Quote of the week
“Preventing opposition politicians from participating in elections has contributed to the fissure of Senegal’s democratic record. It’s a stain on his [Macky Sall’s] legacy.” – Alexandre Gubert Lette, Executive director of the Teranga Lab in Senegal
Democracy in Senegal
Senegalese go to the polls this weekend to vote for president. But the country’s democracy is a tipping point, and Macky Sall leaves behind a fragile system. The election is a test for democracy in the region. Boubacar Boris Diop argues that his country is witnessing a buffoonish end of rule for Sall. The first woman running for president in the country inspires hope for change, even though she is unlikely to win. The opposition hopes that its promise of a new currency will help win votes. Amy Niang outlines the challenges ahead for the new leader.
Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill
Ghana’s Parliament is pressuring Nana Akufo-Addo to make a decision on the anti-LGBTQ bill sooner rather than later. It has halted the approval of ministers until a decision is made. Netright issues this statement condemning the bill.
Sudan’s civil war
Hemedti is the most powerful man in Sudan. Linda Thomas-Greenfield writes on the unforgivable silence on Sudan. The crisis in Sudan is man-made. The country is week’s away from a catastrophic hunger crisis.
What’s next in Uganda?
Uganda’s Museveni has appointed his son as commander of the armed services. Time to revisit Ken Opalo’s post on his succession.
Stability and insecurity
Shabab gunmen attack a hotel in Mogadishu in a recent siege. This is a helpful discussion of foreign intervention and instability in West Africa. What role for external security partnerships in coastal West African states?
Struggle for rights and freedom
Cameroon’s government bans opposition coalitions in the latest crackdown. Women are mobilizing for democracy in the era of democratic backsliding. This piece maps a surge of disinformation in Africa. In Sisi’s Egypt, laws meant to curb disinformation are “instruments of political repression.” This piece outlines changing ideas of belonging and identity in post-land reform Zimbabwe. Learn more about South Africa’s Children’s Movement who fought against Apartheid. A former Del Monte guard speaks of violence on Kenyan pineapple farm. Ethiopia releases ex-politician implicated in heinous crimes. Gambia moves to overturn its landmark bill that banned female cutting. Raila Odinga inches closer to African Union Commission seat.
On the epidemic of rape in Ethiopia.
African’s rapid urbanization
Arusha will build a multi-million dollar AFCON stadium for the 2027 games. This is cool: Improving the environmental health of Nairobi’s rivers. Idris Elba dreams big with a Sierra Leone eco-city. Check it out: The postcolonial city of Dakar in the film Touki Bouki.
Patrick Cobbinah and Brandon Marc Finn examine pedestrian accessibility and progressive planning in African cities. This article examines sprawl and sustainability in Ghana’s secondary cities. Sarah Balakrishnan has a new article on cemeteries, burials, and urban ownership in late colonial Ghana (her related paper on the topic is awesome). I am very excited to read Shakirah Hudani’s Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda and Sarah El-Kazaz’ Politics in the Crevices: Urban Design and the Making of Property Markets in Cairo and Istanbul.
And this: Informality at the heart of sustainable development.
Research corner
This is a helpful reading list on the meanings, consequences, and geopolitics of deportation. This study tests the impact of four experiments in Ghana to test impacts on learning outcomes. Kate Baldwin, Kristen Kao, Ellen Lust’s “Is authority fungible? Legitimacy, domain congruence, and the limits of power in Africa” is a must read. Learn more about how a mutiny became a coup in Niger. This article tests interventions to limit the spread of COVID misinformation in Kenya and Nigeria. Why are so many jobs that women do in Ethiopia politically disempowering?
Rogers Orock and Peter Geschiere’s book looks great: Conspiracy Narratives from Postcolonial Africa: Freemasonry, Homosexuality, and Illicit Enrichment. Check out Cosmopolitanism and Women’s Fashion in Ghana. Get your copy of Shelley Liu’s Governing After War: Rebel Victories and Post-war State-building. I look forward to reading this forthcoming book on microfinance: We are not able to live in the sky: The seductive promise of microfinance.
The week in development
Alice Evans explains Africa’s economic stagnation over the past 30 years. IMF policies are severely impacting Kenya. Twitter broker Ghana’s labor law and the government did nothing. US Congress will extend funding for PEPFAR. The Gulf’s scramble for Africa is reshaping the continent. Nigeria reopens its border with neighboring Niger.
Is Ghana’s economy stabilizing? It tries to rebuild its foreign reserves before a major election. And how gig workers find rest.
Africa and the environment
Climate change made an early heat wave in West Africa ten times as likely. Nabil Ferdaoussi discusses climate as border. Back-to-back climate disasters leave millions of Malawians in deepening need. A global solar transition could leave Africa in the shade. Abiy Ahmed’s self-made famine stalks Ethiopia. A failing water system is South Africa’s next big crisis. Learn more about shark fishing in the Republic of Congo. Harry Verhoeven explains how “climate wars” are useful scapegoats for bad leaders in Sudan.
Easter eggs costs rise as climate change hits crops. Extreme heat pushes South Sudan to close schools. 2024 will be another hot year (might be hearing this for awhile). Most countries have one thing in common: unsafe air.
Daily life
Disney’s The House of Mouse builds a new future in Lagos. Bobi Wine and Afrobeats took over the Oscars. Yes, this is weird: Jacob Zuma serenades a white audience with “Bring me my machine gun.” Drillz the Rapper continues to lift voices.
And Sean Jacobs and Kathryn Mathers ask: Why are stories about African suffering so persistent?
All the best,
Jeff and Phil