Africa Is a Country

Emmanuel Macron’s Twitter fingers

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

Emmanuel Macron’s Twitter fingers

By
Anakwa Dwamena

The stuff we couldn't cover the second week of December, so we compiled them here in byte sizes.

Emmanuel Macron, French President.

First up, Emmanuel Macron continues his streak of African agitation. This week his target –on Twitter — was Algeria. Previously, Macron acknowledged that France’s colonial war in Algeria was “a crime against humanity.” He didn’t give specifics or apologize to Algerians for atrocities committed during the war (during one French military airstrike in 1945, over 40,000 Algerians were bombed to death), Now he wants Algeria to allow the return of “thousands of Algerians who fought for the French army against Algeria during the war of independence from 1954 to 1962” and who have lived in France since then.

Speaking of Algeria: December 6 was the anniversary of Frantz Fanon’s death from leukemia at the age of 36. Some thoughts on a couple new books (published here on Africa is a Country) that seek to present the philosopher to us in a new way.  [A few, older pieces that are also worth revisiting on Africa is a Country about Fanon’s legacy are here, here, here and here–Ed]

Regarding the ongoing migrant crisis in Libya, we must look to countries of origin, destination, and transit to bear a joint responsibility for the migrants.

In fact, it is better looked as a confluence of many displacements and migration crises.

Muammar Gaddafi’s son is coming back to Tripoli and could stand for next year’s Libyan elections. 

Has Angola had a revolution of its own? Or are the new wide-ranging reforms still in the context of a political “musical chairs”?

It appears that in Soviet Russia, sorry, modern-day Nigeria, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad is extorting, assaulting and intimidating citizens. People have had enough, and there is widespread call for wider Nigerian police (ranked worst in the world) reform. #EndSARS

After paying $700m for the last 10 years, in installments, the Swiss government will return the final $320m money the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha stashed away between 1993 and 1998.

Another leader from Kano, Sanusi Lamido, puts forth another way to look at the Sahel and how West African nations and North African one can work together. 

Kenyan’s national elections made all the headlines. But the down-ballot votes show the success of devolution and suggest a path for addressing the ever-widening inequality; and

As international pressure grows on tax-dodging and financial havens, Mauritius looks to diversify its economy. 

Further Reading

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.