Goodluck Jonathan may not run for president in 2011
According to news reports, a source close to the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, has said that the Head of State is considering not standing in elections that are due next January and that he will make his intentions known by the end of the month. Jonathan who is from the southern Niger Delta, could split [...]
Succession talk has to wait – Kenya’s PM Odinga cautions
Prime Minister Raila Odinga has asked the political leadership in the country to stop the debate on 2012 succession to give the nation a chance to anchor the approved constitution. He told the leaders to give Kenyans a break from the politics of succession and instead concentrate on ways of implementing the endorsed constitution within [...]
Peace, Security, and the Upshot of Political Subjugation
If I could think of any tactfully discreet and diplomatically clear way to describe the outcome of the 15th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Somalia without compromising the essence of my message, I would have simply chosen that approach. Therefore, going crude is the appropriate way: As [...]
Kenya Will Respond With Force to Any Attack by Al-Shabaab
Security forces in Kenya are ready to tackle any threats from rebel group al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia, a senior regional administrator has said. The rebel fighters crossed into Kenya from south Somalia on May 27 while pursuing rivals from the Somali Hizbul Islam group. It has been reported that they wounded five Kenyans and [...]
Al-Shabaab Dealt a Big Blow as Somali Government Troops Recapture Key Towns
There have been serious clashes between Somali government forces and Islamist militants. And the fighting has left at least 17 people dead and about 60 wounded in the capital Mogadishu. The fighting appears to be the start of a government offensive using troops trained in Ethiopia, analysts say. The government controls only a few parts [...]
Junta Sets Conditions for Presidential Aspirants in Niger
Niger’s junta government has set out proposed laws that would ensure that future presidential aspirants must be university degree holders and be less than 70 years old. The mandatory requirement was proposed by Niger’s Consultative Council, which was set up by the military junta in February. This comes after the junta deposed long-time President Mamadou [...]
Kenya and Egypt at Loggerhead over Nile Treaty
Kenya has joined the list of countries that have signed the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement, ignoring protests from Egypt and Sudan which have had the lion’s share of the Nile waters since colonial times. The new treaty is to replace the 1929 accord signed by Egypt, Sudan and Kenya’s colonial master Britain, giving the [...]
Traditional African Medicine Gets a Boost as Gates Foundation Lends a Hand
The Gates Foundation has made an exceptional move by lending its support to the development of traditional African medicine. Senegal’s Organization for the Promotion of Traditional Medicine (PROMETRA) has received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have given the Senegal Organization for the Promotion of Traditional [...]
