Author: King Jaja

Dear Friend of Africa.com, I wear many hats, including having the privilege of serving on the Human Rights Watch Africa Advisory Board. Today, Human Rights Watch published a milestone report on Rwanda. It is important to me, personally, and in my capacity at Africa.com, to use all of my platforms to ensure that that as many people in influential positions, like the readers of Africa.com, are aware of the years-long investigation that Human Rights Watch conducted, including interviews with over 150 people, to expose violent oppression undertaken by the Rwandan government to silence its critics abroad. HRW also produced several videos,…

The militaries in six West African countries—Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, and Gabon—decided relatively recently to remove civilian governments given the deteriorating security situation in the region. They achieved their goals separately by deploying relatively little force, instead seeking legitimation in a political vacuum that has been widening for more than a decade in parts of West and Central Africa. As I argued in my previous article, the escalation of local and regional conflicts should be viewed in the context of the disintegration of the post-World War II global hegemonic system dominated by the United States and its Western…

In Ghana, Christian nationalism is a significant religious and political ideology. Many of its proponents are Pentecostals or Charismatics, who seek changes in public policy to build God’s kingdom on earth, that is, a Christianised state. Critics believe this poses a serious threat to national cohesion as it vilifies those who have different religious or cultural beliefs. This includes the 20 per cent of Ghanaians who are Muslim, the 5 per cent of the population who are followers of African traditional religions, and Ghana’s LGBTQ+ community. Ghana is not the only African country affected by Christian nationalism. Zambia was declared…

This week on the Africa Is a Country podcast, we discuss the politics and spectacle of African football with Maher Mezahi. Senegal wins the African Cup of Nations, 2022. Image credit Jean Pierre Kepseu via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed. Last week, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the hosts for the 2025 and 2027 African Cup of Nations. Morocco won the right to host the 2025 tournament, while the triumvirate of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda will host the 2027 edition. Meanwhile, the 2023 edition of the biennial competition, was originally meant to happen in June/July of this…

Just before you sleep and receive with joy the new month, we at Glamcityz just thought of awarding you with a little something to remember the ninth month with. Just a bit of glitz here and a bit of glam there, we bring you the queen of charisma, or rather the princess, because this young star has got it all and isn’t waiting a bit to let us catch up with her. this is none but the Star of the 2019 movie hit, Marsai Caila Martin of “Little”. Caila also featured in top productions like Mixed-ish, Black-ish, Spirit Untamed, PAW-Patrol,…

In November 2022, barely six months before the expiration of his term of office, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike doubled the number of his Special Assistants on Political Affairs from an already staggering 100,000 to an incredulous 200,000. At the inauguration ceremony of the additional 100, 000 appointees, Wike justified the move as the “implementation of the policy of stomach infrastructure” aimed at “putting money in the hands” of his constituents. 200,000 special assistants may have been an outlier (for Wike’s critics, it was a disguise for a personal militia, albeit raised at taxpayer expense, intended to intimidate political opponents),…

You have attended many UN General Assembly events. How would you describe your experience this year? When I first attended UNGA in 2018, I came primarily to introduce myself and let people know of the work I intended to undertake. I wanted to garner as much support as possible because, when it comes to gender issues, collaboration beyond one’s own country is crucial.  Now, five years later, I believe I have formed reliable partnerships. I have individuals who are receptive to my advocacy and to what I have been advocating for. I think this validation has been significant for me…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Sunday night presented Howard University with a replacement Oscar for Hattie McDaniel’s 1940 best supporting actress award. McDaniel was the first Black person to win an Oscar for her supporting performance as Mammy in the 1939 classic “Gone with the Wind.” McDaniel subsequently bequeathed her Oscar to the university before her death in 1952. The award was displayed in the school’s drama department up until the late 1960s when it mysteriously disappeared. “For a young aspiring artist, a student, a would-be actress, being able to see that every day was an…

Faithful God is a book the Reformed community in South Africa—and beyond—doesn’t know it needs. Asking someone who identifies as Reformed what that means, their answer will usually include the doctrines of grace as summarised in the five solas. However, throughout Faithful God, Antonio Coppola helps us understand that historically Reformed theology is best understood as covenant theology. As he puts it, “in many ways Reformed theology is covenant theology” (p12). South Africa has a sad history with a certain unbiblical expression of covenant theology. Admittedly, South Africa has a sad history with a certain unbiblical expression of covenant theology…