Africanalysis

What does JJ Cornish have to say about Yoweri Museveni's son withdrawing from the 2026 Ugandan Presidential race, citing divine guidance to support his father's quest for a seventh term? Watch to find out. He then, along with Gareth Cliff, discusses Egypt's urgent warning to its citizens to evacuate Somaliland amid escalating security concerns in this contested region. Finally, they examine a shocking incident in Guinea where local residents ransacked a research centre following the tragic death of a worker’s baby at the hands of a chimpanzee. Join them as they unpack the political dynamics, security issues, and social unrest that are defining the continent in this edition of Africanalysis - brought to you by Johannesburg Business School.

How much do you know about the 4th largest island on the planet?

JJ Cornish zeroes in on the island of Madagascar this week, helping Gareth understand why it's so poor, what problems do the people face, political strife since independence in 1960 and a lot more as we find out what's going on in Madagascar.

The latest mpox outbreak, with 17000 cases and 500 deaths weighed heavily on the SADC summit in Harare at the weekend. Europeans are racing to get vaccines, Countries are issuing warning to travellers. The WHO urges rich countries not to hoard the vaccine.

That summit showed SADC to be the most stable of the African regional groupings, although the member with possibly the most potential - i.e. the DRC - is providing the biggest headache.

Rare good news from Sierra Leone: plastic roof sheeting to protect against the heat wave. It seems to work and will be rolled out to 35% of informal settlements.

When do political decisions have business consequences?

JJ Cornish and Gareth talk about recent developments, including French President Emmanuel Macron recognising Moroccan autonomy over Western Sahara, skipping all the normal steps in such a momentous move because he does not have a government to go to. The move comes as France bids for high-speed rail in Morocco. Algeria says withdrawing its ambassador is only the first step in its protest action. The EU, the UN, and a plethora of French political parties have slammed Macron's move.

The DRC reached a deal with Rwanda over stopping 30 months of deadly warfare in Eastern Congo. Can the reality of a renewal of the Hutu-Tutsi conflict hold? Nigeria's Gen X protests against the Abuja government have cost at least 13 lives.

They are inspired by their counterparts in Kenya and Uganda, who are taking to the streets. President Bola Tinubu urges the rioters to desist and engage in talks with his government.

Turkiye pushes ahead with involvement in Africa. This time signing agreements with Niger that has recently kicked out Western military advisors. What should we know about Turkiye in Africa?i

Aliiko Dangote, Africa's richest man, is in talks with Libya to get more oil to his undersupplied refinery in Nigeria. He'll also be talking to Angola. Dangote sought to address the conundrum that even though Nigeria is Africa's largest oil produce, Nigerians pay through the nose for petrol because of lack of refining infrastructure.

Mozambique has agreed to declare its "sky island" in the lowlands a protected area. The rain forest has scientists making a gold rush to the area after the discovery of new species of chameleon, snake butterfly and dung beetles that can smell their delicacy from 50 metres.

In this week's episode, Gareth and JJ Cornish delve into the significant impact of the British and French elections on Africa. Will Africa's growing economic significance continue to be recognized, or will migration remain the dominant issue on the agenda?

We also explore the recent political shifts in West Africa, where the coup-affected nations of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are forming a confederation and considering leaving the regional grouping Westcon. Senegal's President Faye takes on the challenging task of persuading them to stay.

Lastly, we turn our focus to Kenya, where President William Ruto grapples with the aftermath of intense protests by the younger generation. Facing the withdrawal of tax hikes, he proposes budget cuts to stabilize the nation. Join us as we analyze these critical developments and their broader implications for Africa and the world.

This week Gareth and JJ take a look at the strategic shifts in Africa as the US hosts a major military conference in Botswana. They then discuss the intriguing case of a Ugandan tailor who dressed the legendary Lucky Dube, who is now behind bars! Lastly, we journey to Rwanda where a local herder has turned cow tourism into a thriving business.

Somailia gets a UN Security Council seat. Rather unusual for a country that has a UN political assistance mission in place and an AU peacekeeping mission on the ground. Al Shabaab still able to do terrible damage.

Led by local showbiz personalities, Ghanaians take to the streets of the capital demanding an end to power outages. Sound familiar?

How about the most exciting train trip in Africa; The Desert Snake take one 700km across the Sahara Desert carrying iron ore to the Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou.

Who is behind the abductions in Nigeria? On Sunday 160 school pupils were taken in northern central Niger state. And the Burkina Faso junta which promised a return of constitutionality by July has now extended its use for another five years. Also, Kenya's rescue mission in Haiti delayed. This and more as JJ Cornish takes us across Africa's hot spots - brought to you by Johannesburg Business School.

With the landmark 2024 election around the corner in South Africa, Gareth Cliff chats to JJ Cornish who has officially observed elections in no less than 14 African countries – from the Comores to the Congo. We find out what makes elections free and fair, hear some hair-raising stories of narrow escapes and get up close and personal with the internal machinery of a polling station.