“IDF soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar… in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
The IDF said that its soldiers killed three militants in the operation, and later, it turned out that one of them was Sinwar, who “was responsible for the murder and abduction of many Israelis.”
According to the statement, Sinwar was killed after hiding over the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground, in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
“The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination,” the statement added.
Shortly before the IDF statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed Sinwar’s death in a message to foreign ministers of other countries, saying that “this is a great military and moral achievement for Israel.”
According to the foreign minister, “the elimination of Sinwar creates a possibility for the immediate release of the Israeli abductees and to bring about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza, without Hamas nor Iranian control.”
Considered the chief architect of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, Sinwar was appointed as Hamas leader in August following the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Sinwar was born in October 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. He had been jailed in Israeli prison multiple times before his final release in 2011.
After his release, Sinwar was elected to Hamas’s political bureau during the movement’s internal elections in 2012, where he took charge of security matters. In 2013, he assumed leadership of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, coordinating efforts between the political bureau and the brigades’ leadership.
He was elected in 2017 as the head of the movement’s political bureau in Gaza, and in 2021, he was re-elected for a second four-year term during the movement’s internal elections.
The Senate upheld Gachagua’s impeachment by the National Assembly in a historic vote taken late Thursday night.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi immediately declared the Deputy President’s office vacant in a gazette notice circulated on the same night.
To fill the vacancy, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula announced on Friday morning that President Ruto had submitted the name of Prof. Kindiki for approval to replace Gachagua.
The House is expected to hold a special sitting on Friday morning to consider Prof. Kindiki’s nomination.
Kindiki is likely to be approved by MPs as Ruto enjoys a majority in the House.
If Kindiki’s nomination is approved, he will be formally appointed and sworn in as Kenya’s Deputy President.
The 52-year-old is a seasoned lawyer and former senator who represented Tharaka Nithi County between 2013 and 2022. He was also part of a team of lawyers who represented Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, in the crimes against humanity case related to the 2007-2008 post-election violence. The charges against Ruto were later vacated due to insufficient evidence.
Kindiki was among the top candidates considered as President Ruto’s running mate for his presidential campaign. Ruto, however, settled on Gachagua despite a majority of MPs in Ruto’s party overwhelmingly supporting Kindiki. Instead, Kindiki was appointed to serve as the Interior Minister.
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Gachagua, who is widely reported to have fallen out with President Ruto in recent months, was impeached after Senators upheld five of the 11 grounds tabled for his removal.
Fifty-four senators voted to impeach Gachagua on the first count of gross violation of the Constitution, while 13 voted against his ouster. The charges under this ground included accusations of dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines. The National Assembly cited several instances where he compared the government to a company, suggesting that certain regions held more shares than others.
Besides engaging in divisive politics, Gachagua faced a host of other accusations, including economic crimes, money laundering, insubordination, undermining the government and devolution, as well as bullying and intimidating state officers. However, the charges of economic crimes, money laundering, and bullying failed to gain sufficient support.
The Kenyan Senate required a two-thirds majority, which equates to at least 45 out of the 67 senators, to successfully impeach the Deputy President on any single charge.
Gachagua is the first Deputy President in Kenya’s history to be removed from office through an impeachment process. The impeachment bars him from ever holding public office.
The Senate proceeded with the impeachment trial despite Deputy President Gachagua falling ill and being hospitalized. He is expected to move to court to challenge the impeachment.
The Senate upheld five out of the 11 grounds in the historic vote taken on Thursday night.
Fifty-four senators voted to impeach Gachagua on the first count of gross violation of the Constitution, while 13 voted against his ouster. The charges under this ground included accusations of dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines. The National Assembly cited several instances where he compared the government to a company, suggesting that certain regions hold more shares than others.
Besides engaging in divisive politics, Gachagua faced a host of other accusations, including economic crimes, money laundering, insubordination, undermining the government and devolution, as well as bullying and intimidating state officers. However, the charges of economic crimes, money laundering, and bullying failed to gain sufficient support.
The Kenyan Senate required a two-thirds majority, which equates to at least 45 out of the 67 senators, to successfully impeach the Deputy President on any single charge.
“Pursuant to Article 145(7) and 151(b)(2) of the Constitution and Standing Order 78(8) of the Senate, the Senate has resolved to remove from office, by impeachment, His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua, the Deputy President of Kenya. Accordingly, His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua ceases to hold office,” Senate Speaker Amason Kingi declared.
Gachagua becomes the first Deputy President in Kenya’s history to be removed from office through an impeachment process. The impeachment bars him from ever holding public office.
The Senate proceeded with the impeachment trial despite Deputy President Gachagua falling ill and being hospitalized, according to his lawyers.
The legal team had requested an adjournment of the trial until at least Tuesday, October 22, 2024, but the Senate voted to continue with the proceedings. In protest, Gachagua’s lawyers walked out of the Senate.
The motion of impeachment was tabled by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse in the National Assembly on October 1, 2024.
Two hundred and eighty-one lawmakers voted in favour of the motion to remove Gachagua, while 44 opposed it, with only one member of the House abstaining. The motion required support from 233 MPs, representing two-thirds of the total 349 members, to pass through the House.
The coveted continental seat will become vacant in February 2025, as the current chairperson, Moussa Faki, completes his two terms in office.
The chairperson of the AU Commission serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the African Union and is crucial in driving the Union’s agenda while representing the continent on the global stage.
Candidates for the position are nominated by African Union member states, and a high-level panel of eminent Africans assesses and shortlists them based on qualifications, experience, and leadership capabilities. The final election is conducted by the Assembly of the African Union, comprising representatives from all member states. A two-thirds majority by secret ballot is required to elect the new chairperson.
The next AUC chairperson will be elected in February 2025 during the African Union Summit at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will serve a four-year term, renewable once.
The role is rotated among the AU’s five geographical regions: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Central Africa. This rotation policy ensures inclusivity and representation within the African Union, with each region having an opportunity to lead.
In March 2024, the African Union Executive Council unanimously resolved that the Eastern Africa region would nominate candidates to succeed Faki, who hails from Chad in the Central African region.
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Initially, at least six candidates from Eastern African states expressed interest in the role, but the race has narrowed to four candidates and two main contenders following the withdrawal of former Somali Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzia Yusuf in August.
Former Kenyan Prime Minister and longstanding opposition leader Raila Odinga and Djibouti’s former Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf are touted as the frontrunners. Other candidates include Anil Gayan, a former foreign minister of Mauritius; and Richard Randriamandrato, a former foreign minister of Madagascar.
Former Seychelles Vice President Vincent Meriton, who had expressed interest in the position, did not have his candidacy submitted by his country before the August 6, 2024, deadline.
Odinga has already secured backing from East African Community (EAC) member states and Yusuf of Somalia, a significant boost to his bid for the AUC chairmanship.
In fact, Odinga’s official bid launch in Nairobi in August was attended by four sitting heads of state: Kenyan President William Ruto, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu. Also in attendance were former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania.
Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, James Kabarebe, represented President Paul Kagame at the event.
While endorsing Odinga, President Ruto expressed confidence in his ability to lead the continent toward prosperity.
“I present to you a visionary Pan-African leader, a statesman, and a veteran mobilizer for positive change. I am confident that he will make Africa proud and powerful,” said Ruto.
Odinga, who has pledged to push for the scrapping of visas for intra-Africa travel and the removal of trade barriers, has also gained support from heads of state in Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, and Algeria.
However, despite this substantial backing, Odinga faces stiff competition from his Djiboutian counterpart, particularly following the revelation that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to support Mahmoud Ali Youssouf for the AUC chairmanship.
Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dya-eddine Bamakhrama, announced that the 50th session of the OIC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in August, unanimously resolved to back Youssouf.
With at least 27 OIC members from Africa, some pundits believe this could give Odinga a run for his money.
Despite Bamakhrama’s announcement on X, the extent of support from Islamic countries remains to be seen.
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Analysts point out that linguistic divisions between Anglophone and Francophone countries will likely play a significant role in determining the winner.
Kenyan diplomatic affairs analyst Ahmed Hashi predicts Odinga may lose to the Djiboutian candidate, citing the influence of Francophone countries.
“I would be shocked if he even gets a slim majority. The Djiboutian candidate will win with a landslide,” Hashi said during an interview with Kenya’s Citizen TV.
Hashi believes that language blocs—French, English, and Portuguese-speaking nations—will be pivotal in the voting process.
“The AU is divided along these fundamental lines, and the French influence is the biggest,” he explained.
Recalling Kenya’s 2017 defeat in a similar race, when Amina Mohamed lost after seven rounds of voting, Hashi suggested that French-speaking countries had a significant impact on that outcome and might do the same in this election.
“I was the spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during that election. We were confident of winning, but the French government intervened heavily, and we lost. Djibouti, which had supported us, eventually stabbed us in the back,” he said, drawing a parallel to the current situation.
Odinga, however, is relying on his experience and influence from serving as the AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa between 2018 and 2023 to tilt the odds in his favour.
Mauritius’s Anil Gayan is also considered a key contender for the position. A lawyer and former foreign minister, this marks his second attempt at the role, having previously contested for the seat in 2017.
He possesses extensive knowledge of the African Union’s architecture and its commission’s operations, having been deployed by the AU for various assignments.
Notably, in July 2013, he led an AU-appointed investigation team to examine the circumstances surrounding the killing of Abyei’s paramount chief. Additionally, he was involved in United Nations mediation efforts in Guinea-Bissau in 2008.
In a statement, the organization representing the interests of mobile network operators worldwide apologized to participants and stated that the event would be rescheduled for a new date in 2025.
“We recognize the inconvenience this may cause to our participants. A new date in 2025 will be announced,” GSMA said.
“Together with the Rwandan Ministry of ICT & Innovation, we look forward to convening Africa’s most influential connectivity event soon,” the organization added.
GSMA did not disclose the reason for postponing the much-awaited conference.
The postponed event is part of the GSMA’s MWC series, which includes flagship events such as MWC Barcelona, MWC Shanghai, and MWC Las Vegas.
The event aims to showcase the region’s advancements in connectivity and technological innovation, particularly in the context of emerging trends like 5G, fintech, and artificial intelligence.
The 2024 edition was set to explore key growth areas such as mobile money and the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Last year’s edition welcomed more than 3,400 attendees from over 1,400 companies and featured more than 230 speakers.
The malaria vaccine would be introduced in April 2025 targeting children aged from six months to five years, said the ministry in a statement.
According to the ministry, for every 10 sick people in Uganda, three have malaria, while for every 10 children below five years old admitted to the hospital, six have malaria and may die. Among every 100 pregnant women, 20 suffer malaria and risk losing their babies and even their own lives.
“The introduction of the malaria vaccine will strengthen the government’s efforts in further reducing the incidence and severity of malaria and contribute to overall childhood survival and reduction of infant/child mortality,” the ministry said.
Data from the health ministry showed that malaria kills between 70,000 to 100,000 people in Uganda annually, mostly pregnant mothers and children.
The life-threatening disease is responsible for 30 to 40 percent of outpatient hospital visits, 15 to 20 percent of admissions, and 10 percent of inpatient deaths.
The trial, the first of its kind globally, is being conducted in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). It involves testing the safety and efficacy of two treatments: Remdesivir, a drug already used to treat COVID-19, and MBP091, a special antibody designed to fight the Marburg virus.
According to WHO, the trial is the result of two years of work by nearly 200 researchers, developers, Ministry of Health officials, and global partners, including representatives from 17 African countries at risk of filovirus outbreaks, such as Ebola and Marburg.
In addition to the treatments, Rwanda recently rolled out vaccinations for frontline health workers and high-risk individuals.
So far, over 700 vaccine doses have been administered. The first batch of 700 doses, provided by the Sabin Vaccine Institute, arrived just nine days after the outbreak was declared. A second shipment of 1,000 doses followed on October 13, 2024.
Since the outbreak was confirmed late last month, Rwanda has reported 62 cases and 15 deaths from over 4,000 tests conducted. Minister of Health Sabin Nsanzimana has been providing daily updates on the outbreak.
According to the minister, all new confirmed cases have been within the hospital cluster in Kigali and their contacts, and all are under isolation and treatment. There is no evidence of community transmission.
The Marburg virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever, is believed to originate from fruit bats and spreads through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, rash, chest pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and unexplained bleeding.
To prevent infection, health experts recommend strict hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing and avoiding contact with personal items or bodily fluids of individuals showing symptoms of Marburg virus disease.
The 22-page report alleges torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees by officials at Nyarugenge Prison in Kigali, Rubavu Prison in the Western Province, and the Kwa Gacinya detention facility.
In a swift rejoinder, Rwanda Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo rubbished the claims, highlighting HRW’s lack of credibility due to its history of false and malicious reports.
“Human Rights Watch does not have a monopoly on human rights and has repeatedly shown itself to be neither serious nor credible. They continue to target Rwanda with fabricated stories, just as they did in 2017 when several Rwandans, whom HRW falsely claimed had been ‘summarily executed’ for stealing goats and fruit, appeared alive at a press conference held by Rwanda’s National Commission for Human Rights,” Makolo stated, referring to HRW’s past report titled “All Thieves Must Be Killed”.
The 2017 report alleged that 37 people were killed by police officers, soldiers, reservists, and members of the District Administration Security Support Organ (DASSO) in the districts of Rubavu and Rutsiro over ‘suspected theft and petty crimes’.
It was later established that all the aforementioned individuals were alive, following an investigation carried out by the National Commission for Human Rights.
In the latest report, titled “‘They Threw Me in the Water and Beat Me’: The Need for Accountability for Torture in Rwanda”, HRW claims that judges in Rwanda ignored complaints from current and former detainees about unlawful detention and ill-treatment.
The organization purports to have relied on testimonies from 28 individuals interviewed between 2019 and 2024 and demands that the government conduct a comprehensive investigation into torture in Rwanda’s prisons.
Ironically, in the same report where HRW accused the government of inaction, they lauded the trial of six prison officials and 12 detainees who were convicted over the assault of inmates in Rubavu Prison in April this year.
HRW has severally been criticized for making false reports motivated by political reasons.
In March 2022, the government spokesperson rejected a report accusing the Rwandan government of abusive prosecutions against opposition members, journalists, and commentators based on their speech and opinions. Makolo termed the report, titled “Rwanda: Wave of Free Speech Prosecutions”, as biased.
In September 2023, HRW released another report accusing Rwanda of abusing the rights of transgender people, sex workers, and street children.
At the time, Rwanda explained the report was a calculated attempt to harm a strategic sector of Rwanda’s economy with fabricated allegations.
Moses Kabali was found guilty by the Kahawa Magistrate Court, where he faced charges of hoaxing under Section 26 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 30 of 2012.
Kabali was accused of writing a false email to the Interpol General Secretariat in France, requesting them to alert Kenyan security agencies, specifically the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), about an imminent terrorist attack.
In the email sent on June 30, 2024, Kabali further claimed that two individuals known to him, along with other unidentified terror operatives, were planning to carry out an attack in Kenya using improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The prosecution informed the court that once the ATPU was alerted, its detectives launched investigations, leading to the arrest of a female suspect whose phone number was mentioned in Kabali’s report. However, the subsequent investigations revealed that the alert was false and misleading.
“Upon questioning, she disclosed that the phone number in question had been registered using her ID card but was being used by her cousin. A manhunt for the cousin ensued, and she was arrested in Eastleigh, Jam Street, on August 31, 2024. However, further investigations confirmed that she had no links to any terrorist group and was unaware of any planned attack,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said in a statement.
Kabali was arrested on September 3, 2024, at the California Group of Schools in Eastleigh. A search of his residence led to the seizure of two mobile phones, two laptops, and various documents.
Forensic analysis at the Anti-Terrorism Forensic Laboratory revealed that Kabali was the author of the email, which was found to have originated from his Yahoo mail account.
“It was further established that Kabali had sent the malicious email to the Interpol General Secretariat in France out of anger, intending to punish his wife after their separation,” DCI added.
Kabali was subsequently arraigned in court to face the charges. Chief Magistrate Gideon Kiage sentenced him to five years in prison with an alternative fine of Ksh5 million (approximately Frw 52 million).
The Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), which owns RTV, confirmed Munyangeyo’s resignation on Monday, October 14, 2024, citing links to gross misconduct during his tenure.
“The Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) hereby informs the public that Mr. Munyangeyo Kennedy Dieudonné, the Head of Rwanda National Television, has resigned from his duties. This resignation follows the discovery of gross misconduct during his tenure,” RBA said in a statement released on Monday night.
The state broadcaster further emphasized its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and integrity across all operations.
Although the RBA statement did not specify the exact reasons for Munyangeyo’s resignation, speculation began circulating on social media after a screenshot surfaced, showing a WASAC post accusing the media executive of illegally using their water.
While the post has since been deleted, a WASAC official confirmed that on October 10, 2024, the agency discovered Munyangeyo using water that had not passed through a meter. He was fined Frw 1,000,000 and ordered to pay for the water he had used before his reconnection.
“He (Munyangeyo) has paid the fine and settled the bill owed to WASAC,” Robert Bimenyimana, the PR and Communications Manager at WASAC stated, adding that only RBA could confirm the official reason for his departure.
“Gross misconduct could refer to various other reasons or wrongdoing during his tenure at RBA,” he added.
