THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

26

2025

Sudan’s war is an economic disaster: here’s how bad it could get

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SINCE April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. What began as a struggle for power has turned into a national catastrophe. More than 14 million people have been displaced. Health and education systems have collapsed, and food insecurity threatens over half the population of about 50 million. The war has disrupted key sectors, triggering severe economic contractions, and worsening poverty and unemployment levels. Sudan’s finance minister reported in November 2023 that the war had resulted in economic losses exceeding US$26 billion – or more than half the…

Jul

25

2025

By EVELYN NAMAKULA MAYANJA

Congo and critical minerals: What are the costs of America’s peace?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN March 2025, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered the country’s critical mineral reserves to the United States and Europe in exchange for security and stability. At the time, the March 23 (M23) militia insurgency was unleashing violence: killing civilians, committing sexual violence, displacing communities and looting mineral resources. Since 1996, eastern Congo has been engulfed in wars and armed conflicts driven by regional powers and more than 120 armed groups. The U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC raises critical questions: Is this a genuine path to sustainable peace, or a continuation of…

Jul

23

2025

By IVOR CHIPKIN

South Africa’s police serve the ANC insiders, not the people: here’s how it happened

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AFTER South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, there was significant optimism about police reform in the country. Impressive steps were taken to bring the South African Police Service under civilian control and to create a service responsive to calls for assistance from the public. During the apartheid period, South Africa’s police worked to preserve the political order and pursue political opponents. It did not focus on dealing with crime. This is why the achievements of the 1990s are so important. For the first time, black South Africans could call upon officers to respond to personal emergencies. This period also…

Jul

22

2025

By MOSEBUDI MANGENA

How cultural arts advanced Black contemporary consciousness in the fight against settler-colonialism in South Africa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN one of her offerings, the irrepressible Brenda Fassie says something to the effect that “umtu soze umconfirme”. Indeed, but that does not apply to Ntate Pheto. He is a consummate patriot who gave his all to the liberation of this country for all his life. Ever reliable and committed. His love for his country and its people is unconditional. Askies Brenda, we can confirm Ntate Molefe Pheto as our icon. Colonialism, whether in its classical form or of the settler variety, is like a python that always seeks to squeeze life out of its victims and swallow them whole.…

Jul

19

2025

By JONNY STEINBERG

Nelson Mandela was a hard man who played a hard game. What if he was in Ramaphosa’s shoes?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN 2023, South African author Jonny Steinberg published a book on former South African president Nelson Mandela and his tumultuous marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. To mark the 107th anniversary of Mandela’s birth, Steinberg wrote the following as an introduction to our newsletter of 18 July 2025. As Nelson Mandela’s birthday approaches, I find that without any conscious bidding, my mind has embarked on a thought experiment: If Mandela were in Cyril Ramaphosa’s shoes now, if he were president of South Africa facing a truly shocking crisis in the criminal justice system, what would he do? It’s a silly experiment, I…

Jul

16

2025

By KESTER ONOR

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.…