East Africa

The fire in the main prison in Gitega, the Burundian capital, left at least 38 dead and dozens injured, the country’s vice-president said. Twelve died of asphyxia as they tried to flee the burning buildings and 26 died of severe injuries, Vice President Prosper Bazombanza told Reuters. The causes of …

A Kenyan police officer has shot dead his wife and five other people and then killed himself in Kabete town outside the capital Nairobi. Police constable Benson Imbasi is said to have asked his wife to close her shop and the couple went home where neighbours heard shots being fired …

The Ethiopian government says the federal troops have retaken the strategic towns of Dessie and Bombolcha seized last month by Tigrayan fighters. The federal authorities say they’ve made significant advances against the Tigrayans in recent days. The leader of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) says his forces have withdrawn …

A Rwandan court has sentenced to five years in prison, the former director of Kigali’s main prison, Innocent Kayumba for stealing money from a British inmate. Innocent Kayumba, who was sentenced on Friday evening alongside his former deputy Eric Ntakirutimana, has appealed against the judgement, a court document shows. The …

South Sudan’s Vice-President Riek Machar has warned against holding elections before a unified army is formed while President Salva Kiir announced that elections would take place at the end of the transitional period in 2023. In February 2020, president Kiir and the VP formed a unity government to end conflict …

A group of Rwandan activists have called for the cancellation of Congolese musician Koffi Olomidé’s concert scheduled on Saturday in the capital, Kigali. They are evoking the musician’s 2019 conviction by a court in France for statutory rape of one of his former dancers when she was 15, among other …

Two health workers have been suspended in the Tanzanian city of Tabora for having sexual intercourse and disturbing their patients in the hospital. According to reports from the Tanzanian press, a doctor and a nurse trainee used to have sex in a room next to which patients were gathered. Disturbed …

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa for an official visit as battle between federal troops and rebels escalates in the north. Mr. Wang has been welcomed by Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of #Ethiopia, H.E. …

The Ugandan army has launched joint air and artillery strikes against the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, BBC News reports. Uganda People’s Defence Forces Spokesperson Brigadier General Flavia Byekwaso has confirmed this via her official twitter account. She said that the …

Activists in Sudan have called for more protests across the country on Tuesday to denounce the political deal between PM Abdalla Hamdok and leaders of the military coup. Activists staged the protests despite meeting with the prime minister. “If the creation of fictitious bodies could protect the authority, then [ousted …