August 03, 2010
Guinea: Due Process Bodes Well for Country's Political Future
The past two decades in Africa have shown that the holding of elections is no guarantee for democracy. Independent institutions, military officers who support civilian rule and a… Read more »
July 24, 2010
Rwanda: The Politics of Genocide Denial
Rwandan officials have defended the government of President Paul Kagame against recent criticism that it was cracking down on its opponents and the press ahead of upcoming… Read more »
Botswana: Court Bars Community's Access to Water
A Botswana judge has prohibited the Basarwa people of the Kalahari from re-equipping a borehole or drilling a new one in the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve - the latest incident in… Read more »
July 08, 2010
Zimbabwe: Is Nation Ready for New Elections?
As Zimbabwe approaches the two-year anniversary of the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the document which underpins its three-party unity government, a number of… Read more »
July 02, 2010
South Africa: Court Convicts Ex-Police Chief of Corruption
A Johannesburg court has convicted the country's former national police chief, Jackie Selebi, of corruption. Read more »
June 04, 2010
Rwanda: U.S. Calls for Release of Opposition Leader's Lawyer
The United States has called for the release of a American defense lawyer detained by police in Rwanda. Read more »
May 29, 2010
Africa: Victims of Rights Violations Turn Their Eyes to Kampala
Starting in Kampala on Monday, representatives of governments, the United Nations and civil society groups will meet for the first time to review the workings of the International… Read more »
May 27, 2010
Africa: Group Indicts Govt Failures to Act on Rights Violations
The failure of African states to hold violators of human rights accountable for their actions has been pin-pointed as a major problem across the continent by the respected advocacy… Read more »
May 24, 2010
Liberia: Sirleaf Says Nation Can Achieve Self-Sufficiency in 10 Years
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is visiting Washington this week for talks with Congressional leaders and a White House meeting on Thursday with President Barack Obama and… Read more »
May 20, 2010
Malawi: Court Jails Gays for 14 Years
A Blantyre magistrate has sentenced a gay couple to 14 years' imprisonment with hard labour for "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency" - the maximum possible sentence allowed by… Read more »
May 17, 2010
Sudan: Govt Arrests Top Bashir Critic
The government of President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum has again arrested Bashir's former ally, the Islamist leader, Hassan al-Turabi. Read more »
April 21, 2010
Rwanda: Opposition Leader Arrested
Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire has been arrested and accused of genocide denial and collaborating with a "terrorist organisation," reports Agence France-Presse. Read more »
April 12, 2010
Sudan: Polls Peaceful But Confusing
Sudan on Monday was voting in the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years, but the credibility of the polls has been cast in doubt because of an opposition boycott. Read more »
March 24, 2010
South Africa: Oprah Winfrey Settles Lawsuit With School Principal
American talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Nomvuyo Mzamane, the South African teacher who previously headed Winfrey's school for girls near Johannesburg, have settled a lawsuit out… Read more »
February 11, 2010
Africa: Indigenous Rights Ruling Could Have Big Impact on Land Disputes
In 1973, Kenya forced the Endorois people off their ancestral land in the heart of the Great Rift Valley to create a wildlife reserve, plunging a community of traditional… Read more »
February 09, 2010
Sudan: Hague Court Attacks Prosecution Evidence as 'Weak,' 'Unreliable'
The International Criminal Court has described evidence against a Darfur rebel leader accused of an attack on African Union peacekeepers variously as "weak", "scant" and… Read more »
February 06, 2010
Liberia: Former Liberian Leader's Son Ordered to Pay Torture Victims
A federal court in the United States has ordered the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to pay more than US$22 million in damages to five people tortured by his… Read more »
February 05, 2010
Uganda: Anti-Homosexuality Law Sets Off Firestorm in the West
Ugandan MPs probably didn't know what a firestorm David Bahati of the ruling National Resistance Movement would raise when he first presented his proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill… Read more »
Uganda: Obama Condemns Proposed Anti-Gay Law
U.S President Barack Obama has criticized the controversial anti-gay law which has been proposed to Uganda's legislature. Read more »
February 03, 2010
Sudan: Court to Reconsider Bashir Genocide Charge
An Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court has again opened the prospect of charging Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir with genocide over killings in Darfur. Read more »
January 29, 2010
Uganda: Continent's Govts Watch Anti-Gay Bill Debate
For years, Uganda’s population has endured human rights violations at the hands of both government agents and rebel groups. Ugandans have been subjected to harassment, unjust… Read more »
January 06, 2010
South Africa: Zuma Educates Journalists Over Wives
The rise to power of South Africa's first polygamous head of state in the modern era* is causing confusion in the media, and the office of President Jacob Zuma is now trying to set… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: Lubanga Trial Highlights Plight of Child Soldiers
The defence in the trial of alleged Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo – the first war crimes trial to be conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) … Read more »
December 23, 2009
Sudan: Govt Reneges on Southern Independence Referendum Deal
The United States has condemned the Sudanese ruling party for introducing last-minute unilateral changes to the law under which southern Sudanese will vote on whether they want… Read more »
December 21, 2009
South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings
Which way is governance going on the African continent and particularly in South Africa? According to the newly released 2009 African Governance Report (AGR-II), put together by… Read more »