AFRICA CONNECT
1. Ebola in West Africa
2014, AKA, the year of the Ebola virus.
Over 6,500 deaths and 17,000 infections have
been attributed to Ebola since the beginning
of the year according to the World Health
Organisation, with Sierra Leone, Guinea, and
Liberia the hardest hit countries. A terrible
disease with an incredible strike rate, Ebola
has also shown the courage of the African
community, with medical workers, mostly
Africans, often risking their own lives to treat the
sick and infected.
2. The Oscar Pistorius Trial
In a country where the majority of people are
black, it was the case of a trigger-happy white
sporting icon killing his white model girlfriend
that hooked international media and whiteleaning media in South Africa. The Oscar
Pistorius trial took place over a number of
months, with the outcome being the former
sponsor pin-up and widely admired athlete sent
to jail for five years for culpable homicide, and
a suspended sentence for discharging a gun at
a Johannesburg restaurant. The verdict itself has
been described as shockingly inappropriate by
the country's prosecuting authorities who are
seeking for an appeal. The trial and sideshow
it has produced continues to raise questions
of whether the rich receive the same justice
as the poor in South Africa, and the continued
violent crime affecting the black majority in a
disproportionate manner.
3. Egypt: The Same By Any Other Name
Hosni Mubarak's resignation in 2011 after 30
years in power as Egyptian president was meant
to herald a new democratic dawn for Egypt. Fastforward three years and it’s almost like nothing
has changed. His replacement, Mohammed
Morsi, became the first democratically elected
president in Egypt's history in June 2012, but
the Egyptian army deposed him in July 2013
in a coup following further protests. The coup
was led by the head of the Egyptian army, Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi. Al-Sisi then gradually maneuvered
himself into a position to be declared as Morsi's
replacement, receiving an apparent 96% of the
vote in June 2014 – And now, a former highranking military official is, once-again, president
of Egypt.
IMBO/ ISSUE 32/ '14
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4. The Crocodile and Grace Mugabe
Earning a doctorate from a university
usually takes years of study. However,
if you are Grace Mugabe, the wife of
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe,
it’s possible to enrol at the University of
Zimbabwe 's doctoral programme in July
and by September emerge with the title of
Doctor. One of the more bizarre political
rises in recent times; Mrs. Mugabe, led the
charge for her husband's vice-president of
10 years, Joice Mujuru, to be removed from
her position, earning herself a seat at the top
table. However, beyond the former typist's
stunning political rise is the fact that Mujuru's
replacement was Emmerson Mnangagwa,
a powerful long-serving cabinet minister
within the Mugabe government known as
"The Crocodile".. With Zimbabwe's president
going on 90-years, Mnangagwa is the one to
watch when Mugabe dies.