CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Kagame wears three hats

For the next week, Paul Kagame is arguably the most powerful man in Africa. Not only is he chair of the African Union, but he has just been appointed as head of the East African Community (EAC) — and that is in addition to his day job as president of Rwanda. This overload of responsibilities will be short-lived, however: he will end his term as AU boss at the Addis Ababa summit next week and the EAC position is only for a year.

Ethiopia gets its teff back

A Dutch court has cancelled a controversial patent granted for teff (Eragrostis tef), the grain that is used to make injera, the staple food of Ethiopia. “This is great news. I hope we can learn from this that our national assets must be protected by Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia,” said Fitsum Arega, the former head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission. A patent for various preparations of teff was granted to a Dutch company in 2003, potentially preventing Ethiopian companies from selling teff products in Europe.

President for life

The ruling coalition in Algeria announced this week that it will back President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as its candidate in the country’s April presidential elections. Bouteflika, 81, has made very few public appearances since his 2013 stroke, and is confined to a wheelchair. He has been at the helm of the North African country since 1999 and is expected to seek a fifth term although he is yet to declare officially that he will run.

No homecoming for Gbagbo

Belgium has agreed to host Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Côte d’ivoire, pending the completion of legal proceedings at the International Criminal Court. Gbagbo was acquitted of crimes against humanity charges in January, but has been asked to refrain from returning home until the prosecution decides whether they will appeal the decision. Since his release from detention in The Hague, Gbagbo has been staying in an undisclosed hotel and has been granted a 90-day Belgian visa.

Bashir turns on the charm

As protests against his rule intensify, Sudanese President Omar al-bashir has gone on the charm offensive. In an effort to defuse the unrest, he is touring the country promising to build roads and provide clean drinking water to people living in rural areas. So far, at least 40 people have died in the protests against Bashir’s 26-year rule. The protests began in December after steep increases in the price of bread and fuel.

Sunken treasure

Rwanda has a signed a $400-million deal to harvest methane gas from the bottom of Lake Kivu. The deal was made with Gasmeth Energy, a consortium of United States, Nigerian and Rwandan businessmen. Gas sucked from the lake floor will be bottled and sold as fuel, with the additional benefit of preventing toxic gas from bubbling up to the surface of the lake. — Compiled by Mashadi Kekana and Gemma Ritchie. Sourced from the Sunday Times, AFP, BBC Africa, Africa News, Al Jazeera and Reuters