Cameroon recently arrested a losing candidate in their most recent presidential elections because of the candidate being adamant he won the elections. Although that has nothing to do with what the United Nations human rights chief has stated, Cameroon has a questionable human rights record. Geopolitically, the turmoil makes sense within Cameroon because of its location — Sub-Saharan Africa, but… Read more »
One of Africa’s most stable democracies, Senegal, recently had a presidential election. President Macky Sall won the election with 58% of the votes, not requiring a runoff election in March. Although Senegal is one of the most stable countries on the African continent, there were demonstrations during the campaigning period. There were less than ten casualties during the demonstrations. The… Read more »
The African Union is seeking to kill off the EU’s latest blueprint for stemming migration, claiming that it would breach international law by establishing “de facto detention centres” on African soil, trampling over the rights of those being held. A “common African position paper” leaked to the Guardian reveals the determination of the 55-member state body, currently headed by Egypt, to dissuade… Read more »
More than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria, a local official said on Saturday. The blast early on Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state, the Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, told the Associated Press. The Nembe trunk line is operated by the… Read more »
The Liberian police have formally charged the son of the country’s former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in connection with the unlawful overprinting of local currency worth millions of US dollars. Charles Sirleaf, the 61-year-old former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, was ordered by a court in the capital, Monrovia, on Monday to be held in jail pending the scheduling of the trial. Additionally, Sirleaf, former head of… Read more »
Cameroon may fall further into violence if the government does not stop hate speech by politicians and heavy-handed tactics by security forces, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday. Long-running tensions have erupted into conflicts with separatists in the southwest and Islamists in the northwest, prompting crackdowns by security forces and leaving 1.3 million people in need of aid,… Read more »
South Africa recently discovered a large deposit of natural resources, specifically gas and oil. This discovery could be the equivalent of one billion barrels. This discovery comes at an interesting time whilst looking at the political situation of Venezuela. The United States has placed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. They have yet to determine how much oil there is… 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 »
Senegal’s presidential candidates are wrapping up their election campaigns on Friday, as rights groups call on authorities to make sure the vote is held in a climate free of violence and intimidation. More than six million Senegalese citizens have registered to take part in Sunday’s poll, the first since the West African country cut the presidential term from seven years to five in… Read more »
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 are still… Read more »