On 15 January, four gunmen stormed the dusitD2 hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya, in the first complex terrorist attack in the city in six years. Al Shabaab’s latest assault points to the persistent terrorism threat in Kenya, writes Gabrielle Reid.
Following yet another kidnap for ransom targeting humanitarian workers in Somalia, Gabrielle Reid examines this persistent threat to the efforts of aid workers assisting the most vulnerable in the country.
New legislation in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique will lead to worsening restrictions for freedom of the press and freedom of expression in these jurisdictions, increasing the threat of detention against journalists and political commentators, writes Gabrielle Reid.
While Boko Haram’s previous efforts to control large areas of terrain were undermined by domestic and regional military efforts, a spate of recent attacks against towns and military barracks could point to a renewed campaign to seize territory in northern Nigeria. Gabrielle Reid looks into the prospects for a renewed territorial campaign by the Islamic…
In August, president Joseph Kabila and the ruling Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD) backed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as the party’s candidate in the long awaited December 2018 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The somewhat unexpected announcement ended prolonged speculation that the incumbent would seek…
The Nigerian government has long framed Borno State as a potential alternative to its south-eastern oil fields, amid speculation of significant oil reserves in the region. Yet, with Boko Haram’s ongoing insurgency there, coupled with a recent kidnapping in the area, the region is more likely to become a second Niger Delta than an answer to Nigeria’s…
South Africa has experienced a significant increase in reported kidnappings, with targets now including middle to upper-income businesspersons. Gabrielle Reid investigates the nature of these attacks and how South Africa’s worsening criminal underworld has offered the perfect environment for the growth of this lucrative crime.
Last week marked the end of Ethiopian Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed’s first 100 days in office. The new leader, appointed on 2 April, has embarked on a vigorous reform campaign, seeking to open up Ethiopia’s political and economic environments. Plans to privatise key sectors of the economy, including the aviation and telecommunications sectors, together…
The spate of alleged Islamist militant attacks in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado Province since October last year have raised concern regarding the safety of communities in the area. As the region also hosts significant liquefied natural gas deposits, the emerging militant threat could have dire consequences for Mozambique’s fledging oil and gas…
In a statement released on 9 May, the Sahel-based Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) threatened to attack Western companies operating in the Sahel, calling their operations ‘legitimate targets’ in its mujahedeen. Unsurprisingly, the group identified France and its allies as likely targets given the ongoing French counterterrorism intervention in…
While the political posturing of regional players like Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia is well known, it is increasingly clear that this power play is steeped in securing control of the region’s strategic waters.
Although violent party primaries demonstrate the intense competition of Kenya's county-level politics, they are not necessarily a determinant of widespread election-related violence. Nevertheless, likely drivers of violence are ever present and a peaceful nationwide August vote is still not guaranteed, writes Gabrielle Reid