Tag Archives: ECOWAS

The things that democracy (and pseudo democracy) evangelists need to know about freedom and liberty THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | So another military coup has taken place in Mali removing an unpopular yet democratically elected government of President Ibrahim Keita. Keita came to power as an opposition …

Bamako, Mali | XINHUA | The current governing body of Mali, National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), announced on Thursday that it has released ousted Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who had been “secured” in a military camp in Kati. On its Twitter account, the CNSP confirmed …

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state, but civil society and regional blocs may be slowing the trend of extending presidential terms in some areas | CLAIRE FELTER | Sub-Saharan Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state. Some postcolonial …

Their ageing rulers are finding new ways to thwart them | THE INDEPENDENT | One day in January Comlan Hugues Sossoukpe woke before dawn in Lomé, the capital of Togo, and slipped across the frontier to a safe house in Benin. It was only the second time he had been …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP |  Guinea’s President Alpha Conde announced a “slight postponement” of Sunday’s referendum on whether to adopt a new constitution, following mounting international criticism over the poll’s fairness. The government argues that the draft constitution would, among other things, codify gender equality and ban female circumcision and underage …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, forced into exile in 2017, has been heard in a leaked recording demanding that his right to return be respected by the authorities. Jammeh has hardly been heard from since fleeing to Equatorial Guinea. His comments were made public in a …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Benin’s former leader Thomas Boni Yayi flew home Wednesday but hopes of an immediate meeting with President Patrice Talon were quickly dashed amid a rolling political crisis. Boni Yayi had quit the West African nation in June ostensibly for medical treatment, after being held under de-facto …

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | AFP | A West African trade bloc has given Guinea-Bissau’s “illegal government” named by President Jose Mario Vaz a 48-hour ultimatum to resign or face sanctions, a representative said Wednesday, amid a tense standoff between the country’s leader and sacked ministers. Vaz, appointed as president in 2014, has …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, the first former head of state to go on trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, was ordered freed by the court on Friday. The court agreed to his release following his acquittal last month on charges of …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz has nominated another new prime minister, the West African bloc said on Saturday, after talks aimed at ending years of political crisis. The Economic Community of West African States said Vaz had nominated Aristide Gomes as “prime minister of consensus” …