Hassan Khannaje - Chaos in the Horn of Africa

00:00 – Tanzania’s disputed election blows up
02:20 – Weekly roundup begins
04:10 – US overtakes China in Africa investment
06:02 – G20 summit drama and America’s pullout
08:15 – Museveni jokes about “going to war for the ocean”
10:05 – Why the Horn of Africa stays unstable
12:03 – The conflict economy explained
14:22 – Sudan’s war and the gold-fuelled crisis
17:10 – Who really profits from endless wars?
19:50 – Identity, religion and the politics of manipulation
23:35 – Foreign powers and proxy control in the Horn
26:04 – Djibouti as the world’s military parking lot
28:40 – Why African states keep losing leverage
32:15 – Has the AU lost moral authority?
35:22 – Somalia’s donor dependency and the illusion of control
38:48 – What real African peace architecture should look like
42:55 – The paralysis inside IGAD and regional blocs
46:40 – Is humanitarian response driven by racism and fatigue?
50:10 – What Kenya and neighbours can actually do
54:00 – Power, sovereignty and the lesson of the region
57:45 – Hope and unease: the Horn in 2026
01:01:20 – Professor Khannaje’s final message to the AU
01:03:10 – Closing reflections: Can peace ever be profitable?

Wars without victory, alliances without trust, and peace that profits the few. The Horn of Africa remains one of the most strategic yet unstable regions in the world, and understanding why means following the money.
In this episode of Panel 54, Prof. Hassan Khannaje, Director of the Horn International Institute for Strategic Studies, joins Waweru Njoroge and Ndu Okoh to unpack the business of chaos — how instability has become a system, not a symptom.

The conversation explores how foreign powers, regional elites, and institutional weakness have turned conflict into profit, from Sudan’s gold trade to foreign bases in Djibouti. Prof. Khannaje breaks down how peacebuilding has been reduced to process over progress, and why Africa must reclaim control of its own peace agenda.

From Somalia’s endless donor dependency to the geopolitics of the Red Sea, this episode examines how governance, greed, and global interest intersect to keep the continent in perpetual crisis.

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🎙 Recorded on location in NBI KENYA
🎧 Produced by Commex Africa and E & C Talent