Author: THE CONVERSATION

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 people from enemies both internal and external – some invented to justify their takeovers and others very real (while military regimes have arguably made violent extremism worse, they did not create it). The generals fight with one another as much as with their enemies, leading to duelling coups in Burkina Faso and a full-on civil…

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life – pregnancy and the months leading to their second birthday – are a critical time. Expectant mothers need good antenatal care. The better their physical and mental health, the greater the likelihood of giving birth to a healthy baby and being able to nurture that baby through the first two years of life. There’s a large global body of evidence to show that what happens during this period has lifelong effects on a person’s health, growth and well-being. Less attention has been paid to the “next 1,000 days”, when children are between the ages…

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 Democratic Party’s share of support dropped to 31% in the October 2024 elections, giving it only four out of 61 constituencies. The Umbrella for Democratic Change claimed 36 seats. We asked University of Botswana historian and political economist Christian John Makgala for his insights. Briefly sketch Botswana’s history When Botswana gained independence from…

In sub-Saharan Africa, high levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution from vehicle tailpipe emissions cause poor health, developmental stunting, and even death. Vehicle emissions also contribute to global warming. Electric vehicles could help solve these problems but they’ve been slow to take off in the region. Its biggest economy, South Africa, had only about 1,000 electric vehicles by 2022. We are specialist transport engineers whose research has focused on electric vehicles and road freight transport in sub-Saharan Africa. In our work we look at how electric vehicles could contribute to reducing emissions in the region, and what is standing in the way of electrifying transport. One of the reasons for low uptake…

The electoral defeat delivered to the Botswana Democratic Party led by Mokgweetsi Masisi was met with incredulity in neighbouring states. Not many expected the party that had run the country comfortably since independence in 1966 to be so roundly defeated in national elections on 30 October 2024. Of the 61 seats in the national assembly, the Umbrella for Democratic Change coalition won 36 seats, the Botswana Congress Party 15. The Botswana Patriotic Front won five seats, the Botswana Democratic Party four, and an independent candidate won one seat. Batswana cast their ballots for opposition leader Duma Boko, who is largely unknown outside…

Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, combined with a Republican-led US Senate and House of Representatives was widely feared among international allies and will be cheered by some of America’s foes. While the former put on a brave face, the latter are finding it hard to hide their glee. On the war in Ukraine, Trump is likely to try to force Kyiv and Moscow into at least a ceasefire along the current front lines. This could possibly involve a permanent settlement that would acknowledge Russia’s territorial gains, including the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the territories occupied since…

African book publishing is in a rare moment of transformation, according to a new report. It’s an industry that has historically survived at the mercy of multinational publishing houses and donor funding. These arrangements, subject to the dictates of capitalism or aid, have not been sustainable. A newly published British Council study concludes that a new generation of African readers and writers has been disrupting traditional publishing. They are using new technologies and social media, holding public events, promoting indigenous languages and changing consumer behaviour through savvy self-publishing methods. But the report is only a snapshot covering a small fraction of the continent. Unfortunately,…

Breast cancer is the number one cancer among women: more than 2 million cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2022. It is also particularly challenging to treat. Physiologist Anna-Mart Engelbrecht, who heads the Cancer Research Group at Stellenbosch University, explains why this is so and how precision medicine could help. How do tumours work? Normally, cell growth, cell division and cell death are tightly regulated processes. But mutations in a cell’s DNA can disrupt this regulation, leading to abnormal cell proliferation, forming tumours. Tumours can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Malignant tumours are dangerous because they invade surrounding tissues and…

Over the past 17 years, Rwanda has cleared informal settlements to make way for modern urban construction. Kigali’s ambitious city master plan is expected to be fully realised by 2050. But what about the people who are pushed out in the process, and their memories? Shakirah E. Hudani presents some of their stories in her new book Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda. She answers questions about Kigali’s emergence from conflict, and what could be. What has emerged from the state’s vision for Kigali? Kigali was established as a colonial outpost in 1907 by German administrator Richard Kandt. The city became…

The ambiguous and often tumultuous relations between Uganda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have made headlines in recent months. In a July 2024 report, the UN Group of Experts on the DRC stated that Ugandan army and intelligence officials were providing active support to the M23 rebel group. The group, which is active in eastern DRC, was first defeated in 2013. But it has resumed hostilities in the vast area since 2021. The UN report also found that Uganda was tolerating the group’s activities on its territory, with supplies and recruits coming through the country. M23’s key demands are an…