First Independent Mena Newspaper
Kenya has joined Seychelles, Benin, and The Gambia in announcing the lifting of visa restrictions for all African nationals on 12 December in a move that has been hailed as a step in the right direction. President William Ruto stated in his address at the recent Youth Connekt Africa 2023 Summit in Nairobi that he […]
Uganda’s government has passed a bill for the Uganda National Oil Business (UNOC), a state-owned oil business, to domestically buy and supply oil, thus ending its dependence on neighboring Kenya for its oil needs, thus taking its fate into its own hands. The bill is meant to terminate the present method of importing oil through […]
The five-day state visit of King Charles III to Kenya elicits mixed reactions among the country’s people even as the monarch expressed regrets for colonial violence, saying that “there can be no excuse” for British colonial atrocities against Kenyans. The very presence of King Charles III in Kenya is unearthing memories of atrocities committed during […]
Kenyan and Nigerian currencies have both hit all-time lows in the past few days, worsening the economic situation in the two heavily indebted African countries plagued by high inflation and ongoing dollar shortages. Kenyan currency hit all-time low of 150 shillings to the US dollar on Monday (23 October), while the Nigerian naira has faced […]
To offer developing countries an “alternative” to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the EU launched, in 2021, its €300 billion Global Gateway scheme but as Kenya’s case shows, the EU’s initiative struggles to challenge its Chinese rival. For the European Union, investing in trade routes is about economic development and a way to push […]
African nations have been divided over which side to support in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but African leaders have still unanimously called on warring parties to halt deadly confrontations that erupted on 7 October when the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise assault. With the African Union (AU) having been divided over the […]
Kenya’s president William Ruto has welcomed the UN Security Council’s resolution to send a a multinational armed force led by the East African nation to Haiti to help combat violent gangs, pledging “not fail the people of Haiti.” Ruto made these remarks on Tuesday (2 October), only hours after Monday’s vote at the UN that […]
Kenyan lawmakers are considering changes to the Mining Act of 2016, thus following in the footsteps of Uganda that passed its Mining and Minerals Act in October 2022, aiming to reform its nascent mining industry to improve the state’s control and oversight of the critical industry. The Mining (Amendment) Bill that was tabled in the […]
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has potential to increase cross-border remittances by migrants, according to a new report by World Bank, even as international markets remain the largest sources. The AfCFTA has the potential to make cross-border transactions such as remittance transfers by migrants within Africa cheaper through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement […]
Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, has in 2023 honored work of two women activists from Africa to provide safer abortion access in the continent and in the area of environmental protection in Kenya, as well as a humanitarian group that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The 2023 laureates “stand […]