26 Sep 2023 Kinshasa (DRC) AFP. A five-person team of experts from France, Mali, Spain and Switzerland arrive in Kinshasa as part of the United States-based Carter Centre’s Election Observer Mission and will be joined by 20 long-term observers in October;

26 Sep 2023 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The East African. Police arrest opposition leader Chane Kebede of the Ethiopian Citizens for Justice, with party officials stating they still do not know why he was arrested;

26 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) The East African. Kenya and the United States (US) sign a cooperation agreement that will see the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) trained and provided with financial and technical assistance by the US;

26 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) Anadolu Agency. State-owned Nuclear Power and Energy Agency CEO Justus Wabuyabo confirms that construction on a nuclear power plant is set to begin in 2027;

26 Sep 2023 Kampala (Uganda) Bloomberg. Treasury officials say they expect the World Bank to rescind its decision to halt funding over its Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023) by February, as negotiations between the two continue but are reportedly progressing well;

26 Sep 2023 Kampala (Uganda) The East African. Attorney general’s office confirms that it is investigating allegations that a former senior International Criminal Court official Brigid Inder was involved in the financing of the extremist Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Inder has denied the allegations;

25 Sep 2023 Bujumbura (Burundi) New times. President Evariste Ndayishimiye denies rumours of a coup circulating on social media, stating that they were spread by individuals intent on damaging Burundi’s international reputation;

25 Sep 2023 Kinshasa (DRC) Reuters. Global prices of cobalt plunge after China’s CMOC Group resumes exports from its Tenke Fungurume mine in DRC after a one-year stoppage which caused stockpiling;

25 Sep 2023 Amhara (Ethiopia) Anadolu Agency. Ethiopian National Defense Force confirms that at least 50 militants were killed in clashes between the government army and Amhara militia;

25 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) Daily Nation. Nandi senator Samson Cherargei, ally of President William Ruto, proposes to amend and extend presidential term limits from five to seven years at the National Dialogue Committee at the Bomas of Kenya;

25 Sep 2023 Mombasa (Kenya) Daily Nation. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) backtracks on earlier opposition to the privatisation of key infrastructure at Mombasa and Lamu ports and will now seek to lease the ports and the Lamu Special Economic Zone (LSEZ) for $700m on a 25-year lease;

25 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The Citizen. Bank of Tanzania (central bank) embarks on a large gold buying initiative to help strengthen foreign reserves and reduce reliance on a single currency;

25 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Daily News. TotalEnergies Tanzania announces plans to open compressed natural gas stations in 2024 if pilot programme results are positive, as well as plans to venture into solar and wind power generation with the aim of selling to Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO);

25 Sep 2023 Kampala (Uganda) Monitor. Court hearings are suspended at the High Court Anti-Corruption Division as the court relocates to Lourdel Road, Nakasero, Kampala, with relocation anticipated to conclude on 29 September;

25 Sep 2023 Kampala (Uganda) Monitor. The Tax Appeals Tribunal orders gold refinery firm Bullion Refinery Ltd to pay USh 500m ($133,402) to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and cover legal costs of the URA’s case against the firm;

24 Sep 2023 Djibouti (Djibouti) Anadolu Agency. United States defence secretary Lloyd Austin meets with President Ismail Omar Guelleh and defence minister Hassan Omar Mohamed Bourhan to discuss strengthening Djibouti’s and the US’ partnership in defence, security and the fight against terrorism;

23 Sep 2023 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Borkena. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry announces on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that a second round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are underway between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt in Addis Ababa;

23 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The Citizen. President Samia Suluhu Hassan appoints former Rural Energy Agency (REA) executive Gissima Nyamo-Hanga as director general of state-owned electricity utility company Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), removing Maharage Chande, and appoints ambassador major general Paul Kisesa Simuli as chair of the TANESCO board, removing Omari Issa from the role;

23 Sep 2023 Kigali (Rwanda) AFP. France arrests and charges former Rwandan member of parliament (MP) and prefect of the Kibuye region, Pierre Kayondo, with complicity in the 1994 genocide and crimes against humanity;

22 Sep 2023 Djibouti (Djibouti) Anadolu Agency. Iran and Djibouti agree to restore diplomatic ties after seven years of tension over Djibouti’s decision to back Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric in 2016;

22 Sep 2023 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) PBS. The United States (US) justice department announces the arrest of Abraham Teklu Lemma, an Ethiopian-born and naturalised US citizen and contractor to the US government, who faces charges of espionage for allegedly printing classified information and providing it to an unnamed foreign government;

22 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The Citizen. National air carrier Air Tanzania suspends flights to China with airline executives declining to provide reasons when pressed for comment;

22 Sep 2023 Nairi (DRC) CIDRAP. Health officials battle a gastroenteritis disease outbreak in western DRC involving suspected typhoid fever, shigellosis and cholera, reporting 2,389 suspected cases since June and 52 deaths. Dolisie (Nairi) is the epicentre of the outbreak which has spread to Bouenza, Brazzaville, Kouilou, Pointe-Noire and Pool;

22 Sep 2023 Kigali (Rwanda) Agence Ecofin. United States restricts its military cooperation with Rwanda under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, placing Rwanda on a list of 18 countries that recruit and use child soldiers;

22 Sep 2023 Kigali (Rwanda) New Times. President Paul Kagame meets with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss strengthening ties in the areas of defence, agriculture, health and technology;

21 Sep 2023 Kinshasa (DRC) The East African. President Felix Tshisekedi calls for the removal of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in DRC during a session of the UN General Assembly, stating that it is time for DRC to take control and become the main actor in its own stability;

21 Sep 2023 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Al Jazeera. The United Nations (UN)-appointed International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia warns that more atrocities in Ethiopia are likely and calls for continued scrutiny of the country’s human rights record. The commission’s mandate is up for renewal at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session;

21 Sep 2023 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopian News Agency. United Kingdom (UK) development and Africa minister Andrew Mitchell says the UK is keen on scaling up diplomatic ties with Ethiopia to a strategic partnership level;

21 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) Daily Nation. United Kingdom construction firm GBM Engineering Consortium signs a project development agreement with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) for the development of the mega High Grant Falls Dam;

21 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) The East African. President William Ruto meets with United States secretary of state Anthony Blinken to discuss peace plans for Haiti, Sudan and the wider East African region;

21 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) Bloomberg. United States plans to seek United Nations Security Council approval next week for the deployment of a Kenya-led multinational force to Haiti to help stem extensive gang violence;

21 Sep 2023 Nairobi (Kenya) The East African. Central Bank of Kenya reports that Kenya’s debt stock reached $69.3 billion at the end of June off the back of increased borrowing during President William Ruto’s first year in office;

21 Sep 2023 Kigali (Rwanda) France24. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) places four 1994 genocide memorials on its World Heritage list;

21 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The Citizen. Prime minister Kassim Majaliwa urges the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) to expedite the auctioning of oil and gas blocks;

21 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Daily News. Local firm Dodsal Hydrocarbon Limited says it is just awaiting its licence from the energy ministry before proceeding with the tender announcement and commencing drilling at its Ruvu gas block (Coast Region), which has a potential of five trillion cubic feet; Dodsal has already invested $200m in preparations;

21 Sep 2023 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Daily News. Finance minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba says the government will adopt a three-year fiscal policy framework that will help enhance the predictability of policies, a decision stemming from a recommendation from the private sector;