'Africa Forward' summit wraps up in Nairobi

By Brian Inganga, NAIROBI Kenya 

Calls for mutual respect were reiterated throughout the Africa Forward summit on Tuesday in Nairobi, co-hosted by Kenya and France.

Kenyan President William Ruto insisted that the days of European dependency were finished for Africa, and rather that mutual respect between co operating nations was the way ahead.

"We reiterate with clarity and conviction the urgent necessity of reforming global peace and security governance, particularly the United Nations Security Council. It is both indispensable and unconscionable that a continent of nearly 1.5 billion people, represented by 54 sovereign states and constituting one of the largest blocs within the United Nations, continues to remain excluded from permanent representation on the Security Council," said Ruto.

With its influence on the continent declining, Paris is seeking to renew its engagement, after years of tense relations with its former colonies.

The French president outlined his view for future partnership at the summit, saying, "at its heart, the partnership we envision for this 'Africa Forward' summit—the partnership I believe in between Africa and Europe—is one that serves peace, prosperity, and our shared strategic autonomy and independence. 

This is a powerful vision. If we succeed, it will allow us to fundamentally rebuild a multilateral order that has been so deeply shaken and weakened—an order whose decline affects us all. Ultimately, this partnership can become a source of hope and a future for everyone."

During the summit, Emmanuel Macron also announced investments worth 23 billion euros for various sectors on the continent including AI, energy and agriculture.

US official urges South Sudan authorities to uphold 2018 peace agreement

JUBA, South Sudan 

Tensions are flaring between the United States and South Sudan. On a visit to Juba last week, the head of the US State Department Bureau of African Affairs Nick Checker urged South Sudanese authorities to "take urgent action to restore peace."

In a statement from the US embassy on Monday, Washington called on Juba to take further action to implement the 2018 peace agreement that put an end to South Sudan's civil war.

While "flawed," Checker said, the agreement "provides the basis of legitimacy for the transitional government."

The US also denounced the detention of South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar, a rival of President Salva Kiir and head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, the main opposition party in the country.

Machar was arrested in March 2025, suspended from his duties and charged with treason, murder and crimes against humanity.

"It is farcical to claim that inter-party dialogue is taking place" while Machar is currently on trial, Checker said.

The US official also accused South Sudan's leadership of exploiting the country's crises to elicit international donor support while failing to use public revenue for the Sudanese people and "obstructing the delivery of lifesaving assistance."

Tensions remain high in South Sudan as fighting rages on between government and opposition forces, and experts are warning of a return to full blown war.

The violence has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, with aid agencies regularly attacked and struggling to function.

Despite billions of dollars in oil revenue and years of international assistance, the country's humanitarian situation also continues to deteriorate.

Almost two‑thirds of South Sudan’s population — around 7.9 million people — are now facing severe hunger, according to an April joint food security report compiled by the government, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations.

South Sudan is expected to hold elections in December after years of delay, the first national polls since its independence in 2011.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 13/5/2026

 

Macron announces €23 billion investment in Africa at Kenya summit

NAIROBI, Kenya 

French President Emmanuel Macron announced €23 billion ($27 billion) of investment for Africa during a major summit on the future of the continent hosted by Kenya on Monday.

France has brought together dozens of heads of state and business leaders for the two-day Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, aimed at renewing France's engagement with the continent after years of strained ties with its former colonies.

The investments Macron announced include €14 billion in private and public funds from French entities, and €9 billion from African investors, focused on energy transition, digital and AI, the maritime economy and agriculture.

They would create 250,000 direct jobs in France and Africa, Macron said.

"We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you -- we need the great African business leaders to come and invest in France," he told the audience at Nairobi's convention centre.

"And that too is what underpins this relationship, now entirely free of hang-ups," he added.

Ahead of the summit, Macron told The Africa Report that colonialism could no longer be blamed for all of Africa's challenges.

"We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence," he told the magazine, calling on African leaders to improve governance.

Europe's former colonial powers were not "the predators of this century", he added.

In a speech at the summit, Macron also said that the process of returning African artworks looted during the colonial era had become "unstoppable".

The French parliament last week passed a law paving the way for Macron to return looted African cultural artefacts.

"Europe defends the international order, effective multilateralism, the rule of law, free and open trade," he told The Africa Report.

On critical minerals and rare earths, China, he said, "operates according to a predatory logic: it does the processing at home" and creates "dependencies with the rest of the world".

He has also emphasised the need for an overhaul of international finance, to set up a system of financial guarantees to bring in private investment, he added.

"There is no reason today for there to be so little private investment coming into a continent as full of energy and youth as yours," he told the audience at the close of the summit's first day.

He defended France's military presence in the Sahel region, as it had been requested to fight the jihadist threat.

"When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left," he told The Africa Report. "That wasn't a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation."

"A new era is about to start. The Sahel will one day regain normal governance" with democratically elected leaders who "genuinely care about their people", he added.

Yoweri Museveni sworn in as Uganda's president for record seventh term

KAMPALA, Uganda 

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, 81, has been sworn in for a record seventh consecutive term following his landslide victory in disputed elections in January, extending his tenure as one of Africa's longest-serving rulers.

Heavy security, including armoured tanks, were deployed in the capital, Kampala, ahead of the inauguration in what police said were measures intended to maintain public order.

Museveni was declared the winner of the election with more than 70% of the vote, with his term expected to end in 2031.

His main rival, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine), rejected the result, saying the poll was marred by "ballot-stuffing". Election officials denied the allegation.

The 44-year-old opposition leader, fled the country after the election, saying he feared that "the regime wanted to eliminate me".

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

He is among the few African leaders in power for more than 40 years. Others include Congo-Brazzaville's Denis Sassou Nguesso, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang and Cameroon's Paul Biya.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. The government declared the day a public holiday.

African leaders who attended the ceremony included Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Félix Tshisekedi, South Sudan's Salva Kiir and Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Uganda has one of the world's youngest populations, with majority of the people having known no other president.

M23 pulls back from eastern DRC towns as ceasefire pressure mounts

UVIRA, DR Congo 

Fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group have withdrawn from several areas of the violence-plagued eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the group, locals and the military told AFP on Monday.

The United States is attempting to enforce an unsuccessful peace deal between the anti-government M23 and the Congolese government in return for privileged access to the eastern DRC's vast mineral riches.

The M23 launched an offensive in December on the city of Uvira, in the eastern province of South Kivu, at a time when the DRC and Rwanda were in the process of ratifying a peace deal under US mediation.

The group withdrew in January under pressure from Washington, which on Friday again said the belligerents should respect the ceasefire.

Early on Monday, M23 fighters left several areas north of Uvira near the border with Burundi, Rwanda's southern neighbour, the armed group, local officials and the military said.

The most important of these is the town of Sange, a major crossroads lying 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Uvira.

Locals said pro-government militia fighters known as "wazalendo" had moved into Sange to take their place.

"M23 has withdrawn from Sange," senior local official Paul Fikiri Mudeda told AFP.

The army's spokesperson in the region, lieutenant Reagan Mbuyi, said the M23 had retreated from Sange and the nearby areas of "Kabunambo... Mutarule and Bwegera."

A security source within the M23 confirmed the fighters had withdrawn from Sange and the surrounding area.

But it continued to control Kamanyola, a town 70 kilometres north of Uvira, where the borders of the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi converge.

"We are returning to the positions we held before taking Uvira," the M23 source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

They said Kamanyola was "not included in the withdrawal."

Locals said pro-government militia fighters "entered Sange on Monday" after the M23 left.

"There's a real sense of jubilation," one resident told AFP.

"Young people, women, children — even school kids — are all celebrating right now."

For more than 30 years the mineral-rich eastern DRC has been a battleground between various armed groups, vying for control of its many mines.

Since 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of territory in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, bordering South Kivu.

The seizure of Uvira marked a major expansion southwards into South Kivu of its sphere of influence.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 12/5/2026

 

Macron charms pupils during morning run with Kipchoge

By Perpetua Etyang, NAIROBI Kenya 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday shared a light moment with school children during his morning run alongside marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.

During the run, Macron and Kipchoge passed by State House Primary school where they briefly stopped to interact with excited pupils.

The children rushed to greet the two leaders with excitement as they entered the school compound.

At one point, Macron peeped through a classroom window and invited the pupils to come outside and meet them.

Accompanied by their teacher, the pupils were asked who the visitors were, and they quickly responded: “Kipchoge and Emmanuel.”

In a light-hearted moment, one of the pupils asked the French President his name, prompting him to reply: “Emmanuel.”

Sharing the experience afterwards, Macron said, “Made new friends today!”

Macron swapped the formal atmosphere of high-level summit meetings for running shoes on as he joined Kenyan marathon icon Kipchoge for a jog on the streets of Nairobi.

The French president, who is in Kenya for the Africa Forward Summit, was spotted jogging alongside the two-time Olympic champion in a relaxed morning session that quickly drew attention online.

He was dressed in a navy blue track shirt featuring a thick white stripe on the sleeves, paired with black shorts and blue running shoes.

Beside him, Kipchoge appeared calm and composed in matching running gear, with the pair seemingly engaged in conversation as they paced through the Nairobi roads.

Trailing behind them was a group of runners and what appeared to be members of the presidential security team, keeping stride as the two maintained a steady pace.

The rare sight of a sitting French president jogging alongside one of Kenya’s greatest athletes offered a lighter moment away from the busy schedule of the Africa Forward Summit, which has brought together heads of state, investors and policymakers in Nairobi.

Kipchoge, widely regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners in history, has become a global symbol of endurance and discipline, attracting admiration from world leaders and sports enthusiasts alike.

The morning jog came as the high-level Africa Forward Summit officially got underway in Nairobi, drawing heads of state, senior government officials, investors, innovators and policymakers from across Africa and Europe.

Emmanuel Macron is among the key global leaders attending the two-day summit, which is co-hosted by Kenya and France and is focused on deepening Africa-Europe partnerships through trade, infrastructure development, climate action, technology and investment.

The summit has already seen Kenya and France sign several bilateral agreements covering transport, renewable energy, digital transformation, agriculture and education.

Leaders are also expected to hold discussions on reforming global financing systems, expanding investment opportunities for African economies and strengthening cooperation in innovation and green growth.

For Kenya, hosting the summit marks a major diplomatic moment, with Nairobi positioning itself as a regional hub for business, diplomacy and international partnerships.

Turkish Airlines plane catches fire at Nepal airport, passengers safe

KATHMANDU, Nepal

A Turkish Airlines plane carrying 277 passengers and 11 crew members caught fire while landing at Kathmandu airport Monday, but no one was hurt in the accident.

The flight, which took off from Istanbul, caught fire following a spark in the right landing gear, according to Gyanendra Bhul, a spokesman at Nepal's civil aviation authority.

"All aboard are safe, the rescue part is over. We are now investigating the accident," Bhul told reporters.

Bhul said the incident caused the closure of the airport's only runway for almost two hours in the morning but it has since been reopened.

The Himalayan nation is home to some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks and terrain that poses a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

A string of crashes as well as the European Union's decision to blacklist all Nepalese airlines prompted government officials last year to announce plans to install new radar and weather monitoring systems.

In 2015, a Turkish Airline aircraft with 224 passengers  skidded off the Kathmandu runway.

The passengers were unhurt but the accident led to a runway closure for four days and saw scores of international flights cancelled.