South Africa: Feya Faku As I Knew Him - a Tribute to the Great South African Jazz Trumpeter

Lex Futshane, the South African bass player in the 1992 student band NU Jazz Connection, was the first to tell me that the great South African jazz trumpeter Feya Faku had died… Read more »

South Africa: Jobless Young South Africans Often Lose Hope - New Study Proves the Power of Mentorship

More than a third of young South Africans are not in employment, education or training. This cohort of 3.4 million (37.1% of those aged 15-24) risks long-term joblessness.… Read more »

South Africa: Battery Swapping Stations Powered By Solar and Wind - We Show How This Could Work for Electric Vehicles in South Africa

Petrol and diesel vehicles are being phased out globally and replaced with electric vehicles so that countries can meet their commitments to zero human-caused carbon emissions by… Read more »

South Africa: Women Trapped With Abusers - South Africa's Covid Lockdowns Exposed Serious Protection Gaps

The unintended consequences of measures introduced to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus from 2020 to 2022 have been studied extensively. Research in South Africa shows that… Read more »

South Africa: Migrants in South Africa's Economic Powerhouse Often Go Hungry - the Drivers and What Can Be Done About It

About 281 million people globally have migrated from their country of origin to another country. This movement can be temporary or permanent and can occur for various reasons,… Read more »

Zambia: Zambia Runs On Mostly Green Power, but Households Use Polluting Cooking Fuel - Study Suggests How to Fix This

Zambia, like many African countries, is facing a crisis over clean cooking fuel. Over 80% of the population still relies on polluting fuels like charcoal and firewood. This exposes… Read more »

South Africa: The Right to Water Is Out of Reach for Many South Africans - Case Study Offers Solutions

South Africa's constitution says "everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water". In reality, however, this right is not enjoyed by all. Many places experience… Read more »

Mozambique: Mozambique After 50 Years of Independence - What's There to Celebrate?

Mozambique's government, led by the Frelimo party, has long been planning celebrations for 2025. It is 50 years since independence, won after an anti-colonial war against Portugal… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Big Rooftops Could Power 6 Million Homes - How to Make It Happen

South Africa has many factories, warehouses, schools and hospitals - big buildings with large rooftop spaces. In such a sunny country, these flat surfaces would be perfect for… Read more »

South Africa: One Year On - South Africa's Coalition Government Boosted Optimism, but Will It Last?

For the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ruling African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024. After 30 years in power, it had to form a… Read more »

South Africa: Louis Moholo-Moholo, a Lion of South African Jazz Who Used His Drums to Find Freedom

Louis Tebugo Moholo-Moholo was born in St Monica's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa on 10 March 1940. He'd not have appreciated that introduction, once chastising an interviewer: Read more »

Zambia: Are Chinese Investors Grabbing Zambian Land? Study Finds That's a Myth

Media coverage of Chinese land investments in African agriculture often reinforces narratives of a "weak African state" and the "Chinese land grab", highlighting power imbalances… Read more »

South Africa: Stone Tools From a Cave On South Africa's Coast Speak of Life At the End of the Ice Age

The Earth of the last Ice Age (about 26,000 to 19,000 years ago) was very different from today's world. Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Cricket Team Just Made History - How the 'Chokers' Became World Champions

When Kyle Verreynne hit the winning runs at the "home of cricket" (Lord's Cricket Ground in London) on 14 June, South Africa erupted in celebration. The Proteas had just claimed… Read more »

South Africa: Older South Africans Need Better Support and Basic Services - and So Do Their Caregivers

In South Africa, most long-term care for older people happens at home through the efforts of family members, largely female kin, not through government services. Read more »

South Africa: 5 Great Reads By South African Writers From 30 Years of Real-Life Stories

Across three decades of democracy, South Africa has - like many places undergoing complex and uneven social change - seen an outpouring of remarkable nonfiction. The Interpreters… Read more »

South Africa: Shaka Ilembe - Finally, a TV Series On the Zulu King That's True to Language and Culture

Shaka Zulu is one of the most storied figures in South African history. Believed to have been born around 1787, the man also known as uShaka kaSenzangakhona is regarded as the… Read more »

South Africa: What Students Eat - I Conducted a Survey At a South African University's Cafes - the Results Are Scary

University students have limited spending money and their schedules are packed. Many are adapting to new lifestyles on campus. Eating a healthy diet is crucial: a poor diet leads… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana and Zambia Have Snubbed Africa's Leading Development Bank - Why They Should Change Course

The governments of Ghana and Zambia recently took a decision that could have serious consequences for other African countries. The decision relates to arrangements on how the two… Read more »

South Africa: Fossils Show Colonies of Reptiles Lived Communally 250 Million Years Ago - New South African Study

A fossilised colony of small burrowing reptiles that lived some 250 million years ago was recently found in South Africa. It's the first time that the Procolophon trigoniceps,… Read more »

Malawi: What Keeps Girls From School in Malawi? We Asked Them and It's Not Just Pregnancy

Coverage of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns on girls in Malawi emphasised the risks they faced as a result of not attending school. In particular, concerns about… Read more »

South Africa: Johannesburg's Problems Can Be Solved - but It's a Long Journey to Fix South Africa's Economic Powerhouse

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa met senior leaders of Johannesburg and Gauteng, the province it's located in, in March 2025 to discuss ways to arrest the steep decline in… Read more »

South Africa: Dehorning Rhinos Tips the Balance Against Poaching - New Study

Black and white rhino populations in the Greater Kruger (Kruger National Park and surrounding reserves) in South Africa have plummeted from over 10,000 rhinos in 2010 to around… Read more »

South Africa: Rashid Lombard - the Photographer Who Documented Both Resistance and Celebration in South Africa

The click of a camera shutter and the improvisation of a jazz saxophone may seem worlds apart. Yet, in the hands of South African photojournalist and cultural organiser Rashid… Read more »

South Africa: Algae Can Clean Sewage Without Electricity or Chemicals - We Put It to the Test in South Africa

Across Africa, many rural communities face a growing sanitation crisis. Wastewater treatment systems, where they exist, are often old, overloaded, or broken. In some towns,… Read more »