YEAR-ENDER - Coups, natural disasters, terrorism mark Africa in 2023

By Hassan Isilow

Military coups, natural disasters, terrorism, and civil wars marked news headlines in Africa throughout 2023.

On July 26 in Niger, military officers led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, carried out a military intervention, ousting President Mohamed Bazoum. The military has since held Bazoum and his family hostage despite international calls for his release.

In December 2023, a court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for the immediate, unconditional release and reinstatement of Bazoum as president.

- Gabon

On Aug. 20, senior military officers in Gabon staged a coup in the Central African country, declaring that they had seized power after President Ali Bongo was declared winner in a flawed election for a third term in office.

Appearing on national television, the military canceled the election results that declared Bongo, who had been in power for over a decade, the winner with 64.27% of the vote.

The 64-year-old leader was released from house arrest, but his son and wife were sent to jail.

The junta that overthrew Bongo, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), announced in November plans to hold general elections in August 2025, bringing the transition to an end.

- Starvation cult in Kenya

In April, police in southeastern Kenya discovered shallow graves in Shakahola Forest and several emaciated bodies of people who had evidently starved themselves to "death" allegedly on the orders of Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie of the Good News International Ministries.

The incident sparked international horror as police searched and found more graves, discovering a total of over 400 bodies.

Detectives from Kenya's homicide unit said Mackenzie had influenced his followers and convinced them they could willingly endure starvation to be with Jesus Christ.

He also allegedly preached against education and discouraged women from seeking medical help while giving birth.

Mackenzie and several others have since been detained and their trial continues.

- Bandits in Nigeria

Kidnappers and bandits continued to wreak havoc in Nigeria in 2023, killing and abducting hundreds with the latest incident on Christmas Eve in the central state of Plateau.

At least 200 people were killed in several communities, including in the Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas.

According to Monday Kassah, local government chief in Bokkos, armed gunmen burned 221 houses, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles, while also looting farm produce. Clashes, as well as kidnappings for ransom, are common in Nigeria's Plateau state between farming communities and herders.

- Terrorism

Incidents of terrorism, civil war, and natural disasters continued to claim lives in countries including Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and the Sahel region in West Africa, among others.

The al-Qaeda-linked Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab continually launched armed attacks or bombings on civilians and African Union peacekeepers in the war-torn nation.

The government in the Horn of Africa country and its international partners also stepped up attacks on terrorist bases, killing hundreds.

In Uganda, Allied Democratic Front Forces (ADF) attacked a Secondary School in the western Mpondwe municipality in June, killing 38 students and two others.

The school was located 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the rebels operate.

The ADF originated in Uganda in the late 1990s with the intention of overthrowing President Yoweri Museveni’s regime but was overpowered by the Ugandan army. They fled to forests in eastern Congo, from where they often launched attacks on villages in both countries.

In mid-2023 clashes erupted between the Ethiopian army and a militia, known as the Fano, from the Amhara region. The group had previously supported the government in fighting with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the country's northern region.

Tensions started rising after the federal government announced its intention to dismantle security forces in Ethiopia’s 11 regions and integrate them into the army.

This sparked violent protests in a region that is home to Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group, the Amhara. Dozens of casualties have been reported.

Natural disasters were another major cause of death in East Africa, where the El-Nino-triggered downpours caused flooding, mudslides, and landslides. Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia have been the countries most affected in the region.

El Nino, a climatic phenomenon characterized by the periodic warming of sea surface temperatures, has induced significant shifts in rainfall patterns, resulting in an increased likelihood of extreme weather events such as floods.

Apart from negative developments, several African nations held elections in 2023, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Liberia, Egypt, and Togo.