ISSUE 57
Editor’s Note: Liberated but not free
The 1950s, 60s and 70s were a heady time for Africa, as the continent broke free from the shackles of colonialism after more than a century of formal European rule following the 1884-5 Berlin Conference. Leaders in the vanguard, such Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, whose country was the first to gain independence in 1957, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta – brimming with “hope, optimism and confidence” as one of our contributors, Issa Sikiti da Silva, describes it – promoted...
Swapo – Namibia’s sinking ship
Namibia’s liberation movement is quickly losing ground At the first cabinet meeting of 2020, on 4 February, Namibian president Hage Geingob, in a custom he had started in his first full year in...
Angola’s long legacy of centralised control
The ruling MPLA’s culture of dominance ensures control Joăo Lourenço largely proved critics wrong after coming to power as Angola’s second post-civil war leader in 2017. As José Eduardo dos...
Swapo – Namibia’s sinking ship
Namibia’s liberation movement is quickly losing ground At the first cabinet meeting of 2020, on 4 February, Namibian president Hage Geingob, in a custom he had started in his first full year in office in 2015, titled...
Angola’s long legacy of centralised control
The ruling MPLA’s culture of dominance ensures control Joăo Lourenço largely proved critics wrong after coming to power as Angola’s second post-civil war leader in 2017. As José Eduardo dos Santos’ preferred...
Swapo – Namibia’s sinking ship
Namibia’s liberation movement is quickly losing ground At the first cabinet meeting of 2020, on 4 February, Namibian president Hage Geingob, in a custom he had started in his first full year in...
Angola’s long legacy of centralised control
The ruling MPLA’s culture of dominance ensures control Joăo Lourenço largely proved critics wrong after coming to power as Angola’s second post-civil war leader in 2017. As José Eduardo dos...
Zimbabwean liberation war veterans mourn a dream deferred
Corruption, patronage and bad governance have betrayed Zimbabwe’s liberation victory.
Is South Africa ready for coalition government?
Based on its current service delivery record, mediocre at best, and its divided trajectory…
South Africa’s liberation struggle and the inside/outside conundrum
Forty years ago, the Matola raid (January 1981) resulted in the massacre of 15 African National Congress (ANC) freedom fighters by apartheid forces…
Cameroon: A nation on the edge
With no end in sight to President Paul Biya’s iron grip on power, new resistance groups are springing up in Cameroon.
Togo’s thirst for real political change continues
When Toto became a republic in 1961 Togo became a republic, its citizens hoped this signalled an era of stability for the country…
Power dynamics in post-independence Zimbabwe
A nexus between power, politics and the military Literature is awash with research on the militarisation of the state…
The taste of freedom
Women’s memories of food offer insights into Mozambique’s liberation struggle.
Kenya comes full circle
In 2002, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), the ruling party in Kenya since independence from Great Britain in 1963…
Civil-military relations: An uneasy alliance
After years of armed struggle to compete for power, Africa has ended up with a post-liberation legacy…
Zimbabwean liberation war veterans mourn a dream deferred
Corruption, patronage and bad governance have betrayed Zimbabwe’s liberation victory.
Is South Africa ready for coalition government?
Based on its current service delivery record, mediocre at best, and its divided trajectory…
South Africa’s liberation struggle and the inside/outside conundrum
Forty years ago, the Matola raid (January 1981) resulted in the massacre of 15 African National Congress (ANC) freedom fighters by apartheid forces…
Cameroon: A nation on the edge
With no end in sight to President Paul Biya’s iron grip on power, new resistance groups are springing up in Cameroon.
Togo’s thirst for real political change continues
When Toto became a republic in 1961 Togo became a republic, its citizens hoped this signalled an era of stability for the country…
Power dynamics in post-independence Zimbabwe
A nexus between power, politics and the military Literature is awash with research on the militarisation of the state…
The taste of freedom
Women’s memories of food offer insights into Mozambique’s liberation struggle.
Kenya comes full circle
In 2002, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), the ruling party in Kenya since independence from Great Britain in 1963…
Malawi’s democratic milestone
An independent judiciary and a grassroots movement give Malawians a stronger voice When Malawians went to the polls in June 2020 – for the second time in little more than a year - the election not only marked the culmination of a process that saw opposition parties...
Post-liberation Africa and the quest for economic freedom
Good and inclusive governance is critical for Africa’s economic growth Africa is on the rise. In 2018, it was the world's second fastest-growing region, experiencing an average annual GDP growth of 4.6% for the period from 2000 and 2016. For the...
The ghosts of Nigeria’s civil war still haunts, 50 years later
New movement exposes fault lines dating back to Nigeria's civil war On weekdays, except Fridays, Dayo Abimbola drives from Ibadan, south-west Nigeria, where he stays with his wife and two daughters, to Ogun state, where he teaches in a privately...
Africa’s mass trauma
Why Africans still vote for toxic post-liberation tyrants Since the end of colonialism, apartheid and white-minority regimes, many African countries appear to have had disproportionally large numbers of psychopathic, narcissistic and just...
Africa’s liberation wars have shaped history, politics and society
Freedom, but also a legacy of one-party states, civil wars and violence against women and children Independence was achieved in several African countries after a national liberation war. In many cases, the liberation movements eventually achieved...
Africa’s freedom fighters and the challenge of transformation
The end of an era for liberation movements? After defeating colonialism, white minority rule and post-colonial authoritarian governments, many of Africa’s liberation movements seem to have lost ground in the democratic era, challenged by the harsh...
Malawi’s democratic milestone
An independent judiciary and a grassroots movement give Malawians a stronger voice When Malawians went to the polls in June 2020 – for the second...
Post-liberation Africa and the quest for economic freedom
Good and inclusive governance is critical for Africa’s economic growth Africa is on the rise. In 2018, it was the world's second fastest-growing...
The ghosts of Nigeria’s civil war still haunts, 50 years later
New movement exposes fault lines dating back to Nigeria's civil war On weekdays, except Fridays, Dayo Abimbola drives from Ibadan, south-west...
Africa’s mass trauma
Why Africans still vote for toxic post-liberation tyrants Since the end of colonialism, apartheid and white-minority regimes, many African countries...
Africa’s liberation wars have shaped history, politics and society
Freedom, but also a legacy of one-party states, civil wars and violence against women and children Independence was achieved in several African...
Africa’s freedom fighters and the challenge of transformation
The end of an era for liberation movements? After defeating colonialism, white minority rule and post-colonial authoritarian governments,...
Malawi’s democratic milestone
An independent judiciary and a grassroots movement give Malawians a stronger voice When Malawians went to the polls in June 2020 – for the second time in little more than a year - the election not only marked the culmination of a process that saw opposition parties and civil society organisations upend the status quo in a traditionally conservative country, but witnessed the country’s highest court send a strong message to...
Post-liberation Africa and the quest for economic freedom
Good and inclusive governance is critical for Africa’s economic growth Africa is on the rise. In 2018, it was the world's second fastest-growing region, experiencing an average annual GDP growth of 4.6% for the period from 2000 and 2016. For the five-year period until 2022, Africa’s real GDP is projected to grow at 3.9% annually. The African Development Bank says that the continent’s economic growth could rebound to 3% in 2021 from...
The ghosts of Nigeria’s civil war still haunts, 50 years later
New movement exposes fault lines dating back to Nigeria's civil war On weekdays, except Fridays, Dayo Abimbola drives from Ibadan, south-west Nigeria, where he stays with his wife and two daughters, to Ogun state, where he teaches in a privately owned university. On Mondays, he is on the road by 7am even though the trip is about 90 minutes long and his first class is at 9am; he does this to allow for any unforeseen traffic on his way...
Africa’s mass trauma
Why Africans still vote for toxic post-liberation tyrants Since the end of colonialism, apartheid and white-minority regimes, many African countries appear to have had disproportionally large numbers of psychopathic, narcissistic and just mean-spirited leaders. All...
Africa’s liberation wars have shaped history, politics and society
Freedom, but also a legacy of one-party states, civil wars and violence against women and children Independence was achieved in several African countries after a national liberation war. In many cases, the liberation movements eventually achieved their ultimate aim,...
Africa’s freedom fighters and the challenge of transformation
The end of an era for liberation movements? After defeating colonialism, white minority rule and post-colonial authoritarian governments, many of Africa’s liberation movements seem to have lost ground in the democratic era, challenged by the harsh realities of...
BOOK REVIEWS
National Liberation Movements as Government in Africa
Book Review National Liberation Movements as Government in Africa Edited by Redie Bereketeab Routledge, 2018, Oxford Liberation movements begin as war machines animated by the desire for justice and, if successful, end up as governments clinging on to power. They undergo a transformation into their opposite, morphing into that which they sought to vanquish. Redie Bereketeab has edited a book that looks at 13 examples of this transformation, each author setting out the successes and failures of particular national liberation movements (NLMs) throughout Africa. The chapters are thick with the histories of each NLM, with assessments of their performance as government. Chapters are grouped under four categories as struggles against: European colonialism (Angola, Algeria, Guinea-Bissau,...
The Zimbabwean nightmare and tragic optimism of Mutambara
To mention Zimbabwe and the idea of a “dream” in the same sentence, as Professor Arthur Mutambara has done, is to be provocative and challenging. The provocation and the challenge come from the troubling Zimbabwean economic and political condition that can only be...
Book review – Ethics and Accountable Governance in Africa’s Public Sector, Volume One
Ethics and Accountable Governance in Africa’s Public Sector, Volume One: Ethical Compliance and Institutional Performance. Edited by Kemi Ogunyemi, Isaiah Adisa, Robert E. Hinson, published by Palgrave Macmillan Ethics & Accountable Governance in Africa’s Public...
Book review – An action page-turner with academic precision
Hitmen for hire: Exposing South Africa’s underworld, Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2017 In September 2022 the Global Initiative (GI) Against Transnational Organized Crime released a strategic assessment of the existential threat to South Africa that is organised crime....
Making today’s African girl into tomorrow’s African leader – Book review
African Girl, African Woman – How agile, empowered and tech-savvy females will transform the continent for good by Hynd Bouhia; published by Rawan Publishing (2021) African Girl – African Woman explores the important role of women in science and technology in...
Shaping Africa’s Post-Covid Recovery
Book Review Shaping Africa's Post-Covid Recovery Edited by Rabah Arezki, Simeon Djankov and Ugo Panizza Published by Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2021 With most of the world still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, different regions face unique...
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