Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | His family has ruled Togo for more than 50 years but President Faure Gnassingbe has in the last week faced unprecedented public pressure to step down. He and his country stand alone in West Africa in resisting calls for constitutional reform, even as parliament begins …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Annulling an election
ANALYSIS: What made Kenya’s Supreme Court ruling possible. Why it cannot happen in Uganda Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Minutes after the historic Supreme Court ruling in Kenya that nullified the Aug. 8 presidential election, someone tweeted a quick thought, “It is not an understatement to say that Kenya’s Supreme Court has taught …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Why Uganda democracy activists jubilated over annulment of Kenya election
Cost of democracy: Uganda democracy activists jubilate over court annulment of Kenya election Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On Oct.17, Kenyans will get back into the long queues to vote again after the Supreme Court annulled the last presidential election which saw incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, declared winner. The next election will be exactly …
Read More »Why observers are under fire for ‘rubber stamping’ Kenya vote
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Accused of glossing over flaws in Kenya’s election which later caused the result to be overturned, international observers are under a harsh spotlight ahead of a re-run next month. The August 8 poll, which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta reelected, was annulled by Kenya’s Supreme Court earlier …
Read More »Kenya kaveera ban leaks into Uganda
Will 80% supply hole in Uganda’s polythene bag market be crisis or opportunity? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Ugandan environmentalists are renewing their fight against the manufacture of polythene materials in the country following the Aug. 28 enforcement of a ban on plastic carrier bags by the Kenyan government. …
Read More »Norway’s wealth fund – a jumbo piggy bank to be used prudently
Norway’s wealth fund – a jumbo piggy bank to be used prudently Oslo, Norway | AFP | Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund — a treasure chest nearly $1 trillion (830 billion euros) to be set aside for rainy days but also to help fund today’s election promises. …
Read More »The Rohingya militants who tipped Rakhine into crisis
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the militant group which tipped Myanmar’s Rakhine state into a crisis, on Sunday declared a unilateral ceasefire until October 9. Deadly attacks by ARSA began on August 25, provoking weeks of operations by Myanmar’s troops and police which have sent …
Read More »Lessons for Uganda from Angola
ANALYSIS: Long serving Angola President retires to a quiet sunset. Can it happen in Uganda? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Renowned Ugandan political researcher and analyst Frederick Golooba Mutebi (PhD) says there is no guarantee of a smooth transition from long-serving President Yoweri Museveni as happened recently in Angola where President José …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Katureebe’s Kenyan test
ANALYSIS: Kenya Supreme Court annulment of election reignites debate over Uganda ruling Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | On the evening of Sept.4, in the boardroom of his offices on Plot 103, Buganda Road, Mohmed Mbabazi, the lead lawyer in the 2016 Amama Mbabazi presidential elections petition, appeared like he was …
Read More »‘African extremism driven by poverty, bad governance’
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Poverty, marginalisation and bad governance are more important factors in the radicalisation of young Africans than religion, according to a new study published on Thursday. The UN came to the conclusion after interviewing 495 former members of organisations such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the …
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