Month: May 2012

  • The KDF (finally) takes Afmadow and Kenya to (officially) join AMISOM

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    More than seven months into its invasion of southern Somalia, Kenya has seized the city of Afmadow. The fall of Afmadow marks the second major blow for al-Shabaab this week, having lost the Afgoye corridor located west of Mogadishu to troops from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). Having controlled much of south-central Somalia… Read.

  • Kenya: Moi Ave blast marks tactical shift for terrorists

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    Monday afternoon, there was an explosion on Moi Avenue in downtown Nairobi. Initially, Kenyan authorities suspected that the cause of this explosion was either an act of terrorism or was caused by an electrical fault. However, it now appears that the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism – although as of yet,… Read.

  • “It was the worst of times, it was the best of times”

    On my About Me page, I alluded to the possibility of writing about my experience traveling in Africa – to add an entertaining counterweight to my more analytical rants and musings on the events unfolding on the continent. The following is a story about a particularly miserable travel experience that ended up being pretty rewarding:… Read.

  • If African leaders are the “glue” what happens when they leave?

    Over the weekend, Zimbabwe’s Standard Sunday newspaper published an interview with President Robert Mugabe’s former Home Affairs and Defence Minister Enos Nkala. Nkala, who had since fallen out with Mugabe, spoke with the Zimbabwean leader last week and stated “From what we discussed, Mugabe said he is tired and wants to retire but he cannot do so… Read.

  • Brazil’s growing relations with Africa through the lens of its African heritage

    As I mentioned on my About Me page, I studied abroad in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil in college and researched the evolution of Afro-Brazilian identity and politics for my senior thesis. So, since issues related to Brazil’s African heritage and its growing relations with Africa have recently been in the news, I’ve decided to merge… Read.

  • South Sudan celebrates SPLA Day, but what about human rights?

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    On May 16, South Sudan commemorated the 29th anniversary of the founding of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). On top of fighting a 22 year-long war that secured South Sudan’s independence last year, the SPLA will now protect the country in the event that the low-intensity conflict with Sudan escalates. While South Sudan’s security forces had already espoused… Read.

  • Implications of EU NAVFOR Strikes on Somali Pirate Bases

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    From outset of the international community’s efforts to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia, a wide range of options have been under consideration. In an article written in 2009, I identified eight possible counterpiracy options, which are as follows: Accepting piracy as a cost of doing business Tracing and targeting pirate finances Increasing the… Read.

  • Senegal’s New Government Reviews Policies Related to Fishing Industry

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    Earlier this month, Senegal’s recently elected president, Macky Sall, revoked 29 licenses of pelagic fishing vessels belonging to Russia, Comoros, Lithuania, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize. This decision came a month after Sall’s first presidential speech in which he declared urgency to act in the country’s fisheries sector, and pledged to review the… Read.

  • South Sudan’s Militia Melodrama

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    Yesterday, Al-Jazeera reported a “mass defection” of Sudanese troops to South Sudan after their refusal to attack the Kadar oilfield in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state over the weekend. According to Southern People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer Panyang, they defected with “full equipment, ten vehicles, seven mounted with heavy machine guns including… Read.

  • Do we understand perceptions of U.S. military involvement in Africa?

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    Earlier this week, The Independent published an interview with Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, “Somalia, Museveni, and Militarising the Region.” The interview was a good read and confirmed many of my suspicions of Uganda’s (read: President Museveni’s) perception of the country’s role in regional security. However, I was slightly annoyed at his allusions to the U.S.… Read.

  • Maybe ECOWAS isn’t the solution to Mali’s political crisis

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    After last month’s “transition” to civilian rule, the military junta’s statements undermining the spirit of said transition, the subsequent arrests of key political, military, and business leaders, and this week’s attempted counter-coup in Mali, it occurred to me that perhaps ECOWAS isn’t capable of providing a solution to Mali’s political crisis. Sure, ECOWAS was able to put a… Read.

  • “South Sudan Will Infect You”

    As a group of us sat around a table at our Kenyan-run hotel compound in Rumbek, southern Sudan last spring, my friend, an academic from South Sudan spoke of the droves of people who had passed through South Sudan over the years – politicians, diplomats, aid workers, researchers (like myself). We all kept coming back. Some… Read.

  • North Africa and the Sahel: Implications of the Arab Awakening (CNA Conference Report)

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    In February, CNA’s Center for Strategic Studies and McDaniel College co-hosted a conference to examine recent developments in North Africa in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and their implications for U.S. policy in that part of the world. The day-long conference included presentations by U.S. government officials and recognized experts on this part of the world from universities,… Read.

Official White House Photo by Polly Irungu