SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Nov

05

2025

Peace in Sudan? 3 reasons why mediation hasn’t worked so far

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SUDAN has been embroiled in a civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the two parties. The war has displaced more than 14 million people. Over half the population of about 50 million is facing acute levels of hunger. Several mediation initiatives have been launched since the start of the war, with limited success. The African Union has also been unable to get the main warring parties to agree to a permanent ceasefire. The four countries leading the main peace mediation effort (known as the Quad) are…

Nov

04

2025

By AHMED GOUJA

An atrocity foretold: How the RSF siege of El Fasher turned into genocidal slaughter

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN one video, dozens of bodies lie strewn on the floor of a building as militiamen move through, checking that no one is still alive. A man in a white jalabiya – seemingly the only survivor – is shot dead. “Finished,” a fighter says in Arabic as they walk out. In another video, fighters stand in a trench, guns raised, shouting cries of victory. All around them lie corpses in the sand, as vehicles burn in the distance – presumably vehicles that those people had tried to use to escape. In a third video, a different group of fighters force…

Nov

01

2025

By ALAN WHITFIELD; CHARLES HELM; FRANCIS THACKERAY; RENEE RUST, and WILLO STEAR

Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE origins and migrations of modern humans around the world are a hot topic of debate. Genetic analyses have pointed to Africa as the continent from which our ancestors dispersed in the Late Pleistocene epoch, which began about 126,000 years ago. Various dispersal routes have been suggested. As a group of scientists who have been studying human evolution, we propose in a recently published review paper that the coast of southern Africa was likely where Homo sapiens began this worldwide journey. We suggest that some people started leaving this area about 70,000 years ago, took a route along the east…

Oct

31

2025

By ARBIE BAGUIOS

What black markets in asylum seeker hotels tell us about refugee realities

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A BBC investigation into hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK revealed “evidence of black market work.” This might evoke imagery of illicit dealings that will only fuel right-wingers’ racist and xenophobic demonstrations. But in reality, this shows people simply eking out a living – often as low-paid labourers such as food delivery drivers, whose work we considered essential, and even clapped for, during the COVID-19 pandemic. If anything, it is evidence of a deeply broken system where asylum seekers are compelled to work in secret just to get by – but also of people’s desire to make themselves useful…

Oct

24

2025

By SIMON HOWELL and CLEMENCE RUSENGA

Cannabis boom in South Africa and Zimbabwe is good for wealthy investors, bad for small farmers

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CANNABIS is booming as an ingredient in everything from supplementary oils, inflammation-reducing skin creams, lip balms, to health drinks and gummy sweets that promise to reduce anxiety and pain and promote relaxation. The global legal cannabis market is today worth about US$69.78 billion, and this will skyrocket to US$216.76 billion by 2033. But is this boom benefiting indigenous cannabis farmers in southern Africa? They’d been growing the plant for hundreds of years before colonial authorities criminalised it in the early 1900s. Rural people continued to grow it illicitly after that, relying on its medicinal properties. For many rural households in…

Oct

23

2025

By PAPA SOW

Turkey’s charm offensive in Senegal: migration scholar unpacks the relationship

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TURKEY has been trying to establish a stronghold in Africa, using the “Opening up to Africa” policy it adopted in 1998. Its Africa Action Plan, based on humanitarian aid, politics and economic cooperation, has turned toward West Africa. As a scholar of migration studies, I’ve analysed the forms of agencies, social networks and transnational e-commerce between Dakar and Istanbul. I also look at the people involved, including migrants, networks of traders and “gratis passengers” – people who use their baggage allowance to transport small packages between Istanbul and Dakar. My study highlights active transnational trade and a circular, yet strategic,…

Oct

21

2025

By SIVE ZINTLE MBANGISWANO

Rural women farmers in South Africa: how global promises aren’t translating into support on the ground

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IT is well documented that women small-scale farmers are hard done by in an environment where they farm without security of tenure, which inhibits their ability to raise finance with which to grow their businesses. Recent research adds another dimension to the challenges facing women small-scale farmers. Rural entrepreneurship researchers Sive Zintle Mbangiswano and Zamagebe Siphokazi Vuthela, with independent researcher and their mentor, Dr Elona Ndlovu, have found that even well-intentioned farming projects can leave women behind if they aren’t structured specifically to accommodate women In their study of a citrus fruit project - a public-private partnership in the Eastern…

Oct

18

2025

By CELESTINA ATOM

Nigeria’s Boko Haram rehabilitation efforts ignore the emotional trauma of soldiers: why this matters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SINCE 2009, Boko Haram has waged one of the deadliest insurgencies in Africa. Concentrated in north-east Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin, the group has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced at least 2.5 million. Its attacks on schools, markets, religious centres, and entire villages have torn at the fabric of Nigerian society, creating not only a humanitarian emergency but also a profound crisis of trust and cohesion. In 2016, Nigeria launched Operation Safe Corridor, a state-run initiative for low-risk former Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province members who have surrendered or been captured. The programme involves…

Oct

17

2025

By NYASHA KARIMAKWENDA

Rape within marriage is still silenced in South Africa – why women are being failed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SEXUAL violence in marriages is a very real issue in South Africa, but remains shrouded in silence and denial. It’s a subject that Nyasha Karimakwenda has researched for many years in various forms, from traditional practices to court judgments. We asked her to outline the issues. What is marital rape, and why should we pay more attention to it? Though marriage rates in southern Africa have decreased over the past decades, marriage is still considered to be an ideal social tool for formalising relationships and building families. But it’s also an environment where spouses can be exposed to different kinds…

Oct

15

2025

By OLASUNKANMI HABEEB OKUNOLA

How disaster-ready are African countries? Study of 5 shows some progress, but also huge gaps

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WHEN we hear the word “disaster” we often think of floods, droughts or earthquakes – events caused by nature. But what really turns these events into disasters is how prepared we are to deal with them. A flood becomes a disaster when people do not have safe housing, early warnings or emergency support. In other words, disasters often show us what’s missing in our preparation. Yet, with climate extremes becoming more frequent and communities under growing pressure, countries do not have the luxury of time when it comes to disaster planning. I’ve been researching disaster risk governance for over a…