by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE banning of citizens from seven African countries from travelling to the United States is a new twist to the complex relationship between President Donald Trump and the continent.
Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan are among the seven African countries slapped with the ban, alongside Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar and Yemen.
Citizens from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be subject to a partial ban as Trump revives one of the most controversial measures from his first term.
Announcing the bans and restrictions late on Wednesday, Trump said this was part of a policy of “protecting the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats.”
“As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said.
“I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks.”
Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, noted Trump had warned that Egypt could be next on the restrictions list following the Colorado terror attack.
Trump’s relations with Africa have been marked by both diplomatic challenges and policy shifts.
Earlier this year, Trump announced funding cuts to South Africa, claiming the country was perpetrating genocide against white Afrikaner farmers.
He has offered the so-called targets refuge in the United States.
The aid cuts announced by Trump earlier this year when his second term resumed have impacted on humanitarian intervention in some African countries beset by conflict, disease or natural disasters.
During his first term in 2017-2021, Trump infamously referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.”
“The fact that African countries feature most prominently in the list of countries whose citizens are banned is a continuation of the tetchy relationship between the Trump administration and this continent,” said Kenyan-based commentator, Bethwell Juma.
Alan Starr, pro Trump, welcomed the bans.
“Donald Trump is a shining example of a leader who puts his nation first,” he said.
Sammy Martins, South African-based analyst, reacted, “African people must learn to travel in between African countries and stay far off from those in the West.”
– CAJ News