Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. 
Comment & analysis
RSS FeedAn open letter to Jimmy Manyi
Trevor Manuel
2011-03-03, Issue 519
cc UN PhotoIn a letter to Jimmy Manyi, the South African government's spokesperson, cabinet minister Trevor Manuel strongly criticises Manyi’s racist remarks.
David Kato: Life after death
Nick Mwaluko
2011-02-24, Issue 518
© Wikipedia‘Before leaving, the wind blows so I turn, take one long, last look at circle of candles to keep their flame burning in my memory forever. Dead, the wind blew them out. But there is one that stands alone, free, and still burns bright to this day. David Kato.’
Youth demand Dedan Kimathi museum at Kamiti Prison
Dennis Dancan Mosiere
2011-02-24, Issue 518
cc S 1Kenya’s youth are demanding that their government build a Dedan Kimathi museum, says Dennis Dancan Mosiere.
A beer for Mo Ibrahim
Ethiopian Recycler
2011-02-24, Issue 518
cc WikipediaThe blog Ethiopian Recycler raises a glass to a brewery deal and good governance.
All the pharaohs in Africa, go now!
Philo Ikonya
2011-02-23, Issue 518
cc SaharuiakAs the extraordinary events within North Africa and the Middle East continue, Philo Ikonya stresses that genuine support for people’s freedom around the world must increase.
Conditions and consequences: Anatomy of Egypt's revolution
Esam Al-Amin
2011-02-24, Issue 518
cc Abusalah‘Like perfect storms, several factors have to simultaneously and collectively come together for popular uprisings or protests to turn into a revolution,’ writes Esam Al-Amin. ‘So what are the elements that distinguish the Egyptian revolution?’
Rejecting hypocrisy, standing for freedom
Abahlali baseMjondolo
2011-02-24, Issue 518
© Abahlali.orgEngaging in ‘unlawful and criminal evictions’ and blacklisting a journalist for her political views undermine the Democratic Alliance’s claims of support for the rule of law and press freedom, says the Western Cape branch of South African shackdwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo.
‘Closing down’ of Cape Town’s Centre for African Studies
Paula Ensor
2011-02-23, Issue 518
cc WikipediaFollowing the concerns raised by Concerned CAS Students around the proposed merger of departments at the University of Cape Town (and the resultant disestablishing of the Centre for African Studies and the African Gender Institute), Professor Paula Ensor, dean of the university’s Faculty of Humanities, provides a response.
The World Social Forum and the battle for COP17
Vishwas Satgar
2011-02-17, Issue 517
cc PZ NewsIn a world plunged ever deeper into an uncivilised global capitalist condition, the World Social Forum is a crucial beacon of hope. But while news of Egypt and Tunisia’s revolutions electrified activists at this year’s gathering in Dakar, Vishwas Satgar asks whether progressive civil society is powerful enough to organise for a genuine climate change solution at COP17.
David Kato is not dead
Nick Mwaluko
2011-02-17, Issue 517
cc InformatiqueDavid Kato, a prominent Ugandan gay rights activist, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in broad daylight at his home in Uganda, dying on his way to hospital. News of Kato’s death reverberated throughout the world as friends, leaders, activists and human rights organisations paid tribute to a man whose lifelong legacy championed human dignity in the face of man’s inhumanity to man.
Forward to land and housing for the poor
Kwanele! Enough Is Genoeg!
Mandela Park Backyarders Movement
2011-02-17, Issue 517
© Abahlali.orgAt the forefront of most people’s dreams when South Africa’s new ANC government came into power was the famous quote: ‘There shall be houses, security and comfort’. But it is now ‘years since we first voted and there is little change to show for that’, writes the Mandela Park Backyarders Movement.
Black History Month: History as a weapon of struggle
Ajamu Nangwaya
2011-02-17, Issue 517
cc J AWith Black History Month underway in North America this month, Ajamu Nangwaya laments the move away from political engagement and militancy to mere celebration.
BP support for Mubarak dictatorship revealed
Mika Minio-Paluello
2011-02-17, Issue 517
Egyptian protestors were furious at Mubarak for upholding his own interests and those of Western powers and foreign companies at the expense of the country’s people. Mika Minio-Paluello takes a closer look at oil company BP’s relationship with the regime.
Mauritius: sex workers deserve protection
Loga Virahsawmy
2011-02-09, Issue 516
cc ICRSELoga Virahsawmy writes about the difficulties facing sex workers in Mauritius and the rest of the SADC region.
Free sanitary pads won’t stop violence against women
Glenda Muzenda
2011-02-02, Issue 515
cc M NTough measures to tackle gender-based violence are more important to South African women than government distribution of free sanitary pads, argues Glenda Muzenda.
People of Côte d'Ivoire: Keep lucidity
Bernard Founou-Tchuigoua
2011-02-02, Issue 515
cc WikimediaThe people of Côte d’Ivoire must be supported in their efforts to bring the country’s political crisis to a peaceful conclusion, while all talk of military intervention must be resisted, writes Bernard Founou-Tchuigoua.
Periscoping Nigeria’s NEITI Act 2007
Uche Igwe
2011-02-02, Issue 515
cc S S SWhile the passing of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Act in May 2007 ‘sent very positive signals about Nigeria’s desire to sustain its leadership in the global initiative to the world’, NEITI needs to be subject to a number of new amendments, writes Uche Igwe.
If African politics was this…
Sanya Osha
2011-02-01, Issue 515
cc Z MAfrica has a wealth of leadership outside of state politics. Sanya Osha gives some examples.
Was a UN general in Haiti assassinated?
WikiLeaks documents cast doubt on general’s suicide
2011-01-27, Issue 514
cc UN PhotoIndependent multimedia reporting website Mediahacker reports on WikiLeak documents in which Dominican President Leonel Fernandez expressed concern that a United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) general had been assassinated.
Walter Rodney: Writing a proud story
Patricia Rodney
2011-01-26, Issue 514
© walterrodney.comIn an interview with Ricky Jordan, Patricia Rodney – wife of the late Walter Rodney – discusses her preparations around finally being able to write her husband’s story.
Zanzibar at 47: Orwellian tragedy or Kwei Armah African satire?
Salma Maoulidi
2011-01-27, Issue 514
With Zanzibar celebrating 47 years since its 1964 revolution on 12 January, Salma Maoulidi discusses current political developments and asks which literary script might best capture the island’s experience.
The re-education of South Africa
Tim Murithi
2011-01-20, Issue 513
cc M W‘The statement by Afrikaner author, Anneli Botes, that one group that she still does not like are “black people”, reveals a deeper malaise that continues to permeate the post-apartheid psyche among certain sectors of South African society,’ writes Tim Murithi.
Isle of peace into pieces: A call to disarm
Kate Bomz
2011-01-19, Issue 513
cc R OIn the wake of protests in Tanzania and Tunisia and the authorities’ heavy-handed response, Kate Bomz draws parallels between the countries’ respective histories.
Bye-bye Ben Ali… but where does that leave Tunisia?
Dennis Sammut
2011-01-20, Issue 513
cc AzisTunisia’s former president Zine Abbedine Ben Ali has fled following popular uprising, but will he simply be replaced by another ruling elite, asks Dennis Sammut.
This groundswell of anger could be the beginning of a popular rebellion
Rasna Warah
2011-01-20, Issue 513
cc T MRasna Warah calls on Kenyans to join a campaign against the government’s proposals to withdraw from the ICC and ‘to use taxpayers’ money to pay the legal fees of the six suspects accused of committing crimes against humanity’.
South Africa: Township youth organisation achieves excellent results in matric results
2011-01-11, Issue 512
cc A FIkamvaYouth, a township-based volunteer programme that gets learners out of poverty and into university has once again shown that transformation is possible, despite the odds.
Will football unite the Nile Basin countries?
Chambi Chachage
2011-01-11, Issue 512
cc Mal3abnaWith Egypt setting up a ‘Nile Basin Tournament’ for countries across the region, Chambi Chachage considers football’s political role and the broader diplomatic stakes surrounding the tournament.
Somaliland: Travelling beyond the international map
Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye
2011-01-12, Issue 512
cc WikimediaThe international community should accept Somaliland into the family of nations, writes Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye.
Rivers State: The making of an island of integrity
Uche Igwe
2011-01-12, Issue 512
cc SnapparachiUche Igwe travels to Rivers State in Nigeria and reports on progressive reforms by the state governor in the areas of healthcare, education and food security.
Social justice philanthropy revisited
Influencing policy at a pan-African level
Bhekinkosi Moyo
2011-01-11, Issue 512
cc S ITrustAfrica is an established African foundation set up to work on the continental level ‘explicitly on issues with regional and continental dimensions’. Bhekinkosi Moyo discusses the organisation’s background and strategy.