Bold, evidence-based coverage. No one gets a pass.
49 articles
Nine young men were stopped at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo Airport, bound for Russia's war. Their recruiters promised jobs. Africa's governments must stop this trade.
Nine Zimbabweans arrested in Johannesburg, ready to leave and fight for Moscow. How many have already left without anyone counting their dead?
Nine young Zimbabweans were caught at OR Tambo airport allegedly preparing to fly to a war that has already killed their countrymen. Who is profiting from our sons?
Several European nations are negotiating a deal to deport rejected asylum seekers to Rwanda — the same Rwanda that is waging a 30-year war of aggression against the DRC. Would Europe pay Russia to accept migrants while it bombs Ukraine? The double standard exposes the hollow core of Europe's rules-based order.
From Operation Doppelganger to 150 fake news websites: inside Russia's AI-powered propaganda machine that produces disinformation cheaper than a Netflix subscription.
A Trump-Xi-Putin meeting at APEC would be a coup for Moscow, analysts say, but Beijing appears lukewarm.
Even as Moscow’s engagement deepens, African governments increasingly treat Russia as one among several partners – not an indispensable ally.
Burkina Faso's junta has extended its rule to 2029 and taken Russian guns, while millions of Burkinabè face hunger and displacement. The UN's funding gaps are a verdict on them.
Geological maps, civil nuclear power, vague contracts: Moscow is taking over our resources, while our young people are dying for it in Ukraine.
Sixty-three former CPC combatants laid down their weapons in the northwest. Meanwhile, MINUSCA is closing 21 bases, and Russian mercenaries remain.
Thirty-five years of UN peacekeeping in Western Sahara ended in a Security Council veto fight. The people promised a referendum are the ones left waiting.
An impasse between the US and Russia at the UN means its peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has ended after 35 years.
A 37-page plan with 236 points sets out Russia's strategy in Africa through 2029. Before signing, did our leaders even read the bill?
Africa Corps mercenaries form Madagascar's presidential guard. Moscow is weaving its web, Beijing is arming the continent, and the Malagasy people are footing the bill.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has expired. Sahrawi people are left with a promise and no protection, and the African Union has barely spoken.
Rosatom is negotiating floating nuclear plants with four African governments. Turkey's Karpowership already showed us how a power deal becomes a hostage.
Russia's veto has ended the UN mission in Western Sahara after 35 years, leaving a half-century-old dispute with fewer eyes on it and no clear path to a vote.
Forty-eight African delegations sat in Moscow and heard Putin sell a "new partnership." Strip away the slogans and the deal is guns for gold, and regime survival for sovereignty.
The UN mission meant to deliver a referendum is finished. Washington and Moscow fought over the body, and the Sahrawi people were never invited to the funeral.
Over 1,400 Africans have been enlisted by Russia since 2023. In Tunisia, families still don't know whether their sons are alive. Our governments have said almost nothing.
Putin hosted dozens of African leaders in Moscow while Wagner-linked units kill civilians in the Sahel and mine gold in Sudan's war. Africa deserves better.
Mali's junta traded sovereignty for Russian mercenaries while its people fled hunger and gunfire. Africa's leaders must stop calling this patriotism.
Russia is arming Abiy Ahmed's air force while the Pretoria peace deal collapses. Ethiopians will pay for every jet with their blood.
Russia sends mercenaries, buys gold and sells guns to African juntas, then calls it partnership. Our leaders keep posing for the photos.
Ethiopia has taken delivery of 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets as fighting rages in Tigray. Who is paying for this war, and who is burying the dead?
Moscow promises young Africans well-paid jobs, then sends them to die in Ukraine. Now 48 African delegations are in Moscow flattering Putin. Our leaders must answer for it.
Twelve Su-35 fighter jets from Moscow, four S-400 air defence systems on order, and a war still raging in Tigray. Ethiopia is buying the tools for the next massacre.
Twenty-seven Ugandan men were promised jobs in Russia and ended up dead or missing in Ukraine. Their families were never told the truth.
Tanzania's president claimed 98 percent of the vote after her opponents were jailed or barred. Her security forces killed protesters, and now Moscow is courting Accra. Africa must answer.
Job promises, Russian rifles, African coffins. Twenty-seven Ugandans have died or gone missing in Ukraine, and our governments remain silent.
Two dozen African leaders are in Moscow chasing deals for weapons and mining rights. Our governments are trading sovereignty for survival, and ordinary citizens are paying the price.
Putin hosted delegations from 48 countries in Moscow, posed as Africa's anti-colonial friend, and sent Africa Corps to prop up juntas. Africans deserve better.
Russia is recruiting men from Zimbabwe, Burundi and Sierra Leone to replace its dead in Ukraine. Some African governments are fighting back. Others are looking away.
Russia recruits men from at least 29 countries through force and deception. According to a UN commission, this constitutes human trafficking.
Algeria's parliament approved troops for Niger two months after Russian-built jets landed in Niamey. Its own doctrine says it does not interfere. Africans should ask who this protects.
Mali's junta chose Russian mercenaries over its own people, and now mothers in Kidal wait for food. Who answers for that?
Millions have fled Burkina Faso's violence while Ibrahim Traoré's junta trades its people for Russian guns and silences the press. The coastal states are next.
Human Rights Watch says Malian soldiers shot five girls and a drone killed six at a market. Nobody has been held to account, and the men in charge are counting on that silence.
Madagascar marks one year on Saturday since military leader Michael Randrianirina took power following weeks of youth-led protests that brought down elected president Andry Rajoelina. Over the past year, Russian influence has grown through closer military ties and weapons deliveries, while researchers have identified Moscow’s interest in a strategic Indian Ocean port. Many of the political reforms demanded by protesters, however, remain unfinished.
Mali's junta swapped democracy for Russian mercenaries, and ordinary Malians are paying with their homes, their safety, and their futures.
Mali's junta and its Russian partners retook a city with fewer than a hundred civilians left in it. Who is counting the dead?
Russia-linked networks planted 44 ghost reporters and fake experts in African media. Half of the Kano respondents surveyed believed the lie. Who answers for this?
Russia, China, the UAE and their BRICS partners are bargaining over Africa's power, minerals and debt while some 600 million Africans still live without electricity.
Russia, China, the UAE and India are fighting over Africa's minerals, markets and votes. Not one of them has to answer to a single African voter.
Moscow backed coups across the Sahel, then flooded the internet with lies that only strongmen can save us. Now it is aiming the same playbook at Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
Moscow's recruiters promised salaries and training. They delivered guns, drone factories, and graves. African governments must act before more of our children disappear.
AI-generated videos, invented celebrity endorsements and Russian-linked networks are selling a junta's myth. Burkinabe civilians are paying the real price.
Jihadists struck Bamako and killed Mali's defence minister. The junta that jailed its critics and bet everything on Russian mercenaries has no answer.
Mali's junta expelled its regional and Western partners, hired Russian mercenaries, and now jihadists are cutting off fuel to the capital. Malians are paying the price.