NEWS - The African Mirror

Jun

18

2026

Nigerian Army claims fresh breakthrough against Katsina bandit kingpin, but Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani remains at large

NEWS

THE Nigerian Army says it has rescued four kidnap victims in Katsina State in the latest exchange in a months-long campaign against one of the North-West's most elusive bandit warlords - underscoring both the military's incremental tactical gains and the limits of its ability to deliver a decisive blow against entrenched criminal networks. According to a statement on the operation, troops from the 17 Brigade Strike Group/Quick Response Force, backed by 8 Division Special Forces, stormed a hideout in Fafu Village along the Matazu-Musawa axis on Tuesday, acting on aerial surveillance gathered by the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA.…

Jun

19

2026

By The African Mirror

South Africa launches major purge of corrupt police after Madlanga Commission — Mashatile vows prosecutions, vetting and task teams

NEWS

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile told Parliament on Thursday that the government has launched a major drive to purge corrupt elements from the South African Police Service (SAPS) after the Madlanga Commission exposed widespread misconduct — a move that marks one of the most far-reaching accountability efforts in the security sector since the commission’s report. Speaking in response to a question on the prevention of corruption at SAPS, Mashatile said the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster has begun implementing “corrective actions” aimed at detecting and preventing corruption across the police service. The actions, he said, include strengthened investigations, tighter…

Jun

17

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

NIGERIA: Court rejects ex-cabinet minister’s bid to quash arrest warrants in $1.3m graft case

NEWS

FORMER Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq suffered a major legal setback on Monday after a Federal Capital Territory High Court judge in Abuja refused to set aside bench and arrest warrants issued against her in a high‑profile graft prosecution. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, sitting in Apo, dismissed an application by Farouq’s lawyers to quash the warrants linked to charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti‑graft agency is prosecuting Farouq alongside Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed on allegations of criminal conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds amounting to about $1.3 million…

Jun

17

2026

By The African Mirror

‘Some people question whether Ebola is real’: trust is central in fighting DRC outbreak, humanitarians say

NEWS

IN Ebola-stricken Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), winning the race against the disease requires earning the community’s trust first and foremost, humanitarians said on Tuesday. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, considerable progress has been made on testing capacities, Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters in Geneva. Testing for the Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak is available in six locations in the country, in Bunia and Mongbwalu in Ituri Province, Bukavu and Lwiro in South Kivu, Goma in North Kivu, in addition to the capital Kinshasa. Another four laboratories have been…

Jun

17

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

SA: Ramaphosa warns against afrophobia and xenophobia, challenges employers as Youth Day marks 50 years since Soweto uprising

NEWS

President Cyril Ramaphosa has used the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising to issue a stark challenge to South Africa’s youth and a blunt warning against afrophobia and xenophobia, saying the country must not allow migrants to be scapegoated for failures that stem from inequality and slow growth. The 50th anniversary was commemorated across South Africa, the official event hosted by the government, with many political organisations such as the Azanian People’s Organisation, the Economic Freedom Front, the Black Consciousness Movement United and many other civil society organisations holding separate events. Speaking at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg before tens…

Jun

17

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Fifty years on: South Africa’s youth crisis takes centre stage as nation reckons with unfinished revolution

NEWS

HALF a century after the bullets of 16 June 1976 tore through Soweto's streets and ignited a generation, South Africa's political and intellectual establishment gathers on Wednesday at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton to confront a question that grows more urgent with every passing year: has the country delivered for the young people whose sacrifice made its democracy possible? The answer, on almost every measurable indicator, is a damning no. Youth unemployment in South Africa stands at over 45 percent among those aged 15 to 34. School dropout rates remain deeply entrenched. Skills mismatches widen by the year. And the…

Jun

16

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

The general above the law: Muhoozi Kainerugaba boasts of abducting lawyer who sought to serve him court papers

NEWS

IN a pattern that has become Uganda's most brazen hallmark of governance by coercion, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba - Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), son of President Yoweri Museveni, and a man courts have now formally directed to answer for his conduct - confirmed on social media platform X that his forces had seized Advocate Erias Lukwago from his home in the Wakaliga suburb of Kampala. Lukwago was preparing to serve Muhoozi with a High Court summons at the very moment armed men, acting on the General's orders, scaled his perimeter fence and bundled him into what witnesses described as a…

Jun

15

2026

By The African Mirror

Abdullah Ibrahim 1935 – 2026: A musical titan who painted South Africa’s soul

NEWS

ABDULLAH Ibrahim, the revolutionary South African jazz pianist who transformed music into a language of resistance and hope, has passed away at 91, leaving behind a legacy that transcends notes and melodies. Born in Cape Town's vibrant District Six as Dollar Brand, Ibrahim was more than a musician - he was a storyteller of South Africa's complex history, weaving the pain of apartheid, the resilience of his people, and the promise of freedom into every keystroke. His piano was an instrument of liberation, speaking truths that words could not capture. From the experimental sounds of the 1960s to the deeply…

Jun

16

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

SA vs WHO: a diplomatic firestorm over alleged xenophobic violence

NEWS

THE exchange began with the kind of language rarely directed at a member state by a United Nations agency head - raw, personal, and historically charged. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, broke from the measured diplomatic register of multilateral institutions to deliver a searing public indictment of South Africa on his official social media platform, as anti-immigration protests convulsed the country and hundreds marched on Parliament. "It is profoundly heartbreaking to witness another surge of xenophobic violence in South Africa this week," Tedros wrote. "Hundreds have marched on Parliament, thousands of families have been displaced,…

Jun

16

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

The Artan affair: how a Miami sidelining ignited a global reckoning

NEWS

THE whistle that Omar Abdulkadir Artan was never allowed to blow in the United States has paradoxically become the loudest sound of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In a dramatic reversal of fortune that has blurred the lines between sports tragedy and national triumph, the 34-year-old Somali referee - denied entry to the U.S. just 48 hours before the tournament’s start - has returned home not as a victim of bureaucracy, but as a global icon of resilience. On June 6, 2026, Artan arrived at Miami International Airport, carrying the hopes of a nation and a valid U.S. visa. He…