Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Much responsibility for shaping DR Congo’s post-election future now lies with a former oil executive who made a stellar rise from political obscurity. The man in the middle is Martin Fayulu, who insists that electoral fraud has cheated him of the presidency of sub-Saharan …
Read More »DR Congo’s Tshisekedi: son, heir and president-elect
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Felix Tshisekedi, whose victory in the DR Congo’s presidential election was confirmed by the country’s top court on Sunday, is the son of a veteran opposition leader but has never held high office or even a managerial role. Known to friends as “Fatshi”, the …
Read More »DR Congo: Key dates since independence
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Key dates in the post-independence history of the Democratic Republic of Congo: – End of Belgian rule – On June 30, 1960, the Belgian Congo becomes independent. Power is shared between Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the president, and his prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. Rivalry between the …
Read More »COURT: Tshisekedi winner of disputed DRC presidential election
DRC court confirms Tshisekedi winner of disputed presidential election Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s top court on Sunday declared opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi the winner of disputed presidential elections after throwing out a legal challenge by the runner-up. Announcing the final results of the much-delayed poll, the …
Read More »DR Congo court to rule on disputed poll tonight
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s top court said it will give its verdict Saturday on the final election results which have been challenged both internationally and at home, spurning an appeal from the African Union to suspend the announcement. The Constitutional Court is urgently hearing an …
Read More »From Westgate fiasco to Dusit, Kenyan response praised
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s security response to the Islamist assault on the Dusit hotel complex in Nairobi shows the numerous lessons learned since a chaotic intervention when the Westgate mall was attacked in 2013, according to analysts. The swift reaction, under a single chain of command, with the …
Read More »DR Congo election results: Who’s saying what?
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The outcome of the presidential election in Democratic Republic of Congo lies in the hands of the Constitutional Court, where the declared runner-up Martin Fayulu has filed an appeal. Here are the figures which lie at the heart of his claim: – Election board …
Read More »The victims of the Nairobi attack
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The victims of a terror attack on a hotel and office complex in Nairobi include a Kenyan football blogger, an American who survived 9/11 and two best friends working to bring peace to Somalia. Here is a little bit more information on some of …
Read More »Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe blocks internet as crackdown intensifies
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe on Friday imposed a “total shutdown” of the internet as international criticism mounted over a ruthless security crackdown after anti-government protests. Police and soldiers have been accused of indiscriminately dragging people from their homes and beating them. Hundreds of people have been arrested …
Read More »Five suspects in court over Nairobi hotel attack
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Five suspects, including a Canadian citizen, appeared in a Kenyan court Friday in connection with an Islamist attack on a Nairobi hotel complex that left 21 dead. A magistrate granted a request from the prosecution to detain the four men and one woman for 30 …
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