More than 80 people were killed between October 2025 and July this year following false accusations about what is termed “genital theft”, the BBC Global Disinformation Unit has found after gathering data from police forces across six African countries. The killings are linked to rumours that a simple tap on the shoulder can cause a man’s genitals to shrink or disappear. They are being fuelled by widespread misinformation on social media. “They were shouting that we had stolen someone’s genitals and we didn’t have any way to escape because there was a huge crowd,” Tanzanian mechanic Boniface Mgala told the BBC…
Author: Montage Africa
More than 80 people, including a baby, are feared to have died in a boat which was adrift in the Atlantic Ocean for 27 days. Spanish Maritime Rescue teams located the vessel some 65 nautical miles southwest of Gran Canaria’s coastal town of Arguineguín on Wednesday and found 44 survivors, with five dead bodies also on board. The boat is believed to have departed The Gambia in West Africa in early August with 127 occupants on board. Human rights activist Helena Maleno Garzón, founder of Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras, said 83 people had lost their lives. Rescuers were forced to…
By Rédaction Africanews A Tunisian court started hearing on Thursday the final appeal of scores of opposition figures accused of plotting against the state. A crowd gathered outside the courthouse to voice support for the defendants. Ezzedine Hazgui, a leftist activist, said, “today is the trial of Tunisia’s future. It is not the trial of my son [Jawher Ben Mbarek] or my daughter [Dalila Msaddek]. It is the trial of Tunisia. Today, I am proud of them [his two children], because they stood up against the coup d’état carried out by Kais Saied and his entourage against Tunisia. What we…
By Rédaction Africanews It’s been more than 60 years since apartheid police opened fire on a 1960 protest in South Africa. Now, Lawyers for survivors and relatives of those killed are launching legal action against the South African government, hoping to overturn a law that has prevented compensation claims. 87 year-old Abram Mofokeng, a Sharpeville massacre survivor, hopes the government follows through on their pledges .”What we are expecting is for them to honour their promises. When Mr Mandela unveiled this memorial following his release from prison. He promised us R120 000 [$7,437 USD, at today’s exchange rate ed.] for…
The driver of a car carrying Anthony Joshua was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it crashed, killing two of the boxer’s friends, a court in Nigeria has heard. Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, faces charges including causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a valid national driver’s licence. He denies the charges. The court was told that the group – who had been travelling to visit Joshua’s father in Ogun State, near Lagos in Nigeria, last December – were asleep when Kayode lost control of his Lexus SUV while he overtook a moving truck and collided with a parked lorry.…
By Africanews with AFP Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on Tuesday on a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran. Xi and his wife were greeted on the tarmac by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the first lady, as well as a performance by an Egyptian folk dance troupe. The two-day visit comes as both countries seek to manage the fallout of the months-long Middle East war, which began when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, throwing the…
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has said he wants to reinstate the death penalty for arsonists, following a wave of deadly forest fires. The official death toll stands at 12, but independent news outlets believe the figure is much higher. The president ordered the justice ministry to introduce changes to the criminal law introducing capital punishment for arsonists. Capital punishment remains in the country’s penal code for some offences, but no execution has been carried out since 1993. More than 100 wildfires have been recorded in recent days in the north-east of the country, most of which have been extinguished. On…
By Rédaction Africanews Spanish prosecutors say 23 sexual assault cases, including nine involving children, have been reported in Ceuta since thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory at the end of July. Ceuta’s chief prosecutor, Silvia Rojas, said the figure amounted to almost one reported case a day. She told El País that migrant girls were particularly vulnerable because of their irregular status and difficult circumstances. Around 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta on 30 and 31 July, although most have since returned to Morocco. About 5,000 remain, including an estimated 1,400 to 1,600 children. Spanish news agency Efe reports that…
By Africanews with AFP Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema pledged to build on the economic turnaround achieved during his first term as he was sworn in for a new mandate Tuesday after tense elections. Hichilema took the oath of office with the main opposition leader — who was the runner-up in the August 13 ballot — under arrest on treason charges that he rejects. The vote was marred by allegations of intimidation, pro-government bias and restrictions on the opposition, tarnishing the copper-rich country’s democratic reputation. Thousands of cheering supporters wearing the red colours of Hichilema’s UPND party packed the Lusaka stadium…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP A coalition of Ugandan and Kenyan activists on Tuesday blamed Kenya for the plight of Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye, whose health is deteriorating as he faces treason charges. Besigye, a former personal physician to long-ruling Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has been in the authorities’ crosshairs since he joined the east African country’s opposition more than 25 years ago. He was abducted in November 2024 during a trip to Kenya and later appeared before courts on treason charges after being accused of plotting a conspiracy against Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for more than 40…