Politics & Governance

Kenya’s transport sector returned to normal operations on Thursday after a five-day strike that had paralysed public transit across Nairobi and pushed several regional hubs to the edge of a public transport shutdown. The deal, reached after two nights of continuous negotiations, saw the government agree to a series of subsidies and price caps that […]

Senegal is once again at the centre of a political storm after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye moved to dismiss Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolve the cabinet entirely, marking the most dramatic escalation yet in a months-long power struggle that has tested the West African nation’s young democracy. The decree, announced on national television on

Rabat, Morocco — Morocco is mounting an ambitious campaign to attract international tourists to the Western Sahara, presenting the disputed territory as a emerging destination for beach resorts, adventure tourism and cultural heritage. But critics say the push is less about tourism than about consolidating control over a territory that has been at the heart

Abidjan, Ivory Coast — With Eid al-Adha just days away, customers at a sheep market in Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan are hoping to buy animals for the Muslim festival. But supply is significantly down on last year, and traders are driving hard bargains as families struggle with prices that have spiralled well beyond what

Cotonou, Benin — When Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine walked into Benin’s capital Cotonou on Sunday for the inauguration of President Romuald Wadagni, the image carried more weight than protocol usually allows. It was the first time a senior Nigerien official had visited Benin since relations between the two neighbours collapsed following the

In a diplomatic gesture that analysts say reflects the growing sophistication of Moroccan soft power across Africa, King Mohammed VI has granted a royal pardon to a group of Senegalese football fans who had been serving prison sentences in Morocco following disturbances at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations final. The pardon, announced through the

For millions of families across East Africa, the bundle of second-hand clothing known colloquially as mitumba is not a luxury — it is a livelihood. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania collectively import hundreds of millions of used garments every year from Europe, North America and China, feeding a trade worth billions of dollars and employing hundreds

Seplat Energy’s chief executive has delivered a clear message to investors and competitors: the company is not in a rush to expand beyond Nigeria. Speaking at the company’s annual results presentation in Lagos, chairman and CEO Miguel Alemán said Seplat has “a lot to chew on” domestically before considering any move into other African markets,

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye moved on Friday to dissolve his own government, firing Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and rescinding the appointments of all cabinet ministers in a dramatic escalation of a power struggle that has paralysed the executive branch for months. The decision, announced by the presidency in the early morning hours, ended a

When President Bassirou Diomaye Faye appointed Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister just months ago, many saw it as the culmination of a political romance between two firebrands who had shaken Senegal’s establishment to its foundations. On Friday, Faye pulled the plug on that alliance with stunning speed, dismissing Sonko and dissolving the entire government in

The planned India-Africa summit, which would have brought together leaders from across the continent in New Delhi next week, has been postponed indefinitely, with organisers citing the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the reason for the cancellation. The announcement, made jointly by the Indian foreign ministry and the African Union

When investigators began unpacking how suspected conspirators allegedly planned to storm the Presidential Villa in Abuja, what emerged was less a conventional military putsch and more a study in amateur hour meets fatal miscalculation. According to security sources familiar with the investigation, the suspects — still being interrogated — appeared to lack any meaningful operational