Vol 66 No 18 | SOMALIAUNITED ARAB EMIRATES Grudges and geopolitics – why MBZ is clashing with Hassan Sheikh 10th September 2025 The origins of the chronic enmity between Somalia’s president and the UAE leader lie in the Gulf state’s hegemonic ambitions, and some personal gripes The United Arab Emirates has puzzled many observers with its hostility towards the Somali federal President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and its active support of his opponents in the...
Vol 66 No 17 | KENYA Looking east, Ruto targets yen and yuan 29th August 2025 As dissent mounts, the government is counting on loans, interest rate cuts and a stalled privatisation programme to ease its debt woes To ease the cashflow crisis that triggered mass protests and weakened the shilling – as the Treasury used precious dollars to pay its Eurobond debts – President William...
Vol 66 No 17 | TANZANIAWHO'S WHO Tanzania’s climate czar Richard Muyungi 29th August 2025 African unity – alongside climate solutions and access to adaptation finance – will top the agenda at the second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, which runs from...
Vol 66 No 17 | SOUTH SUDAN Salva’s family values 29th August 2025 President Salva Kiir Mayardit has strengthened his control over his government’s economic ministries by appointing his eldest daughter, Adut Salva Kiir, as a senior economic advisor and dismissing...
Vol 66 No 17 | SUDANUNITED STATES Washington revives peace push after a year of drift 27th August 2025 A secret meeting in Zurich between US President Donald Trump’s envoy and SAF Commander Burhan may cut across the regional rivalries blocking negotiations A three-hour meeting in Zurich between Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) commander General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and United States President Donald Trump’s Senior Africa Advisor Massad Boulos on... READ FOR FREE
Vol 66 No 17 | SEYCHELLES President Ramkalawan takes an authoritarian turn 27th August 2025 Ahead of next month’s elections, activists questions the value and accountability of new Gulf States investments The cost of living, Gulf States investors and the government’s authoritarian turn are set to dominate the elections on 27 September. They will be the first national...
Vol 66 No 16 | KENYA Odinga’s big tent politics are close to collapse 8th August 2025 An ODM top official is threatening to quit – as party grandees jostle for influence in Ruto’s second term, unity is on borrowed time The price of propping up an unpopular president is rising for veteran opposition figure and kingmaker Raila Odinga. He still wants to chart a course that preserves his...
Vol 66 No 16 | UGANDA Muhoozi purges military again in latest power grab 8th August 2025 Top officers accused of graft as President’s son asserts his authority General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the volatile head of Uganda’s military and son of President Yoweri Museveni, has launched a further purge of officers as part of efforts to consolidate...
Vol 66 No 16 | KENYAUGANDA London court boosts Kampala-Nairobi link 8th August 2025 The path towards a revamped passenger and freight rail link between Kenya and Uganda has become clearer, after the London Court of International Arbitration dismissed a US$2 billion...
Vol 66 No 16 | SOMALIATURKEY Can Turkey save Mogadishu from its security fiascos? 5th August 2025 President Hassan Sheikh calculates that a geological survey showing commercial quantities of oil will get Ankara to step up military aid National Security Advisor Hussein Ma’alim Mahamud Sheikh Ali resigned on 23 July, after many missteps over the last year that have allowed Al Shabaab to recover three-quarters of...