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<p>Capital a subsidiary of Bank of Kigali has launched the bank’s first open-ended trust fund with an aim of investing in safe instruments? BK Could this spur investment in the sector? CNBC Africa’s Arnold Kwizera caught up with the Managing Director of BK Capital, Carine Umutoni for more.</p>


BK Capital launches first open-ended trust fund

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<p>Many crops in Africa are infected by diseases which undermine production and affect livelihoods of farmers. Take Banana Xanthomonas Wilt, a disease that affects banana, one of the major staple crops in Rwanda and the region. Marc Schut, Country Representative for Rwanda at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture discusses how technology is being leveraged to fight this and other crop diseases.</p>


IITA on how to leverage tech to fight crop diseases

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<p>In Uganda, the country shared plans to re-open schools. Furthermore, $3.2 million is estimated to have been stolen in the latest hack incident that compromised Uganda’s mobile money network. Analyst, Charles Bwogi joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19 lock-down: Uganda prepares to reopen schools

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<p>Small and medium enterprises account for 80 per cent of the African economy but remain less competitive due in part to lack of a platform which accommodates digital cross-border payments by SMEs. To address this, COMESA Business Council has been making consultations with stakeholders on the establishment of a regional digital common payments policy which would inform the proposed digital integrated retail payment scheme for SMEs. Sandra Uwera, CEO, COMESA Business Council joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COMESA to develop a regional digital common payment scheme for small businesses

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<p>Hashtags have characterised many of the World’s biggest movements throughout 2020; from #blacklivesmatter earlier this year, to now #endSARS and #ShutItAllDown here in Africa making serious waves. It seems with almost every new product launch and social justice movement, there’s a well-thought-out hashtag attached; proving that the grouping tool is becoming more and more powerful in this digital age; but are they necessary for efficient communication, and are we using them to their full potential? CNBC Africa spoke to Anne Mazimhaka, Comms expert &#038; Co-Founder of Illume Creative Studio for more.</p>


How the Hashtag has become a powerful tool in the social justice movement

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<p>The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange has seen a strong rebound as its turnover saw an increase of 1.06 per cent last week, mostly attributed to foreign investors. CNBC Africa spoke to the CEO of the DSE, Moremi Marwa for more.</p>


DSE sees 1.06% increase in turnover

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<p>During a recent meeting between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Egyptian Counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, it’s been reported that the two have agreed to work closely on the sensitive issue of the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. CNBC Africa spoke to International Relations Expert, Emery Nzirabatinya for his thoughts on how effective this could potentially be and what it could possibly mean for the East African Community.</p>


Egypt seeks Kenya’s help in resolving GERD dispute

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<p>Concerned at the inefficiencies that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced that the country is increasing its health budget by 46 per cent to respond. Economic Analyst, Samuel Getachew joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

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<p>E-waste contains toxic chemicals that are naturally discharged from the metals inside when buried, and environmentalists have argued that if E-waste is not well disposed, it could endanger the human health. CNBC Africa spoke with Olivier Mbera, Country General Manager of EnviroServe Rwanda on the economic and environmental impact of E-waste.</p>


The environmental & economic impact of e-waste on Rwanda

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

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<p>SOV Development Foundation has created the first cryptocurrency for a nation, CNBC Africa spoke with Peter Dittus, Chairman of the foundation on how it will operate and how effective Robo Central Bank could eliminate the risks of hyperinflation.</p>


SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

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<p>In a landmark ruling, Uganda’s commercial court last week awarded business mogul Ham Kiggundu the ruling in his loan case against the Diamond Trust Bank, but could this weigh heavily on the country’s financial sector? John Walugembe, Executive Director, Federation of Small &#038; Medium Enterprises, Uganda joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ham vs DTB Case: How the ruling impacts Ugandan businesses

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<p>Rwanda&#8217;s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources had pledged to eradicate food insecurity completely by 2025. However, it said that the issue of food loss and wastage threatens the commitment. CNBC Africa spoke to Eugene Kwibuka, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture to tell us what the country is doing to overcome the food waste challenge.</p>


Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Gunmen abducted a man moments after he was released from state custody in the Kenyan capital a day after he was acquitted in one of the country’s most high-profile terrorism cases, his sister told Reuters on Friday.</p>



<p>A Kenyan court had acquitted Liban Abdulleh Omar on Wednesday of charges of helping al Qaeda-linked Somali militants storm Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in a 2013 attack in which at least 67 people were killed. Two other defendants were found guilty of assisting the jihadist attackers. [L8N2GY2MP]</p>



<p>The abduction occurred on Thursday as Omar was in a taxi accompanied by some relatives heading home after anti-terrorism police freed him that morning, according to his sister Sahara Abdulle Omar, who was in the vehicle.</p>



<p></p>



<p>Minutes after the taxi departed the police station, another vehicle forced it to stop, several men jumped out of the car, pulled Liban out of the taxi and took him away, Liban’s sister Sahara said by phone.</p>



<p>“They were armed, more than five of them. They took my brother by force and sped away,” she said.</p>



<p>She said the gunmen were wearing civilian clothes along with face masks many Kenyans now wear to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic.</p>



<p>Omar’s lawyer Mbugua Mureithi told Reuters he believed that his client was abducted by Kenyan anti-terrorism police, though he did not offer evidence to substantiate the claim.</p>



<p>Kenyan police spokesman Charles Owino did not respond to phone calls requesting comment on the alleged abduction.</p>



<p>Wednesday’s verdict marked the end of the only prosecution Kenya has mounted over the 2013 shopping mall assault by Somali al Shabaab militants that left at least 67 people dead.</p>



<p>The attack on the upscale mall &#8211; frequented by the country’s growing middle class and foreigners &#8211; came two years after Kenya sent troops into Somalia following a series of kidnappings and raids on Kenyan soil claimed by al Shabaab.</p>


shutterstock_227423392

Gunmen abduct Kenyan just acquitted in shopping mall attack trial, relative says


<p>GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee are through to the final round of selection for the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, three sources said on Wednesday.</p>



<p>The reduction of the field from five to two means, if confirmed, that the Geneva-based trade body is now certain to be led by a woman for the first time.</p>



<p>If the sources are correct, it means the the line for Amina Mohamed the former Kenyan cabinet minister who fought a very strong campaign and at some stage was considered favourite.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Amina-Mohamed.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-376640" width="657" height="677"/></figure>



<p>Mohamed was campaigning strongly on the issue of climate change.</p>



<p>“How is it possible that the WTO does not discuss climate change?… WTO must be a part of the global conversation on climate change,” she told an online media briefing from Geneva.</p>



<p>Mohamed, who was involved in the development of green financial instruments when she was the deputy head of the U.N. agency for the environment (UNEP), said she would make the WTO’s trade and environment committee active.</p>



<p>“At the end of the day, it is about the bottom line, but that bottom line can actually be improved by going green because that is the future,” she said.</p>



<p>Whomever gets the job will have the difficult task of reforming an increasingly dated WTO.</p>


Okonjo-Iweala

Nigerian, South Korean women through to final round in WTO chief race: sources


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; A Kenyan court convicted two men on Wednesday for helping al Qaeda-linked gunmen storm Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall and kill at least 67 people in a 2013 assault that proved Somali militants could strike at the heart of the capital.</p>



<p>The attack on the upscale mall &#8211; a favourite with the country’s growing middle class and foreign workers &#8211; came two years after the East African nation sent troops into Somalia following a series of kidnappings and raids on Kenyan soil.</p>



<p>A third defendant, also charged under a national terrorism prevention act, was acquitted in the trial, the only prosecution Kenya mounted over the assault by Somali al Shabaab militants.</p>



<p>Four gunmen died during the attack in one of the most secure areas of the Kenyan capital.</p>



<p>The three defendants &#8211; all ethnic Somalis, two of whom are Kenyan citizens &#8211; were accused of assisting the attackers.</p>



<p></p>



<p>“The prosecution has proved its case against the accused on charges of conspiracy of committing a terrorism act and supporting a terrorist group,” Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi said as he read the verdict.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-harrowing-testimony">HARROWING TESTIMONY</h2>



<p>During his judgment, Andayi referred to harrowing testimony from witnesses: bodies slumped behind the wheels of cars whose windscreens were shattered with bullets, their engines still running, a man attending a children’s cookery event who was shot several times before he crawled under a car and passed out.</p>



<p>Andayi said the prosecution’s case hinged on evidence of phone communication in the months before the attack between the accused and the gunmen.Slideshow&nbsp;( 4 images )</p>



<p>The two convicted men will be sentenced on Oct. 22. Andayi was one of four different magistrates who presided over the case over seven years; there was no jury.</p>



<p>The authorities’ disastrous response to the Westgate attack deeply damaged Kenya’s reputation.</p>



<p>Soldiers and police fired at each other during a chaotic four days and footage emerged of soldiers looting the complex amid bodies sprawled on the bloodstained floor.</p>



<p>The trial provided little comfort for the loved ones of victims because it shed very little light on what happened during the bloody standoff.</p>



<p></p>



<p>Years later, questions such as whether the attackers’ forensic remains were ever correctly identified remain unanswered. No one from the security forces has ever been held responsible for the pillaging of the mall.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-questions-linger">QUESTIONS LINGER</h2>



<p>“For as long as the authorities remain reluctant or unwilling to investigate the conduct of the security forces, questions will persist as to whether justice has indeed been served in this case regardless of how the judges decide,” Otsieno Namwaya of Human Rights Watch said.</p>



<p>Al Shabaab has continued to mount major attacks in Kenya, including a 2015 assault on Garissa University that left 166 people dead and a 2019 attack on a Nairobi hotel and office complex that killed 21 people. The 2019 attack was the first led by a Kenyan gunman who was not an ethnic Somali, a result of al Shabaab’s intensive efforts to recruit more foreigners.</p>



<p>East Africa has long been plagued by Islamist militancy. Twin attacks by al Qaeda on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 killed 224 people. Some of those responsible later found refuge with al Shabaab in Somalia.</p>


Kenya court convicts two for helping deadly jihadist attack on shopping mall


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s candidate to become the next head of the World Trade Organisation pledged on Thursday to integrate climate change issues into the WTO agenda if selected.</p>



<p>Amina Mohamed, who is the East African nation’s sports minister, progressed to the second round of selection to become the next director-general of the WTO, along with four other candidates, on Friday.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/amina-2.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-375886" width="686" height="701"/></figure>



<p>“How is it possible that the WTO does not discuss climate change?&#8230; WTO must be a part of the global conversation on climate change,” she told an online media briefing from Geneva.</p>



<p>Mohamed, who was involved in the development of green financial instruments when she was the deputy head of the U.N. agency for the environment (UNEP), said she would make the WTO’s trade and environment committee active.</p>



<p>“At the end of the day, it is about the bottom line, but that bottom line can actually be improved by going green because that is the future,” she said.</p>



<p>The committee’s first task, if she wins the selection contest, would be to draw up rules for the international trade of environmental goods and services like solar panels and wind turbines, she said.</p>



<p>It will also look to replicate climate change mitigation initiatives, like the carbon tax in Europe, which is now being adopted by other states in places like Africa.</p>



<p>“The WTO can do that on a grander scale&#8230; so that the impact of the measures that we are putting in place can be felt,” Mohamed said, adding that the measures will be accompanied by incentives for firms like other tax breaks.</p>



<p>The wider adoption of those climate change mitigation measures will make the globe reap their benefits sooner, because “we don’t have to wait for 50 years” to feel the impact of individual states or trade blocs are doing, she said.</p>



<p>In the second round of selection, the WTO’s 164 members will give their preferences from Sept 24 to Oct 6, whittling the candidates down to two. The organisation has said it wants to select the winner by early November.</p>


Amina Mohamed

Kenya’s WTO candidate says she will focus on climate change if selected


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Five-year-old Kenyan student Miguel Munene sits between his parents, holding their hands as he watches cartoon characters teaching him to pronounce “fish”.</p>



<p>The television has replaced Munene’s teachers and classmates after the government shut schools indefinitely in March to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. They are closed until at least January.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-374199" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-696x522.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Kenya. Shutterstock </figcaption></figure>



<p>Many children don’t have the option to learn online &#8211; the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF says at least half of sub-Saharan Africa’s schoolchildren do not have internet access.</p>



<p>So some, like Munene, watch a cartoon made by Tanzanian non-profit organisation Ubongo, which offers television and radio content for free to African broadcasters.</p>



<p>“Other programmes are just for fun, but Ubongo is helping children,” Miguel’s mother Celestine Wanjiru told Reuters. “He can now differentiate a lot of shapes and colours, both in English and Swahili.”</p>



<p>In March, programmes by Ubongo &#8211; the Kiswahili word for brain &#8211; were broadcast to an area covering about 12 million households in nine countries, said Iman Lipumba, Ubongo’s head of communications. That rose to 17 million in 20 countries by August.</p>



<p>“The COVID-19 pandemic has really forced us to rapidly grow,” Lipumba said.</p>



<p>A group of artists, innovators and educators set up Ubongo TV in Tanzania in 2014. It has received around $4 million in grants since, and earned $700,000 from YouTube, product sales, character licensing, and co-production of programmes.</p>



<p>For Munene and other schoolchildren, programmes like Ubongo’s are their only option to learn for now.</p>



<p>Kenya’s education ministry says schools can only reopen when the number of COVID-19 cases drops substantially.</p>



<p>Kenya has had over 36,000 confirmed cases and more than 620 deaths, health ministry data showed.</p>



<p>“You have the kid with you all the time so when you have such programmes, they are a big help,” Patrick Nyaga, Miguel’s father, a security guard, told Reuters.</p>



<p>But television cannot completely replace teaching.</p>



<p>“The way the children learn through programmes is different (from) the way they interact with others and teachers,” Nyaga said. “We are hoping that they open soon.”</p>


East Africa

BK Capital launches first open-ended trust fund

IITA on how to leverage tech to fight crop diseases

COVID-19 lock-down: Uganda prepares to reopen schools

COMESA to develop a regional digital common payment scheme for small businesses

How the Hashtag has become a powerful tool in the social justice movement

DSE sees 1.06% increase in turnover

Egypt seeks Kenya’s help in resolving GERD dispute

Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

Ham vs DTB Case: How the ruling impacts Ugandan businesses

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity

Gunmen abduct Kenyan just acquitted in shopping mall attack trial, relative says

Nigerian, South Korean women through to final round in WTO chief race: sources

Kenya court convicts two for helping deadly jihadist attack on shopping mall

Kenya’s WTO candidate says she will focus on climate change if selected

Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

News Tips

Advertise With Us

East Africa

BK Capital launches first open-ended trust fund

IITA on how to leverage tech to fight crop diseases

COVID-19 lock-down: Uganda prepares to reopen schools

COMESA to develop a regional digital common payment scheme for small businesses

How the Hashtag has become a powerful tool in the social justice movement

DSE sees 1.06% increase in turnover

Egypt seeks Kenya’s help in resolving GERD dispute

Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

Ham vs DTB Case: How the ruling impacts Ugandan businesses

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity

Gunmen abduct Kenyan just acquitted in shopping mall attack trial, relative says

Nigerian, South Korean women through to final round in WTO chief race: sources

Kenya court convicts two for helping deadly jihadist attack on shopping mall

Kenya’s WTO candidate says she will focus on climate change if selected

Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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