Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey "Only the best is good enough for Africa."
Kwame Nkrumah "The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa."
The Independent’s chief international correspondent, Bel Trew, traveled across the Central African Republic and Nigeria, speaking to women who are risking their lives for motherhood BEL TREW The muted beeps of the neonatal intensive care unit are drowned out by a sudden scramble of sound. A bundle is rushed into the corridor of this hospital […]
MARTINA SCHWIKOWSKI A new wave of African withdrawals has swept through the International Criminal Court. Chad turned its back on the court after three junta-led states in the Sahel exited. But most African countries still trust The Hague. The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002 was seen as a breakthrough in the […]
NEHA BANKA It is barely noon, and a group of women sit near the beach on the outskirts of Djégbadji village, in West Africa’s Benin, sifting through mounds of salt harvested from the Gulf of Guinea’s ocean. Large concrete vats covered with black tarpaulin show traces of white salt sediment as the seawater slowly evaporates […]
GABRIELLE EMANUEL Whenever it rains, Joseph, Gift and Alumbwe — ages 17, 15 and 12 — scramble to move their clothes to a dry corner of their home, deep in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. That’s because rain streams through holes in the roof. “The house is not okay. Even though we live here it’s […]
Discarded, near-end-of-life electronics shipped from developed countries are adding to Nigeria’s growing e-waste burden. ABDULWAHEED SOFIULLAHI On a bustling day in northern Nigeria, Marian Shammah made her way to the Sabon Gari Market, one of the largest electronics hubs in Kano state. The 34-year-old cleaner was in need of a refrigerator, but with rising costs […]
TOMMY TRENCHARD Squinting against the dust kicked up by the helicopter’s rotor blades, dental therapist Senate Makhoali crouches low, loads up her equipment and jumps on board. Already this morning she’s endured a hair-raising, stormy flight in a tiny Cessna 206 airplane to land on a precarious mountain ridge. Now, she steels herself for a […]
US air strikes, rival military blocs and competing foreign backers are reshaping security in West Africa and pushing states closer to conflict. AYODELE S. OWOLABI After launching what he called “a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS [ISIL] terrorist scum” in northwest Nigeria on December 25, United States President Donald Trump promised “many more”, reaffirming […]
What happened in Tanzania during the unrest that followed the October election remains unclear. New evidence points to killings and grave human rights abuses by security forces in the second largest city, Mwanza. Gunfire echoed through — and then abruptly, the country went silent. Rumors of mass killings by security forces in Tanzania spread fast, […]
Pressure to deliver economic improvement for young people – and questions over his succession – will define the president’s seventh term if he wins as expected. FERGUS KELL Ugandans will go to the polls on 15 January. Two weeks after election day will mark the 40th anniversary since incumbent president Yoweri Museveni first took power […]
China is cementing its image as a lasting partner across Africa by gifting high-profile infrastructure, such as presidential palaces and parliament buildings. A key example is the new US$32 million Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) headquarters in Abuja. Funded by China and set for handover by the end of January, this centralized complex […]