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

29 December 2025

1.    Ivory Coast – Abidjan 

Vote counting is underway in Ivory Coast following legislative elections to choose the country’s 255 members of the National Assembly, a vote shaped by deep political divisions and lingering tensions from the recent presidential poll.

The parliamentary elections come just two months after President Alassane Ouattara secured a second term with more than 90 percent of the vote. 

That landslide victory was strongly contested by the opposition, which criticised the exclusion of several major opposition figures from the presidential race following court rulings.

2.    Somalia – Somaliland- Israel 

Somalia is leading a growing international backlash against Israel over its recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.

In a statement on on Friday, the Somali Prime Minister’s office said the region is an integral, inseparable and inalienable part of of Somalia’s sovereign territory and rejected Israel’s recognition as unlawful.

The African Union, the Arab League, Nigeria, Egypt and a number of other countries and international organisations have condemned Israel’s actions, saying they pose a serious threat to international peace and security.

3.    UK- DR Kongo 

UK restricts DRC visas over migrant return row

A row between the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has escalated over what London calls Kinshasa’s refusal to cooperate with its new policy of returning undocumented migrants and people convicted of crimes.

On Saturday, the UK’s Home Secretary announced that she was stripping the DRC of fast-track visa service and preferential treatment for VIPs and government officials

4.    UK- Namibia- Angola

Namibia and Angola have agreed to take back illegal migrants and criminals living in the United Kingdom after the UK government threatened to impose a visa ban on the countries.

The UK's Home Office confirmed that Angola and Namibia had agreed to step up efforts to take back their citizens, having been threatened with sanctions alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day, 29 December 1981, when the late Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela was served with a banning order for another five years and continued to be banished and restricted to the small Orange Free State town of Brandfort.