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🕳 Potholes 🕳 ahead 🕳

🕳 Potholes 🕳 ahead 🕳

TLDR Weekly
April 24, 2023

Good morning ☀️

It was a long week for Elon Musk, who launched a rocket into space that exploded shortly after (more on that later), courted controversy on Twitter by stripping legacy accounts (including the Pope) of their iconic blue checks, and lost ~$13 billion dollars as Tesla stock tumbled like Jack on a hill.

Let's do this 🚀

— Gloria Mbabazi, Shem Opolot

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Headlines

⛓️ Point blank

Agnes Nandutu was the latest MP to crumble in the rapidly collapsing iron sheet-roofed house of corruption. Nandutu handed herself over to the police on Tuesday after days of allegedly dodging police like a tenant dodges their landlord at the end of the month. Nandutu was produced in court, formally charged on one count of dealing with suspect property, and remanded to Luzira prison until May 3^rd. Amos Lugoloobi, on the other hand, was granted bail with the case being adjourned to June 2^nd.

🏓 Presidential-Parliamentary ping-pong

The Attorney General wrote to the president asking him not to assent to the anti-gay bill, and like a hot potato, the president returned the bill to parliament unsigned. The President met with the NRM Legislative caucus which elected to take the bill back for “improvements and strengthening.” A proposed inclusion is rehabilitation provisions for people who want to stop being gay. However,…the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality remains. Don’t hold your breath on this one.

🕳 #KampalaPotholeExhibition

The online movement started by Jim Spire Ssentongo is quintessential social media activism and just might pave the way for change. It's clear that Ugandans won't stop until KCCA fixes the city’s roads that have turned one’s daily commute into a game of Minesweeper. The week-long exhibition strapped KCCA and the government in a bumpy ride which culminated in the President tasking the finance ministry to urgently release Shs. 6 billion for the repair of roads. Insufficient, but a start. Mr. Spire already announced the next exhibition—the #UgandaHealthExhibition.

Other headlines

One South Sudan national was killed and four others injured after a building collapsed in Kansanga

~300 Ugandans trapped in Khartoum

Ugandan scientist develops cancer detecting machine.

A letter on black market drugs from the National Drug Authority

Swangz Avenue to expand its operations outside of Uganda and into Africa

“Bring back breathalyzers,” health activists urge police

Why the ruling party has historically failed to prosecute ministers

Chimp Empire, a film shot in Kibaale National Park, blows up on Netflix

Zombo district in panic as Congolese forcefully extend their border points into Uganda

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Beyond Borders

🌍️ Africa

🇸🇩 War in Sudan. More than 150 people were rescued and evacuated from Sudan by its naval forces and arrived safely in Jeddah, a city in Saudi Arabia. Fighting in Sudan was fiercest in Khartoum over the past week despite a planned and failed three-day Eid truce. Over 400 people have died so far with over 3500 injured in the clashes between Sudan’s top two generals (Background). Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the armed forces and the future chain of command. (Why the conflict matters)

🇰🇪 Kenya cult killings. 15 members of a cult were rescued while 47 others were tragically exhumed from shallow graves. The pastor of the church cult apparently told his flock to starve themselves to death so that they could meet Jesus. We wish the pastor had at least led by example.

🇧🇮 Burundi burns Bunyoni. It’s not every day our beloved neighbor makes headlines, so we had to bump this up. The former prime minister of Burundi, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni was arrested by authorities for reasons that are about as clear as mud. Mr. Bunyoni was sacked by the current president, Ndayishimiye, following allegations of a possible coup plot against the sitting regime.

Other headlines

Hope for a malaria vaccine

Kenya seeks relief in new Eurobond as debt trap crisis deepens

EAC to digitize tariffs for imported goods

Tanzania, Australia firms sign $667m deal to mine rare earths

Why African countries are short of US dollars

Morocco seizes 5.4 tonnes of cannabis and 60 kgs of cocaine

🗺️ The rest of the world

🇮🇳 Big Apple in India. Apple opened its first store in India, the—soon to be—world's most populous country. Apple sees potential in India's 600 million smartphone users and sales of iPhones have grown by 50% in the first three months of 2023. In addition, Apple's manufacturing partner, Foxconn, recently invested $700 million in an Indian manufacturing facility.

🇰🇵 N. Korea spy satellite. North Korea assembled its first military spy satellite and plans to launch it soon. This would allow them to gather intelligence on targets and anti-missile systems. Last week, the country tested its Hwasong-18 missile, the latest in a string of over 100 missile tests since the start of 2022. The UN currently bans North Korea from using long-range ballistic missiles to launch the satellite.

🚀 Rapid unscheduled disassembly. Which is not the title of Elon Musk’s sex tape, but rather SpaceX's pithy description of their Starship rocket system successfully completing its first orbital test launch, before exploding on its way back to Earth. Despite this, the launch was a success as it provided engineers with much-needed data. Once operational, Starship will be essential for future moon missions and satellite launches.