Continental view – Africa
Sunday, 18 May 2008 16:30
Robert Mugabe has dominated headlines from Africa in the last two months
A selection of the top news stories making the headlines in Africa in the last two months.
Mugabe v Tsvangirai
On March 29th
Zimbabwe went to the polls to choose their new parliament and re-elect president Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.
That, at least, was the script from Zanu-PF's point of view. Mr Mugabe was widely expected to breeze home through a mixture of his party's natural dominance and – according to the cynics – a little vote-rigging.
The following day saw the first indications of what was to follow. Zanu-PF's main challenger, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed victory in the elections. Its supporters based their claim on unofficial counts of results published in polling stations across the country.
The Zimbabwe Election Commission remained silent as the world looked on. On April 6th Mr Mugabe requested a recount but it was not until April 13th that the election body ordered a partial recount.
MDC supporters accused the president of clinging to power, a perception reflected by the international community's attacks on Mr Mugabe. The UK was especially vocal in its attacks on Mr Mugabe, with prime minister Gordon Brown telling Harare he was "appalled" by the "intimidation and violence" Mr Mugabe's "regime" appeared to be resorting to.
A legal challenge seeking the immediate release of results was brushed aside in the courts and it was only on April 20th that the recount finally began.
Six days later the results were in. No results were overturned as a result, but a second round was judged as being required in the presidential race. The MDC's candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, was revealed as having won 47.9 per cent of the national vote on May 2nd.
Mr Tsvangirai's backers described the result as "daylight robbery" and many feared Mr Mugabe would use intimidation on the streets to help secure a win in the runoff vote.
That will take place on June 27th, almost three months after the initial election.
Click here for a summary of the situation in Zimbabwe.
Finishing touches
Uncertainty over the distribution of power in
Kenya faded away after instability in the country during the first quarter of 2008.
President Mwai Kibaki passed two bills on March 19th making the changes, establishing changes to the prime minister's office which rival Raila Odinga required to accept the deal.
Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement party had challenged elections held on December 27th and there had been concerns his party might reject the terms of their power-sharing arrangement as being too balanced towards the president.
These faded away after a final agreement on the cabinet was reached in mid-April. Mr Odinga was finally sworn in as prime minister on April 17th.
April 17th: Odinga sworn in
Lawlessness and piracy
The last two months have seen a series of reports emerging from
Somalia reflecting the non-existent authority of Mogadishu's government.
April 1st saw the kidnapping of two foreign aid workers in the south of the volatile country while in the same week a luxury French yacht was hijacked off the coast.
The 30-member crew were eventually released thanks to talks by the French military. Troops sent to neighbouring Djibouti had reinforced the negotiations.
But the piracy problem persists. On May 18th a Jordanian aid ship carrying humanitarian supplies to Mogadishu was hijacked off the Somali coast.
The US succeeded in advancing western interests in the region on May 1st, when a man believed to be the head of al-Qaida in Somalia was killed in an overnight airstrike.
Click here for a summary of the situation in Somalia.
Other major developments
April 8th: No changes in Cairo. The ruling National Democratic party scored a convincing victory in elections in
Egypt, with its members standing unopposed in most seats.
Click here for full story
April 10th: Still no peace deal.
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony delayed signing a historic peace deal attempting to bring to an end to 20 years of fighting.
Click here for full story
May 8th: Genocide not ruled out in Darfur. Speaking in Westminster, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court Luis Moreno-Ocampo refused to dismiss the possibility of genocide in
Sudan's Darfur region.
Click here for full story