The American president likes to hector those he believes are not ‘on the right side of history’. But a look at his administration’s engagement with Ethiopia and Africa reveals that in fact Obama is on the wrong side of history

The Saharawi people have for over 40 long years managed to establish a functioning society in the refugee camps in the Algerian desert, near Tindouf. They are ensuring the survival of their people and for the time when independence is won

In an open letter to the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who recently made a tour of several African countries, the Secretary of State is asked to address US policies towards Africa that are broken, counter-productive, and harmful

With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Ethiopia, the recent spate of harsh crackdowns in the country has raised serious questions about the U.S. and international community’s ongoing support for the Ethiopian government

Hundreds of Nigerian girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters four weeks ago. The abductions got very little media coverage, so the wave of U.S. revulsion is only now surfacing. Americans urge their government to “do something,” but know next to nothing about the Nigerian political crisis, since there has not been a single television news story about Boko Haram in 2013.

The logic of capitalism is economic growth at any cost. And that is what breeds inequality. The global economy is a wealth extraction system that robs the majority of people to further enrich the top 1%.

Americans seem to be offended by racist rants especially in sport, but are impotent to resist the more devastating expressions of white supremacy reflected in national and global institutions dedicated to upholding the power of a racialized, white male, capitalist/ colonialist elite

What sense does democracy make for Africa? Has it served the needs of the people? Africa should nurture home-grown democracy from the grassroots, an alternative to governance in partnership with capitalism, whether Western or Eastern.

The ANC will likely win with a landslide once again in the elections held this week, as the country marks two decades of the end of apartheid. But the ruling party’s ‘very good story’ is in reality a tall tale of tokenism

This fictional account of the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram terrorist group brings out the intense trauma of the experience. It is appalling that, faced with frequent attacks by the terrorists, Nigerian authorities have done little to protect especially vulnerable citizens

Despite claims that Africa is experiencing one of the highest growth rates in the world, growing class divisions and higher consumer prices are having disproportionate impacts on working people and the poor. Under socialism, the wealth generated by African resources and trade would be primarily re-invested in the society

Ethiopia’s dam project has evoked strong rejection by Egypt, which fears for her water-related benefits arising from skewed colonial-era treaties on sharing of the River Nile. However, considering the legal, historical, economical and environmental issues, Egypt’s opposition to the dam is baseless. To avoid water wars, Nile riparian countries need to agree afresh on fair water sharing

The rice farmers of Mwea in central Kenya have lived under oppression since the colonial days when an irrigation scheme was established in the area. Successive governments have ignored their plight. But the people refuse to give up their quest for justice

Thirty years ago, on 26 March 1984, President Ahmed Sékou Touré lay dying. Everybody could agree on one thing and that is that he was a great patriot, a great African and Panafricanist. He was never known to have had castles in Spain, bank accounts in London, Paris, Washington, nor shares in the Tokyo stock exchange. On the controversial issues concerning administrative power, in the context of the cold war and the struggle for the liberation of Africa, (think for instance of “Operation Carlota” and of the assassination of Amilcar Cabral), the debate will rage on for a long time to come. All the prosecutors and all the defence attorneys will have the right to be heard. For this 30th anniversary of his death however, this poem is dedicated to him.

FGM is illegal in Kenya, but the practice thrives in many parts of the country. In the north where some of the most horrific forms of FGM are conducted, circumcisers have become millionaires operating on the daughters of wealthy Kenyan migrants to Europe

Mozambique will hold national elections in October. Politics in the southern African nation has been dominated by two parties, FRELIMO and RENAMO. But now a young party is causing waves across the country, pledging to focus on ‘a development agenda’

Who really is an African student?

Tribute to a remarkable, unforgettable woman

A new report highlights the huge amount of revenue that one of the poorest countries in Africa loses each year through tax breaks for multinationals.

A proposed farm worker policy in South Africa is unlikely to offer any meaningful benefits to the workers. The primary demands of farm workers are not for equity in commercial farms, but for tenure security on farms, decent living conditions, improved wages, and access to land for their own use.