AFRICA

In the run-up to Nigeria’s next general polls in 2019, the country’s political parties have started building alliances to fight an electoral battle that many analysts are already dubbing a watershed in the country’s democratic experience. Twenty-four hours after a group of 38 parties, led by the biggest opposition party People’s Democratic Party (PDP), announced the formation of the Coalition …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has opened the first phase of the country’s first metro-rail service in the capital Abuja – some eleven years after the project was initiated. Abuja Rail Mass Transit, commonly known as Abuja Light Rail, is a commuter rail transport system in the Federal Capital Territory. The first phase of the Abuja light rail system has two …

The African Union (AU) has described the normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea as a boost for peace and security in the Horn of Africa region and on the continent as a whole. The AU’s view is also shared by the European Union (EU). Both blocs issued statements on Monday congratulating leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea – Prime Minister …

Many international organisations have expressed concern over violent attacks perpetrated by suspected cattle herders from the Fulani ethnic group in the central Nigerian state of Plateau early this week. The state government say more than 200 persons, including women and children, were killed in the military-style attack on 11 villages across three local government areas without the intervention of security forces. …

Nigeria is far from ready to hold a credible ballot in 2019, argues Olayinka Ajala, Associate Lecturer and Conflict Analyst at the University of York, UK. The 2019 presidential election in Nigeria will be the country’s sixth since 1999, when it shifted to democracy after a long period of military rule. Most of these elections have been tarnished by acts …

Obviously to change the observed apathy of devout Christians to politics in Nigeria, one of the country’s leading churches has now started a campaign encouraging its members to register to vote at next year’s general election. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has flagged off a political awareness campaign tagged ‘Let my people vote’, signalling what  many describe as …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, will appear at the Durban High Court on Friday to face more than a dozen corruption charges that date back to a fraught $2.5bn arms deal in the mid 1990s. Zuma, 75, faces 16 charges of corruption, racketeering and fraud, including taking bribes from a French arms manufacturer in a set of accusations that …

Opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio has won a narrow victory in a run-off election to become Sierra Leone’s new president. The National Electoral Commission announced at 10pm local time that Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won 51.8 percent of a total of over 2.5 million ballots cast in the March 31 vote, beating the ruling All …