Kenya
Promise after promise, Ruto eats into Odinga's home support

Palace Intrigues
Teodorin Obiang Nguema, Paul Biya, Raila Odinga, Cyril Ramaphosa and Alassane Ouattara

Intrigues big and small: every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

CameroonTeodorin Obiang Nguema cosies up to busy Biyas

KenyaRaila Odinga's posthumous, final memoir in the offing

South AfricaCyril Ramaphosa chides his oil minister for being hooked on hydrocarbons

Ivory CoastOuattara and Macron like ships in the night

Kenya
Ruto attempts to avert implosion in Odinga camp

An influential faction of the Orange Democratic Movement is threatening to secede if the party continues its government agreement with the head of state. The president has asked his former rival to rein in his troops to avoid weakening an already faltering presidential coalition.

Kenya
Latent conflict at the Ministry of Mines over the allocation of permits

As Kenya seeks to boost its mining revenues, attempts by the principal secretary of mines to control the granting of permits to mining operators are annoying his cabinet secretary.

Kenya
William Ruto woos warhorses from the Western region

The Kenyan president continues to forge alliances ahead of the 2027 election. He is trying to curry favour with a range of political bigwigs and former ministers from the Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions.

Kenya
Ex-interior secretary Fred Matiang'i one step closer to presidential candidacy

Former strongman of Uhuru Kenyatta's administration hopes to gain the support of the latter's Jubilee Party in the 2027 campaign. Meanwhile, the rest of the opposition remains divided on what approach to take.

Kenya
Security services prepare for protests over finance bill

Kenya's intelligence services want to set up a special unit to contain any social unrest - sparked by the draft budget - akin to the violence that racked the country last year. They fear that this time round, unlike in 2024, the opposition parties could join the protests.

Kenya
Odinga's departure prompts ODM infighting

Senior executives of the Orange Democratic Movement, Kenya's second largest political party, are not taking kindly to the promotion of Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o as interim leader. In addition to his age and attitude towards them, Nyong'o's pro-government line has distanced him from many ODM executives.

Kenya
Deputy in Raila Odinga's party dreaming of becoming opposition leader

A respected leader in his region, the former governor of Mombasa, Ali Hassan Joho, is struggling to win over the traditional opposition strongholds in western Kenya. He is seeking to unite the key leaders of the coast around his own possible party.