CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Kenya’s one-sided debate

A debate for Kenyan politicians hoping to be deputy president was a letdown after just one aspiring candidate turned up. Muthiora Kariara, the running mate of independent candidate Japheth Kaluyu, had an hour of airtime on national TV all to himself. The event was boycotted by the deputy president, William Ruto, and presidential running mate Kalonzo Musyoka of the main opposition party. Other candidates were barred from participating after they arrived late at the Nairobi venue.

Angola rebuffs EU observers

Angola’s presidential election is scheduled for next month, but authorities are already courting controversy after telling European Union election observers that they could not have unrestricted access to polling stations. “So this is Africa. And we do not expect anyone to impose on us their means of observing elections or to give lectures,” said Angola’s foreign minister, Georges Chicoti. As a result, the EU is considering cancelling its deployment of observers.

Somalia back online at last

There were many celebratory tweets in Somalia when internet connectivity was restored after a three-week outage. The problem was caused by a ship that severed an undersea cable and all landline and mobile users were affected. The incident cost Somalia’s fragile economy about $10-million a day. But getting internet connection back may be a mixed blessing for the Horn of Africa nation. The country’s police chief said that attacks by the militant group Al-Shabab markedly decreased in the three-week period.

Cameroon torture claims