Unscrambled
@strandloper.bsky.social
"I don't know any other way to live than to wake up every day armed with my convictions." - Wole Soyinka.
africaunscrambled.substack.com/p/the-laws-o...
The Laws of History Trump the Law of the Jungle in the Strait of Hormuz
On February 28, the US and Israel attacked Iran expecting a quick victory. Over six months later, the conflict grinds on—a reminder that hubristic wars often end in disaster.
africaunscrambled.substack.com
africaunscrambled.substack.com/p/murder-for...
MURDER FOR MONEY: Inside South Africa’s Killsurance Industry
An industry where people insure others and kill them for the payout has become so common, and so wrapped up with organised crime, that it now has its own police task teams.
africaunscrambled.substack.com
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi banked on Donald Trump as his get-out-of-jail-free card. But he might discover, as others before him have, that it’s more like the kiss of death. africaunscrambled.substack.com/p/plunder-in...
Plunder in the Time of Ebola
By Phillip van Niekerk and Francois Misser
africaunscrambled.substack.com
open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
Behind the barbed wire: The human cost of South Africa’s anti-foreigner campaign
How did South Africa reach the point where families who had lived peacefully among their neighbours for years were forced from their homes and into a camp behind barbed wire?
open.substack.com
Musk mocked the idea that Lupita Nyong’o— one of the most striking performers of her generation—could portray Helen of Troy, sneering at the notion as though Blackness itself were incompatible with beauty, myth or classical civilization. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
Don’t hand South Africa’s democracy to Elon Musk for thirty pieces of silver
By Redi Tlhabi
open.substack.com
open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
A big strike for Nigeria’s military partnership with the US—but the road ahead is long and dangerous
The slickness of the media operation this past weekend speaks to a determination to control the narrative, which is as critical a weapon in an anti-insurgency war as the Reaper drones and AC-130 Spect...
open.substack.com
The latest xenophobic attacks are not coincidental. South Africa is heading into critical local government elections. Stirring hostility toward foreigners is a tried and tested way to mobilize support. When politicians run out of ideas, they reach for an enemy. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
The Real South Africa Must Stand Up—or Xenophobia Will Undo It
By Noxolo Luthando*
open.substack.com
Nigerian culture has given the world great beauty - but the furore around a recent “rape festival” in Delta State reveals how traditional culture can be used as a shield for cruelty and demeaning women. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
LETTER FROM JOS: the Nigerian “traditions” that mirror Epstein island
By Idoko Salihu
open.substack.com
Patrice Motsepe is being touted as a future South African president—but last week’s shocking reversal of Senegal’s AFCON victory was symptomatic of a pattern of poor leadership and questionable judgment. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
Patrice Motsepe and the collapse of credibility in African football
By Segun John
open.substack.com
africaunscrambled.substack.com/p/paving-the...
Paving the road to hell: The gold boom that is killing Africans
One of Africa’s oldest sources of wealth is financing its newest wars—from the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan to the smuggling networks in Eastern Congo, the insurgents in the Sahel and criminal syndic...
africaunscrambled.substack.com
African music is not a genre. It’s a vast, diverse, constantly evolving set of traditions, innovations, and artistic visions created by artists across 54 countries with different languages, histories, and aesthetic values. It is too good to keep locked in a box. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
Beyond Afrobeats: Breaking Africa Out of its Sonic Ghetto
By Idoko Salihu
open.substack.com
Nigeria's Schindler - the Muslim cleric who saved the lives of 282 Christians from sectarian violence - passed away last month at the age of 92. africaunscrambled.substack.com?utm_source=n...
Africa Unscrambled | Phillip van Niekerk | Substack
Cutting through the noise to explain what's actually changing in Africa and why it matters. Click to read Africa Unscrambled, a Substack publication. Launched 3 months ago.
africaunscrambled.substack.com
Tundu Lissu, Tanzania’s charismatic opposition leader, is back in court on Monday. He has spent 10 months in prison, charged with treason for calling for electoral reform. In last October’s elections, thousands of citizens were mowed down in a brutal crackdown by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
All the President’s Dogs: The African nation of Malawi has been transfixed by a dispute between the president and his predecessor over custody of four presidential guard dogs, a scandal that has been dubbed Dog-gate. open.substack.com/pub/africaun...
LETTER FROM LILONGWE: The Man Who Said Goodbye to the Presidency but Kept the Dogs
By Komani Mtimbula Zondola
open.substack.com
