Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, from the governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), has been voted in as Namibia’s first female president after last week’s disputed election. The electoral commission said she had won more than 57% of the votes cast, with her closest rival Panduleni Itula getting 26%. But following logistical problems and a three-day extension […]
Category: Africa
World’s longest detained journalist wins rights prize
A journalist detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 23 years has won a Swedish human rights prize for his commitment to freedom of expression. Dawit Isaak, who holds dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, was given the Edelstam Prize “for his… exceptional courage”, the foundation behind the award said in a statement. Dawit, who holds dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, […]
South African unemployment rate dips under coalition government
South Africa’s unemployment rate fell in the three months after the formation of a coalition government that has boosted business confidence and led to hopes for more progress on economic reform, data showed on Tuesday. The official unemployment rate fell to 32.1% in the third quarter of 2024, from 33.5% in the second quarter the […]
Ghana meets Malian security ‘capos’ over regional security cooperation
As part of efforts in enhancing regional security cooperation, senior officials of Ghana’s security and intelligence agencies, led by the Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Bismarck Kwasi Onwona and other senior military officers on Friday held strategic discussions with Mali’s Minister for National Security and Civil Protection, […]
Equatorial Guinea sex tape scandal: The story behind the Baltasar Ebang Engonga leak
What the rest of the world sees as a sex tape scandal could in fact be the latest episode in the real-life drama over who will become Equatorial Guinea’s next president. Over the past fortnight, dozens of videos – estimates range from 150 to more than 400 – have been leaked of a senior civil […]
Sahel jihadis find refuge and supplies in northern Ghana, sources say
Islamist militants fighting in Burkina Faso are on a campaign to expand their footprint in West Africa. And seven sources, include Ghanaian security officials and diplomats, have told Reuters the fighters are discreetly using Ghana’s north as a logistical and medical rear base. Stocking up on food, fuel and even explosives, as well as getting […]
Jospong Group helps Uganda tackle waste
The Ugandan government has struck a partnership with Ghana’s Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) to decommission a 39-acre Kiteezi landfill site in the Wakiso District, near Kampala, and transform it into an ecological recreational facility. As part of the project, the company plans to invest in integrated composting and recycling systems, transfer stations and provide […]
EC prepared for December elections — ECOWAS group
The Chairman of the West Africa Elders Forum (a high diplomatic election observer group), former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, has stated that the Electoral Commission (EC) has shown that it is competent and prepared to conduct the December 7 elections. He said the EC had depicted through its interactions that it was fully prepared and […]
Outrage in South Africa as farmer murders two women, feeds bodies to pigs
The case of two black women who were allegedly shot and fed to pigs by a white farmer and two of his workers has caused outrage in South Africa. Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were allegedly looking for food on the farm near Polokwane in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province in August when […]
ECOWAS facilitates female access to health, education
The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has launched four programmes to help improve women and girls’ access to basic social services, particularly in the areas of education and health. The four programmes which are under the EGDC’s flagship programme: “Human Capital Development and […]
Forty-eight killed in Nigeria fuel tanker crash
At least 48 people have been killed in the central Nigerian state of Niger, after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle, the country’s disaster agency said. The Niger State Emergency Management Agency said the collision happened at about 00:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday, and caused an explosion which […]
Burkina Faso issues new passports without West African bloc’s logo
Burkina Faso has launched new biometric passports without the logo of West Africa’s main political and economic bloc on their cover, further signalling its determination to withdraw from the regional alliance after military leaders took power in a coup. Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, three neighbouring states now led by military juntas, jointly announced in January they […]