Sidi Ould Tah has been elected president of the African Development Bank Group for a five-year tenure. The Mauritanian national who previously served as Mauritania’s finance minister was elected during a vote on Thursday at the bank’s annual meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He is scheduled to become the bank’s ninth president, taking office on September 1, when the current president, Akinwumi Adesina’s term, shall come to an end. In total, five people competed for the bank’s top position. Tah won 76.18% of the total vote and 72.37% of the regional votes in the third round of voting, defeating the others. The AfDB is owned by 54 African governments and non-regional countries like the United States, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
Three former Algerian presidential candidates, Saïda Neghza, Belkacem Sahli, and Abdelhakim Hamadi, were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for corruption on Monday. Prior to the election, the Algerian constitutional court had rejected their candidacies on the grounds that they had purchased sponsorship from elected authorities. Fifty elected officials acknowledged accepting funds to support the candidates’ campaigns, according to the prosecution. In total, about 70 defendants were convicted, with three sons of Saïda Neghza sentenced to 5-8 years imprisonment for aiding and abetting and money laundering.
Senegal’s anti-corruption special court has indicted former minister Amadou Mansour Faye, the brother-in-law of ex-president Macky Sall, on charges of embezzling over $4.6 million in government funds. The High Court of Justice has now charged Faye, the fifth official from the previous government. The court denied him bail and ordered his detention. The allegations originate from a parliamentary investigation that found significant misappropriation of state funds during the previous administration. Despite critics’ fears about political motivations, the detentions demonstrate the new government’s commitment to combating corruption. President Faye’s administration has stood steadfast, declaring that no one is above the law and that public resources must be protected for national development.
Uganda has formally terminated all military cooperation with Germany, accusing German Ambassador Matthias Schauer of “subversive activities” and supporting anti-government organizations. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces made the proclamation in response to intelligence reports, escalating diplomatic relations significantly. The UPDF believes Ambassador Schauer was linked with “negative and traitorous” groups in Uganda, citing a secret meeting with President Museveni’s brother. During the discussion, Schauer reportedly criticized General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son and army head, for his online behavior. Germany has long provided Uganda with military, logistical, and technological support. Bilateral commerce between the two countries exceeded $335 million in 2023.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced that the country’s embassy in Washington, DC, will be temporarily closed as part of an inquiry into an alleged visa scam. The shutdown will continue a few days while a restructure and system overhaul are completed. Ablakwa said that a locally hired employee and colleagues were involved in a fraudulent scam that took money from visa and passport applicants. As a result, the foreign ministry personnel in Washington have been relieved from duties, and all locally hired staff at the embassy have been suspended.
A cholera outbreak in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, has killed at least 70 people in two days, with 942 new cases and 25 fatalities confirmed. The pandemic is worsened by the collapse of health-care systems, with 90% of hospitals in major combat zones no longer working. The city, which has been destroyed by nearly two years of conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now lacks access to water and electricity. The government has driven RSF rebels from their remaining outposts in Khartoum State, leaving the city with a barely functional health and sanitation system.
President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the country is improving and that the worst is behind them. He acknowledged the pain his reforms caused and did not take the patience of Nigerians for granted. In May 2023, he announced the end of a long-standing fuel subsidy, which caused a surge in commodity prices. Tinubu pledged to tackle economic instability, improve security, reduce corruption, reform governance, and lift Nigerians out of poverty under his “Renewed Hope Agenda.” He acknowledged the cost of the subsidy as a “chokehold on our nation’s neck” and urged for corruption to be reduced.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, a renowned Kenyan author and literate, died at the age of 87. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, recognized as East Africa’s most prominent writer, aimed to create literature that reflected his homeland and people, rather than following Western traditions. He was repeatedly projected to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, leaving supporters disappointed every time the medal slid through his fingers. The educated and soft-spoken writer led a life as dramatic as his writings. His daughter, Wanjiku Wa Ngũgĩ, announced his death in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Former President Joseph Kabila has returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after losing his immunity due to accusations of aiding armed rebels in the eastern DRC. Kabila visited the city of Goma, which was seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia earlier this year. He met with local religious figures and held talks with locals in Goma. The visit comes despite the possibility of a treason trial over his alleged support for M23. The DRC Senate lifted Kabila’s immunity earlier this month, allowing him to be prosecuted.
Heavy flooding has killed at least 115 people in Nigeria’s Mokwa market town, in Niger state, destroying thousands of homes. The flooding began after a dam collapse in a nearby town. The situation has deteriorated rapidly, with 115 bodies recovered so far. Meanwhile, at least 25 people have been killed this week in Nigeria’s oil-producing Rivers State, with the intense downpour hitting the city of Okrika in southern Nigeria, causing floods and landslides, leaving many homeless, and triggering panic in affected communities. As Nigeria’s rainy season begins, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states between Wednesday and Friday.