AFRICA

Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | The Safaricom PLC Board of Directors has appointed  Peter Ndegwa as the company’s Chief Executive Officer effective April 1, 2020. He joins Safaricom from Diageo PLC where he is the Managing Director of Diageo Continental Europe. “Ndegwa brings a wealth of experience in General …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  “We would collect dead, dumped bodies. Some were decomposing… others were fresh,” said John Chege of his early days policing Nairobi’s Karura Forest, back when thieves and murderers outnumbered joggers and dog walkers in the woods. Karura then was the stuff of urban legend, a fearsome …

Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Botswana voted Wednesday in a cliffhanger election set to test the decades-long dominance of the ruling party and challenge the country’s image of stability. The southern African nation’s 2,200 polling stations started closing at 1700 GMT as many were still waiting in queues to cast their …

  Nanterre, France | AFP |  Six NGOs said Wednesday that they had filed a lawsuit against the French energy giant Total over an oil field project in Uganda, accusing it of failing to avert “disastrous impacts” for local residents and biodiversity. The groups hope the court in Nanterre, outside …

Egypt says accepts US invite to meet on Nile dam dispute Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt has accepted a US invitation for a meeting with Sudan and Ethiopia over a protracted Nile dam dispute, the foreign ministry said. The meeting, to be held in Washington, would bring together foreign …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The Central African Republic is an important plank in Russia’s strategy of boosting its presence in Africa by offering security for fragile regimes in resource-rich countries, analysts say. President Vladimir Putin last year surprised the West by a string of high-profile moves that …

Gaborone, Botswana | AFP |  Botswana goes to the polls on Wednesday in a hotly contested general election that could test the country’s traditionally stable politics, as the ruling party faces its toughest challenge yet. The historic Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) — whose rule has been unfettered since independence from Britain …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Climate change poses serious challenges to current and future peace building efforts and can amplify conflicts, according to a report on years of devastating violence and drought in Somalia released Wednesday. Researchers at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) looked at how conflicts and the …

Dan Issa, Niger | AFP | Nothing crosses into Nigeria and nothing comes out. It’s hermetically sealed,” said Amadou Idi, sitting in a makeshift shelter to keep out of the rain, and reflecting on the downturn in his luck. “We twiddle our thumbs and pray.” Idi’s job is a transiting agent …

He has won the Nobel Peace Prize but not everyone is excited NEWS ANALYSISI | THE INDEPENDENT | Since he became Prime Minister in April 2018, Abiy Ahmed has brought a breeze of happy air to Ethiopia and the Horn of East Africa region. Under him, most Ethiopians started to …