Vol 62 No 1 | CONGO-KINSHASA Jockeying for position 7th January 2021 The struggle between the President and his predecessor overshadows everything, including a possible IMF programme Politics during 2021 will be dominated by the power struggle between the two official winners – losers, in reality – of the 2018 presidential and parliamentary election...
Vol 62 No 1 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICRWANDARUSSIA Elections crisis escalates as Russian and Rwandan troops fly in 23rd December 2020 Facing a coalition of rebel militias opposed to his government and the elections, President Touadéra has called for help from Moscow and Kigali, sidelining the UN Presidential and parliamentary elections due on 27 December are in the balance as a coalition of militias tries to oust President Faustin Archange Touadéra, replacing him with ex-P...
Vol 61 No 25 | CONGO-KINSHASA President nearer to power 17th December 2020 Parliamentary victory for Tshisekedi encourages him to press ahead in his bid to wrest the state from former president Kabila Former president Joseph Kabila's political coalition, the Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC), which ordinarily has a comfortable majority in the National Assembly, scored a spectacul...
Vol 61 No 24 | CONGO-KINSHASA Tshisekedi’s moment of truth 3rd December 2020 The President faces a fork in the road, after national consultations aimed at breaking a tense impasse with his predecessor fizzle out President Félix Tshisekedi faces an expectant nation. He has split up the coalition with former President Joseph Kabila's Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC) and finished a mon...
Vol 61 No 24 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Pre-election jitters 3rd December 2020 The funeral of Maryse, the late wife of Jean-Serge Bokassa, son of the former Central African Republic 'Emperor' Jean-Bedel Bokassa, witnessed a serious incident which disrupted th...
Vol 61 No 22 | CONGO-KINSHASA Stepping back from the brink 5th November 2020 The President nearly broke up his coalition with his predecessor but backed off at the last minute. He still wants a way out The announcement on 21 October that President Félix Tshisekedi would address the nation in two days generated fevered anticipation that he would dismiss his government, dissolve th...
Vol 61 No 22 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Elections and bust 5th November 2020 The country goes to the polls in December but the organisation of the vote doesn’t promise improved accountability At the end of the year citizens are supposed to cast their votes for a new parliament and a new president. An atmosphere of indifference pervades most circles, but there is excitem...
Vol 61 No 16 | CONGO-KINSHASA Fury greets Gertler report 6th August 2020 The mining billionaire denies any link to online abuse aimed at an investigative consortium’s report on money-laundering and grand corruption Early last month, a joint investigation by news media and NGOs claimed mining magnate Dan Gertler had set up a money-laundering ring which apparently allowed him to evade United St...
Vol 61 No 15 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Clash of the leaders 23rd July 2020 Ex-President Bozizé and current President Touadéra seem set on a collision course while elections are in the balance Allegations of fraud, bribery and mobilising for a coup d’état are flying in all directions in Bangui as the political parties and their sponsors consider elections du...
Vol 61 No 15 | GABON Public relations premier 23rd July 2020 The promotion of Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda as Gabon's first woman Prime Minister is an astute piece of PR that may be welcomed in Paris and other European chancelleries even ...
