🎬 Tense relations

Good morning. The curtains have officially been drawn on the greatest global sporting event - The Olympic Games. Here’s a recap of how your favorite African countries showed up during the games.

• Kenya led the lot after garnering four gold, two silver, and five bronze for a total of 11 to finish in 17th place.

• Other African countries that made the medals table include Algeria, which was placed joint 39th with two gold and one bronze for a total of three.

• The others are South Africa in joint 44th with a total of six medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), and Ethiopia in 47th with a total of four (1 gold, 3 silver).

• Egypt and Tunisia were joint 52nd with three medals each, comprising one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.

• Botswana and Uganda were also on joint 55th with two medals each, made up of one gold and one silver medal.

• Morocco was placed 60th with one gold and one bronze for a total of two, while Côte d’Ivoire was in 84th place alongside Cape Verde and Zambia with one bronze each.

  That being said, what are the criteria for an African Giant again?

  — Edna Akanni, Chibuike Uzor.

  POLITICS

Mali expels Swedish Ambassador amidst tense relations with West.

For the Niger-Mali-Burkina Faso coalition, the battle against anything in the North-Western Hemisphere not called Russia has no days off.

In the latest democratic spat, Kristina Kuhnel, the Swedish Ambassador to Mali, has been given 72 hours to leave the country following comments by the Swedish Minister of Trade announcing that developmental aid to Mali would be cut as a result of its open support and cooperation with the Kremlin.

Anything wrong with that? Not quite. At least not until Ukraine got caught in the cross-fires. Last week, Bamako had alleged that a Senior Ukrainian official had provided help to Tuareg rebels who claimed responsibility for the killing of dozens of Malian soldiers at the northern border of the country in July.

This led to Mali severing ties with Ukraine in a move many suspect was more a show of solidarity to Moscow than a fine piece of investigative action. Ukraine’s prime minister called the move short-sighted and hasty

One of many. Since the junta takeover in 2020, several ambassadors and officials from Western countries have been expelled. In 2022, French ambassador Joel Meyer was told to leave. Along with him, the French military and institutions were also shown the door. Olivier Salgado, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, was expelled over comments on his Twitter page.

Moving forward. The Swedish exit may burn a $330 million wide hole in Malian coffers over the coming decade with developmental projects being affected. Not much to worry about however, with Russian aid to Mali totaling $100 million in 2022 alone, Bamako appears confident of its future without Western support. EA.

AFRICA

Headline Quickie

• Chad celebrates its 64th Independence Day. August 11th marked the 64th anniversary of Chad’s victorious struggle to end French colonialism on its soil. President Deby Itno called for the resolution of conflicts that have long marred the country’s potential and a more inclusive, prosperous approach to government.

• Kenya cements its status as the cradle of stamina…in sports. Faith Kipyegon underlines her status as the queen of the 1500m distance, bagging her 3rd successive Olympic gold medal in the discipline and biting off 2 seconds from her previous Olympic record set 3 years ago in Tokyo.

• Rwanda’s Kagame secures 4th term in power. With 99.18% of ballots cast secured in his favor, Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s de facto president and first democratically elected leader secures another 5 years in power. Always an overwhelming favorite, Kagame has however aroused right-sided activists who believe the result is further proof of a dictatorial atmosphere prevalent in the country.