Africa
Our farm is a haven for lost souls
Laikipia He was turned out in a crisp bush ranger’s uniform and handled his assault rifle like a man hardened…
The Nobel truth
I suspect that there are no people in the world quite so right-on as the Nobel prize committee members. A…
What a comic treat: The Game of Love and Chance at the Arcola reviewed
Lady Sylvia is a gorgeous aristocrat whose hand is sought by the charming Dorante whom she has never met. To…
What's behind the South African riots?
South Africa is ablaze once more. In the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal) and Gauteng (which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria),…
Thirty years ago, I saw the rebels take Addis Ababa
Kenya The evening before the assault on Addis Ababa, my guide Girmay and I ventured into a complex stuffed with…
Boko Haram’s demise will only strengthen Isis in Africa
Multiple reports have confirmed that the Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau is dead. Shekau’s demise came after Boko Haram last…
Black African lives should matter too
The treatment of black people, particularly by law enforcement, has become a principal point of protest in the western world.…
Why I’m investing in sheep
Laikipia In the past I had a low opinion of sheep. During my first forays into farming I saw them…
Eccentric, artist and storyteller: in memory of my mother Doreen Sanders
Indian Ocean coast ‘I love you’ became just ‘love’, and that was the last word Mum was able to say…
The many good things to come out of lockdown
Laikipia I was drinking in the fresh air on the high earth wall of my farm dam last week, when…
The perils of being a Kenyan farmer’s wife
Laikipia As the train pulled into Victoria my wife Claire, back home on the farm in Kenya, revealed that a…
Ethiopia is slipping into civil war
Civil war is breaking out in Ethiopia
What a relief it is to be back among level-headed Kenyans
Kenya I stood under huge skies in the open country of our farm in northern Kenya and, after months of…
Why is the WHO so worried about Tanzania?
Dar es Salaam The World Health Organisation has drawn up a shortlist of countries it’s most concerned about during the…
Another plague is enveloping the world – locusts
Another plague is stalking Africa
Why we’ll all be fleeing to Nigeria
I keep thinking what I’ll do when we regain our liberty — and I picture that beer at the end…
Africa’s invisible epidemics
Africa ‘Ah, Africa,’ the French scientist sighed contentedly. This was 1995 and all around us was an Ebola epidemic…
What our 500kg house bull taught us about the value of life
Death and failure are more integral to farming than any other experience that I’ve witnessed in my life. Some things…
My narrow escape from a burning aircraft
Addis Ababa airport This morning I caught a connecting flight via Addis Ababa’s Bole airport. For me this place…
The joy of a Rwandan airport
Our plane touched down in Rwanda at 7 p.m. Stepping outside on to the metal steps, I smelt that unmistakable…
![Tiny Rowland, 1991 [Business Collection/Shutterstock]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2Novwildlife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
The man with the inside story on Tiny Rowland
Kenya At his house on Kenya’s coast our neighbour Paul Spicer kept a photograph of himself as quite a…
Britain is following in the footsteps of Africa’s former failed states
Kenya ‘In the past months the people of Uganda have been following with sorrow the alarming economic crisis befalling…
The astonishing resilience of my beach paradise
Malindi I could measure my whole life in the summers I’ve spent on the beach in front of our…
How an orphaned baby kudu gave solace to my grieving friend
Laikipia, Kenya On 5 April this year, my neighbour Torrie’s sister Vicki died during an operation in a Nairobi…
The true saviours of African wildlife
Laikipia, Kenya A cheetah perched in the front seat of your gold-plated Lamborghini. Stick that on Instagram in Saudi…
