This Week in Africa

July 12, 2024

Quote of the week

“I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations and other Kenyans, both in public and private, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government.” – William Ruto

Governing Kenya

President William Ruto dissolved his cabinet after weeks of protests against his government. Too many people lost their lives, and there were reports of brutal abductions which harken back to the days of Danial Arap Moi. As Tessa Diphoorn and Naomi Van Stapele suggest, violence=control. It remains unclear what Ruto’s next steps will be as he promises a broad-based new government, but there is a clear shift in politics as the youth, middle classes, and poor joined forces. The disability community contributed in important ways as well. Chris Ògúnmódedé argues that the protests are a triumph of citizen accountability.

Ruto faces difficult challenges to stabilize the economy and repay debts, as the US and IMF recommends austerity policies which have hurt the country in the past. ROAPE argues that everything must change. Busara’s Gideon Too summarizes the situation, and Grieve Chelwa provides his economic analysis. Ken Opalo provides this excellent summary of the fiscal mess and the mismanagement that led to it.

Violence in the DR Congo

This is how the M23 conflict in eastern DR Congo endanger Tutsi communities. The US is concerned about the ongoing conflict. The conflict threatens trade in key minerals. Congo’s Tshisekedi hopes a partnership with Uganda’s Museveni will help. A report finds that thousands of Rwandan troops are fighting in the region.

The future of ECOWAS

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger sign a “confederation” treaty marking their divorce from ECOWAS. The future of ECOWAS is up in the air. This piece examines the future of ECOWAS. Can Senegal’s Faye reunite the region? Can Tinubu help strengthen security in West Africa’s “coup belt”?

Sudan’s civil war

Read this story about a photographer’s 11-day trek to escape war in El Fasher, Sudan. The country faces its most severe food crisis on record. Sudanese refugees are hiding in Ethiopian forests to escape bandits and militias. Bedour Alagraa discusses the interminable catastrophe of Sudan.

African international relations

What are the UK’s new developmental priorities in Africa? Why does Europe need Africa? Rwanda says it does not have to repay the UK for scrapped migration plan. Read USAID’s updated brief about democracy, human rights, and governance policy. This piece evaluates China-Africa agricultural trade ambitions. Learn more about Chinese media engagement in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Security and instability

Hanna Tetteh discusses African security in this podcast. SADC withdraws its forces from Mozambique. Mysterious killings in northern Ghana raise new security concerns. Climate change is exacerbating security challenges in central Africa.

Struggle for rights and freedom

These six important reads explain what keeps Paul Kagame in power. This is an important report on Ethiopia’s National Dialogue. Meet Ghana’s new Majority Leader in Parliament. This report outlines the importance of journalism to peace during Ghana’s 2024 election campaign. Mozambique can learn from other countries about hosting IDPs. This is why Nigerian politicians are so rich. Hasty constitutional reforms deepen tensions in Togo. This is what to celebrate during Malawi’s 60^th birthday. Isaac Samuel provides this brief note on the long history of African diplomacy. This is what went wrong with South Africa’s 2022 census. Is a coup creeping toward Ethiopia? And more on the saga of the Kano Emirate.

Africa’s rapid urbanization

This new article examines road corridors in Nairobi. Astrid Haas examines what can and can’t be learned from China about Africa’s rapid urbanization. This is a neat article on the political mobilization of motorcycle taxis in the DR Congo. Learn more about peri-urbanization and land conflicts in Zimbabwe. Leslie Banks discusses what it is like to live among the “urban boom” in rural South Africa. Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities looks great (open access!).

Open defecation and poor sanitation have led to a cholera outbreak in Lagos. Monthly sanitation returns to the city. Traders protest relocation plans to make way for Bus Rapid Transit in Dar es Salaam. Border towns. Abidjan floods, again.

I am very excited about Gunvor Jónsson’s Urban Displacement and Trade in a Senegalese Market: An anthropology of endings, the first book in our UCL-AIA Urban Africa book series. Check it out—its Open Access. And submit proposals!

Research corner

This article presents new directions for the study of temporality in the social sciences. Check out this special issue on the role of smartphones in contexts of conflict and care. This is a cool special issue on university campuses. Risa Kitagawa and Fiona Shen-Bayh measure political narratives in African news. Denis Galava and Karuti Kanyinga examine Kenya’s 2022 election. This is a helpful analysis of Senegal’s political economy. Wakanda Forever vs. The Woman King. Paul D. Williams examines multilateral counterinsurgency in East Africa. This new GLD working paper examines how corruption influences emigration decisions.

Check out The U.S. Christian Right and Pro-Family Politics in 21^st Century Africa. Read this: Michaela Collord’s Wealth, Power, and Authoritarian Institutions: Comparing Dominant Parties and Parliaments in Uganda and Tanzania. David Storey’s Territories: The Claiming of Space is out soon. A.G. Hopkins’ Capitalism in the Colonies and Bronwen Everill’s Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance look great.

The week in development

Will Nigeria’s shock therapy save the economy, or destroy people’s livelihoods? Do cooperatives help Ethiopian entrepreneurs?

Energy struggles impact Ghana’s economic comeback. Inflation has hit a two-year low in the country. This report examines AI and digital innovation in Africa. Brian Dowd-Uribe and collaborators argue that more work needs to be done to evaluate whether GMO crops actually contribute to SDGs. South Africa’s new health minister backed a law that will lay the groundwork for national health insurance. A psychoactive drug crisis hits Sierra Leone. Raising domestic revenue remains a huge challenge in Sierra Leone. South Africa marked 100 days without power cuts. South Sudan braces for its worst flood in 60 years and faces imminent famine.

On the impact of Michael Kremer.

Africa and the environment

Cameroon has opened up logging in its Ebo forest.  Ben Radley discusses green imperialism in the DR Congo. This is part of a broader battle to control Africa’s national parks. Nigeria’s solar projects struggle to power the country. The UN and AU urge African countries to invest in disaster insurance. South African energy minister seeks nod for nuclear plant. Preserving the forest of the Congo Basin is crucial. Learn more about advancing methane emissions mitigation in eastern and southern Africa. Fishermen are left stranded as Senegal’s most sought-after catch moves north. UN’s refugee committee sounds the alarm on climate change hurting refugee communities. This Tunisia village fights for running water.

Extreme weather in South Africa is disrupting tourism, as torrential rain and high winds hit Cape Town this week. Kenya’s farmers restore lands and hope after floods. This is how to rebuild Kenya stronger to be resilient to flooding.

Who is greening Nairobi?

Daily life

Kinshasa life. Ogon’s cartoons. Senegal’s traditional music. Dani Olvo’s lunch. Parkour in Kigali. Dad-power in Uganda. Leonard Wantchekon provides summer reading recommendations. I can’t wait to read Dinaw Mengestu’s Someone Like Us.

RIP Elleni Zeleke

We lost the amazing scholar Elleni Zeleke this week. An Assistant Professor at Columbia, Zeleke wrote the groundbreaking Ethiopia in Theory. She discusses the Ethiopian model here.

Sean Jacobs provides this reflection: “A member of a new generation of African scholars, Elleni worked to decipher Ethiopian, African, and revolutionary politics and develop a homegrown history of ideas. Her first book, a study of the transnational Ethiopian Student Movement, attempted to develop social science in and of Africa and to fashion new modes of African self-writing—in effect, to do the work of decolonization. Samar al Bulushi, a contemporary, has suggested that Elleni’s work pluralizes the “black radical tradition” from its US-centrism. Her death robs us of a great mind, not just in academia but in the growing public sphere of new African thinkers. Those who care about the continent, or whose lives depend on it working for all its people, have lost an important voice.”

All the best,

Jeff and Phil