August 03, 2022
South Africa: Artisanal Gold Mining Is Out of Control. Mistakes That Got It Here
Illegal and unregulated artisanal gold mining on the Witwatersrand Basin, located south of South Africa's Gauteng province, is an increasing threat to community, industrial and… Read more »
August 02, 2022
Nigeria: Christians in Nigeria Feel Under Attack - Why It's a Complicated Story
Nigeria has a long history of religious tensions against which the current spate of violence against Christians must be seen. Read more »
Nigeria: Persecution of Christians in Nigeria Is More Complicated Than It Seems
Nigeria has a long history of religious tensions against which the current spate of violence against Christians must be seen. Read more »
July 25, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria's Jailbreaks Point to a Prison System Out of Step With Reality
On the night of 5 July 2022, 879 inmates escaped from the Kuje correctional facility in Abuja, Nigeria after an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists. Prior to this, the… Read more »
July 21, 2022
Nigeria: Votes for Cash - the Significance of Vote Buying in Nigeria's Democracy
The 2022 primary and gubernatorial elections in Nigeria brought to the fore the reality of vote buying. 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 »
July 18, 2022
South Africa: Mass Shootings Are Often Over Group Turf - How to Stop the Cycle of Reprisals
In just two days in early July, 25 people were shot dead in four separate incidents at taverns across South Africa. In one of these shootings, in Soweto, 16 people lost their… Read more »
July 12, 2022
South Africa: Zondo Commission's Report On Intelligence Agency Is Important but Flawed
South Africa's judicial probe into state capture and corruption, the Zondo Commission, has concluded that the State Security Agency was integral to the capture of the state by… Read more »
July 05, 2022
South Africa: Justice Maya's Support for African Languages in South Africa's Courts Is a Positive Sign
The only nominee for the position of South Africa's Deputy Chief Justice, Justice Mandisa Maya, has once again put the spotlight on indigenous languages and the justice system. She… Read more »
July 03, 2022
South Africa: Plasma Gangs - How South Africans' Fears About Crime Created an Urban Legend
Around the middle of 2013 a series of stories appeared in the South African press about a new phenomenon called 'plasma gangs', presented as the latest iteration of the country's… Read more »
June 30, 2022
South Africa: Digital Migration - Court Delay Upholds Information Rights of Poor South Africans
South Africa's Constitutional Court has decided to strike down the government's plans to end old-style analogue television broadcasting at the end of June. The decision upholds the… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Top Judge Leaves the Justice System in a Mess. Here's How His Successor Can Fix It.
Nigeria's Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad has resigned in the wake of corruption allegations. President Muhammadu Buhari immediately swore in the most senior judge of the Supreme… Read more »
June 29, 2022
South Africa: The Right to Die - Unpacking an Ethical Dilemma
Sean Davison, the euthanasia activist and co-founder of DignitySA, recently completed a sentence of house arrest in South Africa for his role in the deaths of three people. He said… 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 26, 2022
Africa: Homosexuality and Africa - a Philosopher's Perspective
Most African countries are constitutional democracies that afford extensive rights and freedoms to their citizens, and safeguard their dignity. 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
South Africa: Vigilantism in South Africa Carries Historical Imprints of Past Violence Against Black People
South Africa's history of discrimination, racial segregation and extralegal violence has influenced patterns of violence today. Colonial and apartheid governments ruled through… Read more »
South Africa: What It'll Take for the Guptas to Face Corruption Charges in South Africa
Now that Rajesh and Atul Gupta have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is a great deal of speculation as to when the brothers may ultimately set foot on South… Read more »
June 15, 2022
South Africa: South Africa's Epochal 1976 Uprisings Shouldn't Be Reduced to a Symbolic Ritual
On the morning of Wednesday, 16 June 1976, young students from schools across Soweto set out on a march through the sprawling black township outside Johannesburg. The march was to… Read more »
South Africa: Whistleblowers in South Africa Have Some Protection but Gaps Need Fixing
Every person in South Africa has the right to a functioning local government that can provide basic services such as clean water, electricity and sanitation. But corruption has… Read more »
June 10, 2022
Africa: How Ivorian Cyber-Scammers Help Us to Understand the Magic of the Internet
Societies that identify as "modern" tend to categorise people who believe in an invisible world of magic and spirits as irrational and superstitious, thereby excluding them from… Read more »
June 08, 2022
South Africa: Senzo Meyiwa Trial Casts Spotlight On Language Use in South African Courts
The murder of football player Senzo Meyiwa in 2014 and its protracted and controversial police investigation involving high profile figures in the South African music industry… Read more »
June 05, 2022
Africa: The Award-Winning African Documentary Project That Goes Inside the Lives of Migrants
For far too long the west has been telling stories about and talking on behalf of Africa. However, a new slate of 25 documentary films by African filmmakers called Generation… Read more »
June 02, 2022
Nigeria: Property Crime Could Be Reduced If Neighbourhoods Were Better Designed
Nigeria has a very high crime rate. The Global Peace Index ranked it the world's 17th least peaceful state. Discussion of crime in Nigeria tends to focus on insurgency, terrorism… Read more »
May 30, 2022
Africa: Cannabis Policy Changes in Africa Are Welcome. but Small Producers Are the Losers
Cannabis is a drug crop with a long history in Africa. Alongside coca and opium poppy, it has been subjected to international control for nearly a century. The International Opium… Read more »