The health of detained veteran Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has “reached a critical and deteriorating state”, his party says, after he was taken overnight to a medical facility in the capital, Kampala. The 69-year-old politician was driven to a private medical facility under “heavy security”, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party said, without specifying what he is suffering from. However, prison authorities denied that Besigye’s health was dire, describing his overnight visit to a doctor as a “general check-up”. Besigye, a former personal doctor to President Yoweri Museveni and one of his longest-standing political rivals, has been in…
Author: Montage Africa
In less than a decade, Senegal has reduced its maternal mortality rate by more than 50%, from 392 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2015 to 153 in 2023. Behind this progress, however, a more complex reality persisted: in many health facilities, women continued to experience childbirth marked by fear, lack of information and impersonal health care. Tina, 32, a mother of three, remembers her first two deliveries as moments filled with anxiety: limited explanations, minimal communication with health staff and a feeling of being alone in the face of pain. “They were very difficult births for me. After my…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi praised on Wednesday United States President Donald Trump for his role in the implementation of the current Gaza peace plan. Speaking during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Egyptian leader lauded Trump’s “efforts” and “commitment” to stop the war and Gaza. El-Sissi acknowledged Trump’s work “to ease the humanitarian suffering that burdened the brotherly Palestinian people for more than two years.” The Egyptian leader also said his country sees the issue of Palestinian statehood as the “core” of the region’s strive for stability and “a cornerstone to…
Nigeria’s police have now confirmed that a group of worshippers was kidnapped from three churches in a remote part of the northern Kaduna state, after previously denying it. More than two days after the raid on the Kurmin Wali village, police on Tuesday night said that an earlier statement denying the attack had been “widely misinterpreted”. Local residents told the BBC that 177 worshippers had been abducted but that 11 later escaped. Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin did not give any numbers but said subsequent checks by operational units and intelligence sources had confirmed the abduction. He said security forces had…
By Rédaction Africanews The Republic of Congo has set the presidential election for March 15. This was announced by the government’s spokesperson Thierry Moungalla. According to the Constitution, the presidential election must be held at least 30 days and no more than 40 days before the end of the current presidential term. Incumbent President Denis Sassou-Nguesso was sworn in for this term on April 16, 2021. The electoral administration has not yet set the deadlines for submitting candidacies. In the meantime, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) has already nominated Denis Sassou-Nguesso as its candidate. Other possible candidates include former rebel…
By AP Millions of Christians have celebrated Timket, the Ethiopian Epiphany, throughout the East African country, with lively traditional singing, rhythmic dancing and communal celebrations. In Batu, a town located at the western shore of Lake Dambal (Hora-Dambal) in the Oromia Region, thousands took part in a colourful celebration, similar to the ceremonies held in major cities such as the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar. The Holy Ark of the Covenant, known as tabots, which traditionally contains the Ten Commandments, is escorted from churches to the lakeshore with chants, hymns, crosses, and colourful ceremonial umbrellas. Faithful residents and pilgrims gather…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP The health of jailed Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye is failing, his party said on Tuesday, after he was driven overnight to a medical facility in the capital of Kampala. Besigye’s health “has reached a critical and deteriorating state,” the People’s Front for Freedom said in a statement that also demanded unrestricted access to Besigye by his personal doctors and family. Besigye, a veteran politician who was Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure before the rise of Bobi Wine, is being detained in a maximum-security jail in Kampala. He is set to be tried over treason…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP, AFP, Reuters Armed gangs kidnapped at least 163 Christian worshippers after storming two churches in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State on Sunday, a member of the clergy told AFP. Bandits carrying “sophisticated weapons” attacked the two churches during their Sunday services, Kaduna State police told Reuters. “The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country’s north, said on Monday. “The actual number they took was 172 but nine escaped, so 163 are…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday described the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region as an epicentre of “profound suffering”. Briefing the United Nations Security Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan said civilians are being subjected to collective torture amid a widening war between rival military forces. Sudan has been gripped by conflict since April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army. “The fall of al-Fasher to the RSF has been accompanied by an organised, calculated campaign of the most profound suffering, targeting non-Arab communities in particular,” she said. “Rape,…
By Rédaction Africanews and AP A tragic road crash south of Johannesburg has claimed the lives of thirteen schoolchildren. Police say a minibus transporting pupils to school collided with a truck near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about sixty kilometers from Johannesburg. Investigators believe the driver lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles. The death toll rose after one critically injured child later died in hospital. Several other pupils remain seriously hurt. Authorities say the victims included both primary and high school learners, some as young as six years old. Images from the scene showed the minibus crushed on…