CÔTE D'IVOIRE At war with the peacekeepers 19th November 2004 The sacking of the armed forces Chief of Staff may herald a disastrous split in the army Côte d'Ivoire is already split in two, but with refugees heading out of the former African success story to seek refuge in the ruins of Liberia, the question is whether the Ivorian army will fracture. If so, this would exacerbate an already grave crisis and allow Côte d'Ivoire to become Africa's latest failed state. President Laurent Gbagbo may have helped that process along on 13 November when he sacked General Mathias Doué and replaced him with Colonel Philippe Mangou, the Commander of the Yamoussoukro region who led the assault on the French base in Bouaké on 6 November. Mangou received a swift promotion to Colonel Major.
CÔTE D'IVOIRE No more 'comrade' Gbagbo 19th November 2004 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site By bombing the French military base at Bouaké, chasing French citizens out of Abidjan, and burning down their schools in the capital, President Laurent Gbagbo has wrecked one...
ZIMBABWE Gunning for Number 2 19th November 2004 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Parliamentary Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa stakes a claim to the succession Feared and unpopular he may be but Parliamentary Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa has now revealed himself to be a serious contender for the vacant vice-presidency. What is most remarkable...
MALAWI Government versus party 19th November 2004 Reformers reject Muluzi's legacy but the ruling party fights back When Bingu wa Mutharika won the presidential election in May 2004, nobody expected much change from the previous ten years of Bakili Muluzi's presidency. One United Democratic Front...
BOTSWANA Khama's coming 19th November 2004 Africa's most successful democracy will soon be run by a military man The general elections of 30 October ended with a renewed majority of 31 seats for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). It was, predictably, a vote for no change...
MALAWI Queuing for court 19th November 2004 A long queue of cases waits to be heard in court, cases concerning crimes allegedly committed during the decade of Bakili Muluzi's presidency, when billions of kwacha leaked...
SUDAN Murder by any name 19th November 2004 The NIF keeps killing; the West offers aid and debt relief The failure of the West's policy on Sudan - and in particular its failure to respond to the suffering in Darfur - was clear in the lead up...
EQUATORIAL GUINEA Trial of strength 19th November 2004 The decision by Equatorial Guinea to include three British citizens in legal proceedings in connection with an alleged mercenary-led coup apparently uncovered last March is a clear indication...
GUINEASOUTH AFRICA Honoured dictator 19th November 2004 There has been neither visible mention of nor comment on President Thabo Mbeki's recent posthumous decoration of the late President Ahmed Sekou Touré of Guinea.
SOUTH AFRICARUSSIA Russian roulette 19th November 2004 A touted take-over of Gold Fields by Harmony Gold, both major South African companies, looks as though it may be about to fall flat on its face. Harmony...
KENYA Golden trial 19th November 2004 The future of the official investigation into the US$600 million Goldenberg export fraud is in doubt. Africa Confidential has learned that several deadlines for its completion have been...