Mali military chief Gen Assimi Goita gained support from political friends to remain president for five more years. The 41-year-old leader promised elections after his 2021 takeover but changed his mind. Major opposition groups skipped a national meeting where people voted for Goita to lead until 2030. He has not spoken about the decision, which seems meant to keep him in charge.
Opposition leader Mohamed Salia Toure told reporters that ending multiple political parties would hurt the country. Amnesty International is worried about possible plans to ban political groups. The military government wants to delay all elections until peace comes to Mali. Goita has worked with leaders from Burkina Faso and Niger to make friends with Russia...
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a judicial probe into claims that officials blocked the prosecution of apartheid crimes. The move comes 30 years after white rule ended. Families who sued the government over a lack of justice prompted this action. Ramaphosa wants "the facts established," according to his office.
Twenty-five families seek $9 million in damages, saying past governments never properly investigated racist crimes. One plaintiff is the son of Fort Calata, killed with three other activists in 1985, a group later called the Cradock Four. Six former police officers admitted their role but never faced trial. All these officers have died.
Critics long claimed the African National Congress made secret deals with...
Lawyers asked a Harare court to clear three University of Zimbabwe teachers who paid fines after their arrest during a pay protest. Professor Obvious Vengeyi, Boncase Mwakorera, and Desmond Ndedzu lead the Association of University Teachers. Police arrested them on April 16 for what officers called disorderly behavior under criminal law. The teachers spent one night in jail before each paid $15 to leave.
Legal team members Kelvin Kabaya, Emmanuel Chibwe, and Tinashe Chinopfukutwa claim the teachers acted within their rights to protest. They say their clients paid only because they wanted to avoid staying locked up through the Easter holidays. Their April 22 letter points to Section 65 of the constitution, which allows workers to take...
A South African man traveled home Monday after he became sick in Bulawayo and needed care he could not find in Zimbabwe. The patient rode 280 kilometers to Beitbridge before a helicopter flew him to Limpopo Province. Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba welcomed the patient upon arrival. Health official Dieketseng Mashego also greeted the man as he arrived on a stretcher.
People on social media asked why these leaders showed up for this patient. Many wondered what made this case special enough for top officials to attend. Dr Ramathuba faced criticism in 2022 after she scolded a sick Zimbabwean woman in a Limpopo hospital. She blamed foreigners for problems in South African healthcare.
Zimbabwe faces serious healthcare problems with...
Several charitable groups started a $500 million fund Tuesday to help save mothers and babies across Africa. The Gates Foundation partnered with the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity from the UAE to create this life-saving effort. The project comes as many nations cut back their foreign aid dollars.
Fund leader Alice Kang'ethe says they will work directly with African governments and experts rather than bringing outside solutions. They aim to save 300,000 lives before 2030 and improve care for 34 million mothers and newborns. The program targets ten countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, with basic but effective medical care.
Health workers will focus on major threats like infections and breathing problems that cause...
President Chakwera will lead Labor Day events at Balaka Stadium, where workers expect answers about their problems. Teachers Union head Charles Kumchenga told staff to wait until May 1 for the president's response on key issues. The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions also wants Chakwera to address demands for higher pay that match rising living costs.
Workers may choose talks or protests based on how the president handles their concerns compared to political demands. Teacher Elizabeth Kaliza Banda from Lilongwe warned Chakwera not to treat educators as less important citizens. She said he should have asked former presidents about better ways to handle teacher promotions instead of creating unequal treatment.
Banda noted that teachers...
Nyale Institute head Dr. Godfrey Kangaude says Malawi needs simpler abortion laws. He told reporters in Blantyre that the current rules spread across many laws create confusion. People must read three different legal documents to understand their rights: the Gender Equality Act, the Penal Code, and the Constitution.
These complex rules keep many women from safe care, Kangaude explained. Women often end pregnancies outside health centers because of unclear legal paths. The Institute wants one clear law like other nations have created. About 140,000 women have illegal abortions each year in Malawi, with 30,000 facing health problems afterward.
Kangaude asked news writers to help teach people about court cases dealing with pregnancy...
The Malawi Electoral Commission said Wednesday that no political parties have asked for a scoped audit before next year's elections. MEC Chair Annabel Mtalimanja shared this news during her report on election readiness. She noted that some groups mention the 2019 BDO review as a reason for their current demands.
Mtalimanja explained the difference between past audits and current requests. The 2019 BDO work checked only that the math calculations matched between local tallies and official announcements. She stressed that any new audit needs clear goals based on specific problems found in the system. The commission refuses general audit requests because of security risks.
MEC officials told stakeholders they had already fixed all voter...
Farmers at the Wiyule Irrigation Scheme in Karonga recently received K30.4 million from the National Economic Empowerment Fund Limited. The money bought them a solar water pump and fertilizer bags to boost farm output. This happened under Group Village Head Mwakalenga as part of NEEF's Micro Irrigation Loan program.
Bertha Mowa, who leads the scheme, called the support a game-changer for local farmers. She said they struggled before with small harvests because they lacked resources and faced high costs. But farmers still deal with problems like poor mobile networks and no electricity, making it hard to talk with buyers and move crops to markets.
NEEF finance head Benedicto Kananza said they created the loan to help farmers grow crops...
