SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Aug

21

2025

By ANGIE ELWIN; DELAGNON ASSOU, and NEIL D’CRUZE

TikTok’s online wild meat sellers – study finds endangered species on offer in west Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN Togo and much of West Africa, wild meat remains an important part of daily life, valued for its taste, cultural traditions, and as a source of income for those who sell it. It is often seen as a luxury food in urban centres, commanding higher prices than domesticated meat. This risks driving higher demand. Wild meat is openly sold in urban markets and at roadside stalls throughout Togo, with vendors catering to both local customers and passing travellers. In rural areas, it is common to see dead rodents, pythons and cobras displayed by the roadside, ready to be purchased…

Aug

19

2025

By GORDON CRAWFORD and GABRIEL BOTCHWEY

Ghana’s war on illegal mining has failed – we set out to find out why

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

EARLY in his eight-year tenure, in 2017, then-Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo declared a moratorium on all small-scale gold mining. He established an inter-ministerial committee on illegal mining and a joint military-police taskforce – Operation Vanguard – to enforce the ban. The tough measures aimed to reduce the severe environmental degradation caused by illegal small-scale gold mining, known as “galamsey”. Initially for six months, the ban lasted for 20 months until December 2018, when it was lifted for newly registered miners. But illegal mining continued unabated. A statement made in Ghana’s parliament by the country’s lands minister outlined the scale and…

Aug

16

2025

By MARINA MASTRORILLO; CHUN SONG; GRAZIA PACILLO, and VICTOR VILLA

Child malnutrition is a sign of conflict to come: Nigerian study links climate change, food and violence

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE pathway from climate change to violent conflict is not simple. There are the obvious immediate effects of global warming, like water scarcity and crop failure. But beyond these, climate stress can pave the road to violence through indirect channels – a gradual rise in food insecurity and growing social tensions that set the stage for more armed violence. We are a team of researchers who investigate the links between climate change, food systems and conflict. We set out to explore the relationship between climate variability, child malnutrition and violent conflict. Our study focused on Nigeria. The country has faced…

Aug

15

2025

By BOURDJOLBO TCHOUDIBA

Succès Masra: how Chad’s opposition firebrand came to be sentenced to 20 years in prison

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CHAD’S opposition firebrand and a former prime minister, Succès Masra, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 9 August. He was accused of inciting violence and hate speech on social media, leading to the death of 42 people in a clash between herders and farmers in the village of Mandakao in 2023. The opposition leader had been arrested at his home on 16 May by men in military uniform. He was initially charged with “inciting hatred, inciting armed groups to revolt, complicity in murder, arson, and desecration of graves”. Masra rose to prominence as one of the main opponents…

Aug

14

2025

By LESLEY HOPE

33 million women grow food on plots in sub-Saharan Africa. Greener farming can boost their earnings – study

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THERE are 33 million smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, making up 80% of the total farmer population. These farmers cultivate small plots of land of less than two hectares and don’t make much money, as they generally sell their produce in local markets. They usually lack the funds needed to process their crops into a product that could sell for a higher price, and they struggle to get into supply chains where they could sell for higher prices. Agricultural economist Lesley Hope has researched what is needed for women smallholder farmers to switch to agroecology – environmentally friendly farming that…

Aug

13

2025

By YASEERA ISMAIL

South Africa and China set up a quantum communication link: how we did it and why it’s historic

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A major breakthrough in quantum technology was achieved in October 2024: the first-ever quantum satellite communication link between China and South Africa. The connection spanned a remarkable 12,900km: the longest intercontinental quantum communication link established to date. The longest before this was 7,600km, and within the northern hemisphere only. It was achieved with quantum key distribution, a method for a sender and receiver to share a secure key that they can use to safely send messages. Any interception during transmission leaves traces that can be detected. It involves sending single photons (tiny particles of light). If someone tries to intercept…

Aug

12

2025

By LUKE SINWELL

South Africa’s electricity price is soaring. Why protests are often the only way for people to be heard

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

MILLIONS of unemployed South Africans, many of whom survive on a Social Relief of Distress Grant government grant of R370 (about US$21) per month, are not able to pay for electricity and still afford food and shelter. In the working-class community of Thembisa in South Africa’s industrial heartland of Gauteng, the local government recently tried to make all families pay a fixed monthly fee of R126 (US$7) for electricity. But the residents could not afford this, and in late July, they occupied the roads and shut down the area. Within a day, the mayor scrapped the electricity fee. Luke Sinwell,…

Aug

11

2025

By MARK DENG

South Sudan’s new chief justice has a chance to reform the judiciary – if he’s allowed to do his job

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Sudan’s chief justice, Chan Reec Madut, was sacked in late May 2025 after more than 13 years on the bench. Madut leaves behind a legacy of inefficiency and accusations of judicial graft. But the sacking violated South Sudan’s 2011 transitional constitution and the law. Ultimately, the president’s decision threatens the rule of law and judicial independence. Constitutional scholar Mark Deng discusses this worrying development. What was envisaged for South Sudan’s post-independence judiciary? South Sudan won independent statehood following an internationally supervised referendum in 2011. The transitional constitution, drafted after the referendum, is the country’s founding law. It provides for…

Aug

08

2025

By ROBERT J. GORDON

Namibia’s forgotten genocide: how Bushmen were hunted and killed under German colonial rule

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE genocide of Namibia’s Ovaherero and Nama people by German colonial forces (1904-1907) is widely documented. But much less is made of what came next – the genocide of the country’s Bushmen, also known as the San. In 1992, anthropologist Robert J. Gordon published a book, The Bushman Myth and the Making of a Namibian Underclass, about these indigenous people of Namibia and how they were hunted and turned into servants by German colonisers. Now it has been thoroughly revised and has been republished as The Bushman Myth Revisited: Genocide, Dispossession and the Road to Servitude. We asked him five…

Aug

07

2025

By SAMIR RAMZY

Sudan’s rebel force has declared a parallel government: what this means for the war

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SUDAN’S southwestern city of Nyala in Darfur recently became the centre of a significant political development. After more than two years of fighting Sudan’s army, an alliance of armed and political groups backed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces announced the formation of a parallel government on 20 July 2025. The new administration, dubbed the Government of Peace and Unity, is a coalition of armed movements from Darfur in Sudan’s western region and Kordofan in the central region. Together, these regions account for about 46% of Sudan’s total land area. The coalition has made Nyala its base. The city is…