In the news

Election campaigns have begun in Congo-Brazzaville ahead of the presidential poll in just over two weeks’ time. Denis Sassou Nguesso, the incumbent who is seeking a fourth term will face six opposition candidates. The candidates’ names will now be sent to the constitutional court for validation, said Seraphin Ondele, interior …

Mozambique has announced that schools will reopen from Monday after being closed in some cases for as long as a year. President Filipe Nyusi said the risk of coronavirus transmission was low but schools “could interrupt their face-to-face teaching activities or begin them at a later date” as needed. It …

Rwanda began its COVID-19 vaccine campaign on Friday, becoming the first nation in Africa to use pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s doses that require ultra-cold storage. Authorities began transporting Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots round the hilly nation of 12 million people after they arrived earlier this week, using helicopters to reach far-flung …

The Supreme Court has allowed the runner-up in the January 14 presidential elections Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine to withdraw his presidential election petition seeking to overturn the victory of the incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The decision by a panel of nine Supreme Court Justices led by the …

South Africa’s Judicial Conduct Committee has ordered the chief justice to apologise and retract his comments that showed support for Israel. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng made the remarks in June last year during a webinar which was hosted by The Jerusalem Post newspaper, according to local media. Africa 4 Palestine, …

Seychelles is opening up to receive visitors from around the world from 25 March, irrespective of whether they are vaccinated or not. South Africans will however not be allowed be enter the country until further notice. In January, Seychelles had announced said that it had opened up to vaccinated travellers. …

After accusing them of focusing too much on protests triggered by the arrest of an opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, authorities in Senegal suspended the signal of two private television. The two stations affected by the decision by the National Audiovisual Regulatory Council (CNRA) are Sen TV and Walf TV channels. …

In Abuja, the Capital of Nigeria, a mass vacination campaign against the coronavirus pandemic is launched. The country will use Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines acquired through Covax, a UN-backed initiative to ensure poorer nations acquire the doses. According to the head of the country’s Healthcare Development Agency, health workers will be the …

John Mahama, the Ghanaian opposition leader expressed his disagreement with the Supreme Court over the rejection of his challenge to the December 7 presidential elections. The politician accused the electoral commission of inflating the vote tally in favour of the 76-year-old incumbent. The 62-year-old politician demanded a re-run after official …

Human Rights Watch has added its voice to calls for an urgent United Nations-backed inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. The lobby group accuses Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of indiscriminately shelling the city of Aksum in November. Echoing a report last …