Politics

KAMPALA, Uganda (BT) — The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has postponed debate on the East African Community’s (EAC) 2025/2026 budget, demanding that the Council of Ministers release funds for pending programs before lawmakers resume scrutiny. In a special virtual sitting held Monday, the Assembly received the EAC supplementary budget for the current fiscal...

GITEGA, Burundi — The Truth and Reconciliation Commission with french acronym CVR has completed the registration of thousands of victims of past violence across Burundi, as part of ongoing efforts to address grievances and promote national reconciliation. In the Gitega province, specifically in Nyarusange, 995 individuals have been identified in the TRC's victim registration...

Representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and the M23/AFC movement signed a joint declaration on April 23, 2025, committing to an immediate cessation of hostilities and the pursuit of a permanent ceasefire. The negotiations were facilitated by the State of Qatar and held recently in the United States. The declaration,...

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said that despite international backlash and financial sanctions over his country's anti-LGBTQ legislation, Uganda's economy has continued to grow. “We passed a law that was discouraging homosexuality,” Museveni said in a public statement on X formerly known as Twitter. “Mr. Biden (USA) removed us from the...

The United States has reiterated its concern over the ongoing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and respect for the country’s sovereignty. The remarks were delivered by John Kelley, Acting U.S. Alternate Representative to the United Nations, during a Security Council briefing on the Great Lakes region held...

JUBA, South Sudan— A top United Nations official on Tuesday warned that South Sudan is edging dangerously close to full-scale conflict amid rising tensions between the country’s rival leaders. Nicholas Haysom, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for South Sudan, told the UN Security Council that the fragile peace between President Salva Kiir and former...

A document circulating on social media has stirred controversy in Rwanda, as it appears to require couples organizing weddings to submit tax information for all vendors involved in their ceremonies. The form, titled “Amakuru agendanye n’ ahabera ubukwe” (“Information related to the wedding venue”), lists sections for decorators, sound system operators, food and drink...

GENEVA — Children make up nearly half of the estimated 10,000 victims of rape and sexual violence recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in January and February, according to UNICEF. The figures coincide with a renewed offensive by M23 rebels, reportedly supported by Rwanda, against the Kinshasa government in the eastern...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The East African Civil Society Organisations’ Forum (EACSOF) on Friday expressed deep concern over recent developments in South Sudan, including the reported house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and renewed violence in the Upper Nile region. In a statement, EACSOF warned that the unfolding tensions threaten to reverse...

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (Burundi Times) — Burundi’s official 2024 census recorded a total population of 12,332,788, according to newly released government data—figures that differ from World Bank estimates, which projected nearly 13 million in 2023. The latest count marks Burundi’s fourth official census, following previous ones in 1979, 1990, and 2008. The census also revealed...