THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

South Africa’s first election was saved by a Kenyan: the fascinating story of Washington Okumu, the accidental mediator

WHAT'S sometimes forgotten about the 26-29 April 1994 vote that installed the African National Congress (ANC) government in South Africa is that, until the last minute, it looked like violence would consume the voting process. An 11th-hour agreement on 19 April brought the Zulu-majority Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) into the contest. Inkatha had been boycotting the process and challenging the ANC in violent street protests. The peaceful election brought enormous relief to the country and the world. A Kenyan, Washington Okumu, alternately described as a professor or a diplomat, was credited with the negotiation. But few observers knew who he…

Apr

2024

By OMAR SHAHABUDIN MCDOOM

Rwanda’s post-genocide model prioritises security over freedom and equality – a risk to future stability

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RWANDA, a small and landlocked central African country, has made remarkable socio-economic progress since the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 500,000 people died. But the country, as well as the rest of the world, remains divided over the achievements made and the direction taken over the past 30 years. Supporters of Rwanda’s trajectory believe in the aspiration of its president, Paul Kagame, for the country to become Africa’s Singapore. Critics, in contrast, see disturbing characteristics it has in common with North Korea. This stark divergence of views also besets the scholarly community. Some experts acclaim Rwanda as a developmental…

Apr

2024

By DUANE JETHRO

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ONE of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many passersby who crowd around to take pictures with it. At the entrance of a square in the mall, it’s a jovial image of the former South African president in a lively jive: a decidedly odd juxtaposition of a liberation fighter at a site of luxury retail. One message it seems to convey is the celebration of the commercial riches brought about by post-apartheid…

Apr

2024

By HELGA DICKOW

Chad’s election outcome already seems set: 4 things Mahamat Déby has done to stay in power

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

PRIME Minister Succès Masra, meanwhile, led a large convoy of cars and motorbikes through the city and was accompanied by a crowd of mainly young followers. Déby and Masra, both in their early 40s, were cheered by their respective crowds. The election will take place on 6 May 2024 and end a three-year transition period led by Mahamat Déby after the sudden death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, in April 2021. I am a researcher on democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Chad. I have been closely following Chadian politics, including the transition phase, for many years. I would argue…

Apr

2024

By ABBEY MAKOE

The US “stands all alone” on Palestine

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN strict geopolitics terms, this week will be marked by Washington’s expected – yet still a pill too hard to swallow – vetoing of a successful endorsement of the Palestinian statehood by the vast majority of the members of the UN Security Council (UNSC). It was the cruellest blow that caused men and women who seek justice and equality before international law to shed tears of sorrow. Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, could not hold back the tears as he responded to the US’s unkindest cut. “The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our…

Apr

2024

By GEMMA WARE

South Africans tasted the fruits of freedom and then corruption snatched them away – podcast

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FIVE years after his momentous election as South African president, Nelson Mandela stepped down after one term in office in 1999. Thabo Mbeki, his deputy, took over the mantle of the post-apartheid transition. Mbeki would lead the country for the next nine years, a period of relatively high economic growth which enabled South Africans to begin to taste the fruits of freedom. To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? In this second episode of the series, we talk to…

Apr

2024

By NICODEMUS MINDE

Tanzanians go to the polls in 2025: President Samia has changed the landscape, but Magufuli’s legacy persists

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IT'S been three years since the death of Tanzania’s president John Magufuli and the rise to power of the current president Samia Suluhu Hassan. Magufuli was Tanzania’s fifth president. He came to power in 2015 and was re-elected in 2020 in a poll that was marred by controversy. Magufuli brought lasting changes to Tanzania’s political landscape during his six-year tenure. His approach sparked differing opinions, both within the country and on the international stage. Inside the country, he was loved and loathed almost in equal measure. To his detractors, his administration was marked by a decline in political and civic…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s year-old war: The build-up and the turmoil

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SUDAN is now a year into a war between rival military factions that has killed thousands, forced millions to flee and created a humanitarian catastrophe. Below is a timeline of the events that led up to the conflict and the turmoil that followed: THE BUILD-UP Dec. 19, 2018 - Hundreds protest in the northern city of Atbara against soaring bread prices. Demonstrations spurred by a broader economic crisis soon spread to Khartoum and other cities. Security services respond with tear gas and gunfire. April 6, 2019 - Hundreds of thousands begin a sit-in outside army headquarters in Khartoum. Five days later the…

Apr

2024

By THABO MBEKI

To avert catastrophe in Sudan, the international community must immediately avail resources for life-saving humanitarian aid – Mbeki

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ON April 15, 2024, a critically important ‘International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours’ started in Paris, convened by France, Germany and the European Union.It is of the greatest importance that this very timely conference must succeed in its efforts urgently to generate the humanitarian resources needed, particularly in Sudan.A year ago, armed conflict erupted in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.Since then, I have informally engaged Sudanese and other stakeholders, including humanitarian actors, on how best to address the crisis that now imperils the future of Sudan and threatens the stability of the…

Apr

2024

By GEMMA WARE and THABO LESHILO

After the euphoria of Nelson Mandela’s election, what happened next? Podcast

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IT was a moment many South Africans never believed they’d live to see. On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of a democratic South Africa, ending the deadly and brutal white minority apartheid regime. To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? In the first episode, two scholars who experienced the transition at first hand reflect on the initial excitement around Mandela’s election, the priorities of his African National Congress (ANC) in the transition and the challenges…