Michela Wrong
@michelawrong.bsky.social
Journalist and writer specialising in sub-Saharan Africa, ex-Reuters, ex-FT, author of five books, including one novel.
The one good thing to emerge from Tanzania's brutal elections: African election observers are no longer turning a blind eye to abuses committed right under their noses. dailyfriend.co.za/2025/11/08/t...
Tanzania’s democratic silver lining - Daily Friend
The blood-soaked election of Samia Suluhu Hassan as Tanzania’s president with 97% of the vote has come at a high price, with thousands of her citizens dead, maimed or injured and her country’s economy...
dailyfriend.co.za
November 8, 2025 at 7:39 AM
The one good thing to emerge from Tanzania's brutal elections: African election observers are no longer turning a blind eye to abuses committed right under their noses. dailyfriend.co.za/2025/11/08/t...
I contributed a few suggestions to the Spectator's yearly roundup of recommended reading: www.spectator.co.uk/article/book...
Books of the Year II – further recommendations from our regular reviewers
Philip Hensher I have a theory that Mick Herron’s Slow Horses novels are an ingenious variation on Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays. If, in a future episode, River Cartwright ascends to his kingdom renoun...
www.spectator.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I contributed a few suggestions to the Spectator's yearly roundup of recommended reading: www.spectator.co.uk/article/book...
Excellent article from Charles Onyango-Obbo on how the recent bloody election debacle marks the definitive, and overdue, end of Tanzania’s perceived exceptionalism. nation.africa/kenya/blogs-...
The tortoise that fell from the sky
History will remember Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan as the leader under whose watch the shell cracked.
nation.africa
November 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Excellent article from Charles Onyango-Obbo on how the recent bloody election debacle marks the definitive, and overdue, end of Tanzania’s perceived exceptionalism. nation.africa/kenya/blogs-...
There's too much video evidence of excessive police and army brutality in Tanzania circulating now to pretend this was a normal or remotely credible election. Al Jazeera's report. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIWq...
President Hassan sworn in following deadly Tanzania election
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM
There's too much video evidence of excessive police and army brutality in Tanzania circulating now to pretend this was a normal or remotely credible election. Al Jazeera's report. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIWq...
What happened to the Mail&Guardian? If they had published an article dictated word for word by Kagame's press spokeswoman, it would still have constituted better journalism than this. Context-free, stunningly-awful reportage. mg.co.za/africa/2025-...
Rwanda places SA-based “terrorists” on watch list
The designated 25 individuals have allegedly orchestrated attacks on Rwandan soil, inciting Rwandans to commit and finance acts of terrorism
mg.co.za
November 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
What happened to the Mail&Guardian? If they had published an article dictated word for word by Kagame's press spokeswoman, it would still have constituted better journalism than this. Context-free, stunningly-awful reportage. mg.co.za/africa/2025-...
Bravo to Lindsey Hilsum and C4 for highlighting the shocking violence that has accompanied these Tanzanian elections. www.channel4.com/news/tanzani...
Tanzania: President sworn in after reported killing of hundreds of protesters
The Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in for another term - after a disputed election which saw two main rivals barred from running.
www.channel4.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Bravo to Lindsey Hilsum and C4 for highlighting the shocking violence that has accompanied these Tanzanian elections. www.channel4.com/news/tanzani...
Tanzania's election has been shockingly violent and the result does not deserve to be recognised abroad. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Canada, allies raise doubts over Tanzanian election as president claims landslide victory
President Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in for second term under heavy security
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Tanzania's election has been shockingly violent and the result does not deserve to be recognised abroad. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
The cartoonist Gado, on the recent elections in his country of birth:
November 2, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The cartoonist Gado, on the recent elections in his country of birth:
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's electoral "victory" in Tanzania (97.66 per cent) is in the same laughable ball park as Paul Kagame's electoral "wins" in Rwanda. Can't they see what a joke this makes them in their contemporaries' and subjects eyes? www.france24.com/en/africa/20...
Tanzania President Hassan wins disputed election amid deadly protests
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan won a landslide election victory, official results showed Saturday. The opposition Chadema party, barred from taking part in the poll, said that hundreds of peo...
www.france24.com
November 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's electoral "victory" in Tanzania (97.66 per cent) is in the same laughable ball park as Paul Kagame's electoral "wins" in Rwanda. Can't they see what a joke this makes them in their contemporaries' and subjects eyes? www.france24.com/en/africa/20...
Great article on the crumbling city of Johannesburg. In Zaire, these coping strategies were memorably dubbed "Article 15" (Fend for Yourself) - www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
Welcome to Johannesburg. This Is What It Looks Like When a City Gives Up.
Tourists are dumbfounded by the many signs of apathy in the South African city.
www.wsj.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Great article on the crumbling city of Johannesburg. In Zaire, these coping strategies were memorably dubbed "Article 15" (Fend for Yourself) - www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
Tanzania goes to the polls, with the main opposition candidates either in jail or disqualified from running. This seems an appropriate read: www.theafricareport.com/394722/in-th...
‘In the Name of the President’: Tanzania memoir packs a punch - The Africa Report.com
A fearless memoir tracing Tanzania’s fall from Nyerere’s vision to Magufuli’s paranoia, told by a journalist who survived prison for challenging power.
www.theafricareport.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Tanzania goes to the polls, with the main opposition candidates either in jail or disqualified from running. This seems an appropriate read: www.theafricareport.com/394722/in-th...
The headline no African leader should aspire to. www.ft.com/content/ce09...
World’s oldest president re-elected in disputed Cameroon vote
Paul Biya to serve another seven years in office despite allegations of electoral fraud and widespread protests
www.ft.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The headline no African leader should aspire to. www.ft.com/content/ce09...
Just finished this. Gerard Prunier in characteristically provocative mode, going for the jugular of the French state and its history of African intervention. It helps to have some grounding in French politics of the last 50 years to fully appreciate the book. www.hurstpublishers.com/book/colonia...
Colonialism Devours Itself | Hurst Publishers
A historically grounded account, from de Gaulle onwards, of how France's neocolonial influence crumbled in Africa, with devastating and unforeseen consequences.
www.hurstpublishers.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Just finished this. Gerard Prunier in characteristically provocative mode, going for the jugular of the French state and its history of African intervention. It helps to have some grounding in French politics of the last 50 years to fully appreciate the book. www.hurstpublishers.com/book/colonia...
This is the best analysis I've yet read on Raila Odinga's style of politics. www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...
Raila Odinga and the politics of power
Kenyan elites do not seek to build institutions to restrain power but rather movements to capture it.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
October 24, 2025 at 7:44 AM
This is the best analysis I've yet read on Raila Odinga's style of politics. www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...
Presidential immunity is such a convenient thing. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Spain revives war crimes case against Rwandan military figure
Spain has re-issued arrest warrants against a high-profile Rwandan opposition figure in exile who stands accused of committing war crimes while serving under Rwandan leader Paul Kagame, in a case that...
canadiandimension.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Presidential immunity is such a convenient thing. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
My old friend Daniel Simpson interviewed me about working with John le Carré on "The Mission Song", his novel on eastern DRCongo, for his podcast. ancientfutures.substack.com/p/le-carre-m...
Le Carré in Action – Michela Wrong
Researching awkward truths about cyclical suffering
ancientfutures.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:36 AM
My old friend Daniel Simpson interviewed me about working with John le Carré on "The Mission Song", his novel on eastern DRCongo, for his podcast. ancientfutures.substack.com/p/le-carre-m...
A Rwandan newspaper is reporting that Kigali will apply for Red Notices against 25 individuals it named as "terrorists". Sadly, Rwanda's past abuse of the Red Notice system has not passed unnoticed by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Good luck with that. occrp.org/en/investiga...
Rwanda Fed False Intelligence to U.S. and Interpol As It Pursued Political Dissidents Abroad
Rwandan dissidents have claimed that President Paul Kagame has used dirty tactics to go after his critics abroad. Now, a classified FBI report obtained by OCCRP confirms that Rwanda has been conductin...
occrp.org
October 19, 2025 at 8:56 AM
A Rwandan newspaper is reporting that Kigali will apply for Red Notices against 25 individuals it named as "terrorists". Sadly, Rwanda's past abuse of the Red Notice system has not passed unnoticed by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Good luck with that. occrp.org/en/investiga...
Reveal's podcast is a follow up to last week's coverage of the phone tracking technology being sold by a company called First Wap to dictatorships (including Rwanda) to track dissidents. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire.
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.
revealnews.org
October 18, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reveal's podcast is a follow up to last week's coverage of the phone tracking technology being sold by a company called First Wap to dictatorships (including Rwanda) to track dissidents. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
Rwanda recently published a list of 25 supposed "terrorists" abroad. Many were once Kagame's most trusted colleagues - wonder what changed?😁 Slapping the "terrorist" label on any critic or dissident is a well-recognised form of transnational repression. youtube.com/watch?v=LvmOfRRN30c
Repression Without Borders: A Conversation with Nate Schenkkan and Carine Kanimba
YouTube video by The Resistance Bureau
youtube.com
October 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Rwanda recently published a list of 25 supposed "terrorists" abroad. Many were once Kagame's most trusted colleagues - wonder what changed?😁 Slapping the "terrorist" label on any critic or dissident is a well-recognised form of transnational repression. youtube.com/watch?v=LvmOfRRN30c
The shortlist of African writers in the running for the Miles Morland Foundation scholarships is announced: milesmorlandfoundation.com/morland-afri...
Morland African Writing Scholarships 2025 Shortlist - The Miles Morland Foundation
Morland African Writing Scholarships Shortlist Announcement 2025 The Miles Morland Foundation is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Morland African Writing Scholarships. This year we recei...
milesmorlandfoundation.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:05 AM
The shortlist of African writers in the running for the Miles Morland Foundation scholarships is announced: milesmorlandfoundation.com/morland-afri...