Blog

Reading Frantz Fanon

The glut of books on Fanon serve as a guide for reading him through the challenges of our present. But they also reveal the extent to which reading Fanon today is not such a straightforward operation.

Seeing is Believing — reassessing Angola’s ‘Implacable Exonerator’

When Angolans went to the polls in late August, many observers felt wary and jaded about the results. Even though President José Eduardo dos Santos was stepping down after 38 years in power, how much could we realistically expect to change? Dos Santos would remain the head of the ruling MPLA party, potentially until 2022, and his appointed successor, João Lourenço, appeared […]

The uncertain future for transitional justice in Zimbabwe

Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s newly inaugurated President, suggests that Zimbabwe is “witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy”. Many Zimbabweans, and those with an interest in the country, wonder whether that would include openness and some degree of truth and justice for political violence suffered under the 37 year regime of Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Robert Mugabe, and in which the army […]

Coups and phalluses

The moral of Grace Mugabe of Zimbabwe: While men continue to share the spoils of their misrule, it seems there must always be a harlot who can be brought to heel.