Africa and the Global Illicit Economy

This week we examine the effect that punitive policy measures and stricter border security enacted by North African nations in the past 5 years have had on human trafficking in the region.  Presenter: Lindy Mtongana Speakers: Alexandre Bish , Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Arezo Malakooti , Senior Fellow, Global Initiative Against Transnational...

This week we discuss how illicit heroin shipments discovered in East and Southern Africa have links to growing possible links to Afghan methamphetamine markets,  and the difficulties of tackling a surge in illegal gold mining amid deteriorating law-enforcement capacity, endemic corruption and community support for illegal miners in South Africa. Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Speakers Ed Stoddard...

This week, we’re in Libya where we’ll dive into the challenges of conducting security sector reform in an environment where organized crime is embedded into formal and informal power structures. Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Speakers : Jalel Harchaoui , Research Fellow at the Clingendaely Institute in the Netherlands. Emadeddin Badi , Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Orga...

In this week’s episode we discuss the recent assisnation of Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, a top-detective with the Western Cape Anti-Gang unit and corruption in South Africa’s police force. In Somaliland we’ll investigate how cheetah smuggling is decimating populations and what’s being done to stop it. Presenter: Lindy Mtongana Speakers: Julian Rademeyer , Director of the Civil Society Observa...

On the 6th August 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on three men and a boat. The men were Libyan nationals, and the boat an asset of a Maltese company. What connects them all is a criminal network involving the sale of oil and drugs from Libya, across the central Meditarranean and into Europe.  Presenter: Lindy Mtongana Speakers: Mark Micallef ,   Director of the North Afric...

While international media reported a decrease in gang activity during COVID19 lockdowns in Kenya and South Africa, GI research has uncovered that they have simply shifted strategy. This week’s episode covers a special report on how gangs are recruiting out of school youth in growing numbers and how they are used for illicit activities.  Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Speakers Julia Stanyard , Ana...

In this week’s episode of Africa and the Global Illicit Economy, we uncover how unchecked corruption and illicit industries fuelled the discontent that led to Mali’s recent coup. Presenter: Lindy Mtongana Speakers: Dr Bréma Ely Dicko - Malian sociologist and anthropologist, former head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Human Sciences of Bamako Peter Tinti - Journ...

In this week’s episode of Africa and the Global Illicit Economy, we take a look at current trends in organised crime in East and Southern Africa --- From the  illicit smuggling of arms and ammunition from Yemen to Somalia;  the worrying rise of high-profile kidnappings in Mozambique; and the possible emergence of an organised illicit trade in donkey skins from Kenya.  Presenter : Li...

In this episode we explore push factors for surging levels of migration from the Maghreb in early 2020, and how Moroccan social media star, who goes by the name Zizou Vlogs,  is lending a new voice to the changing face of irregular migration.   Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Guests : Matt Herbert , Senior Ana­­­­lyst with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Amine...

This episode examines how bans and increased regulation in above ground industries under the stated intent of “stopping the spread of COVID-19” have led to new forms of illicit trade in Eastern and Southern Africa. In Somalia donations of personal and ventilators have been misappropriated for profit and a ban on Khat threatens to destabilize the lives of growers and sellers in Kenya. In South Afri...

In this episode of Africa and the Global Illicit Economy we explore how licit economy smuggling has become the backbone of communities across the Maghreb and Sahel. This episode features discussions on how governments tolerate and manage the trade in contraband commodities, medicine smuggling from Tunisia into Libya and the importance of food smuggling to borderland communities. Presenter: Lindy M...

In this episode of Africa and the Global Illicit Economy we explore how developments in East and Southern Africa’s economy can lead to unintended consequences in the illicit economy. This episode features an inside look at how the tension between demand for charcoal and bans on production has given rise to powerful dealers who strike predatory agreements with local communities in Northern Uganda,...

We start in North Africa and the Sahel where we will give you a comprehensive overview of some of the major illicit markets in the region, before in future episodes taking a more in depth look at the nuances within the illicit economy in Africa. In this episode we will discuss the journey taken by human smugglers and migrants travelling through the Sahel region and how that has been impacted by CO...