Earlier this month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced plans to release political prisoners in a surprise move the government says aims to “foster national reconciliation”. The prime minister also declared that the government would close the Maekelawi detention facility in Addis Ababa, which has been considered “one of the country’s most notorious police stations” […]
Africa articles on Democracy Chronicles
News about the struggle for democracy on the ancient continent of Africa where fifty-four nations represent one of the great frontiers for democracy. Also see our World Democracy section! (FYI, Egypt is found in the Middle East section.)
Is Nigeria behind Cameroon Anglophone separatist arrests?
Anglophones have decried the fact that the more than 50 years old regime of Yaounde exploited their vulnerability resulting from their being expended by Britain. Yaounde has gone on to treat them as second-class citizens.
Sudan seizes newspapers after bread price protests
Sudanese security agents on Sunday seized all copies of six newspapers after they criticised the government over soaring bread prices that have almost doubled this week, editors said. Discontent has been simmering over the past few days as bread prices jumped on the back of a sharp rise in the cost of flour after a […]
Violent DR Congo crackdown on democracy protests in Kinshasa
The UN said it was “deeply alarmed” by the actions of security forces in DR Congo during anti-Kabila protests in Kinshasa last Sunday, and believe the toll of victims during the crackdown “may be higher”. “Our colleagues on the ground were denied access to morgues, hospitals and detention centres. They were sent away from some […]
Why Better Democracy is Key to Political Stability in Africa
Levels of armed conflict flux and wane. In 2017, levels of high fatality violence in Africa were significantly lower than during the immediate post-Cold War period. This trend has occurred in spite of the recent increases in terrorist associated fatalities in key countries such as Nigeria and Somalia. Even terrorist fatalities have declined since 2015. […]
A tough year ahead for South Africa’s newly elected president
Cyril Ramaphosa, the newly elected president of South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) is in a race against time to unite, renew and rebuild trust in Africa’s oldest liberation movement before the country’s 2019 national elections. This is going to be a hard task following the ANC’s decisive 54th conference where the party emerged […]
The oil rich and grindingly poor Equatorial Guinea dictatorship
Equatorial Guinea is ruled by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who took power by overthrowing his uncle and has since weathered several coup attempts himself. After claims of a new attempt late December, here is some background about the small nation tainted by claims of corruption and rights abuses. – Same leader for decades […]
Zimbabwe’s November coup that confused the world
Afraid of VP Mnangagwa’s rising popularity, Mugabe fired the former as Vice President in early November 2016. This led to dramatic events of 13-24 November 2017 that saw Mugabe resigning.
DR Congo braces for unrest as church vows to defy demo ban
Crisis-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo was bracing for fresh unrest Sunday after the country’s influential Catholic church vowed to defy a protest ban and hold a “peaceful march” to urge implementation of a deal for President Joseph Kabila to leave office. Kabila, who march organisers are calling on to say he will not stand for […]
Africa’s longest-serving dictator says war prepared against him
The president of Equatorial Guinea said a war is being organised against his regime, days after a government official warned of a “destabilisation attempt”. A “war” is being prepared “because they say I have spent a lot of time in power,” President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said Saturday, without saying who he was referring to. On […]