The cartoonist Gado, on the recent elections in his country of birth:

It was a privilege to be on the BBC's "Start the Week" this morning discussing war, iconic hotels and the joy of story-telling with what we belatedly clocked to be an all-woman panel: veteran Lyse Doucet, military historian Ashleigh Percival-Borley and presenter Shahidha Bari.

The 25th anniversary edition of "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", my account of Mobutu's rise and fall, comes out tomorrow. Back when it was first published, I never dreamed it would still be selling all these years later. Funny. It has a new afterword and updates throughout.

My copies of “Tradecraft”, the collection of essays by people who helped John le Carré research his novels, has arrived. Contains one chapter about the week Jason Stearns and I spent with the author in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I was delighted to see both "Do Not Disturb" and "It's Our Turn to Eat" - my books on Rwanda and Kenya - are included in this new roundup of the best books on African, Asian and Latin American countries. Just out.

Unsurprisingly, the DRC government is not impressed.

I'll be speaking about recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo at this commemorative event in east London on Saturday afternoon. All welcome.

I initially assumed this must be a fake, a spoof, but I'm told it's not. It's very, very funny. A police state known for its enthusiastic use of Pegasus spyware offering itself up to the UN as host: just think of the marvellous surveillance opportunities presented.

I'll be discussing the situation in DRC in east London on May 24. Everyone welcome. Bienvenue à tous!

I'll be doing this on Sunday. All welcome.

Ce soir, je vais être en discussion avec Sibikan media, au sujet de la RDC, la crise actuelle et l'héritage de Mobutu.

For those interested in discussing the situation in DRC and legacy of Mobutu, a reminder that I'll be taking part in this event, tomorrow afternoon, in Brussels.

Je serai à Bruxelles pour participer à cette discussion sur la crise en République démocratique du Congo et l'héritage de Mobutu, le samedi 1er mars. Bienvenue à tous.

I'll be in Brussels, taking part in this discussion on the crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mobutu's legacy on Saturday, March 1. All welcome.

Ce soir.

I finally got to visit the final resting place of Mobutu Sese Seko, in the Christian cemetery in Rabat, Morocco, where he died in exile in 1997. I've spent a long time thinking and writing about this man, it was oddly satisfying to see it for myself.

2/2

Mon éditeur français vient de sortir un livre qui expose la réalité des relations franco-africaines 1/2: