February 16, 2023
East Africa: Ilemi Triangle Spat - How Resources Fuel East Africa's Border Conflicts
For decades, African states have grappled with numerous interstate border disputes, especially in resource-rich regions. In east Africa, most of these conflicts are as old as… Read more »
February 14, 2023
Somalia: Al-Shabaab Attacks in Somalia Affect Communities As Far As 900KM Away - Aid Agencies Need to Take Note
Policymakers tend to assume that the effects of conflict are felt only where violence occurs. As a result, humanitarian aid, protection efforts or asylum policies largely focus on… Read more »
February 13, 2023
Senegal: Dakar's Clandestine Taxis Are Essential for Daily Travel - but They're Illegal
Africa's major cities are growing at a rapid pace. In Dakar, Senegal's capital, for instance, the population has almost doubled in 20 years, reaching 4 million inhabitants today. Read more »
February 12, 2023
South Africa: AKA - Slain Rapper Was a Once-in-a-Generation Pop Culture Sensation
AKA, South Africa's most recognisable name in hip-hop, was gunned down - with his friend, celebrity chef Tebello 'Tibz' Motsoane - outside a restaurant along Durban's popular night… Read more »
February 08, 2023
South Africa: State Capture in South Africa - Time to Think Differently About Redress and Recovering the Stolen Loot
South Africans are plunged into darkness daily by rolling power cuts. These are a stark reminder of the destruction that years of state capture wreaked on Eskom, the state-owned… Read more »
February 06, 2023
South Africa: Link Between Crime and Politics Raises Concerns About Criminal Gangs Taking Over
A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (Gitoc) released in September 2022 argues that South Africa has increasingly become a centre of organised… Read more »
February 05, 2023
South Africa: Weed in South Africa - Apartheid Waged a War On Drugs That Still Has Unequal Effects Today
Cannabis is being commercialised into a multibillion-dollar global industry and South Africa wants a piece of the pie. In his 2022 state of the nation address, President Cyril… Read more »
February 04, 2023
South Africa: Robberies Surge As Criminals Take Advantage of Power Outages
The acute energy crisis in South Africa has adversely affected all aspects of the society. Regular and lengthy power outages - which started in 2007 are also contributing to an… Read more »
January 31, 2023
Nigeria: Plastic Pollution in Nigeria - Whose Job Is It to Clean Up the Mess?
Take a walk or drive through the streets of most Nigerian cities, and you will see plastic waste everywhere. The country's rivers, lakes and ocean are also full of discarded… Read more »
January 30, 2023
Nigeria: The Badoo Ritual Gang Created Fear in Lagos - Here's What Made Victims Vulnerable
Violent cult gangs are well known in Nigeria. Though there are no statistics on their numbers and impact, Lagos State in southwest Nigeria has more than 10 of these groups… Read more »
January 25, 2023
South Africa: Adriaan Vlok - the Case for Accepting the Late South African Politician's Apology for Apartheid
The recent death of Adriaan Vlok, the prominent South African apartheid-era law and order minister, brought the issue of political apologies for past wrongs back into the public… Read more »
January 24, 2023
Africa: Directors Need Limits to How Many Boards They Sit On. Stretching Their Time Too Thinly Is Risky
Experienced directors of companies are in high demand in countries around the world. For this reason, many hold multiple directorships. Read more »
January 23, 2023
Kenya: Prisoners On Death Row Weren't Deterred By Threat of Death Penalty - New Research Findings
Kenya's last execution of a prisoner was in 1987. But the country still hosts a death row population of nearly 600. Almost all were sentenced to death for murder or robbery with… Read more »
January 16, 2023
Uganda: How the Case of a Former Child Soldier Exposed Weaknesses in International Criminal Law
Guilt and innocence are rarely clear-cut, even in the most heinous of crimes. The recent appeal of Dominic Ongwen, former commander in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), shines a… Read more »
January 06, 2023
Africa: Deforestation - Proposed EU Import Ban May Fail to Protect Tropical Rainforests and Farmers - Here's How It Should Work
Most European consumers' shopping baskets tend to include items linked to deforestation in tropical regions, involving agricultural commodities such as beef, soybeans, palm oil,… Read more »
January 09, 2023
South Africa: The South African Government Has Been Buying Farmland for Black Farmers. It's Not Gone Well
When the African National Congress came to power in South Africa in 1994, an expressed priority was land reform. This was to address the fact that black farmers had been excluded… Read more »
December 17, 2022
Africa: ICC Upholds Jail Term for Ugandan Rebel Commander Ongwen - Why It Matters for Africa
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld its 25-year jail term against former Ugandan rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. In a decision delivered on 15 December, the ICC… Read more »
Uganda: The ICC Upholds 25-Year Jail Term for Ongwen - Why It Matters for Africa
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld its 25-year jail term against former Ugandan rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. In a decision delivered on 15 December, the ICC… Read more »
December 16, 2022
South Africa: Land Is a Heated Issue - the Print Media Are Presenting Only One Side of the Story
The land question was at the heart of the South African national liberation struggle. The 1913 Natives Land Act restricted black people from owning and occupying parts of the… Read more »
December 15, 2022
Cameroon: Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis - How the Common Law Court Offers a Ray of Hope
Six years on, the crisis in the Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon continues. Recent reports indicate that over 6,000 people have been killed. Read more »
Kenya: Many Kenyans Have Embraced Vigilante Cops - An Ineffective Police Force Is to Blame
In March 2017, Ahmed Rashid, a Kenyan police officer, shot and killed two unarmed teenagers accused of theft. They had surrendered and were lying on the ground in a Nairobi… Read more »
December 08, 2022
South Africa: Janusz Walus Parole - Constitutional Court Was Right, But Failed the Sensitivity Test
On 21 November 2022 the Constitutional Court of South Africa ordered the release on parole of Janusz Walus, the Polish national who assassinated Chris Hani on 10 April 1993. Hani… Read more »
December 07, 2022
Nigeria: Contempt of Court in Nigeria - What the Cases of Three Convicted Security Officials Tell Us
Three security chiefs in Nigeria were convicted of contempt of court in November 2022 after failing to comply with various court orders. This is the first time that officials at… Read more »
December 04, 2022
Nigeria: Violent Extremism Could Beckon in North-Western Nigeria If Local Dynamics Are Ignored
In January 2022, in a bid to stem a tide of violent attacks and kidnappings in north-western Nigeria, the government labelled the armed groups involved in the violence… Read more »
November 29, 2022
South Africa: South Africa's Prisons Are a Breeding Ground for the Spread of TB. Our Model Shows How
South African prisons are famously overcrowded. Prison populations are believed to exceed capacity by an overall 33%, although that number jumps to over 200% at some facilities,… Read more »