SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Nov

17

2025

US-Nigeria relations: what it means to be a ‘country of particular concern’ and why it matters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR the second time in five years, Nigeria has been designated a “country of particular concern” by the US government, in both cases by President Donald Trump. The first time was in 2020, but the designation was removed in 2021. The November 2025 redesignation can be traced to, among other things, a campaign by US Congressman Riley Moore, who alleged that there was an “alarming and ongoing persecution of Christians” in Nigeria. Nigeria refuted this claim. President Bola Tinubu, in a statement, argued that the US characterisation of Nigeria did not reflect the country’s reality or values. But what does…

Nov

15

2025

By ELEANOR DOBSON

Tutankhamun was decapitated 100 years ago – why the excavation is a great shame instead of a triumph

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

NOVEMBER 2025 marks 100 years since archaeologists first examined Tutankhamun’s mummified remains. What followed wasn’t a scientific triumph – it was destruction. Using hot knives and brute force, Howard Carter’s team decapitated the pharaoh, severed his limbs and dismembered his torso. Then they covered it up. Tutankhamun’s tomb was first discovered in the Valley of the Kings by a team of mostly Egyptian excavators led by Howard Carter in November 1922. However, it took several years for the excavators to clear and catalogue the tomb’s antechamber – the first part of what would become a decade-long excavation. This meticulous work,…

Nov

12

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

BMW throws petrol purists a lifeline with the X3 20 Pure Design

MOTORING

IN a move that proves internal combustion still has a pulse in 2025, BMW South Africa has rolled out the X3 20 Pure Design, a fresh entry-level gateway drug for those craving that kidney-grille swagger without the diesel clatter or plug-in complications. Landing at a cool R1.1 million (yes, that's entry-level now – welcome to premium motoring in the 2020s), this Rosslyn-born bruiser slots neatly beneath the diesel-slurping 20d, the electrified 30e, and the frankly unhinged M50 xDrive. It's BMW's way of saying: "Hey, we see you, petrol lovers. We haven't forgotten about you." Under that sculpted bonnet lurks a…

Nov

10

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Africa’s pharmaceutical awakening: how Mombasa conference aims to end a century of dependency

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR more than a century, Africa has been a pharmaceutical colony - dependent on distant manufacturers for the medicines that determine whether its children survive malaria, whether its mothers live through childbirth, and whether its populations can withstand the next pandemic. This week in Mombasa, that colonial relationship faces its most significant challenge yet. The Seventh Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA VII), convening November 11-13 at the PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa, represents far more than another gathering of health officials and regulators. It is the crystallisation of sixteen years of painstaking institution-building, the unveiling…

Nov

08

2025

By KRISTIN BRIG

Access to water has a long racial history in Durban: I followed the story in the city’s archives

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE water infrastructure politics of eThekwini, the municipality that includes the city of Durban, have been splashed across the digital pages of South Africa’s news outlets in recent years. They’ve covered the 2022 floods that damaged kilometres of pipes, water tanker purchases as a response to increasing water scarcity, and the disconnection of residential water storage tanks from municipal pipes to cope with leaky infrastructure. Like other South African municipalities, eThekwini has fallen behind on maintaining its piped water infrastructure and has looked to stopgap solutions. The city’s water politics has a long history. Some of the infrastructure issues can…

Nov

07

2025

By OLAYINKA AJALA

Is there a Christian genocide in Nigeria? Evidence shows all faiths are under attack by terrorists

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TERRORISM and insurgency have ravaged parts of Nigeria since 2009, especially in the northern regions. Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been killed, and millions have been displaced by the violence. Nigeria was ranked sixth in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, with a score of 7.658, moving up from eighth place in 2023 and 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” in November 2025. This was the result of a campaign by US Congressman Riley Moore, who alleged that there was an “alarming and ongoing persecution of Christians” in the West African country. The congressman…

Nov

05

2025

By SAMIR RAMZY

Peace in Sudan? 3 reasons why mediation hasn’t worked so far

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SUDAN has been embroiled in a civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the two parties. The war has displaced more than 14 million people. Over half the population of about 50 million is facing acute levels of hunger. Several mediation initiatives have been launched since the start of the war, with limited success. The African Union has also been unable to get the main warring parties to agree to a permanent ceasefire. The four countries leading the main peace mediation effort (known as the Quad) are…

Nov

04

2025

By AHMED GOUJA

An atrocity foretold: How the RSF siege of El Fasher turned into genocidal slaughter

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN one video, dozens of bodies lie strewn on the floor of a building as militiamen move through, checking that no one is still alive. A man in a white jalabiya – seemingly the only survivor – is shot dead. “Finished,” a fighter says in Arabic as they walk out. In another video, fighters stand in a trench, guns raised, shouting cries of victory. All around them lie corpses in the sand, as vehicles burn in the distance – presumably vehicles that those people had tried to use to escape. In a third video, a different group of fighters force…

Nov

01

2025

By ALAN WHITFIELD; CHARLES HELM; FRANCIS THACKERAY; RENEE RUST, and WILLO STEAR

Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE origins and migrations of modern humans around the world are a hot topic of debate. Genetic analyses have pointed to Africa as the continent from which our ancestors dispersed in the Late Pleistocene epoch, which began about 126,000 years ago. Various dispersal routes have been suggested. As a group of scientists who have been studying human evolution, we propose in a recently published review paper that the coast of southern Africa was likely where Homo sapiens began this worldwide journey. We suggest that some people started leaving this area about 70,000 years ago, took a route along the east…

Oct

31

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

The Gusheshe returns: BMW’s love letter to South Africa’s ultimate driving legend

MOTORING

IN the townships of South Africa, there was no greater symbol of having "made it" than the unmistakable silhouette of a BMW 325iS sliding around a corner, rear wheels spinning, engine howling. We called it the "Gusheshe" – a name that captured the sound of rubber meeting tarmac, the visceral roar of aspiration made of metal. This wasn't just a car. It was a statement. A philosophy. A dream wrapped in German engineering and South African swagger. Now, decades after it first captured the nation's imagination, BMW Group South Africa is bringing that magic back with the BMW 325iS Homage…