East Africa News

[Independent (Kampala)] Kampala, Uganda -A government move to borrow 2.4 trillion shillings from Stanbic Bank and Trade and Development Bank to plug the budget deficit, has evoked mixed feelings from economists and observers.

[Nation] The scheduled sentencing on Friday of confessed drug trafficker Ibrahim Akasha has been postponed until January 10.

[Radio Dabanga] Khartoum -According to a Sudanese official, communication has been lost with 11 Sudanese nationals detained by human traffickers in Libya.

[Dalsan Radio] Several people are feared dead after suspected Al-Shabaab militants attacked a Mandera-bound bus between Kutulo and Wargadud in Wajir County on December 6.

[Daily News] THE Minister for Finance and Planning, Mr Mohamed Ramia Abdiwawa, says the government had been prompted to reallocate funds to ensure the ongoing construction of Terminal III at the Zanzibar airport was complete.

[Daily News] THE Second Vice-President, Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi on Friday told the House that Zanzibar was still facing serious social problems that had to be addressed collectively.

[Nation] When Mr Mutuku Tila, 38, Mr Muteti Kiambi, 35, and Mr Muinde Kasuu, 37, left their homesteads in Yikivuthi village, Makueni County, and waded into Kithamani Kwa Muindi, a forested island nestled on the River Athi last Saturday, they had no idea that they would remain marooned on that patch of earth throughout the weekend.

[Nation] Motorists who have no choice but to park in Nairobi's central business district must be relieved that the High Court suspended the new parking fees structure imposed by the city government.

[Nation] Travellers were forced to spend the night on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway following a huge traffic snarl-up at Gilgil.

[Nation] Tough times lie ahead for over 2,000 private security firms that fail to pay taxes and remit statutory deductions after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i yesterday ordered a compliance audit.

[Nation] President Uhuru Kenyatta Friday launched the construction of 8,888 houses in Mavoko, Machakos County, under the affordable housing programme, which is part of his Big Four agenda.

[Nation] Seven police officers, a doctor and two other people have been killed in an ambush in Wajir.

[Daily News] AS the deadline for biometric registration of SIM cards looms on December 31, this year, available figures show that 18.8 million out of 28.7 million SIM cards were registered biometrically as of December 4, this year.

[Daily News] TANZANIA has maintained that it has not withdrawn from the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR).

[Radio Dabanga] Khartoum -A group of Sudanese lawyers have filed a complaint to the Prosecutor of Khartoum North against deposed President Omar Al Bashir, former Vice-President Ali Osman Taha, former Parliament Speaker El Fateh Ezzeldin, and members of the Sudan Scholars Association, for ordering the killing of demonstrators.

[New Times] Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has arrested two Intermediate Court judges and a Registrar on suspicion of corruption.

[New Times] We are just a few days away to the year 2020, where the world will have to have achieved the 90-90-90 target that stipulates; 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

[New Times] President Paul Kagame on Friday urged the incoming top leaders of the judiciary to uphold the rule of law in the interest of the citizens and the country, adding that it would contribute to the country's transformation.

[East African] A Kenyan parliamentary committee has accused the Ministry of Agriculture of overseeing the collapse of the dairy industry as the local market continues to be flooded with cheap imports from Uganda despite the country producing enough milk for consumption and exportation.

[UNFPA] KIGALI, Rwanda, International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA)--As the pillars of our communities, girls have the agency to bring about change for themselves and those around them, said Jeannette Kagame, Rwanda's First Lady.

[Nation] With a shaky political base and time running out on his presidency, President Uhuru Kenyatta is not sitting pretty.

[Addis Standard] Performing the Duties of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James H. Anderson hosts a bilateral meeting with Ethiopia's Minister of Defense, His Excellency Minister Lemma Megersa, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Dec. 4, 2019. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class James K. Lee)

[Dalsan Radio] The late activist Almaas Elman has been honored by friends and family in Canada.

[Deutsche Welle] A rescue operation is underway in the Kenyan capital after a residential building collapsed. Two people were confirmed dead and an unknown number are feared to be trapped under the rubble despite rescue efforts.

[Deutsche Welle] Tanzania plans to stop individuals and NGOs from filing cases at Africa's human rights court. The move could restrict chances of getting justice for human rights abuses - and cut the court's effectiveness, experts say.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was flown to Wilson Airport Friday afternoon following a dramatic arrest in Voi where Ethics and Ati-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives caught up with him while he was reportedly on the run.

[Nation] More than 600 residents in Kiangwe and Mararani villages in Lamu are facing an acute water shortage.

[Nairobi News] A primary school teacher is counting huge losses after she accidentally burned her house down as she was trying to to burn a snake that had entered her house.

[Nation] A son of a cane cutter, Mr Kefline Wanyama, was among the 24 outstanding teachers in the country who won trophies and cash prizes amounting to Sh1.2 million.

[Nation] The US State Department is offering a $5 million (about Sh508 million) reward for information on the whereabouts of an American citizen said to be a leader of al-Shabaab's bomb-making operations.