Haji Abdulkarim Hussein Yusuf, known as ‘Haji Abdi Warabe’, died in Hargeysa, Somaliland, on Friday 10 May 2019. His precise age is unknown, but local reports state that he lived to over one hundred. He was buried in a small…
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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,…
In early 2019, RVI moved to new offices in Hai Kuwait, Juba. While we were sorry to leave behind our previous premises and generous hosts at the Catholic University of South Sudan, we are excited about the opportunities the…
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…
Binyavanga Wainaina, a Fellow of the Rift Valley Institute since 2009, died on May 21 at the age of 48. A leading figure in the current literary renaissance in sub-Saharan Africa, Binyavanga was the founder of the literary journal Kwani?,…
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
Civil Society Organizations and Peacebuilding in Ethiopia
March 20, 2025
Civil Society Organizations and Peacebuilding in Ethiopia This paper examines the roles of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopian peacebuilding, exploring change and continuity within the sector and how past events influence their activities. It discusses CSOs’ involvement in peace
XCEPT Local Research Legacy: Sharing the experiences of women amid agricultural transitions in the borderlands
March 19, 2025
I became involved in the Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy, and Trends (XCEPT) programme’s Local Research Network (LRN) at its inception in 2018. During the following years, the network introduced me to a wider community of researchers who share a similar interest
XCEPT Local Research Legacy: How collaborative research and mentorship approaches have shaped my research capacity and interest
March 19, 2025
I was first invited to join the Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy, and Trends (XCEPT) programme in 2019, having previously worked with the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) on research in South Sudan. This innovative project brought together international experts and early career researchers