61/12 | Elections or bust
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has failed in his effort to change the constitution so that he could stay in office should this year's planned elections fail to take place because of the Covid-19 pandemic or a dramatic deterioration in security outsid
11th Jun 2020
60/25 | Pouring cold water on the mega dam
Félix Tshisekedi's arrival in the presidential palace has brought new complications to Inga III the gargantuan planned hydroelectric dam on the Congo River but may yet give the long-delayed project a refreshed sense of direction. The president who
19th Dec 2019
60/21 | The politics of counter-terror
Soldiers civilians worshippers at a mosque were but some of the dozens of victims of Islamist guerrillas in Burkina as the pace of jihadist attacks on civilians and security forces continued in October. Army and police seem unable to halt the momentum o
25th Oct 2019
60/19 | Of puppets and godfathers
'I am not a puppet' President Félix Tshisekedi keeps insisting most recently to the Belgian government and the Congolese diaspora in Brussels during a recent state visit to the former colonial power. Tshisekedi points as evidence to the closure of the
27th Sep 2019
60/15 | Paris’s terror dilemma
Over recent days President Emmanuel Macron and key advisers have been reviewing the French engagement in the Sahel amid increasingly vocal criticism of the Opération Barkhane military campaign and rumblings of concern – even among the generals. Desp
26th Jul 2019
60/11 | A shake-up takes shape
The return to Congo-Kinshasa after three years in exile of Moïse Katumbi the former Governor of Katanga is set to shake up national politics even as ex-President Joseph Kabila retains a vice-like grip on state institutions and the military. The popular
31st May 2019
60/6 | Ncube wins foreign fans
Backed by France Japan and South Africa Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is pushing a tough economic reform plan to pay off Zimbabwe's international arrears by the end of the year and bring in at least US$2 billion in new finance. Given the severity of the
22nd Mar 2019
59/5 | Kabila's survival strategy
A leader determined to hold on to power against a growing band of opposition activists while militia fighters mobilise in the hinterland are all pushing Congo-Kinshasa closer to the abyss. Making matters worse are unscrupulous companies and their politica
9th Mar 2018
59/5 | New jihadist alliance strikes
The 2 March terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou left the wall outside the French embassy riddled with bullet holes partly wrecked the building of the État-major général des armées (EMGA the Joint Chiefs of Staff) with a car bomb and killed at least
9th Mar 2018
58/23 | Macron ponders Africa play
The speech by France's head of state in Ouagadougou on the eve of the 29 November Abidjan summit will be a cornerstone of his international strategy and advisors have been submitting ideas for weeks. All French presidents know that Africa and the Middle
17th Nov 2017
