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...