Southern Africa Archive

In mid-April, a spokesperson for the Ugandan government admitted that the country’s only functioning cancer treatment machine had broken earlier that month. The radiotherapy machine, donated by China to Uganda in 1995 and housed at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, is now considered beyond repair. While the government did acquire a second radiotherapy machine in 2013, it has not been operational because of delays in allocating 30 billion shillings—just shy of $9 million—to construct a new building to house it. The funding delay has lifted, but the machine won’t be up and running for at least six months. The government has […]

On Jan. 6, Djibouti announced it was severing relations with Iran inresponse to attacks on Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Tehran, following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric by Saudi authorities. Shortly after, a joke appeared on Telegram, an instant messaging app popular among Iranians: “One good thing that the snapping of ties with Saudi Arabia taught me is geography. At least now I know where Djibouti is.” Although many Iranians have since dismissed the tiny Horn of Africa state as an inconsequential actor, it was not that long ago that Tehran sought to expand its engagement with small […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of corruption and various countries’ efforts to combat it. Last month, the prime minister of Mauritius, Anerood Jugnauth, asked his environment minister to resign following corruption allegations. In an email interview, Roopanand Mahadew, a lecturer in human rights law at the University of Mauritius, discussed the country’s successes in fighting corruption. WPR: How big a problem is corruption in Mauritius, and to the degree it is one, how does it manifest itself in daily life and politics? Roopanand Mahadew: Mauritius was ranked first among African nations […]

Last month, authorities arrested Zambian opposition leader Erick Chanda after he accused President Edgar Lungu of using public funds on a vacation. In an email interview, Nick Branson, a senior researcher at Africa Research Institute in London, discussed politics and the state of the opposition in Zambia. WPR: What is President Edgar Lungu’s record so far in office, and how popular are he and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) ahead of August presidential and parliamentary elections? Nick Branson: Lungu has admittedly only been in power for a little over 14 months, having been elected in January 2015 to serve the […]