Tag Archives: Africa

At Least 47 Found Dead In “Starve To Meet Jesus” Cult

Reuters reports: Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. Earlier this month, police rescued 15 members of the group — …

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US Evacuates Sudan Embassy Amid Civil Unrest

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. military completed the evacuation of all American embassy personnel and family members from Sudan early Sunday local time, President Biden said, as rival military factions battled for control of the country amid a sharp uptick in casualties in Africa’s third-largest nation. “I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully …

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Global Corporations Condemn Anti-LGBTQ Uganda Bill

Reuters reports: A coalition of international companies, including Google and Microsoft, on Wednesday denounced anti-LGBTQ legislation passed by Uganda’s parliament last week, warning it would damage the East Africa country’s economy. The Open for Business coalition said the legislation, which criminalises identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, would curb investment flows and deter tourists. The bill imposes the …

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Uganda Approves 10-Year Sentence For Coming Out

Reuters reports: Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law that criminalises identifying as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence. More than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations. The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), …

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Uganda Proposes 10-Year Sentence For Coming Out

Human Rights Watch reports: A bill introduced in Uganda’s Parliament criminalizing same-sex conduct and sexual and gender identity, if adopted, would violate multiple fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Among others, such a law would violate the rights to freedom of expression and association privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination. On March 9, 2023, Asuman Basalirwa, a member of parliament, introduced …

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Niger Proposes Death Penalty For Same-Sex Marriage

76 Crimes reports: The president of the West African nation of Niger is laying the groundwork for enacting harsh anti-homosexuality laws in his country, where same-sex intimacy is currently legal. He proposes the death penalty for people in same-sex marriages. Mohamed Bazoum, president of Niger, is preparing for a newly established committee of experts to develop the new anti-homosexuality laws. …

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Police Rescue 77 From Nigerian “Rapture” Church

The New Arab reports: Nigerian police have rescued dozens of people, including many children, from a church basement where they had been told to wait for what they believed would be second coming of Christ, police said. Police raided the Whole Bible Believers Church in southwestern Ondo State on Friday after a tip from a local mother who said that …

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South African Parliament Burns In Apparent Arson

Reuters reports: A fire at the South African parliament caused extensive damage on Sunday, collapsing the roof and gutting an entire floor in one building and a man in his 50s was arrested in connection with the blaze. The fire broke out in the early morning and authorities said the sprinkler system appeared to have been tampered with and so …

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Botswana Court Upholds Decriminalization Of Gay Sex

Reuters reports: Botswana’s Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a 2019 ruling that decriminalised gay sex, a decision hailed by gay community as establishing the southern African country as a “true democracy”. Monday’s decision in effect struck off two sections of the penal code that had outlawed homosexuality. Before the 2019 High Court ruling, which was praised by international organisations …

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Elephant Kills Poacher In South African Wildlife Reserve

ABC News reports: A suspected poacher found dead in a South African national park is believed to have been killed by an elephant, park officials said. Rangers in Kruger National Park discovered the body on Thursday after following tracks in the Stolznek section of the giant game reserve, a spokesperson for the park said in a statement on Twitter. “Initial …

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Ghana Bill Proposes 10 Year Prison Sentence For LGBTs

The Guardian reports: Draft anti-gay legislation submitted to Ghana’s parliament could propose up to 10 years in jail for LGBTQ+ people as well as groups and individuals who advocate for their rights, express sympathy or offer social or medical support, in one of the most draconian and sweeping anti-gay laws proposed around the world. Support for intersex people would also …

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Namibia To Consider Legalizing Homosexuality

Reuters reports: Namibia could soon scrap a colonial-era law that criminalises gay sex between men, the justice minister said on Friday, calling the legislation “outdated and discriminatory”. The law is rarely enforced in the Southern African country and is among several dozen laws that the government will consider abolishing following recommendations by a reform commission. “The LGBTQI community are human …

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Anti-Gay Tanzanian President, Who Said COVID Can Be Cured With Prayer And Smoothies, Dies Of Something

The New York Times reports: President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a populist leader who played down the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic and steered his country away from democratic ideals, died on Wednesday at a hospital in the port city of Dar es Salaam. He was 61. His death was announced on television by Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who …

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Tanzanian President: COVID Vaccines “Don’t Work”

The New York Times reports: President John Magufuli of Tanzania, speaking to a large, unmasked crowd in the country’s northwest on Wednesday, questioned the efficacy of vaccines and discouraged the Ministry of Health from pursuing doses, saying the shots were not “beneficial” to the East African nation. “Vaccines don’t work,” Mr. Magufuli, 61, said in his speech. “If the white …

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Pastor Who Faith-Healed COVID Dies Of COVID

The African News Agency reports: A popular Cameroonian pastor has died less than a week after being diagnosed with Covid-19, leaving hundreds of his supporters panicked after the man had laid hands on them in an effort to “cure” them of the infection. Pastor Frankline Ndifor was also a candidate in the central African state’s last presidential election. Cameroon police …

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“Best Case Scenario” Forecasts 300K Deaths In Africa

The Associated Press reports: Africa could see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus this year even under the best-case scenario, according to a new report released Friday that cites modeling from Imperial College London. Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, the report by the U.N. Economic Commission …

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Uganda Exploits Coronavirus To Arrest 20 LGBT Persons

ABC News reports: A gay rights leader in Uganda says 20 members of the local LGBT community have been detained after police raided their shelter and accused them of violating coronavirus-related social distancing measures. “It is evident that they were arrested because of their homosexuality,” Frank Mugisha [photo] said Wednesday, expressing concern for their safety as “some of them are …

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Lesotho’s First Lady Charged In Killing Of PM’s Ex-Wife

Agence France-Presse reports: Lesotho police on Tuesday charged first lady Maesaiah Thabane with murder for her alleged links to the brutal 2017 killing of the prime minister’s previous wife. Maesaiah Thabane, 42, will spend the night in custody after she came out of hiding and turned herself in to the police earlier on Tuesday. “She has been charged with murder …

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Anti-LGBT Tanzanian Official Banned From US, Created Surveillance Squad To Hunt Down And Imprison Gays

The BBC reports: A top Tanzanian official who launched a surveillance squad dedicated to hunting down gay people has been banned by the US from entering the country. The US state department said Paul Makonda, the administrative chief of the capital Dar es Salaam, was involved in “gross violations of human rights”. His immediate family members have also been barred …

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MAURITANIA: 10 Men Jailed Over “Gay Wedding” Video

ABC News reports: Authorities in Mauritania have arrested 10 men after a video appeared on social media of a gay couple appearing to take part in a traditional wedding ceremony, human rights groups said. Police later determined the gathering was a birthday party but the men remain in custody with no trial date set yet. Mauritania practices strict Islamic law …

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