South Africa’s finance minister delivered a good mix of macro and micro-economic strategies to ensure the country survives economic uncertainty, restores confidence and achieves some growth.
Cine Petro Atletica, once Huambo’s finest cinema, was destroyed during fierce fighting in Angola’s bloody civil war.
Reuters/John Chiahemen MH/WS
Apartheid South Africa started a war in which it could not maintain a strategic advantage. It misread the quest for national liberation and international opinion that undermined its effectiveness.
Voting in Uganda’s Karamoja region.
Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Robert Sobukwe developed the philosophy of African nationalism to even higher intellectual heights. The lesson for humanity was his ideological stand that there is only one race - the human race.
South Africa’s Jacob Zuma is president of the country as well as the African National Congress. He is under pressure on all fronts.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
It is unlikely President Zuma will announce a structural changes in his State of the Nation Address. This, despite education being in dire need of fundamental restructuring and an economy in decline.
Much is expected of South African President Jacob Zuma when he delivers his 2016 State of the Nation Address.
Reuters/Sumaya Hisham
The general loss of faith in the economy is the most important issue President Zuma must address. More radical social and economic transformation, with emphasis on land reform will be most critical.
AIDS activists demand that the government of then-South African president Thabo Mbeki show a clear plan to fight the disease.
Reuters
One of the remarkable achievements of South Africa’s Constitutional Court has been its role in improving the quality of the internal democratic processes within the governing ANC.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is back in the public eye thanks to a series of open letters he’s written since the start of 2016.
Reuters/Phil Moore
Former President Thabo Mbeki’s critique of South African historiography, and his concomitant attempt to correct this body of work, has set off a significant public discussion.
President Jacob Zuma surprised South Africans by offering to pay back public money spent on his private home.
Reuters/Nic Bothma
Jacob Zuma has backtracked on two major decisions in under two months – first after he fired his finance minister; now he says he’ll pay back public money spent on his lavish Nkandla homestead.
Rwanda has no succession plan to President Paul Kagame.
Reuters/Tiksa Negeri
The reality of Rwanda is that there is no viable alternative to President Paul Kagame, within or outside his ruling RPF. Political rivals have died, are jailed, or have fled the country.
Recent changes to the Rwandan constitution appear to have been tailor-made for the current president. This does not bode well for the country’s future constitutional base.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the 2016 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He has drawn flack for seeking a third term.
Reuters/Ruben Sprich
Unlike the third-term fever afflicting the Great Lakes region, Rwanda is not mired in corruption and stagnation. Rwandans were fearful and anxious about what might happen after 2017 without Kagame.
A truck bearing the image of Uganda’s President Museveni.
Reuters/James Akena
Regular changes of government through free and fair elections that reflect the wishes of the majority of citizens are a critical component of democratisation. But how significant are polls in Africa?
South African National Defence Force soldiers help to unload maize for flood victims in.
Mozambique.
Reuters
The South African military’s capabilities for socio-economic development are questionable, even in its own country. The force is in critical decline, but is expected to aid humanitarian efforts.
A typical community protest over the delivery of basic services in South Africa. A study shows protesters often resort to violence to attract attention.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
The advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994 is often hailed as peaceful and smooth. But, there are lingering problems. Dissent over unmet expectations has resulted in an increase in protests.
An image of Martin Luther King is projected onto the court ahead of a basketball game at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
EPA/Erik Lesser
Martin Luther King’s legacy must be contextualised within a larger global struggle against racism and hatred. Africans should revisit the values he espoused and continue with the anti-racism crusade.
Jon Stewart with Trevor Noah at the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball in Los Angeles, California recently.
Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
The Trevor Noah phenomenon speaks to an influential comedic revolution that is happening in South Africa. Its comics operate in an increasingly complex, high-risk and conflict-intense society.
Yarik Turianskyi is Manager of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs and guest lecturer in African Governance and Eastern European Politics, University of Pretoria