8 min read. The recent Afrophobic attacks in South Africa are symptoms of a deeper problem that has its roots in the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885.
7 min read. After spending several months with gamblers in Kenya, Mario Schmidt finds that many see their activity as a legitimate and transparent attempt to make ends meet in an economy that does not offer them any other stable employment or income.
8 min read. For decades, the grandiosity and excesses of Africa’s strongmen have been the subject of global ridicule and scorn. Now, under Donald Trump, Americans are finally getting a taste of what an African dictatorship looks and feels like.
11 min read. In recent years, Kenyans have witnessed scandals involving pastors who prey on their gullible followers to enrich themselves. DAMARIS PARSITAU looks at how pastors who have a cult-like following in the country are breaking up families and causing immense distress and hardship.
22 min read. WACHIRA MAINA examines three major corruption scandals during the Moi, Kibaki and Kenyatta eras that demonstrate how state capture facilitates the massive looting of public funds, and allows the culprits to get away scot-free.
9 min read. The mysterious death of an IT technician has exposed gross weaknesses in Uganda’s judicial system, where a reported abduction ending in death can be made to look like an accident, and where a post-mortem report can be disregarded by the police. MARY SERUMAGA examines details of a case that has stunned Ugandans.
18 min read. The 2010 Constitution promised a brave new Kenya with clean, robust, and efficient institutions. But this promise never materialised. WACHIRA MAINA shows how state institutions, including electoral and judicial bodies, have been deliberately weakened by a system designed to protect the corrupt.
7 min read. A shocking photo of newborn babies stacked on hospital beds has highlighted the pathetic state of public health facilities in Uganda. MARY SERUMAGA reports on the crisis.
10 min read. In this three-part series, WACHIRA MAINA explains how “state capture elites” have undermined anti-corruption efforts and why, despite decades of reforms and numerous commissions of inquiry, corruption remains an enduring element of Kenyan politics and society.
11 min read. Large China-funded infrastructure projects in Kenya have led to an influx of Chinese male migrants, who have not just changed the landscape of the country, but who have also found love – and had children – in the most unlikely places. DAUTI KAHURA reports on the “Chikuyu” phenomenon.
