Kennedy Wandera
@KennedyWandera_ • 63,256 subscribers
Postgraduate. @CheveningFCDO Scholar @UniversityLeeds🇬🇧🎓. International Journalist. Board Chair, @FPA_Africa. Building @WMC_Consultant, @SautiyaAfrika_
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Ousmane Sonko has been reinstated to Senegal's National Assembly and officially installed as deputy in the Assembly. The vote to elect him President of the National Assembly is now underway. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has reportedly moved swiftly to the Constitutional Court to block it.
Kennedy Wandera291,566 views • 9 days ago
A fiery speech by South Africa's🇿🇦 EFF leader Julius Malema, over xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals. “You say Zimbabweans take your jobs. Nigerians take your jobs. You march, close shops and beat up people. Tell us after doing that how many jobs have you created, by beating up these Nigerians, Zimbabweans and Ghanaians? You beat people because they took your jobs. You close a shop that hires people. How many have you created after beating and chasing them? Unskilled men, with no skills, none whatsoever, say somebody took away their jobs. I don't want your votes if you behave like that. Take them away. Pushing out of school an African child that looks like you, I will never do that. You can take your votes. Make me die with my conscience very clearly. I will never refuse a pregnant woman of African descent to give birth in the clinics of South Africa. Never!”
Kennedy Wandera805,733 views • 1 month ago
OFFICIAL! Ousmane Sonko has been overwhelmingly elected President of National Assembly of #Senegal, strengthening his political influence and setting up a direct institutional rivalry with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Sonko, leader of the PASTEF party, secured the position after lawmakers convened in a plenary session on Tuesday morning to reinstate him as a member of parliament and elect a new Speaker of the National Assembly. His predecessor, El Malick Ndiaye, a close ally of Sonko, resigned from the role on Sunday, paving way for Sonko’s election. President Faye had reportedly moved swiftly to the Constitutional Court in an attempt to block Sonko’s return to the helm of the National Assembly. This expected to further complicate reform efforts by President Faye, who dismissed Sonko as prime minister on Friday following months of growing tensions between the two leaders. Under Senegalese law, President Faye cannot dissolve parliament until November, two years after the last parliamentary elections.
Kennedy Wandera151,770 views • 9 days ago
🇸🇳Ousmane Sonko: “There will be no system of hyper-presidentialism in Senegal today.” Senegal’s parliament erupted in celebration and dance as Ousmane Sonko took his seat as the new President of the National Assembly, amid escalating tensions with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. “What is at stake is the relationship between morality and politics,” Sonko declared. “The National Assembly will use all its levers of power firmly but responsibly moving forward,” Sonko warns in his first address, as he officially becomes Senegal’s second-highest state authority. "I will not use the Assembly to feed personal vendettas. That would be a betrayal to our very own struggle." While insisting that his party, PASTEF, will give President Faye “the best conditions to complete his term”, Sonko maintains that his party must remain central to the functioning of government. He argues that the appointment of the new Prime Minister, Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô, was carried out without adequate consultation with the ruling party, PASTEF. “Our party was not involved in this decision to appoint the new prime minister. It was also not consulted in the formation of the government. You can’t have PASTEF without PASTEF.” “I know the Prime Minister personally having worked with him for a year and a half during which he accomplished a tremendous amount of work.” However, Sonko says he had “certain disagreements” with him on monetary and debt-related issues.
Kennedy Wandera131,135 views • 9 days ago
Comoros🇰🇲 government now suspends new fuel prices introduced in response to the Iran war, backing down after the hikes, diesel prices by 46% and gasoline prices by 35%, prompted demonstrations and deadly clashes across the East African archipelago. "The government and President Azali (Assoumani) heard the cries of the Comorian people. There was no other solution than to listen to them. The goal is to preserve peace," Energy Minister Aboubacar Saïd Anli announces. President Azali suspended the decrees related to the fuel price hike, which were introduced on May 9, to allow for talks on the matter. Source: Reuters.
Kennedy Wandera145,096 views • 18 days ago
Deal done! Cameroon's🇨🇲 President Paul #Biya, 93, now free to handpick his constitutional successor, in case of his death, resignation or incapacity, after parliament voted overwhelmingly Saturday to approve a constitutional amendment to reintroduce the position of vice president. In a joint session of the ruling party-dominated National Assembly and Senate, lawmakers voted 200 to 18 in favour, with four abstentions, to pass the bill. The bill stipulates that the vice president will automatically assume the presidency if President Paul Biya dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated. Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and is the world's oldest serving head of state. Public discussion about his health is banned. Source: Reuters.
Kennedy Wandera453,855 views • 2 months ago
Kenya's President, William Ruto, warns that the African Union #AU is "not fit for purpose" and cannot steer the "continent into the future". “I can tell you without an iota of doubt that the African Union, as it is today, is not fit to provide the leadership that this continent needs going into the future. Therefore, there's need for the reforms of the African Union”.
Kennedy Wandera301,704 views • 1 month ago
Equatorial Guinea’s all-powerful President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has turned this hotel owned by his family in Malabo into a prison for asylum seekers deported from the United States. Inside this Bamy Hotel, asylum seekers deported by the US are imprisoned. Of the at least 32 people imprisoned there since November — all of whom had previously been granted protection from U.S. judges, their lawyers said — 25 have been forced to go back to home countries across Africa. Men and women from Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mauritania wander the hotel’s long corridors and gaze out the windows at the shimmering pool they are not allowed to use. Source: The Associated Press.
Kennedy Wandera35,908 views • 6 days ago
I think #Nairobi is exactly what it says it is; one of the world’s great diplomatic capitals. Not every African city can host a summit of this magnitude without a single head of state sleeping in a neighbouring country. It is not always about nice speeches and red carpets. Meetings of this nature come with enormous diplomatic, logistical and security complexities. It is always about secure state movement, intelligence coordination, airspace management, accommodation capacity, transport systems, the highest standards of diplomatic protocol, emergency response and ensuring an entire city continues to function while the world’s most protected and influential leaders are in town. With heads of state, global financiers, diplomats, policymakers and development partners gathered in Nairobi, the Africa Forward Summit 2026 was going to be a big, big test for #Kenya. I think it delivered. Credit where credit's due. Cheers to Kenyan tea.🫖☕️
Kennedy Wandera111,697 views • 22 days ago
Only four African presidents show up for the swearing-in ceremony of Tanzania's🇹🇿 President Samia Suluhu Hassan, which has taken place at a military base in the administrative capital, Dodoma. Samia claims that the deadly protests across the country were set off by people from outside, not Tanzanians. Attendance for the general public had been restricted. Internet connectivity cut. Presidents from neighboring countries Kenya, Uganda, DRC, and Rwanda all skipped the event. Only Hakainde Hichilema from Zambia, Évariste Ndayishimiye from Burundi, Daniel Chapo from Mozambique, and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from Somalia, attended. Previous presidents of Tanzania have taken their oaths of office in packed football stadiums that were open to the public.
Kennedy Wandera600,090 views • 7 months ago
The Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union #AU, representing Africa’s five regions and chaired by #Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, has approved the candidacy of former #Senegalese President Macky Sall for UN Secretary General, for "consideration and adoption by the Assembly through the silence procedure". Macky Sall will be the African Union’s consensus candidate if "no objections are received from more than one-third of Member States eligible to vote by Close of Business on 27 March 2026, in accordance with the applicable Rules of Procedure." The Bureau says Macky Sall has "recognized leadership experience" and that his "pragmatic and results-oriented approaches, his international network, and his track record, grounded in his commitment to seeking consensus among nations and global powers" fit the profile for the United Nations’ top position. Video: File footage.
Kennedy Wandera129,886 views • 2 months ago
Tanzania's🇹🇿 President Samia Suluhu Hassan terms the actions of the protesters as "neither responsible nor patriotic", orders security agencies to "use all available security avenues to ensure the country remains safe." She has been declared winner of the country’s disputed election with more than 97.6% of the vote, an election that set off deadly protests across the country. A landslide victory is unheard of in the region. Only President Paul Kagame, the leader of Rwanda, regularly wins by a landslide. Hassan's two biggest challengers were excluded from the race. In Tanzania, the law means electoral flaws can’t be challenged anywhere. “It’s time to unite our country and not destroy what we’ve built over more than six decades,” she says. “We will take all actions and involve all security agencies to ensure the country is peaceful.” "When it comes to the security of Tanzania, there is no debate - we must use all available security avenues to ensure the country remains safe." Her government has imposed a nationwide curfew and restricted access to the internet and deployed military to help police quell riots. Many international flights have been cancelled, and operations at Dar es Salaam's port, a hub for fuel imports and exports of metals mined across the region, have been disrupted. Source: Reuters, The Associated Press.
Kennedy Wandera299,459 views • 7 months ago
Nigeria's🇳🇬 President, Bola Tinubu, arrives late at the inauguration of the newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the Centre International de Conferences Abdou Diouf in Diamniadio. He has arrived minutes after all the Heads of State had been moved from the presidential holding room and ushered into the auditorium. He proceeded to his reserved seat.
Kennedy Wandera927,405 views • 2 years ago
Uganda🇺🇬 President Yoweri Museveni's Senior Presidential Advisor, Yiga Wamala🗣️: "Never think that President Museveni will leave power by voting. Don’t waste our time, no, no, no! He's going to be the President. After Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Museveni's son) is coming…”
Kennedy Wandera187,919 views • 4 months ago
Tanzania’s🇹🇿 President Samia Suluhu Hassan says "sorry" to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country for shutting down the internet after the disputed October election, promises there won't be a repeat of the same. “To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and internet shutdowns you experienced,” she says. “I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences.” Source: The Associated Press.
Kennedy Wandera156,181 views • 4 months ago
Eye on #Bujumbura, #Burundi — Loud explosions and sustained gunfire from military installations are being reported in Burundi’s economic capital, according to multiple sources. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising above parts of the economic capital as the situation continues to unfold. No official statement on the cause of the explosions at the military installations.
Kennedy Wandera70,950 views • 2 months ago
Tanzania's🇹🇿 main opposition party CHADEMA warns the International community against recognizing Samia Suluhu Hassan as the leader of Tanzania, as "she lacks legitimacy, having not been elected by the citizens of Tanzania" in a genuine election. Only Oman, Burundi, Somalia and African Union Commission have sent congratulations to Hassan. The party says that the results showing Samia has been elected is "a clear coup against the will of Tanzanians who have been denied their democratic right to choose the leader they want." "CHADEMA does not recognize Samia Suluhu Hassan as the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as she has not been elected by the people of Tanzania." Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the country’s disputed election with more than 97.6% of the vote, an election that set off deadly protests across the country. A landslide victory is unheard of in the region. Only President Paul Kagame, the leader of Rwanda, regularly wins by a landslide.
Kennedy Wandera176,794 views • 7 months ago
In Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼, both little-known opposition candidate Fernando Dias, 47, and the incumbent president Umaro Sissoco Embalo have declared themselves winners of Sunday’s presidential election, before release of official results Thursday. “We have won the presidential race. We will not have a second round,” Dias told supporters in the capital, Bissau, adding that people were “tired” and wanted change. Dias is backed by the influential former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, the runner-up in the 2019 presidential election. Pereira, along with the main opposition party he leads, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, was barred from Sunday's election. Shortly after Dias's announcement, Embalo and his campaign also claimed winning outright, and urging the opposition to accept the results. The winner needs more than 50 percent of the votes, or the election will head to a runoff. Embalo, 53, is a former army general who served as prime minister from 2016 to 2018. He is seeking to become Guinea-Bissau’s first president in 30 years to win a second term. Embalo’s mandate should have ended earlier this year. The Supreme Court ruled that his term should run until early September, but the election was pushed back to November. He dissolved parliament, which was controlled by the opposition after the 2019 and 2023 legislative elections, and has not allowed it to sit since December 2023 following the attempted coup. The main opposition party won the legislative election in 2023 and in 2019. Source: The Associated Press.
Kennedy Wandera156,357 views • 6 months ago
South Africa's 🇿🇦Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema says his party members will no longer protest or disrupt parliamentary proceedings and reminds South Africans to “swallow what they have decided to chew”. “From now onwards when you say there is a racist at our work, we check the historical tweeting of yours; If you have been tweeting support for the ANC or DA, go fight those white people alone. We are now representing our people who have been supporting us. We are tired.”
Kennedy Wandera473,875 views • 2 years ago
According to sources close to Benin's🇧🇯 President Patrice Talon, the situation is under control. "It's a small group of people who only have access to television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure," he said. "Everything is under control. They did not succeed in taking the president's residence or the presidential palace." "It's only a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The cleanup is progressing well," a military source told AFP. Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari told Reuters "a small group" of soldiers had attempted to overthrow the government but that forces loyal to Talon were working to restore order "There is an attempt but the situation is under control... A large part of the army is still loyalist and we are taking over the situation," he said. At least eight soldiers, several wearing helmets, went on state television to announce that a military committee led by Colonel Tigri Pascal had taken over and was dissolving national institutions, suspending the constitution and closing air, land and maritime borders. Source: RFI English, AFP News Agency, Reuters.
Kennedy Wandera137,842 views • 5 months ago