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Published 23rd May 2024

Vol 65 No 11

Congo-Kinshasa

Tshisekedi unruffled in his labyrinth

Pic: Facebook
Pic: Facebook

After a spectacularly incompetent coup fails, the ruling party points fingers at Rwanda and Washington

Shots rang out in the Gombe diplomatic enclave of Kinshasa early on 19 May when over 50 men in combat fatigues drove in convoy towards the residence of President Félix Tshisekedi, known as the Palais de la Nation. Leading the charge was Christian Malanga, 41, a diaspora politician and gunslinger who has lived in Eswatini and the United States. He served in Congo’s army in 2006-7 before unsuccessfully running in parliamentary elections in 2011.

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US mulls Gertler deal to secure minerals

Pic: dan-gertler.com
Pic: dan-gertler.com

The Biden administration risks undermining the credibility of the Magnitsky Act that was used to impose sanctions on the Israeli billionaire

The US government has proposed a deal with Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler that would enable Gertler to sell his remaining royalty streams in Congolese mining assets and...

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THE INSIDE VIEW

Kenyan President William Ruto's state visit to the United States on 23-24 May, the first by an African leader since 2008, reinforces the country's role as the leading western ally in the region – on climate change, energy policy, Ukraine, trade and tax. Officials from the US and Germany say that Ruto is one of few African leaders to consistently have their ear.

Items on the agenda will include the deployment of an UN-backed police mission to combat gang violence in Haiti, led by...

Kenyan President William Ruto's state visit to the United States on 23-24 May, the first by an African leader since 2008, reinforces the country's role as the leading western ally in the region – on climate change, energy policy, Ukraine, trade and tax. Officials from the US and Germany say that Ruto is one of few African leaders to consistently have their ear.

Items on the agenda will include the deployment of an UN-backed police mission to combat gang violence in Haiti, led by 1,000 Kenyan police officers. The mission has been repeatedly delayed by disagreements over its funding from the US and other donors and by a series of court challenges in Nairobi.

Talks on a bilateral trade pact between Kenya and the US started under Joe Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. Biden has continued them but progress has been slow; a deal before November's US presidential polls is unlikely. Ruto will also raise Kenya's interest in shaping the next version of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act snaking its way through Congress. They will also discuss the growing US military presence at Kenya's Manda Bay base in a region facing deepening security crises and geopolitical rivalries. Under Ruto, Kenya has moved far closer to the US position on Israel-Gaza, eastern Congo, Russia and LGBTQ+ rights That distinguishes it from countries such as Ethiopia, South Africa and Uganda.

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On the back foot in Gauteng

Fearing a populist wave from the Malema and Zuma parties, the ANC is sending its veteran leaders to get out the vote for 29 May

So serious is the prospect of it losing badly in the 29 May election that the ruling African National Congress has leant on its former leaders, including those...

Mogadishu gives the UN marching orders

A 10,000-strong African force is mooted as officials plan to wind down UN peacekeeping operations

Set up at the end of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) on 31 March 2022, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) was supposed to...

Tinubu weighs politics vs competence

After a bumpy year, the President will have to sack some of his worst ministers and reshuffle others

As he prepares to mark a year in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has received a scorecard from his Political Advisor, Hadiza Bala Usman, which contains an evaluation...

A reckoning for the Ramaphosa party

The biggest threat to the ANC's electoral base comes from its two breakaway populist parties

For realists in the African National Congress the central question in the 29 May elections is how the party manages the end of its 30-year domination of national...

How Chapo won the anti-Nyusi vote

The ruling party has elected its most junior leader ever – in an apparent snub to the outgoing President

After the surprise selection of Governor of Inhambane province Daniel Chapo as the ruling Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique's presidential candidate for October's general election, debate continues as...

How family and the army dominate Museveni's endgame

Military chief and dauphin General Muhoozi leads the campaign to win the 2026 election – frustrating dissident officers

At a private dinner party last month to mark his retirement from the military, a senior officer told close friends that he was relieved not to have to...

Pointers

Playing off rivals

São Tomé's leaders have played down the political significance of their new military cooperation agreement with Russia, signed by Defence Minister Jorge Amado in St Petersburg on 24...

Ins and outs in Cabo Delgado

The plethora of international military forces in Cabo Delgado province is about to shrink. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent of over 2,200 soldiers, which was tasked...

Faye's diplomatic rounds

A stark contrast in diplomatic style and messaging has been on display from Senegal's new leadership duo over recent days.

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