Our new print issue, Nigeria in the World, is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!

See Details

East Africa

Your guide to the essential ideas, trends, people and stories shaping East Africa.

Latest

‘Translation Is Where All Languages Meet’
Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ22 May 2025

‘Translation Is Where All Languages Meet’

Kenyan writer and author of Unbury Our Dead with Song, Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, does not believe in the idea of a ‘great African novel’: ‘I do not think there is such a thing as the “great African novel”—or the “great Russian” or “European” novel—nor do I believe in the idea of major and minor literatures.
The Timeless Solutions of the Gadaa System
Nicholas Kimble22 May 2025

The Timeless Solutions of the Gadaa System

The Gadaa system of the Oromo people of Kenya and Ethiopia offers an indigenous method of governance in Africa, as the adopted Western democracy seems to be failing the continent.
Is President William Ruto Facing a Global Publicity Crisis?
Winnie Rugutt11 May 2025

Is President William Ruto Facing a Global Publicity Crisis?

As domestic unrest in Kenya grows, President William Ruto’s carefully crafted global image is unravelling. Internal discontent is eroding Ruto’s international standing, which can potentially damage Kenya’s position as a regional sanctuary.

Popular

Right-Wing Misinformation Is Invading Kenya, Here’s Why We Need to Stop It
Right-Wing Misinformation Is Invading Kenya, Here’s Why We Need to Stop It
Maureen Kasuku4 May 2025
Right-wing disinformation tactics have crossed borders into Kenya, fuelling a dangerous intersection of digital misogyny and real-world violence that is driving record numbers of femicide.
Who Pays When Africans Fall Sick?
Who Pays When Africans Fall Sick?
Anodi Kaihula20 April 2025
Across Africa, millions in the informal sector remain uninsured—not from apathy, but due to the exclusionary nature of health systems. In Tanzania and beyond, digital innovations offer promising models for more inclusive health insurance.
Reading Gabriel García Márquez in Nairobi
Reading Gabriel García Márquez in Nairobi
Dennis Mugaa20 April 2025
With the recent Netflix adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, I recount what it meant to read his work as a young writer living in Nairobi.
‘We Pacify Atrocities With Inaccurate Language’
‘We Pacify Atrocities With Inaccurate Language’
Karen Chalamilla23 March 2025

Tanzanian researcher and author of ‘The Political Dilemmas of Tanzania’s Music Artists’, Karen Chalamilla, believes we have a duty to name acts of violence when we witness them: ‘Recently, I have become hypervigilant of the way we pacify atrocities with inaccurate language. The most common—and unfortunately relevant—examples being the use of ‘‘conflict’’ in place of ‘‘genocide’’, ‘‘ethnic cleansing’’, ‘‘pillaging’’, ‘‘murder’’ or terms that do not falsely imply equal footing.’

Advertisement

Explore by Topic

Climate Change
See More

No stories for this topic in East Africa yet.

Find more

Will Africa See More Protests In 2025?
Pelumi Salako16 February 2025

Will Africa See More Protests In 2025?

The African continent was rife with different protests in 2024. With many of the triggers that caused the protests not attended to, 2025 may see these protests skyrocket.
The Mad Scramble for Congo
Poncia Nyembo9 February 2025

The Mad Scramble for Congo

At the heart of Congo’s prolonged crises is a scramble for its natural resources, similar to the precolonial scramble for Africa. All hands must be on deck this time to protect the over 100 million Congolese lives caught in this unfortunate unending war.
Madagascar’s Promising Asia–Pacific Strategy
Juvence F. Ramasy26 January 2025

Madagascar’s Promising Asia–Pacific Strategy

The growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region in global strategizing amid increasing economic globalization and maritimization of trade has prompted Madagascar to deepen its relationships with Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.
The Political Dilemmas of Tanzania’s Music Artists
Karen Chalamilla27 October 2024

The Political Dilemmas of Tanzania’s Music Artists

Owing to stifled freedom of speech coupled with minimal structural support, Tanzanian music artists are finding themselves without any political space beyond praising the ruling government.
Filming the Prolonged Pain of Colonial Violence
Karen Chalamilla15 September 2024

Filming the Prolonged Pain of Colonial Violence

For decades, families in Tanzania have been demanding the return of their ancestors’ human remains from Germany. These ancestors, executed leaders of resistance efforts against German colonial rule, were exhumed from their graves and taken to Germany.
Fiction as National Memory in the Age of Mass Protests
Hassan Kassim18 August 2024

Fiction as National Memory in the Age of Mass Protests

Considering the 2024 Kenyan Gen Z protest, and the rising discontent among African youths, can literature play the role of lens in times of moral crisis, that too for a population that doesn’t read?
Remembering Kampala
Carey Baraka6 April 2024

Remembering Kampala

For much of the sixties, Kampala was at the centre of literature in Africa, its status propelled by Makerere University and Rajat Neogy’s Transition Magazine.
In Kenya, Domestic Workers Resist Exploitation
Mumbi Kanyogo7 November 2022

In Kenya, Domestic Workers Resist Exploitation

For many years in Nairobi, domestic work has been synonymous with exploitation. What does the future hold for Kenya’s domestic workers and their allies, who are actively organizing to transform domestic work into dignified work? 


54 Books By Women From Each Of Africa's 54 Countries
Peace Yetunde Onafuye6 April 2025

54 Books By Women From Each Of Africa's 54 Countries

Our latest book recommendation is a tribute to the storytelling traditions of African women across eras. It honours the trailblazers who paved the way for future generations of women writers and celebrates contemporary voices keeping the fires aflame.
The Last Days of Abuja’s City of Metal
Terna Iwar22 March 2026

The Last Days of Abuja’s City of Metal

For decades, Apo Mechanic Village has kept Abuja’s cars running. Now, as demolition looms again, the mechanics and traders who built the Abuja’s informal engine confront another uncertain future.

100 Years of Ladi Kwali
Wale Lawal22 March 2026

100 Years of Ladi Kwali

Our latest issue, 100 Years of Ladi Kwali: Stories from Another Nigeria, celebrates Kwali’s artistic legacy and shines a light on the Nigeria that often goes unseen and unheard. Spanning all six geopolitical zones, this magazine uncovers the deeper worlds that sustain Nigeria’s creativity, resilience and hope.