Category archives for: African News

Kabila election gamble leads Congo into crisis

by Habibou Bangré President Joseph Kabila’s bid to extend his stay in power was met with protests and violence on the streets of Kinshasa this week, with demonstrators condemning a government they accuse of failing its people. “What more can Kabila do that he didn’t do in 15 years [in power]?” screamed one protester among […]

How South Sudan’s leaders robbed their country – and nearly got away with it

By Karin Zeitvogel South Sudan’s political and military leaders have bled their country dry to fuel extravagant lifestyles and fund a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, says the Washington-based conflict investigative group, The Sentry, co-founded by actor George Clooney and human rights activist John […]

NIGERIA: No money, no oil, no deal

There is an inexorable logic to the tortuous negotiations between the government and the Niger Delta Avengers, the most determined of the militant groups launching attacks in the oil-producing mangrove swamps and creeks. Without oil production, neither side has anything to talk about. That doesn’t make the talks inevitable, however. There is a new wave […]

Gabon opposition headquarters ‘bombed by presidential guard’

Ruth Maclean in Dakar Gabon’s presidential guard has apparently bombed the opposition party’s headquarters during post-election violence that has threatened to split the country apart. Clashes between angry protesters and security forces broke out in the normally peaceable central African country after the incumbent president, Ali Bongo, was declared the winner of a hotly contested […]

‘’Blockbuster’ Funding for UK Investigation Is A Step Towards Justice In Congo’s Secretive Mining Sales Scandal

Several months before a contentious Presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011 a state mining company transferred, on the orders of the government, $10 million into an election fund. The millions were part of the proceeds from a secretive sale by the state miner of rich copper mines to offshore companies in […]

Outside Zimbabwe, Anti-Government Pastor Takes Stock Of His Movement

Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean clergyman, rose to prominence in the spring, when he draped the national flag around his shoulders and took to YouTube to call for change in his country, which has been ruled for more than three decades by President Robert Mugabe and is beset by chronic economic problems. “This flag, every day […]

US Groups Want (Ghana’s) EC To Be Transparent

International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of the United States of America have observed that Ghana cannot afford an Electoral Commission (EC) that is not transparent, accountable and credible. The international bodies have therefore, charged the commission to do everything possible to ensure that the crucial December general election is conducted […]

DR Congo communities pressured to cede land rights by plantation company controlled by development banks

Over the past few days, Feronia Inc., a Canadian-based company, majority-owned by European and US development banks, has been pressuring local communities to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would endorse the company’s continued operation and expansion of oil palm plantations within their territories. Despite severe pressure and intimidation, the communities have rejected the […]

China’s dangerous double game in the Sudans

by By Jared Ferrie Weapons manufactured by China and sold to Sudan have been funnelled to rebels in South Sudan, where two Chinese peacekeepers were recently killed. The London-based Conflict Armament Research group has told IRIN that in May it documented 1,300 boxes of ammunition captured by the government military, which is still referred to […]

How child marriage exacerbates Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic

By Eka Williams Africa is home to approximately two-thirds of the global population living with HIV and— despite a decline in HIV infection rates and AIDS mortality— the epidemic continues to take a toll across the continent. At the same time, Africa is also home to 15 of the 20 countries with the highest prevalence […]

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