Yunus Momoniat
Yunus Momoniat is a researcher and writer at South African History Online and an occasional political commentator.
African tourism – lessons from COVID-19

African tourism – lessons from COVID-19

  Imagine the ideal tourist destination: a magnet for people from all over the world, safe, full of beautiful natural sites, with urban delights such as music concerts and theatres, friendly locals, and perhaps even opportunities for business-minded individuals....

A grim future awaits states who do not procure energy

A grim future awaits states who do not procure energy

Book review The Political Economy of Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa Edited by Andrew Emmanuel Okem and Lucky E Asuelime Routledge, London and New York; 2018 In pre-industrial society, one used wood and fire for heat and light, gathering wood from the environment on a...

Book review

Book review

The Political Economy of Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Edited by Andrew Emmanuel Okem and Lucky E Asuelime. Routledge, London and New York; 2018

Senility, a doting mad wife and an indulgence in spies

Senility, a doting mad wife and an indulgence in spies

Book review: In the Jaws of the Crocodile: Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Rise to Power in Zimbabwe. By Ray Ndlovu, Penguin Books, 2018 In the Jaws of the Crocodile is an exciting account of the coup that shuffled Robert Mugabe off his throne so that Emmerson Mnangagwa could...

The ancient libraries of Africa

The ancient libraries of Africa

Africa: the written word Africa’s great libraries are stories of state formation and empires, and of people who thirsted for knowledge Reading and writing are miraculous activities; they transform the human condition, making possible new modes of social life. In a...

What are the odds?

What are the odds?

SDG 9: Innovation, infrastructure and sustainable development Africa’s lack of infrastructure is becoming particularly noticeable in an era of technological innovation By Yunus Momoniat Even in 1972, when the term “sustainable development” was first used, there was an...

A salutary lesson in historical scholarship

A salutary lesson in historical scholarship

Book review By Yunus Momoniat Mahmood Mamdani’s seminal book, published in 1996, represented an important turning point in African Studies. In it, he challenged many beliefs long-held by Africanist scholars and made bold proposals that at the time cast a new light on...

Sidestepping the political

Sidestepping the political

Dear Ijeawele: A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 4th Estate, London, 2017 When a friend asked writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to produce a manual that would help new mothers raise their children as feminists, she seized the...

Yunus Momoniat
Yunus Momoniat is a researcher and writer at South African History Online and an occasional political commentator.
African tourism – lessons from COVID-19

African tourism – lessons from COVID-19

  Imagine the ideal tourist destination: a magnet for people from all over the world, safe, full of beautiful natural sites, with urban delights such as music concerts and theatres, friendly locals, and perhaps even opportunities for business-minded individuals....

The ancient libraries of Africa

The ancient libraries of Africa

Africa: the written word Africa’s great libraries are stories of state formation and empires, and of people who thirsted for knowledge Reading and writing are miraculous activities; they transform the human condition, making possible new modes of social life. In a...

What are the odds?

What are the odds?

SDG 9: Innovation, infrastructure and sustainable development Africa’s lack of infrastructure is becoming particularly noticeable in an era of technological innovation By Yunus Momoniat Even in 1972, when the term “sustainable development” was first used, there was an...

Sidestepping the political

Sidestepping the political

Dear Ijeawele: A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 4th Estate, London, 2017 When a friend asked writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to produce a manual that would help new mothers raise their children as feminists, she seized the...