“We came here to cook breakfast for him,” says the man now back home in South Africa after two years at a two-Michelin-star Paris restaurant. “But now that is not going to happen.”

Wandile is as much to blame as I am for French President Emmanuel Macron being delayed in the final hours of his 36-hour visit to Pretoria.

He was just behind Trevor Manuel and ahead of me in skirting the dark-suited bodyguards to get a fist bump, a couple of word and a selfie with the visitor.

“OK, OK,” the French press attache tells me. “You can get a picture, but no questions.”

I am grateful, therefore, to the French businessmen who asked him: “When will you encourage French investment in Mozambique.”

I am the sole journalist to hear him reply: “The situation there is very difficult there. There is a regional effort in place to restore stability. Let us see how that progresses before we can look at further investment.”

The insurrection in the northern province of South Africa’s eastern neighbor has forced French energy giant Total to step back from its natural gas exploitation in Cabo Delgado that will make Mozambique a regional energy giant.

Being warned off popping a surprise question is an indication of caution rather than of  Macron’s reluctance to speak to the media.

At the home of Ambassador Aurèlien Lechevallier he spoke for 40 minutes to 300 members of the French community in South Africa.

He told them he had brought 2 212 doses of Johnson&Johnson to vaccinate them against COVID.

He sympathized with their being locked down and then having their movement restricted.

French citizens going home from a red zone like South Africa have to quarantine for 14 days.

Macron congratulated embassy and consulate staff for their efforts in securing the repatriation of  hundreds of French tourists and other visitors who found themselves in South Africa.

The pandemic dominated his agenda here, from the talks with President  Cyril Ramaphosa after the 21-gun welcome at the Union Buildings, until his final speaking engagement at the residence before a visit to the Apartheid Museum and boarding his flight home.

He and Ramaphosa attended the launch at the University of Pretoria of the programme to start manufacturing COVD vaccines in Africa.

Macron insisted that intellectual property held by big pharma should not stop Africans making vaccine.

The president was basking in the success of his equally brief visit to Rwanda where he asked forgiveness for France’s blindness ahead of the 1994 genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Pointedly he stopped short of saying France had role in the actual killing.

Nevertheless Rwandan President praised Macron’s courage, saying: “This was more than an apology, it was the truth. And there is always a risk in telling the truth.”

Brief as the Macron safari was, it has taken significant steps in strengthening and broadening relations with Africa.

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The meeting, which will include international economic groupings, is unashamedly a French bid to solidify and broaden relations with African nations.

Macron wants to move beyond the former French colonies to countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

It takes place against a backdrop of waning French public support for France’s gendarme role in Africa and leaders of the continent questioning the value of a series of summit meetings with Western development  partners.

Nevertheless they will fly to Paris – the only Western capital from which large quantities of COVID vaccine have been shipped by a  donor country to developing countries.

In week where we learn that 140 million doses of that vaccine supposed to go to the poorer countries via the COVAX programme will be retained to deal with India’s surge of infections, the summit participants know they will be talking to representatives of the largest vaccine financiers.

The summit will see a rare visit to France by Rwandan President Paul Kagame. This means the still smoldering issue of France’s role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is unavoidable.

Important as it is, other African leaders will also want to move beyond making up the $300-billion shortfall caused by the pandemic.

They want to leave the summit with heartening news for their people about addressing critical shortfalls in potable water, schools and healthcare facilities.

Even though the leaders of countries with which France has active disputes, such as Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso have not been invited, Macron cannot expect to escape pointed question about colonial legacies like the Central African franc, which Africans say binds currencies of former dependencies  too tightly to the French economy.

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Ramaphosa calls for international solidarity against COVID 19 and says Ghebreyesus has shown exceptional leadership from the earliest stages of the pandemic.

President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold US funding to what he calls the China-centric World Health Organisation.

He says the WHO, which warned about coronavirus six days after it was identified in China, called it wrong.

WHO director general Tedros Ghebreyesus urged an end to political point scoring over COVID 19.

His position is supported by AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Namibian President Hage Geingob.

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Rawdans will, therefore spend the Easter holiday as home, permitted to leave only to buy food medicine or essential supplies.

ends intro

Rwanda has 82 confirmed COVID 19 infections. The figures went up by eight overnight.

It’s the highest in a region where Kenya has 81, Uganda 44, Tanzania 19 and Burundi two.

South Sudan has no recorded cases but also has no record of testing.

The heavy-handed Rwanda President has had not trouble enforcing the lockdown which has closed land borders and airports.

How he restores the economy driving prosperity and change in his crowded, mountainous country is a problem for another day

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Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul kagame have signed an extradition treaty aimed at stopping subversive activities by their respective nationals.

Presidents Joao Lourenco of Angola and Felix Tshisikedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo witnessed the signing of the extradition treaty.

The four leaders’ summit agreed that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will verify Rwandan claims of hostile activities on their border.

Within 15 days of  Museveni publishing his findings, he’ll be back at Gatuna/Katuna with Rwandan President Paul Kagame to talk about opening borders and normalizing relations.

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President Felipe Nyusi and Renamo’s Ossufo Momade inked the deal in Maputo yesterday.

This is the second time Renamo has formalized  a peace deal with Mozambique’s Frelimo Government.

The late Afonso Dhlakama signed the first in Rome 26 years ago after the Vatican mediated an end to the 16-year civil war that brought the country to its knees.

Losing successive elections drove Renamo to take up weapons and go back into the bush.

Yesterday’s peace follows the death last year of Dhlakama.

Guests at yesterday’s signing, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame,  heard that Renamo plans to do better in October’s election. 

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The Rwandan action follows the death of second EBOLA patient in the DRC’s eastern capital and confirmation of the fourth infection by the deadly hemorrhagic disease.

Rwanda reopened its border with the DRC at Goma and has yet to explain its action.

President Paul Kagame came under intense pressure from the United Nations which has urged the Congo’s neighbors not to close their borders following the World Health Organization’s declaration of the EBOLA outbreak, that’s killed more than 1800 people, a public health emergency of international concern.

Medical charities helping Congolese health authorities say they fear the outbreak is running out of control. 

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Uganda denies Rwandan accusations that its supporting rebels opposing President Paul Kagame and jailing torturing and deporting its citizens.

The love-hate relationship between Uganda and Rwanda –  who share a political, ethnic and security history – destabilizes the Great Lakes Region.

Rwandan leader Paul Kagame fought to bring Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to power.

Uganda, in turn,  supported Kagame’t Tutsi rebels after the 1994 genocide by Hutus.

Now Uganda’s accused of supporting the Rwanda National Congress led by South African-based Kayumba Nyamwasa and the Hutu rebel group called the Democratic Front For The Liberation of  Rwanda.

Closing two of the three border crossings between the countries has virtually paralysed trade in the region.

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The South African owners of MTN are seeking an urgent explanation from Museveni, as are the governments of France, Italy, Rwanda and Belgium who’s nationals he booted out.

The exact motivation for deporting MTN Uganda chief executive Wim Vanhelleputte last week and four other top MTN executives  two weeks earlier is unclear.

Ugandan officials say the executive remained in contact after the expulsions and were running the company over the internet.

Others insist the action is a manifestation of a bitter row between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who is sheltering member of the Rwanda National Congress opposed to his counterpart Paul Kagame

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Leaders of the 55-nation continental grouping voted to pass this ceremonial role to South Africa when Egypt’s turn ends in 2020.

South Africa will be serving the second year of its rotating membership of the United Nations Security Council next year.

So having the presidency of the African Union will give South Africa a particularly significant international role.

The last time South Africa held the AU leadership was in 2002 when Thabo Mbeki was president.

Cyril Ramaphosa, who is expected to be South Africa’s president next year, is already being pushed to campaign for  human rights – particularly in Africa – if and when he succeeds Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah El Sisi who is expected to emphasize security and peacekeeping during his AU presidency 

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