Category: Violence - Page 2 - African News Today

Egypt Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Priest

12Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Egypt, Judiciary, News, Religion, Violence

Egypt Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Priest

An Egyptian court Saturday sentenced a man to die for the April stabbing death of a Coptic Christian priest in an attack that shocked the Arab world’s most populous nation. Nehru Tawfiq, 60, was convicted in Alexandria criminal court of murder for killing 56-year-old priest Arsanious Wadid and illegal possession of a knife. His lawyers had argued that the killing was not deliberate. Tawfiq can appeal the verdict. Wadid was killed at a popular seaside promenade in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in April. Investigators found that Tawfiq was an Islamist with an extremist background. During last month’s court session he appeared in court in a caged-off section of the room shouting “God is great” in Arabic. He attempted to recite verses from the Quran, the Muslim holy book, ...

How Native Doctors Aided Attack On My Home – Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyer

7Jun

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Security, Violence

How Native Doctors Aided Attack On My Home – Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyer

One year after the invasion of his house by security operatives, the lawyer to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Monday, demanded the release of his three staff members who are still being kept in detention. While describing June 6, 2021, as “Black Sunday”, he said the attackers on his house in Oraifite, Anambra State were “aided by two native doctors whose bodies were dotted with charms”. According to him, “the murderers in security uniforms” scaled through his fence and laid siege to his ancestral home from about 2:30am until past 3:30 am, during which time they fired sporadically in different directions and viciously expended live ammunition on his domestic staff. He said during the invasion, his chief driver, Felix Okonkwo, and two o...

South African Police Decry Increased Crime Rate

4Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, News, Security, South Africa, Violence

South African Police Decry Increased Crime Rate

South Africa's police minister on Friday decried a "brutal" surge in murders and other violent crime, in a nation that was already among the world's most dangerous. "The first three months of this year were violent, brutal and unsafe for many South Africans," Bheki Cele told a news conference. Between January and March, 6,083 people were killed - a 22.2 percent increase from the same period last year. The killings took an especially alarming toll among children, leaving 306 dead, a 37.2 percent increase, he said. Read Also: Zimbabwean Killed as Protest Rocks South Africa Reported sexual offenses rose by 13.7 percent, with 10,818 people raped. Kidnappings showed the sharpest increase, with 3,306 cases reported -- more than double the number from a year ago. "The qu...

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

31May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, News, Violence

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

Fighting between informal gold miners in a remote part of northern Chad has left around 100 people dead and 40 injured, the government says. What began as a "mundane dispute between two individuals... degenerated", Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim told the AFP news agency. The mountainous Kouri Bougoudi district near the Libyan border attracts miners from across Chad and its neighbours. The clashes occurred last week but details are only emerging now. Some groups have put the death toll higher than the authorities, and have blamed the security forces for a number of the deaths. Read Also: Two More Miners Found Dead In Flooded Burkina Faso Mine The government sent a mission to the affected area - about 1,000km (620 miles) north-east of the capital, N'Djamena - wh...

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

29May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, News, Religion, Security, Violence

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

Pope Francis is set to make a gruelling trip to two African countries in July despite knee problems that have forced him to use a cane and wheelchair in recent weeks. The Vatican issued a full programme on Saturday for the July 2-7 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. There had been speculation the pope's visit to Africa might be postponed, as was a trip to Lebanon scheduled for June. The 85-year-old pope has been undergoing treatment for knee pain, believed to be caused by a torn ligament. The trip's pace suggests the Vatican expects the pope's condition to improve in the next month, although officials say privately that he likely will use a wheelchair at least some of the time. The visit includes thousands of miles of travel, five flights and at least a...

Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Suspends All Matches Over Fan Violence

18May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

News, Sports, Violence, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League Suspends All Matches Over Fan Violence

Zimbabwe's Premier Soccer League (PSL) has suspended all matches until further notice following pitch invasions, violence and vandalism at a game between Highlanders and Dynamos on Sunday. The biggest fixture in Zimbabwean football was abandoned as the scenes at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo included a supporter attacking a referee, perimeter fences being pushed over and the net of one of the goals being torn by Dynamos fans, which also vandalised the posts. The incidents were sparked after Highlanders went 1-0 up in second-half injury time, with Dynamos protesting about a challenge on their goalkeeper. The PSL's decision means Zimbabwe has a suspension of domestic top-flight action and international football, with the country also under a FIFA ban. Football's world go...

Slavery Still Exists In Mauritania – UN Envoy

15May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Child Abuse, Human Rights, News, Violence

Slavery Still Exists In Mauritania – UN Envoy

A UN human rights expert has called on the authorities in Mauritania to take urgent measures to implement an anti-slavery law which was passed in 2015. Following a visit to the West African country, Tomoya Obokata - the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery - said some progress had been made in abolishing the practice but warned much more needed to be done. He said people were still being born into slavery and people affected by the practice needed help to seek justice and achieve equality. Read Also: UN Watchdog Reports Continued Human Rights Abuses in Burundi Mr Obokata said people were now more willing to discuss the issue openly. But he said caste-based slavery and chattel slavery – where one person owns another – were still happening. He warned tha...

Catholic Priest, Others Convicted Over Albino Murder In Malawi

30Apr

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, Justice, Life, Malawi, News, Violence

Catholic Priest, Others Convicted Over Albino Murder In Malawi

A Malawi Catholic priest, a policeman and a hospital worker are among a dozen convicted over the 2018 gruesome murder of a man with albinism. Five out of the 12 were found guilty of killing MacDonald Masambuka, 22, at the height of a crime spree that saw more than 40 murders and 145 assaults on people with the condition in the country. The priest, Masambuka’s brother, a police officer and a hospital employee were convicted of selling human body parts. “MacDonald was betrayed by those he had trust in, namely the brother, the priest, the policeman and the clinical officer. These are positions of trust,” said the country’s public prosecutions director Steve Kayuni. From 2014 Malawi suffered a wave of assaults over several years against people with albinism, whose body parts a...

Cultists Disrupt Soludo’s Meeting, Attack Anambra Rights Activist

29Apr

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Security, Violence

Cultists Disrupt Soludo’s Meeting, Attack Anambra Rights Activist

Suspected cultists wielding guns and other dangerous weapons disrupted a meeting that was scheduled to be held between the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and tricycle operators, on Thursday. It was gathered that the incident happened at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka.The tricycle operators had gathered to thank the governor for the bold step he took in stamping out touting and all forms of illegal revenue collections as well as to notify him of the latest development in that sector since he announced the decision to stop touting in the state.It was gathered that the hoodlums also targeted a human rights activist, Osita Obi, who had been at the forefront of the fight to rid the state of touts.It took the intervention of the police officers from the B Division Awka to r...

Hoodlums Kill Three, Loot Hospitals in Darfur – MSF

26Apr

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

News, Security, Sudan, Violence

Hoodlums Kill Three, Loot Hospitals in Darfur – MSF

At least three people have been killed following a hospital raid in Kreneik area in the Sudanese region of Darfur, medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has said. The hospital´s pharmacy was also looted, it said in a statement. The victims included two medical workers. MSF teams were not present at the facility at the time of the attack, the charity added. The MSF says a second raid was staged at El Geneina Teaching Hospital, in West Darfur’s capital city, with Médecins Sans Frontières Read Also: Senegal: Health Workers Strike Over Death of Pregnant Woman shooting taking place inside the facility, including the emergency room. One hospital staff was killed, and health workers, including those from MSF, were evacuated. “We are shocked by these attacks and...