By Farai Shawn Matiashe The Zimbabwean government under President Emmerson Mnangagwa has awarded new television licenses that would end decades of monopoly by the only State-controlled broadcaster ZTV (ZBC TV). But experts fear it is merely a ploy for Mnangagwa to tighten his grip on power The free-to-air television network licenses […]
Outbursts by a top ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa declaring that G40 elements remain firmly within Zanu PF’s top levels have heightened fears in the party that the president’s loyalists are targeting his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, insiders have revealed. Mabel Chinomona, the senate president, is said to have raised eyebrows […]
The speaker of South Africa’s lower house of parliament has authorised a vote on a motion of no-confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa, a parliamentary official said on Thursday. The request for the vote was made by a small political party, the African Transformation Movement (ATM), which has only two seats […]
By Oluwaseun Tella The concept of soft power has been part of the parlance of international relations for three decades. Soft power actors use non-coercive and persuasive means to achieve their objectives. Attraction rather than force is their preferred language. The application of soft power remains focused on states because of their primacy […]
The opposition MDC Alliance is panicking over suspicions of infiltration within its structures by suspected State agents to destabilise the party. A leaked audio recording by the MDC Alliance Bulawayo provincial women’s assembly chairlady Tendai Masotsha has sent the party into panic mode, with senior party officials saying there were […]
A nasty fight for mining rights has erupted over gold mining claims in Umfurudzi Game Park where violence is said to be the order of the day between machete-wielding Zanu PF youths from rival camps. It is alleged that the youths have turned the game park into a battleground as […]
By Ian Scoones The debate about compensation of former white farmers in Zimbabwe continues to rage. The compensation agreement signed in July agreed a total amount of US$3.5 billion to pay for ‘improvements’ to the land that was expropriated. After 20 years of discussion, this was a major step forward. […]
The Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T has plunged further into chaos with Elias Mudzuri, one of the party presidential hopefuls, rubbishing calls by some of the party bigwigs to hold a virtual extraordinary congress. Mudzuri yesterday described the decision by some of the presidential hopefuls to hold a virtual congress as “unacceptable […]
By Richard Vokes and Sam Wilkins Just three weeks into his official campaign for the Ugandan presidency, Ugandan musician and parliamentarian Robert Kyagulanyi (better known by his stage name Bobi Wine) has already been arrested twice. The first came just minutes after his formal nomination in the capital Kampala. Footage streamed […]
Tanzania’s 2020 general elections resulted in a predictably easy victory for one of Africa’s oldest ruling parties, Chama Cha Mapinduzi. The National Electoral Commission declared the incumbent, John Magufuli, the winner with 84.4 per cent of the vote. His closest challenger, Chadema’s Tundu Lissu, garnered a paltry 13 per cent. The […]
By Farai Shawn Matiashe The Zimbabwean government under President Emmerson Mnangagwa has awarded new television licenses that would end decades of monopoly by the only State-controlled broadcaster ZTV (ZBC TV). But experts fear it is merely a ploy for Mnangagwa to tighten his grip on power The free-to-air television network licenses […]
By Ian Scoones The debate about compensation of former white farmers in Zimbabwe continues to rage. The compensation agreement signed in July agreed a total amount of US$3.5 billion to pay for ‘improvements’ to the land that was expropriated. After 20 years of discussion, this was a major step forward. […]
By Brian Chitemba Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure (36) breathed his last in the wee hours of Sunday. His death created a buzz on social media platforms and spawned wild conspiracy theories of how he lived, made his fortune and died. Kadungure’s palatial mansion in Nyamande Village in Domboshava — some 30 kilometres from […]
How Mbeki and Obasanjo used soft power in Africa’s interests
By Oluwaseun Tella The concept of soft power has been part of the parlance of international relations for three decades. Soft power actors use non-coercive and persuasive means to achieve their objectives. Attraction rather than force is their preferred language. The application of soft power remains focused on states because of their primacy […]