confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
- TUESDAY 17th August 2010
Suddenly, Nigeria's election bursts into life
By Patrick Smith
AbujaDear Confidentialers,After months of musings and murmurings, Nigeria's elections and the politics around them are taking shape. Giant posters extolling the virtues of candidates – declared and undeclared – are cropping up acro...
- FRIDAY 21st May 2010
From accidental to actual President: Goodluck Jonathan rises without trace
By Patrick Smith
Friday, 21 MayDear Confidentialers,Nigeria has a new president, a new vice president and a new managing director of the state oil company – all in just two weeks after a year of political stasis. Goodluck Jonathan has...
- SUNDAY 2nd May 2010
Africa's journalists are under attack – why the rest of us should help
By Patrick Smith
May DayOn 1 May, the celebrants of international workers day converged on the Place de la République in the centre of Paris waving their banners, handing out pamphlets and proselytising on the pavements. Although a few African and Asian worker...
- TUESDAY 2nd March 2010
Zimbabwe: Birthday Boy Blues
By Lion
Robert Mugabe's 86th birthday week started off with a party thrown by the Chinese Embassy and ended with an all night bash in Bulawayo of music and song aimed at the younger g...
- TUESDAY 2nd February 2010
Africa Cup of Nations: Final thoughts
By Oscar Rickett
They may not be going to the World Cup, but Egypt have now won the African Cup of Nations three times in a row, cementing their position as the most successful team this tournament has ever seen as well as inspiring some observers to call them the best si...
- FRIDAY 29th January 2010
Africa Cup of Nations: the Semi Finals
By Oscar Rickett
EGYPT 4-0 ALGERIAIt wouldn’t be hard to understand why a peace-loving character would have given the west-Angolan city of Benguela a wide berth on Thursday. The boys were back in town. A rivalry unmatched in world football was being re-i...
- WEDNESDAY 27th January 2010
Truth and stereotyping: Goalkeepers in Africa
By Oscar Rickett
The stereotype of an African goalkeeper can be summed up in one word: bad. African goalkeepers are thought of as being unreliable, mentally unstable a...
- FRIDAY 22nd January 2010
Africa Cup of Nations, Part Two
By Oscar Rickett
So much for the rise of the small team… As we head into the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations 2010, it is the big names – with the exception of Zambia, who have qualified for the last...
- SUNDAY 17th January 2010
The African Cup of Nations, Part One
By Oscar Rickett
The African Cup of Nations or, to give it its correct name, the Orange Africa Cup of Nations (the future’s bright, the future’s African football), began a week ago following the tragic killing of three me...
- THURSDAY 26th November 2009
Congo V-Day at the Royal Albert Hall, London
By Billie McTernan
19 November 2009 marked the 100th anniversary of the Great Congo Demonstration held at the Royal Albert Hall, chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Randall Davidson and supported by other clergy, prominent acti...

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