From Kenya to Madagascar, the African countries struggling to escape old politics

"African politics is never uniform, but there are patterns and commonalities among some countries with similar demographic and economic profiles. Over the past year, there have been a number of protests, including in Kenya, Morocco, Cameroon, Madagascar and, most recently, Tanzania. Protesters are overwhelmingly from younger generations, particularly gen Z, and the price that they have paid is high. In Tanzania, anger that erupted after an election that excluded opposition candidates from the ballot has been met with a deadly crackdown."

"Reports of death tolls so far vary, but estimates are staggering, exceeding 1,000 people killed by security forces. In Kenya, scores have been killed and hundreds detained in rolling protests over the past year and a half that were triggered by economic policies and police brutality. For these two countries in particular, demonstrations and the response to them have shattered long periods of stability, suggesting not a sudden explosion but a buildup that has resulted in clashes between the public and the government."

Several African countries have experienced widespread protests over the past year, including Kenya, Morocco, Cameroon, Madagascar and Tanzania. Protesters are predominantly younger generations, particularly Gen Z, and have faced severe state repression. In Tanzania, post-election anger over excluded opposition candidates met deadly crackdowns, with reported fatalities exceeding 1,000. In Kenya, rolling protests triggered by economic policies and police brutality have left scores dead and hundreds detained. Protesters complain about rising living costs, utility outages, lack of political freedoms and rigged elections. Many tensions reflect a widening gap between youthful populations and entrenched older leadership.

Read at www.theguardian.com