Vol 55 No 8 | GUINEA BISSAU The civilians may be back 15th April 2014 Well conducted and fair elections last Monday will help restore civil society. Then comes the far greater challenge of reining in the military The positive verdict on the conduct of the elections and the high turnout are but the first steps on a tricky road back to the rule of law...
Vol 55 No 8 | MALI Keïta's six-month itch 10th April 2014 The resignation of the government – after just six months in office – points to growing pressure on President Keïta Elected in triumph last August, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta faces growing criticism over failures to broker a settlement in the north and boost the national economy. The government's...
Vol 55 No 7 | NIGER Issoufou’s Sahel agenda 4th April 2014 Amid diplomatic discord and tough trade talks in Brussels, Niger’s President adeptly pushed for his government’s policies and interests In spite of the testy relations between some African politicians and Europe, President Mahamadou Issoufou has cultivated strong support from top officials in Brussels and Paris. Indeed, as...
Vol 55 No 7 | NIGERIA There will be blood... and oil 4th April 2014 The stink of the OPL 245 scandal won’t go away General Sani Abacha's son, now seeking political office with the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP), is building a coalition to obtain his part of the plunder. Middlemen are...
Vol 55 No 7 | NIGERIA Chip off the old block 4th April 2014 The children of the late dictator General Sani Abacha are making headlines. The oldest, Mohammed Sani Abacha, operates a political network based in Kano, where his father was...
Vol 55 No 7 | BURKINA FASO Tight spot for Blaise 4th April 2014 Compaoré is running out of options. If he stays on, mass protests will continue but if he leaves, he may lose his money and could face trial President Blaise Compaoré is in growing political difficulty. Mass protests greet any attempt to prolong his rule, something he would attempt by amending Article 37 of the Constitution...
Vol 55 No 7 | GUINEAMINING Condé tests Steinmetz 3rd April 2014 This month, ministers in Conakry are due to announce a landmark decision on the future of the world's biggest iron ore reserves Beny Steinmetz, the Israeli billionaire whose stake in Guinea's giant Simandou iron ore deposit is in dispute, is having a bad year. Last month, Beny Steinmetz Group Resources...
Vol 55 No 7 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Who will follow Blé Goudé to the Hague? 28th March 2014 After ex-President Gbagbo's cheerleader joins him for trial at the ICC, the court's investigations focus on President Ouattara's allies Feted by his supporters in Abidjan's tough suburb of Yopougon as ‘the General of the Street’, the former Youth Minister Charles Blé Goudé landed on 22 March in...
Vol 55 No 6 | MALI Sanogo case falters 21st March 2014 Procedural errors in the arrest and prosecution of Malian coup leader General Amadou Haya Sanogo may be enough to see his trial collapse, legal sources in Bamako have...
Vol 39 No 2 | GUINEA Curbing the press 17th March 2014 Security officials around President Lansana Conté are cracking down ahead of the presidential election scheduled for December, when their man and his Parti de l’ Unité et du...