Protests in Kenya
Thousands of people took to the streets in Kenya on Wednesday to demonstrate against the government of President William Ruto. The protests, which were once again largely initiated by the so-called ‘Gen Z’, took place on the anniversary of the nationwide demonstrations against Ruto’s controversial financial law, in which 60 people had lost their lives (Press Review 25/2024 and Press Review CW 26/2024). In addition to commemorating the victims, the latest demonstrations were primarily directed against police brutality and the precarious economic situation in the country.
In the capital Nairobi, the authorities closed central access roads in the early hours of the morning. Access to important buildings such as the parliament and the president’s official residence was also blocked with barbed wire. Banks and schools in Nairobi’s central business district also remained closed on Wednesday. In addition, the Kenyan media regulator banned television and radio stations from reporting live on the protests and threatened regulatory action in the event of non-compliance. As a result, the stations NTV, KTN, K24 and Kameme were temporarily taken off the air. However, the order was later cancelled by a court. Despite these restrictions, thousands of people gathered in the capital as well as in other cities such as Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru. The demonstrators waved Kenyan flags, held up signs with pictures of victims of previous protests and chanted slogans against President Ruto. In terms of numbers, however, fewer people took part in the marches than a year ago.
In a joint statement on Wednesday evening, the Kenya Medical Association, the Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group spoke of eight deaths in the course of the protests. A total of around 400 people were treated for injuries, including gunshot wounds. Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International in Kenya, spoke of at least 16 people who died – most of them as a result of police violence. According to Houghton, this figure has also been confirmed by the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen spoke of ten deaths and defended the actions of the security forces. He accused the protesters of wanting to bring about a regime change and sharply criticised the riots. The United Nations expressed its ‘deep concern’ about the violence during the rallies on Thursday.
In Kenya, outrage over corruption, unemployment, state attacks and the rising cost of living has been growing for several years. At the beginning of June, the death of 31-year-old blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody caused outrage and protests across the country.
Ojwang was arrested on 6 June after Deputy Police Chief Eliud Lagat accused him of spreading false information and personal insults on social media. During one of these protests in Nairobi, a street vendor was shot dead, again fuelling accusations of disproportionate use of force against protesters. On Monday, three police officers and three civilians were charged with murder in connection with Ojwang’s death. Deputy police chief Lagat, who denies any wrongdoing, temporarily resigned from his post last week pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, President Ruto signed the new Finance Act 2025 on Thursday, from which the previously planned tax increases were cancelled, but which still contains a controversial clause on data collection. This allows the Kenyan tax authorities access to citizens’ personal and financial data. It remains to be seen whether and in what form parliament will address the protesters’ demands and whether new protests will follow.
U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Angola
The 17th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, which took place in Angola’s capital Luanda for the first time this year, ended on Wednesday. Under the motto ‘Pathways to Prosperity: A Shared Vision for U.S.-Africa Partnership’, over 1,500 representatives from politics and business from African countries and the US came together. Around a dozen African Heads of State and Government took part in the economic summit, which was organised by the Corporate Council on Africa. The new chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, as well as Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the outgoing President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, were also present. The US was represented by Troy Fitrell, Senior Bureau Official leading the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, Massad Boulos, Senior Advisor for Africa, and other government representatives.
In his speech, Angola’s President João Lourenço called on the US to look beyond the raw materials sector in its economic cooperation with Africa and to invest more in other areas in which jobs are created and local labour and environmental standards are observed. Other aspects were also criticised by the African side – particularly with regard to the US government’s visa and trade policy. Chairperson of the African Union Commission Youssouf, among others, had strong words to say, questioning how fair bilateral trade can succeed while more than half of African countries are affected by visa restrictions. The visa bans and tariffs imposed were incompatible with the regulations of the World Trade Organisation and unacceptable, said Youssouf. Fitrell defended the US course on Tuesday and emphasised that the tariffs had not yet come into force and that the negotiations to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which expires in September, had not yet been concluded. Furthermore, there are no bans on visits. US consulates would still issue visas despite shorter validity periods. He also reaffirmed the US’ commitment to the Lobito Corridor, which is not affected by the cuts in US financial aid.
Various declarations of intent were also signed at the summit on Tuesday. These include the agreement between the Angolan regulatory authority ARCCLA and the US company Amer-Con Corporation for the construction and operation of 22 grain silo terminals. The Angolan Ministry of Energy also signed a memorandum of understanding with the US company Hydro-Link and the Swiss company Mitrelli for the construction of a 1,150 kilometre high-voltage power line between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will transmit up to 1,200 megawatts. A further declaration of cooperation was signed between Soapro SA (Angola), Hydro-Link (USA), Knight Piésold (South Africa) and Windhoek Consulting Engineers (Namibia) for the planning of cross-border infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors.
In April, Fitrell presented the USA’s new Africa strategy in Abidjan, which is based on the principle of commercial diplomacy. In future, US ambassadors will be assessed according to how actively they promote US companies in the countries and how many agreements they are able to broker. The aim is to boost exports from the US to sub-Saharan Africa, which, according to Fitrell, have stagnated over the last two decades. However, this goal has been overshadowed by the Trump administration’s trade and customs policies, which have caused outrage on the African side, as the head of the AU Commission, among others, made clear at the economic summit. The dissolution of the US development agency USAID and the cancellation of the associated financial aid also strained relations with African countries. At the same time, the US sees itself in competition with China, which only a fortnight ago signalled its willingness to grant 53 African countries duty-free access to all Chinese tariff lines at the ministerial meeting of those responsible for coordinating the implementation of the follow-up measures of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) (Press Review CW 24/2025).
In other news
On Monday, Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry officially succeeded Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As part of the IOC’s 131st birthday celebrations, Bach, who is stepping down after twelve years as President, presented Coventry with the symbolic key to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 41-year-old was elected by the IOC General Assembly in March with 49 out of 97 votes in the first round of voting, making her the first woman and first African to be elected to lead the Committee. She is regarded as Bach’s favourite successor, who had supported her for years. On Thursday, the new IOC boss announced the revision of the selection process for Olympic hosts as well as a working group for more protection of the female category. Coventry is a two-time Olympic swimming champion (2004 and 2008) and was long regarded as ‘Zimbabwe’s daughter’ – a career that was also encouraged by the support of then President Robert Mugabe. Under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, she was appointed Minister of Sport in 2018 and was widely criticised for joining the cabinet. During her time in office, she campaigned against corruption and mismanagement in the sports sector; however, her record is viewed differently by the public.
Breaking news
Sierra Leone’s President Bio takes over chairmanship of ECOWAS
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio was elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the summit of the regional bloc in Abuja on Sunday. He succeeds Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who had previously led the regional organisation for two years. By taking office, Bio is assuming key tasks that remained unresolved under his predecessor – including the ongoing threat from terrorist groups, the faltering expansion of the ECOWAS standby force and dealing with the withdrawal of the states led by military governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (press review CW 28/2024). These topics dominated the summit agenda.