Every day, OkayAfrica shares a roundup of news we’re following but haven’t published as full articles. These short updates cover what’s happening on the continent — in culture, politics, and beyond. For more on stories like these, be sure to check out our News page, with stories from across the regions.
Angola Reclaims AfroBasket Glory With Record 12th Title
Angola is back on top of African basketball after crushing Mali 70-43 yesterday, Sunday, August 24, in Luanda to win the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket, securing a record 12th continental crown and their first since 2013. The Palanças stormed through the tournament unbeaten, with Childe Dundao named MVP and Bruno Fernando also making the All-Tournament Team.
Mali still made history by reaching their first-ever final and taking silver, while Senegal beat Cameroon for a third straight bronze. The sold-out Kilamba Arena erupted in celebration as Angola completed a flawless 6-0 campaign, cementing their place as the most dominant team in AfroBasket history.
Symbol of Wrongful Deportation Kilmar Abrego Garcia Detained Again, Faces Removal to Uganda
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador from the U.S. earlier this year drew international attention, was arrested this morning, Monday, August 25, in Baltimore by U.S. immigration officials. This afternoon, a judge temporarily blocked his possible deportation to Uganda, a country where he has no ties. Garcia, 30, had only just returned to his Maryland home on Friday after months in detention, including time in one of El Salvador’s harshest prisons, when he was picked up during a scheduled ICE interview. His lawyers say the government is using deportation as retaliation after he sued over his earlier removal, which a judge and the Supreme Court later ruled unlawful.
The move has reignited outrage, with supporters chanting outside the ICE office and rights groups calling the case a test of due process under U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Garcia’s attorneys argue that deporting him to Uganda would be unconstitutional, noting that the administration has floated Costa Rica as an alternative if he accepts a guilty plea in his ongoing criminal case. For now, a Maryland judge is weighing whether to block his deportation, but Garcia’s story — once a symbol of administrative error — has become a flashpoint again, this time over the government’s willingness to send him to a country he has never known. Uganda is one of several African nations, alongside Eswatini, South Sudan, and Rwanda, that have signed third-country deportation agreements with the U.S., allowing Washington to reroute migrants who are denied asylum but cannot be sent back to their home countries.
Botswana Declares Health Emergency Amid Medicine Shortages
Botswana’s President Duma Boko has declared a public health emergency after hospitals and clinics across the country ran out of essential medicines. Boko said the national supply chain had collapsed and ordered the military to begin emergency distribution, with the first trucks leaving the capital, Gaborone, this evening, Monday, August 25. The finance ministry has approved 250 million pula ($17.3 million) for urgent procurement, but the health ministry has already warned it owes private providers over 1 billion pula (about $75 million).
The shortages affect medicines for hypertension, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, reproductive health, and mental health, as well as basic supplies like sutures and dressings. Non-urgent surgeries have been postponed since early August. Botswana’s budget has been hit by a downturn in diamond revenues, while U.S. funding cuts to its health sector have added pressure. Boko also accused the procurement system of inflating prices and wasting supplies, saying reforms are urgent to stabilize the system.
South Africa’s HIV Response at Risk After U.S. Aid Cuts
South Africa’s world-leading HIV program has been thrown into crisis after the U.S. withdrew $427 million in funding, forcing 12 clinics to close and disrupting treatment for up to 220,000 people. Patients say they’ve been turned away from public hospitals or pushed to buy overpriced medication on the black market, while activists warn the cuts could drive a surge in new infections and infant HIV cases. With more than 8 million people living with HIV in the country — and only 2 million on treatment before the cuts — the government says it will not let the program collapse, but experts fear the damage is already unfolding.
Nigeria Air Force Rescues 76 Kidnap Victims in Katsina
The Nigerian Air Force says it has freed 76 people, including women and children, during an operation against armed gangs in Katsina State. The victims were rescued after a precision strike on Pauwa Hill in Kankara, a known hideout for a bandit leader called Babaro, linked to last week’s deadly mosque attack in Malumfashi. One child was killed in the rescue, officials said, while details on other casualties remain unclear. The strike marks a rare breakthrough in the fight against criminal groups that have long terrorized rural northwest Nigeria with kidnappings, raids, and extortion.
DRC Prosecutor Seeks Death Penalty for Former President Kabila
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s prosecutor has asked a military court to hand former President Joseph Kabila the death penalty in his ongoing treason trial, where he faces war crimes charges tied to alleged support for M23 rebels. Kabila, who was in office from 2001 to 2019, is being tried in absentia after returning briefly to Goma earlier this year before disappearing again. In court on Friday, August 23, the prosecution also requested additional sentences of 20 years for condoning war crimes and 15 years for conspiracy. Kabila, stripped of his immunity as senator-for-life in May, denies the charges and says the case is politically motivated. His party, the PPRD, has called the proceedings a “disgrace,” while analysts suggest the trial reflects political score-settling more than a search for accountability. A verdict date has not yet been set.
Sudan’s RSF Accused of Killing Civilians in Darfur
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of killing at least 13 civilians, mostly women and children, in an attack on a road near el-Fasher in North Darfur, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. The group said the assault, described as ethnically motivated, came a day after the RSF shelling of a hospital in el-Fasher wounded patients and staff. The RSF is intensifying its push to capture the city, the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur, where the U.N. recently reported at least 89 civilians killed in 10 days. El Fasher has been under blockade for more than a year, cutting off food and medicine to hundreds of thousands, as Sudan’s war — fueled by atrocities, mass displacement, and famine — enters its second year.
Ethiopia’s Amhara Region Launches Drive to Enroll 7.4M Children in School
Ethiopia’s Amhara region has kicked off a campaign to register 7.4 million students for the 2025/26 school year, aiming to reverse years of disruption from conflict, displacement, and climate shocks. UNICEF says 4.4 million children in Amhara were out of school last year, the highest in the country, while over 3,600 schools remain shut due to insecurity. The education bureau has trained more than 34,000 teachers and leaders and says it needs $800 million to repair damaged schools and restore learning. Classes are due to begin on September 16, following the registration period that runs until September 5.