The study of capitalism and freedom in African thought may primarily take the route of interrogating individual liberty, which is central in this context. It may be noted that the coming of free-market capitalism around the 1980s and 1990s has led to the creation of modern individual freedom-based governments in countries such as Zambia, South Africa, and Malawi. There is an increase in debates on individual rights and freedoms, such as right to life against the legal framework of the death penalty, individual liberty to engage in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender practices, and political freedom, which are clearly signaling an advanced stage of capitalism and freedom in modern African societies. This advancement of capitalism is further confirmed by the increase of non-governmental organizations at both local and international levels, which are fighting for individual and minority rights. In most cases, the organizations and individuals are free to demand accountability from their political leaders and charge them for any irresponsible deeds without any fear. In some cases, they are free to declare null a parliamentary or presidential election, when they feel that their right to choose a person they want is violated.

Similarly, in the academic context, there is a strong interest in studying an African contribution or status relative to themes regarding individual rights and freedoms. Some of the areas that have received much attention include the concept of democracy and its values, justice, minority freedoms/rights (such as gay rights), and freedoms (see Wamala 2004; Teffo 2004; Metz 2019). A common tendency has been the interrogation of different themes relative to freedom by contrasting Western thought and the African experience.² A good example is an article by Tambulasi and Kayuni (2005, 147–161), ‘Can African Feet Divorce Western Shoes? The Case of Ubuntu and Democratic Good Governance in Malawi,’ which interprets aspects of good governance, based on African communitarian values. I am aware of the proliferation of reflections on African freedom before and after the colonial rule (such as Nyerere [1966] 2000; Williams 1944; Du Bois 1897; Nkrumah 1965), but what is particular today is a shift toward the individual and his/her freedom in relation to the community.

Can we say that an African individual is completely free at last? In spite of the various improvements and proclamation of individual rights and freedoms, the African political experience and in some respects the behavior of the masses lead to more questions on the status of individual freedom in the continent. As time goes, it seems very hard to differentiate the current dictatorial tendencies of some African leaders and communities from the one-party systems, which preceded them. Apparently, there is nostalgia for the autocratic leadership pertaining to some issues of communal identity. Similarly, in some circumstances, the communities still violate the freedom of individuals who are against the central beliefs of a particular group, which sometimes leads to mob justice. A recent example is where capitalist violence on resources and employment has led to xenophobic tendencies against African individuals of other countries who are performing better than the owners of a particular nation. This phenomenon occurred in South Africa in 2019 and individuals from other nations such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe reacted against these anti-freedom behaviors. This was a repetition of the xenophobic experience of 2008 which Jason Hickel (2014, 103) recorded in the following words,

Violent riots erupted in the township of Alexandra, just northeast of Johannesburg, on May 11, 2008. Local residents attacked foreign immigrants from African countries like Mozambique, Somalia, and Zimbabwe, known collectively as makwerekwere—a derogatory term for foreigners and onomatopoeia for someone who speaks unintelligibly, a “babbler.” Two people were killed in this first bout of violence, and more than forty injured.

These xenophobic sentiments are not only in South Africa, but are also common in other countries such as Malawi, Angola, and Zimbabwe. This experience begs the question, ‘Has Africa developed a Frankenstein with the introduction of multiparty governments?’ Is multiparty democracy a justification of the violation of the freedom of an individual who created or embraced this system? On another note, one may dismiss these questions and argue that the various problems noted above are a sign of the lack of understanding and proper implementation of democratic values, and may further indicate that the African traditional communitarian experience is responsible for this. Whatever view one may hold, problems relative to freedoms are indicative of the urgency of discussing this matter.

The second element that compliments a study on individual liberty is interrogating capitalism focusing on the element of political freedom. Considering the African situation, there is no doubt that there is an improvement in terms of political freedom. Individuals are now allowed to develop their own political parties, register them, and compete with other parties. There is also an improvement with regard to the participation of women in politics, as more female politicians are taking various top responsibilities in the African governments. A list of such leaders include female presidents such as Slyvie Kinigi, Acting President of Burundi (February–October 1993), Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Acting President of South Africa (September 2005), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia (January 2006–January 2018), Rose Francine Rogombe, Interim President of Gabon (June 2009–October 2009), Agnes Monique Ohsan Bellepeau, Acting President of Mauritius (March–July 2012 and May–June 2015), Joyce Hilda Banda, President of Malawi (April 2012–May 2014), Catherine Samba, Acting President of Central African Republic (January 2014–March 2016), Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius (June 2015–March 2018), and Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia (October 2018–present).³ Similarly, the number of women involved in parliament is steadily increasing in various parts of the continent. Although some African traditional societies registered the existence of female leaders (see O’Barr 1975, 23), the presence of these presidents in the multiparty democracy shows openness and freedom in the political context.

There is also a slight improvement in political freedom in terms of the apparent reduction of political persecution in some of the African nations. This is partly due to the accommodation of political pluralism, mutual acceptance and liberty of individuals to belong to a party of their choice.

While pluralism is acknowledged, there are some situations where violent confrontations occur, mainly when different groups struggle to gain control of political power during and after elections. In this game of power, society evils such as favoritism, bribery, nepotism, and tribalism seem to be strongly coming back in various political parties. There are also pockets of violence and threats toward individuals and political parties that are against the ruling governments. In some cases, revealing how one has voted becomes fatal, mainly when some groups which expected to win an election fail to do so. For instance, Elekwa and Okechukwu (2011, 833) studies this phenomenon in Zimbabwe and Nigeria and noted that,

Generally, the history of electoral politics in Africa has not been encouraging. It has always been a source of unrestrained resentments, irrational action, and political instability. The violence which has erupted from the towns of Nairobi and Harare to the rural areas has exposed tribal sentiments that have long festered in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Just as these societies were beginning to enjoy the image of true democracy in their midst, thousands of their countrymen and women were killed and displaced from their villages as gang of militia conducted “Operation How Did you vote?”

A disturbing trend is where some politicians attempt to remain in power by lobbing for change of constitution through the parliament. This justifies them as being democratic; for instance, they claim to be following the ‘will of the people.’ Although it is still too early to pose this question, one may ask, ‘what is this will of the people?’ Is it a personal desire to remain in power? Is it will of one’s tribe or political party to remain in power? Is it the will of the majority? Nevertheless, a common trend has been an attempt to change the constitution from two terms of office to three or more (e.g., the case of Bakili Muluzi of Malawi in 2004, Chiluba of Zambia in 2004, and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi in 2015). While this is allowed as long as the citizens agree to such modifications in ‘the spirit of democracy,’ some have been suspicious of these changes as driven by the self-interest for power. Of course, this is not only an African problem, but it also occurs in other parts of the world. What is puzzling is whether we have to keep changing the constitution based on the understanding that a particular leader is highly performing in a country. Does this imply that in a nation this is the only highly gifted individual?

Another aspect affecting political freedom is the dependence of African nations on the legal systems, most of which are easily manipulated by politicians and bureaucrats. The worst scenario is where members of parliament create laws that are in their favor. Similarly, the other worrying situation is where bureaucrats interpret laws to get some benefits from politicians. Citizens are left reflecting whether to trust the legal system or to abandon it as an enemy of freedom. Of course, a negative view of the legal system relative to political freedom cannot be generalized. I want to acknowledge that there are cases where the legal system has shown total independence in its decisions. In fact, cases have been made in various nations against the ruling political powers. A good example is a Kenyan and Malawian experience, where the presidential elections were nullified by the courts. There is also good evidence showing presidents who were prosecuted for corruption in countries such as Zambia and Malawi.

Political freedom is also questioned in the relation between the African nations and the donor community, which on various occasions accompany their aid with conditionalities. One of the important issues that question further Africa’s political freedom is in the context of loans from banks such as IMF and World Bank and some governments, whereby getting access allows the W...