NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

12

2026

Mandela’s long walk to Freedom: 36 years on, Ramaphosa returns to sacred ground

NEWS

THE gates of Drakenstein Correctional Facility witnessed history twice: once when Nelson Mandela walked to freedom, and again on Wednesday when the man who escorted him that day returned to honour his legacy. Thirty-six years ago to the day – at 4:15 pm on February 11, 1990 – the world held its breath as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at his side, walked out of these very gates into a massive, jubilant crowd. The moment transformed a prisoner into a legend and set South Africa on an irreversible path to democracy. "To have been there beside the father of…

Feb

13

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

20 die as cyclone Gezani unleashes deadly rampage across Madagascar

NEWS

MOTHER Nature has unleashed her full fury on Madagascar as Tropical Cyclone Gezani carved a devastating path of destruction across the island nation, claiming at least 20 lives and leaving 15 people missing in her wake. The monster storm transformed into a 270-kilometre-per-hour harbinger of death as it slammed into the coast with apocalyptic force, ripping metal roofing from buildings like paper, uprooting ancient trees as if they were toothpicks, and reducing homes to rubble in the impoverished port city of Toamasina. "I have never experienced winds this violent," said resident Harimanga Ranaivo, his voice trembling with terror. "The doors…

Feb

11

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Thousands killed in El Fasher massacre as UN demands accountability

NEWS

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk condemned the October attack on El Fasher, Sudan, as a "preventable human rights catastrophe" in which thousands were killed within days, calling for those responsible to be held accountable. Speaking to the Human Rights Council, Türk said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) unleashed intense violence after imposing an 18-month siege on the city, forcing tens of thousands to flee. The High Commissioner recently visited Sudan and met survivors who reported mass killings, summary executions, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and disappearances during the final offensive. UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk. In one…

Feb

11

2026

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia operating secret camp to train Sudan paramilitary forces, Reuters investigation reveals

NEWS

ETHIOPIA is hosting a clandestine military training camp for thousands of fighters from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, according to a Reuters investigation that marks the first direct evidence of Ethiopian involvement in Sudan's devastating civil war. The camp, located in Ethiopia's remote western Benishangul-Gumuz region near the Sudanese border, represents a potentially dangerous escalation that could provide the RSF with a substantial supply of fresh soldiers as fighting intensifies in southern Sudan, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, eight sources - including a senior Ethiopian government official - said the United Arab Emirates financed the camp's construction and is…

Feb

11

2026

By The African Mirror

All 55 survive dramatic runway overrun at Mogadishu airport as plane plunges over cliff

NEWS

IN a miraculous escape, all 55 passengers and crew aboard a StarSky Fokker 50 walked away unharmed after the plane overran the runway at Mogadishu International Airport, hurtled over a cliff, and crashed onto the shoreline Tuesday afternoon. The aircraft, operated by the local carrier StarSky, had departed Mogadishu earlier in the day bound for Galkayo in central Somalia. Shortly after takeoff, the pilots reported technical issues, prompting an immediate return and clearance for an emergency landing, according to airport officials and aviation sources. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as the plane touched down amid high tension. "It was like…

Feb

11

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Africa’s mining revolution: Leaders demand end to resource extraction model

NEWS

IN a forceful display of Pan-African unity at the 2026 Mining Indaba, leaders from across the continent issued an unambiguous message to global investors: the era of simply extracting Africa's mineral wealth is over. South African Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema delivered addresses that marked a potential inflexion point in how resource-rich African nations engage with international capital — demanding partnerships over predatory deals, and value addition over raw material exports. Speaking under this year's theme "Stronger Together: Progress Through Partnerships," both leaders framed African mineral resources as leverage in an increasingly multipolar world,…

Feb

10

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Nigeria’s First Lady calls for more US strikes despite growing domestic backlash

NEWS

NIGERIA’S First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has characterised recent US military strikes on her country's soil as a "blessing" and called for expanded American intervention - even as serious questions emerge about the accuracy of the Christmas Day bombing and its place in Nigeria's complex security landscape. "The intervention of the U.S. was quite a welcome development," Tinubu told Fox News Digital during a week-long Washington visit aimed at deepening security cooperation. "We are expecting that there will be more." The statement represents a remarkable endorsement of foreign military action within Nigerian borders, particularly given mounting evidence that challenges the official…

Feb

10

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

How Uganda’s communications minister sealed his political fate by challenging the first son

NEWS

IN the ruthless calculus of Ugandan politics, where power flows exclusively from the Museveni dynasty, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi has just committed the ultimate act of career self-immolation: he publicly contradicted the President's son. Baryomunsi condemned the military raid on opposition leader Bobi Wine's home, stating that the popstar-turned-politician had not committed any crime and was free to return there. This measured critique of security forces' conduct following Uganda's disputed January 15 presidential election would be unremarkable in any functional democracy. In Museveni's Uganda, it was political suicide. The minister's transgression wasn't merely that he questioned military overreach - it…

Feb

10

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African courts are breaking FGM’s culture of silence

NEWS

IN Bomi County, Liberia, Ruth Peal did something almost unheard of in her community. She sought justice after being forcibly subjected to undergo female circumcision. Rather than adhere to the culture of silence that perpetuates the practice, recognised as female genital mutilation, FGM, she pursued legal channels to tell her story. “Ruth was courageous, she was brave, and Ruth was willing to talk,” according to Nelly Cooper of the West Point Women for Health and Development Organisation. The ritual began one day in 2010 when Ruth, who was already an adult with a husband and children at the time, was…

Feb

09

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Morocco battles catastrophic floods as 154,000 displaced in northwest’s worst deluge in years

NEWS

MORE than 154,000 people remain evacuated from their homes across northwestern Morocco as relentless flooding continues to devastate one of the nation's most fertile agricultural regions, with the historic city of Ksar El Kebir still half-submerged more than 10 days after floodwaters first inundated its streets. The humanitarian crisis, triggered by rainfall levels 215% above last year's average since late January, has transformed the Gharb plain—Morocco's breadbasket—into a waterlogged disaster zone. Yet in what authorities are calling a triumph of preemptive action, not a single fatality has been recorded, a stark contrast to December's Safi floods that claimed 37 lives.…