2020 in East Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following lists events that happened during 2020 in East Africa. The countries listed are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for East Africa: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The combined population of these 18 independent countries and two dependent territories is 445,405,606.[1]

Countries and territories

Burundi

Main article: 2020 in Burundi

 Burundi declared its independence from Belgium as a constitutional monarchy on 1 July 1962 and became the Republic of Burundi in 1965. Over the years the country has suffered through political instability including two civil wars and two instances of genocide. The political capital is Gitega and the economic capital is Bujumbura.[2]

Comoros

Main article: 2020 in the Comoros

 Comoros consists of three main islands and several smaller islands in the Indian Ocean.[a] Comoros became independent of France on 6 July 1975. The capital of the Union of Comoros is Moroni.[6]

Djibouti

Main article: 2020 in Djibouti

 Djibouti is located at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is Africa's smallest country. Called the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas from 1967 until its independence on 27 June 1977, the capital of the Republic of Djibouti is Djibouti City.[8]

Eritrea

Main article: 2020 in Eritrea

 Eritrea became independent on 24 May 1993, after a thirty-year struggle. Sporadic fighting continued over the years, resulting in the Eritrean–Ethiopian War that only ended in 2018. The capital of the State of Eritrea is Asmara.[10]

Ethiopia

Main article: 2020 in Ethiopia

 Ethiopia is one of the world's oldest countries; with a civilisation stretching back to 1000 BC. Even though, it was occupied by Italy for five years, as the Italian Ethiopia in the early 20th century, after a difficult struggle during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, it is regained its independence after World War II. It is thus the only country in Africa to have never been fully colonised. After the downfall of the Monarchy in 1974, it became the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the "Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" in 1991. Ethiopia has gone through costly drought and a bloody war with Eritrea in recent years. The capital is Addis Ababa.[12]

Kenya

Main article: 2020 in Kenya

 Kenya became independent of the United Kingdom on 12 December 1963; it became the "Republic of Kenya" a year later. The capital is Nairobi.[14]

Madagascar

Main article: 2020 in Madagascar

 Madagascar freed itself from the French colonial empire in 1960; its official name is the "Republic of Madagascar" and its capital is Antananarivo.[16]

Malawi

Main article: 2020 in Malawi

 Malawi was called Nyasaland until 1953 when it became part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964, Nyasaland became an independent country within the Commonwealth with the new name Malawi. In 1966 it became the "Republic of Malawi". The capital is Lilongwe.[18]

Mauritius

Main article: 2020 in Mauritius

 Mauritius is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean that became independent within the Commonwealth on 12 March 1968. It became the "Republic of Mauritius" on 12 March 1992. The capital is Port Louis.[21][c]

Mayotte

Main article: 2020 in Mayotte

Mayotte Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France.[23][d]

Mozambique

Main article: 2020 in Mozambique

 Mozambique was colonized by Portugal from 1505 to 1975. The People's Republic of Mozambique was founded on 25 June 1975; after the Mozambican Civil War it joined the Commonwealth in 1995 and later became the "Republic of Mozambique." The capital is Maputo.[25]

Réunion

Main article: 2020 in Réunion

Réunion Réunion is an overseas department and region of France, first colonized in the 17th century. The capital is Saint-Dennis.[27]

Rwanda

Main article: 2020 in Rwanda

 Rwanda became independent of Belgium on 1 July 1962. The Republic of Rwanda is a member of the AU, the Commonwealth, COMESA, OIF, and the East African Community. Its capital is Kigali.[28]

Seychelles

Main article: 2020 in Seychelles

 Seychelles consists of about 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. The country became independent of the UK on 29 June 1976. The Republic of Seychelles is a member of the UN, the AU, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Commonwealth. The capital, Victoria, is located on the island of Mahé.[30]

Somalia

Main article: 2020 in Somalia

 Somalia was formed by the merger of British Somaliland and the Trust Territory of Somaliland in 1960. It was the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991, when the Somali Civil War broke out. The Federal Republic of Somalia is a member of the UN, the Arab League, AU, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the OIC. The capital is Mogadishu.[33]

Somaliland

Main article: 2020 in Somaliland

 Somaliland is the self-proclaimed successor to the State of Somaliland and claims independence from Somalia. Its capital is Hargeisa.[36] The Republic does not enjoy international recognition and in 1998 a region in the northeast, the Puntland, declared itself "autonomous."[36]

South Sudan

Main article: 2020 in South Sudan

 South Sudan [37]

Tanzania

Main article: 2020 in Tanzania

 Tanzania [40]

Uganda

Main article: 2020 in Uganda

 Uganda [42]

Zambia

Main article: 2020 in Zambia

 Zambia [44]

Zimbabwe

Main article: 2020 in Zimbabwe

 Zimbabwe [46]

Monthly events

See also: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on politics

January

February

March

  • 2 March – Victory at Adwa Day, Ethiopia
  • 3 March – Martyrs' Day
  • 8 March – International Women's Day and Labour Day
  • 12 March
    • Independence and Republic Day, Mauritius[22]
    • Youth Day, Zambia[82]
    • At least 18 African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan report cases of the novel coronavirus. Most are in single figures, and no deaths have been reported in Sub-Saharan Africa. All major public events and air travel have been restricted in Kenya.[83] Sudan stops issuing visas for, and flights to, eight countries, including Italy and Egypt, over fears of the coronavirus outbreak.[84]
  • 13 March – Malawi's president dissolves his cabinet in an attempt to prevent a new election.[85]
  • 15 March – In a historic first, all Peace Corps volunteers worldwide are withdrawn from their host countries.[86]
  • 16 March – Oppah Muchinguri, Zimbabwe's defence minister, describes the coronavirus pandemic as God's way of punishing the United States and other Western nations for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has not yet recorded a case of COVID-19 but South Africa has more than 60 cases and 54 countries in Africa have reported cases.[87]
  • 20 March – Zimbabwe reports its first case of COVID-19, a 38-year-old who had traveled to Great Britain on 7 March, returning home via neighboring South Africa on 15 March. Madagascar also reports its first case. Thirty-nine countries in Africa now have cases, with a total now well above 900.[88]
  • 24 March – Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama insurgents destroyed houses, vandalized public spaces, and erected barricades along important roads in Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique.[89]
  • 25 March – At least 60 people believed to be migrants from Ethiopia are found dead in a cargo container in Tete, Mozambique.[90]
  • 27 March
    • Police in Kenya use tear gas at a crowd of commuters trying to reach a ferry before a 7 p.m. curfew went into place; others were beaten with batons. 38 people in Kenya are infected with COVID-19[91]
    • Police in Rwanda deny killing two civilians for ignoring the country-wide lockdown that went into effect on 23 March; they say the men were shot because they attacked the police. A lockdown in Zimbabwe is due to go into effect on 30 March.[91]
  • 29 March – Martyrs' Day, Madagascar

April

  • 1 April – Billions of locusts have destroyed 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares) in Kenya and other East African countries since December 2019.[92]
  • 6 April – Cyprien Ntaryamira Day, Burundi
  • 7 April
  • 8 April – A Spanish-Eritrean group has discovered the remains of million-year-old fossil remains of large animals and plants along with tools that will help us better understand the climate and ecology of the Engel Ela-Ramud area during the Pleistocene Epoch.[93]
  • 10 April – Good Friday, Western Christian holiday
  • 11 April – Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, invites the Chinese ambassador to the AU to discuss allegations of discrimination and mistreatment of hundreds of Africans in Guangzhou, southern China.[94]
  • 13 April
    • Easter Monday, Western Christian holiday
    • 14,000 cases of COVID-19 and 788 deaths have been reported across Africa. Cases by country: Comoros (0), Djibouti (214), Eritrea (34), Ethiopia (71), Kenya (197), Madagascar (106), Malawi (13), Mauritius (324), Mozambique (21), Rwanda (126), São Tomé and Príncipe (4), Somalia (25), South Sudan (4), Tanzania (32), Uganda (54), Zambia (43), and Zimbabwe (14).[95]
  • 15 April – Finance ministers from the Group of 20 agree to put a hold on debt service by poor countries so they can concentrate their efforts on health service and ending the pandemic. 76 countries will be able to participate in the plan, including 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa. $8 billion in private loans and $12 billion in loans from other countries will be frozen for the remainder of 2020 and possibly beyond. Another $12 billion in multilateral loans from organizations such as the World Bank is also under consideration.[96]
  • 17 April
    • Considerable fake news about the coronavirus is circulating in Africa.[97]
    • About 300 people at the Gashora emergency transit center near Kigali, Rwanda, protest against stay-at-home orders. The refugees had been relocated from overcrowded camps in Libya and many have been cleared for migration to countries such as Norway or Canada. The new orders, issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, prevent international travel, and they restrict the ability of interns to play football or attend religious services.[98]
  • 18 April – Independence Day, Zimbabwe[47]
  • 22 April
    • Kenya plans to hunt down approximately 50 individuals who escaped from a quarantine center in Nairobi.[99]
    • The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the number of malaria deaths in Africa may double this year as efforts to curb the disease wind down.[100]
  • 24 April – One million people in Ethiopia face hunger due to crop destruction by locust swarms. 25 million people in six states are struggling to feed themselves and a further five million could be threatened by hunger if the locust invasion was not contained. Swarms have been reported in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Tanzania.[101]
  • 26 April – Union Day, the unification of Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar in 1964, Tanzania[41]
  • 27 April – The World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report that more than 4 million rural people, about a third of Zimbabwe's population, "are in need of urgent action," to deal with food shortages.[102]
  • 28 April – Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina promotes drinking a herbal extract called ″Covid Organics″ as schools reopen despite no scientific evidence that it is effective. Madagascar has 128 recorded cases of COVID-19 but no deaths.[103]
  • 29 April – Kenya bans movement in and out of two huge refugee camps housing 400,000 people as part of containment measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus among the vulnerable communities.[104]
  • 30 April – Comoros confirms its first COVID-19 case. A healthcare worker who did not wish to give her name told AFP news agency the announcement came "rather late". "Only one positive case? The president is funny. The [real] number is much higher," she said.[105]

May

  • 1 May – International Workers' Day
    • Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta pushes back against criticism for sending flowers to Britain's National Health Service (NHS) by noting the importance of flower exportations to Kenya's economy.[106]
  • 3 May – COVID-19 pandemic: Tanzanian President John Magufuli questions coronavirus tests after samples from a goat, a pawpaw, and a sheep tested positive. Tanzania reports 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths.[107]
  • 4 May – A civilian Kenyan plane carrying medical supplies to Bay, Somalia crashes, killing six.[108]
  • 6 May
    • Somalian-born U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) demands that United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) explain why it has reported only four civilian deaths in the 227 declared actions the U.S. has conducted in Somalia since 2007. Other organizations report as many as 142 civilian deaths due to U.S. airstrikes.[109]
    • Kenyan officials say at least 194 people have been killed and 100,000 have been made in flooding over the past three weeks.[110] At least 65 people have been killed by floods and landslides in Rwanda.[111]
  • 8 May
    • Bereket Simon, former Communications Minister for the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, is convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years of prison. Tadesse Kassa, a former TIRET Corporation board member, is also convicted.[112]
    • A hospital in Kilembe, Uganda and a small town Somalia are washed away in flooding; an unspecified number of people are killed. Hundreds of people have been killed by floodwaters in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda, and Ethiopia which have also displaced hundreds of thousands across the region.[113]
    • Hundreds protest when the government destroys 7,000 homes and a market in Kariobangi, Kenya.[114] At least six people have been killed for violating stay-at-home orders, while hundreds have been forced into quarantine.[115]
  • 12 May – Sudan pushes Ethiopia to resume discussion related to the $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River that officials say will start filling in July.[116]
  • 13 May – Balloons floating 12 miles over Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces in northern Mozambique are planned to provide the region with stable internet connections, according to Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., and local mobile telecoms provider Vodacom.[117]
  • 14 May
  • 15 May – Three young, female opposition activists were reported missing following a protest in Harare, Zambia, over COVID-19 lockdown measures. They were later treated at a hospital after asserting they had been abducted and sexually abused by suspected state security agents.[120]
  • 16 May
    • Sudan People's Liberation Army Day, South Sudan[121]
    • Kenya closes its borders with Somalia and Tanzania.[122]
    • Félicien Kabuga, 84, Africa's most wanted fugitive for his role in the Rwandan genocide, is arrested in the outskirts of Paris.[123]
  • 18 May – Flooding in central Somalia affects nearly one million people, displacing about 400,000. At least 24 people have died.[124]
  • 19 May
    • Laylat al-Qadr, Islamic "Night of Decree"
    • COVID-19 pandemic: Rwanda releases 52 young women jailed for having or aiding abortions. A total of a total of 3,596 inmates have been granted "conditional release" from prison in order to reduce the number of inmates and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.[125]
  • 20 May – 2020 Burundian general election[52] Evariste Ndayishimiye, 52, wins with 69% of the vote and will not face a second-round of voting. President Pierre Nkurunziza will step down and be granted the title ″Supreme Guide.″[126]
  • 21 May – Ascension of Jesus, Western Christian holiday
  • 24 May
  • 25 May – Zimbabwe offers 100% ownership of farms for marijuana cultivation.[127]
  • 28 May
  • 29 May
    • Amnesty International accuses Ethiopian security forces of 39 extrajudicial executions of members of the Oromo Liberation Front.[131]
    • Eight ″very young″ aid workers are kidnapped and killed by an armed group near Mogadishu.[132]
    • COVID-19 pandemic: Denise Bucumi, First Lady of Burundi, is flown to Nairobi for treatment for coronavirus. Burundi officially has 42 cases and 17 deaths due to the virus, but it stopped counting on 17 May and the actual numbers may be much higher.[133]
    • The UN extends an arms embargo and travel restrictions on South Sudan for another year.[134]

June

  • 1 June
  • 2 June
    • President Yoweri Museveni predicts Uganda will lose US$1.6 billion in tourism revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[135]
    • People in Nairobi protests against police brutality after a homeless man is killed for violating curfew.[136]
    • At least six elephants are killed by poachers outside Mago National Park, Ethiopia in the largest mass-killing of animals in the country's history.[137]
  • 3 June
  • 5 June – Rijasoa Andriamanana, the Education Minister of Madagascar, is fired after spending $2million (£1.6million) on candy for children to mask the "bitter" aftertaste of an untested herbal remedy for coronavirus.[139]
  • 7 June – COVID-19 pandemic: Tanzania President John Magufuli claims God has "removed" the coronavirus and the country has only four cases; the country last reported 509 cases six weeks ago.[140]
  • 8 June
    • Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza dies and seven days of mourning are declared.[141]
    • Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rejects the idea of forming a transitional government in anticipation of the October election.[142]
    • Residents of one of Nairobi's poorest areas held a peaceful protest over the police brutality and killings which have plagued their neighborhood in recent years. Kenya's Independent Police Oversight Authority said that while enforcing the curfew police have killed 15 people and are accused of 31 cases of torture and injuring people.[143]
  • 9 June
  • 10 June – Zimbabwe's National Security Council (NSC) denies rumors of a coup d'etat attempt.
  • 12 June
    • Four poachers are arrested for killing an endangered gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.[146]
    • Three young women activists who say they were abducted and sexually assaulted by government forces in Zimbabwe face up to twenty years in prison for lying and trying to destabilize the government.[147]
    • World Day Against Child Labor: The International Labour Organization and UNICEF warn that millions of children are likely to be pushed into forced labor because of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.[148]
    • A Burundi court declares that Évariste Ndayishimiye should be sworn in as soon as possible, although no date is set.[149]
  • 17 to 20 June – Egyptian hackers engage in cyberattacks against Ethiopia's security forces.[150][151]
  • 18 June – Constitution Day, Seychelles[31]
  • 20 June – Martyrs' Day, Eritrea
  • 23 June – 2020 Malawian presidential election[152]
  • 25 June – Independence Day, Mozambique[26]
  • 26 June
    • Independence Day, Madagascar[17]
    • Independence Day, Somalia[34]
    • Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia agree to delay filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).[153]
    • Three people are killed in Lessos, Kenya after a police officer shoots into a crowd of people protesting the use of facemasks and police shakedowns.[154]
    • Rwanda says three of its soldiers were injured in Nyaruguru District in an attack originating in Burundi.[155]
  • 27 June – Independence Day, Djibouti[9]
  • 28 June – 166 people, including 156 civilians and eleven security forces, are killed in riots in Oromia Region and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after the murder of Hachalu Hundessa[156]
  • 29 June – Independence Day, Seychelles[31]

July

  • 1 July
    • Independence Day, Burundi[3]
    • Independence Day, Rwanda[29]
    • Foundation of the Somali Republic, Somalia[34]
  • 2 July – 2020 Malawian general election[157] Opposition alliance leader Lazarus Chakwera, 65, wins with 58.57% of the vote.[158]
  • 4 July
  • 6 July
    • Independence Day, Comoros[7]
    • Independence Day/Republic Day, Malawi[19] Newly elected President Lazarus Chakwera is inaugurated in a televised ceremony after the ceremony was moved to the Kamuzu Barracks after reports of the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic. Malawi has 1,742 reported cases of the virus.[20]
    • Heroes' Day, and Zambia International Trade Fair, Zambia[160]
    • Burundi launches mass testing for the virus.[161]
    • 12 nurses are arrested as thousands protest in Zimbabwe against poor working conditions.[162]
  • 7 July
    • Unity Day, Zambia[160]
    • Zimbabwe settles a ten-year-old land dispute with 3,200 evicted white farmers for £2.8 billion, half its value.[163]
  • 9 July – Independence Day, South Sudan[38]
  • 13 July – A civilian is killed during an assassination attempt on Somalia Gen. Odowa Yusuf Rage.[164]
  • 19 July – 105,000 people have been arrested for violations of regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including 1,000 arrests for face mask violations in the last two days in Zimbabwe. 1,500 infections have been reported.[165]
  • 21 July – The African Development Fund (ADF) approves UA100.4 million (US$138 million) crisis budget support for Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe.[166]
  • 22 July – Ugandan activist Bobi Wine starts a new political party, the National Unity Platform, ahead of the 2021 Ugandan presidential election.[167]
  • 24 July – South Sudanese activist Peter Biar Ajak, 36, flees to the United States after hiding in Kenya for three weeks.[168]
  • 30 July
    • Muharram, Islamic New Year
    • Martyrs' Day, South Sudan
  • 31 July – Eid al-Adha, Islamic "Festival of the Sacrifice"

August

September

October

November

December

Culture

See also: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage

The Arts

Further information: 2020 in African music, 2020 in film, and 2020 in literature
See also: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on cinema and Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on television

Sports

See also: Category:2020 in African sport and Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on sports

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See also

External links

References

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