Africa

The head of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), John Nkengasong has said severe lockdowns were no longer the best way to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Dr Nkengasong, “the period where we are using severe lockdowns as a tool is over. We should actually …

Some ministers and other government officials in Ivory Coast were barred from attending the cabinet meeting on Wednesday after failing to show proof of vaccination or present Covid-19 test certificates. At least eight officials reportedly did not attend the meeting. According to Ivorian media, absentees included the minister of communication, …

U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman will step down from his post this month after more than nine months in the job, Reuters reports. David Satterfield, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Turkey, will take up the role, the report say. Feltman, a veteran U.S. diplomat, assumed …

All detention facilities in Liberia have this week run out of food for inmates, causing two prisons, including the main Monrovia Central Prison, to temporarily shut their doors to newcomers, the BBC reports. The situation is being blamed on a number of factors including delays in remitting funds for food …

The Nigerian government through a statement, has formally designated all armed gangs popularly known as bandits, operating in the country, as terrorist groups. The declaration titled Terrorism (Prevention) Proscription Order Notice, 2021, is contained in a document released by the justice minister on Wednesday. The criminal gangs who rule in …

At least twelve Rwandans including women and children have been expelled by the Burundian authorities after refusing to be vaccinated against covid-19. Those expelled said they had fled the ongoing mandatory vaccination campaign in Rwanda. The provincial governor, Albert Hatungimana, directed that they be deported to Rwanda. Last Thursday, nine …

Parliament in Senegal has rejected a bill introduced by 11 MPs to toughen existing laws against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Same-sex relationships in Senegal are already punishable by up to five years, and the new bill aimed to extend it to ten years. The Office of the …

At least two prisonners were shot dead and two others are being treated after an attempted jailbreak in Kosere prison in Nigeria’ s south-western Osun State, local media reported. A spokesperson for the prisons, now known as Nigeria correctional centre, told the BBC that some inmates had injured a warder …

Eleven people have died and four others hospitalized in the Rwandan district of Bugesera since Christmas Day after drinking a local banana-based brew, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) confirmed. According to the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, high levels of methanol, found in the stomachs of victims who drank the …

A South African corruption inquiry pointed to systemic graft during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure in the first part of its report published on Tuesday, after more than three years of investigations involving more than 300 witnesses. The inquiry chaired by senior judge Raymond Zondo was established in 2018 to …