10 April 2026

1. Benin-Porto Novo

Benin Decides 2026 on Sunday

Benin faces an uneven race for president

Benin's long-serving finance minister and chosen successor of outgoing president Patrice Talon is expected to win elections on Sunday, with the economy booming but jihadist attacks blighting the north.

Backed by the ruling bloc, Romuald Wadagni, 49, who has been finance minister for 10 years, faces a single rival, Paul Hounkpe, a former culture minister seen as a moderate.

2. The Gambia- Banjul

Gambia appoints special prosecutor for Jammeh-era crimes

The Gambia government this week appointed a special prosecutor nearly two years after creating the post to try crimes committed under the reign of brutal former strongman Yahya Jammeh.

The Ministry of Justice announced it had appointed British lawyer Martin Hackett to the post, whose background includes work on war crimes, genocide, and counterterrorism matters, including at the United Nations.

3.Tanzania – Dodoma

Tanzania's president orders smaller official convoys to cut fuel

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan, whose motorcades are reportedly among the largest in Africa, is cutting down on the number of official and luxury vehicles as part of measures to save fuel amid rising oil prices.

Several African governments have announced measures to address fuel shortages and rising prices.

Gabon- Libreville

Social networks are now forbidden to children under 16 years.

Gabon has just reached a milestone in the governance of the digital space, through an ordinance made public this week.

Described as "historic" in the regulation of virtual space, this decision now sets the age of majority at 16, thus prohibiting, in plain English, minors who have not reached this age from accessing social networks.

5. In our historical archives, it was on this day, 10 April 1993, when Thembisile Chris Hani was shot and killed as he returned home to the racially mixed suburb of Dawn Park, Boksburg (Johannesburg). Hani was assassinated by Janus Walus, an anti-Communist Polish refugee who had close links to the White nationalist AWB

Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs