Photo : Mwangi, Reuters
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Mwangi, Reuters
IN BRIEF
by Anu Maria Joseph and Apoorva Sudhakar
Kenya: Odinga welcomes but disagrees with Supreme Court decision on elections
On 5 September, former prime minister and presidential candidate Raila Odinga accepted the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify his petition challenging William Ruto’s victory in the presidential elections. Odinga tweeted: “We respect the opinion of the court although we vehemently disagree with their decision today.” Previously on the same day, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld Ruto’s victory; Chief Justice Martha Koome said the court did not find proof that the results were tampered by hacking the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s servers. (“Odinga accepts but disagrees with court decision on Kenya election,” Al Jazeera, 5 September 2022)
Somalia: Famine is "at the door", UN warns
On 5 September, UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths warned, famine is “at the door” in parts of Somalia. During a press conference in the capital, Mogadishu, he said that there are concrete indications of famine that could occur in south-central Somalia between October and December. According to the aid agencies, the worst drought and four failed rainy seasons have displaced more than one million people in the Horn of Africa region. The UN World Food Programme has estimated that 22 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are at risk of severe hunger. (“Famine knocking on Somalia's door, UN warns,” BBC, 5 September 2022)