Since mid-June, militias have terrorised Lamu and Tana River counties, killing more than 80 people and leaving a trail of destruction. Local opportunists may be behind less grave incidents, but the evidence from Mpeketoni, Hindi, and elsewhere points to Al-Shabaab armed and trained militants. A close examination of the events reveals two other critical points. … Continue reading
Since publishing my essay, Toward a Better Understanding of Boko Haram, I have received some feedback, with respondents raising questions and issues they feel merit further exploration, explanation, context, and elaboration. One of these issues is the question of whether or not Boko Haram rose out of societal problems supposedly caused by Western education — corruption, poverty, and poor governance, or whether in fact these problems are traceable to Western education as Boko Haram claims. In this post, I respond to these and other issues. Continue reading
On June 30, South African President Jacob Zuma signed legislation re-opening the process of land restitution in South Africa. After the democratic transition in 1994, the South African government had made plans to compensate people who had been forcibly removed from their land, because of the racist land policies enacted in the twentieth century. Land in South Africa is about more than just economics. It is about homes and history, identity and justice. But it might also be time to think beyond land redistribution and towards other kinds of economic restitution. Continue reading
The Africa Collective 