September 06, 2022
Kenya: Elections Are Proof of Change Since 2007 Violence, But More Reform Is Needed
Kenya's Supreme Court has confirmed William Ruto's election as president in a unanimous ruling following the submission of eight petitions seeking to annul the result. The court… Read more »
Kenya: Raila Odinga Should Be Thanked - His Election Losses Helped Deepen Democracy
Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced on 15 August 2022 that Deputy President William Ruto had won the 2022 presidential election following a close,… Read more »
September 02, 2022
Africa: Gorbachev's Legacy in Africa Remains Ambiguous
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He presided over the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States as well as… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Health System Is in Intensive Care - How It Got There
Health systems are, at their core, meant to promote, restore or maintain health. Their objective is to improve the length and quality of citizens' life from the cradle to the… Read more »
August 31, 2022
Angola: MPLA Has Been in Power for Nearly 50 Years. The Big Challenges They Must Fix
Angolan president João Lourenço, who has been returned to power with a greatly reduced majority, faces the challenging task of turning around the economy and… Read more »
August 30, 2022
Kenya: Kenya's Parliament and Senate - How Will They Work Together If There's No Clear Majority?
President Uhuru Kenyatta's government has held a majority of elected seats in both the national assembly and the senate - which together make up parliament - since the 2013 general… Read more »
August 29, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria's Economy - Four Priorities the Next President Must Deliver On
Nigeria is preparing to elect its next president in February 2023. That person will have a daunting task fixing a near comatose economy. Read more »
August 28, 2022
South Africa: South Africa Has a Plan to Make Its Public Service Professional. It's Time to Act On It
A professional, efficient and effective public service is key to a government's ability to deliver on its mandate. That's why South Africa's constitution requires that the public… Read more »
August 27, 2022
Angola: Official Result Gives Ruling MPLA Wafer-Thin Win. On the Streets the Outcome Isn't Believed
Angola's elections were, for the first time, a tight race between the governing People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and a coalition led by its historic rival,… Read more »
August 25, 2022
Chad: Govt Making a Huge Effort to Find Peace - Chadians Aren't Convinced It Will Work
The normally quiet airport at the Chadian capital N'Djamena was recently inundated with internationally well-known arrivals. Read more »
August 21, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria Wants to Ban Motorcycle Sales to Dent Terror Attacks. Why It Won't Work
Insecurity in Nigeria has worsened. In the north-east region, despite gains recorded by the military, the activities of jihadist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic… Read more »
East Africa: Alarm Bells As Somalia's New President Sours Relationship With Ethiopia
The new government in Somalia that won elections held in May has got off to a rocky political start in its relations with the relatively powerful and influential neighbour,… Read more »
Uganda: Idi Amin's 'Economic War' Victimised Uganda's Africans and Asians Alike
Fifty years ago - in early August 1972 - President Idi Amin summarily decreed the expulsion of Uganda's "Asian" (that is, Indian and Pakistani) community. Over 50,000 people were… Read more »
August 19, 2022
Africa: The African Union Has Had a Shaky Two Decades but Problems Can Be Solved
On 9 September 1999, the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity issued the Sirte declaration calling for the establishment of an African Union (AU). Read more »
August 18, 2022
South Africa: Foreign Policy - New Paper Sets the Scene, But Falls Short On Specifics
South Africa's international relations department published a document on 1 August setting out the country's new foreign policy. The outline of South Africa's national interests is… Read more »
August 17, 2022
Africa: Academic Freedom and Democracy in African Countries - the First Study to Track the Connection
There is growing interest in the state of academic freedom worldwide. A 1997 Unesco document defines it as the right of scholars to teach, discuss, research, publish, express… Read more »
Senegal: Why 2022 Election Results Herald a Big Political Shift
Senegalese voters went to the polls in July 2022, continuing a tradition of robust multiparty competition in the country. It is one of a handful of African countries that have… Read more »
Angola: The 2022 Election is an Unfair Contest the Ruling MPLA Is Sure to Win
Angolans go to the polls on 24 August to vote in parliamentary elections. The leader of the party with the most seats in parliament automatically becomes the president, so this is… Read more »
August 15, 2022
Kenya: Kenya Declares William Ruto As Its New President in an Election Drama That's Far From Over
Kenya's William Ruto was declared the winner of the August 9 election in the midst of chaotic scenes last witnessed on the eve of the infamous 2007-2008 post-election violence.… Read more »
August 14, 2022
Kenya: Uhuru Kenyatta's Economic Legacy - Big On Promises, but Weak On Delivery
Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, ascended to Kenya's presidency in March 2013. This followed a contested poll that they won with a slim majority of 50.3% of the votes… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Next President Faces a Collapsing Security Situation - Five Things He Can Do
Election season in Nigeria is an interesting time. It is, expectedly, characterised by heated contestations and conversations that are inherently partisan. Read more »
August 13, 2022
Kenya: Why Youth Apathy in Elections Bodes Ill for Nation
Kenya saw a decline in the number of young people who registered to vote in the August 2022 elections. This group's share of the 12.1 million registered voters dropped by 5.27%… Read more »
August 11, 2022
South Africa: Marikana Massacre - South Africa Needs to Build a Society That's Decent and Doesn't Humiliate People
On 16 August mine workers, activists and no doubt a few politicians will gather on the now infamous rock outcrop near the former Lonmin Platinum mine in Marikana, North West… Read more »
Africa: Not Yet Uhuru - the African Union Has Had a Few Successes but Remains Weak
The African Union (AU) was born in the South African port city of Durban in 2002. Under its first chair,Thabo Mbeki, African leaders seemed determined to abandon the grandiose… Read more »
Tunisia: Former President Bourguiba Did a Lot for Tunisian Women. But Was He Their Emancipator?
Tunisia's National Women's Day is often associated with Habib Bourguiba, the country's first president, who pursued the policy of state feminism. Bourguiba ruled the country for 30… Read more »