Foreign Policy Blogs

Southern Africa

Facebook Reactions Part 2

Earlier, I posted some comments and reactions that I received on my facebook wall regrading the Mugabe article.  Here are more comments regarding other articles as well.  And, oh…I am also on twitter. http://twitter.com/NdumbaKamwanyah 1. Democracy without Independent Voters Article: • You are doing a good job with these analysis, we are getting educated from […]

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Facebook Reactions to the Mugabe Article…

You can’t have it both ways, right? One of the downsize of publicizing articles on facebook account is that people have the tendency to respond there instead of here. Facebook is increasingly becoming a valuable tool for citizenry engagement. Despite the reality that computers are out of reach for many people, mobile phones are making […]

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Mugabe Steals the Show at the SADC Summit

Forget about all the talk about political repression, human rights violations, and economic suffering in Zimbabwe. The real excitement on Facebook is Mugabe’s speech, at the just-concluded Windhoek SADC summit in Namibia, that people are talking about. Mugabe was the summit’s keynote speaker, a summit that also saw former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda deliver an […]

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Update:Namibia Non-governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof) Trust Challenges the SADC Demo Ban

This is just a quick update about the SADC summit underway in Windhoek, Namibia. The chairperson of the Namibia Non-governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof) Trust, and fellow trustees have asked the Windhoek High Court to declare both the SADC demonstration ban and section 2 of the Public Gatherings Proclamation, AG 23 of 1989 unconstitutional. Nangof Trust’s […]

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The SADC People Summit

WHILE SADC heads of state and government meet in Windhoek this week, civil society organisations from the region are also holding a two-day meeting in Windhoek called ‘The SADC People’s Summit’. The two-day event started yesterday and is organized by the Southern African People’s Solidarity Network (SAPSN). Read more at http://allafrica.com/stories/201008170634.html

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The SADC 30th Jubilee Summit Starts in Windhoek, but No Demonstration Allowed

The Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting in Namibia’s capital city Windhoek for SADC’s 30th Summit yesterday August 16 and today August 17, 2010. Apparently, high on the summit agenda is the organization’s pledge to address the region’s “hotspots” such as Lesotho, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the east […]

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Democracy Without Independent Voters

Last Monday, August 9, 2010, Rwanda’s incumbent President Paul Kagame scored another landslide similar to his margin of victory in 2003. In Namibia, the ruling Swapo party smashed a fifth tsunami-like victory this past November. South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the Liberation Front of […]

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Africa’s One-Horse Election Races

Paul Kagame’s landslide victory in Monday’s presidential elections highlights Africa’s multiparty democracy problems. Across the continent elections are predictable, and continue to produce landslides victories for ruling parties. According to media reports, Kagame received 93 per cent of the votes in an election criticized for being marred by political intimidation, repression and violence. But more […]

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Rwanda Election Watch: Dictators Don’t Step Down, But They Are Brought Down

Those are not my words, but a quote attributed to Patrick Karegeya (the former Rwandan intelligence chief who was jailed twice, stripped of his colonel rank, and forced into exile by the Kagame government) calling for the defeat of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Kagame, the rebel-hero who defeated the genocidal government in July 1994, […]

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The Zimbabwe Government’s Bizarre Air Plane Crash Prank

I was going to let this pass, but after some thoughts I am left puzzled as to why a country teetering on the verge of economic collapse and political turmoil would – out of the blue – conduct this kind of publicity stunt. The only conclusion that I can come up is that this seems […]

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Dirty-Looking Stones Land Supermodel Naomi Campbell in a Witness Stand at the War Crime Trial of Charles Taylor

You probably already heard this, but at the International Court in Hague where she testified in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Naomi Campbell confirmed receiving a gift of “dirty-looking stones” in 1997. These dirty-looking stones turned out to be precious diamonds, prosecutors believed to be Charles Taylor’s “blood diamonds, which fueled Sierra […]

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President Obama Engages Young African Leaders, But are Rural Youth at the Table?

President Barack Obama and the Department of State are hosting 115 young African leaders from 46 sub-Saharan African nations at the President’s Forum with Young African Leaders underway in Washington, DC. The forum, which started on Tuesday, August 3-5, aims to broaden and deepen the U.S. Government’s understanding of Africa as well as to reflect […]

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The Caprivi Secession Attempt: Is It a Failure of Namibia’s Nation-building Project?

Reflecting on the unresolved Caprivi secession case, an old Namibian acquaintance has this to say: “From a constitutional point of view, justice is being denied. The suspects shouldn’t be in custody for such a long time if they cannot be prosecuted. I think the government is afraid of lawsuits, so it is better to keep […]

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For The San People Of Botswana, Diamonds Are Not A Girl’s Best Friend

Diamonds may be known for their cachet as the ultimate symbol of love and eternity throughout the world, but not for the San people of Botswana.  Recently, the Botswana high court reversed some of the gains made by the San people in their struggle for land rights when the Judge ruled last Wednesday that their […]

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Will Market Clean up Congo’s Conflict Minerals?

Before I bore you again with yet another conflict mineral detail in Africa, I need to tell you something very important regarding the financial legislation-the other side of the legislation that the mainstream media hasn’t been reporting a lot about-recently signed by President Obama. This legislation is not just a victory for the American people […]

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