AFRICA

Port Harcourt, Nigeria | AFP | Gunmen kidnapped 19 bus passengers near Nigeria’s southern oil hub, Port Harcourt, police said on Friday, in the latest of a series of abductions in recent weeks. Rivers state police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said the attack happened on Thursday and that police had so far …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  Football fans in Mogadishu were preparing Friday to cheer on their teams in the first night-time match since chaos descended on the Somali capital nearly three decades ago. The tournament for 16- and 18-year-olds at the Konis Stadium, renovated by FIFA, will be played under …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP |  A Nigerian minister has promised to quit if President Muhammadu Buhari decides to seek re-election, claiming the ailing leader had earlier vowed to serve only one term. Women’s affairs minister Aisha Alhassan said she would back former vice-president Atiku Abubakar for the presidency at the …

Lome, Togo | AFRICAN ARGUMENTS  | On Saturday 19 August, shocking images of the bodies of protesters being carried on stretchers started flooding social media in Togo. That day, thousands of citizens had taken to the streets to demand democratic reforms and the restoration of the country’s 1992 constitution. Calling for change after half a …

Given its challenges, why did Kenya’s IEBC schedule the rerun election before the 60 day limit?  Nairobi, Kenya | ISS TODAY |  Kenya’s Supreme Court has been widely – and rightly – hailed for its bold, historic and unprecedented decision last week to annul the 8 August election victory of President Uhuru …

TANZANIA: Magufuli critic Tundu Lissu shot and wounded Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Gunmen shot and wounded prominent Tanzanian opposition politician Tundu Lissu, an outspoken government critic, outside his home in the capital Dodoma. The opposition, rights groups and Tanzania’s government expressed shock and demanded a full investigation. “The attack …

  THINGS FALL APART: Leaked Chebukati memo reveals failings in Kenya’s election body Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The chairman of Kenya’s election commission has written to the panel’s CEO, questioning a host of failings in the conduct of last month’s presidential poll, annulled by the Supreme Court. In the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Business confidence in South Africa has plummeted to its lowest level in more than 30 years as political uncertainty, unemployment and dwindling trade weighed heavily, a survey showed Wednesday. South Africa’s economy, which is the most developed in Africa, is plagued by sluggish growth …

Lome, Togo | AFP |  Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters protested across Togo on Wednesday calling for constitutional reform, despite an apparent government concession to their demands. Amnesty International country head Aime Adi told AFP “at least 100,000” were in the capital, Lome, with similar demonstrations taking place in …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angola’s Electoral Commission declared Wednesday that the ruling MPLA party had won last month’s election, in a victory that allows outgoing President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to install a party loyalist in his place after 38 years in power. The Popular Movement for the Liberation …