Dan Ibery

Nyasha Mcbride Mpani Verified account @NyashaMpani · Apr 8

At a time when civil society across the Global South is facing unprecedented pressure, this piece examines a dangerous convergence: shrinking donor funding and tightening government restrictions that are steadily closing civic space.

What happens when organisations that provide essential services, accountability, and community support are squeezed from both ends?

This article explores the real implications of Uganda’s proposed Protection of Sovereignty Bill and what it signals for the future of civil society, not just in Uganda, but globally.

🔗 Read more: open.substack.com/pub/nyashamcbr…

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Afrobarometer Verified account @afrobarometer · Feb 16

Digital engagement and perceived economic vulnerability mark protests during the year leading up to Kenya’s 2024 anti-tax crisis.

More details here: bit.ly/4kFI9fQ

#Kenya #KenyaProtests #VoicesAfrica

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Charles Onyango-Obbo Verified account @cobbo3 · Dec 18, 2025

The Curse Of The Kitenge, Beauty Creams, And Baskets At The African Trade Show
Just done a column in .@NationAfrica on African expos/exhibitions. They are by and large an endless, soul-crushing loop of the same few things, no matter the African country.
Yes, the brightly patterned (Ankara, Kitenge, Kente, Masaai blankets, Mlifa, Biskri etc) are beautiful. The hand-woven baskets are authentic. The small-batch curry powders smell wonderful. The vials of essential oils and tubs of petroleum jelly are the lifeblood of someone's honest hustle. And those ubiquitous metal pans? They are robust, they cook the beans.
But let us be serious - and politically incorrect. These things, the very foundation of our informal economy, have become a beautiful, brightly coloured intellectual trap. They confirm, year after year, the narrative of the “Exotic, Developing Africa”; a continent stuck in the handicraft and primary product bracket.
You walk through the halls of “Innovation” and what do you see? Not modular, locally-designed solar panels that could electrify the village, or locally-assembled lithium batteries to store the juice. You don't see affordable, locally-made diagnostic ultrasound machines or simple ventilators for our under-equipped hospitals. Where is industrial-grade PVC piping, or the high-grade fertiliser formulation that would allow us to build and feed ourselves without waiting for a container ship from Shenzhen?
We are selling beautiful souvenirs, and the rest of the world is trading in assets and capabilities.
We are so far down the manufacturing chain that we notice with horror we didn't even have to mention the heavy stuff: the MRI machines that see into the body or the industrial robotics that automate the factories.
Until we start seeing trade expos dominated by fridge compressors, flat-screen TV displays, motherboards, and locally-engineered water purification systems, we are merely hosting a market for well-meaning tourists and not a serious trade platform. We are celebrating the past, while the future waits outside the tent, holding a power drill.
And that is why we will remain at the bottom, smelling richly of shea butter and groundnuts, beautifully dressed, but perpetually borrowing the tools to build our own house.
(Full article, “We’re Maasai blanket prisoners”, nation.africa/kenya/blogs-op…)

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Afrobarometer Verified account @afrobarometer · Nov 11, 2025

The 2025 Electoral Integrity in Africa Summit kicked off today in Lusaka, Zambia, under the theme “Defending Democracy and Reclaiming Civic Space: A Continental Call for Electoral Integrity and Inclusive Governance.”

Join us tomorrow for our side event, co-hosted with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (@WFD_Democracy), “Rebuilding Trust and Advancing Reform: Citizens’ Confidence, Electoral Integrity, and Principles for Democratic Reform in Africa.”

🕚11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. CAT
📍 InterContinental Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia

#VoicesAfrica #ElectoralIntegritySummit2 #Democracy

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