South Africa’s famous toyi-toyi was adopted from Zimbabwean troops, who learned it in Algeria – showing the interconnected nature of Africa’s liberation struggles. The toyi-toyi is a high-kneed, ...

In 1986 Julius Okello was forced into Uganda’s Bush War as a child soldier. Tenacity and hope delivered him through a personal wilderness to his PhD. It was Thursday, 9 April 2020, at 05:47, hardly ...

The King of Swaziland has 14 wives. Who are these women? Are they gender equality activists in disguise or merely happily married traditionalists? Meet the queens. With 13 palaces, riches beyond the ...

ANGOLA, LUANDA | “Angolan women don’t like the Portuguese,” says Amelia (30, office cleaner) in a matter-of-fact manner to This is Africa. If you’re not familiar with Angola you might expect this to ...

Remembering Chinua Achebe: 10 quotes from selected works Arts, Culture and Sport Remembering Chinua Achebe: 10 quotes from selected works March 21 marks the anniversary of the death of one of Africa’s ...

Zimbabwe has two infamous iconoclasts. Nelson Chamisa and Dambudzo Marechera. One is a Pentecostal dream-twister, and the other, an atheist prankster. Both are on record denouncing spirits of the dead ...

Kwela pennywhistler Johannes “Spokes” Mashiyane (1933-1972) is one of the most influential names in African music. Sitting atop the loose genealogy of South African movements from kwela and mbaqanga ...

Many Africans consider felled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi a hero, but the Brother Leader was no saint. Gaddafi only cared for Africans when he wanted something in return. Don’t take our word for ...

Last month I briefly returned to Washington, DC during the annual Spring Meetings. Of course this year’s meetings took place at a critical juncture that will define the future of international ...

Field Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima is one of the last living freedom fighters and the only woman to receive the rank of field marshall in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army of the Mau Mau Uprising. Recent ...

The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century. The walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom were a man-made marvel ...

Second-hand clothes carry both the individual and collective identity of their origin, that is, the fashion, style, and aesthetics. They go by different names in different parts of Africa; mitumba in ...