Africa

Wed Jul 9,2008

DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) - A protest march by thousands of trade unionists against rising fuel and food costs closed down businesses and disrupted public transport in South Africa's port city of Durban on Wednesday.

While there were no reports of unrest, shops closed their shutters and the roads were largely deserted as the crowds marched on City Hall following earlier threats by activists to torch taxis who continued operating.  read more »

The authorities increased security at a tuberculosis hospital near the city of Port Elizabeth where patients with drug-resistant forms of the disease went on a rampage on Wednesday to protest prisonlike conditions. Twenty-two patients were arrested after they pelted the staff members with stones and vandalized equipment. But the local police station and prison refused to admit them, because of fears of the highly infectious disease. Instead, they were returned to the hospital. Patients with drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are required to live in guarded and isolated quarters that are surrounded by barbed wire.

by Mouctar Bah Mon Jun 16, 2008

CONAKRY (AFP) - Guinean police officers took a dozen of their superiors hostage in the capital Conakry on Monday as part of a pay protest, officials said, just a week after a deadly pay protests by s  read more »

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press May 5, 2008

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Troops opened fire and killed at least two people as tens of thousands of people rioted over high food prices in Somalia's capital Monday.

Several people also were injured in the protest in Mogadishu in this Horn of Africa nation.  read more »

Sun May 4, 2008

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Thousands of Somalis took to the streets Sunday to protest a US bombing that killed a man said to be Al-Qaeda's chief in the country, and 11 other people, organisers and residents said.  read more »

by Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front - ZACF from anarkismo.net Friday, Apr 18 2008

 We welcome and support the decision by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union for their workers neither to unload nor transport the shipment of Chinese-made armaments destined for Zimbabwe. This is a very encouraging sign of working class solidarity and internationalism, and we hope that such actions will indeed prevent this weapons consignment from reaching its destination - the Zimbabwean Defence Force.  read more »

MBABANE, 6 March 2008 (IRIN ) - A bloody week of the worst labour strife in a decade has exposed cracks in the Swazi government's poverty-alleviation plan of creating thousands of low-paying jobs by promoting a textile industry.

In the strike action, which began on 3 March, workers participating in peaceful marches to demand better salaries have been teargassed and beaten by police, and at least a dozen have reportedly been injured. More than 16,000 workers, most of them women, have been affected by the strike action.  read more »

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Feb 18, 2008

KALMA, Sudan - U.N. peacekeepers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks whizzed into this refugee camp. A dozen women came to meet them, bringing their donkeys, water rations and homemade axes.

It was time for one of the refugees' most perilous tasks: collecting firewood.  read more »

SW Radio Africa (London) 11 February 2008
by Tererai Karimakwenda

A group of about 200 immigrants, the majority of them Zimbabweans, descended on the Central Police Station in Cape Town last Thursday to protest against police brutality and xenophobia. The demonstration was organized by People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), a rights group in South Africa that assists immigrants and refugees. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a lobby group for people who are HIV-positive, also assisted with organising the demonstration.  read more »

By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Feb 3, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya - Tanks rolled through Chad's capital on Sunday, turning the streets into a battle zone between the government and rebels littered with bodies. Fighting also raged in an area where some 420,000 refugees live near the border with Darfur.  read more »

By Sebastien Berger Telegraph 28/01/2008

An anti-apartheid activist has rejected one of South Africa’s highest honours in protest at poverty in the country.

John Minto, a New Zealander, led demonstrations against a Springbok rugby tour of his country in 1981, some of which turned violent.  read more »

By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Jan. 17, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya - Police fired tear gas and live rounds to break up opposition rallies in several Kenyan cities on Thursday, killing at least five protesters.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga said police are "on a killing spree" and put the day's death toll at seven demonstrators. But that figure could not be independently verified.  read more »

This Day Online From Reuben Buhari in Kaduna, Jan. 16, 2008

Four youths, including a pregnant woman were yesterday killed by Policemen in Kaduna when irate youths numbering thousands who claimed to have been without electricity for more than a year, took to the streets in protest.
Also injured in the demonstration, which took place in Sabon Tasha, were 18 policemen who were manhandled by the youth and had their uniforms and booths removed from them. The demonstration started the previous day when Ungwan Boro, a settlement in Sabon Tasha demonstrated by blocking the main road that runs through the area, totally blocking movement in and out.  read more »

By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Jan 12, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya - The price for burning down a home: 500 shillings, or about $8. Double that to have someone hacked to death.

The price list comes from a leading Kenyan human rights group that says some of the worst violence in the country's deadly disputed presidential election is the work of militias paid and directed by politicians.  read more »

Jan. 6, 2008 Earth Times

Cairo - Around 150 reporters, most of them working for state-owned newspapers and magazines, picketed Egypt's Dar al-Tahrir publishing house on Sunday to protest overdue benefits. They claimed that the publisher paid high-level media workers, including the managing directors of its publications, outstanding benefits but refused to do the same for its reporters.

The journalists' strike came amid a series of workers' protests in Egypt in recent months.  read more »

By John Bwakali Jan. 2, 2008 Phily IMC

Five days ago, on the 27th of December, I stood in a queue for six hours - from 5.30 AM to 11.30 AM, waiting for my turn to cast a vote in my country Kenya’s presidential, parliamentary and civic elections. When the votes were counted later that night, Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, began taking a near-unassailable lead. At one point, he led with almost one million votes. But somehow, Mwai Kibaki the incumbent president squeezed through a disputed victory. I can live with that.  read more »

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Jan. 1, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya - A mob torched a church sheltering hundreds of people fleeing election violence Tuesday, killing up to 50 people — including many children — as four days of rioting and ethnic clashes marked one of the darkest times in Kenya's history.  read more »

By Andrew Cawthorne and Tim Cocks Dec. 30, 2007

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Shanty-towns blazed, ethnic gangs fought and the opposition planned further protests as President Mwai Kibaki began a second term in office on Monday after a disputed election that has convulsed Kenya.  read more »

This Day (Lagos) 11 December 2007

Chinazor Megbolu
Lagos

Various residents of Ikoyi, Lagos State have staged a protest against moves by a construction giant, Julius Berger Plc to cut down over 2000 trees in the area, in a bid to complete a Lagos State Government road dualisation project.

The protest, which occurred during a world carnival/conference organised by environmentalist and founder of Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE) Dr. Newton Jibunoh, took place at the grounds opposite Abebe Court, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, as part of his efforts to draw national attention to the climatic change posed by desertification, drought and desert encroachment.  read more »

By Patrick Nduwimana Dec 8 2007

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundian university students said police fired on them on Saturday during a protest against the one-week closure of their school and police said one officer was killed and five students injured in rioting.

The protest started early on Saturday when almost 12,000 students at the University of Burundi refused to leave their dormitories.

The government ordered the school in the capital of the central African nation closed for a week saying students had refused a request to treat lecturers with respect. The request followed an incident in which two teachers were abused physically.  read more »

Thomas Riggins

The Millennium Development Agency set up by Congress three years ago to help poor countries around the world has been slow to develop programs and invest the money provided for it ( $4.8 Billion). It has spent only $155 million!

So now the Senate wants to cut the foreign aid budget (to make "savings"). It wants to slash by 50% the available funds. The problem is this. The MDA works out a 5 year development plan with a country and if the plan is approved, funds it. The country involved often spends millions of its own money to make the reforms and infrastructure necessary to get the US grant. Its like a little test of the sincerity of the applicant.  read more »

Matthew Weaver and agencies
Guardian Unlimited Tuesday December 4, 2007

Thousands of striking miners in Johannesburg are gathering to protest against the safety record of the mining industry in South Africa, where around 200 workers die each year.

The one-day strike, the first of its kind, was called by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which has a membership of 270,000.

The world's leading suppliers of gold, platinum and diamonds are among the mine operators to be hit by the action.

The union said it expected around 40,000 members to march on the Chamber of Mines, the industry employer's organisation.  read more »

Mon Nov 19, 2007

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Mogadishu-based broadcasters on Monday went on a 24-hour-boycott to protest against the Somali government's clampdown on press freedom, st  read more »

Reuters - Tuesday, November 13, 2007

YAOUNDE - Police in Cameroon shot dead two students during a protest triggered by days of power blackouts in the western town of Kumba, state radio and a senior local official said on Monday.

The police officers opened fire as they were pelted with stones and Molotov cocktails during the demonstration on Saturday, hitting two students in the head and killing them instantly. Another five were injured, one of them seriously.  read more »

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 Earth Times  read more »

Daily Trust (Abuja) 31 October 2007

Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja

The police in Abuja yesterday prevented members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the civil society organisations from entering the National Assembly to protest against the Speaker of the House of Pepresen-tatives, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, following her indictment by the Idoko-led panel over the N628 million scam.

The police on Monday warned workers that the federal government will not allow protest or any public gathering near the National Assembly complex, Abuja.  read more »

By Stephanie Hancock

ABECHE, Chad, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Chadians chanting "no to the slave trade, no to child trafficking" protested on Wednesday against a French group accused of trying to abduct African children as France sought to avoid a row with its former colony.

Several hundred angry locals gathered outside the governor's office in the eastern town of Abeche, where nine French nationals and seven Spaniards were arrested last week as they tried to fly 103 children out of the impoverished state.

The detained French are members of a group called Zoe's Ark which said it wanted to place orphans aged 3-10 years from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region with European families.  read more »

Sat Oct 13, 2007

BLANTYRE (AFP) - Despite a maize surplus, some half-a-million Malawians affected by drought may face food shortages before the 2008 harvest, a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) official said Saturday.

"Some 520,000 people in four districts which were affected by drought are on close watch as they may face risk of food shortages before next year's harvest," Matthews Nyirenda told AFP.  read more »

CAIRO, September 29, 2007 Africast

The editors of 15 opposition and private newspapers in Egypt have agreed not to publish on 7 October.

The action is in protest at what they see as government harassment of the printed press.

Seven journalists have recently been jailed for a range of offences, including insulting the ruling party, and misquoting a minister. Journalist, Ibrahim Issa, is to appear before a state security court, which does not allow the right of appeal.  read more »

Sept 25, 2007 BBC 

Thousands of workers have taken control of one of Egypt's biggest state-owned textile factories in a continuing protest over pay and work conditions.

The workers also want the head of the company to be sacked, and are demanding the release of five representatives who were detained by police on Monday.

The strike at the Misr Helwan Spinning and Weaving Company's factory in Mahalla al-Kubra began on Sunday.  read more »

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press July 30, 2007

GENEVA - Sexual atrocities in Congo's volatile province of South Kivu extend "far beyond rape" and include sexual slavery, forced incest and cannibalism, a U.N. human rights expert said Monday.  read more »

The Associated Press July 26, 2007

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans marched through Colombo in an anti-government protest calling for new elections and swift action against alleged corruption and human rights violations.

Protest organizers said nearly 100,000 people joined the opposition rally, which paraded through the capital's streets on Thursday under heavy police guard. Police declined to provide official figures.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, head of the United National Party that organized the protest, told the marchers President Mahinda Rajapakse's government was damaging the nation.  read more »

July 14, 2007 www.iol.co.za

Police arrested seven protesters at Jabulani hostel alone on Saturday for public violence in a demonstration over housing.

Arrests were also made elsewhere in Soweto and in Alexandra, but the exact numbers were not yet known.

Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said rubber bullets were fired to disperse a crowd of protesters from the Nancefield and Dobsonville hostels on Saturday morning.

"We had to use rubber bullets to get them off the roads," he said.

"Five cars were damaged when they were stoned at the Nancefield hostel," said Minnaar.  read more »

HARARE (AFP) - Thousands of students were Monday evicted from Zimbabwe's main university campus after they protested at the weekend against a decision to deny them food for not paying their fees.

An AFP correspondent witnessed students carrying suitcases and bags trekking out of the University of Zimbabwe campus following an ultimatum to "pack up and leave in 20 minutes" while riot police watched.

"We were all taken by surprise this afternoon when we saw notices this afternoon ordering us to leave the halls of residence within 20 minutes or risk being beaten up by the police," said Chadwick Rugube, a second-year commerce student.  read more »

The Fight for Inclusion

by Gumisai Mutume, Africa Renewal
via infoshop news

The San, the indigenous people of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, won a major victory in December 2006, at the end of the longest and most expensive court proceeding in that country's history. The High Court ruled that the state had wrongfully evicted them from a reserve four years earlier and that they could return home. Civil society activists around the world hailed the ruling as a historic precedent for the rights of indigenous people everywhere, especially in Africa, where many governments have been reluctant to recognize the concept of indigenous rights.  read more »

June 27, 2007

Eight people were arrested on public violence charges at the Winnie Mandela informal settlement near Germiston on Wednesday, Ekurhuleni Metro police said.

Spokesperson Inspector Mveli Nhlapo said residents from the settlement barricaded roads with burning tyres and stoned cars on Wednesday morning as they were preparing to hand a memorandum protesting against poor service delivery to the Ekurhuleni mayor.

"They stoned passing cars and forced people to join them in the march," he said.

Eight people aged between 23 and 38 years were arrested for public violence as well as malicious damage to property. They would appear in the Germiston magistrate's court on Thursday or Friday, he said. Sapa

By BASHIR ADIGUN, Associated Press June 23, 2007

ABUJA, Nigeria - Labor unions on Saturday called off a strike aimed at overturning a government fuel-price hike, ending a four-day work stoppage that shut down most major economic activity in Africa's biggest oil producer, officials said.

Labor officials said they accepted a government proposal to hold off on raising fuel prices for a year, while accepting an earlier offer to halve the price increase that had sparked the strike.  read more »

by Isaac Mangena Wed Jun 13, 2007

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - The biggest strike in South Africa since the end of apartheid intensified Wednesday as hundreds of thousands more workers downed tools, bringing large parts of the country to a standstill.

Bus and train services, refuse collections and court sittings all ground to a halt as the unions staged a massive show of strength with marches through the centre of the country's main cities.  read more »

June 11, 2007 BBC

A court in Ethiopia has found 38 senior opposition figures guilty of charges connected to mass protests after disputed elections two years ago.

The charges ranged from armed rebellion to "outrage against the constitution".

Sentencing is next month and they could face the death penalty, says the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Ethiopia.  read more »

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 June 2007

Protest by the Jaffna Transport Board workers in Kondavil bus depot against the abduction of one of the workers in the Jaffna Islet of Vealanai Thursday was terminated Saturday noon following threats by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to the administrative officials in the depot, Transport union officials said.

Public bus transport in Jaffna district came to a standstill as workers at Point Pedro and Kaarainakar bus depots joined their Kondavil colleagues in the protest.  read more »

1 June 2007 All Africa.com
Fidelia Okwuonu

Lagos--Following the Bomu protest that has gone on for three days, Shell has been ramping production, cutting down on 150,000 barrels per day of output.

Villagers from K-Dere have since Tuesday, forcefully occupied the pipeline hub at Bomu, which feeds the Bonny shipping terminal destroying the environment by opening some pressure indicator valves.  read more »

May 30, 2007

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Public sector workers in South Africa stepped up their threats Wednesday to embark on a strike despite government claims that significant progress had been made in a bitter pay dispute.

Officials from the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said the indefinite strike was on course to begin this Friday unless the government made a sharp increase in their current six percent pay offer.  read more »

KALMA, Sudan - The seven women pooled money to rent a donkey and cart, then ventured out of the refugee camp to gather firewood, hoping to sell it for cash to feed their families. Instead, they say, in a wooded area just a few hours walk away, they were gang-raped, beaten and robbed.

Naked and devastated, they fled back to Kalma.  read more »

May 17, 2007 SABC News

Some 49 people, among them children, appeared in the Reitz Magistrate's Court on charges related to protests in the town's Petsana township, Free State police said yesterday. Mmako Mophiring, a police spokesperson, said 44 suspects were released on a warning to appear in court again on May 23.  read more »

May 17, 2007

RABAT (AFP) - Moroccan police clashed Thursday with student protestors from Western Sahara demanding an end to Rabat's control over the disputed region.

According to two students at Rabat University, police carried out about 15 arrests and some students were injured after protestors defied a police order to end a week-long sit-in at the entrance to the university in support of the separatist Polisario Front.  read more »