Simon Allison

All Protocol Observed
Welcome to Issue 227 of The Continent

In this week’s issue: what the Rubaya mine collapse tells us about the global economy and DRC’s governance void.

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If I could, I would give them all my monies.

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Subscribing to @thecontinent.org is my way in. BBC Africa is great but the BBC editors rarely surface it for me. So I get into BBC Africa via The Continent as often as not. Nothing about this in @theguardian.com so far.

This is the cover of The Continent, dated 31 January 2026, Issue 226. It is illustrated by Tanzanian satirist Gado. The background is deep blue and textured like a computer circuit board, with thin silver lines and nodes spreading across the page. At the centre is a microchip, tilted slightly. On the chip is the Kenyan flag — black, red, white, and green — with the national shield and spears in the middle. Beneath the flag, in bold white letters, are the words “MADE IN KENYA.” The chip is embedded into the circuitry, as if it is part of the system. Surrounding the chip are dark, shadowy silhouettes of large hands reaching inward from the top and bottom edges of the cover. The hands are not detailed — they appear almost like cut-out shadows. At the top, the newspaper’s name “The Continent” appears in large white letters. Along the very top edge, in smaller text, it reads “AFRICAN JOURNALISM | 31 JANUARY 2026 | ISSUE 226.” On the right-hand side, stacked in white text, is the headline: “The fight to save Kenya’s first microchip maker.”

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 226 of The Continent

The story of Kenya’s first semiconductor plant shows how quickly geopolitics can turn promise into collateral damage for the Global South.

bit.ly/226_TC

Excellent review of The Second Emancipation in The Continent, by @hararereview.com.

One of the best independent journalism models is @thecontinent.org, probably the one African publication that I can read calmly in the balcony in Lisbon as it is delivered straight to my WhatsApp (for free!)- feels like getting a weekly newspaper delivered on my doorstep, thousand of miles away

"On that cold Timket morning, one
Ethiopian Orthodox Church member
dressed up as if she were going to... services. She folded her shawl, gathered her prayer book, and stood by the window... After a while, she put everything back.
'God understands,' she said quietly.
'But it still hurts'."

'The Continent' 225, 24 janv.2026:
-Qui sont ses lecteurs?
-Épiphanie orthodoxe v ICE.
-Du déminage de Khartoum.
-Malawi: 2 régions chinoises s'emparent d'une compagnie minière.
- Sondage : pour une éducation sexuelle à l'école.
- Biographie de Kwame Nkrumah, président du Ghana (v. CIA).
#Afrique

We’re so back!

Picture's legend: "Unfiltered: The dust storm turned Libya more orange than a septuagenerian fascist’s facecloth"

Read @thecontinent.org : not only is this native African weekly newspaper (yes, actual traditional slow paced newspaper, not web pages) always on point with its selection of news and its analysis - but they are humorous too !

www.thecontinent.org

Weekend reading

Glad to see @thecontinent.org back!

New Year, new season of The Continent being published weekends, highly recommended!

YAY THEY'RE BACK!! 🖤🖤🖤

wake up babe, new edition of The Continent dropped 🤌🏾

A story about how celebrations of Timket, an Ethiopian Orthodox festival, have been muted in Minnesota due to ongoing immigration enforcement. Ethiopian and Eritrean families are choosing to stay at home rather than risk going to church.

A photograph of high priests conducting a Timket festival in Batu, Ethiopia.

A tale of two Timkets. In @thecontinent.org this week.

We're back!

At the very top, on a wide mustard-yellow band, there’s small black text that reads: African Journalism | 24 January 2026 | Issue 225. Beneath it, dominating the upper third, is the magazine’s title, “The Continent,” in large, bold black letters. The background is soft and hazy, painted in warm pastels, peach, cream, and light gold, like late afternoon light. Draped across the entire upper half of the cover are thick chains, coloured pink and orange, looping and overlapping. They hang loosely but heavily, suggesting weight and restraint, almost like something looming overhead. In the centre of the image, five men sit cross-legged on the ground in a loose circle. They are drawn in a semi-cartoon style but clearly adult, middle-aged, and dressed formally in dark business suits, white shirts, and ties. Each of them wears a pointed party hat — pinks, purples, and yellows — giving the scene a strange, forced celebratory feel. Confetti is scattered across the ground around them in small bright flecks of colour, reinforcing the sense of a “party,” though the mood feels tense rather than joyful. One man, seated on the left, is leaning forward and handing something small and rectangular — it looks like a stack of cards or money — to the man opposite him. The others watch closely, their hands either open or gesturing, as if negotiating, receiving, or approving the exchange. Slightly behind the group, in the background, there is a sixth figure. He sits apart from the circle, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees and his head resting on his hands. He is darker, less detailed, and shaded in muted tones, giving the impression of distance, exclusion, or quiet distress. At the bottom left of the cover, in bold black text, the headline reads: “The Chinese takeover Malawi never saw coming.” Below that, in much smaller text, is the illustration credit: Illustration: Wynona Mutisi.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 225 of The Continent

Superpowers don’t only control African minerals with loans, bribes and threats. Sometimes it’s through financial sleight of hand, as is the case of a Malawian mining licence granted in 2017.

bit.ly/225_TC

Big Tech needs us more than we need them, writes @simonallison.bsky.social

www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/big-...

gijn.org ‘Too Close to Home’: Handling the Challenges of Investigations with a Personal Connection

When journalism hits close to home, courage takes a different shape. At #AIJC, Christine Mungai and @simonallison.bsky.social showed how investigating people you know is emotionally brutal – but sometimes necessary to break silence and build truth.

Text from screenshot reads: The Continent 13 DECEMBER 2025 | ISSUE 224 THE YEAR IN BOOKS As chosen by Jacqueline Nyathi, founder of Harare Review of Books and The Continent's book reviewer. 5. Promises by Goretti Kyomuhendo The dream of a settled middle-class life through the power of the almighty pound drives young people in former British colonies to the United Kingdom. The couple in this story may be fictitious, but their trajectory - from hope to despair, and then picking up the pieces again - is all too real. 4. Will This Be A Problem? The Anthology: Issue V, edited by Olivia Kidula and Somto Ihezue This spectacular collection features speculative fiction from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe. In it you'll find shifty markets, njuzu, tech, cosmic battles, alt-history, anti-capitalist rebellion and maybe even the reason why donkeys have 44 teeth. 3 Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe Another book about African lives, which are so often a dance between the rural and urban. This great novel shows both these aspects. It's a heartwarming coming-of-age story of two Ugandan sisters, with themes exploring queerness and the tensions of family - whether that's one's family of origin, or chosen family. 2 The Second Emancipation by Howard W French French's biography of Kwame Nkrumah evaluates the impact of Ghana's first post-independence leader on Africa and the world and his claim to pan-Africanism. It demonstrates links from Africa to the diaspora and illuminates how events on the continent shaped and were shaped by world affairs. Keep reading us next year for a more substantive review. 1 Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite A late-year surprise, Braithwaite's wonderful tale of generations of women getting into trouble with men is a balance of the lighthearted and the serious. It's a well-executed exploration of desire, love, loss, desperation, and the apparent power of self-fulfilling prophecies. A glorious work.

That also means.... I got to pick my top 5 African reads of the year 👏🏾

Books from Goretti Kyomuhendo, @willthisbeaproblem.bsky.social, @wordsweaver.bsky.social, @hofrench.bsky.social, and Oyinkan Braithwaite are on the list!

The cover of The Continent’s Africans of the Year edition, with illustrations of African newsmakers. Illustrations by Nzilani Simu.

It’s the end of the year, so @thecontinent.org’s Africans of the year edition for 2025 is here! 🎉

So many great Africans.

This is the cover of issue 224 of The Continent. It is illustrated by Nzilani Simu. The background is a deep purple with subtle patterns. On the cover is a collage of portraits of the Africans of the Year as selected by the team at The Continent.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 224 of The Continent

We celebrate people whose purpose and passion shine through a tumultuous 2025, embodying Khalil Gibran’s words that “work is love made visible.” Meet our Africans of the Year: bit.ly/224_TC

"We all know that Africa's national borders are a colonial construct - there is no reason why our journalism should be similarly constrained."

Y'all wanna warn your friends before you get on the "AI companion" bandwagon and warn your friends, help them get informed.

The Continent | Africa The Continent is an award-winning African newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.

I'm in this week's issue of @thecontinent.org with some reporting from Tarkwa, among others.

The Goldbod is making its mark but until we get rigorous traceability, there will be questions about the environmental price we pay for its economic gains. Full issue here: www.thecontinent.org

The cover of The Continent features a powerful, unsettling political cartoon. It shows a giant, damaged statue of a Nigerian military general. The statue is cracked, stained with blood, and full of bullet holes, symbolising the collapse of state security. The general’s head is missing, and someone has placed a bright purple-and-yellow traditional cap on top of the neck stump. The statue’s right arm is raised in a salute. Hanging from that arm is the body of a person who has been lynched. On the statue’s shoulder sits a small man — his posture slumped, arms around his knees, head bowed. The base of the statue carries an inscription: “ARMED FORCES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.” All around the monument is violent chaos. The ground is littered with broken stone pieces from the statue, bones, papers, and bodies. Blood splatters cover the ground and parts of the monument. To the left, a masked man swings a bloodied machete at people who are cowering on the ground. On the right, armed men point rifles at terrified civilians; one person is shown attempting to flee. Near the bottom-right corner, two well-dressed men — one in ceremonial military dress, the other in a suit — exchange a briefcase, suggesting corruption even amid widespread violence. The statue’s broken head lies beside them, cracked and discarded. The headline reads: “Nigeria’s security is in shambles.” The illustration is by Gado.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 221 of The Continent

Nigeria’s security crisis deepens: 26 girls abducted in Kebbi State, more kidnappings elsewhere, and a top general killed — symptoms of a long-running, underfunded, corruption-riddled breakdown.

More inside: bit.ly/221_TC

This is the illustrated cover of The Continent (dated 15 November 2025, Issue 220). At the top, the headline reads: “Mali’s junta is running out of gas.” The scene is set in a dry, dusty desert landscape. In the centre-left is an abandoned petrol station. Its roof is sagging, the windows are cracked, and thick cobwebs cover the fuel pumps. Two vultures perch on the roof, panting with their tongues hanging out. Near the petrol station lies a set of bleached animal bones — a full ribcage and skull. On the right side of the image is a donkey struggling under an impossible burden. On its back is a mountain of luggage: pots, suitcases, buckets, sacks, and rolled-up bedding. Five people cling to the donkey as passengers — men, women and a child — all looking worried, tired, or anxious. The donkey itself is sweating heavily, its eyes wide with strain. At the top of the luggage pile is a battered “TAXI” sign.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 220 of The Continent

With insurgencies on the rise, Mali’s military rulers can’t secure a stable supply of fuel. Amid a growing crackdown on media, tankers are under attack, pumps are dry, and Bamako is grinding to a halt.

bit.ly/220_TC

L'hommage de Gado à Daumier 💔🇹🇿