This week, former president Peter Mutharika was officially declared the winner of Malawi’s presidential election, securing a victory with 56.8% of the vote, signifying a major political comeback for Mutharika, who previously served from 2014 to 2020 before losing a court-ordered rerun election. His victory, which came over the incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, who conceded defeat, marks the third time in a row that power has changed hands in the country through a contested election. Though the Chakwera’s opposition party initially voiced concerns about “serious anomalies” during the vote counting, the Electoral Commission lauded the overall peaceful and smooth conduct of the poll.
African leaders delivered a unified and assertive message at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, demanding a meaningful reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, where Africa currently lacks a permanent seat. They decried the current international financial and multilateral trading systems as working against Africa, highlighting issues like debt stress, reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA), and the detrimental impact of unilateral trade practices.
Egypt and Turkey resumed joint naval exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean for the first time in 13 years, following a decade-long diplomatic rupture after political differences in 2013. The five-day maneuver, named “Friendship of the Sea 2025,” involved key assets from both nations, including frigates, a submarine, and F-16 fighter jets. This cooperation highlights both countries’ shared goal of enhancing joint operational capabilities and military cooperation.
Authorities in Madagascar imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew running from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. in the capital city of Antananarivo after protests over crippling water and power outages turned violent. Hundreds of angry citizens took to the streets to protest frequent blackouts, which often last over 12 hours, barricading roads with burning tires. The demonstrations quickly escalated into chaos on Thursday, with reports of looting at shops and banks and several stations of the city’s new cable car system being set ablaze.
An Interpol-led operation concluded with the arrest of 260 suspects across 14 African countries involved in a large-scale digital scamming network. The operation, focused on romance scams and sextortion, dismantled 81 cybercrime infrastructures and seized 1,235 electronic devices. Investigators identified 1,463 victims linked to the scams, with estimated losses totaling nearly $2.8 million USD. This multi-country effort underscores a significant rise in digital-enabled crimes across the continent, where perpetrators utilize fake profiles and forged documents on social media and dating platforms to exploit victims for financial and psychological harm.
Ethiopia and Niger are finalizing significant partnerships with Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, to build their nuclear power infrastructure. Ethiopia signed a comprehensive action plan for the construction of a nuclear power plant, a project touted to be “equal to the GERD” in size and power capacity. Separately, Niger, a major global supplier of uranium, announced plans to collaborate with Rosatom to develop two nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts. These deals represent Russia’s strategy to expand its influence in the African energy sector, challenging historic Western dominance, while simultaneously aiming to address both East and West Africa’s severe energy deficits.
Rwanda is hosting the prestigious 2025 UCI Road World Championships from September 21st to 28th, marking a historic first for the African continent. This landmark event, nicknamed the “Championship of Many Firsts,” is expected to draw over 7,000 international visitors and reach a global TV audience of 300 million viewers. Rwanda, known as the “land of a thousand hills,” is providing one of the most physically challenging routes in the competition’s history. Beyond the Elite Men’s and Women’s races, the event features the first official U23 Women’s race and the first Indoor Individual Time Trial (ITT), further cementing Rwanda’s reputation as a global hub for sports and tourism.
Citizens of Seychelles began voting in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, held between September 25th and 27th. The main contest is between incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party and his chief rival, Patrick Herminie, of the United Seychelles (US) party. The election is dominated by major social and economic issues, notably the country’s severe drug crisis, with Seychelles having one of the world’s highest rates of heroin addiction.
The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali have announced their joint withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), effective one year from written notification. The three nations, members of the Alliance of Sahel States, issued a strong statement accusing the court of being an “instrument of neo-colonialist repression” and foreign domination that disproportionately targets African leaders. The juntas stated their intention to replace the ICC’s jurisdiction with what they termed “indigenous mechanisms” for justice to address the ongoing security crises and human rights concerns in the Sahel region.
Voters in Guinea approved a new constitution in a referendum held on September 21st, with preliminary results showing approximately 90% of voters in favor. The new charter holds significant political implications, as it extends the presidential term from five to seven years and allows transitional military leader Gen. Mamady Doumbouya to run for the presidency in future elections. Although officials celebrated the high turnout as a “mandate of trust” towards civilian rule, the opposition has denounced the process, citing alleged irregularities and viewing the referendum as a move by the junta to legitimize and perpetuate power seized by force in 2021.
