NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

15

2020

Robbery or social justice? French court fines activist who pinches colonial relics

NEWS

A French court has convicted Congolese activist Mwazulu Diyabanza of aggravated robbery and fined him 1,000 euros ($1,176) after he snatched a 19th century central African funerary post from a Paris museum in June. Diyabanza, who has lived in France for 20 years, belongs to a pan-African movement that is pressing France to return thousands of art works removed from its African colonies and make reparations for acts of slavery. He told Reuters he would lodge an appeal. "It's a big joke from French justice", Diyabanza said. "We will appeal to show elements that the judge has obviously missed," he…

Oct

15

2020

By The African Mirror

More Nigerian protests against police brutality as reforms fail to convince

NEWS

TEMILADE ADELAJA and ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM NIGERIAN protesters demanding an end to police brutality returned to the streets on, saying they were unconvinced by the creation of a new police unit and a pledge not to use violence against demonstrators. Protesters have staged daily marches nationwide for a week, calling for an overhaul of police forces. Police have responded to the demonstrations with beatings, tear gas and gunfire, which human rights group Amnesty International said had killed at least 10 people. The protests have prompted a raft of announcements. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit that demonstrators have long…

Oct

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Wife of South African army general arrested for R100-million fraud

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE crackdown by the South African law enforcement against fraud and corruption has continued, with the wife of an army general the latest to be arrested. Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was arrested and has appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court where she was charged for providing false information and documents to win a R100-million tender from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) transport equipment to Sudan. Ntsonda-Ndhlovu, whose husband, Noel Ndhlovu, is a general in the SANDF, was granted bail of R80 000 and her case was postponed to December 9. As part of her bail…

Nov

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Democratic Republic of Congo resumes making passports after hiatus

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo is resuming passport production, according to a government decree which came after a five-month hiatus following allegations of money laundering and corruption by Brussels-based manufacturer Semlex. In May, a senior Congolese official told Reuters the government would not renew its contract with Semlex, which made biometric passports for Congo in a deal agreed under former President Joseph Kabila that expired on June 11. The winner of a subsequent tender has not been announced, but the decree, signed by the Congolese foreign and finance ministers on November 10, details new passport costs and delivery times for citizens.…

Nov

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Demonstrators demand better conditions for Canary Islands’ migrant arrivals

NEWS

BORJA SUAREZ DEMONSTRATORS on the Canary Islands have demanded better living conditions for thousands of migrants who have reached the Spanish archipelago from Africa. A slow procession of hundreds of demonstrators, some on foot and some in cars, crossed the island of Gran Canaria before reaching the Arguineguin dock in the town of Mogan, where nearly 2,000 migrants are living in tents in conditions that an immigration judge has called "inhumane and degrading". Over 700 migrants in small boats were rescued on Saturday, coastguards said, bringing the number of people who have reached the islands by the dangerous Atlantic route…

Nov

15

2020

By The African Mirror

After Ivory Coast election, fighting comes to a once-calm town

NEWS

ANGE ABOA BEFORE last month's presidential election, M'Batto in central Ivory Coast was a small, peaceful town where ethnic groups intermarried and churches and mosques existed side by side without friction, residents say. Two weeks on and the streets are littered with empty shotgun cartridges, shops have been burned down and at least six people are dead, killed in ethnic clashes that some fear could herald a repeat of Ivory Coast's civil wars in 2002 and 2010-2011. The October 31 election, which was boycotted by the opposition, opened up old wounds around the question of identity in Ivory Coast between…

Nov

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Airports near Ethiopia’s Tigray state attacked with rockets

NEWS

GIULIA PARAVICINI TWO airports in Ethiopia's Amhara state which neighbours Tigray where federal troops are fighting local forces were targeted by rocket fire, the government has announced. One of the rockets hit the airport in Gondar and partially damaged it, said Awoke Worku, spokesperson for Gondar central zone, while a second one fired simultaneously landed just outside of the airport at Bahir Dar. The government blamed the ruling party in Tigray, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). "The TPLF junta is utilising the last of the weaponry within its arsenals," the government's emergency task force wrote on Twitter. Debretsion Gebremichael,…

Nov

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya talks set December 2021 date for elections

NEWS

LIBYAN participants in political talks taking place in Tunis have set December 24, 2021, as the date for parliamentary and presidential elections, the acting U.N. envoy has announced. "Reaching elections requires a new executive to unify the country. This requires the establishment of a reformed presidency council and an effective and unified government of national unity," Stephanie Williams said on a call with journalists. The talks in Tunis this week follow a ceasefire agreed last month between the two major sides in the country's war - the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National…

Nov

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Red faced South Africa vows to bring Bushiris back to face justice

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH Africa’s government says it would consider using an extradition treaty to bring back self proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri and his wife back to face justice after they escaped to Malawi, SA Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said his government would use the southern African Development Community extradition treaty to bring him back. “Malawi is a signatory to the SADC protocol and other legal instruments on extradition. We will not hesitate to use these provisions and instruments to assist law enforcement agencies to extradite fugitives from justice,” Lamola said. Bushiri and his wife, charged with fraud and corruption…

Nov

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Copper theft cripples South Africa’s railways, leaving commuters waiting

NEWS

MFUNEKO TOYANA and SIYABONGA SISHI HLONI Doporo stands on a platform in Soweto's Orlando Station, waiting for a train that may never come because thieves have stripped away most of the power cables. When South Africa shut large parts of its economy and transport network during its COVID-19 lockdown, organised, sometimes armed, gangs moved into its crumbling stations to steal the valuable copper from the lines. Now, more than two months after that lockdown ended, the commuter rail system, relied on by millions of commuters, is barely operational. "The government has allowed this to happen," Doporo, 25 says, staring across…