LILONGWE – Media reports in Malawi say eight people, including children, have been killed in a stadium stampede during an independence day celebration. The Daily Times, a newspaper in Malawi, reported that more than 40 people were injured in the stampede on Thursday in Lilongwe, the capital. The newspaper says the dead include children between…
LAGOS – The speaker of Nigeria’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives, has said the deployment of the armed forces in more than 28 states means the country is effectively under a state of emergency. Yakubu Dogara said it was worrying that the armed forces have virtually taken over routine police work in Nigeria, which…
NAIROBI – Kenyans risk a fine of $10,000 (£8,000) or jail term of five years for using “impolite, disrespectful or inciting language on social media “, according to a new proposal to regulate online content during the election season, Nairobi News reports. The proposal is part of rules being co-authored by two government bodies: The…
LAGOS – A spokesperson for Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed that a presidential jet has been parked at a London airport for more than seven weeks, but has denied that this is costing the government $5,000 (£4,000) a day. Mr Buhari has been in the UK for medical treatment for an undisclosed illness since…
NAIROBI – Kenya’s election commission announced on Tuesday that there would be five million new voters taking part in August polls, raising the stakes for incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his long-time rival Raila Odinga. After the first-ever audit of the voter’s register – often seen as a key point at which an election can be…
LUSAKA – Hakainde Hichilema, the Zambian opposition leader who has been in custody since a traffic incident when his convoy refused to give way to the motorcade of President Edgar Lungu, has posted an update from prison on his Facebook page. Mr Hichilema said he and those with him are “in good spirits, despite numerous…
ABUJA – Nigeria’s sick president Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly released an audio message in which he gives an Eid greeting. Buhari is currently in London where he is receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. According to This Day, this was the first time in eight weeks that Nigerians have heard his voice after he left…
PARIS – Investigators have widened a corruption probe into the French assets of three African ruling families, charging the daughter and son-in-law of Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso, judicial sources told AFP on Sunday. Julienne Sassou Nguesso, 50, and her 53-year-old husband Guy Johnson were placed under investigation this week for “money laundering and misuse…
GABORONE – The Board of Trustees of the Sir Ketumile Masire Foundation (SKMF) and the Masire family wish to inform all friends and supporters of SKMF of the passing of former Botswana president Sir .Ketumile Masire. He died peacefully at Bokamoso Private Hospital surrounded by his family at 2210hrs on 22 June 2017. We thank…
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s highest court has ruled that a vote of no-confidence against President Jacob Zuma can be held in secret. The constitutional court said that the Speaker of parliament had the right to order such a move. She had previously stated she did not have the power. Opposition parties believe that under a…
