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. 
Obituaries
RSS FeedTajudeen Abdul-Raheem (1961–2009): A celebration of a life in full
Kayode Fayemi
2009-07-09, Issue 441
With a 40-day period of mourning having elapsed following the untimely death of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem on Africa Liberation Day, Kayode Fayemi looks back on the life and work of the great Pan-Africanist activist and scholar. Highlighting his extraordinary energy and compassion for ordinary people, Fayemi salutes Tajudeen's unfaltering commitment to speaking truth to power. Looking back on an array of institutional, activist and scholarly achievements, Fayemi points out that while Africa may have lost one its brightest gems, Tajudeen will forever remain a symbol and inspiration for ongoing struggles.
At least not in my lifetime
Remembering Professor Haroub Othman (1942 – 2009)
Chambi Chachage
2009-07-09, Issue 441
Chambi Chachage pays tribute to Professor Haroub Othman, a man passionate about the Pan-African ideals of peace, justice and unity, who was ready to be among 'what is left of the leftists'. Chachage writes that while his encounters with Professor Othman were 'brief, albeit memorable', they were 'filled with lasting humane impressions'.
Haroub Othman: A friend and a comrade
P. Anyang’ Nyong’o
2009-07-02, Issue 440
The late Haroub Othman, professor of development studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, 'worked very hard and was singularly dedicated to his work and his people', writes P. Anyang’ Nyong’o, in a tribute to 'a friend and a comrade'. Professor Othman died on 28 June 2009.
Transition of a titan: Professor Haroub Othman
Don Deya
2009-07-02, Issue 440
Don Deya pays homage to the late Haroub Othman: 'The professor. The activist. A sophisticated city gent with an amazing grassroots and rural touch. Knowledgeable, knowing and known. Wise, skilled, experienced. Self-assured and quietly assertive, yet so humble to a fault. A strategic thinker, who published prolifically, networked furiously and patiently planted small seeds now that would reap whirlwinds later. One of a diminishing breed of genuine, gentle, generous pan-Africanists who could see clearly where we were coming from and what we urgently needed to do in order to get to where we so desperately need to go.'
Sad and shocking news from Zanzibar
Friends of Haroub Othman
2009-07-02, Issue 440
Chambi Chacage broke the news of Professor Haroub Othman's death on 28 June to friends and colleagues. Here are some of the memories, thoughts and feelings of people whose lives Othman touched, upon hearing the news of Othman's 'passing on'.
Giovanni Arrighi: Internationalist par excellence
(1937-2009)
Salimah Valiani
2009-06-25, Issue 439
Socialist scholar Giovanni Arrighi was a man who lived the knowledge he was seeking and who built his life around it, writes his former student Salimah Valiani.
Another great socialist scholar: Giovanni Arrighi
Bill Martin
2009-06-19, Issue 438
It is with great sadness that I report that Giovanni Arrighi passed peacefully yesterday morning in Baltimore (Thursday June 18, 2009), with his partner Beverly Silver, and his son, Andrea, at his side....
Somali media director assassinated
Somali Speaking Centre of International PEN (SS PEN)
2009-06-18, Issue 438
cc ctsnowFollowing the assassination of Radio Shabelle's Media Director Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe in Mogadishu on 7 June, the Somali Speaking Centre of International PEN (SS PEN) condemns the attack and decries the inability of Somali journalists to operate without risk of physical harm.
Tributes to Tajudeen continue pouring in
Firoze Manji
Pambazuka News
2009-06-04, Issue 436
Tributes to Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, pan-Africanist, fighter, comrade and friend to so many, continue to pour in at Pambazuka News. Since last week, we have received some 60 tributes bringing the total to more than 250. Tributes include those from Dismas Nkunda, Norah Matovu-Winyi Executive Director FEMNET, Breyten Breytenbach, Juma V. Mwapachu, East African Community, Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, Owei Lakemfa, Ibrahim Abdullah, Ama Biney, Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, L Muthoni Wanyeki, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi and many more.
Fr Gerard Jean-Juste (1947-2009)
Sokari Ekine
2009-06-04, Issue 436
Sokari Ekine pays her last respects to Fr Gerard Jean-Juste, a gentle man and a liberation theologist who dedicated his life to fight for justice for Haitians in Haiti and the US.
Death of a pioneer activist in Zanzibar: Khalfani Hemed Khalfan
Salma Maoulidi
2009-04-02, Issue 426
Salma Maoulidi pays tribute to Khalfani Hemed Khalfan, who died on 28 March 2009. Khalfan, an activist who campaigned primarily for the rights of people with disabilities in Zanzibar through organisation UWZ, helped bring about the passage of Tanzania's Disability Act and encouraged participation in civil society more broadly in Zanzibar.
Smitu Kothari
Society for International Development
2009-03-26, Issue 425
Smitu Kothari, noted Indian and international scholar, author and activist, who contributed to the SID (Society for International Development) network for over twenty years, passed away on 23 March. Deeply involved in ecological, cultural and human rights issues, Kothari strove to forge global alternatives to the world’s injustices.
Tribute to Oscar King'ara and Paul Oulu
Beatrice Kamau
2009-03-12, Issue 423
Comrades Oscar and Oulu, They may have shot you dead, but they have not shot down what you believed in and stood for. They may have destroyed your physical bodies, but your spirit and what you believed and stood by is now more alive than ever...
Farewell To Tayeb Salih: One Of Africa’s Most Illustrious Literary Figures
Mustapha Marrouchi
2009-02-26, Issue 421
They are no longer stirring still. In fact, they are dying at an alarming rate. First, there was Edward Said, then Mahmoud Darwish, and now Tayeb Salih. And if Said sang about the pleasures of the “placeless place,” Darwish wrote like a jealous child...
Goodbye, Mama Afrika
Miriam Makeba
Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem
2008-11-13, Issue 406
Miriam makeba was an icon who used music to serve Africa and the cause of humanity. The ancestors would be pleased to receive her as a worthy daughter who gave her best. She lived through apartheid, fought it and survived to see a liberated multiraci...
South Africa: Anti-apartheid writer dies
2008-10-31, Issue 404
Prominent South African academic and writer Es'kia Mphahlele has died at the age of 88. He was best known for his autobiography Down Second Avenue, telling of his life as a herdsman, teacher and journalist for the celebrated magazine Drum. It ended w...
Jack Govender: A Che Guevara of our time
2008-10-03, Issue 399
Jack Govender, aka Sipho Khumalo, has made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. An internationalist in every sense, he laid down his life not for 'his people' in any narrow sense, but for his people in the broader sense that he took oppression and suf...
Mahmoud Darwish
Breyten Breytenbach
2008-09-07, Issue 395
I just heard the terrible news that Mahmoud Darwish passed away. As for many of you, I’m sure, the anguish and pain brought about by this loss is nearly unbearable. Some of us had the privilege, only a few weeks ago, of listening to him reading his p...
Graham Thom 1966-2008
Anil Naidoo
2008-08-05, Issue 392
Graham Thom died in his home in London on 10 July 2008. Graham a graduate from Cambridge University, made a significant contribution to developing a vibrant and strong civil society sector both in England and in Africa, and was much loved and res...
Journalist Nasteh Dahir Farah
National Union of Somali Journalists
2008-06-18, Issue 382
Nasteh Dahir Farah (in Somali language: Nasteex Daahir Faarax) was assassinated by two men armed with pistols in Fanole village of Kismayo district on Saturday, 7th June 2008. He was returning home, when killers, who were following him, called his name and as he turned, the hooded attackers started shooting him at chest and stomach, leaving him dead.
Lindiwe Mazibuko, the first applicant in the landmark Phiri Water Case
2008-05-28, Issue 376
Last week, 40 year-old Lindiwe Mazibuko, passed away at her home in Phiri after a lengthy illness related to cancer. Lindiwe was the first applicant in the landmark Phiri water rights case. Judgement was recently handed down in this case, in the High...
AFH remembers Gabisile Nkosi
2008-05-30, Issue 376
It’s with a great sense of loss that Art for Humanity (AFH) reports the tragic death of celebrated KZN artist, Gabisile Nkosi in the early hours of this morning, 27 May 2008. Gabisile was involved with AFH for almost 10 years with her participation i...
Harris Memel-Fotê, 1930 – 2008
2008-05-30, Issue 376
The Council for the development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) regrets to announce, yet again, the death of one of its illustrious members. Harris Memel-Fotê passed away inAbidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on 11 May 2008, having lost his battl...
Remembering Tonderai Ndira
Comrade Fatso
2008-05-22, Issue 374
Here below, Comrade Fatso remembers Tonderai Ndira, described by Voice of America as Zimbabwe's best-known activists. Speaking of Ndirai the VOA report says "his family and friends believe he has been arrested at least 35 times, certainly a record in Zimbabwe's political history. (And) last year he spent five months in detention.
Ngugi wa Mirii - Africa has lost a dreamer
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi
2008-05-05, Issue 369
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi remembers Ngugi Wa Mirii
Homage to Aimé Césaire
Lazare Ki-Zerbo
2008-05-02, Issue 369
Lazare Ki-Zerbo pays tribute to the life and work of Aimé Césaire
Ivan Toms found dead
2008-03-27, Issue 357
Stunned friends have remembered Ivan Toms as a larger than life character who had tremendous energy and huge passion for the country he loved and served. Toms was on Tuesday morning found dead in his Mowbray, Cape Town home after he failed to pitch f...
A Tribute to Nyar Okuyu - Daughter of the Kikuyu
Fidelis Wainaina
Sukuma Kenya
2008-03-12, Issue 353
Fidelis Wainaina passed away from cancer as our country's own cancer dug itself deeper into our entrails. Personally, I think she lost her faith - not in her God - but in humanity. She had worked relentlessly for over 15 years in rural Luo land to br...
Civil Rights Activist Johnnie Carr Dies
2008-02-27, Issue 349
Johnnie Carr, who joined childhood friend Rosa Parks in the historic Montgomery bus boycott and became a prominent civil rights activist over the past half century, has died. She was 97. Baptist Health hospital spokeswoman Melody Ragland said Carr di...
Tony Hall - 3 June 1936 - 31 January 2008
A life lived from the hearty
2008-02-15, Issue 345
Tony Hall lived his life from the heart. He had a heart that embraced a life-long commitment to human freedom, absorbed large doses of self-sacrifice and enveloped those whom he loved and respected. In some kind of serenely symbolic and beautifully p...
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