Focus on Africa
Devastating impact of cocaine on Cape Verde
BBC Africa Eye investigates how some sailors were tricked into smuggling cocaine to Cape Verde. We’ll also meet the rap artist and former cocaine addict who is helping addicts Why South Sudan lawyers are challenging the postponement of elections in court Plus, harrowing tales of the conditions young Kenyan doctors operate under
Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Bella Hassan, Nyasha Michelle and Rob Wilson in London with Frenny Jowi in Nairobi. Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
- Broadcast on:
- 30 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
Hello and welcome to this podcast from the BBC World Service. Please let us know what you think and tell other people about us on social media. Podcasts from the BBC World Service are supported by advertising. Deep in the ocean, an orca pod is on the hunt. These aren't your average orcas. These guys are organized. Marketing team, did you get those social media posts scheduled for the CO migration? Hi, I captain. We even have an automated notification for all pod managers when they go live. They use Monday.com to keep their team work sharp, their communication clear, and their goals in sight, Monday.com. For whatever you run, even orcas, go to Monday.com to dive deeper. Explaining football to the friend who's just there for the nachos, hard, tailgating from home like a pro with snacks and drinks everyone will love, any easy win. With Instacart helping deliver the snack time MVPs to your door, you're ready for the game in as fast as 30 minutes. So you never miss a play or lose your seat on the couch or have to go head to head for the last chicken wing. Shop game day faves on Instacart and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three gross reorders offer valid for a limited time other fees in terms apply. Hello, I'm Audrey Brown and today in Focus on Africa, an Africa I investigation into the cocaine trade from South America to Europe reveals the devastation it causes on Cape Verde, a halfway house, unquote. The musician Garda Lumbar reported the story and he has personal experience of the issue. Somebody older than us, we were both 90 years old, passed us the drug. Today when I think about it, it's just sad you do that to a young kid, to a child, we supposed to protect that child. Did you say you were nine when you started? I was nine. I didn't know what I was doing. South Sudanese lawyers bring a case to stop the president from postponing the elections yet again and following the tragic death of a young Kenyan doctor recently, we hear about the difficult conditions they face in the workplace. We work unbelievably long hours and there are people who are working multiple 36-hour shifts within one week and the most unfortunate bit of it all is that some of my colleagues have been under the supervision of senior colleagues and consultants who are not only vindictive but quite toxic to their juniors. It's Monday the 30th of September. First we go to Cape Verde. A BBC investigation has tracked down a British man who Brazilian police accused of trying to traffic cocaine with a street value of around $134 million from South America. The authorities in Brazil believe he hired an innocent crew to sail his yacht across the Atlantic and when they had to make an emergency stop off the coast of West Africa, police found more than a ton of the drug hidden in secret compartments below deck. Nick Norman is the director behind this investigation. The main finding of this investigation is that the BBC team has located a man called George Saul, also known as Fox, who Brazilian police believe was responsible for trafficking one ton of cocaine out of Brazil in 2017. George Saul has been living freely in the UK and the BBC has located him. "Stand by, stand by, a car approaching, yes, yes, his car is here." Excuse me, for the BBC, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your yacht, the rich harvest. Er, no. Can you explain why more than a ton of cocaine was found on audit back in 2017? Go away. No, seriously. Brazilian police say that you are an international drug trafficker. Well, I'm not. According to Brazilian police, George Saul took his yacht, which was called the rich harvest, down to Brazil and then hid the ton of cocaine. He then hired a crew to take the yacht back to Europe for him, but the crew were not able to do that because the engine on the boat broke in the middle of the Atlantic and they had to make a stop for repairs in Cape Verdi and it was there that the drugs were discovered by Cape Verdi maritime police. And what happened to them, the drugs, I mean? Well, the drugs were incinerated, but the crew were tried and initially sentenced to ten years each in prison. We were able to visit some of them in Brazil and they told us their story of how they were tricked into this journey. I was so happy, I think every sailor dreams of crossing a large ocean. For me it was going to be a great adventure and an opportunity to gain a lot of experience. Well my dream was to become a captain and go work in Europe. I was super happy knowing that my path to my dream was beginning. When we left there was this wonderful feeling but it was only the beginning of a nightmare. They later had the case against them dismissed so they are now out of prison and back home. Lots of things are revealed in your investigation. We learn about Highway 10. We learn about the impact of drugs on places like Cape Verdi. So tell us about Highway 10. Highway 10 is a nickname given to a drug trafficking route. It's named Highway 10 because it's named after the 10th parallel north which is a circle of latitude, crosses from South America to Africa and charts the shortest seafaring route from between those two continents. So traffickers who are taking drugs from South America to Africa and then off and onwards into Europe to service that market will use Highway 10 as their preferred route because it's the shortest pathway between the two continents and unfortunately for Cape Verdi Highway 10 goes right past it and so a lot of the traffickers will stop off in Cape Verdi. And what's been the impact of that stop off route on Cape Verdi and also on the way in which the country polices the drug trade? According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, they say that at least 50 tons of cocaine crosses West Africa every year with most of it arriving from Highway 10. But, and this is the important part, around 30% of it is sold during transit. So countries like Cape Verdi which are on the route suffer from a large influx of cocaine. I don't know if there's too much they can do about, you know, that they're on this route and they're sort of stuck with that misfortune but they of course have a Coast Guard operation. When we were there we were shown their sort of flagship vessel but we're told that it hadn't been operational for many years. That would be a boat that they would normally use to intercept suspected drug trafficking vessels. Cape Verdi is an archipelago of 10 islands and their territorial waters are equal in size to mainland France. So it's a huge space to police and I think it's almost impossible to stop drugs going through that space or indeed into Cape Verdi. That's Nick Norman, the Director of the Investigation. Garda Lomba is a wrap artist from Cape Verde and he was the reporter in the investigation. A word of caution, my conversation with Garda covers sensitive topics like child drug abuse. My name is Garda Lomba, I'm an artist, a social activist and an addict. Do you call yourself an addict? I'm an addict. The science defines an addict, you know, it's like Chronicle disease. You don't have a cure but you can't be treated, that's what happened to me. Right. Tell us about your journey with drugs, how did it start for you? It's very sorrowful, my first touch with drugs, very, very sad. Me and a brother, not a blood brother, a friend, among us, somebody older than us. We were both 90 years old, past the drug, today when I think about it, it's just sad you do that to a young kid, to a child, we're supposed to protect child. Did you say you were nine when you started? I was nine, I didn't know what I was doing, you know, you could pass anything to a nine years old kid, if he's not well trained, he'll just take it, it doesn't matter what it is. And unfortunately, in my case, it was drug and then when I grew up, when I went to the high school, it was easier to touch drugs for me, the door was open. The first drug I've used was marijuana, then alcohol, tobacco, and then cocaine, which I fell in love with. That was the sad part, we've been rehabbed twice and today it's been 11 years that God touched my life. I've changed everything around me and I created a project which will help other kids not to fall the same path. And how long were you in the group of it before you were able to take meaningful steps to fight? 15 years, that I count, 15 years suffering, 15 years not understanding, 15 years looking for scapegoat, 15 years being not achieving anything, you know, even though when you use drugs, you're happy at the moment, but it's a quick happiness, the sadness, it's the rest of the time. So it was 15 years of sorrow when I look at it today, today I thank God, because what I became and what I do, because what I've been through. Were there many people like you? You don't have no study that proves that, you know, I can't just come and say, but naked eyes, there is a lot. The people I was surrounded was using drugs. In Kvert, do you know how long it's been a problem? I can't just come and give a date, but it's been a problem and now it's growing. It's growing and growing, especially alcohol, you all know alcohol. You know what alcohol does to us and somebody under the use of alcohol to do anything when you lose control. And as you say, this is a global problem, it's a problem in South Africa where I come from not just alcohol, cocaine and other drugs, you know, are packed upon alcohol addiction and other forms of addiction. So if you were to talk to people and tell them ways through which that can help them fight against the addiction or manage their lives better, because it's a step-by-step process, right? 2016, I started a project which is called Never Try, because if you never try, you never get to go where I went. And most people that went there, they're not here to tell the story. Most people that was around me, they still they're using it. It's not a joke, it's real. Today, I'm a president of a foundation, which does the same thing I've been doing since 2016, which is walk all over the country, all over the world, wherever we could go to prevent kids from using drugs. I think it's deeper than just tell people what to do and what not to do, because when you look at it, the rehabs, I'm just shooting a number, but 97% of the guys or women using drugs have family problems, either the father or the mother is not there. So it comes with education, it comes with foundation you have at home, the way the society sells the negativity way more than the positivity. So if I have to talk to kids, of course, I would never start talking about drugs. It's got to be about self love, unfortunately, or fortunately, because kids not supposed to be talking about that or think about that. But when you're talking about kids, as I'm saying, we would just talk about self love and how you're not supposed to do things that'll kill you. So kill your dream like killed minds and many other people listening to it right now can identify with what I'm saying, Michelle, and whoever is there, you've got to get yourself out of there because nobody can take you out of there. I can just show you the way I can have a walking issue. What helps you stay on the path? I accepted my condition. I got tired of it. I wasn't born for that. My purpose is to come and help kids, help others, not to go to that way. I fought it. I looked for the rehab. Nobody came and told me to go because as you have the influence, to use it, you have the influence to get out of it. It's just like sometimes when I stop and think I'm like, wow, thank you, God. And today, we created a foundation because the project became bigger than I. I like what you said when you said you weren't born for that and you got tired of it. Thank you so much for talking to us. Okay. That's the wrap artist and reporter, Ga Dalumba. Finding Mr Fox is the name of the BBC investigation into a plot to smuggle cocaine value that more than $100 million into Europe. South Sudan was supposed to hold a landmark election at the end of this year. It would have been the first in the history of Africa's youngest nation. South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011 after a long and very bitter struggle for independence. The elections were put on hold a couple of weeks ago when the government announced a postponement of two years. They said they weren't ready to hold an election and many South Sudanese agree with them. But this is not the first postponement. Soon after independence, a violent falling out between the current president, Salva Keir and the then vice president, Driak Mashaar disrupted the journey to the first full elections after independence. A peace agreement in 2018 reinstated Driak Mashaar as vice president, but elections were once again put on hold. A mandate for the two men to keep leading the country has also been extended and not everyone is happy with the status quo. A group of lawyers have filed a petition calling for the Supreme Court to rule that the extension is invalid and that elections should be held. One of those lawyers, Deng John Deng, has been explaining their reasoning. We ask five lawyers, we petition the government of the Republic of South Sudan to South Sudan's Supreme Court concerning the extension of the transitional period and postponement of the elections. That was supposed to be held. We thought that the extensions and then the part of the agreement was not implemented. It was not implemented intentionally by the party's signature to the agreement because some of them, they want to stay in the power. They don't want to renew their mandate through the election. And as our constitution stated, the people of South Sudan, they should be governed by the democratic elected government through the national election act. So basically what you are saying is that this extension of both the transitional government and the postponement of the election should not happen. On what basis are you opposing it? Since the independence of South Sudan in 2011, we did not help any elections because the first transitional government started in 2011 and ended in 2015 and we were supposed to help our first election in 2015. During the war broke out, the transitional government was extended. And then after that also, when the agreement was signed in 2018, we thought after the ending of the agreement, the election will be held. And then again, the transitional period was extended. So since 2011, the transitional government was extended three times. And then this is the fourth extension for the government. People of South Sudan, they need the election to be held and they fear at the same time for more extension because it will be an open extension as the first extension was done, the second extension, the third extension. If we lose, if we do not exercise our rights to defend the right of the people of South Sudan as it enshrined in our constitution, it is our work that we should protect human rights and fundamental freedom through our national court in the Republic of South Sudan. This is our business. So people in South Sudan, though, lots of them agree that there should be an extension because the country isn't quite ready to hold this election. Basic things like an up-to-date census for the voters role hasn't been done. And also the sort of guarantors of the agreement also agree that there's a lack of preparedness. The peace implementation monitors say that the reconstituted joint monitoring and evaluation commission, they say the same. So you're not out of step with all these other voices that are saying that South Sudan, in order to have a properly constituted free and fair election, they actually do need to postpone it. Thank you very much for this wonderful question. The agreement was made first for the three years and then it was extended for another two years, no, it's five years. These five years we thought it's enough for the agreement to be implemented in Latin the spirit, likewise the comprehensive peace agreement that was signed in 2005, it was implemented within six years. And then three major things was implemented. National sense was conducted in 2008. The election was conducted by then in Sudan in 2010 and the referendum was conducted in 2011. These are the three major things. What is difficult within the electoralized agreement that need more time to be implemented? The people of South Sudan, they need election today more than any other time. But will it be a free and fair election? Because for instance, the census was taken more than 10 years ago, things have changed. You need to put all those building blocks in place in order to make the election as free and fair as possible. Surely, you can see that the infrastructure isn't there yet. Yes, this extension of another 24 months for the transitional period of the Republic of South Sudan, it can be extended for one one year. These 12 months for us as lawyers is enough for the government to prepare themselves to contact the election in the country if there is a political will. This thing is related to political will. So you believe that not that it shouldn't be deferred, but that 24 months is too long. So you want it reduced? It's too long. It's too long. It's one of our praise to the courts to order the government. If not nullifying the extension of 24 months, it can be reduced to one year. This one year is enough for the government to held an election in the Republic of South Sudan. As we have the youth government and we are demanding the election to be held because South Sudan, people they need, development, they need a lot of things to be done for them because when they vote for the referendum in 2011, they need a lot of more of services to be delivered to them. Through this current government, these big government, the services cannot be delivered to the people of South Sudan. This is why we petition the government to the Supreme Court as our Supreme Court is a custodian of the national constitution and the constitution of the states. Supreme Court is there to protect human rights and fundamental freedom of the people of South Sudan. How much support do you have from the public in this move? When we filed a petition to the Supreme Court, it was well welcomed by the people of South Sudan. That is the right thing that should be done in the Republic of South Sudan. They appreciate the work that was done by the five lawyers and they are waiting for the result of this petition before the Supreme Court. This will be the first time that the people of South Sudan actually vote since 2011 when it became an independent country. What do you think it means for the people of South Sudan to vote? Do you think that it's something that they are yearning for or do they think they can go on with their lives without it? People of South Sudan, they need services to be delivered by them and this is why they vote in the public referendum in 2011. They need good governance, they need a rule of law, they need development in terms of roads, in terms of building hospital, universities, schools and building of health sector among the other things that they need. This is why they vote in 2011 for the independent of the Republic of South Sudan and we are demanding the government to deliver the services through a democratic elected government in the Republic of South Sudan. Okay then, Mr. Dang John Dang, thank you very, very much for agreeing to speak to us. Thank you very much for having me. That's the lawyer Dang John Dang in Juba. This is Focus on Africa from the BBC World Service. Selling a little or a lot? Shopify helps you do your thing however you chit-ching. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. From the launch your online shop stage to the first real-life store stage, all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage, Shopify is there to help you grow. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the Internet's best converting checkout. Thirty-six percent better on average compared to other leading commerce platforms because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Get a one dollar per month trial period at Shopify.com/work. Shopify.com/work. He owned iconic luxury brands. Harrods was the ultimate glamorous shop, the most famous people in the world coming there. Mohammed Al-Fayed used his wealth and power to control more than just his business interests. One of his HR team approached me and said the chairman would like you to work in his office. It was pretty quick that my gut instinct started to go this is not right. The only thing that he was interested in was touching my body. World of Secrets Season 4 Al-Fayed Predator at Harrods. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Kenya and doctors have been telling us about the poor conditions under which they operate and they've been saying it for years but there's an urgency to their testimony now because Dr. Desre Murat Mughwa died tragically recently. Police are investigating her death but her colleagues say she took her own life due to long working hours and delayed pay, feelings she expressed in a note found after her death. In response, the Kenyan Ministry of Health issued this statement. On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I extend my deepest condolences to Dr. Murat's family, friends and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time. This tragedy calls upon us to renew our commitment to addressing the growing mental health pattern in our country. In honor of her memory, the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the county government is implementing robust workplace mental wellness programs targeting healthcare workers across the country to ensure that support systems are strengthened and that those facing challenges don't feel alone. I spoke to two young medical interns to better understand what it's like being a young doctor in Kenya today. Dr. Harry Ortieno is the medical officer in charge in Thika and Dr. Jeff Waueru is from Nakuru Provincial General Hospital. In our conversation, they paid tribute to Dr. Mughwa but Dr. Ortieno began by describing a typical working day. Because right now I'm under the psychiatry department, we run clinics every day so we get to see about a minimum of 50 patients in a day. Most of them come for drug refills so they have different kinds of mental disorders. Mostly we have substance use disorders. We also have strict schizophrenia, other mood disorders, mostly. But we also call it into the words to review patients who may also present with psychiatric complications even though that is not the reason for admission. The patients who are diabetic, the patients who have uncontrolled hypertension so these are wide array of conditions that we get to see in a typical day. Right. Dr. Waueru, you knew Dr. Mura Obwagi, the person that brings us all together talking about conditions under which Kenyan intern doctors work under. You knew her, tell us a little bit about her. Overall the picture we get is that of a brilliant young doctor who was willing to do anything for her patients who typically was very job young, was a quite good company. Desiree was really a joy to be around and was extremely committed to her work. So her loss has really hit the medical fraternity. I'm sure it has hit her family extremely hard because it was completely preventable. Why do you say it was preventable? I know that many health professionals in Kenya have described her death as a life loss to the pressures of medicine. It was not only unfortunate but I feel that it was a testament to the kind of health system that we have in the country at the moment, which is not only broken, it is also outdated. We work unbelievably long hours and there are people who are working multiple 36-hour shifts within one week and the most unfortunate bit of it all is that some of my colleagues have been under the supervision of senior colleagues and consultants who are not only vindictive but quite toxic to their juniors. So how long are you meant to work under these conditions before you can actually earn a living? The amount of remuneration that we actually are supposed to receive will be determined by the court on the 26th. We are supposed to start earning some stipend within 90 days. So we are looking at another three months. So we are most likely going to go for six months without a pay. So Dr. Waaweru, tell us about the case that's before the ethics and labor court. The salaries and remunerations commission released a circular that seek to reduce the salary of not only medical officer interns but also that of a pharmacist officer interns as well as dentist officers, NASA's as well. The reason it went to court is that the SRC circular is illegal for quite a number of reasons. It not only goes against the collective bargaining agreement of 2017 but it also contravenes the employment act of Kenya in that there was no mutual agreement on the reduction of salaries. The odd thing is even with the salary reduction, the job description for all these cutters of interns remains the same. The work hours remain the same with most interns working. On average 80 to 100 hours a week, the case has been in court for quite a while now with the judgment of being highly anticipated by everyone. Dr. Waaweru, how is it possible to have 4,000 unemployed doctors? What has gone wrong in the medical system and the provision of medical and healthcare in Kenya that you have that situation and also that doctor salaries are so reduced and the doctors working conditions are so bad? What is it in the Kenyan system that has gone wrong? The ministry is the biggest issue right now with the health sector. They do not seem to understand that healthcare is a core pillar of really any successful nation. We've had political appointments especially for the position of cabinet secretary and I'll just allude to the protests that were there a couple of months ago where people are complaining of the same thing. People who are not qualified for jobs end up getting them and they do not seem to understand the gravity of the offices that they hold. There is no reason for these doctors not to be employed other than what I can only chalk up to corruption or just systemic failure as well. People do not seem to understand the role that doctors play in hospitals and really in society in general. Dr. Atiano, there'll be lots of young doctors listening to us, lots of people who want to become doctors and hearing what you are telling us might just put them off. Do you have any advice for them? Could you say become a doctor it's worth it? I still have a lot of hope that our generation is different in terms of exposing these systemic inconveniences and making efforts towards aligning the medical professionals towards the direction it should take calling them out. We can actually get to reclaim the glory of the profession and at that reason I'd like to also recommend more and more people to get into the profession. It's because that we need more, we have a very bad doctor to patient ratio. Then finally, I'd also like to tell them that your services are needed globally. It's not only Kenya where you can get opportunities and so many others so I would still continue encouraging those who wish to be doctors, to be doctors because the best thing you can do to yourself is join a career where you actually want to, you have passion for rather than forcing yourself into something that you may not, you may not enjoy pursuing just because you are avoiding, you know, these troubles that are caused by an incompetent government. Thank you, Dr. Harry Orteano. So, how would you advise young doctors to deal with the pressures that are in the system right now that you both so vividly told us about because it seems like from what you were saying, there's no real mental health support, there's no real support to help you deal with the financial pressures that you have to, that you experience and you're surrounded by people who are undergoing similar struggles. So what do you need to survive this? So one thing I'll just tell my colleagues and really any other healthcare worker who may be struggling with the difficulties that come with being a healthcare worker in this country is that you are not alone and there really is support since we're all going through the same things and also I want my colleagues to realize that at the end of the day, your life and peace is really more important than this job. You cannot take care of anyone when you are sick yourself, but really the onus is on our employers at the county level and at the ministry to ensure that their workers are treated with respect and are also treated with dignity. Dr. Harry Orteano is a medical officer in Tika and Dr. Jeff Waueru works at Nakuru Provincial General Hospital in Kenya. The focus on Africa was put together by Bella Hassan, Jasha Michel and Rob Wilson here in London. Frannie Jawi is in Irobi. Paul Bartubinga was the senior producer. Chris Cuzaris was our technical producer, André Lombard and Alice Moudengi are our editors. I'm Audrey Brown and we'll talk again next time. Don't forget, you can listen to Africa Daily, a podcast dedicated to exploring one story affecting the continent and its peoples. It's available every day wherever you get your podcasts. He owned iconic luxury brands. Harrods was the ultimate glamorous shop, the most famous people in the world coming there. But Muhammad Alfred used his wealth and power to control more than just his business interests. One of his HR team approached me and said the chairman would like you to work in his office. It was pretty quick that my gut instinct started to go, this is not right. The only thing that he was interested in was touching my body. World of Secrets Season 4, Alfred, Predator at Harrods. Listen now, wherever you get, your BBC podcasts. a lot of people are interested in their work. I'm David A. Kline.