THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jun

11

2021

Nigeria’s Twitter ban is part of a larger attack on civil society

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NELSON OLANIPEKUN FOUR years ago, Omoregie* and his friends were arrested without cause and taken into custody. When they got to the station, Omoregie watched as the police began to beat his friends. Afraid, he began to discreetly tweet about the attacks as they took place. I and many other Twitter users could read his fears while he called for help through his tweets. Taking action as a lawyer, I was able to secure his release within a few hours with the help of other activists through the police unit responsible for citizen complaints. I had been thinking of Omoregie…

Apr

25

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa is set to appoint a new chief justice. The stakes have never been so high

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BY October, South Africa’s Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, will have finished his 12-year term at the helm of the Constitutional Court. How will his successor be selected, and what qualities are needed by the holder of this high office? HUGH CORDER, Professor of Public Law, University of Cape Town To answer these questions we need to understand the context. This is because the country’s judiciary has been increasingly drawn into party political wrangling and contestation. Any form of constitutional democracy which allows judicial review of the exercise of public power thrusts the courts into the political limelight. Inevitably, acts and…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Twitter ban will harm Nigeria as a technology investment destination

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN recent years Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, has become Africa’s most attractive tech hub for investors. But that could be imperilled by the government’s decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in the country. TOLU OLAREWAJU, Lecturer in Economics, Staffordshire University Although no direct connection has been drawn, the ban came two days after Twitter took down a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. Twitter claimed the message had been deleted because it violated its rules against “abusive behaviour”. The ban could be in retaliation. A new chill entered into the relationship between Nigeria and Twitter in mid-April when the social media platform…

Jun

07

2021

By The African Mirror

TB Joshua, Nigeria’s controversial Pentecostal titan

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE controversial Nigerian televangelist, faith healer, and neo-Pentecostal pastor Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua has died at the age of 57. He was the leader of Nigeria-based The Synagogue Church of All Nations. DION FORSTER, Associate Professor of Ethics and Head of Department, Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, Stellenbosch University Many will remember him, and his church, from the widely publicised 2014 tragedy in which 116 people died when a church building collapsed in Nigeria. His handling of the tragedy was problematic. He initially claimed that the building’s collapse was caused by a “strange aircraft”. Leaked audio recordings later suggested that he…

Apr

26

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa remains a nation of insiders and outsiders, 27 years after democracy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TWENTY seven years into democracy, South African politics is still for the few. And those who complain the most have the least to grumble about. STEVEN FRIEDMAN, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg Since South Africa is highly unequal and remains divided into insiders and outsiders – those who benefit from the market economy and those who can’t – we might expect its politics to be a loud battle between those who have and those who don’t. Most commentators believe it is. Within the governing African National Congress (ANC), a battle rages between the “radical economic transformation forces”, who…

May

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Rwanda genocide: Macron forgiveness plea resets historic ties

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FRENCH president Emmanuel Macron has just paid his first state visit to Rwanda. While many world leaders have visited the central African nation of 13 million, including past French presidents, such as President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010, this trip was going to be different. JONATHAN BELOFF SOAS, University of London Sure enough president Macron would come the closest to apologising for France’s involvement during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. At the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Macron asked for forgiveness for France’s involvement in the genocide. He also expressed his desire to combat genocide ideology and denial in order to foster…

Jun

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Ramaphosa appears — finally — to have his grip on South Africa’s ruling ANC

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IF the outcomes of the most recent meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), are anything to go by, the party has reached a tipping point. MASHUPYE HERBERT MASERUMULE, Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology As he was giving an update of the NEC meeting, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s demeanour appeared to be that of a leader in charge, sending his secretary-general Ace Magashule packing, and giving him the executive committee’s ultimatum to apologise for his vindictive behaviour. The NEC is the ANC’s highest governing structure in between…

Jun

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Namibian genocide: why Germany’s bid to make amends isn’t enough

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE recent “joint declaration” of the Namibian and German governments on dealing with the 1904-08 genocide marks the first time a former colonial power has officially offered an apology to another country for state sponsored mass crimes. REINHART KÖSSLER, Professor in Political Science, University of Freiburg HENNING MELBER, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria The agreement stipulates that Germany will pay €1.1bn for development projects in Namibia over the next 30 years. Some pundits consider the accord a potential template for efforts towards post-colonial reconciliation for other former colonies and colonial powers. We recognise that this is…

May

29

2021

By The African Mirror

When standing in the dock is more important than a conviction

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa has had several historic moments in her 27 years of democracy. However, as these historic moments go, the moment former president Jacob Zuma stood up in the dock in the high court in Pietermaritzburg and pleaded, deserves a special place. Dressed in a blue three-piece suit and a red tie, stood up, removed his Covid-19 mask, looked at Judge Piet Koen and said: “I plead not guilty.” With those words, Zuma marked an important milestone, once sending a message to South Africans that his trial, delayed for over 17 years, is now officially underway. This moment also sent…

Jun

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s forgotten crisis

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

YASMINE SHERIF A few weeks ago, I travelled with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi to the Modale refugee site in the Nord-Ubangi province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). What we witnessed there was a profound humanitarian crisis that has left 4.7 million children and youth in need of urgent, life-saving, life-changing educational support. Yasmine Sherif Here on the frontlines of violence, forced displacement, climate change-induced disasters, and COVID-19, an entire generation of children are at risk of being left so far behind they will never catch up. Fleeing the chaos and insecurity connected with last year’s…