African politics
Xenophobic sentiment in South Africa reaches highest level in two decades
Economic frustration and electoral politics are driving a sharp rise in hostility towards migrants in South Africa
Pope Leo’s Africa tour underscores continent’s rising weight in global Catholicism
Africa’s rising Catholic population frames Pope Leo’s tour amid conflict, inequality and questions of church leadership
Benin coup attempt reveals west Africa’s deepening democratic crisis
Nigeria deployed jets to help crush Benin's coup attempt, marking Ecowas's first successful military intervention against putschists since the region's coup epidemic began in 2020
South Africa’s G20 triumph comes face to face with Trump’s wrecking ball
The first G20 on African soil delivered on debt, energy and minerals — but can these wins survive Trump's antagonism and America's forthcoming presidency?
US reviews Tanzania ties after election violence
The United States has said it is conducting a comprehensive review of its relationship with Tanzania, citing concerns over religious freedom violations, speech restrictions, and violence surrounding October's disputed elections
Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan is as repressive as John Magufuli, her predecessor
President Samia Hassan, who is seeking re-election this month, increasingly resembles her predecessor John Magufuli, who banned media, censored journalists, stifled the opposition and rigged elections before his death in 2021
Focusing on M23 allows ADF insurgents to expand in eastern DRC
The capture of Goma and Bukavu by the M23 early this year has put further strain on the DRC's already weak national army, creating a security vacuum that the ADF has exploited to expand its operations
DRC’s latest peace deal is unravelling, and it isn’t the first. What is going wrong?
Despite almost three decades of peace efforts and interventions at local, regional and international levels, the mineral-rich east of the country remains unstable
Experts say new UN declaration must protect rights of world’s poorest to nutritional benefits of milk and meat
Experts have warned that a draft UN declaration aimed at eliminating trans-fatty acids from global diets could inadvertently deny the world’s poorest people the nutritional benefits of milk and meatMore African politics
Idriss Déby, the reformer that wasn’t, leaves a painful legacy
Idriss Déby died from battlefield injuries days before he was to start his sixth term. Chad’s military announced a transition government headed by Déby’s son
Why don’t young people vote? In Uganda, the law doesn’t want them to
The elections take place in January/February 2021. Scores of young voters will be ineligible to vote – despite meeting the age requirement at the time of the election. Considering that over 75% of Uganda’s population is below 30, the implications could be significant
Colonial rule is to blame for the failure of democracy in Africa
By elevating powerful local leaders over their communities, the colonial era undermined pre-existing checks and balances and helped institutionalise repressive forms of government in Africa
Victory gives Ramaphosa’s ANC last chance to reform and solve South Africa’s ills
More popular than his party for the first time since Nelson Mandela in 1994, and more trusted than the leaders of the opposition, Ramaphosa can claim to have saved the ANC’s bacon in the 2019 general election
Sudan coup: How protesters upped the ante and forced al-Bashir from power
Following months of protests, and a prolonged sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was placed under house arrest on April 11 as the country’s military prepared for a transitional government
It’s becoming clearer that Mnangagwa is not Zimbabwe’s saviour
The last few days have wiped out any trust people might have had in the ability of the November 2017 coup that toppled Robert Mugabe to bring democratic and socio-economic rights to Zimbabwe’s long-suffering people
Quality of Uganda’s institutions and policies unchanged in 2017 – World Bank
The quality of Ugandan government policies and institutions remained unchanged in 2017, according to the World Bank's annual sub-Saharan country policy and institutional assessment report
Zimbabwe’s historic elections: Change, but no change
Both presidential candidates and political parties in Zimbabwe's election promised peace and a new beginning. But, when the chips were down and the votes began to show a familiar trend of Zanu-PF dominance, both parties resorted to old tactics.
Why elections don’t always equal democracy: the case of Kenya
The turn of events in favour of President Kenyatta is not surprising. It suggests that the process of free elections was never intended to help the country democratise. This mirrors events in other seemingly transitioning countries such as Zimbabwe or Senegal
