Kenya, Somalia mend 10-month diplomatic standoff, agree to reopen embassies
Kenya and Somalia have agreed to fix their relations that have been strained since December, after Somalia accused Kenya of violating its sovereignty and interfering with its internal affairs. The diplomatic ties restoration agreement was sealed on Tuesday following talks between Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein, the visiting...
Ethiopia government’s ominous ‘call to arms’ to citizens ignites fears of instability in Horn of Africa
Ethiopia government has summoned all capable citizens to war, urging them to join the country’s military to stop resurgent forces from the embattled Tigray region “once and for all.” The call to arms is an ominous sign that all of Ethiopia’s 110 million people are being drawn into a conflict...
Hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray face starvation after suspension of relief agencies – report
The suspension of two major international relief organisations in Ethiopia could further worsen the humanitarian situation in Tigray, where an aid blockade is still effectively in place, even as conflict spreads into neighbouring regions and hundreds of thousands of people face famine. The blockade, and a cash crunch caused by...
Rival South Sudanese factions clash, claim to have killed dozens of soldiers
Forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar and a splinter group have clashed in South Sudan, but the two sides gave conflicting reports, with each claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers from the opposing. The latest clashes, threatening the country’s fragile peace process, occurred in Magenis in the Upper...
Arrest of Tanzania opposition supporters persists as leader Freeman Mbowe case postponed
Tanzania’s main opposition Chadema party held a street protest Thursday with its supporters calling for the government to release their leader, Freeman Mbowe. Police arrested Mbowe in July ahead of a meeting on constitutional reforms, and they are holding him on terrorism-related charges. Critics said the arrest and charges show that President Samia...
Tanzanian president under fire as state readies terror charges against detained opposition leaders
Tanzania’s main opposition party has said that its leader and other members will be charged with “terrorism” after being arrested in a sweeping midnight raid that has drawn international concern. Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and 15 other members were rounded up during the night on Wednesday in a crackdown denounced...
Ugandan war criminal termed ‘Jesus carrying the cross for everyone and what they have done’
In May this year, the International Criminal Court sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a former senior commander of Uganda’s notorious Lord’s Resistance Army, to 25 years in prison on more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ongwen’s conviction was a landmark. It was the first ICC prosecution of...
Spell of relative peace allows South Sudan to launch first-ever oil and gas licensing round
South Sudan’s Ministry of Petroleum officially launched the country’s first-ever oil and gas licensing round in an inaugural event on Wednesday in Juba. Focused on accelerating exploration and production at new and existing blocks, and promoting the country as a competitive investment destination, the event signified an historic moment in...
Exit of UN forces exposes millions of South Sudanese refugees to police abuses
As United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) forces surrender refugee camps under their protection to the government, national police in Juba concede that camp residents don’t trust them. “Up to now, we have not taken over the in terms of handling their security issues,” said Daniel Justin...
ICC finds ex-Uganda’s LRA commander guilty of 61 crimes against humanity
Former Ugandan rebel leader facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Dominic Ongwen, was today May 6 sentenced to 25 years in prison following trial judgment in which the Trial Chamber IX found him guilty for a total of 61 crimes. Ongwen, who...