Africa

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Wednesday dropped the seditious charges against Politician Tundu Lissu and three others, which were pending before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam. He reached into such a decision after entering nolle prosequi certificate to discontinue the prosecution of the charges against them under section 91 (1)…

Chiefs in Kariba district have resolved to impose stiffer fines on people who fail to report, marry off underage girls in a bid to curb cases of child marriage. This would be complementary to criminal law processes as communities come up with measures to reduce the growing menace. Indications are that most cases in the…

Burundi on Monday announced that it had suspended social gatherings on weekdays to curb spread of Covid-19. Social gatherings are however allowed on weekends. The decision was made "because they (citizens) do not respect the measures decreed by the health authorities in the fight against the coronavirus. This has resulted in an increase in Covid-19…

DEBMARINE Namibia's brand new diamond recovery vessel, valued at about N$7 billion, left Romania last week, beginning its month-long maiden voyage to Cape Town, the company has announced. The ship was officially handed over to Debmarine Namibia on 18 August at Damen Shipyards at the Romanian port of Mangalia. Once at Cape Town, the additional…

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo has for the second time suspended Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume on allegations of gross misconduct and violation of the Urban Council's Act. In a letter seen by 263Chat, Moyo made reference to Mafume's arrest in December in which he is alleged to have violated one of…

Nairobi — Kenya Airways Sunday announced the resumption of flights from Nairobi to Mumbai which will begin Monday, September 20. The resumption comes after a four-month break which was necessitated by increased COVID-19 cases in the Asian state. The airline, through a statement, said that the first flight shall depart Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at…

Nairobi — Football Kenya Federation has named Turkish trainer Engin Firat as the new Harambee Stars head coach on a two-month contract. FKF boss Nick Mwendwa announced that Firat will be in charge of the national team for the next four 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. "We were looking for someone who fits the…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its continuous support to the the Government of Nigeria in its goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the local production of traditional medicine. Speaking at the commemoration of the 2021 Traditional Medicine Day held at the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja on 13 September, Dr Kofi Boateng said…

A Nairobi-based lawyer has moved to court to challenge the development and implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) to replace the 8-4-4 education system. Lawyer Esther Ang'awa, the parent of a Standard Three pupil, says the implementation of the CBC has economic implications on learners, parents and caregivers. The parent, in her 69-page petition,…

An Oyo state High Court has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay N20 billion to self-acclaimed Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho. Justice Ladiran Akintola gave the order in a suit filed by Igboho, who is currently in detention in neighbouring Benin Republic. The judge also dismissed application…

Luanda — The Angolan government and the World Bank (WB) signed this Thursday in Luanda, a financing agreement valued at US$150 million, to facilitate the purchase of vaccines, as part of the covid-19 prevention process. On the occasion, the minister of Finance, Vera Daves, highlighted the partnership between the Government of Angola and the WB,…

President Mnangagwa has appointed retired judge Justice November Mtshiya to chair the tribunal to investigate the suitability of suspended High Court Justice Thompson Mabhikwa to hold a judicial office and extended the life span of the tribunal by another six months. Justice Mtshiya takes over after Justice Mafios Cheda who had initially been tasked to…

Health activists under their umbrella, Uganda National Health Consumers' Organisation, (UNHCO) Thursday started a campaign "to get the country on track to regulate and replace the use and consumption of industrially-processed fats also known as trans-fats." The campaign is in line with directives set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat/oils from…

Work has started in Seychelles to tighten laws against child prostitution and labour, said a top government official. The Minister for Social Affairs, Patricia Francourt, and the principal secretary of that department, Linda William-Melanie, outlined on Tuesday the country's completed report on optional child protection laws to present to the United Nations. Although Seychelles is…

Allies of the former minister, prosecutors said, set up companies after Mrs Alison-Madueke took office and got contracts to trade hefty oil allocations on global markets. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former minister of petroleum resources, was part of a grand kickback scheme involving officials of state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and middlemen that delivered mouth-watering…

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have come and gone. The games always motivate some young people to get into sports. But while there is glamour attached to sports participation, there are also well documented challenges with regard to administration and funding in Nigeria. Many of the athletes representing Nigeria in Tokyo experienced funding problems as a…

A WOMAN at Otjiwarongo State Hospital allegedly gave birth to her child in the hospital's reception area unassisted last Friday. Fabiola Katjitjivi (23) says she arrived at the hospital at 12h00 after going into labour. Upon her arrival, Katjitjivi was allegedly left at the reception area unattended. One of her aunts, who works at the…

Effective Law Enforcement, Access to Shelter, Financial Support Are Critical (Nairobi, September 21, 2021) – The Kenyan government’s response to gender-based violence during the Covid-19 pandemic has been too little, too late, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 61-page report, “‘I Had Nowhere to Go’: Violence against Women and Girls during…

The late former president Robert Mugabe caps former First Lady Grace Mugabe at her graduation. The trial of suspended University of Zimbabwe vice chancellor Levi Nyagura on allegations of illegally awarding a PhD to former First Lady Grace Nthombizodwa Mugabe has been deferred to October 13. During the last sitting, former Cabinet Minister Tichaendepi Robert…

From a keynote address to the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Americas Annual General Meeting on September 4, 2021 We cannot build sustainable security in Nigeria if we, as a country, do not understand the exact nature and sources of today's insecurity and then translate this understanding into deep-rooted security and political reforms. Nigeria's security threats…

Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies John Campbell reflects on his last decade writing for Africa in Transition. As of today, I am retiring from the Council on Foreign Relations, where I have held the Ralph Bunche Chair for Africa Policy Studies since 2009. I am delighted that my successor is Michelle Gavin,…

Kampala — Uganda has invited Rwanda for an ad-hoc meeting to discuss and verify the implementation of an agreement that both countries signed in 2019 to put an end to their long standing bilateral tensions. An invitation letter sent by Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen Jeje Odongo, was received by his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent…

Dar es Salaam — Tanzania's representatives in the African Champions League, Young Africans (Yanga), today play Rivers United of Nigeria in the first leg of the preliminary round at the Benjamin Mkapa stadium. The match is scheduled to start at 5pm and Yanga players are upbeat to utilize well the home venue. Yanga's head coach…

East African stock exchanges are racing to establish investment clinics to help attract companies to the stockmarkets and end the persistent initial public offering (IPO) drought. The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) joined Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) in implementing capacity building and training programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises…

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) says it has completed upgrading four national roads and eight other roads in various cities and towns, bringing to 5,591 kilometres the national stock of paved roads. UNRA executive director Allen Kagina said during the 2020/2021 financial year, the national roads agency was able to complete construction of roads connecting…

Uganda has invited Rwanda for an ad-hoc meeting to discuss and verify the implementation of an agreement that both countries signed in 2019 to put an end to their long standing bilateral tensions. An invitation letter sent by Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen Jeje Odongo, was received by his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent Biruta, on…

As the country is slowly opening up, Tsumeb will be treated to a night of good Jazz sounds tomorrow. The first-ever festival will be held at Lilly's Pub in the heart of the copper town. Tickets are going for N$150 in advance, while a N$250 fee is payable at the gate. The event will be…

INFORMATION received from the police in the Netherlands and Australia set Namibian detectives on the trail of Windhoek resident Johann Maree, who is charged with committing numerous sex crimes with underage boys and selling child pornography to paedophiles on the internet. This was conveyed to magistrate Celma Amadhila when Namibian Police commissioner Nelius Becker testified…

DESPITE dining with president Hage Geingob following their brave performance at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, Paralympians are still not impressed with the treatment they receive from the government in comparison to their able-bodied compatriots. The president on Wednesday hosted a dinner to honour the Paralympians after their return from Tokyo, Japan, with two medals.…

The Central Bank on September 9, updated the country on the state of the economy in the first half of the year during the twice-yearly Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement. During the update led by Governor John Rwangombwa, the central bank made updates of key economic aspects. Below are the key highlights. 1. Rwanda…

President Museveni yesterday met some of the families who lost their loved ones in the recent spate of machete killings in Greater Masaka Sub-region, and once again vowed to hunt down all the killers he described as "cowardly pigs" . Mr Museveni made a contribution of Shs10 million to each of the 25 families presented…

More than 1,000 heads of livestock are feared dead in Tana River County as drought ravages the county. What used to be green grazing fields filled with grass and fodder is now a bed of carcasses as residents count losses each day. Villages are filled with choking odour as locals teeter at the brink of…

Reading time: Twelve months ago, the world came together to support COVAX, a multilateral initiative aimed at guaranteeing global access to life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. With the support of the international community, COVAX immediately began securing financing, entering into negotiations with vaccine developers and manufacturers and addressing the host of technical and operational challenges associated with…

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has relaxed lockdown measures while downgrading the lockdown level from four to two with a review in two weeks time. In a televised address, Mnangagwa allowed the following measures: Public gatherings have been allowed for not more than 100 people. Curfew hours have been adjusted to between 10 PM and 5.30 AM,…

ICELANDIC whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson says both Namibian and Icelandic Fishrot accused are trying to jeopardise and delay the fishing rights bribery scheme cases by lying to the court. This is what Stefánsson, the former director of operations in Namibia for Icelandic fishing company Samherji, told The Namibian on Monday. This was in response to a…

A consignment of up to 647,080 doses of the American-made Moderna Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Uganda on Monday. The vaccine doses that have been donated by the US government arrived at around 6pm. National Medical Stores (NMS) spokesperson, Sheila Nduhukire said the "Ministry of Health will handover the consignment to NMS for onward storage and…

Covid-19 vaccine donations will not cut it for Africa, and the continent needs to be serious about setting up vaccine manufacturing plants so as to end reliance on the West, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said. His remarks come a week after BioNTech, a German biotechnology company producing the Pfizer vaccine, announced that it was…

Vihiga Bullets have qualified for next season's Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) after finishing second as the Betika National Super League season ended Sunday. The western region team secured a 2-0 win over Kibera Black Stars at Bukhungu Stadium to end on 64 points from 37 matches and grab the second automatic promotion slot…

Maputo — The French oil and gas company Total has announced that it is suspending resumption of work on building natural gas liquefaction plants in the Afungi Peninsula, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. Total heads a consortium exploiting the offshore natural gas resources in Area One of the Rovuma Basin. The project,…

It's estimated that 90% of the world's trade is transported by sea. As consumers, we rarely give much thought to how the things we buy make their way across the planet and into our homes. That is, until an incident like the recent grounding of a huge container ship, the Ever Given, in the Suez…

Nigerian Artistes Omah Lay and Terms have today afternoon been arraigned before court and had their charges read to them. The Infinity and Try Me hit-makers were charged with engaging in activities likely to spread an infectious disease after they performed at a concert yet the current presidential directives about …

The African Union Commission convened a virtual meeting on 03rd June 2020 with African ministers of Health and Finance to discuss progress made and status of the Continental Response to halt transmission and combat the social and economic shocks in Africa related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his welcoming remarks, HE …

As part of its vision to transform its economy, the Republic of Sudan announced today a new commitment to accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments. By joining the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance, the government commits to increasing financial inclusion and transparency, taking steps to build an economy …

The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a $1.2 million grant to Ethiopia’s government to finance a feasibility study for the construction of a standard-gauge railway (SGR) link between Ethiopia and neighbouring Sudan. The grant, from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional-rate lending arm, would cover …

The African Energy Chamber is all set for Mozambique’s first webinar dedicated to building local content and domestic capacity, organized by the newly-created Mozambican Oil & Gas Chamber. The webinar will be held on Wednesday June 10th, 2020 at 2:30PM GMT. The webinar will be debating the ways to ensure …

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, aged 55, has died of a heart attack, the government says. “The Government of the Republic of Burundi announces with great sadness the unexpected death of His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, at the Karusi Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital following a cardiac arrest …

South Sudan has a critical window in which actions can be taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 and avert the worst. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) fears that if the virus takes hold it could be particularly devastating to communities already suffering from years of war …

Chinese billionaire and co-founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, says he will donate masks, test kits and protective suits to all countries in Africa to help the continent in its fight against the novel coronavirus. Ma’s foundation will donate at total of 1.1 million testing kits, six million masks, and 60,000 …

With many countries resorting to public gatherings ban in order to prevent the risk of coronavirus infection, Tanzania is apparently adopting a similar approach after the government on Sunday cancelled the ongoing preparations of the interprimary and secondary school games until further notice. Besides, the government through the Minister of …

A young man who voluntarily entered a ‘sex slavery” convenant with his land lady and unable to bear it any longer-perhaps has taken to twitter to ‘confess’. The guy reveled that he has been sleeping with his landlady for the past eight years noa and for that reason, he doesn’t …