| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. At a stately hotel in the hills northwest of Johannesburg, the lead negotiator of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces charmed an audience of African ministers, former presidents and academics. Dressed in a sharp suit, General Omar Hamdan had a room full of dignitaries laughing and clapping during an impromptu speech on Sunday evening. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, whose foundation hosted the event, said it was the first opportunity many had had to hear the RSF's point of view about a civil war that's devastating one of Africa's biggest countries.  A destroyed car in front of a bullet-ridden house in Omdurman, Sudan, on Aug. 27. Photographer: Mudathir Hameed/picture alliance/Getty Images The RSF is committed to civilian rule once the fighting ends and wants a resolution that prevents future conflict in a nation that's largely been at war since independence in 1956, Hamdan said in his speech, which was delivered through an interpreter. The setting was in sharp contrast to the devastation and despair its 17-month war with Sudan's army has wrought. Some 4,000 miles north, tens of thousands of people have been killed and at least 10 million (one in five Sudanese) have been displaced. The two sides overthrew a civilian cabinet in 2021 before turning on each other. The coup, which Hamdan said the RSF apologizes for, and subsequent fighting has led to the destruction of the capital, Khartoum, famine-like conditions in parts of the country and accusations of war crimes. Malik Agar, a senior member of military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's administration, stormed out of the meeting in protest at Hamdan's presence, ruining Mbeki's plans for negotiations between the two parties the next day. Army representatives also skipped August peace talks in Switzerland, enabling Hamdan to assign blame for the lack of mediation. In the battle for influence, last weekend was a public relations win for the RSF. On the ground, there's no sign of an end to the misery for millions of Sudanese. — Antony Sguazzin Key stories and opinion:
Sudan Ravaged by a Civil War the World Has Overlooked: QuickTake
War Engulfs Besieged City in Sudan as Global Powers Meet at UN
UAE Says Sudan Military Plane Bombed Ambassador's Residence
Sudan Truce Talks Collapse, Food Aid Deliveries Stymied
The Unyielding Grip of Genocide on Humankind: Max Hastings Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua vowed to resist an impeachment process stemming from allegations that he violated the constitution. "I have no intention to resign from this job," Gachagua said in a televised address. Unseating the deputy president requires support from two-thirds of lawmakers in the National Assembly and the Senate. He stands accused of pilfering public funds and making inflammatory statements, according to a petition filed by a member of Kenya's ruling coalition. Gachagua has dismissed the allegations as "outrageous.''  Rigathi Gachagua at a media briefing in Nairobi on Monday. Photographer: Luis Tato/Getty Images Tunisian President Kais Saied secured a second term in an election that most eligible voters snubbed amid widespread discontent over his authoritarian style of governance. The 66-year-old won about 90.7% of the votes cast on Sunday, placing him well ahead of two rivals, initial results announced by the election commission show. The 28.8% turnout was the lowest for a presidential vote since the North African nation gained independence from France almost seven decades ago. The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to clamp down on companies that buy or source minerals from its war-torn eastern region, where smuggling is fueling one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The central African country has already warned Apple that its purchase of metals like tin, tantalum and gold may be linked to violence in Congo and smuggled through neighboring Rwanda. The government is investigating other companies as well, Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said in an interview, without naming them.  Soldiers stationed in Kibirizi in eastern Congo. Photographer: Alexis Huguet/AFP/Getty Images Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-biggest city, plans to extend water cuts to 130 hours a week after closing some supply reservoirs amid the worst drought in four decades. The outages will affect all residential areas. The city of 700,000 people has been battling acute shortages for years, worsened by the impact of the drought that was caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Seasonal rains are expected to start next month. Senegal said it will act swiftly to lower the budget deficit after an audit showed its fiscal position was weaker than the government had previously reported and Moody's responded by downgrading the West African nation's credit rating. The audit, ordered by newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, showed a fiscal gap of 10% of gross domestic product in 2023 — almost double that disclosed by his predecessor. State debt was estimated at almost 84% of GDP at the end of last year, about 10 percentage points higher than stated before. Hundreds of Ghanaians staged protests to pressure the government to clamp down on illegal mining in Africa's top gold producer. The demonstrators accuse the miners of polluting rivers and land. Gold is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for nearly half of exports last year. Large-scale miners such as Newmont and Gold Fields have to adhere to strict environmental rules, but a thriving artisanal and small-scale mining industry is less regulated. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Craig Thompson, who was the first to name Benin as the nation that offered citizenship to the descendants of African slaves.  Bloomberg is looking for the most innovative startups in Africa. Applications are open until Nov. 8. Source: Diana Ejaita The Dangote oil refinery is set to take delivery of about 24 million barrels of Nigerian crude over the next two months, transforming the region's import and export markets. The West African crude market is set to be "substantially tighter" in the fourth quarter because of the supply to Dangote, according to Ronan Hodgson, a London-based analyst at FGE. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
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