Africa Horn Now

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Africa Horn Now

Kagame’s Unrivaled Power

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Tom Gardner | August 3, 2017  | Foreign Affairs How He Tamed the Opposition in Rwanda The red, white, and blue flags of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party flutter atop trees and lampposts along the highway leading north from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, to the scenic highland town of Musanze. Tricolored banners also don the scaffolded archways that … [Read more...] about Kagame’s Unrivaled Power

How to Gut a Democracy in Two Years

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 Ernest Chanda | August 3, 2017 | Foreign Policy Zambia went from a free and stable country to a dictatorship overnight. I covered it for the country’s only independent newspaper — until the government shut it down. LUSAKA, Zambia — The slide toward dictatorship was abrupt. Two and a half years ago, Zambia was one of Africa’s most stable democracies, a place so … [Read more...] about How to Gut a Democracy in Two Years

Even Critics of Rwanda’s Government Are Helping Paul Kagame Stay in Power

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Kavitha Surana | August 3, 2017 | Foreign Policy For every problem highlighted by local journalists, Rwanda’s strongman can present himself as the solution. GICUMBI, Rwanda — Jennifer Niyonsaba was hunched over a sound-mixing board in a small production room with bare, yellow walls. A volunteer journalist at Radio Ishingiro, a community radio station in rural northern … [Read more...] about Even Critics of Rwanda’s Government Are Helping Paul Kagame Stay in Power

As Kenya elections draw near, country reveals an electorate divided by tribe

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Kevin Sieff | August 5 | The Washington Post NAIROBI — A concrete bridge and a narrow, garbage-filled river divide the slum of Mathare into two parts, a space between ethnic groups and voting blocs that are competing fiercely — and many say dangerously — over Kenya’s presidential elections scheduled for Tuesday. Here in one of the most economically successful and … [Read more...] about As Kenya elections draw near, country reveals an electorate divided by tribe

Zimbabwe’s opposition unites to take on Robert Mugabe

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Sunday August 6 2017 | Daily Nation HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai re-united with his former allies on Saturday to forge a coalition aimed at ending President Robert Mugabe's near four-decade hold on power in elections next year. Mugabe, in power since independence from British colonial rule in 1980, has been endorsed as his party's … [Read more...] about Zimbabwe’s opposition unites to take on Robert Mugabe

Rigorous playbook has blind spot on Africa’s Big Men

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David Gorin | 19 July 2017 | Business Day Making Africa Work lacks a sense of history and portrays an unrealistically optimistic view of Africa Making Africa Work: A Handbook for Economic Success : Greg Mills, Olusegun Obasanjo, Jeffrey Herbst, Dickie Davis Tafelberg - The origins of this book go back to 1990, when Nelson Mandela asked Harry Oppenheimer to help … [Read more...] about Rigorous playbook has blind spot on Africa’s Big Men

Paul Kagame set to maintain grip on Rwanda after elections

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Mike Cohen and Saul Butera | 04 August 2017 | Business Day Paul Kagame has held an iron-clad grip on power in Rwanda since taking office 17 years ago and that is set to remain after Friday’s presidential elections, with his victory an almost foregone conclusion. The 59-year-old led a rebel army that ended the country’s 1994 genocide in which about 800,000 people … [Read more...] about Paul Kagame set to maintain grip on Rwanda after elections

Security forces confirm police and soldiers clashed on the streets of Harare

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Agency Staff | 04 August 2017 | Business Day Harare — Zimbabwean security forces confirmed on Friday that soldiers and police fought on the streets of Harare earlier this week, as nationwide tension grows under 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe. Witnesses told local media about 100 uniformed soldiers wielding batons and whips charged into a bus terminus on … [Read more...] about Security forces confirm police and soldiers clashed on the streets of Harare

Rwanda and Kenya kick off a trio of complicated African elections

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Stephen Chan | August 5, 2017 | The Conversation With three elections in one month, the complexities of sub-Saharan Africa are on full display. On August 4, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame won reelection by a widely anticipated landslide. Next up is Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, who is hoping to retain power in a hotly contested vote on August 8. In Angola, meanwhile, longtime ruler José … [Read more...] about Rwanda and Kenya kick off a trio of complicated African elections