President of Guinea-Bissau announces re-election bid
On Monday, the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, announced that he will run for a second term in the next presidential elections on 30 November 2025. In doing so, he reversed his decision of 12 September 2024, not to run again, fueling further tensions over the postponed parliamentary and presidential elections, which should have taken place in November and December of last year. A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which was sent in February under the leadership of Nigerian diplomat Bagudu Hirse to help reach a political consensus on holding the elections this year, had already left the country early on Saturday morning. According to an official statement, the reason for this was President Embaló’s threat to expel the ECOWAS mission from the country. Embaló confirmed this on Wednesday and stated that the mission had not adhered to the agreed rules and was therefore no longer welcome. Among other things, the delegation had held talks with various political authorities in the country before submitting its roadmap for the elections for his consideration and approval. Parts of the opposition also criticised the ECOWAS mission, including the PAI-Terra-Ranka coalition, which refused to negotiate with the delegation and accused ECOWAS of taking sides with the president.
At the heart of the political tensions is the disagreement between the government and the opposition over the official end of Embaló’s first term of office. He won the controversial presidential elections in November 2019 and was sworn into office on 27 February 2020. However, the opposition challenged the election result in court, whereupon the Supreme Court only confirmed Embaló’s election victory on 4 September 2020. Accordingly, the Supreme Court set the end of the term of office for 4 September 2025. Embaló has already announced that he intends to lead the country beyond this date until the election on 30 November. This has met with fierce resistance from the opposition. The opposition, led by Domingos Simões Pereira, chairman of the former ruling party Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC), sees 27 February 2025 as the official end of Embaló’s term of office, based on the day he was sworn in. Accordingly, it is calling for Embaló to step down immediately and for elections – both presidential and parliamentary – to be held within the next 90 days. To underline this demand, Pereira called for a general strike on 27 February in the capital Bissau. However, this was effectively addressed by the security forces, whose numbers had been increased considerably at the government’s instigation.
Nevertheless, the conclusion of Mr. Embaló’s inaugural five-year tenure in office was not the sole factor contributing to the discord with the opposition. Embaló dissolved the opposition-led parliament in December 2023 – the PAI-Terra-Ranka coalition of five parties secured an absolute majority in the last legislative elections in 2023 (press review CW 24/2023) – and has ruled by decree ever since. This was preceded by an armed conflict between the National Guard and the Presidential Guard, in which he accused parliament of passive behavior (press review CW 49/2023). The new elections, which were initially scheduled for November 2024, were postponed due to a lack of funds. In view of the unresolved disputes and political blockades, it remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the run-up to the presidential elections in November.
Germany restricts development cooperation with Rwanda
On Tuesday, the German government announced that it was suspending new development policy commitments to Rwanda. In addition to suspending new financial commitments – Germany last pledged 93.6 million euros in support to Rwanda in October 2022 for the period between 2022 and 2024 – existing development cooperation with the Rwandan government will also be reviewed. In addition, appropriate responses for multilateral programs will be sought together with international partners, as the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) explained in a press release. Germany will also suspend the participation of high-ranking German representatives in development policy events organized by the Rwandan government for the time being.
Germany is thus responding to Rwanda’s role in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has further escalated since the beginning of the year (press review week 6 /2025). The German government strongly condemned the actions of the Rwandan-backed rebel militia M23 and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF). According to the BMZ, the advance was not only a violation of the ceasefire negotiated as part of the Luanda Process, but also a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC. Accordingly, Germany had called on Kigali to withdraw Rwandan armed forces from the DRC and to cease support for the M23. The response from Kigali, which denies the accusations and justifies its military presence with security concerns about the Hutu militia Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) at the Congolese-Rwandan border, was not long in coming: Germany’s politicization of development cooperation is wrong and counterproductive. The current German government’s move contradicts its own claims to support African-led conflict resolution processes and at the same time completely ignores the DRC’s violations.
Rwanda has recently come under increasing international pressure. Only on Monday, Canada announced that it was suspending export licenses for controlled goods and technologies to Rwanda as well as support for private sector development activities. Negotiations on new economic and trade missions between the two governments have also been temporarily put on hold. The USA and the United Kingdom had previously also taken measures against the East African country. In mid-February, the USA imposed sanctions against Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration, James Kabarebe, who is accused of playing a key role in supporting the M23, and against Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a high-ranking member of the rebel alliance Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), to which the M23 also belongs. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom announced at the end of February that it was pausing its bilateral aid to Rwanda. However, aid for the “poorest and most vulnerable” is excluded from this. Trade promotion measures are also being limited, export licenses for the RDF are being reviewed and training aid for the Rwandan armed forces is being suspended.
Here too, Kigali reacted angrily and accused the governments of further reducing the chances of peace with the M23 militia through sanctions. The reaction was particularly harsh towards the United Kingdom, whose decision was seen as a breach of trust. Accordingly, Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo called on the British government on Tuesday of this week to settle the outstanding amount of 64 million US dollars from the asylum deal. The agreement was concluded with Rwanda in 2022 under the previous government and was revoked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he took office.
In other news
Under this year’s motto “50 years of Angola’s national independence – preserving and building on achievements, shaping a better future”, carnival was celebrated on the streets of the Angolan capital Luanda from Saturday to Monday. It was an occasion where people and dance groups from all over the country came together to showcase Angola’s creativity and cultural diversity. As every year, the highlight of the event was the parade, where the five best carnival clubs had the chance to win a prize. A total of 38 carnival clubs from all regions of the country competed against each other and presented the cultural characteristics of their respective provinces. Some clubs performed with over 350 performers. This year, for the third time in a row, the União Recreativo do Kilamba group from the Kilamba Kiaxi district of the capital beat the competition in Class A with almost 1,000 points and was crowned the winner of the Luanda Carnival by the jury. It was the 47th edition of this spectacular event, which has been held annually since 1978 and has since become one of the country’s most important cultural celebrations.
Note on publication
What is the state of press freedom in Africa? At the beginning of 2025, a total of 527 journalists were in prison – although there are major regional and national differences. In addition to Reporters Without Borders, there are a large number of organizations working on the issue of press freedom, including the International Press Institute in Vienna. In his publication of the same name, “Press Freedom in Africa – Current Trends and the Role of International Contact Points”, Robert von Lucius looks at the current trends in press freedom in Africa and the role played by international contact points.