This Week in Africa
June 30, 2023
Language as protest. Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“We slept at some of the best campsites that Google Maps would never show you.” –Maureen Agena
Sierra Leone’s election
Julius Maada Bio was reelected president in Sierra Leone, but the opposition disputes the results. National Election Watch posted that their Parallel Vote Tabulation did not have Bio with the necessary 55 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off. This is what voters cared about. Security forces killed a woman at an opposition party office, signifying the coercion and intimidation used by the governing party. The election was tense and violent. The elections will test whether gender quotas work. Read more about what was at stake in this week’s election.
Wagner group in Africa
Russia has long used the Wagner group to expand its influence in Africa. This is where they operate on the continent. John Clark explains why there hasn’t been significant opposition to drive them out. Russia tells African leaders who rely on Wagner mercenaries not to worry. There remains many questions about what this means for African nations like Mali and Central African Republic. Russia says the group will stay put. The US Treasury sanctions illicit gold companies funding Wagner. What now for Wagner?
Sudan’s civil war
Sudan today follows decades of justice denied. The international community should support Sudan’s revolution, not an elite peace deal. Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict. Daesh is exploiting Sudan’s insecurity, threatening regional security. Sudan’s army chief is calling for young men to join fight against RSF. This is how to improve the prospects for peace in South Sudan.
Shifting priorities in Nordic countries
The Swedish government has halted all funding for development research through the Swedish Research Council. This is a disastrous decision for researchers, science, and people from low-income countries. Tobias Denskus explains the worrisome shift to the right of Nordic development cooperation.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
This piece discusses rentier capitalism and urban geography in Africa. Cities are the future. Lagos no send anybody.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law is terrorizing its queer community. Three new films about South Africa provide new insights into memory and forgetting. Recent events have tested Senegal’s democratic reputation. IFES outlines sacred ballots engaging with religious actors in the electoral cycle. Ghana Parliament is hung again after the NDC won a by-election.
Is political accountability in Kenya a pipe dream? There is more to the migration story in South Africa than xenophobia. Frelimo turns to dirty tricks in Mozambican local elections. African leaders in Sierra Leone played a key role in ending the slave trade. Ghanaians disrupt Parliament over sanitation pad taxes. The competition for believers in Africa is transforming Christianity and Islam. Embattled Finland minister quits amid new “mass abortions for Africa” scandal.
Africa is changing. Ideas Untrapped.
Research corner
This study finds that restrictions on cash transfer payments leads to increased participation in shadow resale market in Kenya. This article explains how refugees in Dadaab use education to challenge their status as non-citizens. Learn more about the Warri Kingdom. This is an important article on integrated policymaking toward progress on the SDGs.
Check out the new issue of Africa Today. Make sure to read this special issue on the ethics of international fieldwork. This special issue explores prospects for peace in contested cities. David Tonghou Ngong’s Senghor’s Eucharist: Negritude and African Political Theology is out.
Read this forum on global challenges to democracy. And democracy for all.
The week in development
This book reimagines civil society collaborations in development. Ethiopia asks to join BRICS bloc of emerging economies. A new study finds that obesity signals wealth in Uganda. Entrenched inflation is driving Nigerians into poverty. Unveiling the complexity of the cocoa sector. Adaptation finance to local food systems in Kenya. Where did ugali come from?
Africa and the environment
Reshaping Somalia through environmental activism. Aid cuts and climate change hit South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Deforestation surges. Conflict and climate crisis accelerate Somali hunger crisis. Hunger persists in the Horn of Africa.
Daily life
Appetite is growing for culinary tourism in Ghana. Harare architecture. Peace Medie blends academics with fiction. Meet Egypt’s husband and wife squash champions. Chuku’s!
Reclaiming the African road trip.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil