Author: BBC

Namibia’s agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago. Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, the police say. Hengari, 59, who has denied any wrongdoing, appeared in court on Monday and was […]

At least 68 African migrants have been killed in a US air strike on a detention centre in Houthi-controlled north-western Yemen, the armed group’s TV channel says. Al Masirah reported that another 47 migrants were injured, most of them critically, when the centre in Saada province was bombed. It posted graphic footage showing multiple bodies […]

The members of Kenya’s security forces who shot dead anti-tax protesters at the country’s parliament last June have been identified by the BBC. The BBC’s analysis of more than 5,000 images also shows that those killed there were unarmed and not posing a threat. The East African nation’s constitution guarantees the right to peaceful protest, […]

Benin’s government has admitted that 54 soldiers were killed by suspected jihadists in the country’s north last week near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The authorities had previously said that only eight soldiers were killed. The revised figure makes it the deadliest known attack since insurgents began operating in northern Benin at the […]

Shot 16 times in an assassination attempt in 2017, Tindu Lissu is the great survivor of Tanzanian politics – and one of its most persecuted politicians. But some are asking whether he has now reached the the end of the line. Lissu, the leader of the main opposition party, Chadema, is back in the limelight […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ended an historic visit to South Africa, signalling a dramatic improvement in the once-strained relations between the two nations. The visit marked a diplomatic breakthrough for the Ukrainian leader in his efforts to counter Russia’s strong – and growing – influence in Africa. “I’m sure that Russia will be annoyed […]

South Africa’s finance minister has dropped plans to increase value-added tax (VAT), in a major climbdown to prevent the collapse of the coalition government. Enoch Godongwana’s decision came after the second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), threatened to quit the government, warning a VAT hike would hurt the poor the most. Godongwana, a member of […]

Opposition MPs in Ghana have fiercely condemned the suspension of the country’s chief justice, accusing President John Mahama of trying to “pack the courts” with justices who are sympathetic to the governing party, the NDC. Gertrude Torkornoo was removed from her post on Wednesday – the first time a chief justice has been suspended in […]

US Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos has said that President Donald Trump values Africa, despite announcing sweeping aid cuts that have caused considerable humanitarian distress across the continent. Trump announced the aid freeze on his first day in office in January in line with his “America First” foreign policy, while Trump’s recent tariffs have […]

Shot 16 times in an assassination attempt in 2017, Tindu Lissu is the great survivor of Tanzanian politics – and one of its most persecuted politicians. But some are asking whether he has now reached the the end of the line. Lissu, the leader of the main opposition party, Chadema, is back in the limelight […]