In eSwatini, prominent human rights defender Thulani Maseko confirmed Friday that leaders associated with the political opposition party People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) were taken to police headquarters in the Mbabane capital. He was one of a number of activists in the former Swaziland to condemn the action, which they…
Two reports on Tanzania, released separately by the Amnesty and Human Rights Watch NGOs, charge President John Magufuli’s government with stifling the free press, opposition politicians and NGOs. The reports follow several years of progressively harsher laws and penalties since Magufuli was elected in 2015. The country has seen routine…
The death last week of a close aide to Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire has focused new attention on the country, where political dissidents who dare to challenge President Paul Kagame’s government often are arrested or disappear. The body of Anselme Mutuyimana, a spokesman for Ingabire who was released from…
Egyptian security officials have cracked down on dozens of political activists and human rights workers in recent weeks, the latest round in what Human Rights Watch says may be violations of international law. “They are arresting us all,” said a lawyer who told HRW that the lawyers and activists have…
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has welcomed the new appointment of a prime minister in Guinea Bissau, which has remained in a prolonged political crisis that began in 2015. President Jose Mario Vaz announced that Aristides Gomes, a fellow African Party of the Independence of Guinea…
With no clear end to the Guinea Bissau political crisis in sight, the West African governing body ECOWAS has announced sanctions on “all persons or organizations who impede the process” of its resolution. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States said the sanctions – a long-discussed measure revisited in…