U.S. foreign relations chair charged with corruption over Egypt ties

U.S. foreign relations chair charged with corruption over Egypt ties

A United States senator who serves as chairman of the influential U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee stands accused of acting on behalf of the Egyptian government in a corruption case that alleges the exchange of cash, gold, a car, and other benefits totaling more than a half-million dollars. Authorities allege…

Laureen Fagan

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

AfDB launches project to combat money laundering, corruption

AfDB launches project to combat money laundering, corruption

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA), an independent African forum, announce a three-year project to help curb money laundering, bribery and other illicit financial flows (IFF) in African nations. The formal launch of the African Financial Integrity and Accountability Support Project (AFIAP) was…

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

How endemic logistics corruption undermines global Covid recovery

How endemic logistics corruption undermines global Covid recovery

A specially commissioned report into the “state capture” perpetrated under the former South African president Jacob Zuma via logistics firm Transnet reveals the depths of malfeasance in the country during his tenure. The 646-page report has implicated over 1,400 individuals in cronyism and corruption that cumulatively caused public losses of…

African leaders speak at Summit for Democracy

President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana was set to speak as the virtual Summit for Democracy, hosted by the United States, kicked off on Thursday. Akufo Addo and Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, the mayor of Freetown in Sierra Leone, planned remarks for a discussion on “Bolstering Democratic Resilience: Building Back Better Together…

Report: Elites are robbing millions in South Sudan

More than US$73 million has gone missing from the coffers in South Sudan in just the last two years, according to a new Commission on Human Rights report. That money was diverted by the country’s ruling elites, the United Nations rights agency said, and is a fraction of the total…

Zuma Foundation: Former SA president has turned himself in

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has turned himself into police, according to a statement issued by the Jacob Zuma Foundation late Wednesday. “Please be advised that President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order,” the foundation said, referring to the 15-month sentence handed down last week and…

Defiant Zuma expected to address South Africa

The clock is ticking on former South African president Jacob Zuma, who was given five days to report to police after he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Tuesday for contempt of court. But he’s filing an appeal of the Constitutional Court decision, and supporters say it’s unlikely…

Djibouti increases reliance on Beijing, but at what cost?

The long-time president of Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, has launched his re-election campaign in the run-up to national elections on 9 April. With the exception of Zakaria Ismael Jafar, an “anti-system” independent candidate, Guelleh is set to run for his fifth term unopposed. His challengers in the 2016 election have…

Big Tobacco ploughing crooked furrow in African markets

Note: This article was updated on March 26, 2021 to include comments from Apollinaire Compaoré. Two troubling recent investigations from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have shone a fresh spotlight on the tobacco industry’s continued complicity in tobacco smuggling in Africa. The first highlighted how Philip Morris…

Ramaphosa centers COVID, corruption during SONA address

South Africa must prioritize both the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic recovery, especially with an eye toward climate change and the energy sector, the president said during the annual State of the Nation address. President Cyril Ramaphosa compared his nation to the fynbos, a South African…

UN says South Sudan officials embezzled US$36 million

Senior government officials in South Sudan have embezzled US$36 million from the country’s coffers with the aid of international institutions and multinational banks, says Yasmin Sooka, the head of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for the nation. “It is worth noting this is just what we were able to…

As Liberia’s elites sell out the country, the people continue to suffer

Germany has been involved in development projects in Liberia since at least 2005, providing millions in funds and expertise to the country in areas ranging from infrastructure to health. This, however, will now come to an end. Berlin recently announced earlier this week it would withdraw support for the country…

Michael Wilcox

I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.