Drought in Kenya spreads beyond arid north

NAIROBI, Kenya 

After one of the driest rainy seasons on record at the end of 2025, drought is spreading in Kenya. This time, it is also affecting areas that are usually less prone to droughts than the country's north.

Once more, the rain was insufficient.

The WHO said that the 2025 short rains between October and December delivered only "30 to 60 percent of the long-term average in most areas".

According to the organisation, this led to the driest season on record since 1981 in parts of eastern Kenya.

The result is a drought that has this time gone beyond the north of the country, historically most prone to such events.

Ten counties are affected, including some further central and south in Kenya. Among them are Wajir, Garissa, Kilifi, Marsabit, Kitui, Kwale, Kajiado, Isiolo, and Tana River.

These were categorised in the "alert phase" at the end of January, while Kenya declared a drought emergency for Mandera county, placing it in the "alarm stage".

Among those most affected are herder communities like the Massai pastoralists. Many have already lost considerable parts of their livestock of cows and goats to the drought.

Neighbouring countries are also concerned by the situation. Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda are also seeing their population at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition due to similar weather patterns

Trump signs executive order threatening tariffs for countries trading with Iran

By Tobby Wilson, WASHINGTON United States 

United States President,  Donald Trump, has said he could impose additional tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Iran, in an executive order signed on Friday.

The order does not specify the rate that could be imposed, but uses 25% as an example, and says it will apply to goods imported into the US from any nation that "directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran".

Trump has not directly commented on the order, but reiterated "no nuclear weapons" for Iran when speaking from Air Force One on Friday night.

It comes amid ongoing talks between senior US and Iranian officials in Oman, following several weeks of threats from both sides.

Trump threatened a 25% tariff of countries doing business with Iran earlier this year, in a post to Truth Social.

On 12 January, he wrote: "Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America."

At the time, no further detail was provided on how the tariffs would work in practice.

The White House said that this latest executive order reaffirmed the "ongoing national emergency with respect to Iran", and noted that the president may modify it of circumstances change.

It read: "The President is holding Iran accountable for its pursuit of nuclear capabilities, support for terrorism, ballistic missile development, and regional destabilization that endanger American security, allies, and interests."

There has been no immediate comment from Iran.

Kagame criticises international "threats" against Rwanda as US sanctions loom

KIGALI, Rwanda 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame urged his country to be more self-reliant on Thursday, as calls mount in the United States to impose more sanctions over its involvement in the conflict in DR Congo.

The tiny Great Lakes nation has come under increasing international pressure over its support for the M23 armed group, which last year captured vast swathes of the neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A peace deal between Rwanda and the DRC, brokered by US President Donald Trump, was signed in Washington late last year - but only days later, the M23 seized another major city, Uvira. 

There was bipartisan support at a US House of Foreign Affairs subcommittee on January 22 for more sanctions on Rwanda. Speaking at an event in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Thursday, Kagame appeared to respond with an insistence on the country's autonomy.

We have "committed ourselves to be self-reliant... so that our existence would not depend on luck, or on the goodwill of others who might choose to help us today and withdraw tomorrow", said Kagame, who often speaks in a very roundabout manner.

"Self-reliance, therefore, is our main priority," he said, in a clip shared on the official presidency's X account.

Rwanda insists it is only involved in the eastern DRC to help protect against an enemy militia formed from the remnants of those who committed the Rwandan genocide in 1994, denying direct military involvement despite considerable evidence from United Nations observers and others. 

Kagame appeared to tacitly admit to a Rwandan presence in the conflict-wracked DRC.

"When they ask you if you are in the Congo, either you say 'no', and the question of defensive measures we took are... seen as if they are not there. "And if you say 'yes', that becomes the only problem in the world to deal with," Kagame said.

Rwanda's ambassador to the US did, for the first time, admit to a direct "security coordination" with the M23 and its political arm, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), at the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on January 22.

"Rwanda does engage in security coordination with AFC/M23. I state this clearly to build trust through transparency," Mathilde Mukantabana said.

She said this was "to prevent another genocidal cross-border insurgency, like in the late 1990s, that could threaten Rwanda's very existence".

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 07/02/2026

 

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 06/02/2026

 

Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners as peace talks end without breakthrough

KYIV, Ukraine 

Ukraine and Russia have conducted a rare exchange of prisoners of war and civilians after two days of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi.

A total of 157 Ukrainians - seven of them civilians - and 157 Russian soldiers were returned home in the first such swap in four months.

Russian, Ukrainian and US teams took part in the talks in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, with the main sticking points believed to be territorial concessions Ukraine is under pressure to make and security guarantees for it to prevent further Russian attacks if a deal is agreed to end the four-year war.

No breakthrough has been reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the talks had not been easy and he wanted "faster results".

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a post on social media, Zelensky wrote that Thursday's prisoner exchange "took place after a long pause" - referring to the previous such swap last October.

"We are returning our people home - 157 Ukrainians. Soldiers of the Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Service.

"And civilians are also returning with the defenders. Most have been in captivity since 2012," the Ukrainian president said, pledging to bring back every single Ukrainian still in Russian captivity.

Ukrainians officials said 139 had been in Russian captivity since 2022.

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said 157 of its POWs were returned by Kyiv.

The ministry added that three Russian civilians "illegally held" were also handed back. They were residents of the western Kursk region, parts of which were occupied by Ukraine during its incursion in 2024-25.

The talks in Abu Dhabi - the second round in recent weeks - are part of US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner have been leading the negotiations.

The talks had been "detailed and productive", Witkoff wrote on X, but added that "significant work remains".

The most difficult issue is territory, with Russia demanding that Ukraine cedes the rest of the eastern industrial region of Donbas that Moscow does not currently control.

Another key sticking point is believed to be Kyiv's demand to get robust security guarantees from its European allies and the US.

No details have been released.

The trilateral talks began as Russia renewed its deadly attacks on Ukraine after a week-long pause that Trump had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe as a fierce cold swept Ukraine.

Moscow has been targeting the country's energy sector, leaving thousands of people without electricity, heating and water in freezing temperatures.

Nigerian President Tinubu deploys army following Kwara State massacre

ABUJA, Nigeria 

Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has deployed an army battalion to Kwara State after gunmen killed as many as 162 people in one of the country’s deadliest attacks in recent months.

The assault targeted Woro village late Tuesday, just days after the military launched operations in the area against suspected terrorist groups. 

Gunmen stormed the community in the evening, burning shops and the traditional ruler’s palace as residents fled into nearby bushes.

Casualty figures remain unclear, with officials giving conflicting tolls. Local authorities say the number of dead has continued to rise as search teams recover more bodies in surrounding areas.

No group has claimed responsibility, but the state government has blamed terrorist cells, while President Tinubu has pointed to Boko Haram jihadists. He condemned the attack and ordered troops to secure the area, saying the victims were targeted for rejecting extremist ideology.

The violence comes amid an intensified military campaign across Nigeria, where armed gangs, jihadist groups, and intercommunal clashes continue to destabilize large parts of the country.

In a separate incident the same day, suspected bandits killed at least 23 civilians in Katsina State in what appeared to be retaliation for air force strikes on militant camps.

As insecurity worsens, curfews have been imposed in parts of Kwara State, schools were temporarily closed, and concerns are growing over the expanding reach of jihadist groups linked to regional networks operating across Nigeria’s borders.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 05/02/2026