Tag: African Union

Ugandan leader extends 40-year rule after winning contested poll

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of Thursday’s election extending his four decades in power by another five years.

He gained 72% of the vote, the election commission announced, against 25% for his closest challenger Bobi Wine, who has condemned what he described as “fake results” and “ballot stuffing”.

Wine has not provided any details and the authorities have not responded to his allegations, but African Union election observers said they saw “no evidence of ballot stuffing”. Wine has called for non-violent protests.

Museveni, 81, first came to power as a rebel leader in 1986 but since then has won seven elections.

The election process was marred by violence and Wine, a 43-year-old former pop star, says that at least 21 people have been killed around the country in recent days.

The authorities have so far confirmed seven deaths.

Access to the internet has been cut in the country since Tuesday, making it hard to verify information.

The authorities say the blackout was necessary to prevent misinformation, fraud and the incitement of violence – a move condemned by the UN human rights office as “deeply worrying”.

Wine has demanded that the internet be restored.

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among celebrated Yoweri Museveni’s victory at the electoral commission [Reuters]

Leading the African Union observer mission, Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan told journalists that “the government should refrain from the suspension of internet access” close to the election.

Jonathan also denounced “reports of intimidation, arrest and abductions” saying they “instilled fear and eroded public trust in the electoral process”, AFP news agency reports.

Overnight, Wine’s party said that he had been abducted from his home in the capital, Kampala – a claim denied by the police.

Wine later issued a statement on Facebook saying that he had managed to evade a night-time raid by security forces and was in hiding.

He had previously said he was under house arrest.

This has not been confirmed by the police but spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said Wine’s movements had been restricted because his home was an area of “security interest”.

“We have controlled access to areas which are security hotspots,” Uganda’s Daily Monitor paper quoted him as saying.

“We cannot allow people to use some places to gather and cause chaos,” he said.

Wine says he represents the youth in a country where most of the population is aged under 30.

During the campaign, he promised to tackle corruption and impose sweeping reforms, while Museveni argued that he was the sole guarantor of stability in Uganda, a country with a history of conflict.

There were six other candidates but none got more than 2% of the vote. Turnout was 52.5%.

The campaign period was marred by the disruption of opposition activities – security forces have been accused of assaulting and detaining Wine’s supporters.

Rusoke, the police spokesperson, dismissed these complaints, accusing opposition supporters of being disruptive.

More about Uganda from the BBC:

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January 17, 2026
Europe and Africa need each other more than ever, says von der Leyen

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Europe and Africa “need each other more than ever before” in a global economy that is becoming “more confrontational,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

Speaking at the European Union-African Union summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda, von der Leyen said the two continents must deepen economic cooperation in an era of trade barriers, global overcapacity and export restrictions.

Von der Leyen said she sees the potential for the expansion of existing trade relations, even though a third of African exports already go to Europe.

She also pointed to the EU’s Global Gateway agenda, which she called “more than an infrastructure development programme,” highlighting the example of the Lobito Corridor in southern Africa.

At the last EU-African Union summit three years ago, a goal was agreed to invest a total of €150 billion ($173 billion) in Africa by 2027, von der Leyen said.

More than €120 billion has already been mobilized, she said, arguing that “at a time when other major investors are rethinking their global engagement, Europe’s commitment to Africa is here to stay.”

“The case for Africa and Europe to join forces is overwhelming,” the European Commission president said. “Let us find new ways of doing so. Let us walk this path together.”

Leaders from the two blocs are convening in Luanda amid a whirlwind of international diplomacy in southern Africa on the heels of a G20 summit in Johannesburg, the first such meeting on African soil.

The talks have arguably been overshadowed by frantic discussions on the controversial US peace plan for Ukraine, with EU leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz holding a meeting on the proposal in Luanda on Monday.

On the first day of the summit, officials were set to cover a range of issues, including peace, security and multilateral cooperation, migration, mobility and prosperity, before a joint declaration is released on Tuesday.

The EU currently deploys 12 civilian and military missions and operations on the continent, including in Libya, Mali, Somalia and the Central African Republic, most of which are aimed at supporting counterterrorism efforts, increasing stability and conflict prevention.

But both sides are also looking to further increase cooperation across other areas, 25 years since the first EU-AU summit was held in Cairo in 2000.

President of the European Council Antonio Costa (L) and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen make a statement after the informal talks between EU heads of government on Ukraine at the EU-Africa Summit. Dati Bendo/European Commission/dpa

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November 24, 2025
South African president calls for Africa to be member of G20

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JOHANNESBURG — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the African Union to be included as a permanent member of the Group of 20 leading economies.

The representation would allow African countries to more effectively press the G-20 group to implement its pledge to help the continent to cope with climate change.

Ramaphosa made the call Tuesday at the G-20 summit in Indonesia. The G-20 meeting is taking place at the same time as the U.N. climate summit in Egypt.

“We call for continued G-20 support for the African Renewable Energy Initiative as a means of bringing clean power to the continent on African terms,” Ramaphosa said.

“This can be best achieved with the African Union joining the G-20 as a permanent member,” he told the gathering.

The African Union represents the continent’s 54 countries. The G-20 is composed of the world’s major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product.

Ramaphosa expressed concern at the “lack of progress in key issues” at the multilateral negotiations at the climate conference.

“Industrialized countries in the G-20 need to demonstrate more ambitious climate action and must honor their financial commitments to developing economies,” he said.

South Africa is currently the only African member of the G-20.

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November 16, 2022
Calls grow for Ethiopia peace effort as fighting intensifies

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Diplomats are calling on Ethiopia ’s federal authorities and their rivals in the northern region of Tigray to agree to a cease-fire as heavy fighting raises growing humanitarian fears.

African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed “grave concern” in a statement Sunday over the fighting and called for an “immediate, unconditional cease-fire and the resumption of humanitarian services.”

AU-led peace talks were due to take place in South Africa earlier this month, but were postponed because of logistical and technical issues.

The warring parties had said they were ready to participate in the process, even though fighting persists in Tigray.

“The Chairperson urges the Parties to recommit to dialogue as per their agreement to direct talks to be convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, and supported by the international community,” Mahamat said in a statement.

The AU statement followed one issued late Saturday by a U.N. spokesman who said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “gravely concerned about the escalation of the fighting” and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Fighting resumed between the Tigray forces and the federal troops in August, bringing an end to a cease-fire in place since March that had allowed much-needed aid to enter the region. Fighting has drawn in forces from Eritrea, on the side of Ethiopia’s federal military.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power called on Eritrean forces to withdraw from Tigray and urged the parties to observe a cease-fire, warning in a tweet that up to a 1 million people are “teetering on the edge of famine” in the region.

“The conflict has displaced millions of people, and camps for displaced Ethiopians have also fallen under attack,” said Power, who warned of further bloodshed if Eritrean and Ethiopian federal forces take charge of the camps.

The cease-fire calls came as heavy clashes were reported near the northwestern Tigray town of Shire, where an attack on Friday killed a International Rescue Committee worker who was distributing aid supplies.

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said he was “horrified by the reports of continuous violence, including the targeting of civilians in Shire.”

Tigray forces said in a statement that they welcomed the AU’s cease-fire call.

“We are ready to abide by an immediate cessation of hostilities,” the statement said. Ethiopia’s federal government has yet to respond.

Aid distributions are being hampered by a lack of fuel and an ongoing communications blackout in Tigray. The Associated Press reported Saturday that a U.N. team found there were “10 starvation-related deaths” at seven camps for internally displaced people in northwestern Tigray, according to an internal document prepared by a humanitarian agency.

Millions of people in northern Ethiopia, including the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, have been uprooted from their homes and tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed since the conflict broke out in November 2020.

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October 16, 2022
Calls grow for Ethiopia peace effort as fighting intensifies

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Diplomats are calling on Ethiopia ’s federal authorities and their rivals in the northern region of Tigray to agree to a cease-fire as heavy fighting raises growing humanitarian fears.

African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed “grave concern” in a statement Sunday over the fighting and called for an “immediate, unconditional cease-fire and the resumption of humanitarian services.”

AU-led peace talks were due to take place in South Africa earlier this month, but were postponed because of logistical and technical issues.

The warring parties had said they were ready to participate in the process, even though fighting persists in Tigray.

“The Chairperson urges the Parties to recommit to dialogue as per their agreement to direct talks to be convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, and supported by the international community,” Mahamat said in a statement.

The AU statement followed one issued late Saturday by a U.N. spokesman who said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “gravely concerned about the escalation of the fighting” and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Fighting resumed between the Tigray forces and the federal troops in August, bringing an end to a cease-fire in place since March that had allowed much-needed aid to enter the region. Fighting has drawn in forces from Eritrea, on the side of Ethiopia’s federal military.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power called on Eritrean forces to withdraw from Tigray and urged the parties to observe a cease-fire, warning in a tweet that up to a 1 million people are “teetering on the edge of famine” in the region.

“The conflict has displaced millions of people, and camps for displaced Ethiopians have also fallen under attack,” said Power, who warned of further bloodshed if Eritrean and Ethiopian federal forces take charge of the camps.

The cease-fire calls came as heavy clashes were reported near the northwestern Tigray town of Shire, where an attack on Friday killed a International Rescue Committee worker who was distributing aid supplies.

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said he was “horrified by the reports of continuous violence, including the targeting of civilians in Shire.”

Tigray forces said in a statement that they welcomed the AU’s cease-fire call.

“We are ready to abide by an immediate cessation of hostilities,” the statement said. Ethiopia’s federal government has yet to respond.

Aid distributions are being hampered by a lack of fuel and an ongoing communications blackout in Tigray. The Associated Press reported Saturday that a U.N. team found there were “10 starvation-related deaths” at seven camps for internally displaced people in northwestern Tigray, according to an internal document prepared by a humanitarian agency.

Millions of people in northern Ethiopia, including the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, have been uprooted from their homes and tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed since the conflict broke out in November 2020.

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October 16, 2022