Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday was sworn in for a second term as president of Kenya, after a bruising election process that has left the nation deeply divided. Kenyatta, 56, took two oaths of office as his second five-year term was sealed by the signature of …
Read More »Teargas, chaos as Kenyatta to be sworn in for disputed second term
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan police fired teargas and clashed with both ruling party and opposition supporters Tuesday ahead of the swearing in as president of Uhuru Kenyatta after two disputed polls that have left the nation deeply divided. As foreign and local dignitaries poured into the 60,000-seat Kasarani …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s new president dissolves Mugabe cabinet
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa three days after his inauguration has dissolved the cabinet of his predecessor Robert Mugabe, who resigned after the military took control of the country, a senior government official said Monday. Mnangagwa “is in the process of putting together a new team of …
Read More »Burkina Faso launches Sahel region’s largest solar power plant
Zagtouli, Burkina Faso | AFP | West Africa’s biggest solar power plant goes onstream on Wednesday as Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries, inaugurates a novel scheme to boost renewables and cut energy dependence on its neighbours. The 55-hectare (135-acre) plant at Zagtouli on the outskirts of the …
Read More »Sacking of Sierra Leone’s former VP ‘void’: regional court
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma unlawfully dismissed his vice president after he was expelled from the ruling party, a West African regional court said on Monday. Samuel Sam-Sumana was kicked out of the All People’s Congress (APC) in March 2015 on suspicion of fomenting violence, …
Read More »Bye-bye Mugabe
How Zimbabweans kicked out 93-year old veteran leader Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | For most people, it was hard to keep up with events in Zimbabwe as the end of the 37-year reign of President Robert Gabriel Mugabe neared. In one week, Mugabe was placed under house arrest by the …
Read More »Kenyatta to start disputed second term
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta is due to be sworn in for a second term on Tuesday, an inauguration delayed by two disputed polls and a series of sometimes deadly street protests. At the same time, opposition leader Raila Odinga has promised to hold a “memorial rally” …
Read More »Burkina grenade attack greets Macron’s Africa tour
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Three civilians were wounded in Burkina Faso on Monday after a grenade was thrown at French troops shortly before President Emmanuel Macron touched down for the start of his first Africa tour. The French president is embarking on a three-day trip of western Africa …
Read More »Gambia court charges soldiers with coup plot
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | A Gambian military court on Monday charged 10 soldiers with treason and mutiny for plotting to overthrow the country’s newly elected government in July, and two more with helping a sergeant evade arrest. Elements of The Gambia’s armed forces are known to have maintained support for …
Read More »UN to discuss tougher response to Libya slave auctions: France
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council must take stronger measures, possibly including sanctions, to put a stop to slave auctions in Libya, the French ambassador said Monday. France has requested an urgent meeting of the council for Tuesday, a week after the top UN body held …
Read More »