East African country - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

UK’s Rwanda asylum legislation to return to parliament after Easter

LEGISLATION that seeks to block further court challenges to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda will next be debated in parliament on April 15. The government wants to relocate thousands of asylum seekers who arrive in Britain on small, inflatable boats each year to live in Rwanda, but legal challenges have so far prevented anyone being sent to the East African country yet. To overcome objections by the court, Sunak's government is passing the bill that declares Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and disapplies parts of human rights law in an attempt…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Fitch cuts Ethiopia’s Eurobond to ‘default’ after missed payment

BUSINESS

FITCH downgraded the rating on Ethiopia's only international government bond to "default" from "near default" after the East African country failed to make a $33 million coupon payment. Ethiopia became Africa's third default in as many years on Tuesday after it failed to make the payment on the $1 billion Eurobond. While the payment was due on December 11, a 14-day grace period clause meant it technically had until Tuesday to provide the money. The agency also lowered Ethiopia's long-term foreign currency rating to "RD" or restricted default, from "C". It does not assign outlooks to sovereigns rated "CCC+" or below. Ethiopia requested…

Dec

2023

By SARAH YOUNG and RISHABH JAISWAL

UK paid Rwanda additional $126 mln for contested migrant plan

NEWS

BRITAIN paid Rwanda an additional 100 million pounds ($126 million) in April, on top of 140 million pounds it previously sent, as the bill for its contested plan to relocate asylum seekers to the East African country continues to rise. The Rwanda scheme is at the centre of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's strategy to deter illegal migrants but as yet none have been moved there because of legal battles since the scheme was announced in 2022. The divisive policy is now seen as a threat to Sunak's leadership - with an election expected next year - after his immigration…

Dec

2023

By PHILBERT GIRINEMA, ANDREW MACASKILL and MICHAEL HOLDEN

UK interior minister signs new Rwanda treaty to resurrect asylum plan

NEWS

BRITAIN signed a new treaty with Rwanda which it said would overcome a court decision blocking its plan to deport asylum seekers to the East African country, a ruling that dealt a huge blow to the government's immigration policy. The Rwanda scheme is at the centre of the government's strategy to stop illegal migration and is being watched closely by other countries considering similar policies. But last month, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled that the plan would violate international human rights laws enshrined in domestic legislation. Under the new treaty, signed by British Home Secretary (interior minister) James Cleverly and which…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Uganda October coffee exports up 3% on bumper crop in southwest

BUSINESS

UGANDA'S coffee exports in October were up 3.4% year on year, helped by a bumper crop in the southwest of the country, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report. Uganda is Africa's largest exporter of coffee beans and earnings from the shipments are one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange. The East African country shipped 470,080 60kg bags in October, the UCDA report said. Though volumes were up only 3.4%, the October shipments fetched $79 million for an 18% jump on the same month last year. "The monthly coffee exports performance was higher than the…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Britain’s migrant deal unlawful as Rwanda is unsafe, lawyers say

NEWS

MICHAEL HOLDEN and SAM TOBIN BRITAIN'S plan to send migrants to Rwanda is unlawful because the East African country is not a safe country, lawyers for a group of asylum seekers told the Court of Appeal in London on Monday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government wants to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) away to Rwanda as part of a 140 million pound ($174 million) deal agreed upon last year. It regards the plan as central to deterring record numbers of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel from France, something Sunak has made…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenyan president lifts COVID-19 lockdown imposed last month

COVID-19

KENYAN President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday lifted the COVID-19 lockdown he imposed last month, allowing for a reopening of bars and restaurants, religious services and schools, as the rate of infections eases in the East African country. Curbs on travel in the capital Nairobi and four surrounding counties would be lifted, schools will be allowed to reopen following an Education Ministry calendar. Religious services will resume with some restrictions, while political gatherings would still be banned, he said in a speech. An evening curfew that currently starts at 8 p.m. will be revised to 10 p.m.. The changes will be in…