Vol 62 No 8 | KENYA Unholy alliances 15th April 2021 None of the presidential contenders can explain how they could form a majority at next year’s elections Kenya's next president will be Raila Odinga, William Ruto or 'S'. The latter stands for 'the system'. This informs a growing assumption that with neither Odinga nor Ruto...
Vol 62 No 7 | KENYA How not to win friends 1st April 2021 Regional disputes will limit Nairobi's chances of using leadership roles for influence beyond national borders In 2021 Kenya holds one of two African seats at the United Nations Security Council, the chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council, and for the...
Vol 62 No 7 | TANZANIA Life after the bulldozer 1st April 2021 The new president needs to make changes at the top of government to consolidate her position as factions vie for favour Only two days elapsed between the announcement of late President John Magufuli's death and the swearing in of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, quelling fears that Magufuli loyalists would...
Vol 62 No 7 | ERITREAETHIOPIA Abiy gives first ground 1st April 2021 Prime Minister Abiy has finally admitted to an open secret about Eritrean troops, but the guerrilla war in Tigray rumbles on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has finally, if grudgingly, admitted to Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives on what everybody has known for months: Eritrean troops are operating across Tigray....
Vol 62 No 6 | TANZANIA After Magufuli, a difficult transition 18th March 2021 The ruling party's old guard is set to back Samia Suluhu Hassan against a security cabal which was in charge for the last week After announcing the death from a 'heart condition' of President John Magufuli on the evening of 17 March, Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan returns to the urgent matter of... READ FOR FREE
Vol 62 No 6 | KENYA Raila's weak grip 18th March 2021 The perennial presidential candidate wants his 'handshake' to propel him into State House. But others have their eyes on the prize The third anniversary of the 'handshake' of reconciliation between President Uhuru Kenyatta and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga passed with muted celebrations. Orange Democratic Movement leader Odinga spent...
Vol 62 No 6 | SOUTH SUDAN Oil on audit 18th March 2021 South Sudan's oil sector, which accounts for 85% of government revenue, has resisted an audit amid a litany of scandals and repeated promises of opening the books. But...
Vol 62 No 6 | UGANDA The opposition plans its pushback 12th March 2021 President Museveni is maintaining heavy security on the street as concern mounts over treatment of detainees Tension is running high in Kampala and Jinja over a month after President Yoweri Museveni lifted restrictions on social media and the internet imposed ahead of the 14...
Vol 62 No 5 | ERITREAETHIOPIA Stirring the regional pot 4th March 2021 A burgeoning Ethiopia-Eritrea-Somalia axis is resetting relations all over the Horn and undermining regional institutions Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is fending off all pleas for mediation and accountability for human rights abuses committed during his campaign to defeat the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front...
Vol 62 No 5 | SOMALIA Battle lines in the capital 4th March 2021 President Farmajo refuses to leave office at the end of his term and the opposition has taken to the streets If President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' does not meet the opposition protesting his authoritarianism half-way, there are fears that splits in the security forces could lead to a...
