AFRICA

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Thousands of people joined an official demonstration in Burundi on Saturday, in response to criticism by the United Nations chief about a planned revision to the country’s constitution. The protest was called by the mayor of Bujumbura, the capital, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday said the country will not return land seized from former white commercial farmers almost two decades ago. “It will never happen,” Mnangagwa said in a speech to his ZANU-PF party supporters in central Zimbabwe, broadcast on television. His statement …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On Jan 31. Tanzanian government unveiled an electronic passport to enhance national security, control illegal immigrants and play a key role in revenue collection. President John Magufuli said the new development is part of efforts to improve productivity and simplify service delivery. He also …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s political impasse deepened on Saturday with no resolution to extended talks over President Jacob Zuma’s expected departure from office after his own party called for him to resign. Cyril Ramaphosa, the president-in-waiting, and the ruling ANC party have said negotiations should be …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | President Jacob Zuma’s exit from office edged closer Friday as South African ruling party leaders cancelled a series of public appearances, fuelling speculation they were finalising his departure. Zuma has refused to resign despite a request from senior African National Congress (ANC) officials, triggering …

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s finance minister says the country will not impose further cuts on civil servants’ pay this year, after strikes and protests erupted over one of the most unpopular measures in an austerity programme. “There won’t be further cuts this year,” the finance and budget minister, Abdoulaye …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The world’s biggest producer of cobalt, a key ingredient in modern batteries, plans a five-fold increase in tax on the commodity as part of an overhaul of its mining laws, industrial sources said Friday. The Democratic Republic of Congo would impose a tax of 10 …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition was embroiled in a power struggle on Friday over who is in charge of the party months before key elections, as leader Morgan Tsvangirai receives cancer treatment in hospital. Two vice presidents of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party clashed openly over …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Friday convicted a self-styled prophet who sprayed his followers in the face with domestic insect killer as a supposed cure for illness. Lethebo Rabalago was found guilty on five charges of grievous assault and contravening chemicals laws for using “Doom”, …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The Cameroonian army on Friday denied its troops were responsible for alleged atrocities against separatists in English-speaking regions after unverified footage apparently involving soldiers was posted online. “These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news,” army spokesman Colonel Didier …