Abstract Rwanda’s political development since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, often referred to as the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, frequently faces accusations of its President, Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front ( RPF ) conducting authoritarian mechanisms to remain in power. During the 2024 Presidential election, President Kagame received over 99 per cent. Most Global North-based human rights organisations describe these elections as fraudulent and problematic. However, there is significant Rwandan public support for President Kagame. This research examines Rwanda’s political system, specifically President Kagame and the RPF campaign, and why Rwandans keep voting for the status quo. It argues that historical instability, a sense of pragmatism and the lack of viable political actors keep the current political establishment in power. It relies on political ethnography from the author’s observations during the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Interview data collected during the election are analysed using both discourse and behavioral analysis to uncover the underlying reasons for Rwanda’s continued support for President Kagame. Fundamentally, the article argues that President Kagame’s continual leadership is best understood through the Rwandans’ desire for political stability despite Global North criticisms of the government’s human rights.
Abstract This article sets out to assess the politics of institutional design in Tanzania during the transition period to a multi-party system in the early 1990s up to the holding of the ‘founding elections’ in October 1995. Two questions are critical at this juncture; Why were certain institutions preferred by the ruling elites and others rejected? What were the logic and interests behind the preferred institutions? The point of departure in this article stems from the rational choice assumption that political actors seek to structure institutions to suit their own benefits. Using qualitative approach, the article demonstrates that the Tanzania’s transition during the third wave was largely a top-down show, with the ruling elites carefully designed institutions of their choice for their own political survival. The elite-controlled transition to multiparty politics in Tanzania accompanied with lack of negotiation process has subsequently jeopardized the development and adoption of a robust competitive political landscape.
Abstract This article offers a comparative analysis of enforcing judicial decrees against government entities in Tanzania and South Africa using doctrinal and comparative methodology. Executing a decree against the government is a controversial matter. In both jurisdictions, the government enjoys protection against the execution of decrees under the principle of sovereign immunity; in Tanzania, this principle limits the ordinary mode of decree enforcement. South Africa’s State Liability Act permits enforcement through various means, including contempt, attachment, and actions against government personnel. The results claim that South Africa’s approach is more compliant. Tanzania, nevertheless, would benefit from refining its legal framework to allow more compelling mechanisms for the enforcement of decrees against the government. The study recommends amendments to the law from both jurisdictions and promoting judicial activism to ensure that government entities comply with court orders, thereby achieving a more balanced approach between state immunity and the rights of judgement creditors.
Abstract This article explores the experience of naturalized refugees from Rwanda and Burundi in Tanzania, which is marked by notable differences in their lived experiences as citizens of Tanzania. In 1980, the Government of Tanzania granted citizenship to some 36,000 Rwandese refugees who had been in Tanzania since the early 1960s. Then, in 2008, the Government of Tanzania granted citizenship to more than 160,000 Burundian refugees who had been in Tanzania since 1972. Both groups were settled in the northwestern regions of Tanzania. Yet, the experience of these two groups as citizens of Tanzania has been marked with differences, with the former Rwandese refugees seen to have been more successfully integrated into Tanzanian society compared to Burundian refugees. What explains this variation in their experience of being members of the national community? Taking from fieldwork conducted in Tanzania and extensive archival research in Tanzania and Geneva, Switzerland, this article attempts to explain the variations of the experience of two groups in Tanzania. In an attempt to explain such variation, this article situates itself in the interdisciplinary field of refugee and forced migration studies, specifically the literature that considers local integration into a host country as a durable solution for refugees.
Abstract Subjecting refugees to the procedures under the general law regulating marriages in the host countries, without considering their unique camp circumstances, limits the full enjoyment of their right to marry and building strong and meaningful marital relations. Prolonged refugee encampment affects the rights and duties of spouses towards each other and between parents and children. To enhance the realisation of refugees’ right to marry, camps should be designated as areas to officiate marriages, powers should be granted to state camp officials to act as registration officers and waive costs or exempt refugees from costs associated with officiating marriages. Using the voices of refugees obtained through focus group discussions and analysed through phenomenological research design, this article discusses how camp policies and rules influence and alter the right to marry and relationships between spouses.
Abstract Modernist assumptions of human/world binary see Land as merely a resource to be grabbed, thereby erasing Indigenous relationships to it. This paper offers a perspective that moves beyond the problematic modernist binary conceptions of Land and welcomes Indigenous relational perspectives that view Land as an inseparable part of their spiritual worldview, intimately tied to their ecological well-being rather than a commodified resource. The paper draws on several examples from Akan people of Ghana to provide insights into alternative ways of relating to the Land in more cosmocentric, intersubjective and reciprocal ways than the dominant Western dualistic and anthropocentric ontology. The paper calls for reimagining alternative futures which involve envisioning profoundly different relationships with the Land, such as those embedded in Indigenous relational ontologies. To do this, the paper relies on decolonial research methodologies to challenge and resist reductionist modernist assumptions in understanding Indigenous ontologies of Land. Resisting Land dispossession necessarily requires a decolonial approach that prioritizes Indigenous conceptions of Land as an indivisible, relational entity essential to their existence.
Abstract Every refugee phenomenon starts with persons seeking asylum. Without such persons, refugee status or refugee legal framework would not exist. Despite being at the epicentre of the refugee regime itself, asylum seekers remain the most vulnerable, living in uncertain circumstances and their protection in the legal and policy framework of individual countries remains highly understudied. Most pieces of literature focus more on refugee protection and pay less attention to asylum seekers. Through qualitative methods of data collection, this article makes a thorough review of the asylum-seeking process in Tanzania and the extent to which asylum seekers are protected. Though the asylum process is codified under the law, this article establishes that there is a disparity between the law and practice, resulting in inadequate protection of asylum seekers. It, therefore, proposes an immediate amendment to the Tanzanian refugee regime to enhance the protection of asylum seekers.
Abstract South Africa in the mid-1980s is regularly cited by promoters of sanctions, often without scrutinising their effects on vulnerable groups. This paper explores how sanctions shaped political outcomes and socioeconomic inequalities. Based on interviews with ten South African political, academic and economic experts conducted in mid-2024 – using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis framework – the analysis finds: (1) the primary impact of sanctions was psychological rather than economic, notably through creating a sense of international isolation and validating the anti-apartheid movement; (2) economic and financial sanctions disproportionately harmed the poor, mainly via rising unemployment and shrinking public budgets for essential infrastructure; and (3) the main channel through which sanctions were effective (psychological) diverged from the mechanism that caused the greatest collateral damage (economic hardship). These findings highlight the importance of analysing how channels of effectiveness and collateral damage interact, rather than treating them as distinct or unrelated.
Abstract Universal Health Coverage ( UHC ) is increasingly recognized as a global public good, requiring international cooperation and strategic negotiation. Kenya has actively engaged in health diplomacy to secure external technical and financial support for UHC , leveraging multilateral institutions, bilateral partnerships, and regional frameworks. This article examines Kenya’s negotiation strategies within global health governance, focusing on its role in international health protocol negotiations, challenges in mobilizing domestic resources, and external support mechanisms. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple regression. Findings indicate that while Kenya has made significant strides in expanding healthcare access, lack of adequate technical expertise, structural constraints such as fiscal limitations and dependency on donor funding pose challenges to UHC . The article concludes that strengthening domestic resource mobilization and aligning international partnerships with national health priorities are crucial for achieving long-term UHC goals.
Abstract This paper examines the naturalisation and resettlement of refugees as well as obstacles to their further integration into local communities in western Tanzania from 1960s to 2023. Based on the data collected from archives, interviews, and secondary documentary reviews, the paper establishes that delays in completing the application process, policy shifts, conditions which are set for the naturalisation and relocation of refugees and lack of clear information concerning the progress of the processes limited the process of naturalisation and resettlement of refugees in western Tanzania. The paper recommends that to avoid uncertainty concerning naturalisation and resettlement of refugees, arrangements made by all stakeholders should be adhered to in time and refugees should be enlightened with all information required for their naturalisation and resettlement. This paper concludes that refugees’ naturalisation and resettlement processes are not theatric but honest and beneficial to those who succeed besides the challenges which have been encountered.
Abstract The climate change and mobility nexus is gaining importance in academia and international organizations dealing with matters related to both migration and climate change. This started in the 1980s, following the use, for the first time of the term ‘environmental refugees’ by United Nations Environment Program expert Essam El-Hinnawi. However, since then, there has been no consensus on the use, nor the categorization of mobility induced by climate change, for many reasons, among which are legal considerations, pertaining to entitlement to international protection by virtue of the 1951 Geneva Refugees Convention. This article examines the historical evolution of environmental studies in relation to human mobility, from early contributions by geographers such as Ravenstein and Ellen Semple, to the dominance of environmental determinism in the early twentieth century. It explores how climate-forced displacement was marginalized within mainstream migration studies because of the rise of anthropocentric perspectives and neoclassical economic frameworks. It also looks at the resurgence of interest in climate-forced displacement in the late twentieth century, driven by the recognition of anthropogenic climate change. The article provides a nuanced understanding of these complexities, advocating for a holistic approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries.
Abstract This article reviews the implications of negative discourses on refugees for durable solutions. The paper argues that overemphasis on security concerns by the host states is not only contrary to the very protection of refugees it claims to safeguard, but also leads to restrictions on movement and limits refugees’ access to fundamental rights and ultimately bars the possibility for alternative durable solutions. The article shows how an overemphasis on security is made possible by negative discourses about a certain group of refugees, limiting them from accessing even local help, given the dwindling global humanitarian aid. As such, the refugees in the global south are contained in the camps, and their movement is restricted. Access to mobility not only allows refugees to adapt to cuts in food rations but also acts as an alternative, durable solution.
Abstract Electoral violence is a critical challenge in democratic governance, particularly in Africa. Crucial knowledge for its mitigation, including spatial dissimilarity, disparities, and identification of specific socio-demographic and political characteristics as potential predictors of electoral violence, is limited in Africa. Accordingly, this study investigates the geographical disparities of electoral violence and its linkages to socio-demographic and political characteristics in Ghana using the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. We used correlation, spatial autocorrelation and spatial inequality to examine the spatial distribution of electoral violence at the regional and constituency levels. We found high disparities in electoral violence associated with its geographical concentration in specific regions and constituencies. Electoral violence was found to be beneficial to the two dominant political parties, with neither benefiting more than the other. While recognizing the benefit of electoral violence to winning political power, a key intervention mechanism is ensuring all parties uniformly adhere to nonviolence. Electoral violence is driven less by political competition alone and more by entrenched structural and sociopolitical forces, including party mobilization strategies, persistent historical grievances, institutional weaknesses, and ethnic fragmentation. Of 19 indicators, only one relating to a misunderstanding between political parties is consistently associated with socio-demographic and political characteristics, indicating its strong influence. These findings illustrate an improved understanding of the extent of electoral violence in Ghana, its underlying drivers and location-specific contexts for effective intervention and resource allocation toward minimizing violence in the electoral process.
Abstract This study proceeds from the assumption that, in modern times, a nation is a highest collective form of identity, which unites different groups in the community; thus, the relevance of all ‘development’ activities depends on how they conform to these collective interests. Building from this premise, African countries including Tanzania have been making efforts towards building strong nations since 1960s. On the process, knowledge dissemination institutions such as media and schooling have been working hard to disseminate associated content and values. However, assessing this in the neoliberal times, little is known concerning the contribution of schooling in national building. What kind of values dominantly produced in the schooling process and to what extent do they maintain the national building movement? By employing qualitative methodology and accumulation by disarticulation conceptual framework it was observed that, schooling in Tanzania disseminates neoliberal values which function to destroy efforts of national building.
Abstract Indigenous crops offer nutritional and food security, yet their household integration remains limited. This study, conducted in 2024 with 716 households across Iringa and Njombe, examined whether nutritional awareness is associated with the adoption, consumption, and processing of indigenous crops. While 64.8% of households acknowledged their nutritional benefits, 25.4% engaged in processing, hindered by inadequate skills, infrastructure, and access to technologies. Consumption was strongly linked to household production, though larger farms tended to prioritise high-yield commercial crops, thereby limiting their cultivation. Adoption varied by geography, while education, gender, and age had little effect. The multivariable model showed that place-based and land-allocation factors are stronger predictors than awareness. These findings reveal that awareness alone is insufficient; meaningful change requires stronger extension services, promoting localised policies, improved market access, and investment in value addition to empower smallholder farmers and elevate these crops as central pillars to dietary diversity, food security, and climate-resilient agriculture.
Abstract This article examines the constitutional and institutional foundations of electoral management body independence, focusing on Tanzania’s evolving legal framework and drawing comparative lessons from Kenya. It proceeds from the widely accepted premise in democratization studies that the autonomy of electoral management bodies is a critical determinant of electoral credibility, public trust, and democratic legitimacy. In Tanzania, recurring demands for constitutional reform have generated debate over the appointment, tenure, impartiality, and accountability of electoral commissioners. The 2014 Proposed Constitution introduced safeguards such as more inclusive appointment procedures, secure tenure, and judicial review, intended to strengthen impartiality and institutional autonomy. The article interrogates the extent to which such safeguards are effective to serve as bedrock in ensuring functional independence of the electoral commission. A comparative analysis of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission underscores the importance of structural autonomy, operational insulation from partisan influence, and meaningful oversight. It concludes that electoral integrity depends not only on constitutional design, but also on political will and effective implementation over time.
