Kenya and Uganda generals meet in Nairobi to review military collaboration against backdrop of conflict in DRC, Somalia
Senior officers from the Kenyan and Ugandan defence forces met in Nairobi this week to further cement “engagement and collaboration as partners seeking sustainable security solutions”. The two-day joint defence committee (JDC) meeting followed last year’s signing of a defence co-operation agreement. The meeting was attended by officers from Kenya...
Why GMO food activists in East Africa say the debate on modified maize in Kenya won’t be won or lost in courts
Kenya is in the middle of its worst drought in 40 years. In the parched north of the country, rivers have run dry and millions of livestock have perished due to lack of food. Around 5.4 million Kenyans don’t have enough to eat, and the situation will worsen if this...
Hungry and war weary, 600,000-plus IDPs in eastern DR Congo cry out for peace, want to return home
More than 600,000 people have been displaced since the M23 rebel group re-emerged in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 2021. But what is life like for those uprooted? What journeys have people taken to safety? And how are they providing for themselves and their families as the...
Kenyan, Ethiopian troops praised by AU envoy for suppressing al Shaabab militia inside Somalia
ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) troops have been praised for a job well done, particularly in and around Somalia southern port city of Kismayu, from the AU chair’s special representative. Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef commended ATMIS troops and affirmed the mission’s commitment to a safe and stable Somalia...
International Court of Justice rules in favour of Somalia over contested maritime land with Kenya
The United Nations’ top court has awarded Somalia control of most of a potentially oil- and gas-rich chunk of the Indian Ocean after a bitter legal battle with neighbouring Kenya over their sea border. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Tuesday (October 12) that there was “no agreed...
Burundi: On his way to execution, a well-known Hutu priest and philosopher sang hymns saying, ‘We are going to our father’s house’
In 1972, they blocked journalists who tried to investigate the killings, they prevented people from mourning the dead Burundian reporter’s notebook: On his way to execution, a well-known Hutu priest and philosopher, kept chanting hymns saying ‘We are going to our father’s house’ I learned about what happened from my...
Burundian reporter’s notebook: I feel sorrow for the death of my father, but joy at finally seeing his remains
Editor’s note: The bouts of violence that have shaken Burundi since the 1960s received little attention compared to events in neighbouring Rwanda. So, when a truth and reconciliation commission began digging up mass graves to investigate atrocities, journalist Désiré Nimubona picked up his notebook. For more than a year, he...
Kenya Air Force modernises its fleet with acquisition of 10 new fighter jets as internal and external threats loom
The Kenya Air Force is operating Grob G120TP turboprop trainers, following its earlier acquisition of G120A-K piston-engined trainers. The aircraft, the first of kind in Africa, are stationed in Laikipia Airbase, roughly 180 bird fly kilometres from the capital Nairobi, for training purposes. Since the deployment of the Kenya defence...
Livestock herders’ conflict stirs up fears of early signs of violence as Kenya gears up for elections next year
Eight people, among them three policemen, were killed and hundreds of villagers uprooted from their homes in Laikipia County in Kenya’s Rift Valley region following weeks of bloody inter-community clashes. The police and administrators link to brewing political tensions as the country prepares for elections next year. The political angle...
President Kenyatta’s education chaos: Legacy of vacuuming tool he calls Competency Based Curriculum
A few days back I watched the CBC (Competency Based Curriculum) debate on Citizen TV talk-show. It was just a talk-show – literally – with now substance at all. This thing (curriculum) is simply indefensible. None of the panellists, including the one who said he was part of the design...
