Peace envoys taken hostage in DR Congo

An attempt to persuade a rebel militia in eastern Democratic Republic Congo to lay down its arms has ended with three peace envoys – all former warlords – being taken hostage.

President Félix Tshisekedi sent Thomas Lubanga, Germain Katanga and Floribert Ndjabu to negotiate with Codeco militiamen who have been accused of multiple atrocities in recent months.

But a spokesman for the group told the French news agency that the Congolese army fired shells during the meeting, and the envoys had been seized. Attempts to reach them by phone have failed.

Codeco claims to represent the interests of the Lendu ethnic group in the fighting that has bedevilled eastern DR Congo for many years.

Lubanga and Katanga served prison sentences of 14 years and 12 years respectively after the International Criminal Court (ICC) found them guilty of committing war crimes in eastern DR Congo

Ndjabu was jailed for 15 years over the killing of nine UN peacekeepers.

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Zambian newspaper’s liquidation declared illegal

The Supreme Court in Zambia has declared the liquidation of the influential privately owned newspaper, The Post, illegal.

In a move that was widely viewed to have been political, the newspaper was liquidated in 2016 for alleged failure to pay its debts and taxes – something the publication always disputed.

The Patriotic Front (PF) was in power at the time.

In a landmark ruling on Thursday in Lusaka, the Supreme Court labelled the liquidation process a “faux”.

Chief Justice Mumba Malila, who headed the panel of judges, ordered the process to be re-started in compliance with the law.

The Supreme Court also ordered the newspaper’s liquidator Lewis Mosho to be part of to the new proceedings and be made to account, even though he may have finished selling the assets of the defunct publication.

“We note that much time has passed since the purported liquidation. We do not believe, however, that such passage of the time has sanitized the wrongful manner in which the liquidation was conducted,” the stinging 55-page judgement said.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we hold that the actions of the liquidator – prior to and post the purported liquidation of the Post Newspaper – are of no legal effect whatsoever,” it added.

The newspaper was critical of the PF and then-President Edgar Lungu, who lost power to opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema in elections last year.

Many Zambians on social media have celebrated the judgement.

Six African nations to get mRNA vaccine technology

The World Health Organization has announced that six African countries will be given the revolutionary mRNA technology to set up their own vaccine production centres – helping the continent acquire self-reliance against the Covid pandemic.

Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will get the technology used in the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs developed in Europe.

The Senegalese president said the aim was to have 60% of vaccines administered in Africa produced in Africa as well.

In the future, the new African vaccine hub might also produce jabs for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

A ceremony marking the mRNA technology transfer will be held later in Brussels at a summit between the European Union and the African Union.

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