Zambia’s August 2026 presidential election stands as a vital geopolitical watershed for Southern Africa. Strikingly contrasted against Zimbabwe’s executive overreach and eroded voting rights, Lusaka’s ballot presents a critical test: whether SADC’s future will be defined by constitutional accountabi
Zimbabwe’s liberation-era morari is a potent ideological weapon. This analysis explores how ZANU PF has ruthlessly weaponized this ingrained political culture to justify systemic violence and dominance, while a fragmented opposition remains crippled by a superficial, election-centric misunderstandin
Poet Kemi Alabi, author of the acclaimed collection Against Heaven, is returning this fall with the next edition of MELONCHOLIA: a black rage ritual, set to take place in Chicago, Illinois. Part performance, part communal healing practice, the event takes its name and central metaphor from fibroids,
For decades, Congolese writers have used fiction to chronicle the forces that have shaped life in the Congo, from colonialism and dictatorship to migration, memory and everyday resilience. Their work spans genres and generations, reflecting a literary tradition that is as politically engaged as it i
The Supreme always smelled of hot oil, cardamom and smoke – the kind that sank into fabric and followed people home long after the last cup of chai. Ceiling fans chopped at the warm Nairobi air, pushing it out through open windows that looked onto River Road, where matatus jostled, hawkers shouted,
Left of Black, the Webby Award-nominated video series that has spent over a decade spotlighting Black Studies scholars and artists, has announced Christopher Ouma as its new host, according to Left of Black. Ouma, a Kenyan-born scholar and Associate Professor of English at Duke University, steps int
Akwaeke Emezi, the Nigerian-Igbo and Tamil writer known for Freshwater, The Death of Vivek Oji, and Pet, has weighed in on the discourse swirling around Paramount’s newly released Children of Blood and Bone trailer, specifically, the choice to score it with Beyoncé’s “Energy.” The trailer, released
Chigozie Obioma, the acclaimed Nigerian novelist behind The Fishermen and The Road to Country, is the cover subject of Fifty Four Magazine’s fifteenth issue, Written Legacy, a collector’s edition dedicated to the depth and diversity of African literature. Across eleven curated features spanning oral
Zimbabwe has reached a perilous political impasse. By altering the constitution to entrench ZANU PF’s elitist rule until 2030, the establishment is systematically dismantling the nation's democratic soul. With a defeated opposition and youth paralyzed by materialism, this calculated power grab trade
A 1963 statute signed in Kenya's first months of independence is now being tested against the 2010 Constitution's rights framework. The outcome will shape whether African courts can ever hold global lenders accountable. The post Can a people’s Constitution beat a colonial immunity deal? Omtatah take