THIS WEEK
22: Mozambique’s former Finance Minister Manuel Chang stands trial in the US over his role in a $2bn bond fraud scandal that embroiled Credit Suisse Group AG and created a financial crisis in the east African nation. Federal prosecutors allege Chang was among the corrupt officials who conspired with Credit Suisse bankers to take Mozambique deeper into debt with loans starting in 2013 for dubious maritime projects, including ships to combat piracy and a tuna fishing fleet (New York).
22-23: 2024 Africa Investment Risk Compliance Summit. The summit will emphasise the theme: ‘Sustainable Resource Extraction in a Changing Climate: Compliance, Strategies, and Innovations’ (Washington DC).
22-26: The 16th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP). South Africa becomes the first African country to host this unique conference that only focuses on one element. The first ICMGP Conference was held in Sweden in 1990 with just 78 delegates. Since then, ICMGP has been an important gathering for sharing and assessing knowledge on mercury as a global environmental pollutant, as well as identifying solutions to reducing releases, emissions, and exposures to this pollutant (Cape Town).
24 Fourteen suspects linked to the kidnapping of a Sowetan gas tycoon – including two who are wanted in China – are due in court. An Interpol Red Notice for the arrest of Liang Long and Ning Li was active at the time of their arrest last Monday. They were detained in connection with the kidnapping of a Zimbabwean businessman who was abducted outside his business premises in Soweto the day before. They will appear in the Lenasia Magistrate's Court, facing separate charges of kidnapping, possession of unlicensed firearms, and ammunition and possession of stolen property.
28: UN World Hepatitis Day
OTHER:
* Mali's ‘king of kora’, Toumani Diabate, died on Friday at the age of 58 following a short illness, the musician's family announced on social media. Diabate was a master of the African stringed instrument, the kora. He died at a private clinic in Bamako, the capital of the west African nation.
* AfriForum has gone to the Constitutional Court to prevent ousted Western Cape High Court president John Hlophe from serving in the country’s watchdog body for judges. CEO Kallie Kriel said Hlophe’s presence in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) undermined the credibility and independence of the judiciary. The lobby group’s court documents have been electronically served to the Speaker of Parliament, Hlophe and his MKP which he leads in the National Assembly. The documents will be submitted to the Constitutional Court this week.
* Courts in Guinea are paralysed after lawyers embarked on a nationwide strike to protest against the military regime carrying out ‘arbitrary arrests’ and ‘secret detentions’, the Bar association has said. The strike is the latest sign of growing outrage over the arrest of two prominent activists campaigning for a return to democratic rule. France’s far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose coalition won the most seats in last week’s parliamentary elections, has also called for their release. BBC News reports that the Bar association said lawyers would boycott court sessions for the next two weeks, until 31 July.
* A Nairobi court says a man described as a ‘serial killer’ by police could be held for a month, pending further investigations. was tortured into making a confession, his lawyer has told a court in Nairobi. Collins Khalusha is accused of killing 42 women since 2022, including his own wife.
* Egypt halted load shedding power cuts on Sunday, after some natural gas shipments arrived. The country has been grappling with power shortages as high cooling demand during summer drives up consumption. Egypt generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas.
* South African artist Zanele Muholi, whose work prominently features the lives of black South Africans in the LGBTQ+ community, has returned to the Tate Modern after being cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. The revived exhibition features over 300 photographs representing their career to date, from their first images to their more recent works. The exhibition is on until January 2025 (London).
* Namibia has opened a three-month voter registration period, ahead of 27 November elections. The registration period for the presidential and National Assembly elections is due to run until 1 August. For the first time since independence, the ruling party, the Swapo will have a female presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.