April 02
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 »
Southern Africa: Pentecostal Churches Are a Place of Everyday Care, Not Just Bizarre Spectacle - Southern African Study
A growing brand of new Pentecostal churches in southern Africa is known to emphasise the prosperity gospel, deliverance, miracles and healing. Read more »
April 01
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 »
Africa: EU 'Return Hubs' - What Are They, and How Will They Change the Rights of Migrants and Asylum Seekers?
The EU is in the process of creating a new system that will make it easier to return irregularly present migrants to their country of origin. The legislation, known as the Returns… Read more »
Africa: Superbugs On Your Plate - How Antimicrobial Resistance Spreads Through Food
From the moment raw ingredients are harvested to when you cook and eat a meal, an invisible process is taking place: the growth of antimicrobial resistance. This happens when… Read more »
Africa: Iran War - What African Countries Can Do to Get Through the Crisis and Emerge in a Better Place
By Easter 2026 it was still not clear when - or how - the war initiated by Israel and the US against Iran would end. But what was already clear was that it would harm Africa in a… Read more »
Africa: Insects in the Tropics Are Already Near Their Heat Limits - Climate Change Could Push Many Beyond Survival
Insects make up to 90% of all animal species on the planet, and most of them can be found in the tropics, the regions around the equator. Yet we still know surprisingly little… Read more »
Kenya: Brutal Mau Mau Camps in Kenya Were an Extension of Britain's Colonial Prison System - Historian Traces Their Roots
During the Mau Mau uprising between 1952 and 1960, the British colonial government confined an estimated 150,000 Kenyans in a sprawling network of "emergency" detention camps. Read more »
March 31
Africa: Artemis II's Long Countdown - a Space Historian Explains Why It Has Taken Over 50 Years to Return to the Moon
While I was leading a tour of the National Air and Space Museum in January 2026, a visitor posed this insightful question: "Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon?" Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's New Infrastructure Fund Is Long Overdue - but Design Flaws Could Limit Its Impact
Kenya is laying the ground for an infrastructure fund which will raise money for new projects - such as roads, energy and ports - through public-private partnerships, privatisation… Read more »
Nigeria: Maternity Health Services in Nigeria Are Failing Women - 4 Steps to Better Care
Nigeria faces one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates. Around 1,047 women die for every 100,000 live births, far above the African regional average of about 531 deaths… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Meerkat Telescope Is Mapping Previously Invisible Spaces Between Galaxies - and It's Found 60 New Cosmic Structures
Astronomers are uncovering previously hidden structures within some of the universe's largest objects, known as galaxy clusters. Using the powerful MeerKAT radio telescope in South… Read more »
March 30
South Africa: Economic Policy in South Africa Neglects Informal Traders - 5 Focus Areas to Support the Sector
The informal economy is responsible for a large share of economic output across the continent. Yet economic policy is almost always designed for the formal economy and overlooks… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Electric Motorbike Future Can Be Built Locally and Powered By Solar - Our 6,000km Ride Shows What's Possible
Across much of Africa, motorcycles are not leisure vehicles. They are workhorses. They carry commuters, schoolchildren, goods, medicines and deliveries. For millions of people,… Read more »
Africa: China Is Helping Build Africa's Cities, but Its Approach Sidelines Local Urban Planners and Residents
As African cities experience some of the fastest urban growth rates in the world, China has become a major bilateral financier for urban infrastructure. Read more »
South Africa: No Need to Sign Up for Gym - Even Small Movements Have Health Benefits - Research
South Africa is facing an alarming increase in non-communicable diseases and related mortality. According to Statistics South Africa, deaths due to non-communicable diseases such… Read more »
Nigeria: Violent Conflicts Are Reshaping What Nigerian Farmers Grow - What This Means for Food Security
Agriculture is the backbone of Africa's economy. It provides livelihoods for over 70% of the rural population and contributes to national food security and economic development. Read more »
March 29
Africa: Handpumps Bring Water to Rural African Communities, but Many Are Broken - Study Models How Best to Maintain Them
In rural sub-Saharan Africa, access to clean drinking water often depends on a simple technology: the handpump. Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's New Parental Leave Policy Is Designed for Equality - but It Could Do Better
South Africa introduced a new amendment to the parental leave policy in October 2025. The aim was to provide equitable rights for all parents. Noreth Muller-Kluits, a disability… Read more »
Africa: AI-Driven Border Surveillance Is Spreading Across West Africa. What This Means for Migrants' Rights
West Africa as a region has long had one of the most mobile populations in the world. Since 1979, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has allowed citizens of its… Read more »
Africa: Development Finance in Africa - Economist Explains How Private Savings Could Be Unlocked
Africa holds abundant private savings, but much of it remains informal. As a result, its contribution to development financing is limited. Read more »
March 26
Africa: Mosquitoes Carrying Malaria Are Evolving More Quickly Than Insecticides Can Kill Them - Researchers Pinpoint How
The fight against infectious disease is a race against evolution. Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Viruses adapt to spread more quickly. Diseases transmitted by insects… Read more »
Tanzania: Waste Being Used to Tackle Erosion Poses a Health Risk - an Anthropologist Explains the Dilemma
I was standing with a waste management supervisor - let's call him David - at the back of a major fruit and vegetable market in Dar es Salaam, the biggest city in Tanzania. David… Read more »
Africa: Could This Energy Crisis Be Worse for the Global Economy Than Covid?
Despite reports of negotiations between the US and the Iranian regime, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to most oil tankers, with only a small number of vessels… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Power Utility Eskom Wants to Cut Electricity to Municipalities That Haven't Paid - Households May Pay the Price
South Africa's state-owned electricity provider, Eskom, announced in early March 2026 that it would cut off the power to 14 municipalities that collectively owe it more than R110… Read more »
