In The News

BBC News: Kenya's Raila Odinga “Inaugurates” Himself as President

Dickens Olewe January 31, 2018
Kenyan’s government is in turmoil with two men claiming to be president. Elections were held in August 2017, and courts found irregularities and ordered a repeat election in October. Raila Odinga, an opposition leader, boycotted that October election that led to President Uhuru Kenyatta being sworn in for a second term in November 2017. Official results suggest that Kenyatta won 98 percent of the...

The New Yorker: Egypt Is in Trouble and Not Just from ISIS

Robin Wright November 30, 2017
A terrorist attack in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing more than 300 people, suggests that Islamic State fighters are finding new targets after being driven from Syria and Iraq. Egypt has had more than 1,700 terrorist attacks since 2013. “The mosque attack is the latest of many challenges facing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a former field marshal, as Egypt heads toward elections next year,”...

The Guardian: Mugabe's Fall and China

Simon Tisdall November 21, 2017
A recent visit to Beijing by Zimbabwe’s General Constantino Chiwenga is fueling speculation about Chinese involvement in Harare – à la the US Central Intelligence Agency in Iran in 1953. Simon Tisdall observes for the Guardian: “If so, the world may just have witnessed the first example of a covert coup d’état of the kind once favoured by the CIA and Britain’s MI6, but conceived and executed with...

Reuters: Kenya's Supreme Court Upholds Kenyatta's Presidential Win

Maggie Fick and Duncan Miriri November 20, 2017
Kenya's presidential race is decided after the country’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld reelection of Uhuru Kenyatta. The announcement was met with celebrations and protests, with some reports of violence. The opposition party, which had organized a boycott on voting in October, indicated that it will continue to explore options and resist the government as illegitimate. “Monday’s ruling...

NPR: Trump Puts a Pause to Lifting Ban on Importing Elephant Trophies

Laurel Wamsley November 20, 2017
The US Fish and Wildlife Service had announced that it would lift a ban imposed on importing sport-hunted elephant parts from Zimbabwe and Zambia, and then President Donald Trump stepped in to block the decision until he reviewed the figures on conservation. In a Twitter message, Trump noted that he would be“hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation of...

BBC: Zimbabwe's Mugabe “Under House Arrest” After Army Takeover

Andrew Harding November 15, 2017
Zimbabweans had been anticipating the departure of President Robert Mugabe, who is 93. Mugabe had been president since 1987 and prime minister before that since 1980, when the country known as Rhodesia won independence from Britain. Zimbabwe’s military ended his long stretch in power with a coup, possibly prompted by removal of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and replacing that officials with...

The Washington Post: Parts of Niger and Mali Are Lawless; US Strategy Might Make It Worse

Max Bearak October 24, 2017
News reports emerged that four US soldiers were killed after a surprise attack in Niger, and US lawmakers expressed surprise that troops were stationed in the country. “The United States has about 800 troops in Niger, a number which has been steadily increasing since they first deployed there in 2012,” reports Max Bearak for the Washington Post, adding that the United States “is eyeing a larger...