Month: July 2012

• Ban on the Mombasa Republican Council Lifted

  July 28, 2012

  Kenya, Mombasa Republican Council

  On Wednesday, the High Court in Mombasa ruled that the Kenyan government’s ban on the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) was unconstitutional. Established in 1999 to address the issue of marginalization of the Coast region by the central government, the MRC began to call for secession of the Coast region in 2008. This objective, which is based on… Read.

• East Africa’s Oil/Gas Rush Highlights Kenya-Somalia Maritime Border Dispute

  July 21, 2012

  Kenya, Somalia

  If you’ve been following energy news in Africa, you are probably aware that East Africa is experiencing a bit of an oil and gas rush. In addition to the discoveries of oil deposits in Puntland and in the Lake Turkana region of Kenya, there have also been discoveries of about 100 trillion cubic feet (tcf)… Read.

• Reflections of an Africa specialist trapped in the Beltway

  July 13, 2012

  Miscellaneous, U.S. Africa Strategy

  On my About Me page, I alluded to the possibility of writing about my experience traveling in Africa – to add an entertaining counterweight to my more analytical rants and musings on the events unfolding on the continent. The following is actually a non-analytical rant/musing on my current case of writer’s block and my exile to the Beltway,… Read.

• Calls Continue for Military Intervention in Mali

  July 7, 2012

  Ansar Dine, AQIM, ECOWAS, Mali, MNLA, Terrorism, Tuareg

  In June, the African Union (AU) Peace & Security Council called upon the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to endorse the deployment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Standby Force to ensure the security of the transitional institutions; restructure and reorganize the Malian security and defense forces; and restore State authority over… Read.

• Austerity and Corruption in South Sudan

  July 4, 2012

  South Sudan

  Last month, South Sudan’s Minister of Finance & Economic Planning presented the country’s 2012/2013 budget before the National Legislative Assembly. The budget, which is 6.4 billion South Sudanese Pounds (roughly $1.3B USD at black market rates), went into effect at the beginning of this month, taking into account the austere conditions brought about by the… Read.