Kenya 

Musalia Mudavadi in charge of all ministries

In a gazette notice dated 12th July 2024, President William Ruto formally appointed Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to take charge of all ministries in acting capacity pending reconstitution of the Cabinet. The appointment makes Mudavadi a key cog in the running of the government which has been thrown into a major crisis following the nationwide protests. President Ruto fired his entire Cabinet, save for Mudavadi, in an attempt to assuage the disgruntled public, which has accused the team of corruption, incompetence and arrogance.

(Daily Nation)

Uganda

Museveni signs 15 laws to actualise mergers

Stakeholders in agencies and ministries affected by the policy of rationalisation and merging of government entities have expressed mixed reactions to the implementation. Some are expressing readiness, while others remain dissatisfied with several of the changes. This is after President Museveni on Monday assented to 15 Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (Rapex) Acts that will operationalise the mergers as approved by Parliament.

(Monitor)

Tanzania

Tanzanian minister on the spot over election rigging statement

Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Communication, and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye, is under scrutiny for publicly embracing election rigging. Nnauye, who is a member of the ruling party CCM, said in a widely shared video that “victory in elections is not determined by the number of votes in the ballot box but depends on who counts and announces the results.” He says the statement was made as a joke.

(The Citizen)

Rwanda

Paul Kagame wins Rwanda presidential election by over 99%

Paul Kagame is set for a fourth term as electoral authorities declare him the winner of the Rwanda presidential election after garnering 99.15% of the votes. Kagame has won more than 93% of the vote at each of the three previous elections. Eight candidates had applied to run against him, but only two were retained in the final list validated by the electoral commission.

(The Citizen)

Ethiopia

Ethiopia, Russia to scale up bilateral relations

Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie received at his office on Monday, July 15, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Bogdanove. On the occasion, the two sides discussed mechanisms to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations. In connection with that, they noted the importance of deepening cooperation in the BRICS framework, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Ambassador Atske-Selassie stated that the two countries should scale up cooperation in technology transfer and capacity-building arenas. The discussion between the two sides included national, regional, and continental peace and security matters.

(ENA) 

South Sudan

Kiir sacks finance minister after four months in office

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has sacked the country’s Finance Minister Awow Daniel Chuong, who was just four months into the job. A state-owned television reported that this was the sixth replacement in the post since 2020. Kiir gave no reason for firing Chuong, who was appointed in mid-March this year, the report said late on Wednesday. Economist Marial Deng has been tapped to replace him. South Sudan’s economy has been under pressure in recent years amid communal violence, with crude oil export revenue having dwindled since a 2013-2018 civil war and, more recently, export disruptions due to war in neighbouring Sudan.

(Reuters)

Somalia

Egypt, Somalia strengthen ties as new ambassador presents credentials to El-Sisi

The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, received the credentials of Somalia’s new Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Ali Abdi Aware, on Sunday. During the ceremonial event, Ambassador Aware expressed his gratitude for the warm reception by the Egyptian government and its readiness to provide the necessary support. He pledged to work towards strengthening the relationship between the two nations, focusing on enhancing economic, political, and various other facets of cooperation. This diplomatic development comes on the heels of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s recent appointments of several ambassadors and diplomats, including Ambassador Aware, to represent Somalia in African and Arab countries.

(Radio Dalsan)