A United Nations report says its investigators have identified alleged perpetrators of pervasive rape, killings and torture in South Sudan’s civil war – violence they believe was driven by oil revenues. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Wednesday said the army, national security, military intelligence, rebel forces and affiliated armed groups committed serious human rights breaches. The UN body had drawn up… Read more »
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Congolese police of summarily executing at least 27 people, some of whom were bound, strangled and mutilated in a crackdown on gangs in the capital Kinshasa last year. Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo denied the allegations that were in a report published on Thursday by the US-based rights group. The report, based on interviews… Read more »
MORE ON KENYA Kenya’s High Court has postponed a much-anticipated ruling on whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise gay sex, citing a heavy caseload. Friday’s announcement of a delay was met with dismay by Kenya’s LGBT community and their allies, who have been anxiously awaiting a ruling on the petition, which was filed three years ago. “The files are above my height… we… Read more »
Migingo Island, a 2,000 square meter round rock crammed with metal shacks and a population of over 500 inhabitants, lies in Lake Victoria right on the border between Uganda and Kenya. The two countries both claim ownership of the island, as its deep surrounding waters are home to an abundance of fish, such as the Nile perch, making it a… Read more »
Eight miners have been rescued from two flooded mine shafts west of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, officials have said, although dozens more miners are still missing and feared dead. “So far we have managed to bring out eight miners alive and we are yet to assess and find any more people down there who are still alive,” Tapererwa Paswavaviri, the… Read more »
Migingo island, Lake Victoria – A round rock crammed with corrugated metal shacks rises out of Lake Victoria right at the border between Kenya and Uganda. The deep waters that surround it are rich with fish. Migingo Island covers less than half a football pitch but more than 500 people, according to the Ugandan police, live in less than 2,000 square metres area. The rock island, with its… Read more »
A Chinese businesswoman labelled the “Ivory Queen” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Tanzanian judge for smuggling the tusks of more than 350 elephants. Yang Feng Glan, 69, had been charged in October 2015 along with two Tanzanian men with smuggling about 860 pieces of ivory worth 13bn shillings ($5.6m) over several years to Asia. Kisutu… Read more »
A United Nations report says its investigators have identified alleged perpetrators of pervasive rape, killings and torture in South Sudan‘s civil war – violence they believe was driven by oil revenues. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Wednesday said the army, national security, military intelligence, rebel forces and affiliated armed groups committed serious human rights breaches. The UN body had drawn up… Read more »
After losing in the October presidential election, Cameroon’s main opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, led a small rally against the long-serving President Paul Biya. The rally is costing Kamto after it was broken up by gun fire and wounding six people. These weren’t the last of the anti-biya protest. Many have had to be put down across the country by security… Read more »
In a campaign video featuring images of fireballs and flashing lights, Senegalese President Macky Sall is depicted in front of an express train, a motorway, a glass high-rise and then a sports arena. The video montage, describing Sall as an innovator, visionary and entrepreneur, draws attention to big-ticket construction projects in a $16.5-billion development program which he hopes will win… Read more »
