This Week in Africa
November 1, 2024
Make sure to apply for the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research. Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“I am still at State House and I am going to be in the process of packing up, I have discussed it with the President elect. I’m still not sure where I am going to stay, but I’m not worried about it…” – Mokgweetsi Masisi after peacefully conceding Botswana’s election
New government in Botswana
Wow. After nearly sixty years in office, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost its majority in Parliament. The PDP were brought down by a crash in the diamond market, poor economic growth and high unemployment. Former president Ian Khama, the son of the modern-day founder of the country, even campaigned against the BDP. Citizens have become increasingly disillusioned with the governing party in recent years. Incumbent Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded peacefully. This electoral map visualizes the victory.
Analysts, and President-elect Duma Boko himself, are surprised by the size of the landslide victory. Boko noted: “It shocked me in terms of the numbers and the intensity with which people attended to the vote. I’m humbled.” Boko, of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), will govern with a parliamentary majority. His ascendance is part of a group of youthful politicians finally coming of age. The new leader has promised significant job creation. Will diamonds last forever?
I appreciate Ken Opalo’s comment: “For the nerds out there, Botswana is about to ace the turnover test. Confirming that it’s been a democracy all along…”
Impact of the US election on Africa
Cameron Hudson explains what the US election could mean for Africa. CSIS provides these essays into how it could shape engagement in DR Congo, the Sahel, and South Africa. Learn more about Kamala Harris’ potential Africa team. Ken Opalo argues that Africa policy will be hobbled by the realities of Washington’s geopolitics. Watch Zainab Usman, Martin Kimani, and Ravi Agarwal discuss the path ahead.
Lydia Polgreen argues that the recent global summit in Russia provides a glimpse into the world to come. What is Joe Biden’s legacy in Africa? Could BRICS+ lead a new global order?
Sudan’s civil war
Nisrin Elamin writes: “From Palestine to Sudan: Solidarity with our students.” Hospitals are in the line of fighting in Sudan. A UN fact-finding mission finds widespread evidence of sexual violence. Here is what it is like to live in Obdurman, a city gripped by the war.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Brendon Cannon explains what’s at stake in Somaliland’s upcoming election. Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed claims that his country has the right to access the Red Sea. This is how Wagner’s ruthless image has crumbled in Mali. Serag El Hegazi argues that Tunisia’s young democracy flounders as its president wins a second term. Protesters seek political change in Mozambique. Kagame silences dissidents in Belgium. A court in France sentenced former doctor Eugène Rwamucyo to 27 years in jail for complicity in the Rwandan Genocide. African asylum seekers are left in limbo.
US warns of Visa restrictions to Ghanaians who undermine its democracy. Vladimir Chlouba explains what the 2024 Namibian election tells us about southern Africa’s future. This report outlines ways to prevent mass atrocities in Uganda. M.W. Muiru discusses the interesting history of the freedom of expression as a human right. This is how Israel, the US, and France shape the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. Learn about how Malawian lawyers exploited plantations through dubious injury claims. Guinea dissolves dozens of political parties with no election date set. Learn more about Uganda’s political development (and more here!).
From Dakar to Riyadh.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Ghanaian presidential candidate Alan Kyerematen wants to transform Accra into a top African city. A broken oil pipeline plunges South Sudan’s capital into chaos. Capitals have become a battleground for protest and control. Learn more about the street economy in African cities, as well as the importance of street vending. These two article on Africa’s urban periphery look great: Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
This is neat: The pre-colonial history of Kano’s textile industry. And read Shakirah Hudani’s essay on the keyword “transformation.”
Research corner
This working paper examines Senegal’s democratic resilience. Michael Gubser examines Zambia’s missing narrative of structural adjustment. Scholars predict grim prospects for consolidated and emerging democracies: Forecasting Electoral Violence. This is how to summarize academic papers for a policy audience.
This looks good: Queen Elizabeth II and the Africans. Mathilde Zederman’s Tunisian Politics in France is out. This is cool: The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power. Their Future: A History of Ahistoricism in International Development is out soon. These five books help explain when development works—and fails.
The week in development
Senegal is reviewing its energy contracts, worrying some analysts that it will lose its reputation as a good place to do business. This is how Acemoglu and Robinson explain South Africa’s development. Nigeria and DR Congo remain important hotspots for TB. Africa needs to turn its massive population growth into human capital. Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis reveals the extent of its healthcare collapse. A Senegalese investor raises one of Africa’s largest female-led funds for startups. China has already cornered a key part of the critical minerals market. This is the real reason Africa is up to its neck in debt. Radhika Balakrishnan argues that GDP is an outdated way of measuring the health of an economy. How to reduce private sector debt in Africa. Oh, Nigeria.
On the rapid decline of polygyny in Africa. And localization in theory and practice.
Africa and the environment
Ocean warming is a livelihood threat to Ghana’s coastal fishers. Tajudeen Amusa explains how to save Nigeria’s elephants. Nigeria’s lithium push carries an environmental price tag. Years of government failures caused a flood “worse than Boko Haram.” SIPRI unveils the gaps in climate finance in conflict areas.
African health ministers and delegates adopt a declaration on climate change and health. Rising sea levels are impacting the shores of Guinea-Bissau. This is how climate change is making disasters deadlier. The world’s doomsday plant vault gets thousands of new seeds. Heat waves of the future may be even deadlier than feared. Rose Mutiso asks: Who in Africa is ready for Electric Vehicles?
Daily life
South African beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina is set to be stripped of her South African identity and travel documents. The film Dahomey explores the painful legacy of Africa’s looted artefacts. Watch the animated drama Abina and the Important Men. Go inside Accra Cultural Week.
RIP South African businessman and politician Tito Mboweni. In Memoriam: Elleni Centime Zeleke Tizita.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil