There was supposed to be a pro-government rally on Thursday in Khartoum, with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan speaking to the crowds near the Presidential Palace in yet another counter-protest as thousands continued their demonstrations against Bashir near the Sudanese military headquarters. Instead, the Sudanese military placed Bashir and top…
Ten human rights and anti-corruption organizations said Friday that they are aligned in their opposition to Equatorial Guinea, and a decision they say retaliates against the French lawyer who pressed a successful money laundering case against Teodorin Nguema Obiang. The arrest warrant issued by Equatorial Guinea turned the tables, listing…
There were troubling reports from Gabon early Monday – and concerns over a coup – as soldiers took over national radio to announce their disappointment with President Ali Bongo’s New Year’s Eve message to the nation, and their demands for a “restoration council.” There were unconfirmed reports from Gabon’s media…
Former Nigerian president Shehu Shagari has died at the National Hospital in Abuja on Friday. He was 93 years old. Shagari’s death followed a short illness and was confirmed by his grandson Bello, along with others who shared in mourning the former leader and recalling his achievements. Among them was…
There are ominous trends in Lesotho, where Prime Minister Tom Thabane has vowed to implement long-delayed reforms but finds himself mired in internecine political battles that add to the small southern African kingdom’s instability. Last week, defense minister Sentje Lebona resigned – the second minister to do so, and one…
Teodorin Obiang Nguema, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president and the country’s vice president himself, is immersed in scandal again. This time Brazilian authorities seized USD$1.4 million found in a suitcase as his delegation arrived at Viracopos International Airport in Campinas on Friday. Obiang also traveled with about 20 luxury…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The head of Nigeria’s security forces was relieved of his duties Tuesday following a dramatic standoff at the country’s parliament building, where masked and armed men with the Department of State Services blocked lawmaker access. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is Nigeria’s acting leader while President Muhammadu Buhari is out…
Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, a former opposition presidential candidate and retired army general in Congo Brazzaville, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison on charges of undermining state security and possession of weapons. The former aide to President Denis Sassou Nguesso appeared to accept the sentence calmly, local media reported….
In a dramatic interview with South African television, the former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, accused the country’s military of conducting a coup d’etat to remove him from office in November and illegally install current President Emmerson Mnangagwa. “I never thought he whom I had nurtured and brought into government and…
Equatorial Guinea has eliminated its main political opposition party, with the country’s courts dissolving Citizens for Innovation (CI) and sentencing dozens of its members to lengthy prison terms after determining the CI is a threat to security in President Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s small West African nation. The decision this week…
A diplomat representing Equatorial Guinea has downplayed reports of an attempted coup in the West African nation this week, but reports from the region suggest a politically motivated uprising – including images that a local media outlet said show a military presence at the opposition party Citizens for Innovation (CI)…
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has resigned, and the decision to step down will take effect immediately. Officials with the ruling Zanu PF party say Mugabe’s successor, former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, will step into the role on Friday in a swearing-in ceremony at the National Sports Stadium. “The resignation…
President Robert Mugabe has called a cabinet meeting Tuesday in Zimbabwe, following a weekend speech in which the 93-year-old leader was expected to resign – but then, he never did. It’s the latest development in a confusing week that has seen the country’s military intervene and Mugabe’s own ruling Zanu…
Word came late Thursday that President Robert Mugabe will be stepping down, perhaps as early as Friday – but conflicting reports said Mugabe was reluctant to resign, and confusion remained over who and how new leaders might legitimately be established. Media in Zimbabwe released pictures of Mugabe meeting with General…
The global reaction to political developments in Zimbabwe surrounding President Robert Mugabe has been led by Africans urging calm in resolving the political crisis. In Zimbabwe, #thisflag movement leader and pastor Evan Mawarire – at times in tears – published a video and issued a statement Wednesday that called for…