East Africa

Somalia elects nine EALA lawmakers, taking its full seat in East Africa’s regional house Somalia’s parliament has elected nine lawmakers to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), a procedural step with outsized symbolism. Less than a year after joining the East African Community (EAC), Mogadishu now has a voice in the bloc’s lawmaking chamber in Arusha, Tanzania — where rules on trade, movement, and regional cooperation are hammered out. The joint sitting of both Houses at Villa Hargeisa in Mogadishu capped months…

Raila Odinga, Kenya’s tenacious opposition leader and former prime minister, dies at 80 NAIROBI — Raila Odinga, the combative and charismatic politician who embodied Kenya’s long, bruising fight for multiparty democracy and remained the country’s most formidable opposition voice for decades, has died at the age of 80, a person in his office told Reuters on Wednesday. Immediate details were scarce. Indian daily Mathrubhumi reported that Odinga had been receiving treatment in the southern city of Kochi and suffered a cardiac…

Dozens killed as overloaded bus plunges off Limpopo highway near busy Beitbridge border At least 43 people died and dozens more were injured after an overloaded long-distance bus veered off South Africa’s N1 highway and ran into an embankment early Friday near Makhado in Limpopo, roughly 100 kilometres from the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe, officials said. The bus was travelling to Harare after departing from Port Elizabeth, picking up passengers at stops along the route. Authorities initially recorded 91 people…

Uncertainty Looms as Madagascar’s President Vanishes Amid Military Revolt In a dramatic turn of events, Madagascar finds itself teetering on the edge of a political precipice. Its President, Andry Rajoelina, reportedly fled the country following an upheaval by an elite military unit, CAPSAT. This military faction, integral to his rise in 2009, now challenges his leadership. The question on everyone's mind: what journey led to this point, and what does the future hold for the nation? The Genesis of Unrest Unrest bubbled to…

Zimbabwe’s crocodile industry inches forward, raises questions about jobs, conservation and value What sounds at first like an exotic sideline to traditional agriculture is quietly becoming a fixture of Zimbabwe’s export economy. Over the past two years crocodile skin exports have inched up from US$32 million to US$34 million, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Fisheries Davis Marapira told reporters — a modest rise that nonetheless signals a sector pushing for a larger role in foreign exchange earnings and rural…

Madagascar at a Crossroads: Youth-Led Protests and Military Tensions The vibrant streets of Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, have been humming with the sounds of discontent and aspirations for change. The nation finds itself at a critical juncture as an “attempted illegal and forcible seizure of power” unfolds, casting a stark spotlight on the delicate dance between democracy and authority. Echoes of History: The Power of Protest The genesis of this unrest dates back to September 25, when a youth-led protest movement…

Somalia and Ethiopia test a fragile thaw in Addis Ababa — and the Horn of Africa is watching On a quiet Sunday in Addis Ababa, far from the sirens that so often announce news in this region, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stepped off a plane at Bole International Airport and into a delicate diplomatic dance. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed greeted him before the two moved quickly behind the National Palace’s tall gates. The choreography was deliberate: a handshake, a short walk, a private conversation. The…

Mogadishu airlift brings 148 Somalis home from Yemen as conflict grinds on What we know Somalia has repatriated 148 of its citizens from Yemen, a country where conflict and economic collapse have made life increasingly untenable for refugees and migrants. The group — men, women and children — landed at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport on a chartered flight, part of a joint operation led by the Somali government and international partners. Officials from the Somali National Commission for Refugees and Internally…

South Africa’s extension of Zimbabwean permits buys time — but not certainty South Africa’s government has quietly pushed the clock forward on a fraught and long-running migration question: officials announced an 18-month extension of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), prolonging its validity until May 28, 2027. For tens of thousands of Zimbabweans who live and work in South Africa, the move offers temporary relief — but not a long-term answer to legal limbo, social exclusion and political friction that have animated…

Oil, identity and consent: Why Ethiopia’s Somali region is pushing back There are two ways oil can arrive in a place like Ethiopia’s Somali region: with community buy-in and a clear ledger of who benefits, or with suspicion trailing the first truck. This week, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told lawmakers his government is ready to begin using oil from new wells in the Somali Regional State for domestic markets, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) chose the latter framing—warning that a vital moment for Ethiopia’s…