Africa

Nigerian airports in Lagos and Abuja will reopen and resume domestic flights on July 8th. On July 11th, airports in Port Harcourt, Kano and Owerri will reopen and others will follow on July 15th. A date for international flights will be announced in 'due course' said the country's aviation minister Haid Sirika.

Protests following the murder of Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa continue for a second day. More than 80 people have been killed, 35 people have been arrested. Oromo politician Jawaar Mahaammad is one of the arrested. Reuters reports that the military was deployed in Addis Adaba.

Police say they have arrested two people in connection with Hundeessaa's murder.

Famous Oromo singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot while driving on 29 June 2020. He died at the hospital later. The singer's music helped promote freedom and rights for the Oromo ethnic group and led to the resignation of the former government. The Oromo uprising played a huge role in the coming to office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018.

Hundeessaa death was followed by massive protests in Adama, Addis Ababa and other Ethiopian cities. At least eight people were killed and dozens injured so far. Reports say that the internet and phone service were shutdown.

30% of Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye’s cabinet members are women. Portfolios that are led by women are Justice, Labor, Social Affair, Communication and Tourism.

“For the first time, in the history of Burundi, we have a Minister in the government of Burundi, from the Batwa indigenous community. I am so happy!!! congratulations Hon. Immelde Sabushimike. Thank you so much Excellence President of Burundi,” Batwa of Burundi IP tweeted.

Gabon senate voted in favor of decriminalising homosexuality. The bill is now awaiting ratification by President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

"Parliament is restoring a fundamental human right for its citizens: that of loving, freely, without being condemned. The Republic defends respect for everyone's privacy and remains One and indivisible beyond feelings. Yes to dignity, no to hate. #Gabon" – Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, the president's wife, voiced her support on Twitter.

Former opposition chief Lazarus Chakwera has won the presidential election in Malawi against incumbent Peter Mutharika. He won with 58,57% of the votes in Tuesday's election. Chakwera said his win was a "victory for democracy and justice".

"There's no cause for fear because I will be your president and my policy for inclusivity means we are building a new Malawi for all of us," Chakwera told BBC.

United Nations secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Sir Mark Lowcock has stated that he has "worked on Yemen for many years now, seeing many bad moments. This is the darkest moment I have ever seen" as the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic and starvation. People are forced to stay at home and can not afford food anymore. He states that the Yemen operation is in funding danger as donor nations are cutting the money amidst the Covid-19 recession that has hit their own economies. Sir Mark Lowcock stated that "We raised lots of money for it last year. More than $3 billion, and that enabled us to feed 13 million people a month. Now the money has fallen away".

On 26th June 1960, Madagascar become independent from France. Today it is celebrating 60 years of independence. Celebrations are led by President Andry Rajoelina with a parade at Avenue de L'indépendance.

The Senegalese President Macky Sall went into self-quarantine for two weeks as a precaution. He had contact with someone who was tested positive for the Coronavirus, but Sall himself had a negative test result. Senegal has over 6100 cases so far.

Renowned Gambian justice minister and attorney general Abubacarr Tambadou has resigned, the government said on Thursday. Tambadou investigated abuses under former Gambia dictator and lead a case against Myanmar's genocide against the Rohingya minority. He will be replaced by barrister Dawda Jallow.

The National Assembly of the central African country Gabon has adopted an amendment to criminal legislation and removed the prohibition "sexual relations between persons of the same sex".

In total "48 deputies voted in favour of decriminalisation, 24 against and 25 abstained" according to the news agency AFP. The adoption of the Senate into law is still pending.

300 men had been locked in a rice-processing factory in Kano since the end of March. The men were held against their will, were forced to work and threatened if they wanted to leave. After one of the man called a human rights organization, the men were freed by the police.

Chief of staff of the Democratic Republic of Congo Vital Kamerhe was found guilty in $50 million corruption and embezzlement case. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail with forced labour. Kamerhe was also disqualified from voting and holding a public office for ten years and faces financial penalties and confiscations of various assets. Samith Jammal, one of Kamerhe's collaborators, was also jailed.

Judge Raphael Yanyi was presiding over the trial of Vital Kamerhe, chief of staff and ally of DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi. Police had reported Yanyi died of a heart attack. An autopsy has found "he died a violent death, due to the blows of sharp points or knife-like objects, which were thrust into his head". The justice ministry has now launched a murder investigation.

François Graner and association "Survie" won a long legal battle to gain access to former French president Mitterrand's archive on the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995. His archive was declassified in 2015 but upon request for access, Graner was told the presidential archive should remain secret.

Graner now was granted access by France's highest administrative court "to shed light on a debate that is a matter of public interest".

Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO's Africa regional director, said that the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in all of Africa. The virus is spreading beyond major cities and into rural areas. Cases doubled in just 18 days to 200000. Moeti: "Even though these cases in Africa account for less than 3 percent of the global total, it's clear that the pandemic is accelerating."

Ethiopia postponed its August elections due to the coronavirus. Parliament voted 114:1, approving PM Abiy Ahmed to stay in office until a new date is found. New elections are recommended to be held in 9-12 months "after the coronavirus is deemed not to be a public health concern".

Sudanese people demand the government to lift the lockdown. The population is battling famine and poverty. Government aids have failed to appear because of "technical issues". Sudan extended the lockdown until June 18th. Sudanese car mechanic Mohamed Othman: "We demand that the lockdown is lifted immediately so that we can get on with our lives because hunger is worse than corona."

The president of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza died of a heart attack at age 55. The news was reported by the Burundi government on Twitter. Nkurunziza was taken to the hospital in Karuzi on Saturday where he died on June 8th of cardiac arrest. His death is followed by seven days of national mourning.

South African schools reopened on Monday. It was the first day of school for students of primary and secondary schools in over a month. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said that schools should not resume if they are not ready to do so, but 95% of primary and secondary schools did reopen.

26 people were killed in an attack in a village in the Mopti region, Central Mali. Allegedly "men dressed in Malian army fatigues" raided Binedama, a Fulani village. The men killed the chief of the village and burned down several buildings. It is unclear who is behind the attack as no group has claimed responsibility yet.

Over 200 demonstrators protested in Abuja demanding "Justice for all Nigerian girls and women". Protests were sparked by multiple high-profile rape and murder cases. Just this past week a 22-year old student named Vera Uwaila Omosuwa was raped in a church and later died.

Abdelmalek Droukdel also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, al-Qaeda's North Africa chief, and several of his close collaborators have been killed by French army forces in northern Mali. Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces, reported the news on Twitter late Friday night.

In a series of tweets, Parly wrote: "On June 3, the French armed forces, with the support of their partners, neutralised the emir al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), Abdelmalek Droukdal and several of his close collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali. Abdelmalek Droukdal, a member of the al-Qaeda steering committee, commanded all Qaeda groups in North Africa and the Sahel strip, including JNIM, one of the main terrorist groups active in the Sahel."

The prime minister of Uganda Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda has announced that he has gone into self-isolation after being in contact with people that tested positive for Covid-19. According to a tweet of his, he tested negative himself and self-isolation is a preventive and recommended measure.

Cameroonian CMTV journalist Samuel Wazizi was arrested in August 2019 because he was "accused of speaking critically on the air about the authorities and their handling of the crisis". Tuesday his death was announced on Cameroonian television and Wednesday RSF (Reporters Without Borders) confirmed his death. Journalists are now protesting in Buea, demanding answers.

People gathered in front of the South African parliament in Cape Town this Wednesday and joined the global Black Lives Matters movement. South Africans were expressing solidarity with George Floyd. Protestors also remembered South African Collins Khosa who died of a beating at the hands of soldiers in April.

A gunman shot and killed five people in Juba, South Sudan, on Wednesday morning. President Kiir's secretary Ateny Wek Ateny said the president is "saddened about the shooting incident". The president's office issued a statement shortly after in which they wrote that the gunman was not his son but a distance cousin of the President named Lual Akook Wol Kiir. After the shooting, protests and riots started in Juba suburb Shirikaat. 

The office said that the perpetrator "has been arrested by authorities and is under close monitor in hospital, in a critical condition."

Militia leader Trésor Mputu Kankonde was arrested on Saturday for his involvement in the killing of two UN experts. United Nations experts Zaida Catalana and Michael Sharp were killed in 2017. They were investigating mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo which were a result of the Kamwina Nsapu rebellion between the Kamwina Nsapu militia (Black Ant) and the Congolese security forces.

South African schools were scheduled to open on Monday, June 1st. The Department of Basic Education now announced the reopening will be postponed by a week. The additional week is to be used for staff and teachers to acquaint themselves with the new safety guidelines.

Africa now has a total of 140,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and each country has reported at least one case. 4223 people suffered death from the coronavirus.

China promised support to Africa and will donate 30 million test kits per month as well as ventilators and masks, so Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa.