Category Archives: Africa

Africa

Dozens dead as two boats collide on the Congo River

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Dozens of people are dead and several others are reported missing after two boats collided on the Congo River near Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.

In dramatic images taken moments after they crashed into one another, horrified residents can be seen watching from the riverbank as small boats raced out in a bid to rescue passengers.

It was not immediately clear how many were saved or what caused the accident between the two boats which were loaded with people and goods.

Deadly boating accidents occur frequently as crews often overload the vessels.

Most river traffic is run by small informal operators, and officials have warned that adherence to maritime regulations is poor.

 

Source :Africanews

Africa, Busines

Nigeria’s Access Bank appoints Bolaji Agbede after death of CEO

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Access Bank, a prominent Nigerian financial institution, has named an interim CEO following the tragic demise of Herbert Wigwe, the CEO, who lost his life in a helicopter accident last Friday, along with five others.

In a recent statement, Access Holdings Plc, the parent company of Access Bank, revealed that Bolaji Agbede, the bank’s esteemed senior founding executive director, will step into the role of CEO on an acting basis.

Ms Agbede joined Access Bank in 2003 and has nearly 30 years of experience in banking and business consultancy, the company said as reported by the BBC.

the 57-year-old banker was on his way to Las Vegas to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl, local media reported.

Wigwe founded Access Bank in 1989 and has grown to become one of Nigeria’s largest banks in 2018 after it acquired its main competitor, Diamond Bank

Africa, Busines

CEO of Nigerian biggest bank and family among dead in a helicopter crash in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.

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Nigerian leaders Sunday mourned the death of the CEO of one of the country’s largest banks after he and five others were killed Friday in a helicopter crash in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.

Herbert Wigwe, chief executive of Access Bank, and his wife and son were among the six people on board when the aircraft went down shortly after 10 p.m. near Interstate 15. All six people were killed, including two pilots and Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chair of NGX Group, the Nigerian stock exchange.

Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, grieved the deaths in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Their passing is an overwhelming tragedy that is shocking beyond comprehension,” he wrote. “I pray for the peaceful repose of the departed and ask God Almighty to comfort the multitude of Nigerians who are grieving and the families of the deceased at this deeply agonizing moment.”

The death of Wigwe, 57; his wife, Chizoba; and son, Chizi, shocked many in Nigeria and in the banking sector. He was widely seen as an industry leader, having been involved in two of the country’s biggest banks, including Guaranty Trust Bank, where he was previously executive director.

Under Wigwe’s leadership, Access Bank’s assets and presence grew beyond borders in several African countries.

“Dr. Wigwe was a key driving force and a larger-than-life personality who brought his remarkable passion, energy and experience to the transformation of the Access franchise,” Sunday Ekwochi, group company secretary of parent company Access Holdings, said Sunday in a statement.

The bank, in a post on X, wrote that Wigwe’s “passion and unwavering commitment to excellence transformed Access into a global powerhouse.”

“His legacy of excellence and compassion will continue to inspire us all,” the statement said.

Wigwe’s death is “a terrible blow” for Nigeria and Africa’s banking industry, Nigerian presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga wrote on X. “Wigwe had a big vision to make Access Holdings Africa’s biggest, with all the unquenchable thirst for acquisitions,” Onanuga added.

Wigwe’s interests also spanned the education sector. His private university, founded in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region where he was from, is scheduled to open in September. Last year he said the university was “an opportunity for me to give back to society.”

The crash happened south of I-15 near Halloran Springs Road, about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Barstow, according to Michael Graham of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.

Graham said Saturday that he did not have information about the two crew members, a pilot and a safety pilot. The aircraft did not have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder and was not required to have them, he added.

The Airbus EC-130 left Palm Springs Airport at around 8:45 p.m. on Friday and was traveling to Boulder City, Nevada, Graham said. Boulder City is about 26 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Las Vegas, where the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are set to play in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday.

Flight-tracking data shows the helicopter was traveling along the interstate about 1,000 to 1,500 feet (304.80 to 457.20 meters) above ground level, Graham said during a Sunday news conference. The aircraft made a slight right turn, turning south of the roadway, and the data then shows a gradual descent and increasing ground speed.

The wreckage site shows that helicopter hit the ground with its nose low at a right-bank angle, Graham said, adding that meteorologists have confirmed the weather included precipitation. The debris field was about 100 yards (91.44 meters) long.

The flight was a charter operated by Orbic Air LLC. Several people traveling on I-15 witnessed the crash and called 911, Graham said.

Witnesses reported that it was raining with a “wintry mix” at the time of the crash, according to Graham. People also reported a fire on the helicopter plus some downed power lines.

“This is the beginning of a long process. We will not jump to any conclusions,” Graham said Saturday.

Investigators on Sunday began mapping the area with drones and documenting the wreckage. They are also gathering pilot and maintenance records. A preliminary report is expected to be released within 30 days, though a full investigation will take up to two years to complete.

The crash site is not far from the California-Nevada border. Halloran Springs Road crosses the highway in an area known to travellers for an abandoned gas station with a sign declaring “Lo Gas” and “Eat.” It’s a remote area of the desert, with an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet (914.40 meters), and about a 60- to 80-mile (100- to 130-km) drive from Las Vegas.

The crash came just three days after a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter went down in the mountains outside San Diego during historic downpours, killing five Marines.

 

Source : Africanews

Africa

More than 20 miners trapped in Ethiopia cave for three days.

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Rescue operations are ongoing in a remote village in northern Ethiopia after a cave collapse trapped over 20 artisanal miners.

According to reports, the incident occurred three days ago in the Delanta district while the miners were searching for opal gemstones.

It is however not clear the exact number of individuals trapped, and the challenging terrain has made rescue efforts difficult, according to local officials in a report by the BBC.

Rescue attempts have so far been unsuccessful, but the authorities remain hopeful of finding survivors.

The officials said that in a previous incident, a miner was found alive after he was buried inside the cave for seven days.

 

Source : Africanews

Africa

Kenyan cult leader charged with 191 murders.

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A cult leader in Kenya has been charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves in a remote forest in the east of the country.

Survivors and victims’ families have said Paul Mackenzie urged followers to fast in order to “go see Jesus”.

He and 29 others pleaded not guilty in a court in the coastal town of Malindi.

Mackenzie has already been charged with committing acts of terror, child cruelty and torture, which he denied.

Police and prosecutors allege that apart from starvation, some victims may have been strangled, suffocated or beaten to death using blunt objects.

The 30 accused have been charged with murdering 191 people.

“I’m still scared of him,” one survivor told the BBC when asked what she would say to Mackenzie if she ever met him.

“I don’t want to ever meet him,” said the 29-year-old mother of four.

Neema – not her real name – had been a follower of the Good News International Church in Malindi until it was closed down in 2019.

When she heard that its leader had moved to Shakahola, the forest about 70km (43 miles) west of the town, together with other members of the church, she followed him there in 2022.

Shakahola is sparsely populated and now under 24-hour police guard. The authorities have declared it a crime scene and access is forbidden.

Initially, the worshippers would travel there and return home. But from late 2022, the followers claim, they were not allowed to leave.

Neema was two months pregnant with her fourth child when she went to the forest for the last time. She said she was held against her will there and women were repeatedly raped by the guards.

“The preaching stopped,” she said. “They said we’re now done with teachings we only wait to meet Jesus.”

At first, those in the forest would be given half a cup of tea and a slice of bread in the morning.

That was it for the day.

But after some time, Neema said they were told there would be no more food or water.

“We’d sneak into the bush and pick wild berries to feed on when the guards took breaks to have their meals,” she added.

They would also scoop water from the ground and drink from their hands.

When it all became unbearable, she plotted with two of her friends to escape. It was not easy to hatch a plan as it was forbidden to chat in groups. They were required to stay silent.

They waited for the guards to take their usual meal break, closed the door to their mud-walled hut, made a hole in the rear wall and ran.

“We were weak,” Neema said.

But the desperation to escape pushed them on.

Luckily, when they got to the main road, they met a motorist who took them to hospital.

Hundreds were not as lucky – including many children.

They were the first group identified for fasting until they “went to sleep”, according to survivors.

Women were to follow them.

Sixty-five-year-old Changawa Mangi is a village elder in Shakahola.

He said he had met Mackenzie when he went to buy land there saying he wanted to farm.

“We welcomed him.”

Over time, the residents started noticing that Mackenzie would host many people.

It was then that they found out that he ran a church, but that did not bother them.

If anything, their presence boosted local businesses as the church’s followers shopped there.

But that suddenly ended. Mackenzie’s followers stopped going to the village shops. Then the early warning signs started appearing.

Mr Mangi said three teenagers went to his house seeking help.

They looked emaciated. So, he fed them.

“For the first three days, one of them had a running stomach, and what came out looked like soil,” Mr Mangi said.

The community leader alerted his superiors in government, but three was a slow reaction.

Young men from the village came up with a plan to storm the area on their motorbikes. But they were met with hostility, repulsed by the guards and had two motorbikes set on fire.

It became clear they could only gain access under police escort.

But word was slowly getting out.

Francis Wanje, a 59-year-old high school teacher from Mombasa, had heard that his daughter and her family may have moved to the forest and went to investigate.

He informed the police but said they did not act right away.

What he saw at Shakahola shocked him.

He was too late to rescue some of his grandchildren, but he found his nine-year-old grandson.

“He told me he saw [his siblings] die, he saw them being starved by their parents and that is a story he will never forget. He will never forget! He knew he would be next but he was lucky he was rescued,” Mr Wanje told the BBC.

The boy’s mother – Mr Wanje’s daughter – and her husband are still missing. He also rescued another child he found there.

Mr Mangi also helped with the rescue efforts.

“Some people were frail – looking like they’d die within hours,” he said.

Some were stronger but refused to be helped. They asked Mr Mangi: “Why are you disturbing us when we want to go see Jesus? Won’t you also die one day?”

When Stephen Mwiti, a 45-year-old father of six, heard about the rescue he thought he might find out what had happened to his children, who his wife had taken to the forest.

He showed a picture of the family to some of those rescued.

They positively identified his children by name and gave him the crushing news. “They said, ‘your children are no more. They were starved to death.'”

They told Mr Mwiti that the children – Jacob, Lillian and Angelina – had been buried in a mass grave with around seven others.

Hellen and Samwel were still alive when the two survivors were rescued but were on the fourth day of fasting so they suspected they would have died by the time they spoke to the distraught father.

A sixth child, who was born in Shakahola, had also died.

Neema, the woman who escaped, said mothers would be urged not to breastfeed their babies so that they would also “go to Jesus”.

The cult preached against modern medicine and urged members not to vaccinate children.

Mackenzie and his alleged associates have been in police custody since last April when he surrendered to the authorities following the discovery of bodies in the forest.

They denied forcing anyone to starve. At one point, Mackenzie complained to the court that police had denied him food while he was being held.

A BBC analysis of Mackenzie’s sermons on video do not show him directly ordering people to fast, but there are many references to followers sacrificing what they hold dear, including their lives.

But when it comes to the more than 400 bodies in the morgue only 39 have been matched with families through DNA testing.

Other relatives are still enduring an agonising wait

As for justice, “it can’t bring back my family”, said Mr Mwiti.

 

Source : BBC

Africa

Senegal parliament delays election until December.

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Senegal’s parliament voted Monday to delay the West African nation’s presidential election until Dec. 15 in a chaotic voting process that took place after opposition lawmakers were forcefully removed from the chambers as they debated President Macky Sall’s earlier decision to delay the crucial election.

Security forces stormed the legislative building and forcefully removed several opposition lawmakers who were trying to block the voting process on the unprecedented delay of the presidential election initially scheduled for Feb. 25. The adopted bill extends Sall’s tenure — which was due to end on April 2 — until a new election.

Authorities on Monday restricted mobile internet access amid growing protests by opposition supporters against the delay.

On Monday, two opposition parties filed a court petition challenging the election delay. It was not clear what would become of their request for Senegal’s Constitutional Council to direct “the continuation of the electoral process.”

Analysts say the crisis in Senegal is putting one of Africa’s most stable democracies to the test at a time when the region is struggling with a recent surge in coups.

Sall — who in July said he would not seek a third term in office — had cited an electoral dispute between the parliament and the judiciary regarding the candidacies as reason for the postponement but opposition leaders and candidates rejected the move, calling it a “coup.”

The African Union urged the government to organize the election “as soon as possible” and called on everyone involved “to resolve any political dispute through consultation, understanding and civilized dialogue.”

“We will not accept a constitutional coup in this country. It is up to the people to come out and liberate themselves,” said Guy Marius Sagna, an activist and opposition lawmaker, who was among the protesters.

The private Walf television network, whose signal was cut off as they broadcast the protests on Sunday, said their broadcasting license has been revoked.

The Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy said mobile internet services were cut Monday “due to the dissemination of several hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in the context of threats and disturbances to public order.”

“The government’s abrupt shutdown of internet access via mobile data and Walf TV’s broadcasting … constitutes a blatant assault on the right to freedom of expression and press rights protected by Senegal’s constitution,” Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa said in a statement.

Sall had said the dispute between the judiciary and parliament over the disqualification of some candidates and the reported dual-nationality of some qualified candidates has resulted in a “sufficiently serious and confusing situation.”

Political tensions have run high in Senegal for at least a year. Authorities also cut internet access from cellphones in June 2023 when supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko clashed with security forces. Sonko is one of two opposition leaders whom election authorities disqualified from the final list of presidential candidates this month.

Sall’s decision to postpone the election “reflects a sharp democratic decline” in Senegal, said Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

“The growing democracy deficit not only threatens to tarnish Senegal’s reputation as a beacon of democratic stability in the region but also emboldens anti-democratic practices in West Africa,” said Durmaz.

 

Source :Africanews

Africa

Namibia’s new President Mbumba sworn-in hours after predecessor dies.

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Namibia has a new president in the shape of Nangolo Mbumba just hours after, as vice-president, he had announced the death of his predecessor.

Hage Geingob, 82, died early on Sunday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in the capital, Windhoek. 

A veteran of the country’s independence struggle, Mr Geingob had been diagnosed with cancer and revealed the details to the public last month. 

The nation had lost a “liberation… icon”, Mr Mbumba said.

He has since been sworn-in as Mr Geingob’s replacement and will serve in the role until elections due later this year.

“I am not going to be around for the elections so don’t panic,” he said at a swiftly arranged swearing-in ceremony at state house, just 15 hours after the death of the president.

Paying tribute to his predecessor, he said “our nation remains calm and stable owing to the leadership of President Geingob who was the chief architect of the constitution”.

“I take on this heavy mantle cognisant of the weight of responsibility.”

Mr Geingob was first sworn-in as president in 2015, but had served in top political positions since independence in 1990.

The exact cause of his death was not given but last month he underwent “a two-day novel treatment for cancerous cells” in the US before flying back home on 31 January, his office had said.

On Namibian radio, people have been sharing memories of someone they described as a visionary as well as a jovial man, who was able to share a joke.

Leaders from around the world have been sending condolence messages with many talking about Mr Geingob’s efforts to ensure his country’s freedom.

Among them has been Cyril Ramaphosa, president of neighbouring South Africa, who described him as “a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid”.

Mr Geingob, a tall man with a deep, gravelly voice and a commanding presence was a long-serving member of the Swapo party. It led the movement against apartheid South Africa, which had effectively annexed the country, then known as South West Africa, and introduced its system of legalised racism that excluded black people from political and economic power.

Mr Geingob lived in exile for 27 years, spending time in Botswana, the US and the UK, where he studied for a PhD in politics.

He came back to Namibia in 1989, a year before the country gained independence.

“Looking back, the journey of building a new Namibia has been worthwhile,” he wrote on social media in 2020 while sharing a picture of him kissing the ground on his return.

“Even though we have made a lot of progress in developing our country, more work lies ahead to build an inclusive society.”

When Mr Geingob first became president in 2015, he had already been the country’s longest-serving prime minister – in the post for 12 years from 1990 and then again for a shorter stint in 2012.

But going by results at the ballot box, his popularity had declined.

In the 2014 election, he won a huge majority, taking 87% of the vote. But five years later that had fallen to 56%.

Mr Geingob’s first term coincided with a stagnant economy and high levels of unemployment and poverty, according to the World Bank. 

His party also faced a number of corruption scandals during his time in office. This included what became known as “fishrot”, where ministers and top officials were accused of taking bribes in exchange for the awarding of lucrative fishing quotas. 

By 2021, three-quarters of the population thought that the country was going in the wrong direction, a three-fold increase since 2014, according to independent polling organisation Afrobarometer.

Three decades after independence, the heroic narrative of Swapo having liberated the country was losing its appeal among a generation born after the event, long-time observer of Namibian politics Henning Melber wrote in 2021.

Swapo, in power since independence, had chosen Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its presidential candidate for November’s planned elections.

She has now been appointed vice-president and will become the country’s first female president if she wins.

Source :BBC

Africa

Namibia’s president Hage Geingob dies aged 82

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Namibia’s President Hage Geingob has died while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in the capital, Windhoek.

Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba announced that Mr Geingob had died in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“At his side was his dear wife Madame Monica Geingos and his children,” Mr Mbumba said in a statement.

The 82-old leader had been diagnosed with cancer and revealed his diagnosis to the public last month. 

His office announced he would be travelling to the US for treatment, but would return to Namibia on 2 February.

Mr Geingob became president in 2015 and was serving his second and final term in office. 

He underwent an aortic operation last year, and in 2014 he revealed that he had survived prostate cancer.

Namibia is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in November.

The governing Swapo party, which has been in power since independence in 1990, has chosen Mrs Nandi-Ndaitwah as its presidential candidate.

She is currently also Namibia’s deputy prime minister, and will become the country’s first female president if she wins.

Source : BBC

Africa

Nigerian traditional monarch shot dead and wife kidnapped

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Armed men have shot dead a traditional ruler, and kidnapped his wife plus one other person in south-western Nigeria, authorities say.

The attackers stormed the palace of Segun Aremu – a retired army general and monarch whose official title is the Olukoro of Koro – on Thursday night.

It is not clear who the gunmen were or whether they are demanding a ransom.

This latest killing and abduction comes days after campaigners demanded a state of emergency to deal with the issue.

Some 50 civil society groups want President Bola Tinubu to make that declaration, saying more than 1,800 people had been abducted since he took office last May.

But the true number of abductions during that time could be more than double that figure, at almost 4,000 people, says Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence.

No matter how desperate the circumstances, Nigerian law prohibits the payment of ransom money. However, many victims pay up because they do not trust authorities or their track record.

Condemning the killing of the Olukoro of Koro in Kwara state, as “reckless, shocking, and abominable”, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has vowed that the authorities would catch those responsible.

Police say a manhunt is under way. They have also promised the local community they will set up a police outpost.

Nigeria is home to hundreds of traditional rulers, who have no constitutional role but are a respected presence in community life. They are often called upon to settle disputes between local people, and lead cultural activities.

Earlier this week, kidnappers seized five schoolchildren and four teachers in nearby Ekiti state, demanding a ransom of 100m naira ($110,000; £87,500) for their release.

A senior government official was kidnapped on Wednesday night in the Bwari suburb of the capital, Abuja, not far from the home of six sisters who were abducted for ransom last month with their father.

Elsewhere, two girls were also recently kidnapped in the Chikakorie area of Kubwa, another suburb of Abuja. Their abductors have demanded about $25,000 for their release.

Kidnapping for ransom has worsened in Nigeria in recent years with armed gangs targeting road travellers, students as well as residents in rural and urban areas across the country.

Source :BBC

Africa

Tinubu decries stereotyping of Nigerians as cybercriminals.

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Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, is challenging the pervasive “blanket stereotyping” of Nigerians as cybercriminals, asserting that such generalizations distort the true image of the West African nation.

Tinubu emphasized that such a narrative unfairly stains the reputation of the majority of law-abiding citizens.

Addressing the issue during a private tour in France, President Tinubu conveyed his concerns about the longstanding mislabeling of Nigerians, stating that such misrepresentation fails to capture the diverse and resilient nature of the nation.

Tinubu went on to stress that everyday Nigerians are hardworking, honest citizens who make significant contributions to various global fields, including artificial intelligence and medicine. He urged against overlooking the positive contributions of the majority due to the actions of a few.

In 2020, the FBI ranked Nigeria 16th among countries most affected by cybercrime. The Nigerian Communications Commission reported that cybercrime costs the country $500 million (£395 million) annually.

President Tinubu’s remarks aim to challenge stereotypes and promote a more nuanced understanding of Nigeria and its people, urging the international community to recognize the nation’s diverse talents and contributions beyond the negative portrayal associated with cybercrime statistics.

 

Source : Africanews

Africa

Former Zambian president Calls for early election.

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Zambia’s ex-President, Edgar Lungu, has urged citizens to demand an early election, alleging that his successor, Hakainde Hichilema (HH), has mismanaged the nation’s economy.

Lungu also criticized Hichilema for his handling of the cholera outbreak, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since October.

Addressing the public on Wednesday, Lungu emphasized the need for Zambians to exert pressure on President Hichilema, stating that an early election is “imperative.” He urged citizens to vocalize their demand for Hichilema’s resignation and the initiation of early elections.

Responding swiftly to Lungu’s statements, government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa dismissed the allegations, urging Zambians to afford the president sufficient time to fulfill his campaign promises. Mweetwa also accused the former president of damaging the country’s economy during his six-year tenure.

Lungu, who announced his political comeback in October, faced the consequence of the government withdrawing his retirement benefits.

Having retired from politics in 2021 following a significant defeat in the presidential election, Lungu’s return sets the stage for a potentially contentious 2026 presidential race.

As tensions escalate between the former and current leaders, Zambians find themselves at the crossroads of political decisions that will shape the nation’s future.

 

Source : Africanews

Africa

Burkina Faso defends ECOWAS exit.

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Since Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced they would quit ECOWAS, the move has prompted various reactions.

It didn’t come as complete surprise though, especially after the Niger coup last July.

The Burkinabe PM justified the decision in Ouagadougou on Thursday (Feb.01st).

Authorities believe ECOWAS doens’t meet the aspirations of the Sahelian peoples anymore rendering the AES alliance necessary.

Premier ministre Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla condems ECOWAS sanctions against his country, Mali and Niger and also accused the bloc of failure to assist its member states.

“Instead of an ECOWAS of the people, the organization has become a technocratic tool which that ultimately deviated from the legitimate aspirations of the west African peoples.”

“For proof, we have noted ECOWAS’s indiference when our vallient peoples were massacred, or as our fellow citizens endure humanaitrian crise , or in the face of the numerous destabilization attemps our states have encountered,” he said.

Burkina Faso says it has notified the 15-nation bloc of its decision.

AES countries have called on their populations to mobilize in support of the move in coming days.

 

Source :Africanews