Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive

Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive

By Bodil Folke Frederiksen, Roskilde University Kenya has scores of youth gangs known for their violence and links to the politically powerful. None is more infamous than the Mungiki movement, with a past membership estimated to be at least a million. Though banned, it’s constantly in the news as a tool or target of big political players. Bodil Folke Frederiksen, who has studied Mungiki as part of […]

February 15, 2024 8

Business / Economics

South Africa is failing people who aren’t poor, but aren’t middle class either

By Tinashe Mushayanyama, University of South Africa; Adrino Mazenda, University of Pretoria; Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, University of Pretoria, and Mary Mangai, University of Pretoria Many South African households are trapped. They are neither poor nor middle class. As a demographic they hover above the indigence threshold financially. But they are not yet securely in the middle class. This aspirant middle class – individuals whose income is above the indigent […]

January 30, 2024 18

Africa

Senegal’s pink lake is on the verge of disappearing – how to protect it

By El hadji Sow, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Lake Retba, better known as Lac Rose (the Pink Lake), is located around 35km from the city of Dakar, Senegal. It sits in a depression with a shoreline 6.5 metres below sea level. The lake is isolated from the sea by about 1km of sand dunes. Its fresh water comes from the seasonal water table in the dunes, which […]

January 18, 2024 20

Africa

Rising megacities: A superhighway for Africa’s shared mobility market

By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency As Africa's urban centres continue to grow and with an increasing number of cities now expected to surpass 10 million residents, the shared mobility sector is expanding fast too, raising prospects of more income for cab-hailing companies and drivers. Global management firm, Oliver Wyman, has revealed in a new report that ride-hailing, scooter or e-bike rentals, and car-sharing, which together make up […]

January 18, 2024 23

Africa

Navigating the transition: African banks take over after international lenders exit

By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency Local financial companies are capitalising on the opportunities left by international banks exiting Africa yet continue to struggle with the gap between perceived and actual risks in the market. In early 2022, UK-headquartered Standard Chartered Bank announced it was exiting five African countries and partially exiting two others - breaking its ‘here for good’ brand promise after more than a century on the […]

November 20, 2023 6

Africa

Africa’s Fashion Sector Primed for Global Leadership

By Bonface Orucho via BirdAfricaNoFilter Africa’s young, innovative, and growing population, a rising middle class, rapid urbanization, and increased government support are some of the factors fueling the African fashion sector, according to a new UNESCO report. The report, 'The Fashion Sector in Africa: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities for Growth,' unveiled on October 26 during the 13th edition of the Lagos Fashion Week, shows that “the continent holds all the cards […]

November 2, 2023 17