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Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced. English is used as the language of instruction for most subjects nationwide at secondary schools, with Arabic the only other compulsory second language taught at the moment. But President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Swahili should also […]

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it in collusion with an opposition grouping, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between the two neighbours over control of the Red Sea. Ethiopia’s accusation is contained in a letter sent by its Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos to UN chief Antonio Guterres, warning that […]

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has asked for one year to fix the country’s challenges, promising that if they persist, he will resign. He said this during a town-hall style meeting at his palace with various groups of government supporters. Many attendees had the opportunity to ask the president questions or simply share their views – […]

Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina has appointed an army general as the new prime minister in a bid to end youth-led protests against his rule. He said the nation needed a premier “capable of restoring order and the people’s trust” before naming Gen Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo to the post. Coming days after the president expressed […]

The mother of missing former Tanzanian diplomat Humphrey Polepole has made an emotional appeal for police to help bring him home. “If he is alive, return him to me. If he is not, bring his body and let me bury my child myself. They should not go and throw him into the sea,” Annamary Polepole […]

The Chadian government has terminated its agreement with a controversial conservation organisation that has the Duke of Sussex on its board of directors. It accused the charity African Parks of failing to curb poaching, ending a 15-year mandate to manage two of its protected sites in the central African country. The environment ministry said African […]

This is “one of the greatest things to have happened, not only to my art, but to Nigerian artwork”, 93-year-old painter and sculptor Bruce Onobrakpeya says as he looks around the rooms at the Tate Modern, one of London’s premier galleries. “The collection is fantastic and it brings back a lot of memories going back […]

A former Tanzanian ambassador and outspoken government critic has been abducted by unknown individuals, his family says. Humphrey Polepole’s brother told the BBC the alleged abduction had occurred in the early hours of Monday, at his home in Dar es Salaam. “We went to the house where he was living and found the door broken, […]

One of the most vocal critics of the Central African Republic’s government is being questioned by security officials following his arrest at the country’s main airport. Dominique Désiré Erenon leads the March for Democracy and the People’s Salvation (MDSP) party and had been living in exile in France for the past three years. He fiercely […]

The US has deported 10 people to Eswatini despite rights groups in the southern African state mounting legal action to block the plan. This is the second batch of deportees that the Trump administration has sent to Eswatini as part of its hard-line approach towards immigration. The 10 have been “securely accommodated”, and posed no […]