I am an Senior Policy Fellow on the Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin and a Senior Associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. My main research interests are African geopolitics, middle power competition, the ongoing Sahel conflict and politics in the Horn.
Previously I worked as a journalist for over a decade. I was a Senior Reporter at the independent investigative outlet Tortoise Media in London, The Telegraph’s Africa Bureau Chief in Nairobi, The Economist’s West Africa Correspondent based in Dakar and a freelance journalist in New Delhi. I reported in more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, DR Congo, Mali, Sudan, Chad and Burkina Faso and have been published in, appeared on or cited by more than 40 major news outlets.
Published in | Worked for
European Council on Foreign Relations, The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Economist, CSIS, Tortoise Media, The Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, International Monetary Fund, Al Jazeera, VICE News, 1843 Magazine, The Africa Report, The Spectator, The New Internationalist, News Deeply, Marie Claire, UnHerd, Scroll.in, The Economist World In series, among others.
Work cited by | Republished by
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, EU Parliament Members, UK Parliament Members, Human Rights Watch, Washington Post, New York Times, US Congressional Research Service, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, PBS Newshour, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, The Sydney Morning Herald, Jeune Afrique, Courrier International, RFI, The Australian, ARD: Tagesschau, Al Arabiya, TRT World, The Sun, Newsweek, The Daily Mail, i News, Daily Sabah, Sahara Reporters, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, Courrier Japan, The New Zealand Herald and Yahoo News.
Spoken at | Appeared on
University of Oxford, BBC World Service, CNN, UNICEF, TalkRADIO, Sky News, Economist Radio, University of the Manchester, Red Line Podcast, Telegraph Video, Coronavirus podcast and Ukraine Podcast, CSIS, Into Africa podcast, the Frontline Club and Expresso Portugal
Awards & Acknowledgements
Judge at The Press Awards for foreign affairs, politics and newspaper of the year categories, 2022
Fetisov Journalism Awards for 'Outstanding Investigative Reporting’, 2021
Amnesty International Media Awards, Written News Finalist, 2021
National Press Awards, Young Journalist of the Year Award, 2020
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2020
MHP International Affairs Reporting Award, 2020
Listed on Al Jazeera's best photos of the year, 2016