THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Mar

26

2024

From prison to palace: Faye’s road to Senegal’s presidency

JUST a few months ago, the man set to be Senegal's next president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was sitting in a prison cell, a relatively unknown figure outside his opposition party Pastef. Everything changed for him when the party's firebrand leader, Ousmane Sonko, who was also detained, was charged with insurrection in July and barred from running in elections to succeed President Macky Sall. That cleared the way for Faye to emerge from the shadow of his former boss and eventually from prison, take over the race and on Monday - the day of his 44th birthday - emerge as the victor after his opponent conceded…

Mar

26

2024

By AL CHUKWUMA OKOLI

Hundreds of Nigerian children are being kidnapped – the government must change its security strategy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SCHOOL abductions have been a trend in Nigeria. The latest took place in Kaduna and Sokoto states, both in the northwest region, when over 300 children were abducted at different times in March 2024. Previous prominent cases have included the Chibok, Dapchi and Kankara abductions, which insurgents claimed to have perpetrated. As a security scholar and analyst who has researched and written extensively on aspects of Nigeria’s security challenges, including kidnapping and allied crimes, I see school abductions as a symptom of government neglect of territorial and human security. Territorial security refers to keeping the country’s geographical spaces (land, borders,…

Mar

21

2024

By DIRK KOTZE

South Africa’s election management body has done a good job for 30 years: here’s why

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MORE than in previous elections, South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) will be tested to the hilt in this year’s national and provincial elections on 29 May. For the first time in 30 years, the electoral majority of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is in jeopardy. This makes the upcoming poll the most consequential one since 1994 when the country commenced with its democratisation. The electoral commission’s tasks are to enforce the rules of the electoral game and the parties’ ethical conduct. It must also be the dispute resolution champion and ensure that the election is free and fair. These…

Mar

20

2024

By The African Mirror

2024 Senegal election crisis points to deeper issues with Macky Sall and his preferred successor

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE botched attempt by Senegalese president Macky Sall to postpone the presidential election has stirred unnecessary tension in an already strained electoral process. The move reflected deeper governance problems in the country. Sall’s decree, subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Council, was the latest in a range of government interventions that exceeded the scope of the executive authority. These have included the disqualification of key opposition candidates, the manipulation of judicial procedures, and the arbitrary detention of dissenting figures. Sall’s 12-year tenure has been marked by contradictions. His administration boosted investment in transport and urban infrastructure. Notably, he worked on the…

Mar

19

2024

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

South Africa will work harder, sparing neither strength nor courage, to fulfil the basic human rights of her people

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE adoption of our Constitution with its Bill of Rights by the Constitutional Assembly on the 8th of May 1996 was a great moment in our struggle to achieve a free and equal society. As I said at the time, it marked the day our country and our people came of age. I referred to our constitution as the birth certificate of our nation. On that occasion, we proclaimed to the world that we are a society committed to democracy, to the rule of law and to the protection of human rights. The Constitution came to be as a result…

Mar

19

2024

By JESS AUERBACH JAHAJEEAH

Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

LARGE parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the world’s oceans. Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa were among the worst affected. By midday on 15 March the problem had not been resolved. Microsoft warned its customers that there was a delay in repairing the cables. South Africa’s News24 reported that, while the cause of the damage had not been confirmed, it was believed that…

Mar

19

2024

By The African Mirror

Cameroon’s rebels may not achieve their goal of creating the Ambazonian state – but they’re still a threat to stability

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

CAMEROON’S separatist insurgency is an armed conflict in the country’s North West (NW) and South West (SW) regions that began in 2017. It pits government forces against several non-state armed groups, locally known as “Amba rebels”. The rebels seek to create a state called Ambazonia out of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. The conflict has killed over 6,000 people and displaced 765,000. Over 70,000 are refugees in Nigeria. More than 2 million need humanitarian support and 600,000 children have been deprived of effective schooling. MANU LEKUNZE, Lecturer, University of Aberdeen As an international security scholar with an interest in small wars, I…

Mar

16

2024

By MAARTJE WEERDESTEIJN

Rwanda: Paul Kagame is a dictator who clings to power but it’s not just for his own gain

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RWANDA’S president Paul Kagame recently said he was looking forward to his retirement after 23 years in power. Speaking to the press in April 2023, he claimed he “may join journalism in my old age” – a somewhat surprising choice, given the poor state of the freedom of the press in Rwanda. But the chances that Kagame will actually step down seem rather small. After a controversial referendum in 2015, Rwandans voted to extend presidential term limits, allowing Kagame to rule potentially until 2034. More recently, Kagame was re-elected to head the ruling party – the Rwandan Patriotic Front –…

Mar

14

2024

By ONGAMA MTIMKA

Empowering Young Voices for a Stronger Democracy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AS a lecturer in the Department of History and Political Science at Nelson Mandela University, and someone deeply invested in the future of South Africa, I see a critical gap in our democracy: the under-representation and disenfranchisement of young citizens. We find ourselves at a critical juncture where the active involvement of young people has become more vital than ever before. Empowering the youth of South Africa to engage meaningfully in our democracy is extremely important as our political system undergoes a crucial transition to multipartyism. There are key barriers preventing young people from participating in civic affairs, obstacles that…

Mar

12

2024

By KARL VON HOLDT

Edward Webster: South African intellectual, teacher, activist, a man of great energy and integrity, and the life and soul of any party

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Eddie Webster (82), sociologist and emeritus professor at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who died on 5 March 2024, lived a huge life, applying himself to many different arenas with great energy and insight. KARL VON HOLDT, Senior Researcher, Society Work and Politics Institute, University of the Witwatersrand His achievements are quite extraordinary. He was an intellectual, a teacher, a leader, an activist for social change, a builder of institutions, a rugby player and jogger, a man of great energy and integrity, and the life and soul of any party.…