South Africa's coasts have been battered with storms on both the Indian Ocean and Atlantic sides. Severe flooding has beset the coastal regions of the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Naturally the most vulnerable populations, the poor, those living in informal settlements, have been hit the worst. Cleanup has begun in KwaZulu-Natal, though the process will […]
Some of the latest developments from Zimbabwe can easily be expressed in shorthand: Mass arrests. Torturing people to death. Shooting and killing members of the opposition. Police, who are allowed to vote early, are forced to cast their votes for the ruling party. And then, because no story on modern-day Zimbabwe is complete without an […]
I am no supporter of President George W. Bush. I voted against him twice and would vote against him again if given the chance. I believe that he has done irreparable harm to the United States and to the world and that he has left a mess that future generations will have to clean up. […]
This is Zimbabwe has a map revealing the extent of terror in Zim: Each icon represents a single case of violence; the pin colours identify the perpetrator groups involved in the incident. Over 1,000 cases of political violence and intimidation, carried out after the March 29th elections, are represented on this map.
It may be one of the more bizarre stories from Africa, a continent familiar with bizarre stories. In 2004 there was an attempted coup in West Africa's oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. In Africa, alas, coups are not weird. especially when they come against autocrats such as President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled since 1979 […]
Is President Mugabe beginning to feel the increasing pressure from the outside? There is some indication that Mugabe's overheated rhetoric of late comes at least in part because of increased scrutiny of his country from regional leaders. Thus his threat to go to war if he loses the run-off and his warnings that people will […]
Royal Dutch Shell has temporarily halted production at its biggest offshore oilfield, the Bonga installation, in Nigeria. The stoppage comes in response to an attack from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). Nigeria might represent the quintessential example of the so-called oil or resource curse. By all rights Nigeria ought to […]
At H-SAfrica, the scholarly listserv on southern Africa, editor Peter Limb notes that there appears to be traction on the part of regional leaders becoming more vocal in their criticism of Robert Mugabe and his regime: There certainly are signs of stronger views from Africa leaders: In Kenya, PM Raila Odinga says the run-off is […]
In a debate at the University of the Witwatersrand on Tuesday night Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool drew a link between the recent wave of xenophobic violence and larger currents of intolerance in the country. “Xenophobia, racism, sexism, in fact all fundamentalism, all acts of intolerance belong to one family and if you are to […]
On most days I could probably just cut and paste one of my other assessments of Zimbabwe, replete with links to grim and unremitting stories, and not only would most people not notice, but the old narrative would more than likely hold. Following this campaign is endlessly frustrating and at times a bit soul sucking. […]
The runoff election approaches in Zimbabwe and three trends are beginning to emerge: Robert Mugabe and his supporters are continuing to dig in their heels. The outside world is increasingly vocal about concerns but still short on tangible action. And the runoff appears set to go on as long as the Movement for Democratic Change […]
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has declared that because of the fragile and violent conditions in Zimbabwe the time is “not at all” right to hold the run-off elections. Erstwhile challenger Simba Makoni has similarly argued that because a free and fair election cannot be held, the runoff must be canceled. And yet that violence that […]
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