Africa this week - August 19, 2019

Nigeria: Separatist group attacks former Deputy Senate President in Germany

Former Nigeria’s Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was attacked at a cultural event in Germany, last Saturday.

Members of the separatist group Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) were responsible for the attack.

Videos shared on social media platforms by members of the group showed the senator being pushed and pelted, with his clothes torn.

Leader of the group Nnamdi Kanu said the attack on the Nigerian senator was a warning to other political leaders of southeastern Nigeria who in his opinion are self-serving.

Zimbabwe police ban planned march against economic woes

Police in Zimbabwe has banned a protest by the country’s main opposition in Bulawayo.

The Bulawayo ban follows a similar defied ban in Harare last week. Riot police brutally dispersed protesters who had defied the Harare ban with tear gas and beat protesters with batons.

The now-banned protest was organised by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over economic conditions of the country and the jailing of Chief Ndiweni, a critic of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to new province

Two new cases of Ebola, one of them fatal, have been confirmed in a new province in Congo, South Kivu.

According to the ministry of health, the current Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC which started in August 2018 has killed 1,808 people out of 2,765 confirmed cases.

The new cases are a 24-year-old woman and her seven-month-old child. The woman died last Tuesday night while the child is currently being treated.

Sudan main opposition coalition and military council sign transitional government deal

Sudan’s army and the civilian coalition in the country have signed a final power-sharing deal in Khartoum. The power-sharing deal paves the way for a transition to a civilian-led government.

The deal establishes a joint military and civilian council to rule until elections can be held in about three years time.

The launch of this historic transition to civilian rule in Sudan comes eight months after the start of popular protests, in which more than 250 people were killed.