NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

20

2026

From hiding, Bobi Wine takes Uganda’s crisis to the world – and indicts the West

NEWS

HE spoke from an undisclosed location, hunted by his own country's military. Yet when Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi - known globally as Bobi Wine - addressed the 18th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy this week, his message reached far beyond the hall of delegates. It was a dual indictment: of Yoweri Museveni's regime, and of the Western governments that have, in Wine's telling, long furnished it with political cover and financial oxygen. The address, delivered via live video broadcast, was both a political intervention and a stark demonstration of Uganda's crisis. That one of Africa's most prominent…

Feb

20

2026

By The African Mirror

Mugabe’s son arrested in South Africa after allegedly shooting gardener at luxury Johannesburg home

NEWS

CHATUNGA Bellarmine Mugabe, the youngest son of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, was arrested Thursday morning after allegedly shooting a 23-year-old gardener at his luxury residence in Hyde Park, one of Johannesburg's most upscale suburbs. South African Police Service spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that two suspects - Mugabe and a companion - were taken into custody at the property and are likely to face charges of attempted murder. Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe Police were alerted to the incident after private security flagged them down and reported that a shooting had taken place on the property. The gardener was…

Feb

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Anti-LGBTQ+ crackdowns intensify across West Africa as Senegal arrests 12 men under colonial-era laws

NEWS

SENEGALES police have arrested 12 men in the capital Dakar, charging them under laws that criminalise same-sex conduct and the alleged intentional transmission of HIV — the latest in a series of escalating crackdowns against LGBTQ+ communities across West Africa. The men face charges including "acts against nature" under Article 319 of Senegal's Penal Code, a provision rooted in colonial-era legislation. If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison and fines ranging from 100,000 to 1,500,000 CFA francs — approximately $180 to $2,700 — with additional sentences of up to ten years on HIV transmission charges. Human…

Feb

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Nigerian serving an 11-year sentence for rape, probed for abuse of 21 women at Irish nursing home

NEWS

EMMANUEL ADENIJI walked into a 73-year-old dementia patient's room at 3 a.m. on April 3, 2020. CCTV captured what followed. The woman, confined to her bed under Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that had effectively sealed Ireland's nursing homes from outside scrutiny, had no meaningful way to seek help. By morning, the staff found her distressed. DNA evidence would later seal Adeniji's fate. But that conviction, which earned him an 11-year sentence in 2020, may represent only a fraction of his offending. Irish health authorities now believe he sexually abused and raped as many as 21 other female residents at the same…

Feb

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Kenya security forces foil Al-Shabaab attack on Nairobi, seize weapons cache from Dadaab

NEWS

KENYAN counter-terrorism officers have disrupted a major Al-Shabaab plot targeting the capital, Nairobi, recovering a weapons cache that included pistols, grenades, explosives and 600 rounds of ammunition following months of covert surveillance inside the Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya, authorities announced Wednesday. Counter Terrorism Policing Kenya (CTP-Kenya) said the operation - the result of sustained intelligence gathering on a terror network embedded within the sprawling Dadaab camps - intercepted arms and drugs that had been destined for use against targets in Nairobi. The suspects had allegedly timed the attack to coincide with the holy month of Ramadan, and were…

Feb

18

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Kagame’s audacious gambit: Rwanda’s bold sprint to become Africa’s sports capital

NEWS

WHILE most heads of state spend their weekends navigating diplomatic corridors or presiding over state functions, President Paul Kagame was courtside at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles this past weekend, watching LeBron James and the NBA's finest at the 2026 All-Star Game. It wasn't a vacation. It was business - the business of rebranding a nation through the universal language of sport. The image is striking: the leader of a landlocked East African nation of 13 million people, sitting among Hollywood celebrities and Silicon Valley billionaires, discussing partnerships with LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.…

Feb

18

2026

By The African Mirror

UGANDA CRISIS: Opposition leader wine in hiding as military occupies family home

NEWS

UGANDAN opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, remains in hiding weeks after disputed presidential elections, as military forces have taken control of his family residence in Magere, Wakiso District, according to statements from the National Unity Platform (NUP) and international human rights observers. The situation escalated following a January 23 raid during which Wine alleges soldiers broke into his home, damaged property, and held his wife, Barbara "Barbie" Kyagulanyi, at gunpoint. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces and President Yoweri Museveni's son, later posted a photograph on social media showing Barbie Kyagulanyi seated on the floor…

Feb

18

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENTS

World leaders honor Rev. Jesse Jackson as tributes pour in from across globe

NEWS

A torrent of tributes from world leaders, American presidents, civil rights champions, and his own grandchildren flooded social media and news channels Tuesday following the death of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, whose 84 years left an indelible mark on the fight for justice across continents. From the White House to South Africa's Union Buildings, from Capitol Hill to the streets of Chicago where Jackson made his home, political figures across ideological divides united in mourning a man they described as a moral giant, a tireless advocate for the marginalised, and a prophet who never stopped demanding America live up…

Feb

18

2026

By The African Mirror

The long arm of justice: Three Kenyans await their day in American courts

NEWS

For three years, Peter Omari, Francis Asanyo, and Elvis Obaigwa lived with a secret. Somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean, in the marble corridors of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, warrants bearing their names had been sealed and filed. The dates on those documents - November 15, 2023 - marked the beginning of the end of their freedom. Now, in a Nairobi courtroom at Milimani, that long arc of justice has finally bent toward them. A magistrate has ordered the trio detained at Kileleshwa Police Station for two weeks while American authorities navigate the diplomatic channels…

Feb

17

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Former MTN Group CEO calls for African renaissance as continent set to house quarter of humanity by 2050

NEWS

IN a sweeping new book that challenges both how the world sees Africa and how Africans see themselves, celebrated business leader Phuthuma Nhleko argues that the continent must urgently prepare for a demographic shift that will see one in four people on earth living in Africa by 2050. The Invisible People: How a Quarter of Humanity Can Thrive in Africa by 2050, published this month by Penguin Random House, presents a three-pillar vision for an African Renaissance grounded in reclaiming identity, unleashing economic development, and bolstering geopolitical influence. According to current projections, Africa's population is expected to nearly double from…