Organisation of African Unity
Silencing the guns

Silencing the guns

Africa: fragile gains There’s been some progress towards ending wars on the continent, but 2020 was never a realistic goal for ending all conflicts Seven years ago, in 2013, African leaders solemnly vowed “not to...

BOOK REVIEW: Of heroes and villains

BOOK REVIEW: Of heroes and villains

Africa’s best and worst presidents: How neo-colonialism and imperialism maintained venal rules in Africa. By Nkwazi Nkuzi Mhango, Langaa Research and Publishing, 2016 Tanzanian writer Nkwazi Nkuzi Mhango’s book on...

Imagining and forgetting

Imagining and forgetting

The AU’s glossy new headquarters conceals the site’s notorious past as an execution chamber and burial ground for dissidents, vagrants and criminals The concrete skeleton of the new African Union (AU) headquarters...

Fair’s fair: giving the AU its due

Fair’s fair: giving the AU its due

A 2013 sitting of the AU, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia © Albert González Farran, UNAMID It seems unfair that the AU is held to higher standards than other regional blocs, when it sometimes accomplishes more The African Union...

Falling behind on safety

Falling behind on safety

Inconsistent funding partners’ uncoordinated missions and lagging member states hinder the AU’s counter-terrorism measures Continuous bloodletting by extremist groups in Africa in recent years has brought into question...