This Week in Africa

February 7, 2025

Quote of the week

“We have days of mass burials ahead of us.” – Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Goma

Battle in Goma

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Goma as violence escalated with the arrival of M23. More than 100 women were assaulted and killed after a prison break. People are afraid, and need to rely on local organizations and social networks for assistance. There is little water and food and lots of uncertainty. Human Rights Watch calls for an investigation into rights violations. Rebels declare ceasefire for “humanitarian reasons.” M23 is calling the shots. The Continent goes inside the city. The Crisis Group says urgent action is needed.

Meanwhile, Rwanda-backed rebels are regrouping to capture other towns in DR Congo. Kagame claims he does not know whether Rwanda has troops in the country even though Rwandan soldiers are dying. Ngala Chome explains how crony elite politics lost the fight against M23. Jason Stearns provides solid analysis. The crisis is beyond “conflict minerals.” What’s driving the violence?

Closing USAID

The US Government has effectively shut down USAID. Workers and administrators are speaking out. This includes Republican and former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios who said “What Elon Musk said is a bold-faced lie.” Ken Opalo provides this excellent analysis, which also emphasizes the problems of outsourcing developmental ambitions. Gregory Rockson explains how to make US foreign aid work for Africa. The shutdown is not just a humanitarian issue, but also threatens American interests. It creates an opening for China. Atul Gawande outlines what is at stake. And no, 90 percent of aid is not skimmed off before reaching target communities.

The UN sketches a global map of mayhem from US aid freeze. This is how the world is reeling from the freeze. Kagame agrees with the decision because governments need to wean themselves off aid. What is the role of donors in a post-aid world?

Trump 2.0

Trump has put George W. Bush’s lifesaving legacy in danger. He has also cut off aid to South Africa over land policy. Will Trump make Somaliland great again?

Revisit Joeva Rock and Jacob Grumbach’s 2019 piece about Trump’s Africa policy.

Combatting ISIS in Somalia

Trump’s first mission in Africa was an attack on ISIS fighters in Puntland, Somalia. The attack killed multiple operatives.

Governing South Africa

This report examines the captive democracy of South Africa’s coalition governance. Jacob Zuma’s relevance persists.

Struggle for rights and freedom

Youth protests are likely to continue into 2025. George Bob-Milliar examines the five presidents who lost last year—and the one who was humbled. Meet the intelligence chiefs of the Sahel. This report outlines the UAE’s ever-expanding footprint in Africa. Momentum remains with Mondlane in Mozambique. Education in Zimbabwe has lost its value. Learn more about France’s bitter retreat from West Africa. Ethnic divisions are being used to cover up army failures in Sudan.

Check out all the great things Nordic Africa Institute is doing.

Africa’s rapid urbanization

In his quest for a modern capital, Abiy Ahmed erases history. Kinshasa’s traffic cops run an extortion scheme generating five times more revenue than fines. Go inside the island left behind by Lagos’ economic boom. Brandon Marc Finn and Patrick Cobbinah argues that history is repeating itself in Lubumbashi (check the article here). New businesses are emerging in Zimbabwe’s small towns. This is a cool article on street trader associations and collective action in Harare.

Heba Elhanafy is right: We need to look back at pre-colonial African city-states in order to move forward (with a fun summary thread here). Read this alongside Ambe Njoh’s Africa in Urban History.

Research corner

I look forward to Howard Frenchs’ The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide. This article examines ethnic diversity and intergroup relations among Nigerian adolescents. This is neat: “Jumping over histories: transborder migration from colonial Mozambique to colonial Zimbabwe.”

Africa and the environment

Learn more about the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit. Go inside a new plan to bring electricity to 300 million in Africa. Walking with Rhinos in Zimbabwe. The spotted hyena turned up in Egypt after vanishing 5,000 years ago. Global temperatures shattered records in January. Africa delivers the first mechanism for international cooperation on climate change adaptation under the Paris Agreement. A new study examines how African farmers are adapting to mountain climate change. Learn more about the gendered dimension of climate change and migration in West Africa. The USAID shutdown causes global alarm in international water and climate programs.

Daily life

Wizkid is on cruise control. Vinyl is making a comeback in Nigeria. The museum of stolen history. Ghana’s unique hand-painted movie posters blend horror and humour. The inheritance of hope. Dakar is having a fashion revolution. Rwanda and South Africa race to bring back F1. Why are these motorcycle taxi drivers wearing pink?

RIP Prof. Bethwell Ogot.

All the best,

Jeff and Phil