The Hood – Spring Edition

KENYA’S Daily Nation has the backgrounder which preceded the reconciliation between Kenyan President Uhuru and opposition leader Raila Odinga. It includes (1) elders of the the tribes the two politicians belong to (Kikuyu and Luo); (2) US ambassador Robert Godec; (3) Odinga’s decision to hold a swearing-in ceremony in defiance of Uhuru; (4) Retired Major General Philip Kameru persuading Uhuru not to escalate tensions and arrest Odinga; (5) a flailing economy; (6) National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed acting as go-between and, finally, (7) goodwill.

You were not wondering, but in case you were, none of these variables have any space or importance in Eritrea. The country’s political development is where Africa was during its post-independence Big Men era (1955-1975). We have decades to go to achieve the status of a mess.

Meanwhile, UN’s Human Rights Council had interactive dialogue on human rights in Eritrea. You can read the entire dialogue here. Speakers included:

Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Sheila B. Keetharuth, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
Remy Nogy Lumbu, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Veronica Almedom, Information Forum for Eritrea
Pamela Delargy, public health specialist.

GOs: European Union, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Australia, France, China, Greece, Venezuela, Sudan, Djibouti, United Kingdom, Ireland, Cuba,
NGOs: International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Article 19- International Centre against Censorship, Centre for Global Nonkilling, Human Rights Watch, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Amnesty International, United Nations Watch, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

The alarm clock of Tesfamichael Gerahtu, the ambassador of the country of concern, didn’t go off, or he was too busy carrying out his main ambassadorial duty (spying on Eritrean Diaspora) and thus:

Eritrea was not present to take the floor as the concerned country.

Later, he showed up and read last year’s report with what Trump might call a Jeb Bush energy. These are the “diplomats” that are hoping to sway the UN and the US.

Sudan-Egypt:  Remember when Egypt was mad at Sudan because the latter was too cozy with Turkey and Ethiopia? Remember when Egyptian media attacked Sudan in sometimes racist tones? Remember when Sudanese media attacked Egyptian politicians? That was so three months ago. Before Omar Al Bashir learned of Isaias Afwerki’s plot to overthrow him. Now, things are back to the brotherly people routine: they actually recorded the plane landing in Egypt. And, oh, Al-Bashir endorsed Sisi for president in the upcoming elections which will be too close to call by nobody. Happy Nowruz Day, Iranians! That’s not how you say it, but Happy New Year.

https://youtu.be/aln-rquJsxQ

Ethiopia still doesn’t have a Prime Minister because the EPRDF makes decisions “by consensus”–it is the “revolutionary democratic way”–and there is no consensus. Addis Standard said last week that there would be a meeting middle of this week and: “In the five days deliberations so far, only one party hasn’t delivered its report to the ongoing EC meeting, Shiferaw said, but it is not mentioned which of the four parties hasn’t completed delivering its performance report. Shiferaw said this party will deliver its report tomorrow.” Care to guess which the one unnamed party is?