NEWS - The African Mirror

Nov

04

2023

When life serves you lemons… a Zimbabwean tale

NEWS

FOR someone who only began their business during the Covid lockdown, Marlvin Chieza certainly doesn't lack ambition. "My future goal is to get financing lending so that we can make a lot of products so that they can be found in every area of Zimbabwe and Africa before extending globally," said the three-years-in entrepreneur responsible for a brand new business that has become a runaway success. "I was a rural boy until I got an opportunity from this end business, and now I live in Harare, the business generates thousands of dollars monthly, and our products range in price from…

Nov

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Gambia court sentences soldier to 12 years in prison for leading foiled coup

NEWS

GAMBIA'S high court sentenced a soldier to 12 years in prison for leading a foiled coup last year against President Adama Barrow's administration. Eight soldiers were charged with treason and conspiracy in January for their role in a December 21, 2022 coup attempt in the West African nation of 2.5 million people almost entirely surrounded by Senegal. Two civilians and a police officer were also charged with concealment of treason and conspiracy to commit a felony. Seven, including the two civilians and the officer, were acquitted and released mid-trial. The soldier accused of being the ringleader, Sanna Fadera, was found…

Nov

02

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI and AARON ROSS

King Charles’ regrets for colonial abuses in Kenya not enough for some victims

NEWS

BRITAIN'S King Charles and Queen Camilla began the second day of a state visit to Kenya as survivors of colonial-era abuses criticised his failure to issue a full apology or propose reparations. At a state dinner on Tuesday Charles expressed his "deepest regret" for what he called abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans during the country's independence struggle. President William Ruto commended the monarch's first step toward going beyond the "tentative and equivocal half-measures of past years", but said much remained to be done. During the 1952-1960 Mau Mau revolt in central Kenya, some 90,000 Kenyans were killed or…

Nov

02

2023

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Abduction of opposition MP draws anger in Zimbabwe

NEWS

A Zimbabwean opposition lawmaker was abducted by unknown armed men, assaulted and then dumped about 50 km north of the capital Harare, members of his party said. Takudzwa Ngadziore, 25, one of the youngest legislators for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) posted a live video on Facebook showing a man running toward him with a rifle before it cut off after seven seconds. He was later found near mine shafts in the village of Mazowe naked, badly assaulted and injected with an unknown substance, said CCC chief whip in parliament Amos Chibaya. "Ngadziore was this morning on his way…

Nov

03

2023

By The African Mirror

US calls for immediate cessation of attacks in North Darfur, Sudan

NEWS

THE United States is troubled by reports of an imminent attack on El Fasher, North Darfur, and is calling on the warring parties in Sudan to immediately cease further attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "The United States calls on the warring parties to immediately cease further attacks in and around El Fasher to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law concerning civilians," Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.

Nov

02

2023

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Kenya greenlights visits from all Africans in push for unhindered continental travel

NEWS

BARRIER-FREE travel in Africa has received fresh impetus after Kenya vowed to abolish visa requirements for all Africans by 2023. President William Ruto, championing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), asserted that visa barriers hold Africans back. “By the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya,” he said. Kenya, a part of the East African Community (EAC), has already implemented a common market protocol that allows free movement of goods, services, capital and people among EAC members. By extending visa-free access to all African countries, Kenya hopes to…

Nov

02

2023

By JOE BAVIER and DUNCAN MIRIRI

How African apparel industry’s future depends on U.S. Congress

NEWS

NORAH Nasimiyu knows the future of Kenya's garment trade, which has employed her for 13 years and helped her put six children through school and university, lies in the hands of the U.S. Congress. And like others, she is worried. U.S. officials visiting South Africa this week to meet African trade ministers will face calls to reauthorise the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which expires in 2025. Despite longstanding bipartisan support from lawmakers, who view Washington's flagship African trade initiative as critical to taking on China, deep dysfunction on Capitol Hill and divisions over the need for updates have raised doubts.…

Nov

02

2023

By TAREK AMARA

Five Islamist convicts escape from Tunisian jail, government sacks intelligence officials

NEWS

FIVE Islamist prisoners convicted of killing two secular politicians and policemen escaped from a Tunisian jail, in a rare security breach for the North African country, prompting the government to dismiss top intelligence officials. Security sources said the men were "very dangerous terrorists". The interior ministry published the names and photos of the escaped convicts and urged citizens to contact the police if they see them. The five men included Ahmed Malki, known as "the Somali", who had been serving a 24-year sentence for the assassination of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013. The interior ministry said…

Nov

02

2023

By NUZULACK DAUSEN

Germany and Tanzania to open talks on colonial legacy

NEWS

GERMANY will open talks with Tanzania about the legacy of its three decades of colonial rule in the East African nation, the two countries presidents said. Tanzanian politicians and activists have long pushed for reparations and the return of human remains from their country that is displayed in German museums. “We have discussed this in detail and we are ready to open negotiations to see how we are going to agree on the German colonial legacy," Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said at a news conference with her German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "I know there are families that are waiting…

Nov

02

2023

By ELIAS BIRYABAREMA

Uganda army says it killed rebels that murdered honeymooning tourists

NEWS

UGANDA'S military said that it had killed a number of fighters from an Islamic State-linked group who shot dead a honeymooning couple and their guide in a national park last month. Gunmen from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group ambushed David and Celia Barlow and their Ugandan guide Eric Ayai in Queen Elizabeth National Park near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo on October 17. Celia Barlow was South African and her new husband was British. "ADF terrorists whom we have been tracking down since the attack on tourists were finally got and a number of them…