AFRICA

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday overturned the war crimes conviction and 18-year prison sentence of Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba, a huge blow to prosecutors that could also impact politics in Democratic Republic of Congo. Judge Christine Van den Wijngaert said Bemba, once the leader of Congo’s main opposition party, could not be held responsible for crimes carried out …

The African Union (AU) passport is expected to be fully rolled out by 2020, the AU Commissioner in charge of Infrastructure, Energy, ICT and Tourism, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, has disclosed. The passport, a common travel document set to replace existing national passports, is expected to grant citizens of member states of the AU visa exemption to all the 54 states …

Hundreds of Ghanaians on Wednesday trooped to Accra to watch alleged acts of bribery involving football officials, including the head of the country’s football association, captured on video demanding kickbacks. Kwesi Nyantakyi, who is also a member of the FIFA Council, was seen in a hotel room taking a $65,000 (£48,393) bribe from a supposed businessman seeking to sponsor the …

In a surprise move, Ethiopia announced Tuesday that it would fully accept the 12 December 2000 Algiers Agreement between the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia, which established a special boundary commission. The Algiers Agreement stipulated that the two states, fresh out of a two-year costly war, would accept a decision by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) as “final and binding.” …

The minimum age for a Nigerian to run for political office has been reduced to twenty-five years from the previous thirty years cap. This follows the signing into law of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill. President Muhammadu Buhari signed the law at the presidential villa in Abuja Thursday flanked by a number of young advocates who vigorously campaigned for the bill. Of …

The Ugandan parliament has passed a law imposing a tax on people using mobile social media networks in an attempt to increase revenue, but rights groups say the levy is actually aimed at silencing dissent. Users will be charged 200 shillings ($0.0531) per day for services such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. That amounts to around $19 per year in …

Rival Libyan factions agreed on Tuesday in Paris to create a political framework paving the way for UN-backed parliamentary and presidential elections in a secure environment by 10 December 2018. The deal aims to end the country’s seven-year-old conflict. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar and …

Zimbabwe will hold its general elections on July 30, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced, the first since the army forced 94-year-old former president Robert Mugabe to resign last November. Mnangagwa, who became president following the military take-over, has promised to deliver on free and fair elections to win over Zimbabwe’s critics at home and abroad. The vote will pit him …

Nationwide protests were held this week in Nigeria to mark the funeral of two priests and 17 church members in Benue State. The government must do more to protect the people, Nigeria’s Catholic bishops say. Katrin Gänsler of the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reports from Gwer, Benue State. Felicia Tabo slowly makes her way through the crowds of …

Burundians overwhelmingly voted for constitutional reforms bolstering President Pierre Nkurunziza’s powers and giving him the option to stay in office until 2034, official results showed Monday. Election commission chief Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said 73 percent of voters had voted “Yes” in a referendum to change the constitution and 19 percent had voted “No”, with a turnout of 96 percent. Last week’s …

The South African Anglican cleric and theologian known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has been voted Africa’s most reputable and ethical individual, while Gift of the Givers and Botswana were recognised as the most admired organisation and country on the continent respectively. Gift of the Givers Foundation is a South African non-governmental …

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to immediately cease the importation of codeine. The ban is specifically in respect of codeine as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations. The directive is meant to curb an addiction crisis exposed by the BBC in a recent undercover film. The …

Africa Eye – a new documentary strand from the BBC launches today with an in-depth investigation into the plague of addiction to cough mixture across Nigeria. The new strand will deliver up to 20 original and high-impact investigations from across Africa every year.   Nisha Kapur, Commissioning Editor for TV said: “Africa Eye will promote the culture of investigative journalism across …

Liberia’s former leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has spoken publicly for the first time about what she intends to use her time for as she settles into life after the presidency. The former Nobel Prize laureate and Africa’s first democratically-elected woman president said she was going to continue with issues of women empowerment whiles advancing the cause of good governance across …

President Muhammadu Buhari has drawn criticism from social media and the opposition alike for saying many young Nigerians think they need “do nothing” to enjoy free homes, hospitals and schooling because they live in an oil-rich country. Buhari, who said last week he will run for a second term in elections next February, made the comments in London where he …

Five armed men kidnapped a German national and killed a policeman in northern Nigeria, police said on Monday. Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a vehicle carrying workers to a construction site run by construction company Dantata & Sawoe in Kano city, abducting the German national working for the firm and killing a police escort, said police spokesman Magaji Musa …

Politicians, ordinary people, supermodels and heads of state from all over the world came to give testimony to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, whose impact was felt across the world, at a heroic farewell on Saturday. Zikhona Masala reports from Johannesburg. It was a funeral service that will forever be on the minds and hearts of those that attended and watched. Thousands of …

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has ordered the release of all political prisoners held in the country, state news agency SUNA said on Tuesday. The decision came in response to calls from political parties and groups that have participated in the country’s ongoing national dialogue to grant detainees the opportunity to engage in the political process, SUNA reported. Bashir, who has …

The election of Julius Maada Bio as president is a vote against corruption and other issues that plagued Sierra Leone in the last decade. It’s also a major victory for the people, says Abu-Bakarr Jalloh, an editor with with DW’s English for Africa service, who is from Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is in a state of awe, a mixture of …

Former South African President Jacob Zuma appeared in court on Friday (6 April) to face corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal. He faces 16 charges including fraud, racketeering and money laundering. They relate to a procurement deal with Thales, a French arms manufacturer, in the mid-1990s, when Zuma was deputy president. Zuma’s financial adviser at the time, …