Politics

© In this file photo, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2019 Russia-Africa summit. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS

Fraying ties

Premium badgeSouth Africa faces ‘consequences’ over alleged arms sales to Russia South Africa’s support for Russia is increasingly straining bilateral ties with the US.
© A still from Bravo, Burkina! by Walé Oyéjidé, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute/Photo by Walé Oyéjidé)

Ciao Burkina

Nigeria: Walé Oyéjidé’s Bravo, Burkina! feature film makes an impact Nigerian-born American filmmaker, designer and all-around creative Walé Oyéjidé was at the Sundance Film Festival in January for the premiere of his f...
© Shane Eagle (photo: @Shane_Eagle)

Defying the odds

South Africa: Shane Eagle is ready to soar once more After placing fourth during the hotly contested first season of Vuzu’s hip hop talent competition, ‘The Hustle’, in 2015 – Shane Eagle took off on per...
© A villager from Mikundi village walking through a section of Gathiuru forest in Mt Kenya forest, helping with the community tree-planting initiative now that the droughts are over (Photo by Kang-Chun Cheng)

forest furore

Premium badgeKenya: What’s creating conflict over water and land usage in Mount Kenya Forest Reserve A succession of battering droughts starting in late 2020 in the Horn of Africa region brought mass internal movement and displacement, particularly wi...

Politics top stories

© Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba (L) took tour of 6th & 7th street, Kampala, to look at potholes in the capital (Photo: Twitter/@KCCAUG)

POTHOLES CAPITAL

Premium badgeUganda: Kampala’s potholes, emblematic of its politics If there is a feature that sums up Kampala, the capital, it is the potholes. The city – the heartbeat of Uganda’s economic development – has never vot...
Félix Tshisekedi speaks with Albert Zeufack (left), World Bank country director for the DRC, at the AU compound on 17 March 2023.

changes and consequences

Premium badgeDRC: Why Félix Tshisekedi has upset the World Bank The DRC’s Social Fund has been dissolved by presidential order. Justified by a desire to “channel institutional action for greater efficiency,” the de...
© Nigeria’s Taraba governor-elect Agbu Kefas.

driving optimism

Premium badgeNigeria: Agbu Kefas, the ‘thief-catching guru,’ has his job cut out in Taraba State Agbu Kefas arrived at his position as head of the Nigeria Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) 10 years ago with a reputation for catching oil thieves....

Politics top stories

© Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba (L) took tour of 6th & 7th street, Kampala, to look at potholes in the capital (Photo: Twitter/@KCCAUG)

POTHOLES CAPITAL

Premium badgeUganda: Kampala’s potholes, emblematic of its politics If there is a feature that sums up Kampala, the capital, it is the potholes. The city – the heartbeat of Uganda’s economic development – has never vot...
Félix Tshisekedi speaks with Albert Zeufack (left), World Bank country director for the DRC, at the AU compound on 17 March 2023.

changes and consequences

Premium badgeDRC: Why Félix Tshisekedi has upset the World Bank The DRC’s Social Fund has been dissolved by presidential order. Justified by a desire to “channel institutional action for greater efficiency,” the de...
© Nigeria’s Taraba governor-elect Agbu Kefas.

driving optimism

Premium badgeNigeria: Agbu Kefas, the ‘thief-catching guru,’ has his job cut out in Taraba State Agbu Kefas arrived at his position as head of the Nigeria Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) 10 years ago with a reputation for catching oil thieves....

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© Femi Otedola (photo: faceboook)

Billionaire beefs 

Premium badgeNigeria: Inside Otedola’s battles with Dangote, Elumelu and Adenuga  Business mogul, Femi Otedola, has accused banking magnate and Chairman of UBA, Tony Elumelu, of betrayal. With his latest broadside, we take a look at...
© Fatoumata Diawara in Paris on 28 March 2023. (Bruno Levy for Jeune Afrique)

song synergy

Premium badgeMali’s Fatoumata Diawara: London Ko, from London to Bamako Malian singer Faoutamata Diawara’s new album, London Ko, released on 12 May, aims to project a more hopeful vision of Africa, using the Bambara langua...
© Russian President Vladimir Putin (R)shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)

mystery vessel

US accuses South Africa of covertly providing arms to Russia The US envoy to South Africa on Thursday 11 May accused the country of having covertly provided arms to Russia, a charge that drew an angry rebuke fro...
© Abdourahman A. Waberi, author of ‘Why Do You Dance When You Walk?’

into my thoughts

Djibouti: Cassava Republic present ‘Why Do You Dance When You Walk?’ Twice a month, we bring you an excerpt from a book to be published by the Nigeria-based Cassava Republic, a renowned publisher on the continent, leadi...

tight duel

Premium badgeIn Turkey, Erdogan and Kiliçdaroglu will meet for a historic face-off It is a tight duel that will take place on Sunday (14 May) in Turkey between, on one hand, a president who has been in power for 20 years, and, on the...

white lines

Premium badgeCôte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria… How cocaine is making its way through West Africa To meet booming demand in Europe, cocaine production has more than doubled in South America. West Africa, an almost obligatory transit point for the w...