Rwandan opposition figure Victoire Ingabire is back in court for a second trial, this time accused of inciting public unrest and joining a criminal organization. She appears alongside nine co-defendants, most of whom are fellow members of her party, Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi). Ingabire was freed in September 2018 by a presidential pardon from President Paul Kagame after serving 8 years of a 15-year sentence.

A family feud has spilled into the courts: Wicknell Chivayo’s former mother-in-law, Tabitha Madzikanda, has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, accused of attempting to divert U.S.$1.4 million from a trust established for her grandchildren. Madzikanda, who works at FBC Bank, allegedly tried to recruit colleagues to remove Chivayo as a signatory on a US$5 million account, after which they purportedly sought to channel the funds into a property development project involving the construction of cluster houses. Her arrest…

After coordinated protests by the anti-immigrant group March and March targeting undocumented migrants in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, Human Rights Watch urged South African authorities to act decisively. South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka said authorities "should intensify efforts to address anti-immigrant sentiments and violence to ensure the safety and protection of at-risk foreign nationals in the country," calling for stronger measures to curb hostility and safeguard…

A surge in politically linked abuses gripped Zimbabwe in April, with 145 human rights violations impacting 3,675 people, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) reported. The watchdog highlighted a pattern of political intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and curbs on freedoms of expression and association among the most pressing issues. According to the report, those affected included 1,887 women and 1,788 men. ZPP warned that the human rights climate is deteriorating, citing an escalation in intimidation, violence, and the misuse…

Felicien Kabuga, long branded one of the world’s most-wanted fugitives and a central suspect in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has died in custody at 93, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals confirmed. Prosecutors accused Kabuga of using his wealth and influence to encourage and finance the killings that swept Rwanda between April and June 1994, when Hutu extremists murdered more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. After more than two decades on the run, he was arrested in France…

Botswana has scrapped the sections of its penal code that outlawed same-sex relations, a decisive move that cements one of the continent’s most significant advances for LGBTQ rights. The change formalises a 2019 High Court judgment that struck down the provisions as unconstitutional. Activists from Legabibo say the amendment underscores the government’s commitment to human rights, even as momentum elsewhere on the continent moves in the opposite direction. Several nations, including Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali,…

From the stage of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, President Paul Kagame delivered a sharp critique of global sanctions, saying they are wielded unevenly and weaponized against weaker states. He argued that the way sanctions are imposed reflects raw power rather than justice, advantaging countries with greater strategic or economic clout. During a session moderated by CNN anchor and correspondent Eleni Giokos, African leaders were pressed on how they are navigating escalating geopolitical strains — from disputed mineral…

Bureaucracy is choking access to safe drinking water nationwide, lawmakers warned, taking aim at the government’s current water-supply budget. Several MPs pressed ministers to declare water provision a national emergency, arguing that the allocated funds fall far short of what is needed to deliver additional tanks and bolster infrastructure in many regions. "In most rural areas, there is only one tap serving an entire community. Water tankers do not reach all settlements, and sometimes there is no money for fuel," one MP…

Alarmed by a fresh Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says it is tracking the situation closely and mobilizing support. The agency is coordinating with national authorities and partners to mount a rapid, unified response as officials race to contain the spread. Early testing by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) detected Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples, with preliminary findings pointing to a…

Chad is teetering at a perilous tipping point, its structural weaknesses now so stark that the country—and the region around it—risks sliding toward state collapse. For years, regional powers and international partners equated military effectiveness with domestic stability and looked the other way. That misreading has run its course. The debate is no longer about whether President Mahamat Deby Itno presides over an authoritarian system—he does—but whether his government can keep the nation intact at all, writes Cameron…