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Published 2nd February 2023

Vol 64 No 3

Nigeria

Economic woes test voter loyalties

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023
Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023

Facing chronic fuel shortages and a contentious reissue of the national currency, politicians search for targets to blame

The country's economic emergency in all its facets – chronic fuel shortage, protests against a politicised redesign and reissue of the naira, and the threat of ballooning national debt to finance recurrent costs – is dominating the run-up to the 25 February presidential and legislative elections.

Electoral Commission goes on trial again

Pic: @WilliamsRuto
Pic: @WilliamsRuto

As a tribunal hears claims of fraud in the electoral commission, President Ruto and Raila Odinga accuse each other’s supporters of treason

As President William Ruto's government tries to fast-track the selection of new commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), it has been exchanging allegations with its...

Can Ramaphosa get the lights back on?

Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa

With rolling power cuts obliterating support for the ANC, the government is being pushed to act against vested interests

After four days of deliberations, on 29 January the ruling African National Congress agreed in principle to declare a national disaster in response to rolling power cuts which...

BLUE LINES
THE INSIDE VIEW

The deaths of prominent local investigative journalists within three days in January in Rwanda and Cameroon – John Williams Ntwali and Martinez Zogo – and in Eswatini of human rights lawyer Thulani Rudolph Maseko, highlight the perils facing activists across Africa. The three were guilty of nothing more than talking truth to power.

Journalism organisations want investigations into these deaths – all widely believed to have been politically motivated. But there is lit...

The deaths of prominent local investigative journalists within three days in January in Rwanda and Cameroon – John Williams Ntwali and Martinez Zogo – and in Eswatini of human rights lawyer Thulani Rudolph Maseko, highlight the perils facing activists across Africa. The three were guilty of nothing more than talking truth to power.

Journalism organisations want investigations into these deaths – all widely believed to have been politically motivated. But there is little sign that international condemnation will exert much traction. In Morocco, lawmakers voted to suspend relations with the European Parliament after it dared to adopt a resolution censuring the Rabat government's record on press freedom and human rights. Across the border in Algeria, members of the Ligue Algérienne pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme learned of a court decision effectively disbanding their organisation.

In its annual census, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported a 50% uptick in the killing of journalists, with at least 41 media workers killed in 'direct connection with their work'. And in its latest report, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation warns that governance in Africa has flatlined since 2019, pointing to 'an increasingly perilous security situation and widespread democratic backsliding'. This authoritarian wave could stall growth and progress in education and health, it concludes.

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Clashes damage recognition campaign

The security force shootings in Las Anod have highlighted the grievances of Somaliland residents who don't want independence for the statelet

The security force shootings in Las Anod at the turn of the year are having major repercussions in the region, including on the disputed Sool region and on...

MPs expose airline fiasco

Africa Confidential has obtained a devastating secret report on huge losses and mismanagement afflicting the flag-carrier, Uganda Airlines

Uganda Airlines has lost US$137 million since it launched in August 2019, according to a parliamentary public accounts committee report which was suppressed by the Speaker of Parliament,...

Speaker accused of undermining parliament

Opposition MPs say Parliament's Speaker blocked a debate on corruption in the national airline, and is President Museveni's stooge

When Parliamentary Speaker, Anita Among, suppressed discussion on 17 January of a report into corruption and mismanagement at Uganda Airlines she triggered a political furore. Opposition MPs say...

Finance and energy access come first

The IMF, World Bank and G20 face growing pressure to raise funds for climate goals ahead of the UN COP28 summit in Dubai

Arguments over emissions cuts, climate finance and developing economies' access to energy are set to dominate the UN COP28 Climate summit in Dubai in November. Despite sharpening geopolitical...

Pointers

Low turn-out saps Saïed

Pressure on President Kaïs Saïed to step down is mounting after a series of political reverses and stark evidence of his diminishing popularity, the most recent of which...

Mswati digs in and defies SADC

King Mswati III remains deaf to pleas for reform despite growing pressure on him in the wake of the assassination of democracy activist and human rights lawyer Thulani...

Resurrecting the 'Russosphere'

The spike in pro-Russian sentiment in the Sahel has been linked to an obscure Belgian activist, Luc Michel. Describing himself as a 'Stalinist', Michel, 65, founded a Belgian...

Journalist death prompts criticism

International criticism is mounting against President Paul Kagame's government after 90 mainly Africa-based rights and media groups called for an independent and impartial probe into the 'suspicious' death...

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