Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)

A few months ago, Bingu wa Mutharika, called his fellow Malawians 'chickens' for having the audacity to criticise him and complain about the way he was 'governing' them. Well the chickens are certainly coming home to roost now for the craven bunch of apologists and praises-singers (sorry Cabinet members and other senior officials) who backed Bingu's personalisation of the State.

It is not often that the Swazi people get to say what they think about anything - let alone their King. Their elections are little more than 'selections' given the ban on political parties. And their press is not allowed to be much more than a praise-singer for the monarchy. But a Gallup poll conducted late in 2011 has at least given an idea of what Swazis think - and it won't be happy reading for the King and his clique since more than 40% of Swazis disapprove of the King's performance.

Swaziland's absolute monarch probably had a pretty restless night last night - wrestling with a very tricky decision that his usually submissive parliament had forced upon him. By voting to kick out his Cabinet with a thumpingly huge majority, King Mswati's pet MPs had surprisingly and shockingly bared their teeth and left him with difficult choice - to side with the Constitution (which says that he must dissolve his cabinet if -- as happened - more than 3/5ths of MPs support a no-confidence motion) or with his cabinet cronies?

Rwanda has nowhere left to hide - except behind increasingly strident but utterly transparent blustering. The latest UN report into the six-month old M23 rebellion in eastern DRC follows the trail of command from the rebels strongholds in North Kivu province across the border with Rwanda and up to the capital Kigali and through the doors of the Rwandan Defence Ministry and finally to the desk of the Defence Minister himself.