Death at infancy of Egypt’s law, experiment with democracy

By Charles Kanjama

The drama of the ongoing crisis in Egypt has held the world enthralled, and raised poignant questions about democracy in Africa and the Arab World. President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s fifth president and the first in decades to emerge from a genuine democratic process, was toppled by his own military three days after his first anniversary in office. Opponents of Morsi, mobilised in their millions in the streets, received the news with rapturous acclaim, while Morsi’s Islamist supporters reacted defiantly at this abortion of democracy.