Africa's diverse protest culture

非洲多样的抗议文化

Editor's Picks from The Economist

2026-04-15

6 分钟
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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Africa's protests span countries, classes and causes. But these movements often struggle to achieve lasting political reform. Topics covered: Africa's protestsCorruption State violence Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
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  • Hello, this is Rosie Blore, co-host of The Intelligence, our daily news and current affairs podcast.

  • Welcome to Editor's Picks.

  • We've chosen an article from the latest edition of The Economist that we thought you might enjoy.

  • Please do have a listen.

  • The man that Praseka wanted to vote for had been thrown into jail.

  • And so last October, when polling day came, she took to the streets.

  • Tanzanians across the country did the same.

  • Only when the police started shooting did they see that this was war, she says.

  • Security forces killed hundreds of people, maybe thousands.

  • Where she lives, in the Mara region, the smell of dead bodies wafted from the bush.

  • How many people were killed may never be known.

  • A commission that is supposed to investigate the deaths had its deadline extended for the second time on April 4th.

  • It is not just Tanzania.

  • In the past couple of years, young Kenyans stormed parliament.

  • Post-election protests paralysed Mozambique, and a popular uprising helped topple the president in Madagascar.

  • These revolts show deep dissatisfaction of Africans with the status quo, and their tenacity in seeking to change it.

  • But can they produce better results?

  • The street has long been a feature of African politics.

  • Adam Branch of Cambridge University and Zachariah Mampilli of the City University of New York identify a wave

  • of anti-colonial protest in the 1940s and 1950s,