7 March 2021
Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia: During a visit of Egyptian President as-Sisi in Sudan where separately met military and civilian leaders, Khartoum and Kairo have tried to put pressure on Addis Ababa concerning the controversial Great Renaissance dam on the upper Blue Nile, calling “for a new round of dialogue with an expanded mediation team to include officials from the African Union, the United States, the EU and the UN.” Ethiopia is OK for continuing talks but wants to continue with the African Union only as mediator. Sudan has recently taken a tougher anti-Ethiopian stance concerning the dam, a posture to be seen before the background of the recently rekindled el-Fashaga border conflict.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 07 March 2021. 9:01
Senegal: After the protests sparked by the arrest of Ousmane Sonko, the country’s leading opposition politician, after 5 dead and many blessed, the country’s mediator, Alioune Badara Cissé, has “urged the authorities to stop threats and intimidation against the youth”. And he called on protesters to “act peacefully and stop looting”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56311673
6 March 2021
Tanzania: Ever since he came to power in 2015, President John Pombe Magufuli has worked towards weakening opposition parties and centralising power within the ruling party, intensifying these efforts before the 2020 elections. Their results mean a de facto return to one-party rule. https://www.ifri.org/en/publications/etudes-de-lifri/tanzanias-2020-election-return-one-party-state present a brief summary of Michaela Collord’s 40 page study “Tanzania’s 2020 Election. Return of the One-Party State” of February 2021 that can be downloaded on https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/collord_tanzania_2020_election_2021.pd