While Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is trying to convince the world that he is making progress since replacing his mentor, former President Robert Mugabe, a number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora do not agree with his assessment of the current situation in the country. 

Africans should be interested in General Reynaldo Bignone who died on Wednesday, 7 March 2018, at a military hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he was serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity. But, why should Africa be interested in knowing him?

The announcement of a date for general elections in a country roiled in political conflict and ruled by an unpopular leader should be regarded as a positive move. But not so in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

One of the propositions of Leftists’ theory of history is that human beings are the makers of their own history. A corollary to this – that human beings do not make this history simply as they wish, but that they make it with materials and circumstances fashioned and transmitted by and from the past – is as important as the main thesis.

The handshake between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga on Friday 9 March 2018 shocked and surprised their respective supporters. What has left many dumbfounded is the fact that the other major key political players of both Jubilee and National Super Alliance were not privy to this meeting of the two hitherto political nemeses. Is it the beginning of a true national reconciliation process? 

This brief commentary seeks to explain why President Museveni will never carry out the necessary electoral reforms. To do so would amount to Museveni committing political suicide for he will lose all subsequent elections. As a strong believer in the zero-sum game theory, Museveni, as an experienced and seasoned manipulator, kleptocrat and dictator cannot permit electoral reforms that will limit his current advantages in successfully rigging presidential and parliamentary elections. Fundamentally, Museveni is in power not because of the electoral process. It is because of his military victory and control over the National Resistance Army (NRA), his personal army.

Africa’s richest regions is said to host some of the most undemocratic governments in the continent where presidential palaces seem to have become private properties over which blood must be spilt if some strangers show signs of trespassing the perimeters. Is there any hope for this situation to change?

After the recent fiercely contested presidential election in Liberia, world attention has now turned to neighbouring Sierra Leone, which has its own crucial vote on 7 March 2018. Both countries share so much in common, not just political histories, but devastations of symbiotic civil wars. Can the “Lion Mountain” ever roar again after the withdrawal of United Nations troops in 2014?

African leaders who fought for independence soon departed from their initial objectives before African people could see the benefits of independence. Even though leaders who came after independence were also far from what African people needed, there is hope that current changes in southern Africa can inspire the entire continent. 

Democratic transitions going on in Africa are slow and timid. However, there is reason to believe that something substantive is happening. 

For Nigeria's All Progressives Congress party to survive after Mohammadu Buhari's presidency, they might as well consider presenting an Igbo presidential candidate in 2023 elections. 

Assassinations and assaults that are being unleashed against the Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common, the political party formed by the former FARC leaders and activists are a hindrance to renewed initiatives for a peaceful and decent Colombia. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address of 16 February 2018 seemed crafted to appeal to the electorate that has been alienated by the Zuma presidency marred by scandals. But, can Ramaphosa honour his promises?  

The best way to remember the late President of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, is to keep his legacy of fighting the rule of law and democratic governance in Zimbabwe. The MDC leadership needs to unite to keep that legacy alive. 

Yash Tandon argues that the late Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, would be remembered as an enigmatic and emblematic figure for his relentless opposition to the ruling party power elite despite his tribulations. 

Today comes the seventh year of the international conspiracy, in which obscurantist forces and Libyan agents participated in the war against Libya and its safe people, where innocent people were hurled to take part through the launching of false slogans by a media campaign carried out by excessive regional and international mass media machines.

Zimbabweans need to do some serious introspection and take control of their destiny. This will require courage and determination on the part of all Zimbabweans. For far too long, Zimbabweans have allowed ZANU-PF to manipulate the electoral process to their advantage by playing the tribal game to capitalise on their numbers and Zimbabweans have fallen for it again and again.

The departure of long-serving African leaders in Zimbabwe, Angola and The Gambia in 2017 ushered in measured hope for change and a desire for more such changes. Can new leaders in those countries meet people's high expectations? 

Most of Africa’s past, even present, leaders have been complicit in the misrepresentation of Africa, as they have often been instruments of neo-colonialism. African leaders, with any sign of bravery are often summarily sabotaged, if not executed—invariably with the aid of fellow Black Africans. Africa needs who have Africans' interests at heart. 

The new head of state of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, assumed power amid relief and jubilation. However, he needs to tackle serious challenges including serving the interest of ordinary people and fighting against corruption if he wants that jubilation to go on.