Kenyan teachers will now be entitled to up to four months of paid parental leave following an agreement with their government employer. Female teachers will get 120 days of maternity leave while their male colleagues will be entitled to three weeks of paternity leave. This is an increase from the …
Read More »Burundi gets US aid as sanctions are dropped
In the same week the European Union (EU) lifted its sanctions on Burundi, the US says it it doing the same, thanks to “significantly decreased violence” and reforms by President Évariste Ndayishimiye. However, Burundian opposition figures say repression and human rights issues have not improved. A statement from the US …
Read More »Tanzania: MPs decry rise of emergency contraceptives
Tanzanian MPs say the use of emergency contraceptives, known as P2, is on the rise among to prevent pregnancies among girls and women aged between 14 and 24. A recent report by members of a parliamentary health committee into the rise in HIV infections found that girls and young women …
Read More »Tanzania: ban on newspapers “critical of Magufuli” lifted
Tanzania has lifted a ban on four newspapers suspended when the late President John Magufuli was in power, the BBC reports. The four – Mwanahalisi, Mawio, Mseto and Tanzania Daima – had their licences suspended for various reasons, including publishing false stories. They were regarded as being critical of Mr …
Read More »East African Community welcomes the lifting of sanctions against Burundi
The East African Community (EAC) has welcomed the lifting of financial sanctions imposed by the European Union on Burundi since the era of the late Pierre Nkurunziza. The regional bloc’s Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, said sanctions lifting would spur development in Burundi and rejuvenate the integration process within the region. …
Read More »Uganda: controversy over the appointment of an alleged torturer as police chief
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Major General Abel Kandiho, blacklisted by the United States for alleged human rights abuses, as police chief. The former head of intelligence, has been accused of abuses including electrocution and sexual assault. The US said he was sometimes personally involved in interrogations of detained …
Read More »European Union lifts economic sanctions against Burundi
The European Union (EU) announced it had lifted economic sanctions against Burundi, but said the country had a lot to do “in the areas of human rights, good governance, reconciliation and the rule of law”. Citing a peaceful political environment and progress by the Burundian government in several areas, including …
Read More »Kenya: 600 hectares of national park destroyed by fire
The authorities in Kenya say 90% of the fire that engulfed the famous Aberdares National Park and forest in central Kenya has been contained. Firefighters and local residents have been battling the huge blaze since Saturday. Initial reports indicate it could be a case of arson but the government says …
Read More »Uganda: President Museveni comes to the aid of motorcycles riders
The Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has lifted an almost two-year curfew affecting motorcycle taxis popularly known in the country as boda bodas. Boda bodas have been banned from operating between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. local time since March 2020, when coronavirus cases in the country began to rise. The …
Read More »Uganda. MPs leave parliament to denounce torture and enforced disappearances
Opposition members of Ugandan parliament on Thursday walked out of a parliamentary session in protest of reported torture of citizens by security operatives, detention without trial, and missing supporters on Thursday, Dailymonitor reports. More than 100 MPs led by the opposition leader, Mr Mathias Mpuuga on Thursday said they would …
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