February 28
South Africa: It Took 16 Years but South Africa Has Impeached a Senior Judge
Former Western Cape judge president John Mandlakayise Hlophe has become one of the first two members of South Africa's judiciary to be impeached since the country became a… Read more »
February 26
South Africa: South Africa's Apartheid Legacy Is Still Hobbling Research - a Study of Geography Shows How
Knowledge matters. It informs how we think about the world around us. It informs our decisions and government policies, supporting economic growth and development. Read more »
February 20
South Sudan: South Sudan - Some Spoilers Want Peace to Fail, Putting 2024 Elections At Risk
South Sudan is expected to hold its first general election in December 2024. It became an independent state in 2011. Read more »
February 16
Africa: State-Owned Energy Companies Are Among the World's Most Polluting - Putting a Price On Carbon Could Help
Existing measures to cajole companies to decarbonise, with subsidies for renewable energy and carbon taxes, have failed to prevent global emissions rising. Does state ownership,… Read more »
February 18
South Africa: Corruption and Clean Energy in South Africa - Economic Model Shows Trust in Government Is Linked to Takeup of Renewables
South Africa relies heavily on energy from coal-fired power stations, which emit large quantities of carbon. But making the transition to greater use of renewable energies, such as… Read more »
February 15
Ghana: New Vehicle Tax Aims to Tackle Pollution - Expert Unpacks How It'll Work and Suggests Reforms
Ghana has introduced an annual carbon levy on vehicles and industrial emissions. It's only the third African country to introduce an explicit carbon tax, after South Africa and… Read more »
February 14
West Africa: West Africa Trade Will Take a Hit As Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Leave Ecowas
The membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been whittled down from 15 to 12 following the unilateral withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in… Read more »
Africa: Wagner Group Is Now Africa Corps. What This Means for Russia's Operations On the Continent
In August 2023, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died after his private jet crashed about an hour after taking off in Moscow. He had been Russia's pointman in Africa since the… Read more »
February 13
South Africa: 17 Million South Africans Live On Communal Land - New Study of a Rural Valley Offers Insights On How to Manage It
The Tyhume River, flowing from the forested Amathole Mountains in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, gives its name to a valley of 20 villages on communal land. Much of the land… Read more »
February 12
Kenya: Kenya's Sex Workers Have Solutions to Their Problems, but International NGOs Aren't Hearing Them
In Kenya, rights organisations run by sex workers have gone into numerous partnerships with international organisations over the past decade. In recent research, I set out to… Read more »
February 09
South Africa: Ramaphosa Aims for Upbeat Tone in Annual Address, but Fails to Impress a Jaundiced Electorate
This year's State of the Nation Address - delivered annually in February by South Africa's president - was bound to be stuffed with electioneering messages and slogans. The country… Read more »
February 08
Tanzania: Tanzania's Elections Are Vulnerable to State Abuse - Urgent Law Reforms Are Needed
Tanzania's electoral law reform is overdue for an overhaul. This was made most apparent by the 2019 local elections and the 2020 general elections. The results were big wins for… Read more »
February 07
West Africa: Why Withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Signals Trouble for the Sahel
On 27 January 2024, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their plan to withdraw from membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), despite repeated… Read more »
Senegal: Macky Sall Throws Senegal's Democratic Credentials Into Doubt
Senegal's President Macky Sall announced in early February that presidential elections, originally scheduled for 25 February, would be postponed indefinitely. The announcement has… Read more »
February 05
South Africa: Surveillance and the State - South Africa's Proposed New Spying Law Is Open for Comment - an Expert Points Out Its Flaws
In early 2021, the South African Constitutional Court found that the country's State Security Agency, through its signals intelligence agency, the National Communication Centre,… Read more »
West Africa: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Want to Leave Ecowas. a Political Scientist Explains the Fallout
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have sent Ecowas, west Africa's main political union of 15 countries, a formal notice of their withdrawal from the bloc. The three countries are… Read more »
February 04
Africa: Hage Geingob - Namibian President Who Played a Modernising Role
Hage Gottfried Geingob served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death on February 4 2024. He was Namibia's first prime minister from 1990 to 2002, and served as… Read more »
Chad: Promise of New Chapter Fades As Junta Strengthens Before Elections
It's been three years since Chad's former president Idriss Déby Itno died. A transitional authority took over after his death. Yet the transition to democracy that was on… Read more »
February 01
Nigeria: Slaves of God - Nigeria's Traditional Osu Slavery Practice Was Stopped, but the Suffering Continues
There are global efforts to fight modern slavery, but a few traditional systems still hold strong in west Africa. These include Osu, Ohu and Trokosi. Read more »
January 30
South Africa: Nelson Mandela's Personal Items Under the Hammer in New York? Why It Outraged Some, and What's At Stake
An identity document, a pair of reading glasses, a hearing aid and a pair of worn shoes. These are just some of Nelson Mandela's personal items that were due to go on auction on 22… Read more »
January 28
Africa: Ruling By UN's Top Court Means Canada and the U.S. Could Be Complicit in Gaza Genocide
The International Court of Justice has issued a ground-breaking decision in South Africa's genocide case against Israel, ordering Israel to comply with six provisional measures to… Read more »
January 29
South Africa: South Africa Is Failing People Who Aren't Poor, but Aren't Middle Class Either
Many South African households are trapped. They are neither poor nor middle class. As a demographic they hover above the indigence threshold financially. But they are not yet… Read more »
January 27
South Africa: Jacob Zuma, the Monster South Africa's Ruling ANC Created, Continues to Haunt It
Former South African president Jacob Zuma is endorsing the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, the latest rival to the governing African National Congress (ANC) for the upcoming national… Read more »
January 26
South Africa: The Two Faces of Jacob Zuma - Former South African President Campaigns to Unseat the ANC He Once Led. Who Supports Him and Why?
Former South African president Jacob Zuma's political comeback builds on support from marginalised and angry constituencies within or close to the governing African National… Read more »
January 25
Uganda: Cecilia Atim Ogwal - a Fearless Ugandan Politician Who Spoke Her Mind and Challenged Conventions
Cecilia Barbara Atim Ogwal, one of Uganda's longest-serving female legislators, passed away on 18 January 2024 at the age of 77. Read more »