King George

Liberians and the footballing world seem eager to coronate George Weah, Africa’s only winner of the World Player of the Year award as the country's next president.

Egypt has more problems to worry about than the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Commentators have read the ability of Ethiopia to push through such a project as a sign of Egypt’s declining power in the region, especially as contrasted with that of Ethiopia. But a journey down Africa’s longest river shows how a combination of climate change, war, and encroaching cities threatens the livelihood millions across countries who depend on it. 

(2) If Egyptians’ thought they caught a break when their men’s national soccer team qualified for the 2018 World Cup —  the first time in 27 years. Not so, the military-run government has decided to extend the State of Emergency for another 3 months. 

(3) A new report builds on the revelations from the Panama Papers to reveal the extent of corruption by African leaders, and their links to tax havens. 

(4) People all over the world have been celebrating the memory of Argentine guerrilla and revolutionary Che Guevara. [Remember his adventure in the Congo–ed.] Today, October 15th, marks the 30th anniversary of the murder of “African Che” Thomas Sankara by one of his closest lieutenants. You can read about his violent death and the impact of his work and ideas in our archive; here, here and here. Of Sankara’s many legacies, his push for Burkinabes to wear their local attires (Dan Fani) is making a comeback, popularized in part by current president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.  

(5) On the surface, Raila Odinga’s decision to withdraw from the October 26th Kenyan elections, and rerun triggered by his appeals to the supreme court, looks like political suicide. Yet a closer look at Kenyan electoral law shows it could be a smart long-term plan that would force new elections and allow for additional candidates and parties to be considered.

(6) Liberians and the footballing world seem eager to coronate George Weah, Africa’s only winner of the World Player of the Year award as the country’s next president.  Weah finished ahead in the first of two rounds of presidential voting. The second, decisive, round will be next month. This election also happens to be the first time Liberians will manage a peaceful, democratic handing over of the presidency since 1944.

(7) As more African countries do away with the need for visas for other African nationals, what would it take to rethink the mental borders we work with—and address the issues of xenophobia prevalent in many of our countries 

(8) The Premier of South Africa’s Western Cape province, Helen Zille,has called for militiary intervention, a la Rio in Brazil, to address the problem of gangs in Capetown. Does the comparison hold? 

(9) Prophet Shepherd, reputedly one of the 15 wealthiest men in Malawi, runs a ministry in Pretoria, South Africa. As preachers wield more influence outside of the church, it is fascinating to see how they see view their role in addressing big political issues. 

(10) One of the paradoxes of globalization is that wealthy countries practically beg for borders to be open so they and their corporations can access land, cheap labor and bring in their capital to invest for profit. And yet when people from these very countries immigrate in search of a better land, offering their labor to gain some capital to send home there is resistance. Canada is the latest example, targeting Guinean asylum seekers, while simultaneously uniquely benefiting from that country’s minerals (bauxite) and contributing to some of the very problems that cause people to leave in the first place. 

  • Contributor Anakwa Dwamena takes over from me as regular compiler of this list. For more on Anakwa, read his Africa is a Country archive here, follow him on Twitter, or check out other samples of his work here, here and here.–Editor.

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.