LIBYASPECIAL REPORT The Gadaffi billions – how Libya plans to reclaim the stolen wealth 8th May 2025 Libya's oil and gas resources: at the centre of the political fight Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi stashed billions in US banks, and now Libya’s power brokers are vying for control of this hidden fortune. The scramble for wealth has ignited a fierce political battle in Tripoli – one so ruthless that the official leading the recovery has been forced into hiding, fearing for his life. An Africa Confidential Special Report by John Hamilton our North Africa correspondent and managing director of Cross-Border Information. After three months in illegal detention – partly in one of Libya’s most brutal prisons – Mohammed al Mensli, Director-General of the Libyan Asset Recovery and Management Office (LARMO) has been released – opening the way for his agency to pursue the recovery of up to US$50 billion in assets stolen by Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi’s regime overthrown in 2011. READ FOR FREE
NIGERIA Tinubu exudes confidence as opposition starts to fold 2nd May 2025 Pic: @officialABAT After failing to capitalise on deepening hardships and insecurity, opposition governors and lawmakers are defecting to the ruling party As a political boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has run rings around his rivals. They lack his skills and tactical acuity but most of all they are just...
BURKINA FASO Cracks appear in Traoré’s YouTube persona 2nd May 2025 Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Pic: @CapitaineIb226 Burkinabés see the reality of military defeats, a cratering economy and growing authoritarianism despite millions spent on propaganda Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s regime in Ouagadougou has uncovered yet another ‘plot’ showing that Burkina Faso’s security crisis is deepening in many different ways. READ FOR FREE
ECONOMYWORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAFRICA Global trade chaos undermines Africa’s prospects 2nd May 2025 Pic: @KGeorgieva US tariffs are disrupting trade routes, cutting into financial reserves and posing a threat to growth across the continent Along with much of the rest of the world, the economic prospects for Africa have taken a serious hit due to the trade war launched by the United...
CHADSUDANBRITAIN Gulf States power play scuppers peace bid 2nd May 2025 London Conference on Sudan. Pic: @FilippoGrandi A peace conference on Sudan declined to hold the Middle Eastern sponsors of the war to account. Now the conflict is spreading to Chad If anyone questioned that the Gulf States United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with their less pecunious partner Egypt, hold a veto on Sudan policy, the conference in...
SUDANSOUTH SUDANUNITED ARAB EMIRATES Emiratis accused of shipping arms from the South 29th April 2025 Inauguration the Madhol Field Hospital. Pic: mofa.gov.ae Diplomats suspect Abu Dhabi is building a new military logistics centre, hidden alongside a hospital, for Hemeti’s forces across the border In a blaze of publicity the United Arab Emirates announced 10 March the opening of the Madhol Field Hospital in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, adjacent...
KENYACHINA Ruto pivots from Washington to Beijing 2nd May 2025 William Ruto in China. Pic: @WilliamsRuto Kenya’s embattled president calculates that being nice to Donald Trump can only get you so far – his meeting with Xi Jinping may have netted billions For a cash-strapped government and a deeply unpopular president, William Ruto’s five-day trip to China could hardly have gone better. He returned with the promise of new investment...
CÔTE D'IVOIRE Contest heats up as court blocks Thiam 2nd May 2025 Tidjane Thiam. Pic: tidjane.thiam The opposition prepares mass protests after the PDCI’s presidential candidate is taken off the voters’ roll The main opposition Parti démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) is in crisis after an Ivorian court removed its presidential candidate Tidjane Thiam from the electoral register. The court...
SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPERUSSIA Military alliance and port deal with Russia goes live 28th April 2025 Pic: luzitanija / stock.adobe.com The pact has been ratified, expanding Moscow’s reach in the Gulf of Guinea and upsetting the US although it is retreating from the region On 3 April Prime Minister Américo Ramos of the Acção Democrática Independente (ADI), approved a military cooperation agreement with Russia, first signed in St. Petersburg a year ago...
EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICAN UNION Blitzed by Trump tariffs, can Africa and Europe agree on trade? 25th April 2025 Carlos Lopes. Pic: @LopesInsights Former advisor to the AU warns the two continents remain far apart on climate and industrialisation goals The European Commission plans to ‘diversify’ relations with its trading partners as it faces the reality of United States President Donald J Trump imposing tariffs of 25% on...
CAMEROON Security falls apart as Biya totters 25th April 2025 General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema meets President Paul Biya, December 2023. Pic: presidentpaulbiya Focusing on fixing national elections in October, top officials are failing to respond to the insurgents targeting the regime The collapsing security system in Cameroon is seriously threatening 92-year-old President Paul Biya’s regime in what many in Yaoundé say is its twilight period. Determined to run for...
ZIMBABWE Blocking Chiwenga, Mnangagwa pushes Tagwirei into ZANU-PF policy role 24th April 2025 Emmerson Mnangagwa. Pic: @edmnangagwa Rejecting calls for his exit, the President is lining up his closest business ally for a top political role The anticipated resignation of the Second Vice-President Kembo Mohadi presents President Emmerson Mnangagwa with a chance to consolidate his power base as dissent grows. The First Vice-President General...
ANGOLAWHO'S WHO Vera Daves de Sousa, Angola’s trailblazer 2nd May 2025 Vera Daves de Sousa. Pic: IMF still Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa was one of the few African star turns at April’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank,...
TANZANIAEAST AFRICA Karua takes on the autocrats 2nd May 2025 Martha Karua Veteran Kenyan politician Martha Karua is spearheading a campaign against the suppression of opposition parties in East Africa. Ahead of Tundu Lissu’s court appearance on 24 April, the...
BURKINA FASOMALINIGER The juntas join the gold rush 2nd May 2025 Pic: Science RF / stock.adobe.com On 23 April, Niger advanced its mineral development by partnering with Emirati firm Suvarna Royal Gold Trading LLC. The deal, formalised in Niamey, establishes Royal Gold Niger SA,...
SOUTH AFRICA The budget fight threatening to shatter the coalition 18th April 2025 Enoch Godongwana. Pic: GovernmentZA Both the ANC’s Ramaphosa and the DA’s Steenhuisen are fighting to preserve power-sharing – but for vastly different reasons
KENYA Ruto’s fiscal gamble – can he break the debt trap by 2027? 15th April 2025 Pic: @WilliamsRuto Government looks to China and the UAE for funding as growth and revenues fall short and it bets on a pre-election spending boom
SOUTH SUDAN Ailing Salva ups the ante 18th April 2025 Benjamin Bol Mel and Salva Kiir Mayardit. Pic: @benbolmel Salva has made aggressive moves with Ugandan backing as a visa row with the US marks the superpower’s turn away from its one-time friend
CAMEROON Biya’s grip in question ahead of the October elections 10th April 2025 Paul Biya. Pic: @PR_Paul_BIYA Political insiders are circling as the 92-year-old leader is eclipsed by the ambitious secretary general Ngoh Ngoh
CONGO-KINSHASAUNITED STATES Washington tries a new push in Kinshasa 18th April 2025 Massad Boulos meets with Félix Tshisekedi. Pic: @Presidence_RDC President Trump’s special advisor is testing transactional diplomacy amid the conflict and the continent’s biggest reserves of critical minerals READ FOR FREE
ETHIOPIA IMF sees economic light in Addis amid political gloom 18th April 2025 ETHIOPIA: OPTIMISM ON GROWTH, REVENUES, DEBT REDUCTION. Copyright © Africa Confidential 2025 The Fund expects high growth and increasing tax revenues as Abiy Ahmed’s pro-market reforms bed in
GUINEA Mamady Doumbouya plots a popular mandate 14th April 2025 Mamady Doumbaya. Pic: @presi_doumbouya The sudden release of former dictator Camara fits with the junta leader’s plan to silence party politics and fashion a presidential election victory
EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICAMIGRATION ‘Panicked by the far right’, Brussels spends billions on migration control in West Africa 9th April 2025 Pic: @EU_Commission Confidential document reveals plan to channel funds to Sahel juntas where civilian deaths from jihadist attacks have more than doubled since 2020
CONGO-KINSHASAUNITED STATES How Trump’s in-law shut down the Kinshasa lobbyists 18th April 2025 Massad Boulos meets with Félix Tshisekedi. Pic: @Presidence_RDC After meeting the US President’s senior Africa envoy, President Tshisekedi has blocked millions of dollars’ worth of consultancy deals
ETHIOPIADEBT Economic rebound complicates debt talks 18th April 2025 Abiy Ahmed Ali. Pic: @AbiyAhmedAli Officials in Addis Ababa say the restructuring is almost agreed – but commercial creditors want better terms as growth picks up
SIERRA LEONE Contenders to succeed Maada Bio start the race early 11th April 2025 Julius Maada Bio and David Sengeh. Pic: @dsengeh Ruling party hopefuls are manoeuvring for the presidentials in 2028 – but there may be no vacancy