Politics

KAMPALA — As the world this week marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3 December, lawmakers at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) urged renewed commitment to disability inclusion and called for concrete institutional action. During a parliamentary sitting in Kampala on Wednesday, EALA member Paul Musamali while addressing the parliament...

The National Observatory for the Fight Against Transnational Crime (ONLCT) has sounded the alarm over what it calls a growing wave of technology-driven human trafficking in Burundi, warning that criminal networks are increasingly exploiting digital platforms to target vulnerable citizens. In a statement issued Tuesday to mark the International Day for the Abolition of...

Burundi’s presidency announced Monday that President Évariste Ndayishimiye has travelled to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2 to attend the signing of what officials describe as a “historic peace accord” between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The ceremony, set for Dec. 4, follows an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a communiqué issued...

Burundi’s military has denied deploying troops to Minembwe, a contested locality in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rejecting claims circulating on social media that Burundian forces are blockading civilians in the area. In a statement issued Tuesday and signed by Brig. Gen. Gaspard Baratuza, the National Defense Force of...

The East African Legislative Assembly is calling for a sweeping regional regulations to govern social media use, warning that online misinformation, hate speech and cross-border digital abuse are outpacing existing national laws in East Africa. Falhada Dekow Iman EALA law maker on Tuesday tabled a motion urging the Council of Ministers and EAC partner...

GENEVA — United Nations experts on Monday commended Burundi for recent efforts to combat discrimination but pressed the government to explain persistent concerns over ethnic quotas, the independence of national institutions and the treatment of Congolese refugees at the country’s borders. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded its review of Burundi’s...

A group of 115 Burundian refugees returned to Burundi this week through the Nemba One-Stop Border Post linking Rwanda and Burundi, Rwanda’s state broadcaster reported. The group included 107 people from Mahama refugee camp in Kirehe District and eight others who had been living in Kigali, according to the broadcaster. Most of the returnees...

KAMPALA, Uganda — The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Monday opened its Kampala sitting with lawmakers set to debate a motion seeking a regional framework to regulate and promote responsible use of social media, a proposal emerging amid rising concerns over misinformation, political tensions and cross-border digital disputes in the East African Community.

President Evariste Ndayishimiye on Friday called for greater transparency and patriotism in Burundi’s mining industry, urging operators to comply fully with national laws as the government seeks to strengthen oversight and scale production of the country’s mineral resources. Speaking at a Nov. 14 press conference, Ndayishimiye presented findings from a 100-day monitoring initiative he...

Human rights organisations are calling on the African Union to take urgent action as Tanzania faces what Amnesty International describes as a “deepening human rights crisis,” marked by violent crackdowns on dissent, internet shutdowns, and the disqualification of opposition candidates ahead of the country’s recent elections. According to Amnesty International, Tanzanian authorities under President...