This archive report was first published on 4 November 2019.
Kenya's population has grown to 47.6 million, with nearly a tenth of its residents living in Nairobi, according to provisional results from the country's census held on August 23.
The census showed that the population was almost evenly split between men and women, with 23.6 million men and 24 million women. Nairobi, the capital city, was home to 4.4 million people.
These numbers reflect an increase of nine million people, or 23.3 percent, from the 38.6 million reported in the 2009 census, which was marred by controversy.
Elsewhere in Africa, a Norway-based shipping company reported that nine of its employees had been abducted from a cargo ship while it was moored off the coast of Benin in West Africa. The ship, the Bonita, was carrying gypsum and was attacked by pirates 15 kilometers off the coast on Saturday.
While piracy has decreased globally, West Africa's Gulf of Guinea remains a hotspot for abductions by armed groups who typically demand ransoms for the safe return of their victims.
Meanwhile, Sudan's transitional government has denied allegations that it is opposed to handing over former President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court for trial on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict.
The Forces of Freedom and Change, a major ally in the transitional government, stated that it had no objection to handing over Bashir to the ICC, which indicted him in 2009.
However, the transitional authorities would need to ratify the ICC's Rome Statute to allow for the transfer.
Additionally, four people, including the deputy mayor of Djibo, a northern Burkina Faso city, were killed in an ambush on Sunday in an area plagued by recurrent jihadist attacks.
Administrative sources reported that the deputy mayor and three companions were killed in an attack by unidentified armed assailants as the country battles a four-year jihadist revolt.
The attacks, which typically involve hit-and-run raids on villages, road mines, and suicide bombings, have claimed more than 630 lives since the wave of jihadist violence crossed over from Mali.
Finally, West African leaders reiterated their backing for Aristide Gomes, the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, who was sacked by the country's interim president three weeks ahead of a presidential election.
A delegation of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) denounced the sacking as illegal, stating that President Jose Mario Vaz had no authority to dismiss the administration or appoint a replacement government because his five-year mandate as president had expired in June when ECOWAS agreed he stays on until the November 24, 2019 elections.
Additionally, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that he would prioritize dialogue over force in tackling recent unrest that has left 86 people dead.
The protests erupted in Addis Ababa and in Ethiopia's Oromia region on October 23 after Jawar Mohammed, an activist, alleged that security forces planned to attack him.
