Author: NLM Correspondent

World leaders are paying their respects to Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, who died on from heart complications, the vice-president anounced on Wednesday. South African President Cyril Rampahosa conveyed his country’s condolences to Tanzania over the death of President Magufuli. ‘United in grief’ “I spoke to Her Excellency, Vice-President Hassan, this morning and conveyed the condolences of the people of South Africa to the government and the people of Tanzania, our sister country, on their loss,” Ramaphosa said.” As we all know, Tanzania is a country that stood with us during our struggle for freedom and sacrificed a lot, halting and…

The woman who filed a rape charge against Senegal’s opposition leader repeated her accusation and said her case must proceed, following deadly clashes over his arrest. In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Adji Sarr said opposition leader Ousmane Sonko had forced her to sleep with him on several occasions and had threatened reprisals if she refused. “If Ousmane Sonko has never slept with me, let him swear on the Koran,” said the young woman, in the interview carried by several private television channels in the West African state. Sarr also said that she had fallen pregnant by Sonko. Usually seen as…

By Tsega Etefa While the world is focusing on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia caused by the war between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, brutal repetitive attacks have taken place in the Metekkel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz state in western Ethiopia. Some of the reasons for the attacks include neighbouring Amhara state’s claim to ownership of the Metekkel zone. The Amhara state wants the right to administer Metekkel because it wants to control the zone’s mineral deposits and arable lands. Metekkel residents, including the majority Gumuz community, are opposed to Amhara occupation. There are also competing interests from actors in…

By Professor John Harbeson There is much more to the problem of the civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigre region than the enormous multifaceted humanitarian crisis that the entire Tigre region now suffers. The 1995 Constitution endowed nine regions and two cities with a high degree of self-government, including establishment of regional militaries. The Tigre Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the national government’s military installations in the region last November. The national government’s armies fairly promptly defeated the TPLF, its former ruling coalition partner, and have largely prevailed throughout the region, but have left the entire Tigre region prostrate politically, economically…

By Antony Mutunga Kenya occupies position 63 out of 70 jurisdictions globally complicit in helping multinational companies underpay corporate income tax. According to a report by the Tax Justice Network Africa – Corporate Tax Haven Index (CTHI 2021) – the country is responsible for 0.14% of the world’s corporate tax abuse risks. The study shows that Kenya has a Corporate Tax Haven Index (CTHI) value of 62, which shows that its laws and position in the global economy combine to form a relatively low risk of corporate tax abuse by multinational. The country has a global scale weight of 0.013. The…

By David Onjili South African billionaire and Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club owner, Patrice Motsepe, on Friday, March 12th, was coronated as the new Confederations of African Football (CAF) President. In the colorful event held in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, Motsepe assumed office unopposed. His three main rivals, Jacques Anuoma, Augustin Senghor, and Ahmed Yahya all withdrew their candidacy just a week to the elections. Interestingly, the three will join Motsepe in running the federation in various advisory capacities. Forbes ranks the mining magnate as Africa’s 9th richest man with an estimated wealth of $3 billion. “African football needs collective…

How a young female entrepreneur from Kenya is keeping a business afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic Urban economies in growing cities, such as Nairobi, rely partly on the contribution of tradespeople like plumbers, electricians, and painters. Many live in informal, low-income settlements, far from the rest of the city’s economy, giving rise to an opportunity mismatch for customers interested in hiring these talented artisans. Sarah Lebu, and two other enterpreneurs Kwinoja Kapiteni (Tanzania) and Chidi Uwaeme (Nigeria) formed KaziTu to fill this gap. By creating an online job-matching platform, they are helping hiring companies to find reliable talent, fast and easily.…

By Daniel Finnan Hearings started at the International Court of Justice on Monday for a maritime boundary dispute between neighbours Kenya and Somalia. However, Kenya refused to take part in the oral proceedings and the court will only examine written evidence provided by Nairobi. “The court regrets the decision of Kenya not to participate in the oral proceedings,” said presiding ICJ Judge Joan Donoghue in The Hague. The dispute centres on the maritime boundaries between the two Horn of Africa neighbours, with some 100,000 square kilometres contested, approximately the size of Iceland. Lawyers acting for the Kenyan government had blamed difficulties preparing for the…

Tullow Oil is shifting its focus and over 90 percent of its resources to West Africa, the company recently announced. The firm’s chief executive Rahul Dhir said the firm will be channeling resources to projects it considers to be productive in a bid to cut costs. “After a year of significant change for Tullow, we are now executing a robust, cash generative business plan, which is focused on our most productive assets,” said Dhir. The announcement came as Tullow, once again, watered down the value of its stake in the Kenyan oil project by Sh46.8 billion owing to low global…

A global study of family beliefs, motivations, and sources of information on schooling By Rebecca Winthrop and Mahsa Ershadi Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the global education community spent relatively little time thinking about the role of parent engagement in education. But when almost all the world’s countries shut their school doors last March, engaging parents and families moved quickly to the top of the agenda. Research confirms that a trusting relationship between families and schools has always been important. A meta-analysis across 50 studies on the impact of family engagement in education shows that effective parent engagement strategies that transform…