Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu has been re-elected, according to official results. The electoral commission said Mr Lungu had secured 50.35% in Thursday’s vote, just past the the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round under a new electoral system. Hs main rival, Hakainde Hichilema, won 47.67%. Earlier, his UPND party withdrew from the ballot […]
The African Union has backed a request for African troops with a robust mandate to reinforce U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan. The AU summit meeting in Rwanda’s capital approved the request, which will go the U.N. Security Council. The African heads of state were responding to a communiqué on South Sudan put out after a […]
MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE — India’s prime minister has kicked off a four-nation African tour on a continent where China’s presence has been strong, including countries that haven’t been visited by an Indian leader in more than three decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip is meant to raise India’s profile in energy, trade and investment. He started […]
Swaziland’s King Mswati III is set to become the next chairman of the Southern African Development Community at the regional heads of state and government summit to be held in Swaziland’s capital, Mbabane, in August. But the kingdom’s pro-democracy groups say the country’s absolute monarch should not be allowed to lead the regional body. They […]
Zimbabwe has freed 2,000 inmates as the country’s prison system struggles with massive overcrowding and food shortages. The notice of the pardon was announced earlier this week by President Robert Mugabe. It was extended to all male prisoners under the age of 18 and all female inmates, with the exception of two serving life sentences. […]
By Eric Ojo The South African Government is poised to implement its proposed policies that enable foreign students to apply for permanent residence seamlessly once they have graduated from a South African university. The government is set to launch such initiatives in the next few weeks and it is basically an exemption to allow graduate […]
JOHANNESBURG— It has been a tumultuous week for politics in South Africa as challenges to President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress party continue. Political chaos, violence and destruction – this is how many have described this past week in South Africa. In parliament, opposition parties kept their promise to defy President Jacob […]
Zimbabwe is set to print its own version of the US dollar in order to ease a cash shortage in the country. Central bank governor John Mangudya said the cash, known as bond notes, will be backed by $200m (£140m) support from the Africa Export-Import Bank. The two, five, 10 and 20 dollar notes will […]
Zambia’s ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party has dismissed a political report by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), published by the British-based magazine The Economist, predicting that main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development, (UPND) will win the August 11 presidential election. In its analysis, the Economic Intelligence Unit said recent […]
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party held crisis talks on Monday to discuss the fallout from a court ruling last week that President Jacob Zuma flouted the Constitution, triggering calls for him to resign. The ANC backed Zuma, 73, after the Constitutional Court rebuked him for ignoring Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s order that […]
South Africa’s justice minister Michael Masutha will appeal a court decision to free the killer of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani, his department said on Wednesday. Janusz Walus, a Polish immigrant, has served more than 20 years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder of Hani, who was a senior member of the now-ruling African […]
Parents who fail to vaccinate their children in Uganda will face six months in jail, according to a new law signed by President Yoweri Museveni. It also requires children to have an immunisation card to allow them to go to school. The law will help the government reach its vaccination target, Health Minister Sarah Achieng […]
South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog may seek state funding to speed up its investigation into a growing scandal over President Jacob Zuma’s relationship with a wealthy family of businessmen, its spokesman said Tuesday. In an affair that has caused wild swings in the rand since erupting last week, Zuma has faced calls to resign since a […]
