Kenya

Former Samburu Governor Lenolkulal convicted of Sh83m corruption, denied bail

Moses Lenolkulal, a former Samburu Governor, is making headlines as the first former governor to be convicted of corruption since the inception of devolution in 2013 for the offences he and 10 others committed between March 2013 and March 2019. He has been convicted of corruptly pocketing more than Sh83 million from the devolved unit for the supply of fuel and oil products by using proxies. The anti-corruption court in Nairobi has ordered the former Samburu Governor to pay a Sh83.4 million fine and be barred from public office for 10 years.

(Business Daily)

Tanzania 

Dr Faustine Ndugulile elected to new WHO regional top post

Former Deputy Minister for Health and current Kigamboni MP Dr Faustine Ndugulile has been elected the new WHO Regional Director for Africa. In the election held this week in Brazzaville, Dr Ndugulile secured 25 out of 46 votes from delegates attending the 74th WHO Regional Committee Meeting, defeating candidates from Niger and Senegal. Dr Ndugulile outlined his priorities as the new Regional Director, which include ensuring access to quality healthcare for all, enhancing Africa’s preparedness for epidemic outbreaks, strengthening accountability within WHO’s Africa region, and improving communication and collaboration among member states on health matters.

(Daily News)

Uganda

Museveni accuses Kenya’s Babu Owino of dealings with his political opponents

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week called out Embakasi East MP Babu Owino over his support for his political opponents. Museveni, in his remarks, accused Babu Owino of dealing with anti-NRM groups in Uganda. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) is Uganda’s ruling party, led by Museveni himself. Babu Owino has been a vocal supporter of Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, publicly declaring his support for Bobi Wine’s movement and ideologies.

(Monitor)

Rwanda

Nine priority sectors for new industrial policy in Rwanda

The Cabinet, on August 23, approved Rwanda Industrial Policy, which the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) indicated aims to contribute to Rwanda’s Vision 2050 by accelerating the structural transformation of the country and enabling the development of a competitive and export-oriented private sector. The new policy has five pillars, namely improving industrial capabilities in export-oriented industries, increasing the level of investment & access to finance, developing technology, science and innovation capabilities, building the required infrastructure and spatial planning, and supporting environmental sustainability and green growth. Rwanda Industrial Policy serves as the anchor policy for the promotion of economic and structural transformation towards higher-value-added economic activities, it observed, adding that it has strong complementarities with other key policies for economic transformation such as the Trade Policy, Entrepreneurship Policy, and Made in Rwanda (MiR) Policy.

(New Times)

Eritrea 

ECA Delegation met and held talks with senior government officials

The delegation from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), led by Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the Commission, met with and held discussions with Nesredin Mohammed-Saleh, Minister of Trade and Industry; Mr. Tesfay Gebreselassie, Minister of Land, Water, and Environment; and Alem Kibreab, Director General of Mining. Briefing the delegation, Minister Mohammed-Saleh highlighted that although Eritrea has vast resources, it has not yet achieved significant export opportunities. He also expressed readiness to work in collaboration with the Commission in developing processed products. Minister Gebreselassie provided an extensive briefing to the delegation, noting that while many countries are facing severe challenges due to climate change, Eritrea has made exemplary achievements by constructing strategic dams. He expressed readiness to collaborate with the Commission on proper waste and water management, as well as human resource development.

(Shabait)