AFRICA

The former governor warned that ruling the Igbos out of the presidency in 2023 is capable of causing political unrest in the country.

To mend fences with African countries whose nationals were victims of recent xenophobic attacks targeted at foreign African residents in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa dispatched three special envoys to seven African countries to deliver messages of apology and solidarity on 15 September. Analysts across the continent are interpreting the gesture and its likely impact on the future safety of …

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, a former president of Tunisia has died in exile, his family said. Ben Ali, 83, fled to Saudi Arabia when he left office and was living there before his death on Thursday. His funeral will take place on Friday in Saudi Arabia, his lawyer told Reuters news agency. Ben Ali’s death is coming days after Tunisia …

West Africa is embracing technology to power the response to infectious disease outbreaks. The 15 member states of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) are leveraging technology that will help them prevent cross-border outbreaks of epidemics including Ebola, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, measles, onchocerciasis and meningitis. As part of the USAID funded Regional Action through Data (RAD) program, WAHO …

Members of the Coalition for Revolution movement and supporters of Omoyele Sowore, a prominent Nigerian journalist, human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner currently detained by the government, carried out peaceful protests in three countries on Thursday.    The “#FreeSoworeNow Global Action” was carried out in Lagos, London and Rome.   They called for the release of Sowore and other activists …

Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have barricaded the Lagos, Nigeria office of SaharaReporters, an online news platform owned by Omoyele Sowore, a prominent Nigerian journalist, human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner currently detained by the government. The security operatives reportedly prevented staff from gaining access into the building premises, located at GRA in the Ikeja area of Lagos State. …

The evacuation of the second batch of Nigerians from South Africa, on Tuesday suffered setback following the delay by the South African authorities to grant landing permit to Air Peace. Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, had volunteered to evacuate the returnees in the wake of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other foreign nationals living in the country. The airline, in …

There will be a global protest for the release of Omoyele Sowore, a prominent Nigerian journalist, human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner. The protest, according to the TakeItBack Movement, will hold on 18 September in Nigeria and across Nigeria embassies in European countries like Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. Using the hashtag #FreeSoworeNow, the organizers said the protest will also …

South Africa has begun efforts to mend fences with African countries whose nationals were victims of recent xenophobic attacks targeted at foreign African residents in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has apologised to Nigeria over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in the country. Ramaphosa sent Jeff Radebe, a special envoy, to President Muhammadu Buhari, to tender an apology letter on behalf of the South Africa government at the state house in Abuja on Monday. Radebe condemned the incessant xenophobic attacks, describing them as …

Omoyele Sowore, the Nigerian  prominent journalist, human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, has applied for bail in a fresh application he filed at the Federal Hight Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Sowore, founder of Sahara Reporters, an online news agency based in New York City that focuses on corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Nigeria,  was arrested 3 …

Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, a former minister of health in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been arrested by the police for alleged mismanagement of $150 million funds, earmarked for Ebola epidemic. Ilunga was grilled earlier this month and he denied any wrongdoing. The police however arrested and detained Ilunga following a tip-off that he was going to flee the …

President Cyril Ramaphosa booed at Mugabe’s funeral in Harare over xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals living in South Africa as world leaders pay tribute to the founding father of Zimbabwe. World leaders gathered in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, on Saturday for the funeral of the country’s former president, Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Among the statesmen and women who attended the event …

Nigeria’s vice president, professor Yemi Osinbajo, will represent Nigeria at the funeral of Robert Mugabe, the late former president of Zimbabwe. More than a dozen current and former leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, are expected to attend the event, holding on Saturday, 14 September at the National Stadium in Harare . On …

The Nigerian mission in South Africa, on Friday, denied arrest report of Nigerian returnees by the immigration during the course of evacuation. On Wednesday, 189 Nigerians were evacuated from South Africa, in the wake of xenophobic attacks on them and other foreign nationals living in the country.   The Air Peace flight, which volunteered to evacuate the returnees, arrived the …

The 189 Nigerian nationals evacuated from South Africa by the Nigerian government have narrated their experiences in the wake of xenophobic attacks on them and other foreign nationals living in South Africa.   They arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, on Wednesday and were received by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), and officials …

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory and re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23, 2019 presidential poll. The petitioners asked the court to nullify the president’s election and order a fresh election on the ground …

It started as a rumour, but it’s now official. There is a programme to transfer migrants stranded in Libya to Rwanda, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday in Geneva. The measure is part of an “emergency transit mechanism”, to evacuate people at risk of harm in detention centres inside the county. Babar Baloch, UNHCR spokesman, said the agreement …

FOR THE RECORD!   Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (91), founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party, addressed the Zulu community in Johannesburg on Sunday (8 September 2019) to quell tensions in light of the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in the country.   The former interior minister addressed a lot of salient issues connected to the anti-foreigner riots, including irregular migration and …

Diplomatic actions taken by the Nigerian government against the incessant xenophobic attacks on her citizens and other foreign nationals living in South Africa may have been futile, as some protesters insisted all foreigners must leave the country. The crowd of protesters, on Sunday, disrupted a speech being delivered in Johannesburg by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a Zulu chief and former leader of …