Roger Jean Claude Mbédé spent 16 months in prison with robbers, killers and other criminals. All he did was click the 'send' button on his mobile phone. The 33-year-old Cameroonian still can't believe what happened. On 28 April 2011, Mbédé was sentenced to 36 months in prison and fined 83,370 CFA francs (about 127 euros) for 'homosexual behaviour'. His lawyers immediately appealed the sentence and lodged an application for bail, which was rejected.

Zimbabwean government workers held protests 25 July in Harare against poor salaries after the Finance minister Tendai Biti ruled out an increment this year. The workers are demanding a salary of $564 for the least paid worker and 15 per cent of the basic salary as rural allowance for those working outside urban centres. The lowest paid civil servant earns $296.

Refugee rights organizations in Cape Town are breathing a sigh of relief following a high court judgement that will force the Department of Home Affairs to reverse a policy of not accepting new asylum-seeker applications at the region’s only Refugee Reception Office (RRO). Since the beginning of July, when the Maitland RRO in Cape Town moved to new premises, newly-arrived refugees trying to apply for asylum have been turned away and only those wanting to renew asylum seeker permits have been assisted. Maitland was the third RRO to be closed by Home Affairs in two years, leaving just three offices in Durban, Pretoria and Musina near the Zimbabwean border, where refugees can apply for asylum.

A 'Right to Know, Right to Education' fact sheet has been made available by Idasa for parliamentarians. The brochure is intended to provide the necessary information to parliamentarians to advance the right to education and the right to information.

Mauritanian journalist Obeid Ould Amegn, whose health is in bad condition, is still in the central prison of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott. Obeid Ould Amegn, a journalist and an anti-slavery human rights activist, is the vice-president of the Club of Activist Journalists. He also runs the website Initi. Mauritanian police had arrested Obeid Ould Amegn on 29 April, in the capital Nouakchott, after he gave a statement to Al Arabiya TV network regarding those arrested following a book-burning protest.

It looks as though South Africa will finally lend cash-strapped Swaziland R2.4-billion, although the details, terms and conditions of the loan remain unclear. It has raised concern among pro-democracy activists who have always questioned the wisdom of the loan. Treasury spokesperson Jabulani Sikhakhane confirmed to the Mail & Guardian that a memorandum of understanding had been signed by the countries’ foreign ministers, but said 'discussions between the financial authorities are still ongoing'.

O neocolonialismo na África é dinâmico e apresenta elementos novos, como a entrada de China, Índia e Brasil na disputa pelas riquezas, mão-de-obra e mercado do continente negro, antes território das potências europeias, da URSS e dos EUA.

A study amongst 2443 people in Zambia, recruited from HIV clinics and community organisations, found that social ostracism, rejection by sexual partners and fear of not being able to handle antiretroviral therapy (ART) were the reasons people most often gave for not testing for HIV. A session at the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington heard that, perhaps surprisingly, in terms of demographic characteristics, people living in cities were far less likely to test than people in rural areas.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has expressed great concern over an attack on workers of the Samoli Spinning and Weaving Company during protests held on 21 July 2012. Following the protest the workers went to the mosque when suddenly unknown individuals started to shoot randomly. Ahmed Hosni, one of the workers, was killed while three others were injured while protesting in front of the company headquarters.

Soldiers loyal to Mali’s coup leader have forcibly disappeared at least 20 soldiers allegedly linked to an 30 April 2012 counter-coup, and committed torture and other abuses against dozens of others, Human Rights Watch said. The security forces of Capt. Amadou Sanogo, who led the 22 March coup against President Amadou Toumani Touré, have also engaged in a campaign of intimidation against journalists, family members of detained soldiers, and others deemed a threat.

Senegalese and the African Union officials have proposed a special court within the Senegalese judicial system to try former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre, sources said Wednesday, 25 July. Senegal’s justice minister said on the national broadcaster that the special court would consist four sections to handle instruction, investigations, trials, and appeals. Madame Aminata Touré said that the chambers would be presided over by African Union legal experts and Senegalese magistrates.

The Working Group on Gender Justice in Africa has called on the African Union (AU) to encourage member states that are yet to ratify the protocol on the rights of women in Africa to do so. In a statement made available to PANA, the Working Group said the AU should ensure that states which have ratified the protocol domesticate it and ensure its implementation. So far, 32 states have ratified the protocol: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The authorities in Sudan must stop their crackdown on press coverage of the ongoing protests in Khartoum and allow the media to report independently without fear of retaliation, the media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has said. In statement it said two journalists had been detained without charge, while the whereabouts of a third are unknown, although local news accounts said the reporter may be in state custody.

From the reaction of various stakeholders, ranging from the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to the Zambia Federation of Employers and ordinary citizens (through spoof letters stating new conditions of service for the domestic servants) who, before the new policy came into effect, could afford to employ domestic help, the minimum wage effected on 4 July 2012, is arguably one of the most controversial policies of the 10 months old Patriotic Front (PF) government, begins this article from Global Voices Online.

Kenya's High Court lifted a ban on Wednesday on a separatist group demanding the secession of the country's coastal strip and famed tourist haven, the latest twist in a dispute that has unnerved investors and raised fears of violence. The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) was outlawed by the Kenyan government in 2010 along with 33 entities described as 'organised criminal groups', but a Mombasa-based court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.

The Progressive Youth Movement (PYM), based in Khayelitsha and the Democratic Left Front (DLF) condemn the South African Police Services based at the Harare police station in Khayelitsha for their biased and anti-constitutional actions against PYM activists. The PYM and the DLF call for the release of Noxolo Nqingo and Sandile Fotoyi, PYM activists who were arrested on false charges of intimidation.

Providing free school uniforms to enable children to stay in school, in addition to exposing primary school students to the national HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum, appeared to have a greater effect on reducing risky sexual behaviours among youth and in particular girls in Western Kenya than either intervention alone, Dr Vandana Sharma reported at the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington. The randomised trial comprised over 19,000 youths (50% female) enrolled in one of 328 primary schools from 2003 to 2006. The follow-up cross-sectional survey looking at herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) prevalence and behavioural outcomes took place between February 2009 and March 2011, six to seven years after the intervention.

The Arabic Network on Human Rights Information has denounced the continued presence of former members of Mubarak's regime in positions of power, such as universities. Ahmed Zaki Badr, former minister of education and now the president of Akhbar El-Youm Academy, arbitrarily fired six employees due to their participation in a demonstration calling for his dismissal. Mohamed Atwa, Nagla Ismail, Hossam Hosni, Yahia Zakaria and Mohamed Abdulaziz, were among those dismissed.

The mysterious collapse of honey-bee colonies is becoming a global phenomenon, scientists working for the United Nations have revealed. Declines in managed bee colonies, seen increasingly in Europe and the US in the past decade, are also now being observed in China and Japan and there are the first signs of African collapses from Egypt, according to the report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The authors, who include some of the world's leading honey-bee experts, issue a stark warning about the disappearance of bees, which are increasingly important as crop pollinators around the globe.

The revelation of gargantuan levels of corruption in the government’s fuel subsidy programme is sparking a groundswell of activity among the opposition and civil society groups. Opposition politicians, civic activists and trade unionists are joining forces this month to demand action against grand corruption at the heart of government. They promise it will be their biggest show of strength on Nigeria’s streets since protests in January that forced the government to back down on its plans to abolish the fuel subsidy scheme.