Tag: africanews

A Senegalese court on Thursday gave opposition politician Ousmane Sonko a two-month suspended prison sentence for defaming a minister. Ousmane Sonko, 48, had to answer for defamation, insults and forgery against the Minister of Tourism Mame Mbaye Niang. In addition to the two-month suspended prison sentence, the court fined Mr Sonko, who was absent from the hearing, 200 million CFA… Read More

Speaking in Berlin at the Federal Chancellery, Tuesday (Mar. 28), Kenya’s president described the protests staged at home as “challenges of democracy.” His comments came one day after demonstrations were marred by violence and looting in Nairobi and the country’s west. “What is going on in Kenya is the usual challenges of democracy where people want to challenge the rule… Read More

Some 500 displaced Muslims, fleeing attacks by M23 rebels, now live in the Munigi camp in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The front line is located about 10 kilometres away. Local imam, Ali Assani Mukamba, acknowledges that observing Ramadan in an environment where access to food and water is severely limited is tough. “A Muslim is used to… Read More

Calls for calm and dialogue in Kenya have multiplied on Tuesday, including from the African Union (AU), in the wake of fresh protests marred by violence and looting. On Monday, police fired tear gas to disperse opposition demonstrators in Nairobi and in the western town of Kisumu where one person was killed. In Nairobi, in addition to tear gas, police… Read More

Kenya opposition leader, Raila Odingo, says he and his supporters did not imagine that the state would respond with violence to the ongoing protests over the high cost of living. His statement came after Monday’s anti-government demonstrations turned violent with the police firing tear gas at protestors and looters going on the rampage. “Ruto’s hands are all over this violence.… Read More

Award winning singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo won the 2023 Polar Music Prize. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and composer Arvo Pärt have also won the Swedish music award. They “made such a global impact with their music,” Marie Ledin, the managing director of the annual prize, said in announcing the winners Tuesday (Mar. 28). The award committee was enthralled by Kidjo’s… Read More

US Vice-President Kamala Harris has unveiled her latest travel companion – a curated playlist of 25 tracks by African musicians that she’s been listening to during her current trip on the continent. Titled “My Travels: Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia,” the playlist is now available on Spotify and features a predominantly Tanzanian line-up. Harris’ playlist showcases her appreciation for the diverse… Read More

Like many black Tunisians, 26-year-old Nebras Magnnah has been fearful since waves of racist attacks targeting sub-Saharan African migrants were unleashed after incendiary remarks by President Kais Saied. Ever since Saied last month ordered “urgent measures” against sub-Saharan migrants over a purported “criminal plot” to change the North African country’s demographic make-up, Magnnah said she has been insulted on the… Read More

Kenyan police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters and opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy on Monday as he pressed ahead with an anti-government rally despite a ban. The protesters defied a warning by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome that the demonstrations in Nairobi and the western city of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold, were “illegal”. The opposition… Read More

Chad’s interim president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has pardoned 380 rebels from group, The Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT). They were part of a group of 400 people who were handed life sentences last Tuesday in connection with the 2021 death of his father, the country’s long-time ruler, Idriss Deby Itno. He was killed when he went to… Read More