supporters - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Tanzanians go to the polls in 2025: President Samia has changed the landscape, but Magufuli’s legacy persists

IT'S been three years since the death of Tanzania’s president John Magufuli and the rise to power of the current president Samia Suluhu Hassan. Magufuli was Tanzania’s fifth president. He came to power in 2015 and was re-elected in 2020 in a poll that was marred by controversy. Magufuli brought lasting changes to Tanzania’s political landscape during his six-year tenure. His approach sparked differing opinions, both within the country and on the international stage. Inside the country, he was loved and loathed almost in equal measure. To his detractors, his administration was marked by a decline in political and civic…

Mar

2024

By SOFIA CHRISTENSEN and BATE FELIX

Freed from jail, Senegal opposition presidential candidate draws hundreds to first event

NEWS

A day after his release from jail, Senegal opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye drew hundreds of supporters at his first public appearance as a presidential contender for the March 24 elections, promising to tackle corruption. Next to him, the popular firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko urged supporters to vote for his ally. "We have an election to win. We have lost too much time," Sonko, also released from prison on Thursday, said at a joint news briefing. Firebrand Sonko - who was seen as the key challenger to President Macky Sall's ruling party - threw his support behind Faye after being disqualified over…

Nov

2023

By CARIELLE DOE

Car ploughs into supporters of Liberia’s president-elect killing two

NEWS

A car ploughed into a crowd celebrating the election victory of Liberia's president-elect Joseph Boakai in the capital Monrovia, killing two people and injuring around 18 others, two hospital staff said. It was not immediately clear if the incident, which took place outside Boakai's party headquarters, was deliberate or an accident. A video of the aftermath shared on Facebook showed badly injured people sprawled over the road and pavement outside the Unity Party office. Boakai, 78, a former vice president, narrowly defeated President George Weah in the Nov. 14 presidential run-off, securing 50.64% of the votes cast, according to the…

Jun

2023

By AYENAT MERSIE

Kenya’s opposition leader rallies supporters to boycott new taxes

NEWS

KENYA'S opposition leader Raila Odinga asked his supporters to boycott a raft of new taxes on items including fuel and housing, stoking a potential confrontation with the government of his rival President William Ruto. The levies were contained in a finance bill that was signed into law by Ruto on Monday. "Through civil disobedience, we will deny Ruto the taxes he thinks he can extort from us by force," Odinga told thousands of cheering and dancing supporters at a rally in the capital Nairobi. Under the new revenue measures, the fuel tax will double to 16% and workers will also…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Pakistan police postpone arrest of ex-PM Imran Khan until Thursday, easing unrest

WORLD

MUBASHER BUKHARI A Pakistan court ordered police to halt an operation to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan, bringing an end to clashes with supporters of the former cricketer outside his home in which police fired water cannons and tear gas. Security forces withdrew from around the house in the eastern city of Lahore, easing political instability in the nuclear-armed nation which is struggling with an economic crisis and awaiting an International Monetary Fund bailout. The Lahore high court ordered police to postpone the arrest of Khan until Thursday, provincial information minister Amir Mir told Reuters. Earlier, a senior police official said…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Supporters demand sainthood for Benedict as Pope Francis leads funeral

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA and CRISPIAN BALMER POPE Francis led the funeral of former Pope Benedict, tenderly touching the coffin of his predecessor as he stood supported on a cane before tens of thousands of mourners, with some calling for the late pontiff to be made a saint. Benedict's death on Saturday brought to an end a decade of the former and present pope living side-by-side in the Vatican and it was the first time in more than 200 years that a pontiff had led the service for his predecessor. His death was a loss for conservatives who yearned for a return to a…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

ANC slams Zuma supporters

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH African governing party, the ANC, has come out strongly against the conduct of supporters of former president Jacob Zuma, who gathered in big numbers to protest against the 15-month sentence imposed by the Constitutional Court. The national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC met yesterday to consider developments that took place outside Zuma’s home in Nkandla. In a strongly-worded statement, the NEC said any attempts to respond to legal and judicial matters through threats and acts of violence were abhorrent and would not be tolerated. The NEC said it must always be clear that the interests…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

18 Bobi Wine supporters granted bail

NEWS

A Ugandan military court yesterday released on bail 18 supporters of singer-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine detained since the start of the year on charges lawyers and government critics say are politically motivated. "They were granted bail, so for now they have some temporary freedom," their lawyer, George Musisi, told Reuters. The move follows the release on May 25 of a first batch of 17 activists from a group of 35 originally detained on Dec. 30 for violating COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. They were subsequently charged in a military court with weapons offences, even though all the accused are civilians. Wine,…