January 1: Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda
Three east African countries, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, launch a regional free-trade agreement after six years of negotiations. The union is an attempt to revive the East African community founded in 1967, which collapsed a decade after it was set up. The member states hope the new union will lead to a common market, a common currency, and eventually a political union.
January 4: Burundi
Burundi’s President Domitien Ndayizeye signs two laws, setting up the new army and the new police force. The Burundi Armed Forces will now be known as the National Defense Force, which comprises of all but one of the Hutu rebel groups and the Tutsi-dominated government army.
January 9: Sudan
Sudan’s government and southern rebels sign a historic peace deal ending the 20-year-long civil war. According to the agreement, the Christian south will be autonomous for six years, and then will hold a referendum on independence. Also, the country’s oil wealth is to be split equally between north and south. The peace deal does not cover the conflict in Darfur.
January 30: Libya
U.S. oil companies, including Occidental and Chevron Texaco, win most contracts for oil exploration in Libya at its first open license auction. Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa and is seeking massive foreign investment. Libya wants to raise its oil output to 2.1 million barrels a day by the end of the decade.
January 31 — Sudan
After investigating reports about crimes committed by the Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, a United Nations five-man panel led by Italian judge Antonio Cassese issues a statement ruling out genocide. More than 70,000 people have been killed and two million displaced from their homes in Darfur. If the panel found the crimes to be genocide, the UN would be legally obliged to take action.
February 5: Central Africa
Seven central African leaders sign a treaty to protect the world’s second-largest rainforest in Africa’s Congo Basin, which comprises 890,000 square miles and spans seven countries. Described as one of the world’s two lungs, the African rainforest contracts at a rate of 3,089 square miles per year due to illegal logging, excessive poaching, and ecological damage.
March 1: Burundi
Voters in Burundi approve a new power-sharing constitution designed to end 12 years of ethnic conflict. The new constitution defines the number of posts in the government and parliament, with 40 percent of seats assigned to the Tutsi minority and 60 percent to the Hutu majority. More importantly, the country’s military posts are split evenly.
March 10: Djibouti
Mohamed Daoud Chehem, the only opposition candidate in Djibouti’s presidential election scheduled for April, withdraws from the race due to lack of funds. Opposition groups call for boycotting the election because they expect vote rigging.
March 30: Sudan
The UN Security Council passes a resolution, which imposes sanctions on those who commit atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, and strengthens an arms embargo on Sudan. It also bans travel and freezes the assets of those who obstruct the peace process in Darfur. The sanctions come into effect in 30 days, allowing officials to draft a list of offenders.
March 31: Central African Republic
The president of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, wins only 43 percent of the vote during the presidential election and will have to participate in a runoff election on May 1. His main rival, former Prime Minister Martin Ziguele, wins 23.5 percent of the vote. Election observers say the vote was successful and democratic.
April 1: Sudan
The United Nations Security Council agrees to try war-crime suspects in Sudan’s Darfur region in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United States decides not to veto the resolution after it receives assurances that no U.S. members of any peacekeeping operation in Sudan would be prosecuted.
April 1: Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF Party wins a two-thirds majority in Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections. This enables Mugabe to amend the constitution. The opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, says the election has been rigged. Human-rights groups say that about 10 percent of voters were turned away from polling stations and hundreds of thousands of ghost voters were put on the electoral roll.
April 6: Côte Ivoire/South Africa
After four days of talks in South Africa, the Ivorian government signs a cease-fire agreement with the New Forces rebels. The agreement includes a recommitment that the war is over and a pledge to disarm the militias.
April 14: Kenya
Kenya’s parliament unanimously supports the government’s appeal to seize all idle land and distribute it among the landless. The legislators also prompt the government to set a limit on the amount of land an individual can own.
April 15: Africa
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that last year 20 Sub-Saharan African countries achieved more than five percent growth, with inflation the lowest in 25 years. However, the IMF also warns that African economies are still not growing fast enough to reduce poverty levels.
April 28: Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean government announces it will import 1.2 million tons of staple food, denying at the same time that the country ran out of food. There are also shortages of other items, such as toothpaste and margarine. The government blames food shortages on drought and economic sabotage by Western countries.
April 29: Uganda
The British government withdraws $10 million of aid to Uganda, pressing the government to restore a multiparty system. For years, political parties have been severely restricted and opposition groups have insisted that donors cut aid. Half of Uganda’s budget consists of donors’ funding.
May 4: Togo
The Constitutional Court of Togo swears in President Faure Gnassingbe, son of the country’s dictator, who died earlier in the year. Faure initially took the office upon his father’s death, but under international pressure, especially from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), he called elections. ECOWAS approved the results of the elections. Also, the Constitutional Court rejected the opposition’s appeal that the elections were rigged.
May 5: Côte Ivoire
The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to extend the mandate of UN peacekeepers in Ivory Coast for at least one more month. There are currently 10,000 UN, French, and other peacekeepers in the country. Since 2002, Ivory Coast has been divided between the rebel-controlled north and the government-controlled south. Both sides have agreed to hold elections in October.
May 25: Central African Republic
Francois Bozize wins the final round of presidential elections in the Central African Republic. Bozize originally took power in a coup in 2003, but his growing popularity has won him this election.
May 25: Egypt
Egyptian voters approve a constitutional amendment allowing multi-party presidential elections. However, voter turnout is low, except among government employees that were sent to vote. Egyptian opposition groups had called for a boycott of the vote and claim the changes will not really remove barriers to entry into politics. The government says the vote is a victory for democracy.
May 30: Somalia
Fighting breaks out in the city of Baidoa between rival warlords over whether the Somali government should locate there or in Mogadishu. Earlier in the month, members of the Somali interim government began to move from Kenya back to Somalia, and most support an interim capital at Baidoa. However, Mogadishu warlords are willing to fight to locate the capital in their city.
June 3: Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s police demolish thousands of shantytowns, arresting 22,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless during the government’s operation against illegal housing. The critics, however, say that the operation was the government’s revenge against areas that voted for the opposition in the March elections. Amnesty International strongly condemns the demolition.
June 6: Burundi
In Burundi’s first national elections since the beginning of the civil war in 1993, the predominantly Hutu Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) wins more than half of the local municipalities, defeating President Domitien Ndayizeye’s Frodebu Party. Next month, the voters will elect a national assembly, which in turn will choose the president in August.
June 15: Ethiopia
Great Britain suspends $36 million in aid to Ethiopia after the Ethiopian authorities killed 36 people and arrested at least 3,600 during protests against an alleged fraud in last month’s elections. Final results have yet to be announced three weeks after the polls, as the authorities investigate numerous reports of fraud.
July 5: Mauritius
The first non-Hindu prime minister of Mauritius, Paul Berenger, resigns after his coalition government, the Mauritian Socialist Movement—Mauritian Militant Movement, loses parliamentary elections. Navin Ramgoolam, leader of the opposition Social Alliance, replaces him as prime minister, having previously served in that post from 1995 to 2000.
July 8: Africa
The eight major industrial nations conclude their G8 summit with an agreement to increase aid to Africa by $50 billion. The G8 leaders also agree to cancel the debt of the 18 poorest African nations, as well as achieve universal access to HIV treatment drugs in Africa by 2010. The nations of the G8 include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
July 22: Zimbabwe
A UN report declares the Zimbabwe government’s Operation Drive Out Rubbish, a slum clearance program, to be in violation of international law. Zimbabwe has demolished hundreds of thousands of homes and evicted the residents in a move that the government claims is a crackdown on black market trading and criminal activity. The UN report criticizes the demolition for being haphazard and inhumane.
July 22: Niger
Food and money begins to arrive in Niger, where millions of people face severe food shortages. Aid agencies have criticized the international community for responding too slowly to the food crisis, brought on by a drought and a locust invasion that destroyed last year’s harvest and led to the deaths of thousands of children. Niger, a desert country, is one of the poorest nations in the world.
July 23: Egypt
At least 64 people are killed and 200 injured when terrorists detonate bombs in a hotel, a market, and a parking lot in Sharm al-Sheikh. The bombings in this resort town are the worst terrorist attack in Egypt in over two decades. The attacks coincide both with the high tourist season and with anniversary celebrations of the 1952 Egyptian revolution.
July 28: Guinea-Bissau
The former military dictator of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, also known as Nino, wins a run-off presidential election, defeating Malam Bacai Sanha. Guinea-Bissau has experienced several coups and dictatorships since gaining its independence from Portugal in 1974. Sanha’s African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) ruled the nation until Vieira seized power in 1980. Vieira ruled for 18 years until he was overthrown in 1999.
July 29: Rwanda
Rwanda releases the first of 36,000 prisoners detained for their role in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Many have been held without trial for 10 years. The freed prisoners are not accused of the most serious crimes and include the elderly and the sick. Before returning home, the prisoners must spend six weeks at a solidarity camp to help them reintegrate into society.
August 4: African Union/Mauritania
The African Union (AU) suspends Mauritania’s membership in the organization in a protest at the military coup and calls for the new leaders to restore constitutional order. Mauritania’s new Military Council for Justice and Democracy vows to recognize all international treaties and accords concerning Mauritania.
August 11: South Africa
Workers in South Africa’s gold mines end a four-day strike after reaching a settlement with employers. The National Union of Mineworkers’ protest of low wages and poor living conditions cost the industry $20 million a day. The strike is the nation’s first industry-wide general strike in 18 years.
August 26: Burundi
Pierre Nkurunziza, a former schoolteacher and rebel leader, is sworn in as president of Burundi after being elected by parliament. He is the first democratically elected leader since the start of civil war in 1993. Nkurunziza’s inauguration marks the end of a five-year peace process between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi minority following a war in which 300,000 people died.
September 2: Namibia
The Namibian government begins the compulsory purchase of white-owned farms as part of land reform. The country has around 4,500 commercial farms, half of which are owned by whites. The government plans to settle over 200,000 landless black people on expropriated farms. The critics say the move is an attempt on the part of the government to cover up its failure to create more jobs and better living conditions for ordinary people.
September 9: Egypt
President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for twenty-four years, wins the country’s first multiparty presidential election, sparking protests in Cairo. Observers report widespread abuses, but do not believe they would change the outcome of the vote. Turnout for the vote is low as less than a quarter of eligible voters participate. While some call the election a breakthrough for democracy in the Middle East, others see it as a farce.
September 28: Morocco
Spain plans to double the height of the fences around Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, which is a destination point for hundreds of illegal African immigrants attempting to cross into Europe. Just this year, there were 12,000 attempts to enter Melilla. Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity, calls the Spanish and Moroccan security tactics violent, whereas Spain claims the violence stems from assaults by the immigrants.
October 26: Senegal
Senegal renews diplomatic relations with China, abandoning its ties with Taiwan. The country’s foreign ministry attributes the decision to a thorough assessment of the current global geopolitical situation. China does not recognize countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
October 31: Democratic Republic of Congo/Rwanda
The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), supported by UN peacekeeping troops, begins an operation to eject Rwandan rebels from the Virunga national park on the border with Rwanda. Nearly 15,000 Rwandan militiamen are camped out in the park, having fled their country after the 1994 genocide. Rwanda has invaded the DRC twice over the presence of the rebels, and threatens to do so again if the rebels are not disarmed.
November 18: Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso’s Election Commission confirms incumbent Blaise Compaore’s victory in the presidential election. Compaore faced eleven challengers and won 80 percent of the vote. This will be Compaore’s third term in office, but according to a 2000 Constitutional Court ruling, future presidents will be limited to two terms.
November 23: Liberia
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, known as the Iron Lady, becomes Liberia’s new president and Africa’s first elected female head of state. Johnson-Sirleaf is an economist who formerly worked with the IMF and World Bank. Her challenger, soccer star George Weah, makes claims of voting fraud, but the African Union, the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS), and other international observers call the election free and fair.
November 29: Lesotho
Lesotho’s government plans to hire an additional 7,500 health workers to bring free HIV tests door-to-door to the country’s 1.8 million citizens. The country estimates that as many as 30 percent of Lesotho adults may carry the disease and many are not aware of the fact.
November 30: Gabon
Gabon’s incumbent president, Omar Bongo, wins a third term in office with 79.2 percent of the vote. Opposition accuses Bongo of using the state money to run his high-tech campaign. Bongo ran his campaign on the platform of maintaining stable Gabon in an unstable region and using vast oil reserves to bring prosperity to the people. The election was peaceful and gives Bongo seven more years in the presidency.
December 8: Kenya
Sixteen ministerial appointees in Kenya refuse to take up their posts, arguing that President Mwai Kibaki failed to discuss the appointments with the coalition partners. Kibaki fired his previous cabinet after losing a constitutional referendum last month, which is seen as a rejection of his policies. In this situation, the opposition parties say Kibaki should call for an early general election.
December 8: Zimbabwe
After his four-day trip to Zimbabwe, Jan Egeland, the United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, says the country is in a dire situation. Since 1990 life expectancy in Zimbabwe has halved to 30 years, 20 percent of adults are HIV positive, inflation has reached 500 percent, about 500,000 people have been left homeless after the government’s demolition program, and three million people will need food aid over the next year. Egeland calls Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s policies criminal.
December 8: Egypt
Early results from Egypt’s parliamentary elections show that the opposition Muslim Brotherhood has won a record 87 seats in the 454-member assembly, making it the largest opposition group in the parliament. However, President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party wins over 70 percent of votes, gaining a two-thirds majority. The election, which was marred by arrests and violence earlier in the week, is seen as a test of Egypt’s commitment to political reform.
December 15: Sierra Leone
The last United Nations (UN) peacekeeping troops leave Sierra Leone, bringing a five-year mission to an end. UN troops first came to Sierra Leone to end civil war and initially suffered military defeats, but after a British military intervention they continued their mission, and eventually succeeded in restoring security and democracy. The international community sees the Sierra Leone mission as a positive indication for the feasibility of peacekeeping worldwide.
December 21: Tanzania
Jakaya Kikwete wins Tanzania’s presidential election and his Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party wins an outright majority in parliament. Kikwete will replace President Benjamin Mkapa, who steps down after two terms in office. One of Kikwete’s priorities is improving relations with the semiautonomous Zanzibar, where the opposition has significant support. The African Union’s observers endorse the election process.
December 23: Nigeria
Nigeria pledges to make antiretroviral drugs available to HIV/AIDS patients for free in the next two weeks. A recent study by Médecins Sans Frontières shows that almost half of people on drug treatment in Nigeria cannot afford adequate doses of the medicine, which the Nigerian government receives for free but has demanded payment from patients. Nigeria has the third highest number of HIV infections in the world, estimated at four million.
December 29: Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire’s transitional government takes office with the cautiously optimistic approval of rebel forces and government officials. Earlier in the month African mediators appointed Charles Konan Banny interim prime minister, with a mandate to select a government, oversee disarmament, and organize presidential elections by October 2006. Since 2002, Ivory Coast has been split into the rebel-controlled and government areas under a fragile peace monitored by the United Nations and French peacekeepers.