Death toll from Kenya's latest anti-government protest surges to 31
07/07/2025
Kenya: Police use whips and tear gas against protesters
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Water cannon and whips: Police in Nairobi clash with protesters
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Algeria sentences French sports journalist to seven years in jail
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Trump business for security deal 'effectively rewards Rwanda for invading, occupying, looting Congo'
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Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal in Washington
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DR Congo and Rwanda to sing a US-brokered deal
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DRC, Rwanda to sign US-mediated peace deal and end conflict
Africa
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
'Human shield': Niger's ousted president held by junta
They are only allowed medical visits. Their lawyers say they have exhausted all legal recourse and now rely on political action or foreign mediation to secure the couple's release. The junta leader also resides in the presidential palace. What are the detention conditions? On the morning of July 26, 2023, access to the presidential palace was blocked by the president's guard while Bazoum, 65, and Hadiza, 57, were inside. That evening, soldiers announced on television that the government was overthrown. The Bazoums were then confined to a wing of the palace. Two years later, "the detention conditions... have not changed", a source close to Bazoum told AFP. "They are still in two windowless rooms, without access to the outside and without any visitors" except for a doctor once a week, they added. Their activities include reading books brought by the doctor and using a stationary bike. One of Bazoum's lawyers, American Reed Brody, was in contact with him until October 2023 when his phone was confiscated. Since then, the couple has had no connection with the outside world or access to internet or television. Despite suffering from "sleep disorders", they "are fine, they remain in good spirits," Brody added. Their son Salem, 23, was released early last year. Lawyers say the junta offered to have Bazoum's wife released, but she declined. The Bazoums live in the same building as junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani, said Brody, who is among several sources who suspect Tiani to be using the Bazoum as a "human shield". Shortly after the coup, countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc considered military intervention to secure Bazoum's release and restore constitutional order. By detaining Bazoum, "it's a form of insurance against bombing the palace, for example", Brody said. Another source close to Bazoum noted that the president, elected in 2021, has never resigned. "He has convictions and value, he is someone who believes in democracy -- resigning would betray his oath," they said. "The Bazoum case is an exceptional situation," said Seidik Abba, president for the International Center for Studies and Reflections on the Sahel. The NGO Human Rights Watch on Wednesday reiterated a call for Bazoum's release. What about justice? The junta announced in August 2023 it intended to prosecute Bazoum for "plotting to undermine the state's security and authority" and "treason," the latter being punishable by death. Bazoum has not faced any formal legal proceedings but his diplomatic immunity was lifted last year. A preliminary investigation had been opened and Bazoum has been questioned. Brody claims the junta's leaders "do not want to initiate a real judicial process because it would involve transferring the president to prison". "We are convinced they want to keep him close to the general," he said. Following the lifting of Bazoum's immunity, his lawyers tried in vain to attain his automatic release, the judicial source said. What is the global community doing? Bazoum's lawyers have launched multiple proceedings with international bodies, including the ECOWAS regional court and the United Nations. Niger has quit ECOWAS. Both organisations have declared his detention "arbitrary" and demanded his release. "We have won across the board," but "legal avenues are exhausted," said Brody, who now hopes for political action. Bazoum's detention could serve as a bargaining chip for the junta in negotiations with other countries, several sources have said. According to one source close to the ousted president and analyst Abba, negotiations for Bazoum's release have been ongoing for several months between Qatar and Niger. Mediation by Togo in early 2024 facilitated the release of the couple's son. © 2025 AFP
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
ICC convicts pair over Central Africa war crimes
Ex-sports minister Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona was a senior leader of mainly Christian militias as the country slid into civil war, while Alfred Yekatom, a former MP, commanded them on the ground. The ICC sentenced Yekatom to 15 years behind bars for 20 war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder and torture. Ngaissona received a sentence of 12 years for 28 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Their militia, known as anti-Balaka or "anti-machete", were formed as vigilante self-defence groups after mainly Muslim rebels called the Seleka stormed the capital Bangui and removed then-president Francois Bozize, a Christian. Presiding judge Bertram Schmitt read harrowing details of the violence committed by the militia against suspected Seleka Muslims. Yekatom's men tortured one suspect by cutting off his fingers, toes, and one ear. This man's body was never found. Others were killed and then mutilated. Appearing in court dressed in a light brown suit and waistcoat, white shirt, and dark tie, Yekatom listened impassively as the judge read out the verdict. Dressed in a bright blue jacket, Ngaissona nodded to the judge as his sentence was delivered. The court found Yekatom not guilty of conscripting child soldiers and acquitted Ngaissona of the charge of rape. Both men had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Yekatom was extradited to The Hague in late 2018, after being arrested in the CAR for firing his gun in parliament. Ngaissona was arrested in France in December 2018 and extradited to The Hague. At the time he was head of the CAR football association and a board member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The Central African Republic is among the poorest nations in the world and has endured a succession of civil wars and authoritarian governments since independence in 1960. Violence has subsided in recent years but fighting occasionally erupts in remote regions between rebels and the national army, which is backed by Russian mercenaries and Rwandan troops.
France 24
18 hours ago
- France 24
'A free Ukraine': Kyiv protests law threatening anti-corruption bodies
The legislation, removing the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, sparked the first major protests in Ukraine since it began fighting off the Russian invasion over three years ago. "Our struggle takes place on two fronts. Our main enemy is external, but we have an internal battle too," said protester Viacheslav Bykov. "We don't want Ukraine to be part of Russia, we don't want a corrupt or authoritarian Ukraine. We want a free Ukraine," he added. Several thousand demonstrators -- mostly young -- gathered outside a theatre in Kyiv, calling for a veto to the law passed by Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday. The law places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Critics say the legislation would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes and threatens the independence of key institutions in Ukraine. 'Ukraine is Europe' Zelensky responded to the backlash on Wednesday evening, saying he would submit a new bill ensuring "all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place". Kyiv's partners had reacted with alarm, including European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, who the EU said demanded explanations from Zelensky over the change. Civil society groups warn the bill is part of a broader pattern of pressure on anti-corruption activists and bodies. Some European allies worry the moves will undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union -- a fear shared by many protesting on Wednesday. "We've worked for years to move closer to Europe... only to be thrown back 10 years in a single day," said protester Anya Kutsevol. Ukraine's two anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, were born a decade ago in the wake of the 2014 Maidan revolution. Those pro-European protests, centred on Kyiv's main square, also called Maidan, ousted a Kremlin-backed leader who scrapped a key partnership agreement with the EU. The Kremlin, which refused to accept Ukraine's democratic turn toward Europe, then launched a first assault over Ukraine that led Moscow-backed separatists to occupy Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region. "Ukraine is Europe," Kutsevol said, "we won't be returned to Russia. We'll keep fighting for Europe." 'Our turn' Some fear that a political crisis over the legislation could work in Russia's favour by undermining unity within the country, which is struggling to hold the front. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seized on the opportunity to say there was "a lot of corruption" in Ukraine. "If I were Russia, I would do the same," said another protester, Yevgen Popovychenko, convinced Moscow would try to exploit the protests. He was holding a banner that read: "Don't take me back" to the years of Maidan, where he took to the streets as a 21-year-old. As he stood in the crowd, he said he was having flashbacks from Maidan, a feeling shared by his friends. But many other protestors were only children during the famed 2014 demonstrations -- including 25-year-old Kutsevol. "When tyres were still burning, I was 14. What good was I?" she said. Wednesday's was her first political protest, and she teared up looking at people gathered around her for the second day in a row, despite martial law banning large gatherings. She vowed to keep defending Ukraine's democracy. © 2025 AFP
