What to remember from African news for the week of September 4

4 mins

Five days after overthrowing Ali Bongo in Gabon, General Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in on Monday September 4 as president of a transition period at the end of which he promised elections without specifying the date.

“I swear before God and the Gabonese people to preserve in all fidelity the republican regime”, “to preserve the achievements of democracy”, among other things declared, before judges of the Constitutional Court, the brigadier general in costume. red regalia of the Republican Guard (GR), the elite unit of the army that he commanded.

To readBrice Oligui Nguema, from head of the Republican Guard to “president of the transition” in Gabon

General Brice Oligui Nguema promised to “return power to civilians” through “free, transparent and credible elections”, without specifying the date. He requested the participation of all the “active forces of the Nation” to develop a “new constitution”, “which will be adopted by referendum”, “for “institutions more respectful of human rights and democracy”.

A few days later, on September 7, he named transitional prime minister Raymond Ndong Sima, an economist and vocal opponent of President Ali Bongo, according to a decree read on state television.

• In conflict with the putschist soldiers in Niger who are demanding the departure of French soldiers, Paris should proceed with a reduction of its military resources on site, particularly in terms of aerial intelligence and drones, while maintaining an “autonomous force”, according to reports. information obtained by France 24.

• For its part, the American Department of Defense announced on Thursday that it would “reposition part of its personnel and resources from the Niamey air base”, the capital of Niger, to a base located further north. “A precautionary measure”, he assures, after the coup d’etat which took place at the end of July.

• According to Bloomberg, the G20, which is meeting this weekend in India, has decided to grant permanent member status to the African Union, equivalent to that of the European Union. Long-awaited, this integration should allow the continent to be better represented in international bodies and to influence the evolution of the global financial system.

• In Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, the general who de facto leads the country, has visited Egypt, South Sudan and Qatar in recent days. Trips which seem to indicate that he is willing to seek a negotiated solution to the war in progress since April 15.

They were called Zingha, Pokou, Kassa or even Ranavalona III. Many women have left their mark, in power or in the shadows, on the history of the African continent. Stories that historian Sylvia Serbin tells in her book “Queens of Africa and Heroines of the Black Diaspora” (Editions Medouneter).

Senegal has restarted the Thiès-Touba internal train line after several years of shutdown on the occasion of the Muslim festival of Grand Magal in Touba, which brings together millions of faithful each year.