Squatting on Kenya’s Mineral Wealth

Zeinab Mohamed is a 70-year-old squatter in Kwale County, in Kenya’s Coast Province. Like many other Coast Province residents, for decades, Mohamed has lived in what squatters call “floating houses”.

Mobile Phones Big Hit in Rural Zimbabwe

Prosper Muripo rents a small space in a general dealer’s shop at the Gotora shopping centre in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East province. He is one of the many people in rural Zimbabwe who earn a living selling recharge vouchers and charging mobile phone batteries on solar-powered chargers.

Sharks, Victims or Perpetrators?

Recent fatal attacks off Réunion have re-ignited demands for sharks to be hunted. But when it comes to humans and sharks, who is predator and who is prey? And what lessons need to be learned when people venture into environments where they are exposed to dangers posed by wildlife? 

‘Biggest Guns’ to Control Somalia’s South

Somali clan leaders say that an Aug. 27 agreement between the government and only a few leaders from the country’s three southern Jubba regions, which aims to resolve the ongoing dispute over who controls the area, creates more problems than it solves.

Filming Uganda’s Own Stories

For four years Isaac Godfrey Nabwana made and sold bricks in Kampala’s Wakalinga slum. But now, thanks to his labours, he is building what he hopes will become Uganda's answer to Nollywood.

West Cold-Shoulders Rebuilding Southern Africa

The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.

DR Congo Armed Groups Increase Child Recruitment

Over 2,000 children are still being used as soldiers by 27 armed groups in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite efforts by the United Nations Children’s Fund to remove them from the frontlines and return them to their homes.

Zimbabwe Sails Close to Economic Rocks

For President Robert Mugabe to defeat the opposition in the Jul. 31 election by hook or by crook may have been a walk in the park, but beating the economic crisis will be another matter. The stock market fell 11 percent the day he was sworn in, the biggest fall in a day since 2009.

Rwanda Tribunal Digs Up Partial Truth

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania, is due to conclude its business at the end of 2014 following several deferrals. A United Nations Security Council Resolution set up the tribunal in 1994.

Brotherhood Cornered, Not Crushed

With the sun inching closer to the horizon on Friday afternoon in the Mohandiseen neighbourhood of Cairo, the call to prayer from Mostafa Mahmood mosque goes out over a street empty of all but a few soldiers lingering beside their tanks.

Mugabe Begins Another Presidential Term

Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated on Thursday, Aug. 22, to serve yet another five-year term as Zimbabwe’s president after holding the post for the last 33 years. And he does so as analysts here raise concerns that a recent High Court ruling recommending the arrest of outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s lawyers on contempt of court charges could be the start of political oppression.

Swazi Chiefs Shut Women Out of Parliament

Archaic and chauvinistic practices are being used to prevent Swazi women from taking part in the upcoming primary elections, despite the country having a constitution that guarantees their rights, says political analyst Dr. Sikelela Dlamini.

Southern Africa Shows the Way With Water

Water remains a key component in development policy. And, as the Southern African Development Community discusses how best to develop the region, the effective management of watercourses will be key, says Professor Anthony Turton, one of the foremost experts on water policy in southern Africa and a trustee of the Water Stewardship Council of Southern Africa.

Media Law Hits Somali Journalists

Somalia’s journalists say that the government is not serious about reviewing the country’s new, controversial media bill that requires them to reveal their sources, despite a series of recent consultations.

Violence Against Civilians Peaks in Central African Republic

As Michel Djotodia took his oath as the new president of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Aug. 18, Séléka, the coalition of rebel groups that he led and that helped him overthrow the government on Mar. 23, were still looting and killing civilians.

Crossing Borders with Trade

Experts are agreed that the key to unlocking the economic potential of the Southern African Development Community lies in easing cross-border flows of people, goods, capital and services.

Africa’s Largest Hydroelectric Project May Hit the Rocks

There are big aspirations for Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, the Inga III that is set to be built in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But analysts are sceptical that such an ambitious project will ever be realised.

Somali Officials Back Terrorists Against Aid

Foreign aid workers are increasingly becoming targets of corrupt officials within the Somali government and the Islamist extremist group Al-Shabaab.

Tanzanian Traders Seek Rescue From Chinese

The Chinese characters boldly painted on a supermarket poster in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam say a lot about the growing influence of China on this east African nation. 

Saving an Overburdened River

Over the course of a 28-day trek down South Africa’s Umgeni River, which flows from the pristine wetlands of the Umgeni Vlei Nature Reserve to the Durban coastline, Penny Rees, a coordinator for the Duzi uMngeni Conservation Trust, witnessed the polar opposites of river health.

Where Banks Need Less Regulation

Leading bankers are concerned that the regulatory environment in some southern African states is preventing them from offering a full range of services to individuals and companies across the region.