On the morning of Dec. 13 2016, the police summoned Maxence Melo, a co-founder of JamiiForums, a popular online platform in Tanzania, and promptly arrested him.
For almost a year, Tanzanian officials had been in a bitter $600 million dispute with Dangote Cement over investment incentives related to a new cement plant in Mtwara, southern Tanzania. The Nigerian company had claimed the government was reneging on promises made by the previous administration of president Jakaya Kikwete, who left office thirteen months ago.
The arrests of two people for insulting President John Magufuli on social media has heightened concerns among journalists and analysts in Tanzania that an atmosphere of fear and self-censorship is being created in newsrooms across the country.
South Africa’s highest court ruled today (Mar. 31) that president Jacob Zuma acted unlawfully and behaved in a way that was inconsistent with the constitution when he used state funds for certain renovations on his private residence.
MTN, the troubled South African telecoms group, is paring back its operations in South Sudan, blaming currency volatility and economic turmoil.
The English Premier League, one of the most popular club soccer competitions in the world, has struck a broadcasting rights agreement with Econet Media, owned by Zimbabwean telecoms tycoon Strive Masiyiwa. The new deal will make games available on a free-to-air basis for fans across sub-Saharan Africa.
In what could be the find of the century, new evidence has emerged to show a secret chamber may exist behind the tomb of King Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut. Archaeologists believe it houses the burial site of Queen Nefertiti.
FIFA, the football’s world governing body, has acknowledged that its own officials accepted up to $10 million in return for votes that awarded South Africa the 2010 World Cup tournament, Agence France-Presse reports.
Over the last six months, there have been three attacks in West Africa perpetrated by a group that calls itself Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). These attacks, the group said in a statement yesterday (Mar. 15), were geared towards forcing the withdrawal of French forces in the region. France deployed troops in Mali in 2012 to fight off a militant uprising in the north of the country, and has established a 3000-strong military presence in the region to combat violent extremism.
This post has been updated.
Kenya’s rapidly expanding workforce isn’t finding jobs fast enough, according to a new World Bank report. “Unemployment and underemployment are rampant, especially among the youth,” the bank said.
Eritrea, a small state of six million people in the northeast of Africa, is often seen as one of the most isolated countries on the continent. But the capital, Asmara, has some of the best 20th century architectural design in the world—and it hopes to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fastjet, the low-cost African airline, has issued another in a series of series of profit warnings to investors, saying that earnings for the year will be “materially below market expectations.” The last time it warned investors that there was trouble ahead, in December, the airline cited regulatory holdups in Zambia and Zimbabwe, currency fluctuations across the continent, and government budget cuts in Tanzania. These problems have proven ”a lot more prolonged than management originally forecast,” the airline said on Monday (Mar. 7).
This post has been updated.
President Robert Mugabe, who has governed Zimbabwe for over three decades and shows no willingness to step down, said his administration will take control of the country’s diamond sector back from private companies.
Barclays’ business in Africa accounts for 20% of the British bank’s earnings and has actually been growing. So why does it want to sell its 62% stake in South Africa’s ABSA bank and essentially pull out of Africa within the next three years?
After months of speculation Barclays has confirmed that it is looking to sell its 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited as part of a company-wide restructuring that will refocus the British bank’s business on its UK and other global operations.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, saw a decline in the number and value of deals last year with regulatory uncertainty, falling oil prices and weakening of the naira all contributing to investor caution in the mergers and acquisition space in the country, a report by Mergermarket shows.
Africa’s economic slowdown is not stopping investors from chasing deals on the continent. In fact, falling currencies and a commodities slump over the past year may be making the continent more attractive to investors as they look for that next cheap deal, a recent report by Mergermarket shows.
Zimbabwe’s Bubye Valley Conservancy has denied reports that it is considering killing 200 lions, saying that it is merely trying to “translocate or re-home” animals to areas where the ecosystem can accommodate them.
Senior officials from South Africa’s ruling party are suggesting that US diplomats are grooming young people to engineer Arab-Spring-style regime change in the country.
Kenya is facing a potential ban from the 2016 Olympics after failing to meet a deadline set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to demonstrate that it is doing enough to root out cheating in athletics.
Updated at 7.30pm EAT.
Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta said in a speech on Tuesday (Feb. 16) that his government is thinking about building a prison that will hold those with “violent and extremist” tendencies to limit their ability to spread “poison” to other prisoners.
