Schools near Nairobi’s Dandora dumpsite plant bamboo to purify air, cope with vulture menace
Students hope the bamboo will help transform the school compound into a green haven in the litter-strewn Dandora neighbourhood. The publicly funded school relies on donations to afford the seedlings that retail at 400 Kenyan shillings ($3) each.
Power blackouts hit Tanzania as Cyclone Hidaya intensifies towards the country’s coastline
Heavy rainfall and strong winds have been reported in the coastal areas of Mtwara and Lindi, with forecasts saying that Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, may be affected.
Eight national army soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice by Congolese martial court
The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with over 200 armed groups fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals.
Kenya postpones school reopening a second time as flood-related death toll exceeds 210
The government has ordered people living near 178 dams and reservoirs that are either full or nearly full to evacuate or be forcefully moved. Water levels at two major hydroelectric dams have reached historic highs and the government has warned those living downstream along the Tana River.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seize key smartphone mineral mining town in eastern Congo
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi alleges Rwanda is destabilizing Congo by backing the M23 rebels. UN experts, along with the US State Department, have also accused Rwanda of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies the claims.
Killer floods: Kenya government under stinging criticism from Human Rights Watch for negligence
The meteorology department had warned that the country would experience increased rainfall due to El Niño until early this year but Ruto in October said the country had been spared by the weather pattern.
Tourists evacuated from Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve as torrential rains pound East Africa, kill dozens
More than 180 people have died across Kenya since mid-March when the long rains season started, causing flooding, landslides and destroying infrastructure. The Metrology Department has warned that more torrential rains are expected this week.
Kenya and Rwanda push for transnational plastics and toxic plastic chemical controls or protections
More than 50 countries supported a proposal by Rwanda and Peru for assessing what a sustainable level for plastic production might look like. Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, but today’s levels already “are unsustainable and far exceed our recycling and waste management capacities,” said Rwanda’s chief negotiator Juliet Kabera.
How toothless, rudderless opposition is helping President Museveni build dynastic rule in Uganda
The politicians in NRM and in the parties are silent. None of them is questioning how a person born outside Uganda by parents born outside Uganda can be more patriotic than those who were born in Uganda and belong to the indigenous groups in the country.
Kenya’s economy to steady further with $1 billion IMF tranche as shilling holds firm against US dollar
Robust lending to Kenya from the IMF and World Bank has helped the government to navigate a liquidity crisis. The East African nation received a $941 million lending boost from the IMF in January, which brought the size of its programme with the fund to $4.43 billion, with around $2.5 billion outstanding.
