NEWS 06 JANUARY 2021 Too Afraid to Vote in Uganda Homophobic comments by Uganda’s president and other politicians are making some LGBT+ Ugandans too scared to vote in elections scheduled for January 14, gay rights campaigners said on Tuesday. LGBT+ people face widespread persecution in the East African nation, where gay sex is punishable by life imprisonment, and gay activists fear politicians exploiting homophobic sentiment to win votes could stoke fresh attacks on the community. Real Raymond, head of LGBT+ charity Mbarara Rise Foundation in western Uganda, said politicians were also making “hate speeches” on the campaign trail, such as pledges...

By Judith Mulenga, Chairperson Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA)    Lusaka, Thursday 24 December 2020: The Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) strongly condemns the gunning down, in cold blood, of two people in Lusaka yesterday, Thursday the 23rd of December 2020 for merely exercising their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms. CiSCA further puts the blame for the two deaths squarely on the Republican President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu. The action by the police violated all national, regional and international human rights principles and standards, including policing standards. The killing of the two innocent persons has once again demonstrated the continued repression of the citizens by...

Africa’s oil and gas resources have the potential to accomplish so much good for the continent’s people LUANDA, Angola, January 6, 2021/ — By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber (https://EnergyChamber.org) For decades, many of Africa’s oil- and gas-producing states followed a predictable pattern. They treated their oil and gas primarily as raw materials that could be sold abroad for a quick profit, rather than as a means of supporting efforts to make more lasting changes in the economy of the nation as a whole. This pattern has had unfortunate consequences. It discouraged investment in local capacity, and it...