In many African traditions, cloth carries memory in its very weave. Scholars of material culture, from Karin Barber to Victoria Rovine, remind us that fabric is more than textile. It is a mnemonic device, a bearer of stories, a chronicle of lives lived. An indigo-dyed wrapper in Abeokuta recalls not only a woman’s daily labour but also a lineage of hands that stirred the dye, stamped the resist patterns, and passed the cloth down through generations. Anthropologists argue that where memory falters, cloth endures. It remembers for us.In Nigeria, adiré, akwete, and aso-oke are archives. A grandmother’s wrapper bears the…
Author: King Jaja
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We love the word “Synergy” at Iconic Africa; the combination of things being greater than the sum of their parts. This is essentially what took place at the event we recently hosted at Kruger Untamed Tshokwane River Camp, where over R1 000 000 was raised for the Tracker Academy. Over 60 friends and business associates from multiple walks of life across South Africa (and even some from as far away as London!) descended upon South Africa’s most iconic National Park for a weekend of tracking, bush immersions, wine tasting and all round fun, and left with far more than they…
Africa Confidential’s reporting and analysis is valued by a wide range of organisations and individuals: from corporate executives, country risk analysts, national politicians and members of the diplomatic corps, to intelligence operatives, academics, journalists and NGO personnel. Here’s what our readers say about us: “If you want the detail and you want the dirt, the little blue newsletter [Africa Confidential] that drops through your letter box is like having your own private spook who knows Africa inside out and who’s also one hell of a gossip.”Jonathan Miller, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Channel 4 News, London, UK “Since the demise of reporting…
A 0.5 mg Ozempic injection pen is displayed in Lisbon, Portugal, August 1, 2025. /CFP Read 3 minutesAt first, it looked like just another trend sweeping Kenya’s restless social media scene. Celebrities and influencers posting slimmer silhouettes, pairing before-and-after collages with candid confessions about a once little-known drug: Ozempic. Influencers lead the charge Lydia Wanjiru, a lifestyle content creator with a devoted following, is among the most outspoken. In one video on her YouTube channel, she described how the injections helped her shed over 10 kilograms in a matter of months. “When I started Ozempic…I was exactly 100 kgs. As…
8 Aug 2025 PREVIEW The country’s shrewdest political strategist has to contend with multiple schisms in the 36 states On most measures, President Bola Tinubu has emphatically improved the position of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Nigeria – despite the unpopularity of many of its economic policies. It controls two-thirds of the state parliaments in the 36-state federation, and it has boosted its numbers in the National Assembly to give it a comfortable majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (AC Vol 66 No 9, Tinubu exudes confidence as opposition starts to…
School calendar and CHAN tournamentSchools in Kenya follow a fixed academic calendar published by the Ministry of Education. Schools closed for the holidays on 1 August after the end of term two. According to the 2025 calendar, the third term started on 25 August and will end on 24 October, with national exams following thereafter.At the same time, Kenya is hosting the 2024 African Nations Championship, also known as CHAN, alongside Tanzania and Uganda. The games have been taking place in different cities across the three countries since 2 August 2025. The competition is set to end on 30 August, with the final game scheduled…
In France, the word noir can feel like a provocation. Meant to describe Blackness in polite terms, it is more typically whispered in hushed tones with blushing cheeks—or altogether replaced with the English term black delivered in a heavy French accent, as if the foreign word might soften its political charge. Race is something to be hinted at, not spoken out loud. And yet, when it was announced in 2020 that Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Les Dix Petits Nègres would finally be retitled Ils étaient dix (“They were ten”), the backlash was swift and loud. Suddenly, nègre—France’s equivalent to the…
The head of a Malagasy king killed by French troops during a colonial-era war has been formally returned to Madagascar.The handover of King Toera’s skull – and those of two other members of his court – took place at a ceremony at the culture ministry in Paris. The skulls had been brought to France at the end of the 19th century and stored at the Museum of Natural History in the French capital. It is the first use of a new law meant to expedite the return of human remains from collections in France. “These skulls entered the national collections…
According to the foreign affairs ministry on Thursday, Uganda and the United States have reached an agreement to accept third-country individuals who may not be granted asylum in the United States but are hesitant to return to their home countries. The administration of President Donald Trump has attempted to boost removals to third nations, including sending convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini, in an effort to deport millions of immigrants who entered the US illegally. The ministry’s permanent secretary, Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, issued a statement stating that “this is a temporary arrangement with conditions, including that individuals with criminal…
In Summary One North African country now has over 99% of its population identifying as Muslim, according to its 2024 census.West Africa’s Sahel nations are driving Africa’s fastest growth in Islamic finance, with record Sukuk issuances in 2025.New education reforms in majority-Muslim regions are reducing illiteracy rates that were among Africa’s highest a decade ago.Deep Dive!!Lagos, Nigeria Monday, August 25 – Islam is one of the most practiced religions in Africa, with deep roots that trace back over a thousand years through trans-Saharan trade, migration, and the spread of scholarship. More than forty percent of Africans identify as Muslim, with concentrations…