Why Blogging is a Threat to the Ethiopian Government
In the past decade, more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world.
Politics
The Politics of the Belly
The bottom line of politics in electoral democracies in 21st century capitalism: Whatever patronage politicians dispense, there’s no free lunch.
Fumana isazisi sakho. Bhalisa. Vota.*
I came across this image taken by a press photographer in May 1990 after one of the
Elections and captured politics
Twenty years after 1994, there is the deep discontent among the population about electoral politics and of politics in general. Freedom turned out to be a mirage.
A Rwandan Storify
The sensational tale of Rwanda’s gospel-singer-terrorist, Kizito Mihigo.
Seven Things To Tell Young Black South Africans
Being Black in South Africa today must be a baffling, sometimes humiliating experience.
This is Freedom
The AIDS activist Zackie Achmat reflects on South Africa’s 5th democratic elections in this interview with Cape Town independent media outlet, GroundUp.
The Villain Is Back
Senegalese president, Macky Sall, is so unpopular that the PDS party of Abdoulaye Wade and Y’en a Marre - sworn enemies - agree on things.
What do Nigerians really think and know about homosexuality?
Nigeria's homophobia is at variance with Google analytics, which shows that Nigeria ranks in the top five in the world for searches for gay porn.
The post-1994 power brokers and black liberation
Where does this leave the majority of largely poor, black and unskilled people affected by the competing interests of powerful groups?
Who are Boko Haram, and how did they come to be?
This is currently Boko Haram's structure: a cellular structure, and no centralized command, and seemingly no unity of purpose.
The last space of cultural dynamism in Luanda’s baixa is no more
Angolans protest as the state threatens to tear down an historic building.
The African Cake
Last week a bunch of smartly dressed activists, myself included, made a visit to the UK’s
Chris Hani’s political legacy
Chris Hani should not be made into an ideal type or used to settle political scores in the present.
Where were you when Chris Hani was killed?
Chris Hani, a prominent ANC and Communist Party leader, was murdered on April 10, 1993, by white racists. The writer remembers hearing the news.
What’s it like to be Somali in Kenya
Kenyans employ all kinds of crude and unconscionable fascist statements towards anything Somali.
Cape Town’s Pretend Partnership
Cape Town's goals: designing a more tourist-friendly European City, while keeping the unwanted and unsightly on the other side of the mountain.
The passport that does not pass ports
The story of African migrants entering the Eurozone by sea is basically indecipherable as it is told in global and national media reports, because they are described only as helpless victims.
Africa is more queerer than you think
Both in and outside of Africa, there is an argumentative frenzy around the instability of gender and sex and non-conforming performances of gender.
The Congolization Movement
Creating spaces where artists related to the Congolese diaspora can freely tell their side of the story.