Across the 54 Countries in Africa, these are the 5 top stories you may have missed:
Bobi Wine withdraws election petition, citing court bias
Robert Kyagulanyi (aka Bobi Wine), the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) has announced the withdrawal of his election petition that challenged President Yoweri Museveni’s election win last month – All Africa reports
Bobi Wine had earlier threatened to withdraw the petition after citing the bias of the Supreme court. He, however, is said to take the case to the public court since Ugandan courts have failed to show that they are independent.
Italian Envoy killed in D.R. Congo ambush
Luca Attanasio, Italy’s Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, has died from bullet wounds sustained in a shoot-out incident in Eastern Congo – News Central Africa reports
According to reports, the ambassador was on a fact-finding mission in the troubled Eastern D.R Congo region when his vehicle came under attack by unknown gunmen.
Tanzania finally admit to having COVID-19 cases after WHO pressure
Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli, has finally acknowledged that there are COVID-19 cases in his country after claiming for months that the disease had been defeated by prayer – Africa News reports
The president, on Sunday, 21st February, urged citizens of the East African country to take precautions and even wear face masks – but only locally made ones. Over the course of the pandemic, the president expressed wariness about foreign-made goods, including COVID-19 vaccines.
Rwandan Bamporiki killed in South Africa
Seif Bamporiki, a leading Rwandan opposition politician has been shot dead in South Africa, where he dwelled in exile – BBC Africa reports
According to reports by the police, Mr Bamporiki was pulled from his vehicle in a township in Cape Town before being killed. Preliminary investigations also showed that he had been killed in a robbery.
However, Bamporiki’s party, the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), said the motive was still unclear.
Somalia: UN calls on government to reach an agreement as soon as possible
The United Nations envoy for Somalia has called on the leaders in Somalia to reach an agreement on holding elections “as soon as possible” – Aljazeera Africa reports
The UN made this known in comments made days after gunfire broke out during an opposition demonstration in the capital city of Mogadishu.
In a video conference of the UN Security Council, James Swan on Monday, 22nd February, urged “all of Somalia’s political leaders to pull back from confrontation and avoid risky winner-take-all tactics”.