Editor's note

Cameroonians are set to go to the polls tomorrow to vote in parliamentary and municipal elections. It’s been a torrid few years for the central African nation. In 2017 tensions soared between people in the country’s English-speaking regions and their French-speaking counterparts. Since then the violence has claimed many lives and there’s no sign of the conflict abating. Gabriel Ngah Kiven and Cheryl Hendricks argue that the polls won’t make any difference. Lasting solutions will only be found if opposition parties present a united front against President Paul Biya.

Daniel arap Moi was Kenya’s president from 1978 to 2002. He died this week aged 95. Moi is widely held responsible for a regime that bore witness to violence and corruption. Gabrielle Lynch looks at Moi’s path to power and maps the kind of leader he became.

Julie Masiga

Peace + Security Editor

A woman casts her ballot during Cameroon’s 2018 presidential elections. Nic Bothma/EPA

Why upcoming polls in Cameroon won’t end the violence

Gabriel Ngah Kiven, University of Johannesburg; Cheryl Hendricks, Human Sciences Research Council

Many believe that it is only a return to the country's two-state federation that will end the conflict and break the impasse.

Daniel Arap Moi Wikimedia

Daniel arap Moi: the making of a Kenyan ‘big man’

Gabrielle Lynch, University of Warwick

Moi’s financial generosity, skills in the vernacular, frequent tours of the countryside, and excellent memory for names and faces kept him popular with many.

New leader is changing Angola. But the end destination isn’t clear

Claudia Gastrow, University of Johannesburg

The Dos Santos family and their supporters claim they are the objects of political persecution.

Locust invasions are cyclical: African states shouldn’t be caught napping

Cyril Piou, Cirad

The best way of dealing with desert locust, as other locust species, is to adopt a preventive management strategy.

Santu Mofokeng: master photographer who chased down shadows

Patricia Hayes, University of the Western Cape

No South African photographer leaves a more substantial legacy than Santu Mofokeng. He was adept at mapping interior worlds through haunting images of black life and, above all, his landscapes.

We found a way to trap stable flies: their dung preferences helped us

Christopher Weldon, University of Pretoria

Savvy female stable flies prefer to lay their eggs on donkey and sheep dung. Knowing where they choose to do this will help us manage disease.

Nigeria’s young cricketers surprised at the World Cup – now to build on that

Babatunde Samson Adebayo, University of Ilorin

Nigeria is not known as a cricketing nation, yet its Under-19 team qualified for the World Cup. What is secret of their sudden success?

Pasha 52: Taking a look at healthy food in South Africa

Ozayr Patel, The Conversation

Healthy food is fresh food and it needs to be made affordable for everyone.

 
 
 
 

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