East Africa

The United States said it was troubled by comments from Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who last week called on citizens to stone gay people. The comments escalated a crackdown on LGBT community in Burundi. “The United States is deeply troubled by President Ndayishimiye’s remarks targeting certain vulnerable and marginalized Burundians,” …

A prominent LGBT rights activist in Uganda, where sexual minorities say they have faced a wave of abuse since a harsh anti-gay law was enacted last year, was stabbed on Wednesday and is in critical condition, his organisation said. Steven Kabuye was “stabbed to near death by unknown assailants a …

Health authorities in Rwanda have recalled batches of antifungal tablets made in Kenya over safety concerns, local media reported. In a statement, the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (RFDA) instructed importers to return all batches of 200mg Fluconazole tablets manufactured by Univeral Corporation, a Kenyan company. It also ordered all …

English has been replaced by Swahili as the official and national language in Tanzania, according to reports. Swahili is a Bantu language spoken by over 100 million people in East Africa. From now on, Swahili will be the language of choice in Tanzania’s schools and administration. Studying in a language …

Kenyan police announced on Sunday the arrest of a woman accused of throwing her eight-month-old baby into the Indian Ocean. Witnesses told local media that the woman allegedly tossed the infant into the ocean from a ferry as it was docking in the coastal town of Mombasa. A video of …

A 70-year-old woman has given birth to twins following in vitro fertilization (ivf) treatment, a hospital in Uganda has said. Safina Namukwaya delivered a boy and a girl via caesarean at a fertility centre in the capital, Kampala. Ms Namukwaya, who is is one of the oldest women to give …

At least 120 people have died in the floods which are submerging many regions of Kenya, a government official announced on Tuesday, while a previous toll showed 76 victims. “More than 89,000 families have been displaced and are taking refuge in 112 camps,” Raymond Omollo, a senior official at the …

Four bodies were discovered on Sunday on a farm believed to belong to the Kenyan army, sparking outrage among residents, the BBC reported. The four young men are alleged to have trespassed on the farm near a Kenya Defence Forces barracks in Uasin Gishu county, in the Rift Valley region, …

Ugandan health authorities are investigating an unidentified disease outbreak that has killed at least 12 people in a span of two weeks in Kyotera district in the central region. Affected patients had rashes on the skin which kept widening, before dying in a matter of days. Some had swollen limbs. …

Kenyan police have arrested eight people they accuse of being involved in a colossal scam that they say costs $439 trillion. The figure has raised eyebrows as it’s nearly 200 times the total value of US dollars in global circulation. In a post on social media, the authorities said the …