Access to electricity has increased from 2 per cent in 2000 to around 74.5 per cent as of today, according to Rwanda Energy Group (REG).

Of these, 50.9 per cent households are connected to the national grid while 23.6 per cent are using off-grid solutions including inter-alia standalone solar home systems and mini-grids.

The milestone was celebrated on Saturday, November 5 in an event which took place in Nyabugogo Cell, Nyarugenge District.

While speaking at the event, Ron Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of REG, thanked stakeholders who played a part, including entrepreneurs who powered households with solar home systems.

Despite the aggressive expansion of Rwanda’s electrical grid network, analysis has shown that grid connections will take time to reach all households. Therefore, off-grid solutions, including solar home systems (SHS), were introduced to increase access to electricity in areas located far from the grid and now present a viable alternative to grid connections.

According to REG, today, more than 640,000 households are connected through off-grid solutions.

Weiss added: "Although a lot has been achieved, we still have a long way to go to ensure 100 per cent access. 25 per cent of people should be connected in two years. It is still a big number but we assure you that this is achievable and we shall meet again in 2024 to celebrate."

Fidele Abimana, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), declared that this move portrays the government’s effort in general as well as that of REG and other stakeholders.

“As the Government of Rwanda, we recognise that electricity is a strong pillar in development and plays a vital role in improving health and standards of living of people,” he said.

“Considering an average of five people per household, around 10 million Rwandans have access to electricity today. That aligns with the government’s vision concerning having all households in the country accessing electricity by 2024.”

He added: “If we managed to power a million households with electricity in two years, and the same numbers of households remain, it is clear that we will achieve the goal in the next two years (2024).”

Abimana also urged people to keep preserving electricity infrastructures, among others.

During the event, one Richard Bigirimana’s household was awarded a token of electricity worth Rwf100,000 as the 2,000,000th to have access to electricity in Rwanda.

Speaking to the media, Bigirimana’s wife, Jeannette Yankurije, thanked the country and REG for the prize and for powering them with electricity which lit up their house and continues to help her children to study during night time.

Energy, and particularly access to electricity, is the Government's key priority. Significant investments made and progress registered led to the increase of households' access to electricity with the Government target of universal access by 2024.

From 1937, when REGIDESO was established in Rwanda and 1957 when the first ever power plant was built in Rwanda up to the year 2000, access to electricity in Rwanda was considered a rare privilege for those living in cities, with only 46,000 households connected.

In 2009, a special program to roll out access to electricity, especially in rural areas was introduced to increase the access rate in the Rwandan community. According to REG, at that time, only 6 per cent of Rwandan households had access to on-grid electricity.

The current electrification plan leading Rwanda to universal access shows that by 2024, around 70 per cent of households will be connected to the grid while around 30 per cent will be using off-grid solutions. - Patrick Nzabonimpa, The New Times

Raila Odinga’s Spokesman Prof. Makau Mutua now says the battle for the August presidential election won by William Ruto is still on.

Mutua said Odinga has never conceded and declared that the battle is still on.

“No one should imagine that the Kenyan presidential election is over we’ve never conceded anything. Stay tuned,” he tweeted without elaborating.

The surpise sentiments follows a challenge filed at the East African Court of Justice by Raila’s running mate Martha Karua.

Odinga lost to Ruto in a narrow victory which he challenged at the Supreme Court which dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

In Karua’s petition at the Arusha, Tanzania-based court, she accused the Kenyan court of undermining “the rule of law by violating the right to a fair trial”.

In the petition filed on Thursday, Karua, who is one of Kenya’s best-known lawyers, urged the regional court to order Kenyan authorities to conduct “transparent, independent, and professional investigations into all (the) violations” allegedly committed by the election commission and the country’s top court.

But the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous verdict in favour of Ruto, saying there was no evidence to back Odinga’s claims.

Observers had feared that the disputed outcome could fuel violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest, but voting day passed off peacefully. 

The East African Court of Justice came into force in 2001 to ensure adherence to the laws establishing the seven-nation East African Community bloc, made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

No Kenyan presidential election result has ever gone uncontested, with Odinga alleging fraud and hacking of the election commission’s servers.  By Vilenta Wakwelo, Capital News

Somalian soldiers attend a military training given by the Turkish Armed Forces's Somalia Turkish Task Force Command at the Anatolian Barracks on the coast of the Indian Ocean in Mogadishu, Somalia on May 25, 2022 [Erçin Ertürk - Anadolu Agency]

Backed by locals, elite Somali forces killed more than 100 members of the Al Qaeda-affiliated terror group Al-Shabaab, the country's Defence Ministry said on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Ministry spokesman, Abdullahi Ali Anod told reporters that two units of the elite Danab, or lightning brigade, troops with the support of, local militia forces known as "Macwisley," engaged Al-Shabaab in an operation since early Thursday.

The operation, which involved airstrikes, took place near the town of Adanyabal in the Horn of Africa country's Middle Shabelle region.

Anad said a large number of Al-Shabaab insurgents tried to defend the town but lost over 100 members on a single front.

The military has been conducting operations against the terror group since President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud declared an "all-out war" against it earlier this week, after a devastating twin car bombing that killed over 100 people in the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, which also wounded 320 others.

Experts believe the local forces that have been fighting alongside the country's army are playing "significant" role against Al-Shabaab.

READ: EU condemns Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

Ali Kulow, a former police officer now serving as a security analyst in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency that local militia forces helped the government reclaim strategic towns in its recent offensives in parts of the country.

"This militia, that has proven itself a fighting force, is seen by many in the country as a revolutionary force capable of defeating Al-Shabaab if they receive logistical support and strategic military planning," said Kulow.

He underlined that the militia knew the countryside better than anybody and had the support of the local population in terms of gathering intelligence on Al-Shabaab in the area.

"The government should use the anger and dedication towards Al-Shabaab because these people witness the real brutality and money extortion of Al-Shabaab. So, I can see a real opportunity here and the government should organise and use them and then integrate them into the national army," he added.

Somalia has been grappling with security threats for years, with Al-Shabaab being one of its main concerns.

Since 2007, the terror group has fought the Somali government and international forces in a deadly campaign that has claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by Al-Shabaab and groups aligned with the Daesh terrorist organisation.

At least 1,242 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018-2019, while 1,735 were injured, according to UN figures. MEMO(Middle East Monitor