AFRICA

A group of Togolese opposition parties has called for a march in the capital Lome on 30 and 31 August to demand political reforms, according to a statement released Wednesday evening. Cap 2015, a coalition of five parties, the Pan-African National Party (PNP) and another group of six parties also demanded the release of those arrested on 19 August during …

Angolans vote Wednesday in an election that will see President Jose Eduardo dos Santos quit after nearly four decades in power, but with his hand-picked successor widely expected to take over. The long-time leader has laid the groundwork for his designated successor in an oil-rich country where poverty, corruption and human rights concerns are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. Defense …

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable, in an apparent reference to tension in the country.  In his broadcast to the nation this morning, following his extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom, Buhari also directed security agencies to fight and destroy terrorists and criminals “so that the majority of us can live in …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari returned home unexpectedly on Saturday after three months in Britain where he had been on medical leave. A group of Nigerians had staged a protest outside the London residence of the ailing president on Friday, demanding that he returns home to Nigeria or resign immediately due to an undisclosed ailment that had kept him out of …

In the midst of political agitations from different groups in the country, Nigeria’s federal government has come into the debate forcefully by declaring hate speech as a crime of terrorism under the country’s amended anti-terrorism law. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo clearly stated on Thursday at a security forum in the capital Abuja that the government is taking intimidation of people …

The Ghana Food and Drugs Authority has commenced the implementation of the ban on import and sale of skin bleaching products imposed in January this year. The Acting Chief Executive of the Authority, Mimi Darko told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday (16 August) that they are cracking down on the products in the market. She told the committee that the …

Leader of the Kenyan opposition Raila Odinga will take his claim that last week’s presidential election was rigged to the country’s Supreme Court. Although foreign observers said the vote was free and fair, Odinga, who lost out to incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, has accused the electoral authorities of fraud tantamount to “democracy’s slaughter”. He said his party, the left wing …

Hundreds of people are feared dead in Sierra Leone’s capital city following a massive mudslide. Dozens of houses were submerged in mud after heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse in the mountain town of Regent on the outskirts of Freetown. Some reports put the death toll as high as 200. As many as 60 children are thought to be …

Kenyans largely ignored an opposition call to go on strike on Monday, re-opening shops and returning to work as they shrugged off demands for demonstrations against President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election and against the killing of protesters. Cars, buses and motorcycles returned to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, and the western town of Kisumu after days of quiet due to …

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared winner of the 2017 presidential election, wining a second term in office. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the final results on Friday in the capital Nairobi. “Uhuru Kenyatta garnered 8,203,290 votes representing 54.27 per cent of votes. He has attained 25 per cent in 35 counties,” Chebukati …

The head of the European Union’s election observer mission in Kenya said on Thursday it had seen no signs of “centralised or localised manipulation” of the voting process. Marietje Schaake said that the EU mission’s final report would evaluate the conduct of the tallying process, which opposition leader Raila Odinga said had been compromised by hackers. The EU said candidates …

Forty-one Nigerians deported from seven European countries for committing immigration-related offences arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday (10 August). The Nigerians were deported from Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Denmark. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, learned that the aircraft with registration mark EC-120 which flew in the deportees, comprising 35 males and six …

Kenya’s main opposition coalition party National Super Alliance (NASA) has called on the electoral commission to declare its candidate Raila Odinga as president. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, in the presence of Raila Odinga, NASA campaign chief Musalia Mudavadi said they had received data from unnamed IEBC sources that indicate that their candidate is in the lead. “The …

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa again survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday in the most serious attempt yet to unseat him after months of growing anger over alleged corruption and a sinking economy. Zuma had survived six previous attempts to dislodge him in parliament, but this was the first to be held by secret ballot after parliamentary …

More than 50 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia were “deliberately drowned” when a smuggler forced them into the sea off Yemen’s coast, the UN migration agency said Wednesday, calling the drownings “shocking and inhumane.” International Organization for Migration (IOM) staffers found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants on a beach in Shabwa during a routine patrol, the agency’s …

With voting over and counting underway, a crisis is brewing in Kenya, which held a general election on Tuesday. Over 80% of the results have been announced and the opposition is trailing the incumbent by over 1.2 million votes. On Wednesday morning, the election commission website showed Kenyatta leading with 54.4 per cent of the votes against 44.8 per cent …

Head of the European Union Elections Observer Mission in Kenya, Marietje Schaake, says Augsut 8’s elections should not be a life and death affair. She stated that Kenyans have shown that all they want is a peaceful, credible and transparent process in the exercise of their democratic rights. She was speaking in an interview with Daniel Finnan of Radio France …

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has won a third term in office, garnering a whopping 98 per cent of votes counted, according to partial results released today. There had been little doubt that the 59-year-old would return to the helm of the east African nation which he has ruled with an iron fist since the end of the 1994 genocide. With …

Kenyans, Rwandans, and Angolans go to the polls in August to vote for president and members of parliament. The elections in Rwanda and Angola do not promise any surprises as the ruling parties in both countries are well entrenched in power. Kenya however is another matter. ———————— Kagame to continue The 4 August presidential election in Rwanda is seen as …

Exactly a week before Kenya goes to the polls to elect a new president, the official in charge of electronic voting was found dead on Monday after being missing for three days. The body of Chris Msando, who was the head of information, communication and technology at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), was found in a bush by …