African News for October 19, 2026

Here is today's essential African news, selected from the press. Each headline links to the full article on the publisher's website.

Madagascar: El Niño to worsen food insecurity in the south of the country — El Niño will worsen the food crisis in the Malagasy Grand Sud: this is the warning issued a few days ago by Action Against Hunger. The global climate phenomenon will intensify in the coming months...

DRC: Executive promises to decongest Makala prison, which is facing alarming prison overcrowding — While detention conditions at the Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa are considered increasingly critical due to the growing number of inmates incarcerated there, the Congolese Minister of Justice...

Uganda: Fugitive officer denounces forced disappearances and cases of torture — In Uganda, Lieutenant Herbert Matanda Mabonga has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok. His videos, according to human rights defenders, are proof that the Ugandan army is resorting to...

Cameroon: Hemley Boum, "Nos vies sauvages" tells the story of a country under influence — What does a government that lasts more than four decades do to a country and its inhabitants? In her new novel Nos vies sauvages, published by Gallimard, Cameroonian writer Hemley Boum recounts the destinies of women...

In Uganda, how Muhoozi Kainerugaba is extending his influence from the army to politics — Since the re-election of Yoweri Museveni in January 2026, the grip of the army chief of staff on his country has continued to grow. From Parliament to the government and the economic sphere, he has continued to...

Cameroon: The women driving the economy — Banking, construction, cocoa: six Cameroonian women are breaking glass ceilings and boosting the local economy. They share their successes, but also the major obstacles to female entrepreneurship.

Western Sahara: The Polisario contests the UN special envoy — Two weeks before the vote on whether or not to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Polisario Front issued a statement on Tuesday the 13th...

The woman who saves snakes from human hands — "Protecting snakes is not just a matter of conservation, but also a crucial step in saving human lives through the development of medicines derived from snake venom," says the...