NEWS - The African Mirror

Dec

02

2025

SA: Five suspects remanded in custody for mercenary trafficking

NEWS

FIVE suspects accused of illegally recruiting South Africans to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war will spend the next seven days behind bars after appearing in Kempton Park Magistrates Court on Sunday and being remanded in custody pending formal bail applications. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) charged Nonkululeko Mantula (39), Thulani Mazibuko (24), Xolani Ntuli (47), Siphamandla Tshabalala (23), and Sfiso Mabena (21) with violating the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act—one of Africa's toughest anti-mercenary laws carrying sentences up to 25 years. The case was postponed to Monday, December 8, 2025, for formal bail hearings. The arrests mark…

Dec

02

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

DRC peace process illegitimate, driven by foreign mining interests – Nobel laureate

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege has issued a scathing denunciation of the Washington and Doha-led peace initiatives aimed at ending conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, calling them fundamentally flawed and designed to serve foreign economic interests rather than the Congolese people. In a strongly-worded statement, Mukwege declared the bilateral negotiations between Kinshasa and M23 rebels "illegitimate, precarious and incapable of guaranteeing lasting peace," accusing the processes of prioritising access to the region's vast mineral wealth over human rights and sovereignty. "How long will we see agreements negotiated without the people, illegitimate and…

Dec

02

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Ghana, Burkina Faso blaze trail with historic free roaming agreement

NEWS

IN a groundbreaking move that sets a new standard for African regional integration, Ghana and Burkina Faso have signed a landmark telecommunications agreement that will eliminate mobile roaming charges between the two nations, marking Ghana as the first West African country to achieve free roaming with all its neighbours. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed during Burkina Faso's Digital Week in Ouagadougou, represents more than a bilateral agreement - it's a gauntlet thrown to telecommunications companies and regulators across the continent, demonstrating that affordable, borderless communication is not just possible, but essential for Africa's digital future. "This is about breaking down…

Dec

01

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

The $600,000 scarf: a tale of presidential neckwear and eye-watering generosity

NEWS

IN what may be the most expensive textile transaction since Cleopatra allegedly dissolved a pearl in wine, Zimbabwe has witnessed a moment that will forever redefine the phrase "designer accessory." President Emmerson Mnangagwa's scarf - yes, that piece of fabric designed to keep one's neck moderately warm - has sold for a cool $600,000 at a charity auction. The winning bidder? None other than Wicknell Chivayo, businessman extraordinaire and philanthropist of the most spectacular variety, whose generosity appears to know no bounds - much like his access to government contracts, but we digress. To put this in perspective, $600,000 could…

Dec

01

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Secret recording exposes French role in Gabon coup, revealing “family affair” to prevent revolution

NEWS

A clandestinely recorded conversation has exposed what critics are calling proof of French coordination in Gabon's August 2023 military coup, with the country's current leader admitting the takeover was staged to prevent a genuine revolutionary uprising. In the explosive recording obtained by Noureddin Bongo, son of ousted president Ali Bongo, coup leader and current president Brice Oligui Nguema describes the military takeover as a "mere family affair" orchestrated in close coordination with French President Emmanuel Macron. The recording, made after Noureddin Bongo's release in May 2025 following 20 months of detention, captures Nguema reassuring the younger Bongo that the coup…

Dec

01

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Ramaphosa defies Trump over G20 exclusion threat, condemns “Blatant misinformation”

NEWS

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has delivered a defiant response to threats from US President Donald Trump to exclude South Africa from the G20, calling allegations of genocide against Afrikaners "baseless and false" and "blatant misinformation" about the country. In a national address on Sunday evening, Ramaphosa reflected on the first G20 Leaders Summit on African soil, one which the United States boycotted. He also spoke on Trump’s declaration that South Africa would not be invited to participate in next year's G20 in the United States. "We must make it clear that South Africa is one of the founding members of the…

Dec

01

2025

By The African Mirror

Mbeki calls for global mobilization to achieve just world order

NEWS

FORMER South African President Thabo Mbeki has called for a global mobilisation to address what he describes as persistent injustices in the international system, warning that current development goals are failing and the world faces a "global development emergency." Speaking at the closing of the 2025 Cape Town Conversations, Mbeki told attendees that only 35% of Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track, with just five years remaining until the 2030 deadline. He urged next year's conference to maintain its focus on shaping a just global order, particularly in light of anticipated changes during President Donald Trump's G20 presidency. The…

Nov

29

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Rwanda’s Kagame sparks fierce debate over church closures and religious freedom

NEWS

RWANDAN President Paul Kagame's recent remarks dismissing churches and religious worship have ignited a heated international controversy, with critics accusing him of attacking fundamental religious freedoms while supporters defend his stance against exploitation by religious leaders. During a press meeting on November 27, 2025, when asked about the closure of approximately 10,000 churches, Kagame made sweeping statements about religious institutions that have drawn international condemnation. According to accounts circulating on social media, the president stated: "If it were up to me, I would not allow any church to re-open...The church plays no role in development, in the survival of the…

Nov

29

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Trump announces immediate end to deportation protections for Somalis

NEWS

PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced that he is immediately terminating temporary deportation protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, targeting a program that has shielded them from removal since 1991. In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump called Minnesota "a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" and claimed without providing evidence that "Somali gangs are terrorising the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing." "I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota," Trump wrote. "Send them back to where they came from.…

Nov

29

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

EU Parliament blocks Tanzania funding, considers sanctions over election violence, mass graves

NEWS

THE European Parliament has voted to halt direct financial support to Tanzania and consider targeted sanctions against government officials responsible for what lawmakers described as a brutal post-election crackdown that left thousands dead and resulted in reports of mass graves. The resolution, adopted by an overwhelming 539 votes in favour with no opposition and 27 abstentions, condemns the Tanzanian government's violent response to protests following disputed October 29, 2025, elections that regional observers, including the African Union and Southern African Development Community, sharply criticised as neither free nor fair. The violence by security forces resulted in thousands of deaths and…