A diagnostic study of rainfall variability in Africa in the area from 5 degrees north to 10 degrees south was carried out using a combination of gauge data and satellite estimates of precipitation. Emphasis was placed on determining the time-scales of interannual variability, the characteristics of interaseasonal fluctuations, wave activity and mesoscale systems, and on regionalization of the data. The latter was used in order to reduce the number of regions used for studying this variability in the context of sea-surface temperature fluctuations, El Nino/La Nina, and atmospheric circulation variables. Particular attention is paid to the linkages between the mesoscale systems and waves and a mid-tropospheric easterly wind termed the African Easterly Jet-South.