AFRICA

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | The death toll from a mudslide and flooding that struck Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown has reached 441, the government said on Saturday. “Four hundred and forty-one corpses (were) buried as at yesterday,” the deputy minister of information and communication, Cornelius Deveaux, told AFP, adding that …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe failed to appear Saturday at a summit in South Africa attended by her husband, an event overshadowed by her effort to obtain diplomatic immunity over assault allegations. The wife of President Robert Mugabe has not been seen since being accused …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will return home on Saturday after spending more than 100 days in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment, his office said. The 74-year-old left for the British capital on May 7 with his prolonged absence causing tensions back home where …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s opposition filed a petition late Friday at the Supreme Court challenging the conduct and results of last week’s election won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, demanding new polls. Court registrar Esther Nyaiyaki received piles of bound papers from lawyers representing the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe has declared President Robert Mugabe’s birthday on February 21 a national holiday, a state daily reported Saturday, honouring the veteran politician in power since 1980 who opponents accuse of brutal repression and devastating the economy. The declaration of the Robert Mugabe National Youth Day …

Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Rwandan President Paul Kagame was sworn in Friday in front of a packed crowd in the national stadium in Kigali, entertained by a military parade and drummers. “Let’s ensure that those who struggled and perished to build this new Rwanda, and to liberate Africa, …

Kigali, Rwanda | FRIDAY |  Paul Kagame was sworn-in Friday as President of the Republic of Rwanda during a ceremony that was attended by over 20 heads of state and Government and friends of Rwanda from all corners of the word. This follows the recent Presidential elections that saw President Kagame win overwhelming …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |Four people were hacked to death and their houses torched in an attack claimed by Shabaab militants in Kenya’s coastal Lamu county, police said Friday. “The attackers dragged people from their houses and killed them. We have launched investigations to establish the motive of the attack,” …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Aid workers in Sierra Leone warned of a humanitarian crisis on Friday as the official death toll passed 400, with more than a hundred children among the victims — and a similar number orphaned. Heavy rains that hit the capital Freetown on Monday triggered the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African officials were on Friday considering whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe over her alleged assault on 20-year-old model in a Johannesburg hotel. Mugabe, who has not been seen since the Sunday’s incident, is due to attend a Southern …