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Mambo ! Blog

Kenya

Generative AI, Social Media Disinformation, and Polarization During the 2024 Gen Z Protests in Kenya

Hillary BOBO, Mambo!, no. 113, 2026.
The central research question of the study was to examine the intersection between generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), youth-led movements, social media disinformation, and societal polarisation during the 2024 Gen Z protests through a mixed-method paradigm, focusing on social media content analysis, key informant interviews, and an online survey. The 2024 and 2025 Gen Z protests in Kenya were interpreted as spontaneous and amorphous digital unrest, mainly propelled by disinformation, making the protests seen as a security threat while overlooking the unfavourable socio-economic and political conditions that made the protests resonant with the young people. The protests had been sparked by government-proposed tax measures that the Kenyan populace, in particular the Gen Z found punitive. Artificial Intelligence, especially generative AI was used to produce and disseminate a significant amount of the content created at unprecedented scale and speed, that transformed digital activism. However, it also brought the dark side of using artificial intelligence in creating deepfakes and manipulated visuals, leading to widespread social media disinformation by both protesters and pro-government actors. Findings from the survey projected that 52.2 % of the survey respondents, with a majority being young people at 79.4%, agreed that AI-generated content had a significant influence in shaping public perception negatively. Findings also revealed that information exchanges happened mainly through TikTok at 36%, and X at 21%, while 27% used more than two social media platforms to consume AI-generated messages. These revelations show the close intersection between generative AI, youth-led movements, social media disinformation, and societal polarisation.

Kenya

Administration of Justice for Urban Refugees in Kenya: Perspectives of Legal Experts

Mercy CHEPKIRUI LAGAT, Mambo!, no. 112, 2026.
International and national protection frameworks guarantee refugees the right to access to justice. However, the urbanization of forced displacement in Kenya has reconfigured this refugee protection regime. Unlike the traditional and humanitarian justice systems established in camps, refugees residing in urban areas rely on domestic judicial systems. This shift creates a state of dual vulnerability where their legal status overlap with the structural marginality of informal urban settlements. By focusing on the viewpoint’s legal experts’, this study demonstrates that there is a systemic disconnect between recognised rights and the administration and access to justice in practice. Institutional exclusions, bureaucratic red tapes, and fragmented law enforcement have turned the pursuit of legal redress into a contested process. Access to justice is thus shaped more by professional discretion and spatial inequalities than by formal constitutional guarantees.

East Africa / Tanzanie

Rethinking the Interpretative Limits of Theatre for Development and the Politics of Nation-Building in Post-Socialist Tanzania

Stanley ELIAS, Mambo!, no. 111, 2026.
This article rethinks the interpretation of Theatre for Development (TfD) in Tanzania, particularly in relation to its role in nation-building during what I term the “post-socialist” period. Whereas dominant frameworks have positioned  TfD as simply a form of resistance to the state or collaboration with it, this article explores the more complex and negotiated ways in which TfD has operated in practice. Drawing on the historical trajectory of University TfD initiatives, interviews, and performances, this article examines how practitioners navigated state power, paternalistic agendas, and grassroots participation. The article introduces the concept of a poetics of negotiation to describe indirect and largely non-confrontational modes of political engagement. Through strategies such as nostalgia, satire, and symbolic ambiguity, TfD reflected on the disappointments of socialism and the promises of neoliberalism, while also articulating alternative, everyday imaginings of the nation. Foregrounding conviviality as an analytical lens, the article highlights everyday negotiations shaped by unequal power relations. It particularly argues that while convivial engagement enabled limited forms of agency, it also constrained overt political critique, repositioning University TfD as a negotiated and politically bounded cultural practice in “post-socialist” Tanzania.

Tanzania 2025: Muendelezo wa ukandamizaji wa serikali

Sehemu ya #5. ‘Kura ni alama ya maendeleo’: Kuahidi maendeleo Zanzibar kupitia kampeni zilizotawaliwa na mabango ya kisiasa

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 110, 2026.
Katika uchaguzi wa Zanzibar wa mwaka 2025, maendeleo haikuashiria tu ‘maendeleo’—yalitumika kama teknolojia ya kisiasa (political technology) ambayo kupitia kwayo CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi) ilijaribu kugeuza miundombinu kuwa uhalali wa kisiasa na kupiga kura kuwa kitendo cha utii uaminifu badala ya chaguo la wazi. Kama ilivyo kwa dhana yoyote, na hasa kwa dhana ambayo, kote Tanzania (ikiwemo Zanzibar), inabeba uzito wa historia ya ukoloni na ya baada ya ukoloni, maendeleo yana maana nyingi na zinazotegemea muktadha.

Tanzania 2025. On the Shift Towards State Violence

Episode #5. ‘Kura ni alama ya maendeleo’ (‘Voting is a symbol of development’): Promising development in Zanzibar through poster-intensive campaigning

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 110, 2026.
In Zanzibar’s 2025 elections, maendeleo did not merely signify ‘development’—it functioned as a political technology through which the CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi, or Party of the Revolution) sought to transform infrastructure into political legitimacy and voting into an act of allegiance rather than choice. Like any notion, and even more so in the case of a notion which, throughout Tanzania (including Zanzibar), bears the weight of colonial and post-colonial history, maendeleo has multiple and contextual meanings.

Tanzanie 2025. Sur le basculement vers la violence d’État

Épisode 5 # ‘Kura ni alama ya maendeleo’ (« Le vote est un symbole de développement ») : Promouvoir le développement à Zanzibar grâce à une campagne intensive d’affichage

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 110, 2026.
Lors des élections de 2025 à Zanzibar, le terme maendeleo ne signifiait pas simplement « développement » : il constituait une stratégie politique par laquelle le CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi, ou Parti de la Révolution) cherchait à transformer les infrastructures en légitimité politique et le vote en un acte d’allégeance plutôt qu’en un choix. Comme toute notion, et encore plus dans le cas d’une notion qui, dans toute la Tanzanie (y compris à Zanzibar), porte le poids de l’histoire coloniale et postcoloniale, maendeleo revêt des significations multiples et contextuelles.

Tanzanie 2025. Sur le basculement vers la violence d’État

Épisode #4. La couverture médiatique kényane du basculement vers la violence d’État en Tanzanie à travers les Unes du journal The Standard (29 octobre-10 novembre 2025)

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 109, 2026.
Pendant 8 jours successifs, du jour du scrutin (mercredi 29 octobre 2025) au surlendemain (5 novembre) de la cérémonie d’investiture officielle de la présidente de Tanzanie nouvellement élue, Samia Suluhu Hassan[1], les premières de couverture de l’hebdomadaire kényan The Standard suivent quotidiennement le basculement vers la violence d’État qui s’opère pendant cette temporalité décisive du vote et de l’après-vote liée aux dernières élections tanzaniennes de 2025.

Tanzania 2025: Muendelezo wa ukandamizaji wa serikali

Sehemu ya #4. Jinsi vyombo vya habari vya Kenya vilivyoripoti mwelekeo wa Tanzania katika ukandamizaji wa serikali kupitia vichwa vya habari vya gazeti la The Standard (29 Oktoba–10 Novemba 2025)

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 109, 2026.
Kwa siku nane mfululizo, kuanzia siku ya kupiga kura (Jumatano 29 Oktoba 2025) hadi siku mbili baada ya sherehe rasmi ya kuapishwa kwa rais mpya wa Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, kurasa za mbele za gazeti la kila wiki la Kenya The Standard zilifuatilia kwa karibu kile kilichoelezwa kuwa kushuka kwa hatua kwa hatua kuelekea ukandamizaji wa serikali katika kipindi hiki muhimu cha upigaji kura na siku za mwanzo baada ya uchaguzi mkuu wa Tanzania wa 2025.

Tanzania 2025. On the Shift Towards State Violence

Episode #4. Kenya’s press coverage of Tanzania’s shift into state violence through the headlines of The Standard newspaper (29 October-10 November 2025)

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 109, 2026.
For eight consecutive days, from Election Day (Wednesday 29 October 2025) until two days after the official inauguration ceremony of Tanzania’s newly elected president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the front pages of the Kenyan weekly The Standard followed the daily descent into state violence took place during this decisive period of voting and early post-voting linked to the last Tanzanian elections in 2025.

Tanzanie 2025. Sur le basculement vers la violence d’État

Épisode #3. Corps étrangers, jeunesse égarée : le discours d’investiture de Samia Suluhu Hassan du 3 novembre 2025

Nicodemus MINDE, Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ Mambo!, no. 108, 2026.
En ce lundi 3 novembre 2025, la cérémonie d’investiture de Samia Suluhu Hassan à la présidentielle tanzanienne se déroule sur un terrain de parade militaire à Dodoma, la capitale de la Tanzanie, à peine deux jours après la proclamation de la victoire[1]. La sécurité est renforcée et l’atmosphère tendue. Internet, coupé depuis le jour du scrutin (29 octobre), commence à être progressivement rétabli. La Tanzanie reprend vie après avoir été plongée dans l’obscurité pendant une semaine d’horreur. Quatre ans plus tôt, le 19 mars 2021, Samia Suluhu Hassan avait prêté serment en tant que première femme présidente de Tanzanie à la suite du décès du président John Magufuli, succédant ainsi à ce poste sans avoir été élue. Le ton et la franchise de Samia Suluhu Hassan en 2021 reflétaient alors l’humeur de la nation : sombre et solennelle. Son discours de 2021 incarnait le deuil d’une nation. Dans son allocution, elle avait voulu rassembler une nation qui aspirait à être réconfortée et rassurée sur son avenir. « Ce n’est pas pour moi un bon jour pour m’adresser à vous, car j’ai une blessure dans le cœur. Aujourd’hui, j’ai prêté serment d’une façon inhabituelle… en deuil », a-t-elle déclaré.

Tanzania 2025: Muendelezo wa ukandamizaji wa serikali

Sehemu ya #3 Miili ya kigeni, vijana waliopotoshwa: Hotuba ya kuapishwa kwa Samia Suluhu Hassan, 3 Novemba 2025

Nicodemus MINDE, Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ Mambo!, no. 108, 2026.
Jumatatu tarehe 3 Novemba 2025, sherehe ya kuapishwa kwa Samia Suluhu Hassan kuwa Rais wa Tanzania ilifanyika katika uwanja wa gwaride la kijeshi mjini Dodoma, mji mkuu wa Tanzania, siku mbili tu baada ya ushindi wake kutangazwa. Mtandao wa intaneti, ambao ulikuwa umezimwa tangu siku ya kupiga kura (29 Oktoba), ulianza kurejeshwa katika hali yake ya kawaida taratibu. Tanzania ilikuwa imeanza kurejea katika hali yake ya kawaida baada ya kuwa gizani kwa wiki moja – ilikuwa kama kuzimu.

Tanzania 2025. On the Shift Towards State Violence

Episode 3# Foreign bodies, Misguided youth: Samia Suluhu Hassan’s inauguration speech, 3 November 2025

Nicodemus MINDE, Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ Mambo!, no. 108, 2026.
On Monday 3 November 2025, Samia Suluhu Hassan’s inauguration ceremony as President of Tanzania takes place on a military parade ground in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, just two days after her victory was announced. There was heavy security and the mood was tense. The internet, which had been shut down since election day (29 October), began to be gradually restored. Tanzania was coming back to life after being in the dark for a week – it felt like hell. Four years earlier, on 19 March 2021, Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as Tanzania’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli, therefore succeeding the position without having to be elected. Samia Suluhu Hassan’s tone and candour in 2021 reflected the nation’s mood: sombre and solemn. Her 2021 speech embodied a nation’s grief. In her address, she rallied the nation that yearned to be comforted and assured of a better tomorrow. “It is not a good day for me to speak to you because I have a wound in my heart. Today I have taken the oath different from the rest…in mourning,” she said.

Tanzanie 2025. Sur le basculement vers la violence d’État

Épisode #2 Dessiner l’infamie morale de Samia Suluhu Hassan : la caricature politique de Gado du 1er novembre 2025

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 107, 2026.
Le 1er novembre 2025, un dessin de presse du caricaturiste Gado frappe fort. La présidente de Tanzanie nouvellement élue, Samia Suluhu Hassan, prête serment face au Président de la Cour Suprême, une main brandissant le Coran, l’autre posée sur la Constitution, debout sur un amoncellement de dépouilles ensanglantées que ne parvient pas à cacher le tapis qui les recouvre. Les mains, les vêtements de la présidente élue, le Coran lui-même, sont tâchés de sang. Des hommes en armes, d’apparence féroce, visages masqués et bérets ornés d’une tête de mort, protègent la présidente et sécurisent la cérémonie d’investiture.

Tanzania 2025: Muendelezo wa ukandamizaji wa serikali

Sehemu ya #2 Kuchora fedheha ya kimaadili ya Samia Suluhu Hassan: Katuni ya kisiasa ya Gado ya tarehe 1 Novemba 2025

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 107, 2026.
Mnamo tarehe 1 Novemba 2025, katuni ya mchoraji Gado iligusa hisia za wengi. Ilimuonyesha rais mteule wa Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, akiapishwa mbele ya Jaji Mkuu, mmoja wa mikono yake ukishikilia Qur’ani, na mwingine ukiwa juu ya Katiba, akiwa amesimama juu ya lundo la maiti zenye damu ambazo zulia lililozifunika halifanikiwi kuzificha. Mikono ya rais mteule, nguo zake, na hata Qur’ani yenyewe zimechafuka kwa damu. Wanaume wenye silaha wenye sura kali, nyuso zilizofunikwa na skafu na kofia za bereti zilizokuwa na alama ya fuvu la kichwa wanamlinda rais na kuhakikisha usalama wa sherehe ya uapishwaji.

Tanzania 2025. On the Shift Towards State Violence

Episode #2 Depicting the moral infamy of Samia Suluhu Hassan through a press cartoon by Gado on 1 November 2025

Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Nicodemus MINDE, Mambo!, no. 107, 2026.
On 1 November 2025, a press cartoon by artist Gado stroke a chord. It showed Tanzania’s president-elect, Samia Suluhu Hassan, being sworn in before the Chief Justice, one hand holding the Quran, the other resting on the Constitution, standing on a pile of bloody corpses that the carpet covering them fails to hide. The president-elect’s hands, clothes, and even the Quran itself are stained with blood. Armed men with fierce expressions, masked faces, and skull-adorned berets protect the president and secure the inauguration ceremony.

Tanzania 2025: Muendelezo wa ukandamizaji wa serikali

Sehemu ya #1. Hotuba ya Tundu Lissu ya tarehe 3 Aprili 2025, “Tutakinukisha: ‘Hakuna Mabadiliko, Hakuna Uchaguzi’”

Nicodemus MINDE, Marie-Aude FOUÉRÉ, Mambo!, no. 106, 2026.
Tarehe 21 Januari 2025, Tundu Lissu alimshinda Freeman Mbowe katika uchaguzi wa ndani wa CHADEMA (Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo) na akawa mwenyekiti mpya wa chama. Maswali mawili muhimu yaliibuka mara moja: Je, chama kingeweza kustahimili mabadiliko haya kutoka kwa Mbowe, mwanasiasa mzoefu aliyekuwa kiongozi wa chama kwa zaidi ya miaka ishirini na mtetezi wa hali ya kisiasa iliyokuwepo (status quo), hadi kwa Lissu, anayejulikana kama kiongozi mwenye msimamo mkali (Minde, 2024)? Na chama tawala cha muda mrefu CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi), ndani ya mfumo wa chama kimoja wa kiimla (Makulilo, 2008; Paget, 2019), kingejibu vipi?