East Africa

Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has called for a meeting with federal state leaders next week to resolve the impasse on how to proceed with elections. The term of President Farmajo ended on Monday after talks on the elections collapsed on 5 February. Opposition groups have said they no longer …

The Ugandan government has announced the full restoration of internet and social media services. “We apologise for the inconveniences caused, but it was for the security of our country,” Peter Ogwang, State Minister for ICT and National Guidance, tweeted. He added: “Let’s be constructive, not destructive consumers/users of social media.” …

The ruling party in Tanzania has dismissed growing calls from its MPs for President John Magufuli to extend his term in office. The 61-year-old president, who won elections in October, is currently serving his second and final five-year term in office. Humphrey Polepole, the CCM party’s publicity secretary, has told …

Ethiopia plans to close two camps in the northern state of Tigray that have been caught in the fighting between the state’s formers ruling party and the federal government, according to the country’s refugee agency. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, head of the Ethiopian Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs …

In a British military training camp in Kenya, the number of positive Covid-19 cases has risen from 4 to 11, amid concerns from locals about its spread. The British army says all soldiers who arrived at Nanyuki base last month were still in isolation. An army spokesman says 320 military …

An American has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for abusing underage girls in a Kenyan orphanage. Christian missionary Gregory Dow set up the orphanage with his wife in 2008. “Gregory Dow was the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said the FBI’s Michael Driscoll. Last year, Dow …

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has offered amnesty to citizens who joined the Islamist insurgency in the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado. President Nyusi promised that there will be no retaliation against those who surrender and return to their families. He made the pledge on Wednesday as the country paid …

Rwanda’s capital city will remain locked down for seven more days, the government said on Tuesday. Businesses will now reopen on February 8 under strict guidelines as the government moves to ease the current measures. A ban on public transport will also be lifted. Kigali was shut down two weeks …

Ugandans in Gulu city watched the live stream of the trial of former rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. They gathered at three separate venues with the hall at St Monica Girls Technical School fully packed with mostly women following the proceedings translated to their local Acholi language. The ICC office in …

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to deliver its verdict in the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier turned rebel commander; he is accused on 70 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Mr Ongwen, a feared commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is the …