SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Feb

03

2026

South Sudan’s White Army explained: what it is – and what it isn’t

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE UN issued warnings of potential mass violence between the South Sudanese government and the White Army in January 2026. A peace agreement ended a five-year civil war in the country in 2018. This was followed by a period of relative calm that ended in 2025 in the wake of clashes between the government and White Army. Attempts to bring peace have faltered. The government has charged and suspended first vice-president Riek Machar over claims he commanded the White Army during the violence in Nasir, Upper Nile State. Jan Pospisil, who has studied South Sudan’s conflict dynamics, explains the origins…

Jan

31

2026

By EPHIAS MUGARI

South Africa’s floods turned deadly because Limpopo wasn’t prepared – how to prevent a repeat

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

LIMPOPO, in northern South Africa, home to 6.6 million people, several large mines, and the Kruger National Park (one of Africa’s largest game reserves), experienced unusually severe floods in mid-January 2026. Rural villages remained cut off from the world following the week-long heavy rains. The Kruger National Park was evacuated after camps and roads were flooded. The flooding caused an estimated R1.7 billion (US$106 million) worth of damage to homes, schools, roads and bridges. Climate change adaptation researcher Ephias Mugari explains that the impact of the floods was worsened by the poor shape of key infrastructure and limited plans for…

Jan

29

2026

By HARUNA INUWA, ALYCIA LEONARD, and STEPHANIE HIRMER

Attacks on Nigeria’s energy systems weaken the country – research unpacks costs, risks and ways forward

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ENERGY systems are coming under attack globally because disrupting power or fuel supplies offers strategic, economic or political leverage. This can be in local conflicts or large-scale geopolitical confrontations. Nigeria illustrates this clearly: militants in the Niger Delta sabotage pipelines to assert control and tap into oil revenues, while the extremist group Boko Haram and armed bandits in the north hit power lines to weaken state presence. These incidents reveal how conflict actors weaponise energy systems. We recently published a study assessing how militancy, insurgency and armed banditry undermine Nigeria’s energy systems by disrupting oil, gas and power infrastructure. We…

Jan

28

2026

By The African Mirror

Crime-fighting in Lagos: community watch groups are the preferred choice for residents, but they carry risks

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CRIMINAL activities have developed into a security crisis in Nigeria. Alongside the responses of security agencies such as the police and military, there has been a huge local response, with community groups mobilising in the face of criminal attacks. For example, communities in Zamfara State, north-west region, repelled a bandit attack, causing the death of 37 bandits in August 2024. In Sokoto State, north-west region, residents rescued kidnapped individuals and recovered the body of the deceased village head in August 2024. In Kwara state, north-central region, community groups rescued people from their abductors in December 2025. But how effective are…

Jan

26

2026

By ABEEB BABATUNDE OMOTOSO and MOJIRAYO AYODELE

Nigerian farmers talk about how climate change is affecting staple food crops – and what can help

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN Nigeria, agriculture contributes about 40% to the national gross domestic product and supports the livelihoods of about 60% of the population. Finding ways to farm through climate change is vital for national development and poverty reduction. Climate change remains one of the most critical challenges confronting Nigeria’s farming sector. The country’s agriculture is mainly rain-fed (not irrigated). This makes it highly vulnerable to changes in climate and extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, flooding, and rising temperatures. These climate-induced shocks reduce agricultural productivity, threaten food security through crop losses, damage rural livelihoods, and create economic instability.…

Jan

20

2026

By CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

Africa’s human rights institutions are electing leaders. Why this matters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

MEMBER states of the African Union (AU) will hold their most consequential election of the year in February 2026, to fill ten vacancies in continental human rights institutions. They will elect three experts to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and seven to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. These individuals will serve on the committee for five years and on the commission for six, alongside 23 peers with unexpired terms. The elections are important because these institutions exist primarily to ensure that the continent’s governments take African lives seriously. They…

Jan

15

2026

By NAGIS REGIS, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Ivorian biker challenges Africa, Europe to make motorcycling inclusive, safer

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ON a well-paved road in Cocody, an upmarket suburb of Abidjan, Bamba Édith Christine pulled on her biker gloves, adjusted her helmet over her distinctive blue-rimmed glasses and face mask and hit the start button on her 900 cc Yamaha Tracer. Then she headed out across town from her residence close to the Ébrié Lagoon. The biker, known locally by her social media handle, "Bambina", soon joined a group of fellow bikers, part of a growing community of enthusiasts who have banded together to ensure the voice of motorcyclists is heard over the growing cacophony of road users in Francophone…

Jan

13

2026

By MALIK SAMUEL

Did the US military strikes in Nigeria hit the right target?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

US missile strikes in December on what the Pentagon described as Islamic State (IS) targets mark a significant escalation in Nigeria's insurgent conflict, but they may not have brought a resolution to the crisis any closer. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Malik Samuel President Donald Trump framed the 25 December strikes on northwestern Sokoto State as part of a broader campaign to degrade IS and its affiliates allegedly operating in the region. He presented the intervention as necessary to protect “primarily, innocent Christians”, and to prevent the further spread of IS-linked violence. This framing, however, sits…

Jan

08

2026

By HAYLEY CLEMENTS; ALTA DE VOS; MATTHEW CHILD, and SIVIWE SHWABABA

Land reform in South Africa: how new landholders could prosper from wildlife and not just farming

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa has a thriving wildlife economy – enterprises like trophy and meat hunting, ecotourism, live wildlife sales and game meat production. Over the past few decades, private (predominantly white) farmers have converted millions of hectares once reserved for livestock into game ranches. These enterprises generate profits and jobs while maintaining natural vegetation and conserving indigenous large mammals. Government policy considers the sector key to integrating conservation with rural development. The national 2024 strategy is to grow “sustainable and inclusive eco-tourism-based businesses by 10%” every year. It is also projected that the GDP contribution of game meat will increase from…

Jan

05

2026

By JUDE KAGORO

Political policing in Museveni’s Uganda: what it means for the 2026 elections

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

UGANDA’S police have long faced criticism for politically charged interventions. These include episodes in which lethal force has been used in ways that observers describe as excessive or indiscriminate. The main targets of restrictive or coercive tactics are supporters of the political opposition. For example, in November 2020, weeks before the 2021 elections, protests at the arrest of the main opposition candidate escalated into nationwide unrest. More than 100 people died. Under President Yoweri Museveni – in power since 1986 – the police have become a central pillar of the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement. In the campaigns for…