East Africa

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has officially launched the country’s first-ever interest-free commercial Islamic bank. Salaam Bank Limited, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank, is the first institution to offer Islamic financing in the country. Mr Museveni said the institution had a potential to significantly contribute to the development of the …

The Ugandan government has ordered ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to institute weekly physical exercise sessions for their staff to tame the rising burden of lifestyle diseases, local media reported. The directive was shared in a letter to government agencies from the head of public service, Lucy Nakyobe, who said …

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has appointed his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the new head of the army, the Defence Ministry said on Friday. The ministry said in a statement he replaces Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, who was removed and appointed as a junior minister. President Museveni removed his son as …

Tanzanian Vice-President Philip Mpango has threatened to resign over a prolonged water shortage affecting residents from the northern Mwanga district, local media reported. Mr Mpango on Thursday accused contractors working on a major project aimed at supplying water in the region of taking too long time to complete it. The …

TikTok is accused by Kenyan authorities of spreading propaganda, facilitating fraud and distributing sexual content. Kenya is demanding that TikTok demonstrate its compliance with local laws on data protection and user verification “The government, through the office of the Data Protection Commissioner, has contacted TikTok and raised concerns about its …

Authorities in Rwanda have received 91 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya under a programme backed by the UN’s refugee agency, African Union and European Union. The arrivals include 38 Sudanese people, 33 Eritreans, 11 Somalis, seven Ethiopians and two people from South Sudan. The refugees and asylum seekers were …

Unidentified assailants have killed 15 individuals including the commissioner in South Sudan’s Pibor region, according to reports. The fatal attack occurred when the commissioner of Boma County in Pibor was returning from a village visit. “The commissioner and his team visited Nyat village, and upon their return, they were ambushed, …

The Kenyan second largest bank, KCB Group, has sold its subsidiary National Bank of Kenya (NBK) to Nigeria’s Access Bank Group. Kenyan Commercial Bank Group (KCB Group) confirmed the purchase in a statement on Wednesday. KCB Chief Executive Paul Russo said the deal was struck at 1.25 times book value, …

Tanzania has agreed to let Sudanese football club Al Hilal compete in their premier league, while war continues to rage in Sudan. Al Hilal will compete in the Tanzania Mainland Premier League starting in August, under special conditions. The Sudanese club will not be able to win the league and …

At least 78 people had to be hospitalized and 9 others died in the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar after eating sea turtle meat. Eight of the deceased are children. Eating sea turtle flesh can cause chelonitoxism, a rare but potentially fatal food poisoning. No antidote is known to counter intoxication. …