Blue Lines
African and Western ambivalence about military interventions in
politics were drawn into sharp focus this week by arguments over
whether Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe had been ousted by a
coup and a revival of claims that France had backed a coup against Thoma...
Patrick Smith
We start in Harare where Zimbabweans wait for news about the people and policies of their new government. Their southern neighbour, South Africa, is being assailed by more bad economic news alongside deepening ructions in the governing party. Kenya's Pres...
Patrick Smith
We start in Harare where President Robert Mugabe's exit and the takeover by Emmerson Mnangagwa are dominating the news across the continent. It is particularly important for politics and business in neighbouring South Africa. As political violence intensi...
Blue Lines
The end of President Robert Mugabe's
reign in Zimbabwe – whatever
else it presages – sends a clear message to other power families in the
region. As Southern Africans were musing over the fin de règne in Zimbabwe, the new
President in Angola, João Lourenç...
Patrick Smith
This week we start with a Kenya-style election-on-hold in Liberia and the sacking of one of President Mugabe's oldest lieutenants for disloyalty in Zimbabwe. In South Africa, Jacob Zuma's spies have reverted to apartheid-regime tactics to ban a critical b...
Blue Lines
Are democrats getting stronger or weaker in Africa? That depends on
where you're sitting. In Tanzania,
where President John Magufuli's
government arrested Zitto Kabwe,
the outspoken oppositionist, on 31
October, political freedoms are under siege. Kabwe's...
Patrick Smith
We start with a set of dour forecasts from the IMF sounding alarms about debt and political turmoil. On cue is the latest round of ructions coming out of Liberia's and Kenya's national elections. Up in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping up acti...
Patrick Smith
All eyes are on Kenya's political dispute
and the re-run of the presidential election which looks to be going
ahead on Thursday (26 October). By contrast, the second round of the Liberian election due on 7 November should be a quieter affair. South
Africa...
Blue Lines
In terms of its economic impact and geo-political weight, the
Congress
of China's Communist Party
this week matters more for Africa than a
presidential election in the United
States. Already regarded as the
most powerful Chinese leader since Deng
Xiaoping...
Patrick Smith
This week, the breaking news comes from Kenya with opposition leader Raila Odinga's withdrawal from planned fresh elections. The constitutional mess there contrasts tellingly with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's elegant exit from power in Liberia as com...