Sierra Leone: Police fire tear gas at opposition HQ as vote tally continues

Police in Sierra Leone fired tear gas at the main opposition party’s headquarters on Sunday evening, officials from the opposition said, as voters awaited the results of a fiercely fought general election. Opposition All People’s Congress (APC) presidential candidate Samura Kamara said on Twitter that live bullets had also been fired at his office inside…

Looking at Role of Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa

A revolt by the Wagner force in Russia poses a diplomatic quandary for African states where forces from the mercenary group have played an increasingly central role in long-running internal conflicts. Legalbrief reports that the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Sudan and Libya have all become platforms for the shadowy group which had plied Moscow’s…

Nigerian Boat Ride Ends in Tragic Loss of Over 100 Lives

At least 103 people died when a river boat capsized in Kwara state. The boat, said to be carrying up to 300 people, overturned after hitting a tree trunk. The local police and residents reported that many of the victims were returning from a wedding ceremony. Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said in a statement that the…

Ethiopia repatriates Ugandan cult members who went there to starve

Eighty members of a Ugandan religious cult who had been convinced to travel to Ethiopia and starve themselves have been repatriated, authorities in Uganda say. Their pastor allegedly told them that they would “meet Jesus Christ” after fasting for 40 days. A joint police operation is now leading a search for cult leader Simon Opolot….

US fundraising platform for charities says around $900,000 stolen by staff in DRC

A US-based aid group said that approximately $900,000 was stolen from its Congo programs by members of the organization who conspired with outsiders. GiveDirectly said that it learned that people on its Congo team worked with people outside the organization to defraud the cash transfer program, diverting aid from more than 1,700 impoverished families over…

UN official urges “responsible” withdrawal from the DRC

A top UN official said on Wednesday that peacekeepers should withdraw from the DRC as “quickly as possible” yet responsibly. Speaking in the capital, Kinshasa, during a visit to the DRC, the UN official added that the Congolese state should step up its own response to the armed groups that plague the east of the country. “We’re obviously going to continue this…