Vol 62 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Who runs KwaZulu-Natal? 22nd July 2021 Our correspondents look at the leading politicians and their parties in the country’s most volatile and second most populous province The African National Congress is dominant in KwaZulu-Natal, with 44 seats in the 80-seat provincial legislature, while its nearest rival, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has just 13....
Vol 62 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Anatomy of a failed insurrection 22nd July 2021 Recovery from the violence, looting and sabotage is likely to be slow amid spiralling joblessness and with the ringleaders apparently still at large A confluence of widespread economic despair, hunger and protest sparked by the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma, began with a deliberate act of sabotage. On...
Vol 62 No 15 | ZAMBIA Eyes on the count 22nd July 2021 Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is investing hope and major resources, including a phone app and satellite systems, to mobilise over 20,000 election agents from his United Party for...
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 | SOUTH AFRICA Relief as Zuma surrenders 8th July 2021 After organising a mass rally to back his defiance of the Constitutional Court, ex-president Zuma was arrested on 7 July At the stroke of midnight and after hours of negotiating with senior officers, ex-President Jacob Zuma handed himself over to police on 7 July. He now starts a...
Vol 62 No 14 | ESWATINI A state of royal denial 8th July 2021 As reports and videos circulate showing dozens of pro-democracy protestors being shot and killed by security forces, regional and international pressure on King Mswati III is mounting. Veteran...
Vol 62 No 14 | ZAMBIA President bids to postpone poll 2nd July 2021 Political violence, Lungu's ill-health, rows about Kaunda's burial, and rampant Covid make for a grim backdrop ahead of the general election Exceptional levels of violence – by ruling Patriotic Front thugs and police – are raising questions about the credibility of the parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections due on...
Vol 62 No 13 | SOUTH AFRICA The urgency of now 24th June 2021 The President speeds up reform on power, the state airlines and the ports but laments that the tempo remains far too slow With two quick-fire announcements on 11 and 12 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa broke with ruling party orthodoxy and threw a lifeline to the ailing power industry and state...
Vol 62 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Mogul shuffles his interests 24th June 2021 Under US sanctions and losing favour with President Mnangagwa, top businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei is revamping his empire Zimbabwe's most controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei has shut down his fuel company, Sakunda Holdings, which was put under United States sanctions in August last year for having 'harmed...
Vol 62 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Farming out critics 24th June 2021 A fight over another round of farm confiscations is heading for the courts; but this time prominent black dissident is the target. Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) co-deputy Director-General...