Vol 62 No 16 | SOMALIA Election programme stutters 28th July 2021 Prime minister Roble gets blamed for the latest hiccup in the elections while President Farmajo exploits clan rivalries in his bid for another term On Sunday 25 July scheduled elections to the upper parliamentary house were dramatically postponed because of a failure of some committees to form and for others to produce...
Vol 62 No 15 | ETHIOPIA Fighting escalates as federal ties fray 22nd July 2021 As Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calls for a national war, Tigrayan forces mobilise on three fronts As fighting was spreading eastwards to Afar Region, on 18 July Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared a total war on the Tigray People's Liberation Front, bringing in soldiers...
Vol 62 No 15 | ETHIOPIA No good options on the table 22nd July 2021 With a lack of credible mediators and both sides ruling out political negotiations, the likeliest outcome is an intensifying conflict All sides have to make some tough decisions on strategy as the eight-month fight for control of Tigray escalates, dragging in surrounding regions. Judging by the declarations of...
Vol 62 No 15 | SUDAN Between money and the military 22nd July 2021 After negotiating a new round of credits, Khartoum’s respected prime minister warns that the old guard wants to derail the transition The latest deal for debt relief and the signing of a US$2.5 billion credit with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are necessary but far from sufficient to keep... READ FOR FREE
Vol 62 No 15 | SUDAN Khartoum's fractious neighbours 22nd July 2021 The conflicts in Chad and Ethiopia are redrawing local and regional politics Regional alignments have changed radically since the ousting of Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir and the National Congress Party regime in April 2019 and its replacement by a...
Vol 62 No 15 | TANZANIA Clearing up after the bulldozer 22nd July 2021 President Hassan has dropped her predecessor's Covid denialism and ultra-nationalism but there are plenty of policy hangovers President Samia Suluhu Hassan's approach to diplomacy is a world away from that of her predecessor, President John Pombe Magufuli. While Magufuli was mostly unreachable, President Samia has...
Vol 62 No 15 | MOZAMBIQUERWANDA Nyusi annoys the neighbours 22nd July 2021 While 1,000 Rwandan police and troops, widely admired for their military qualities, have arrived on the Afungi peninsula to defend the liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure against Cabo...
Vol 62 No 14 | KENYA Digging deeper into debt 8th July 2021 Debt and spending have mushroomed, but vested interests will fight attempts to rein in the elite’s cash cows The Treasury's recent successful flotation of a billion dollars in Eurobonds signals that Kenya is not about to wean itself off a dangerous addiction to expensive commercial credit....
Vol 62 No 14 | KENYA Why the dynasties fear Ruto 8th July 2021 With his rivals mired in litigation and squabbling over who will be their candidate, the Deputy President is again the man to beat With his rivals bogged down in court trying to salvage the Building Bridges Initiative, Deputy President William Ruto has re-emerged as the man to beat in next August's...
Vol 62 No 14 | SOMALIA Battles for the polls resume 8th July 2021 An uneasy calm reigns in the capital as the prime minister's shaky consensus on the elections moves forward After months of delay and violent confrontations Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble has found a path through the obstacles which have been preventing elections since last September. The...