Today in Africa — December 23, 2025: CAR Votes, Sudan Peace Plan, More Nigeria Kidnappings

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.

CAR’s Touadera Seeks Third Term as Russia Ties and Security Dominate Vote

Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera is seeking a third term in Sunday’s election after changing the constitution to remove term limits, a move critics say entrenches his decade in power. Touadera has campaigned on improved security and infrastructure, pointing to peace deals with rebel groups, economic growth of about 3%, and new projects like a Starlink launch. He is widely seen as the favorite, with analysts citing his financial advantage and the support of state institutions, even as he signals openness to renewed Western investment in mining.

Security remains voters’ top concern in a country long marked by conflict and poverty. Touadera was the first leader in the region to invite Russian Wagner mercenaries in 2018, trading security support for access to gold and other resources, a model later copied elsewhere in the Sahel. While violence has eased in some areas, analysts warn gains are fragile, with rebels not fully disarmed and instability spilling over from Sudan. Rights groups have accused Russian mercenaries of abuses, and critics say the president’s economic bets — including crypto ventures and mining reforms — have yet to ease hardship for most citizens, with two-thirds still living in extreme poverty.

Sudan PM Pitches UN-Monitored Peace Plan as U.S. Pushes Immediate Truce

Sudan’s prime minister, Kamil Idris, has unveiled a broad peace initiative to end the nearly 1,000-day war with the Rapid Support Forces, calling for a United Nations-, African Union-, and Arab League-monitored ceasefire, the withdrawal of paramilitary fighters from occupied areas, their confinement to supervised camps, and eventual disarmament. Addressing the UN Security Council yesterday, Monday, December 22, Idris said the proposal was “homemade,” arguing a truce would fail unless the RSF fully leaves civilian areas and gives up its weapons.

The United States urged both sides to accept an immediate humanitarian truce backed by Washington and key mediators, warning against preconditions. U.S. officials condemned atrocities by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, while Quad members said a truce must open the door to a permanent ceasefire and civilian rule. UN officials warned that continued arms flows and refusal to compromise are fueling the conflict, which has killed more than 40,000 people by UN estimates and displaced over 14 million, creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Gunmen Kidnap 28 on Way to Islamic Gathering in Nigeria’s Plateau State

Armed men have kidnapped at least 28 people, including women and children, who were traveling by bus to an annual Islamic event in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, police told the BBC. The attack happened Sunday night between villages, with authorities saying assets have been deployed to rescue the victims. A local journalist said families have begun receiving ransom demands, though police have not identified the perpetrators.

The abduction news comes a day after Nigeria announced the release of the final 130 schoolchildren and teachers taken in a separate mass kidnapping in Niger state last month, underscoring the scale of the problem. Kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, remains widespread across northern and central Nigeria and is separate from the jihadist insurgency in the northeast. The government says insecurity affects all communities and plans to deploy trained forest guards to help secure remote areas used as gang hideouts.

Uganda Curbs Starlink Imports Ahead of Election, Fueling Internet Shutdown Fears

Uganda’s government is restricting imports of Starlink satellite internet equipment weeks before the January 15 election, raising opposition fears of another election-period internet blackout. A leaked Uganda Revenue Authority memo dated December 19, later confirmed as genuine, says imports of Starlink devices and related equipment now require clearance from the head of the military, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son. The move comes as Museveni, 81, seeks to extend his rule to nearly 50 years in a rematch against opposition leader Bobi Wine, after authorities cut internet access for days during the disputed 2021 vote.

Officials say many countries regulate communications technology, noting that Starlink does not yet have a license to operate in Uganda, even as devices are widely used. Wine dismissed the restrictions as unjustified, questioning why access to the internet is being tightened during the electoral period. Critics say the move fits a broader pattern under Museveni, whose government has amended the constitution to remove age and term limits, while supporters credit him with stability and economic gains amid longstanding accusations of repression, rights abuses, and corruption.

South Africa Pub Shooting Death Toll Rises to 10 as Police Identify Suspects

The death toll from South Africa’s latest mass shooting at a township pub has risen to 10, with police saying two potential suspects have been identified. The early-morning attack on Sunday, December 21, killed three women and seven men at a tavern in Bekkersdal, west of Johannesburg, while nine others remain hospitalized. Gauteng police said the pub owner will be charged with fraud and running an illegal liquor outlet, and all alcohol at the premises has been seized. The case marks the second mass shooting at a township bar in three weeks, after a separate attack near Pretoria earlier this month left at least 12 people dead. South Africa continues to battle one of the world’s highest homicide rates, with more than 26,000 killings reported in 2024, many involving illegal firearms.

U.S. Signs New Health Deals With African Countries Under Scaled-Back Aid Model

The U.S. has signed new health funding agreements with at least nine African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique, Lesotho, Cameroon, Eswatini, and Liberia, under a Trump administration shift toward reduced aid and negotiated, government-to-government deals. The agreements replace USAID programs and cut overall U.S. health spending by nearly half compared with 2024, according to the Center for Global Development, while requiring higher domestic co-financing. Washington says the “America First” framework aims to boost self-sufficiency and align aid with U.S. priorities, though critics warn the cuts have already strained health systems. Nigeria’s deal emphasizes Christian faith-based health providers, while South Africa — which lost hundreds of millions in U.S. HIV funding amid political disputes — has not signed on. Several countries with health pacts also have agreements to accept U.S. deportees, a link the State Department denies, even as officials acknowledge broader political considerations in the negotiations.

U.S. Says M23 Has Not Fully Withdrawn From Eastern DRC Town

The U.S. says it is not satisfied with the Rwanda-backed M23’s claimed withdrawal from Uvira in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warning the rebels remain positioned around the city as clashes continue nearby. M23 seized the strategic town near Burundi on December 10, days after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame reaffirmed a U.S.-brokered peace deal in Washington. While the group pledged to pull back after U.S. criticism, Washington says fighters are still present, with residents reporting sporadic gunfire and some rebels allegedly wearing police uniforms. Rwanda denies backing M23, despite a United Nations expert report finding it exercises command and control over the group. The renewed fighting has displaced about 500,000 people in South Kivu this month, pushed more than 84,000 refugees into Burundi, and is straining Congo’s finances, with the IMF estimating a 0.4% hit to GDP and nearly $3 billion in exceptional security spending.

Lawsuit Challenges End of Deportation Protections for South Sudanese in U.S.

Immigrant rights advocates have sued the Trump administration over its decision to end temporary deportation protections for more than 200 nationals of South Sudan, arguing the move unlawfully puts them at risk despite ongoing violence and instability back home. Filed in federal court in Boston, the lawsuit by four South Sudanese migrants and the nonprofit African Communities Together says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security violated the law governing Temporary Protected Status by terminating the designation effective January 5. DHS says South Sudan no longer meets the criteria for TPS, but plaintiffs argue the decision ignored dire humanitarian conditions and was driven by racial discrimination. The U.S. has granted TPS to South Sudanese since 2011, following years of conflict that have killed hundreds of thousands, and the case is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the administration’s rollback of protections for migrants from multiple countries.

U.S. Conducts Surveillance Flights Over Nigeria Amid Rising Security Cooperation

The United States has been flying intelligence-gathering aircraft over Nigeria almost daily since late November, according to flight data and U.S. officials, signaling deeper security cooperation as violence escalates across the country. The contractor-operated jet, run by Tenax Aerospace, typically operates out of Ghana and is believed to be collecting intelligence on militant groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, as well as aiding efforts to locate a kidnapped U.S. pilot. The flights follow President Donald Trump’s threats of possible military action over attacks on Christian communities, Nigeria’s declaration of a security emergency, and Washington’s push to rebuild regional surveillance capacity after withdrawing forces from Niger. U.S. officials say the missions are part of joint efforts with Nigerian authorities, while Abuja maintains that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims and has agreed to work with Washington to counter militant violence.