THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Mar

24

2026

Namibia: the history of a country shaped from a rich and traumatic past

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NAMIBIA might not be well known in many parts of the world. But the arid southern African country has an extraordinary history. Rich in indigenous cultural diversity, Namibians lived for more than a century under German and South African rule. Their anti-colonial resistance shaped the country from 1960 to independence on 21 March 1990 and beyond. Henning Melber is a political scientist who works with this history. In numerous books, he has tried to understand Namibia. His latest effort is a history for German-speaking readers. We asked him about it. What is the German connection? Namibian and German histories have…

Mar

23

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

The night they killed Lumumba

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE man they most feared was already broken when they loaded him onto the plane. His face was swollen, his shirt torn, his wrists bound behind his back with rope that had cut into his skin during three weeks of beatings. Patrice Émery Lumumba - the thirty-five-year-old schoolteacher from État Indépendant du Congo-Belge who had become the continent’s most electrifying voice for liberation - was being flown not to safety but to slaughter. He knew it. Every man on that aircraft knew it. And that, perhaps, is the most unforgivable truth of all. It was the evening of 17 January…

Mar

23

2026

By FABRICE LOLLIA

Senegal stripped of title: Afcon ruling is lawful, but it puts Caf’s reputation at risk

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE appeals board of African football’s ruling body, the Confederation of African Football (Caf), on 17 March overturned the outcome of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final. Afcon is the continent’s biggest tournament. On 18 January, Senegal won 1-0 in extra time against Morocco in Rabat. But two months down the road, Caf declared a 3-0 score in favour of Morocco, citing violations of Articles 82 and 84 of its regulations. (Three points are the mandatory legal penalty.) Senegal has announced it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. As a scholar of information and communication…

Mar

21

2026

By KYLIE THOMAS

Zanele Muholi: queer South African visual activist cements their global influence

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH African visual activist Zanele Muholi’s celebrated work centres the lives and experiences of Black lesbians and trans people. For more than two decades, Muholi has used photography to courageously open space for queer representation within and outside of art galleries in South Africa and across the world. Muholi uses the non-binary pronouns they/them/their and prefers the term “visual activist” over “artist” or “photographer”. This makes it clear that their work is explicitly political and is intended to bring about change through transforming how Black LGBTIQ+ people are portrayed and perceived. Together with the participants who feature in their portraits,…

Mar

20

2026

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

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…