Blue Lines
Some African leaders in the United Nations General Assembly on 19
September listening to United States President Donald Trump's planned remedies for rogue states seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at
his lack of interest in their continent. The following ...
Patrick Smith
This week, Kenya's election saga rolls on with the opening of parliament in Nairobi and conflicting claims about the electoral commission. In South Africa, more companies and state officials could become targets of the 'Gupta effect'. Tanzanian President ...
Blue Lines
Some rethinking by election observers and we, the journalists who
cover
them, is needed in the wake of the 1 September decision of Kenya's Supreme Court to annul last month's presidential election. In a rare
example of editorial remorse, the New
York Time...
Patrick Smith
We start in Kenya this week where the shock
of the Supreme Court's decision to annul the presidential election is
still being felt. Opposition movements and election petitioners across
Africa have been heartened by the ruling. Some of the international
an...
Patrick Smith
We start this week with a couple of election disputes – in Angola and Kenya. In both cases, opposition candidates
allege fraud by the national electoral commission, but few expect
either result to be overturned. Congo-Kinshasa is
back on the radar, with t...
Blue Lines
After three months' medical leave, President Muhammadu Buhari's return to Abuja on 19 August has failed to inject a new spirit of dynamism into government business.
A cabinet meeting planned for 23 August was cancelled at short notice. That was, we were ...
Patrick Smith
We start in Freetown where rescue workers are trying to
prevent more loss of life with renewed downpours expected this week and
in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari is back on-seat
and addressing the country on security matters. In Angola,
the MPLA, heade...
Patrick Smith
We start this week with the smouldering aftermath of Kenya's elections last week, and then to moves by President Jacob Zuma and his allies in South Africa to hit back at dissidents in the governing party. A lethal attack on a restaurant in the capital of ...
Patrick Smith
We start this week with a couple of high-stakes votes – one in Kenya and one in South Africa. Then we have some insight on an impromptu secret meeting in Zimbabwe, some reservations about the grand pipeline plans in Uganda and Tanzania, and a look at econ...
Blue Lines
As Americans and Europeans prepare for their holidays, tens of millions of Africans prepare for elections this month while hundreds of millions more watch closely. Without prejudging the outcomes, democrats and civil rights activists are coming under heav...
