The challenge of being gay and lesbian in Uganda, a highly religious and deeply conservative Christian country, is constant isolation, insults, threats and violence. That’s exactly what a Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone, an anti-gay newspaper, did when on November 1, 2010 again published pictures of 14 men it identified as the “generals” of the gay […]
Are development charities justified in utilizing dehumanizing images to raise funds for their causes? We’ve all seen it on TV screens, newspaper ads, and probably heard about it on radio talks. As an African living in America it makes me cringe, just like Duncan McNicholl, every time I see a “photo of a teary-eyed African […]
The Voice Of America’s latest Africa News reports the following: the recently released International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook suggests that, unless African governments cut spending, they could put their economic growth in jeopardy. According to Antoinette Sayeh, the head of the IMF’s Africa department, although “smart fiscal planning, combined with government spending, helped […]
While I am in favor of the idea of viewing locals as business partners, I take a different attitude with regard to Zimbabwe“Indigenization Plan”, a law that requires locals to own 51 percent of major foreign firms. Why? Nothing new about this approach: Zambia tried and failed. Namibia has been trying it with its land […]
The Zambian Watchdog, an organization owned by private Zambian journalists, is reporting that Zambian police opened fire on a crowd protesting the restoration of the 1964 Barotseland agreement in Mongu, Western Province. Two protestors are feared dead. Three police officers are also reportedly to have been injured. The 1964 Barotseland agreement is an Agreement regarding the autonomy […]
I am off to Israel for eight days and posting may be even lighter than usual. I am giving a paper, “From Apartheid to Liberation: Race, History and South African Historiography,” at a conference, “Concepts of ‘Race’ in the History of the Humanities,” at the University of Haifa. As always, if you are anywhere near […]
The summary of a new report on US policy particularly off the coast of East Africa reads as follows: A new U.S. emphasis on African maritime development — dedicated not only to rooting out piracy but also renovating ports and investing in job creation — could improve African security and economic growth. Not to belabor […]
Finally, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has come to its own sense, and reversed all-together its earlier decision taken in 2008 to establish an award of US$3 million endowment from Equatorial Guinea’s president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, whose government is widely accused of corruption and gross human rights violations. UNESCO’s decision […]
Guinea’s runoff Presidential election, scheduled for October 24, has now been moved to October 31 after skirmishes between police and protesters resulted in two deaths and the replacement of the head of the country’s election commission, Louceny Camara, who had been accused of bias, with Malian official Siaka Toumany Sangare. Or maybe not. My favorite […]
Many of the players in Sudan’s pending South Sudan referendum that most suspect will lead to a vote for independence. South Sudanese political parties are getting their ducks in a row for the anticipated secession. From Khartoum Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir promises that there will not be a return to civil war after January’s vote. […]
I don’t understand the FIFA world rankings. And I doubt you understand the FIFA world rankings. Largely because the FIFA world rankings make little sense. But the latest FIFA world rankings are nonetheless available for us all not to understand. Ten African teams make the top 50, with Egypt (11), Ghana (17), and Ivory Coast […]
Really? The Namibian newspaper is reporting that Sam Nujoma, the founding President of Namibia, is condemning attempts to legalize prostitution in the country. Nujoma claims that prostitution never has been part of the the African people’s culture, but was brought to the continent by Africa’s colonial powers. He is quoted saying, “we have destroyed colonialism, […]
Robert Mugabe is rattling sabers about ending Zimbabwe’s coalition government, in which he and his ZANU-PF party has reluctantly shared power with Morgan Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mugabe recently appointed some senior government officials without Tsvangirai’s input and naturally the MDC leader and Prime Minister finds such unilateralism unacceptable. Tsvangirai sees […]
Quoting AFP, AfricaNews is reporting that the US Agency for International Development (USAid) has donated $10m to a project aimed at combating sexual violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) where armed groups and rebel militias attack and raped civilians. Certainly this is welcome news, but it should not end here. All […]
South Sudan Trains Future Police Force: Margaret Besheer | Rejaf, South Sudan 16 October 2010 South Sudan police cadets are training ahead of the upcoming referendum on independence. In southern Sudan preparations are underway for the referendum scheduled for January 9 that will decide whether that part of the country secedes from the north. Part […]