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Africa Update for December 2019
Welcome to the latest edition of Africa Update! We’ve got the competitive rollerbladers of eastern DRC, the Nairobi governor’s prison break, African women on boards, the health threats of kids’...
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Nairobi photos
Here are some of my recent favorites from Nairobi. As always, more photos are at my Instagram and Flickr. Kilimani views Loved this piece from Evans Mbugua, featured in Kenya Airways’ in-flight...
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When do Bus Rapid Transit systems make congestion worse?
A bus station in central Jakarta, via Wikipedia That’s the question posed by a recent(ish) VoxDev article by Arya Gaduh, Tadeja Gračna, and Alexander Rothenburg. They studied this topic in Jakarta,...
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The Kenya-Uganda dairy war continues
Ugandan farmer Simeo Ntawuruhunga stands next to one of his dairy cows (via USAID) For two countries nominally in the same free trade area, Kenya and Uganda spend a lot of time squabbling about...
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Mothers of Victims and Survivors of Extrajudicial Killings network to launch...
If you’re in Nairobi on Saturday, February 15, stop by the launch of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors network at the Mathare Social Justice Centre from 10 am – 1 pm. They’re asking for attendance...
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What’s driving the locust crisis in East Africa?
Mapping the spread of locusts, via The Independent East Africa is currently dealing with giant swarms of locusts, which will descend on an area and eat huge amounts of vegetation before moving on to...
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Africa Update for February 2020
Here’s the latest edition of Africa Update! We’ve got 1.4 million resumes to review in Nigeria, the (possible) end of tsetse flies, Kenya’s first online archive of LGBT+ life, anti-colonial acronyms,...
View ArticleInteresting academic articles for February 2020
Here’s what I’m looking forward to reading this month! Kobina Aidoo and Ryan Briggs. 2019. “Underpowered: Rolling blackouts in Africa disproportionately hurt the poor.” African Studies Review....
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What’s the risk of coronavirus in Kenya and Uganda?
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has marched through China and Europe, Uganda has avoided any cases to date, and Kenya has only had three cases. Like everyone else in the region, I’ve been...
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East African rail networks of the future
The Africa Report has a good piece on regional investments in rail networks across East Africa. Progress was already slow, and will likely stall entirely due to coronavirus for some time. But here’s...
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Africa Update for April 2020
Here’s the latest edition of Africa Update. I’m going to guarantee you a nearly coronavirus-free edition, because I collect links for the newsletter over the course of roughly a month and can’t put it...
View ArticleCash transfers for coronavirus relief in Kenya
If you’re looking to support coronavirus relief efforts in Kenya, you already know that I feel cash transfers are the best way to help people. I wanted to highlight three organizations that are doing...
View ArticleSnapshots of coronavirus response in Kenya and Senegal
Two interesting new sets of polling data have recently come out about pandemic response in Kenya (from the Population Council) and Senegal (from the Center for Global Development). Here are some key...
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Africa Update for May 2020
The latest edition of Africa Update is out! We’ve got mental health in Ghana, home brewing in South Africa, vintage Somali May Day celebrations, Nigerian digital art, and more. Photos from last year’s...
View ArticleInteresting academic articles for June 2020
Here’s what I’ve been looking forward to reading this month! Ola Olsson, Maria Eriksson Baaz, and Peter Martinsson. 2020. “Fiscal capacity in ‘post’-conflict states: Evidence from trade on Congo...
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The Mawazo Institute’s statement on systematic racism
The Mawazo Institute has recently released a statement on the need to address intersectional and structural violence against black Americans, Africans, and women around the world. I’m so proud of the...
View ArticleInteresting academic articles for September 2020
After a bit of a blogging hiatus, I’m back! Here are the recent articles that I’m looking forward to reading. James Habyarimana, Ken Ochieng’ Opalo, and Youdi Schipper. 2020. “The Cyclical Electoral...
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“Tuna Haki Pia / We Also Have Rights”: living with disability in Nairobi
The Mathare Social Justice Centre has a new report out on the experiences of people with disabilities in Nairobi’s poor neighborhoods. The summary findings from a survey of 82 disabled people are...
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Launch event for “They Were Us: Stories of Victims and Survivors of Police...
The Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network and Missing Voices are launching a new book titled “They Were Us,” tomorrow at Lava Latte from 11 am – 4 pm. As MVSN describes the book: [They Were Us]...
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Africa Update for October 2021
The latest edition of Africa Update is out! We’ve got Africa’s 100 largest cities, debates on gun policy in Nigeria, 13 films on the queer African experience, an ambitious plan to refill Lake Chad,...
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