THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

16

2025

Muhammadu Buhari: Nigeria’s military leader turned democratic president leaves a mixed legacy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NIGERIA’S former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who died in London on 13 July aged 82, was one of two former military heads of state who were later elected as civilian presidents. Buhari was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985 and president from 2015 to 2023. The other Nigerian politician to have been in both roles is former president Olusegun Obasanjo. He was a military ruler between 1976 and 1979 and elected president between 1999 and 2007. Buhari led Nigeria cumulatively for nearly a decade. His time as military head of state was…

Jul

15

2025

By The African Mirror

Ramaphosa’s moment of truth: When due process meets desperate times

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOVIAL RANTAO THE mahogany doors of the Union Buildings closed with a soft thud, but the sound reverberated across South Africa with the force of a missed opportunity. President Cyril Ramaphosa had just delivered his response to Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's explosive allegations of criminal cartel infiltration into the highest levels of law enforcement - and in doing so, may have sealed not just his own political fate, but that of the African National Congress itself. When Mkhwanazi's testimony landed like a bombshell, revealing the chilling extent to which drug cartels had captured senior police officers, prosecutors, and judges, South Africa…

Jul

14

2025

By EISA DAFALLAH

How the RSF attack on Sudan’s biggest displacement camp tore my family apart

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Eisa Dafallah IT has been over two months since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – the paramilitary group battling the Sudanese army for control of my country – attacked Zam Zam displacement camp in Darfur and slaughtered hundreds of people inside. During the devastating 11 April raid, and in the days that followed, I lost nearly two dozen members of my family, while my dear Aunt Zahra – a second mother to me – was forced to flee across the border to a camp in Chad. From my base in Uganda…

Jul

12

2025

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

“Mabuza was strategic, enigmatic and fiercely loyal to the cause of stability and unity”.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WE are gathered here today in solemn remembrance, to honour the life of a man who, in many ways, made a huge contribution on our journey to a democratic South Africa. But we are also here to celebrate the life of a fine son of Mpumalanga and a man of the people. It is as a servant of the people for which our departed leader and comrade David Dabede Mabuza will be best known and for which he will be forever remembered. David Mabuza, DD as he was fondly known, was a revered leader not only in his home province…

Jul

12

2025

By DR ASHWILL RAMON PHILLIPS

Devil worship, muti and murder: what’s behind the growth of occult gangs in South Africa?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

GANG-RELATED crime in South Africa is widespread, but is under-reported outside hotspots such as the Cape Flats in Cape Town or Westbury in Johannesburg. In these areas, gangs are deeply rooted and contribute to ongoing violence, drug trafficking and territorial conflict. But gangs have continued to evolve, and gang violence has consistently increased throughout South Africa, particularly in the Gauteng and Free State provinces. In the Free State in the east-central part of the country, devil-worshipping and witchcraft-related gang practices have been reported. Gang-related violence is fuelled by poverty, social exclusion, unemployment and the need for protection from rival gangs.…

Jul

10

2025

By LUCA BUSSOTTI

Samora Machel’s vision for Mozambique didn’t survive: what has taken its place?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SAMORA Moisés Machel, the first president of independent Mozambique, was born in 1933 in Gaza province, in the south of the country. He died in an unexplained plane crash on 19 October 1986, in Mbuzini, South Africa. Authoritarian and popular, humble and arrogant, visionary and tactical. All these words have been used to describe Machel. Despite these contradictions, there was one quality that everyone recognised in him: his charisma. At the time, this gift wasn’t lacking in many political leaders of emerging countries, especially those of Marxist-Leninist inspiration. Cuba’s revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, above all. Their common faith went beyond…

Jul

08

2025

By OLAYINKA AJALA

West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MORE than 40 Malian soldiers were killed and one of the country’s military bases was taken over in early June 2025 in a major attack by an al-Qaeda-linked group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), on the town of Boulikessi. The same group launched an attack on the historic city of Timbuktu. The Malian army claimed it repelled the Timbuktu attack and killed 14 terrorists. Terrorist groups have attacked Boulikessi in large numbers before. In October 2019, 25 Malian soldiers were killed. The target was a G5 Sahel force military camp. Timbuktu has been in the sights of terrorist groups…

Jul

05

2025

By HALA AL-KARIB

As violence against women rises in Sudan, frontline groups need urgent support

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Hala al-Karib IT was midday on 15 April 2023 – the day Sudan’s war broke out – that human rights monitors received reports of sexual violence for the first time. Soldiers from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had broken into a house and were raping a woman inside. The woman’s screams for help drew neighbours together, and the perpetrators quickly fled. But attacks continued in the hours that followed – with two more women from the same area gang-raped inside their homes. Tragically, the attacks have continued ever since. For…

Jul

04

2025

By PIUS SIAKWAH

Ghana and India: Narendra Modi’s visit rekindles historical ties

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NARENDRA Modi’s trip to Ghana in July 2025, part of a five-nation visit, is the first by an Indian prime minister in over 30 years. The two countries’ relationship goes back more than half a century to when India helped the newly independent Ghana set up its intelligence agencies. Ghana is also home to several large Indian-owned manufacturing and trading companies. International relations scholar Pius Siakwah unpacks the context of the visit. What is the background to Ghana and India’s relationship? It can be traced to links between Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Jawaharlal…

Jul

02

2025

By JONATHAN BELOFF

DRC and Rwanda sign a US-brokered peace deal: what are the chances of its success?

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a new peace agreement on 27 June 2025 under the auspices of the US. The agreement aims to foster long-term peace, increased economic trade and security. The DRC is one of Africa’s largest nations, with over 110 million people. Rwanda has a population of 14 million. After three decades of war and tensions between the two neighbours since the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the hope is that this agreement will establish the foundations for progress that benefits both nations. It was the…