THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Feb

04

2024

Paulin J. Hountondji: A Tribute to one of Africa’s Greatest Modern Thinkers

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WHEN renowned Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu passed on in early 2022, Benin’s Paulin J. Hountondji was left alone to adopt the mantle of “Africa’s greatest living philosopher”. With one possible exception – Congolese philosopher and historian of ideas, V.Y. Mudimbe. Now Hountondji himself has passed on at the age of 82. SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town The celebrated Beninese philosopher, politician and academic’s long and gallant campaign to establish and disseminate an African philosophical voice is noteworthy. His first book was African Philosophy: Myth and Reality published in 1976. It introduced…

Jan

31

2024

By SARAH MILLER and DAVID KITENGE

Kenya’s bold new Shirika refugee plan is model for future

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KENYA is once again at the forefront of refugee policy momentum. Over the last year, much anticipation has built over when and how Kenya’s new Refugee Act of 2022 might be implemented. The law has the potential to increase refugee access to the labour market, freedom of movement, and financial inclusion – all positive steps for Kenya’s refugee and host community populations. With more than 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya and amidst a region in turmoil, this is no small feat. Earlier this year, the Kenyan government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) unveiled a new plan to turn some of the world’s…

Jan

31

2024

By The African Mirror

Nelson Mandela’s personal items under the hammer in New York? Why it outraged some, and what’s at stake

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AN identity document, a pair of reading glasses, a hearing aid and a pair of worn shoes. These are just some of Nelson Mandela’s personal items that were due to go on auction on 22 February 2024. A month before the auction was due, the New York-based Guernsey’s auction house put a notice on its website that it was suspending the sales. No explanation was given. DUANE JETHRO, Lecturer Department of African Studies and Linguistics, University of Cape Town The initial news of the auction caused outrage. South African government officials, commentators on South African social media, and even members…

Jan

30

2024

By The African Mirror

UN genocide ruling won’t change Israel’s behaviour: three reasons why

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the latter’s military operation in Gaza, which South Africa calls acts of genocide. The excessive bombing campaign and wilful destruction of property, life and limb is hardly in dispute. Israel calls it legitimate acts of self-defence, following Hamas’s murderous incursion from Gaza on Israeli terrain on 7 October 2023. Hamas, shorthand for the Islamic Resistance Movement, is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organisation founded in 1987. It has governed the Gaza Strip of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories since 2007. ANTHONI VAN NIEUWKERK, Professor of International and…

Jan

27

2024

By The African Mirror

The two faces of Jacob Zuma – former South African president campaigns to unseat the ANC he once led. Who supports him and why?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FORMER South African president Jacob Zuma’s political comeback builds on support from marginalised and angry constituencies within or close to the governing African National Congress (ANC). His vengeful but “loyal” rebellion against the ANC resonates with these political constituencies. SUSAN BOOYSEN, Visiting Professor and Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand In mid-December 2023, Zuma announced that he would be supporting the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party), rather than the ANC, in the upcoming national election. But he would not resign from the ANC. Umkhonto we Sizwe is the name of the ANC’s former guerrilla army. This latest assault…

Jan

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Cecilia Atim Ogwal: a fearless Ugandan politician who spoke her mind and challenged conventions

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CECILIA Barbara Atim Ogwal, one of Uganda’s longest-serving female legislators, passed away on 18 January 2024 at the age of 77. Ogwal was regarded as a trailblazer, one of the strongest, most charismatic women leaders in the opposition, and a staunch defender of multipartyism, democracy and human rights. Known for her toughness, she was unafraid to stand up to male leaders in the ruling party and even within her own party. Hence she came to be known as the “Iron Lady” in Uganda. AILI MARI TRIPP, Vilas Research Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison Having studied gender and politics…

Jan

26

2024

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s genocide case against Israel is the country’s proudest foreign policy moment in three decades

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ON 11 January 2024, South Africa hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the charge of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. This was for Israel’s indiscriminate bombing and siege of Gaza following the deadly 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas which claimed 1,200 Israeli lives. PETER VALE, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria., University of Pretoria VINEET THAKUR, Assistant Professor, International Relations, Leiden University More than 25,000 Palestinians, at least half of them children, have reportedly been killed in Israeli retaliatory attacks. The siege has led to a humanitarian crisis,…

Jan

25

2024

By The African Mirror

Liberia transferred power peacefully again: 3 reasons the calm is holding, and one red flag

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOSEPH Boakai was sworn in as Liberia’s 26th president on 22 January 2024. Boakai secured a six-year term of office after defeating incumbent president George Weah in a keenly contested November 2023 poll with 50.9% of the votes cast. The West African country of 5 million people reached a major milestone on 17 November 2023, when Weah, of the Congress for Democratic Change, conceded defeat to the Unity Party candidate. CHARLES WRATTO, Associate Professor of Peace, Politics, and Conflict Studies, Babes Bolyai University Weah scored 49.1% of votes cast and lost the tight presidential run-off, which the EU described as…

Jan

23

2024

By NALEDI PANDOR

“Progressive forces around the world to need practical programmes of support for the people of Cuba”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SINCE 1994, South Africa has been resolute in its support for Cuba and has led the charge in international fora for the USA to bring an end to the illegal and unjust economic blockade against that island nation. The blockade is in its 62nd year now and appears unending despite our solidarity action. South Africa has consistently voted in favour of the annual United Nations resolution calling for the end of the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States. South Africa also campaigned for the release of the Cuban Five, and called on the US government to…

Jan

23

2024

By The African Mirror

What is genocide? Six Western countries want a broader application of the law – experts unpack why it matters

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

IN November 2023, six Western states filed a joint application before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) arguing for an ample and expansive understanding of genocide. This intervention, as it is legally termed, was made by Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK in relation to the genocide case The Gambia filed against Myanmar in 2019. The still on-going case revolves around the violent expulsion of Rohingya people from Myanmar into Bangladesh. Kerstin Bree Carlson, Associate Professor International Law, Roskilde University Line Engbo Gissel, Associate Professor, Global Political Sociology, Roskilde University Our research focus is on international law…