There is no basis in customary, conventional international law or domestic law for the spouse of a head of state to claim - as a right - some form of immunity when visiting a foreign state.
The political death of President Jacob Zuma is proving to be a protracted affair. Though he lives to fight another day, the ANC faces the prospect of losing its majority at the polls next year.
China’s presence in Africa continues to grow with its first military base in Djibouti. It wants to be a friend to Africa positioning itself as a global power while looking after its own interests.
President Joseph Kabila remains in office despite upheaval in the DRC. He can still save face and a change of heart could see him become the first Congolese president to relinquish power.
Under the Trump administration Africa is only likely to matter in the fight against terrorism and in providing American companies with economic opportunities.
The world has turned its back on the Nuba people of Sudan. Despite the critical need for food, none of the organisations involved in helping people in dire need have attempted to deliver aid to them.
Namibian hero and former Robben Island prisoner Toivo ya Toivo was part of a generation who contributed to the struggles against apartheid and colonialism in the region.
Zambia’s president is securing powers to consolidate his political control while generating ‘plausible deniability’ to whether or not he has fatally undermined democracy.
Andimba (Herman) Toivo Ya Toivo remained loyal to what made him the personification of the desire to live in an independent country governed by, and for, its people.
The possibility that South Africa’s ruling ANC could lose power in 2019 runs like a tragic thread through its policy conference documents. It agrees that its actions have repelled many supporters.
The public protector’s proposal to change the mandate of South Africa’s Reserve Bank goes well beyond changing individual rules to overturning their very foundation, anchored in the Constitution.
Despite being led by different presidents over the past six decades, the French government’s policy on Africa has been faithful to its neo-colonial roots. Will Macron’s government be any different?
South Africa’s ANC and Namibia’s SWAPO, governing parties, enter crucial leadership elections this year, with presidents Zuma and Geingob both facing challenges.
The world’s media, which has in the past found Zambia uninteresting, are suddenly paying more attention to the impoverished nation, for all the wrong reasons.
There appears to be no resolution in sight over the impasse between Nigeria’s president and the Senate over Muhammadu Buhari’s choice of chief crime buster. Who will blink first?
The move by the African Union to develop a policy to regulate the impact of firms on human rights puts it ahead of other regions as it seeks to guide companies conducting activities on the continent.
Moha Ennaji, International Institute for Languages and Cultures
Trying to reintegrate foreign fighters who return home shouldn’t be considered the soft option. Governments in countries like Morocco and Tunisia need to respond realistically to a complex problem.
Yarik Turianskyi is Manager of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs and guest lecturer in African Governance and Eastern European Politics, University of Pretoria