In 20 years, the population which has chosen not to vote has increased by 9.4 million. What does this largely hidden tale tell us about South Africa’s political system and its democracy?

The current debate about Somalia’s future and its relationship with foreign donors is split between two schools of thought – those who advocate ‘hybrid systems of governance’ and those who continue to see state-building as the necessary first step towards stability and prosperity.

South Africa is a much better place to live in under the ANC, but the former liberation movement delegitimizes itself by failure to redress growing structural inequalities and injustice rooted in apartheid. A leftist party is needed to drive a true democratic revolution

Critics of the BRICS base their arguments on empirical observations. But they need to go further beyond this and provide a deeper analysis of their theory of sub-imperialism. Otherwise their critique is a distraction from real issues of concern to progressive forces

17 May is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Such a day has become necessary to remind society of the way in which we apply inconsistent moral standards on a daily basis against people based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Somaliland has been a self-governing nation for 23 years, but lacks international recognition as a state. Somaliland’s neighbours should recognise the nation to ensure security and stability in the region

On this African liberation day, we, the undersigned, note with grave concern the continent-wide deepening crisis including, growing militarism, the crisis in democracy, an expanding neoliberal economic order, deepening patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism, amongst others.

The growing threat of Boko Haram has regional implications and led to a conference in Paris with the leaders of Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad participating. The conference is representative of the burgeoning militarization of the continent led by the Pentagon and NATO forces and does not augur well for the long-term security of Africa’s people

In this review, Kwaku Kushindana questions whether the book’s optimistic conclusions are grounded in a framework that is realistic for all of contemporary Africa.

The terrorist group Boko Haram is a vital element in the fight over state power by various political groups in Nigeria. Both Nigeria’s continued politics of corruption and the Al Qaeda link to Boko Haram point to a grim future of continued insecurity

African Liberation Day will be celebrated in Africa and around the world on Sunday, 25 May, 2014. Its objective is to advance the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism.

News reporting about South Sudan is fast becoming a farce, with international news outlets routinely misrepresenting the political crisis as ethnic conflicts. This contributes to local tensions and is sadly not a unique case across Africa.

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%.

All citizens of conscience are invited to join in the solidarity day of action to speak out against increasing fundamentalisms and oppressive systems of patriarchy and domination which perpetuate injustice.

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

New book tells how a global anti-apartheid movement helped South Africa win its freedom, and its lessons for us

The mobile revolution. Geopolitical power shifts. A radically altered global economy. The world is changing, and so is the way that people fight for their rights. Our East African regional office will work to ensure respect for human rights, and for equal and just societies throughout a vast and diverse geographical area. You’ll provide the support they need to succeed.

Determined to eliminate injustice and promote equality, Amnesty International is at the forefront of human rights advocacy. But to maximise awareness on a global level, we need to maintain a single and consistent voice. By co-ordinating translation requests across the West Africa region, you'll help us share vital information.

The mobile revolution. Geopolitical power shifts. A radically altered global economy. The world is changing, and so is the way that people fight for their rights. In order to be effective, Amnesty International’s (AI) International Secretariat needs to change how we work. That’s why we’ve opening a regional office in Dakar. And why we need your research expertise with us on the ground.

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

President Kagame's regime is at its weakest since 1994, with little legitimacy among Rwandans and increasingly isolated abroad. This is the time to mobilise and organize to end the suffering of Rwandans. But the people must overcome their seven deadly demons

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’

With all the progress made so far, and with new scientific evidence and medical tools providing hope that the epidemic can finally be brought under control, there needs to be a sustained effort and a scale up of investment to make this hope a reality.

The New Alliance is likely to exacerbate hunger and poverty through shifting control of the food system away from small-scale farmers and local communities into the hands of big business that will likely invest in lucrative projects such as exporting cash crops

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.

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 ANC government believes the good narrative of what it has done since taking office is being maligned to unseat the ANC. Goldmans Sachs has also presented a positive review of South Africa’s performance despite its recognition of deep-seated structural inequalities

Nigeria’s ‘rebased’ GDP now beats South Africa’s in theory – but how does this measure up against the country’s actual wealth? Patrick Bond examines some of the biggest fallacies of the neoliberal investment prospects of the 2000s - BRICS, MINT and CIVETS, and why citizens are rising up in spite of the hype.

A Briton has promised to return a looted bronze artifact he inherited from his great-grandfather to Benin. Thousands of such bronzes are held illegally in a number of Western museums. They should be returned to their rightful owners.

The new film looks at a range of themes and through a variety of formats examines its central question of what beauty is for the African woman

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.

Amira Ali takes a critical look at the reconstructed identities of East African women along western political imagination. The identities, as expressed in hip-hop lyrics, objectify women from the region as being quite not African, amplifying the myths of western anthropologists of the past

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.

For the shack dwellers of South Africa, the past 20 years since the end of apartheid have not meant a better life for them. It is oppression and neglect by the ruling ANC

Tribute to a remarkable, unforgettable woman

Much has been written on the subject of Africa’s economic engagement with China. There are those who can be characterized as Sino-optimists versus the Sino-pessimists with the Sino-pragmatists in between. But is it really the case that if one is leftist, one is also likely to be a Sino-optimist?

Nigeria’s national conference should address the question of a genuine respect for cultural and ethnic diversity, for if a nation can unite as one family in support of football teams, they can surely unite for the achievement of other national objectives?

It is 20 years since the genocide. The former rebels who ‘liberated’ the country now preside over Rwanda. But everywhere one sees evidence that the freedom they sought as rebels remains out of reach for the general population. An equal and just Rwanda is needed

Post- genocide Rwanda has managed to rebuild on a development model that relies on Rwandan history, knowledge and people. It is marked by participatory political and economic processes, value of the Rwandan culture and heritage and the mobilization of internal forces as well as community work.

20 years after the end of the genocide in Rwanda, Rwandans both at home and abroad still live in fear of their government, which goes to unimaginable lengths to hunt down and kill dissidents. The international community must band together to uphold the freedom and human rights of all Rwandans worldwide.

General Paul Kagame ordered the shooting down of the plane in which President Habyarimana and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi, French citizens, and all others on board were killed on 6 April 1994. This assassination triggered the genocide. Since then President Kagame has imposed a reign of terror to keep himself and the ruling party in absolute power.

Rwanda, a military dictatorship, plays a key destabilising role in the Great Lakes region to benefit its imperialist partners, US and UK, whose primary interest is the mineral wealth in Eastern DR Congo. Democratic forces should work had to expose imperialist agendas and weaken Western influence in the region

By opposing the designation of the 1994 conflict in Rwanda as “genocide,” Clinton not only opposed armed intervention but helped the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) into power. Many developments show a US preference for an RPF military takeover instead of the upholding the Arusha Peace Accords

Refugees in Kenya are often the victims of inhumane and illegal treatment by the government. Activists must work with the government to abolish the practice of forcible repatriation and to improve the pathetic conditions in refugee camps.