SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Mar

12

2026

Mau Mau: how Kenya’s history of colonial violence speaks through living bodies and graves

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

BETWEEN 1952 and 1963, Kenya experienced one of the most violent chapters in its modern history. The Mau Mau uprising, rooted in land dispossession and political repression under British colonial rule, escalated into a brutal counterinsurgency war. An estimated 50,000 Kenyans died during the violent conflict between Mau Mau guerrillas and British forces, and from disease and starvation. Torture, sexual violence and forced detention were widespread. Over a million people were displaced into villages and detention camps in the 1950s. Many victims of the uprising were buried in unmarked mass graves. Others survived, but were permanently scarred. As Britain prepared…

Mar

11

2026

By BRENDON J. CANNON

Gulf attention is turning inward: why the Iran war could destabilise the Horn of Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

GULF states have become increasingly prominent in the squabbles, civil wars and inter-country tensions in the Horn of Africa over the past decade. The countries in this region include Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somaliland, Somalia and Djibouti. As a result, the US-Israel war on Iran matters for the Horn, where Gulf money, Gulf diplomacy and Gulf defence equipment have become part of the operating environment of conflict and rivalry. For over a decade, I have researched the interactions of sub-Saharan Africa with Arab Gulf states, as well as Turkey, Japan, China and others. In my view, Gulf states may scale back…

Mar

06

2026

By TIMOTHY CLACK and SHADRECK CHIRIKURE

Colonialism in Africa: archaeology offers a deeper view

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

COLONIALISM has been a central part of history around the world, differing only in form over time and space. After all, whenever people have moved from one place to another, they have colonised spaces and other people or forms of life. In Africa, colonialism has mostly been studied as something imposed from outside, for example, from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. A recent special issue of the journal Azania sought to address this. Scholars looked at the topic from an angle that’s so far been neglected – the archaeology and history of colonialism from within Africa. We introduced…

Mar

05

2026

By ANDRÉ WESSELS

Warships as diplomats: how the South African Navy is tasked with building ties with other nations

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A naval exercise off the South African coast in January 2026, dubbed Will for Peace and involving the warships of South Africa, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran, elicited international and domestic controversy. It also contributed to a further souring of relations between South Africa and the US. Under pressure at home, South Africa’s defence ministry appointed a board of inquiry to investigate whether an instruction by President Cyril Ramaphosa not to involve Iran had been defied. The exercise and its controversies have placed the spotlight on the South African Navy’s diplomatic role. André Wessels, who has…

Mar

04

2026

By SIYABULELA CHRISTOPHER FOBOSI

South Africa’s minibus taxi industry runs on social bonds – reform must accept this

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa’s minibus taxi industry is the backbone of the country’s public transport system. Every day, millions of commuters rely on it. In many low-income and peri-urban communities, there is no real alternative. They account for roughly 70% of daily public transport trips in the country. Yet despite its scale and significance, the industry remains largely informal. It is governed less by formal contracts and clear regulatory systems than by relationships, trust and unwritten rules. This makes the sector an important subject for industrial and economic sociology scholars like myself, who are concerned with how regulation, labour and economic life…

Feb

27

2026

By ELENA MOORE; DOLLY MOGOMOTSI NTSEANE; GWEN LESETEDI; VAYDA MEGANNON; and VAYDA MEGANNON

Botswana’s hike of old age pensions hasn’t fixed the problem of who cares for the elderly – new study

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE government of Botswana in southern Africa dramatically increased the universal old age pension for all citizens aged 65 and above from P830 (about US$63) to P1,400 (about US$106) per month in 2025. Headlines celebrated the near 70% rise in value. For many older citizens struggling with rising food and transport costs, it appeared to signal a new era of state recognition of elder care. But if you look closer, the story is less straightforward. A cash increase is something you can measure, and you can see who gets it. But it does not address the deeper question confronting ageing…

Feb

25

2026

By DANIEL BERHANE

The growing threat of conflict in the Horn of Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CLASHES last month in two Tigrayan districts between the federal army and Tigrayan forces could be the first steps towards a wider war that has been frozen for the past three years by a shaky ceasefire. Following the skirmishes in Tselemti, in southwestern Tigray, and Wajirat in the southeast, the federal government has moved several army divisions towards the Tigray border. It has also blocked the bank accounts of selected ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) officials. In anticipation of trouble ahead, people in the regional capital, Mekelle, have been stocking up on groceries, and long queues have formed at…

Feb

24

2026

By ULF ENGEL

African Union: how does it make a difference in everyday life and what would happen if it didn’t exist?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE African Union held its 39th Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2026. The two-day assembly produced the usual number of decisions and declarations across African peace and security, trade, governance and development. Such gatherings, however, can feel distant from the everyday realities of African citizens. They are a showcase of high-level diplomacy that can feel far removed from public life. Since the Union’s establishment in July 2002, the AU Assembly and the AU Executive Council (the meeting of ministers) have taken more than 2,000 decisions. Usually, decisions are prepared by ambassadors to…

Feb

23

2026

By JILL KLEIN and PETE MANASANTIVONGS

Want to avoid palm oil? You need a label

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE most important factor determining whether consumers avoid purchasing a product containing palm oil is not how they feel about orangutans, the environment, or anything else for that matter. It’s whether they know what’s in the product. Research by Melbourne Business School and Zoos Victoria reveals that consumers’ ability to diagnose whether a product is made with palm oil is the leading driver of whether they choose a palm-oil-free product over a similar product that is, or could be, made with palm oil. Hurting orangutans, but you’d never know it According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a…

Feb

20

2026

By CLEMENT SEFA-NYARKO

Critical mineral supply faces risks if local communities aren’t consulted enough: the case of lithium in Ghana

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CLEAN technologies depend on critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt. Over 65% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nearly 40% of the world’s manganese is mined in South Africa. Substantial deposits of lithium are found in Zimbabwe. Ghana is emerging as a miner of lithium, too. What’s less well understood is how the supply chains of these minerals are assessed and managed. The dominant view is that only three players matter: the mineral-mining industry, the host state where the minerals are found, and the wider geopolitical equation. But there’s a fourth piece of…