Rais mpya wa Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi amemtaka Rais Joseph Kabila kutojitokeza tena kuwania urais wakati wa uchaguzi mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasi ya Congo (DRC) ambao umecheleweshwa sana akisema amekuwa madarakani kwa muda mrefu.
Botswana, moja ya nchi za Afrika zilizoimarika katika demokrasia, ndiyo nchi pekee ambayo imethubutu kumkosoa Kabila.
Mapema mwaka huu, serikali ilitoa taarifa rasmi ikimlaumu wazi rais wa DR Congo kwa kuwa kiini cha kuzorota kwa ubinadamu na ukosefu wa usalama.
“Rais wa DRC amekaa mamlakani muda mrefu kuliko muda aliotarajiwa,” Masisi ambaye aliingia madarakani mwezi huu alisema hayo katika mahojiano na Taasisi ya Kimataifa ya Mafunzo mjini London, Alhamisi iliyopita.
Matumaini yetu tunaweza kupata msimamo wake kamili (Kabila) wa kutothubutu kurudi madarakani kwa namna yoyote iwayo.”
Wapinzani wa Kabila wanahisi kwamba anataka kupitisha kura ya maoni ili abadili Katiba ya DR Congo imruhusu kuwania urais kwa mihula zaidi ya miwili kama walivyofanya viongozi wa nchi jirani za Uganda, Rwanda na Jamhuri ya Congo.
Kabila hajathibitisha wala kukanusha madai hayo lakini hatua yake ya kukataa kujiuzulu mwishoni mwa mwaka 2016 muhula wake ulipomalizika ilichochea maandamano mitaani. Alitumia vikosi vyenye silaha hali iliyoibua shaka kwamba nchi hiyo ingeweza kutumbukia kwenye machafuko.
Uchaguzi mkuu wa DR Congo, ikiwa hakutakuwa na mabadiliko, umepangwa kufanyika Desemba 23.
After a period of three months in which both had been questioned extensively about their under-par contributions to the Manchester United cause, Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba combined to take down Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday to send Jose Mourinho’s men to the FA Cup final.
Just as they had risen to the occasion after an iffy start against Manchester City two weeks ago, sparking a 3-2 comeback win for the ages at the Etihad Stadium, Sanchez and Pogba dragged United back into proceedings after Spurs had grabbed an early lead and taken the ascendancy in a dramatic semi-final at Wembley.
But to believe that the game was over was to count against the quality and character of United, and particularly their pair of big-money purchases. Every time they fall short, there is an inquest as to why an £89.5 million midfielder and a forward paid £350,000 per week cannot make the grade. But days like these are the reason United shelled out big for them.
The game could easily have got away from United in the first half. Spurs took the lead when Dele Alli turned home an excellent cross from Christian Eriksen after Ashley Young had gone walkabout and left the slowly-retreating Pogba to cover. And, for a period afterwards, a second goal for the north Londoners felt like an inevitability.
Spurs were being allowed far too much time and space on the ball, whereas United for a time looked laboured and disinterested. But Sanchez’s equaliser altered the course of the game.
Mousa Dembele decided to attempt a nutmeg on Pogba just 20 yards from his own goal and was easily dispossessed by the Frenchman, who delivered a wonderfully-placed cross into the path of Sanchez.
While the Chilean still had plenty to do to beat Michel Vorm, his header was steered fantastically across the goalkeeper despite him having to stretch to get the desired contact.
It should have come as no surprise that Sanchez would deliver when it mattered. This was his eighth Wembley goal for club and country and his fourth in three FA Cup semi-final appearances. And coming just a fortnight after having a hand in the three goals which stunned City, this was just another example of the quality United have finally started to see shining through.
After a breathless first half, the second began at a much more sedate pace but it always felt as though that was just what United were looking for. As Spurs found trouble producing a killer pass or compelling piece of play, the Reds were waiting for their moment to pounce on the counter.