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One hundred years since the birth of the Mozambican revolutionary-intellectual Aquino de Bragança on 6 April 1924, his friend and comrade, Colin Darch, writes about this “man of anguish” – constantly battling to understand what it meant to be a Marxist in the twentieth century. Darch writes how Aquino spent his adult life committed to the struggle for the liberation of Mozambique and for the rest of southern Africa. In 1986 he died in the plane disaster alongside President Samora Machel.

Roberto Sirvent interviews Koni Benson about her new book Crossroads: I Live Where I Like, that tells a sidelined story of the creation of the city of Cape Town, and the central role of movements led by African women in campaigning for public services. Benson speaks about how today there are over 2 million people in informal settlements, in a so-called ‘World Class’ city in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ - the great myth of the 1994 miracle.

Ambreena Manji argues that we need a better understanding of home, labour and inequality in the pandemic and that feminist thought is central to a just future. Focusing on the Global South, she argues that women have borne the brunt of the violence directed towards the homes of working people.

In the first of a three-part series on mental health and activism in Kenya, Noosim Naimasiah writes about the pandemic of mental health breakdown in Kenya. She notes how activists respond increasingly to distress calls, extrajudicial executions, sexual abuse, fatal domestic violence, and suicides are interspersed by the chronic conditions of violence in the informal settlements of Nairobi. Naimasiah writes how communities once connected by values of respect, dignity and love have been left to the cold machinations of a brutal system registering only exchange value.

Noosim Naimasiah interviews Irene Asuwa and Cidi Otieno about food sovereignty, ecologically appropriate production, distribution and consumption, social-economic justice, and local food systems in Kenya. They also discuss the role of social movements in raising popular consciousness and defending the rights of Kenya’s popular classes.

We republish a widely read article in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide in Namibia (1904-1908) by the German empire. Heike Becker discussed the 2021 agreement between the German and Namibian governments for special: reconciliation and reconstruction” projects benefiting the affected Ovaherero and Nama communities. Becker brilliantly delved into the issues of the agreement, highlighting the popular protests in Windhoek. The German-imposed agreement was criticized for excluding genocide victims and the Namibian people. Today, Namibian victims continue to struggle for adequate recognition and reparations, as Germany's 1.1 billion pledge over 30 years pales in comparison to the 80 billion given to Israel, facing its own accusations of genocide against the Palestinians.

As COP28 approaches, Mozambique's efforts for continued extraction of natural gas amid global energy transition discussions become significant. Holding Africa's third-largest natural gas reserves, Mozambique negotiated its interests at COP27 through new alliances amidst growing controversy around natural gas's role in climate change. With a bigger focus on exports, it faces socio-political complexities and the urgent need for an energy transition to mitigate climate change effects.

Mark Duffield and Nicholas Stockton write about the spectacular growth in livestock exports from the Horn of Africa to the urbanising Gulf states, and argue that neoliberalism has transformed the former reciprocity between ‘farmers’ and ‘herders’ into a relation of permanent war. Based on their article in ROAPE - freely available to read below - they argue that the crisis in the Horn is rooted in how the wealth of its peoples is being internationally plundered.

Kola Ibrahim argues that Africa is being tricked by global climate change politics, the same people who claim to be fighting climate change are the ones promoting fossil fuels. The reality is that Africa has become a new frontier for fossil fuel development. This is being carried out by global finance capital, multinational corporations, governments of developed economies, and worse still multilateral organizations that claim to be spearheading the funding for climate actions. Ibrahim exposes the reality of the green transition in Africa.

Robtel Neajai Pailey writes that after six years in power, President George Weah has proven he is not up to the job. For the sake of Liberia’s future, he must be removed in next week’s elections. There is a hunger and need for change across the country. As Pailey explains,"there is little doubt that 10 October will be a referendum on the president. [Weah] boasts of his ‘pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development’, yet ... consistently evaded public debates about his overall record in office."