The ongoing political crisis in Mali escalated dramatically on 18 August 2020 when troops at the Kati military base outside Bamako mutinied and staged a military coup, detaining senior government figures and forcing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign. The situation remains fluid, but at present, the country appears to be controlled by a recently …
On 6 August 2020, a week after Zimbabwean authorities instigated a major crackdown on opposition activists and journalists, amid allegations of torture and human rights abuses, regional leaders have reluctantly begun to respond. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would send special envoys to Zimbabwe to try and intervene in the burgeoning political …
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on the rest of Africa to take heed of the rapidly growing outbreak of the coronavirus in South Africa and strengthen internal disease surveillance and pandemic prevention efforts. As of 23 July, South Africa has recorded 394 948 coronavirus cases – accounting for over half of all confirmed Covid-19 …
On 16 July the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) began mediation to end the burgeoning political and economic crisis in Mali. The intervention, which will be led by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, comes after a week of violent protests in Mali’s capital Bamako in which at least 11 people were killed and …
ASWJ has developed into a major security threat in recent years after its initial attacks on police outposts in the Cabo Delgado town of Mocimboa da Praia in October 2017. The group has grown in sophistication and capacity, developing into a sustained insurgency which has killed over 1 100 people in the province and displaced …
On 28 June 2020, Lazarus Chakwera was sworn in as the new President of Malawi following the official announcement of his victory in the 23 June 2020 rerun election the day prior. His victory is a significant step forward for Malawi’s democratic institutions and marks the first true handover of power since the country transitioned …
On 24 June 2020, South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni tabled an emergency supplementary budget for the 2020/21 financial year, motivated by the exigencies of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the resultant lockdown on the South African economy. In his speech accompanying the tabling of the budget, Mboweni revealed a state that …
On 16 June Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, and leader of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), dissolved parliament ahead of October elections, as required by the constitution, just a week after he declared the country “coronavirus-free” thanks to citizens’ prayers. This followed widespread concern since Tanzania stopped updating information about its cases in April, and …
Recent developments within Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), could reset the balance of power within both the opposition party and the country as a whole. This comes after an internal power struggle escalated with one faction of the MDC seizing control of the party’s Harvest House headquarters in Harare on …
As confirmed cases of Covid-19 hit 35 812 on 2 June, South Africa is looking to multilateral lenders to fill the enormous funding gap that has arisen as a result of the virus, the local lockdown, and global impacts. It has also announced that it is looking for investments for a R350 billion (US$20.5 billion) …