Tanzania Opposition Leader Sentenced to Four Years in Treason Trial
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for inciting unrest, avoiding the heavier charge of treason that carries the death penalty, in a case that has drawn international condemnation. Tanzania was considered one of the more stable democracies in Africa but has seen its reputation plummet as the long-ruling government has cracked down brutally on the opposition and protests. Lissu, head of the main opposition party, Chadema, was arrested ahead of last year’s presidential election on treason charges and has spent 19 months in jail. The court said he was not guilty of treason, but instead convicted him of incitement — even though it was not among the charges in the case — and sentenced him to four years in prison. … Lissu responded that the trial was “political persecution”, accusing the judges of following orders from the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. … “I was not charged with incitement but you judges are convicting me with it just to impress the person who gives you the titles. I believe these were directives,” he said. AFP
Somalia Supreme Court Rejects President’s Term Extension
Somalia’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term had expired and ordered elections within 90 days, rejecting the government’s argument that he could stay in office until May 2027. The five-judge panel said Mohamud’s four-year term ended on 15 May. Both houses of parliament reached the end of their terms on 14 April. The cabinet’s mandate ended with parliament’s because lawmakers approve and oversee the government. The court declared measures the institutions took under their constitutional and legal powers after those dates “unconstitutional, unlawful and null and void”. The cabinet alone could remain in place as a caretaker, with authority limited to day-to-day duties. The judges gave all sides involved in the elections 30 days to settle on “a workable electoral framework based on consensus”. Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed filed the case on 11 October, seeking to overturn the constitutional amendments and decisions taken under them. Somalia Today
South Africa’s Once-dominant ANC Faces Huge Decline in Voter Support, Early Election Results Show
South Africa’s once-dominant African National Congress party was set to lose significant voter support and control of some major cities in local government elections held this week, interim results across the country showed on Friday. South Africans voted this week in local polls that determine which parties get to control major cities and local municipal districts that are responsible for the delivery of basic services like water, road maintenance and rubbish removal. With 76% of votes counted nationally, the ANC had garnered nearly 31% and was lagging behind rival parties in key cities like Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini. During the last local government elections in 2021, the ANC received just over 45% of votes nationally. Its worst electoral performance was in 2024 national elections, when it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time. … In the hotly-contested city of Johannesburg, the DA was leading the ANC though early results showed that none of the political parties would win with outright majorities and would have to form coalitions to govern. AP
South Africa: Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla Loses Bid to Have Incitement Charges Withdrawn
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has dismissed Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s application to have terrorism-related charges against her withdrawn, paving the way for the case against her to proceed. Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, appeared in court on Friday, with her father also present to show his support. She faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence linked to her social media posts during the July 2021 unrest, which left parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng gripped by widespread looting and violence. The unrest followed her father’s arrest for contempt of court after he defied an order to appear before the Madlanga Commission. … Her defence team, led by advocate Dali Mpofu, had challenged the State’s evidence and applied for the charges to be dismissed in October, describing the prosecution’s case as laughable. The State opposed the application, arguing that Zuma-Sambudla had considerable influence during the unrest. News 24
U.A.E. Sent ‘Desert Wolves’ to Help Sudanese Militia Accused of Genocide
A confidential report submitted to the Security Council last week and obtained by The New York Times details how an Emirati security company with close ties to the government moved the Colombians into Sudan through territory controlled by Emirati proxies in Libya and Somalia. The report is the most detailed accounting yet by the United Nations of the Emirati role in Sudan’s civil war, in which the Emirates is accused of supplying drones, weapons and mercenaries to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., fueling a conflict that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. … The company was founded by a senior official in the Emirati presidency, records showed, and on its website it is described as “a preferred security provider” for the Emirati Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Presidential Affairs. The New York Times
Australia Imposes Sanctions on Sudanese Military Leaders and Militia over Human Rights Abuses
Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on four Sudanese military and militia leaders and one entity on Thursday over allegations of serious human rights violations. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced the measures, which target the leaders of Sudan’s warring factions under Australia’s autonomous sanctions framework. The list includes Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The list also includes Rapid Support Forces-aligned de facto West Darfur governor Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum and RSF field commander Hussein Barsham, who were designated for targeted financial sanctions and travel bans. … To prevent the measures from impeding relief efforts, the foreign minister simultaneously issued a class-based humanitarian permit for Sudan. Sudan Tribune
Germany Cautions ‘Any Escalation in the Horn of Africa Must Be Avoided’
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has warned that “any escalation in the Horn of Africa must be avoided,” as Ethiopia’s relations with neighboring Eritrea and Sudan deteriorate, reaffirming Berlin’s support for stability in northern Ethiopia. “A stable Ethiopia is vital to the entire region. Any escalation in the Horn of Africa must be avoided. Germany continues to support efforts to promote stability in northern Ethiopia,” Wadephul said in a phone call with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos, according to a German Foreign Ministry readout dated October 4, 2026. The warning comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, following renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia, reported federal troop movements toward the Eritrean border and tensions over Ethiopia’s desire for sovereign access to the Red Sea. … Ethiopia’s ties with Sudan have also sharply deteriorated, with both countries expelling diplomats and closing consulates. Addis Standard
Nigeria Rules Out Ceasefire with Islamists, Vows Sustained Military Offensive
Nigeria’s military on Thursday ruled out any ceasefire with Islamist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, adding it would press ahead with operations against insurgent and other armed groups. Attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP on military positions in northeastern Nigeria have surged in recent weeks despite years of military operations aimed at containing the 17-year-old insurgency in the region. Speaking at an intelligence briefing in the capital Abuja, military spokesperson Major-General Samaila Uba said recent gains, including insurgents killed, suspects arrested and hostages rescued, showed security forces were sustaining pressure on armed groups. … He also said Nigeria is in talks with neighbouring Sahel states that left the West African bloc ECOWAS on security and diplomatic cooperation. Reuters
Nigeria: Army Expands from 8 to 12 Divisions as 83 Division Prepares for Take-Off
The Nigerian Army is expanding its force structure from eight to 12 divisions as part of efforts to strengthen operational capabilities and improve responses to emerging security threats across the country. A major step in the expansion is the planned operationalisation of the newly established 83 Division, with its headquarters in Benin City, Edo State. … The development represents an important phase in the Army’s restructuring, as additional divisions are expected to provide greater operational coverage and strengthen its ability to address security challenges across different parts of the country. PR Nigeria
Cholera Killed 1,800 in 2026 in DRC, According to WHO
Cholera has killed around 1,800 people so far this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also battling its deadliest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, November 4. Some 60,000 cases of the diarrhoeal disease have been recorded in what the UN health agency’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described as the vast central African country’s “worst cholera outbreak in decades.” Most of the infections had been detected in the DRC’s eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, both prey to a litany of armed groups and partly under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, Tedros said. “But the concern is now there are also cases following the Congo river basin, which means that could stretch up to Kinshasa,” the capital, he added. Le Monde avec AFP
Zambia Expects Power Line to Tanzania to Be Operational in 2029
A major high-voltage line linking Zambia to Tanzania that will boost regional electricity trading and reliability is expected to start operations in 2029, Zambia’s electricity minister Peter Kapala told lawmakers on Thursday. The project, agreed in 2014, involves linking Zambia to Tanzania and Kenya via a 2,300 km transmission power line built at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. Zambia, which secured grant funding of $292 million from the World Bank Group, EU and UK, will build just over 600 km of power lines. Once complete, the interconnector will link the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) to the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), enabling Zambia to trade up to 500 megawatts of power and positioning the country as a regional hub for electricity trade, Kapala said in a statement. Reuters
Billionaire Industrialist Dangote Launches $2.5 Billion Namibia Fuel Storage Project
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and regional pipeline project in Namibia’s Walvis Bay on Wednesday that could reshape the fuel supply architecture in Southern Africa. The project is one of a slew of energy ventures championed by Dangote, Africa’s richest man, as he expands his sprawling business empire on a continent heavily reliant on imported fuels and hard-hit by the Iran war. Dangote already operates Africa’s biggest refinery in Nigeria, a 700,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) plant, which he is expanding, with plans to build another 700,000 bpd refinery in Kenya on the opposite side of the continent. At a launch ceremony attended by Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Dangote said that the pipeline project, once complete, would strengthen the energy independence of six African countries and help establish Walvis Bay as a fuel logistics hub. Reuters
Refugee Team Competes at Senegal’s First Youth Olympics
Refugee athletes from camps in Kenya and Uganda are competing at the Youth Olympics in Senegal, marking the first time a refugee team has taken part in the event. The team, created by the International Olympic Committee and managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, includes athletes competing in judo, taekwondo and track and field. … The first Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Senegal event is the first Youth Olympics to feature a refugee team. Africanews