August 03, 2022
Rwanda: The U.S. and Rwanda - How the Relationship Has Evolved Since the 1994 Genocide
One of the primary points of discussion between Antony Blinken and Rwandan president Paul Kagame in the US secretary of state's upcoming visit to Kigali will be the renewed… Read more »
August 02, 2022
Rwanda: How Annual Genocide Commemoration Fans the Flame of Ethnicity
Each year, Rwandans at home and in the diaspora remember those killed in the 1994 genocide. This is not a single-day event. Kwibuka ("to remember" in the local Kinyarwanda… Read more »
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 28, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: The UN Is Under Attack in Eastern Congo. but DRC Elites Are Also to Blame for the Violence
Demonstrators in the volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have called for the immediate withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Recent… Read more »
July 31, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Protests Against UN in Eastern Congo Highlight Peace Mission's Crisis of Legitimacy
Violent protests erupted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late July 2022, resulting in the deaths of at least three peacekeepers and several civilians. Read more »
July 27, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Belgium Is Reviewing Its Colonial Past in the DRC - It's a Sensitive but Necessary Process
The year 2022 is shaping up to be a critical period for the troubled relationship between Kinshasa and Brussels. Read more »
July 21, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Peat Swamps Store Three Years of Global Carbon Emissions - Imminent Oil Drilling Could Release It
Democratic Republic of the Congo's government is preparing to auction off a series of licenses to drill for oil in the Congo basin. This threatens to damage around 11 million… Read more »
July 27, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: How Conflicts Intertwined Over Time and Destabilised the DRC - and the Region
The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the deadliest the world has ever witnessed. One report estimates the death toll at 5.4 million while a more… Read more »
July 22, 2022
Angola: Angola's Eduardo Dos Santos - a Divisive Figure in Life - and in Death
There is unlikely to be consensus on what José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola's former longtime president who died earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain, will represent in the… Read more »
July 21, 2022
Angola: Dos Santos Failed to Provide a Moral Example and Stop the Plunder of the State
Silence is what comes to define the life and the death of the former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos (1942-2022), who died recently at a hospital in Barcelona,… Read more »
July 05, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Patrice Lumumba's Tooth Represents Plunder, Resilience and Reparation
Patrice Lumumba is the hero of the Democratic Republic of Congo's truncated bid for complete independence. He was assassinated by local counter-revolutionary forces with the help… Read more »
June 30, 2022
Central Africa: Covid Hurt West and Central Africa's Small-Scale Fishers. They Need More Support
From Senegal through Ghana to Cameroon, small-scale fishing is both a livelihood and a way of life for people in coastal parts of West and Central Africa, with more than two… 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 »
June 19, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: How Patrice Lumumba's Assassination Drove Student Activism, Shaping the Congo's Future
During a recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), King Philippe of Belgium made a speech to the national parliament in Kinshasa expressing his "deepest regrets" for… Read more »
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 12, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Retracing Belgium's Dark Past in the Congo, and Attempts to Forge Deeper Ties
Belgian King Philippe and his wife Queen Mathilde recently led a delegation on a week-long visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trip was billed as a chance to… Read more »
May 29, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: What Coltan Mining in the DRC Costs People and the Environment
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in natural resources - its untapped deposits of minerals are estimated to be worth US$24 trillion. Gold, diamonds, cobalt and zinc… Read more »
May 24, 2022
Rwanda: Commonwealth in Kigali - Another Chance for Rwanda's Kagame to Project Soft Power
Rwanda is getting its turn to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from 20 June to 25 June 2022. The grouping of former imperialist Britain power plus its dismantled… Read more »
May 22, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: What M23's On-and-Off Insurgency Tells Us About Precarious Search for Peace
Since March 2022, fighting has escalated in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between the army and the rebel group March 23 Movement, more widely known as M23. The… Read more »
Angola: Ruling Party Faces United Opposition in Upcoming Poll. But It's Pushing Back
The election of Angolan President João Lourenço in 2017 raised hopes of a shift from the authoritarian and corrupt era of his predecessor. This was thanks to the new,… Read more »
May 21, 2022
West Africa: Togo - Region's New Frontier of Violent Extremism?
The threat of violent extremism across West Africa has been on the rise in recent times. Read more »
May 16, 2022
Rwanda: LGBT Rights Are Protected On Paper, but Discrimination and Homophobia Persist
"From today, I no longer want to be called your mother, if you don't want to change you can leave my house and come back when you are a transformed person, when you are a man."… Read more »
May 13, 2022
East Africa: UK Plans to Send Asylum Seekers to Africa Raise Red Flags
Like many others, I was surprised and upset to hear about the UK's new deal to offload its responsibility to tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda. The plan is for Rwanda… Read more »
May 08, 2022
Central African Republic: Who is the CAR Figure On Trial At The Hague?
The Central African Republic (CAR) descended into conflict in 2013 when Seleka rebels deposed then President François Bozizé. Read more »
October 29, 2015
Angola: Where Did All the Oil Riches Go? - Luanda Residents
A few years ago, Luanda, the capital of Angola, was on every ambitious investor's lips. With large infrastructure and housing projects rapidly changing its appearance, the city… Read more »