SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Dec

09

2025

Nigeria has jailed Biafra separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu: why it risks backfiring

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE terrorism conviction and life sentence handed down by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, brings an end to a ten-year legal battle. But it opens up a larger political and security question for Nigeria. Kanu has long championed the secession of Nigeria’s south-east region, a demand the Nigerian constitution forbids. The last major attempt at secession, in 1967, triggered a 30-month civil war that killed over one million people, mostly Igbo civilians. Kanu’s campaign for Biafra as an independent Igbo state is rooted in decades of perceived political marginalisation…

Dec

06

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Peace theatre in Washington: How minerals trump lives in Congo

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ON Thursday, as President Donald Trump presided over a peace signing ceremony in Washington, the bodies were still being counted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. While cameras captured handshakes beneath a "Delivering Peace" banner at the freshly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese forces were clashing throughout South Kivu province. Children were among the casualties. Villages buried their dead as dignitaries exchanged pens. This dissonance - between diplomatic pageantry and battlefield reality - exposes the fundamental hollowness of what the White House is hailing as a historic breakthrough. The December 4 ceremony was…

Dec

05

2025

By LOVISE AALEN and MAI AZZAM

Sudan’s protesters built networks to fight a tyrant – today they save lives in a war

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SUDAN has a long history of civilian-led resistance, with young people playing a key role. For example, informal neighbourhood networks established in 2013 to survive repression under three decades of authoritarian rule have since transformed into vibrant support systems. These groups helped mobilise mass protests in 2018. They have provided a lifeline for communities in the ongoing civil war, which started in 2023. During the mass protests, youth-led networks organised political sit-ins and demonstrations against the Islamist regime of Omar al-Bashir. They were ultimately successful in overthrowing a 30-year dictatorship. We are researchers in the fields of anthropology and political…

Dec

04

2025

By MARC WEGERIF

African land policy reforms have been good for women and communities – but review of 18 countries shows major gaps

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

LAND tenure is the relationship, defined in law and customs, that people as individuals or groups have with land. It involves a bundle of rights to land, such as the right to use, sell, or bequeath land. Secure tenure is crucial for people to have secure homes, for food production, and for the economy. For many, it is also central to their identity and culture. While there is broad agreement on the importance of effective governance of secure land tenure, the best way to achieve this is the subject of much debate. The core contestation is between commodifying land through…

Dec

03

2025

By PATRICIA HUON

In DR Congo’s Uvira, pro-government militia actions show abuses aren’t just an M23 problem

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

LIFE for people living under occupation by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has seized vast swathes of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been marked by widespread human rights abuses and economic turmoil. Yet in the lakeside city of Uvira, suffocating daily pressures and abuses come not from the rebels but from the army and, especially, pro-government militias, who claim to protect the city and fight the M23. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By a journalist in Uvira and Patricia Huon “Their bombs are affecting the entire population, when they should be aimed at the…

Dec

02

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Five arrested in South African mercenary trafficking ring as Zuma’s daughter resigns from parliament

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FIVE suspects appeared in Kempton Park Magistrates Court on Monday, facing charges of violating South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act, marking the first arrests in a widening scandal that has already claimed the political career of former President Jacob Zuma's daughter and exposed a sophisticated human trafficking network recruiting South Africans to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) announced the arrests of Nonkululeko Mantula (39), Thulani Mazibuko (24), Xolani Ntuli (47), Siphamandla Tshabalala (23), and Sfiso Mabena (21) following a dramatic week that saw siblings turned against each other at the highest levels of…

Nov

29

2025

By MARELIZE ISABEL SCHOEMAN

Thousands of criminals reoffend in South Africa – better data would show where the justice system is failing

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN a recent statement, South Africa’s minister of correctional services said more than 18,000 parolees had reoffended in the past three years. They included 209 committing murder and 330 rape during 2024-25. This is one of the country’s most pressing justice problems, yet it remains poorly understood. It’s called recidivism: a situation where an individual who has already served a sentence commits another crime and is arrested, convicted or sentenced again. Academic and media reports suggest that many released prisoners commit another crime and are sentenced. However, South Africa lacks a standard definition for recidivism or a consistent way to…

Nov

28

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Brothers stole $4 million meant for Minnesota’s homeless—then the program collapsed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WHEN trust became currency, two brothers gambled with the lives of America's most vulnerable—and lost The dream had always been to build something lasting. For Asad and Anwar Adow, two Somalian brothers who'd made their way to Minnesota, America represented possibility. But somewhere between ambition and greed, that dream curdled into something darker. On a cold Monday in November 2025, Asad Ahmed Adow, 26, stood before a federal judge and spoke a single word that would reshape his future: "Guilty." His brother Anwar, 25, had done the same just weeks earlier. Together, they had orchestrated a scheme so audacious, so…

Nov

27

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Hyundai gets its hands dirty – So women don’t have to… unless they want to

MOTORING NEWS

IN a refreshing departure from the tired old stereotype of women drivers being mystified by anything under the bonnet, Hyundai Automotive South Africa has put its money where its mouth is. On 21 November, the brand rolled out its "Heels on Wheels" initiative at the Fourways dealership, where spanners met stilettos and oil dipsticks got demystified. And before you roll your eyes at the cheeky name, consider this: women make up a whopping 55% of Hyundai's South African customer base. That's not a niche market segment – that's the main event. From Dashboard Panic to Dashboard Pro The interactive workshop…

Nov

27

2025

By The African Mirror

Luxury Redefined: The GWM Tank 500 Black Edition arrives

MOTORING

THERE are SUVs that transport you, and then there are SUVs that transform you. The GWM Tank 500 has always belonged to the latter category, and now, with its striking new Black Edition styling, this seven-seat luxury powerhouse has raised the bar once again. Already a commanding presence in South Africa's flagship SUV segment, the Tank 500 now emerges with an aesthetic that's as bold as it is refined. Think gloss-black mesh grille. Dark-chrome roof rails. Blacked-out mirror caps. Imposing 18-inch black alloy wheels. Every detail has been meticulously crafted to deliver a stealthier, more sophisticated stance - one that…