Politics
Mamphela Ramphele has a Party
Ramphele has never enjoyed widespread grassroots support as a political figure in South Africa and hasn't been in active in any political movement for at least 30 years now.
It is as if a library burned down
Salafist fighters burn hundreds of rare manuscripts, some unique and centuries old, before leaving Timbuktu to French paratroopers.
The Story about Africa’s “First Woman Billionaire”
Where does Isabel dos Santos's wealth come from? Her country's resources are basically treated as her family's property.
What’s Best for American Policy in Africa
Would former US Assistant Secretary for Africa, Susan Rice, have been a good choice for Barack Obama's Secretary of State?
The Infiltrators
What will Netanyahu's re-election mean for African immigrants and refugees in Israel?
The ‘Africa Rising’ Bandwagon
Al Jazeera falls for the fiction that business entrepreneurship and corporate capitalism will be Africa’s saving grace.
When Wikipedia writes Malawi’s national history
John Chilembwe is Malawi's first great anti-colonial hero. Why do our media outlets mainly rely on Wikipedia to give us “facts” about him?
God is a profitable and deadly business in Angola
In post-socialist, growth-oriented Angola, the rich are getting richer and the poor have only their faith.
France in Mali: The End of the Fairytale
This is not a neo-colonial offensive. The argument that it is might be comfortable and familiar, but it is bogus and ill-informed.
Woman of the Year
Alice Nkom, the brave, activist lawyer, harassed and imprisoned by Cameroon's repressive regime on the government's actions: "Threats like these show us that the fight must continue.”
We write what we like about Steve Biko
What does it mean for a dead man to live through us, as we chant his name and claim him?
Howls in a hurricane
For South African news media to be ignored is a fate worse than censorship.
Foreign Correspondents and False Notes
Foreign journalists would do well to get their heads around Mali’s crisis, because all signs are that it will be around for a while.
Ghana’s elections: Back to the future
Most of the same issues and personalities that featured in the 2008 elections dominate in the 2012 elections.
The Joyce Banda Malawians know
It is becoming apparent that Malawian presidents have one image for the world and a separate one, mostly negative, for the people who actually voted them into power.
The political fight is wherever people gather
Can young Angolan activists inspired by Angola's underground rap scene take on a political elite that has ruled for decades?
When China Met Africa
An exploration of China's presence in Zambia, including suspicion, tensions and possibilities for collaboration.
When Italian politicians threaten to move to Africa
Africa is really attractive in different ways to many former Italian politicians, it seems.