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February 26, 2026

Dance scenes in South African rock art: a closer look at ritual, music and movement

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Joshua Kumbani, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Tübingen

Rock art is widespread across southern Africa and includes a wide range of depictions such as human figures, animals, dots, handprints, and other painted or engraved imagery on rock surfaces. The rock art tradition of paintings was made by San hunter gatherers over thousands of years.

The first dance scenes in southern African rock art were documented 100 years ago. But there’s been some confusion as to whether certain scenes could indeed be interpreted as a dance.

Dance can be simply defined as intentional and organised bodily movement. It also functions as an expression of mood and a form of nonverbal communication. In southern African cultures, dance is also performed during moments of celebration and in ritual contexts. Sometimes dancers go into a trance.

Scholars in the past have interpreted the dances in San rock art as ritual dances, mainly trance dances. But ethnography (the study of living people) points to the fact that San communities also danced for leisure and entertainment. Hence the need to systematically examine and categorise dancing scenes in the rock art.

We are archaeologists with a special interest in sound and music in rock art. In a recent study, we examined selected dancing scenes in rock art from four of South Africa’s provinces: the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. The aim was to categorise the different types of dances depicted and to explore whether all dancing scenes represent ritual performances or whether some might reflect entertainment or leisure activities.

We concluded that some of the performances depicted were likely undertaken for leisure and enjoyment rather than ritual purposes.

We hope that our study provides a way to categorise dancing scenes in San rock art. This framework can be refined and expanded by future researchers working in music archaeology, the study of sound and its effects, or the iconographic analysis of musical instruments and dance imagery (working out what the images mean). This kind of research also helps people appreciate their music heritage from the past.

Sources and categories

Our article examined selected dancing scenes through a literature review and by consulting the African Rock Art Digital Archive database curated by the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand.

We consulted foundational works on rock art by pioneers George Stow and Dorothea Bleek (1930), and by more recent scholars such as Patricia Vinnicombe and David Lewis-Williams. Ethnographic accounts by Lorna Marshall (1969, 1976), Richard Katz (1982) and Megan Biesele (1993) of dance among San communities in the Kalahari (Botswana) and Nyae Nyae (Namibia) regions further informed our analysis.

We identified three broad categories of dances in the ethnographic records: ritual dances, circumstantial dances, and entertainment dances. Some circumstantial dances were performed to celebrate a successful hunt, while entertainment dances included those celebrating a newlywed couple, as well as dances done simply for fun and games by boys and girls.

We therefore argue that dancing scenes in the archaeological record should be examined critically: not all of them depict rituals.

Six points of identification

To systematically identify dancing scenes, we applied six analytical attributes:

body postures, including bent figures, outstretched arms and flexed legs
paraphernalia held by dancers, such as sticks, rattles or headgear
interaction between dancers
evidence of synchrony (moving in unison)
direction of movement
the gender of the figures represented.

In the following section, we provide examples of different kinds of dances in rock art and suggest how they may be interpreted on the basis of ethnographic information.

Ritual dances

Our study identified several ritual dances depicted in the rock art, including the trance or medicine dance. (An example is the Attakwas Kloof dance image above, from a site in the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape.) This is one of the most widespread dances among San communities. It is a communal healing practice in which medicine men, believed to possess healing powers, treat the sick through touch and dispel harmful spirits or misfortune.

During the trance dance, men dance while women sing and clap in accompaniment. Some of the male dancers serve as healers. The dancers move in a circular pattern, stamping their feet until a shallow furrow forms on the ground. Prolonged dancing induces an altered state of consciousness, during which healers may fall or collapse as they enter trance.

In South Africa, several forms of trance dance are depicted in the rock art. These scenes typically show clapping female figures accompanying male dancers, who are often shown bending forward. In some images, however, the clapping figures are absent, and only the dancers are represented.

Ethnographic accounts (for example, Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd, 1911: 190) note that leg rattles are commonly used during trance dances to produce a sharp, rhythmic vibration, yet these rattles are not frequently depicted in the rock art. A notable exception comes from the Halstone site in the Eastern Cape (above), where several dancers are shown wearing leg rattles. Some figures balance on dancing sticks and appear to be in an altered state of consciousness, or in a trance.

Female initiation rituals that are accompanied by eland dances, performed during the first menstruation rite, also appear in the rock art.

The women mimic the moves of the female eland, a spiritually important animal. These dances are performed only by women, usually in a secluded space. The dancers move in a circle while bending forward, and the ceremony celebrates a girl’s first menstruation. This interpretation is supported by ethnographic research conducted among San communities in Botswana and Namibia by anthropologists such as Marshall and Biesele.

Other ritual dances depicted in the rock art include boys’ initiation ceremonies, commonly known as the Tshoma. This dance marks the transition from boyhood to manhood and is performed exclusively by males. The ethnographic accounts mentioned above indicate that these ceremonies take place in secluded areas away from the main camp.

We identified some other dance scenes at G3 Site II (Vinnicombe 1976) (below) as possibly circumstantial or leisure dances and we suggested that this could have well been the case for the performance depicted at Witsieshoek (bottom).

It is likely that, because of their non-ritual nature, circumstantial or leisure dances – which ethnographic literature suggests were very common – were only rarely depicted in paintings.

This article is part of the ERC Artsoundscapes project (Grant Agreement No. 787842) that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. PI: Margarita Díaz-Andreu.

Joshua Kumbani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Dance scenes in South African rock art: a closer look at ritual, music and movement – https://theconversation.com/dance-scenes-in-south-african-rock-art-a-closer-look-at-ritual-music-and-movement-275489

February 26, 2026

Prophets and profits: the art of the sell in Shepherd Bushiri’s YouTube sermons

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ambrose Kolawole Dada, Research Assistant, Media and Communication, Nelson Mandela University

In a widely viewed YouTube sermon called 3 Types of Keys, a preacher, dressed in a sky blue Italian suit, holds a microphone and speaks with great assurance about spiritual matters. Prophet Shepherd Bushiri is telling his audience that their financial struggles are not accidental.

He warns that business, marriage or social standing can easily crumble if believers don’t pay their tithes to the church every month – 10% of their earnings. This message is not presented as advice, but as divine instruction.

Bushiri is one of the most influential and controversial Pentecostal prophets to emerge from southern Africa in the digital age. As journalist Pumza Fihlani writes:

This is a man who says he has cured people of HIV, made the blind see, changed the fortunes of the impoverished and, on at least one occasion, appeared to walk on air.

The growth of African evangelical movements has often been associated with self-styled pastors taking advantage of Africans who are already vulnerable. Their lives are characterised by socioeconomic failures of government, inadequate healthcare systems, beliefs in supernatural forces, and corruption-driven inequalities.

In recent years, Bushiri has been involved in a series of legal battles – including charges of financial crimes and sexual assault – leading to his exit from South Africa to Malawi, where he was born.

His sermons continue to reach masses of worshippers online, with 794,000 subscribers on YouTube alone at the time of writing. He says he has two million registered congregants today.

As media and communication scholars who are interested in religious communication, we analysed what his sermons can tell us about why his online presence is so successful.

We found that, like other rhetoric (persuasive language, for example by politicians or advertisers), his YouTube sermons are carefully framed narratives that promote ideas about faith, authority and prosperity. They strengthen the pastor’s personal influence over his audience and, at the same time, build his brand.

Who is Shepherd Bushiri?

Bushiri – called Major 1 by his followers – is the founder of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church. He rose to prominence in the 2010s through TV broadcasts and social media (he has 5.8 million followers on Facebook alone), presenting himself as a prophet with supernatural insight.

His ministry expanded rapidly across Africa and among Africans living overseas. Reports claim that Bushiri is one of the richest pastors in Africa. His ministry reflects what has been described as “prophetpreneurship” – the strategic blending of prophecy, charisma and business.

These descriptions raise interesting questions. How are prophetic authority and prosperity communicated to followers? And what role does digital media play in sustaining this influence?

Sermons as communication

To answer these questions, we turned to Bushiri’s YouTube sermons. Video-sharing platforms play a central role in African Christianity today. YouTube has the capacity to boost religious audiences. Sermons are watched on mobile devices, replayed repeatedly and shared across borders, often outside formal church spaces.

Rather than evaluating Bushiri’s teachings as “true” or “false”, our study focused on how his sermons communicate meaning. Sermons function as public communication. Like political speeches or advertising, they’re designed to persuade, inspire and guide behaviour.

We used Critical Discourse Analysis, a research method that examines language to uncover underlying messages about power, authority and values. This was supported by framing theory, which explains how speakers present issues through storylines. A frame is simply the angle through which a message is communicated.

Four dominant themes

The analysis identified four recurring frames in a selection of 10 of Bushiri’s YouTube sermons.

1. Paying to pray

It’s a human aspiration to want to prosper. In Bushiri’s 3 Types of Keys sermon, human prosperity is closely tied to financial giving, emphasising that God requires the “whole tithe”.

South African theologian Mookgo Solomon Kgatle argues this emphasis resembles a money cult. While the Bible has references to tithing, interpretation and context are crucial. When money is a condition for divine favour, faith risks becoming about moneymaking rather than spirituality.

2. Self-positioning

In the sermon Exposure to the Spiritual World, Bushiri claims:

The spirit of God is in your nostrils; if I can breathe on you, you will see the power of God.

This teaching seems rather simplistic, and shifts focus to the self-positioning of Bushiri as a super prophet whose very breath has spiritual power.

Scholars have noted that such practices, common among new prophetic churches, can oversimplify or misrepresent spiritual truths. Despite their emotional appeal, these teachings risk misleading followers by elevating a prophet’s opinion over the scripture and established Christian tradition.

3. Building the brand

Self-branding is common in business, but in religious contexts it can be intensified. Bushiri repeatedly presents himself as a channel of divine blessings, with what he calls his “contract-winning touch”.

He recounts testimonies from international visitors who said, “Papa touched me and the contract came.” He claims that when he touches someone, he leaves a spiritual “substance” on them.

This framing encourages dependency on him. Personal contact is a drawcard for those seeking jobs or “healing” from illness.

4. Media strategy

Digital media has allowed more people to have access to more religious content, but it also raises ethical concerns. Scholars have argued that media-mediated spiritual encounters can blur the line between what’s real and what’s a performance.

In The Perfect Will of God, Bushiri claims that physical distance does not limit spiritual connection. He claims he can anoint people through the screen.

Televised images of new prophet church leaders are often carefully constructed to project success and extraordinary spiritual power, reinforcing their authority. Bushiri, for example, once made headlines for apparently raising a man from the dead.

The role of YouTube

Digital platforms intensify these frames. On YouTube, sermons can be consumed privately, without immediate discussion or challenge from a physical faith community. Emotional moments – prophecies, miracles and dramatic testimonies – are rewarded by likes and comments, and can be enhanced by controversies.

Followers affirm their faith and loyalty in a video’s comments. Over time, this creates a sense of a global spiritual community centred on a single individual.

Digital religion is not only about spreading faith. It is also about expanding influence and, in some cases, monetising belief.

Why this matters

Religion plays a vital role in African societies, offering hope, identity and belonging. But religion, like all forms of communication, is not neutral. It is designed to achieve particular aims. Recognising this does not mean dismissing faith; it means engaging with it critically and responsibly.

For audiences navigating online spaces, learning to recognise persuasive strategies, religious or otherwise, is increasingly important.

Understanding how religious messages are framed can help believers make informed choices and encourage healthier forms of accountability in religious leadership.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Prophets and profits: the art of the sell in Shepherd Bushiri’s YouTube sermons – https://theconversation.com/prophets-and-profits-the-art-of-the-sell-in-shepherd-bushiris-youtube-sermons-276277

February 26, 2026

Morocco: ancient fossils shed light on a key period in human evolution

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Mohib Abderrahim, Chercheur en Préhistoire et conservateur principal des Monuments et Sites, Institut national des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine in Rabat

Could a Moroccan cave hold a crucial piece of the puzzle of human origins? Hominin fossils dating back 773,000 years discovered in the country are bringing new evidence to the debate about the last common ancestor of present-day humans (Homo sapiens), Neanderthals and Denisovans. The discovery points to a long evolutionary history in north Africa, much earlier than modern Homo sapiens. It also supports Africa’s central role in the major stages that shaped the human species.

Abderrahim Mohib is a prehistoric archaeologist, heritage curator, and associate professor and researcher at the National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage in Rabat. He’s one of the authors of a recent study that explains the significance of the discovery.

What did you discover and why does it matter?

Excavations have been underway since 1994 in the Hominid Cave at the Thomas Quarry I, south-west of the city of Casablanca in Morocco. A research programme called Prehistory of Casablanca working at the site is led by Morocco’s National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The team has unearthed hominin fossils along with thousands of animal remains and around 300 artefacts made of quartzite and flint. The site looks like it was a den for large carnivores. This is supported by a hominin femur showing bite marks from a large carnivore, likely a hyena.

In addition to the femur, the set of hominin remains includes a nearly complete adult jaw, half of another adult jaw, a young child’s jawbone, cervical and thoracic vertebrae, and several teeth.

This discovery is significant. It sheds new light on a key period in human evolution. Fossils from this period are very scarce in Africa, Europe and Asia. These remains help document little-known populations between early Homo species and the more recent lineages. They are the oldest hominin fossils ever found in Morocco with a clear and reliable date.

All known human fossils at the Moroccan sites. Author provided (no reuse)
Fourni par l’auteur

In addition, the site is adjacent to another, older, site named Unit L in the same quarry. This site covers more than 1,000 square metres and dates back to 1.3 million years ago. It documents the oldest human occupation in Morocco. It is linked to the Acheulean material culture in north-west Africa.

How old are these early humans and how did you date them so accurately?

These fossils found in Casablanca were dated to around 773,000 years, using palaeomagnetism, the study of the Earth’s ancient magnetic field.

The sediments in Grottes à Hominidés have recorded changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. With very high-resolution sampling (every 2cm) we were able to identify the last geomagnetic reversal from a reverse polarity (Matuyama) to a normal polarity (Brunhes). This means that we have identified a period when the Earth’s magnetic field flipped. And that is a natural event that serves as a marker for dating geological and archaeological layers.

This reversal is a very solid and widely accepted chronological marker. What is extraordinary is that our fossil remains date precisely to the time of the reversal. This offers one of the most reliable datings of hominin fossils from the Pleistocene era (starting about 2.58 million years ago and often called the “Ice Age”). These data are consistent with the geological setting and palaeontological remains.

How does this change our understanding of modern human evolution?

The Casablanca fossils come from a time when Homo erectus spread out of Africa. It was also a time when older groups of hominins like the Australopithecus and Paranthropus died out.

In terms of shapes and features, the fossils show a mix of archaic traits typical of Homo erectus and more advanced traits closely related to Homo sapiens. They also fill an important gap in the African fossil record. Palaeogenetic data suggest a split between the African lineage to Homo sapiens and the Eurasian lineages that later produced the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.

The unique combination of primitive and more evolved features suggests that these individuals were in a population that lived close in time to this split.

This Moroccan population can be described as having advanced traits of Homo erectus. It has more evolved traits than older Homo erectus fossils found in Africa and Asia. But it lacks the full modern features seen in Neanderthals or anatomically modern Homo sapiens.

Until now, the fossils of Homo antecessor unearthed at the Gran Dolina site in Atapuerca, Spain were the only ones to show Homo sapiens-like traits. The fossils from the Grotte à Hominidés offer a new perspective.

They open up the possibility of an evolutionary link with the oldest known Homo sapiens fossils – those from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, dated to around 315,000 years ago. These discoveries help clarify the emergence of the Homo sapiens lineage while reinforcing the idea that its deep roots are African.

So, based on their mix of archaic and derived traits, these finds support the deep African roots of Homo sapiens but also point to an African population close to the split between Eurasian and African lineages in the Middle Pleistocene.

Why is north Africa, and Morocco in particular, so important?

North-west Africa, along with east and southern Africa, represents one of the key regions where we currently have a new window into the evolution of Pleistocene hominins. The Mediterranean Sea likely acted as a major biogeographical barrier. It contributed to the divergence between African and Eurasian populations.

The Sahara desert’s size changed over time. It probably shaped how African populations were structured. The Moroccan fossils confirm how ancient and deep our species’ roots are in Africa. They highlight the key role of north-west Africa in the major stages of human evolution.

Mohib Abderrahim is Researcher in Prehistory and Chief Curator of Monuments and Sites, National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage in Rabat.

– ref. Morocco: ancient fossils shed light on a key period in human evolution – https://theconversation.com/morocco-ancient-fossils-shed-light-on-a-key-period-in-human-evolution-275099

February 25, 2026

Disability and access to justice in four African countries: strong laws, weak in practice

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Azwihangwisi Judith Mphidi, Adjunct Academic, University of South Africa

South Africa has a reputation as one of the most progressive countries on the African continent when it comes to disability rights.

It has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and adopted laws aimed at protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

But is it truly a disability-friendly country, especially within its criminal justice system?

This question forms the core of recent research. In it I examined South Africa’s disability-friendliness in the justice system, drawing comparative insights from Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.

I am a researcher with a focus on policing, criminal justice and social justice.

A pattern emerged across all four countries: solid legislative frameworks exist, but implementation lags badly. There are structural barriers, such as inaccessible infrastructure and lack of transport options. And there are institutional factors, like weak enforcement and inadequate sensitivity training.

Societal stigma also plays a part. This is particularly true for people with invisible disabilities, who are largely overlooked in policy and practice.

I argue that in this technological era, it is not impossible to allocate resources to improve services.

I found that South Africa’s legal framework is more comprehensive and advanced than the other three countries. But all four face similar challenges in practice.

South Africa’s legal framework: progressive yet incomplete

South Africa’s constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on disability. It guarantees access to healthcare, education and employment.

Laws such as the Employment Equity Act and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act insist on reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities. The White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2015) outlines a strategy to eliminate barriers.

Despite these progressive laws, the criminal justice system faces practical challenges.

Firstly, many courtrooms, police stations and legal procedures remain physically inaccessible to those with mobility impairments.

Secondly, communication support services such as sign language interpreters and materials in Braille or simplified legal language are not always available. It’s often left to individual officials to arrange help.

Thirdly, there’s still societal stigma and discrimination in the justice system. Some law enforcement, prosecution and judiciary personnel have negative attitudes to disability – especially invisible disabilities such as intellectual, psycho-social, or communication impairments.

People with these disabilities are often misunderstood, denied the help they need, or even excluded from legal proceedings.

Fourth, there is inadequate training for criminal justice personnel on disability rights and needs. As a result many do harm without realising it, undermining trust in the justice system.

Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana

Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana also have legal frameworks that affirm the rights of people with disabilities.

All have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and have disability laws aimed at fostering inclusion.

Nigeria ratified the convention in 2007 (and the optional protocol in 2010) and passed the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act in 2018. The act prohibits discrimination, mandates accessibility, and establishes a national commission for enforcement.

Kenya ratified the UN convention in 2008, integrating it via Article 2(6) of its 2010 constitution. It has the Persons with Disabilities Act (2003, amended) focusing on inclusion in education, employment and public services.

Ghana ratified the convention and optional protocol in 2012, after signing in 2007. The Persons with Disability Act (Act 715 of 2006) promotes rights to education, health, employment and accessibility.

However, like South Africa, there are gaps in enforcement, accessibility and practical steps to accommodate people with disabilities.

In Nigeria, courthouses and police facilities are often inaccessible. And people with intellectual or mental health disabilities often struggle to understand and communicate within the legal process.

Reports of mistreatment and wrongful detention, especially those with psychosocial disabilities, are not uncommon. A notable case highlighted the denial of proper accommodations for a visually impaired person accused of theft.

Kenya’s Persons with Disabilities Act mandates accessible public buildings, including police stations and courts. Yet many facilities remain inaccessible.

There aren’t enough trained personnel who understand the needs of people with disabilities. And public transport – critical for accessing justice – is not always equipped to carry people with mobility impairments.

Ghana’s Disability Act (2006) provides a strong legal foundation, complemented by ratification of the UN convention.

But many public facilities remain inaccessible after the legislated compliance period.

Police misconduct towards people with disabilities, especially those with mental health conditions, has been documented.

Detention conditions are sometimes inhumane. Many people, particularly with psychosocial disabilities, face wrongful imprisonment without fair legal representation.

In all four countries the justice systems do more to accommodate visible disabilities, including mobility or sensory impairments. They neglect intellectual, psychosocial and communication disabilities. This neglect results in misunderstanding, exclusion and discriminatory outcomes.

Cases such as the tragic deaths in South Africa’s Life Esidimeni mental health crisis and incidents of sexual violence against women with disabilities in Kenya and Nigeria highlight the grave consequences of systemic neglect.

They also underscore the urgent need for reforms not only in legal provisions but also in attitudes, resources and operational practices.

Moving forward: key recommendations for South Africa

South Africa’s strengths in disability rights legislation provide a foundation to build a more inclusive criminal justice system. However, closing the gap between law and lived experience requires focused action:

Enforcement and oversight: Regular audits of courts, police stations and correctional facilities for accessibility compliance must be mandated and resourced. Disability-specific expertise within oversight bodies can improve accountability.

Disability training: Ongoing, mandatory training on disability rights is essential. Collaborating with organisations for disabled people ensures training reflects lived realities.

Standard accommodations: Provision of sign language interpreters, accessible legal documents, and trauma-informed procedures must be codified and resourced. This must include invisible disabilities.

Inclusive policy development: Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations must be part of making and monitoring policy.

Public awareness and anti-stigma campaigns: Changing societal attitudes is key to fostering a culture of respect and inclusion.

Regional collaboration: Sharing best practices and harmonising standards can accelerate progress across the continent.

Next steps

Comparing South Africa to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana reveals common challenges and highlights the need for systemic, coordinated change.

Disability justice is not solely a matter of legal texts. It’s a complex interplay of attitudes, institutional practices and social inclusion. The approach must address physical, psychological, and social barriers to deliver justice for all citizens.

Azwihangwisi Judith Mphidi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Disability and access to justice in four African countries: strong laws, weak in practice – https://theconversation.com/disability-and-access-to-justice-in-four-african-countries-strong-laws-weak-in-practice-263987

February 24, 2026

Africa’s militaries have always relied on imported weapons: why a shift to homegrown defence is now under way

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Nate Allen, Associate Professor of Security Studies, National Defense University

Africa’s militaries are built on imported power. Foreign countries such as China, Russia, the United States, Turkey and France dominate Africa’s weapons market. Between them they supply everything from small arms to attack helicopters, unmanned systems and communications equipment.

The results are often quite poor. From the Sahel to Somalia, weapons and equipment supplied from abroad breaks down quickly, sits idle for lack of maintenance, or requires expertise that local forces are not trained to sustain.

At the same time, insurgents on motorbikes equipped with AK-47s and improvised explosives gain the upper hand. These issues are quite often due to corruption or mismanagement by African militaries, a problem that has been extensively documented by scholars.

Now, a quiet revolution is underway. Having spent collectively decades researching and working with African militaries, we have noticed a growing trend of discontent with reliance on external actors to build their security forces. As a result, African governments are becoming more determined to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and build capabilities they can control, maintain and adapt.

Numerous African countries, from Nigeria to Kenya to Morocco, are embracing a combination of disruptive new technologies and partnerships to localise defence supply chains and build local military capabilities. Morocco, the country which has pursued this strategy most successfully, has managed to triple its arms exports over the last few years, and is on its way to becoming a defence manufacturing hub.

Lowered barriers to innovation are offering African countries an opportunity to shift from being security consumers to being producers and even exporters of military equipment and technology. This shift could enable African militaries to more sustainably project and maintain force and capture value from a growing global arms market.

Dependency’s challenges

On paper, imported military equipment promises cutting-edge capabilities. In practice, it often delivers frustration.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Mali. Beginning in 2021, Russia supplied Bamako with a “small air force” of dozens of attack helicopters, transport planes and other combat aircraft as part of its expanding security role in the Sahel. This air force no longer exists. The two Sukhoi-25 fighter jets Mali received were lost within months. Of eight Mi-35M and Mi-171 attack helicopters, only one remained serviceable within a year of delivery. Mali’s army was unable to maintain them. Meanwhile, rebel groups using stolen rifles, lightweight anti-aircraft guns and homemade artillery overran military outposts and encircled Bamako.

Even Africa’s better-resourced militaries struggle. South Africa operates one of the continent’s most advanced fleets of fighter aircraft, yet only half of its Swedish-built JAS Gripen aircraft and seven of its 39 Oryx helicopters were serviceable as of mid‑2024 because of parts shortages and maintenance gaps. South Africa’s state-owned arms manufacturer Denel, once a world-class defence and aerospace producer, has declined over the past decade amid financial distress, governance failures and state capture, leading to liquidity shortages, unpaid suppliers and a loss of skilled personnel.

Ghana has one of the region’s most capable fleets. But many of its ships remain unserviceable. Ambitious plans to expand the fleet have been delayed owing to prohibitive costs: one modern corvette costs US$200 million, or half of Ghana’s 2024 military budget.

Homegrown solutions

The growing appeal of homegrown solutions was on display in August 2025, when Nigeria convened 37 African defence chiefs to discuss how to develop local security solutions. Nigeria’s chief of defence at the time, General Christopher Musa, urged his counterparts to innovate on their own terms by investing in “cyber defence, artificial intelligence and indigenous military technology.”

Nigeria has already begun to do so. It is one of the few but growing number of African countries with a cyber warfare command. The country is expanding local production of small arms and ammunition. For example, it is developing rocket systems, and designing AI-enabled wearable devices for a future “smart soldier”.

Nigeria has also become a continental leader in the production of unmanned aerial systems (UAVs). These include lightweight FPV drones, one-way kamikaze drones, and long endurance combat drones. A drone factory in Abuja is now capable of churning out 10,000 drones annually.

Nigeria is not alone. Nine African countries now produce drones, supplying an increasing share of the African market. Twenty-one have launched and own satellites. South Africa, Kenya and Senegal are experimenting with 3D printing (making 3D objects from a digital file by adding successive layers of material) for critical spare parts, drone swarms for border security, and satellite-based communications to reduce dependency on external signals intelligence.

These affordable, adaptable and dual-use technologies allow African armed forces to respond to asymmetric threats from terrorist organisations and criminal networks without bloating defence budgets or waiting for international suppliers.

When domestic production is not immediately possible, African governments are pursuing opportunities for technology transfer and co-production. Sudan’s locally manufactured Zajil-3 multi-role attack drone is a copy of the Ababil-3 drone made by Iran, one of the country’s top external drone suppliers. Morocco is positioning itself as a defence manufacturing hub by partnering with India’s Tata Motors to locally manufacture armoured vehicles. It is also partnering Israel’s Bluebird Aero systems to produce military drones, and is attempting to woo US firms such as Lockheed Martin to invest in local production and maintenance lines.

Next steps

These trends reflect a broader realisation: in an era of intensifying great-power competition and shifting global alliances, the capacity to make independent defence and security decisions, free from external influence, is a core national security concern.

The cultivation of local supply chains is necessary but not sufficient for Africa’s militaries to overcome the challenges of relying on externally supplied military equipment and technology. Institutional capacity, regulatory frameworks and human capital must be developed in tandem to translate innovation into meaningful outcomes. Cybersecurity, data governance and ethics must also be taken into consideration, ensuring that technological sovereignty does not become a liability. The embrace of technology will do little to make African citizens safer if it is used to entrench corrupt elites or abuse human rights.

Finally, while greater independence in the production of defence platforms and technology is a worthy goal, total autonomy is a fantasy. For higher-end military systems such as advanced missiles, frontier AI, manned combat aircraft, and key components such as chips and semiconductors, African governments will maintain some degree of dependency on external actors for a long time to come.

The next phase of Africa’s defence transformation needs to move beyond acquiring advanced technology and equipment. It needs to ensure they are suited to the continent’s unique threats, and that they are locally managed and maintained.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University or the Department of Defense.

– ref. Africa’s militaries have always relied on imported weapons: why a shift to homegrown defence is now under way – https://theconversation.com/africas-militaries-have-always-relied-on-imported-weapons-why-a-shift-to-homegrown-defence-is-now-under-way-274802

February 23, 2026

Forgiveness isn’t always easy, but studies show it can help you flourish

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Richard G. Cowden, Research Scientist, Harvard University

The Global Flourishing Study suggests that forgiveness is shaped by cultural and local influences. Raphael Brasileiro/Pexels, CC BY-SA

Being hurt by others is common and can be deeply painful. How we respond can affect our individual and collective well-being. Which raises the question of forgiveness.

In the last few decades, researchers have helped us better understand how people experience forgiveness and how it influences our lives. The Global Flourishing Study seeks to enrich this knowledge from a more global perspective. Launched in 2021, the study follows people over time to understand what a good life looks like in different parts of the world – including health, happiness, meaning, relationships, character, and financial security. It’s the first study to measure forgiveness in national samples from many different cultures and contexts.

A large part of my work as a psychology scholar looks at human flourishing, including data from the Global Flourishing Study. In the first wave of data from more than 200,000 participants across 22 countries, my colleagues and I found that about 75% of individuals reported they had “often” or “always” forgiven those who had hurt them. Percentages varied across countries, ranging from 41% in Turkey to 92% in Nigeria.

All five African countries included in the study – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania – were ranked in the top six. This shouldn’t be interpreted as implying that one region “does forgiveness better” than another, but it does point to the central role of forgiveness as a human strength on the African continent.

The variation across countries around the world suggests that forgiveness is shaped by cultural and contextual influences, including norms for preserving social harmony and religious teachings about responding to wrongdoing.

In a new longitudinal analysis using two waves of Global Flourishing Study data collected about one year apart, we looked at whether people who reported being more forgiving tended to report better well-being about a year later. We found that forgiveness predicted somewhat higher well-being on many of the 56 outcomes, including mental health, purpose in life, relationship satisfaction and hope.

Decades of research have pointed to similar links. But this new analysis is unique. Because of its cross-national scale and breadth of outcomes, it provides one of the most comprehensive tests of the connection between forgiveness and flourishing.

Forgiveness can be strengthened

We’re often drawn to stories of extraordinary forgiveness, such as when we read in the news about people forgiving perpetrators of extreme violence. But dramatic experiences of forgiveness aren’t part of everyone’s story. The reality is that forgiveness can be difficult for many people.

The hopeful news is that forgiveness isn’t a rare quality that some of us have and others lack. Studies have shown that forgiveness is like a muscle we can strengthen.

Our large multisite, randomised trial with more than 4,500 individuals across Colombia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa and Ukraine used a three-hour forgiveness workbook (reflective exercises, writing activities, educational material and the like) that participants completed to help them forgive a specific hurt.

We found the workbook improved forgiveness, anxiety, depression and overall well-being. Although some situations may call for more support than a workbook can offer, these results indicate that even a brief do-it-yourself forgiveness workbook can be helpful to many people with unresolved hurts.

The workbook is based on the widely studied REACH Forgiveness model and is free to download and use. It’s also available in several languages, making it easier for many people to use in the language they’re most comfortable with.

Forgiveness is a process

People sometimes resist forgiveness because it can seem as though one is being asked to excuse the wrongdoing, abandon justice, or reopen the door to an unsafe relationship. But that’s not what forgiveness means.

Forgiveness is a process that involves choosing not to seek payback, working to release resentment, and moving towards greater compassion for the person who hurt us.

While many people in the first wave of the Global Flourishing Study endorsed a tendency to forgive others, about 25% of individuals across the countries reported that they had “rarely” or “never” forgiven those who had hurt them.

These results suggest there may be value in making resources available for those who want to forgive but find it difficult. This could empower people to pursue forgiveness on their own terms when it’s safe and appropriate.

Initiatives like the Global Forgiveness Movement have been established with this in mind. However, scaling the reach and uptake of forgiveness resources requires partnerships and ongoing engagement across health systems, workplaces, schools, religious communities and civic organisations. This may be especially important in settings where mental health services are less available or accessible.

If we can expand opportunities for people to consider, access and engage with forgiveness tools in ways that preserve autonomy, safety and justice, the benefits to individual well-being may ripple outward into a more flourishing humanity.

That possibility invites each of us to consider how we can participate in making the world a more forgiving place.

Richard G. Cowden works for the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, which coordinates the Global Forgiveness Movement.

– ref. Forgiveness isn’t always easy, but studies show it can help you flourish – https://theconversation.com/forgiveness-isnt-always-easy-but-studies-show-it-can-help-you-flourish-275868

February 23, 2026

Can African penguins be brought back from the brink? Better designed no-fishing zones could help

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jacqui Glencross, Seabird ecologist, University of St Andrews

South Africa is home to 88% of the world’s colonies of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). The species is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This means there is a high risk the birds could go extinct in the wild following rapid population declines.

This species was once abundant along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. But the population has fallen by about 78% over the last 30 years, driven by food scarcity, oil spills and climate-related shifts in the marine environment. African penguins mainly feed on anchovy and sardine. Changes in ocean conditions and overfishing have made it more difficult for the penguins to get enough food. In recent years, conservation organisations, scientists and government agencies have escalated efforts to halt this decline.

One of the most significant developments was a March 2025 court ruling that supported the introduction of improved no-fishing zones around key breeding colonies, to protect the penguins’ foraging grounds. Robben Island (11km north-west of Cape Town) is one of the colonies.

Protecting waters adjacent to breeding colonies is essential for the species’ long-term recovery. Food shortages in these areas, driven in part by competition with the purse-seine fishery (which uses a large net to surround schooling fish), have been directly linked to declining chick survival and the ongoing population collapse.

The court case (led by the organisations BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) concluded that fish can no longer be caught within a 20km radius of Robben Island.

We are penguin researchers from the University of St Andrews, University of Exeter, the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and BirdLife South Africa.
Our work has examined the interactions between penguins and fishing operations in detail, and can offer insights to guide the management of their respective needs.

Overlap with the fishing industry

Previous research into the effects of fishing on penguin populations has mostly looked at metrics such as the amount of fish removed by the fishery. But technology to track fishing locations and animal movement now enables us to look at the picture on a fine spatial scale. We can see where and how intensely commercial fishing and penguins overlaps, helping us identify areas that should be protected.

Our recent research used tracking data from penguins on Robben and Dassen islands, in the Western Cape of South Africa. We measured population-level spatial overlap between penguins and the local fishery. A small proportion of penguins were tracked using GPS devices, then we were able to simulate where more of the colony were going.

Knowing where a large proportion of the penguin population is sharing a particular space with fishing vessels makes it easier to target which areas to protect and when. It provides benefits for the fishing industry (allowing fishing in areas which are of lower importance to the penguins) and for the penguins (limiting competition with the fishery during the breeding season).

We also developed a new metric, “overlap intensity”, which captures not only how much space penguins share with fishing vessels, but how many individual penguins are affected. Traditional measures of spatial overlap simply calculate the percentage of area shared between predators (penguins) and fishing vessels. But this can dramatically underestimate the actual degree of interaction, especially when only a few areas are shared but many animals use them.

It reveals insight into ecological pressure and competition that area overlap alone misses. For example, it suggests stronger competition for prey than spatial overlap metrics imply. This method can not only be expanded to other colonies but more broadly to other species and ecosystems.

Our findings show that overlap increases sharply in years when fish are scarce. During 2016, a year of low fish abundance, around 20% of penguins foraged in the same areas as active fishing vessels. In years with healthier fish stocks, however, overlap dropped to just 4%. This pattern indicates that competition between penguins and the fishery intensifies when prey is limited. It poses the highest risk during sensitive periods such as chick-rearing, when adults must forage efficiently to provide for their young.

A new tool for risk and management

By quantifying overlap intensity at the population level, our study offers a powerful new tool for assessing ecological risk and supporting ecosystem-based fisheries management. It also provides practical guidance for designing dynamic marine protected areas that respond to real-time changes in predator–prey interactions.

Our results further show that the new no-fishing zone around Robben Island will protect a key foraging area to the north-east of the colony. This was previously one of the regions with the highest overlap between penguins and fishing vessels.

Continued monitoring will be essential to determine how overlap changes in response to the new ten-year purse-seine closures around both colonies. Similar assessments should also be conducted at additional breeding sites, including other islands involved in the closures. Foraging ranges of the penguins and the areas covered by the no-take zones vary from colony to colony.

Meanwhile, over the past few years, weighbridges have been installed at some colonies (including Robben Island) collecting penguin weights when they leave to feed and when they return. Data from these large scales will tell us more about how the closures affect penguin foraging success.

Jacqui Glencross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Can African penguins be brought back from the brink? Better designed no-fishing zones could help – https://theconversation.com/can-african-penguins-be-brought-back-from-the-brink-better-designed-no-fishing-zones-could-help-271762

February 22, 2026

Invasive mesquite plants do more than deplete water reserves – new research in South Africa shows they damage soil too

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Siviwe Malongweni, Research Scientist, Sol Plaatje University

Mesquite (Neltuma juliflora), a woody plant native to parts of South America, was introduced into South Africa’s drylands in the 1880s with good intentions.

Bringing it to South Africa was meant to stabilise soils, provide shade, and offer a source of fuelwood in some of the country’s most water-limited landscapes. But today, particularly in the Northern Cape province, it’s a clear example of how an introduced species can quietly transform ecosystems, livelihoods and local climates in ways that are difficult and costly to reverse.

Across the Northern Cape’s arid and semi-arid rangelands, mesquite has spread extensively along riverbanks, floodplains and grazing areas. Unlike many indigenous plants that lie dormant during dry periods, mesquite remains active year-round. Its deep root system allows it to extract water from far below the surface, steadily depleting soil moisture and groundwater reserves.

I am an environmental and climate scientist in the Northern Cape, where agriculture contributes about 8% of the provincial GDP and employs roughly 16% of the workforce. My work focuses on addressing invasive species, land degradation and climate impacts to protect ecosystems, support rural livelihoods and strengthen the regional economy.

My team and I conducted research into the effect that invasive mesquite has had on the soils in this dry area of South Africa.

We found that mesquite drains moisture and nutrients from the soil, making it hard for other plants to grow. The dense roots and thick canopy also reduce water availability for livestock and people, while the soil becomes compacted and less fertile. All of this together makes farming much more difficult and threatens local livelihoods.

What the science shows

Our study compared soils from mesquite-invaded areas with those from nearby uninvaded rangelands. Our findings show striking differences.

In mesquite-dominated landscapes, soils tended to hold less moisture, had altered nutrient balances and displayed changes in physical structure compared with soils under native vegetation.

This may not sound dramatic at first, but soil moisture and nutrient balance are foundational to how ecosystems function. Soil that stays moist supports grass growth. Grass protects soil from erosion, feeds livestock, and keeps water in the landscape. When mesquite replaces grass with dense thickets, that entire cascade of benefits begins to unravel.

Mesquite roots dig deep and draw water year-round. Where native plants go dormant in dry seasons, mesquite continues to transpire (release water from its leaves), reducing soil moisture. Over time, this leads to drier soils that struggle to support the plants crucial for grazing and wildlife.

The outcome is a quieter, slower form of ecosystem change; one that doesn’t always show up in dramatic headlines but that steadily degrades land and undermines livelihoods dependent on healthy soil.

Why this matters for climate and livelihoods

Soil and climate are intimately connected. Dryland systems like the Northern Cape are already vulnerable to climate change due to hotter temperatures, more erratic rainfall and longer droughts. In this context, invasive species with high drought tolerance gain an edge. Mesquite, which is native to Central and South America, thrives where native vegetation falters. But that advantage comes at a cost of reduced water availability for human consumption, agricultural use and wildlife, altered carbon cycles and increased land degradation.

For pastoralist communities and smallholder farmers, the effects are tangible. Our team carried out a skills assessment and facilitated workshops in collaboration with the Northern Cape provincial government and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and documented evidence of these impacts (it is not yet online).

Livestock grazing depends on grass cover. Our direct observations and assessments in the Northern Cape show that as mesquite thickets grow, grazing land shrinks. Farmers find themselves forced to reduce herd sizes or travel longer distances for forage. Over time, income declines, pressure on household food security increases, and people become more vulnerable to climatic and economic shocks.

The human dimension

The invasion of mesquite isn’t just an ecological problem; it’s a social one. Reduced grazing and degraded land translate into fewer resources for families that depend on livestock. In regions where economic opportunities are already limited, this can exacerbate inequality, increase rural poverty and push people towards unsustainable coping strategies.

In our ongoing research, communities across the Northern Cape have told us similar stories: land that used to support healthy herds now supports thorny thickets that livestock avoid; water points dry faster; and the rhythm of life shifts as people adapt to a changed landscape. These are not abstract scientific outcomes; they are lived experiences.

Yet, amid these challenges, there are also opportunities.

Repurposing pathways for mesquite

The same biological traits that make mesquite a problem can also be harnessed for benefit, if approached thoughtfully. Mesquite pods are rich in sugars and have been used as supplementary livestock feed in dry seasons. They could also potentially be used for flour and baking, natural sweeteners, coffee substitutes, snacks, and traditional medicine for regulating blood sugar. The wood is dense and burns hot, making it valuable for charcoal and energy. Craft industries can use mesquite timber for artisanal products, creating potential income streams for rural communities. Mesquite biomass can be processed into low-carbon, climate-adaptive building materials with a net negative carbon footprint, and into biochar that can be used to restore degraded soils after invasive species removal.

The key is to repurpose eradicated mesquite in support of ecological restoration. Overharvesting without a plan can worsen the situation if it encourages regrowth or fails to address underlying ecosystem changes. But when combined with targeted clearing and rehabilitation, utilisation can be part of a broader, sustainable strategy.

What needs to happen next

Clearing mesquite is possible, but expensive. Mechanical removal requires labour, machinery and follow-up work to prevent regrowth. If land is cleared but not rehabilitated, grasses and native vegetation may struggle to return because the soil has already changed. That means investment must be long-term, not just a one-off effort.

South Africa needs an integrated approach that includes:

early detection and mapping
community-led clearing and rehabilitation, so that efforts are sustained and rooted in local knowledge
soil restoration efforts, reintroducing native grasses and shrubs
economic integration, developing value chains for mesquite products
climate-responsive planning and land management that improves water retention and soil health.

Mesquite invasion in the Northern Cape is more than a botanical curiosity. It is a transformation of land that affects soil, water, climate resilience and human wellbeing. The research on soil properties makes it clear that the impacts are real and measurable, but it also points to pathways for action.

Siviwe Malongweni works for the Centre for Global Change. This research is implemented by the IUCN in partnership with the DFFE and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF-7).

– ref. Invasive mesquite plants do more than deplete water reserves – new research in South Africa shows they damage soil too – https://theconversation.com/invasive-mesquite-plants-do-more-than-deplete-water-reserves-new-research-in-south-africa-shows-they-damage-soil-too-274126

February 22, 2026

Killer beetles in the baobabs: researcher warns of risk to African trees

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sarah Venter, Baobab Ecologist, University of the Witwatersrand

Baobabs aren’t supposed to fall. They can live for up to 2,500 years. Famous for their resilience, these huge trees have stood tall across Africa, weathering droughts and winds that flatten everything else.

A small population of 102 baobabs is also found in Oman on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, where baobabs were introduced over 1,500 years ago by traders from Africa.

However, several baobabs have recently collapsed and died in Oman, not from disease, drought or old age, but from infestation by a beetle that has suddenly proven deadly to baobab trees – the mango stem-borer (Batocera rufomaculata).

I’m a baobab ecologist who worked with two environmental scientists from Oman, Ali Salem Musallm Akaak and Mohammed Mubarak Suhail Akaak, to investigate how many trees had been infected by the beetle, how the infestation had affected the trees and how many had died as a result.

We surveyed 91 baobab trees in Oman and found that six had been killed by the beetle. A further 12 baobab trees were infested by the beetle’s larvae.

This is the first time that an insect has been found to kill adult baobab trees. The same beetle is known to damage and kill other species of trees.

Our findings have important implications for the conservation and management of baobabs throughout Africa. The mango-borer beetle has not been found in mainland Africa yet but it may become a new threat to baobabs if it disperses.

Our findings allow for early detection as well as research into effective ways to control the beetle before it spreads to Africa.

If the mango stem-borer were to reach mainland Africa, where the baobab is considered a keystone species, it could devastate both ecosystems and livelihoods. Baobabs have over 300 uses for people, including fibre made from the bark, food from the leaves and the fruit, which is harvested for its nutritious pulp and sold in local and global markets.

Meet the killer

The mango stem-borer is native to south-east Asia. Adults live for only two to three months, feeding on shoots and bark. During that time females can lay up to 200 eggs, cutting small slits in tree bark and sealing each egg inside.

The grubs or larvae spend almost a year hidden within the wood, tunnelling through the living tissue that carries water and nutrients. As they feed, they weaken the tree and eventually kill it.

This beetle has long been one of Asia’s most damaging fruit-tree pests. It attacks mango, jackfruit, mulberry and fig trees, often killing mature hosts. It spread to the Middle East, where it was first recorded in 1950 and has damaged fig plantations.

In 2021, an adult baobab in Wadi Hinna, a semi-arid valley in Oman’s Dhofar Mountains, collapsed and died. When researchers examined the fallen trunk, they discovered it was infested by mango stem-borer larvae.

By 2025, seven baobabs had died, and many more were infected, confirming that a seemingly innocuous fruit-tree pest had found a new host.

The very qualities that make baobabs extraordinary survivors in dry climates also make them ideal nurseries for borer beetle larvae. Their stored water, soft trunks and nutrient rich tissue feed and protect larvae for nearly a year until they mature.

As the larvae feed, they hollow out the interior of the baobab, leaving the outer bark intact and the infestation hidden, until the stem suddenly collapses.

Battling the beetle

When the first deaths were recorded, Oman’s Environment Authority launched an emergency control programme with help from local communities and researchers.

Infested trees were treated with systemic insecticides, larvae were manually removed from trunks, and light traps were set to attract and kill adult beetles at night. Tree stems were also coated with agricultural lime and fungicide to deter further egg-laying.

These actions seem to have slowed the outbreak, but they are labour-intensive and feasible only for a small area. Across a continent, such methods would be impossible to maintain.

In Asia, scientists have identified natural enemies of the mango stem-borer, including parasitic mites and nematodes. These could be used as the base of a long-term biological control strategy.

My research argues that using biological control to stop the beetle reproducing must be developed as a priority before infestations cross into Africa.

Preventing a spread to Africa

Adult beetles can fly up to 14 kilometres in a single night, and global trade makes it easy for insects to cross borders unnoticed, hidden in plants and ornamentals destined for the agriculture and garden sector.

The beetle already occurs on islands such as Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius. Baobab researchers do not know if the mango stem-borer has attacked the local baobab populations of Madagascar, where the trees are an indigenous plant.

Early detection and prevention are far cheaper, and far more effective, than trying to stop an outbreak once it begins. Stronger biosecurity inspections and other measures are needed at African ports and borders to stop the beetle crossing borders, particularly in shipments of wood and live plants.

Collaboration between research institutions, agricultural departments and the baobab industry will also help: sharing data, testing biological controls and setting up monitoring systems before further outbreaks occur.

A warning – and an opportunity

The death of baobabs in Oman is more than a localised problem. It’s a warning of what could happen elsewhere if the beetle spreads unchecked.

But it also offers a chance to prepare. If African countries act now, tightening biosecurity, supporting research and raising awareness, they can protect one of the continent’s most iconic and life-sustaining trees before this threat ever reaches African shores.

Sarah Venter receives funding from the Baobab Foundation.
Sarah Venter is an advisory member of the African Baobab Alliance

– ref. Killer beetles in the baobabs: researcher warns of risk to African trees – https://theconversation.com/killer-beetles-in-the-baobabs-researcher-warns-of-risk-to-african-trees-275715

February 22, 2026

Africa’s public finances are in a mess: a new book explains why and what to do

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Lyla Latif, Co-Founder & Research Lead, Committee on Fiscal Studies, University of Nairobi

Public finance, or how governments at all levels raise and allocate money, is in evidence everywhere you look. That pothole destroying your car. The health clinic without medicine. The dilapidated school. Public money is not government money. It is yours, writes Kenyan finance scholar Lyla Latif in her new book Governing Public Money. Drawing on a decade of experience across 32 countries, the author sets out what ails Africa’s public finances and what could change. The Conversation Africa asked her about the book’s main themes.

What prompted you to write this book?

Most books on public finance are written by men, from institutions in the global north, about systems designed in the global north. There is not a single comprehensive treatment of public finance law focused on Kenya or, for that matter, on any African country. I wanted to change that.

But the deeper motivation was a question that had been forming across more than a decade of working inside fiscal systems. As an international tax expert and scholar, I have spent years watching how public money actually moves: through revenue authorities and treasury departments, through regional customs unions and international treaty negotiations, through county governments and sovereign debt markets.

What struck me is that everyone assumes they know what public finance is. Fewer people understand how it is governed, and fewer still appreciate how profoundly interconnected its parts are. That interconnectedness is what the book’s 11 chapters try to capture. Revenue policy shapes debt sustainability. Debt sustainability constrains budgeting. Budgeting determines what devolution can deliver. Regional integration reshapes revenue options. International treaty regimes limit domestic policy space. Technology transforms administration. Corruption corrodes everything.

No single chapter can be understood in isolation, just as no fiscal challenge can be solved in isolation.

The final chapter examines Islamic public finance. Here, I discuss:

zakat, a mandatory wealth based contribution used to support social welfare
waqf, an endowment dedicated to public benefit such as education or health
sukuk, asset backed Islamic financial certificates often compared to bonds but structured without interest.

I argue that these are fiscal institutions within a legal tradition that colonial administration suppressed but never displaced. Writing that chapter felt like an act of intellectual justice.

What are the key messages on public finance?

The book opens with a memory. During the frequent power cuts of my childhood in Nairobi, my father would gather us around candles and draw. One evening he sketched a woman carrying water on her head and a child on her back, walking toward a distant horizon.

I did not then understand that the darkness itself was fiscal: the consequence of under-investment, deferred maintenance, and policy choices that left entire communities without reliable electricity. That image captures the book’s central argument. Public finance is not a technical subject confined to treasury officials and economists. It is the means through which societies either raise living standards or entrench dependence.

Every unbuilt school, every underfunded clinic, every collapsed road is a fiscal failure before it is anything else. And every act of governance, from defending a nation’s borders to delivering clean water, ultimately resolves into a fiscal question.

The book argues that law does not merely regulate public finance; it constitutes it. The authority to tax, to borrow, to spend, and to hold officials accountable derives from legal instruments. Kenya’s 2010 constitution devotes an entire chapter to public finance, establishing principles of equity, transparency and public participation. These are not decorative provisions. They are the architecture through which fiscal power is authorised, constrained and contested.

Yet the book is equally insistent that legal frameworks do not determine outcomes. The gap between what constitutions promise and what citizens experience is shaped by political economy: by who holds power, whose interests prevail, and what international forces constrain domestic choices.

How is Africa disadvantaged in the international fiscal system?

Africa’s disadvantage is not accidental or temporary. It reflects a continuing structure shaped by history and reproduced through modern international rules. Colonial fiscal systems were designed for extraction, not development.

In Kenya, the Native Hut and Poll Tax Ordinance of 1910 compelled African populations into wage labour to meet obligations denominated in colonial currency. Revenue was directed towards the Uganda Railway and export corridors serving London rather than towards African education or health.

As Kenyan scholars George Ndege, Ahmed Mohiddin and I have documented, colonial administrations relied on indirect taxes that fell hardest on African populations. They directed expenditure towards export infrastructure serving metropolitan markets and concentrated authority in executive hands with minimal accountability.

Independence brought formal sovereignty but did not dismantle the international architecture within which African fiscal governance operates. Tax treaties, negotiated primarily among developed countries, allocate taxing rights in ways that systematically favour capital exporters. The status quo allows multinational enterprises to derive substantial income from African markets without triggering source country taxation.

Investment treaties expose African governments to billion dollar arbitration claims when they adjust fiscal policy. Trade agreements constrain tariff choices that might support industrial development. African countries have been positioned as passive recipients of rules rather than their authors. The frameworks that govern cross border taxation, sovereign debt restructuring and investment protection were designed in forums where African states had little or no voice.

For over 60 years, the rules governing cross border taxation have been written principally within the OECD, a body of wealthy capital-exporting states where African countries had no seat.

Thanks to African advocacy, a new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation adopted in 2023 is changing that. The convention creates space for binding obligations on cross border services, digital economy taxation and illicit financial flows. These are areas where voluntary frameworks have consistently failed the continent.

This represents the most significant shift in international tax governance in decades.

African states are beginning to write rules rather than merely absorb them.

What could countries and citizens change?

The most consequential shift would be for African countries to look inward. That means confronting the revenue gap that defines African fiscal governance. The continent’s average tax-to-GDP ratio remains below 16%, well beneath what is needed to fund basic public goods without chronic dependence on external financing.

This requires building professionally independent revenue authorities, transparent public financial management, and the political will to tax wealth and rents that elite capture has long shielded. It also means developing indigenous fiscal scholarship rather than importing policy knowledge from Washington, Paris and Geneva.

Looking inward is not autarky, meaning a withdrawal into economic self sufficiency and disengagement from global exchange. Rather, it is about consolidating internal clarity and capacity so that engagement outward happens on African terms. My colleague Daniel Nuer, a senior official at the Ghana Revenue Authority, once said to me:

If Africa starts looking inward, every non-African state will be forced to comply with African approaches.

There is a quiet but powerful logic in that observation. When African countries strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation, they reduce dependence on aid and on borrowing from international markets on terms set by creditors. When they build effective tax administrations, they create the institutional capacity that underpins state legitimacy.

When they coordinate regionally, such as through the East African Community or the African Continental Free Trade Area, they create the scale that individual economies cannot achieve alone. As African revenue systems become more effective, the current international architecture, built on the assumption that developing countries will remain rule takers, becomes unsustainable.

A continent that mobilises its own resources, governs its own debt, and taxes its own digital economy does not need to accept frameworks designed elsewhere for the benefit of others. That is not merely a hope. In 2024, African states voted for a multilateral tax convention over the opposition of the world’s wealthiest countries. The African Continental Free Trade Area is building the coordinated market that no single African economy can sustain alone.

But fiscal sovereignty does not emerge in ideal conditions. It must contend with structural pressures that continue to narrow policy space. Sovereign debt repayments are absorbing resources that should be financing development, while illicit financial flows drain more from the continent each year than it receives in aid. What is shaping Africa’s fiscal future, then, is not the abstract market logics often associated with Adam Smith, but deliberate political choices about how public money is governed and how power over it is exercised.

Consequently, citizens have a role that extends beyond compliance. The fiscal contract between state and citizen depends on both sides. Governments must mobilise resources equitably and deploy them transparently. Citizens must demand accountability and participate in the budget processes that constitutions – such as Kenya’s – now require.

Civil society organisations and investigative journalists have proven essential in exposing fiscal failures that formal institutions missed. The work ahead is neither simple nor quick. But the direction is clear. African fiscal governance must be built from African foundations, informed by African needs, and accountable to African citizens. That is what governing public money should mean.

Lyla Latif does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Africa’s public finances are in a mess: a new book explains why and what to do – https://theconversation.com/africas-public-finances-are-in-a-mess-a-new-book-explains-why-and-what-to-do-275761