Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo led confidently on African affairs because they were elected by comfortable majorities at home and had solid control of their political parties.
Voters line up in Nigeria’s recent election. It was deemed free, fair and relatively peaceful.
EPA
Compared to other parts of the world, Africa is not a high-flyer in the area of election management. This can be attributed to the scourge of violence, fraud, corruption and intimidation.
India has become the biggest land investor in Ethiopia. There are concerns at the behaviour of Indian firms in the Gambela ecological hotspot.
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Foreign investors need to tread carefully when acquiring land in Africa. This is best illustrated in the ecologically sensitive Gambela region of Ethiopia, where firms have endangered livelihoods.
A new collection of essays explores the role of books in founding and dismantling The British empire.
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Books have active political lives. They inspire social movements and bind people together. Books can stand as short-hand symbols for larger galaxies of ideas.
Land is viewed as having more than just a commercial value in Africa but is central to identity and spirituality.
Aaron Ufumeli/EPA
The belief that land stands only for production of agricultural commodities destined for the market is perverted. The primacy of the market and private property are contrary to the African worldview.
Boys sit on a barricade which was built during a protest against President Pierre Nkurunziza and his bid for a third term, in Bujumbura, Burundi yesterday.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
A week’s delay of one part of the voting in Burundi is not enough. Postponing the parliamentary elections only, even if it was for a longer period, would be inadequate in resolving the Burundi crisis.
Leaders like Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, captured here playing football while his country is engulfed in turmoil, need to keep their eye on the ball and communicate effectively during times of crisis.
Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Rather than viewing the media as enemies, African leaders should take a leaf from some Western politicians’ books and consider journalists as potential allies.
Protesters carry placards as they take part in a recent service delivery protest in Sebokeng, south of Johannesburg.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Protests in South Africa against a lack of services, such as water and electricity, reached unprecedented levels in 2014. Many have been accompanied by violence and destruction of property.
A child cries in a cave shelter in Tess village in the rebel-held territory of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. Countless children have been killed by government forces.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
Countless Nuba children have been killed by shrapnel, others from a loss of blood pouring from severed limbs. Others have stepped on landmines planted by Sudan’s troops.
Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini with the late former South African president Nelson Mandela and Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Mandela combined a deep faith in culture and constitutionalism.
Reuters
Why does Burundi’s Nkurunziza, like many African leaders before him, find it difficult to leave office? The events of the Arab spring should have served as a wake-up call.
The Union Buildings in Pretoria, home to South Africa’s government. Public confidence in civil servants has been severely eroded.
Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
The failures of the African Union raise serious questions about when to deploy its security apparatus in general and the Africa Standby Force in particular.
The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa has again been strained following xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
With the election of Mmusi Maimane as leader, the Democratic Alliance, like the ANC, calculated that a black rather than coloured leader is needed for victory at the national level.
Wife of the late former South African President Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela Mandela (centre), led a march during a ‘Women’s Day’ rally in Pretoria in 2000.
Reuters