African Briefs … Zambian mayor who refused to greet first lady

LUSAKA — A mayor in a Zambian city has been removed from a powerful post in the governing party, the Patriotic Front, after he refused to greet the wife of president Edgar Lungu, the state-owned Daily Mail newspaper reports.

Kitwe mayor Christopher Kang’ombe was suspended from the party last week but has now been stripped of his position as the vice chairman in the Copperbelt province, the report says. Kang’ombe, who still retains his mayoral post, was accused of gross indiscipline after failing to line up to greet Esther Lungu when she recently visited the area. He was also accused of refusing to be introduced at a public event Mrs Lungu attended, and of rejecting a seat. “During the visit of the first lady, Kang’ombe was offered a back seat, which he refused…After the church service, he refused to line up and greet the first lady,” reads part of his suspension letter.

OUAGADOUGOU — Long before she rose to fame in Burkina Faso, Line Banty became acutely aware of her albinism when as a young girl she was the only one in her family to get badly sunburned on a beach outing. Now, as the presenter of a popular daytime entertainment show, in which she dominates the screen with her colourful wax dresses and wide smile, Banty (27) is using her celebrity to inspire young albinos to fulfil their potential without fear or shame. In her words, to “rule the world”. In 2015 she organised an albino street fashion show in neighbouring Ivory Coast. On Facebook she has over 10 000 fans and her posts promoting albinism frequently receive hundreds of likes. Like many with albinism, life has not been easy for Banty. People with the congenital condition, which causes a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes, are often ostracised.

TRIPOLI — The UN envoy for Libya has resigned, citing health reasons after nearly three years in the post. Appointed in July 2017, Ghassan Salame had recently been mediating three-tiered talks between Libya’s warring sides on economic, political and military tracks. In a tweet on Monday, Salame cited “this level of stress” as a reason behind his intention to step down as the UN’s envoy for the war-wracked country. “For two years, I tried to re-unite Libyans and restrain foreign interference […] but for health reasons I can no longer continue with this level of stress,” wrote Salame. “Therefore I asked the [UN] secretary general to relieve me of my duties.” Libya, a major oil producer, was plunged into chaos following a Nato-backed uprising in 2011 that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, who led the country for more than 40 years.

ABUJA — Authorities say 43 people, including four Chinese nationals, are under closely monitored self-isolation in Nigeria’s northern Plateau state for the next 14 days as a precaution to contain the possible spread of coronavirus. Plateau state Commissioner of Information Dan Manjangsaid the four Chinese nationals are self-isolating within the premises where they live, near the city of Jos. They arrived in Nigeria from China last week as part of a mining team. The remaining 39 people, all Nigerian nationals who were in contact with the four Chinese nationals, are also self-isolating. Nigeria confirmed its first coronavirus case last Friday. The patient is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and flew into the commercial capital of Lagos from Milan. Authorities say they have reached about 100 people who may have come into contact with him.

– Nampa-Reuters-Al Jazeera News-BBC News