By Mphatso Nkuonera, In Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Malabo, May 29, Mana: President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and his fellow Heads of State and Government sitting at the Pan-African meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, have condemned the escalating incidences of terrorist activities and unconstitutional transitions of government on the continent.

President Dr. Chakwera said terrorist activities and unconstitutional power transitions saying it results in human suffering.

Chakwera said that, there is no justification for such acts that lead to loss of human life, despair and misery, calling upon African countries to join hands to eliminate these activities which he said are increasing alarmingly.

“It is dishearten to think of the dire situation that our ordinary citizens find themselves in because of armed conflicts.

In December 2020, during the Extra-Ordinary Summit on Silencing the Guns, we unanimously agreed that the theme should remain a permanent feature on our agenda because the persistence of the problem of armed conflicts on our continent,” he said.  

Dr. Chakwera commended the African Union Commission and the Secretariats of the Regional Economic Communities, Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) for tremendously collaborating and reaching out to troubled places by sending out peace missions to facilitate engagement in line with the existing frameworks of AU and also RECs/RMs of checking against constitutionalism.

“However, we remain challenged on several fronts including the lack of domestication of the frameworks and also military capabilities to arrest on going acts of extreme violence. We therefore need to enhance our collaboration to assist member states devise effective national strategies in combating terrorism and extremism. In this regard, it is necessary for the AU Commission to develop a long term strategy to complement the 2002 Algiers Plan of Action,” he said.

Chakwera said that, member states also need to have comprehensive legal framework and early warning mechanisms, while respecting and upholding sovereignty.

“The goal should be encouraging each other on this path to democracy consolidation and equitable and inclusive national development strategies in our various states. At national level we should create governance structures that allow smooth transition processes, effective dispute resolving mechanisms and inclusivity in national engagements.

 The President said these mechanisms will counter the spread of feelings of injustice, marginalization and hopelessness amongst sections of the population, which in turn provides a fertile ground for radicalization, terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government.

Speaking earlier, Equatorial Guinea’s President Theodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, asked the African leaders to consider taking serious steps to curb the vice as it has rendered many Africans displaced and in need of humanitarian aid.

“Africa has the ability to eliminating these terrorist activities, and to deal with it one way is to make sure that, the un affected countries must join the rest for the sake of the continent progression.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Muhammad said he sees light at the end of the tunnel, only if the spirit of oneness reigns as terrorists may not have loopholes to punch in.

“The presence of the heads of state to the signifies their commitment in dealing with humanitarian challenges facing this continent.

Over 130 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance as many people have been affected due to different factors like climate changes effects including floods, the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, and other pressures of the world.

President of the African Union, who is also Senegalese President Macky Sall, said Terrorism and conflicts have become a surge in Africa and no region of the continent is spared hence a need to stand up for a common action.

“Terrorism has spread in all regions, and this is a major reason of our unity. Unconstitutional transition of power should also be condemned in strongest terms. Let’s use our unity to protect dozens of citizens who may suffer or are already suffering due to this factors,” he said.

Meanwhile the United Nations has vowed to assist in dealing with these insurgency and terrorism, and further appealed to African leaders to pull their expertise and resources together.

The 15th Extraordinary Summit Meeting of the African Union on Humanitarian matters and pledging Conference and, the 16th extraordinary summit Meeting of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional changes of government ended with a call for Africa leaders to take challenges facing Africa on one shoulder, start working on providing solutions for African problems, and put resources in one pool to reach out to people, and provide more risk reduction and resilience strategies, before disasters occur.

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