Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | More than a hundred Tanzanian civil society groups raised their voices on Wednesday against “unprecedented” violations of human and democratic rights under the government of President John Magufuli. In a rare act of public solidarity, 105 organisations signed a statement warning of “multiple cases (of …
Read More »In Kenya, anti-poaching dogs are wildlife’s best friends
Maasai Mara, Kenya | AFP | Five-month-old bloodhound Shakaria gambols through the long savannah grasses of Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve, her playful mood swiftly turning to keen determination as she is ordered to track a human scent. Straining at the leash, she pulls her handler along an invisible scent path …
Read More »Tanzania orders probe after stray police bullet kills student
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Sunday ordered an inquiry after police admitted responsibility for the death of a 22-year-old student who was hit by a stray bullet as they sought to break up an opposition rally. The young woman’s death on Friday night triggered an …
Read More »Tanzania’s opposition accuse police of killing student
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzania’s main opposition party Saturday accused police of shooting dead a female university student and seriously injuring at least four other people while trying to disperse a peaceful demonstration in the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam. The local police have admitted a person was …
Read More »Zanzibaris challenge union with Tanzania in regional court
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Separatist campaigners on the East African island of Zanzibar have appealed to a regional court to challenge the legality of its union with mainland Tanzania, they said Thursday. Rashid Salum Adiy, head of the Zanzibar Rights of Freedom and Autonomy (Zarfa) organisation, a group not …
Read More »Tanzanian opposition politician ‘murdered’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A local leader of the main Tanzanian opposition party has been found beaten to death after men bundled him into a car, party chairman Freeman Mbowe said Wednesday. Daniel John was responsible for the Chadema party in the Hananasif district of the economic capital Dar …
Read More »Tanzania clamps down on cannabis
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian authorities have stepped up an escalating war on cannabis by destroying 14 hectares (35 acres) of the crop in the northern province of Arusha in recent days. Saturday alone saw eight hectares laid waste at the Meru forest reserve following another six acres earlier …
Read More »Tanzania unveils e-passport
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On Jan 31. Tanzanian government unveiled an electronic passport to enhance national security, control illegal immigrants and play a key role in revenue collection. President John Magufuli said the new development is part of efforts to improve productivity and simplify service delivery. He also …
Read More »UN urges fair trial for anti-Kabila army rebel
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) on Wednesday urged a fair trial for an army officer who deserted and is accused of rebellion. “We are calling for the holding of a fair trial for Mr (John) Tshibangu,” Monusco spokeswoman Florence …
Read More »DR Congo rebel colonel arrested in Tanzania: rights group
Paris, France | AFP | A former DR Congo army colonel who threatened an uprising against President Joseph Kabila has been arrested in neighbouring Tanzania, which may be preparing to extradite him, a rights group said Thursday. John Tshibangu, who deserted to rebel against Kabila in 2012, said in a …
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