{"id":107087,"date":"2026-07-21T11:53:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=107087"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:56:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:56:41","slug":"the-africa-report-68","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/the-africa-report-68\/","title":{"rendered":"The Africa Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sameera Casmod |\u00a0sameerac@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n21 July 2026 | 11:55 CAT
\n4-minute read<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zambian elections, Malian soldiers killed, DRC Ebola Crisis<\/h3>\n

Hichilema seeks second term as Zambia heads to 2026 polls<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zambia will head to the polls on August 13, 2026, in a presidential election featuring 14 candidates. Among them is incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND), who is seeking a second five-year term.<\/p>\n

Hichilema, who rose to power in 2021 on promises of economic reform and debt restructuring, faces his strongest challenge from Brian Mundubile. Mundubile leads the Tonse Alliance (TA), a coalition forged from the remnants of the once-dominant Patriotic Front (PF). The contest between the two men is expected to set the tone for Zambia\u2019s political future, as voters weigh the government\u2019s record on economic recovery against calls for change from the opposition.<\/p>\n

Since taking office, Hichilema has overseen a significant turnaround in Zambia\u2019s economy, driven by debt restructuring and fiscal discipline. Inflation, which peaked at 22 percent in 2021, has fallen to an eight-year low of 6.5 percent this year. Foreign reserves are growing, and investors are trickling in, particularly in the mining sector, creating much-needed employment. One of his government\u2019s most notable achievements has been a successful debt restructuring effort, which reduced annual debt payments from $2,3 billion to $900 million\u2014freeing up $1,4 billion to invest in other critical sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n

The opposition, meanwhile, has struggled to mount a nationwide challenge. It has failed to field parliamentary candidates in 75 of Zambia\u2019s 226 constituencies, a shortfall that analysts say highlights both its reduced national footprint and lack of resources. This effectively gives the ruling party a head start, with what amounts to 75 uncontested seats.<\/p>\n

During this week\u2019s\u00a0Africa Report<\/a>\u00a0on Radio Islam International, analyst Dr Sizo Nkala said, \u201cAll indications, my view, seem to point to Hichilema\u2019s re-election on the basis of a weak and enfragmented opposition in an economy that is doing fairly well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel ambush kills 50 Malian troops in northern convoy attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday, July 18, at least fifty Malian soldiers were killed when rebel groups ambushed a military convoy in northern Mali. The attack, which occurred in the Tabrichat area near the northern town of An\u00e9fis as the convoy was traveling toward Gao, stands as one of the deadliest assaults suffered by the Malian armed forces in years. In addition to the casualties, at least 24 soldiers were captured, some of whom were reportedly executed on-site.<\/p>\n

Both Tuareg members from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and the Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama\u2019at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the ambush, Nkala said.<\/p>\n

The attack comes just 2 weeks after the Malian army lost 30 soldiers during a battle to maintain control of\u00a0An\u00e9fis when the FLA and JNIM launched a highly coordinated attack to seize control of it.<\/p>\n

Nkala explained that since taking power in a 2021 coup, junta leader General Assimi Go\u00efta has struggled to impose state control or stabilise the security situation.<\/p>\n

The military government\u2019s strategy relied heavily on the Russian paramilitary outfit Africa Corps (formerly known as the Wagner Group). However, the foreign mercenary presence has failed to contain a rapidly expanding, multi-front insurgency.<\/p>\n

Instead, the security crisis has drastically deteriorated, culminating in unprecedented attacks that have brought the conflict directly to the regime\u2019s doorstep.<\/p>\n

The fragility of the junta\u2019s grip on power was laid bare during a coordinated assault that shattered the security of the capital city.<\/p>\n

Al-Qaeda-linked fighters launched a massive offensive that effectively placed Bamako under a \u201ctotal siege.\u201d Insurgents choked off key transport arteries, cutting off three of the city\u2019s six main supply routes and stranding hundreds of civilian and commercial vehicles.<\/p>\n

In a blow to the military leadership, state media confirmed that Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed. The\u00a0minister\u00a0was targeted during a sophisticated assault on his residence at the Kati military base, just outside Bamako. Following the assassination, General Go\u00efta personally assumed the role of Minister of Defence to consolidate control over the fracturing security apparatus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military government has not been able to resolve this political and security crisis, and it looks set to get worse in the months ahead,\u201d Nkala said.<\/p>\n

DRC battles fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in its history<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently battling its 17th<\/sup>\u00a0Ebola outbreak, which has escalated into a severe crisis driven by a rare strain and exacerbated by armed conflict.<\/p>\n

The epidemic, which was officially declared on May 15, 2026, has expanded faster than any previous Ebola outbreak in the country\u2019s history, with a total of 2 423 confirmed cases and 967 deaths.<\/p>\n

African Union (AU) member states, including South Africa, have collectively pledged $80 million as part of a larger $910 million international funding package to contain the Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. However, the World Health Organisation has stated that there is still a $400 million funding gap needed to properly contain the virus.<\/p>\n

While Nkala called the support from African nations encouraging, he warned that it is not enough: \u201cThe continent must do more to help the DRC contain this outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen\u00a0<\/strong>to the\u00a0Africa Report<\/a>\u00a0with Dr Sizo Nkala on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sameera Casmod |\u00a0sameerac@radioislam.co.za 21 July 2026 | 11:55 CAT 4-minute read Zambian elections, Malian soldiers killed, DRC Ebola Crisis Hichilema seeks second term as Zambia heads to 2026 polls Zambia will head to the polls on August 13, 2026, in a presidential election featuring 14 candidates. Among them is incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":103037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4996,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Africa-Report.jpeg?fit=225%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-rRd","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-28 23:23:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107087"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107091,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107087\/revisions\/107091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}