Despite the fall of apartheid in 1994 and the reconciliatory tone set by the country’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, the demon of racism is very much alive here.

Two elections this month in eastern and central Africa—in Kenya and Rwanda—have brought out tensions and contradictions in the continent’s democratic process.

"I hope that all forms of hatred and violence cease and that such shameful crimes are no longer committed in places of worship where the faithful gather to pray."

The no-confidence vote was called by the opposition in Parliament in the wake of overwhelming evidence of the president’s corrupt dealings with the Gupta family.

The pope led pilgrims in praying a Hail Mary for the victims of the attacks at St. Philip's Catholic Church in Ozubulu, Nigeria and at a mission in Gambo, Central African Republic.

In the weeks before Kenya's election on Aug. 8, ethnic tensions ran high, prompting religious leaders—Christian and Muslim—to preach for peace.