A Reflection on Bantu Khamuladzi and the birth of Malawian Hip Hop

In 1994, Malawi’s longtime dictator Hastings Banda was dethroned from the palace of Sanjika and relegated to Mudi House, sandwiched between two roads that lead to the referral Queen’s Hospital,…..

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6 mins read

December 9, 2014

Angola’s Flash Mobs

There has been an increase in protest activity across sub-Saharan Africa recently: Burkina Faso’s citizen uprising dominated Africa-focused news outlets and twitter feeds as the president of the country resigned…..

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5 mins read

November 21, 2014

How not to write about Africa: Use “African Spring”

On October 30, as thousands of determined Burkinabe put an end to the 27 year rule of their Western-backed autocratic leader, Blaise Compaoré, journalist Hewete Haileselassie asked a question (in a…..

1 min read

March 22, 2012

The coup against democracy in Mali

Here’s video of the coup announcement in Mali. Ridiculous. The screen is dark at first — they were having technical difficulties — but the image appears after 30 seconds or so. See the scene. As for the speech, it’s the usual pompous nonsense, poorly delivered by a junior officer out of his depth.

2 mins read

January 23, 2012

Political Football in Egypt

Remember way back when in 2011, when I shouted out Egypt’s crazed football fans for kicking ass during and after the fall of Mubarak? Well, in honor of the upcoming…..

1 min read

October 27, 2009

Democracy, Tunisian Style

Tunisia’s President, Ben Ali, wins his fifth election since 1987 by a 99 percent margin after he decided on the candidates who could run against him. Before the result is…..