ECOWAS pledges to end human trafficking and boost security

A new wave of anti-government protests in Kenya led to scores of fatalities and hundreds of arrested this week. And, the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights says police are working with criminal gangs. Eddy Micah Jr. talks to political analyst Michael Nato and DW's Diana Wanyonyi in Mombasa.

Uganda's opposition parties are drafting a cooperation agreement ahead of a general election. They aim to unseat Yoweri Museveni, the country's president for the last 40 years. Josey Mahachi talks to Adolph Mbeine, a lecturer at Makerere University, and DW's Frank Yiga in Kampala.

Rights defenders in Kenya want more community protections for elderly women, especially in rural areas. It follows reports of old women being accused of witchcraft, denied inheritance, forced out of their marital homes, and abandoned. Josephine Mahachi speaks to DW’s Andrew Wasike and Anne Rose Chege, a social worker and rights advocate in Kenya.

Malawi’s biggest refugee camp, Dzaleka Refugee Camp, currently home to around 56,500 people, faces a bleak future as UNHCR withdraws funding and staff. What could this mean for a facility that human rights activists say is already as a source of human trafficking and crime? Josey Mahachi speaks to Jessie Chingoma, a gender and labor activist and DW's George Mhango in Blantyre.

Human rights groups say a US-backed peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo fails to hold any parties accountable for fighting that has left thousands dead. President Donald Trump touts the deal as a way to access mineral resources. Josey Mahachi speaks with political commentator Gonza Mugi and Gasominari Jean Baptiste, a Congolese lawyer living in Rwanda as a refugee.

A Malawi-based human rights body says survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) are punished instead of being protected, with little recourse to state protection from abusive partners. So why is it that laws meant to protect have become a barrier to justice? Josey Mahachi talks to Victor Mhango, executive director of CHREAA, and DW's Chimwemwe Padatha in Lilongwe.

Police fired tear gas into the streets and sealed off government buildings with barbed wire. At least 16 people were killed, according Amnesty International, and a government minister said the protests were 'terrorism disguised as dissent'. But how did this unfold? Josey Mahachi talks to analyst Martin Oloo and DW's Andrew Wasike in Nairobi.

After deadly attacks in central Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu promised support to the region and turn tragedy into prosperity. The government plans to support farmers in the bread basket region. Josey Mahachi talks to Rildwan Bello, an agriculture economist, and DW's Jamiu Abiodun in Nigeria.

During last weekend’s summit in Abuja, Nigeria, West Africa’s political and economic bloc, ECOWAS, acknowledged growing unrest and political instability in the region. ECOWAS leaders pledged to combat human trafficking, hunger and gender-based violence. Josey Mahachi speaks with Grace Yohanna, head of Salama Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria, and DW’s Ben Shemang in Abuja.

Conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls has surged in the DRC, with over 67,000 cases reported in the first four months of 2025 alone. But major funding cuts mean health centers have run out of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits —vital in treatment following rape. Eddy Micah talks to Amadou Bocoum of the humanitarian NGO CARE, and DW's Jean Marie Ngong Song.