The leader of a Kenyan cult accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to death will be charged over a further 52 deaths at another village, prosecutors say. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after 429 bodies, including children, were dug up from mass graves in the remote Shakahola forest. He has been in custody since his arrest and has been accused of luring the latest victims to their deaths by writing notes from his prison cell. Mackenzie has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of manslaughter. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said in…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews Nigeria’s military will try several officers over an alleged plan to oust President Bola Tinubu last year, it said Monday, acknowledging a plot the government had initially denied. In October, the military said 16 officers had been arrested over “issues of indiscipline”. Despite official denials, sources across the Nigerian government and military had told AFP they were arrested over a coup plot. If successful, this would have brought an end to a quarter-century of democracy in Africa’s most populous country. “The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter…
By Rédaction Africanews At Monday’s briefing, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric announced the launch of a $852 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Somalia, which he said, “is 40 percent less than last year” and “aims to support 2.4 million people.” Dujarric stressed that the reduction in funding “is due to constrained resources, not reduced humanitarian needs.” He said there will be, “significant gaps in essential services,” as less than half of those in need of humanitarian aid will be able to receive help under the 2026 plan. Dujarric said, “without urgent and scaled-up assistance, the combined prolonged drought,…
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Iranian authorities unveiled a new mural in central Tehran on Sunday containing a clear warning to the United States: do not to attempt to strike our country. The painting shows damaged planes on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier against the background of an American flag. It bears the slogan: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” in Farsi and English. The move comes as the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed that 5,848 people had been killed during the recent wave of protests in Iran. That…
The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has formally taken over prosecution of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mike Ozekhome after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) filed criminal charges relating to a disputed London property. The transfer was announced in Federal Capital Territory court when Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, told the bench the AGF would assume the case. Court papers state that Ozekhome will answer to a three-count charge that accuses him of receiving the London house at 79 Randall Avenue by corrupt means and of making and using a false Nigerian passport…
The United Nations says it is gravely concerned after a senior military leader in South Sudan urged his troops to “spare no-one” including “children, the elderly, and civilians” when they are deployed to opposition-held areas of the country. “Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now,” said the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss). South Sudan’s deputy army chief Gen Johnson Oluny made the call as he addressed his Agwelek militia as they prepared to be sent to parts of Jonglei state. Forces aligned to South Sudan’s…
Greetings from freezing but undaunted Minneapolis, where The Africa Report is in the trenches this week with an African diaspora that is feeling the brunt of President Donald Trump’s immigration raids. We’ll be collecting on-the-ground testimony from Somali-Americans and other affected communities on how they’re coping with – and resisting – the escalating showdown with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If you’d like to share your stories, please contact me via email at j.pecquet@theafricareport.com. Back in Washington DC, the Senate had been expected to follow the House’s lead in voting this week on a one-year renewal of the African Growth…
Discussing a partnership between India, a country, and Africa, a continent of 54 countries, may sound asymmetrical. Still, two factors justify doing so: empathy and support for Africa in India are matched by admiration and respect that most Africans feel for India’s success as the world’s largest democracy and the fastest-growing large economy. Each, home to 1.4 billion people, can help the other secure its vision of good governance and prosperity. Hence, the evolution of the partnership between India and Africa in the 2020s is a subject of global interest. India-Africa partnership needs to be assessed in its four vital…
By Africanews with AFP US YouTuber IShowSpeed visited Nigeria’s cultural and economic capital Lagos as part of his African tour on Wednesday, where he celebrated his 21st birthday by hitting 50 million subscribers. The YouTube and Twitch star’s tour kicked off on December 29, travelling through some 15 countries across Africa and drawing crowds at every stop. Rolling Stone magazine named him the Most Influential Creator of 2025 while Forbes estimates his net worth at $20 million. IShowSpeed began his Lagos visit at the bustling Balogun Market in the Lagos Island district, where crowds heckled him and asked for money.…
By Africanews with AFP Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced a government reshuffle Friday in which most ministers retained their posts and his brother, the current defence minister, also became deputy premier. The reshuffle follows a general election in December in which Ouattara’s ruling RHDP party won nearly 80 percent of the seats in parliament — and three months after Ouattara was re-elected for a fourth term with nearly 90 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe remains in post. Ouattara’s brother, Tene Birahima Ouattara, keeps the influential defence portfolio and takes on the newly created position of…