THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Mar

20

2026

Nicholas ‘Fink’ Haysom (1952–2026)

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NICHOLAS Roland Leybourne Haysom - universally known as Fink - passed away in New York after a long illness, leaving behind a formidable legacy that stretches from the trenches of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle to the fragile peace processes of the African continent and beyond. Born on 21 April 1952, he lived a life of astonishing moral purposefulness, wielding the law as an instrument of liberation, dignity and peace across more than four decades of public service. South Africa has lost one of its finest sons - a man who did not merely observe the injustices of his time but…

Mar

19

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Football Treason: CAF’s shameful theft of Senegal’s glory

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

LET us be precise about what happened on the night of 18 January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Senegal played football. Morocco played football. The referee blew the final whistle. Senegal won. That is the incontrovertible truth of the matter - the only truth that should matter to any governing body that places the integrity of sport above politics and pressure. What happened on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, is something altogether different. The CAF Appeals Board declared that Senegal had "forfeited" their 1-0 extra-time victory, and that the result would be "officially recorded as 3-0" in…

Mar

19

2026

By HILDA MACHESO

Reimagining Albinism Rights Advocacy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

It is a hot afternoon in a rural district in Malawi. People gather around a tent set up at the Local Trading Centre, eager to witness a community outreach program that aims to combat rising violence against people with albinism. The organisers passionately encourage greater understanding of albinism and the protection of the rights of people with albinism. They ask questions to ensure the listeners have comprehended what has been discussed. At the appointed time, the advocates depart, pleased with the community’s feedback during this short session. “This outreach has been a success,” they say. While these sessions raise awareness,…

Mar

18

2026

By The African Mirror

Blood on the doorstep: The Borno insurgency and the existential test facing Tinubu’s Nigeria

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN the early hours of Monday, 16 March 2026, Borno State — already Nigeria's most battle-scarred territory — descended once again into fire. Multiple suicide bombers struck civilian targets in Maiduguri city: the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the Post Office market, and the Monday Market. Scores were killed and injured. Just hours earlier, Boko Haram fighters had attempted to overrun a military outpost in the Ajilari Cross district on the city's southwestern outskirts. It was the most brazen assault on Maiduguri in years — and it was not a single incident. It was the latest instalment…

Mar

14

2026

By THABO MBEKI

Thirty years on, the Children’s Fund endures – but Mandela’s promise to South Africa’s Children remains unfulfilled

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I am certain that quite a few among us will remember the important words the late President Nelson Mandela spoke at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in May 1995, when he said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. “We come from a past in which the lives of our children were assaulted and devastated in countless ways. It would be no exaggeration to speak of a national abuse of a generation by a society which it should have been able to trust. “As we…

Mar

14

2026

By CHRISTOPHE PREMAT

Sophie Oluwole, the trailblazing Nigerian woman who redefined philosophy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOPHIE Oluwole (1935-2018) was a Nigerian scholar and the first woman to earn a PhD in philosophy in her country. She not only placed Nigeria’s rich Yoruba philosophical tradition on the intellectual map, but she also helped redefine African philosophy, a field dominated by men. As a scholar of cultural studies with a focus on francophone and West Africa, I recently co-authored, in French, a book called African Intellectual Sensitivities: From Western Discourse to African Voices (1988-2022). One of its chapters is devoted to Oluwole and African women intellectuals. She did much more than break gender barriers. By placing Nigeria’s…

Mar

13

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Persona non grata: Ambassador Bozell must go

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THERE is a particular kind of arrogance that only colonialism could have bred - the kind that walks into another nation's house, surveys its laws, dismisses its courts, and pronounces itself dissatisfied. That arrogance arrived in the Western Cape wearing a diplomat's badge. Its name is Bozell, and its title is United States Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa. At a gathering that should have been an occasion for bilateral goodwill, Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III apparently decided that his host country had tried his patience long enough. He said so, directly and without the faintest blush of diplomatic…

Mar

12

2026

By SY MAMABOLO

South Africa’s future is being written – make sure your name is on it

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE 2026/27 Local Government Elections are not a distant event on a calendar. They are coming - and the window for preparation is narrowing. Every South African who wants their voice to count, every ward that deserves genuine representation, every community that needs a councillor who actually answers to the people living in it: your moment of power begins now, with registration. These are not ordinary elections. Local government is where democracy becomes tangible - where the quality of your water, the state of your roads, and the responsiveness of your municipality are all ultimately determined. And yet, voter registration…

Mar

12

2026

By ABBEY MAKOE

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang YI spells out plans for prosperous China-Africa cooperation

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOR thirty-six consecutive years, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has designated Africa as the first foreign destination in its packed annual diplomatic calendar. This practice - come hell or high water - remains a tradition that the People's Republic of China holds dear. Virtually all African states maintain flourishing diplomatic relations with China. The sole exception is eSwatini, which is nonetheless understood to be reviewing its position on the One-China policy in line with the October 25, 1971, UN Resolution 2758. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently addressed a global media briefing following the conclusion of the annual "Two Sessions" -…

Mar

11

2026

By The African Mirror

ENERGY SHOCK: How the Strait of Hormuz crisis is hitting Africa’s 1.4 billion

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I. THE ALARM FROM BOTSWANA In a blunt warning that has sent tremors through southern Africa's landlocked economies, Botswana's President Duma Boko has cautioned that the country has fewer than nine days of fuel reserves remaining — and that without emergency resupply, transportation systems, food supply chains, emergency services, and cross-border commerce face imminent paralysis. The immediate triggers are structural. Botswana, a landlocked nation of 2.6 million people, sources virtually all its petroleum products through South Africa, with smaller volumes arriving through Mozambique and Namibia. Its state-owned Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) holds the dominant import mandate, having taken over 90…