Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambia’s opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema was arrested Wednesday on charges of sedition and unlawful assembly, police said. Hichilema, who disputed the result of August polls which re-elected President Edgar Lungu, was detained along with Geoffrey Mwamba, the vice-president of his United …
Read More »Buhari sells presidential jets amid Nigeria economic crisis
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is selling two of his jets in a bid to cut costs as the West African country battles to overcome a recession. In a statement released late on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said that Buhari is reducing the number of …
Read More »American killed in Ethiopia as protests surge after stampede
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | An American woman was killed by a rock thrown in a town outside the Ethiopian capital, the US embassy said Wednesday, as anti-government anger sparked fresh protests after a deadly stampede. Protesters stoned the vehicle the woman was travelling in as demonstrations sprung up …
Read More »Uganda 19th in 2016 Ibrahim Index of African Governance
Security hampers 10-year African governance growth London, United Kingdom | AFP | Governance in Africa has gradually improved over the past 10 years but has been held back by deteriorating security and the rule of law, an annual index tracking development showed Monday. Some 70 percent of African citizens now …
Read More »Besigye says he will not be deterred
Former presidential candidate Kiiza Besigye has condemned the manner in which he was handled when he landed at Entebbe airport early Monday. Besigye accused security operatives of “kidnapping” him. Briefing journalists, Besigye said he was whisked away in a police vehicle to his home in Kasangati without his luggage and that his …
Read More »Why divided Colombia said ‘No’ to peace deal
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombians say they are sick of their country’s 52-year civil war. So why did a thin majority of voters reject their biggest chance yet for peace? Forecasts ahead of Sunday’s surprise referendum result misjudged how divided Colombians are over how to settle the conflict …
Read More »EU observers were wiretapped during Gabon vote
Paris, France | AFP | Gabonese intelligence wiretapped EU election observers who voiced grave doubts over the outcome of hotly disputed August 27 polls in the oil-rich central African nation, a French weekly reported Sunday. In what it dubbed Gabon’s “Watergate”, the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) did not say how …
Read More »DRC electoral commission seeks to delay vote to late 2017
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission on Saturday said it would seek to delay calling voters to the polls until late 2017, though the opposition swiftly rejected the proposal. The announcement came amid opposition fears that President Joseph Kabila will not step …
Read More »THERESA MAY: a private woman and political enigma as UK PM
Birmingham, United Kingdom | AFP | Facing ever-louder calls to define what Brexit means, the honeymoon is already over for British Prime Minister Theresa May after her meteoric rise to Downing Street following the vote to leave the EU. May swept to power ultimately unopposed in July in an internal …
Read More »Handshakes, Hebrew and humour as Peres laid to rest
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | The gathering of world leaders for Friday’s funeral of Israel’s ex-president Shimon Peres featured a rare show of Israel-Palestinian detente, US President Barack Obama’s attempt at Hebrew and just a touch of humour. Handshake On arrival at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery, Palestinian president Mahmud …
Read More »