This is Africa

Long Read: Beyond the binary — Reimagining democracy through ancient African wisdom; The lens of Utu/Ubuntu

Mzalendo Mutemi wa Kiama — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:02:59 +0000

On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Khamenei. Iran retaliated with missiles, closed the Strait of Hormuz, and triggered the worst oil shock in history. Two months on, thousands are dead, the fragile ceasefire is collapsing and global growth forecasts slashed. The conflict exposes a deeper trap: Washington’s performative democracy and Tehran’s clerical dictatorship have forced the public into binary loyalty tests. Utu philosophy however rejects the script: condemn the slaughter and the theocratic failures without apology. The world isn’t choosing freedom vs. tyranny—it’s choosing rival flavours of top-down control.

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Nelson Mandela was a towering global symbol – but how effective was he as a president?

The Conversation — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:09:36 +0000

Reassessing Mandela is a reminder that even the most admired leaders operate within constraints.

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Game Theory, The math of survival and the soul of community: Why the Gulf’s zero-sum game needs Utu

Mzalendo Mutemi wa Kiama — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:39:41 +0000

In 1916, the Sykes–Picot Agreement carved up the Arab world with a pen, shattering communities to secure colonial power. A century later, the calculated colonial fractures still fuel endless conflict. True progress, rooted in Utu philosophy demands we confront this colonial engineered division, reject zero-sum games, and expand “self” beyond broken borders.

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Interview – From novelist to publisher: Andrew Chatora on building Friesian Publishing

Khumbulani Muleya — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:02:31 +0000

Award-winning Zimbabwean novelist and cultural critic Andrew Chatora has entered a new chapter in his literary life, not by stepping away from writing, but by building a publishing house designed to widen the literary conversation. Through Friesian Publishing, the London-based independent literary press he founded, Chatora hopes to create a serious home for bold literary fiction and memoir: a space for underrepresented voices, overlooked talent, and books of lasting artistic and cultural value.

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Senegal stripped of title: Afcon ruling is lawful, but it puts Caf’s reputation at risk

The Conversation — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:10:46 +0000

A final is not just a result. It is also a narrative, a memory, and a shared collective moment.

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