JAMES COURTRIGHT FREELANCE JOURNALIST
The protests may have stopped, but the embers of discontent continue to smoulder in Senegal
Equal Times / April 19, 2021
The sun was at its zenith when the throng of young men arrived at the gendarme station on the outskirts of the town of Diaobé in southern Senegal on Saturday 6 March. They blocked off the road with burning tyres, scaled the low walls ...
Ousmane Sonko’s support highlights waning separatist sentiment in Casamance
The Continent / March 12, 2021
Instead of preparing for another Monday as a school administrator, 36-year-old Hatousouaré Bodian began her week at the front of a crowd of hundreds of people, drumming on a calabash, facing off with armed soldiers.
COVID-19 in Kolda
Milken Institute / January 20, 2021
The region of Kolda in southern Senegal has largely been able to contain COVID-19 due to the region’s isolated geography, national policy decisions, and local pandemic preparedness.
The Latest Hub of Political Humor
Ozy / November 24, 2020
For two decades, the notoriously thin-skinned dictator Yahya Jammeh ruled Gambia with an iron fist, and mocking him meant trouble. A new generation of Gambian comedians is emerging after Jammeh’s ouster, poking fun at him and other leaders and setting new boundaries for political satire in the West African nation.
Gambia's Truth Commission
Africa is a Country / November 11, 2020
As some Gambians speak before the country's TRC, the testimonies create a space for their compatriots to express ideas about rights, dignity and social values.
Victims of Jammeh-Era Abuses in Gambia Turn to Overseas Courts for Justice
World Politics Review / November 10, 2020
Until the political winds change in Gambia, survivors of Yahya Jammeh’s atrocities say they will continue to look abroad for the justice they feel is being denied at home.
How Dangerous Speech Exacerbates Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Nigeria
Dangerous Speech Project - July 29, 2020
While famer-herder conflicts in Nigeria are rooted in highly local disagreements over access to natural resources, dangerous speech on social media has increasingly re-framed them as an existential threat to the entire nation, drawing more people into the conflict and deepening religious and ethnic divisions.
Tracing Exile
Journalist as Historian / March 23, 2020
Saptieu Jobe's story occurred before Yahya Jammeh came to power in Gambia, but her ordeal illuminates how some of the abuses associated with his regime have their roots in the era that preceded him.
Letter from Gambia:
After 22-year regime, ‘We need the truth’
Christian Science Monitor / October 2, 2020
To chart a new path forward, Gambia is taking a clear look back. Testimonies of the former regime’s abuses are unraveling myths of the past – but also bringing complicated emotions to the surface.
“Who is our government really working for?” ask local activists fighting against industrial pollution in The Gambia
Equal Times / September 19, 2019
Sulayman Bojang, a 30-year-old environmental activist, says that when he first heard, in 2016, that a Chinese company called Golden Lead wanted to establish a fishmeal factory ...
How two Eritrean brothers built a solar power business in some of Africa’s riskiest markets
Quartz / February 22, 2019
As the booming East African solar market brings in significant foreign competition, Aptech Africa, a start-up founded by two Eritrean brothers, is holding its own against better financed firms in some of the continent’s riskiest markets.
In Sierra Leone-UK mining case, a new attempt to measure the arm of the law
Christian Science Monitor / June 19, 2020
Pursuing justice can be hardest when cases cross international boundaries, although our world seems ever more globalized. But something as simple as a plane ticket may help make a difference.
Illegal logging and poverty fuel tensions in southern Senegal
Equal Times / June 5, 2018
In the early hours of 6 April 2018 Mustapha Gueye awoke to the buzz of a chainsaw outside his home in Sam Yero Gueye, a small village in the scrublands of Kolda Region on the Senegalese border with Gambia...
This Freed American Slave Founded an African Capital
Ozy / May 7, 2018
Because one of the George Washingtons of Sierra Leone was a former American slave.
Sierra Leone's Small Towns Learn How to Fight Against Land Grabs
Ozy / May 7, 2020
Because being displaced for large industrial projects is bound to leave you fighting for justice.
The Forgotten Ebola Survivors Of Sierra Leone
NPR / April 25, 2018
"Cellal alaa cogu — health has no price," sighs Haja Bah, looking out on a dusty street in the sprawling eastern suburbs of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital" ...
Political and ethnic divisions threaten the new Gambia
New Internationalist / March 21, 2018
Political rivalries have increasingly taken an ethnic hue in the West African country. If left unchecked the government risks alienating a segment of society and laying the groundwork for future problems.
Sierra Leone's elections may look like a party – but pride in the polls is serious
Christian Science Monitor / March 6, 2018
Sixteen years after the end of hostilities, memories of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war keep enthusiasm for elections high. But that's just one factor contributing to typically high turnout.
Gambia's diaspora helped oust a dictator. Now they're asking: What's next?
Christian Science Monitor / January 29, 2018
Tens of thousands of Gambians left the country during former President Jammeh's regime, and many helped garner support for his rival. One year into the new administration, they're carving out new roles, keen to rebuild the country.
Rebuilding after the dictator: New Gambia’s slow road to reform
African Arguements / November 20, 2017
President Jammeh spent over two decades centralising power and sowing distrust. How do you rebuild a nation after that?
The Fonio Revival
Roads & Kingdoms / November 26, 2017
West Africa’s indigenous superfood is coming back from obscurity and making an appearance on the world stage.
Gambia: Jammeh’s victims begin the long road to justice and healing
Equal Times / November 14, 2017
Since Jammeh’s departure, hundreds of victims of his abuses have been organising and are keen to play a role in uncovering the human rights violations that occurred under his rule and bring perpetrators to justice.
As risks and borders rise, migrants turn back – but with new purpose at home
Christian Science Monitor / October 6, 2017
Returnees face myriad challenges, from social stigma to trauma. But they are also uniquely equipped to help educate others about the perils of irregular migration – and have a stake in healing the root problems that led them to leave in the first place.
Why Mauritania’s crucial referendum may only be the first of many
African Arguements / August 1, 2017
“What is really important to [President Aziz] is to have direct and unconditional access to the constitution to modify it as he pleases.”
21st Century Charlatan
Aduna ko Kumpa / August 21, 2016
“Charlatanism” is not a common charge in a modern court of law – even in Kolda, Senegal where spiritual forces play an important part in daily life. Yet in late June Thierno Mamoudou Diallo stood in a crowded court charged with charlatanism, in addition to defamation and extortion.