African Briefs … Rwandan gospel singer found dead in police cell

KIGALI — Rwandan gospel singer Kizito Mihigo has been found dead in a police cell, officers say. This comes three days after he was arrested near the border with Burundi. Police accused him of attempting to flee the country to join rebel groups fighting against Rwanda.

He is banned from leaving Rwanda due to a previous conviction. Mihigo was best known for the songs Inuma (pigeon) and Igisobanuri cy’urupfu (the meaning of death). A statement shared on social media by police spokesman JB Kabeera said Mihigo’s body was found during a routine check by officers at Remera police station on Monday morning. The spokesman gave no further details. Mihigo had been charged with corruption and illegal border crossing, local media report. The Rwanda Investigation Bureau accused the singer of attempting to bribe people who had seen him.

MONROVIA — Media organisations in Liberia and abroad are calling for an independent autopsy to determine the cause of the death of a popular independent journalist and radio talk-show host, Zenu Miller, who was assaulted by state security officers three weeks ago. He was allegedly beaten up by presidential security guards at the end of January, when he had gone to provide commentary for a football match president George Weah was attending. Miller was pronounced dead at a hospital in the capital, Monrovia, on Saturday after an apparent fall. A medical report obtained by his family says he “died from pressure”. But media organisations, including the New York-based Committee to protect journalists and the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas, are pressing for an independent autopsy. Miller stayed off the radio for about a week to nurse his injuries.

MBABANE — The results of a suspected coronavirus case in Eswatini late last week have come back negative, the country’s health ministry said in a statement on Monday. The suspected case, which was widely reported over the weekend, involved a woman who entered Eswatini on 6 February after travelling from China to South Africa, the SABC reported. Dr Vusi Magagula, director of health services in Eswatini, revealed on Monday that tests carried out in South Africa came back negative, saying this case helped them to assess their state of readiness for a potential case in future. This as the number of infected people sat at a staggering 71 000 worldwide, with close to 2 000 deaths. “It’s pleasing to report that the results were negative for the coronavirus,” Magagula’s statement read.

KINSHASA — The Democratic Republic of Congo must nearly halve government spending plans this year, the finance ministry said on Monday, in a blow to president Felix Tshisekedi’s much-touted anti-poverty schemes. The government’s budget for 2020 set down the equivalent of US$10,59 billion in spending but only US$5,45 billion is being allocated, the finance ministry said. Its so-called cash flow plan factors in “unfavourable trends in the current situation,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to the “collapse” in the price of cobalt in the last quarter of 2019. DRC is the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, a key ingredient in batteries. The International Monetary Fund in December granted the country emergency credit of US$368,4 million to meet urgent balance-of-payments needs, but warned that its initial budget lacked “realism.”

– Nampa-AFP-BBC News-News24

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