Who holds capital and political leverage — and how that power is exercised.
On Tuesday morning, a day after Christmas- a Christian festive holiday- Liberians went out to practice their democratic right to choose a new president. The context is between George Weah, a 51-year old ex-international footballer and 73-year old Joseph Boakai. Boakai has served as vice-president for the past 12 years
On the 25th of August, the United States of America’s military led an operation in Somalia's Bariire region that resulted in the death of 10 civilians and at least one child on the 25th of August. It was a massacre whose taint on the U.S. forces’
Last June ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe foretold of what is currently happening to South Africa’s national party after they voted to remove President Jacob Zuma as ANC’s leader last week. Mantashe, addressing foreign journalists mid this year said it would be easier to remove President Zuma from
Press Statement The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr M.J.M Sibanda, has announced the following promotions and appointments in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces by His Excellency, Cde Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa: 1) Promotion on Retirement Air Marshal Perrance Shiri has been promoted to the rank of Air
There has often been a tendency, especially from the revolutionary parties that fought for liberation, to wallow in ideology, while offering little in terms of development. This was even the case with Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe. Mugabe thrived on populist policies and ideologies, but on the ground
On Monday, 11 December, the leader and presidential candidate of the opposition alliance called Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai sent a three-member delegation on a global campaign to put pressure on incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government to implement electoral reforms. The high-powered delegation includes former Finance
Week after week, African leaders seem to always be in the spotlight, and often, for all the wrong reasons. From Zimbabwe’s protests that left Robert Mugabe ‘powerless’ only to bring another lot of old leaders, to Nigeria, where a governor appointed his sister minister for happiness. To the eastern
Last Saturday, Tanzania President John Magufuli pardoned two child rapists, a move that came under heavy condemnation from children’s rights activists. This is the second time in five months the President has acted in what is described by Kate McAlpine as “lack of understanding about violence against children”. Ms
Africa is a lovely, beautiful, marvellous and splendid continent. It is endowed with the world's best natural resources, best fauna and best flora. It has amazing people, with captivating diverse cultures and traditions. It is a continent that bursts with a lot of potential for development. This very
Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in last month’s repeat presidential vote. Chief Justice David Maraga said the court dismissed two legal challenges to the vote in a unanimous decision by six judges. “As a consequence, the presidential election of 26th of
The situation has been tense in Zimbabwe, and events are moving at an unprecedented rate. There have been some gaps in terms of the official statements from the ruling party ZANU-PF but it seems Mugabe's time is now up. Eight Zanu PF’s 10 Provincial Coordinating Committees (PCC)
Angolan President Joao Lourenco dismissed Isabel dos Santos as chair of the state oil company Sonangol on Wednesday, in a dramatic move against the family of the former president. Analysts said the change was likely aimed at cementing Lourenco’s power and trying to avoid a decline in production at
Soldiers deployed across the Zimbabwe capital Harare and seized the state broadcaster on Wednesday after 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party accused the head of the military of treason, prompting frenzied speculation of a coup. Just 24 hours after military chief General Constantino Chiwenga threatened to intervene to
By Abraham M. Keita November 14, 2017 January 2018 is fast waning. The sun is sliding behind winter’s gray shroud: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will hand over the baton of leadership to her successor. This peaceful transition, if uninterrupted or not halted by ongoing political intricacies regarding the October poll,
The self-declared republic of Somaliland has opened polls on the presidential elections. The poll is its third, and with this one Somaliland wants to prove its democratic credentials for independence from embattled Somalia. An election spokesman who spoke with the BBC confirmed that the election will use an iris-based biometric
The media is something that African leaders keep an eye on. They are very wary of it and they will always ensure that they have a tight grip over the media. It is not just confined to Africa, but across the whole world. In the United States we have seen
