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Malawi prides itself on being a peaceful, friendly and law-abiding country, but it is also well-known for occasional lurches in the opposite direction. The recent transfer of power, from President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died on 5th April of a

Read the rest of Malawi: the Banda Succession – By Nick Wright »

After months of tension, fuelled by ex-President Abdoulaye Wade’s obstinate bid for a third term, there is a great sigh of relief that Senegal has managed peacefully to elect a new president. Most western countries and international representations had advised

Read the rest of Macky’s election restores hope to Senegal – By Amy Niang »

Contrary to popular myths, Africa’s migration is overwhelmingly regional – much more of a cross-border affair than a cross-Atlantic one. In truth, though, we need to unravel “the diaspora” – the term implies a homogeneity of actors, motivations and life-stages,

Read the rest of What’s Diaspora got to do with it? Three home truths – By Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie »

On the occasion of  his eighty-eighth birthday, President Mugabe gave what appears to be two separate interviews where he talked on matters to do with his political and personal reflections. The first interview which appeared in the Sunday Mail seemed

Read the rest of President Mugabe’s ‘ambiguous revolution by political default’ — by Takura Zhangazha »

On 23rd January 2012 a panel of judges at the ICC (International Criminal Court) announced a majority decision that four Kenyans, part of the so-called Ocampo Six, will face charges of crimes against humanity, murder, rape, forcible expulsion and other

Read the rest of Kenya: ICC shakes up politics, but Ruto and Kenyatta may still run for President – By Ken Opalo »

The passage of time is a rarely considered element in our national political discourse. A year begins and a year ends and we are all afflicted by short memories. Momentous political events are not easily remembered even in the wake

Read the rest of Zimbabwe: 2011 in political retrospect — by Takura Zhangazha »

The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, Little Brown and Company, New York, 2009, 403pp. The Trial of Robert Mugabe by Chielo Zona Eze, Okri Books, Chicago, 2009, 158pp. Reviewed by James Kilgore The arrival of these two new voices

Read the rest of Review of Two Zimbabwe Novels: The Boy Next Door and The Trial of Robert Mugabe — Reviewed by James Kilgore »

In traveling across the greater parts of Zimbabwe, one is struck by the ‘life goes on’ way of existence of many of the country’s citizens. From the small rural shopping center (Birchenough Bridge), to the still sleepy  iron ore mining

Read the rest of “Some of us must remain to be with the People”: The Inclusive Government’s Disconnect with the People — by Takura Zhangazha »

Guardian journalist Diane Taylor recently filed a report from Mwenga in South Kivu depicting the plight of Congolese women rape victims who are forced to work in conditions of slavery in gold and mineral mines. Earning less than a dollar

Read the rest of The new Red Rubber wars: Reflections on Congo’s rape crisis – By Georgina Holmes »

This update is published by China-Africa News South Sudan gained its independence on the 9th of July. A week earlier President al-Bashir of Northern Sudan was in China meeting with senior party figures. China has been Sudan’s most valued ally

Read the rest of China Africa News: China a force for peace in the new Sudan? »