Fergus Kell

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Protesters make signs with their arms in front of Kenya police officers during a demonstration against tax hikes as MPs debate the Finance Bill 2024 in Nairobi on 18 June 2024. Photo by Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images.

MundoÁfrica,

Protests led by Kenya’s ‘Gen Z’ population continue to exert pressure on President William Ruto as he approaches the end of his second year in office.

Demonstrations began in June, initially targeted at austerity-led tax increases but swiftly expanded to address widening societal inequality and perceived government apathy. Popular anger at brazen public displays of wealth among Kenya’s political elite and a president seen as focused more on his international profile than domestic challenges has been further fuelled by a state security response that has seen at least 50 demonstrators killed.

Familiar elite bargaining

Having misjudged the depth of citizens’ anger, Ruto and his political allies have been left playing catch-up with a haphazard range of concessions: chief among them the dismissal of almost the entire cabinet.…  Seguir leyendo »

Kenyan President William Ruto gives an address at the State House in Nairobi on 9 May (Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

MundoÁfrica

Kenyan President William Ruto’s arrival in Washington on 22 May ends a historic drought. No African leader has made a state visit to the US since John Kufuor of Ghana in 2008 – three times longer than the previous record gap, but a period that has also seen three US Africa Strategies (2012, 2018 and 2022) and two US–Africa Leaders’ Summits (2014 and 2022).

The latest of these strategic resets in 2022 encouraged a somewhat more engaged US administration, reflected in an uptick of visits by officials to the continent.

Yet competing international priorities and the looming US elections risk Washington slipping back into a status quo of complacency on Africa – illustrated by Joe Biden’s failure to make a promised trip to the continent in 2023.…  Seguir leyendo »

Increasing maritime awareness has already delivered impact, but consistency and continental leadership are needed to realize the sector’s full potential.

MundoÁfrica

Africa’s 48,000 kilometres of coastline, shared among 38 coastal states, are resource rich and hold some of the world’s most strategic sea lanes, including the approaches to the Suez Canal, which carries 12 per cent of worldwide trade, and the Gulf of Guinea, a critical route for global energy. But despite the vast potential this represents, piracy and maritime insecurity have dominated the narrative of Africa’s coasts, and further propagated the image of African states as beholden to external intervention.

Yet African agency is established and evolving in the sector, with African littoral states enhancing their capacity to face collective security threats and exercising increasing autonomy in responding to the recent rush of external actors looking for port facilities and military bases.…  Seguir leyendo »

Tanzania president Samia Suluhu attends a service honouring her predecessor John Magufuli in Chato, Tanzania. Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images.

MundoÁfrica

As the first 100 days pass since Samia Suluhu Hassan was unexpectedly propelled to Tanzania’s presidency, her less combative style of leadership compared to predecessor John Magufuli is raising expectations of policy change and a reopening of civic space – but how much she is prepared to truly transform the country remains in doubt.

Magufuli’s sudden death left an unfinished legacy and a deeply polarized nation as he wielded the considerable power of Tanzania’s executive to shut down critical voices, and Hassan has been reluctant to distance herself from him so far, asserting the two of them are ‘essentially the same person’.…  Seguir leyendo »

News headlines announce the death of Tanzanian president John Magufuli at the business center in Kariakoo, Dar Es Salaam. Photo by AFP via Getty Images.

MundoÁfrica

An unprecedented transition process has been set in motion following the unexpected death of President John Magufuli early in his second term, with Tanzania’s former vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in to take office until the end of the current presidential term in 2025, becoming the country’s first female head of state.

Magufuli’s global notoriety peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to his discredited claims the virus had been eliminated from Tanzania and his outright rejection of modern treatments and vaccines. Indeed, the president’s overall leadership style was consistent only in its ability to divide opinion both at home and abroad.…  Seguir leyendo »

Lazarus Chakwera, leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) arriving at the Mtandire suburb of the capital Lilongwe for an election rally. Photo by AMOS GUMULIRA/AFP via Getty Images.

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Malawi is only the second African country to annul a presidential election, after Kenya in 2017. It is the first in which the opposition has won the re-run.

The initial May 2019 vote had narrowly returned incumbent Peter Mutharika to the presidency. But in February 2020 a landmark ruling by Malawi’s constitutional court annulled the result citing ‘widespread, systematic and grave’ irregularities, including the now-infamous use of corrective fluid in vote tallying, and the Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) failure to address complaints before announcing results. New elections were ordered within 150 days.

In a decisive contrast with the previous year, the fresh polls on 23 June saw the coming together of Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and running mate Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement (UTM) to head a coalition of nine opposition parties - having fiercely competed as the leading challengers previously.…  Seguir leyendo »

People look at newspapers without adhering to the rules of social distancing despite confirmed coronavirus cases in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photo by ERICKY BONIPHACE/AFP via Getty Images.

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Tanzania’s COVID-19 containment measures have been markedly less strict than many neighbouring states, where lockdowns and travel restrictions have largely become the norm. Despite schools and universities being closed, a ban on mass public gatherings imposed, and citizens encouraged not to leave home for non-essential purposes, reports indicate daily life for the majority of working citizens has been minimally affected.

Government officials have emphasised the risk of starvation brought by lockdowns and the need to protect economic stability, with the deputy minister of health noting that ‘when you go for a total lockdown it means some will instead die of hunger.’…  Seguir leyendo »

Jutta Urpilainen, new EU commissioner for international partnerships, at the European Parliament in Brussels in October. Photo: Getty Images.

MundoÁfricaEuropaUnión EuropeaPolítica Exterior

The new European Commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen, assumed office on 1 December, and there are early signs that Africa will begin near the top of their foreign policy priorities. Policy towards Africa under the new EU administration is yet to be fully defined, but its contours are already visible in the selection of commissioners and assignment of portfolios.

Although rumours of a dedicated commissioner for Africa were unfounded, the appointment of Jutta Urpilainen to the new role of commissioner for international partnerships – replacing the former post of development commissioner – is a strong signal of ongoing change in EU development thinking, away from bilateral aid towards trade and investment, including by the private sector.…  Seguir leyendo »