East Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The presidential candidate union has submitted the names of at least 20 individuals accused of being state agents in the election committee, whom they accuse of planning to rig upcoming elections in the Horn of Africa. Somalia's political leaders signed a negotiating pact a week ago and elections are expected to take place within the next sixty days. Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble was instructed to ensure that the exercise is free, fair and transparent. But even before the events begin, the…

Firearms fired at a car carrying a Ugandan government minister on Tuesday, injuring the former army commander and killing his daughter and driver, an army spokesman and local media reported. Four motorcyclists opened fire on a vehicle with General Katumba Wamala, Minister of Labor and Transport, in the Kampala suburb of Kiasasi, the local television station NBS reported. Pictures circulating on social media showed Wamala with his mouth open, in obvious distress next to the car and his light pants…

Somalia: Efforts high before Somaliland's election results HARGEISA, Somalia - Somaliland's main political parties are eagerly awaiting the outcome of Monday's election, which was closely monitored by a host of stakeholders, including observers, mainly from Africa, with few or no government representatives around the world. North Western of SomaliaElection Commissioner Abdirashid Mohamud Ali…

Djibouti extradits TPLF fighters to Ethiopia for trial DJIBOUTI - Djibouti has reportedly handed over a number of Tigray People's Liberation Front is fighting for Ethiopia, state media Fana reports, in what could further trigger hostilities between Addis Ababa and Mekele that have been in conflict. Since November 2020, Ethiopia's national defense force has set up tents in the Tigray region in…

Kenya is taking frustrations with diplomats over airspace closure, Somalia says MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia has not formally announced plans by Kenya to close the airspace completely due to alleged misuse of humanitarian planes and those transporting medical workers to Somalia, senior Mogadishu officials have claimed, just one day after Nairobi issued a statement. According to Mogadishu, Kenya…

How far does the Eritrean army's intervention in Ethiopia continue? Since the beginning of November, troops from Asmara have been present in large numbers in the province of Tigray, where they are fighting together with Addis Ababa against the TPLF rebels. Today, the main opposition party in the Oromia region also accuses the Eritreans of intervening in support of Ethiopian soldiers in the western part…

Our airspace is still locked for Somalia, Kenya insists NAIROBI, Kenya - It will take a little longer before Kenya finally opens the airspace for Somalia, Nairobi has said, in the latest directive which could further affect the relationship between the two countries that have been in conflict for several months now. Even after diplomatic ties between the two nations were restored less than a…

The people of Somaliland will vote on Monday in parliamentary and local elections and highlight progress in the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, which over the years has avoided the destructive violence that afflicts other parts of the country in the Horn of Africa. More than 1 million of Somaliland's 4 million people are registered voters. The region has invited international observers to the election, including politicians from elsewhere in Africa. Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 when the country…

Protesters marched on the streets of Addis Ababa on Sunday, May 30, 2021, to condemn US sanctions against Ethiopian and Eritrean officials. Washington is concerned about human rights abuses during the Tigray War. RFI was able to document a massacre perpetrated by the Eritreans, the allies of the Ethiopian troops. In Goda, soldiers led residents around a bottle factory. They performed them on the…

Somalia's opposition to lodging complaints with members of the Nomination Committee MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Union of Presidential Candidates has been given the opportunity to lodge complaints against certain members of the Election Commission ahead of Somalia's votes as one of the preliminary agreements signed last week and witnessed by dozens of stakeholders. Stakeholders agreed to have…