THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda The likely dangers of the Western African states’ attempts to impose a solution on The Gambia The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to send a military force (ECOMOG) into The Gambia apparently to achieve three interrelated objectives: first to …
Read More »DRC CRISIS: Kabila gives bishops green light
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo President Joseph Kabila gave the green light Wednesday for the Catholic Church to pursue mediation to end the crisis sparked by his refusal to step down, sources said. The country’s influential bishops brokered a New Year’s Eve deal to sketch a timetable …
Read More »Kabila ‘agrees to hand over this year’
Optimism in DR Congo as deal reached to end political crisis Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The new year in one of Africa’s most troubled countries began in a burst of optimism Sunday after rival groups agreed a deal for hauling DR Congo out of a perilous political crisis. …
Read More »DR Congo: Five facts
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The second largest country in Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo is blessed with oil, timber, diamonds and gold but cursed with violence, instability, graft and poverty. Here are five facts about DR Congo following the outcome of talks to defuse its latest crisis: – …
Read More »Who’s behind the massacres in DR Congo’s Beni region?
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | The official explanation for a two-year wave of massacres in a restive corner of DR Congo centres on a shadowy rebel group accused of having ties to the global jihadist underground. But some basic details about the alleged killers of more than 700 victims …
Read More »ADF blamed as 22 killed in DRC
Twenty-two civilians killed in DR Congo bloodbath: official Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 22 civilians were killed in a massacre in Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive North Kivu province over the weekend, an official said Sunday. The bloodshed occurred in Eringeti, a town 55 kilometres (35 miles) …
Read More »Christmas brings some relief for Kabila and DRC
DR Congo crisis talks suspended, hopes for deal by year end Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Talks to end DR Congo’s dangerous political crisis were suspended on Saturday until after Christmas after a fruitless 48 hours of negotiations over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to quit power. Kabila’s second and …
Read More »Congo crisis talks on as bishops urge deal by Christmas
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Talks on defusing an explosive crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resumed Wednesday, a day after bloody clashes, as the Catholic church appealed for a deal by Christmas over the future of President Joseph Kabila. The call by bishops sponsoring talks between the …
Read More »Troops patrol DRC streets as Kabila’s mandate expires
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | People stayed home across Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, leaving troops to patrol ghost cities as tension peaked hours before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate ends, but with no election in sight. Kabila’s second term expires at midday on December 20, but he …
Read More »INTERVIEW: Low infrastructure hampering internet usage
What key areas does your work portfolio focus on? When the Telecom duopoly was de-regularised in 2006, we were the first company to get a licence. We started the business as wholesalers of voice and data under the capacity re-sell licence. We spent the first three years doing only that. …
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