Zach Wong 
Illegal artisanal gold mining in South Africa is in the spotlight again. Under Operation Vala Umgodi (“plug the hole”), South African authorities have since December 2023 been trying to disrupt the illicit gold mining economy by cutting off water, food and other supplies to the miners working underground. The operation is an attempt to “stamp … Read more
In the last few years, there has been a spate of military coups in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Guinea. Military rule, long dormant in African politics, is back. Coup leaders have suppressed protest, gagged the media and spilled much civilian blood in the name of public safety. They claim to be protecting their … Read more
Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye unexpectedly called a snap legislative election which was held on 17 November. Faye was sworn in as president in April after a tumultuous period, triggered when former president Macky Sall postponed a scheduled presidential election. Mass protests followed, exposing the fragility of Senegal’s democratic institutions. Sall eventually reversed his stance … Read more
Ghanaian elections have become much more challenging for politicians. In the past they have often been characterised as nothing more than an ethnic headcount. But since the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, there’s been a growing share of swing voters. We discovered this trend in a study, which corroborates others. We define a swing voter … Read more
The news media in South Africa have a long and dark history of being used to oppress the majority during colonialism and apartheid. In the new context of societal transformation and constitutional democracy since 1994, media diversity is crucial. And the need for ethical journalism is paramount. Media ethics act as a moral compass guiding … Read more
The Nigerian army has spoken of attacks on the Niger-Nigeria border in 2024 as being carried out by a new terrorist group. This sect is known as Lakurawa … The Lakurawa are affiliated to terrorists in the Sahel, particularly from Mali and Niger Republic. News reports had the same message: that a new terrorist group … Read more
Mauritius’ opposition coalition – the Alliance of Change – won the country’s 10 November 2024 election by a landslide, taking all the seats in parliament. Its leader, Navin Ramgoolam, has been appointed prime minister. Mauritian politics scholar Roukaya Kasenally spoke to The Conversation Africa about what drove this outcome. What’s behind the opposition’s landslide win? … Read more
A number of reports have called South Africa a politically polarised society. This may seem uncontroversial, given the country’s history of dispossession and discrimination during colonialism and apartheid, and their continuing legacy after 30 years of democracy. But my analysis of South African history and politics disputes this view. The Atlantic Council reported ahead of … Read more
The dramatic loss of power by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which had governed Botswana since independence in 1966, will go down in history as one of the biggest electoral upsets in Africa. Duma Boko (54), of the Umbrella for Democratic Change coalition, has replaced Mokgweetsi Masisi as the southern African country’s president. The Botswana … Read more
South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced in his October mid-term budget policy statement that cabinet had approved funding for an early retirement programme to reduce the public sector wage bill. R11 billion (about US$627 million) will be allocated over the next two years to pay for the exit costs of 30,000 civil servants while … Read more
