Regional cooperation and freedoms?

Wondering about the implications of regional cooperation on freedoms in general.

I wrote all of this because as I have mentioned before, there seems to be a replication of ideas in this region by NGOs, Opposition Parties as well as Civil Society Groups. In one of the article I mentioned how Strikes of medical personnel and teachers in Uganda, were being replicated by colleagues in Kenya and Tanzania. I also mentioned how advocacy campaigns by local opposition groups were also finding their way into certain sections of Tanzania (Activists for Change-A4C). Government too was in on the game and had began to introduce complex and costly legislative rules that would make it harder for journalists especially those with an investigative lens to challenge leaders (Kenya). In addition to this back in the home space I also found that a law had been introduced that was designed to make it hard of large gatherings to occur and at least give the government a head start in nipping in the bud any attempts to opposition groups to achieve momentum (public order management bill). 

While these occurrences took place quite a while back, we had a visit from BHO. Soon after that another left handed head of state showed up. His trip was interesting because he addressed parliament and met some important business leaders. But he also took a few jabs at the Opposition. 

His position back at home is complex and he is running government with a coalition (predominantly tribal in nature feeding off of Kenya's strange tendency to coagulate around its regional and language groups). 

In what I have referred to as schizophrenic-like foreign policy responses that pit one branch of government against another, we had no mention of the "choices have consequences" message of the assistant to the secretary of state for African Affairs J.C. 

Instead lawns were mowed and lectures were delivered to African Presidents.

But it was good to see that our man could hold his own against the great eagle and the star spangled banner (nothing against either). And as I have stated in another tweet, it was also good to see the younger man being affirmed by Kenya's second president (a trained teacher) as well as the country's third (an accomplished Economist). 

I was not certain what to make of the message delivered to the Uganda's Opposition. My concern was that the little space that was left was shrinking and that any hope of receiving assistance from Neighboring countries was suddenly vanishing. If this works against the Opposition for now, it will work against the leaders in the future. Because markets are designed around safety the time will come (if the pan African dream is realized) when the presidents will find themselves demoted to senators and their nations to states as the African Union takes shape merging the vast size and potential of our economies with some form of government. The question is where will we place our capital. 

Over to you!