Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition on Monday said it welcomed the replacement of the country’s police chief following his sacking amid accusations of institutional political bias and endemic corruption. Former Inspector General of Police Francis Munu was reassigned to an ambassadorial post in neighbouring Liberia after being …
Read More »Broke South Sudan spends millions on surveillance drones
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Cash-strapped South Sudan has spent millions of dollars on Israeli surveillance drones and security cameras aimed at fighting rampant crime in the capital Juba, officials said Monday. The first two drones and 11 cameras will be deployed by Israeli company Global Group, President Salva …
Read More »Benin encouraged by Macron’s pledge on African heritage
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise announcement during his recent African tour, saying in Burkina Faso’s capital that one of his priorities was to restore African cultural treasures. African cultural heritage “should be highlighted in Paris, but also in Dakar, Lagos, Cotonou”, Macron told a …
Read More »DR Congo govt recruited rebels for deadly crackdown on protests: HRW
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Former militants were recruited by the Democratic Republic of Congo government for a bloody crackdown on protests against the president that left dozens of people dead last year, a rights group alleged Monday. Human Rights Watch said President Joseph Kabila’s regime had drafted in fighters previously …
Read More »Nestle to close its DR Congo factory
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Swiss food giant Nestle announced Sunday that it would close its factory in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a potential market of 80 million people but one beset by poverty and political instability. “We will close our factory and offices by the …
Read More »Rwanda praised for Libya `slaves’ offer
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES | Rwanda has offered to provide refuge to as many as 30,000 African migrants suffering abuse and slave-like conditions in Libya. Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, who made the announcement on Nov. 22, said the figure “is not confirmed yet but an estimate”. “It has just …
Read More »Nigerian ex-vice president rejoins opposition ahead of 2019 vote
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, announced Sunday that he had rejoined the country’s main opposition party, the latest sign he aims to run for the presidency in 2019. In a live video broadcast on his Facebook page, Abubakar said he was again joining the …
Read More »Army general joins race to challenge Mali’s president in 2018
Bamako, Mali | AFP | A Malian army general and former government minister has resigned his post to stand in the country’s presidential elections in July 2018, sources close to the officer said Sunday. Moussa Sinko Coulibaly is the second person to declare his candidacy, after Kalifa Sanogo, the mayor of …
Read More »Egypt colonel detained after announcing presidential bid
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian military prosecutors ordered a colonel be detained for 15 days after he announced plans to run in the country’s 2018 presidential election, his lawyer said Sunday. Colonel Ahmed Konsowa was detained on Saturday on suspicion of “behaviour that harms the requirements of the military” …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Zimbabwe’s new leader drops 2 ministers after public outcry
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday dropped two ministers he had appointed to his new cabinet just a day earlier, a move widely seen as a response to a public uproar over the nominations. Mnangagwa, 75, named his cabinet overnight Thursday, and is expected to …
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