‘After the withdrawal of French fighter planes from Chad, the beginning of troop withdrawal has just begun today,’ says Chadian Defense Ministry.

France began withdrawing soldiers Friday from Chad, according to the Chadian Defense Ministry, after N'Djamena abruptly ended military cooperation with the former colonial power last month. 

“The General Staff of the Armed Forces informs National and International Opinion that after the withdrawal of French fighter planes from Chad, the beginning of troop withdrawal has just begun today,” it said the statement. “This sequential withdrawal of Combat Units will be carried out in conjunction with the transport of logistics.”

Chad gave Paris six weeks to remove 1,000 soldiers and their equipment by Jan. 31.

The Chadian Foreign Ministry announced Nov. 28 the end of military cooperation with France.

France withdrew fighter jets from Chad after a disagreement last month.
French soldiers and fighter aircraft have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country's independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

Chad was the last country to host French military units in Africa’s Sahel region after Paris withdrew units from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
France's relations with Mali and Burkina Faso deteriorated after military administrations took power in those countries in 2020 and 2022.
Residents in Mali and Burkina Faso, two former French colonies, protested French presence in their countries. By Oumar Sankare, Anadolu Agency 

The High Court has declared the new funding model for universities and colleges illegal and unconstitutional.

Justice Chacha Mwita has ruled that the new funding model, introduced by President William Ruto, is unlawful due to its lack of legal foundation, discriminatory nature, and failure to involve public participation.

The court found that the government did not adhere to the necessary legal provisions when creating the model. 

The judge has issued an order prohibiting Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi, the Attorney General, the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Trustees of the Universities Fund Kenya, and the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCPS) from implementing the new system until they comply with all legal provisions.

More to follow... By Nancy Gitonga, The Standard

At least 16 Indian workers are currently trapped at a cement factory in Libya after they reached Benghazi via Dubai without valid paperwork. 

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan have committed to building the Eldoret-Kampala-Kigali refined petroleum products pipeline to streamline product movement across the region.

The project is designed to enhance the transportation of refined petroleum products from Western Kenya, ensuring a more efficient, faster, and environmentally friendly process across the three nations. 

Kenya’s Petroleum Principal Secretary, Mohamed Liban, expressed optimism about the project's potential to foster sustainable development, economic integration, and prosperity for the region. "This project will lay a strong foundation for future generations," he said.

Liban made these remarks during a joint ministerial meeting for the Northern Corridor Integration Projects in Entebbe, Uganda. The meeting brought together representatives from the partner states, including Uganda’s Energy Minister Okaasai Sidronius and Rwanda’s High Commission Charge de Affairs Ismael Baguma.

The Eldoret-Kampala-Kigali pipeline project, a key component of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects initiated in 1995, aims to address the challenges associated with transporting refined petroleum products by truck.

Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda formalized their commitment to the project through a tripartite agreement signed in 2013. The pipeline is seen as a crucial infrastructure development to meet the region’s growing energy demands.

Currently, refined petroleum products are unloaded at the Port of Mombasa and transported by pipeline to various depots in Kenya. However, the final delivery to inland areas and neighbouring countries is still heavily reliant on trucks. PTJ