Youth in Nairobi, Lomè, and Lilongwe have recently led protests expressing their growing dissatisfaction with bad governance, corruption, and erosion of democratic rights. These demonstrations form part of a wider wave of youth-led protests seen across the continent in 2024, with significant mobilizations also reported in Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, and Kenya. The growing unrest raises critical questions about the political possibilities and limitations of confronting state power. It also brings renewed attention to the role of women in protest movements, both as organizers and symbols of resistance. Scholars like Zachariah Mampilly and Adam Branch, in Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change, explore the structural conditions that have fuelled these movements in recent decades and their potential to bring substantive political change. Meanwhile, Chika Madueke’s work traces a longer tradition of women leadership in African social movements.

A peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo was signed at the White House, with provisions for upholding territorial sovereignty and de-escalating tensions between the two countries. While the accord has been welcomed by some observers as a step toward regional stability, it has elicited mixed reactions for echoing neocolonial ambitions.

• George Elombi has been named the new President of The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), succeeding Professor Benedict Oramah. Under Oramah's leadership, the bank pioneered initiatives such as the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System and invested in strategic sectors, including energy and the creative economy. Afreximbank is a multilateral financial institution that promotes and facilitates intra- and extra-African trade.
• Chinenye Egbuna Ikwuemesi, founder of the Afrodeities Codex Project,  is working to re-centre African mythology in contemporary cultural discourse. The project confronts how colonialism and slavery demonized African mythologies and shows how they were intellectually rich systems that provided essential frameworks for law, medicine, ethics, and collective care.
• This year’s MET Gala Awards featured bold and innovative creations by several African fashion designers with origins from Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Congo,  marking a strong presence of African talent on the global stage.
• Twelve nations will compete for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco from July 5th - 26th. Defending champions, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, will defend their title amidst fierce continental competition.

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Image: Image from Abeokuta End SARS Brutality protest in Nigeria on March 26, 2018. 31 October 2020. Photo credit: Asokeretope, CC BY 4.0.