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

5 February 2026

1.    Libya - Zintan

Libyan prosecutors launch probe into killing of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi

Libyan prosecutors on Wednesday said they were investigating the killing of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The public prosecutor's office said forensic experts had been dispatched to Zintan in northwest Libya, where he was shot dead, adding that efforts were underway to identify suspects. "The victim died from wounds by gunfire," the office said in a statement, adding that investigators were looking to "speak to witnesses and anyone who may be able to shed light on the incident."

2.    Uganda- DR Kongo – AU-SADC Médiators 

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni this week hosted leaders of the AU–EAC–SADC panel of facilitators of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Peace Process at State House, Entebbe. The high-level panel of facilitators, on a working visit to Uganda, was chaired by H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo and the panel included H. E. Olusegun Obasanjo (former President of Nigeria), H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta (former President of Kenya), H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde (former President of Ethiopia), H.E. Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (former President of Botswana), and H.E. Catherine Samba-Panza (former President of the Central African Republic).

3.    Dubai – Afrika – Botswana, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe

More than 150 government delegations, global leaders and scientists will discuss ways to shape the future until tomorrow.

The summit emphasises identifying innovative solutions to future challenges and empowering the next generation of governments to take action. The presidents of Botswana, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe, among others, will have the opportunity during this summit to answer the question of whether the next decade will belong to Africa - or at least how to turn this promise into reality.

4.    In our historical archives, it was on this day, on 5 February 1982, when Dr Neil Hudson Aggett was found hanging in his cell at John Vorster Square, after 70 days in police custody. An initial inquest in 1982 ruled his death the result of suicide. In 2022, Judge Makume overturned the original inquest findings and ruled that Aggett’s death was the result of foul play by the Security Branch. The court recommended further investigation and possible prosecutions, but the National Prosecuting Authority has yet to indict any of the perpetrators. The key suspect, Nicolaas Detleefs, died in 2023. 

4.1   In our historical archives, it was on this day, 5 February 1999, when the late President Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela delivered his last major address to the national parliament and called on South Africans "to build the country of our dreams…The long walk is not yet over. The prize of a better life has yet to be won."