THIS WEEK

 

21: The multi-million dollar graft case against fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri, his wife Mary and seven accomplices allegedly is expected to begin in the Gauteng High Court. The Bushiris and their accomplices are facing at least 350 counts, ranging from fraud to money-laundering and racketeering. The accomplices include foreign nationals Willah Mudolo and his wife Zethu Mudolo, Landiwe Sindani, Nomalarvasagie Reddy, Sateesh Issery, Stephanie Olivier and Rising Estates (Pretoria).

 

22-23: Manufacturing Indaba. The annual event will be hosted with the theme ‘Localisation in Africa’. Given the impact of the pandemic, all nations require efficient industrial bases to meet changing needs in a globalised world. Southern Africa has developed an established and diversified manufacturing base that has shown its resilience and potential to compete in the global economy (Sandton).

 

22-24: 2024 Brics Summit (Kazan, Russia).

 

23-25:  UN Water Convention. Zambia is the 55th country – and 12th from Africa – to join the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UN Water Convention). It follows closely the accessions of Cote D’Ivoire and Zimbabwe in July. Zambia will be celebrated globally as a new party to the convention during the 10th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

 

24-25: Sustainability Week Africa. Economist Impact’s Sustainability Week Africa is a business and investment event focused on how companies can support the continent on becoming sustainable faster, while avoiding the brunt of climate change. With more than 100 speakers, 500 in-person attendees and over 20 case studies, the event will present original insights and practical solutions focusing on industries such as food and agriculture, renewable energy, manufacturing, steel, tourism, housing and more. Meet the most influential decision-makers from large corporates who operate successfully in Africa and hear about how they are adopting sustainable practices (Cape Town).

  

24-31: UN Global Media and Information Literacy Week

 

25:  The Kenya High Court will determine whether a petition challenging plans to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the Indian conglomerate Adani Group will be heard by a three-judge Bench. Justice John Chigiti said the application for the matter to be heard by more than one judge should be given priority before determination. Chigiti directed the parties to file and exchange their responses to the application and submissions ahead of his ruling today. Adani Group opposed the case in the High Court, saying the dispute should be handled by the Public Private Partnership Petition Committee (Nairobi).

 

25-26: 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm). This year’s meeting will be convened under the theme 'Our Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Commonwealth'. A pre-Chogm Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting will be held on 24 October. It is also expected that in addition to the main Communiqué, CHOGM 2024 will adopt at least one standalone declaration, namely the Commonwealth Oceans Declaration, highlighting the need to protect the oceans. The Commonwealth consists of 56 members. Membership includes countries from amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest. Twenty-one members are from Africa, eight from Asia, 13 from the Caribbean and Americas, three from Europe and 11 from the Pacific (Apia, Samoa).

 

27: Princeton in Africa’s 2025-26 fellowship application deadline. Princeton in Africa (PiAf) is a non-profit organisation that offers year-long paid post-graduate fellowship opportunities with a variety of organisations working across the Africa. Fellowships are open to graduates of US accredited colleges and universities and of colleges and universities based on the African continent through its Nexus programme. Since its launch in 1999, PiAf has placed more than 700 Fellows in over 110 host organisations and 37 countries across the continent.

  

OTHER:

  

* Batswana living abroad, election officials, the police, and the army cast their votes ton Sunday ahead of general elections in two weeks. Jeff Siamisang, Botswana Independent Electoral Commission secretary, said 1 038 275 people registered to vote on 30 October. That is 112 800 more than in 2019. There are 2 032 diaspora voters in this election.

 

* Egypt has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) – an achievement hailed by the UN public health agency as ‘truly historic’. Egyptian authorities launched their first efforts to stamp out the deadly mosquito-borne infectious disease nearly 100 years. Certification is granted when a country proves that the transmission chain is interrupted for at least the previous three consecutive years. Malaria kills at least 600 000 people every year, nearly all of them in Africa.

  

* Disaster management teams across KwaZulu-Natal province have been placed on high alert following severe weather warnings from the South African Weather Service. Durban’s disaster management centre and emergency services are monitoring the situation closely, as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are expected to hit the region, with potentially life-threatening impacts. Until Tuesday, parts of the province, including the Ugu, uMgungundlovu, and iLembe districts, will experience disruptive rainfall, thunderstorms, excessive lightning, large hail, and damaging winds.

  

* The start of Air Botswana’s flights between Gaborone and Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport has been delayed indefinitely. According to a statement issued by Air Connect Namibia spokesperson Dan Kamati, Air Connect and Air Botswana announced in September that the latter would connect Gaborone to Windhoek and continue to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport in South Africa starting on 1 October. ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, the route launch has been delayed, with a new suitable date to be communicated,’ said Kamati. He added that FlySafair and South African Airways (SAA) are on course to offer more connections on 22 and 27 October, respectively.

 

* Rwanda has launched the world's first clinical trial for Marburg virus disease treatment, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced last week. The ‘groundbreaking effort,’ in partnership with the WHO, is testing the safety and efficacy of two treatments: Remdesivir, a drug used to treat Covid-19, and MBP091, a specialised antibody developed to fight Marburg virus disease, said WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.

 

*A women’s development and empowerment organisation is calling on African women, including Namibians, to submit their artwork for the African Women in Art Awards. The visual art competition that celebrates the immense creativity of women artists from Sub-Saharan Africa. This project is part of the Kalingalinga Girls Non-Governmental Organisation. In the latest call for submissions on 1 November, Dubeykovska said the awards would offer African women international exposure, as their work would be showcased in galleries across Africa, Europe, and beyond. Shortlisted candidates will be announced on 1 December, and winners will be revealed on 1 February 2025.

 

* The Grand Egyptian Museum has announced the start of trial operations of its main galleries, offering visitors an exclusive preview of 12 meticulously curated exhibition halls. This trial phase is part of the museum's ongoing efforts to ensure a seamless visitor experience ahead of its highly anticipated official opening. This phase marks another step forward for the GEM, following the successful soft openings of select areas, including private tours and events since November 2022.

 

* The French judiciary has discontinued its investigation into Callixte Mbarushimana, a former UN employee accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, citing insufficient evidence. Mbarushimana, who has held political refugee status in France for the past 20 years, was first indicted in 2010 for crimes against humanity and complicity in such crimes. Rights group Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda has announced plans to appeal the dismissal, criticising the investigation as incomplete, particularly noting unverified witness testimonies and overlooked details from a UN internal report.

 

* Royal Caribbean International is set to offer cruises to Africa onboard the Voyager of the Seas in late 2025. Sailing from Spain to South Africa, the first cruise will depart from Barcelona on 27 October next year. Before arriving in Cape Town in mid-November, the 14-night voyage will visit destinations in Morocco, the Canary Islands, Senegal and Namibia. From Cape Town, the Voyager of the Seas is set to offer a 17-night cruise to Singapore, after which it will pick up its original schedule, sailing to Brisbane for a winter cruise season in Australia.

  

* IMF staff and the Ghanaian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms to conclude the third review of the 36-month programme for the West African country. Once the review is approved by IMF Management and completed by the IMF Executive Board, Ghana will have access to about $360m in financing, the IMF said in a statement.

 

* Three West African countries run by military juntas will be launching a new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from the wider regional bloc Ecowas. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, whose military leaders took over power in series of coups between 2020 and 2023, announced their plan to leave the bloc in January.

 

* South African have been given more time to make submissions on proposals for the electoral system the country should adopt. The Electoral Reform Consultation Panel has extended the initial 30 September deadline to 31 October. ‘The invitation for submissions is made as part of the panel’s duty to undertake a public participation process regarding the issues falling within its functions,’ the panel’s chairperson Richard Sizani said.

 

* Thanks to a regional rotation, the next Commonwealth secretary-general is due to come from Africa, and candidates from Lesotho, Ghana and The Gambia are all keen to get the job for the next four to eight years. Career diplomat Joshua Setipa from Lesotho, The Gambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Mamadou Tangara and Ghanaian Regional Integration Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey are in the running,