The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges will Friday hear why South Africa failed to arrest Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir during a 2015 visit, as they mull whether to report Pretoria to the United Nations for possible action. South Africa’s lawyers will defend the decision not to detain …
Read More »COMMENT: Africa’s offer to Xi and Trump
It gives an opportunity to both Washington and Beijing to share information to avoid duplication and facilitate effectiveness By: John J Stremlau Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will meet for the first time at Trump’s opulent Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida in early April. There’s no …
Read More »Memorial of South Africa icon turns into anti-Zuma protest
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A memorial service Saturday for anti-apartheid icon Ahmed Kathrada was transformed into a fierce attack on South African President Jacob Zuma, under fire after a controversial cabinet reshuffle. Party veterans of the ruling ANC, sacked finance minister Pravin Gordhan and Kathrada’s widow lined up to …
Read More »South Africa cabinet bloodbath exposes ANC generational divide
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma’s sweeping cabinet overhaul exposes deep divisions between the ANC’s apartheid-struggle old guard and a new generation often accused of not living up to expectations. Malusi Gigaba, 45, who replaced Pravin Gordhan, 67, as finance minister is a fervent …
Read More »Potential successors of South Africa’s Zuma
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The backlash against South African President Jacob Zuma’s shock reshuffle has intensified pressure on him to resign ahead of the 2019 general election. Here are four of his possible successors: – The negotiator – Cyril Ramaphosa, a 64-year-old veteran with strong anti-apartheid struggle credentials, …
Read More »COMMENT: AU reform prescriptions
Are Kagame’s proposals to fellow African leaders too bitter a pill for them? By Gerald Mbanda The Rwandan President Paul Kagame, during the recent 28th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, presented recommendations for the institutional reform of the African Union. He told his fellow leaders that these would …
Read More »Infantino to talk and party in southern Africa, visit East Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | FIFA president Gianni Infantino will be in South Africa and Zimbabwe this week to meet African football bosses and attend a birthday party. He will also visit Uganda and Rwanda. He has invited all 54 African national football association presidents to Johannesburg for two …
Read More »Why Kenya lost fight for AU top job
And why East Africa lost more over outdated voting habits at continental body As the heads of state and government of the African Union meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, started voting on Jan. 30 for the next head of the continental body, Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amina …
Read More »Fistfight in South African parliament as guards eject MPs
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | A brawl broke out in South Africa’s parliament Thursday as guards exchanged punches with opposition lawmakers who shouted down President Jacob Zuma as he tried to deliver his state of the nation address. In chaotic scenes, guards in white shirts forcibly ejected about …
Read More »South African president says ANC ready for female leader
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma has said the ruling ANC party is ready for its first female leader, days after his former wife was named by the party’s influential women’s league as its choice to succeed him. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has four children with …
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