THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Nov

19

2020

Women’s memories of food offer insights into Mozambique’s liberation struggle

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WE don’t just taste food. Aromas, visual images, sounds and touch are equally part of our eating experience. Food also evokes feelings. We can experience it with joy but also with displeasure. This sensorily evocative power of food makes it an important site for remembering the past, which in turn influences our relation to food in the present. JONNA KATTO, Postdoctoral researcher, Ghent University There is much important literature in Africa that deals with food security and the biological necessity of eating. However, my research explores how food is connected to remembering and making sense of the past, especially a…

Oct

31

2020

By The African Mirror

Tanzanian poll is likely to usher in a new era of authoritarianism. Here’s why

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DAN PAGET, Lecturer in Politics, University of Aberdeen TANZANIANS voted in their general election on October 28 in a poll that pitted popular opposition chief Tundu Lissu against incumbent John Magufuli. As the results were announced, Dan Paget explains why incumbent John Magufuli was declared the winner, and what his second term will mean for democracy in the East African nation. How do you rate the independence or fairness of the Tanzania election commission now and in the past? I no longer have faith in Tanzania’s National Electoral Commission or the validity of the election results. The validity of elections…

Oct

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Farewell Bra Saul, unsung, humble and selfless hero

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MATHATHA TSEDU WE first met at a Black People’s Convention (BPC) meeting outside Sibasa in the then Venda Bantustan in the mid seventies. There weren’t too many people in the meeting, there never was those days, as security police always monitored such gatherings and afterwards visited some of those attending. We just greeted and shook hands, no introductions, none was asked for and none proffered. At such meetings you took whatever information was given, and did not ask for more. If the person thought you should get more they would give it without prompting, when you asked for it, you…

Oct

28

2020

By The African Mirror

A contested legacy: Julius Nyerere and the 2020 Tanzanian election

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

LUKE MELCHIORRE, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Universidad de los Andes TANZANIANS will head to the polls on 28 October in which the incumbent, John Magufuli, faces a determined opposition. Elected to a first term in 2015, Magufuli’s time in office has lived up to his nickname tinga tinga, Kiswahili for “the bulldozer”. He has been applauded by some for advancing a series of major developmental projects. Others have denounced him for his arguably more autocratic, repressive rule Magufuli leads Chama Cha Mapinduzi, one of the longest-serving ruling parties in Africa. It is also the party of Tanzania’s socialist founding father,…

Oct

28

2020

By The African Mirror

At the edge of democracy: what the upcoming general election holds in store for Tanzania

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NICODEMUS MINDE, PhD Fellow, United States International University BEFORE the heroic return of opposition figure, Tundu Lissu, in late July 2020, Tanzania’s political landscape lacked the exuberance and ebullience that comes with an election season. Lissu’s return reignited the hopes of a despondent opposition that had been subdued by the oppressive and restrictive political environment during President John Magufuli’s five-year term. Lissu has been active in politics for the last two decades. He was elected to parliament on a Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party for Democracy and Progress) ticket in 2010. A firebrand lawyer and politician, he is known…

Oct

27

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Perfect storm’: How Nigeria’s peaceful police protests turned violent

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM TEARS fill Ephraim Osinboyejo's eyes as he recalls the idealism that drove thousands of Nigerians like him into the streets to campaign against police brutality - and the night he saw young activists gunned down. The 39-year-old businessman says he returned to Nigeria last year after two decades abroad because he wanted to help his country. When nationwide demonstrations began on October 8, he volunteered to manage logistics at the main protest site in Lagos. But what began as a largely peaceful movement, driven by young, tech-savvy activists who used social media to grab global attention, turned into…

Oct

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump v Biden: a duel of contrasting masculinities

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DAVID COLLINSON, Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organisation, Lancaster University JEFF HEARN, Professor of Sociology, University of Huddersfield THE second and last US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was another round in a duel between two very distinct forms of masculinity. An excellent moderator, Kristen Welker, combined with rule changes that reduced the candidates’ ability to interrupt each other, toned down the vitriol and helped create a calmer debate, with more room for discussion of policy. But this didn’t change the fundamental differences between the two men. Although both protagonists are white, old, affluent men, they embody…

Nov

25

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s slow and painful slide towards anarchy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOVIAL RANTAO THE group of armed robbers will go down either as the boldest criminals or history will record them as the dumbest of all criminals in South Africa. Jovial Rantao In broad daylight, they stormed an armoured car transporting right outside the Dobsonville Police Station. The thugs peppered the SBV truck with AK-47 bullets. The police officers responded kindly and a shoot out ensued. The police officers prevailed, the thugs took off, leaving one of them injured and in police custody. The fact that the armed robbers were not deterred by the physical presence of a police station -…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump’s legacy in Africa and what to expect from Biden

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DONALD Trump was propelled to the US presidency by promising to rewrite globalisation rules. This included restricting trade when it directly hurt the US, clamping down on immigration, and reducing commitments to the global order. His administration’s “America First” foreign policy also meant disengaging from its obligations to Africa, which he infamously referred to as “shit-hole countries”. FRANCIS OWUSU, Professor, Iowa State University PADRAIG CARMODY, Professor in Geography, Trinity College Dublin Historically, the US foreign policy approach to Africa could be classified as benign neglect. This was characterised by a general lack of interest in the continent in the pre–World…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

Why good relations between the African Union and the United Nations Security Council are important

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA OVER the last decade, the UN and the AU have deepened their relationship with partnership agreements on peace and security, development and capacity building. The most advanced cooperation between the two organisations is on peace and security as provided for in Chapter 8 of the UN Charter, and reaffirmed in many outcomes of the Security Council on cooperation between the United Nations and regional arrangements. We are witnessing in Africa a continent that is taking responsibility for the complex challenges to its peace, security and development. It is working with the United Nations and other international partners in…