Explainer: a tour of Robert Mugabe's early and later legacies
Robert Mugabe spoke eloquently as Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Elect in March 1980. He offered a message of hope and unity to a population ravaged by years of war. He spoke of creating a government “capable of achieving peace and stability … and progress.”
In the first years of independence, some of this vision was realised. But in the ensuing decades peace, stability and progress have waned. Mugabe has been in power for 36 years. The country’s political environment is unstable at best. Its economy is in ruin. There is no clear succession plan.
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'Puppies from Polokwane' fuel Zimbabwe's illegal pet trade - Vets
Harare - An animal welfare group in Zimbabwe is warning of a growing trade in unvaccinated puppies sneaked across the South African border to meet Zimbabweans' insatiable demand for pure-bred dogs.
They say the trade - backed by forged veterinary certificates and photos of "parent dogs" lifted off the web - poses a wider danger to animal health in Zimbabwe since the strains of deadly parvovirus being brought in are new.
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'Don't go!' ICC officials appeal to African defectors
The Hague - "Don't go!" That was the heartfelt appeal to African nations as the International Criminal Court opened its annual meeting Wednesday under the cloud of a wave of unprecedented defections.
Gambia on Monday formally notified the United Nations that it was withdrawing from the court, following in the wake of South Africa and Burundi.
"Don't go," pleaded Senegalese politician Sidiki Kaba, the president of the ICC's Assembly of State Parties meeting in The Hague.
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DRC president defies growing calls to resign
Kinshasa - Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Tuesday defied calls to step down when his term ends next month and vowed during remarks to lawmakers to defend his government against violent overthrow.
His defiant speech to parliament came as criticism grows following a controversial deal between the government and fringe opposition groups that effectively extends the president's term in office and delays elections until late 2017.
The deal agreed last month followed a "national dialogue" that was aimed at calming soaring political tensions but was largely boycotted by leading opposition figures.
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Namibia tables bill to ban foreign ownership of land - report
Windhoek – Namibia's lands minister Utoni Nujoma has reportedly tabled a bill that would see foreign nationals being barred from owning land in the southern African country.
According to eNCA the bill sought to bar foreigners from owning agricultural, commercial and communal land.
The new bill proposed a range of amendments to the Agricultural Commercial Land Reform Act of 1995 and the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002.
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Kenya delays closure of Dadaab refugee camp by six months
Nairobi - The Kenyan government announced Wednesday that it has agreed to extend the deadline for the closure of Dadaab refugee camp - the world's largest - by six months, having originally planned it for November.
Interior minister Joseph Nkaissery said the move follows a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "I wish to announce that the government has accepted the request," he told a news conference.
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