October 24th, 2018
Written by - Margot Luria '20
On September 21, in a step forward for the rights of the LGBTQ community in Africa, a Kenyan court elected to remove the ban placed on the movie Rafiki, which features a lesbian couple. The film was originally banned in April due to its alleged “homosexual theme and clear attempt to promote lesbianism in Kenya.” The ban was lifted following a successful lawsuit filed by the director and the film was available for viewing from September 23-29.
Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, announced in mid July that he has plans to stand for reelection in the upcoming October 7 election. Biya is now known as one of Africa’s longest ruling leaders, having been in power since 1982. While Biya has a large support group behind him, he is also facing rising accusations of human rights violations, particularly against English speaking regions of Cameroon.
In August, a small ebola outbreak began in the Republic of the Congo and the disease has continued to spread throughout September. Since August, there have been about 150 confirmed cases and health centers have been set up to help with treatment and combat the spread of the disease. The ongoing civil war in the Congo makes full attention to the health hazard difficult but the country is working hard to contain and eliminate the disease threat.
Obiageli Ezekwesili has recently announced her intentions to run for president in Nigeria’s election in February 2019. Ezekwesili has previously worked as a minister of Nigeria and has worked to fight corruption in Africa in the past by co-founding Transparency International, a worldwide anti corruption agency, which gained her a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.
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