Author: Chukwuebuka Festus - Page 7

More Than 100 Kenyan Girls Died From Pregnancy Last Year

15May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Kenya, News

More Than 100 Kenyan Girls Died From Pregnancy Last Year

In Kenya, 104 girls aged between 10 and 19 died as a result pregnancy-related issues last year, according to figures just released by the country's health ministry. This is a big increase from the previous year. In 2020, 31 girls died due to similar complications. The reported deaths are mostly as a result of unsafe abortions and the fact that some of the girls’ bodies are not developed enough to carry a foetus, hence they experience obstructed labour. Read Also: Kenya Records Close to 4,000 Pregnant School Girls During Corona Virus Lockdown Acting Director of Medical Services Dr Andrew Mulwa said that this rise should not necessarily be seen as an increase in cases of maternity deaths. He said that as more pregnant girls are going to clinics for help, the deaths of tho...

Climate Change Behind South Africa’s Devastating Floods

14May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Environment, News, South Africa

Climate Change Behind South Africa’s Devastating Floods

A report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international group of climate scientists, released on Friday has found that climate change led to increased rainfall that caused devastating flooding in South Africa last month. It's one of the first reports on the devastating floods that hit KwaZulu-Natal in April – described as the worst in 60 years. The floods left more than 430 people dead, tens of thousands displaced and millions of dollars’ worth of damage. A team of scientists from South Africa, Europe and the US collaborated on a study to see what role climate change played in the recent floods and what lessons can be learned. The flooding occurred as a direct consequence of two days of extreme rainfall in the region, at unexpected levels. The WWA report says man...

Kenyan Fighting FGM Crowned World’s Best Nurse

14May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Kenya, News, Women Empowerment

Kenyan Fighting FGM Crowned World’s Best Nurse

Kenyan-nurse, Anne Qabale Duba, has been named the World's best nurse in the inaugural Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award at a ceremony held in Dubai. Anna Qabale Duba, who practices at Marsabit County Referral Hospital in northern Kenya walked home with $250,000 after a panel of judges, championed her work in helping to protect vulnerable women and children in Africa. Duba, the founder of Qabale Duba Foundation in Kenya has been championing against harmful cultural practices against women like female genital mutilation, FGM, and early/forced marriage, alongside empowering women through education, implementing peace-building activities, and advocating for girl-child education. The centre trains women and children and equips them with skills to enter the working w...

Thousands Protest Against Military Rule In Sudan

13May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Armed Forces, News, Sudan

Thousands Protest Against Military Rule In Sudan

Thousands Protest Against Military Rule In Sudan Sudanese demonstrators are back on the streets to protest against the military in power and ask for the implementation of a civil government. Large crowds could be seen around the presidential palace in Khartoum responding to calls from several dissident groups on May 12. This is the most important turnout since the holy month of Ramadan. "All we are asking now is for the military council to step down and hand the state over to a civilian government in order to save the state, because Sudan is now collapsing, there is no justice, there is no freedom, and there is no peace.", says Abd El-malik Ibrahim a protester in Khartoum. Read Also: Guinea To Move To Civilian Rule In Three Years Activists have often...

DR Congo Policeman Sentenced To Death For Murder

13May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, Crime, Judiciary, Justice, News

DR Congo Policeman Sentenced To Death For Murder

A Congolese military court has sentenced a high-ranking policeman to death for his role in the 2010 murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya, which caused national outrage. Commissioner of police Christian Ngoy Kenga Kenga was found guilty of murder, desertion and misappropriation of weapons and ammunition. Mr Chebeya's body was found bound and gagged in his car in Kinshasa. There is a moratorium on capital punishments in DR Congo. However, the death penalty has not been abolished and military courts continue to hand down such sentences. Another policeman, Jacques Migabo, was also sentenced to 12 years during the trial. He admitted to having strangled Mr Chebeya and his driver, Fidèle Bazana. Police commissioner Paul Mwilambwe, who had been a key witness ...

Plane With 11 Passengers On Board Crashes In Cameroon

12May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Aviation, Cameroon, News

Plane With 11 Passengers On Board Crashes In Cameroon

A small passenger plane carrying 11 people crashed in a forest near Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, on Wednesday, the transport ministry said. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but the plane lost radio contact with air traffic controllers and was later located in the forest near Nanga Eboko, around 150km (90 miles) north-east of Yaoundé, the ministry said in a statement A ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane “crashed” and rescuers were “trying to see if it’s possible to save anyone”. Read Also: Over 40 Migrants Drowned Off Western Sahara The aircraft was flying from Yaoundé Nsimalen airport to Belabo, in the east of the country, it added. AFP news agency quotes official sources as saying the plane was chartered by a private ...

Senegal: Three Midwives Convicted Over Death Of Pregnant Woman

12May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Judiciary, Justice, News, Senegal

Senegal: Three Midwives Convicted Over Death Of Pregnant Woman

People demonstrate during a sit-in to demand justice for Astou Sokhna and call for a more humane and patient-friendly health care system at the Place de la Nation in Dakar Three Senegalese midwives involved in the death of a woman in labour have been found guilty of not assisting someone in danger. They received six-month suspended sentences, after Astou Sokhna, died while reportedly begging for a Caesarean. Her unborn child also died. Three other midwives who were also on trial were not found guilty The case caused a national outcry with President Macky Sall ordering an investigation. Mrs Sokhna was in her 30s when she passed away at a hospital in the northern town of Louga. During her reported 20-hour labour ordeal, her pleas to doctors to carry out a Caesarean were i...

Rihanna To Launch Fenty Beauty Products In Africa

11May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Fashion, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, News, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe

Rihanna To Launch Fenty Beauty Products In Africa

Rihanna has announced that her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin products will become available in eight African countries from the end of this month. In a social media post, the pop star said she had "been waiting for this moment" and that this was "just the beginning". The beauty products will be available in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Read Also: Dancer Korra Obidi Clear Air On Husband’s Divorce Announcement Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 in a partnership with luxury goods company LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton). She is worth $1.7bn (£1.2bn), with an estimated $1.4bn coming from the value of Fenty Beauty. The company reportedly made $100m (£72m) in its first 40 days. I...

Burkina Orders Compaore To Pay Damages Over Sankara Killings

11May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Burkina Faso, Judiciary, Justice, News

Burkina Orders Compaore To Pay Damages Over Sankara Killings

Former President Blaise Compaore A court in Burkina Faso on Tuesday ordered ex-president Blaise Compaore and nine others to pay more than a million dollars in damages to relatives of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara and aides who were assassinated in 1987. The order comes after a trial last month that sentenced the group to long jail terms, ending a case that afflicted the Sahel state for 34 years. A former comrade-in-arms of Sankara, Compaore took power during a putsch on the day of the assassination, ruling until 2014, when he was toppled by mass protests and fled abroad. Judge Urbain Meda, presiding over a military court in the capital Ouagadougou, ordered payment of 807.5 million CFA francs $1.3 million to relatives of the 12 people who were gunned down alongside ...

Elephants Killed 60 Zimbabweans this Year – Official

10May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

News, Zimbabwe

Elephants Killed 60 Zimbabweans this Year – Official

Zimbabwe's elephants have killed 60 people so far this year, according to a government spokesperson. Writing on Twitter, Nick Mangwana, said it was a sad topic. "The issue of Human/Wildlife Conflict has become quite emotive. This year alone 60 Zimbabweans have lost their lives to elephants and 50 injured. In 2021, 72 lost their lives. Zimbabwe will hold an Elephant Summit this month." In one district, Bubi, the elephants "have devoured everything in the fields and are now moving into homesteads", he wrote. Read Also: Three Lions Electrocuted in Uganda He also added that they are coming into conflict with humans, resulting in injured elephants that become "aggressive and uncontrollable". It is estimated that there are 100,000 elephants in Zimbabwe, and that number is ...