Vol 63 No 5 | SOMALIA Polls stall as Al Shabaab attacks surge 1st March 2022 The Islamist militia's offensive has increased in tempo but the national army has been holding its own as it looks as though the US will become more involved Al Shabaab launched more attacks in January and February than it had during all of last year. Most serious was its coordinated attack on 18 February in several...
Vol 63 No 5 | ETHIOPIA Prime minister Abiy tests diplomatic path 23rd February 2022 As Addis Ababa counts the costs of the war, parliament lifts the state of emergency then sets up a National Dialogue Commission Whatever their relation to reality, the messages from the prime minister's office are clear: the war is largely over, the government is open to negotiations and is pushing...
Vol 63 No 4 | KENYA Dangers of two-track campaigning 17th February 2022 Underneath bland mainstream media coverage, social media and vernacular broadcast stations are stirring ethnic divisions Hopes for credible and peaceful national elections in August are getting shakier. Hate speech and ethnic-baiting in local languages are back in force. Frustrated by official complacency, many...
Vol 63 No 4 | KENYAAFRICACOMMONWEALTH June for Juma 17th February 2022 President Uhuru Kenyatta's government is trying again to secure the Commonwealth Secretary-General post, running an energetic campaign on behalf of its candidate, Monica Juma. Cabinet Secretary for Energy,...
Vol 63 No 3 | TANZANIA Communications breakdown 3rd February 2022 Tanzania's Energy Minister, January Makamba, continued his attempt to rejuvenate the power sector by announcing a clear-out of all the staff of the troubled power utility Tanzanian Electricity...
Vol 63 No 3 | KENYA Making the vote count 3rd February 2022 Voter registration ahead of the August general election is low because people are disillusioned with politicians and the system, say analysts and activists, and also because of backlogs...
Vol 63 No 3 | RWANDAUGANDA Border reopening points to diplomatic thaw 31st January 2022 President Museveni's son and putative successor played key role in sensitive negotiations as Kampala and Kigali discuss new regional security threats The agreement between Uganda's General Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame to re-open their countries' common land border on 31 January was driven by economic logic but...
Vol 63 No 3 | SOMALIA The on-off elections are back on 28th January 2022 Western officials banged heads together in Mogadishu to forestall more clashes and force agreement. Polling should now end by 25 February The country has stepped back from the brink once more as the tension eased between President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' and the man he suspended as prime minister,...
Vol 63 No 2 | KENYA The politics of division 20th January 2022 Polarised parliamentary battles on an elections bill reflect starker ethnic divisions within the country at large After filibusters and fisticuffs in parliament before Christmas, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his chosen successor Raila Odinga got what they wanted on 8 January, when the National Assembly...
Vol 63 No 2 | ETHIOPIA After concessions, rival armies fight on 20th January 2022 Addis Ababa released some prisoners and Tigray proposed a ceasefire. But despite weakened forces, there is little prospect of negotiations The slowing of military operations follows 14 months of fighting which have inflicted heavy losses on both the Federal army and the Tigray forces and killed thousands of... READ FOR FREE