August 01, 2022
Burundi: Burundi At 60 Is the Poorest Country On the Planet - A Look At What Went Wrong
Burundi, which marked 60 years of independence on 1 July 2022, ranks as the poorest country on the planet in terms of GDP per capita. This must be understood in the light of a… Read more »
July 31, 2022
East Africa: Change of Guard in Kenya - The 5 Reasons Neighbours Watch Every Step
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta - whose final term in office ends after the 9 August polls - has been a key figure in east Africa. Over the last nine years, he has tried to create… Read more »
July 25, 2022
East Africa: Dam Dispute - Five Key Reads About How It Started and How It Could End
The US has revived diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute sparked by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the Nile. Sudan and Egypt, which rely most… Read more »
July 24, 2022
Kenya: Young Voters Have a Dilemma - They Dislike Ethnic Politics but Feel Trapped
In elections and beyond, young Kenyans are an important political cohort. People between the ages of 18 and 35 make up about 30% of the population and nearly 40% of registered… Read more »
July 22, 2022
East Africa: Moving the Maasai - Tanzania Is Repeating Kenya's Colonial Past
Images of distressed members of the Maasai community being forcibly moved from their homes, beaten and harassed by police and the army in northern Tanzania in June set social media… Read more »
July 21, 2022
East Africa: Saving East Africa's Wildlife From Recurring Drought
Over the past two decades, the Horn of Africa - specifically Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya - has experienced more intense and frequent droughts. Read more »
July 20, 2022
Ethiopia: What's Driving the Violence in Oromia?
In November 2020 an outbreak of violence in Ethiopia's Tigray region captured worldwide attention. The conflict was between Tigrayan forces and the forces of the Ethiopian… Read more »
July 19, 2022
East Africa: Why Sexual and Reproductive Law for East African Countries Is Being Resisted
Six of the countries of the East African Community - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania - recently concluded public hearings on a new sexual and reproductive… Read more »
Kenya: Inflation Is Rising - Here's Why, and How to Fix It
Inflation has hit many countries recently, from the United States to Sri Lanka. Read more »
July 15, 2022
Kenya: Kenya's Election Promises - an Economist's Perspective
Kenya has four presidential candidates in the August 2022 general election. They recently launched their manifestos and one thing ties them together: the economy. Read more »
July 11, 2022
Ethiopia: Why Factory Jobs for Women Haven't Translated Into Greater Participation in Politics
Until the war in Tigray started in November 2020, Ethiopia was a favoured investment destination. It had experienced strong economic growth for the previous decade. Read more »
July 06, 2022
East Africa: How #AfricaClimateCrisis Will Affect Conflict in the Horn of Africa - What Researchers Found
The Horn of Africa, on the eastern coast of the continent, is currently being battered by an intense and sustained drought thanks to which around 20 million people are going… Read more »
Kenya: Why U.S.-Kenya Cooperation On Wildlife and Drug Trafficking Matters
Kenya and the United States have worked very closely against terrorism since the targeting of the American embassy in Nairobi in 1998 by Al-Qaeda. But much less debated is US-Kenya… Read more »
July 05, 2022
Kenya: Fringe Presidential Candidates - What They Offer in Elections
On 9 August 2022, Kenyans will vote for their fifth president. It will be the country's seventh general election since the resumption of multiparty electoral democracy 30 years… Read more »
July 03, 2022
Kenya: Why Kenya's Experiment in Giving Local Govts the Power to Manage Food Security Hasn't Worked
The ability of Kenya's 47 county governments to manage food security has been met with various challenges. These have crippled their capacity to deal with the impact of the ongoing… Read more »
June 28, 2022
Kenya: The Art of Bribery - a Closeup Look At How Traffic Officers Operate On Kenya's Roads
A first-time driver on Kenyan roads is likely to think that commercial and passenger service vehicles are highly regulated. Drivers are frequently stopped by police officers, who… Read more »
June 27, 2022
South Africa: Kenya and South Africa Offer Insights into Digital Economy Challenges and Alternatives
The World Bank is warning of the real danger of a massive economic downturn across the world. In a recent analysis it warned that many countries - including those in sub-Saharan… Read more »
June 26, 2022
East Africa: Is Eastern Africa's Drought the Worst in Recent History? And Are Worse Yet to Come?
Large areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are currently in the grip of a severe drought. An estimated 16.7 million people face acute food insecurity. That's more than the combined… Read more »
June 23, 2022
Rwanda: Kinyafranglais - How Rwanda Became a Melting Pot of Official Languages
Today, Rwanda is a melting pot of official languages. Although more than 99% of Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda - a Bantu language and the country's mother-tongue - Rwanda has three… Read more »
Kenya: How Degree Requirement for Top Political Posts Turned Into a Fiasco
The rush for academic credentials is nothing new ahead of a Kenyan election. Candidates are challenged about the existence or validity of their university degrees, and controversy… Read more »
June 22, 2022
Kenya: How Nairobi Police Failures Let People Get Away With Murder
At least one person gets killed every two days in Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. Most of these cases either go unreported or are never resolved. Only 94 murder cases were… Read more »
June 21, 2022
Somalia: No Time for Complacency - Somalia's Unfolding Famine Catastrophe
Somalia is on the brink of catastrophe. A recent assessment suggests that 7.7 million Somalis need emergency aid right now, a similar number to those affected by the Ethiopian… Read more »
June 19, 2022
Africa: Why Commonwealth Summit in Kigali Won't Be the Relaunch Some Hope For
Leaders of some 54 countries - from Africa, Europe, Asia and Southern America - are set to converge on Kigali between 20 June and 25 June 2022 for the Commonwealth Heads of… Read more »
June 16, 2022
Uganda: What the 100-Year-Old Makerere University in Uganda Reveals About Culture
Makerere University, which marks its centenary this year, is well-known as the oldest university in East Africa and as a cradle of political elites. Its alumni include presidents… Read more »
June 09, 2022
Kenya: Drama That Shaped Ngugi's Writing and Activism Comes Home to Kenya
As Kenya marked its 59th anniversary of internal self-rule on 1 June 2022, a controversial play by the nation's foremost author, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, was staged in sold-out shows.… Read more »