African Arguments is excited to announce two big changes.

Firstly, the leading pan-African platform is delighted to welcome Parselelo ole Kantai as its new Politics & Society Editor. In this new role, Parselelo will oversee the website’s coverage of politics, social issues, culture and more. He will explore opportunities to deepen African Arguments’ reporting and seek new partnerships to enhance its impact.

Parselelo brings with him a wealth of journalistic experience. Since beginning his career in the magazine world of 1990s Nairobi, he has reported from numerous African capitals for various media houses and edited several publications. Notably, he was East Africa correspondent for The Africa Report and editor-in-chief of the New African. He was most recently a recipient of a Miles Morland Fellowship grant, through which he is writing a book on exiled liberation movements in 1960s and ‘70s Dar es Salaam.

“I’m delighted to be joining African Arguments. At a time when independent media is in deep retreat globally, African Arguments will continue to provide a platform for in-depth reporting and critique on thought-provoking subjects from the whole spectrum of Black life. Consolidating a platform that not only explores African issues, but also provides a forum for African people from across the planet to speak, and to speak to each other, has never been more important,” says Parselelo.

Secondly, African Arguments is pleased to announce that it will soon be launching a new climate section that will provide in-depth original coverage of issues related to the climate crisis. This new project will be led by James Wan who will go from being African Arguments editor – a role through which he has driven the magazine’s development since 2015 – to Managing & Climate Editor with continuing responsibility for overall strategic direction.

“The climate crisis is the defining challenge of this epoch and touches on every aspect of our lives. It affects people’s ability to eat, breathe and subside; it redraws the contours of economies, conflicts, and the land itself; it shapes our cultures, our relationships to ourselves and nature, and our imaginations of the future. And yet there remains far too little understanding, analysis, and coverage of the topic, especially as it relates to Africa, where the crisis is hitting especially hard especially soon,” says James.

“I look forward to developing this new section dedicated to climate change’s multi-faceted dimensions on the continent whilst also supporting Parselelo to take our politics and society coverage to the next level.”

The new climate section was also inspired by African Arguments readers who, in a 2022 survey, identified climate change/environment as they foremost topic on which they would like to see more coverage.