Mali’s Former Prime Minister Announces Release from Prison
Mali’s former Prime Minister Moussa Mara has been released from prison, he said at the weekend in a video posted on Facebook. Mara was sentenced to two years in October 2025, including one year in prison and a second on probation, over a social-media post criticising the military government’s restrictions on democracy. He had been detained last August and charged with undermining the credibility of the state and spreading false information. He had been summoned repeatedly over a social media post in July 2025 that expressed solidarity with government critics who had been jailed. Mara was among few public figures in Mali who criticised Assimi Goita’s military government. Reuters
Nigeria: DHQ Trains Troops for Professional Election Security Duties
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has begun preparations for the 2027 General Elections with a seminar aimed at equipping military personnel for professional, impartial and constitutionally compliant election security operations. The military said personnel deployed for election duties must remain apolitical, respect human rights and strictly adhere to the rules of engagement to ensure peaceful, free and credible elections. … According to a statement issued by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, Oluyede reiterated that the constitutional responsibility of the Armed Forces remains the defence of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, suppression of insurrection and support to civil authorities whenever required. … He added that the success of Operation SAFE CONDUCT 2027 would not only be measured by the absence of violence but also by strict adherence to constitutional principles, neutrality and respect for the rights and dignity of all Nigerians. PR Nigeria
Nigeria Deploys 86 Troops to ECOWAS Peace Mission in Guinea-Bissau
The Nigerian Army has deployed 86 troops to the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ESSMGB), reinforcing Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace and security and its longstanding role in peace support operations across West Africa. … The army said the deployment highlights Nigeria’s continued commitment to regional stability and its leadership in ECOWAS peace support efforts. … It added that it remains one of Africa’s leading contributors to regional and international peacekeeping missions, drawing on decades of service under ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations. According to the army, the latest deployment reflects Nigeria’s strategic role in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict stabilisation across the continent through the professionalism and resilience of its peacekeepers. … The ESSMGB was established to support security sector reforms and help preserve political stability in Guinea-Bissau following years of political crises and repeated military interventions. The mission succeeded the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB), which had been deployed after the 2012 coup, and forms part of the regional bloc’s efforts to prevent instability from escalating into wider regional security threats. Premium Times
Grief, Uncertainty as Kenyan Families Seek Answers on Kin Killed, Missing in Russia-Ukraine War
“We are going on a mission. We will be out of network for some time. I’ll be unreachable for about a month after the training. Once we’re back, I’ll call you.” Those were among the last words [Shadrack Wafula Matofari, 27,] sent from Russia. He had just completed weeks of military training, learning how to fire assault rifles, throw grenades and operate rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Matofari left home in July 2025 believing he had secured a lucrative overseas job and was now heading to the front lines of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The promised call never came for more than a year now. … Across Kenya, families are searching for sons, brothers and husbands who quietly left the country after being promised jobs in Russia, only to disappear into a war that was never theirs. Some have been officially declared dead, others are logged as missing, while other families do not know anything about their kin in Russia. Many families have neither received bodies nor been told where their loved ones are buried. … In a recent announcement issued in July 2026, Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu reported that a total of 289 Kenyans have been recruited into the Russian military, with at least 69 either confirmed dead or missing in action. The Standard
Kenya: Nairobi Joins Biggest Contributors to AU Budget
The move, approved during the 49th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, elevates Kenya under the Union’s financing framework, alongside Ethiopia, reflecting recent economic growth based on GDP calculations. It means Kenya, Ethiopia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Angola and South Africa are in the AU’s highest contribution category. Moving from Tier Two, the medium contribution scale, into Tier One aligns Kenya with the group of major financial contributors responsible for funding the core operations and development mandates of the African Union. This means Kenya will now contribute up to $35 million towards the regular budget and the Peace Fund, but no less than $350,000. This is because, despite the tiered contribution system, the AU has set contribution limits to ensure fairness. The East African
Sudan Army Drone Attack On Darfur Court Kills 35
The Sudanese army on Sunday struck a traditional court in western Darfur with drones, killing 35 people and wounding others, a rights group said. The Emergency Lawyers, which has documented abuses by both the army and its rival paramilitaries throughout the three-year conflict, said the strike hit the court in the village of Garra al-Zawaya in North Darfur state at around 1:00 pm local time, as civilians had “gathered to attend hearings on local cases and disputes”. The village is under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in a brutal conflict with the army since April 2023. “The court session was being held under a tree with the participation of local community leaders,” a witness from the area told AFP on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Among those killed were “four tribal leaders and two RSF commanders”, the witness added. … Garra al-Zawaya lies near the town of Kabkabiya in North Darfur, about 150 kilometres west of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur before it was captured by the RSF in a bloody offensive last October. AFP
Burkina Faso Added to Human Rights Watchlist over Crackdown on Civil Society
Burkina Faso has been added to the watchlist of human rights monitoring NGO Civicus. … The NGO cites increasingly restrictive laws, notably a law on freedom of association enacted in July 2025, for the addition of Burkina Faso to its 2026 watchlist. This legislation introduced strict compliance requirements and regulations, which “the military authorities have instrumentalised to suspend civil society organisations and associations,” said [Civicus’ Nelson Baiye Mbu]. The military authorities dissolved 118 civil society organisations on 15 April, citing non-compliance with the new freedom of association law. A further 564 were suspended between April and May. … Civicus noted that the military authorities, in power since 2022, have systematically used criticism and dissent as grounds for repression, across multiple sectors. … They are also increasingly limiting international scrutiny, recently suspending the United Nations Human Rights Office in Burkina Faso. … “What’s striking is that all three countries [Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali]… have made a deliberate choice to align themselves together rather than remain within traditional regional structures, presenting themselves as distinct from the wider West African community,” said Baiye Mbu. “But what is peculiar about Burkina Faso in this equation is the intensity and the pace of civil space contraction,” he added. “So, while Mali and Niger may be competing in this area, Burkina Faso’s 2026 civil space record represents a particularly aggressive consolidation of military authority, with very little space left for dissent or independent organising.” RFI
Social Media Rumours, Economic Hardship Fuel Migrant Surge into Ceuta
[R]oughly 60,000 migrants who entered the Spanish territory of Ceuta from Morocco [last]week, in the biggest surge in recent history. … In Morocco, where deep-seated anger towards poor public services and rampant poverty spilled over late last year into major protests, many young people spend years waiting for a chance to cross the border in search of better prospects. A quarter of Moroccans aged between 15 and 24 are not in education, employment or training, official data show. When reports spread on social media about a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier in July that migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be immediately turned back, many saw an opportunity. … Spain’s Socialist government, which has generally taken a positive stance on migration, responded firmly to the surge. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called it a “violation of Spanish sovereignty” and pledged to return migrants to their countries of origin as quickly as possible. The foreign ministry blamed misleading information online that suggested migrants arriving by sea would be allowed to stay in Spain. While the court ruling ended immediate pushbacks, it still allows returns through normal legal procedures. Reuters
INTERPOL Report Finds AI Linked to More than Half of Cybercrime in Africa
Artificial intelligence is enabling 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa, making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026. With more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, Africa’s digital transformation is expanding rapidly. However, cybercrime legislation is fragmented, and AI readiness in law enforcement agencies remains alarmingly low. The 40-page report draws on survey data from 36 African member countries and highlights a defining shift: cyber-criminality has evolved from isolated incidents into an industrialised, borderless ecosystem. Joy Online/INTERPOL
Ghana’s Government Backs Five-year Presidential Term, Lowers Minimum Age to 35
Ghana’s government has accepted a recommendation to extend the presidential term from four to five years, the West African country’s justice minister said on Thursday. President John Dramani Mahama set up a committee last year that reviewed the 1992 constitution and made recommendations, some of which were accepted by the government. Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dominic Awine said the term of Parliament will also be extended to match the new presidential term. The presidential term extension was designed to give administrations more time to govern, the government said. “The early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections,” Awine said. The government accepted in principle the committee’s proposal to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates, currently 40, but modified the recommended threshold to 35 years rather than the 30 proposed by the committee. The government also accepted that presidential elections will be held in the first week of November to ensure an adequate gap between polls and the January 7 inauguration. … The bill covering term limits will have to go through a number of steps before going to a national referendum in 2027. For the referendum to pass, at least 40% of registered voters must turn out, with at least 75% voting in favour. Reuters
Africa’s Top Cocoa Producers Pledge Fairer Prices for Farmers
Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s two largest cocoa producers, have signed a joint declaration pledging closer cooperation on pricing, local processing, environmental protection and scientific research, as the two countries seek to secure better incomes for millions of cocoa farmers. The declaration was signed at a high-level bilateral summit in Abidjan between Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara. Together, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produce about 60 percent of the world’s cocoa, making their partnership central to the global market. Addressing the summit, Ouattara underscored the importance of the partnership between the two countries. … Under the declaration, the two leaders agreed to expand the Cocoa Alliance by inviting other African cocoa-producing countries to join, with the aim of strengthening the continent’s collective bargaining power in international markets. They also agreed to establish a common framework for determining cocoa producer prices, alongside stronger market intelligence systems to help ensure fair and sustainable incomes for farmers. … They reaffirmed their commitment to transforming Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire from exporters of raw cocoa beans into industrial processing hubs, and agreed to recognise the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS-1000) as key mechanisms for traceability and sustainability. RFI
Former Senegalese Leader Sall’s Bid for UN Top Job in Trouble after Straw Poll
Macky Sall’s bid to succeed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres could be in trouble after the Security Council’s first informal straw poll. The former President of Senegal received just six votes in favour, with seven against and two abstentions. The poll isn’t binding and several other rounds will take place before the final ballot in the autumn. Sall finally secured his own country’s support for the job last month after Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye endorsed his candidacy. The country’s ruling Pastef party however still holds Sall responsible for the deaths of 80 people dead during protests in 2021 and 2023. Ugandan politician and former UN Deputy Secretary-General Olara Otunnu entered the race at the last minute. He secured just two votes in favour, five against and eight abstentions. While both candidates remain in the running, Costa Rica’s Rebecca Grynspan, who heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, is widely seen as the current frontrunner, receiving 10 votes in favour, one against and four abstentions. Africanews