Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about national drug policies in various countries around the world. Last month, South Africa’s Constitutional Court surprised many observers by upholding a lower court decision striking down the country’s prohibition on the consumption and cultivation of cannabis for personal use. The ruling was widely cheered by advocates, but lawmakers in Cape Town and officials in Pretoria must now decide how best to implement this sudden legal shift. In an interview with WPR, Anine Kriegler, a doctoral candidate in criminology at the University of Cape Town, explains why hammering out the [...]
Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Ever since “Rafiki,” the latest film by the acclaimed Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it has been widely praised by foreign critics and directors and even generated some Oscar buzz. But only in the past week have Kenyans been able to see it for themselves. The film centers on a romance between two women. Ezekiel Mutua, chairman of the Kenya Film Classification Board, or KFCB, banned it domestically, saying it was an [...]
The Islamist militants came on motorbikes, arriving before dawn in two villages in eastern Burkina Faso. In the first village, Diabiga, they struck a mosque, killing a local Muslim leader and four other worshipers; a sixth person later died of his injuries. In the second village, Kompienbiga, they killed three members of the same family. The dual attacks, which occurred on Sept. 15, did not come as a total surprise. In the weeks leading up to them, a series of similar incidents in the east claimed around 20 lives. Analysts suspect the violence is the work of the Islamic State [...]
