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News and information from the fast-changing continent.
Uganda: EC Right to Suspend Election Campaign Meetings in 12 District, Court Rules
[Monitor] The Electoral Commission (EC) has justifiable reason to suspend election campaign meetings in 12 districts, court has ruled.
High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana on Monday dismissed an application, with no orders to costs, filed by Kampala Lord Mayor, Mr Erias Lukwago earlier this month challenging EC's decision to suspended campaign meetings in 12 districts which he said was irrational, illegal and that was never accorded a fair hearing as the political head of Kampala.
Justice Ssekaana reasoned that there was
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Zimbabwe: Flood Alert for Muzarabani
[The Herald] People in Mashonaland Central province's low-lying areas such as Muzarabani, Dande, Kanyemba, Rushinga and part of Mt Darwin have been advised to be on high alert as there is a possibility of flooding following heavy rains in the last few days.
The Mashonaland Central Civil Protection Unit has since said everyone in the flood-prone areas should be ready to move to higher ground.
More rains are expected in the next few days.
Provincial Development Coordinator Mr Timothy Maregere said that they were closely
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South Africa: President Ramaphosa Addresses Efforts to Contain Covid-19 Pandemic
[Govt of SA] Fellow South Africans,
We are now 11 days into a new year.
Once again, I wish you all the very best for 2021.
We enter this year with a great deal of hope – hope that we will restore our nation to health, that the new year will bring our people relief and comfort, and that lives and livelihoods will be rebuilt.
But, if we are to realise our aspirations for the year, we must unite to overcome the grave, persistent and deepening coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic in our country is now at its most devas
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Nigeria Records 1,244 New Coronavirus Infections, Three More Deaths
[Premium Times] Three people died from the disease on Monday, taking the death toll to 1361.
The second wave of the coronavirus has continued to sweep across Nigeria with 1,244 new infections recorded in 18 states across the country on Monday. Nigeria also recorded three new deaths.
On Sunday, Nigeria crossed the grim milestone of over 100,000 infections as health officials call for stricter enforcement of safety measures.
The 1 244 new cases on Monday pushed the total number of infections in the country to 101, 331.
One
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Zimbabwe: Sikhala, Chin'ono Appear in Court
[The Herald] MDC Alliance vice chairperson Job Sikhala and political activist Hopewell Chin'ono yesterday separately appeared in court for allegedly publishing falsehoods.
The charges emanate from an incident where a police officer was falsely acused of beating to death a nine-month-old baby with a baton in Harare. The State insists that the child is alive and was never beaten by a batton stick, hence the need charge Sikhala and Chin'ono.
Yesterday, Sikhala who was arrested on Friday, challenged his placement on remand
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Nigeria: Borno Govt Enrols 1,163 Internally Displaced Children in School
[Premium Times] Mr Zulum says Borno government will provide social welfare and other forms of assistance to parents who allow their children to go to school.
The Borno State Government has enrolled 1,163 children of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in schools in Mobbar Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
This was disclosed in a statement by Isa Gusau, Special Adviser to Governor Babagana Zulum, on Communications and Strategy, in Maiduguri, on Monday.
Mr Gusau said the enrolment was supervised by Mr Zulum in Damas
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Nigerian Govt, Firm Sign MOU On $1.959bn Kano-Maradi Rail Project
[This Day] The federal government on Monday signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mota- Engil Group on the construction of $1.959 billion Kano-Maradi Standard Gauge Railway lines.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, signed on behalf of the Federal Government while the Managing Director, Mota- Engil, Antonio Gvoea signed on behalf of the contracting firm.
Amaechi in a statement made available to Journalists in Abuja by the Director of Press of the ministry, Mr. Eric Ejiekwe, noted
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Nigeria: You Must Be Ready to Move to Sambisa Forest - Army Chief Tells Recruits
[Premium Times] Mr Buratai says there is no room for incompetent soldiers in the Nigerian Army.
The Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Tukur Buratai, said the Nigerian Army will uphold thoroughness in its recruitment processes to ensure that only qualified persons are recruited.
Mr Buratai made the remarks during the final screening for 80 regular recruits at Falgore forest training camp on Monday in Kano State.
He said the exercise was a new approach to the screening and recruitment process of the Nigerian Army.
Mr Brutai added
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Nigeria: How Reopening of Schools, Religious Centres Worsened Nigeria's Covid-19 Situation - Official
[Premium Times] The official noted that the reopening of airports and increased local and international travels also fuelled the rise in coronavirus cases.
The reopening of schools and religious centres without adherence to safety protocols contributed to the rise in COVID-19 cases across Nigeria, an official has said.
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, made this known at its briefing on Monday.
He noted that reopening of airports and increased local and international travels als
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Nigeria: Lagos Govt to Close Third Mainland Bridge for Two Weeks - Official
[Premium Times] The closure of the bridge will be between January 15 and January 29.
The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Transportation, has announced the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for two weeks to allow the completion of rehabilitation and maintenance of the bridge.
The development was communicated on the official Twitter handle of the state government.
Announcing the adjustment to the current traffic flow, Frederic Oladeinde, the commissioner for transportation, said no vehicular movement will
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Somalia: PM Roble Declares Govt Will Hold Unilateral Elections Amid Wrangling
[Dalsan Radio] Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble on Saturday announced the country will hold elections after holding talks with three regional states.
The closed-door meeting which lasted for several hours was also attended by Benadir governor who also doubles up as the mayor of Mogadishu.
"I have repeatedly stated that my doors are open to anyone who has concerns, and I am always ready to consider the various views on the implementation of the electoral agreement and the procedures agreed upon," he said. PM Roble sai
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Ethiopia: Very Difficult to Participate in Polls Under Current Conditions - Oromo Federalist Congress
[Addis Standard] Opposition party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has released yet another statement last night saying that the party will find it "very difficult" to participate in the coming general elections scheduled to take place on June 05/2021.
The statement, the second in as many weeks, said that repeated the calls that "it will be very difficult for us to participate in the election, as our leaders, members and supporters, who would be participating, coordinating and observing, have been arrested and others have b
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Zimbabwe: 'Country At Bigger Risk Without Proper Covid-19 Tests'
[New Zimbabwe] Former health minister Henry Madzorera has warned the country was at a higher risk of the Covid-19 menace if authorities did not conduct comprehensive tests on the population.
The MDC Alliance top official said 85 percent of infected persons in the country did not exhibit any Covid-19 symptoms.
This, he said, could aggravate the 'super spreading' of the scourge.
The country's health ministry on 8 January, 2021 presented a cumulative testing data of only 359 065 tests against a population of just over 14 mi
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Kenya: Experts - Why the Water Levels of Rift Valley Lakes Are Rising
[Nation] Whatever is happening underneath the Rift Valley has continued to intrigue scientists eager to understand why some of its lakes are overflowing while others are drying up .
While no scientific study has yet been published explaining the recent increase in water levels, there has been no doubt that an activity deep into the earth's crust could be triggering this overflow aided, perhaps partially, by human activities.
The affected lakes include Turkana in the north, which is overflowing, and Magadi in the So
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Namibia: Dwarf Giraffe Discovered in Namibia
[Namibian] A, one of only two in Africa, dwarf giraffe was discovered on a private farm near Okahandja last July, a recently published report by researchers from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) revealed.
The first such animal was spotted in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park in May 2017.
According to a statement from the foundation, the animals were documented during photographic surveys routinely conducted by GCF to determine numbers, population dynamics and distribution of giraffe throughout Africa.
U
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Zimbabwe: Farmers Eye Bumper Harvest
[The Herald] Farmers in the Mazowe area expect a bumper harvest this season following good rains that have been received across the country.
In an interview at Nhangura Farm in Concession yesterday, Mr Daniel Raisi, an A1 farmer, said he was expecting a huge yield this year, and appealed to the Government to be ready to lease more land to those with potential.
Mr Raisi is renting more land as he has the capacity to carry out large-scale farming activities.
This season, he has put 50 hectares uunder maize and has a thri
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Africa: Covid-19 Death Toll Nears 73,000 Across Continent
[allAfrica] As of January 12, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,051,920 . Reported deaths in Africa reached 72,712 and 2,466,576 people have recovered.
South Africa has the most reported cases - 1,231,597- and 33,163 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (452,532), Tunisia (159,276), Egypt (149,792), Ethiopia (128,316), and Libya (104,745). For the latest totals, see the AllAfrica interactive map with per-country numbers.
The numbers are co
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Uganda: Uncertainty As Uganda Heads to the Polls
[Monitor] "There is not a country in the world that conducts multiparty elections and comes out error-free," former Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson Badru Kiggundu argued while announcing results of the 2016 presidential polls.
Perhaps his statement was plausible but lacked context. Elections in the West usually have a few hiccups and are manifestly free and fair. However, in many parts of Africa, an imperial presidency largely relies on the army to subdue the population, raid the Consolidated Fund to
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South Africa: Tributes Pour in for South African Actress Lindiwe Ndlovu
[allAfrica] The South African film and television industry has suffered yet another blow as veteran actress Lindiwe Ndlovu passed away in her home on Monday, 11 January.
She reportedly died in her sleep.
She was 44. She had just celebrated her birthday.
Gaenor Artiste Management, who represented Ndlovu, released a statement on her passing. It reads:
"It is with heavy hearts and unimaginable sadness that we bring you the news of Lindiwe Thembeka Ndlovu passing in her home this morning 11th January. Her bright, l
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Zimbabwe: Covid-19 Pandemic Claims 21 More Lives
[The Herald] Zimbabwe reported 21 more Covid-19 deaths and 820 new cases yesterday as the pandemic continues to tear across the country.
In a daily update released by the Ministry of Health and Child Care last night, the deaths were reported in Harare (12), Bulawayo (1), Manicaland (2), Mashonaland Central (3), Mashonaland East (2) and Masvingo (1).
In terms of new cases, all the 820 were local transmissions, with Harare accounting for 385, taking the number of active cases up to 8 556.
Yesterday, 1 518 PCR tests were
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Nigeria: 'Lagos-Ibadan Rail Inauguration Stalled By Covid-19'
[Leadership] Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has said that the inauguration of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line has been put on hold due to the upsurge of COVID-19 in the country.
Amaechi, who disclosed this in Abuja, said that over 60 staff on project site have been infected by Covid19 while trying to complete the project.
"First let us admit that over 60 of our staff, not ministry of transport staff, but the staff working on the rail project have been infected by COVID-19. Luckily nobody has died and I pray nobod
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Nigeria: Why Nigeria Cannot Produce Covid-19 Vaccines - Official
[Premium Times] The official said there are "genuine ongoing efforts by the federal government to restart the process of vaccines production".
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, has explained why Nigeria cannot produce COVID-19 vaccines or other vaccines.
Mr Shuaib, while speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Monday, said the process of producing a vaccine requires massive investment that has not been done for many decades.
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Nigeria: Govt Lists Requirements for Travellers to Nigeria, Rolls Out Quarantine Protocol
[This Day] The new provisional quarantine protocol for passengers arriving Nigeria introduced by the federal government has come into effect from Monday, 11th January, 2021.
The COVID-19 response protocol was signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/ Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha.
It lists some steps which a passenger from a country of exit must fulfill before he could be allowed to board a flight to Nigeria.
A traveller is required to perform a COVID-19 PCR test not
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Uganda: I'm Not Gay - Bobi Wine
[Nairobi News] Ugandan politician Bobi Wine has refuted claims he is gay.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, and perceived to be President Yoweri Museveni's main challenger ahead of Thursday's general elections, has also denied reports his presidential campaign is being been funded by homosexual groups.
"I am married to a woman you all know, it is a shame, it is disrespectful and I feel insulted to be involved in the sex talk when we have few hours to elections," he told a local television station.
The yout
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Nigeria: 4 Nigerian Women Named Among 100 Global Outstanding Nurses, Midwives
[Vanguard] FOUR Nigerian women have been named among 100 Outstanding Women Nurses and Midwives Leaders by the Women in Global Health.
They were named as part of activities to mark the 2020 International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
A statement by the WGH and YONM named the four Nigerian women as Mary Ozuruonye Agholor, Edidiong Asanga, Emmanualla Inah, and Onyinyechi Susan Madu.
The statement explained that the 100 women were chosen for "their everyday heroism and service", amidst the global health challenges.
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Somalia: UN Chief Swan Meets Minister Balal Over Polls Impasse
[Dalsan Radio] Somali state ministers of foreign Affairs Balal Osman has held talks UN envoy James Swan in his office.
James Swan, who has been monitoring developments in Mogadishu, has now begun efforts to find a solution to the electoral crisis, particularly between the government, Jubbaland, Puntland and members of the opposition.
The meeting discussed strengthening co-operation and increasing effective humanitarian and development assistance, in support of the Federal Government of Somalia's programs to hold parliame
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Somalia: Govt, Opposition At Odds Over February Election
[Citizen] Somalia is facing its worst electoral gridlock in history. The term of President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" is due to expire on February 8, 2021.
In June 2020, Somalia's National Independent Electoral Commission declared it could not hold the long-awaited direct elections of parliamentarians to elect the president, citing lack of funding and infrastructure.
In the wake of the Dhusamareb Conference in September, President Farmajo and five regional leaders agreed on a revised election procedure based on the
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East Africa: EAC Observer Mission Team in Uganda Ahead of Thursday Election
[Monitor] The East African Community (EAC) member states have sent a 74 man short-term election observers to witness Uganda's presidential and parliamentary elections on January 14, 2020. They are to reinforce the work of domestic election observers and make recommendations not only for the benefit of Uganda but other partner states.
The observers who announced their presence yesterday from Kampala say they will see and report what they have seen with recommendations after the elections. The mission aims to contribu
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Lesotho: Teachers Union Blasts Minister Over Schools' Calendar
[Lesotho Times] A leading teachers' union has called on Education and Training Minister, Ntlhoi Motsamai, to immediately announce a comprehensive plan for the reopening of schools next month, specifying how the government will protect teachers and learners from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The union's demand follows Ms Motsamai's announcement last week that secondary schools had been given the greenlight to start accepting applications for 2021 Grade 8 (Form A) learners.
The minister said there will be phased reopening of schoo
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Malawi: Returnees From South Africa Torch Prison Facilities, Protest Quarantine
[Nyasa Times] Property has been destroyed at Mapanga Prison Training College in Blantyre following a scuffle between Malawians who recently returned from South Africa and police officers.
The returnees went rioting as they demanded their passports back and immediate release to go to their homes, protesting the quarantine protocol.
Police had to use tear gas to restore order as the impatient returnees also blocked the Blantyre - Zomba Road and smashed passing vehicles.
Some of the returnees also torched some structures a
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