KajyibwamiNotes

  In the study of political insurgencies, names are rarely coincidental. They are almost invariably textual monuments to a particular historical grievance. "M23" for over a decade was simply a reference to the text of the 23rd of March 2009 peace agreement between the Government of the DRC and the CNDP. The M23's entire raison d'etre was the text of that agreement and the claim that the DRC state had systematically broken its legal commitments to the Congolese Tutsi in respect of integration, land and the physical security of the Congolese Tutsi. Yet, the recent announcement of the official dissolution of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and the absorption of M23 into a new politico-military umbrella—the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN)—invites serious scrutiny. What makes this transition remarkable is not merely the semantic shift, but the individual placed at the absolute apex of the new movement: former DRC President Joseph Kabila. By entering into an all...

    In the song of Bien (a Kenyan singer), entitled ‘ A Student’ , in the chorus he speaks the quiet truth we don’t like to put out, he says ‘Mama, I don't wanna be the A student, working for the B students Ukampania C student, in the land of the D students, Oh mama na ma E students Huku inje wanatesa na ma-Benz. Oh, you know the end justifies the means’. In the context of the song, Bien is highlighting the irony of life after graduation. He is saying: “Out here in the real world, the ‘E’ students”those who failed or scored poorly in school “are the ones driving Mercedes-Benzes and living lavishly.” The line “Huku nje wanatesa na ma-Benz” is written in Sheng, a form of Kenyan urban slang, and roughly means, “Out here in the real world, they are flexing with Mercedes-Benzes.” It is a reminder that academic performance does not necessarily determine what happens after graduation, or guarantee a person’s economic success. The education system we have built is not designed t...

When visa restrictions prevent representatives of UN Member States from reaching the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the issue is no longer simply about immigration. It raises a fundamental question of international law: can a state disregard obligations it has voluntarily undertaken under a treaty? The answer takes us to the 1947 United Nations–United States Headquarters Agreement and one of the foundational principles of international law: pacta sunt servanda agreements must be kept. The recent visa controversies involving representatives of Sudan seeking to participate in United Nations activities in New York raise a question that extends beyond immigration administration. They invite scrutiny of the legal relationship between the United States and the United Nations, particularly the obligations created by the 1947 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan's de facto head of state, was absent from this yea...

  The first part of paragraph one of Article 161 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda provides that the Rwanda National Police is generally responsible for ensuring the security of persons and property throughout the country. This is a significant constitutional responsibility. The Police is entrusted with protecting people, maintaining public order and enforcing the law. Women play an important role within the Rwanda National Police. Women reportedly constitute more than 20% of the force , and women occupy senior leadership positions within the institution. This reflects Rwanda's broader commitment to women's participation in public institutions and security. Yet, recent events have raised a different and important question: how are people treated once the Police exercises its power to arrest them? A video recently circulated online showing police officers arresting a woman for wearing a miniskirt and taking her to a police station. The incident generated publ...

  The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) marked one of the most ambitious economic projects in Africa's modern history. Bringing together 55 African economies into a single market of more than 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP exceeding $3 trillion, the agreement seeks to reshape the continent's economic future through deeper integration, increased intra-African trade, and enhanced industrial development. At its core, the AfCFTA embodies a Pan-African vision: an Africa where goods, services, investments, and ultimately people move more freely across borders, creating opportunities for shared prosperity and sustainable growth. The agreement promises to reduce tariffs on most goods, strengthen regional value chains, encourage industrialization, and reduce the continent's dependence on external markets. Yet the concerns raised by African business leaders Aliko Dangote and Abdul Samad Rabiu reveal a fundamental contradiction at the heart of t...

  A viral social media post recently claimed that Iran had discovered a weapon “more powerful than oil.” According to the post, the Strait of Hormuz does not only transport nearly twenty percent of the world’s oil, but also carries undersea cables powering the global internet. It further alleged that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had threatened to cut those cables unless major technology companies such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon complied with its demands. While fact-checking later showed that many parts of the claim were exaggerated or unsupported, the story nevertheless revealed an important truth about the modern world: digital infrastructure has become one of the most strategic assets in global politics. The internet is often imagined as something abstract, wireless, and borderless. In reality, the internet is deeply physical. It depends on submarine cables, data centers, cloud computing facilities, satellites, semiconductor factories, energy syst...