Halima Gikandi

Africa Correspondent

Halima Gikandi is the Africa Correspondent at The World. She covers the continent, with a focus on politics, security and human rights.

Halima Gikandi is The World’s Africa Correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya. She reports on current affairs in Africa, with a focus on politics, security and human rights. Her reporting has taken her across the continent, from Sudan to South Africa.

Before joining The World in 2019, Halima was a freelance journalist based in East Africa, where she covered major regional events like the political revolution in Sudan and the Dusit terrorist attack in Nairobi.

people near wreckage

‘You don’t know if you’re ever coming back’: Stories from a bus ride out of Khartoum

Fighting continued on Wednesday on the outskirts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. A short-term ceasefire is in place, but the United Nations says it is only partially successful. Over the last 12 days, hundreds of people have been killed. Sudanese residents from the capital region are making tough decisions about leaving. 

‘You don’t know if you’re ever coming back’: Stories from a bus ride out of Khartoum
smoke comes out from a building

Sudan’s health care system near collapse amid fighting

Sudan’s health care system near collapse amid fighting
Smoke rises from a central neighborhood of Khartoum, Sudan, amid intense fighting between armed forces, April 16, 2023.

Fighting between armed forces in Sudan continues amid warnings of wider regional conflict

Fighting between armed forces in Sudan continues amid warnings of wider regional conflict
Family portrait of the Mabior family.

Daughter of South Sudanese freedom fighters reflects on family and country

Daughter of South Sudanese freedom fighters reflects on family and country
Netflix promotional image

Series of reimagined African folk tales launches on Netflix

Series of reimagined African folk tales launches on Netflix
Surfing instructor Godpower Tamarakuro Pekipuma in Lagos, Nigeria.

‘Walking on water’: Surfing makes waves in Nigeria

The West African country of Nigeria is lucky to have a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. In the coastal community of Lagos, where many people didn't grow up learning to swim, interest in surfing and water sports is growing.

‘Walking on water’: Surfing makes waves in Nigeria
Rescue workers clear the rubble from an apartment building that was destroyed in a Russian rocket attack at a residential neighbourhood in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. 

'We lost everything': African students who fled war in Ukraine continue to struggle

By and large, many African countries have stayed on the sidelines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As major importers of wheat and fertilizers from the two warring nations, they are reluctant to jeopardize those vital supplies by taking sides, observed Olayinka Ajala, a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in Britain.

'We lost everything': African students who fled war in Ukraine continue to struggle
press conference

Nigerians await election results in competitive race

Over the weekend, millions of Nigerians cast their vote for a new president in Africa's biggest democratic election. While many voters applaud improvement in the election process, others experienced violence at the polls. Now, comes the wait for the results.

Nigerians await election results in competitive race
Supporters of Nigeria's Labour Party's Presidential Candidate Peter Obi, chants during an election campaign rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. 

‘This is my only hope’: Young Nigerians gear up for presidential election

As millions of Nigerians prepare for the presidential election on Feb. 25, the stinging economy and unemployment in the formal sector have the nation's youth particularly tuned in and ready to cast their vote.

‘This is my only hope’: Young Nigerians gear up for presidential election
Customers who had waited for many hours stand outside a bank in the slim hope of being able to withdraw some cash, in Lagos, Nigeria Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. 

Millions of Nigerians prepare to vote amid chaotic cash shortage

The currency redesign in Nigeria is a policy decision that went into effect weeks before the presidential election that takes place on Feb. 25. Nigerians were told to turn in their old banknotes for new ones, but now, they are struggling to procure the new cash.

Millions of Nigerians prepare to vote amid chaotic cash shortage
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, right, shakes hands with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, left, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, during the flag off campaign ahead of the 2023 presidential election in Jos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.

Insecurity in Nigeria casts shadow on presidential election

Insecurities such as kidnapping, armed criminal gangs and banditry have become normal under the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, who will be concluding his second and last term this year.

Insecurity in Nigeria casts shadow on presidential election
Screenshot from Bahjat official lyric YouTube video "Hometown Smile."

Libyan pop star Bahjat beat the odds. Now he wants to popularize ‘A-pop.’

After civil war broke out in his country, singer-songwriter Bahjat and his family had to flee Libya. But that didn't stop him from pursuing his dreams. Bahjat now sings a blend of Arabic and English songs in a genre he calls "A-pop," or Arabic pop.

Libyan pop star Bahjat beat the odds. Now he wants to popularize ‘A-pop.’
Facebook's Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 28, 2021

‘I hold Facebook directly responsible for my father’s murder’: Lawsuit alleges platform fueled violence in Ethiopia

Abrham Meareg, an Ethiopian researcher, said his father was killed last year after being targeted on social media. The lawsuit comes amid growing criticism that Facebook and other social media giants are not doing enough to stop hate speech and inciting language from spreading online across Africa.

‘I hold Facebook directly responsible for my father’s murder’: Lawsuit alleges platform fueled violence in Ethiopia
Demonstrators show "stop oil in Africa" written on their hands during a protest with Stop Pipelines coalition against pipelines in East Africa.

Land issues at the heart of Uganda’s oil showdown

Residents in Uganda's oil-rich Hoima district say their land is up for grabs as an ambitious oil pipeline project plans to run more than 800 miles from the western part of the country all the way to neighboring Tanzania.

Land issues at the heart of Uganda’s oil showdown
After the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in 2006, Hoima, Uganda, is being referred to as “Oil City,” Hoima, Uganda, November 2022.

Why African countries like Uganda are investing in fossil fuels

Uganda is seeking to develop and refine its oil in partnership with the French energy company Total, and a state-owned Chinese corporation.

Why African countries like Uganda are investing in fossil fuels