AFRICA

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The timing was perfect. Two months before Kenya’s August 8 vote, President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated the nation’s biggest infrastructure project: a railway connecting the capital Nairobi and the port of Mombasa. With pomp and ceremony Kenyatta touted the railway as proof of his campaign promises …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | A South African policeman present when an anti-apartheid operative plunged to his death more than 40 years ago insisted on Monday that the victim had jumped to his death. But the judge hearing the inquest into the death of Ahmed Timol warned him that he …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan rights activists took to the streets Tuesday to protest the murder of a top election official, whose death stunned the nation ahead of an already tense vote on August 8. The body of Chris Msando, charged with overseeing the country’s crucial electronic voting system, …

Nairobi, KENYA | JUMUIYA |  The East African Community Election Observation Mission to Kenya’s 8th August 2017 General Elections has been launched in Nairobi, Kenya, with an appeal to all Kenyans to vote calmly and uphold peace and tranquillity for the betterment of all Kenyans and the East African region …

Beijing, China | AFP |  China has officially opened its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, state media said Tuesday, a major step for the country’s expansion of its military presence abroad. Chinese military personnel, officials and guests attended a flag-raising ceremony and military parade to mark the occasion, the …

Why citizens have good reasons to be fed up with their politicians and what needs to be done about it COMMENT |TAHIRU AZAAVIELE LIEDONG| A few months ago, a video in which a street boy blamed bad leadership for Nigeria’s socio-economic problems, went viral on social media in the country. …

To call China a colonial power is to diminish the true horrors that were faced by the colonised COMMENT|HANNAH RYDER|A few months ago, a New York Times magazine cover was emblazoned with the question “Is China the World’s New Colonial Power?” The notion that China is a twenty-first-century coloniser is …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Elections in Kenya are a fraught business, with polls beset with claims of rigging and intimidation, some subtle, some not, and this year’s vote on August 8 is no different. A decade after a disputed election led to the country’s worst electoral violence with over …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s election campaign enters a tense final week Tuesday, with a tight race between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival Raila Odinga leading to intensified personal attacks and rigging accusations. The longtime political foes face off at the polls for a second consecutive time on …

AMISOM recognizes Ugandan police officers for their contribution to stability in Somalia Mogadishu, Somalia | AMISOM MEDIA |  –The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has feted a contingent of Formed Police Unit (FPU) from Uganda who have completed one year of service in Somalia. The officers were decorated with African Union …