The International Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced a jihadist police chief to 10 years in jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during a reign of terror in the fabled Malian city of Timbuktu.

The UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, commonly known as Chatham House, has says Mozambique President-elect Daniel Chapo can speak on its platform after election disputes are laid to rest.

A veteran Ugandan opposition politician was kidnapped during a book launch in Kenya at the weekend, transferred to Uganda and is being held at a military jail in the capital, his wife said on Wednesday.

Southern African Development Community (SADC) has advised the people of Mozambique to remain calm while an election dispute is adjudicated – while some feared the country was on the verge of a state of emergency declaration to stamp out protests.

Zimbabwe and Zambia are combining efforts to deal with their electricity crises, which have seen power cuts of up to 21 hours per day.

Lesotho could soon have legislation to ensure access to gender affirmation treatment for children and birth certificates that reflect a transition.

Mozambique’s long-time opposition movement Renamo said Monday that last month’s disputed elections must be annulled, adding to rejection of the vote that has sparked weeks of deadly protests across the country.

The European Union (EU) has approved a R380 million addition to its support for the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) deployment in Mozambique’s oil and gas rich Cabo Delgado province.

“We used to hate elephants a lot,” Kenyan farmer Charity Mwangome says, pausing from her work under the shade of a baobab tree.

Mozambique will top the agenda when heads of state and government from the Southern African Development Community convene in Harare, with winds of change blowing throughout the region.

Protesters have enlisted children in what amounts to economic sabotage, the government of Mozambique said on Wednesday, as the opposition’s plans to paralyse trade seemed to falter.