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INSIDE AFRICA
Crisis Areas of Africa; Removing a Threat in Congo; Jihadists Gathering in Somalia?; Saving Angola's Wildebeests
Aired January 31, 2009 - 19:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Isha Sesay. This week, we look at developments in three major crises around the continent, including a surprising turnaround in eastern Congo. We'll show you how African communities have nearly wiped out a disease that once plagued millions. And a species pushed to the brink of extinction makes a comeback in Zambia.
But first, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Eastern Congo are back in the headlines. Our correspondents on the continent are closely following crises in all three countries. Here's a quick look at recent developments, starting with Nkepile Mabuse's reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WISON MUGABE, ZIMBABWEAN PASTOR: Hear us. We've suffered enough. We have suffered enough!
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A desperate plea to southern African leaders from a Zimbabwean pastor who shares his country's president's surname, but is not related.
GRACA MACHEL, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Enough is enough.
MABUSE: Human rights activist Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela's wife, says African leaders should be held accountable for the thousands who have died in Zimbabwe in the meantime.
MACHEL: They, in the collective leadership, they took the responsibility to solve the conflict, and we've been waiting for too long.
MABUSE: Machel, who has twice been refused entry into Zimbabwe, says Mugabe is an illegitimate leader.
MACHEL: Any government which goes out and assaults its own people, its own citizens, it has lost completely any kind of legitimacy. Completely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Strong words there from the wife of Nelson Mandela.
Now to Somalia, which seems only to careen farther into chaos. David McKenzie has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The end was swift. Five Somalian (inaudible) paraded in SUVs to the cheering population of Baidoa. Captured by Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamic group that early took over most of the city's key government buildings. The southwestern city of Baidoa was the seat of the U.N.-backed transitional federal government. That government is now stuck in neighboring Djibouti.
RASHID ABDI, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It is told that the Somali conflict is attracting young jihadists from all corners of the globe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Raising fears that the conflict could unleash violence beyond Somalia's borders. David McKenzie is also following a stunning turn of events in eastern Congo's long-running conflict. A key player has been removed from the equation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Laurent Nkunda, leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People, a rebel group that, despite its name, has long wreaked havoc in the North Kivu province. Nkunda long enjoyed support from this man, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda. The Rwandan government has always denied its support of the CNDP, but the U.N. recently released a scathing report accusing Rwanda of supporting the rebels to keep its hand in the vast mineral wealth of the region. Experts on the conflict believe that the cooperation with the Congolese army has a change of heart in Kigali. Perhaps the victims of this conflict dare to hope again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Nkunda does have supporters among people displaced by the conflict. Rwandan and Congolese troops reportedly put down protests against Nkunda's arrest at refugee camps in western Rwanda. Some ethnic Tutsis consider him their only protector against Hutu militias.
Tony Gambino of the Council on Foreign Relations says these developments signal a big moment in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY GAMBINO, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: It is a stunning developments to learn that the Congolese government has invited Rwandan troops, many thousands of which have now crossed into the Congo and are already engaged in military activities. The question now is whether this combination of the Congolese army, the Rwandan army, and elements of a major militia group that had been run by General Nkunda will actually do something positive or would be responsible for additional civilian suffering and humanitarian disaster. In my opinion, taking him into custody and removing him from the conflict is absolutely the right thing to do, and that, in and of itself, is a very positive developments.
SESAY: Having said that, just to follow up on that -- his chief of staff, Bosco Ntaganda, who split from him quite recently, is still on the ground and, you know, the question is what part he will play in terms of any peace talks.
GAMBINO: This is also a critical point that his deputy Bosco Ntaganda, an indicted war criminal, with the warrant for his arrest at the International Criminal Court, as of now is intended to be a part of military operations. This should be seen by the United Nations, the United States and other actors as an unacceptable step forward, and I think it's really important that there'll be vigorous diplomacy right now, so that actors like Bosco, who most recently was responsible for the massacre of 150 people in the village of Kiwanja in North Kivu, that such people cannot be involved in future military operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: On a related note, a Congolese militia leader has gone on trial in the Hague for alleged war crimes. Thomas Lubanga's lawyer entered a not-guilty plea to the International Criminal Court. Lubanga showed no emotion as the prosecution presented the charges against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP_
LUIS MORENO-OCAMPO, ICC PROSECUTOR: Lubanga's armed group recruit, trained, and used hundreds of young children to kill, pillage and rape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Prosecutors showed video of Lubanga at the militia training camp, with children clearly wearing military clothing. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
A former Congolese militia leader in the dock, it's something of a rare sight. An individual accused of crimes against civilian populations on the African continent actually being held accountable in a court of law. So unfamiliar, in fact, we really should pose for a moment to take in the full significance of the situation.
Across the length and breadth of the African continent, those who suffer are hoping the individuals responsible for their plight will be brought to justice. In Zimbabwe, their cries of distress are reaching a crescendo. Amid a broken down economy without basic goods and services, some 3,000 people have needlessly died from a cholera outbreak. More than 50,000 are infected, according to the World's Health Organization.
And what is the government of President Robert Mugabe doing to prevent or at the very least lessen the hardships millions of Zimbabweans are enduring? Well, that really isn't clear. Neither is it obvious why the Southern African Development Community hasn't at least not publicly acted with a greater urgency to end Zimbabwe's political standoff.
Nelson Mandela's wife Graca Machel put it bluntly. She says African leaders should be held accountable. The thing is, Machel's words really speak to the bigger issue of the search for justice for many Africans. Because until those who deliberately cause the suffering of Africans are held responsible for their actions, it is hard to see how Africa can ever turn the page and truly move on.
And that's just my two cents. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: I-reporters captured these images of violent political unrest in Madagascar, where hospital officials say more than 40 people had been killed. I-reporter Leslie took these photos of marches near the ministry of health. And I-reporter Karengton Spann (ph) turned in this image. She says the burning building is a store, and she reports seeing looted in the street. The unrest surged after the government blocked an opposition radio station.
If you see news happening in Africa, send us your photos, video and comments. All you have to do is go to cnn.com/insideAfrica, and click on the "I-Report" logo. But please, we must stress, don't put yourself at risk.
Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. Recently, the Carter Center here in Atlanta announced a major health-related milestone for the continent -- a painful disease that has plagued Africa has been nearly eradicated. I had a chance to meet an extraordinary woman at the forefront of this successful effort, and she explained to me why it worked.
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SESAY: This parasitic worm has caused millions of people to suffer, mostly in Africa. Now, its days appear to be numbered, thanks in part to Kelly Callahan, an expert on guinea worm disease.
KELLY CALLAHAN, CARTER CENTER: You know, some days I feel that was a huge contribution, and some days it's relative because I've never had guinea worm disease. So I feel like it was the least I could do to help people that have such a horrible disease.
SESAY: Guinea worm larvae enter the human body via unfiltered water, so the poorest of the poor are most at risk. The larvae produce thread- like white worms, which grow inside a person, reaching as much as one meter in length over a year. Victim eventually experiences nausea, chills and a loss of energy, and then intense pain as the worms emerge from blisters, a process that can go on for weeks.
Callahan is part of the campaign led by the Carter Center here in Atlanta to eradicate guinea worm disease. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter founded the organization with the goal of improving peoples' lives around the world. And it has. In 1986, there were about 3.5 million cases of guinea worm disease. Today, the number is fewer than 5,000, and the disease is poised to be the second in history, after small pox, to be effectively wiped out.
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We're approaching the end of our crusade. It will be one of the most glorious achievements in the history of the Carter Center, and in my own personal life.
SESAY: There results haven' come from a cure or treatment, but from prevention, and that's where Callahan comes in. She redesigned a water filter, first devised by African nomads, to fit inside a small pipe.
CALLAHAN: It acts just like a straw. So someone would actually place this in the water, and put their mouth on it, and suck the water, thus filtering the water as they're sucking water into their mouth.
SESAY: Callahan and volunteers distributed more than 9 million pipe filters in six months. But she says, the key to the program's success has been community empowerment.
CALLAHAN: We talked with the chief, we talked with the village elders, and asked them what they would like to do against guinea worm.
SESAY: Callahan has gone to great lengths to help villagers help themselves, even making regular visits to dangerous war zones like southern Sudan.
CALLAHAN: And we had to fly in and out, and spend a week or two in a location, so we didn't have that concerted community time. We didn't have that focus time with the community. We had more what we called hit and run efforts.
SESAY: The Carter Center says guinea worm disease still remains in six African countries -- Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Niger. But Callahan is optimistic those cases will disappear in a year or so.
CALLAHAN: In 2010, we may have a flare-up or two, but that will be easy to find and track, because of the amazing community efforts and their surveillance. The communities are so empowered to help themselves. It's beautiful to see.
SESAY: And, perhaps, the success these communities have already experienced can provide a useful model for battling other problems that have long plagued the continent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Unfortunately, progress does not always yield a positive outcome. Modern manufacturing techniques and foreign competition are endangering a key industry and an ancient craft in northern Nigeria. That story, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: You're watching INSIDE AFRICA. Welcome back. A prominent South African businesswoman was among the participants at the annual world economic forum in Davos, Switzerland. Phuti Malabie is a managing director of a black-owned South African energy investment company Shanduka Energy. And the "Wall Street Journal" calls her one of the top 50 women in the world to watch. She spoke to CNN's Richard Quest about doing business in Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One big advantage in (inaudible) that the competitive advantage you've got is that it's in Africa.
PHUTI MALABIE, SHANDUKA ENERGY: Correct.
QUEST: And that you see yourself as having a mission within the continent.
MALABIE: Yes.
QUEST: That is a blessing, and a curse, because it means you're doing good, but it also means you're hampered by much more regulation ...
MALABIE: Sure.
QUEST: ... Much more corruption and much more, if you'd like, tribal difficulties.
MALABIE: Well, I, you know, I would seem to differ. I think any part of the world, you're going to be faced with those issues. I think the difficulty for us is that our markets are much further from the bigger markets ...
QUEST: And less liquid.
MALABIE: And less liquid. Our infrastructure levels are much less developed than the rest of the world, and obviously, South Africa does not necessarily fall into that category, but for the rest of the continent, that those are the issues that -- that we face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: In northern Nigeria, an industry that has endured for centuries is facing a bleak future. Global economic factors are taking a heavy toll on the region's famed clothing manufacturers. And the negative impact is spreading. The story from Christian Purefoy.
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CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A 500-year old business under threat: Cheap imports and now the global economic crisis are forcing the closure of dozens of Nigerian textile factories that supply clothes to dyers like Dahiru Uba.
"If the textile factories remain closed," he says, "we might also have to shut down, because the cost of production is now so high." Kano's manufacturing industry is in the state of collapse. Nigeria's Manufacturing Association says there were more than 500 factories here in the 1990s, but today, there are only about 100, putting at risk the livelihoods of tens of thousands of regional cotton farmers, marketers and factory employees. Import of fabric into Nigeria has been banned to protect the ailing textile industry. So this cloth, factory owners say, is being smuggled illegally across the border.
ALI MADUGU, MANUFACTURERS ASSN. CHMN.: The goods are being brought into Nigeria without duty or BAT or anything paid on them. Now, these are the type of products that we are competing with in our markets.
PUREFOY: Nigeria's national power grid supplies about four hours of electricity a day. But you don't know when that electricity will be available. So businesses and industries across Kano in Nigeria rely on massive generators like this to supply their electricity.
Textile owner Sa'idu Adhama has been forced to reduce his workforce from 350 to 24 people. Still, he's been 30 years in the business, and he's not about to give up now.
SA'IDU ADHAMA, FACTORY OWNER: The market is there, in the United States of America and other parts of the world. And Nigeria has that capacity, to produce the cotton. We have the population to work. The labor is cheap. All these things are there, but the political will?
PUREFOY: The government has set up a textile development fund to help revive the industry. But factory owners complain they haven't yet seen any of the money. The textile industry warns it is hanging by a thread. But with the right help, they say, they may be able to recover. Christian Purefoy, CNN, Kano, Nigeria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Each year, thousands of wildebeests thunder across the plains of Zambia. But that routine of nature nearly became a memory until conservation has stepped in. We'll check on the herd after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. It's a dramatic sight -- tens of thousands of blue wildebeests roaming the plains of eastern Zambia. After driving them to the brink of extinction, man now serves as their protector. But as Martin Geissler reports, man is also one of their main threats.
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MARTIN GEISSLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wild, remote and bewitchingly beautiful: Zambia's Liuwa Plains are not an easy place to reach. But the journey is well worth the effort. Against this breathtaking backdrop, man is giving back to nature what he destroyed almost completely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the area (inaudible)...
GEISSLER: This is the largest herd of blue wildebeest on earth. Poached to the brink of oblivion just a few years ago, they're back now in remarkable numbers, on an annual migration that survives thanks to the efforts of a private conservation group. Africa Parks were invited here five years ago. The place was a mess and the Zambian government didn't have the resources to deal with it. But if they haven't moved in then, this natural phenomenon would have been lost forever.
PETER FERNHEAD, CEO, AFRICAN PARKS: I think it almost certainly it would be gone. There'd be nothing left. Or if there was something left, it'd be very, very small, fragmented populations, which have -- almost beyond the ability to recover.
GEISSLER: It was Angola's 30-year civil war that decimated the herd. This place just across the border was home to rebel groups, who saw the wildebeests as a moving larder. Now, the fight is on to protect the animals. Rangers, armed with Kalashnikovs, walk the bush. It's a tough job in a tough environment. Ten-day patrols, and if they do find poachers, they're likely to be outgunned and outnumbered.
ALEX LISELI, WILDLIFE POLICE OFFICER: But we think we won the battle, but the poaching is not completely finished, but it's under control there.
GEISSLER: To protect this herd, they are changing what have become a way of life. The wildebeests arrive here with the rains in December. They were a traditional Christmas dinner, all poached from the game park. There is a food shortage in the region now, so temptation still exists, but most people are on site.
JIMMY MBUMWAE, FACTORY OWNER: I feel very good because I -- I watch everywhere, seeing animals that are there. So, they (inaudible).
GEISSLER: And with the herd now swollen to 50,000, it seems that message is getting across. But the rangers can only offer these wildebeests protection within the boundaries of this national park. Come the end of the wet season, they'll head straight across the border and then to Angola. But there is no one to monitor their movements or the threats that they face when they get there.
And that's the next project, securing all 300 miles of this great migratory route, creating an environment where the only predators are the ones nature intended. Martin Geissler, ITV News, on the Liuwa Plains in Zambia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Truly, a beautiful scene. And there, we must leave it. Be sure to tune in next week for a brand new INSIDE AFRICA, hosted by our very own Robyn Curnow from the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. Until then, take care, bye for now.
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