THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Apr

16

2024

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

13

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…

Apr

11

2024

By The African Mirror

Children born of rape: the devastating legacy of sexual violence in post-genocide Rwanda

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains accounts of sexual violence. The 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi led to the murder of more than 800,000 people, an estimated 70% of the country’s Tutsi population. The unprecedented violence and mass killings of Tutsi and non-extremist Hutu were carried out over 100 days between April and July 1994. An estimated 250,000–500,000 women and girls were raped during the genocide by the Hutu-led militia group Interahamwe, local police officers and individual men. Hutu women were also abused by soldiers from the Rwandan Patriotic Front. Up to 90% of Tutsi women who survived the genocide…

Apr

10

2024

By PAUL MASHATILE

Special public lecture by the deputy president of the Republic of South Africa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE month of April also evokes memories of the iconic Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, a young activist who was unjustly executed by the evil apartheid regime on April 6th, 1979. His death was and remains a symbol of the injustice and cruelty of the apartheid regime, which could arbitrarily execute innocent individuals. We will never forget, nor will we undermine the potency of his last words when he said, ‘Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue to fight; my blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom’. These words have carried us…

Apr

05

2024

By ABBEY MAKOE

As China-Africa think tanks agree on mutual growth, the future can only be bright for all

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ONE of the most visible sources of success in any diverse group is the ability – and willingness – to reach a consensus. In my book, consensus is the art of give-and-take. My favourite synonym for consensus is “compromise”. Individuals and organisations often thrive on their ability to bend backwards. To be rigid in any position negates the spirit or the will to find one another. Many individuals and institutions have collapsed due to their obstinacy, read “stupidity”. Human beings are created looking the same, but each one has their own mind and character. The pursuit of common goals through…

Apr

09

2024

By JONATHAN BELOFF

30 years after genocide: Rwanda’s older generations fear a return of ethnic tensions, but youth feel more united

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

IT’S 30 years since a genocide ripped through Rwandan society, leaving up to a million Tutsi and non-extremist Hutu dead. Every year in early April, the country enters a 100-day period of commemoration during which Rwandans are asked to remember and reflect on historical divisions between the country’s main ethnic groups: Tutsi, Hutu and Twa. This is done under the banner of Ndi Umunyarwanda, loosely translated as “I am Rwandan”. This post-genocide unified ideology follows the governing Rwandan Patriotic Front’s interpretation of the country’s history. It views Tutsi, Hutu and Twa as a form of socio-economic division rather than being…

Apr

03

2024

By AIDAN LEWIS

Egypt’s Sisi: Authoritarian leader with penchant for bridges

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

EGYPTIAN President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been criticised as a despot for crushing opposition lingering from a brief period of democracy while winning praise from supporters for boosting security and driving an army-led infrastructure binge. The former general began a third term on Tuesday after sweeping a December 10 election overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Gaza and a faltering economy, a decade after he toppled Egypt's first democratically-elected president. Activists say tens of thousands of people were jailed in the ensuing crackdown before Sisi turned his attention to state- and army-run mega-projects and development schemes. The flagship project is a $58 billion New Administrative Capital rising…

Apr

02

2024

By EILEEN CULLOTY

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DISINFORMATION caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it. Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 – a year of more than 40 elections worldwide – more fearful than ever about disinformation. In many ways, the problem is more challenging than it was in 2016. Advances in technology since then are one reason for that, in particular the development that has taken place with synthetic media, otherwise known as deepfakes. It is increasingly difficult to know whether media has been fabricated by…

Mar

30

2024

By MOUHAMED ABDALLAH LY and PAPE CHÉRIF BERTRAND BASSÈNE

Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison runner-up to president of Senegal

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BASSIROU Diomaye Faye was elected as Senegal’s fifth president on 25 March 2024. Incumbent president Macky Sall and his candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba, were both quick to congratulate the opposition candidate on his victory when the results came out. This has been a major – and fast – turn of events for Faye (commonly called “Diomaye”), who was in prison just 10 days before the election. Faye was backed by the popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was deprived of his electoral rights for five years due to a prior conviction. Sonko received a six-month suspended prison sentence…

Mar

27

2024

By DOUGLAS YATES

Senegal: Macky Sall’s reputation is dented, but the former president did a lot at home and abroad

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MACKY Sall’s legacy as Senegal’s president since 2012 became more complex in his last year in office. The year was so filled with transgressions that they appeared to have tarnished his reputation indelibly. For some months he gave the impression to his adversaries and critics that he had third-term ambitions – not uncommon in contemporary west African politics. A public outcry followed his decision on 3 February 2024 to postpone the polls that had originally been scheduled for three weeks later. Then his deputies in the national assembly voted unanimously to postpone the elections and prolong Sall’s term in office…