This blog is the third part of a research project called ‘Navigating migration and the experiences of Congolese refugees in Nairobi’. The project’s aim is to better understand the drivers and dynamics of Congolese migration to Nairobi, and the…
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For over two decades Ethiopia’s political federation has been organized around the principle of ‘democratic centralism’. This philosophy also lies at the heart of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, and its centralized decision-making culture. Until…
A form of insecurity that first manifested in rural areas in North Kivu, since 2015, kidnappings for ransom have also become commonplace in the city of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Here, it is children who are…
Roadblocks—infamous for the informal fees travellers must pay—are often thought to be found exclusively in rural areas. Yet, as Evariste Mahamba shows in this blog, the harbor of Goma also has a history of roadblocks. Having become hotspots of…
Within the city of Bukavu—as elsewhere in the Congo—many women earn a living selling goods and produce at the market or in the streets. In this blog, Alice Mugoli explores the different types of insecurity to which these women…
This blog post was written by Yolande Bouka and Marco Jowell, the Co-Directors of Studies for the Rift Valley Institute’s Great Lakes Field Course, which will be taking place in Ethiopia from 3-7 June 2019. Yolande and Marco will be joined…
In the city of Goma, numerous shop-keepers and street vendors—for instance, those selling phone credit, alcoholic drinks or food—work at night. As Alain Mukombe Misege analyzes in this blog, in certain quarters of the city of Goma—in particular, Kyeshero,…
This blog was written by Yolande Bouka and is part of RVI’s Research Collaboration project in partnership with the Groupe d’Etudes sur les Conflits et la Sécurité Humaine (GEC-SH) and funded by the Knowledge Management Fund of KPSRL. The project examines the political…
Between 2016 and 2018, civil society organizations in the city of Bukavu recorded 17 attacks on money-changers (cambistes), both on the streets and in their homes. Often in possession of large sums of cash, money-changers are a favoured target…
The growing insecurity in the city of Goma created by maibobo or street children, prompted the creation of the so-called anti-gang in 2007 around Virunga market. The anti-gang is a group of youth who ensure security in a particular…
Recent Publications
The Political Economy of Coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele Belt, Oromia Region
October 5, 2026
The findings of this study reveal a number of critical insights about the political economy of coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele coffee belt. The coffee economy is shaped by a small number of influential actors, including state institutions,
Beyond the Beans: The Political Economy of Coffee in Ethiopia
September 29, 2026
A synthesis of three case studies in the Sidama–Gedeo–Guji, Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka and Jimma–Buno Bedele–Ilu Aba Bora belts SUMMARY The Ethiopia Peace Research Facility This report was written for the Ethiopia Peace Research Facility as part of its Knowledge for Peace series
The Political Economy of Coffee in the Sidama–Gedeo–Guji Belt, Southern Ethiopia
September 4, 2026
This report is part of a wider research project on the political economy of coffee in Ethiopia in the context of the political transition since 2018. It focuses on the Sidama–Gedeo–Guji coffee belt in southern Ethiopia, aiming to understand the