I am super excited about the first book in our Urban Africa book series: Gunvor Jónsson’s Urban Displacement and Trade in a Senegalese Market: An anthropology of endings. Check it out (open access!) Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“He was a simple, humble boy, you’d never know he was a world-record holder who had made some money. He always helped and supported the community.” – Mary Kangongo on her son Kelvin Kiptum
Escalating tensions between Rwanda and DR Congo
Relations between Rwanda and DR Congo are deteriorating as M23 rebels advance in Goma. Analysts worry of a regional war. Refugees are sheltering in the city as they try to escape the violence. France urges Rwanda to end support for M23 rebels and pull out of DR Congo. Congolese are also protesting the Western’s role in the conflict, which the government uses to its advantage. Meanwhile, there is an escalation of violence in the west of the country as well.
Senegal’s political crisis
Senegal’s Constitutional Council judged against Macky Sall’s decision to delay the presidential election. Senegalese took to the streets in protest of Sall’s action. The crisis worsened. The Open Society Foundation welcomes Senegal Constitutional Council’s decision. In a new development, Sall has announced that he will step down on April 2, but the plan for elections is still unknown.
Sudan’s civil war
Sudan’s army faces an uphill battle. Over 95 percent of Sudanese cannot afford more than a meal a day. The war is destroying the country.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Meet the anti-colonial lawyer in a colonial court. Guinea’s leader dissolves the entire government. This is what the heavy policing in northern Ghana looks like from the perspective of locals. South Africa will hold its national election on May 29. Learn more about Lumumba’s revolutionary impact in this podcast. The diaspora fights for queer freedom in Ghana. Activists fighting against Femicide demand change.
Jason Mosely analyzes Ethiopia’s quest for sea access. Bizuneh Yimenu unpacks the importance of Oromia to Ethiopia. Go inside the family fight to dethrone Swaziland’s king. Will the junta defeat the Jihadis in Mali? What does South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ teach us?
Migration and displacement
Check out this report on migration trends and policy implementation in South Africa. The EU’s deal with Sudan does not get at the roots of the migration challenge.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Drugs, guns, and youth unemployment threaten peace in Lagos. Learn more about the politics of land and advocacy in African cities. Check out this explainer on charter cities. Learn more about Rio de Janeiro’s neighborhood “Little Africa.”
This looks great: Nairobi Becoming: Security, Uncertainty, Contingency. The World Bank has a new report on urban informality in Africa. Danielle Resnick has an important new report on subnational democracy and local governance in Africa. And this is essential: Creating equitable water futures in cities in the Global South.
Research corner
This is good: Claim-Making in Comparative Perspective: Everyday Citizenship and its Practice. These are some great new books about Uganda. Get ready for Henning Melber’s The Long Shadow of German Colonialism: Amnesia, Denialism and Revisionism. Check this out: The Horn Engaging the Gulf.
GLD’s new policy brief outlines the complexities of political participation in Zambia. Learn more about Hadiya-South Africa migration. Portia Roelofs’ forthcoming article looks great: “Hidden contestation: Valence issues, methodological blindness and the politics of development in Nigeria.” Biruk Terrefe and Harry Verhoeven examine the contingencies of infrastructure and sovereignty in the Horn of Africa. This is an important new article on foreign aid withdrawals and suspensions. This article makes the case for research beyond internal validity. Learn more about accountability through technology in Somali collective crisis response. Read this: Anti-blackness and more repair in Zambia. What do we know about pastoralism?
The week in development
Ethiopia bids to be a health tourism hub while its healthcare system is faltering. Record droughts in Somaliland take a huge toll on its population. Growth, returns, and aid shift investment focus to West Africa. South Sudan faces a huge hunger crisis. Somalia and Turkey sign a maritime security agreement. This is what civil society demands from the African Union. The laid-off Twitter staff in Ghana finally get their severance pay. Tinubu’s reforms in Nigeria are too late for battered investors. Here are ten things to know about Mohammed Amin Adam, Ghana’s new finance minister.
Mining and extraction
Africa moves one step closer to the continent’s first cobalt refinery. US bets on a $2.3 billion railway in the Lobito corridor to help deliver the electric vehicle revolution. Ken Opalo asks: What’s next for Equatorial Guinea after oil?
Africa and the environment
Bogolo Kenewendo makes the case for mission driven climate finance. This report examines sustainable energy transitions for African petroleum producers. Displaced by an oil pipeline, Ugandans turn to keyhole gardening for their livelihoods. A new study shows that climate change will slash Africa’s GDP by 7.1 percent. Here is the untold story of the Lake Chad Basin. Researchers explore the potential of carbon taxation in Ghana and Nigeria. Can sand dams fix drought and flooding in Kenya?
Daily life
Kelvin Kiptum’s loved ones remember him as a joker and a hero. Go well, sir. This is why African filmmakers aren’t producing nature documentaries.
RIP Johan Galtung.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil