This Week in Africa
August 2, 2024
Quote of the week
“It is time to bring together those who wish to be together, who want to love one another, who see in the other and in diversity a richness, a fulfillment, a force, rather than a threat.” – Paris Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly
Protests in Nigeria
Protesters went to the streets in Abuja to express their anger at rising food and fuel prices. At least seven people were killed by security forces. Nigeria deployed extra security in the lead up to the demonstrations. A surge of anger is fueling protests in cities across the continent, including Kampala.
Rwanda-DRC ceasefire deal
DR Congo and Rwanda agree to a ceasefire in eastern Congo. The EU is accused of fueling the conflict. It is a small step forward toward peace. Jason Stearns explains the forgotten war in eastern DR Congo.
Protests in Kenya
The legacy of Moi’s Nyayo House lives on. Nicholas Westcott argues that Kenya’s recent protests signal a shift from identity to issue-based politics that could have implications for the region. Joe Kobuthi outlines this agenda for social transformation. Ken Opalo explains what Kenyan protests tell us about economic management and the politics of reforms in African states.
And read this: Youth, the Kenyan state and a politics of contestation.
Poor governance in the Sahel
Burkina Faso’s junta turns to repression as security crisis deepens. Life has become more unbearable a year after Niger’s coup.
Sudan’s civil war
RSF kill 65 people in El-Fasher, Sudan since Saturday. The UAE is a secretive part of the war in Sudan. Human Right Watch reports on mass rape in Khartoum.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Guinea’s former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara is convicted of crimes against humanity for ordering crackdown of unarmed protesters in 2009. Democracy deferred as justice delivered in Lesotho. China escalates its political party training in Africa. I am learning a lot reading Maya Misikir’s Substack about human rights and Ethiopia. This report examines nomadic pastoralism and everyday peace. Nine people die after chaos broke out at a music concert in Kinshasa. There is an increase in rejections for African student visa applications to the US. Being intersex in Malawi.
Can traditional institutions contribute to democracy in Africa?
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Some new evidence on cities. City of Cape Town will open a 300 bed Safe Space in Green Point. Justice is an urban affair in Nigeria’s north. Learn more about urban governance and climate challenges on the continent.
This looks great: Living the urban periphery: Infrastructure, everyday life and economic change in African city-regions (and open access!). This report outlines how to support IDPs in Mogadishu. Read this: Co-Designing Urban Futures: Innovation and partnerships for improved service delivery in intermediary cities. This report outlines how to accelerate sustainable land use planning in African cities. This is a cool article on the politics of garbage in Lagos. Check out Extraction, Global Commodity Trade, and Urban Development in Zambia's Northwestern Province. Get ready for the Africa Urban Forum. What can Africa learn from China’s urbanization?
Research corner
This is an important special issue honoring the work of academic-activist Lungisile Ntsebeza on land, governance, and engaged scholarship. Sebastian Elischer explains how African states counteract homegrown Jihad Salafism. Check out “Citizens, Civil Society, and Activism under the EPRDF Regime in Ethiopia: An Analysis from Below.”
The week in development
A chocolate rush sparks land disputes in Cameroon. Claire Mcloughlin explains why and how we must contest development. The World Bank balances the fight against poverty and climate change. Who’s who in Tinubu’s “Lagos Boys” network?
Africa and the environment
Landslides kill hundreds of people in Ethiopia. 6.2 Million Vulnerable People in Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique to benefit from financial readiness against climate shocks. Methane mitigation and reduction mapping report in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Impacts of climate change-related human migration on infectious diseases. A flood of emotions in these stoic portraits of people returning home after a deluge. African women fighting climate change. Artificial Intelligence Gives Weather Forecasters a New Edge.
Is Africa at a Turning Point for Malaria?
Paris Olympics
France’s multiculturalism is on full display at the Olympics. South Sudan gets its first hoops win. South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach is the “next big thing” in basketball. Are the Olympics “wide open” to Africans?
Daily life
A brief note on the themes in African art. When a star dies: on the tragic death of Kelvin Kiptum. On the erasure of African literature. The dream of Zollywood. Vulindlela lives on.
And the ocean is liberating for some of South Africa’s best surfers.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil