South African Police Service march to disperse students blocking traffic in Johannesburg, in March.
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South Africans deserve a fuller picture of the extent of police brutality, and the level of accountability, especially when people die at the hands of police.
Madagascar’s former president, Didier Ratsiraka.
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Ratsiraka was a national hero and great patriot for some, for others a ruthless dictator.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan attends the funeral of her predecessor president John Magufuli on March 26, 2021 in Chato, Tanzania.
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Hassan may prove the right sort of politician to usher in a new era of bipartisan politics, less populist and authoritarian and more collegial.
New Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan during her swearing-in.
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Hassan, like Magufuli before her, has taken office without her own political base and will also have to contend with revived factional manoeuvring.
Nigerian security personnel inspect the site of a blast at Nyanya bus station in the outskirts of Abuja
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Due to the poor security response of the Nigerian state, insurgency will continue to pose a serious threat to its northeast border communities.
The judicial inquiry into grand corruption heard shocking details of the abuse of power at South Africa’s preeminent spy agency.
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Globally, intelligence services trade in secrets and conduct covert operations. But this does not exempt them from public scrutiny, parliamentary oversight, and audit processes.
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The Constitutional Court judgment is a huge victory, not only for journalists and lawyers who stand to benefit directly and immediately, but for broader society.
Dominic Ongwen (centre) sits in the court room of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on December 6, 2016.
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The International court did not allow Dominic Ongwen’s background to colour the legal determination of his criminal liability.
Dominic Ongwen enters the court room of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on December 6, 2016.
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Former fighters described Ongwen as a model fighter and an effective commander – but testimony in his trial detailed the former child soldier’s alleged personal role in the rape of underage women.
National Election Board of Ethiopia personnel patrol a warehouse stacked high with boxes of polling kits in Addis Ababa in October 2020.
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Ethiopia’s party system is extremely volatile due to the prevalence of weakly institutionalised and fragmented political parties.
Joseph Kazibwe, with his wife Magere, listen to radio updates of the Uganda presidential election result in January 2021.
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For those keen to advance democracy and freedom in Uganda, the starting point is to take in the lessons of history.
Simeon Nyachae (right) welcomes President Uhuru Kenyatta to his alma mater, Kisii School in western Kenya, during the institution’s 80th anniversary in 2014.
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Nyachae always served at the intersection of politics and administration. Nevertheless, he was more of a firm manager than a politician.
The reform of the operations of the African Union is key to its future.
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The election of commissioners is a key step in the reform process of the African Union Commission.
Former South African President Jacob Zuma deployed spies in factional battles within the governing party.
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Revelations show that the State Security Agency did little to safeguard the country and much to protect Zuma’s political faction and to funnel public money into private ends.
Internally displaced persons gather for government briefing in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the scene of violent clashes between rival communities since 2019.
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Because ethnic territories are a major source of political friction and persecution in the world, it’s important to investigate how they are created and used in conflicts.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa meets his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in Beijing, in 2018.
EPA-EFE/Lintao Zhang / POOL
The more President Mnangagwa’s government fails to engage democratically with its own citizens, the more it will negate any prospect of re-engagement with the West.
Campaign posters of President Yoweri Museveni hang on a cable a day after the election commission said he won a sixth term in office.
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Museveni’s attempt to gain support in urban areas in the 2021 elections was not only about repression. But it still failed.
Nigerian Navy Special forces pretend to arrest pirates during a joint military exercise with the French navy.
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Sea piracy often grabs the headlines, but it is just one of many symptoms of insecurity at sea.
Ali Mohamed Gedi (left), then Somali prime minister, speaks during a meeting with clan elders to discuss the surrender of weapons from the Mogadishu community in 2006.
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While the insurgent group rebuffs talks on the national stage, it frequently negotiates local issues with the government and other groups through senior clan elders.
Following an inconclusive election in December 2020, Niger’s Independent National Electoral Commission is set for a runoff in February.
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Although Niger’s quest for entrenching democracy is a good development, poverty and insecurity are obstacles.