The irony of Zuma’s Freedom Day speech was not lost on European diplomats. Zuma is wont to criticise EU policies towards Africa as neo-colonial. Now he finds himself in a rather uncomfortably similar predicament – as the object of sharp criticism for mistreating desperate African migrants. ‘Welcome to our world,’ said one of those diplomats, wryly
Peter Fabricius
Politics and Society Mswati allows judicial heads to roll
Like God, the king of Swaziland may move in ways mysterious to mere mortals. But presumably he has a purpose. That is surely not to establish a truly independent judiciary. Perhaps, though, it is to create a less personally vindictive one
Politics and Society The AU shuffles towards democracy, looking over its shoulder
Is Africa slowly turning the rhetoric of democracy into action? The Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), which introduced to the continental body the values of democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism, is 13 years old. And its prohibition of seizing power unconstitutionally goes back even earlier to 2000, preceding the AU