Last month, Uganda’s High Court ordered the arrest of Uganda Law Society (ULS) president, Isaac Ssemakadde, citing his blistering attacks on judicial officers.

Ssemakadde had been elected barely two months earlier on one of the most radical platforms in ULS history, buoyed by a contingent of young lawyers incensed by the old legal order, which they accused of locking them out of the market, and by an increasingly repressive state.

He had vowed to shake things up—and he delivered. His fiery, often unfiltered rhetoric tore through the establishment, with invective aimed at figures such as Director of Public Prosecutions, Jane Frances Abodo, that even the most uninhibited village drunkard might hesitate to utter.

Following his conviction by the High Court, Ssemakadde either went underground in Uganda or fled the country. This week, the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala escalated matters by issuing an international warrant for his arrest.

His predicament revives an age-old question that freedom fighters and anti-establishment activists across Africa—and other undemocratic landscapes—have grappled with for decades: When the oppressor comes knocking, do you fight, flee, or freeze?

There is no single answer. History shows that activists and campaigners have taken all three paths, each with varying degrees of success and sacrifice.

Some have chosen to fight, walking headlong into dungeons and enduring unspeakable torment. Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment on Robben Island did just that—each day he spent behind bars further delegitimised the apartheid government.

Others have opted for exile, believing that staying alive and fighting from afar is preferable to being silenced behind bars or buried in an unmarked grave.

Uganda’s own President Yoweri Museveni chose this route in 1981. After the disputed December 1980 election, he and several of his Uganda Patriotic Movement comrades faced the real prospect of imprisonment.

Museveni could have chosen to sit and wait to be arrested by Milton Obote, as several UPM politicians were. Instead, he took to the bush and launched a rebellion that ultimately altered Uganda’s trajectory for the next four decades.

Then some have frozen—gone quiet, stepped back, or even joined the system, convinced they can effect change from within. This approach is fraught with accusations of opportunism, yet it has been executed with remarkable effectiveness, particularly in Kenya, where co-opting opposition figures has become an art form.

Which path is best? It depends. Often, the answer is shaped by the specific battle being fought.

When Museveni’s rebel National Resistance Army took power in 1986, many believed press freedom would improve. They were mistaken. Journalists continued to be harassed, arrested, beaten—and, in some cases, killed.

Back then, state-controlled media dominated, and independent journalists were rare, making those who defied the system invaluable.

Read: An unspoken contest and why, of all his rivals, Museveni seems to fear Besigye most

Western diplomatic missions and human rights organisations frequently smuggled persecuted journalists out of Africa, providing them sanctuary in Europe or North America, where they found work in media houses, academia, or as authors.

South Africa, in particular, produced exiled journalists like Lewis Nkosi, who fled apartheid-era censorship and settled in New York. There, he wrote Home and Exile (1965), a collection of essays reflecting on South African politics and culture, and later, the acclaimed novel Mating Birds (1986).

But this strategy had unintended consequences. Shrewd regimes learned to weaponise exile, portraying fleeing journalists as reckless opportunists seeking a cushy life abroad.

Museveni’s government, for example, argued that these journalists deliberately provoked authorities, then ran to Western embassies, which whisked them away to comfortable lives in London, Paris, or New York.

At the time, Museveni’s government still enjoyed considerable popularity, making this argument persuasive. Public opinion leaned in support of it.

The impact was severe—Ugandan courts stopped granting journalists bail. Prosecutors simply pointed to the long list of reporters who had absconded while on police bond, painting them as flight risks.

One day, amid escalating tensions between the Ugandan press and the state, three of us—Wafula Oguttu, then editor of the radical Weekly Topic; Teddy Ssezi Cheeye, editor of the hard-hitting Uganda Confidential newsletter; and Amos Kajooba, editor of the pro-Uganda People’s Congress, The People—sat down and made a pact: we would never run.

In the years that followed, we paid the price. Arrests, beatings, threats, and court appearances became routine. I personally notched up nearly 120 court appearances, facing charges that could have resulted in life imprisonment or worse. I turned down over 20 opportunities to flee to a safer—and likely more lucrative—life abroad. Instead, we kept showing up.

Eventually, Ugandan courts began granting mainstream journalists bail again. The exodus of reporters and editors seeking refuge in foreign embassies slowed.

Journalism regained credibility, and public trust in the press surged. A renaissance occurred—journalists became celebrities, and some even became modestly wealthy.

Looking back, we never imagined these would be the outcomes. But they happened, not because we had a grand strategy, but because we simply chose to stay and risk everything.

In later life, we drove around with our “prison bags” in the boots of our cars, packed with underwear, toothpaste and toothbrush, comb, anti-malaria medicine, and vitamins.

Ssemakadde now stands at a similar crossroads. His choice—whether to fight, flee, or freeze—will shape not just his fate, but potentially the future of Uganda’s legal and civic landscape. If history is anything to go by, whatever path he chooses will be costly.

Charles Onyango-Obbo is a journalist, writer, and curator of the “Wall of Great Africans”. Twitter: @cobbo3

I was at an event for and by women where a panellist asked the audience whether they would be voting for the incumbent. In all kindness I can see her point: a room full of women should immediately cheer loudly and proclaim that Yes! We Would Vote For Mama!

It didn’t go down that way.

There was a smattering of applause, a few cheers, a few grunts of disapproval. Mostly, there was also a delightfully awkward silence from the rest of us who did what Tanzanians often do when we disagree with a speaker: Nothing. We are an oral culture so our public speech includes call-and-response. Here, silence does NOT mean consent.

So let’s talk about it.

A roomful of women is a microcosm of Tanzania, just smarter. Our gathering contained a credible range of positions on everything from religiosity to party politics to views on marriage and other issues.

During the meeting, there were those of us who did not stand during prayer, some of us who did not respond to the CCM call of “Kazi Iendelee,” who requested that we stop referring to women by the “honorific” of Mama in front of their titles, who had tough questions for the older generation, who generally messed with the idea of a hive mind. Of course there was dissent about being told who to vote for, no matter who was asking.

I am on record on The Chanzo asking women specifically and progressives in general to vote for the incumbent because she is a woman. I won’t take it back either: “Men make better leaders” is the refrain I have heard my whole life even though there is no evidence to support the claim.

It would take a few millenia of women in power to even begin to examine this premise with data, we might as well begin now. If we are disciplined about it, maybe humans from 4000 CE will have the results of the experiment.

By then, the question will hopefully be moot as we will be beyond the nonsense that engendered it anyways.

Tanzania has had women in key positions in its sixty-something years: President, Defence, Finance and Foreign. Once we breach the walls of Home Affairs, I will be able to start another list, one where we move beyond token levels of representation to start enjoying real participation, real citizenship and full rights. One where we vote women into parliament at a minimum of 33 percent and a maximum of 75 percent of our own free will.

Last year, I only had one option for the 2025 ballot that served my feminist ‘guerrilla’ agenda. This year? I have two. That’s right, two. ACT-Wazalendo backed the late Anna Mghirwa’s bid for president in 2015, now they have Dorothy Semu running in 2025. I only had to wait a decade for the only thing better than one woman on top, namely more women on top.

Sasa, if you choose to remain seated and protest my proposed antics through silence, I can respect that. Ultimately the point is to have a range of positions on issues of importance, including the place of women in politics beyond party, ideology or even cult of personality.

By suggesting that one gender be entirely ignored at the ballot in favour of the other I have provoked a few of you to a rage that you might have to examine. I hope you have the tools for it.

Happy Women’s Month, and you are welcome.

Elsie Eyakuze is an independent consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report.

Kampala Catholic Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere has a practical mind. At the beginning of March, he advised the authorities to abolish electoral politics if it can’t be practised without endangering people’s lives. In other words, the way the current model of democracy is practised is not worth shattering people’s lives for.

Barely 10 days after the archbishop’s sermon, a by-election to fill one of Kampala’s 10 parliamentary seats was held and both the ruling party and the (victorious) opposition cried foul, expressing disgust at the execution of the exercise. But archbishops are men of humility, so Ssemogerere did not thump his chest in I-told-you-so-last-week mode.

During the by-election, held during Ramadhan in the Kawempe division of Kampala which is predominantly Muslim (meaning the public were operating under maximum restraint), there were two main casualties – the media and the military.

Read: Our elections are nothing but mere carnival of deceit

The national military which is generally well respected on account of its professionalism and discipline, had its image dented as for some reason we civilians cannot figure out, was deployed to police the polls in a singular constituency as if the police had been deemed unable to secure the exercise.

And the media personnel had their priceless bodies and precious equipment battered by the military whose mission remained unclear to the ordinary public.

That is when frustrated opposition members of parliament woke up to re-echo what the prelate has said calmly and hysterically addressed the press calling for abolition of elections so that their children get time to complete their education in peace.

But Archbishop Ssemogerere’s prophetic call shouldn’t be deemed to be directed at Kampala alone. It is also directed at Addis to benefit all African minds.

And here one hopes that the new African Union Commission leadership will not perpetuate the perverted excuse of “internal affairs of sovereign states” to justify looking away as elections ruin African lives and economies. All countries could do well to review the democracy models to ensure it is the best for citizens’ wellbeing.

The East African Community is a case in point. Starting with the original three, who doesn’t know how political contest in Kenya wastes resources that could be put to improve the citizens’ well-being?

Kenya may have many dollar billionaires but many of its people live in subhuman deprivation because its electoral politics is fused with individual private economic fortunes.

As for Uganda, lives are lost during elections though not to the scale of Kenya’s 2007-08 ‘democracy’. Sadly, Tanzania recently seemed to have enrolled as a “mature age entry” student in the political violence class.

As for Rwanda, only lengthening the current dispensation gives hope that the old vindictive mindsets will tire out to let new young citizens attain the critical mass and guarantee sustainable justice.

Burundi had better pray that its Tanzanian guarantors don’t graduate with honours from the East African school of political violence they enrolled in recently.

Read: Nothing like looming polls brings out creative juices in CCM cadres

For South Sudan, please be kind and don’t wonder if their leaders have read their constitution.

Finally, Somalia, for which Uganda, Burundi and Kenya paid the blood of our young peacekeepers/ builders, needs to ask if the elective democracy model they have adopted will hold when the foreign troops leave. If they don’t leave, then Somalis should ask in whose interest they are mainly staying.

In case you are not aware, the United Arab Emirates is probably the biggest printer of ballot papers in the world. Are the powers in Abu Dhabi picked with ballots?

It is like China earning more money from Christmas sales than any country, or Israelis earning big tourist monies from Christian worship which they despise more than Islam whose followers they are eternally locked in combat with. Is UAE less developed than African countries that hold elections with clockwork punctuality?

Elections are good, sometimes even nice. But if they can throw even mighty US in confusion and trigger a nasty trade war with Canada, can’t Africans find better ways to recruit leaders than through polls? Must Africans believe that the only alternative to elections is crude dictatorship? Other than perpetuating corruption, have elections delivered justice and transparency where they are held?

Buwembo is a Kampala-based journalist. E-mail: [email protected]

Many observers were dismayed by President William Ruto’s campaign tour of the godforsaken parts of Nairobi. On that campaign trail, Mr Ruto made outrageous pronouncements from the rooftop of his car.

He promised residents that he would procure a machine capable of making a million chapatis daily. Then he promised that, in a short period of time, skyscrapers, in the fashion of New York City, would define the skyline of their piece of hell on earth. He promised markets and roads and bridges, and everything under the sun.

Does Mr Ruto plan his speeches beforehand, or does he make them up on the fly, egged on by the excitement of the campaign? Even assuming some of these promises are practically doable, their funding would be unprocedural, because they exist nowhere in the budget statement to parliament.

In any case, government is struggling to pay doctors, teachers and civil servants. Unions representing these sectors have either called for or threatened industrial action.

At the moment, doctors and nurses are on strike and the universal healthcare plan under SHA is not working. This is not the time for campaigning for an election that is two and a half years away.

It is time to sit quietly in an office for countless hours with the best brains in the country to find solutions to these huge problems.

The parts of Nairobi covered by Ruto’s campaign tour are proof of government failure since independence. Basic amenities like water, power, sewerage, roads, clinics, playgrounds are woefully inadequate or nonexistent.

In addition, joblessness, especially among the youth, and crime are sky high. The government should address these shortcomings before attempting to turn slums into New York City.

Once you address these conditions, people will be able to feed themselves and not have to wait for miracle machines to make them chapatis. They will be able to build business premises that, in time, could become skyscrapers.

Read: Kenya's Ruto pledges to bring down cost of living ‘in 100 days’

Mr Ruto’s campaign encapsulated the elements that constitute Africa’s crisis of development. First, it demonstrated haphazard planning, not linked to the overall development plan.

China determines where it wants to be in a hundred years, and plans accordingly. Second, it aptly captured the cause and effect of extreme poverty in Africa.

It showcased how obscene opulence wastes scarce resources. African leaders are beloved of the trappings of power. Mr Ruto’s motorcade snaking through impoverished neighbourhoods recalled Bola Tinubu’s 60-car motorcade going through hellhole of neighbourhoods of a Nigerian city.

Mr Ruto was accompanied on the tour by the governor of Nairobi, a county which recently unveiled garbage as a problem-solving tool. While China is defining the future city, top officials of Nairobi County came on TV to defend their ‘garbage’ strategic plan.

Our intellectuals develop complex theories why Africa has been left behind by the rest of the world. The answer is a lot simpler – “garbage” and pie-in- the-sky, or more aptly, chapatti-in-the-sky planning. Evidence of this kind of “strategic” planning is everywhere in Africa.

Tee Ngugi is a Nairobi-based political and social commentator.

The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately, Sudan’s army said in a statement it had taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF’s main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.

The army had long been on the back foot in a conflict that threatens to partition the country and has caused a humanitarian disaster. But it has recently made gains and has retaken territory from the RSF in the centre of the country.

The army seized control of the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum on Friday.

Witnesses said on Wednesday that RSF had mainly stationed its forces in southern Khartoum to secure their withdrawal from the capital via bridges to the neighbouring city of Omdurman.

The UN calls the situation in Sudan the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several locations and disease across the country of 50 million people.

The war erupted two years ago as Sudan was planning a transition to democratic rule.

The army and RSF had joined forces after forcing Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019 and later in ousting the civilian leadership.

But they had long been at odds, as Bashir developed Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and the RSF, which has its roots in Darfur’s janjaweed militias, as a counterweight to the army, led by career officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The presence of Ugandan troops in South Sudan is provoking controversy, as rifts widened this week between coalition partners in the peace deal government.

First Vice President Riek Machar has accused Uganda of violating a United Nations arms embargo by entering South Sudan with armoured and air force units and carrying out air strikes across the country.

In a letter to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), the African Union and the UN, Dr Machar asked for intervention to force the Ugandan troops out.

The Ugandan People’s Defence Forces deployed in Juba and Upper Nile State on March 14.

Dr Machar, who is in government with President Salva Kiir as part of a 2018 peace deal, said the troops were deployed without the approval of South Sudan’s transitional government.

Read: South Sudan Machar’s party pulls out of peace process

The letter, dated March 23, was addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, AU Peace and Security Council Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, and Igad chairman Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is also Djibouti’s president.

“The agreement that invited the Ugandan military to South Sudan known as the Status of Forces Agreement between the Government Republic of Uganda and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan was signed on 10th January 2014. The agreement was not signed by the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), and as such the Revitalised Agreement takes precedence over the Status of Forces Agreement between Uganda and South Sudan,” he wrote, referring to the official name of the Igad-brokered 2018 peace deal.

Uganda says it sent troops to South Sudan at the request of President Kiir following skirmishes in Upper Nile state, between a militia linked to Machar and government forces.

On March 14, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba said they had deployed troops to Juba “to secure it.”

“We the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognise one President of South Sudan, HE Salva Kiir … any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he added.

Read: Why Uganda is deploying troops to Juba

Uganda previously deployed troops to Juba and Bor in December 2013, when a fierce civil war erupted between Kiir and the forces loyal to Machar. The troops withdrew in 2015, but were deployed again in 2016 after the two sides returned to war. They left the country later that year.

Last week, Uganda’s parliament retrospectively approved the deployment in South Sudan, with the ruling National Resistance Movement arguing that parliamentary approval was a mere formality.

Arrests in Lake State

In South Sudan, the National Security Service (NSS) arrested the deputy governor of Lakes State, Isaiah Akol Mathiang, and several other state officials on Monday in a move targeting allies of Machar.

Dr Akol, who chairs Machar’s opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), in Lakes State, was detained a day after condemning airstrikes by South Sudanese and Ugandan troops in Upper Nile State.

Those arrested in the Monday swoop included Lake States’ lawmaker Ater Akolde, the Animal Resources minister Gai Magok, and the region’s SPLM-IO youth league chairperson Mandela Machiek.

Authorities had, two weeks ago, arrested the country’s Petroleum minister Puot Kang and the Deputy Chief of Staff Gen Duom Lap. They remain in detention, accused of fuelling the violence, despite of Igad calls for their release.

The latest wave of violence erupted in early March, pitting the military against the White Army, a militia predominantly composed of Nuer youth loyal to Machar. Tensions flared when the government announced plans to replace long-serving troops with newly deployed forces. Fearing targeted attacks or forced disarmament, local armed youth rejected the deployment and instead demanded a unified force.

Days later, the SPLM-IO raised concerns about heavy military deployment near Machar’s residence, heightening fears about the peace agreement’s stability. The situation deteriorated rapidly when military confrontations broke out, culminating in the White Army seizing control of Nasir, a strategic town near the Ethiopian border.

The White Army, notorious for its history of ethnic violence, clashed fiercely with government forces. The violence took an even more tragic turn when a UN helicopter, on an evacuation mission in Nasir, came under fire. The attack killed a crew member and critically injured two others.

Military commander Gen Majur Dak, who had been captured by the White Army, was executed days later, further inflaming hostilities.

The developments came even as the UN warned that parties to the peace deal in South Sudan were abandoning their obligations, a sign of imminent war.

“These indiscriminate attacks on civilians are causing significant casualties and horrific injuries, especially burns. Given this grim situation, we are left with no other conclusion but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war,” said Nicholas Haysom, UNmiss head of mission, during a press conference in Juba.

“Rampant misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech are also ratcheting up tensions and driving ethnic divisions and fear.”

Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye said he had seen “credible intelligence” that Rwanda has a plan to attack his country, whose forces have battled Rwandan-backed rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

He did not elaborate on the alleged plan, which was dismissed by Rwanda, and said he hoped the problem could be resolved through dialogue.

“We know that he has a plan to attack Burundi,” Ndayishimiye told the BBC in an interview, referring to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

“Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters,” he said.

Rwanda’s foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, described the statement as “unfortunate”, adding in a post on X that the two countries were holding discussions and had agreed on the need for military and verbal de-escalation.

Ndayishimiye’s comments underscored the regional stakes of the conflict in eastern Congo, where an advance by M23 rebels since January has captured swathes of territory and killed thousands.

A war in eastern Congo from 1998 to 2003 drew in more than half-dozen foreign armies. This time, Rwanda has sent arms and troops to support M23, according to the United Nations, while Burundian troops have been fighting alongside Congolese forces.

Rwanda denies supporting M23, saying its forces are acting in self defence against Congo’s army and militias hostile to Kigali.

Burundi has had troops in Congo for years to hunt down Burundian rebels there. It withdrew most of its 12,000 troops from Congo in February, a Burundian officer and diplomatic sources told Reuters.

Burundian and Rwandan officials have met several times in recent weeks and agreed for the Rwandan army and M23 not to occupy the Congolese territory of Uvira, which is close to Burundi’s commercial capital Bujumbura, according to four sources with knowledge of the talks.

Read: Congo’s Uvira residents state their greatest fears

The two countries have confirmed meetings have taken place, without going into specifics.

Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) blocs have ruled out the use of military force to resolve the crisis in eastern Congo.

Instead, they said at a joint summit on Monday that they would use political and diplomatic means. They appointed five former presidents, including Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, to help find a solution to the escalating crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Others are former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, Central African Republic’s Catherine Samba-Panza and Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde.

The summit said the appointment of the panel of facilitators took “into account gender, regional and language inclusivity”.

The summit was co-chaired by President William Ruto of Kenya, chair of the EAC, and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, chair of Sadc.

Earlier, President Ruto had issued a statement “appointing” Kenyatta, Obasanjo and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

But it later emerged that there had been no consensus on the appointment, despite Ruto issuing what he had called a ‘joint statement’ with President Mnangangwa. However, it emerged that Sadc leaders had concerns about the role of the former Ethiopian prime minister and the fact that the team did not include a woman.

Unconditional ceasefire

The joint summit also called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, including the Congolese army, from eastern Congo and an unconditional ceasefire.

“Since our last summit our ministers have convened, whose outcomes are tabled before us today. We are, however, deeply concerned that the implementation of our decisions is not proceeding with the urgency it deserves,” said Mnangagwa.

“This is despite the fact that the security in the eastern DRC remains fragile with supply routes, including Bukavu and Goma airports remaining closed. The humanitarian situation in eastern DRC remains dire.”

A joint meeting of EAC and Sadc held on March 17, 2025, in Harare, Zimbabwe, called for ceasefire, again, and the re-opening of Goma airport which is currently under the mandate of M23 rebels. These leaders had made the same call on February 7 and 8.

President Mnangagwa ruled out military intervention and called on a section of the DRC army to withdraw to allow for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

“Your excellences have consistently acknowledged that the military interventions on their own are not in absolute panacea to the security challenges befitting our sister country,” said Mnangagwa.

“It is important that we provide the impetus to the peace process in line with our decisions. The establishment of a political framework is a crucial enabler for the implementation of critical outstanding outcomes of our previous meetings. There is therefore a need to initiate diplomatic and political engagement to facilitate the withdrawal of some DRC troops.”

This stance was significant given that both the Sadc and the EAC had at various times deployed troops in the Congo, but had ultimately failed to achieve a solution.

The EAC was forced to pull out its troops in December 2023, accused by Kinshasa of refusing to fire on the M23. Sadc decided last week to disengage after its troops suffered embarrassing losses, including being unable to leave after the M23 closed major airports in eastern Congo.

Read: After peacekeeping fails, SADC bets on political solution to Congo war

Mnangagwa said armed groups continue to pose a threat to the sovereignty of DRC and stability of the two regional blocs.

“There is a need for us to accelerate the intervention of our joint interventions to arrest this worrisome development. We continue to call for immediate and unconditional ceasefire cessation of hostilities,” he added.

Critical briefing

The meeting also directed Ruto and Mnangagwa to convene a critical briefing in seven days with the facilitators.

“The joint summit directed the co-chairs to convene a briefing session with the panel of facilitators within the next seven days; the briefing should be done jointly by Sadc, EAC, and the African Union,” reads the communiqué issued after Monday’s virtual meeting.

Attendees included Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), among others, signalling broad regional consensus.

This was the second joint EAC-Sadc summit since February, when leaders met in Dar es Salaam to address the DRC crisis.

The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately, Sudan’s army said in a statement it had taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF’s main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.

The army had long been on the back foot in a conflict that threatens to partition the country and has caused a humanitarian disaster. But it has recently made gains and has retaken territory from the RSF in the centre of the country.

The army seized control of the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum on Friday.

Witnesses said on Wednesday that RSF had mainly stationed its forces in southern Khartoum to secure their withdrawal from the capital via bridges to the neighbouring city of Omdurman.

The UN calls the situation in Sudan the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several locations and disease across the country of 50 million people.

The war erupted two years ago as Sudan was planning a transition to democratic rule.

The army and RSF had joined forces after forcing Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019 and later in ousting the civilian leadership.

But they had long been at odds, as Bashir developed Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and the RSF, which has its roots in Darfur’s janjaweed militias, as a counterweight to the army, led by career officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The presence of Ugandan troops in South Sudan is provoking controversy, as rifts widened this week between coalition partners in the peace deal government.

First Vice President Riek Machar has accused Uganda of violating a United Nations arms embargo by entering South Sudan with armoured and air force units and carrying out air strikes across the country.

In a letter to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), the African Union and the UN, Dr Machar asked for intervention to force the Ugandan troops out.

The Ugandan People’s Defence Forces deployed in Juba and Upper Nile State on March 14.

Dr Machar, who is in government with President Salva Kiir as part of a 2018 peace deal, said the troops were deployed without the approval of South Sudan’s transitional government.

Read: South Sudan Machar’s party pulls out of peace process

The letter, dated March 23, was addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, AU Peace and Security Council Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, and Igad chairman Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is also Djibouti’s president.

“The agreement that invited the Ugandan military to South Sudan known as the Status of Forces Agreement between the Government Republic of Uganda and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan was signed on 10th January 2014. The agreement was not signed by the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), and as such the Revitalised Agreement takes precedence over the Status of Forces Agreement between Uganda and South Sudan,” he wrote, referring to the official name of the Igad-brokered 2018 peace deal.

Uganda says it sent troops to South Sudan at the request of President Kiir following skirmishes in Upper Nile state, between a militia linked to Machar and government forces.

On March 14, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba said they had deployed troops to Juba “to secure it.”

“We the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognise one President of South Sudan, HE Salva Kiir … any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he added.

Read: Why Uganda is deploying troops to Juba

Uganda previously deployed troops to Juba and Bor in December 2013, when a fierce civil war erupted between Kiir and the forces loyal to Machar. The troops withdrew in 2015, but were deployed again in 2016 after the two sides returned to war. They left the country later that year.

Last week, Uganda’s parliament retrospectively approved the deployment in South Sudan, with the ruling National Resistance Movement arguing that parliamentary approval was a mere formality.

Arrests in Lake State

In South Sudan, the National Security Service (NSS) arrested the deputy governor of Lakes State, Isaiah Akol Mathiang, and several other state officials on Monday in a move targeting allies of Machar.

Dr Akol, who chairs Machar’s opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), in Lakes State, was detained a day after condemning airstrikes by South Sudanese and Ugandan troops in Upper Nile State.

Those arrested in the Monday swoop included Lake States’ lawmaker Ater Akolde, the Animal Resources minister Gai Magok, and the region’s SPLM-IO youth league chairperson Mandela Machiek.

Authorities had, two weeks ago, arrested the country’s Petroleum minister Puot Kang and the Deputy Chief of Staff Gen Duom Lap. They remain in detention, accused of fuelling the violence, despite of Igad calls for their release.

The latest wave of violence erupted in early March, pitting the military against the White Army, a militia predominantly composed of Nuer youth loyal to Machar. Tensions flared when the government announced plans to replace long-serving troops with newly deployed forces. Fearing targeted attacks or forced disarmament, local armed youth rejected the deployment and instead demanded a unified force.

Days later, the SPLM-IO raised concerns about heavy military deployment near Machar’s residence, heightening fears about the peace agreement’s stability. The situation deteriorated rapidly when military confrontations broke out, culminating in the White Army seizing control of Nasir, a strategic town near the Ethiopian border.

The White Army, notorious for its history of ethnic violence, clashed fiercely with government forces. The violence took an even more tragic turn when a UN helicopter, on an evacuation mission in Nasir, came under fire. The attack killed a crew member and critically injured two others.

Military commander Gen Majur Dak, who had been captured by the White Army, was executed days later, further inflaming hostilities.

The developments came even as the UN warned that parties to the peace deal in South Sudan were abandoning their obligations, a sign of imminent war.

“These indiscriminate attacks on civilians are causing significant casualties and horrific injuries, especially burns. Given this grim situation, we are left with no other conclusion but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war,” said Nicholas Haysom, UNmiss head of mission, during a press conference in Juba.

“Rampant misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech are also ratcheting up tensions and driving ethnic divisions and fear.”

Kenyan fishermen in Lamu are embroiled in a conflict with migrants from Pemba Island in Zanzibar, which has seen more than 100 of the foreigners evicted from the county.

The local fishermen's grievances include the use of banned fishing gear, such as ring nets, and other unfavourable fishing methods, including scuba diving.

They are protesting the encroachment of foreign Pemba fishermen into Kenyan waters, whom they accuse of fishing in the area without proper permits, licences and other documentation.

Chairman of the Indian Ocean Water Body (IOWB) Beach Management Units (BMU) Network, Mohamed Somo, said they had to put up with the situation as the migrant Pemba fishermen continued to benefit at the expense of local fishermen.

The Indian Ocean Water Body BMU Network comprises at least 101 BMUs working along the Kenyan coast to improve the management of fisheries and support community-based co-management.

“We’re tired of seeing our waters encroached on by Pemba fishermen, most of whom have no licences and other documentation permitting their operations in this place. These foreigners have fully taken over the sector. They are the ones selling fish in large quantities to local fishmongers and traders in this place,” said Mr Somo.

“We’ve petitioned to the County Commissioner’s office about this matter. Though the law allows the foreigners to sell their fish locally, we urge the government through the relevant departments to take immediate measures and drive the Pemba fishermen away to save us.”

Also read: Uganda arrests thousands of foreigners over fishing

Lamu Island BMU chairperson Abubakar Twalib said Lamu and Kenyan fishermen as a whole were a welcoming lot.

But he was quick to say that was not the case in Tanzania or Zanzibar, where Kenyan fishermen, boat operators, tour guides and others have been frustrated by the unpleasant working conditions they face while operating there.

In May 2021, for example, there was outrage after Tanzanian authorities arrested six Kenyan fishermen and impounded their boats in the waters of Lake Victoria, citing illegal fishing practices and cross-border fishing violations.

Read: Kenyan fishermen on trial in Tanzania for ‘armed robbery’

“As local fishermen, we’ve been very lenient and accommodative to our Pemba friends, some of whom have been operating in our waters even without permits. Unfortunately, when we do the same in their countries, either Tanzania or Zanzibar, their authorities are always hard on us. We feel enough is enough. Let the Pemba fishermen be driven out of Lamu,” said Mr Twalib.

Lamu County Fisheries Development Agency board chairperson Fuad Sheyumbe has backed the move to ban Pemba fishermen from fishing in Lamu waters.

Mr Sheyumbe expressed his disappointment that some of the Pemba fishermen have been using modern fishing equipment that ends up catching immature fish.

This has led to massive destruction of fish breeding grounds, forcing them to migrate to other areas.

He stressed that they will not allow their natural resources to continue to be exploited for the benefit of foreigners.

“Our artisanal fishermen have continued to record poor fish harvest as has been experienced in the recent past and all this is because of the continued invasion of our sea by foreigners,” said Mr Sheyumbe.

However, the ongoing standoff has divided the local population, with some large-scale fish traders and dealers accusing the local fishermen of blowing the situation out of proportion.

Shee Mwalimu, a fish trader on Lamu Island, said the presence of the Pemba fishermen had been a great benefit to the region.

He said the Pemba fishermen were hardworking people who had always ensured a consistent supply of fish to Lamu's hotels and households.

Mr Mwalimu said many fishing boats, including his own, are operated by Pemba fishermen and it is through such arrangements that traders like him have been able to earn an income to support their families.

He said more than 40 fishing boats have remained docked in Lamu for the past three days because of the tension.

“The government should intervene to end this stalemate,” said Mr Mwalimu.

Read: How Lamu fishermen brought life to a sleepy village

Lamu elder Muhashiam Famau described the local fishermen's behaviour as jealousy of the Pemba fishermen.

He said the presence of Pemba people in the Coast region is not new, as some have been there for decades, intermarrying with local communities and having children.

“If they’re using modern or advanced gears ... then get challenged, strive to reach their level,” said Mr Famau.

When contacted, Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech admitted that he had received a petition from local fishermen demanding that their Pemba counterparts stop operating at sea.

He said that some of the complaints raised by the locals include lack of proper documentation, use of illegal fishing gear and overfishing by Pemba fishermen venturing into Lamu waters.

Mr Koech said a meeting was convened between the local fishermen, his office and relevant authorities dealing with marine issues and welfare, including the Kenya Coast Guard, where several issues were discussed and important decisions were taken.

“We agreed that Pemba fishermen without Kenyan IDs and other licences be arrested if found doing fishing at sea. They have to adhere to all the regulations, including the use of authorised fishing gears. In fact, those who haven’t complied have already left Lamu. There’s no cause for alarm,” said Mr Koech.

Lieutenant Mohamed Ali of the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) in Lamu has confirmed that all Pemba fishermen operating in the Indian Ocean waters in the area have left the county following sustained calls by local fishermen to chase them out.

Mr Ali said the KCGS has intensified general patrols at sea to ensure that maritime law is enforced as part of its commitment to preserving marine life and ensuring safe fishing practices.

He urged local fishermen to also comply with maritime laws by avoiding the use of illegal fishing gear and breaching safety regulations.

“The local fisherfolk complained that Pemba fishermen were using prohibited fishing tools and doing fishing without proper documentation. We conducted massive search operations at sea in Lamu and managed to arrest two Kenyans and two Pemba fishermen. After interrogation, we found that they were using the normal fishing line which is legalized. We released them,” said Mr Ali.

He added, “But I can confidently confirm that as of today, we’ve no single Pemba fisherman operating at sea in this place. I insist that even the local fishers here should adhere to the Kenya fishing laws. They should use proper fishing gears, license and comply with all the safety rules, including wearing life jackets and operating within the confines of their licenses.”

National carrier Kenya Airways has posted its first full year profit after more than a decade of losses, buoyed by foreign exchange gains.

The airline posted an all-time high net profit of Ksh5.4 billion ($41.7 million) for 2024, a turnaround from a Ksh22.6 billion ($205.4 million) loss in 2023— its first full year profit in 12 years.

“Our ratio earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation was 20 percent in 2024, which is higher than the industry’s average of 17 percent and demonstrates the strong performance during the year,” Kenya Airways chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka told a briefing on Tuesday.

“This is the highest profit that this company has reported in its history,” he added.

A key driver of KQ’s improved performance in 2024 was foreign exchange gains of Ksh10.55 billion ($81.5 million), compared to a loss of Ksh15.04 billion ($116.1 million) in 2023, as the local currency strengthened by more than 20 percent against the dollar last year.

The stronger Kenyan shilling also helped KQ save Ksh1.2 billion ($9.3 million) on its foreign currency denominated liabilities.

The airline’s operating profit for the year rose to Ksh16.62 billion ($128.3 million) from Ksh10.53 billion ($81.3 million) in 2023, helped by higher revenues and lower costs.

Passenger, cargo numbers

KQ’s total revenue rose by six percent to hit Ksh188.4 billion ($1.5 billion) from Ksh178.4 billion ($1.4 billion) a year prior, while passenger numbers rose four percent during the year to 5.23 million, a historical high, from 5.04 million passengers in 2023.

Cargo volumes, meanwhile, rose faster than passenger numbers at 25 percent to 70,776 tonnes from 56,576 tonnes a year earlier.

During the year, Kenya Airways increased its cargo lift with an addition of two aircraft to its fleet, while expanding its passenger operations to three new destinations- Mogadishu, Maputo and Eldoret.

Read: Airlines boost cargo capacity as demand rebounds

Negative equity position

However, Kenya Airways faces a substancial working capital deficit, burdened by a negative equity position resulting from 11 years of sustained losses.

The airline remains committed to attracting a new equity investor in 2025 to provide a significant cash injection to stabilise its recent performance and ensure the long-term stability of the carrier.

However, the search for a new strategic investor has stalled as KQ’s majority shareholder—the government of Kenya —weighs options to calm the turbulence the national carrier faces.

“We look into the future with a great amount of anticipation. We have produced a profit but what we really need is a huge capital injection to improve the airline, including flying to new destinations and improving passenger experiences,” KQ board chairman Michael Joseph said.

KQ has identified other headwinds to its business that need to be addressed, including the deterioration of its on-time performance in 2024 and higher than normal flight cancellations.

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