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US investigators say they have new evidence of corruption by international companies working on Nigeria's gas export plant

Criminal investigators in the United States and Europe are widening their probe into claims that the USA's oil service giant Halliburton and three other multinationals working on a gas export project conspired to establish a US$180 million slush fund to bribe Nigerian officials and reward Wester...

NIGERIA

Wojciech Chodan, Pepys and Shell

The discovery by Halliburton's lawyers Baker Botts of more than 500 pages of notes penned by Wojciech Chodan (a Hallibu...

GHANA

The departed return

Familiar faces are lining up again as the parties get ready for election time

BLUE LINES

THE INSIDE VIEW

Offering immunity to leaders of countries or rebel movements was never a popular idea, but it has taken a battering this year. There are currently a handful of cases under review: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, the Lord’s Resistance Army’s leader Jospeh Kony and Tanzania’s ex-President Benjamin Mkapa. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor finds himself sitting in lock-up in the Hague as Special Court prosectors chase after his hundreds of millions of dollars previously held in foreign banks. It now seems that prosecutions will become the norm, even if promises of asylum are given. But not all cases can be treated in the same way. Taking a lesson from Taylor, leaders facing charges of corruption or extrajudicial killings may choose to hold on to power if they face prosecution. Few leaders give up power voluntarily in Central Africa. The MDC had offered to allow President Mugabe to retire in peace, but changed its tone as the situation deteriorated. Even if Mugabe were given immunity, it would raise questions about what would happen to the people who planned and carried out the Matabeleland killings in the early 1980s. Kony has been unwilling to sign the latest peace deal because there are few guarantees that President Museveni can offer when there are outstanding warrants for Kony at the International Criminal Court and Uganda’s High Court.

ZAMBIA

Sick man, sick opposition

As corruption scandals rage on, politicians contest their parties' future leaderships

ZAMBIA

The stand against Mugabe

Western dignitaries and intelligence operatives race in and out of Lusaka, pushing for a solution to the Zimbabwe stale...

SOUTH AFRICA

Brand new Zuma washes whiter

A dash through Europe has helped the new ANC leader establish his pragmatic credentials with diplomats and businesses

ZIMBABWE

Dealing with a wounded tiger

Led by its Legal Affairs Secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa, hardliners in the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patri...

ZIMBABWE

Mnangagwa's return to form

Legal Affairs Secretary and former Security Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has led the charge for Zimbabwe African Nationa...

UGANDA | CONGO-KINSHASA

Hidden depths

Tensions between Kinshasa and Kampala are heating up again and oil fortunes are at stake

CONGO-KINSHASA | BELGIUM

Drifting apart

The habitual politeness between Belgium and its former colony grew thinner still during a five-day visit to Kinshasa i...

BURUNDI

Peace deal in shreds

The rebel attacks on Bujumbura last month threaten to unravel the regime and the tottering economy

BLUE LINES

THE INSIDE VIEW

Offering immunity to leaders of countries or rebel movements was never a popular idea, but it has taken a battering this year. There are currently a handful of cases under review: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, the Lord’s Resistance Army’s leader Jospeh Kony and Tanzania’s ex-President Benjamin Mkapa. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor finds himself sitting in lock-up in the Hague as Special Court prosectors chase after his hundreds of millions of dollars previously held in foreign ba...

AFRICA | ANALYSIS

It's the price that counts

It is easy to find culprits for the food crisis in Africa, from the West's push for biofuels to China's newly well-fed ...


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