Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Hundreds of Gambians marched Saturday in the outskirts of the capital Banjul, demanding justice for sweeping rights abuses and murder they suffered under former dictator Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule. Jammeh ruled Gambia with an iron fist but fled in January 2017 after losing a presidential election …
Read More »Isabel dos Santos’ graft scandal ups stakes for Angola
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Allegations of corruption swirling around his predecessor’s daughter have set a crucial test for Angolan President Joao Lourenco in his vow to reform a country rich in oil and tainted by graft. Isabel dos Santos, the 46-year-old billionaire daughter of ex-president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is …
Read More »Cholera deepens misery in eastern DR Congo’s ‘forgotten’ crisis
Masisi, DR Congo | AFP | In eastern DR Congo, thousands have fled violence to camps in the remote mountain forests where they battle cholera, hunger and misery in a forgotten humanitarian disaster. Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has long struggled with violence from several militia groups, a legacy of the …
Read More »Ethiopians look for love during Orthodox epiphany celebration
Gondar, Ethiopia | AFP | Getahun Fetana spent years admiring Emebet Melaku from a distance before plucking up the nerve to speak to her, taking advantage of a chance encounter during Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of epiphany. Breaking off from his friends, the 37-year-old professor walked over to introduce …
Read More »Locusts the latest curse of East Africa weather extremes
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Billions of locusts swarming through East Africa are the result of extreme weather swings and could prove catastrophic for a region still reeling from drought and deadly floods, experts said Friday. Dense clouds of the ravenous insects have spread from Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya, in …
Read More »Rights in DR Congo still under threat a year after change, Amnesty says
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Human rights remain at threat in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Amnesty International said on Friday in a report issued a year to the day since the country underwent historic change. Militia violence, ethnic clashes and failure to hold rights abusers to account dog the …
Read More »Angola’s Dos Santos vows ‘ready to fight’ graft claims
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Isabel dos Santos, the tycoon daughter of Angola’s ex-president who is at the centre of an anti-graft investigation, on Thursday vowed she was ready to fight against what she called “misleading and untrue” allegations. Dos Santos, dubbed ‘the princess’ in Angola, is accused of using her …
Read More »Nigeria remands former Justice Minister in custody over oil scandal
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian court on Thursday remanded a former justice minister accused of corruption in custody pending a bail hearing. Mohammed Adoke who appeared in the high court in the nation’s capital Abuja has been charged over a $1.3 billion dollar oil scandal involving international majors …
Read More »Angolan bank chief named in dos Santos probe resigns
Luanda, Angola | AFP | The head of one of Angola’s largest banks has resigned after being named in a corruption probe centred around ex-first daughter Isabel dos Santos, according to a letter seen by AFP on Thursday. Mario Leite da Silva, who was chairman of Banco de Fomento Angola …
Read More »GRAFT: Angola’s Dos Santos ready to fight in court
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Isabel dos Santos, the tycoon daughter of Angola’s ex-president who is at the centre of an anti-graft investigation, on Thursday vowed she was ready to fight against what she called “misleading and untrue” allegations. Dos Santos, dubbed ‘the princess’ in Angola, is accused of using …
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