As we wrap up the week, here are the top stories from Africa. Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has agreed to abolish the death penalty, marking a significant shift in the country’s legal landscape.
Additionally, the African Cup of Nations in 2025 is scheduled to take place in July-August in Morocco, promising an exciting tournament for football fans. Meanwhile, heatwaves continue to affect parts of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, posing challenges for residents.
In South Africa, over 27.6 million individuals have registered to vote, highlighting the significance of civic engagement in the country’s democratic process.
Check out all the top stories below:
AFCON 2025 TO BE PLAYED IN JULY-AUGUST 2025 IN MOROCCO
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) will be hosted in Morocco in July–August 2025.
According to a member of the competitions committee who spoke anonymously to AFP on Monday, there is an “agreement in principle between CAF and the Moroccan Football Federation for the Afcon to be held during the summer, more precisely in July and August.”
“The dates currently proposed are July 20-August 16 or 17, 2025.”
Eight teams will play home and away matches from 20-26 March 2024 to secure four remaining spots in the competition, joining 44 other African nations in the group stages, with the draw to be announced later.
TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Preliminary Draw Results:
- M1 & 2 | Somalia vs Eswatini
- M3 & 4 | Sao Tome vs South Sudan
- M5 & 6 | Chad vs Mauritius
- M7 & 8 | Djibouti vs Liberia
*Dates, Venues & Kick-Off Times TBC
CAF will soon announce the official draw of the group stages of the qualifiers upon the conclusion of the preliminary stages.
ZIMBABWE’S CABINET AGREES TO SCRAP DEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe’s cabinet decided to eliminate the death penalty for murder offenses and has received praise for supporting the Private Member’s Bill aimed at abolishing capital punishment in the country.
With the Cabinet’s support, the bill is expected to pass through Parliament, making life imprisonment the maximum penalty for aggravated murder.
In Zimbabwe, women, individuals under 21, and those over 70 are exempt from the death penalty. Although executions have been unofficially halted since 2005, after the cases of Stephen Chidhumo and Edgar Masendeke, the law still permits adult men to receive the death penalty for aggravated murder.
Amnesty International’s Ms. Khanyo Farisè hailed the Cabinet’s support for abolishing the death penalty in Zimbabwe as a significant step forward.
“Zimbabwe has taken the right step towards ending this abhorrent and inhuman form of punishment that has no place in our world,” she said.
“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception because it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now that the Cabinet has given its nod, Parliament must ensure the death penalty is truly abolished by voting to pass legislation that will make this a reality.”
Source: The Herald
HEATWAVES CONTINUE TO HIT PARTS OF SOUTH AFRICA, BOTSWANA AND NAMIBIA
As the hot weather condition persists, another heatwave is expected to affect parts of Southern Africa until at least next Monday, including parts of central and northern South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
The South African Weather Service has cautioned about high temperatures in the North West, much of the Free State, and the eastern Northern Cape provinces until Saturday.
Botswana’s Meteorological Services have issued a heatwave alert for the entire country until Monday, with temperatures expected to soar between 36°C and 42°C.
Namibia’s Meteorological Service predicts similar scorching conditions in its interior regions until Saturday, with temperatures ranging from 34°C to 39°C, except along the coast.
Even with the hot weather, some areas might see showers and storms in the next few days.
OVER 27.6 MILLION HAVE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s 2024 elections will be held on Wednesday, 29 May 2024.
The Electoral Commission has announced that the voters’ roll currently stands at 27.6 million people (at the time of writing this article), and individuals have until Friday, 23 February 2024.
Gauteng has the highest number of registered individuals at 6,497,792, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 5,726,809 registered people. Among the registered voters, there are more females, with a total of 15,250,655, compared to males, who stand at 12,364,835.
The Electoral Commission will release the Election Timetable in the Government Gazette after talking with the National Party Liaison Committee, which will list important dates like when the voters’ roll is certified, voting station details are published, candidate nominations are submitted, and applications for special votes are accepted.
Individuals can register to vote at registertovote.elections.org.za or at their local IEC offices.
WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STABBING NEIGHBOUR TO DEATH
Lagos State police have arrested Cynthia Aigbondon, a middle-aged woman, for allegedly stabbing her neighbor to death.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s Public Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.
Hundeyin stated that the incident, reported by the deceased’s husband known as Adio, occurred around 9:48 pm on Sunday at the Ajegunle Police Division, with Bakarat having a minor quarrel with the suspect while fetching water from a public tap nearby their house.
He added, that the argument escalated, leading the suspect to stab Bakarat with a kitchen knife in her left side.
BOTSWANA SEES INCREASE IN NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESS AND COVID-19
Botswana is grappling with a rise in influenza-like illness and COVID-19 cases in its facilities, as stated by a government official in a Wednesday announcement.
Christopher Nyanga, the chief public relations officer for the Ministry of Health, reported that over the last four weeks, there have been between 5,300 and 8,627 cases of influenza-like illness per week, along with two to 41 cases of COVID-19.
Amidst this ongoing situation, the ministry has advised the public to stay vigilant and safeguard themselves by adhering to hand hygiene practices, seeking medical help if experiencing symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, fatigue, or difficulty breathing, and maintaining physical distance while wearing masks.
Nyanga assured that the situation is manageable, with the ministry staying vigilant and ready to act as necessary, while also encouraging the public to rely on trustworthy sources for information.
POTENTIAL NEW GAUTENG NUMBER PLATES
Panyaza Lesufi recently announced that starting April 1st, Gauteng residents must re-register their vehicles to get new high-tech number plates.
Per Business Tech, Lesufi told eNCA, “The province’s current licensing regime is very bad, so we will launch new 2024 Gauteng license plates from the 1st of April, so we can all start afresh.”
@DKNMOHAMMED on X shared this ‘new’ design, but there’s been no confirmation that it will be used or implemented.
BREAKING NEWS:ALLEGEDLY
YOUR THOUGHTS?
NEW NUMBER PLATE DESIGN FOR “GAUTENG PROVINCE”!!! pic.twitter.com/cOzRYtRhFl
— @BREAKING NEWS: (@DKNMOHAMMED) February 18, 2024
FIVE KILLED, 12 INJURED IN LAGOS-IBADAN EXPRESSWAY CRASH
Five people were confirmed dead on Tuesday, while twelve others sustained injuries, following an auto crash near Foursquare Church, Ajebo, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The accident happened around 1:07 pm and involved a Mazda bus with registration number SMK685YG and a Howo truck with registration number ZE-1210G.
The Guardian reports that the driver of the Mazda bus reportedly slept off due to fatigue, lost control, and rammed into the moving truck.
In a statement to journalists on Tuesday, Florence Okpe, spokesperson for the Ogun State Sector Command of Federal Road Safety Corps, mentioned that the injured were treated at Victory Hospital, Ogere Remo, while the deceased were taken to the FOS Morgue, Ipara Remo.
Per the statement:
“A total of 18 persons were involved which comprised 10 male adult and eighth female adults and 12 people were injured (10 male and two female). Unfortunately, five persons were recorded dead from the crash (four male and one female adult).
“Two vehicles were involved with registration numbers ZE-1210G Howo Truck and a Mazda bus SMK685YG.”
342 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DETAINED IN ZAMBIA
In a recent cleanup operation, immigration authorities in Zambia have detained 342 illegal immigrants, as announced by a spokesperson on Tuesday.
Namati Nshinka, speaking for the Department of Immigration, reported that between Feb. 9 and 19, they arrested illegal immigrants from different countries for various immigration offenses.
The spokesperson stated that during the same period, authorities deported 268 illegal immigrants, denied entry to 15 foreigners, and sentenced approximately 121 illegal immigrants in various parts of the country for violating immigration laws.
EASTERN DR CONGO CITY BANS VEHICLES WITH TINTED GLASS AMID SECURITY ALERTS
Responding to security concerns, local authorities in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), prohibited vehicles with tinted glass (on Tuesday) amidst ongoing conflict between Congolese soldiers and armed rebels.
Peter Chirimwami, the military governor of the province, stated that vehicles with tinted glass pose a security risk in the city of Goma.
“Following alerts and reports from special services, vehicles with tinted glasses constitute a source of insecurity in the city of Goma.”
He mentioned that vehicle owners have 72 hours to follow the regulations.
Fighting continues between the DRC military and the M23 rebellion near Goma, with recent offensives launched by the rebels against military positions, keeping the security situation volatile.
SA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 32.1%
The unemployment rate in South Africa went up slightly to 32.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the country’s statistical service on Tuesday.
During the same quarter, the number of unemployed people increased by 46,000 to reach 7.9 million, causing the official unemployment rate to rise by 0.2 percent from the third quarter of last year.
According to StatsSA, the biggest job losses occurred in the community and social services sector, with 171,000 jobs lost in the fourth quarter. Additionally, there were job losses in construction, agriculture, trade, and manufacturing.
In 2023, GDP growth is estimated to be around 0.5% year-on-year, followed by a projected growth of 1% in 2024.
WHO SETS UP 17 STANDARD CHOLERA TREATMENT CENTERS IN ETHIOPIA TO COMBAT CHOLERA OUTBREAK
On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the establishment of 17 standard cholera treatment centers in Ethiopia to help the country combat a cholera outbreak.
The UN health agency stated that the new treatment centers will greatly improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of care for cholera patients.
The WHO reported that as of 30 January, the death toll from the current cholera outbreak in Ethiopia had reached 468, with 32,548 reported cases of cholera across the country.
“This initiative, which is critical for saving lives, ensures that those affected receive rapid and effective care and treatment,” the WHO said.
The 718-bed cholera treatment centers are fully equipped medical facilities, each with dedicated spaces for screening, triage, admission, recovery, waste disposal, and other essential functions.
KENYA RESUMES AVOCADO EXPORTS AFTER 4-MONTH SUSPENSION
Kenya has resumed avocado harvesting for export starting in March after a four-month suspension, announced an industry regulator.
To ensure the maturity and quality of exported fruit, the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), under the Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD), ended the avocado season for the 2023/2024 fiscal year in November 2023.
“All exporters are required to submit a list of their horticultural produce marketing agents or suppliers before Feb. 26,” the AFA said in a notice released late Thursday.
“Exporters are also required to strictly transact with marketing agents with valid registration permits.”
The suspension was lifted after an avocado field survey conducted by the HCD in January to determine the maturity and volume of avocado fruit in key production areas.
Kenya is a major avocado producer in Africa, exporting its fruits to countries like the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, China, France, Spain, Turkey, the European Union, and the United States.
“The fruits were deemed insufficient then, and thus necessitating an extension of restriction on avocado shipment by sea,” the directorate said, adding that it has now established improvement in maturity of avocado fruits in major production zones.
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