Saturday November 2 2019
This picture taken on October 23, 2019 from the Cairo Tower in the centre of the Egyptian capital shows a view of the Nile river flowing through the city between the central downtown (background) and Zamalek districts (foreground). PHOTO | MOHAMED EL-SHAHED | AFP
In Summary
- River Nile traverses 10 African countries, but its clearest impact is felt in only three — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
- It is not for nothing that Egypt is rumoured to have a contingent in its military that has been training in jungle warfare, though there are no jungles in Egypt.
By MAGESHA NGWIRI
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia was elected on April 2, 2018. Barely a year and a half later, he was declared the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a rare honour for a politician who has not been tried and tested in the turbulent politics of the Horn.
The main reason for this recognition is that he ended the state of hostility between his country and Eritrea, which had lasted 20 years since a border war broke out between them.
He also did what his predecessors failed to do: opened up the democratic space, freed political prisoners and even appointed his opponents to high office, thus ensuring his country’s unity.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Whether Dr Abiy deserves the Nobel Peace Prize this early in his career is contestable, but things may not be so clean-cut on another issue that has been festering for an even longer period — the dispute with Egypt, and to a lesser extent, Sudan, over the use of the River Nile waters for development.
At 6,650 kilometres, the Nile is the longest river in Africa and one of the longest in the world. It traverses 10 African countries, but its clearest impact is felt in only three — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.