Vol 52 No 5 | SUDAN Democracy heads south 4th March 2011 Political tactics or public relations? The announcement of President Omer’s exit points to jitters in the ruling National Congress Party The prospect of President Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir stepping down reflects the ruling National Congress Party’s dilemma over how to tackle growing domestic and regional calls for political change and...
Vol 52 No 5 | ERITREAMINING Gold rush 4th March 2011 Issayas used to be suspicious of foreigners, but that was before a mineral wealth bonanza looked possible The Eritrean President and leader of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, Issayas Afewerki, has long sought to retain a closed economy and prevent non-Eritrean involvement in his...
Vol 52 No 5 | ERITREAMINING Eritrea is not for sale 4th March 2011 ‘Eritrea is not for sale.’ This used to be President Issayas Afewerki’s customary response to interest in his country’s considerable mineral resources. Now, as he faces greater isolation while needing...
Vol 52 No 4 | KENYA First pick your judge 18th February 2011 President Kibaki is undermining efforts to reform the judiciary as he protects his allies from prosecution The latest dispute between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga began in late January, when Odinga accused Kibaki of failing to consult him about nominations to...
Vol 52 No 4 | UGANDA Cairo tactics 18th February 2011 The biggest excitement in the 18 February presidential and parliamentary elections is the electoral arithmetic (AC Vol 51 No 1). Presidential challenger Kizza Besigye will never have a...
Vol 52 No 4 | SUDAN Militia massacres 18th February 2011 The death of perhaps 200 people this month, mainly civilian returnees, in attacks in Jonglei State, Southern Sudan, show the havoc that one militia can wreak. This militia...
Vol 52 No 3 | SUDAN Through the looking glass 4th February 2011 There are growing concerns about the two million Southerners living in the north after last month's vote for separation Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of Africa's newest state in July, was in demand at the 24-31 January African Union summit in Addis Ababa. In the AU conference centre, he was...
Vol 52 No 3 | SUDAN Militia attacks on the border 4th February 2011 Brutal attacks last month by armed militias on convoys of Southern Sudanese returning from the North show the security crisis in the borderlands and the danger of war over Abyei...
Vol 52 No 3 | ETHIOPIA A five-year exit plan 4th February 2011 As democracy activists pressure entrenched regimes across Africa, Premier Meles's government sets out its plans for controlled change From a position of strength - there is just one opposition member of parliament - the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has been setting out its plans to rebuild...
Vol 52 No 3 | RWANDA The political fallout 4th February 2011 Opposition forces, some armed and some civilian, intensify their campaigns against the regime in Kigali Yet another former government figure has set up a political movement in opposition to Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Faustin Twagiramungu, who was Prime Minister in the first post-genocide government in 1994,...