look back at the highlights of 2022

• African Cup of Nations in Cameroon

The year 2022 started with a bang on the continent with the 33^e edition of the African Cup of Nations football, organized in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6. "It's our [African] World Cup," proudly affirmed Roger Milla, legend of Cameroonian football, on the air of France 24.

The competition, opposing twenty-four teams from the continent, ended with the coronation of Senegal after a thrilling match against Egypt won on penalties. Three years after their failure in the final in Cairo, the Teranga Lions reach the title of African champion for the first time in their history.

• Blaise Compaoré sentenced to life imprisonment in the Sankara trial

A historic trial. Thirty-four years after the coup that cost the life of Thomas Sankara – the “father of the Burkinabè revolution” – the Ouagadougou military court delivered its verdict on April 6. Thomas Sankara's successor to the presidency, Blaise Compaoré, as well as one of his generals and his security chief, have been found guilty of "complicity in assassination" and "attack on state security". . All three have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Eight other defendants received sentences ranging from three to XNUMX years in prison.

In exile in Abidjan since his fall in 2014, Blaise Compaoré did not attend the hearings. After the verdict, he expressed himself through a letter, read by the spokesman of the Burkinabe government, asking his people for forgiveness for all the acts committed during his twenty-seven years in power, "and more particularly to the family of my brother and friend Thomas Sankara".

• Military coups in Burkina Faso

On January 24, the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, is overthrown by the army during a coup. Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba takes power in this country threatened by the progression of jihadist groups: he makes the reconquest of the territory a priority and promises to restore constitutional order. But on the ground, the security situation continues to deteriorate, causing tensions within the army.. While several towns in the North were besieged by armed Islamist groups, a humanitarian convoy bound for Djibo was attacked by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda on September 27, resulting in the death of 27 Burkinabè soldiers.

A few days later, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is overthrown during a new putsch orchestrated by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Having become "president of the transition", the latter appointed in October a government of 23 ministers, including three soldiers, to lead the country until the return to constitutional order scheduled for July 2024.

• William Ruto elected President of Kenya

A win on the wire. On August 15, six days after the end of the polls, Kenya's electoral commission finally unveiled the name of the new president. With 50,49% of the vote, William Ruto won against his opponent Raila Odinga (48,85%). A victory contested by the latter, who denounced a "parody", as well as by several members of the electoral commission, but finally upheld by the country's Supreme Court.

During his swearing-in, William Ruto, former vice-president of Uhuru Kenyatta, now head of state, describes the electoral process as an "exemplary democratic achievement" and promises to work for the "economic well-being" of every Kenyan.

• End clap for the French military operation in Mali

The last French soldiers from Barkhane still present in Mali have left the country on August 15, ending a nine-year military operation aimed at eradicating terrorism in the region. Intervened in 2013 at the request of the government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to block the jihadist advance towards Bamako, Operation Serval was replaced in 2014 by Operation Barkhane, the aim of which was to fight jihadist groups throughout the Sahel. .

But relations between the two countries have seriously deteriorated with the seizure of power by Colonel Assimi Goïta, during the coup d'état of August 2020, and the arrival of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group to assist the army. The coup government, which accuses Paris of support terrorist groups, recently banned all humanitarian activity funded by France on its soil. For their part, the United Nations and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) warn about the sharp rise in abuses against civilians in the country.

• Bloody repression in Chad

On October 20, 2022, several hundred people demonstrated across the country, responding to the call of opposition groups to denounce the retention of Mahamat Idriss Déby in power and the decision to extend the democratic transition for two years. Prohibited demonstrations bloodily repressed by the authorities, who denounce an attempted insurrection. The Prime Minister reported about fifty dead, including ten police officers, and 300 injured. But several organizations evoke a much heavier toll, such as the UN, which estimates that up to 150 people could have been killed during these gatherings.

The two main opposition leaders, Succès Masra and Max Loalngar, have announced that they have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) the opening of an investigation for crimes against humanity. At the beginning of November, the government accepted the principle of an international fact-finding mission aimed at shedding light on the tragic events of October 20.

• Peace agreement between the Tigrayan rebels and the Ethiopian government

After two years of war between the Ethiopian power and the Tigray rebels, the two parties have agreed on a "cessation of hostilities". Concluded on November 2 in Pretoria, South Africa, under the aegis of the African Union, the agreement provides for "restoration of public order, services (in Tigray), unimpeded access of humanitarian supplies" as well as "methodical" and "coordinated" disarmament.

Since then, the Tigrayans have announced that they have removed 65% of their fighters front lines. Authorities have announced that they have reconnected the capital of the region, Mekele, to the electricity network after more than a year of cuts caused by the war. While the exact toll of this war, which largely took place behind closed doors, is unknown, the UN estimates that it could have cost the lives of half a million people and left more than two million displaced.

Egypt hosted from 6 to 20 November the 27^e United Nations Climate Conference (COP27). This is the first time that this international event dedicated to the fight against global warming has been organized on the continent, which is already heavily affected by the consequences of rising temperatures.

In 2022, particularly devastating floods have killed several hundred people in Nigeria but also in Chad, Niger and South Africa. After several years of difficult discussions, a agreement was finally reached at COP27 to compensate the most vulnerable countries for the damage they suffer. The implementation of this mechanism should take place during COP28, which will take place in Dubai in November 2023. Qualified as historic, the agreement does not however display any new ambition concerning greenhouse gases, thus preventing act on the causes of climate change.

• Return of Charles Blé Goudé to Ivory Coast

After eleven years of exile, Charles Blé Goudé returned to Côte d'Ivoire on November 26, cheered by thousands of supporters. The former youth minister of Laurent Gbagbo, considered at the time as a pillar of the regime, had been tried, alongside his former mentor, for the post-election violence of 2010-2011, which had caused some 3 dead in the country. After six years of trial before the International Criminal Court, both were acquitted and then authorized by President Ouattara to return to their country to participate in the national reconciliation process.

Charles Blé Goudé announced that he intends to stand as a candidate during the next presidential election in 2025. For his part, a few months after his return in June 2021, Laurent Gbagbo had launched a new movement, the Party of African Peoples - Côte d'Ivoire, also concretizing his return to the political scene.

• M23 massacres in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The security crisis is worsening in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. After more than ten years in exile, rebels claiming to belong to the M23, a mainly Tutsi armed group, relaunched their offensive in the east of the country in 2021. This has accelerated since October, with fighters seizing large swaths of territory north of Goma, capital of North Kivu. On November 29 and 30, the villages of Kishishe and Bambo were the scene of a massacre. At least 131 civilians were killed there in reprisal actions, according to a preliminary UN investigation pointing the finger at the responsibility of the rebels.

In this crisis, the Congolese authorities denounce the role of Rwanda, which they accuse of supporting the M23. A position shared by UN experts, the United States and now France, but rejected by Kigali.

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa escapes impeachment

On December 13, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa escaped the opening of impeachment proceedings thanks to the support of a large majority in Parliament. Mired in a scandal for months, he is accused of having tried to conceal from the police and the tax authorities the theft in 2020 of large sums of cash hidden in one of his properties.

The former businessman, who has made the fight against corruption his hobbyhorse, was renewed, end of December, at the head of his party, the African National Congress (ANC), paving the way for him for a second term as head of state in the 2024 elections. The police investigation aimed at identifying the origin of the money stolen from his home continues.

• Political crisis in Tunisia

Almost a year and a half after the President Kais Saied's coup against the institutions, the Tunisians were called to the polls, on December 17, to elect their deputies. The first round of this early election, supposed to consolidate the hyper-presidency of the Head of State, who dissolved Parliament and had a new Constitution adopted reducing the prerogatives of deputies, was marked by a historically low turnout of 11,22% , according to the electoral authority.

Un snub for Kaïs Saïed, which comes even as he tries to negotiate a crucial loan with the IMF, to get his country out of a deep economic crisis. For their part, several opposition parties who boycotted the elections are calling for the immediate departure of the president, believing that he has lost all credibility.

• Morocco takes fourth place in the 2022 World Cup

This is an unprecedented feat for an African or Arab team. The Atlas Lions marked the history of the World Cup by reaching the semi-final of the prestigious tournament in Qatar. Victorious in the quarters against Portugal (1-0) then eliminated by France (0-2), the Moroccan team secured fourth place. A historic performance that earned the players a triumphant welcome on their return to Rabat, applauded by tens of thousands of supporters.