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Plans to interconnect Rwandan and Ugandan electricity grids could revolutionise day-to-day lives across the region – but the last political and practical hurdles still need to be overcome. Rwanda launches the 220110kV Shango substation, Kigali, December 9, 2019 Rwandans living in the north-eastern border area with Uganda have closely watched…

Born in Uasin Gishu County in 1966, Dr Ruto has risen from humble beginnings in Sugoi to become one of the richest and most powerful men in Kenya. And now, he has risen even higher after being named Kenya’s president elect. Kenya Kwanza coalition leader William Ruto. AFP With almost an…

About 5km upstream from Nyabarongo I hydropower dam, the soil brought in from different regions is is visible because the dam reservoir had reduced significantly when we visited in November 2021. Such scenes also appear in other spots upstream A mapping of the impact of soil erosion on the country…

President Alassane Ouattara (left) during meeting with predecessor Laurent Gbagbo Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced Saturday that he had pardoned his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, who faced a 20-year jail term for a 2018 conviction over political unrest. “In the interests of strengthening social cohesion, I have signed a decree…

Burundi – A group of scientists involved in finding solutions to minimize the impact of a devastating banana virus in Burundi have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool for monitoring the disease. United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) research shows that the Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD), caused by the Banana…

Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS speaking at the conference The world’s response against HIV has stalled amid shrinking resources due to Covid-19 and other crises, according to a new report presented at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada. Globally, new HIV infections fell just 3.6 percent between…

DR Congo is now member state of the East African Community Given its vast land territory, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) natural resources and agricultural potential is immense. However, the country’s economic potential is handicapped by one of the most dilapidated transport systems in the developing world. Congo’s neighbors,…

Burkina Faso’s former president Blaise Compaore, sentenced in absentia to life in jail for the 1987 assassination of revolutionary icon Thomas Sankara, apologised to the ex-leader’s family on Tuesday. “I ask the Burkinabe people for forgiveness for all the acts I may have committed during my tenure, and especially the…

Kigali — For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction. “A slight progress has been made in combatting the illicit trade of wildlife…

Rwandan troops invited to the region by the Mozambique government have pacified most of the areas they operate Mozambique’s restive northeastern province is abuzz with action. Despite recent losses, violent insurgents continue to attack villages and residents, while thousands of security forces fight to secure towns in order to welcome…

Members of the Historically marginalised community still engage in pottery but no longer allowed to roam freely in forests Community in Rwanda identified as “historically marginalised”, but previously called “Batwa” want to go back to the life they live for centuries; the forest. At a gathering in Kigali, their representatives…

Finance Minister Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana prepares to deliver budget statement to Parliament Rwanda and other African countries owe three times more debt to Western banks, asset managers and oil traders than to China, and are charged double the interest, according to new research. The study by UK-based Debt Justice shows…

Inside the business class of RwandAir which is battling other Regional carriers for supremacy The plan by the East African Community (EAC) members states to harmonize air travel within the region has received another major setback – a move likely to bring renewed fights within the bloc. Uganda has gone…

Aerial view of the Gatuna border between Rwanda and Uganda It is now approaching two years since the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) got underway, and African businesses are gaining more insight about it’s potential benefits and challenges. As the world’s largest free trade…

Six months have passed since eight people acquitted or released by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) were transferred by the UN to Niger, supposedly to live freely and permanently. But they are still without papers and without freedom, confined to a house in Niamey guarded by police and…

Woman fetches water from a well in eastern Rwanda In eastern Rwanda, where temperatures have been in the upper highs for many decades, there is very little water on the surface in the form of natural wells, streams, rivers, and lakes. While government-led interventions such as massive afforestation have improved…

A Chinese volunteer teaches Chinese to students from the Confucius Institute of the University of Rwanda. [Photo: China Plus] China has overtaken the US as the foreign power seen as having the biggest positive influence in Africa by young people, according to a survey released on Monday. A survey conducted…

The seven member states of the. East African Community (EAC) will have a single currency within two years if all goes according to plan – but various issues remain unaddressed to reach that goal.   The announcement was made by Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African…

The trial of Félicien Kabuga, octogenarian alleged mastermind of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, was initially announced for the end of 2021, but it has not begun and no one can say when it might start. The health of the former businessman, who has been at odds with his lawyer for…

Suspects arrive for a case hearing. Usually, they will have all details about their case in IECMS platform before their hearings are scheduled. As small error or lapse automatically leads to postponement, which frustrates those involved An American developer completed the setup of online system that manages court cases in…

Mironko François Xavier A court action in which industrialist Mironko François Xavier has been seeking back payment owed to him by the government of Rwanda, may have finally come to an end. Mironko is a known brand name in Rwanda, owing to his plastics factory. He is the first Rwandan…

Ngara district, Tanzania – an area with rich natural water resources including the Kagera and Ruvubhu rivers – is suffering from a lack of water for both domestic and agricultural activities.  This is despite the commitment from the World Bank and Nile Basin Initiative to support a water supply project…

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame reacts as Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba cuts the birthday cake with his parents, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni at State House, Entebbe, Uganda, Sunday April 24, 2022 Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is safely back home from a two-day private visit in Uganda. The…

Jean Bosco Nkusi Jean Bosco Nkusi, in charge of Recritement and Mobilisation in a political organisation founded by Dr Kayumba Christopher, has been handed a lengthy jail term. The Gasabo Intermediate Court in Kigali ruled in a verdict put in the court filing system that Nkusi and four co-accused are…

Rising levels of vehicle traffic, industrial activity and urban sprawl are contributing to rising levels of air pollution across the global South. This is particularly the case in cities where urbanisation is progressing fastest In Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, the population has surged from less than 500,000 in 2000…

The board of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an equity investment of €9.8 million to support venture capital investments in African startups, from seed to growth stages. The development finance institution announced this in a statement on Tuesday. AfDB said that €7 million of the equity investment…

FDLR top commander confiscated Eugene Nkusi’s phone for two weeks on suspicion he could be a double agent of the Rwandan government. It was hoped “someone” would call, which would have resulted into automatic death for Nkusi. The Chronicles traces the life of a man who spent over two decades…

Plastics threaten to destroy the planet With the bang of a gavel made of recycled plastic and a standing ovation, representatives of 175 nations agreed on Wednesday to begin writing a global treaty that would restrict the explosive growth of plastic pollution. The agreement commits nations to work on a broad and…

On a river stretching just 297km, there are already four hydropower dams. A fifth dam is under construction; building of a sixth much larger dam is slated to start soon. While the hydro plants are producing much needed electricity, they are leaving a trail of environmental degradation, which if not…

Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Keinerugaba on his visit to Rwanda Since January 16, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Keinerugaba, 47, the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been shaping perception of relations between Rwanda and Uganda. Kigali and Kampala have been at near-war since around 2017. The mariage broke down complete in…