Pope Francis shakes hands with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir during a private audience at the Vatican March 16, 2019. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Harare, Zimbabwe Despite a recent escalation in violence across South Sudan, including a spate of attacks against clergy, Catholic leaders in the country continue to hope that Pope Francis will be able to finally undertake a long-planned voyage there.
Jesuit Fr. Augustine Ekeno, who serves at St. Teresa Parish in the Rumbek Diocese, told NCR that the visit, in the works since 2017, would bring some hope to the people in this country who have suffered for many years and who feel abandoned.
Boniface Chibwana, coordinator for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace of Malawi s bishop s conference (Provided photo)
Harare, Zimbabwe Catholic officials and human rights campaigners across Africa are reiterating their opposition to capital punishment after Botswana carried out two executions for murder convictions in February.
Botswana, located north of South Africa, confirmed the executions of 33-year-old Wedu Mosalagae and 29-year-old Kutlo Setima on Feb. 8. Both had been found guilty in separate cases of killing a woman.
Oluwatosin Popoola, a legal advisor for Amnesty International on death penalty issues, told NCR that the organization is very concerned about the executions, especially as they are the fifth and sixth since President Mokgweetsi Masisi came into office in 2019.
Zimbabwe’s desperate measures In an effort to boost its coffers, Zimbabwe’s government is trying to draw the struggling informal sector into the official tax net BL PREMIUM 11 March 2021 - 05:00 Tawanda Karombo
Nigel Garanewako’s barbershop in the uptown residential suburb of Eastlea, near the Harare city centre, caters for high rollers seeking a haircut away from the hustle and bustle of the Zimbabwe capital’s business district.
Before the resurgence of Covid-19 in January, when the country was put under a restrictive level 4 lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, Garanewako made more than $70 on a good day. Now he makes just less than $20.