Top Africa News

Thousands of Nigerians gathered on Sunday for a vigil to remember those who lost their lives at the hands of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) — a police unit accused of brutality and human rights crimes. Created in 1984 to combat growing robberies in Nigeria, the unit is now disbanded following one of the largest youth-led protests the country ...

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), Mkhize said on Sunday. “I wish to inform the public that this afternoon [Sunday] my wife, Dr May Mkhize, and I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Mkhize said in a statement. “We decided to go test yesterday [Saturday] when I started showing mild symptoms. I was ...

The governor of Nigeria’s Osun state has escaped what officials call an “assassination attempt” when armed people attacked anti-police brutality protesters in the state capital Osogbo. After marching with the protesters, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola was addressing them when shots were fired. Mr Oyetola was not hurt but some of his aides were wounded. Nigeria has been rocked by more than ...

The two main challengers to Ivory Coast’s President Alassana Ouattara in this month’s election have announced they are boycotting the poll. At a joint news conference, the former head of state, Henri Konan Bédié, and the former prime minister, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, called on their supporters to block what they described as an electoral coup. Mr Ouattara is standing for ...

The West African Science Service Centre on Climate and Adapted Land Use, WASCAL and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the field of sustainable energy development in West Africa through development of an ambitious and viable project pipeline for investment, implementation and operation, with reference to the ...

Mali’s new president has been sworn into office, five weeks after the overthrow of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw, 70, was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections, which are expected in 18 months. Col Goita will be his vice-president. The appointment of a civilian president was a condition ...

Cameroon’s opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, was placed under house arrest for planning Tuesday’s anti-government protests. A video showing police vehicles outside the leader’s house has been shared online. The leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) told Voice of America that he was neither beaten or detained, but feared that he would be arrested if he stepped out of his ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed rules for the testing of African herbal remedies to fight Covid-19. Sound science would be the sole basis for safe and effective traditional therapies to be adopted, it said. Any traditional remedies that are judged effective could be fast-tracked for large-scale manufacturing. Madagascar’s leader has been promoting an untested product he says can ...

A fire has gutted an iconic building at Uganda’s Makerere University, which is a prominent landmark in the capital. Known as the “Ivory Tower”, an overnight blaze has left its distinctive white walls with blue-shuttered windows blackened. Police in Kampala have started an investigation into the cause of the fire at one of Africa’s oldest and most prestigious universities. The ...

With classrooms closed to curb coronavirus, girls are more at risk of FGM, teenage pregnancy and child marriage. Thirteen-year-old Gumato* can finally walk again without feeling pain. The hot desert wind blows through her curly hair as she strolls between the portable, dome-shaped huts, made of acacia roots and covered with grass mats, colourful textiles and camel hides. In the ...