Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continues his outreach tour in the United States on Saturday with a gathering for the diaspora in Washington D.C., part of a concerted effort to encourage Ethiopians who have left the country to return home and build its future. Abiy’s meeting at the Walter E….
The sense of gravity in the moment was hard to miss, even with a friendly joke about former United States President Barack Obama’s dancing ability, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced the speaker to thousands gathered for the Mandela Lecture at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The international community was…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Hundreds of migrants rounded up in Algeria have arrived in Niger, despite the Algerian government’s strong denials that it is forcibly removing the primarily West African migrants and dumping them in the desert. Migrants from Guinea, Cameroon and other nations tell the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that they are…
Amnesty International has called on authorities in Malawi to ensure justice for victims targeted because they are albinos, a practice that has claimed the lives of 21 people since 2014 and amounts to nearly 150 total cases. The attacks against people with albinism are fueled by stereotypical beliefs that their…
Burundi’s ruling party distanced itself on Saturday from a savage overnight attack in Ruhagarika- Bugunda that left at least 26 people dead, with reports that 11 of the victims were children. The CNDD-FDD nonetheless continued campaigning ahead of a May 17 constitutional referendum that would allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to…
Human rights advocates from countries as diverse as Benin, South Sudan and Malawi stood in solidarity with their Tanzanian counterparts on Thursday, in a letter sent to President John Magufuli calling for an end to repression. Some 65 people and organizations signed the letter condemning ongoing attacks against media outlets,…
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is appealing to the international community to take serious measures to curb the spiraling ethnic and communal violence in Central African Republic. “Last week’s violence in Bangui demonstrates just how volatile the situation is, and how easily crowds…
Human rights activist Germain Rukuki of Burundi has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for rebellion, threatening state security and other charges. The decision comes ahead of next month’s vote on a a constitutional referendum that will allow the nation’s presidents to extend terms in office. Rukuki, a member…
Representatives from the United Nations and international NGOs participated in a hearing on Eritrea’s record Wednesday as the United States Congress and its Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission focused on the drivers behind high rates of Eritrean migration. “Migrants from the small east African nation of Eritrea make-up a disproportionate…
In December 2017, President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi traveled to the town of Bugendana to launch his campaign for a national referendum that would change the small African nation’s constitution. It would allow for multiple seven-year terms in office – terms that he would be eligible to serve through 2034 if…
Six political opposition leaders in Tanzania will appear in court Thursday following their arrest earlier this week on charges of sedition. Freeman Mbowe, head of the CHADEMA party, and five others also were charged with participating in an illegal demonstration in Kinondoni in February. The resulting clashes led to the…
Abiy Ahmed, the head of the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO), has been named the new prime minister of Ethiopia and its ruling EPRDF coalition. Abiy’s election was confirmed Wednesday after he received 108 votes from Ethiopia’s ruling council of 180 seats. Forty-five of them come from the OPDO, which…
Evan Mawarire, the activist pastor who led Zimbabwe’s #thisflag movement during the last years of former President Robert Mugabe’s tenure, revealed Friday that he is taking legal action against the national police for damages related to multiple wrongful arrests in 2016 and 2017. Beginning in April 2016, Mawarire posted videos…
An initiative designed to protect environmental defenders around the world from threats, intimidation, harassment and murder was launched Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Program. The UN Environmental Rights Initiative was introduced in Geneva with guests on hand including John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment;…
Africa Times contributed post By Said Djinnit On 24 February 2013, eleven African heads of state made history in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region came into being. Sudan and Kenya joined the group 11 months…