Political attacks worry Museveni’s cabinet: Observers say government is to blame over the growing political intolerance Kampala, Uganda | AGATHER ATUHAIRE | Simeo Nsubuga, the Kasanda South Legislator is a short, small man with a gift of speech. This gift most likely earned him the parliamentary seat. But it appears …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Whatever happened to East Africa’s oil boom?
Luke Patey | AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | It was not long ago that East Africa was the shining frontier of the continent’s oil scene. Uganda sparked the rush in 2006 after wildcatters ventured deep inland and made Africa’s largest onshore discoveries in decades. And Kenya’s northwestern Turkana region continued the run with new oilfields found …
Read More »DOS SANTOS: Angola’s secretive leader heads towards exit
Luanda, Angola | AFP | When Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos steps down and his successor is chosen in Wednesday’s elections, it will bring to an end a 38-year reign dominated by his unrelenting authoritarian style. Though seldom seen in public, he has been a looming presence in daily …
Read More »Who’s winning telcoms data race?
A look at MTN, Airtel, Africell ahead of August SIM registration deadline Kampala, Uganda |ISAAC KHISA and JULIUS BUSINGE| MTN Uganda has recorded a surge in revenues for the six months ending June 30, signaling a possible rebound in the country’s telecom industry. According to the latest half year performance …
Read More »‘It could have been me’: S.Leone struggles to recover from disaster
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Gathered in a Freetown church, worshippers struggled Sunday to come to terms with the devastation wrought by the flooding and mudslide that struck the Sierra Leone capital six days ago, as the arduous search for bodies continued. “I just close my eyes and imagine, I …
Read More »Behind olive trees, Spain terror cell’s bomb factory
Alcanar, Spain | AFP | Martine Groby rues the day when she ignored her father who told her: “They are terrorists, take down their number plates.” “I should have listened to him,” said Groby, who saw all the windows of her home in Spain shatter when a massive explosion detonated in …
Read More »Battle for FDC presidency
Why are big guns supporting Muntu against Besigye’s Amuriat? Kampala, Uganda | AGATHER ATUHAIRE | In the race to lead Uganda’s biggest opposition party, FDC, members are seeing a side of the incumbent, Gen. Mugisha Muntu, which they have not known before. At his nomination on Aug.14 at the party …
Read More »KENYA: How Uhuru Kenyatta won
‘Raila fatigue’ favours status quo in Kenya election Kenya | YVONNE ROWA WOODS | Kenya’s 2017 polls will be remembered as the election of minor gains and confounding contradictions. In the run up to polling, public discontent appeared to have been largely driven by the unprecedented sophistication in graft and …
Read More »China’s solar panels shine spotlight on North Korea trade
Dandong, CHINA | AFP | Traders from North Korea visit Yuan Huan’s shop in the Chinese border city of Dandong several times a month to place orders, bringing their own translators and wads of cash. Yuan, manager of Sangle Solar Power, said sales to North Koreans have soared in the past …
Read More »Casualties mount in White House in Trump’s first seven months
Washington, United States | AFP | Traffic through the White House exit door has been astonishingly high since Donald Trump became president on January 20. On Friday chief strategist Steve Bannon became the latest casualty of seven months of bedlam in the executive offices of the world’s most powerful country. Here …
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