Africa 54 - January 26, 2021

You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis. Top Stories: Tropical cyclone Eloise swept through Mozambique wreaking havoc, destroying homes and ruining crops. Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo, lawmakers and a host of dignitaries on Tuesday are paying their final respects in Accra to former President Jerry John Rawlings, Ghana’s longest serving leader. Rawlings, who was 73-years old, died in November of last year, but his cause of death has not been revealed. His burial was partly delayed because Ghana’s political leaders disagreed on some logistics of his funeral. Rawlings had a checkered past in Ghana, having led a military junta before coming to power in coup in 1992. Rawlings was twice democratically elected to two four-year terms. Funeral service for Ghana’s former president is set for Wednesday. Nigerians are hopeful after U.S. President Joe Biden reversed former President Donald Trump's travel ban on several predominantly Muslim and African nations, including Nigeria. Ugandan troops have withdrawn from around the home of opposition leader and pop star Bobi Wine, 38, ending his house arrest since a January 14th election won by long-serving President Yoweri Museveni. With the election behind him and fraud claims by wine failing to gain traction, Museveni appears to be calculating that he can mollify pressure from western allies to free his rival without significant risk to his power base. The withdrawal of security forces, which the Ugandan government says were for wine's own protection, complied with a court order on Monday. A Reuters correspondent on the scene confirmed the move. Calling Ethiopia, the critical actor in Horn of Africa stability, outgoing U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor voiced confidence in a strengthened bilateral relationship but warned that violence – especially in the northern Tigray region – threatens the country’s progress. At a press conference in Addis Ababa Monday, Raynor said, “we remain concerned about ethnic violence around the country and the threat it poses to achieving the country’s potential,” he also says the U.S. government also is “particularly alarmed by the ongoing situation in Tigray,” where Ethiopian federal forces launched a military operation in early November to put down a rebellion by regional forces of the Tigray people’s liberation front. American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna says its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the U.K. and South Africa. Africa 54 health correspondent Linord Moudou has more. Less than a week into Joe Biden’s presidency sweeping changes are underway at the pentagon as the new U.S. president and new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin look to undo changes made by former President Donald Trump. VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more. #Mozambique #CycloneEloise #Ghana #JerryJohnRawlings #Nigeria #TravelBan #Muslim #Africa #Uganda #BobiWine #YoweriMuseveni #Ethiopia #Tigray #UnitedStates #COVID19 #Moderna #Vaccine #UK #SouthAfrica #JoeBiden #President #DonaldTrump