24 April 17

East Africa’s President-for-Life Syndrome

Many Africa watchers might have taken the recent successful ejection of the Gambia’s defeated dictator, Yahya Jammeh, as a sign of hope for the upward swing of democracy in Africa. But despite this morsel of good news, the latest edition
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21 April 17

Will Somalia benefit from Trump throwing his military weight around?

When Trump won the US presidential election late last year there was a global sense that something big – and perhaps not all that positive – had just happened. Talk of building walls, banning Muslims and rewriting international trade deals
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17 April 17

Does South Sudan’s conflict qualify as genocide?

On Wednesday, Britain’s International Development Secretary Priti Patel labelled South Sudan’s ongoing conflict as a genocide. Her comments were prompted by a recent visit to the world’s youngest nation where she experienced first hand some of the conditions people are living
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15 April 17

Press freedom in East Africa is becoming even more elusive

Press freedom is an elusive concept in much of Africa and many other parts of the world. However, there’s this notion that journalists, bloggers and commentators in general are enjoying a progressively more open environment to express their views and
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03 April 17

Somalia: What has AMISOM achieved in 10 years?

This month marks ten years since the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) first marched into Somalia, but it’s not the kind of anniversary that inspires celebration. Instead, with the mission set to withdraw by 2020 and Islamist group Al-Shabaab
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02 April 17

Mothers are being forced to choose which child eats as famine spreads across Africa

When there’s not enough food in the family, mothers are forced to choose which of their children eat. This is the reality of Fatuma Abdille, a Somali mother who told her heartbreaking story to the media last week – and she’s
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28 March 17

The ups and downs of Africa’s online gambling boom

Gambling is a multitrillion-dollar industry and Africa is one of the newest, most exciting players to sit at the table. Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are the fastest growing markets on the continent, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Uganda and
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27 March 17

Is South Sudan standing by as its people suffer?

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused South Sudan’s government of ignoring the plight suffered by more than half the country’s population. His comments refer to the growing threat of famine in South Sudan, which is already threatening the lives of
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15 March 17

Can Africa learn from South Korea’s protest culture?

Since October last year, millions of South Koreans have taken to the streets to protest against former President Park Geun-hye. The country’s first female president became embroiled in a corruption scandal that rocked the entire nation and saw angry citizens spend
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02 March 17

Is East Africa the most dangerous region in the world?

Last year’s Global Peace Index (GPI) report from the Institute for Economics and Peace ranked countries around the world in order of safety. Sadly, Africa didn’t score too well in the report, largely thanks to the reemergence of civil conflict, a
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