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Business & Macro Developments
- 🇿🇦 South Africa: Financial services group Old Mutual has appointed Prabashini Moodley as CEO of its Life and Savings unit, effective August 2025. Moodley brings extensive actuarial and leadership experience, previously serving in various executive roles within the group.
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria: Guaranty Trust Holding Company successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising $105 million. The move supports its strategy to diversify funding sources and expand international investor access.
Climate & Energy
- 🇿🇦 South Africa: BMW South Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen stated that the country’s electric vehicle (EV) market has seen no meaningful growth in 2025, citing infrastructure and policy bottlenecks.
- 🇿🇲 Zambia: Independent power producer Globeleq signed a deal to acquire a 51% stake in Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Company from Norway’s Norfund, reinforcing investment in renewable energy across Southern Africa.
- 🇺🇬 Uganda: Dutch development bank FMO approved a $1 million loan to Zembo Motorcycles, aimed at expanding its electric motorbike fleet and charging infrastructure.
Geopolitics & Governance
- 🇬🇦 Gabon: The family of deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba has submitted evidence to a French court alleging torture during his detention following the 2023 military coup.
- 🇿🇦 South Africa: The New York Times reports the continued use of “tubing,” an apartheid-era torture method, by police. Over 1,700 allegations have been recorded in the past 11 years despite legal prohibitions.
- 🇲🇱 Mali: Junta leader General Assimi Goïta has been granted a renewable five-year presidential mandate without elections, consolidating military control until at least 2030.
- 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso: The junta revoked licenses for four foreign NGOs and suspended two associations, citing regulatory non-compliance amid increasing suppression of civil society.
- 🇬🇳 Guinea: The opposition UFDG has appealed to the Supreme Court after the junta barred its planned congress, amid ongoing restrictions on political activity.
- 🇱🇷 Liberia: President Joseph Boakai issued a formal state apology for atrocities committed during the country’s civil wars (1989–2003), aligning with truth and reconciliation commission recommendations.
Conflict, Security & Human Rights
- 🇸🇩 Sudan: Médecins Sans Frontières warns of potential mass atrocities and famine in El Fasher, North Darfur, amid encirclement by RSF forces. A separate government report confirmed 3,800 bodies buried in Khartoum since army forces regained control in May.
- 🇨🇩 DRC: The M23 rebel group seeks direct ceasefire talks with Kinshasa after being excluded from the DRC-Rwanda peace agreement brokered in Washington.
- 🇷🇼 Rwanda: A UN report accuses Boss Mining Solution of purchasing smuggled coltan from M23-held areas in eastern DRC, implicating it in illicit financing of the insurgency.
- 🌍 Sahel: An OECD report highlights the increased militarization and insecurity along transport routes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and northern Nigeria. Over 70% of violent incidents occur within 1 km of roads.
Civil Liberties & Regional Democracy
- 🇹🇬 Togo: Civil society and opposition parties have called for a postponement of local elections after deadly protests over political repression and price hikes. Amnesty International is demanding an investigation into reported abuses.
- 🇹🇬 Togo: Consumer groups report internet and social media restrictions, confirmed by NetBlocks, amid crackdowns on dissent.
- 🇪🇷 Eritrea: The UN Human Rights Council voted to extend a probe into abuses, rejecting Eritrea’s motion to terminate the mandate. Only four states, including China and Russia, supported Eritrea.
- 🇸🇸 South Sudan: Civil society groups have launched the CMDEC, a new democratic pressure coalition, advocating for constitutional reform and inclusive elections ahead of the scheduled 2026 vote.
- 🇧🇮 Burundi: Opposition parties have criticized the African Union for labeling the recent parliamentary election “credible,” despite widespread reports of irregularities and political exclusion.
- 🇰🇪 Kenya: An armed mob attacked the Kenya Human Rights Commission during a press briefing ahead of Saba Saba Day. Activists were calling for an end to state violence and extrajudicial killings amid ongoing nationwide protests.
Sources: africacenter.org | Semafor.com
