East Africa

Somalia's protracted political crisis has entered a new, dangerous phase. In a hastily convened session on April 12, MPs overwhelmingly endorsed a bill that would delay the election by two years, effectively extending the term of office of outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo". The movement is an alarming escalation of a dispute that could very well turn into widespread violence unless Somalia's political elite returns to the negotiating table. The opposition is said to be considering forming a parallel…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Outgoing Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo convened a closed-door meeting with foreign diplomats on Saturday at the Afisyonie tent at Mogadishu airport. Sources close to Villa Somalia said Farmajo went to the venue early in the morning to hold talks with international partners five days after Parliament in the lower house extended its mandate by two years, a move the Senate rejected as unconstitutional. Axadlesources revealed that the foreign diplomats are making a final effort to convince…

In a move aimed at reducing the risk of more COVID-19 outbreaks in the country's overcrowded prisons, Zimbabwe announced an amnesty under the president that allowed the release of some 3,000 prisoners. About 400 prisoners were released from Chikurubi Prison and other prisons in the capital Harare on Saturday, and more are coming from other prisons across the country. Zimbabwe's prisons have a capacity of 17,000 prisoners but are held about 22,000 before the amnesty is declared by President Emmerson…

Marcel Hitayezu, who had lived in France for twenty years, served in a parish in the south of France and had even acquired French nationality. This Rwandan priest has been imprisoned and charged since Wednesday, April 14, overrun by accusations of his role in the 1994 Tutsi genocide. As early as 2015, Rwanda issued an…

Saving lives through consciousness, Somalia's leading telecommunication, Hormuud, plays an important role in the fight against COVID-19 When the first case of COVID19 was discovered in Somalia in March 2020, there was a serious concern about the news, especially in a country where medical facilities are limited and existing facilities are severely under-resourced and poorly equipped.…

The UN Security Council will meet on Thursday, April 15, in New York at the request of the United States to review the situation in Tigray province in northern Ethiopia. Diplomats will try to find a common position after learning that a new massacre involving the Eritrean army took place last Monday. Two issues are on the agenda of the UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in Ethiopia: access to civilian assistance, first but also the announced withdrawal of the Eritrean army from Tigray. However, this…

Dominic Ongwen comes out of his silence. The former head of the LRA is still on trial in The Hague before the ICC, which in early February found him guilty of 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005. As criminal hearings have taken room since Wednesday, this former trust man of Joseph Kony told his story and shares his problems and regrets.…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Outgoing President Farmajo met the new police chief in Mogadishu on Wednesday amid tensions in the Somali capital following an illegal extension of his tenure by the House of Commons in a move that has sparked war in the country. Farmajo had its term extended as the lower house insisted that the country would now hold direct elections within two years, a move that technically overturned the September bargaining agreement, which among other things had approved an improved clan-based election model.…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least 17 civilians have been killed in Middle Shebelle, a region that has struggled with stability following a bomb blast aimed at a minibus traveling from the capital Mogadishu, amid a running stalemate before the country’s election. Officials said the incident took place near Gololey about 50 kilometers north of Mogadishu, the country's capital, which has been battling insecurity for the past few months. The dead traveled from Mogadishu to Jowhar, the regional administrative capital of…

HARGEISA, Somalia - In the midst of ongoing political upheavals in Somalia, the self-proclaimed state of North Western of Somaliahas released Mogadishu's brewing tensions as "unprecedented" and dismissed the government of outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo as "oppressive" and "tyrannical". In a statement from the Foreign Ministry, North Western of Somaliasaid it was "seriously concerned" about undemocratic and destabilizing events in "our neighboring country" Somalia, in another step that could trigger more…