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Sunday, 17 January 2021

Talking Africa podcast

Nigeria – The Making Of A Nation, from Jihad to Amalgamation

Nigeria's turbulent and hamstrung history has plenty to tell us about the current malaise. And, as says writer Maya Angelou, "If you don't know ... where you have come from, you don't know where you are going."

A woman walks past elections posters of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on a street in Kampala

new opposition

Uganda elections: Museveni wins, Bobi Wine the rising power in parliament

No one is surprised that Uganda’s long-term President Yoweri Museveni has won a sixth term in office. But the real change has been a changing ... of the guard in the opposition, with long-term opponent Kizza Besigye supplanted as the key political foe to Museveni by Bobi Wine. Both in parliament, and as target for Museveni's security services.

Saturday, 16 January 2021

Polling agents from the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party celebrate the victory of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni in the concluded general elections in Kampala

deja vu

Bobi Wine cries foul in Uganda elections, Museveni declared winner

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has won a 5th term say election officials, while opposition candidate Bobi Wine claims the polls were rigged. ... Museveni took around 59%, with Bobi Wine around 35%.

Maybe, only time will tell

Is Iran the big loser from reconciliation efforts in the Gulf?

Iran may fear that restored unity amongst the Gulf countries might be used against it. However, it could also end up having more influence on ... the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Friday, 15 January 2021

back on deck

JP Morgan hopes to tap Tidjane Thiam’s network with $250m fund

The acquisition vehicle reportedly plans on raising money from investors to buy up financial services companies in both developed countries and ... emerging markets.

Still at loggerheads

DRC: Sacred Union members Tshisekedi, Bemba, Katumbi fail to reach an agreement

Despite another meeting held on 13 January, Félix Tshisekedi and his two new allies still do not agree on the appointments of several heads ... of major institutions, following the end of the alliance between the head of state and Joseph Kabila.

tick tock

Kenya in race to meet Chinese loan deadline for repayment

Kenyan Treasury officials are no doubt worried about what's going to happen next Thursday. The date marks the end of a five year repayment holiday ... given by the China Exim Bank for the $1.4 billion loan used to build the Nairobi to Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway.

election season is open, let the games begin

Africa’s growing criminalization of the opposition

As I sat down to write this month’s column opposition leader Bobi Wine was casting his ballot in the Ugandan presidential election. ...

Article 5/5 of "Political Capital"

collective contributions

Collaboration needed to ensure accessibility of Covid-19 vaccines

As countries across the world begin to purchase and roll out COVID-19 vaccines, a key question is how far the vaccine is from reaching Africa ... and how accessible it will be for the continent. Moina Spooner, Commissioning Editor with The Conversation Africa, asked Mosoka Fallah, an expert on infectious diseases, to provide his insights.

Eventual downfall

DRC: Lumumba’s speech of independence was the nail in his coffin

On 30 June 1960, Independence Day, the Prime Minister delivered an impassioned speech against the Belgian colonisation of his country. It was ... the spark that set off his eventual downfall.

The yellow brick road

Why much of Africa’s illicit gold trade transits through Dubai

“The gold business is changing, many of the bigger companies are changing their strategies,” says Richard Morgan, head of government relations ... at mining giant Anglo American. “We are doing much less in Africa and no gold at all. South Africa may still have massive gold reserves but for a big company it’s all about the business case,” he adds.

Article 5/5 of "Tracking the great gold rush"

trial watch

‘There may be God up there, but not me,’ says Beny Steinmetz

On the second day of his trial for corruption and forgery charges, Beny Steinmetz spent seven hours answering questions at the Geneva Criminal ... Court. He had one objective: to not give the impression of being the one who makes the decisions of his company, BSGR.

Thursday, 14 January 2021

protecting the people

Nigeria: Will insecurity, kidnapping and crime get worse in 2021?

Eleven days into the new year of 2021, an unusual tale of two kidnappers was told by the Nigeria Police spokesperson Frank Mba. ...

funds for growth

Sahel treasure trove: Informal gold trade fuelling Islamist insurgencies

Across the Sahel, several insurgencies are raging. They've taken over the informal gold trade as source of funding their groups and recruiting ... new members.

Article 4/5 of "Tracking the great gold rush"

violent tactics

Uganda: The unsurprising pre-election violence by security forces

For two days in November 2020, Uganda witnessed some of the most violent riots in a decade. The riots were triggered by the arrest of opposition ... presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, who is challenging the incumbent Yoweri Museveni in the February 14, 2021, election.

Border Gridlock

Benin/Nigeria: Trouble continues at the border

Aurélien Agbénonci, Benin's foreign affairs minister, complained to his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, that goods are still being ... blocked at the border of the two countries, despite Abuja announcing its reopening almost a month ago.

presidential pardon

DRC: Unexpected release of two prisoners charged with corruption raises eyebrows

Slapped with sentences ranging from two and a half to five years in prison in the 100 days programme trial, Modeste Makabuza and Benjamin Wenga ... were released on 8 January, with no formal reason given.

lucky sip

Alibaba may offer South African red wines, Standard Bank says

Standard Bank is hoping to push Alibaba to make South African red wines available on its platform at scale in a bid to match unsold South African ... production with Chinese demand.

Next Stop, Space

South Africa: Elon Musk’s journey to become the richest man – for a moment – in the world

Elon Musk, the one-of-a-kind South African boss of Tesla and SpaceX, briefly saw his fortune exceed that of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Here is ... the life story of the genius who seeks to explore space.

let the games begin

Kenya: Has Deputy President Ruto joined the new UDA Party?

As Kenya heads towards crucial elections in 2022, the season has opened for political alignments and formation of new parties. ...