Analysis

Dr. William Kiema’s new book asks one key question: Is a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) achievable? The book is a deep dive into the historical development of air transport in Africa. Throughout the book, the reader encounters numerous attempts towards a unified air transport market. However, this dream has been somewhat attainable but elusive. Africa is a continent rich in resources and wealth. There are diverse offerings from across the continent. These areas are primarily connected through road which, while cheap, are mismanaged and mostly unconnected.

With successful examples from regions such as the EU and Asia, African states have extended the African strategy of “using African solutions to Africa’s problems”, to air transport services in the continent. A major solution which was agreed upon by the African Union (AU) at its 24th Session was the liberalization of African skies through the establishment of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). The SAATM is designed to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 which itself is a legacy of the 1988 Yamoussoukro Declaration. Although, considered a critical impetus to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the SAATM it is yet to be fully operationalized. This raises questions among others, on why the states have failed to fulfil their obligations under the YD, the philosophy behind the lack of political will by states, and prospects towards achieving the reality of a SAATM.

The Air Transport Industry in Africa: A Legal Analysis of the Single African Air Transport Market makes a significant and timely contribution by synthesizing these domains into a coherent analytical narrative. Across nine chapters, the book situates the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) not merely as a sectoral reform initiative, but as a continental economic governance project embedded within the broader African Union integration architecture.

It is such delight to introduce this Review Symposium on my book, The Air Transport Industry in Africa: A Legal Analysis of the Single African Air Transport Market, published by Routledge in 2025. Convened by Afronomicslaw, the leading blog on international law and international economic law issues relating to Africa and the Global South, the symposium brings together a distinguished group of scholars and practitioners in air law who constructively engage with the book’s arguments, scope, and contribution to African air transport law and regional integration debates.

In a joint statement released on 6 May 2026, the Republic of Guinea, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), and its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) announced that they had reached an agreement to “definitively” settle the disputes arising from the suspension of GAC’s activities and the interruption of Guinean bauxite supplies to EGA.

The article analyses the High Court’s decision in Wathome & 14 others v Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service & another; Greenpeace Environmental Kenya & 2 others (Interested Parties) [2025] KEHC 18166 (KLR) (the Wathome Decision), focusing on the arguments advanced and the Court’s response to the tension between plant variety protection and farmers’ rights. Finally, it reflects on what a more balanced legal and policy framework might entail, while also engaging with emerging challenges related to the place of genetically modified crops and the growing reliance on toxic agrochemical inputs in food production.

In late November 2025, the Machakos High Court in Kenya issued an unprecedented judgment that was noteworthy. The judgment was not limited to legal correction; it struck down the key provisions of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act (SPVA). It was a strong assertion of humanity’s dignity, culture, and the right to eco-justice. The Court aligned Kenyan law with constitutional values and international human rights obligations by declaring unconstitutional the laws that criminalized the saving, sharing, and sale of farm-saved and Indigenous seeds. The UN human rights experts have recognised this judgement as a landmark for the rights of peasants and food security, and declare it a strong rebuttal against the international trade of seeds through restrictive IP regimes.

What sets this collection apart is its drive to go beyond mere descriptions of IP frameworks in Africa and engage in a more thoughtful normative discussion. The contributors reject the notion that global IP norms are the unavoidable end goals. Instead, they critically examine these standards. This is especially relevant considering the powerful influence of the TRIPS Agreement (World Trade Organisation [WTO], 1994), which has largely dictated the contours of IP policy for African nations. The central thesis of the book—that IP should be regarded as a policy instrument rather than an unchangeable law—resonates with longstanding critiques, such as Peter Drahos and Joseph Stiglitz, but grounds them in the realities faced by contemporary African nations.

This volume weaves through an analysis of Intellectual Property Rights as integrated with sustainable development. The contribution of IP in the achievement of sustainable development goals is brought out through nineteen chapters. This review is not a chapter-by-chapter exploration. However, it starts with a general outlook of the work presented in this book as summarized in the first chapter, highlighting key points of significance. The review follows up with a few other positive pointers to be appreciated in the general context of the work, before picking out on underlying gaps that generally stand out in all the chapters.

Through case and thematic analyses drawn from specific African countries and regional organizations, the book explores the intersection of IP with crucial sectors that are key to advancing sustainable development in Africa. In particular, the book situates the IP and sustainable development conversation within the context of agriculture and food security, access to medicines and public health, gender empowerment, small business development, innovation and patent quality, financing, innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization, data protection, traditional knowledge and artificial intelligence in Africa. In this connection, the book explores the interaction between IP rights and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are also articulated in the African Union’s development objectives (Agenda 2063).