Vol 63 No 6 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICRUSSIA UN clashes with Wagner worsen 8th March 2022 Moscow's surrogates are undermining the international peacekeepers but diplomats hope a new UN mission chief can stabilise the operation The Russian-inspired detention of four French soldiers in February at Bangui airport, and the imminent departure of Mankeur Ndiaye, the Senegalese head of the UN's mission to Central...
Vol 63 No 6 | CONGO-KINSHASA President Tshisekedi cuts a deal with Dan Gertler 4th March 2022 A pact to take back tainted mining assets could be part of wider damage-limitation by a notorious fixer and his partners A multi-billion dollar corruption scandal over some of the world's most prized copper and cobalt mines is heading towards dénouement, after Congolese authorities signed what they called 'a...
Vol 63 No 5 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE Son, like Father 3rd March 2022 One of the larger Africa–focused lobbying outfits, with offices in Abidjan, Kinshasa and Mauritius, is the Paris–based 35° Nord. It is targeting the European Union's focus on its...
Vol 63 No 5 | CONGO-KINSHASA Spymaster's arrest heralds purge 24th February 2022 President Tshisekedi's move against his intelligence chief François Beya was about consolidating power, not thwarting a coup plot Three weeks after President Félix Tshisekedi ordered the arrest of his senior security advisor François Beya for plotting a coup, a shroud of silence still surrounds the affair....
Vol 63 No 4 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Prime Minister quits as funding crisis deepens 15th February 2022 The government is running out of cash – paying the Russians is proving tricky, EU and French aid has stopped, and the IMF and World Bank are sceptical Amid suspicions that Russia is trying to engineer an alliance between its friends in Bangui and leaders of the military junta in Sudan, the problems in President Faustin...
Vol 63 No 2 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICMALI War dogs' old tricks 20th January 2022 Mali can learn what to expect from Russian mercenaries by looking at their playbook from the Central African Republic As Russian mercenaries deploy to Mali to combat Islamist insurgents, the country can expect to be forced to pay an escalating bill, on top of seeing the operatives...
Vol 63 No 1 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICAFRICA IN 2022 Choosing Moscow 7th January 2022 Support from Russia will allow Touadéra to suppress opposition and avoid conciliation with rebels The disputed elections last year that gave an opportunity to mercenaries from Russia's state-linked Wagner Group to assert their influence on politics in the Central African Republic will...
Vol 63 No 1 | CONGO-KINSHASAAFRICA IN 2022 Hostage to the bad old ways 5th January 2022 President Tshisekedi seems to have sewn up the 2023 elections, while realpolitik has put paid to his anti-corruption agenda How time flies. In 2022 President Félix Tshisekedi enters the fourth year of his five-year 'mandate', with little so far to show the Congolese for it. His flagship...
Vol 62 No 25 | CONGO-KINSHASAEAST AFRICA Getting connected 16th December 2021 Congo-Kinshasa's imminent membership of the East African Community is prompting a jostle for position as its neighbours seek to agree new infrastructure deals and trade accords. Entering the...
Vol 62 No 24 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Inside the mining mega deal 2nd December 2021 Touted as a new development model, the 'deal of the century' set a terrible example on corruption A scholar who delivers lectures on doing business in Africa has emerged as the lynchpin of a massive bribery scandal drawing in Chinese business magnates and some of...