Suddenly, bad African leaders are under the torch of public scrutiny: George Clooney is arrested while trying to draw attention to Sudan’s president...
The Kony debacle: South speaks to North
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CATEGORY: Sub-Saharan Africa
The plight of journalists who flee Al-Shabaab
As Elmi Mohammed Waare ambled through an outdoor market in the central Somali town of Beledweyne in December 2007, two casually-dressed,...
The dirty face of Bongo
Inspired by Tupac, Public Enemy and others in the USA around 2004, a new tsunami of music crashed over hit Tanzania. Bongo Flavah: raw, real,...
Art For Peace heals Kenya’s wounds
“Slum is a tricky word. It conjures up images out of control. The threatening. The miserable. The lawless,” thus wrote Richard Swift in his article...
Information or Honesty? Life on a very isolated island
Over 70 per cent of East Africa's population lives in rural communities: despite the proliferation of radio stations, weekly and daily newspapers,...
In Zimbabwe, it’s not the media that spreads the news
In places like Zimbabwe the need for "outsider" critique is essential: solipsistic regimes create complex narratives about betrayal and patriotism; ...
Reading in Africa: The lost art
“It all comes down to reading! If you read properly, you evaluate, you notice, you critique properly. It’s depressing, flying across Africa there’s...
Uganda: Radio stations taken off air
On 9 January, in a bizarre move, at least 10 radio stations, including BBC Radio, Radio France International (local relay channels), and the Italian...
Coca Cola: It’s bubbling up in Swaziland
There’s renewed attention internationally on Swaziland with King Mswati III excesses. He’s getting it from all angles: criticised for squandering...
Sudan’s security service closes newspapers
Sudan's National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) suspended Alwan, an independent daily newspaper On Friday 13 January. On Thursday and Friday...
South Africa: 100 years after the founding of the ANC, dissenters take to Twitter
The 8th of January 1912 saw the founding of the ANC, by key South African intellectuals, including author Sol Plaatje, poet John Dube, and editors...
Tales of taboo: Homosexuality in Africa
In East Africa, Homosexuality and lesbianism is totally taboo. At best the the attitude is to ignore homosexuality, at worst, there are deaths,...
