capture-nelson-mandela)

Mandela would spend more than 27 years in prison before being released in February 1990. He became the first democratically elected President in 1994 serving one term as head-of-state until 1999.

Trump and his apartheid South African-born assistant Elon Musk are attempting to impose an authoritarian and fascist system of governance in the U.S. The struggle of oppressed and working peoples in the U.S. is therefore closely linked to the right of self-determination, genuine independence and sovereignty of the people of South Africa. 

POTUS Ridicules Historic Kingdom of Lesotho in Rambling Address Before Joint Session of Congress

This landlocked Southern African state played a monumental role in the struggle against settler-colonialism and apartheid

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Saturday March 15, 2025

Geostrategic Analysis

In his first speech before the House of Representatives and the Senate during his second bifurcated term of office on March 4, United States President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the Kingdom of Lesotho is a country that “no one has ever heard of.”

In an attempt to distort the character of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Trump said that Washington’s assistance to Lesotho was aimed at promoting the interests of the LGBTQ+ community inside the country.

After his slur against Lesotho, Vice-President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson could be seen in the background laughing. Such racist and dismissive comments have become characteristic of the second Trump administration where peoples from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and Canada have been targeted by the U.S. head-of-state for ridicule and degradation.

He did not mention any of the assistance from Washington in the supplying of medications for people suffering from various infectious diseases including HIV-AIDS, a program established by former Republican President George W. Bush, Jr.  The U.S. has maintained an embassy in the Lesotho capital of Maseru for decades.

Moreover, outside of its longtime diplomatic relations with Washington, Lesotho is a member of the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC). The country participates in numerous international organizations in the areas of atmospheric science, hydroelectric power generation, agricultural and livestock production, among other development projects.

Consequently, the assertion that no one has ever heard of Lesotho is as ridiculous as the policy orientations of the recently installed Trump White House. Lesotho, along with other African states, will have to adjust to the current situation involving U.S. foreign policy.

Humanitarian assistance to countries in the Global South represent a political wedge issue in which the MAGA Republican White House and Congress can utilize to justify attacks on people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These cutbacks are impacting working and impoverished people inside the U.S. as well whose jobs and services are being slashed in order to transfer trillions of dollars in public taxpayer money to the billionaires now controlling the higher echelons of the state apparatus.

As the attempts to trivialize the social conditions prevailing in African states take on a vile racist nature both domestically and internationally so does the threats to abolish the employment of federal workers in various branches of government including the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). These publicly funded government agencies which include the monitoring of medications, foodstuffs, environmental regulations, the maintenance of public lands, etc., employ significant numbers of workers from African American and Latin American communities.

In addition, federal agencies provide employment to women, many of whom are from oppressed nationalities. These job opportunities to some degree can be traced back to the efforts of people such as A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters who threatened to mobilize a March on Washington in 1941 if African Americans were not allowed to be employed in the war industries. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Federal Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) which signaled the breaking down of racial barriers in government hiring.

Therefore, Trump’s current program of purging the government and its domestic and foreign programs are untenable since such a policy will inevitably incapacitate the administrative bureaucracy, preventing the implementation of his schemes designed to reconfigure the U.S. dominance of Europe, Latin America and other geopolitical regions. The rise of multilateral organizations such as the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS+) indicate that the emerging world economies are preparing for the coming collapse of the existing capitalist world system.

Lesotho Responds to Trump’s Racist Insults

The speech before the U.S. Congress by Trump was met with anger from the people of Lesotho as the government immediately condemned the comments as totally divorced from the reality in the country, often referred to as the Mountain Kingdom in the Sky due to its high altitude. Government officials in Lesotho noted that Trump’s point person for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has applied for a contract to provide internet services to the country through his company.

Lesotho Foreign Minister Lejone Mpotjoane said of the present situation:

“’Lesotho is such a significant and unique country in the whole world. I would be happy to invite the president, as well as the rest of the world to come to Lesotho,’ said Mpotjoane. He said some civil society organizations funded by the U.S. Embassy in Lesotho did work to support the LGBT+ community, but the United States also provided important funding for the country's health and agriculture sectors. Trump's administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid worldwide as it seeks to align spending with Trump's ‘America First’ policy. Mpotjoane said Lesotho was feeling the impact as the health sector had been reliant on that aid for some time, but that the government was looking at how to become more self-sufficient. The decision by the president to cut the aid... it is (his) prerogative to do that,’ said Mpotjoane. ‘We have to accept that. But to refer to my country like that, it is quite unfortunate.’" (https://www.reuters.com/world/lesotho-insulted-after-trump-says-nobody-has-heard-country-2025-03-05/)

Obviously, with this degree of diplomatic and developmental engagements, the U.S. is well aware of Lesotho. The statements by Trump related to Lesotho and other developing nations are merely an excuse to rationalize the 90% cuts to the USAID programs essentially shutting down the government agency.

Trump claims these cuts are to redirect funds from foreign assistance to providing tax cuts to citizens and residents of the U.S. Yet, many people know that these tax cuts are designed to benefit the upper echelons of the capitalist ruling class.

History of Resistance to Colonialism and Apartheid

This nation was formed during the early decades of the 19th century by King Moshoeshoe I (1786-1870) who brought together Africans from various ethnic groups and clans to form Basutoland. During the early 1850s, Moshoeshoe had become a powerful figure in the Southern Africa region.

Moshoeshoe had accumulated large amounts of livestock, land, gunpowder and firearms making him a threat to the British and Boer settler-colonialists. A series of wars were fought between the people of Basutoland against the British and the Boers extending from the 1850s to the early 1880s.

The military tactics employed by Moshoeshoe and his successors became notable in resistance history in Southern Africa. By 1881, the British agreed to conditions set by the chiefs of Basutoland where they would maintain their autonomy and weapons under a protectorate system which prevented full incorporation into the Cape Colony. Although the lower flatlands of Basutoland were captured and ceded to the Boers, later known as the Orange Free State, the mountainous areas of the country remained autonomous and would prove significant during the late 19th and 20th centuries as many refugees and freedom fighters from South Africa were able to resettle in the Maloti Mountains.

In an assessment of the situation in Basutoland from 1882 to the mid-20th century, Britannica.com noted that:

“That year a Cape army under Gen. Charles Gordon was sent in, but it retired without achieving anything. The Cape Colony, faced with prospects of endless war, gave over responsibility for Basutoland directly to the British government in 1884. Basutoland became a British High Commission Territory, and the powers of the Sotho chiefs were left relatively intact. This change in status is why Basutoland was not automatically included in the surrounding Union of South Africa when it was formed in 1910. Instead, the Sotho nation remained under British oversight until 1966, when it became the independent country of Lesotho.” (https://www.britannica.com/event/Gun-War)

After its full independence from Britain in October 1966 being a totally landlocked state surrounded by the-then racist apartheid Republic of South Africa, the Kingdom of Lesotho, a Constitutional Monarchy, was to play an important role in the struggle to defeat settler-colonialism. Many South Africans continued to flow into Lesotho during the 1970s and 1980s as they received hospitality and educational assistance.

The South African History website says of the role of Chris Hani (1942-1993), a leading organizer in the African National Congress (ANC) military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the Communist Party (SACP), after 1974 that:

“Hani then moved to Lesotho where he remained for about seven years. Here he organized units of the MK for guerrilla operations in South Africa. By 1982, Hani had become prominent enough in the ANC to be the focus of several assassination attempts, including at least one car bomb. He was transferred from the Lesotho capital, Maseru, to the center of the ANC political leadership in Lusaka, Zambia. That year he was elected to the membership of the ANC National Executive Committee, and by 1983 he had been promoted to Political Commissar of the MK, working with student recruits who joined the ANC in exile after the 1976 Soweto uprising.” (https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/chris-hani)

South Africa would end the apartheid system when in 1994 the first nonracial democratic elections brought the ANC to power. Therefore, the historic role of Lesotho in the liberation of the region remains embodied in the consciousness of African and oppressed peoples. The racist arrogance and ignorance of the Trump administration can in no way overshadow the legacy of resistance and nation-building which has characterized the people of Lesotho and others throughout Southern Africa.

Note: This writer conducted field research in Lesotho during the 1990s where he traveled extensively throughout large swaths of the country.

Justice Department Abandons Investigation of Tulsa Race Massacre

Former United States administration under President Joe Biden failed to address the legacy of mob violence against African Americans

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Friday February 28, 2025

African American History Month Series No. 7

One of the major failures of the previous administration of Joe Biden was not following through on policy mandates aimed at ameliorating the historical phenomenon of institutionalized racist violence in the United States.

Two major promises made to the African American people during the presidential elections of 2020 by the Democratic Party were to make some amends for the Tulsa race massacre of May-June 1921 where approximately 300 people were killed as well as passing legislation to reform policing.

The national elections five years ago coincided with the mass demonstrations and urban rebellions in response to the police executions of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, among others during 2020. The first Trump presidency increased racial tensions across the country making bigoted and prejudicial attitudes among whites even more of an accepted norm within U.S. society.

National celebrations of Juneteenth that year reached unprecedented levels. This recognition of a holiday which extended back more than 150 years was the direct result of the political atmosphere engendered by popular mobilizations which reached millions throughout North America and the world.

Within the process of historical reclamation that often seeks to re-correct atrocities of decades past, the remembrance of the Tulsa Race Massacre of May-June 1921 gained renewed interest. This incident has become associated with the racist destruction of African American residential, economic and cultural communities.

African American establishments in the commercial areas of Greenwood in Tulsa had been designated as “Black Wall Street” by Dr. Booker T. Washington years prior to its violent destruction.  The opening of small businesses within segregated Black residential areas was viewed by Washington’s adherents, many of whom had graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, as a solution to the racial problems in the U.S.

The example of the Tulsa massacre involving the physical destruction of Black Wall Street maintains a major focus within the historical outlook of African Americans well into the 21st century. Therefore, this continuing agony stemming from the horrendous events of 1921 was taken up by the Biden administration after its ascendancy a century later in 2021. Biden met with survivors of the massacre and expressed his sympathy for the experiences they endured.

However, as the Biden administration exited the White House in January, a 127-page report was issued saying that it was beyond the scope of contemporary law to redress the wrong done in the Tulsa massacre. The report does recognize the unjust system which fostered the mob violence against African Americans attempting to build an independent existence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. (https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1383756/dl)

The Tulsa incident was not an isolated episode in U.S. history. Untold numbers of African Americans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were lynched, driven from their homes and imprisoned unjustly.

Just two years prior to the massacre in Tulsa where an estimated 300 people lost their lives, the so-called “Red Summer” of 1919 was the scene of state-backed white racist violence against African American communities in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Knoxville, Elaine, Arkansas, among other areas. The local, state and federal authorities have been complicit in these recurrent massacres and forced removals of African Americans.

This same complicity and refusal to accept responsibility for historical injustices was summed up by ABC News with quotes from the two survivors of the massacre, when it reported on January 17 that:

“Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, both 110, who fled the mob as young children, said in a joint statement that ‘Justice is not saying to survivors that the entities that ran us out of town, hindered our rebuilding efforts, and erased us from history are absolved of their crimes. Justice is holding guilty parties to account so that the community can heal’…. After meeting with us during the probe, DOJ investigators released a report that falls heartbreakingly short,’ Randle and Fletcher said in their statement. ‘The DOJ confirms the government's role in the slaughter of our Greenwood neighbors but refuses to hold the institutions accountable under federal law.’" (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tulsa-race-massacre-probe-finds-1921-horror-coordinated/story?id=117581090)

The Significance of This Legal Decision

By issuing this 127-page report which proposes no remedies for resolving the historical injustices of the Tulsa massacre and the destruction of Greenwood and its people, the government is exemplifying its continuing incapacity to bring about any semblance of racial reconciliation. The present administration under President Donald Trump has no interest in appealing to the sentiments of African Americans related to their quest for total freedom and reparations.

The tenure of the Biden administration was characterized by a series of broken promises to the African American people. This community played a critical role in the defeat of the Trump White House in 2020.

Yet, the pledge to pass legislation to reform law-enforcement operations within the African American and other oppressed communities failed despite the initial Democratic Party majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate during the first two years of the Biden administration. The final two years of the Biden administration was marked by a divided Congress where it was even more impossible to pass bills related to police reform, voting rights and social programs.

In the present period, the MAGA Republicans have total political control over both houses of the legislative branch, the White House and a majority on the Supreme Court. The minority Democratic loyal opposition have not put forward a political program for their own party to respond to the massive attacks being leveled against working class people in the U.S. beginning with the outright firing of federal employees.

The policy decisions of the Trump administration are placing at risk the majority of residents of the U.S. through the weakening and destabilization of the existing governmental apparatus which millions are dependent for public health, education, medical services, scientific research, business and transportation regulations, etc. These drastic measures being enacted by the administration will inevitably have a disproportionate impact on African Americans and other oppressed peoples.

As the national elections gathered momentum in 2024, the Washington Post wrote in an opinion piece saying:

“As the campaign heats up and candidates jockey for Black votes, the very least the Biden-Harris administration could do is announce support for a federal investigation into the Tulsa massacre…. Why have Black victims of Tulsa’s mass racial terrorism been denied the same justice for decades? Time has run out for empty rhetoric and moral navel-gazing about a need for ‘national conversations’ about race. Norms, precedents and tangible, functional systemic delivery systems of investigation and repair already exist in America. They should be deployed for the victims of Tulsa and their descendants.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/15/biden-tulsa-survivors-investigation-lawsuit/)

Eventually by October the investigation was announced. However, by this time it was too little and too late. The openly white supremacist Trump administration has taken over the White House again imposing draconian executive orders aimed at furthering the disempowerment of the oppressed and working class.

This same failure to not only address these issues notwithstanding the burgeoning social unrest spawned from the Trump program of racism, anti-immigrant hostility and removals along with economic austerity, will pose monumental challenges to the current administration and Congress. The contradictions between the nationally oppressed communities and the working class as a whole against the ruling class cannot be wished away through the use of irrational economic policies.

The propensity for violence inside the U.S. is mounting daily. The fact that state violence against the oppressed and working people is increasing means that the historic victims of racism will not remain silent and inactive.

A report published by the website mappingpoliceviolence.org emphasizes:

“Since 2013, at least 13,395 people have been killed by law enforcement in the United States (As of 7/23/24). In 2023, there were 18,450 homicides, and 1352 police killings. This means that US law enforcement are responsible for at least 7% of all homicides in the US. US Law enforcement killings per year have ranged from 1,043 (2014) to 1,352 (2023). From 2013-2023, US law enforcement killed 1147 people per year. Despite Black people comprising only 13% of the population in the US, 28.2% of people killed by law enforcement were Black (excluding incidents where race is unknown). This means that Black people are 2.9x more likely to be killed by law enforcement in the US. The average age of a person killed by law enforcement in the US is 37 years old (33 for Black people and 44 for white people).” (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/neighborhoods)

These indicators for racist violence moving forward portend much for the oppressed peoples in the U.S. The failure of the Democratic and Republican parties compels the masses to organize independently of these ruling-class dominated entities. Racist violence and the exploitation of the people will continue until the system of capitalism is replaced with a socialist society where discrimination and racism are prohibited by law and deeds.