Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | A popular Tanzanian rapper said Sunday that he had been arrested over a song allegedly insulting President John Magufuli, seen as increasingly authoritarian and unwilling to brook any dissent. “It is true I am under arrest. Right now I am being taken to …
Read More »US schoolgirl tapes her undocumented father being detained
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A crying schoolgirl’s videotape of her undocumented father being arrested by federal agents in the Los Angeles area this week while taking his children to school has sparked emotion and outrage. Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, a 48-year-old Mexican who has lived in the United States …
Read More »Zimbabwe journalists arrested over ‘in bad shape’ Mugabe health report
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Two Zimbabwean journalists were arrested Friday over a newspaper report that described President Robert Mugabe as “in bad shape” when he flew to Singapore for what officials called a scheduled medical check-up. Editor of independent newspaper NewsDay Wisdom Mudzungairi and journalist Richard Chidza were released …
Read More »Rwandan police detain Uwamahoro, wife of exiled opposition figure
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | The wife of a member of Rwanda’s opposition in exile who went missing in the central African country two weeks ago, is in police custody accused of ties to a criminal network, her husband said Friday. The Rwandan authorities “have acknowledged that they have Vilette …
Read More »VIDEO: Drama as Oola re-arrested in Gulu after release
VIDEO: People suspected to be security operatives Thursday morning stormed the Gulu Magistrates’ Court and re-arrested Dan Oola Odiya in the holding cells as he awaited release. Oola, the Deputy Mobilization Secretary for Uganda People’s Congress, was facing charges of treason, concealment, murder and attempted murder. The Director of Public …
Read More »Uganda police arrests Rwenzururu PM
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan police on Thursday arrested the prime minister of the traditional Rwenzururu kingdom, whose monarch is facing treason charges for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government, police said. Police spokesman Suwed Manshur said that the king’s number two, Johnson Thembo Kitsumbire “was arrested this afternoon …
Read More »South African police nab Chinese man with 18 rhino horns
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African police Thursday said they had arrested a Hong Kong-bound Chinese man found with 18 rhino horns hidden in his luggage. He was detained on Wednesday at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport after an anonymous tip-off. “The 28-year-old male, who was in transit …
Read More »Top Kenyan official in court over Rio kit ‘theft’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The chairman of Kenya’s Olympic committee appeared in court on Tuesday after police uncovered boxes of Nike kits at his apartment which had gone missing during the Rio Games. Bernard Ekumbo is the latest official from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) to be …
Read More »Sudan arrests opposition leader over fuel price speech
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese security agents arrested a senior opposition politician on Friday for giving a speech that criticised a government decision to raise fuel prices, his party said. Agents from the all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Khaled Omar, deputy chief of the Sudanese Congress …
Read More »Saudi says foiled plot to bomb World Cup qualifier
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi authorities said Sunday they had foiled a plot to bomb a football stadium during a World Cup qualifying match and dismantled two “terrorist” cells linked to the Islamic State group. The interior ministry said in a statement that four suspects from each cell …
Read More »