THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Mar

19

2024

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

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.…

Mar

08

2024

By TONNY RAYMOND KIRABIRA and MIRACLE CHINWENMERI UCHE

Lord’s Resistance Army: ICC awards reparations to victims of commander Dominic Ongwen – what happens next

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently ordered reparations for victims of Dominic Ongwen, an ex-child soldier turned commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that terrorised northern Uganda for two decades. The court’s order, the first in the Ugandan situation, awards collective community-based symbolic payment for each victim. International criminal law scholars Tonny Raymond Kirabira and Miracle Chinwenmeri Uche answer questions about the ruling. Who are the victims in this case? The victims are part of the post-war affected communities in northern Uganda. Ongwen is one of the top Lord’s Resistance Army commanders charged by the International…

Mar

07

2024

By DAVID MILIBAND, INGER ASHING, JAN EGELAND, CHARLOTTE SLENTE, MICHELLE NUNN and STEPHEN OMOLLO

Sudan’s collapse is a test for the international community. We are failing it.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN the deafening silence of global indifference, the war in Sudan recently entered its 10-month mark. Since April 2023, close to 8 million people have fled their homes, of whom more than 1.6 million have sought refuge in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic – countries already grappling with immense difficulties. Close to 25 million people need humanitarian assistance, including around 5 million people on the brink of famine and nearly 7 million severely undernourished children. Mass graves conceal evidence of widespread, systematic, and targeted mass atrocities that could be repeated at any moment as the…

Mar

06

2024

By MOSOTHO MOEPYA

South Africa heads to the 2024 general elections with the highest number of young voters

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AS we commemorate 30 years of electoral democracy, we cannot overlook the profound contributions made by successive generations of South African youth. The heroes of the struggle against apartheid were not only found in the pages of history but among the young men and women who stood up, took arms, and fast-tracked the journey to liberation in 1976. The 2024 generation now faces a unique challenge - to continue building the future and democracy that others have fought for. Our democracy is not merely a system of governance; it is a dynamic and living entity that thrives on the engagement…

Mar

04

2024

By NICODEMUS MINDE

Ali Hassan Mwinyi: the Tanzanian former president who oversaw the transition to market economy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ALI Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania’s second president who has died aged 98, pushed through tough economic and political reforms that transformed the East Africa nation from socialism to an open economy and a multi-party democracy. He was president from 1985 to 1995. NICODEMUS MINDE, Adjunct Lecturer, United States International University He did all of this in the shadow of Julius Nyerere who had led Tanzania since independence in 1961 and turned the country into a one-party socialist state. Tanganyika joined together with Zanzibar in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Nyerere stepped down in 1985 but remained chairman of…

Feb

29

2024

By NARNIA BOHLER-MULLER

It took 16 years but South Africa has impeached a senior judge – who is John Hlophe and what went wrong?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FORMER Western Cape judge president John Mandlakayise Hlophe has become one of the first two members of South Africa’s judiciary to be impeached since the country became a constitutional democracy in 1994. A vote in parliament in late February 2024 stripped him of his title and barred him from accessing his retirement package. Judges can earn as much as R2 million (over US$100,000) a year in retirement. Narnia Bohler-Muller, a constitutional law expert, answers some questions about the impeachment. NARNIA BOHLER-MULLER, Divisional Executive, Developmental, Capable and Ethical State research division, Human Sciences Research Council What were the high and low…

Feb

28

2024

By EDGAR GITHUA

South Sudan: some spoilers want peace to fail, putting 2024 elections at risk

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Sudan is expected to hold its first general election in December 2024. It became an independent state in 2011. The long overdue election is one of the pillars of a peace agreement signed in 2018. It helped end the 2013-2018 civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. EDGAR GITHUA, Lecturer in International Studies, Strathmore University Since then, the country has progressed in relative peace, with fewer incidences of conflict reported between 2018 and 2023. However, UN experts have voiced concerns about the likelihood of elections being held within agreed timelines. The election has been slated for…