ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s parliament has approved senior diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president, proceedings on state television showed, cementing another shift in the country’s political system from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Sahle-Work is at present U.N. under-secretary-general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union. She replaces […]

South African businessman Andre Hanekom is still missing in Mozambique under mysterious circumstances. On Thursday his wife of 36 years, Francis, took to Facebook to urge people to sign a petition to the Government and Mozambique police to free him. The petition claims Hanekom, who had been living in Mozambique for 25 years, has been […]

N’DJAMENA – Two of six critically endangered black rhinos – relocated to Chad in May – have tragically died, Zakouma National Park’s management said, undermining efforts to restore their population in Chad after a nearly 50-year absence. Before the transfer of the six rhinos from Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa in May, the […]

LUSAKA – Zambia has revived plans it suspended two years ago, after protests by animal rights activists, for the controlled slaughter of up to 2,000 hippos over the next five years, its tourism minister said on Monday. Charles Banda said the hippo population could not be supported by the water levels in the Luangwa river […]

The Department of Environmental Affairs has urged community members to assist the police and conservation authorities to combat rhino poaching. “Community members are the eyes and ears of the police. They are the people who hear or even know about illegal activities such as wildlife crime and rhino poaching,” the department said. The call follows the […]

DAR ES SALAAM – A Tanzanian businessman and former member of parliament was seized by unidentified men in Dar es Salaam at a luxury hotel on Thursday, the regional commissioner said. The 43-year-old kidnapped man, Mohammed Dewji, is known as Africa’s youngest billionaire. Dewji is the owner and president of the multi-billion dollar revenue Mohammed […]

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Regional Court President exposed in a recent BBC documentary for alleged corruption, linked to rhino poaching in South Africa, has been provisionally suspended. After considering the advice of the Magistrates Commission, Minister Michael Masutha on Friday 5 October 2018 provisionally suspended Nzimande from office. Nzimande has become embroiled in allegations of bribery […]

The South African Government has conveyed condolences to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after dozens were killed when an oil tanker collided with a bus at the weekend. According to media reports, over 60 people died and about 100 sustained second-degree burns when the tanker truck caught alight in an accident on Saturday. The accident happened on an arterial […]

South Africa has been voted Africa’s Leading Destination… with Durban named Africa’s Leading City Destination. The announcements were made at a red carpet event at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in Durban on Saturday night. The WTA said that Durban is currently “enjoying a renaissance thanks to a series of landmark development projects”. The KwaZulu-Natal coastal […]

Congolese Nobel Peace Prize-winner Denis Mukwege has dedicated his award to all women affected by rape and sexual violence. “This violence committed on their bodies happens not only in our country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also in many other countries,” said Mukwege during a news conference on Friday at his Panzi Hospital, in […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a package of reforms on Thursday which he said would create 275,000 more jobs a year, in a bid to bring down sky-high unemployment and improve his own track record on the economy. Ramaphosa said the measures unveiled today included agreements by top public and private firms […]

ACCRA – Melania Trump arrived in Ghana on Tuesday, choosing for her first extended international trip alone to visit Africa, a continent her husband has referred to somewhat derisively! The U.S. first lady touched down at mid-morning in Ghana’s capital, Accra, where she was greeted by the country’s first lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and a young […]

NAIROBI – More African ivory is being smuggled into China from Myanmar and Beijing’s ban on trade in ivory has failed to dampen imports, a report by conservation group Save the Elephants said on Tuesday. Wildlife activists said they welcomed China’s ban this year on the ivory trade, arguing the step by a country that […]

WINDHOEK – Namibia’s president called on Monday for a change to the constitution to allow the government to expropriate land and re-distribute it to the majority black population. “The willing-buyer willing-seller principle has not delivered results. Careful consideration should be given to expropriation,” President Hage Geingob said at the opening of the Second National Land […]

The South African government has encouraged all SA travellers to be alert and sensitive to possible security challenges in areas they are working in or visiting outside of South Africa. The announcement came following the confirmation by the government that a South African national has been kidnapped in Burkina Faso. “Government, through the South African […]

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – More than 100 bodies have been retrieved after a ferry sank on Lake Victoria, Tanzanian state radio reported on Friday, and hundreds more were still feared missing as rescuers searched for survivors from daybreak on the morning after the disaster. Radio TBC Taifa reported the latest toll from the sinking […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court’s ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional. Activists who include members of the Rastafarian movement and traditional healers greeted the ruling with loud applause. They have held marches over the years to demand that […]

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday revealed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures fell by 0,7% in the second quarter of the year 2018… and, judging from the comments on Twitter, South Africans realised they can no longer blame former President Jacob Zuma. These latest figures have pushed the country into a recession – […]

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Two South African peacekeepers were wounded in a rebel ambush near the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, their U.N. mission said on Tuesday. The attack on Monday, on the outskirts of the city of Beni, underscored the challenges authorities face in tackling […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Britain supports South Africa’s land reform programme provided it is carried out legally, Prime Minister Theresa May said in Cape Town on Tuesday, adding that she would discuss the issue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “The UK has for some time now supported land reform. Land reform that is legal, […]

Final touches are being made to an all-women 50-day conservation adventure from South Africa into Southern Africa. The Journeys with Purpose: Rise of the Matriarch expedition brings together 12 women from around the world who will travel 9 000km across four countries to raise awareness about the contentious human-wildlife conflict. Headed by Carla Geyser, a […]

WINDHOEK (Reuters) – Namibia will hold countrywide land expropriation talks for the first time since independence as the small southern African nation grapples with political and ethnic tensions over the transfer of wealth to its majority black population. President Hage Gottfried Geingob, speaking at a Heroes’ Day commemoration event in Rundu, about 700 kms (440 […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Vodacom launched what it said was Africa’s first commercial 5G internet service in Lesotho on Saturday, but said it would only be able to provide a similar service in its home market once spectrum was made available. Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest mobile operator by market value, said the rollout of the […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state-owned Land Bank said on Monday a plan to allow the state to seize land without compensation could trigger defaults that could cost the government R41-billion ($2.8 billion) if the bank’s rights as a creditor are not protected. Land Bank is a specialist bank providing financial services to the commercial farming […]

The ANC has responded to reports of Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s comments – made at his 90th birthday celebrations in Durban yesterday – where he allegedly indicated that he wishes his membership of the ANC could finally be renewed before he dies. The ANC said it acknowledges Buthelezi’s participation amongst the founding members of the ANC Youth […]