The 11th African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development came to an end with calls enshrined in the Kampala Declaration for African countries to respond to evolving global challenges by focusing on local value addition and intra-continental trade.

The forum was hosted by Uganda, an exemplar of progress on the SDGs. The country’s economic growth has remained resilient,  exceeded the African average since the COVID-19 recovery period. 

According to the Bank of Uganda (2025) economic growth is projected to remain within the range of 6.0% to 6.5% for FY2024/25 and is expected   to reach 7.0% in the next 2years, driven by: a stable macroeconomic environment, foreign direct investment in mining and oil, strategic government interventions, increased agricultural production and expected oil revenues.

Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, thanked President Yoweri Museveni for his government’s commitment to Africa’s transformation. He lauded the delegates and the Uganda Bureau Chair for leading the forum towards the Kampala Declaration. “This is not an ECA document. This is not a UN document. It’s your document - it is African-owned, with your own input, and at the end of the day, we all own it together,” he said.

Reflecting on the evolution of the global financial system, Gatete noted that the cracks in the system had become clear since 2002. “We realized that this financial system is not working for Africa. The Washington Consensus can no longer work for us.” The continent, he said, has since been battered by a series of external shocks, an energy crisis and instability in some countries over the past two decades. Climate impact is more than 5% of GDP, and the continent is under even more pressure. “Africa’s debt now exceeds $1 trillion; with annual interest payments surpassing $100bn, the situation is not sustainable. We must seek solutions,” He stressed.

He said that efforts to apply various innovative financing models, such as green and blue bonds and sustainability bonds, are not enough. Africa must address the high indebtedness and the complexity of the current credit arrangements.

“While the bulk of debt was previously owed to the Paris Club and thus lent itself to easy decision making, there are many more lenders now, including private ones,” he said.

“The combination of factors, including the current geopolitics, makes things difficult. Furthermore, the G20 common framework is not working for Africa; our credit ratings are low.” The fact that only two African countries have ever achieved investment-grade status since independence, Gatete stressed, is “a signal that we need to do things differently.”

“The world is changing, and we need to change,” he said, reiterating calls for the reform of the global financial architecture, the need for a global digital compact that supports Africa’s development priorities and the reform of the Security Council, for Africa’s voice on the table of global governance.

He pointed out that global processes such as FFD-4, the World Social Summit, COP 30 and the LLDC will require inputs from multi-stakeholders - the Kampala Declaration provides Africa’s responses to these critical global processes.

For his part, Leonard Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator, Uganda, praised President Yoweri Museveni for highlighting the urgent need for African countries to transform the continent’s approach to development, recalling that “his message was clear - we must cease exporting our jobs and raw materials.

“The President underlined that instead we must invest in our systems through advanced transportation, affordable greener energy, transformative education and robust financial systems and add intentional value addition to our abundant resources.” Noting the interconnectedness of the challenges the continent faces, Zulu called for collective and integrated responses.

“Durable peace requires sustainable development. Sustainable development requires sustainable financing. Sustainable financing requires control over economic and financial flows and this control requires robust state institutions,” said Zulu.

Mr. Zulu further called for investment in science, technology and innovation, as well as a “transformative mindset that prevents the shipping away of jobs through the exporting of raw materials to intentional value addition on them.”

For the continent to grow inclusively, Zulu said, gender equality, youth empowerment and social protection must be prioritised. Partnerships must also be strengthened across government, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders.

The forum was attended by over 2500 participants, including present and former Heads of State and Government, ECOSOCI, civil society, academia, parliamentarians and representatives of local, regional and international organizations, as well as the African Union Commission. Over 45 side events and pre-events were held online and in hybrid format. The meeting elected Mauritius to lead the new ARFSD Bureau for the year 2025. ECA

Known for his humility, progressive leadership and tireless advocacy for social justice, Pope Francis left journalists in stitches when he brushed off security concerns during his visit in Kenya on November 25, 2015.#When asked if he was concerned about security risks, the Pope quipped: “To tell you the truth, the only thing I’m concerned about is the mosquitoes. Did you bring your spray?”

His visit had come weeks after the US had issued a security alert over possible attacks by the Somali-based al-Shabaab militia group. Referring to the attacks carried out by the militant Islamist group in the country, he said God’s name “must never be used to justify hatred and violence”. He said conflict and terrorism fed “on fear, mistrust and the despair born of poverty and frustration”.

The Pope also had a message of hope for the youth, whom he said had been marginalised and appealed to them to “shape a society which is ever more just, inclusive and respectful of human dignity”. “May you always be concerned for the needs of the poor, and reject everything that leads to prejudice and discrimination.”

Pope Francis’ five-day visit to Africa, the first time since his election in 2013, had also seen him go to Uganda and Central African Republic, which had been hit by Christian-Muslim conflict.

He called on Christians and Muslims to engage in a dialogue of peace in the face of religious radicalisation and “barbarous” attacks, as he began the first full day of his three-nation trip to Africa.

He met a small group of faith leaders in Nairobi before a public open-air mass, attended by around 300,000 people in the pouring rain and amid tight security.

Religion could never be used to justify violence, he told Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish representatives.

“All too often, young people are being radicalised in the name of religion to sow discord and fear and to tear at the very fabric of society,” he said. “How important it is that we be seen as prophets of peace, peacemakers who invite others to live in peace, harmony and mutual respect.”

Traditional dancers

Francis was greeted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, and others, amid singing by traditional dance groups.

Speaking to journalists before his plane touched down, he had said he wanted to offer spiritual and material support to Africans. “I am going with joy to Kenya, Uganda and the brothers of the Central African Republic,” he had said on the flight. “Let’s hope this trip brings better fruit, both spiritual and material.”

After greeting Kenyatta, Francis was presented with a bouquet by a boy and a girl. Traditional dancers, some dressed in Maasai regalia, and choirs at the airport sang “karibu baba” in Swahili, lyrics which translate as “welcome father”. 

Later, Francis was welcomed by an honour guard at the State House and a 21-gun salute.

While in Kenya, Francis delivered an important environmental message at the UN environment programme headquarters on the eve of key climate talks in Paris.

During his visit to Kangemi slums, Pope Francis launched a blistering attack on “new forms of colonialism” that exacerbated the “dreadful injustice of urban exclusion.”

The pontiff criticised wealthy minorities who hoard resources at the expense of the poor and praised the values of solidarity and mutual support in deprived neighbourhoods.

Such values, he said, had been forgotten by “an opulent society, anaesthetised by unbridled consumption” and were “not quoted in the stock exchange, are not subject to speculation and have no market price”.

Denounced injustices

The Pope told the packed congregation at the Jesuit Centre in Kangemi: “I am here because I want you to know that I am not indifferent to your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows. I realise the difficulties which you experience daily. How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer?”

Such injustices were the result of “wounds inflicted by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned, filthy and rundown peripheries”, the pope said.

He criticised the lack of “infrastructures and basic services”, adding: “By this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity, roads, as well as schools, hospitals, recreational and sport centres, studios and workshops for artists and craftsmen. I refer, in particular, to access to drinking water.”

The pontiff also condemned what he described as the unjust distribution of land, poor housing and criminal gangs preying on children. “These realities … are not a random combination of unrelated problems. They are a consequence of new forms of colonialism which would make African countries ‘parts of a machine, cogs on a gigantic wheel’,” he said, citing a statement from Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Urban poverty

The pope proposed “integrated cities which belong to everyone” as way of alleviating urban poverty and inequality.

“We need to go beyond the mere proclamation of rights which are not respected in practice, to implementing concrete and systematic initiatives capable of improving the overall living situation, and planning new urban developments of good quality for housing future generations,” he said. 

After visiting Kangemi, the pope capped his three-day visit to Kenya with a plea to the country’s leadership to be more responsive to the needs of the people.

Addressing tens of thousands of young Kenyans, who had packed into the country’s main stadium to listen to the last major speech of his tour, Francis said: “Corruption takes away our joy, our peace: corrupt people don’t live in peace.

Corruption is something that eats inside, like sugar. Sweet, we like it, it’s easy. And then we end up badly.”

He said Kenya had been one of the poster boys of the “rising Africa” narrative, with a growing middle class, but it remains a deeply unequal society, where conditions in low-income urban settlements are among the worst on the continent.

Pope Francis offered a sombre warning on the dangers of a church driven by “ambition for wealth and power”.

“The church is not a business,” he said. “It is not an NGO. It’s a mystery. A mystery of Christ’s gaze upon each one of us.”

There have been concerns that some priests are attracted to the ministry by the vast resources of the church, which is a major player in Kenya’s education and health sectors.

Francis warned against succumbing to the impulse of joining the priesthood to accumulate wealth, and he told the gathered priests that they had to examine themselves to find out whether they had gone into service through the “door of Christ or the window”. People Daily

The Confucius Institute at the University of Rwanda held celebrations on Sunday afternoon to mark this year's United Nations Chinese Language Day.

The event, under the theme "Chinese Language: A Gift Across Time and Space," offered attendees an immersive experience of Chinese culture and language.

Speaking at the event, Lin Hang, charge d'affaires a.i. of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda, said that as an official language of the United Nations, the Chinese language is an important bond of friendship between the Chinese people and the people around the world.

"Language is a crucial tool of communication for human beings. As you may be aware, Chinese is the only 'living language' among the world's ancient civilizations that is still in use today. At present, more than 190 countries and regions around the world are teaching Chinese, and 85 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems," she said.

"China puts the spirit of real multilateralism into good practice, embraces an open and inclusive mindset, enhances mutual appreciation and learning, deepens understanding and friendship between the peoples across borders and among civilizations," she added.

Zeng Guangyu, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Rwanda, told Xinhua during the event that when the institute was established in 2009, only a handful of students enrolled, as many thought it was too difficult to learn. However, nearly 20,000 Rwandans can now speak Chinese after years of sustained efforts.

He noted that Chinese language skills have opened doors for Rwandan learners, enabling them to secure jobs, win scholarships, study in China, and even start businesses.

"I have seen Chinese learners achieve their dreams through the language -- by creating enterprises or finding good jobs. They are truly changing their lives through learning Chinese. English is used worldwide, but Chinese is a rising language in East Africa and across the globe. It represents the future," Zeng said.

He also highlighted that this year's celebrations also featured the launch of a Kiswahili-Chinese-English textbook, aimed at bridging Chinese with two of East Africa's most commonly spoken languages.

"We held a lecture on Chinese characters, organized workshops on Chinese writing and calligraphy, and conducted many activities across different teaching posts to mark the occasion," Zeng added. Xinhua

The blast, which occurred around 9 p.m. on April 20, is now being treated by insiders as an attempted assassination. Okah, found unconscious in his cell early Monday morning, is said to have suffered severe smoke inhalation and possibly serious burns.

Charles Okah, a high-profile inmate at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MaSCC) in Maiduguri, is reportedly in critical condition following a suspected bomb explosion that rocked the facility late Sunday night.

The blast, which occurred around 9 p.m. on April 20, is now being treated by insiders as an attempted assassination. Okah, found unconscious in his cell early Monday morning, is said to have suffered severe smoke inhalation and possibly serious burns.

Sources within the facility confirmed that Okah was removed from the debris around 6 a.m. by emergency personnel. Although still alive, he remains unconscious and in a life-threatening condition.

According to sources, paramedics attached to the custodial centre are working to stabilise him, with plans underway to transfer him to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for specialised treatment.

Security sources revealed that a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera with night vision capabilities, positioned near the cells, may have captured footage of the individual responsible for planting the explosive device.

Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but speculation is rife. Some reports link the explosion to a recent discovery made during a routine cell search on Monday, April 14. During the operation, conducted by personnel from the Armed Squad Unit, a draft letter allegedly authored by Okah was found. The letter reportedly detailed claims of staged deaths within the prison system and was addressed to the Borno State Attorney General.

Other sources suggest a more sinister theory that elements within the high command of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) may be complicit in the incident, allegedly aiming to silence Okah before a scheduled investigation into corruption within Maiduguri's custodial centres could occur.

Authorities are yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident or Okah’s current medical condition.

Charles Okah, brother of Henry Okah, has been serving a prison sentence linked to the 2010 Independence Day bombings in Abuja. His incarceration has remained a subject of public interest and controversy over the years.

On Sunday evening, Sahara Reporters reported that an explosion had rocked the prison facility, sparking a fire in the solitary confinement cell where Ohah had been held since mid-March.

Initial reports from within the prison indicated that an object, likely a bomb, was lobbed into Okah’s cell through the open window bars.

Eyewitnesses reported heavy smoke billowing from the cell. The incident followed Okah’s open letter to Nigeria's Minister of Interior, Olubunmi-Ojo, in which he exposed widespread judicial and official corruption in two custodial centres in Maiduguri.

According to accounts from the scene, Okah was heard coughing and choking amidst the growing smoke, with his screams echoing throughout the compound. He reportedly shouted that the explosive device had been thrown into his cell, sparking the fire that had engulfed his quarters.

Sahara Reporters' attempts to contact Abubakar Umar, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, for comment were unsuccessful. He did not answer phone calls or respond to a text message. Sahara Reporters