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🇹🇿 Tanzania Confirms Marburg Virus Outbreak
Tanzania has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in the Kagera region, prompting urgent public health measures. The highly contagious virus, with a fatality rate of up to 88%, is spread through bodily fluids and contaminated surfaces.
The WHO first flagged the outbreak on January 14, but Tanzanian officials initially disputed the claims.
Further testing confirmed the virus, prompting a swift response involving surveillance, testing, and public awareness campaigns.
#Tanzania
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🌍🇫🇷 Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial on Monday, on charges of having received millions of euros in illegal financing from Libya's late strongman Muammar Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid.
Sarkozy, who was relaxed and chatting with lawyers and other defendants in the courtroom before the hearing started, has always denied the accusations.
The conservative former leader faces charges of "concealment of embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime," the financial prosecutor's office said.
#Africa #France
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🌍🇫🇷 Still awaiting thanks for stopping Islamists in Sahel, Macron says
France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was still waiting for Africa's Sahel states to thank Paris for stopping them falling into the hands of militants and he dismissed suggestions his country had been forced out of the region.
Speaking to French ambassadors at an annual conference on foreign policy for 2025, Macron said France had been right to intervene in 2013 to fight Islamist militants even if those same states had now moved away from French military support.
"I think that they forgot to thank us, but that's ok, it will come in time," Macron said ironically.
French troops have in recent years pulled out of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso after successive military coups and are in the process of withdrawing from Chad, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
"None of them would have a sovereign state if the French army had not deployed in this region," Macron said.
Macron dismissed the notion that Paris had been kicked out of the region, saying it had decided to re-organise its strategy.
🇺🇬 Uganda's military head says he wants to behead opposition leader
The head of Uganda's military, who is also the son of longstanding President Yoweri Museveni, said he wanted to behead the country's most prominent opposition leader.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba is widely believed to be the heir apparent to his father, who has governed Uganda since 1986. Kainerugaba routinely makes inflammatory posts on social media, including a threat in 2022 to invade neighbouring Kenya.
Kainerugaba later apologised for that threat and sometimes says that certain posts are meant ironically.
In a post on X on Sunday evening, Kainerugaba said his father, whom he referred to by the honorific Mzee, was the only person protecting opposition leader Bobi Wine from him.
"If Mzee was not there, I would cut off his head today," Kainerugaba posted.
Bobi Wine, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who finished second to Museveni in the 2021 presidential election, responded on X that he did not take the threat lightly, saying there had been several previous attempts on his life.
🇺🇬 Uganda's court orders government to pay LRA war crime victims
A Ugandan court has ordered the government to pay up to 10 million Ugandan shillings ($2,740) to each victim of Lord's Resistance Army commander Thomas Kwoyelo, the first senior member of the rebel group to be convicted by Uganda's judiciary.
In October, Kwoyelo, a mid-level commander in the LRA, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for war crimes including murder, rape, enslavement, torture and kidnapping.
According to the court ruling, Kwoyelo was found unable to pay any compensation to the victims due to his "indigent" status, leading the court to order the government to bear the cost.
The scale of Kwoyelo's atrocities, according to the ruling, was such that they amounted to "a manifestation of failure on the part of the government that triggers a responsibility on the state to pay reparations to the victims," the ruling said.
#Uganda
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🇳🇬 Oil spill occurs at Shell terminal in Nigeria
An oil spill has occurred at the Shell loading terminal in Nigeria's Delta region after a pipeline ruptured, Nigeria's maritime agency said.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said the spill which occurred on Saturday at the Bonny terminal has reached shoreline and that it was actively monitoring the situation.
NIMASA added that it was also working with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other stakeholders to assess the extent of the spill and follow-up actions.
#Nigeria
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🇳🇪🇲🇱🇧🇫 West Africa bloc offers junta-led states six months to rethink exit
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will have a six-month grace period after their scheduled exit from West Africa's main political and economic group next month during which the ECOWAS bloc will try to persuade them to stay.
The summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was seen as a chance to address the impending withdrawal of the three countries on Jan. 29, a year after they jointly announced they would leave in a reversal of decades of regional integration.
ECOWAS has so far failed in its goal to push them to reconsider, while the three countries in the insurgency-torn central Sahel region have set up their own alliance, sought ever-closer alignment in defence and other areas and mooted abandoning the West African currency union.
While Jan. 29 remains the official withdrawal date, the effective date for their departure has been extended to July 29 - a transition period during which mediators from the bloc will seek "to bring the three member countries back to ECOWAS without prejudice," commission president Oumar Touray said at the end of the summit.
#ECOWAS #Mali #BurkinaFaso #Niger
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🇷🇼🇨🇩 Congo and Rwanda say peace talks in Angola will not take place
A meeting between the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo will not take place as planned, both countries said, dashing hopes of a deal to curb Congo's M23 rebel conflict that has displaced more than 1.9 million people.
The event was meant to see a rare face-to-face meeting between the central African leaders in Angola, where long-running negotiations have sought to ease tensions between the neighbours linked to the almost three-year M23 insurgency.
"The cancellation of this tripartite is caused by the refusal of the Rwandan delegation to take part," Congo's presidency said in a statement.
#DRC #Rwanda
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🇰🇪 #RutoMustGo Trends as Kenyans Protest on Independence Day
The hashtag #RutoMustGo gained traction on Kenya's Independence Day, known as Jamhuri Day, as an expression of dissatisfaction with President Ruto's administration.
Several Kenyans expressed frustration over the leadership of Ruto on social media while he presided over celebrations at Uhuru Gardens under the theme of jobs, entrepreneurship, and migration. Several hashtags also referred to broader grievances, such as the abuse of protest leaders by security forces during anti-government protests earlier in the year, as reported by Human Rights Watch.
Ruto, however, dismissed the criticism during his speech, urging citizens to disregard "reckless negativity" and false information intended to discredit the government.
#Kenya
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🇹🇩🇫🇷 Deby Defends Decision to End Chad's Military Ties With France
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby has said his decision to end cooperation agreements with the French military is part of a promise he made during his inauguration in May, 2024. In a televised address, Deby said the defense pact no longer meets his country's security needs.
The central African nation had earlier announced that it was ending military ties with France after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Chad and was reportedly told by Chadian officials that the country's military is "strong enough to protect civilians and their property".
Analysts say the decision is "another nail in the coffin" of France's historic and colonial role in west and central Africa after it was forced to pull its troops out of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso following military coups.
#Chad #France
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🇸🇴 Jubaland forces have emerged victorious in a series of battles around Raskambooni, forcing hundreds of Somalia National Army (SNA) soldiers to surrender and flee across the Kenyan border.
The conflict, which erupted following a political dispute, saw intense fighting that began early Wednesday morning and continued into the afternoon. Jubaland Dervish forces successfully broke through opposing troops, with Counter Terrorism Policing Kenya reporting that “hundreds of soldiers from the Somalia National Army (SNA) laid down their arms and sought refuge at Kenya’s Ishakani border point.”
The roots of the conflict trace back to October, when Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam dramatically walked out of the National Consultative Council (NCC) meeting in Mogadishu. The disagreement centered on the electoral system in Somalia, which escalated further when Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe held a controversial election in November, securing his position as the third president of Jubaland after constitutional changes to presidential term limits.
The federal government, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, rejected the election as illegal and subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Ahmed Madobe. In late November and early December, federal troops were deployed by air to capture Raaskamboni, with the explicit aim of removing Madobe from power.
However, the military intervention has now backfired spectacularly. Jubaland forces have not only repelled the federal troops but have also taken full control of Kambooni airport, marking a significant military and political victory for Ahmed Madobe.
The surrendering soldiers and those who fled across the Kenyan border represent a significant blow to the federal government’s credibility and military capabilities. As the dust settles, the incident raises serious questions about the stability of Somalia’s political and military institutions.
#Somalia
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🇿🇦 South Africa: Holiday warning as scam injuries surge
A trend in South Africa of people jumping in front of slow-moving cars to get compensation payouts for injuries drew a warning Tuesday from the government’s National Road Accident Fund.
In a statement, it said the phenomenon of people intentionally getting hit near intersections and stop streets was becoming a significant problem. At the same time, it acknowledged that some cases might have been driven by poverty and desperation at an expensive time of the year.
“We acknowledge road users may face socioeconomic challenges,” the fund said.
The RAF allows people to claim compensation from a national fund if injured in car crashes.
But it warned that it was clamping down on bogus claims after identifying the new trend. It said people were waiting for vehicles to “slow down enough that they don’t get killed” before throwing themselves in front of or against the cars to fake an accident.
“The RAF does not compensate someone who intentionally causes a motor vehicle accident, even if this results in serious injuries,” it said.
The fund didn’t say how many cases of people intentionally getting hit by cars it had recorded but said it had rejected nearly 50,000 claims in the period between February 2022 and February this year, some of them because they were fraudulent.
#SouthAfrica
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🇹🇩🇫🇷 France flies out 2 Mirage fighter jets from Chad to signal beginning of military withdrawal
The pair of Mirage 2000-D fighters took off after midday from a French base in the capital, N’Djamena, after Chadian military forces came to wish them farewell, and were returning to a French air force base in Nancy in eastern France, French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said.
He added that negotiations with Chadian authorities were continuing on how and when France might withdraw other members of its 1,000-strong force in Chad, and whether all or just some of them will leave.
In announcing the end of the defense cooperation agreement with France last month, the Chadian government described the decision as a historic turning point for the country that gained independence in 1960, and said that it would enable Chad to redefine its strategic partnerships in line with national priorities.
#Chad #France
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🇬🇭 Police in Ghana have arrested more than 100 people - mostly opposition supporters of President-elect John Mahama - over acts of lawlessness.
Supporters of the newly elected president who want jobs have allegedly attacked some state institutions, looted properties, and engaged in disturbances that have left some police and military personnel injured.
The irate supporters also torched two electoral commission offices due to a delay in announcing the outcome of Saturday's elections and disagreements over some parliamentary results.
Mahama has condemned the vandalism and called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and security agencies to "act decisively" in addressing the violence.
Vice-President Bawumia, the defeated presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has publicly called on the president-elect to reign in his supporters.
In Ghana, it is common for supporters of the winning party to take over state institutions, demanding that the incumbent government's appointees vacate their offices before the president-elect is sworn in.
This phenomenon is rooted in the country's winner-take-all politics, where the party in power gets to control everything, including jobs and contracts.
There have been similar attacks during previous transitions - a development which civil society has condemned.
The police have warned all individuals and groups engaging in violence, saying they will not tolerate any form of lawlessness.
#Ghana
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🇪🇹 Ethiopia launches first green mobility exhibition
Ethiopia hosted the Ethio-Green Mobility 2024 exhibition in Addis Ababa. The event highlighted electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy technologies, with the government targeting 500,000 EVs in the next decade and planning to replace 95% of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Currently, over 100,000 EVs are on Ethiopian roads, supported by government initiatives like tax preferences, loan facilitation, and a ban on importing gasoline vehicles. Local and Chinese companies displayed electric vehicles, including minibuses, tricycles, and bicycles, reflecting growing market demand and infrastructure development.
#Ethiopia
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🇨🇩 Rebels seize key town in eastern Congo
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized a strategic eastern town near the provincial capital Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging a renewed insurgency in eastern Congo since 2022. Congo and the United Nations accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda says it has taken what it calls defensive measures.
Fighting has flared in recent weeks, leading to territorial gains for M23, which is now in control of Masisi, a town and local administrative centre about 80 km (50 miles) from Goma, provincial parliament member Alexis Bahunga told.
"The government will take measures to restore state authority over the entire territory," he said. Another parliamentary deputy, Jean-Pierre Ayobangira Safari, said Masisi had been taken "for now".
#DRC
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❗️🇲🇱 Gold miner Barrick threatens to freeze Mali operations in row over rules
Canada's Barrick Gold said it would suspend operations in Mali if the country does not lift restrictions on gold shipments within the coming week, as mining companies face an increasingly hostile operating environment in West Africa.
The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are trying to renegotiate terms and gain a bigger share of mining revenues after a series of coups that have seen them shift away from their traditional backers France, the United States and the United Nations towards Russia.
The Mali standoff, threats by Burkina Faso's junta to strip permits and the seizure of a French-run uranium site in Niger have unsettled Western miners in the region and could limit further investments, industry insiders say.
Barrick, whose Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali accounts for around 14% of its 2025 estimated gold output, has been in a dispute since 2023 with the country's government, over a contract based on new mining rules.
🌍🇨🇳 China's top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa, maintaining a 35-year-long tradition, to quietly advance Beijing's already sizeable influence across the resource-rich continent as Europe's presence wanes and America's wavers.
While global capitals and investors brace for the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to the White House, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and domestic politics keep German and French ministers occupied, Foreign Minister Wang Yi being in Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Nigeria highlights the consistency of China's engagement with Africa, analysts say.
#Africa #China
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🇨🇳🇹🇿 Opposition to Chinese-Funded Oil Pipeline Grows in East Africa
East African activists and communities have intensified their opposition to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), denouncing reports of possible Chinese financial support.
Protesters in Kampala and Dar es Salaam have demanded that Chinese embassies support renewable energy investments instead of EACOP, emphasizing the devastating impacts on communities and ecosystems. Activists are calling on Chinese institutions to reject the project.
I wonder who's funding them. Let me see. Have you heard anything about the eco-protests against the American Lobito Corridor project? Or against oil production by American companies? Neither have I.
#China #Tanzania
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🇳🇬 Almost 800 arrested over Nigerian crypto-romance scam
Nigeria's anti-graft agency said it had arrested 792 suspects in a raid on a building believed to be a hub for fraudsters who lured victims with offers of romance, then pressed them to hand over cash for phoney cryptocurrency investments.
The suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, were detained on Dec. 10 at the seven-storey Big Leaf Building in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren said.
The luxury building housed a call centre mostly targeting victims from the Americas and Europe, he added.
Staff there would make contact with people through social media and messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram, them seduce them online or offer them apparently lucrative investment opportunities.
Once victims were hooked, they were pressured to transfer money for fake cryptocurrency schemes and other non-existent projects.
#Nigeria
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🇳🇪 Niger says 39 civilians killed in militant attacks
Suspected jihadists killed 39 civilians, including women and children, in two separate attacks in western Niger's conflict-torn borderlands in recent days, the defence ministry said.
The attackers struck the communities of Kokorou and Libiri, it said, without giving further details on the date of the bloodshed.
#Niger
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🇲🇺 Mauritius police issue arrest order for former central bank governor
Police in Mauritius have issued an order for the arrest of the Indian Ocean islands' former central bank governor, in connection to an inquiry into a conspiracy to defraud case.
The action, by the police anti-money laundering unit, is the first significant one from the government of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who said last week the outgoing government had falsified the country's gross domestic product (GDP), budget deficit and public debt figures for years.
The former central bank governor, Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, was out of the country and would be arrested as soon as he returned, police said.
#Mauritius
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🇾🇹 Several hundreds, maybe thousands, may have died in Mayotte cyclone
Several hundred people, maybe even thousands, may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on Sunday.
Asked about the death toll from Cyclone Chido, the French interior ministry said "it will be difficult to account for all victims" and a figure could not be determined at this stage.
Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte overnight, Meteo-France said, with winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph), damaging housing, government buildings and a hospital. It was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands, the forecaster said.
#Mayotte
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🇧🇼 Botswana President Promises to Restore Bushmen Rights
The president's announcement came in the same week as the Botswana government allowed the Bushmen to bury Pitseng Gaoberekwe who died in December 2021 on the group's ancestral land, ending a drawn-out impasse. The courts had barred the family from burying Gaoberekwe in his ancestral home in the vast and arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), from which most of his relatives were forcibly removed to protect the wildlife zone.
International tribal rights advocacy group Survival International had argued the Bushmen were pushed out of the game reserve because of diamonds in the area. The previous government denied those allegations, saying it wanted the Bushmen to move closer to modern amenities and life.
Before Gaoberekwe's burial Tuesday, President Duma Boko, who took power six weeks ago, promised to restore the Bushmen's rights, including allowing them to resume hunting wild animals.
#Botswana
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🇸🇴 Situation in Somalia: Crisis in Jubaland
Summary for November 22 - December 12, 2024
The political crisis in Jubaland has reached a peak of escalation. In the city of Ras Kamboni, where Somali troops and local Jubaland Dervish Forces militias were previously deployed, clashes have occurred.
▪️During the brief battles, the Somali army's "Gorgor" brigade, which was trained in Turkey, suffered heavy losses and partially surrendered to the separatists, while other servicemen fled to Kenya. The surrounding areas of the city also came under the control of local forces.
After the rupture with the federal authorities, the Jubaland authorities refused dialogue and moved to escalate the conflict. Interestingly, they had previously evacuated their top leadership abroad. For example, the Jubaland Minister of National Security was evacuated from the country under the escort of Ethiopian troops.
🔻And all this is happening against the backdrop of reconciliation talks between Somalia and Ethiopia, held in Ankara. According to the final communiqué, the two sides agreed on mutually beneficial commercial agreements and sustainable access to the sea.
❗️But this does not mean that the Ethiopian authorities will stop covertly supporting separatists in Somaliland and now in Jubaland.
Due to the rapprochement of the leadership in Mogadishu with the Egyptians, who are rivals of the Ethiopians in the struggle for regional influence, other provocations should be expected. Moreover, the true intentions of the Ethiopians were underscored by the visit of the head of the Ethiopian National Regional Administration of Somalia to Hargeisa to meet with the President of Somaliland.
▪️In addition to the events in Jubaland, the situation in the fight against terrorism also remains stably tense. Some Al-Shabaab attacks take place near the capital. At the same time, in the autonomous Puntland, the armed forces are preparing an offensive against the militants of the "Islamic State" hiding in the rugged mountains.
The latter, at the behest of the Western media, have already managed to become almost the main base of the international terrorist group. What they actually represent - we will find out in the near future.
High-resolution map
English version
#Africa #Somalia
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🇿🇼 Zimbabwe Launches Mass Drug Campaign Against Elephantiasis
Zimbabwe has launched a mass drug administration (MDA) campaign to combat lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic worms, called roundworms, transmitted by mosquitoes. Between September 16 and 28, the Ministry of Health and Child Care aimed to reach 1.4 million people across seven districts, achieving a 73% success rate in achieving its goal.
Zimbabwe's four most prevalent NTDs in 2023 were bilharzia, intestinal worms, elephantiasis, and blinding trachoma.
The World Health Organization (WHO) survey estimates that 51 million people were infected with elephantiasis in 2018 - a significant number, but a 74% drop from 2000, when a WHO-led program was launched to eradicate elephantiasis. As a result of that program, preventive chemotherapy has been proven to be effective in halting the spread of the causative parasites, but those drugs have limited effectiveness against adult worms.
#Zimbabwe
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🇿🇲 Zambia's Court Blocks Edgar Lungu from Seeking Third Term
In Zambia, the Constitutional Court has ruled that former President Edgar Lungu is not eligible to seek a third term in office. The court’s decision comes after Lungu announced his return to active politics last year.
The country’s highest court determined that Lungu's first term, served from 2015 to 2016 following the death of President Michael Sata, counts as a full presidential term. This ruling effectively blocks his bid for a new mandate.
Lungu said in a statement that Tuesday’s verdict was steered by “the hands of political manipulation.”
The 68 year old faced allegations of corruption while in office, and his wife and other family members are facing graft charges in court which he says is a way from blocking him to.seek a third time in office.
The vice president of Lungu’s party said that the former leader was “not concerned” by the court decision and would continue to campaign and be the party’s presidential candidate in 2026.
#Zambia
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🇸🇩 At least 127, mostly civilians, killed in two days in Sudan bombardments
At least 127 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Sudan on Monday and Tuesday by barrel bombs and shelling from the warring sides, rights activists said.
The 20-month-old war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been turning increasingly bloody as ceasefire efforts have stalled, and crises elsewhere have dominated world attention.
The army has stepped up airstrikes in the half of the country that the RSF controls, while the RSF has staged raids on villages and intense artillery strikes. Both have targeted densely populated civilian areas.
#Sudan
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🇺🇬 Ugandan military extends detention of opposition leader Besigye
A Ugandan army court on Tuesday further remanded opposition leader Kizza Besigye to prison until next January.
Besigye's defense team had requested a short adjournement but the court marial head sided with the state which demanded a long break.
Besigye is charged alongside his comrade Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya with endangering national security and subversion. The two were kidnapped by Ugandan intelligence from Kenya's capital in November prompting outrage.
The pair will return to court for mention of their case on January 7, 2025.
Besigye's attorneys have opposed his trial in the army tribunal and have refused to apply for bail before it. A doctor by profession, Besigye is a retired officer of the Ugandan army.
Besigye ran for president and lost to Museveni four times.
#Uganda
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🇱🇷 Liberian warlord and senator Prince Johnson dies at 72
Prince Johnson, a prominent figure in Liberia's 1989-2003 civil wars, died Thursday at age 72. Known for his notorious role in the torture and killing of President Samuel Doe in 1990, Johnson was the longest-serving senator and leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction party. After his violent past, he became an evangelical preacher and a vocal opponent of war crimes tribunals. His involvement in the civil conflicts, which claimed approximately 250,000 lives, marked a brutal chapter in Liberian history. Johnson passed away at the Hope for Women health center.
#Liberia
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