African singer is sent behind bars for riots.

 A Cameroon court has sentenced popular singer Lapiro de Mbanga to jail for allegedly participating in riots, reports the BBC. Lapiro was ordered to serve three years over riots against the West African nation’s government that took place in February that killed at least 40 people. He was also ordered to pay $640,000 (280m CFA francs) for the destruction the riots caused. While he recently penned a song speaking out against a change to the constitution that would let longtime leader President Paul Biya run for the office again in 2011, his wife says Lapiro was trying to promote peace and didn’t participate in any rioting. In actuality, he “calmed people down so that they wouldn’t set fire to the city hall,” she said in an interview with AFP. And supporters of the 51-year-old singer say he is often a target of the government for his political songs.  Back in February the high cost of living and government policy prompted riots in the town of Mbanga and several other towns in the nation. Lapiro, a member of the opposition party Social Democratic Front, stood accused of devising it.

South Africa officially elects new president.

Just a few days after Thabo Mbeki announced he was stepping down as South Africa’s president after 10 years, the parliament chose Kgalema Motlanthe as interim president, reports CNN. He was sworn in Thursday and will stay in office until elections next year. Motlanthe is currently the deputy president of the African National Congress. Mbeki resigned under pressure from the ANC, after a judge ruled he may have interfered in a corruption investigation of another ANC leader. Since his resignation, about ten of his cabinet members stepped down as well. During the nation’s apartheid era Motlanthe served 10 years incarcerated at Robben Island.

TAGS: Cameroon, Kgalema Motlanthe, Lapiro de Mbanga, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki

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