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Oct
12
2020
By The African Mirror
Nigeria’s police disbands controversial anti-robbery Squad after protests

Nigeria’s police disbands controversial anti-robbery Squad after protests

NEWS
ALEXIS AKWAGYRIRAM and ABRHAHIM ACHIRGA THE head of Nigeria's police dissolved its Special Anti-Robbery Squad with immediate effect, a police statement said, prompted by days of protests across the country against alleged brutality by the controversial unit. The protests broke out after a video circulated last week allegedly showing members of the unit - known as SARS - shooting dead a man in Delta state. It also prompted a globally-trending social media campaign to abolish the squad. Demonstrators also alleged that police shot dead another man while marching in the southwestern city of Ogbomosho on Saturday. Police did not respond…
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Oct
11
2020
By The African Mirror
President Buhari orders the police to address claims of police brutality

President Buhari orders the police to address claims of police brutality

NEWS
AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER STUNG by protests against police brutality, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the country's police leadership to address citizens' concerns and ensure that rogue officers are brought to book. On the day that police fired teargas to disperse dozens of protesters, Buhari summoned Nigeria’s inspector general of the police. “The Inspector General has my firm instructions to conclusively address concerns of Nigerians regarding excesses and ensuring erring personnel are brought to justice. I appeal for patience and calm, even as Nigerians freely exercise their right to peacefully make their views known,” Buhari said. He said the Nigerian…
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Sep
07
2020
By The African Mirror
Mothers, sisters, wives: Kenyan women lead fight against police violence

Mothers, sisters, wives: Kenyan women lead fight against police violence

HUMAN RIGHTS
NEHA WADEKAR The confrontation was caught on film. As three armed policemen try to pull Wanjira Wanjiru away, she clings to the wing-mirror of a parked car and refuses to move. “Don’t touch me!” she yells. “Why are you arresting me?”  “Why are you protesting?” one of the steel-helmeted policemen asks. “I’m protesting because you’re killing us,” replies the 25-year-old anti-police brutality campaigner. “Who is killing you?”  “You police! You’re killing us in our communities!” Then, as the policemen back off, Wanjira, fist in the air, defiantly chants what has now become an iconic line: “When we lose our fear, they lose…
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Aug
16
2020
By The African Mirror
Zimbabwe Catholic bishops, lawyers criticise alleged government abuses

Zimbabwe Catholic bishops, lawyers criticise alleged government abuses

NEWS
ZIMBABWE’s Catholic bishops and the law society have criticised the government for alleged human rights abuses and a crackdown on dissent, adding to growing concerns over authorities' treatment of opponents amid a worsening economic crisis. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government swiftly hit back, saying the "evil" accusations were baseless. Inflation running at more than 800% is the clearest sign of the worst economic crisis in over a decade and has evoked memories of hyperinflation under Robert Mugabe, whose 37-year rule was ended by an army coup in 2017. The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference said in a pastoral letter that the country…
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Aug
14
2020
By The African Mirror
Nigerian lawyers fight back against police brutality, graft

Nigerian lawyers fight back against police brutality, graft

NEWS
NNEKA CHILE WHEN Divine Umukoro refused to pay police a bribe after breaking Lagos state's night-time curfew, she says they slapped her, slashed her car tyres and threatened violence. A video of the incident went viral on Nigerian blogging sites, and Citizens' Gavel, a non-profit organisation that fights against police misconduct, stepped in, helping her to recover her seized car within three days. The police have declined to comment on the incident. "When the whole thing started with the hitting, with the slapping of my face, pushing my friend - I felt so angry," Umukoro, 25, said of the July…
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Aug
13
2020
By The African Mirror
Repression in Zimbabwe exposes South Africa’s weakness

Repression in Zimbabwe exposes South Africa’s weakness

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
ROGER SOUTHALL, University of the Witwatersrand SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s despatch of envoys to Zimbabwe in a bid to defuse the latest crisis, in which the government has engaged in a vicious crackdown on opponents, journalists and the freedoms of speech, association and protest, has been widely welcomed. Such has been the brutality of the latest assault on human rights by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime that something had to be done. And, as the big brother neighbour next door, South Africa is the obvious actor to do it. It may be guaranteed that Ramaphosa’s envoys – Sydney Mufamadi, a…
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Aug
04
2020
By The African Mirror
Brutalised Zimbabweans cry for help

Brutalised Zimbabweans cry for help

NEWS
AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER ZIMBABWEANS, abducted, tortured and brutalised by their own government, have taken to social media to present evidence of their misery to raise the world’s awareness to their plight and to appeal for urgent help. Many videos and still photographs of ordinary people being brutally attacked by the police and the army have been posted on social media platforms. The hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter has trended on Twitter, together with #Mnangagwa, in reference to the Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa, who has been blamed for unleashing the might of those on those it is supposed to protect. The Zimbabwean law enforcement…
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Aug
04
2020
By The African Mirror
South Africans go online to document police brutality

South Africans go online to document police brutality

NEWS
KIM HARRISBERG STRICT enforcement of South Africa's coronavirus lockdown by police and the army has placed the spotlight on official brutality, a cause of anger among the majority Black population for decades. Now a coalition of human rights organisations called C19 is seeking to document those abuses, hoping the data gathered will drive reform. A new website that allows South Africans to report police brutality launched in April and has drawn input from across the country, mainly from townships in large cities. Users go through a series of questions on the free-to-use site, where they can submit a testimony together…
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