EQUATORIAL GUINEA All in the family 19th March 2004 A failed plot to overthrow President Obiang is the first act in the unfolding succession drama Ten days after the unravelling of a bizarre plot to oust him, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo strode into the People's Palace on 17 March to tell a press conference that the crisis was over and the government's morale was high, thanks to support from Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe. For now, Obiang may be able to hold the regime together but there is no sign that he can heal the divisions in Malabo's ruling clique (AC Vol 45 No 3). The fratricidal struggles between the clans which have ruled Equatorial Guinea since Independence from Spain look irreconcilable Almost all the ruling group are from Mongomo town on the mainland part of the country. The Mongomo clan, which dominates the armed forces and the presidential entourage, is in fact a set of different clans and factions that holds power. It is part of the larger Fang ethnic group, which spreads into neighbouring Cameroon and Gabon.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA Malabo imbroglio 19th March 2004 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site The failed plot to oust President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo swings wildly from farce to tragedy. The arrest of some 65 foreign soldiers (and the seizure of their Boeing 727 jet...
RWANDA Who fired the missiles? 19th March 2004 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Kigali rejects French claims that its fighters shot down President Habyarimana's plane Diplomatic relations between Paris and Kigali have sunk to their lowest level for a decade in a new row over Rwanda's genocide. On 16 March, President Paul Kagame accused France of...
ZIMBABWE Gideon's bible 19th March 2004 The central bank govenor's anti-corruption drive may be part of a bigger plan To the surprise of sceptics, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono is enforcing new disciplines in the economy and catching out some well connected business people. Several of those ar...
ALGERIA Le Para moves east 19th March 2004 On 9-10 March, fighting in Chad's Tibesti region, near the Niger border, indicated that fighters from Algeria's biggest active Islamist militia, the Groupe Salafiste de Préd...
ETHIOPIA Murder in Gambella 19th March 2004 Massacres near the Sudan border show the problems of ethnic provinces - and oil In December 2003, more than 400 Anyuak people were killed in a single day in Gambella, western Ethiopia. The massacre set off a wave of other murders and attacks on Anyuak (or Anyu...
ALGERIA A man for election seasons 19th March 2004 Algerians dislike their clever President but they'll probably re-elect him On 8 April, Abdelaziz Bouteflika will almost certainly become Algeria's first civilian president to win re-election. If he does, it will reflect less on his popularity than his hol...
CONGO-KINSHASA Ruberwa's rift 19th March 2004 A dangerous rift has opened at the top of the transitional government, between President Joseph Kabila and Azarias Ruberwa, one of the four vice-presidents and leader of the larges...
GAMBIA Fraud and the Fund 19th March 2004 The International Monetary Fund is unconvinced by President Yahya Jammeh's anti-corruption campaign and the trial of five central bank officials on foreign exchange offences
ZIMBABWE Vaulting ambition 19th March 2004 The presidential spin-doctor, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, hopes for a parliamentary seat now that electors in Tsholotsho (his home area) in Matebeleland North, have selecte...
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Aristide's lavalas 19th March 2004 Suddenly everyone's going to Bangui. Haiti's ousted President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, may have had little choice but oil executives are also beating a path to President Fran&ccedi...
