Ex-Zambian Minister Killed in Security Raid on Opposition
A former Zambian minister was killed in last week’s raid by security forces on a house linked to opposition leader Brian Mundubile a day after the presidential election, the authorities have said. A police spokesman said Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally wounded by law enforcement officers during what officials have described as an exchange of fire in a security operation in the capital, Lusaka, on Friday. Eleven people were arrested in the raid, with the authorities accusing Mundubile’s party, the NRPUP, of being “involved in insurgency” and “militia activity” and storing “high-grade” weapons. Mundubile, who has since gone into hiding, rejected the allegations as “total fabrications”. According to official results, incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema won a second five-year term with a 60% share of the vote. Mundubile, who trailed behind with 38%, plans to challenge the outcome in court after alleging the tallying process had been tampered with. Speaking about Kafwaya on Tuesday, the opposition leader said he had had no information of his whereabouts after he had been shot during the raid, which he said took place at his house. The police confirmed Kafwaya’s death late on Wednesday amid growing demands for information about him. BBC
Mundubile Takes Hichilema Victory to Court as Zambia Tensions Deepen
Zambia’s opposition leader Brian Mundubile is preparing to challenge President Hakainde Hichilema’s re-election in the constitutional court, opening a fresh phase in an election already marked by violence, arrests and questions over the transparency of the count. The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared Hichilema president-elect on 18 August with about 60% of the vote, against roughly 38% for Mundubile, who contested under the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP). Mundubile has not yet publicly detailed the evidence behind his case. He said his campaign had documented “serious irregularities, inconsistencies and circumstances” surrounding the conduct, counting, transmission and declaration of results. … International observer missions raised broader concerns over the electoral environment. Voting itself was largely peaceful, but opposition parties complained of intimidation, restrictions and selective enforcement by the authorities. … Under Article 103 of Zambia’s Constitution, Mundubile has seven days from the declaration of the winner to petition the constitutional court, which must then determine a presidential election petition within 14 days. A challenge would delay Hichilema’s swearing-in; if the result were annulled, a fresh presidential election would have to follow. The Africa Report with AFP
UAE-backed Chinese Company Acquires Stake in Ethiopian Gold Mine near Sudan War Zone
Last week, after protracted negotiations and various plot twists, Canadian mining company Allied Gold sold a minority stake in its assets to China’s Zijin Gold International. … This is the latest, most significant development in a saga that involves investment from the United Arab Emirates, nearby Ethiopian army bases supporting Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and a large stretch of Ethiopian land on the Sudanese border that could now be mined extensively for gold. The agreement, which is worth just under $300m, grants Zijin, a private company with at least three Chinese state-owned corporations among its leading shareholders, partial ownership of a portfolio that includes mining sites in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and the Kurmuk concession in western Ethiopia. The Kurmuk site is in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, which hosts at least one army base used by the paramilitary RSF, which is supplied by the UAE, currently also the main buyer of Ethiopian gold. … The regional capital of Asosa is, as MEE revealed earlier this year, home to a major logistics hub used by the UAE and Ethiopia to train and arm fighters from the RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023. The site is also about 100km away from Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile river. Middle East Eye
Over 200,000 Displaced across Sudan’s Kordofan Region as Fighting Intensifies, IOM Says
More than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes across Sudan’s greater Kordofan region since late 2025, driven by intensifying clashes and targeted strikes on critical infrastructure, the International Organization for Migration reported on Wednesday. In North Kordofan’s state capital of El Obeid, heavy fighting and drone strikes on the city’s main electrical transformer caused prolonged power outages, paralyzing municipal water pumping systems, hospitals, and telecommunications networks. The escalating violence has triggered a 25 per cent surge in displacement across Sheikan locality alone over the past eight months, pushing regional displacement figures past the 200,000 mark as families flee collapsing basic services. Across Sudan, the total number of internally displaced persons has reached 8.6 million, with compounding crises in the Darfur and Blue Nile regions alongside heavy seasonal floods that destroyed over 1,300 homes in North Darfur last week. IOM Director General Amy Pope warned that families fleeing the violence are facing critical shortages of water, electricity, and medical care, while global shipping delays through the Red Sea and falling shelter funds continue to hamper relief operations. Sudan Tribune
Nigeria: Tinubu Tasks Homeland Security Adviser to Coordinate Defence Plan. Makes NSA, Defence Minister, Service Chiefs Members
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate preparation of a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, aimed at strengthening coordination among Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security institutions in response to evolving national security challenges. The President also appointed his Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka A. Famadewa, to coordinate the exercise and provide secretariat support to an 11-member high-level committee established to develop the strategic framework. … President Tinubu said the initiative would establish a coherent national framework for identifying security threats, setting operational priorities and aligning defence capabilities with emerging security realities. He explained that the National Threat Assessment would provide a common understanding of the country’s security environment by identifying major threats, assessing their urgency and defining strategic operational objectives. … He observed that security operations had often been planned independently by individual agencies without reference to a unified national threat assessment or medium-term strategy, a situation he said limited effective coordination and the efficient deployment of resources. PR Nigeria
Nigeria: Military Moves Plateau Headquarters after Killings
The military has relocated the tactical headquarters of Operation Enduring Peace from Jos, the Plateau State capital, to Mangu Local Government Area following a series of deadly attacks in the area. The relocation is aimed at improving the security forces’ response to attacks in Mangu and neighbouring communities, where renewed violence has left scores of people dead and displaced others. … [The Commander of Operation Safe Haven and General Officer Commanding, 3 Division, Nigerian Army, Williams Dangana] said establishing the tactical headquarters in Mangu would enable military commanders to maintain a direct assessment of the security situation and respond more quickly to emerging threats. “Establishing a physical presence in Mangu will enable leadership to maintain direct, real-time assessment of the security situation and ensure timely tactical responses,” he said. He said the relocation had been accompanied by additional troops, equipment and logistics approved by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu. … The decision comes days after a deadly attack on the Bin Mper community in Mangu Local Government Area. PREMIUM TIMES reported that residents said gunmen attacked the community between the night of 17 August and the early hours of 18 August, moving from house to house and attacking people in their homes. Premium Times
Deadly Attacks on Aid Workers and Contractors Surge in South Sudan as UN Urges Protection
At least 36 humanitarian workers and contractors have been killed in South Sudan since January, surpassing the 31 killed in all of 2025, as violence persists in the country that’s one of the most dangerous for aid workers, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator there said Wednesday. “These are not just statistics,” Ramanathan Balakrishnan said in a statement marking World Humanitarian Day, adding: “Every killing must be investigated, and those responsible held accountable. The continued loss of humanitarian personnel, overwhelmingly South Sudanese nationals, is unacceptable.” More than 450 incidents of violence against humanitarian workers and assets were reported between January and July, more than double the number recorded during the same period last year, according to the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. Renewed fighting between government forces and opposition fighters has forced aid organizations to relocate from some areas, further restricting access to vulnerable communities in a country of about 12 million people that has struggled with both conflict and the effects of climate change since independence from Sudan in 2011. AP
Ebola Cases in Congo Exceed 5,000, Government Data Shows
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo now exceeds 5,000, government data showed late on Tuesday, as health officials warn that response efforts are failing to contain the deadly disease. Congo’s 17th Ebola epidemic turned into the biggest in the country’s history in terms of number of cases in late July and over the weekend the death toll hit 2,378, the public health institute said, surpassing the previous worst outbreak in 2018-2020. The institute has so far logged 5,021 cases, according to its latest situation report, making it the second-worst outbreak globally, behind only the 2014 to 2016 epidemic in West Africa in both infections and deaths. The ongoing outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no approved vaccines or treatments. It has gained momentum since it was declared on May 15, as weak health infrastructure, community resistance, instability and protests by response workers hinder efforts to identify and respond to cases. Reuters
Senegal Opposition Presses President to Set Local Election Date
Senegal’s opposition is urging President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to set a date for local elections, turning the vote into a potential early showdown with former ally Ousmane Sonko. The growing dispute comes after their political split and could shape the balance of power ahead of the 2029 presidential race. Opposition parties are pressing President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to announce a date for municipal and departmental elections, which could become the first major electoral test of his increasingly strained relationship with former prime minister Ousmane Sonko. The five-year mandates of local authorities expire in January, but Faye has yet to issue the decrees required to launch the electoral process, including the date of the vote and the opening of voter registration. The FDR opposition coalition, led by the former ruling party of ex-president Macky Sall, has also rejected any postponement or extension of local officials’ mandates. … The timing of the election is becoming increasingly contentious. According to Mor Fall, a law lecturer at Dakar University, the electoral code requires the decree setting the date of an election to be published at least 80 days before voting takes place. That means an election held before the current local mandates expire in January would require the decree to be issued by early November. But officials close to Faye have suggested there may be room for a later vote. Aminata Toure, an official in Faye’s newly created Kiiraay party, has said the president has the whole of 2027 to organise the elections, raising speculation that the vote could be postponed. Africanews
Liberia Charges Former Vice President with Drug Trafficking and Other Offenses
Liberia has charged former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering and other offenses as part of an investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics network, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. Howard-Taylor, who was vice president from 2018 to 2024, was stopped while attempting to leave Liberia at Roberts International Airport and taken to Liberia National Police headquarters, the ministry said in a statement. She faces charges including unlicensed importation, sale, distribution and transportation of controlled substances, drug trafficking, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation, criminal conspiracy and money laundering. Howard-Taylor was married to former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was convicted by an international war crimes court for sponsoring atrocities in Sierra Leone. The government also charged three foreigners in absentia for their alleged roles in the network: Croatians Nikolai Ivancic and Mihovil Vrovac and Ukrainian Tara Zaderieko. … In recent years, West Africa has emerged as a key transit route for cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe, with smugglers taking advantage of porous borders and weak enforcement in parts of the region. AP
Rescuers Recover More Bodies after Central African Republic Mine Collapse Kills over 100
Hopes of finding survivors of a collapsed gold mine in Central African Republic were fading Thursday, two days after the disaster killed more than 100 people and left others buried under debris. Rescuers continued recovering bodies from the artisanal mining site in Zamboye, near the border with Cameroon, but local workers said the response lacked the equipment and expertise needed for a disaster of such scale. … The mine collapsed Tuesday after a landslide. Local officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday that more than 100 people had died and warned the toll was likely to rise. … Some of the victims were from neighboring Cameroon. Cameroon’s Mines Ministry said both Cameroonian and Central African miners were believed to be among the dead and deployed a team to assess the situation along the border. … Artisanal mine collapses are common in Central African Republic, where thousands of people work in small-scale mining, often with little protection. Pits are frequently dug by hand and can reach several meters deep. … Researchers and local media reported earlier this year on unsafe and unregulated mining associated with a rapidly expanding gold rush around Zamboye, where the mine collapsed. AP
Dangote Refinery Secures $1 Billion Underwriting Ahead of IPO
The Dangote Refinery secured $1 billion in an underwriting program from two firms, forming part of the company’s push towards an initial public offering this year. The amount consists of a $600 million participation in the refinery’s $2.5 billion private placement and a new $400 million commitment that will go into effect when the IPO launches, the firms said. Dangote’s pursuit of an IPO comes amid the expansion of its 650,000-barrel per day plant, which has become the main domestic supplier of refined fuels to the Nigerian market, as well as exporting jet fuel to Europe. The company’s fortunes have been boosted by the global oil-supply shock tied to the Iran war. Semafor