CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Open borders

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was elected the African Union’s chairperson at the organisation’s recent summit in Addis Ababa. He has promised major changes, most notably the implementation of a continent-wide visa-free policy, which would allow Africans to travel much more easily.

Let them off the hookah

Kenya’s tourism minister, Najib Balala, has criticised his government’s recent ban on smoking shisha or hookah in public places. “The whole world has shisha; why ban it in Kenya? If we have issues of health, put a tax. Why don’t you ban cigarettes? Why don’t you ban alcohol?” Balala said. The ban, announced by the health ministry in December, comes with a fine of $490 or six months in prison for offenders.

‘Defaming’ tabloid back

After a two-month shutdown, the controversial Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper is back on the shelves. In November, eight of its editors were charged with treason for defaming President Yoweri Museveni and the security minister. Last week, the charges were dropped. Red Pepper will continue to publish on the condition it “becomes more professional”. It has played a major role in uncovering corruption in Uganda, but it has also stoked homophobia, with front pages that claim to “expose” lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people.

Presidential pay cut