Africa Update Report with Advocate Sipho Mantula, Researcher: Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs: Unisa

5 December 2025

1.    Uganda- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

United Nations decries crackdown on opposition ahead of Ugandan elections.

The United Nations has spoken out against what it said was an intensifying crackdown on the opposition and media in Uganda ahead of next month’s election.

Its rights agency said credible reports indicated that at least 550 people have been arrested and detained since the start of the year

2.    Kenya – Afrika- Russia- Ukraine- UNGA

Kenya Abstains From UN Vote Compelling Russia to Return Abducted Ukrainian Children

The vote highlighted growing geopolitical fragmentation, with much of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East opting for abstention.

Kenya abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution demanding that Russia "immediately, safely and unconditionally" return Ukrainian children taken from occupied territories or deported since 2014.

The abstention signals a subtle but notable shift in Nairobi's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, aligning with its newly approved foreign policy sessional paper, which emphasizes a neutral, non-aligned approach.

3.    Somalia – United States of America

Somalis criticise Trump's remarks calling them 'garbage' as racist

Many Somalis on this week criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks calling Somalis "garbage" as racist.

Several residents said the comments were offensive, with some, like Ibrahim Hassan Hajji, reconsidering travel plans to the U.S.

"I never thought a president, especially in his second term, would speak so harshly," he told The Associated Press. "Because of this, I have no plans to travel to the U.S."

Abdurahman Moral and other Somalis in the capital Mogadishu expressed disappointment in their government’s muted response, viewing it as a sign of weakness.

4.    Guinea Bissau

Guinea-Bissau Electoral Commission Says Poll Results 'Destroyed' in Coup

Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission says that it cannot publish the results of last week's contested election as the vote counts have been destroyed in an attack. 

The military took control of the country a day before the provisional results were due to be announced.

This week the member of the electoral commission met with a senior delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), who asked whether the body could release the results."

5.In our historical archives, it was on this day 5 December 1924 when the founding President of the PAC of Azania, Prof Mangaliso Robert “Hlati” Sobukwe was born to Hubert and Angelina Sobukwe at Graaff-Reinet, Cape Province (now known as Eastern Cape).  

The PAC leadership has petitioned the National Prosecuting Authority for an inquest into Robert Sobukwe’s death- was he slowly poisoned with glasses in his food?

5.1 In our historical archives, it was on this day, 5 December 2013, when the founding president of democratic South Africa, MK Commander – human rights lawyer, Rolihlahla Madiba Nelson Mandela, transitioned after a long illness.

After his release in 1990, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize and was elected President in 1994 in South Africa’s first free, democratic elections. 

Part of his legacy lives on in the form of Mandela Day (18 July) and its 67 Minutes for Mandela; during which people in South Africa and across the world devote 67 minutes of their time to the fight for social justice, transformation, and democracy.

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