Across Africa in five minutes or less

GHANA

More than half a million teenagers are on record to have gotten pregnant over the last five years, data from the Ghana Health Service District Health Information Management Health System (DHIMS) reveals.

Between 2016 and 2020, about 555,575 teenagers aged 10 to 19 years, are said to have gotten pregnant.

KENYA

Wilson Sossion, secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), has resigned.

Mr Sossion made the announcement at a press conference on Friday, saying he was frustrated by the government’s failure to support his leadership.

BURKINA FASO

Following armed attacks on the village of Solhan in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, UNICEF has deployed emergency assistance in support of the Government and local authorities in the Sebba area, a few kilometres from the affected village. The June 5 attack by a non-state armed group resulted in the death of more than 130 civilians, including a high number of children, according to national authorities.

More than 13,000 displaced persons, including over 9,000 children, will receive 2,000 mosquito nets, 500 hygiene and dignity kits, and soap in order to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases during the rainy season and to maintain good hygiene. Additionally, 1,000 tarpaulins were distributed among the displaced population to provide shelter to families and help children pass their end-of-year exams.

TANZANIA

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said there are Covid-19 patients diagnosed in the country in the third wave of the disease, and urged religious leaders to tell believers to take precautions.

President Samia was addressing the Bishops of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) at their headquarters in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam.

THE GAMBIA

The Gambia has registered nine new cases on Wednesday 23rd June 2021, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to six thousand and fifty-four. The newly confirmed cases are five males and three females with ages ranging from 24 – 61 years.

No new COVID-19-related death was registered, bringing the total number of deaths since March 2020, to one hundred and eighty-one.

NIGERIA

An Italian appeals court yesterday overturned jail sentences handed down to a Nigerian, Mr. Emeka Obi, and an Italian, Mr. Gianluca Di Nardo, for their alleged role in the corruption trial case involving Eni and Shell over Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245.

The long-running case revolves around 2011 purchase by Italian oil company Eni and Anglo-Dutch peer Royal Dutch Shell of Nigeria’s OPL 245 offshore oilfield for about $1.3 billion.

Obi and Di Nardo were in October 2018 found guilty of international corruption for their role in the deal and each given four-year jail sentences.

LIBERIA

President Dr. George Manneh Weah says Liberia’s bilateral ties with Japan will continue to grow from strength to strength, terming existing relations between the two countries as historic and mutually beneficial.

During a tête-à-tête on Thursday, June 24, 2021, when the Japanese Ambassador to Liberia, Tsutomu Himeno, paid him a courtesy visit, the Liberian Chief Executive extended greetings to Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the people of Japan.

SIERRA LEONE

Sierra Leone has been ranked as the 4th most peaceful country in Africa and 46 in the world, according to the latest Global Peace Index.  The Global Peace Index is an annual report that measures the level of peacefulness across the world. The report presents data-driven analysis on trends in peace, economic values and how to develop peaceful societies in 163 countries across the world.

COTE D’IVOIRE

Former Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, Guillaume Soro, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in planning a coup against President Alassane Ouattara, the man he helped to take power about a decade ago.

A court in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, gave the verdict on Wednesday, following a trial of Mr Soro in absentia.

He was accused of “conspiracy… attempt to undermine the authority of the state… and dissemination and publication of false news discrediting the institutions and their operation, resulting in damage to public morale,” the charge sheet filed by the state prosecutor, Richard Adou, read.

MALI

 Fr. Léon Dougnon, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes in Ségué, kidnapped on June 21 on the road that connects Ségué to San, in the Mopti region, in central Mali (see Fides, 23/6/2021) has been released. According to information from Agenzia Fides, the hostages were released yesterday, June 23, by an unidentified armed group who abandoned them on a road in the Bandiagara region, fleeing with their car.

TOGO

In a public dialogue held online and webcast, the Committee, which has received the country report from Togo, and submissions from non-governmental organisations as well as other stakeholders, will discuss a range of issues with the State delegation.

The topics likely to be discussed include arbitrary detention, excessive use of pre-trial detention, overcrowded detention conditions and ill-treatment of detainees; curbs on the freedom of expression of journalists, human rights defenders and political activists; criminalization of same-sex relations and violations of the human rights of LGBTI people.

EGYPT

Loopholes in laws against child marriages in countries including Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq are exposing children to a broad range of protection risks. In some contexts, this is enabling exploitation of girls through temporary marriages, the aid agency said. Time-bound ‘summer’, ‘tourist’, or ‘pleasure’ marriages are a form of violence and a breach of girls’ rights with lifelong consequences for their safety and education.

LYBIA

World powers have met in Germany to seek lasting peace in Libya by ensuring the conflict-racked North African country stays firmly on the path towards general elections on December 24.

Representatives of Libya’s interim government on Wednesday joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as the foreign ministers of France and Egypt at the United Nations-sponsored talks in Berlin.