Overview

• Former first lady Simone Gbagbo, 76, was cleared as one of five candidates for Ivory Coast’s October 25 presidential vote, while Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Tidjane Thiam were barred.
• The UN-backed Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan said both the SAF and RSF committed atrocity crimes amounting to crimes against humanity and extermination, with survivors describing RSF sites as “slaughterhouses.”
• Tanzania’s regulator blocked JamiiForums for 90 days on September 6 over alleged misleading and defamatory content tied to opposition statements and reports on President Samia Suluhu Hassan, drawing calls from CPJ to lift the suspension.
• Kenya’s parliamentary health committee expanded its inquiry into the kidney transplant sector, scrutinizing Mediheal Group, foreign patient flows, NHIF access loopholes, and the lack of systems needed for deceased-donor transplants.
• Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a bid to host COP32 in 2027, highlighting the Green Legacy tree-planting drive and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as evidence of climate and development ambitions.