Author: The Exchange

His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, is in Kenya for a three-day official visit that mixes diplomacy, heritage and development. This is his first visit to the country since his appointment as Imam, succeeding his late father, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, in February 2025. The visit has significance, both symbolic and practical, as part of his role as Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), demonstrating the ongoing ethos of partnership that has been in place for many decades between the Ismaili Imamat and the Government of…

Gaza now is the most lethal assignment in modern journalism. At least 197 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, often while reporting on the aftermath of strikes, or while seeking shelter with family. The Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ says this the most deliberately coordinated attempt to silence journalists it has ever recorded. On Aug. 10 and again on Aug. 25, 2025, Palestinian journalists were targeted and killed in clusters of attacks that illustrate how murderous and lawless this war has grown for the press. The right to report is being buried with the people…

Africa is set to add 1.2 million barrels per day of new refining capacity by 2030 – driven by landmark projects across Nigeria, Angola and Uganda. These investments will pave the way for a $100 billion investment window, offering a new phase of growth in Africa’s energy sector. At this year’s African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference, policymakers, investors and stakeholders are set to further explore this emerging opportunity. New massive oil refining projects in Nigeria, Angola and Uganda are poised to add Africa’s refining capacity by 1.2 billion barrels per day, ushering the continent to a new…

Rights activists fault Uganda-U.S. deal on accepting deportees, asking: “Are they refugees or prisoners?” Human rights lawyer Nicholas Opio: “We are sacrificing human beings for political expediency; in this case because Uganda wants to be in the good books of the United States.” Foreign Affairs office says talks with Washington are limited to, “visas, tariffs, sanctions, and related issues.” Rights activists and leaders of the opposition in Uganda have trashed the agreement between President Kaguta Museveni and Donald Trump’s administration to accept thousands of deportees from the U.S., saying the deal is akin to perpetrating human trafficking. According to Ugandan…

Japan plans to channel key investments into Africa by encouraging Japanese multinationals operating in India and the Middle East to set up shop in the continent. Investment move comes at a time when Beijing is equally ramping up its presence in Africa while Washington unleashes tariffs, and crippling aid cuts. UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “Countries hosting them [critical minerals] must be the ones to benefit first and most, while adding value to local and global value chains.” As the battle by the world’s biggest economies for a slice of the 1.4 billion market and wealth of vast resources in Africa…

Human Rights Watch claims Rwandan-backed M23 group summarily executed over 140 civilians in July 2025, mainly ethnic Hutu people, in at least 14 villages and small farming communities in eastern DRC. The killings appear to be part of a military campaign against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mostly Rwandan Hutu armed group formed by participants in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, and other opposing armed groups. The UN Security Council and governments should impose further sanctions on those responsible for grave abuses, and seek prosecution of commanders implicated in war crimes. A new report by Human Rights Watch…

Kakuzi avocado and tea export earnings for the half to June 30th, 2025, negatively affected by lower prices in the firm’s traditional market Europe. Company’s avocado division experienced a decline in half-year profit to KES395 million compared to a half-year profit of KES951 million posted in 2024. Kakuzi’s tea business recorded a bigger half-year loss of KES27.5 million compared to a loss of KES3.5 million suffered in June 2024. A decrease in international prices of avocado and tea across Europe has seen Kenya’s agribusiness company Kakuzi PLC’s net profit for the six months to June 30th, 2025 dip by 14.9…

Authorities in Burkina Faso have kicked out UN diplomat saying they were not briefed on the outcomes of “Children and Armed Conflict in Burkana Faso” report. UN’s regional coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak declared “persona non grata” for “compiling data without objective sources, and conveying serious and false information.” UN report details the killing and maiming of a total of 1,386 children, attacks on schools, rape, and recruitment of child soldiers. Burkina Faso has declared United Nations regional coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata citing an April 2025 UN report that accused the country’s security forces of grave violations against children, including…

Ethiopian Airlines: “With forecasts projecting up to 60 million passengers annually by 2040, expanding Bole International Airport further is not feasible, making a new mega-hub airport essential.” Groundworks for Ethiopian Airlines new address, Bishoftu International Airport, are expected to start late 2025, with phase one set for completion by November 2029. The $10 billion project will include an airport city complete with shopping malls, hotels, recreation areas, as well as direct rail and expressway links to Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines ambition to turn into a global aviation giant has received a boost after authorities in the country entered into a…

Paul Biya’s plan to seek re-election has brought up debate among African scholars, who have long cautioned against the dangers of overstaying in office, but these warnings have often been ignored. Scholar Thabang Motswaledi cites leaders such as the late Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Biya of Cameroon as examples of entrenched leadership styles that stifle development. Thabang Motswaledi: “The character of these governments is embedded with underdevelopment, dictatorship, elite rule and corruption.” The recent announcement by Cameroon’s 92-year-old President,…