In The Independent news magazine this week: COVER STORY Criminal terror gangs: Is Kayihura the man to stop them? ANALYSIS Mbabazi court award hits Shs21bn: Attorney General’s office looks for ways of scaling back costly damages ANALYSIS Mbabazi court award hits Shs21bn: Attorney General’s office looks for ways of scaling …

Multi-pronged approach key for effectively defeating fall armyworm in Africa NAIROBI, Kenya  – Tackling the menace of the tenacious fall armyworm pest and avoiding economic hardship for smallholders across Africa requires multi-institutional collaboration, scientists attending a continental stakeholders consultation meeting on the fall armyworm, have said. In their meeting in …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Sunday morning is usually the preserve of Christian pastors in the Nigerian megacity of Lagos but a new form of worship is emerging to challenge the monopoly. “Praise Allah!” shouts the imam of the Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) before thousands of his faithful, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A lack of foreign currency means petrol pumps are running dry across Burundi, the government has admitted, as the country struggles with a serious two-year-old political crisis. Long queues have been quickly forming in the capital Bujumbura where petrol is only available at some of …

Lokichar, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya plans to export its first oil in June, but analysts say the test phase faces major challenges and appears motivated primarily by political considerations just months ahead of elections. British company Tullow announced the discovery of oil in Kenya in March 2012, when prices …

Ugandans Wednesday night took to social media to complain after they realized they could not use WhatsApp to send or receive messages. The problem that started soon after 11pm, was first thought by many, to be a local problem. It soon turned out that it was a worldwide problem, as the …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Judges in South Sudan began a threatened strike demanding higher wages and the resignation of the chief justice this week, a senior judge told AFP on Wednesday. The strike marks the failure of talks between judges and the government of President Salva Kiir who …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian officials on Wednesday played down fears about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, despite his third consecutive absence from cabinet and assurances from his wife there was no cause for concern. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo chaired the meeting instead of the 74-year-old Buhari, who has …

DURBAN, South Africa| PPU|  For Africa to develop, the political will of the leaders must be accompanied by the right strategy, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has said. Museveni was speaking as the chief panelist on the subject “Agenda 2063: Infrastructure Update” at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, …

Daughter of late Rwandan tycoon to challenge Kagame Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  The 35-year-old daughter of a tycoon who once bankrolled the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front said Wednesday she plans to run as an independent candidate against President Paul Kagame in August’s elections. “Everybody is scared to express themselves …