Nicki Minaj’s Genocide
Whenever we think we have seen it all, something like Nicki Minaj addressing the United Nations about “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria happens. Minaj spoke at a panel at the US mission to the United Nations, along with US Ambassador Mike Waltz and US “faith leaders”, on Tuesday 18 November to “shine a spotlight on the deadly threat”, while thanking Donald Trump for his “leadership” on the matter. Trump recently announced that US troops might be sent to Nigeria to protect Christians in that...
Whenever we think we have seen it all, something like Nicki Minaj addressing the United Nations about “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria happens. Minaj spoke at a panel at the US mission to the United Nations, along with US Ambassador Mike Waltz and US “faith leaders”, on Tuesday...
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders recently declared that development aid should be redirected to domestic priorities, adding: “Then they’ll just be a little hungrier in Africa, but not here.” ZAM contributor Oyunga Pala, author and journalist based in the Netherlands, reflects on this statement. During the recent Dutch election debate in October, populist politician Geert Wilders, leader of the extreme right-wing PVV party, made a controversial remark. While making a case for zero percent...
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders recently declared that development aid should be redirected to domestic priorities, adding: “Then they’ll just be a little hungrier in Africa, but not here.” ZAM contributor Oyunga Pala, author and journalist based in the Netherlands,...
When people have wheels, they go far, as shown in a new book on cycling in Africa Whenever professor of technical history Ruth Oldenziel was told not to bother with a certain place “because they don’t cycle there,” she would think, “Oh, but they do.” “It’s simply a feature of a rising working class in industrial capitalism,” she says. “The story of South African mine workers who cycled between home and work mirrors that of harbour workers in Europe. They did it too. Cycling is what workers do in...
When people have wheels, they go far, as shown in a new book on cycling in Africa Whenever professor of technical history Ruth Oldenziel was told not to bother with a certain place “because they don’t cycle there,” she would think, “Oh, but they do.” “It’s simply a feature of a...
Two weeks ago, Trump threatened to send troops to stop “the genocide” of Christians in Nigeria. His message, shared on social media — as he does with any foreign policy announcement — terrified Nigerians. For days, citizens of our populous West African country debated the implications of this threat. Could there really be an invasion? Like in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya? Trump’s statement followed months of campaigns by US Republicans against the Nigerian government for allegedly “supporting the...
Two weeks ago, Trump threatened to send troops to stop “the genocide” of Christians in Nigeria. His message, shared on social media — as he does with any foreign policy announcement — terrified Nigerians. For days, citizens of our populous West African country debated the...
Power and faith: how ‘colour blind’ evangelism brings submission back to Africa On a TikTok video she made, Pontsho Pilane holds a South African Christian magazine called Joy! The cover shows the face of Erica Kirk, the widow of extreme right-wing evangelical influencer Charlie Kirk, who was recently killed in the US. In the photo, Erica smiles enrapturedly, her blonde hair cascading against a blue background. “Look how her gaze is turned upward to the heavens, and how a little gold cloud...
Power and faith: how ‘colour blind’ evangelism brings submission back to Africa On a TikTok video she made, Pontsho Pilane holds a South African Christian magazine called Joy! The cover shows the face of Erica Kirk, the widow of extreme right-wing evangelical influencer Charlie...
Responsible sourcing of ‘conflict minerals’ from Eastern Congo remains a facade Western consumers, regulations, and “fair” and “green” certification agencies and companies have sought to make mineral sourcing in the DRC more responsible. Yet as the conflict persists, “blood minerals” continue to mingle with green ambitions. By the end of the decade, 70% of sales by Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, should no longer rely on fossil fuels: a win for a greener future. These electric cars,...
Responsible sourcing of ‘conflict minerals’ from Eastern Congo remains a facade Western consumers, regulations, and “fair” and “green” certification agencies and companies have sought to make mineral sourcing in the DRC more responsible. Yet as the conflict persists, “blood...
Held in Johannesburg’s Braamfontein district during the weekend of 11 October, Fak’ugesi 2025’s Power Surge theme came alive, spotlighting African digital innovation in spaces that merge creativity, technology, and radical imagination. At the heart of the well attended festival, full of young and experienced, yet always curious lovers of tech, the transcontinental symposium Glitching the Future brought together artists, theorists, and performers. The Glitching the Future symposium, presented as an...
Held in Johannesburg’s Braamfontein district during the weekend of 11 October, Fak’ugesi 2025’s Power Surge theme came alive, spotlighting African digital innovation in spaces that merge creativity, technology, and radical imagination. At the heart of the well attended festival,...
Thania Petersen places her own body and gaze at the centre of histories long written about her community. Her photographic self-portraits in I Am Royal (2015), made as a gift to her children, gained widespread attention when curator Ingrid Masondo recognised Petersen’s vision and included her work in the Iziko South African National Gallery collection. In this conversation, Petersen reflects on a practice that interrogates the labels of “Cape Malay” and “Coloured” while tracing a creolised sense of...
Thania Petersen places her own body and gaze at the centre of histories long written about her community. Her photographic self-portraits in I Am Royal (2015), made as a gift to her children, gained widespread attention when curator Ingrid Masondo recognised Petersen’s vision and...
ZAM’s office in the Netherlands may have been surrounded by the noise and clamour of election campaigns in recent days, but that commotion pales in comparison to the protests — and, sadly, the violent responses by authorities — that have accompanied elections in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Tanzania during the same period. In these countries, oppressive one-party governments have gone to great lengths to suppress opposition and voters. What is happening in these countries is symptomatic of a wave of...
ZAM’s office in the Netherlands may have been surrounded by the noise and clamour of election campaigns in recent days, but that commotion pales in comparison to the protests — and, sadly, the violent responses by authorities — that have accompanied elections in Cameroon, Ivory...
Kleptocracy, a society or system ruled by those who use political power to appropriate their country’s resources for personal gain, became one of ZAM’s central themes after our colleagues in the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors, investigation after investigation, kept uncovering files and dubious agreements hidden in back rooms, tracing mansions, vast estates, private car parks, Swiss bank accounts, and New York shopping trips back to their beneficiaries. Finding underlying...
Kleptocracy, a society or system ruled by those who use political power to appropriate their country’s resources for personal gain, became one of ZAM’s central themes after our colleagues in the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors, investigation after...
Getting close to the rubies still means risking your life Exactly ten years ago, in 2015, ZAM published the investigation The Ruby Plunder Wars of Montepuez . It revealed that in Montepuez, Mozambique — home to the world’s richest ruby deposit — a “local general pockets proceeds while artisanal miners get shot by Special Forces.” The report was met with vehement denials of responsibility by the majority mine owner, UK gemstone giant Gemfields, and with stony silence from its Mozambican partner...
Getting close to the rubies still means risking your life Exactly ten years ago, in 2015, ZAM published the investigation The Ruby Plunder Wars of Montepuez . It revealed that in Montepuez, Mozambique — home to the world’s richest ruby deposit — a “local general pockets proceeds...
How migrant fishermen followed their catch from Ghana to Denmark—and back Ghanaian fishermen who migrated to Europe because of overfishing along Ghana’s coastline have found themselves exploited in the European fishing industry. The companies that depend on their labour do little to ensure decent working conditions, a situation worsened by weak regulations and the rise of populist anti-migrant rhetoric in the global north. Interestingly, however, circumstances seem to be improving on the Ghanaian...
How migrant fishermen followed their catch from Ghana to Denmark—and back Ghanaian fishermen who migrated to Europe because of overfishing along Ghana’s coastline have found themselves exploited in the European fishing industry. The companies that depend on their labour do little to...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. Far from the bustle of downtown Bamako, tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood, lies the headquarters of the Anw Jigi Art association. At its helm Assitan Tangara, embodies a new generation of socially engaged artists - deeply rooted in their communities and guided since childhood by a passion for the stage. To reach the headquarters of Anw Jigi Art in Djalakorodji, a northern suburb on the outskirts of Bamako, I had to navigate chaotic, uneven...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. Far from the bustle of downtown Bamako, tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood, lies the headquarters of the Anw Jigi Art association. At its helm Assitan Tangara, embodies a new generation of socially engaged artists - deeply...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. Lusanga is a village about 570 kilometres from Kinshasa, in the Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a population of roughly 15,000. Its history reflects the ecological devastation brought about during the colonial era. Like much of the former Bandundu province, northeast of Kinshasa in the DRC, the village of Lusanga was once surrounded by dense tropical forests. Century-old trees and a rich biodiversity once sustained...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. Lusanga is a village about 570 kilometres from Kinshasa, in the Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a population of roughly 15,000. Its history reflects the ecological devastation brought about during the...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. It’s early in the morning in Commune 3 of Bamako, Mali, and there’s a buzz in the neighbourhood. A group of young people are busy preparing the open space, which is sometimes used for events. To prevent dust from rising, the young girls carefully sprinkle water on the ground before sweeping the area clean in preparation for the ceremony to mark the return of Les Praticables (The Platforms) , a biennial theatre event that had, over the years,...
Article created in partnership with the DOEN Foundation. It’s early in the morning in Commune 3 of Bamako, Mali, and there’s a buzz in the neighbourhood. A group of young people are busy preparing the open space, which is sometimes used for events. To prevent dust from rising, the...
(For English, read below) Uitnodiging – Opening Between Here and Now ZAM Magazine en Open Art Exchange nodigen je van harte uit voor de opening van de tentoonstelling en de Glitching the Future livestream symposium. Between Here and Now 11 – 19 oktober 2025 bij Open Art Exchange Hoogstraat 85, Schiedam, Nederland Between Here and Now is een multidisciplinaire tentoonstelling van Afrikaanse kunstenaars binnen en buiten de Afrikaanse diaspora. Het “now” betreft de actuele ervaring van migratie en...
(For English, read below) Uitnodiging – Opening Between Here and Now ZAM Magazine en Open Art Exchange nodigen je van harte uit voor de opening van de tentoonstelling en de Glitching the Future livestream symposium. Between Here and Now 11 – 19 oktober 2025 bij Open Art Exchange...
Produced over eleven years in Mali and Mauritania, the film offers a unique first-person account of Tuareg history and culture against a backdrop of conflict and exile. It is a story of transmission and memory, where the intimate meets the political, and the first film to portray the Tuareg world from within. Undertows is a hieratic journey by filmmaker Intagrist el Ansari into the memory of his people. Framed as an intimate letter and testament to his son, it recounts the history of resistance and...
Produced over eleven years in Mali and Mauritania, the film offers a unique first-person account of Tuareg history and culture against a backdrop of conflict and exile. It is a story of transmission and memory, where the intimate meets the political, and the first film to portray...
In 1955, now seventy years ago, the Bandung Conference took place in Indonesia. Initiated by Indian Prime Minister Nehru and Indonesian President Sukarno, twenty-nine newly independent African and Asian countries committed themselves to a charter emphasising ‘respect for fundamental human rights’. The conference’s then Secretary-General, Ruslan Abdulgani, spoke of the ‘Bandung Spirit’: a call for peace and a declaration of war on violence and discrimination. The gathering ultimately gave rise to...
In 1955, now seventy years ago, the Bandung Conference took place in Indonesia. Initiated by Indian Prime Minister Nehru and Indonesian President Sukarno, twenty-nine newly independent African and Asian countries committed themselves to a charter emphasising ‘respect for fundamental...
Draagt een culturele boycot van officiële Israelische instituties bij aan het Palestijnse streven naar zelfbeschikking? In Nieuwsuur reflecteerde ZAM redacteur Bart Luirink op de ervaringen van zo’n boycot in de strijd tegen apartheid. Na het bloedbad van Sharpeville in maart 1960 riepen de Verenigde Naties op tot een boycot van Zuid-Afrika. In Nederland pleitten de eerste activisten tegen de apartheid, waaronder de latere burgemeester van Amsterdam Ed van Thijn, voor economische strafmaatregelen...
Draagt een culturele boycot van officiële Israelische instituties bij aan het Palestijnse streven naar zelfbeschikking? In Nieuwsuur reflecteerde ZAM redacteur Bart Luirink op de ervaringen van zo’n boycot in de strijd tegen apartheid. Na het bloedbad van Sharpeville in maart 1960...
The LGBTQIA+ community in Burkina Faso responds with shock to lawmakers’ decision to recriminalise consensual same-sex sexual relationships. On 1 September 2025, all 71 MPs in Burkina Faso voted to adopt a new Persons and Family Code. Under the amended Code, anyone convicted of engaging in homosexual activity now faces between two and five years in prison, or a fine ranging from $3,600 to $17,800. Burkina Faso’s Justice Minister, Edasso Rodrique Bayala, told the national broadcaster RTB that “if a...
The LGBTQIA+ community in Burkina Faso responds with shock to lawmakers’ decision to recriminalise consensual same-sex sexual relationships. On 1 September 2025, all 71 MPs in Burkina Faso voted to adopt a new Persons and Family Code. Under the amended Code, anyone convicted of...
Neo Matloga’s new solo exhibition is about resilience – not the kind we shout about, but the quiet kind. The kind found in small rituals, in the decision to show up again. These are portraits of everyday courage. For his first exhibition in Johannesburg since 2020, Matloga presents a tableau of quiet figures witnessed in moments of daily life between Johannesburg and Mamaila, the village where he grew up. The artist describes his paintings as “psychological landscapes,” in which the range of...
Neo Matloga’s new solo exhibition is about resilience – not the kind we shout about, but the quiet kind. The kind found in small rituals, in the decision to show up again. These are portraits of everyday courage. For his first exhibition in Johannesburg since 2020, Matloga presents...
