2025 2025 2024 September 2025 From Tunis to Gaza. The Calm of Land Before The Storm of Sea? Zukiswa Wanner · 27 September The South-African writer and activist Zukiswa Wanner publishes in Afrique XXI her logbook from the Global Sumud Fleet sailing to Gaza. Attacked during the night of the 23rd of September, the fleet is leaving Greece coasts for its last stage. Recevez la prochaine chronique directement dans (…) From Tunis to Gaza. “We, The People Opposing Zionism” Zukiswa Wanner · 25 September The South-African writer and activist Zukiswa Wanner publishes in Afrique XXI her logbook from the Global Sumud Fleet sailing to Gaza. On Tuesday night, the flotilla was targeted by swarns of Israeli drones, with explosions and communications jamming reported. Tuesday September 23. It has (…) On the way to Gaza, Sad Sorrow Zukiswa Wanner · 23 September The South-African writer and activist Zukiswa Wanner publishes in Afrique XXI her logbook from the Global Sumud Floatilla sailing to Gaza. False alarm on Saturday aboard her boat, renamed by her Mendi Reincarnated. Sunday September 21. When I closed my eyes to contemplate the meaning of (…) All A-Heave Zukiswa Wanner · 21 September The South-African writer and activist Zukiswa Wanner publishes in Afrique XXI her logbook from the Global Sumud Floatilla sailing to Gaza. Her boat, renamed by her Mendi Reincarnated, caught up with the rest of the flotilla on Friday. If you believe in the importance of open and independent (…) On the way to Gaza. Last Boat Out of Port Zukiswa Wanner · 19 September The South-African writer and activist Zukiswa Wanner publishes in Afrique XXI her logbook from the Global Sumud Floatilla sailing to Gaza. Her boat, which name must not be revealed before the end of the mission, set sail from Tunis on Wednesday. If you believe in the importance of open and (…) Guinea’s Junta Prepares Its Electoral Offensive Vincent Foucher · 19 September In Guinea, the junta has called a constitutional referendum for September 21. The new constitution would allow the country’s leader, General Mamadi Doumbouya, to stand in the yet to be announced presidential election, despite his initial pledge not to. After four years in power, Doumbouya has (…) Ethiopia: A Dam Inaugurated, but What Kind of Renaissance? Mehdi Labzaé · 12 September The Grand Renaissance Dam, under construction since 2011 on the Blue Nile and Africa’s largest dam, was inaugurated on September 9. Beyond the lasting diplomatic rift it has caused between Ethiopia and Egypt, the project reveals profound shifts in power. If you believe in the importance of open (…) Biya-Kamto: Missed face-to-face in Cameroon Jean-Bruno Tagne · 4 September At 92 years old, with forty-three of those spent at the head of the country, Paul Biya is running for an eighth consecutive term in the presidential election on October 12. Maurice Kamto, the main opposition candidate, has been excluded from the race. But all does not seem lost. If you believe (…) Colonialism, racism, gender... ’Le Rire et le Couteau’ breaks the mold in Guinea-Bissau Jean Stern · 2 September A radical, passionate, and immensely beautiful film, The Laugh and the Knife by Portuguese director Pedro Pinho, follows the delicate mission of a humanitarian engineer in Guinea-Bissau. The film’s political and universal themes keep audiences engaged for its entire 3-hour and 30-minute runtime. (…) August 2025 DR Congo. Virunga Park, a Century of Green Colonialism and Armed Rebellions Colette Braeckman · 22 August Virunga National Park, in eastern DR Congo, is 100 years old. The oldest reserve in Africa, created during the Belgian colonization to the detriment of local populations, is one of the ancient causes of the ongoing destabilization of the region. At the end of the 19th century, European (…) July 2025 “No Peace, No Bread”: Northern Togo in the Grip of a Three-year State of Emergency Robert Kanssouguibe Douti · 31 July Since June 2022, the Savanes region in northern Togo has been under a state of emergency. This exceptional measure was intended to counter the jihadist threat from the neighbouring Sahel. But instead, it has pushed an already impoverished population into extreme precarity. Hopes for a return to (…) The Tax Revolt Returns—Ruto’s Paranoia vs. Gen Z’s Resistance Robert Amalemba · 22 July On 7 July, a new wave of protests by Generation Z (‘Gen Z’) engulfed the country to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the 1990 uprising that led to democracy. At least fifty people died in clashes with the police. Twelve days earlier, these same young people were already marching in remembrance (…) Corruption, theft, murder... In eastern DRC, cocoa finances chaos La Rédaction, Ukweli Coalition Media Hub, Africa Uncensored · 18 July In this investigation, Ukweli Coalition Media Hub, an investigative platform specialising in the Great Lakes region, in partnership with Afrique XXI and Africa Uncensored, has uncovered a vast cocoa bean trafficking network between eastern DR Congo and Uganda. Involved are the Congolese and (…) In Burundi, a deeply desperate population and a regime on a knife edge Eric Nduwayo · 9 July Following the legislative and local elections on 5 June, the ruling CNDD-FDD party won 100% of the seats in the National Assembly. Behind this result lie deep-seated economic and political crises. Thousands of desperate young people are leaving their homes to try their luck in neighbouring (…) June 2025 Étienne Davignon, last witness to Lumumba’s murder and King Baudouin’s gatekeeper Colette Braeckman · 30 June This Belgian aristocrat, a young diplomat in Kinshasa and then Brazzaville at the time of the pursuit and execution of the Congolese Prime Minister in 1961, will have to answer judges’ questions in January, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office has decided. This comes as a bombshell in (…) Between Burundi and Saudi Arabia, the good business of human trafficking La Rédaction, Ukweli Coalition Media Hub, Africa Uncensored · 25 June In just a few years, at least 17,000 Burundian women have officially set off for Riyadh in search of a better life. Although Burundi and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2021 that is supposed to regulate their working conditions, a veritable traffic in female workers, often deprived of all (…) “The bloodbath in Palestine is similar to those committed during colonisation in Africa” Raouf Farrah · 16 June Despite a long-standing solidarity with the Palestinian cause forged during anti-colonial struggles, African states struggle to counter Israeli influence. The Ambassador of Palestine to Côte d’Ivoire, Abdal Karim Ewaida, analyses these relations and welcomes what he sees as the awakening of (…) Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger... The end of political pluralism Wendyam Hervé Lankoandé · 6 June Suspended since the coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, political parties are now banned by the ruling praetorians. However, the duration and severity of this democratic pause are difficult to predict. For the past four years, the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, now (…) May 2025 Exposing a $2B Scam, Stranded in Exile: Kenya’s Whistleblower Trap Robert Amalemba · 28 May Like Nelson Amenya, who fled to France after exposing a $2 billion scandal, many Kenyan whistleblowers are under threat. In the absence of laws to protect them, as is the case in some African countries, they often prefer exile to disappear. Nelson Amenya, just shy of 31, shifts uneasily when (…) Rwanda : The former colonizer confronts forgotten truths about the Great Lakes Colette Braeckman · 21 May The diplomatic rift between Belgium and Rwanda has unearthed old historical grievances. Among them is the accusation that the Belgian colonizers deliberately sought to separate Kigali from a part of its territory located in North Kivu. Recent studies tend to prove that this accusation is (…) Ethiopia. In Tigray, ’no one wants to return to war’ Augustine Passilly · 16 May Two and a half years after the end of the conflict that devastated this northern region of Ethiopia, the threat of renewed clashes looms at local, national, and even international levels, particularly with neighbouring Eritrea. Redundancy residents, displaced populations, political leaders, and (…) Burkina Faso. The State’s Production of Violence Tanguy Quidelleur · 9 May Burkina Faso, affected since 2016 by insecurity stemming from neighboring Mali, has seen a massive implantation of jihadist groups on its territory. Over the years and through political upheavals, the country has progressively descended into civil conflict. Since the arrival of Captain Ibrahim (…) From the U.S. to Nigeria: How a ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative Is Being Manufactured Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos · 2 May In the United States, Christian political leaders – particularly evangelicals – claim that believers in Nigeria are victims of violence, even a so-called ‘genocide ‘. Political scientist Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, a specialist in violence in Africa, questions the scientific methodology (…) April 2025 “Once upon a time...” French Comics at the Service of Dictatorships Kalidou Sy · 18 April In the mid-1970s, a French publishing house embarked on creating biographies of numerous African leaders in the form of comic books. However, the script did not always reflect historical reality... This was the birth of Afrique Biblio Club. It is 1976. The Cold War is in full swing. (…) Joe Modise. 30 years heading the army which defeated apartheid Victoria Brittain · 11 April A collective book tells the story of the man who was the commander of the armed wing of the African National Congress before accompanying, as Nelson Mandela’s Minister of Defence, the transition of the South African armed forces towards a mixed and democratic army. Joe Modise a central player in (…) Conflict and Democracy: Africa’s Dilemma Souleymane Yameogo · 2 April Are Africans Inherently Opposed to Democracy? Or rather, are they driven, by a survival instinct, to resort to non-democratic means to protect themselves and exist? Seemingly naïve, this question is fundamental for researchers studying democracy and conflicts on the continent. In recent (…) March 2025 Togo. In the Oti-Kéran National Park, displaced people and refugees are trying to survive Robert Kanssouguibe Douti · 27 March In search of cultivable land, increasingly scarce in the Savannas region, or driven by the insecurity created by jihadist groups, hundreds of displaced people have settled in the Oti-Kéran reserve, in northern Togo. In this protected and prohibited area, the lack of drinking water, educational (…) In Gabon, ‘Oligui Nguema has been campaigning since his coup d’état’ by Joseph Tonda Michael Pauron · 20 March The transitional regime surprised everyone by announcing an early presidential election, which will take place on April 12. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who led a coup d’état against Ali Bongo in August 2023, is himself a candidate. For the past two years, a key word has driven his policy: (…) Senegal. Sovereignty Put to Test Without U.S. Aid Clément Bonnerot · 13 March The 90-day suspension of U.S. aid, ordered at the end of January by President Donald Trump, has abruptly halted numerous development programs in Senegal, exposing the country’s dependence on foreign assistance. Despite the concerns of beneficiaries, the authorities, who identify as sovereignists (…) A month under the yoke of M23 in Goma Hakim Maludi · 3 March Since January 28, the main city of North Kivu has been administered by the Rwandan-backed armed group. In its streets, where abuses are reported daily, insecurity and fear have taken hold. While residents seem resigned, resistance is silently organizing. Since January 28, three years after (…) February 2025 At Burundi’s border, war is approaching James Rufuku · 21 February The border between Burundi and Rwanda has been closed for over a year. The advance of the Rwandan-backed M23 in eastern DR Congo, just a few kilometres from the Burundian border, is a new source of tension. Much to the chagrin of the Burundians, who depend on trade with their neighbours to the (…) The astonishing legacy of French counter-insurgency doctrine Victoria Brittain · 18 February In a book based on extensive archives, US historian Terrence Peterson describes the ‘pacification’ carried out by the French army in Algeria in an attempt to erase the Indochinese disaster of Diên Biên Phu in 1954. It was a method that provided lasting inspiration for other armies, including (…) Kenya. Despite enforced disappearances, Generation Z continues to challenge William Ruto Maina Waruru · 10 February Embodied by young people who are challenging the Kenyan establishment, the movement launched in June 2024 has found other platforms to express itself, particularly on the internet. This mobilisation is not without risk: more than 80 activists have been reported missing since the protests began. (…) January 2025 Hostage, witnesses, journalist: Olivier Dubois Talks about AI-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Nathalie Prévost · 27 January Kidnapped on April 8, 2021, in Gao, northern Mali, Olivier Dubois, a French journalist, was released on March 20, 2023, in Niamey, Niger. On the eve of the release of the book of his personal experience, he shared with Afrique XXI the knowledge he gained during his ordeal with Jama’at Nusrat (…) In DR Congo, a Western vision perpetuates violence Christoph Vogel, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka · 20 January Persistence of colonial dynamics, plundering of resources, corruption, conflicts... Through their discourses, progressive as well as reactionary thought contribute to the depoliticization of countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Such narratives tend to reduce Africa to a (…) “Russian Houses,” Putin’s Soft Power Arm in Africa Driss Rejichi · 14 January Language courses, study scholarships, cultural events… “Russian Houses” have become the Kremlin’s primary cultural diplomacy tool, helping to establish Moscow’s long-term presence on the continent. “You know, I’m from Siberia, and being able to participate in a theatre festival in Africa (…) In Haiti, Kenyan police officers between anger and powerlessness Maina Waruru · 6 January By offering to lead the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, a decision that was badly received by the population, Nairobi has taken a major political risk. Faced with powerful gangs on the ground, the Kenyan police also have to deal with delays in payment. Kenya’s peacekeeping (…)