|
One evening in February, a wildlife research team in a park in Uganda filmed a new record: two African lions swimming further than a kilometre. Besides this unusually long distance, the lions also had to contend with hippos and crocodiles, which are known to attack the big cats. Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Christopher J. O'Bryan, Duan Biggs and Robynne Kotze explain that the swim wasn’t just a remarkable show of strength. It was also a symptom of a deeper
problem: male lions having to take extraordinary risks to find lionesses.
Vulindlela was a 1997 song by Brenda Fassie, South African pop star, national sweetheart and bad girl. It marked a comeback for Fassie, rocketing her to the top of the charts with a wedding theme that also celebrated the mood of a newly democratic South Africa. Mbali Mazibuko argues the song holds greater political significance today than a listener might think.
|
|
Julius Maina
Regional Editor East Africa
|
|
Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Griffith University; Christopher J. O'Bryan, Maastricht University; Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University; Robynne Kotze, University of Oxford
Male lions are making the risky swims, braving crocodiles and hippos, so as to find females.
|
Mbali Mazibuko, University of Johannesburg
Released in 1997, Vulindlela reflects the optimism of a democratic South Africa – but Fassie’s ‘bad girl’ image also asks who is really welcome in this new society.
|
Arts, Culture + Society
|
John Nakuta, University of Namibia
In Namibia it’s a criminal offence for men to have sex with men – but the high court has overturned this as unconstitutional. The state will no doubt appeal.
|
|
|
-
Neil Roos, University of Fort Hare
Ordinary Whites in Apartheid South Africa is a new book that explores how apartheid monitored and shaped white life, and how all classes of white people were complicit.
|
|
Politics
|
Awino Okech, SOAS, University of London
Significant transitions in Kenya have occurred through the voices of the masses rather than formal political structures.
|
|
|
-
Khalid Siddig, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Rob Vos, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
There is a high risk of famine in multiple regions of Sudan if immediate action is not taken.
-
Morgan Wack, Clemson University
The methods used to manipulate perceptions and hold on to power in Africa are getting increasingly sophisticated.
-
Adejuwon Soyinka, The Conversation
Scholars explain recent developments in Ecowas and the implications for the region.
|
|
Climate
|
Kaitano Dube, Vaal University of Technology
South Africa’s game reserves, tourist parks, chalets and ocean activities are being disrupted by extreme weather. To protect livelihoods, urban planning needs to adapt to climate change fast.
|
|
|
-
Vuyisile Moyo, University of Cape Town
Smallholder farmers in Gwanda, rural Zimbabwe face droughts and rising temperatures from climate change. Their environment is also being damaged by artisanal gold miners, new research has found.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Seth Kofi Debrah, University of Ghana
Ghana looks in the direction of nuclear power for help in achieving its industrial ambitions while contributing to the fight against climate change.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
Tom Moultrie, University of Cape Town; Rob Dorrington, University of Cape Town
The data collected for South Africa’s 2022 census should be used with caution.
|
|
|
-
Astrid R.N. Haas, University of Toronto
African countries are urbanising fast but without investment in public infrastructure and services, resulting in congestion, contagion and the rise of informal settlements.
|
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Lilian Dudley, Stellenbosch University; Catherine Mathews, South African Medical Research Council; Flavia Senkubuge, University of Pretoria; Guinevere Lourens, Stellenbosch University; Leslie London, University of Cape Town; Sharon Fonn, University of the Witwatersrand
Much needs to be done to improve governance of South Africa’s health system. Eight recommendations provide a guide to what needs to be prioritised.
-
Candi Nwakasi, University of Connecticut
Nigeria will experience a relative increase in cancer incidence by 2040
|
|
| |
|
|
18 July 2024
•
Johannesburg
|
|
18 - 19 July 2024
•
Bellville
|
|
25 July 2024
•
Johannesburg
|
|
26 July 2024
•
Johannesburg
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Would you like to republish any of these articles?
|
|
It’s free to republish, here are the guidelines.
Contact us on africa-republish@theconversation.com in case you need assistance.
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
