Insight BBC MONITORING RESEARCH REPORTED 03 FEB 2017 06:00 GMT PUBLISHED 03 FEB 2017 09:49 GMT ICJ maritime ruling may complicate Kenya, Somalia ties EXPLAINER BY BBC MONITORING ON 3 FEBRUARY The International Court of Justice has ruled that it can hear a maritime border case involving Kenya and Somalia, paving the way for the resolution of the long-standing dispute between the two countries. Kenya had questioned the jurisdiction of the ICJ to hear the case, arguing that Somalia was not eligible to seek recourse from the ICJ because of the existence of a 2009 MOU signed by both countries. As per the MOU negotiations have been ongoing since 2014. The court rejected Kenya's argument by a vote of 13 to 3 and ruled in Somalia's favour. "The court finds that Kenya's preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the court must be rejected," presiding judge Ronny Abraham said. The court also ruled by a vote of 15 to 1 that the MOU remained legal even though Somalia’s parliament has never approved it. Somalia has accused Kenya of using its military presence in the country to impose its claim on the maritime zone. What is the dispute about? The two countries are disputing ownership of a 100,000-square kilometre section of the Indian Ocean which is believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves. Somalia wants the maritime border to be drawn diagonally, as an extension of the land border, while Kenya claims the border demarcation should be drawn straight across, parallel to the line of latitude. Insight BBC MONITORING RESEARCH REPORTED 04 AUG 2016 11:00 GMT PUBLISHED 04 AUG 2016 11:31 GMT Sao Tome one-horse presidential vote EXPLAINER BY BBC MONITORING ON 4 AUGUST 2016 Sao Tome's outgoing president, Manuel Pinto da Costa, is boycotting the second round of the presidential elections due to be held on 7 August. Da Costa alleged fraud and irregularities in the first round on 17 July, which led to a recount, in which he was placed second. The boycott will leave only one candidate standing, former prime minister, Evaristo Carvalho. Sao Tome's prime minister has accused Da Costa of harming the country's reputation. What happened? On 17 July an estimated 64.31 per cent of the 111,222 registered voters cast their ballots to elect a president. The three leading candidates at the time were: - Former prime minister, Evaristo Carvalho, who is considered to be a proxy of the current premier Patrice Trovoada. - Former prime minister Maria das Neves. She is also a former finance minister and at one- time worked in the central bank. - Outgoing President Pinto da Costa (the country's first post-independence president from 1975 to 1991) who was elected in 2011. On 18 July, the National Electoral Commission (CEN) declared Carvalho the victor with 34, 629 votes or 50.1 per cent of the votes. Da Costa trailed with 17,121 votes or 24.8 per cent, while Das Neves came third with 16,638 or 24.1 per cent of the tally. The result was swiftly challenged in the Constitutional Court by da Costa and das Neves, who alleged irregularities and fraud in the poll. The court invalidated the tally, saying it did not take into account votes from the diaspora (Angola, Portugal, Equatorial-Guinea and Gabon) and late votes from two polling stations. However, it did not find any fraud or irregularities. The ruling prompted a recount of the votes, and the CEN had to cancel its own results. Insight BBC MONITORING RESEARCH REPORTED 21 SEP 2016 12:09 GMT PUBLISHED 21 SEP 2016 12:10 GMT Violent protests in DRCongo threaten election process EXPLAINER BY BBC MONITORING ON 21 SEPTEMBER DRCongo faces an uncertain future following violent opposition demonstrations that left dozens dead in the capital Kinshasa. A day after the 19 September protests, the facilitator of African- Union-led talks meant to end the election stand-off declared them suspended for 48 hours. The trigger for the violence seems to have been a deal signed on 14 September between the ruling Alliance of the Presidential Majority (AMP) and the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) opposition party led by Vital Kamerhe, a former Speaker of the National Assembly, under African Union auspices. The talks are dubbed the "National Dialogue". The AMP-UNC deal says voter registers will be revised ahead of elections, but no date for the vote was agreed. Under the pact, national, provincial and presidential elections would be held on the same day. President Joseph Kabila, who is serving his second and final term and is constitutionally required to step down on 20 December 2016, called for the dialogue last year. Mainstream opposition groups rejected the talks, seeing them as a ploy by the president to extend his term. They have accused the National Independent Electoral Commission of aiding the president after it said it could take at least 16 months to organise the polls. In May, the Constitutional Court ruled that Kabila could stay in office until elections were held to choose his successor. President Kabila first took power in 2001 and went on to win two disputed elections in 2006 and 2011. What has happened? The anti-government Opposition Movement for Democratic Change coalition is led by veteran politician Etienne Tshisekedi, presidential candidate Moise Katumbi and Joseph Olenghankoy. Insight BBC MONITORING RESEARCH REPORTED 21 APR 2016 11:00 GMT PUBLISHED 21 APR 2016 12:09 GMT Africanews joins continent's TV fray EXPLAINER BY BBC MONITORING ON 21 APRIL Africanews, a 24 hour news TV station targeting viewers across Africa, has made its debut from studios in the Republic of Congo's port city of Pointe-Noire. The news station, a subsidiary of established France-based network Euronews, broadcasts via satellite, digital terrestrial TV and online at www.africanews.com. It says it is carried by pay TV providers across Africa, reaching 7.3 million homes in 33 countries. Part-time rebroadcasting deals with stations in Cameroon, Senegal, Madagascar and Mauritius give it additional coverage in 3 million homes. The "fully-fledged pan-African network" says its mission to "empower people through independent and reliable news". Currently broadcasting in English and French, it has ambitions to launch in Swahili, Portuguese, Hausa and Wolof and other languages. Presenter-free Like its sister network in Europe, Africanews presents its bulletins without in-vision presenters and correspondents. Video content - much of it sourced from Euronews and French news agency AFP - is accompanied by an on-screen ticker. Bulletins on launch day, 20 April, featured the burning of poached ivory in Cameroon and the kidnapping of Red Cross workers in Mali. A business news section looked at plans to reopen a Kenyan bank and at unemployment in Zimbabwe. Ambitions Africanews says it aims to meet a demand for news without "ideological preference" and promises to reflect diverse points of view. Janet Onyango ghost-wrote this article for a Nairobi law firm’s website in 2019. Stalled partnerships provide opportunities in Kenya’s mass transit industry Despite various the announcement of various public private partnerships (PPPs) aimeD at providing Kenya with a functioning mass transit system, commuter travel in the country’s urban centres remains chaotic. These PPPs have alloweD the exploration of disruptive solutions, but due to lack of funDing anD other logistical reasons, the proJects have not yet come to fruition. Opportunities exist for foreign investors who can proviDe solutions that will move the proJects onwarDs. Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) EveryDay an estimateD 300,000 private cars anD 400,000 motorcycles circulate through Nairobi city centre trapping the city’s workforce in time-consuming traffic Jams. The government has devised a plan for a Bus RapiD Transport (BRT) system, an increaseD public bus network efficient enough to discourage the use of private vehicles in the city centre. The Cabinet Secretary in charge of Transport, James Macharia, announceD that a total of 950 buses with a capacity of 62 - 100 passengers, will be deployed on various routes arounD the city, diverting traffic away from the centre and reDucing transit time anD cost by 70 per cent. Macharia stresseD that the buses woulD be sourceD from local manufacturers: “We are committeD to engaging local manufacturing anD assembling capacity in provision of these buses anD pushing for policies that encourage private sector-leD investments in the automotive anD transport sectors.” Isuzu EA Ltd has inDicateD that it has the capacity to proDuce 30 mass transit buses monthly to the KS-372- body building standards at an estimateD cost of Kshs 25 million per unit. The total cost of the proJect is Kshs 9.6bn. The European Union has committeD a grant of Kshs 5bn of that amount, leaving a consiDerable funDing gap for interesteD investors to fill. Ride-hailing services A slew of riDe-hailing applications have emerged allowing commuters to hail taxis anD motorcycles. Little, owneD by Telecoms giant Safaricom anD Swvl, whose heaDquarters are in Cairo, are currently piloting a service that allows commuters to book anD pre-pay a seat on 23 anD 26-seater buses. These services make bus fares preDictable anD afforDable anD allow users to arrive at their Destinations with minimal stops in safe, quality vehicles. This is a far cry from the city’s network of matatus, minivans. There is potentially space for more such applications, as they bring orDer to what is an otherwise patchy and chaotic urban transit .