South Africa: Iran War Is Exposing South Africa's Dependency On Diesel - What Went Wrong

It is forgivable to think that an oil shock mainly hurts at the petrol pump. After all, that is where households feel it first. But when my colleagues and I at the Bureau for… Read more »

Mali: Mali's Security Crisis Holds Warnings for Nigeria - Here's Why

Mali and Nigeria, two of the countries in the Sahel region of west Africa, are separated by approximately 1,000 kilometres, with the Niger Republic between them. They differ in… Read more »

Africa: A Draft African Charter On 'Family Values' Is On the Cards - Why It's Flawed and Dangerous

A series of conferences held in Entebbe, Uganda, between 2023 and 2025 have resulted in a draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values. The meetings were organised by… Read more »

Mali: Mali's Military Leader Is Consolidating Power. Why This Is Dangerous

Malian officials announced on 4 May 2026 that junta leader General Assimi Goïta would take on the post of defence minister after the killing of General Sadio Camara a week… Read more »

South Africa: Julius Malema - South Africa's Performative Revolutionary Is Facing His Biggest Battle

Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa's fourth-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is a divisive figure: loved by some, hated by others. Read more »

Kenya: Kenya's War On Traditional Alcohol - a Colonial Hangover About What It Means to Be 'Civilised'

At the dawn of Kenya's colonial era in 1902, consumption of home-made alcohol was deeply embedded in society. For instance, among the Mijikenda of coastal Kenya, palm wine was… Read more »

Ghana: What Ghana's Foreign-Built Landmarks Tell Us About Its Global Relationships

The call to prayer echoes across the neighbourhood as people congregate under the sweeping domes and tall minarets of Ghana's National Mosque in Accra. For many, it is a place of… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Budget Is Treated Like a Government Secret - How an Online Public Monitoring System Could Fight Corruption

Nigerians have no reliable way of scrutinising the national budget. The citizen's portal of the Nigerian Budget Office of the Federation is often offline, and when it is online, it… Read more »

Uganda: Uganda's Bobi Wine On the Books (And Songs) That Shape His Politics

Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan music star and political leader currently in exile. Framing his movement as a "people power" struggle by… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Climate Disasters Don't Just Destroy Homes, They Change Lives Forever. We Spoke With Cyclone Survivors in Zimbabwe

When environmental hazards strike, the damage is usually counted in numbers: how many people died, how many homes were destroyed, how many people were displaced, and how much money… Read more »

Mali: Mali's Armed Groups Fill a Government Vacuum - Addressing This Is Key to Ending the Violence

Mali has been in a state of political turmoil since 2012. That year saw a military coup as well as armed groups taking over northern regions of the west African country. In the… Read more »

Benin: Benin Election - Wadagni's Landslide Win Raises Questions About His Legitimacy

Romuald Wadagni won the 2026 presidential election in Benin with over 94% of the vote. Wadagni, 50, is a technocrat who became an influential finance minister under Patrice Talon… Read more »

South Africa: Mopane Worm and Termite Sales Relieve Poverty in Rural South Africa - Studies Explore the Impact

South Africa's Limpopo province borders Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. It is one of the poorest provinces in the country. This is due to a combination of historical… Read more »

South Africa: Political Violence in South Africa Is Driven By a Power Elite Trying to Establish Dominance - New Research

For much of the past two decades, South Africa's recurring waves of protest have been interpreted through a dominant lens: the failure of the post-apartheid state to deliver… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's New Election Law Leaves Gaps - 5 Reforms for Free, Fair and Credible Polls

Nigeria's new Electoral Act, passed in February 2026, is a significant attempt to overhaul the country's electoral framework. Read more »

Egypt: Cairo's City of the Dead Is More Than a Cemetery - It's a Living Neighbourhood At Risk

On religious festival mornings, Egyptians gather among tombs in Cairo's City of the Dead, a four-mile medieval necropolis at the foot of the Mokattam Hills. They're upholding a… Read more »

Congo-Brazzaville: Congo-Brazzaville Election - Boycotts, Blackouts and Growing Dissent but Denis Sassou Nguesso Held On to Power

The 2026 presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville (the Republic of the Congo) returned Denis Sassou Nguesso for a fifth consecutive term, with a definitive 94.90% of the vote. Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Want Solar Power but They Worry Panels Will Be Stolen - Study

South Africa would seem like the perfect place for widespread uptake of solar energy. Read more »

Namibia: Seeing Women Govern Encourages Support for Women in Politics - With No Apparent Backlash Among Men

Quotas designed to bring gender parity to parliaments have an overall positive impact on support for female political leadership - especially after women members of parliament take… Read more »

Mauritius: Chagos Islands Deal Shelved - Legal Expert Explains What Happens Next

The UK government has shelved legislation to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the US government withdrew its support for the deal. Read more »

South Africa: Nelson Mandela Was a Towering Global Symbol - but How Effective Was He As a President?

Nelson Mandela remains one of the most revered political leaders of modern times. He is widely credited with guiding South Africa through a peaceful transition from apartheid to… Read more »

Benin: How Reforms Under Patrice Talon Have Reshaped the Electoral Competition in Benin

Benin voters will head to the polls on April 12, 2026 to elect their next president. This election comes at a time when Benin's political landscape has been profoundly transformed… Read more »

Kenya: Kenya's Counties Get Budgets to Undo Inequality - How It's Helped Households

Kenya devolved power and public spending to 47 counties in 2013. This was in line with a global trend in which governments were pushing power and resources down to local levels in… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's Push to Extend the President's Rule Could Deepen Elite Divisions and Weaken Democracy

Zimbabwe's ruling party, Zanu-PF, wants to amend the constitution through a bill in parliament. It won't be that simple, however. Under the constitution, voters must approve such… Read more »

Uganda: Bobi Wine's Decision to Flee Uganda Points to a Shrinking Landscape for Opposition Politics

Bobi Wine's escape from Uganda is not just a striking episode in itself, it also offers insight into the current state of the opposition - particularly his National Unity Platform… Read more »