SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Nov

13

2024

The lack of water in South Africa is the result of a long history of injustice – and legislation should start there

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WATER scarcity is a serious problem in many parts of the world. It adds to inequalities between communities and keeps historical injustices in place. One of the countries where this is an issue is South Africa. The country has a semi-arid climate, frequent droughts and relatively low average annual rainfall. But households’ experiences of water scarcity are also tied up with the country’s history. The legacies of colonialism and apartheid mean that Black communities – who make up 81.4% of South Africa’s population – still do not have the same water access as white communities. As a sociologist who investigates…

Nov

11

2024

By STEVEN C. ROACH

Salva Kiir: South Sudan’s president fought for independence, but then fuelled division, violence and corruption

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SALVA Kiir Mayardit has served as South Sudan’s president since the country’s independence in 2011. South Sudan’s secession from Sudan came on the heels of a long and bloody civil war that resulted in a referendum on independence. The initial optimism about the new state faded within two years when Kiir fell out with his vice president, Riek Machar. The resulting civil war displaced some four million people and killed an estimated 388,000 people. With the two warring sides unable to reach an agreement, the government postponed elections indefinitely in 2015 amid continuing civil strife. Kiir and Machar signed a…

Nov

09

2024

By LUCA BUSSOTTI

What lies behind Mozambique’s failure to find lasting peace and true democracy

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

MOZAMBIQUE gained independence from Portugal in 1975 following a bloody liberation war that lasted about 11 years. But independence did not mean the end of conflict. The dominant liberation movement, Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo), got embroiled in civil conflicts with the smaller Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) immediately after the political independence of the state. This is not unique to Mozambique. Independence wars in Africa were in many instances followed by civil conflict. This was the case in Angola, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Conglo and Zimbabwe. In others, the quality of the peace implemented has been low. Mozambique…

Nov

08

2024

By CHRISTIAN SIDERIUS

Food security in Africa: managing water will be vital in a rapidly growing region

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SUB-SAHARAN Africa’s population is growing at 2.7% per year and is expected to reach two billion by the year 2050. The region’s urban population is growing even faster: it was at 533 million in 2023, a 3.85% increase from 2022. The need to feed this population will put pressure on land and water resources. I’m part of a group of researchers who have looked at whether regional food production would be sufficient to supply growing urban populations. By and large, we have found high levels of food self-sufficiency. But climate change could put a spanner in the works. We have…

Nov

07

2024

By HENNING MELBER

Namibia’s game-changing 2024 elections: Swapo might face defeat for the first time since independence in 1990

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE former liberation movement South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) has been in firm political control of Namibia since independence in 1990. Support for the party in the national assembly and presidential elections reached a high point in November 2014. The 2019 elections marked a turning point, however: Swapo lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. President Hage Geingob was re-elected with the worst result yet – 56% – from 87% in 2014. This reflected disappointment over the unfulfilled promises he had made. Votes shifted to his Swapo comrade Panduleni Itula. After being expelled from the party in 2020, Itula founded…

Nov

01

2024

By ERIC REIDY

From Gaza to Sudan: The limits and future of humanitarian aid

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Eric Reidy THE systems the international community has designed since the end of World War II to try to prevent atrocities and mitigate the worst effects of conflict on civilians are utterly failing: The wars in Sudan, and in the Gaza Strip, have made that abundantly clear. The staggering levels of violence and deprivation inflicted on entire populations with utter impunity – and with complicity from powerful states – are a dark testament to the state of global humanitarianism, and the international community has shown itself unable to significantly respond to…

Oct

30

2024

By NATASHA ROBINSON

Coloured South Africans are all but erased from history textbooks – I asked learners how that makes them feel

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH African singer-songwriter Tyla made history in February 2024 when she won the inaugural Grammy for Best African Music Performance. Her win was celebrated at home. But the 22-year-old sparked controversy in the US by referring to herself as “Coloured”. There, the word is a slur dating back to the Jim Crow era, when state and local laws enforced racial discrimination against African Americans. In South Africa it has a very different meaning – and, by claiming her Coloured identity, Tyla has become an inspiration for many Coloured people who have long felt underrepresented in public life. In South Africa,…

Oct

26

2024

By KEN MATTHYSEN and PEER SCHOUTEN

Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group seeks local power in DRC, not just control over mining operations

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE violence wrought by the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 Movement is often narrowly framed as intended to control the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s resource-rich mining sites. The rebel group launched its most recent offensive in 2021 and currently controls vast territories in the southeast of North Kivu province, surrounding and cutting off the main city of Goma. Eastern DR Congo mines produce crucial raw materials such as tin, tantalum and tungsten, as well as abundant quantities of gold. It, therefore, seems logical to reduce explanations of conflict to the ambition of M23, and Rwanda behind it, to control the…

Oct

24

2024

By DOSTIN LAKIKA

War and the supernatural: former Congolese soldiers recall the ritual practices used to prepare for battle

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WAR takes a toll on soldiers’ bodies and minds. To prepare for battle, soldiers are taken through various forms of training. Part of this training aims to strip candidates of their civilian values and inculcate military culture. While armies have access to an array of contemporary strategies and weaponry during training, one element isn’t often discussed: the rituals incorporated in training and those performed before engaging in warfare. Rituals include the magico-religious practices performed for various purposes, such as seeking blessing, power or protection or even imbibing military customs. Rituals or ceremonies are believed to bestow specific abilities upon individuals…

Oct

22

2024

By CHUKA ONWUMECHILI and UNWANA AKPAN

Yoruba vs Igbo: how a 1977 football cup caused ethnic tensions to boil over in Nigeria

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOOTBALL is a game of passion, and passions can become particularly inflamed when the sport represents larger political struggles. In Nigeria in 1977, an Africa-wide football contest fuelled the ethnic rivalry between the Yoruba and the Igbo people to the point that the military had to intervene. The game was to be played as a semi-final in the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup, the club football tournament that would go on to become the Caf Confederation Cup. As scholars of sports communication, we recently published a research paper about that 1977 confrontation between Shooting Stars of Ibadan (Ibadan is home to…