Africa Is a Country

Why is the US army in Niger

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Why is the US army in Niger

By
Anakwa Dwamena

Including another worrying thread of the American "war on terror" on the continent: the training of vigilantes. 

US special forces training Malian soldiers.

The Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina has written a Letter to All Kenyans. Kenyans were supposed to vote this week in a rerun of August’s presidential election, but the electoral commission postponed elections in opposition strongholds indefinitely yesterday. Here’s a taste: “In 1992, I voted for Mwai Kibaki. I was, then, a very conservative Kenyan. I believed in unearned privilege. I believed in English Kenya. I believed in Mwai Kibaki, not Matiba. I believed I was an elite Kenyan and deserved a president who would not rock the boat. I remember that election very clearly …”

(2) In US media, much has been made of the circumstances of the death of American soldiers in Niger. But the larger question is why is the US army in Africa in the first place. If you were wondering, like me, big US military presence is on the continent. This article, with links to stories from 2012 to now will be instructive. 

(3) And according to Pentagon war game simulations, there will be a full-scale invasion of the continent in the near future. 

(4) Another worrying thread, regarding the American “war on terror” on the continent, has been the training of vigilantes. 

(5) Can we develop the study of Africa so it is more respectful of the lives and struggles of African people and to their agendas?

(6) An increasing number of political PR companies are setting up shop on the continent, and the fact of the internet as a way of reaching more people than in the past, has led to the proliferation of propaganda in the stead of real political communications with constituencies. 

(7) A four-year-old child was raped in Ghana. The local chiefs said nothing could be done because community gods deemed the suspect innocent. National outrage has thankfully led to the opening of a police investigation, but the fact that no attempt was made before speaks volumes about how likely rape is taken.    

(8) A French court has charged Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President (his father is the Life President) with corruption, seizing his assets in the country. How African regional bodies react will tell us a lot about willingness to fight corruption on the international stage.

(9) Watch and learn why we should eat more indigenous African fruits and vegetables. 

(10) An exhibition showing the works of Chief S.O. Alonge, photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria in Nigeria marks the Smithsonian African Art Museums foray into exhibiting on the continent. 

(11) Meet the most decorated Congolese wrestler of all time; and

(12) Finally, for the young survivors of Ebola, cataracts—which usually only afflict the old—are another battle scar.

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.