Wednesday October 15, 2025 {HMC}  An army commander who led a mutiny in Madagascar said on Tuesday the military had taken power after President Andry Rajoelina was impeached by lawmakers and forced to flee the country following weeks of youth-led protests.

Rajoelina had refused to step down despite escalating Gen Z demonstrations demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the army.

“We have taken the power,” Colonel Michael Randrianirina declared on national radio and said that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament or National Assembly.

Randrianirina later told reporters a committee led by the military would rule the country for a period of up to two years alongside a transitional government before organising new elections.
“The following institutions are suspended: the Senate, the High Constitutional Court, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the High Court of Justice, and the High Council for the Defense of Human Rights and the Rule of Law,” a statement from the country’s military leaders said.

In a day of turmoil for the nation off southern Africa’s coast, the 51-year-old leader, whose whereabouts are unknown, earlier sought to dissolve the lower house by decree.

But lawmakers went ahead with a vote to impeach him, leaving the country in a constitutional deadlock which the military seized upon to declare they were taking charge.

Rajoelina, who himself came to power in a coup in 2009, condemned the power grab by the military in a statement.

MILITARY SUSPENDS INSTITUTIONS

Randrianirina, a commander in the elite CAPSAT army unit that played a key role in Rajoelina’s 2009 coup, broke ranks with him last week.
In a defiant address to the nation on Monday night, Rajoelina said that he had been forced to move to a safe place because of threats to his life. An opposition official, a military source and a foreign diplomat told Reuters he had fled the country on Sunday aboard a French military plane.

His isolation increased further on Tuesday when even lawmakers from his ruling coalition, which holds a parliamentary majority, voted to impeach him on charges of engaging in activities deemed incompatible with presidential duties.

Rajoelina had repeatedly warned in recent days that an attempted coup was underway in the Indian Ocean island nation.

ESCALATING DEMONSTRATIONS

Demonstrations first erupted in the country on September 25 over water and power shortages and quickly escalated into an uprising over broader grievances, including corruption, bad governance and a lack of basic services.

The anger mirrored recent protests against ruling elites elsewhere, including Nepal and Morocco.

Earlier on Tuesday, at Antananarivo’s 13 May Square, along the main drag lined with palm trees and French colonial buildings, thousands of protesters danced, marched, sang and waved banners denouncing Rajoelina as a French stooge because of his dual citizenship and support from Madagascar’s former coloniser.

Many were waving Malagasy flags and the signature Gen Z protest banner of a skull and crossbones from the Japanese “One Piece” anime series.
At one point, Randrianirina took the stage and asked: “Are you ready to accept a military takeover?”, drawing cheers of approval from the crowd.
Later, as news of the military takeover filtered through to protesters, many were jubilant.

“We’re so happy Andry Rajoelina is finally gone … We will start again,” high-school student Fih Nomensanahary said, with four of her friends cheering alongside her.

Others were more cautious. “They need to hand over to a civilian administration quickly and have an election,” said Rezafy Lova, a 68-year-old IT consultant.

ECONOMY IN TATTERS

CAPSAT had joined the protesters over the weekend, saying it would refuse to fire on them. It went on to take charge of the military and appointed a new army chief, prompting Rajoelina to warn on Sunday of an illegal attempt to seize power.

Since then, the paramilitary gendarmerie and the police have also broken ranks with Rajoelina.

Madagascar, where the average age is less than 20, has a population of about 30 million, three-quarters of whom live in poverty. Between its independence in 1960 and 2020, GDP per capita plunged 45%, according to the World Bank.

Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary and Tim Cocks in Antananarivo and Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi; Writing by Silvia Aloisi and Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Tomasz Janowski

Source Hiiraan online

Wednesday October 15, 2025 {HMC}  Nearly half of Somalia’s population remains without access to electricity, a shortage that continues to hinder the country’s development and economic recovery, Energy and Water Resources Minister Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame said Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening of the Somalia Energy Summit (BGS25) in Mogadishu, Bidhan revealed that 49 percent of Somalis have no access to power, while those connected to local grids often receive limited and unreliable service. “On average, Somalis have access to about six hours of electricity per day,” he said, describing the situation as a major barrier to progress. The minister urged increased private-sector participation to accelerate the expansion of affordable, sustainable power nationwide.

The minister added that the government is working to expand access to reliable, affordable electricity by investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. “Somalia is determined to build an energy system that is sustainable and inclusive,” he said.
The three-day summit brought together government officials, experts, and private investors to explore strategies for strengthening the country’s power infrastructure, improving regulation, and promoting foreign investment. Organizers said the meeting aimed to create a framework that supports public-private partnerships and reduces dependence on expensive, diesel-based generation.

The event follows a series of policy measures aimed at transforming Somalia’s energy landscape, including the National Electricity Act, which established a unified regulatory framework to promote private-sector growth and rural electrification. Somalia’s current energy policy aims to triple the country’s renewable power capacity by 2030 and reduce its heavy reliance on imported diesel fuel, according to the government’s National Renewable Energy Plan. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources has said the transition toward solar and wind generation is essential to providing affordable, reliable electricity nationwide

Source Hiiraan online

Wednesday October 15, 2025 {HMC}  A powerful explosion at a café in the central Somali city of Beledweyne killed at least three civilians and wounded four others on Wednesday, in what security officials believe was a deliberate attack involving an improvised explosive device.

The blast struck a small café in the Buundoweyn neighbourhood near the Isbartiibo junction, an area often frequented by government troops and members of the Ma’awisleey militia. Witnesses said the explosion occurred late in the morning as civilians were seated inside. Among the dead was a woman, while those wounded were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

Security officials said no soldiers were at the café when the device detonated, suggesting the bomb may have been planted earlier. The attack bore the hallmarks of Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaida–linked group that has claimed responsibility for similar bombings targeting military and civilian sites across central Somalia.

Authorities in Beledweyne have yet to issue a statement or announce any arrests. The city, a key commercial and administrative hub along the Shabelle River, has endured repeated attacks by insurgents despite ongoing military operations to reclaim territory and weaken Al-Shabaab’s network. The Somali government, backed by clan militias and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), has intensified counterinsurgency campaigns across the Hiiraan region.

Wednesday October 15, 2025 {HMC} Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, a source in Odinga’s office told Reuters on Wednesday, without giving further details.

Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi earlier reported that Odinga, who was undergoing treatment in the southern Indian city of Kochi, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

As opposition leader, Odinga lost all five of his presidential campaigns, with two of the votes leading to chaotic bouts of bloodletting and recrimination a decade apart.

His work as a democracy activist over the years helped seal two of the country’s most important reforms: multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010.
He led the protests after the disputed 2007 election that plunged the country into its most serious episode of political violence since independence. About 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes in the battles.

Reporting by George Obulutsa and Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Alison Williams

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