THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jan

17

2025

Final Salute to the General: A Tribute to Major General Keith Mokoape (1947-2025)

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN the dawn of 2025, South Africa bids farewell to one of its most distinguished sons, Major General Keith Mokoape – a liberation warrior, intelligence chief, decorated veteran, and tireless servant of his people. Born in Wallmansthal, north of Tshwane, in 1947, his life would become inextricably woven into the fabric of South Africa's struggle for freedom and its journey toward democracy. From Student Leader to Revolutionary Mokoape's journey began in the halls of Hofmeyr High School, leading to Turfloop University where he pursued his BSc degree. At the University of Natal, his leadership qualities emerged fully as he rose…

Jan

15

2025

By MUHAMMAD DAN SULEIMAN

Ghana’s new president faces tough regional security problems: why he’s well-placed to tackle them

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOHN Mahama has been sworn in as Ghana’s new president. He inherits a host of security challenges by dint of the country’s position in the west African region, which has become increasingly volatile. The region has seen six successful coups and several attempted ones in the last four years. Examples include Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Benin and Sierra Leone. Since 2015, there have been at least 17 coups and attempted coups in the region. Terrorism and insurgencies have become visible security threats. The Sahel has become the epicentre of global terrorism, as both Islamic State (ISIS) and Al…

Jan

14

2025

By JACKSON OKATA

From Agoa to climate change: How Trump’s second term could reshape Africa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AS Donald Trump prepares for his second term in office as the US President, African countries are closely reflecting on the lasting consequences of his first term. The Trump administration's policies, marked by isolationism, protectionism and a focus on domestic interests, left a profound impact. Looking ahead, the thought and fear among many African leaders and analysts is that Trump’s second term could exacerbate existing challenges while complicating Africa's efforts to tackle critical issues like economic development, social justice, environmental sustainability, and human rights. Trump's Isolationism and its impact on the African economy One of the key features of Trump’s…

Jan

12

2025

By FEDERICO MANFREDI FIRMIAN

How militia groups capture states and ruin countries: the case of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE rise of Sudan’s most notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, shows how armed groups can infiltrate state institutions – often with disastrous results for society. Sudan’s central government created the Rapid Support Forces in 2013 as dictator Omar al-Bashir’s private protection detail. The group has now become a predator seeking to gain control of Sudan. Sudan’s war broke out in April 2023 when the military tried to subdue the Rapid Support Forces. Since then, fighting has ravaged much of the country, including the capital Khartoum. At least 15,500 people had been killed by June 2024. More than 6…

Jan

11

2025

By ABBEY MAKOE

No power, not even the UN, will stop Trump’s colonial aspirations, you watch

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I’VE never had any trouble accepting the US President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” policy agenda. I hold a view that if any US administration chooses an inward-looking agenda, it does so on behalf of the majority that had catapulted it to the White House. Trump’s policy of “Make America Great Again” – a political slogan also known as the MAGA movement hugely popularized by the Trump phenomenon in recent history – appears ready to take a nasty turn after January 20, the day of the much-anticipated Trump inauguration. As the clock ticks rapidly toward the big day, Trump has taken…

Jan

10

2025

By LUCA BUSSOTT

Venâncio Mondlane is Mozambique’s political challenger: what he stands for

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WHEN people watched political debates on Soico TV, one of the most watched private channels in Mozambique, around 2010, they often saw a young forest engineer and bank employee who was able to brilliantly articulate the country’s problems. He was Venâncio Mondlane, a distant kinsman of Eduardo Mondlane, the first president of Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique). Venâncio’s family supported the liberation movement that led Mozambique to independence from Portugal in 1975. His biting criticism, however, suggested that his sympathies were not with the ruling party. Today, Venâncio Mondlane finds himself at the centre of the worst political…

Jan

09

2025

By HENNING MELBER

Germany’s genocide in Namibia: deal between the two governments falls short of delivering justice

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN early December 2024 the German and Namibian governments concluded negotiations over a joint declaration recognising the genocide committed by the German empire in South West Africa. Germany ruled the country as a colony between 1884 and 1915. It was declared a mandated territory by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. On 19 December 2024, Namibia announced that the cabinets of the two countries had reached a landmark decision related to the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Genocide, Apology and Reparations between the Namibian and German governments. Germany concedes that the “abominable atrocities committed … from today’s perspective…

Jan

06

2025

By The African Mirror

Robert Sobukwe in his own words: new book shows the complexity of a formidable South African leader

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE book Darkest Before Dawn, edited by Derek Hook and Leswin Laubscher, presents readers with a portrait of a formidable and principled figure in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid who has, so far, received less attention than he merits: Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. In bringing together public and private documents, the book bridges the divide between the personal and the political to produce a rich and complex representation of Sobukwe in his own words. The book is a collection of letters, speeches, articles, interviews and court testimonies, some previously unpublished, by Sobukwe. He was the founding president of South Africa’s…

Jan

04

2025

By NANCY MITCHELL

Jimmy Carter’s African legacy: peacemaker, negotiator and defender of rights

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WHEN historians and pundits praise Jimmy Carter’s achievements as the US president and extol his exemplary post-presidential years, they mention the recognition of China, the Panama Canal Treaties and the Camp David Accords. Almost no one mentions what Carter, who has died, achieved in Africa during his presidency. This is a serious oversight. When I interviewed President Carter in 2002, he told me: I spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than I did on the Middle East. The archival record supports the former president’s claim. Reams of documents detail Carter’s sustained and deep focus during his presidency on ending…

Jan

02

2025

By CAROLYN HOYLE and PARVAIS JABBAR

Zimbabwe scraps the death penalty – tracking the path to abolition

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ZIMBABWE hasn’t executed anyone who was sentenced to death since 2005. With the passing of the Death Penalty Abolition Act 2024 on 31 December, Zimbabwe has become the 127th country in the world to end the death penalty. This process began with the introduction to parliament of an opposition private member’s bill led by Edwin Mushoriwa, though some amendments were made by the government. Other countries, too, have been moving away from the death penalty. In Africa, only seven of the 55 states in the African Union are “actively retentionist”, meaning that they sentence people to death and have carried…