Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Over 50 employees from the Multiplex Limited Parking last week petitioned Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago seeking for his intervention in their claim of unfair treatment and abuse of their rights. The petition which was handed over to the Lukwago at City Hall raised several …
Read More »Dramatic scenes as Dr Stella Nyanzi is freed
Ugandan activist freed as court quashes charge of ‘harassing’ president Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi walked free from court amid chaotic scenes Thursday after a judge overturned her conviction for “cyber-harassment” of President Yoweri Museveni. Stella Nyanzi, a university researcher and rights activist known …
Read More »Thousands in Gambia rally for ex-president Jammeh’s return
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Thousands of supporters of Gambia’s former dictator Yahya Jammeh demonstrated Thursday on the outskirts of the capital Banjul, demanding his return from exile. The protest came days after the former autocrat was heard in a leaked audio recording insisting that the tiny West African state …
Read More »Salva Kiir pardons prominent South Sudan economist
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has pardoned a Harvard-educated economist whose conviction earlier this year on spying charges drew international criticism. Peter Biar Ajak was among 30 prisoners on a pardon list seen by AFP and dated January 1. A spokesman for the main …
Read More »Moroccans rally in support of journalist detained over tweet
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Hundreds of people demonstrated Saturday outside Morocco’s parliament demanding the release of a journalist detained for criticising a judge in a tweet. Omar Radi, 33, was detained Thursday in Casablanca and immediately put on trial for the tweet about a judge prosecuting protest leaders, his …
Read More »Tanzania backsliding on freedoms under Magufuli
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | President John Magufuli has presided over a crackdown on media and civil society in Tanzania that has seriously undermined democratic freedoms as the country approaches elections, global rights groups said Monday. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tanzania was backsliding under Magufuli, whose …
Read More »Indonesia moves to ban sex outside marriage
Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Indonesia is set to vote on a plan to outlaw gay and pre-marital sex while beefing up its blasphemy laws in a shakeup fuelled by religious conservatism and slammed by rights groups Thursday. The proposed criminal law overhaul could affect millions in the world’s biggest …
Read More »Amnesty chief Naidoo says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
Washington, United States | AFP | The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East. The rights group’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should …
Read More »Why US sanctioned Uganda’s ex-police boss Kayihura
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government announced sanctions against Uganda’s once-powerful police chief on Friday, citing evidence of corruption and human rights abuses including torture. The agencies said there was credible information that Kale Kayihura was involved in “torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or …
Read More »US slaps sanctions over Russia rights despite revived ties
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the powers. The State Department highlighted the actions against the five people, plus one …
Read More »