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Africa and global finance: potential resistance?

Patrick Bond

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/51402

Far-reaching strategic debate is underway about how to respond to the global financial crisis, and indeed how the North's problems can be tied into a broader critique of capitalism.

At minimum, the ongoing chaos offers new ideological space and material justifications for African finance ministries to re-impose exchange controls and re-regulate finance, and to find sources of hard currency not connected to the Bretton Woods Institutions or Western donors.

The 2008 world financial meltdown has its roots in the neoliberal export-model (dominant in Africa since the Berg Report and onset of structural adjustment during the early 1980s) and even more deeply, in thirty-five years of world capitalist stagnation/volatility. As South Centre director (and Ugandan political economist) Yash Tandon put it: ‘The first lesson, surely, is that contrary to mainstream thinking, the market does not have a self-corrective mechanism.‘ Such disequilibration means that Africa receives sometimes too much and often too little in the way of financial flows, and the inexorable result during periods of turbulence is intensely amplified uneven development. Africa has always suffered a disproportionate share of pressure from the world economy, especially in the sphere of debt and financial outflows. But for those African countries that made themselves excessively vulnerable to global financial flows during the neoliberal era, the meltdown had a severe, adverse impact.

In Africa’s largest national economy, for example, South African finance minister Trevor Manuel had presided over steady erosion of exchange controls (with 26 consecutive relaxations from 1995-2008, according to the Reserve Bank) and the emergence of a massive current account deficit: nine percent in 2008, the second worst in the world. The latter was in large part due to a steady outflow of profits and dividends to corporations formerly based at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange but which re-listed in Britain, the USA or Australia during the 1990s (Anglo American, DeBeers, Old Mutual, Didata, Mondi, Liberty Life, BHP Billiton). In the second week of October 2008, South Africa’s stock market crashed 10 percent (on the worst day, shares worth $35 billion went up in smoke) and the currency declined by nine percent, while the second week witnessed a further 10 percent crash. The speculative real estate market had already begun a decline that might yet reach those of other hard-hit property sectors like the US, Denmark and Ireland, because South Africa’s early 2000s housing price rise far outstripped even these casino markets (200 percent from 1997-2004, compared to 60 percent in the US).

On the other hand, the cost of market failure could at least be offset, somewhat, by ideological advance. The main gains so far were in delegitimating the economic liberalisation philosophy adopted during the 1994-2008 governments of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki (presided over by Manuel). Indeed Mbeki’s dramatic September 2008 departure occurred partly because of substantially worsened inequality and unemployment since 1994, which in turn was responsible for thousands of social protests each year. When a solidarity letter Manuel wrote, resigning from Mbeki’s government on its second-last day, was released to the press (by Mbeki)) on 23 September, the stock and currency markets imposed a $6 billion punishment within an hour. The crash required incoming caretaker president Kgalema Motlanthe to immediately reappoint Manuel with great fanfare.

In the same spirit, Mbeki’s replacement as ruling party president, Jacob Zuma, had visited Davos and paid tribute to Merrill Lynch and Citibank in 2007-08 (ironically the latter two institutions insisted on having their jitters calmed). Zuma assured international financiers that Manuel’s economic policy would not change. Hence the opening of ideological space to contest neoliberalism in practice became a crucial struggle for the trade unions and SA Communist Party, which in mid-October held an Alliance Economic Summit that suggested Manuel make only marginal shifts at the edges of neoliberalism.

However, as the financial meltdown unfolded in the US and Europe, the merits of South Africa’s residual capital controls became clearer. As SA deputy trade minister Rob Davies wrote approvingly in the main Communist journal: ‘Interestingly, The Business Times of 21 September attributed this [safety from contagion] partly to “exchange control”’ which meant ‘there is a healthy degree of trapped liquidity within the financial system.’ Another factor was that many exotic financial products had been banned. As a leading official of the central bank, Brian Kahn, explained:

‘The interbank market is functioning normally and the Reserve Bank has not had to make any special liquidity provision. We have a relatively sophisticated and well-developed banking sector, and the question then is, what has saved us? (This may be tempting fate, so perhaps I should say what has saved us so far?) This all raises the old question whether or not exchange controls work. The conventional wisdom is that they do not, particularly when you need them to work. We seem to have been exception to this rule. It turns out that we were protected to some extent by prudent regulation by the Bank regulators, but more importantly, and perhaps ironically, from controls on capital movements of banks. Despite strong pressure to liberalise exchange controls completely, the Treasury has adopted a policy of gradual relaxation over the years. Controls on non-residents were lifted completely in 1996, but controls on residents, including banks and other institutions, were lifted gradually, mainly through raising limits over time. With respect to banks, there are restrictions in terms of the exchange control act, on the types of assets or asset classes they may get involved in (cross-border). These include leveraged products and certain hedging and derivative instruments. For example banks cannot hedge transactions that are not SA linked. Effectively it meant that our banks could not get involved in the toxic assets floating that others were scrambling into. They would have needed exchange control approval which would not have been granted, as they did not satisfy certain criteria. The regulators were often criticised for being behind the times, while others have argued that they don’t understand the products, but it seems there may be advantages to that! Our banks are finding it more difficult to access foreign funds and we have seen some spikes in overnight foreign exchange rates at times. But generally everything seems ‘normal’ on the banking front… Our insurance companies and institutional investors were also protected to some extent, in that there is a prudential limit on how much they can invest abroad (15 per cent of assets), and the regulator in this instance (the Financial Services Board) places constraints on the types of finds or products they can invest in. (Generally it appears that exotics are excluded). One large South Africa institution, Old Mutual, moved its primary listing to the UK a few years back (when controls were relaxed), and the plc has had fairly significant exposure in the US.’

Demands for deeper exchange controls were made by the South African Communist Party (SACP). And as Riaz Tayob of Third World Network points out, Manuel has been terribly irresponsible in pushing further financial services deregulation through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

As for the rest of Africa, similar opportunities to contest financial system orthodoxy now arise. At this stage, it is practically impossible for staff from the most powerful external force in African economic policy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to advise elites with any credibility. The IMF’s October 2006 Global Financial Stability Report, after all, claimed that global bankers had shown ‘resilience through several market corrections, with exceptionally low market volatility.’ Moreover, global economic growth ‘continued to become more balanced, providing a broad underpinning for financial markets.’ Because financial markets always price risk correctly, according to IMF dogma, investors could relax: ‘[D]efault risk in the financial and insurance sectors remains relatively low, and credit derivatives markets do not indicate any particular financial stability concerns.’ The derivatives and in particular mortgage-backed securities ‘have been developed and successfully implemented in U.S. and U.K. markets. They allow global investors to obtain broader credit exposures, while targeting their desired risk-reward trade-off.’ As for the rise of credit default swaps (the $56 trillion house of cards bringing down one bank after the other), the IMF was not worried, because ‘the widening of the credit default swaps spreads [i.e. the pricing in of higher risk] across mature markets was gradual and mild, and spreads remain near historic lows.’

Fast forward to the April 2008 launch of the IMF’s ‘Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa’ study. IMF Africa staffer John Wakeman-Linn’s powerpoint slideshow, ‘Private Capital Flows to Sub-Saharan Africa: Financial Globalization’s Final Frontier?’, concluded that the vast rush of finance is generally good for Africa, but policies would have to be changed – making Africa more vulnerable to the international financial system – in order to take full advantage:

• More transparency and consistency: exchange controls in sub-Saharan Africa complex and difficult to implement.
• Gradual and well-sequenced liberalisation strategy can help limit risks associated with capital inflows.
• Accelerated liberalisation in the face of large inflows may help their monitoring (e.g. Tanzania); selective liberalisation of outflows may help relieve inflation and appreciation pressures, but further work needed on modalities.

The IMF proclaimed the merits of liberalisation and rising financial flows to Africa, especially portfolio funding (i.e., short-term hot money in the forms of stocks, shares and securities issued by companies and government in local currencies but readily convertible). Such ‘hot money’ - speculative positions by private-sector investors – flowed especially into South Africa’s stock exchange, and also to a lesser extent into share markets in Ghana, Kenya, Gabon, Togo, and Seychelles.

However, financial outflows continue apace. An updated report on capital flight by Leonce Ndikumana of the Economic Commission for Africa and James Boyce of the University of Massachusetts shows that thanks to corruption and the demise of most African countries’ exchange controls, the estimated capital flight from 40 sub-Saharan African countries from 1970-2004 was at least $420 billion (in 2004 dollars). The external debt owed by the same countries in 2004 was $227 billion. Using an imputed interest rate to calculate the real impact of flight capital, the accumulated stock rises to $607 billion. According to Ndikumana and Boyce:

‘Adding to the irony of SSA’s position as net creditor is the fact that a substantial fraction of the money that flowed out of the country as capital flight appears to have come to the subcontinent via external borrowing. Part of the proceeds of loans to African governments from official creditors and private banks has been diverted into private pockets – and foreign bank accounts – via bribes, kickbacks, contracts awarded to political cronies at inflated prices, and outright theft. Some African rulers, like Congo’s Mobutu and Nigeria’s Sani Abacha, became famous for such abuses. This phenomenon was not limited to a few rogue regimes. Statistical analysis suggests that across the subcontinent the sheer scale of debt-fueled capital flight has been staggering. For every dollar in external loans to Africa in the 1970-2004 period, roughly 60 cents left as capital flight in the same year. The close year-to-year correlation between flows of borrowing and capital flight suggests that large sums of money entered and exited the region through a financial “revolving door”.’

Where did this leave African debtors in 2008? According to the IMF, the ‘debt sustainability outlook’ of low-income African countries ‘has improved substantially, with 21 out of 34 countries classified on the basis of the Debt Sustainability Framework at a low or moderate risk of debt distress at end-2007.’ Yet the major lesson from the prior quarter-century of debt distress was not the abstract ratios, but instead, the ability to pay the debt in the context of pressing human needs. It was here, according to London-based Jubilee Research, that the Bretton Woods institutions had not accurately assessed the damage done by debt, or the injustice associated with repaying debt inherited from prior undemocratic governments:

‘Current [mid-2008] approaches to debt relief (HIPC and MDRI for poor countries, and Paris and London Club renegotiations for middle income countries) are not solving the problems of Third World indebtedness. HIPC and MDRI are reducing debt burdens but only for a small range of countries and after long delays, and at a high cost in terms of loss of policy space. While non-HIPC poor countries continue to have major debt problems and middle-income country indebtedness continues to grow. The present approach is marred by the involvement of creditors as judge, prosecution and jury in direct conflict with natural justice and by the failure to take into account either the human rights of the people of debtor nations or the moral obscenity of odious debt. It is all too little and too late… Even after the debt relief already granted under HIPC and MDRI, 47 countries need 100% debt cancellation on this basis and a further 34 to 58 need partial cancellation, amounting to $334 to $501 billion in net present value terms, if they are to get to a point where debt service does not seriously affect basic human rights.’

Hence the system of debt peonage remains, and the only prospect for its relief is the weakening of Washington’s power, along with the overhauling of the aid system that is so closely connected to debt (for the richest set of recommendations, see Yash Tandon's work). The Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) conference in September 2008 provided an opportunity to address the problems of donor/financier cross-conditionality, ‘phantom aid’ (including tied aid), corruption, waste, economic distortions and political manipulation, as well as to add the South’s demand for repayment of the North’s ecological debt to the South. But the opportunity was lost, and even mild-mannered NGOs realised they were wasting their time, as a staffer at Civicus, Nastasya Tay, revealed:

‘A colleague from a major international NGO gave an excellent summary of the whole High Level Forum process: “Why should I attend interminably long meetings, to passionately lobby for reform, when countries like the US and Japan are refusing to sign on because of some “language issues” with the AAA? In the end, we will have worked incredibly hard to, if we’re lucky, change a few words. And it’s just another document”.’

Hence, for some African countries, the solution lies in an alternative source of hard currency finance. It is not only China who provides condition-free loans to several of Africa’s most authoritarian regimes. More hopefully, Venezuela is considering a proposal to replace and displace the IMF, as happened in Argentina in 2006, in which case repaying the IMF early or even defaulting would be feasible. In other African countries, progressive social movements have argued for debt repudiation and are concerned about any further financial inflows beyond those required for trade financing of essential inputs. This would also entail inward-oriented light industrialisation oriented to basic needs (and not to luxury goods, a major problem that emerged in Africa’s settler colonial economies during the 1960s-70s).

The crucial ingredient for establishing an alternative African financing strategy from the Left is pressure from below. This means the strengthening, coordination and increased militancy of two kinds of civil society: those forces devoted to the debt relief cause, which have often come from what might be termed an excessively polite, civilised society based in internationally-linked NGOs which rarely if ever used ‘tree shaking’ in order to do ‘jam making’ and; those forces which react via short-term ‘IMF Riots’ against the system, in a manner best understood as uncivilised society. The IMF riots that shook African countries during the 1980s-90s often, unfortunately, rose up in fury and even shook loose some governments’ hold on power. When these, however, contributed to the fall of Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia (one of many examples), the man who replaced him as president in 1991, former trade unionist Frederick Chiluba, imposed even more decisive IMF policies. Most anti-IMF protest simply could not be sustained.

In contrast, the former organisations are increasingly networked, especially in the wake of 2005 activities associated with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), which generated (failed) strategies to support the Millennium Developmental Goals partly through white-headband consciousness raising, through appealing to national African elites and through joining a naïve appeal to the G8 Gleneagles meeting. Since then, networks tightened and became more substantive through two Nairobi events: the January 2007 World Social Forum and August 2008 launch of Jubilee South’s Africa network. These networks could return to the cul-de-sac of GCAP’s ‘reformist reforms’ – i.e., to recall Andre Gorz’s phrase, making demands squarely within the logic of the existing neoliberal system and its geopolitical power relations, in a manner that disempowers activists if they gain slight marginal changes.

Or they could embark upon ‘non-reformist reform’ challenges, by identifying sites where the logic of finance can be turned upside down. The most striking case might have been the South African ‘bond boycott’ campaign of the early 1990s, wherein activists in dozens of townships offered each other solidarity when collective refusal to repay housing mortgage bonds was the only logical reaction. This forewarned the 1995-96 ‘El Barzón’ (‘the yoke’) strategy of more than a million Mexicans who were in debt when interest rates soared from 14 to 120 percent over a few days in early 1995: they simply said, ‘can’t pay, won’t pay’. That slogan was also heard in Argentina in early 2002, following the evictions of four presidents in a single week due to popular protest. The ongoing pressure from below compelled the government to default on $140 billion in foreign debt so as to maintain some of the social wage, the largest such default in history.

At the time of writing, a November 2008 summit was called by the G8 in New York, to refashion the world’s financial architecture, likely adding China, India, Brazil and South Africa for legitimacy (and access to substantial dollar reserves). Activists began contemplating whether to ‘Seattle’ the event (shut it down with protest); African social movements and a few patriotic African trade ministers were, after all, not only present but instrumental in preventing the World Trade Organization’s Seattle summit from proceeding nine years earlier. A serious danger for civil society would be to settle for a UN-sponsored event full of reformist reforms. Enormous damage to Southern finances was caused by the 2002 precedent set in Monterrey at the UN Financing for Development conference, which had as key UN advisors Michel Camdessus (former IMF managing director) and Trevor Manuel.

Instead, much more forthright national action can be taken, spurred by far-seeing civil society activists, such as those who demand reparations for apartheid, colonialism, slavery and ‘ecological debt’ owed by the North to the South. Africa needs to re-impose national exchange controls and import controls (especially on luxury goods for the elites), as installed successfully by Malaysia, Chile and Venezuela in recent years.

As commodity prices plunge from their 2002-07 speculation-driven bubble prices, as trade deals with the North are unveiled as clearly disadvantageous and as trade finance becomes difficult as a result of bank mistrust of counterparty debt, and as the hot money portfolio flows dry up and new sources open for hard currency, the argument for what Samir Amin calls ‘delinking’ and Walden Bello terms ‘deglobalisation’ becomes all the more compelling. The evidence above suggests it is already beginning to happen, in no small part thanks to civil society advocacy.

* Patrick Bond is professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Development Studies where he directs the Centre for Civil Society.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

A pan-Africanist reflection: Point and counterpoint

Kwesi Kwaa Prah

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51383

Without doubt, the appearance of the 400th issue of Pambazuka News deserves to be handsomely congratulated. Firoze Manji and his team have over the years done sterling work to get this exciting milestone behind them. They have literally established an institution of major and unrivalled proportions on the African publishing scene. Pambazuka provides an excellent platform for debate, the elucidation of ideas and the exegesis of issues concerning Africa and the world. More grist to their mill!

The appearance of the 400th issue came with a feature titled Our political guiding post: pan-Africanism’s new dawn by Issa Shivji. Shivji is, as always, candid, plain-speaking and forthright in the expression of his views. Yes, it goes without saying that pan-Africanism can and should be regarded as a ‘category of intellectual thought.’ But, in addition and more importantly, it is an ideal whose practice and implementation looms large. As the popular English adage runs, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating.’ What do we want to achieve with this ‘intellectual thought’ and what do we exactly mean by pan-Africanism?

Shivji asserts that the ‘new pan-Africanism is rooted in social (popular) democracy, [it] is African nationalism of the era of the so-called globalised phase of imperialism. African nationalism was born of pan-Africanism, not the other way round.’ On the surface there is precious little to quibble about this assertion, but it masks a great deal of ambiguity and gross simplification which needs to be interrogated. If by ‘social (popular) democracy’ we are to understand a political ideology defined as ‘democratic socialism’, that is a left and centre-left political position which acknowledges individual rights, transparent constitutionalism, the rejection of the Marxist-Leninist notion of the dictatorship of the proletariat, support for universal adult suffrage, the inclusion of social and economic equality and rights to education, medical care, pensions, and employment, and some measure of social security support for the unemployed and underprivileged, I would say yes, these are for many people, without doubt, desirable ideals. They are universal ideals with practical and theoretical adherents throughout the world, in virtually every single country on this planet, but it is certainly not pan-Africanism. Some pan-Africanists are doubtlessly social democrats, but not all social democrats are pan-Africanists. Some pan-Africanists are right-wing conservatives while others are to the left of social democracy, indeed many have been, or are, Marxists (including Nkrumah in his final years). Indeed, pan-Africanists can be found within the whole spectrum of political colouring.

PROTO-NATIONALISM, AFRICAN NATIONALISM AND PAN-AFRICANISM

African nationalism is a modernist response of Africans to the political, social, economic and cultural depredations of (particularly) western subjugation. It is African self-assertiveness in the face of the contradictions of Western encroachment, imposition and rule not only in the political sense, but also in the socio-psychological, social, cultural and economic dimensions of social life. It is modernist in the sense that it is reaction that has benefited from the leadership of Western-educated Africans and advised by contemporary, universally subscribed, ideas of freedom and emancipation. In this sense it differs from the proto-nationalist expressions of war and resistance to western ‘pacification’ led by chiefs and other traditional leaders in the pre-colonial or very early colonial periods.

These proto-nationalist social expressions included, prophetism, millernarianism, messianism, warfare and jacqueries. The ideologies of these proto-nationalist formations invariably leaned on cults, religious, ritualistic and chiliastic features. Some syncretically married western religious lore with Africanist beliefs, but others remained more or less autonomously Africanist in character. African nationalism superseded these earlier reactions to western thraldom. Where the proto-nationalists had relied on magic and belief in the millennium, the nationalists preferred to use the institutions of the colonial state to question their legitimacy. Again, where the proto-nationalists had favoured ritualistic secret societies, the modern nationalists embraced the politics of mass movements.

In the early years of African nationalism, leaders were often very willing, or found it necessary, to work in concert and partnership with traditional leaders, but as time went on they tended to appeal directly to the growing urban masses and used their acolytes as surrogates in undermining the power of the traditional leaders in the countryside. After the Second World War, African nationalism took on the tactics of political mass movements.

When political independence came to sub-Saharan Africa, it was more, in effect, granted than won and transformed the colonial state to a neocolonial one. Independence was in all instances, directly or indirectly, bestowed on the terms of the colonial power/s and their other metropolitan allies. Their economic, cultural and geo-political interests were never compromised. African nationalism was forced to define its immediate scope and meaning within the terrain of the rash of colonial statelets, so-called nations or nation-states, hashed up like patchwork quilt by the retreating colonial powers. What initially missed the sounder judgement of many was the fact that, the ‘acceptance of the post-colonial nation-state meant acceptance of the legacy of the colonial partition, and of the moral and political practices of colonial rule in its institutional dimensions.’(1) Under the leadership of the elites, African nationalism acquiesced to Palmerstonian ‘permanent interests’ of imperialism.

With time, it has become patently clear that, the elites - political, economic, religious, academic and otherwise - who inherited control and influence in these states have proven to be more creatures of Western artifice than free agents in full command of their destinies. African nationalism has been driven into the cul-de-sac of the post-colonial or neocolonial state. It is like playing golf on a soccer field. But slowly with the toll of the years, Africans are waking up to this elaborate con-trick. The truth is that African nationalism can and will find its fullest meaning and implications on a pan-African canvass. On this wider canvass, the trauma of the colonial carve-up can and will be cauterised and neutralised.

Pan-Africanism is the longstanding nationalist desire of Africans to unite as Africans, in order to achieve greater emancipation, freedom and development. It comes with the contention that unity is the only viable long-term route to the advancement of Africans. Conceptually, it emerged in the African diaspora at the fin de siècle period. It was the African in the diaspora with the advantage of distance and hindsight who first saw the logic and purposefulness of unity. Nyerere’s advice in 1997 in this respect was that:

‘This is my plea to the new generation of African leaders and African peoples: work for unity with firm conviction that, without unity there is no future for Africa. That is, of course, if we still want to have a place under the sun. I reject the glorification of the nation-state, which we have inherited from colonialism, and the artificial nations we are trying to forge from that inheritance. We are all Africans trying very had to be Ghanaians or Tanzanians. Fortunately for Africa we have not been completely successful… Unity will not make us rich, but it can make it difficult for Africa and the African peoples to be disregarded and humiliated. And it will therefore increase the effectiveness of the decisions we make and try to implement for our development. My generation led Africa to political freedom. The current generation of leaders and peoples of Africa must pick up the flickering torch of African freedom, refuel it with their enthusiasm and determination, and carry it forward.’(2)

African nationalism and pan-Africanism derive from the same social impulse, but are different historical, geographical and contextual translations of the same impulse. One is not born out of the other. They are divergent renderings in scale, history, and social size of the same Africanist cause. Tactically, both in theory and practice, they have evolved in response to changing realities, but the strategic goal is unchanging. Both socio-political expressions are modernist African (and I include the African diaspora) reactions, counterpoints, to imperialism. These expressions sociologically date to the closing stages of the 19th century. The earliest historical substantiation of African nationalism, as a modernist manifestation, has been indeed dated to the late 1860s.

There is no doubt that in our times pan-Africanism has to be driven by democratic practice operating on ever-expanding mass levels. But when we say mass levels we mean people-to-people engagement and possibilities across existing frontiers and socio-political constraints. We need to open institutions, of all sorts, to permit the freer flow of ideas, people, capital and labour across our borders. The instruments of social expression and collective social life should be available to the masses in our societies so that the ideals of tolerance, free speech, free association, open and free religious confession can be effected without fear or favour to any particular group.

Self-determination and anti-imperialism are indeed opposite sides of the same coin and I can only agree that this cannot, in our circumstances, be achieved on the basis of our so-called nation-states. But what do we mean by this?

The point is that the colonial states that became post-colonial states do not represent any historical continuity with the age-long societies, cultures, histories and peoples as units on the ground. Indeed, in all instances the borders of these states have truncated these age-long entities so that they inhibit and prevent people-to-people relations between groups that existed long before their encounter with the West and colonialism. They have created scattered and erased histories, divided cultures and fragmented memories. Therefore the anti-imperialist expressions of Africans must mean also the rolling-back of these hindrances that have been placed in the way of the free interaction of people on the ground. This is why we say that anti-imperialism must mean the challenge of those forces that reinforce, locally, the constraining dispensations bequeathed by the colonial powers, and at the same time the confrontation of the external forces that support the locally based agencies of restriction to people-to-people interactions. In other words, imperialism operates through largely local allegiances in all spheres of social life. Imperialism in the neocolonial era operates through compromised neocolonial elites; elites who speak for themselves and their masters, and not for the masses of the societies they lead. This is why it is so spineless and misplaced to continue blaming colonialists for our continued helplessness, fifty years after the colonialists have left.

Self-determination must go with democracy. It cannot be a blanket licence for chauvinist, anti-democratic or selective group impositions on larger humanity. In South Africa, for example, the idea of some formerly and currently privileged Boer groups that they want to create a separate Boer state grafted and parasitic towards wider society has been roundly considered as anathema by the larger South African society.

In as far as African nationalism represents freedom for the overwhelming majority of people in Africa and the mass-expression of democratic ideals, it must be welcomed. This does not mean, and must not mean that the collective social and cultural belongings of other non-African national groups that are citizens of African states should be trampled upon. All cultural and national affiliations should be allowed to flourish and co-exist in peace, allowing for free interpenetration and mixing of people and groups, without restraint.

Diversity must not be dismissed or stamped underfoot in the name of so-called unity of the state. When this has been said, it must also be added that in the same way that European states or the European Union are made up overwhelmingly of Europeans, or China of Chinese, or India of Hindus, African states are made up overwhelmingly of Africans and the African character culturally and socially must be acknowledged. All sorts of cultural and national minorities exist in Europe, but that has never stopped Europe from being pre-eminently and openly culturally European. This is also true for the Arab world, India or China.

ETHNICITY, CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY

Shivji rightly decries ‘ethnic power-bases’ and ‘ethnic-based politicking’ in Kenya and Tanzania respectively. What should on this count be appreciated is that political ethnicism (which is common in many parts of the world, including the Balkans, parts of the Arab world, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines) occurs when political elites exploit cultural and ethnic sentiments in their contestation for power. This danger is ever-present but is particularly pregnant where democratic institutions ignore the existence of cultural affinities and do not provide structures for the democratic expression of such affinities, and/or where ethno-cultural groups are located in different class positions. Under such latter circumstances, socio-economic and class tensions are mirrored as ethnic tensions. In either case it is the elites who opportunistically mobilise ethno-cultural affiliations as easily accessible constituencies. Instead of pitching their mobilisation on contrastive policy issues, they resort to the volatile language of ethnicism to garner the support of groups characterised by localist sentiments and limited world views.

Shivji writes that:
‘On the morrow of receiving the insignia of sovereign states, a few of the ‘founding fathers’ genuinely set out to build nations within the colonially defined borders, which all of them, as heads of states, unanimously agreed were sacred, although unviable. Others set to build their power-bases on the colonially invented or re-invented ethnic ‘identities’. Still others did not survive long enough to do either, or something else, because they were overthrown (Nkrumah) or assassinated (Lumumba) by imperialist machinations. Whatever the case, they all failed to build viable, legitimate states and nations.’
If these ‘founding fathers genuinely set out to build nations’ then it is difficult to understand how these endeavours, which they ‘unanimously agreed were sacred,’ could at the same time be believed by them to be ‘although unviable.’ Were they building what they knew to be unviable? We are told that ‘others set to build their power-bases on the colonially invented or re-invented ethnic “identities”.’ The popular argument about ‘invented or re-invented ethnic “identities”’ in Africa has been driven to absurd destinations by some scholars. It was substantially popularised in the early years of post-modernism; all identities, especially ethnic identities, became inventions for some. The irony of this absurdity in a world of peoples and cultural diversities cannot be gainsaid.

In work that we have been doing at the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS), one of our important findings has been that on close examination, the so-called identities designated on the basis of linguistic and ethno-linguistic criteria reveal that a great number of these identities are actually sub-identities of different degrees, and in no way constitute distinct or autonomous ethnicities. For example, if you take the Bari-speaking people of East Africa, they are divided between three borders, these being the Sudan, the DRC and Uganda. They include the Nyangbara, Fajelu, Kakwa, Kuku, Mondari and Bari. All these groups are found in the Sudan, but the Kuku and Kakwa are also respectively in Uganda and the DRC. In any strict sense of the word they should be regarded as sub-groups of a larger ethno-linguistic group which for lack of a better term we can classify as Bari. The Madi/Moru group also in East Africa, divide into the same three borders. They include the Avukaya, the Logo, the Madi, the Moru, the Kaliko, the Lugbara and Olu’bo. The Madi, Lugbara, Olu’bo, Avukaya, Moru and Kaliko are in the Sudan; Uganda has Madi, Lugbara and Logo, whereas the DRC has Logo, Avukaya, Kaliko and Lugbara. All these people in fact speak dialectal variants of the same ‘core language.’ In other words, they are better seen as sub-units of one large community rather than separate ‘tribes’, as Western colonialism elevated them to. Many more examples can be given to illustrate this point.

They are no different from sub-units of the English like the Yorkshireman, Geordie, Scouse, Cockney, the Devonshireman or any other linguistically-based identity reflecting dialectal variance among the English. If we identified these latter as separate tribes then every European country would have scores of different ‘tribes.’ What is also interesting is the fact that, in the African case, all these large clusters of mutually intelligible ethno-linguistic groups are divided by so-called international borders arbitrarily drawn by European colonialists. Luo-speaking people in East Africa who are demographically one of the biggest groups in the whole of Africa are split between six countries where they are always minorities. Fulful/Pulaar speakers are in 13 countries, always as minorities. People-to-people interaction would heal the wounds of such African communities and histories. pan-Africanism would permit us to retrieve our histories in more compacted and holistic terms. A pan-African umbrella structure for all of us will permit a situation to emerge where no one group, or groups, can represent a threat, whatever way conceived, to others. What is also important for our argument here is that these ethno-linguistic characteristics of communities on the ground in Africa with recognisable and definable modes of livelihood, ritual, customs, values and usages exist, I repeat exist. It is futile to deny this or pretend that they are all inventions of the colonialists.

In anthropological usage, ethnicity and culture tend to be coterminous. Both are trans-class solidarities like language, religious confession, kinship, ritual, customary usages, values and other institutions which run vertically through society. In other words, these solidarities run from rich to poor, highly placed to lowly placed, privileged and underprivileged. Such attributes are historically created and socially evolved, and provide cultural bearings to both individuals and groups. Indeed, this is culture. In wider usage culture includes all tangibles and intangibles created by humanity or human groups and which provide them with a collective environment in which they transact their everyday lives. The tangibles include all elements of material culture or, if you prefer, the material products of human fabrication which we use in our everyday lives. The intangibles include customs, values, usages, beliefs, attitudes and other non-material societal features which we collectively share in groups and which operate both at the individual and collective levels of social life. It is not possible to conceive of any individual without a culture. Mutatis mutandis all human groups defined by varying composites of these vertical solidarities can be defined as cultural groups and cannot be seen as cultural products outside the features which culturally define them. What this also means is that while humans create culture but dialectically, humans are also shaped and formed by culture.

Needless to say, culture is dynamic and ceaselessly changing. To see African culture as ‘ossified custom or tradition’ as we read in Shivji’s piece is not only an intellectual corruption but also in the context, woefully misleading. ‘Ossified custom or tradition’ belongs to the museum, not to the daily and everyday lives of living African people.

Another point, I would like to make is with reference to Shivji’s comment regarding the ‘rekindling the Arab-African cultural divide.’ There is a cultural divide between Africans and Arabs, and Chinese and Indians, and Europeans and Japanese, and so on. Humanity consists of very many different cultural groups. There is little to be gained by denying cultural diversity within our common human community. What is important is that no specific cultural group should impose on or dominate any other. All of us need to be able to share this planet as equals, allowing the free movement of people across cultural divides, as and when they wish, without any constraint whatsoever. But, we must acknowledge cultural differences. The problem with the African and Arab cultural divide is that historically it has been marked amongst many other things by domination, slavery and oppression of Africans by Arabs. Till today in the Afro-Arab borderlands Arabs enslave Africans. We must not pretend that this is not the case.

Furthermore, equally candidly, we know that Arabs want to achieve, rightfully, Arab unity (el watan el arabi). I have always argued that for as long as this objective is reached democratically all freedom-loving people should support it. But equally, Africans will not accept Arabisation. We have no wish to become Arabs. Africans want African unity and, in equal fashion, for as long as that is achieved democratically we would want all freedom-loving people to support it. There are implications to these two aspirations. Because we are direct and immediate neighbours on this continent, when either one of the two or both projects of unification are achieved there would be a border between the united Arab world and the united African world. There is no harm in this, so long as minorities on both sides of the border are treated as full citizens with respect for their political, cultural and human rights on both sides of the border. If and when Africans unite most of the geographical expanse of Africa will unite. But it is not geographical unity that we in the first instance want, or need. It is the unity of Africans.

The real challenge is to find a democratic dispensation which recognizes diversity and difference and which creates a viable framework for the peaceful co-existence of diversity. Nothing is to be gained from denying their existence and pretending that they are all ‘inventions and re-inventions.’

THE LIMITS OF COLOUR

A few years ago, at the opening of the Marcus Garvey Pan-Afrikan Institute in Mbale, Uganda, I had in my keynote address explained that it was useful to indicate that physical attributes would be in no sense the key to understanding identities as objective factors in societies. Another way of saying the same thing is that it is not biology but culture that defines and identifies people; it is not nature but nurture that separates or unites the tastes, values, behaviour and customary usages of people. I have often remarked that the racial definition of African is wrong and misplaced. Most Africans, I assert, are black, but not all blacks are Africans and not all Africans are black. Indian Dravidians, Melanesians and Native Australians are black, but they are not Africans. What I mean is that colour is no basis for defining an African in much the same way as colour cannot define Arabs, who range from blonde to black, or Jews who range from blonde to black, or Hindus who range from near white to black. In fact, in the Sudan, for example, it is not possible to always differentiate between Arab and African on the basis of colour. The obsession with colour, particularly noticeable with Africans in the diaspora arises on account of the age-long racism and oppression Africans in the western diaspora have endured at the hands of white westerners. But when that has been said, I must add that the overwhelming majority of Africans are black and in the absence of unifying cultural attributes like a literacy-based religion or a common language, colour has been a fortunate reference point for people of African-descent both on the continent and in the diaspora. We can literally invariably recognise each other from afar.(3)

CULTURAL UNITIES

I need also to point out that there are certain attributes that culturally unite and define Africans. Firstly, our religious systems and rituals are fairly homogenous. These extend into the diaspora as Candomblé, Santería, Voodoo, Obeah and other institutions in South America, in Brazil in particular, the West Indies and North America. The central character of these religious systems is ancestor veneration and a fairly common structure of religious symbolism. All these systems are underpinned by expressive visual art forms, dance and recognisable rhythms. Secondly, our systems of kinship and marriage are also fairly ubiquitous. These kinship systems in their specific and general character often cross state borders. Thirdly, the pre-colonial political systems that linger into present political order were and have been interlocking and largely similar. Fourthly, there is a sense in which the commonalities of our customs and history make our aspirations similar. Fifthly, and very importantly, our languages are broadly related and the degree of similarity among them is much greater than meets either the eye or the ear. Territorial contiguity characterises the habitat of the majority of Africans. This is the African continent.(4) The cultural attributes are not in all respects unique to Africa either individually or collectively, but the mix and history of these cultural affinities are sufficiently shared as typifying characteristics among Africans.(5)

If cultural attributes constitute the predominant feature in the definition of an African identity, it is language that lies at the heart and is the principal pillar carrying culture. It is in language that cultures are registered and transferred as legacies. Apart from these cultural convergences, Africans generally display a recognition and acknowledgement of other Africans as Africans. This extends invariably into the diaspora. This recognition exists in spite of considerable localism and the frequent promotion of ethnicism by dominant elites.(6)

It needs also to be said that being African is an inclusive notion. It is possible for people who are not African today to become African in due course of time. But this is not achieved by opportunistic claims based on expediency and formulae like ‘commitment to Africa.’ I have elsewhere argued that Verwoerd, Henry Morton Stanley, or Ian Smith were all committed in their own ways to Africa, but can we say they were Africans? If I arrive tomorrow in China and declare my commitment to China, does that make me Chinese? Becoming African involves immersion into African society and requires a certain degree of acculturation into African society. At least it would require the adoption and sharing of the values of African society. It is possible therefore to creolise into Africa, but that involves also the blurring of the cultural boundaries between the creolising community and the wider African community. It has nothing to do with colour, but all to do, to varying degrees, with cultural integration. In other words, it is not possible to be African while one rejects African culture and rejects the self-designation of being African. It is not possible to be African, whilst one looks down on Africans, maintains caste-like relations with Africans and refuses to mix with Africans. As another English aphorism declares, ‘you cannot have your cake and eat it.’

Finally, indeed with regards to the African diaspora, the interlocking character of the history and sentiments attached to this history and its subjective reference points have filtered into the social and political histories of Africans on the continent and in the diaspora, particularly in the last hundred and fifty years. Africans on the continent feel profound fraternal bonds and intense sentiments of attachment to the Africans in the diaspora. It is worthwhile restating that, indeed, it is not possible to understand pan-Africanism outside of the context of the diaspora. Much of the theoretical foundations of pan-Africanism as political philosophy were created and actively shaped by the diaspora.

(1) Basil Davidson. The Black Man’s Burden. Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State. James Currey. London 1992. p.162.
(2) Cover story, Africa Agenda.Vol.3. No.4.2000.
(3) African Knowledge Production, Language and Identity. Keynote Address; Opening of the Marcus-Garvey Pan Afrikan Institute, Mbale, Uganda, 9.6.2005
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.

* Kwesi Kwaa Prah is the director of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS) based in Cape Town, South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

What the world owes Congo

As human suffering and corporate plundering mount, Congo deserves more than a few dutiful news stories a year

Kambale Musavuli

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51385

Following the ‘Break the Silence’ Congo Week at the end of October, Kambale Musavuli discusses the importance of raising awareness around the crisis in the DR Congo. As a Congolese granted asylum in the USA in 1998, Musavuli urges the global community, and African-Americans in particular, to revitalise international attention on the Congo as a means of shedding light on the ongoing conflict and harnessing the potential for strong advocacy relationships.
20 October 2008: Last summer, the national news media announced the deaths of four gorillas killed in a national park in eastern Congo. A United Nations delegation was quickly dispatched to investigate.

As a Congolese living in the United States and hungry for news back home, I was thankful for the coverage. But since my grandparents still live in east Congo, I would have also liked to have heard about some other recent breaking news items: women being raped, children being enslaved, men being killed, and many more horrors. I would like to hear about the nearly six million lives lost, half of them children under age five, that every month, 45,000 people continue to die in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and that the scale of devastation seen in Darfur happens in the Congo every five and a half months.

I was granted asylum in 1998. Every day since then, I have appreciated the privilege of living in a peaceful community and pursuing a college degree at North Carolina A&T State University. But I will never forget that my people are not free, or the responsibility that comes with the privilege of living in the most powerful country in the world.

19-25 October was ‘Break the Silence’ Congo Week, a global initiative led by students to raise awareness and provide support to the people of Congo. There were participants in more than 30 countries and on 125 college campuses, including key student leaders at North Carolina A&T, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Greensboro, the University of Maryland, Howard University, Bowie State University, Bryn Mawr College and Cornell University. Students showed films, held teach-ins, hosted fundraisers, organised forums, participated in a cell phone boycott on the Wednesday and undertook many more activities to raise awareness about the dire situation in Congo. Communities also organised interfaith prayer vigils to ask for peace in the DRC.

Part of the challenge is educating people about the history of Congo, which has struggled to overcome its Belgian colonial past, and the present scramble for its rich natural resources by multinational corporations.

Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel, Heart of Darkness, covered the period in the country's history when King Leopold II owned Congo as his own private property. The widespread misreading of Conrad's novel cemented an incomplete picture of the continent as a dark, uncivilised place. In reality, the source of the conflict in Congo for most of its history has been the scramble for its enormous wealth, not the internecine, ethnic bloodletting more commonly blamed. In the late 1990s, Congo was invaded twice by Rwanda and Uganda with the backing and support of the United States, as documented in the 2001 congressional hearings held by Representatives Cynthia McKinney and Tom Tancredo. It was these invasions that unleashed the tremendous suffering that exists in Congo today.

But it is not just history that needs to be re-examined. From copper, tin and cobalt to coltan (a mineral found in cell phones, video games and other gadgets we have come to rely on), American corporations stand to make millions at the expense of the people of Congo. Dan Rather's recent report on Phoenix-based FreePort McMoRan's odious contract in acquiring what many say is the world's richest copper deposit is but a window into the systemic exploitation of Congo's wealth.

There are strong advocacy relationships that can be built on. Even before 1974, when Congo (then known as Zaire) gained international attention hosting the Rumble in the Jungle, the historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, African-Americans in particular have a long history of championing the country’s cause. In 1909, William H. Sheppard, the first African-American to serve as a Presbyterian missionary to Congo, gave a frank account of atrocities he witnessed during King Leopold's barbaric reign. During the same period, the African-American historian George Washington Williams did the same.

Today there is a new imperative for the global community, and African-Americans in particular, to bring light to the story of Congo. ‘Break the Silence’ week is an apt place to start. In 1961, Congo's first freely elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, said: ‘We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese.’

We must not be left to stand alone now.

* Kambale Musavuli is a Congolese activist and member of Friends of the Congo. He is pursuing a civil engineering degree at North Carolina A&T State University.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Legislation, hate speech, and freedom of expression in Kenya

Lawrence M. Mute

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51378

Lawrence M. Mute’s presentation draws upon Kenya’s experiences as documented by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) in the course of its work monitoring the 2005 Constitutional Referendum and the 2007 General Elections. It explains the basis upon which the national commission is persuaded that it is feasible and legally allowable for hate speech legislation to be enacted in Kenya in a manner that does not violate the constitutional right of Kenyans to the freedom of expression. It outlines the key elements that should be included in hate speech legislation and the manner in which those elements should be framed in order, on one hand, to protect Kenyans against hate speech while, on the other hand, to ensure that their right to express themselves is not undermined.
The concept of hate speech is understood and used variously by different people and in different contexts. Generally, hate speech is that which offends, threatens or insults groups based on race, colour, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability or a number of other traits.(1) From a European perspective, hate speech is: ‘understood as covering all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance.’ It is perceived as ‘all kinds of speech that disseminate, incite or justify national and racial intolerance, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, religious and other forms of hatred based on intolerance.’(2) At the same time, hate speech indicates the worst forms of verbal aggression towards those who are in a minority in terms of any criteria or who are different.(3)

At the KNCHR, hate speech has been defined as any form of speech that degrades others and promotes hatred and encourages violence against a group on the basis of a criteria including religion, race, colour or ethnicity. It includes speech, publication or broadcast that represents as inherently inferior, or degrades, dehumanises and demeans a group on the basis of the criteria above.(4) The term is also commonly used to refer to speech or expression which is intended to hurt and intimidate a person or group because of their sexual orientation, disability or other personal characteristics.

The basic characteristic of what amounts to hate speech is that the essential intent of any such expression is to incite prejudicial treatment or action against a group of people whose classification as such is prompted by common discriminatory criteria. Perhaps the most apt way of clarifying this is to say that language becomes hate speech when an individual or group uses it to degrade another group or engender discrimination on it for political objectives (such as winning an election) or social objectives (such as entrenching male domination in the workplace).

Kenya’s experiences of political campaigns during the 2005 Constitutional Referendum and the 2007 General Elections indicate either one or both of the following: that politicians have a penchant for speechifying in a manner designed to incite the public; or that politicians have an almost instinctive predilection for inciting the public. Negative effects of hate speech were witnessed in their worst and most vivid form when in 1994, following progressive hate propaganda carried out by politicians and national media, the Rwanda genocide took place. Within Kenya’s context, one of the findings of the National Commission in its investigations on the post-election violence dealing with the issue of hate speech and genocide was framed thus:

‘Kenya presently exhibits characteristics which are prerequisites for the commission of the crime of genocide. One such feature is the dehumanization of a community using negative labels or idioms that distinguish the target group from the rest of society. Communities such as the Kikuyu and Kisii resident in the Rift Valley were referred to by some Kalenjin politicians as ‘madoadoa’ (‘stains’) (or ‘spots’) before and during the post-election violence… Consequently, unless the state and Kenyans take remedial measures, the probability of genocide happening in Kenya at some future point in time is real.’ (5)

The distinction between what could be termed insults and hate speech can be uncertain unless one keeps in mind the injunction that for words to amount to hate speech, they must adhere to the following two determinants. First, they must ‘maintain a sphere of operation that is not restricted to the moment of the utterance itself’, i.e., that the said words must express or imply a built-in call to action. While it is a fact that the subject of discussion may be an individual who indeed is not circumcised, usage of the phrase ‘Kiiji’ (the Kimeru word for an uncircumcised boy) becomes hate speech when the speaker intends the hearer to act, for example, by not voting for the ‘Kiiji’. The simile ‘Hitler-like’ has similar intentions, as does the Kiswahili phrase ‘tuondoe madoadoa’ which, in respect of other communities, anticipated that the Kalenjin community would clean itself of ‘spots’ or ‘stains’.

Second, and arising from the first dynamic, hate speech is constructed in the context of inter-group relations. A statement which would otherwise be totally innocuous in a mono-ethnic situation (for example when I call my son ‘Kiiji’) may turn into hate speech when used in an inter-ethnic setting. In the post-election violence, for example, the National Commission states:

‘Many of the ethnic hate messages and much of the ethnic stereotyping appeared on live phone-in programs. It was common to hear descriptions on Kass FM before the elections of the Kikuyu as greedy, land-hungry, domineering and unscrupulous, as well as thinly-veiled threats, like “the time has come for us to reclaim our ancestral land”, or “people of the milk” (Kalenjin) must “clear the weed” (Kikuyu).’

There are many more examples of hate language captured in the commission’s extensive database(6) as well as our reports.(7)

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPERATIVES

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right guaranteed in international as well as regional human rights instruments (Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (8), and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)). (9) These human rights treaties, however, anticipate at least two circumstances subsequent to which the state may make interventions in respect of the absolute exercise of the right to freedom of expression.

First, the state has the right to impose limitations on the right to freedom of expression, and various types of expression have different levels of protection for them. For a limitation to be allowable, it must be provided for by law; it must pursue a legitimate purpose; and such interference must be necessary in a democratic society. Legitimate purposes include protecting the rights or reputations of others, and protecting national security, public order, or public health or morals (Article 19[3] of the ICCPR, and Article 9[2] of the ACHPR).

Second, human rights law also anticipates circumstances under which expression may be suppressed or, in human rights language, ‘prohibited’ totally. Article 20 of the ICCPR requires parties to ‘prohibit[] by law,’ inter alia, ‘[a]ny advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence…’ Similarly, Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) requires parties to ‘condemn all propaganda and all organizations which are based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination in any form.’ In particular, it obliges parties to criminalise ‘dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin,’ as well as participation in ‘propaganda activities, which promote and incite racial discrimination.’(10)

The regulation of expression is then clearly within the capacity of states in terms of international human rights norms. A critical determinant of whether expression should be prohibited or limited, therefore, is: does the expression in question perpetuate discrimination of a group – balancing between the freedom of expression and the obligation to protect against discrimination (for example, expression which causes Muslims as a group to be discriminated directly or indirectly)? International jurisprudence such as from the European Court of Human Rights does indeed clarify that the freedom of expression is applicable to both inoffensive ideas or those that are favourably received, but also ideas that offend, shock or disturb, so long as such ideas do not perpetuate discrimination or otherwise are justifiable as pressing social needs in terms of the limitations set out in Article 19[3] of the ICCPR. John Cerone argues that it is not a group’s feelings that should be protected by human rights law, but rather how expression at issue engenders others’ attitudes against the group respecting which adverse expression has been made.(11)

PROPOSALS FOR HATE SPEECH LEGISLATION

CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

Once we at the national commission were clear that our thinking on hate speech would not clash with international human rights normative standards, our next concern was to situate any proposals on hate speech legislation within our constitutional framework. Section 79 of the Kenyan constitution provides thus:

‘1) Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence.

‘2) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this section to the extent that the law in question makes provision- a) that is reasonably required in the interests of defense, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; b) that is reasonably required for the purpose of protecting the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons or the private lives of persons concerned in legal proceedings, preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, maintaining the authority and independence of the courts or regulating the technical administration or the technical operation of telephony, telegraphy, posts, wireless broadcasting or television; or c) that imposes restrictions upon public officers or upon persons in the service of a local government authority, and except so far as that provision or, as the case may be, the thing done under the authority thereof is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.’

The obvious critique of Section 79 of the constitution is its long-winded and meandering character, but it does set out the essential principles and limitations articulated in Article 19 of the ICCPR. Of more importance is its failure to make a reference akin to Article 20 of the ICCPR on how hate speech should be treated. This lacunae was filled in competently under Article 49 on freedom of expression in the Draft Constitution of Kenya, 2004,(12) which inter alia provides thus:

‘49.(1) Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes… (2) The right referred to in clause (1) does not extend to - (a) propaganda for war; (b) incitement to violence; or (c) advocacy of hatred that – (i) constitutes vilification of others or incitement to cause harm, or (ii) is based on any prohibited ground of discrimination…’(13)

LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT

Our various studies did then indicate that present legislation is woefully inadequate as a basis for protecting against hate speech, ethnic intolerance and incitement to hatred.

Section 77(3)(e) of the Penal Code provides that:

‘(1) Any person who does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do, any act with a subversive intention, or utters any words with a subversive intention, is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years… (3) For the purposes of this section, ‘subversive’ means… (e) intended or calculated to promote feelings of hatred or enmity between different races or communities in Kenya: Provided that the provisions of this paragraph do not extend to comments or criticisms made in good faith and with a view to the removal of any causes of hatred or enmity between races or communities.’

In turn, Section 96 of the Penal Code does also provide criminal sanctions against what it terms ‘incitement to violence and disobedience of the law’; it provides thus:

‘Any person who, without lawful excuse, the burden of proof whereof shall lie upon him, utters, prints or publishes any words, or does any act or thing, indicating or implying that it is or might be desirable to do, or omit to do, any act the doing or omission of which is calculated - (a) to bring death or physical injury to any person or to any class, community or body of persons; or (b) to lead to the damage or destruction of any property; or (c) to prevent or defeat by violence or by other unlawful means the execution or enforcement of any written law or to lead to defiance or disobedience of any such law, or of any lawful authority, is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.’(14)

Section 77’s focus on controlling ‘subversive’ activities has, in practice, largely meant it was used to mobilise against political figures or ideas in opposition to the government. Thus, the provision failed to encompass the proper object of prohibition to incitement to hatred legislation that is to protect individuals, groups or communities from hostility, discrimination or violence. Second, it offers no guidance as to what would be deemed ‘hate speech’, and the acts that would be deemed to constitute ‘incitement to hatred’ are obscure. Furthermore, section 77’s prescription of defences to the offence is vague, thus further making it difficult to discern forms of expression constituting an offence. Many of these criticisms also apply to the provisions in Section 96 of the Penal Code. The bottom-line is that neither of these provisions makes discrimination of a group as the express essential ingredient for acts of expression to become prohibited or culpable.

PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE PROPOSED HATE SPEECH LEGISLATION

This was the context within which we undertook broad consultations with government and civil society players before preparing the Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill, 2007, together with the Kenya Law Reform Commission. While doing this, the National Commission had to be extremely careful since, as I have already implied, the expectation usually is that rights bodies should tend to provide exclusive backing for rights almost to the exclusion of taking cognizance of limitations to rights or prohibited grounds. In fact, we were very well aware that rights are never absolute.

Consequently, our legislative proposals were informed by the following essential principles:

- Any criminal legislation must be clearly and narrowly defined to avoid ambiguity and misinterpretation
- No one should be criminally penalised for the dissemination of hate speech unless it is shown that they did so with the intention of inciting discrimination, or that the foreseeable consequence of their actions was incitement
- Any imposition of sanctions should be in strict conformity with the principle of proportionality, and criminal sanctions, in particular imprisonment, should be applied only as a last resort
- Prohibition of hate speech must be formulated in a way that makes clear that the sole purpose of such prohibition is to protect individuals from hostility, discrimination or violence, rather than to protect belief systems, religions, or institutions as such from criticism
- The law should send a strong state-sanctioned message that hate speech is unacceptable, harmful, dangerous and shall not be tolerated
- It should further the value of legal equality through substantive and meaningful legal measures
- It should fulfil Kenya’s international law obligations. International human rights law condemns and demands the proscribing of hate speech by national jurisdictions and as such creates binding legal obligations on state parties to relevant international law instruments including ICCPR, ACHPR and ICERD
- It should provide an environment where information and ideas can be proffered and exchanged in a civil and respectful manner, thus fostering meaningful democracy and a tolerant citizenry
Law against hate speech and incitement to hatred must be far more proactive than reactive so as to serve a preventative function that is more valuable than dealing with the consequences of intolerance.
The objects of the Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill, 2007, are:
- To foster national unity by promoting responsible exercise of the right to freedom of expression in political, social and other public discourses
- To preserve public order
- To preserve and promote the ethnic and cultural diversity of Kenya and
- To promote a democratic society.

A PLETHORA OF CHALLENGES

Even as we propose legislative sanctions to tackle hate speech in Kenya, we realise that multiple challenges will face the tackling of hate speech. We are the first to acknowledge that every social problem may not simply be remedied via criminal sanctions, and that broader policy interventions responding to social pressures may be better long-term solutions to hate speech. Furthermore, even where legislation is employed, pertinent questions include whether or the extent to which identified speech may be proscribed. As we well know, an oppressed group may appropriate the language of victimisation and discrimination as a strategy for combating hate.(15) Should victims then be punished when they use upon themselves language which if used by others would be hate language? The bottom-line, of course, is that society presently has a responsibility to protect victims from discrimination or harm. The intention of the user of language will remain a key determinant of whether an individual is culpable for hate speech or not.

References:
(1) Paul Macmasters, ‘Must a Civil Society be a Censored Society?’. Human Rights, American Bar Association, 1999, Vol. 4, No. 26.
(2) Recommendation No. R (97) 20 on ‘hate speech’, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 1997.
(3) Dunja Mijatovic, ‘Are Universal Anti-Hate Speech Policies Needed and Possible?’. Cited in ‘Preparation of Hate Speech Legislation Draft Legislation for the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights’, Background Paper, KNCHR, March 2007.
(4) ‘The Need for Hate Speech Legislation for Kenya’. Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), 2006.
(5) ‘On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya’s Post-2007 Election Violence’. KNCHR, August 2008.
(6) As part of its post-election violence investigations, the national commission collected data from 136 constituencies on different aspects of the violence, including use of hate speech.
(7) Supra footnote 5; also see Behaving Badly: Deception, Chauvinism and Waste During the Referendum Campaign, KHRC and KNCHR, 2006; Draft Elections Monitoring Report, KNCHR, 2008.
(8) Article 19 of the ICCPR states: ‘1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order ... or of public health or morals.’
(9) Article 9 states thus: ‘1. Every individual shall have the right to receive information. 2. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law.’
(10) One particular type of expression has been singled out for the strongest suppression obligation. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide obliges all states to criminalise, prosecute and punish the international crime of incitement to genocide.
(11) John Cerone, ‘Inappropriate Renderings: The Danger of Reductionist Renderings’.
(12) Also referred to as the Bomas Draft Constitution, adopted by the National Constitutional Conference on 15 March 2004.
(13) Significantly, Article 49 of the Proposed Constitution of Kenya, 2005, also called the Wako Draft Constitution, replicates these provisions on freedom of expression in terms exact to those in the Bomas Draft Constitution (see text for ibid).
(14) The Second Schedule of the Media Act, 2007, sets out the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism which in Regulation 11 provides as follows:
‘(a) News, views or comments on ethnic, religious or sectarian dispute should be published or broadcast after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to national harmony, amity and peace. (b) Provocative and alarming headlines should be avoided. News reports or commentaries should not be written or broadcast in a manner likely to inflame the passions, aggravate the tension or accentuate the strained relations between the communities concerned. Equally so, articles or broadcasts with the potential to exacerbate communal trouble should be avoided.’
The mechanism for enforcing this Code is, however, by and large still not in place, nearly one year after legislation of the Act.
(15) Supra footnote 1.

* Lawrence M. Mute is commissioner at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Legal impediments to development in Northern Kenya

Ahmed Issack Hassan

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51377

Surveying a history of marginalisation and distance from government support, Ahmed Issack Hassan explores the legal and administrative impediments to have plagued the development of the region of Northern Kenya. Citing a litany of human rights abuses and the discrimination faced by inhabitants of the region, the author argues for the need for appropriate and effective legislation and sustained political goodwill from executive and national parliamentary power in the struggle to tackle tyrannical practice.
Kenya’s colonial government enacted several laws specifically targeting the north. The Outlying District Ordinance of 1902 effectively declared the Northern Frontier District (NFD - made up of the present-day districts of Wajir, Mandera, Ijara, Garissa, Isiolo, Moyale and Marsabit) a closed area; movement in and out was only possible under a special pass. The Special Districts (Administration) Ordinance of 1934, together with the Stock Theft and Produce Ordinance of 1933, gave the colonial administrators extensive powers of arrest, restraint, detention and seizure of properties of ‘hostile tribes.’ The latter legalised collective punishment of tribes and clans for the offences of their members. These ordinances applied not only to the NFD but also to present-day Tana River, Lamu, Kajiado and Samburu districts.

The net effect of this early colonial legislation was to turn the NFD into a closed zone that had no contact or relation with other parts of Kenya. Indeed, other Kenyans knew little about it. This situation continued after independence and is best captured by the statement of the American writer, Negley Farson: ‘there is one half of Kenya about which the other half knows nothing and seems to care even less [about].’

INDEPENDENCE OF KENYA AND THE NFD

When political activities were legalised in 1960, the people of the NFD formed the Northern Province Peoples Progressive Party (NPPPP), whose main agenda was the secession of the NFD and its reunion with Somalia. At the Kenya Constitutional Conference of 1962 the Secretary of State for the Colonies proposed that an independent commission be appointed to investigate public opinion in the NFD regarding its future. The commission visited every district in the NFD. It heard oral submissions from 134 delegations, received 106 written submissions, and held meetings in Nairobi with the leaders of other political parties. The majority of people in the NFD were found to be in favour of secession.

However, the British government was unwilling to abide by the result of the commission on the grounds that it was not prepared to take a unilateral decision on the future of the territory so close to Kenya's independence. The Regional Boundaries Commission set up in 1962 recommended that the predominantly Somali-occupied districts of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera be constituted into the seventh region, and thus the North Eastern Province was born.

This was seen as a betrayal of the wishes of the people of the NFD in general and the NEP in particular. They boycotted the 1963 elections and the leaders of the NPPPP started what came to be known as the ‘shifta’ war. Somalia broke off diplomatic relations with Britain and supported the secessionists. Kenya’s newly independent government was firm in its stand that it would not cede an inch of territory. Two weeks after independence it declared a state of emergency over the NFD which lasted for close to 30 years.

AMENDMENTS TO THE INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION AND EMERGENCY LAWS IN THE NFD

Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963. Section 29 of the independence constitution provided for the procedure to be followed in the event of declaring a state of emergency. However, Section 19 of the Kenya Independence Order in Council (Kenya subsidiary legislation, 1963) provided that the Governor-General:

‘may, by regulations which shall be published in the Kenya Gazette, make such provision as appears to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of ensuring effective government or in relation to the North Eastern Region and without prejudice to the generality of that power, he may by such regulation make such temporary adaptations, modifications or qualifications or exceptions to the Provisions of the Constitution or of any other Law as appear to him to be necessary.’

When Kenya became a republic in 1964, the powers enjoyed by the Governor-General under Section 19 were transferred to the president, giving him the power to rule the North Eastern Region by decree. There have been several subsequent amendments to the independence constitution. For example, the sixth amendment Act No.18 of 1966 enlarged the government's emergency powers. It removed legislation relating to parliamentary control over emergency laws and the law relating to public order. Existing constitutional provisions were repealed and replaced by one which gave the president a blank cheque: ‘at any time by order in the Kenya Gazette to bring into operation generally or in any part of Kenya, part III of the preservation of Public Security Act or any part thereof.’

The application of emergency laws meant that in effect Kenya had two separate legal regimes: one applied exclusively to the NFD and the other to the rest of the country. The detailed provisions of the emergency laws were contained in the North Eastern Province and Contiguous Districts Regulations, 1966. These regulations formed the basis for the degradation of human rights and explicitly endorsed instances in which the fundamental human rights of the person could be violated. In the process, the government arrogated powers that could only apply to the rest of Kenya when it was at war.

The Northern region was thus technically a war zone and became a virtual police state. The regulations created offences that were punishable without due process. Possession of a firearm, or consorting with or harbouring someone with a firearm, was punishable by death. Harbouring someone who may act in a manner prejudicial to the preservation of public security was punishable by life imprisonment. Even the owning, operating or use of boats or any other means of transport on the Tana River was made a crime liable to imprisonment. Entry into the region by people other than civil servants and members of the security forces was prohibited. Members of the armed forces were given wide powers of search, arrest, restriction and detention. Members of the provincial administration and the security forces were given powers to preside over ‘judicial trials.’ The Regulations also suspended the application of Sections 386 and 387 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which require the holding of an inquest on the death of persons in police custody or under suspicious circumstances.

The constitutional and legislative framework for the application of emergency laws in Northern Kenya was completed in 1970 with the passing of the Indemnity Act, Chapter 44 of the Laws of Kenya. This was meant to indemnify government agents and members of the security forces working in the region against any claims on account of any loss or damage occasioned by their actions. Many human rights violations occurred in the NFD after 1967; those responsible for these violations cannot claim indemnity under this act.

EFFECTS OF THE EMERGENCY LAWS IN THE NFD

a) Human rights violations

Members of the security forces have been accused of gross violations of human rights in the course of their duties, including instances of genocidal killing, mass murder and rape, extra-judicial killing, arbitrary arrests and detention of persons and communities, and illegal confiscation and theft of properties. For example:

• Bulla Kartasi Estate massacre, November 1980. Following the killings of six government officials in Garissa town, the security forces retaliated by burning the whole of Bulla Kartasi estate, killing people and raping women, and herding the town's residents to a mini-concentration camp at Garissa Primary School playground where they kept them for three days without food or water. Human rights organisations estimate the dead at over 3000, with an equal number unaccounted for.

• The Wagalla massacre, February 1984. The security forces launched an operation in Wajir targeting the Degodia sub-clan of the Somali. Most of those rounded up were summarily executed after days of incarceration at the Wagalla airstrip. Close to 5,000 people are said to have died.

• Other instances of extra-judicial killings and collective punishment include those in Malka-mari, Garse, Derakali, Dandu and Takaba areas of Mandera District.

b) Discrimination

Kenyan Somalis in general complain of discriminatory laws, regulations, practices and procedures that apply to them and not to other Kenyans. This is especially acute in the area of citizenship and immigration, i.e., in the issuing of birth certificates, identity cards and passports. The screening exercise of Kenyan Somalis in November 1989 is also cited as a clear case of discrimination. Its justification was contained in a government statement:

‘The Government is to register all Kenyan Somalis and expel those found to have sympathy with Somalia. The Government cannot tolerate citizens who pretend to be patriotic to Kenya while they involve themselves in anti-Kenya activities. The Government has therefore found it necessary to register Kenyans of Somali ethnic group to make them easily identifiable by our security forces.’

In effect this was a mass verification exercise, carried out by vetting committees made up of selected elders and members of the provincial administration and civil service. The burden of proof was placed on those who appeared before the committees to prove their citizenship or their right to claim it. Those who failed to satisfy the committee were effectively declared non-citizens. Some were deported to Somalia while others opted to settle elsewhere in East Africa.

The screening exercise and the requirement on Kenyan Somalis to produce their screening card in addition to their identity card as proof of citizenship was seen as a violation of their fundamental rights to protection from discrimination as enshrined in Section 82 of the constitution. The legality of the exercise was also questioned by many experts.

c) Marginalisation and underdevelopment

One of the most visible legacies of the period of emergency law in the region is the state of underdevelopment in all aspects of life. The government's energies and resources were largely directed towards security and the maintenance of law and order. Its policy has been described as one of containment not engagement. No constructive or meaningful development took place during this period. Indeed, over 80 per cent of the region's budget was spent on security. The net result is that the region is today the most underdeveloped and marginalised in Kenya.

d) Constitutional reform, multi-party politics and the repeal of the emergency laws

The clamour for constitutional reform in the 1990s, which led to the repeal of Section 2A of the constitution, the introduction of multi-party politics and the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) talks that produced the minimum reforms to the constitution, also saw the repeal of the emergency laws affecting the NFD in general and NEP in particular. Section 127 of the constitution, which laid the foundation for the state of emergency, was repealed on 29 November 1991. The North Eastern Province and Contiguous Districts Regulations, 1966, was also repealed in 1991. The Outlying District Act and the Special Districts (Administration) Act were repealed under the Statute Law (Repealed and Miscellaneous) Amendment Act of 1997.

The repeal of these laws was a big step forward in restoring to the people of the NFD their fundamental rights and freedoms as guaranteed in chapter five of the constitution. They are now much freer than before and are slowly becoming aware and assertive of these rights. Their potential and morale was not destroyed by the colonial and post-colonial emergency legal regime applied to them. They have refused to regard or see themselves as inferior or second-class citizens, and have proved right Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement that ‘no one can make you feel inferior except with your own consent.’

e) Continuing legal and administrative impediments to the development of Northern Kenya

1. The creation by the coalition government in April 2008 of the Ministry of State for the Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands is an important milestone. The ministry can become the focal point for the government’s efforts in addressing historical injustices, marginalisation and underdevelopment. However, the ministry was created by executive fiat. If it is to be effective and not just symbolic, there must be a legal framework that sets out its functions, the procedures for their implementation, and the powers of the minister.

2. Despite the repeal of the emergency laws, there are still some vestiges of laws and administrative practices. These include but are not limited to the following:

• The Stock Theft and Produce Act that provides for the collective punishment of pastoralists in Northern Kenya is still part of our laws. So too is the Indemnity Act, which was not repealed with the other emergency laws. These two Acts of Parliament should be repealed in order to formally lay to rest the emergency law regime. In 2001 parliament passed a motion brought by the MP for Wajir West, the Hon. Adan Keynan, to repeal the Indemnity Act, but to date no bill has come to the house to repeal it.

• The security forces still operate under the mentality of the emergency law era. There are many unnecessary barriers that result in harassment, corruption and the hindrance of the free movement of people and goods. The police force is yet to change its mindset in the region. It is common knowledge that when police recruits from Kiganjo are posted to North Eastern Province, they are given more training at the Forces Training Centre in Garissa before deployment. While all police officers are required by law to wear their uniform and display their force numbers, those in Northern Kenya do not do so. This even includes traffic officers, who are mostly dressed in jungle fatigues. The anonymity granted to them by this mode of dressing aids and abets the culture of impunity. This practice must be reversed. The security forces operating in Northern Kenya must do their work under the same conditions as their colleagues in other parts of the country.

3. The absence of a legal mechanism for restorative justice must be addressed. Those affected by gross violations of human rights during the emergency law period, such as the victims, widows and orphans of the Wagalla massacre, need closure. There has not even been a commission of inquiry into the excesses of the security forces in the region.

4. The lack of a legal framework for affirmative action and positive discrimination to help the people of the region recover from historical injustices remains an impediment to the region’s catching up with other parts of Kenya.

5. The lack of lands registries is a major impediment to economic progress. Title to land or property enables the owner to offer it as security to access financial loans, guarantee payment of goods and services, or give surety for bail or bond in court. There is no lands registry in the entire Northern Kenya where a title can be processed, or sales, transfers and charges can be registered. The system of land registration should be brought into effect and land registries established in every district’s headquarters.

6. The Districts and Provinces Act, No. 5 of 1992, established the composition of Kenya’s provinces. Moyale, Marsabit and Isiolo districts fall under Eastern Province, whose headquarters is far away in Embu. Bringing these three into one province would be consistent with the spirit of bringing government services closer to the people.

7. Under the Judicature Act, Chapter 8, Laws of Kenya, the Chief Justice is empowered to create high courts and magistrates courts in any part of the country. There is no high court in the whole of the north. Appeals from magistrates’ courts must be filed in the high court in Nairobi, Embu or Meru. This limits access to justice. Magistrates’ courts are also few in number, as are the Kadhis courts which attend to matters of personal law for Muslims.

8. The potential for tourism of the region has never been harnessed. Instead of taking the camel to tourists at the coast, tourists should be taken to the camel in its natural habitat. The few game parks and reserves in Northern Kenya, such as the Kora and Arawale, have been neglected by the Kenya Wildlife Service.

10. Livestock is the economic mainstay of the region. The absence of a legal framework for the marketing and sale of livestock and livestock products is a major obstacle to its development.

11. The problems encountered by the people of Northern Kenya in obtaining birth certificates, identity cards and passports are a matter of public notoriety. The Registration of Persons Office and the Immigration Department have made it very difficult for young people to obtain these important documents that enable them to register as voters and take part in political affairs, or to travel out of the country to study or seek other opportunities abroad.

12. The role played by civil society and charitable institutions in supplementing government poverty alleviation efforts cannot be ignored. However, the rigid and strict application of the NGO Coordination Act and the Societies Act makes it difficult for local professionals to register local NGOs and charitable organisations.

13. With the relative peace in the region and the availability of raw materials and cheap labour, there is an urgent need for legislation that encourages private investment. This should contain provisions for tax incentives to spur wealth creation and economic growth in the region.

The legal and administrative impediments to the development of Northern Kenya can be overcome by enacting appropriate legislation where necessary, or by administrative action by the relevant ministry or government department concerned. This can only be achieved successfully if there is political goodwill from the executive and an accommodating parliament.

* Ahmed Issack Hassan is an advocate at the High Court of Kenya. This is an abridged version of a longer paper by the author, which can be obtained by writing to ahmed@ibrahimandisaack.com
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Israel, Eygpt and ‘hot returns’

Anat Ben-Dor

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51376

In August 2007 Israel deported 48 people to Egypt, including women and children, shortly after their arrival to Israel. No procedure preceded the deportation and the deportees were not allowed access to Israel's asylum system. The state argued that it could legally expel any person within 24 hours of their arrival in Israel, without initiating any legal procedure; this ‘procedure’ was entitled by the state’s ‘Hot Return.’

A petition was produced by the Hotline for Migrant Workers and the Refugee Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University (TAU) to stop those hot returns and to declare them illegal. Basically we demanded that every person who arrives in Israel be given access to an adequate asylum procedure, to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to legal representation etc.

In September 2007 the high court ordered the state to devise a procedure for adequate differentiation between asylum seekers who need protection and others. In December 2007 the state presented its new ‘Immediate Coordinated Return Procedure.’ This is a highly inadequate procedure which calls for the questioning of asylum seekers by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers or border policemen in the field, within 3 hours of an asylum seeker’s capture by the army. I am attaching a translation and summary of the state's announcement to the court introducing this new procedure. We continue to contest the legality of this procedure in court.

Since August 2007 (and until recently) the state avoided performing additional hot returns. In a hearing held at the high court in February 2008, state attorneys acknowledged that the oral ‘diplomatic understandings’ between Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which were the basis of the August 2007 return, had failed. The returnees were incarcerated incommunicado in Egypt, were not given access to UNHCR with some according to various reports, later deported to Sudan. The state declared it would not perform any ‘coordinated returns’ without receiving prior sufficient assurances regarding the safety of the returnees from Egypt. We should add that in May 2008 the state reported to the high court that it had summarily returned Egyptian nationals who crossed the border, since according to the state's understanding, the petition does not deal with such returns.

CURRENT HOT RETURNS

At the end of August 2008 Israel again initiated the hot returns of people who arrive via the Egyptian-Israeli border. We have asked the court for an immediate injunction. I attach [See below: Pambazuka News Editor] a translation of an affidavit provided to the high court by a high-ranking IDF officer. I think this is an amazing document since he is openly admits that the IDF potentially refouled 91 people. The state attorneys defined the four incidents in which the 91 people were returned as a ‘local dysfunction.’ The state declared that it would strictly follow the ‘immediate coordinated return procedure.’ The former declarations regarding the need for adequate assurances from Egypt prior to any return were completely ignored.

Sadly, the high court denied our request for an injunction. A hearing is scheduled for 7 October. Meanwhile, according to our sources, the returns continue. On 9 September the IDF spokesperson affirmed that since 7 September the IDF has returned to Egypt 11 Eritreans, four Sudanese and one Nigerian. According to our sources another return was completed yesterday comprising 14 returnees including eight women and one baby. While the reports we receive from the field are vague, our impression however is that the new procedure is not fully operational and that asylum seekers are not even told that they are being returned. They are handcuffed, blindfolded and are handed over to the Egyptian forces in various places along the border.

According to various reports, these people might face refoulement back to their countries where they may be exposed to torture, indefinite arbitrary detention or even worse.

At the hearing scheduled for the beginning of October we are planning to reiterate all our arguments, specifically that:

1) Egypt can't be considered ‘safe’ based on the experience of the 2007 return and the current reports regarding deportation of asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea back to their countries.

2) Under current circumstances, Egyptian ‘assurances’ regarding the safety of the returnees may not be trusted (we contested the reliance on assurances in general).

3) The new ‘immediate coordinated return procedure’ is incapable of identifying genuine asylum seekers and should be disbanded.

Since the Israeli high court has no experience or substantial Israeli precedents to guide it, we are worried that it may be hesitant to intervene, particularly since the state argues that the ‘infiltration’ via Egypt endangers Israel and that there is no other way to stop it. Information on the way asylum seekers are currently treated in Egypt and leading court decisions declaring countries to be unsafe could greatly help this case. Decisions disqualifying border procedures would also be helpful.

* Anat Ben-Dor is a clinical instructor of the Refugee Rights Program.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Summary of the state's response to the petitioners’ request for an injunction against ‘hot returns’ of potential asylum seekers soon after they are captured on the border.

HCT 7302/07 The Hotline for Migrant Workers and Others vs. The Minister of Defense and others

The response is made following an order by the Court:

1. The request for an injunction is based on several immediate coordinated returns which were preformed during the last week, not according to the obligatory army order, which the state presented to the High Court.

2. Soon after the petitioners called the state Attorneys, the state Attorneys called the Chief Legal Advisor for the Army to examine the details raised by the petitioners and to ensure that the highest ranks in the IDF and the forces in the field would act only according to the army orders.

4. The attached affidavit made by Brigadier General Yoel Strick, the commander of the ‘Red Division’, which is responsible inter-alia, for securing most of the border area between Israel and Egypt, details that there have been four coordinated immediate returns last week, which were all fully coordinated with the Egyptian side.

5. As the affidavit demonstrates although the 4 returns were fully coordinated with the Egyptian side and after no claim of need for refugee protection was raised, it was clarified that the forces operating in the field did not fully act according to the orders of the army orders. Therefore the importance of fulfilling the orders was clarified to the forces who act in the field.

It was also explained to the forces that if there are any doubts regarding the return of an infiltrator, he should not be returned without a prior consultation with the Legal Advisor to the Southern Command.

6. The petitioners argued that Egypt recently deported hundreds of asylum Eritrean asylum seekers and dozens of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers back to their countries. These arguments are an attempt to mislead the Court as if Israel is responsible for what the Egyptian authorities are doing, even if those are people who never entered Israeli territory. This information is irrelevant.

7. The petitioners requests for an injunction were denied by the Court in the past. In Sept 23, 2007 the respondents submitted to the Court that:

'The respondents believe there is no obstacle in returning to Egypt an infiltrator who was captured soon after the infiltration, this does not require any legal orders, as long as this is done in coordination with Egypt and based on the understanding with Egypt that Egypt is committed to ensure the life and safety of the infiltrators who are returned to its territory. This position is in accordance with a letter written by Miki Bavly, head of the United Nations High Commissioner's office in Israel dated 23/7/07’

8. The same reasons which led the Court to refuse to grant a sweeping injunction still exist. For this reason the petition for an injunction should be denied, since the coordinated returns which served as a basis to the request were only a ‘local dysfunction’, which was dealt with by the highest ranks in the IDF, with the personal involvement of the Commander of the Southern Command and the Chief Legal Advisor to the army.

AFFIDAVIT (TRANSLATION)

I, the undersigned, Brigadier General Yoel Strick, after I have been warned that I should state the truth and that if I will not do so, I will be subject to the sanctions prescribed under the law, hereby declare:

1. I am the commander of the ‘Red Division’, which is responsible inter alia, for securing most of the border area between Israel and Egypt. Hundreds and thousands of infiltrators from various countries who attempt to enter Israel illegally, move in the area guarded by the division.

2. This affidavit is made in support to a response by the respondents in the High Court petition 7302/07 and as an answer to the petitioner's request to issue an injunction against the performance of ‘coordinated returns.’

3. On 23.08.08, 26.08.08, 27.08.08, 29.08.08 ‘coordinated returns’ of 91 infiltrators of African origin were preformed. Most of them were captured without documentation. This was fully coordinated with the liaison officers in Egypt during and in proximity to the place and time of the infiltration. I wish to add that in my conversation with my counterparts on the Egyptian side, it was clarified to me that as a rule after the capture of the infiltrator at the border, the Egyptians transfer the infiltrators to the handling of the local justice system.

4. As has been conveyed to me by my subordinates, not even one of the infiltrators who were returned raised a claim of being a refugee. However, the fact that the commanders of the forces in the field did not act according to the army orders which governs the performance of ‘coordinated returns’ (hereinafter: the command) was clarified to them. While doing so, it was clarified that there is importance in carrying out the order, with an emphasis on performing the questioning and recording it, according to the personal questioner form.

5. In this, it was clarified to the forces under my command (hereinafter: the forces) that a personal questioning of an infiltrator should be preformed, as much as possible, with the capture of the infiltrator by the capturing force in the field, as much as possible no later then within 3 hours from the time the person was captured (or 6 hours, if it was a group of infiltrators). If the capturing force does not have the capacity to perform the questioning, the infiltrator would be transferred to a camp which receives the infiltrators for questioning.

6. It has also been clarified to the forces that the purpose of the questioning is to provide vital information on the infiltrator and to enable him to raise claims as he thinks fit. The questioning would be preformed according to the instructions in the 'capturing of an infiltrator' report and the personal questioning form. In this framework, the infiltrator would be asked, inter alia, if he has anything to add before the option of returning him to Egypt is considered.

7. In addition it was conveyed to the forces that the decision if to perform a ‘coordinated return’ is handed to the empowered authority under the command, which is an Operations Section Officer (an officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel). In this framework, if and as questions or doubts are raised regarding the possibility of the return of an infiltrator who had raised concrete claims of danger to his life if he is returned to Egypt or to his country of origin, a consultation with the Legal Advisor to the Southern Command will be carried out examine the issue, before a ‘coordinated return’ is preformed.

8. In addition, the abovementioned instructions to the forces were clarified by a message from the Southern Command, which clarified that ‘coordinated returns’ should be preformed only according to the obligating command.

9. All the facts detailed in the articles of this response are known to me as part of my position and are true to the best of my knowledge.

10. I declare that this is my name, this is my signature and the content of my affidavit is true.

Signed by Yoel Strick

Authentication:

I the undersigned, attorney Avi Kalu, hereby confirm that on September 1, 2008 appeared before me Brigadier General Yoel Strick, who I know personally and after I have warned him that he should declare the truth and that if he will not do so he will be subject to the sanctions prescribed under the law, signed his affidavit before me.

Signed by attorney Avi Kalu

Darfur and Sudan: A revolution in the making

Savo Heleta

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51379

In his review of recent events in the Sudanese Darfur crisis, Savo Heleta assesses the role of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group. With its explicit goal of overthrowing the current Bashir regime, Heleta argues, the JEM represents a potentially revolutionary movement, one whose egalitarian, pro-justice manifesto will only come to fruition with the support of a broad range of regional players and influences.
In 2003, a conflict broke out in Sudan's western province of Darfur between the mainly ‘African’ rebels and the government forces and their proxy ‘Arab’ militias. It is estimated that about 200,000 people have died in the conflict from fighting, disease, and starvation.

The UN and aid agencies estimate that over two million Darfurians, of a population of around six million, are living in refugee camps in Darfur and neighbouring countries. Even though the majority of all deaths in Darfur occurred in 2003 and 2004, the conflict is nowhere near the end.

When the rebellion broke out, the two rebel movements, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), declared that their primary goals were to end the economic, social, and political marginalisation of Darfur, the Sudanese province that has been completely neglected and marginalized since 1917, when it was annexed by the British colonial forces and added to Sudan.

After a few years of fighting and human suffering, the Sudanese government and one faction of the SLM signed the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, while another SLM faction and the JEM refused to sign. The signing of the DPA, instead of bringing peace, only intensified fighting and caused the humanitarian situation in Darfur to deteriorate.

When the Darfur Peace Agreement failed to bring peace and the government refused to deliver any of the provisions it pledged to implement, such as disarmament of the Janjaweed militias, protection of civilians, ceasefire, and deployment of UN/AU troops, the main aim of the Justice and Equality Movement became regime change.

The JEM's manifesto calls for ‘justice and equality in place of social injustice and political tyranny; radical and comprehensive constitutional reform that would guarantee the regions their rights in ruling the country; basic services for every Sudanese, and balanced economic and human development in all regions of the country.’

In late 2006, the JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim said ‘we cannot bring peace to Darfur unless we change this government.’ The JEM leadership believes that the current Sudanese regime is ‘the main obstacle to finding peace to the whole Sudan problem, not only Darfur.’ One of the JEM commanders said in a recent interview that the JEM's goal is to change the regime and make dramatic changes in Sudan, adding that ‘power and wealth must be shared equally in all the marginalized areas.’

In Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide, Gerard Prunier argues that the change of the central government is perhaps the only way of solving the Darfur conflict and decades of marginalisation of Sudan's peripheries.

In the beginning of May 2008, the JEM forces mounted an attack on the Sudanese capital, the first attack by a Darfur rebel group outside Darfur. The attack failed, but showed the JEM's determination to change the regime. Many analysts emphasise ‘the psychological importance of the attack,’ adding that this is the first time in many decades that the fighting has reached the capital. Even though the JEM's attack did not succeed, it exposed the ‘weakness of security in Khartoum and the vulnerability of the regime.’

Alex de Waal, the leading international expert on Sudan, described the JEM's attack on the capital as a ‘bid for power.’ He added that he believes that other rebel movements in Darfur ‘don't share that ambition…they want peace for their places rather than wanting power in Khartoum for themselves.’

In the aftermath of the attack, the JEM's leader Khalil Ibrahim said that this was ‘just a rehearsal for the attacks to come, and we will continue to attack till we change this regime.’ Alex de Waal believes that the aim of the attack ‘was nothing less than taking power’ and adds that Khalil Ibrahim ‘seems truly to believe that he can instigate a popular uprising of Sudan's black majority’ against the ruling elite in Khartoum.

Analysts say that the JEM's leader possesses grand ambitions and growing military strength. Sharing the same ethnic background as the leadership of neighbouring Chad, the JEM has been the main beneficiary of Chadian support for the Darfur rebels. This support has been the main reason the JEM ‘has become, militarily, the most powerful faction on the ground in Darfur.’

Rebellion is an armed struggle against an oppressive regime. Revolutions involve a defeat of a current regime through violent means, replacement by a new regime, and implementation of major political and/or socio-economic changes to the system. Revolutionary movements aim to overthrow a ruling regime, take power, and fundamentally change the structure of a society.

While many movements in Darfur are typical rebel movements, the Justice and Equality Movement has evolved into a revolutionary movement with a goal of overthrowing the current regime and fundamentally changing Sudan.

Considering the fact that every post-independence government of Sudan has been ruled by the members of northern ‘Arab’ tribes - which represent only about 5% of the entire population and have spent the majority of development funds on the northern part of the country - the change proposed in the JEM's manifesto would indeed be a profound, fundamental, and revolutionary change.

Only time will tell if the Justice and Equality Movement will be able to bring about revolutionary change in Sudan. This will depend on many factors, such as the ability to attract support in other parts of the country, cooperation with other rebel movements, finance, military power, international support, and, in the event of their victory, the implementation of substantial political and/or socioeconomic changes in the country.

Darfur and its people never mattered to the rulers of Sudan, from the British-Egyptian Condominium to the northern Sudanese elites that have ruled the country since independence. Perhaps something radical and revolutionary has to happen at last to change this protracted marginalisation.

* Savo Heleta is a postgraduate student in conflict transformation and management at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He is the author of Not my turn to die: Memoirs of a broken childhood in Bosnia (AMACOM, 2008). Savo can be reached at savo@savoheleta.com
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Rise of the Latin Africans

A new black-power movement in Central and South America

Joe Contreras

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/51375

Hugo Chávez is known as a revolutionary in many contexts, especially in his defiance of the United States. In recent years however he’s also broken ground on a far less well-exposed subject: the question of race in Latin America. The saga began two years ago, when, during a tour of Gambia, Chávez surprised observers by declaring that ‘I’ve always said that if Spain is our mother, Africa, mother Africa, is much more so.’ Since then, the Venezuelan leader has often revisited the theme at home, even drawing attention to his own African roots. It may not sound shocking. But such language would have been inconceivable from a major Latin American leader just a short time ago.

That’s now changing, due to a black-consciousness movement stirring in Central and South America. Emboldened by the success of their indigenous countrymen in pressing for resolution of long-ignored grievances, Afro-descendientes (people of African descent), as they are known, are now lobbying for recognition of their own communities’ land rights and for increased spending to improve living conditions in urban slums and rural villages. Local activists have begun urging Latin blacks to take pride in their culture, and with the help of the Internet, leaders are reaching across borders to share tactics and compare notes with their brethren in the Caribbean, the United States and Africa. This ‘black-power movement has gone way beyond anything that has happened in the past,’ says Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, director of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. ‘People are making critiques of racism in their own societies, and there’s been a real shift in black consciousness and involvement.’

Black power isn’t entirely new to the region; for some time now the descendants of African slaves have wielded political clout in a few corners of the hemisphere. That’s especially the case in the English-speaking Caribbean, where black heads of state are the rule. And in Brazil, where nearly half the country’s 192 million people have African ancestry, Joaquim Barbosa, arguably the most influential member of the Supreme Court, is black; so is recording artist Gilberto Gil, who served as culture minister under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for five years. Moreover, Lula’s predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, once announced that he himself had ‘one foot in the kitchen’—a colourful way of admitting intermarriage among his ancestors (albeit one that earned him criticism at the time).

In the rest of Latin America, blacks remain a small (they’re thought to number about 20 million, though activists claim the figure is much higher) and marginalised minority. Demographics highlight their second-class status. For example, Ecuador’s blacks, who make up 5 percent of the population, suffer a 14.5 percent unemployment rate, higher than that of the country’s non-black majority and twice that of indigenous groups. In neighbouring Colombia, which is home to 10.5 million Afro-descendientes—giving it the third largest black population in the hemisphere, after Brazil and the United States—only one in five blacks has access to electricity and running water (compared with 60 percent of the rest of the population), and the black infant mortality rate is more than three times the white level.

Now, however, black communities are organising and pressing for change. In Honduras, for example, locals of African descent, who are known as Garifunas, have staged protests in Tegucigalpa, the capital, against a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit foreigners to purchase property along the Atlantic coast, a region the Garifunas have called home since 1797. And in Ecuador, more than a hundred black housewives and working women joined forces in 2006 to seek more government assistance for housing to combat racial discrimination in the rental market.

The epicentre of the new black activism, meanwhile, is Colombia. That’s due as much to circumstance as design: more than a third of the 3.2 million Colombians uprooted by the country’s long-running civil war are of African ancestry, as are many of the ragged street vendors and beggars who approach motorists at busy Bogotá intersections. Foreign and local NGOs are now working hard to publicise their plight. Though a landmark 1993 law enshrined the right of Afro-Colombians to obtain formal title to their ancestral lands, including 5 million hectares along the Pacific coast—a unique experiment in ethnic self-government—implementation has lagged, as unscrupulous agribusinesses and paramilitary warlords have seized communal property with near impunity. But recently, as part of its ongoing effort to win US approval for a free-trade agreement, the government of President Alvaro Uribe has begun to expel these companies and restore 8,000 hectares of stolen land to Afro-Colombian community councils.

Throughout the region, individual blacks have also begun blazing new trails. Graciela Dixon became the first black woman to head Panama’s Supreme Court in 2005, and Luis Alberto Moore, a cop in Colombia, has reached the rank of general—a first for an Afro-descendiente. ‘I hope I will serve as an example for other black people in Colombia who will say, ‘If General Moore did [it], then so can I’,’ says the 48-year-old Bogotá native.

But many other Latin blacks remain reluctant to openly acknowledge their background, which makes it hard for their communities to increase their influence. In 2005, for example, when Colombians were asked for the first time to identify their ethnic background in a census, less than half the country’s blacks described themselves as such. Doris de la Hoz, a senior Afro-Colombian official in the Ministry of Culture, says that even this percentage represented progress, since more than 4 million people did acknowledge their heritage. But ‘there is still a strong separation of people by groups,’ she says, ‘and many black families try to convince their lighter-skinned children that they are white.’

Yet such attitudes also seem to be shifting, albeit gradually. Evelyne Laurent-Perrault, 48, is the daughter of Haitian immigrants and grew up in middle-class Caracas, where she was usually the only black in her classroom and, later on, her office. Over the years she’s endured her fair share of cruel jokes. Starting in her twenties, however, Laurent-Perrault, a biologist by training, began to develop a passionate interest in her culture and its links to Africa. She is now working on a Ph.D. at New York University analysing the topic in the context of Venezuela. ‘There is [now] more pride in being black,’ she says. ‘People are mobilising, and organisations have arisen in almost all of Latin America to expose inequality and demand that this must end.’

Such organisations are drawing inspiration and financing from foreign, largely US, sources. In February, African-American journalist Lori Robinson launched a new website called vidaafrolatina.com that spotlights news, cultural events and commentary by and about Afro-Latinos. Leading members of the US Congressional Black Caucus, like Rep. Gregory Meeks, have taken a special interest in Afro-Colombians and dispatched staff to advise black Colombian legislators. USAID has funded a variety of social and economic development projects in predominantly black areas of western Colombia, and has provided money and technical assistance to an association of black mayors and groups working on behalf of internal refugees. The groundbreaking presidential bid of a certain young US senator hasn’t gone unnoticed in the region, either. ‘A triumph of Barack Obama would be extraordinary,’ gushes Ernesto Estupiñan, mayor of the predominantly black Ecuadorian city of Esmeraldas. ‘It would be a huge encouragement for all of us in terms of minority participation in politics.’ Indeed, if Obama does reach the White House, one of his familiar slogans could soon take root in the hearts and minds of his fellow Africano-Americanos south of the border: ‘¡Sí se puede!’ (‘Yes we can!’).

With Steven Ambrus in Bogotá, Maria Amparo Lasso in Mexico City and Phil Gunson in Caracas

* Joseph Contreras became Newsweek's Latin America Regional Editor in July 2002, moving from his previous position as Miami bureau chief, where he'd been since August 1999, and has been based in Mexico City since June 2006.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Pambazuka News French Editon 74: Informal Economy: The flip side of underdevelopment

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/summaryfr/51395

West Africa: Radios struggle to make the most of ICT
Ken Lohento – 2008-10-19

Radio remains the most straightforward technological means of communication in Africa, but a survey undertaken by the Institut Panos Afrique de l’Ouest (IPAO) has revealed significant disparities between people’s levels of access and stations’ connections in the seven countries it studied across the West African region. Among the IPAO’s recommendations are the creation of national initiatives to achieve better and more widespread use of new available technologies and greater incorporation of the study of Information and Communications Technology (ITC) in journalists’ training.


Informal Economy: The flip side of underdevelopment
Amady Aly Dieng- 2008-10-19

Economist Amady Aly Dieng writes about the informal economy, as it exists in Africa. With the advent of structural adjustment programmes in the early 1980s the informal economy began to take root, absorbing those who had been sidelined through loss of formal employment. Drawing from the book “the Informal Economy in the Third World by Bruno Lautier, Dieng, explores the role played by international finance organizations and governments in tolerating and legitimizing the informal economy. He also raises questions about the this sector’s ability to contribute to development and savings, and the ramifications of the apparent dichotomy between the “formal” and “informal”.

What is America to me? Thoughts on the US presidential election

Mukoma Wa Ngugi

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/51384

Countee Cullen, a black American poet, once asked: What is Africa to me?

With the US elections just days away, and Africans holding their breath, fingers mostly crossed for Obama, I find I have to reverse the question and ask: What is America to me?

Why should the outcome of the US presidential election matter to Africa?

What my heart feels and what my mind knows are at loggerheads. My heart, nationalistic and black, beats with the ups and downs of the Obama campaign. But my mind, at times cynical but always searching for the bottom line of things, knows an empire is not run on good will, that there are no gentle giants and that history is not erased overnight.

What is America to me?

I want to reconcile my heart and mind. I want to speak freely.

I want to ask some hard questions because Obama, with his unflinching analysis of race relations and the state of the US in the world, invites us to do the same.

What is America to me? I have to begin with Obama.

I did not fully understand Obama’s candidacy and its historical importance until I saw him speak in Cleveland, Ohio this past February. In person, he is rather thin and not very tall, and surprisingly his unscripted talk delivery is not fluid in a Martin Luther King Jr. style. He halts unexpectedly as he searches for words. His charisma, I thought, is not embodied in him - rather it is embodied in his vision - that in this time of war and economic turmoil, Americans want to believe that they can do better.

It occurred to me that Obama, a mosaic of cultures and experiences, is probably the first political leader to fit snugly into the skin of globalisation, with all its promise and contradictions. He is one of those rare historical figures that come to embody a historical period and offer it promise while inspiring hope.

And we from Africa, as well as Latin America and Asia, are responding to that hope and promise.

But more than that Obama has created a rare opportunity for us to reflect upon ourselves as peoples and nations. As an African I ask: were I to hold up Obama as a mirror to reflect Africa, what would I see?

I would see an Africa that knows how to struggle, a continent of hope and promise, where Africans defeated colonialism and apartheid, and have given notice to the last of its dictators.

But I would also see Africans blinded by ethnicity, and who wear religion so tightly that it is a straightjacket of madness.

I would see Africans plagued by an intense lack of curiosity about the world at large and who relate to international politics through foreign aid.

I would see an Africa where, in spite of the promises of globalisation, poverty is on the rise. And other measures of progress, like child mortality, show that things are getting worse in Africa while they get better in other parts of the world.

I would see an Africa that has as yet to deal with colonial legacies such as land distribution, and where white skin is still more valued than black life.

I would see an Africa that is encouraging caricature democracies, where countries like Zimbabwe can learn from Kenya that the vote does not count, where democracy becomes a cover for injustice and plunder.

I would see an Africa where political imagination has run dry; the kind of political imagination embodied by Steve Biko, the anti-apartheid activist, or Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader from Burkina Faso who was assassinated in the 1980s. We have forgotten how to dream for our children, for a future yet to come.

We are not alone in all this, it is just that in using a telescope to see the world, we cannot see ourselves.

Consider this: George W. Bush, the architect of the war on terror who has also presided over the US economic meltdown threatening financial institutions worldwide, is apparently more respected in Africa than in the US. One poll this year showed his approval rating in Africa hovering at 80 per cent while in the United States it was a meagre 30.

It gets crazier. Benin has declared a George W. Bush public holiday. This is a country without a Nelson Mandela Day, a Kwame Nkrumah Day or even an Africa liberation day.

How do we explain this? Is this adulation because George Bush is white? An American with money? A nice Christian gentleman? Has George Bush done more for Africa than Clinton, or Carter?

Bush’s long-lasting legacy to Africa will be the creation of the African Command Centre, a US military project that promises to meld civilian expertise with military planning and logistics. Africom is first to be based in the German city of Stuttgart, because no African country has been willing to host it. Combine Africom with a war on terror that has spilled into Somalia, and we see Bush’s legacy will be the militarisation of US-Africa relations.

Now throw in his faith-based ‘ABCs’ HIV policies that have set back the fight against AIDS in Africa, and his 80 percent approval rating becomes a symptom of our myopic reading of the world.

But enough about Bush. What would McCain or Obama do for Africa?

Let’s start with John McCain. As the chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), the foreign policy arm of American conservatives, McCain has already revealed himself. The IRI wants to consolidate democracy in an American image. That is, it actively works for democracies that will open their markets to US interests and their borders to US military operations.

What would happen if a McCain presidency encountered a real African democracy that wanted to do more trade with China than the US? Or one that believed in social welfare programmes, or that wanted its national wealth, the oil and the diamonds, to primarily benefit Africans?

McCain’s political philosophy is simple, country first – America first, the rest of the world second.

But will Obama be any better for Africa?

Obama says he is against the Bush Doctrine of pre-emption. And that in his administration, the US would intervene in cases of genocide and countries would only lose their right to international law when they harbour terrorists, or fail to kill them.

Sounds fair enough except when we consider the fine print: who names and defines a terrorist? It was, after all, only this year that the Nobel peace prize winning Nelson Mandela was removed from the US terrorist list.

And it is well and good that an Obama administration would intervene in cases of genocide, whether militarily or by supporting allies with money and logistical help. Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 have died in five years, has been given as such an instance by both Obama and McCain. But what about the DR Congo where over 6 million people have died since 1996?

Now, you know things are bad when you compare numbers of the dead like this, but the question is valid. Why Sudan, where far fewer people have died, and not the DR Congo where a slow holocaust is unfolding? If the sheer enormity of lost human lives is not the most decisive factor in deciding where and when to intervene, what is?

So would Obama be good for Africa?

I see the war on terror continuing in an Obama presidency. After all, he wants to end the war in Iraq so that he can better wage war in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

I see unequal trade continuing to cost African countries more in lost revenue than they get in foreign aid.

My mind tells me that if you are looking at issues that really matter, such as ending the militarisation of US-Africa relations, or fostering equal trade, where African countries have equal access to US market to the same extent as the US has in Africa, the answer is no.

So my mind tells me no.

But if you are thinking more handouts, more sensitivity to African problems, and more foreign aid, Obama will do better than McCain.

We, Africans, need to lose that telescope and take a hard look at ourselves, my heart, wounded, cries out.

Look, Obama’s story, difficult but possible in the United States, would have been impossible in Africa.

In Kenya, his ethnicity alone would have prevented him from becoming the president. As a professor teaching law in an African university, he would have been fired or detained. As a community organiser, he would almost certainly have been assassinated.

My heart, nationalist and black, wishes Obama well. But my heart and mind say to fellow Africans ‘don't pin your hopes on the US.’ If Africa is to succeed, it will be because Africans rose to the challenge of fulfilling its promise.

My heart says ‘we too have to answer Countee Cullen’s question “what is Africa to me”?’

*Mukoma Wa Ngugi is the author of Hurling Words at Consciousness (AWP, 2006), a political columnist for the BBC Focus on Africa Magazine and the Assistant Editor of Pambazuka News. This article was commissioned by and appears courtesy of the BBC World Service.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

South Africa: BBC World Challenge - Heiveld Co-operative

2008-10-24

http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/html/project08_heiveld.html

Now in its fourth year, World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. Heiveld Co-operative is a collective of small-scale farmers who produce fine quality organic and fair trade certified rooibos tea. Heiveld has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2008 BBC World Challenge competition. Please take a few minutes and vote for the Heiveld. Each person may vote once (and only once), and everyone's vote will help the Heiveld to achieve a better future.

Honouring dishonour? Degrees in Kenya

George Nyongesa

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/51398

Dear Comrades,

I am still disturbed over how President Kibaki’s and Prime Minister Raila's unpatriotic and selfish hunger for power-at-all-costs can be rewarded by honorary doctorate degrees conferred by the University of Nairobi!

In old England, honorary degrees were awarded to, amongst others, subjects who showed conspicuous merit or who had done extraordinary good service to the state or the university. However, in the politics of honorary degrees it has increasingly become an open secret that honorary degrees are now political goods for trade, as I suspect is the present case.

A degree honoris causa is literally conferred “for the sake of honour”. What honour can Kibaki and Raila possibly claim from the 1200 dead; the 350,000 IDPs and the billions of property pillaged as a result of their self-serving political machinations?

What claim to public honour can Kibaki stake when the Kriegler report confirmed plausible questions over the legitimacy of his presidency; following the scary indictment of the Waki report that post elections killings were planned at the State House and further in light of allegations that neither is Raila innocent for some of the crimes spawning in the post election period?

What honour does the University of Nairobi find in these two acting in characteristic selfishness, when “other forces” (read) Chinkororo, Mungiki, Baghdad boys etc threatened to share or snatch power from their hands, by quickly moving to put out the fire they started through signing the "negative peace accord"?

What honour can Kenyans find in the grand coalition government’s failure to resettle thousands of IDPs who are stuck in IDP camps? What honour can the President and Prime Minister claim from there pussy footing in resolving agenda no. 4 issues: historical injustices, unemployment, land problems, poverty, resource redistribution etc? What honour can the two claim when they have already started flip-flopping in the implementation of Kriegler and Waki reports?

Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, Kenyans will give you honorary degrees in any field you want if you can give us a democratic and just constitution; if you can resolve issues of agenda no. 4 in the peace accord; and if you can implement Kriegler and Waki reports to the letter.

I firmly believe Kenya is a civilized country where no institution worth its salt should award such covetous honours as doctorate degrees to anyone for the reckless and barbaric behaviour of engineering fights, killings, rapes, looting, displacements among other evils for selfish ambition; otherwise all of us will begin fantasising about methods of fast tracking ourselves to such honours.

The first honorary degree ever awarded, to Lionel Woodville by Oxford University, made him a doctor of canon law in a blatant bid to win the favour of a powerful man. Is it now sadly the case then that Prof. Magoha likewise awarded the honorary degrees to Kibaki and Raila as negotiation for the renewal of his term as the Vice Chancellor of University of Nairobi?

George Nyongesa
Bunge la Mwananchi
www.bulamwa.co.ke

In response to Salma Maoulidi

Shirley Walters

2008-10-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/51374

Salma Maoulidi’s article is an important reminder of the critical part that adult learning plays in the socio-economic and political development of any society. It is particularly the education of women that is crucial to development of societies. There is often a false dichotomy made between the education of children and that of adults – they are inextricably linked together. The forthcoming World Conference on Adult Education (Confintea V1) will be held in Brazil and occurs every 12 years in different regions of the world. It’s an important coming together of adult educators and activists from governments and civil society. As Salma, points out, we all must work towards it having longer term significance than ‘yet another conference’.

Salma points to the legacy of the late Tanzanian President Nyerere’s to adult education and development. At the University of Western Cape, South Africa, we have recognized this legacy and hold an annual lecture: Vice Chancellor’s Julius Nyerere Annual Lecture on Lifelong Learning. The fifth consecutive lecture was held to coincide with the International Literacy Day in September where, well known South African feminist activist and educator, Pregs Govender, made a provocative presentation entitled, “Love and courage: inciting insubordination”. For anyone who would like to have access to her speech, please communicate with Tania Oppel at toppel@uwc.ac.za

Money blinds!

Money Lender

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/51397

A reply I sent to prospective Presidential candidate with some additions:

"Money is a new form of slavery, and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is impersonal -- that there is no human relation between master and slave.": Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy - (1828-1910).

''Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits." : Sir Josiah Stamp (1880-1941) President of the Bank of England in the 1920's, the second richest man in Britain

"Endless money forms the sinews of war." : Marcus Tullius Cicero -
(106-43 B.C.) Roman Statesman, Philosopher and Orator

“The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.” Professor. J. K. Galbraith.

You are living in a totalitarian tripartite dictatorship, viz Elected, Press and financial. The last sustaining the two former, due to the fact that money is created out of NOTHING as an interest bearing DEBT enslaving you all from cradle to grave. Any other legislation is only cosmetic, giving a semblance of democracy. What is needed is a basic paradigm shift in the Noe classical economics which governed by interest bearing DEBT, get the money lenders out of the market, get the elected government to issue the money towards productive capacity as interest free loans, to be repaid and debt cancelled, hence counter inflationary.

The insidious and invidious practice of usury is NOT necessary or inevitable. Cindy you are doing a good job but running in the wrong direction just as the rest of the poor devils.

Unless you addresses the question of Money Supply, you all will remain enslaved, and the enslaved will do any thing as they are ordered to do and be willing connon foder to fight illegal illicit wars based on lies.

In the Third World a child is killed EVERY THREE SECONDS, the HOLOCAUST is alive and well and had been for decades, you all have been blind.

The shock doctrine

Shailja Patel

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/51396

In response to African liberation Movements and the end of history: In her new book, "The Shock Doctrine", Naomi Klein provides an excellent analysis of the free-market fundamentalist and corporatist strategies that hobbled newly-independent African governments from the outset, making it impossible for them to deliver "democracy" in any real sense of redistribution and economic justice.

Black Atlantic and a post-racial society

Ali A. Mazrui

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/51382

In the discourse about modernity and the role of the people of colour, a new idea was tabled in a 1993 publication by Harvard University Press. The book by Paul Gilroy, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, has unleashed a fresh debate about the concept of the Black Atlantic.

Gilroy’s Black Atlantic focuses on the dispersal of the African peoples from the African shores to North and South America, the Caribbean, Britain and Western Europe, originally triggered by the transatlantic slave trade. The author traverses the cultural variations of the black Atlantic, paying special attention to both its uniqueness and diversity. Central to his thesis is that modernity is a phenomenon of ‘hybridism’ and this has been created in part by the black dispersal.

My own definition of the black Atlantic is more purely a political geography of race. In this sense, global Africa is divided between the black Atlantic and the black Indian Ocean. The black Atlantic combines the African continent with that part of the African diaspora that is located in Europe and in the Western hemisphere.

The African Diaspora in Europe and the Americas was initially a product of the slave trade involving Europeans. Four continents constitute the black Atlantic: Africa, Europe, North America and South America, accompanied by neighbouring islands, especially those of the Caribbean.

The black Indian Ocean, on the other hand, consists mainly of Africa and Asia, the two largest continents of planet earth. The African diaspora in Asia is mainly a product of the Arab slave trade. That trade was much older than the Atlantic traffic, but much smaller in scale.

In addition to Africa itself, there has been a significant African presence in the history of the Middle East, South Asia and further east. The black Indian Ocean encompasses what used to be known as Africa’s eastern Diaspora, but combined with Africa itself.

Since the concepts of black Atlantic and black Indian Ocean are products of the political geography of race, we pay attention also to the political periodisation of race. Are we approaching a post-racial age? Our central focus here is on the black Atlantic, overlooking for a while the Black Indian Ocean. I have addressed the political geography of Afrabia elsewhere.

Can there be a post-racial society in human history? Here we need to distinguish between a post-racial society and a post-racism era. Outgrowing racism, though difficult, can be attained sooner than the disappearance of race as a demographic category.

South Africa may outgrow racism as a form of prejudice by about the middle of this 21st century. But it may take the same South Africa at least an additional full century to outgrow race-consciousness. A post-racial society is one that has not only abandoned racism as a form of racial bigotry but has also shed race-consciousness as a residual mode of defining a group.

In post-colonial Africa it is infinitely easier to imagine a post-tribal society than a post-racial society. While many African societies were still basically ‘tribal’ at the time of independence, there has been a genuine effort to get beyond tribalism as a form of intolerance while still accepting boundaries of tribal identities.

This proposition is consistent with the teachings of Islam. As a verse in the Qur’an has put it: ‘We have created you from a male and female, and forged you into nations and tribes that you may know each other [and learn from each other]. Verily the best among you are those who are the most pious.’ The line of reasoning here is that tribalism and nationalism can create a wrong sense of who is superior to whom. But instead of tribalism, tribal and national consciousness can be a beneficial resource if it leads to learning from each other and getting to know each other better.

In the pre-feudal days, Western society was at one time pre-tribal. Then most western European countries became tribal and feudal. And from the Peace of Westphalia onwards, Western Europe became generally more national and post-tribal, except in places like Scotland where clan loyalties are still powerful and compelling.

If periods of national history can be pre-tribal, tribal or post-tribal, why cannot periods of continental history also be pre-racial, racial or post-racial?

* Ali A. Mazrui is a professor of political science and African studies at State University, New York.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

On the Day Everybody Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti

By Margaret Trost, and reviewed by Judith Scherr

2008-10-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/51373

When I first visited Haiti a decade ago – about two years before Margaret Trost's initial visit – one incident shocked me beyond all others: A man offered me his child. Understanding French, but not Haitian Creole, I thought I had misunderstood; a translator assured me that I hadn't. There was a drought; the man's crops had failed. He had five other children. He could not feed them all.
On the Day Everybody Ate: One Woman’s Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti
By Margaret Trost
Koa Books
143 pages
$15.00

Piti piti na rive – little by little we’ll get there, a Haitian Creole saying
Little By Little – A Berkeley Woman Tackles Hunger in Haiti
By Judith Scherr

When I first visited Haiti a decade ago – about two years before Margaret Trost’s initial visit – one incident shocked me beyond all others: A man offered me his child.

Understanding French, but not Haitian Creole, I thought I had misunderstood; a translator assured me that I hadn’t. There was a drought; the man’s crops had failed. He had five other children. He could not feed them all.
What kind of desperation drives a man to give his child to a stranger?
Margaret Trost would understand.

In the slim tome Dr. Paul Farmer calls a “polished gem” – “On the Day Everybody Ate: One Woman’s Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti,” Koa Books, 143 pages $15.00 – Trost describes the utter misery she found in Haiti and her initial reaction: hopelessness and helplessness.

As Trost’s story unfolds, the misery fades into the backdrop as Trost becomes energized with the optimism she finds among the Haitians she comes to know. Infused with the belief that she – with the help of a little magic – could relieve a small part of the suffering, Trost founded what would become the What If? Foundation with a gift of $5,000.

It’s painful to read Trost’s description of the hospice where she volunteered during her first days in Haiti. Her trip there was a personal one – an attempt to move past the overwhelming grief caused by the sudden death of her young husband.

“Back and forth the moaning woman rocked in the fetal position,” she wrote. “Weren’t there any painkillers? She looked over at me and I motioned to the lotion, [Trost had massaged other patients] but she shook her head no…Tears dripped down her cheeks. Her eyes were blood shot, revealing her physical agony and her despair.”

She looked at Trost and spoke in English “’I have nothing…No shoes…No dress…No money…’ …a coughing fit overtook her. Then she rolled over, exhausted, and closed her eyes.”

Trost describes the stench of the open sewers, the tiny tin-roofed homes where sometimes a dozen people lived sleeping in shifts, the ever-present hunger.
“I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth or raise children here,” wrote Trost, facing the challenge of raising a son on her own.
The beauty of Trost’s book is her ability to show readers the miracle of Haitian resilience, to invite the reader to see how hope dominates the foreground of Haitian lives, while never completely eclipsing the misery. Piti piti na rive, Haitians say – little by little we’ll get there.

Trost writes about preparing to give manicures, a gift of glistening
red nails, to two hospice patients, “I handed them several cotton balls and a bottle of nail polish remover. The woman on my right carefully divided one of the cotton balls into four sections….With just one of these sections, she removed the polish from all ten of her nails. She handed the bottle and another quarter of the cotton ball to her friend. Then she handed me the other two sections and the other cotton balls I had originally given her.”

Trost never imagined removing nail polish could be done with such a minute scrap of cotton. It made her reflect on the food she scraped into the garbage disposal in her Berkeley, Calif. home, and the shelves of toys her son did not use.

She describes the wretchedness of a woman she met in the hospice whose body was covered in sores and her skin peeling. The compassion she felt for the woman’s suffering turned to admiration and amazement when she heard the woman’s voice in song: “In it was a strength and power that called out from her dark cocoon and clung fiercely to life,” she wrote.

Trost doesn’t avoid describing the quest for her own healing that took her to Haiti. She writes that, holding the hand of a dying woman, she felt the woman giving her strength.

Of course, Trost writes about Fr Gerry – the charismatic priest, Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste of St. Clare Church, who first suggested that it would be possible for Trost to feed the hungry of the church neighborhood.

“He described how he ‘saw’ the roads paved, the people fed, employed, health, educated and housed. He believed in a future for Haiti’s children and was committed to help make it happen,” she wrote. When Trost left Haiti after that initial trip, her despair was lifting, replaced by the vision of the food program she would launch.
\I first met Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste in February 2005, when Trost brought him to speak at a Berkeley church in a benefit for the foundation. He spoke in almost the same breath of the injustice of the Iraq War and the injustice of the coup in Haiti, where the U.S. had removed the democratically elected leader and his personal friend Jean Bertrand Aristide.

The next time I would see Fr. Gerry, he was in jail in Haiti on apparently trumped up murder charges. (The murder took place in Port-au-Prince while Jean-Juste was on a visit to Miami). Charges were later dismissed.

That visit was just after the hurricane had devastated New Orleans. Before the priest would let me interview him about being jailed and about the rumors that he might run for president – he was subsequently barred from candidacy because he was incarcerated – he insisted on talking about the tragedy for the people of New Orleans.

Whether the people were victims of Hurricane Katrina and inaction by the U.S. government, or political prisoners under an unelected government in Haiti – after the 2004 coup, the U.S., France and Canada appointed a government that served until May 2006 – justice was always on the priest’s mind.

“Fr. Gerry has told me he cannot separate his faith from politics,” Trost wrote. “His example for how to live his life is Jesus. Jesus was not silent about injustice or the oppression of the poor.”

Fr. Gerry’s message encouraged Trost to take on a totally undefined project, an act unfamiliar to the detail-oriented businesswoman. Fr. Gerry spoke “as if he was following inspiration, not an agenda,” she wrote.

“’Margaret,’” he told her, “’I see all the children fed and their parents working. Everyone has enough food to eat and electricity and running water.’”
Was it possible? she asked herself. “I looked with him into the neighborhood, past the piles of garbage and the dark interiors of the dilapidated homes, trying to imagine his vision.”

The What If? Foundation was born of Trost’s ability to meld the miracle of inspiration with the nuts and bolts of building a nonprofit organization.
While she sees the need to feed the hungry, Trost does not shy away from writing about the developed world’s responsibility for present-day misery in Haiti. She explains how Haiti’s rice production was undercut when the International Monetary Fund demanded it reduce tariff protections for its own rice and agricultural produce in exchange for loans.

“Since [rice] is heavily subsidized by the U.S. government and therefore cheaper than Haitian rice, within a few years most Haitian rice farmers went out of business,” she wrote.

Today the What If Foundation provides 6,000 meals a week, using Haitian-grown produce. It sends 200 children to school and offers day camp to 450 children during the summer.

In a quick phone interview from Texas where she was traveling, Trost underscored that what is important is to be unafraid to take the first small step.

“Eventually, we’ll live in a world where there is social justice and everyone eats,” she said. “One step at a time.”

The Somali Diaspora: A Journey Away, by Abdi Roble and Doug Rutledge

2008-10-24

http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/R/roble_somali.html

Since 2003, photographer Abdi Roble and writer Doug Rutledge have been documenting the lives of Somali immigrants in the United States and of the people forced into the vast refugee camps that were set up in Kenya in the wake of the 1991 civil war in Somalia. In The Somali Diaspora, Roble, who immigrated to the United States from Somalia in 1989, and Rutledge trace the journey of a family from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, home to more than 150,000 Somalis, to new lives in the United States.

The Travail of Dieudonne, By Francis Nyamnjoh

Reviewed by Tom Odhiambo

2008-10-24

http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?&id=1143997308

The main narrative in the novel is a biography of Dieudonne, a houseboy (that colonial term that refuses to go away) to an expatriate white couple teaching at a university in Mimboland. Mimboland is a typical African nation-state wracked with poverty due to bad governance. It is reliant on foreign aid and the unbalanced trade relationship with the West. (Remember Giles Poor Story?).

‘It is difficult to advise a leader who is always right’

Francis B. Nyamnjoh

2008-10-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/51380

An excerpt from Francis B. Nyamnjoh’s Married But Available

It is late into the night. Bobinga Iroko is unable to sleep. He is working on the editorial for the next issue of The Talking Drum. He has deliberately refused to carry the story on homosexuality. His priority remains the strike at the University of Mimbo, which, curiously, hasn’t attracted much coverage from the rest of the national press concentrated in Nyamandem and Sawang. He and The Talking Drum, the formidable odds against them notwithstanding, are determined to crusade along like a lone ranger, until victory day. They believe the sun must not be allowed to set on a good idea.

He is also struggling with an obituary following the sudden death, under very mysterious circumstances, of one of the rare genuine intellectuals at the University of Mimbo. Despised by the authorities as an ‘unbelievably vain, hopelessly incompetent and disestablishmentarian crank,’ and known popularly as ‘Intellectual Warrior’, Dr BP (‘Burning Pen’) was found dead last night at his home, his skull shattered, his brain and genitals missing. In his transition from Burning Pen to Buried Pen, he looked more like the victim of a ritual murder than of a robbery. Dr BP was not afraid to make career-limiting statements, and would rather die than be cowed. He had absolute disdain for those who were neither here nor there in their convictions; those who seemed to say things only to please the way a chameleon would its vicinity. To him, such people were shallow, myopic, spineless irrelevances. A screaming and fearless critic who once described the University of Mimbo as the ‘burial ground for enthusiasm’, Dr BP was writing a commentary titled ‘J’accuse’, when he was smashed to death in mid-sentence.

Dr BP died doing what he has always done: fighting to make a difference and making a difference by fighting. To Bobinga Iroko and The Talking Drum, Dr BP died keeping hope alive in a hopeless situation, adding the weight of his pen to efforts to bring back a bit of dignity to the lives of ordinary Mimbolanders stripped bare by shallow pretence, sterile rhetoric and its radical vocabulary of hate. He died fighting the battles he would want those he leaves behind to keep fighting. In a context where many an intellectual has been silenced by the lure and allure of easy virtue and the sterile politics of reckless impunity, BP was the rare exception who stayed wedded to the ideals of the genuine intellectual, academic freedom and social responsibility.

Bobinga Iroko will always cherish BP’s essays and contributions in the pages of The Talking Drum, which were as clear about what he believed to be wrong with the land of his birth as they were about what he thought it would take to make right those wrongs. It is therefore unfortunate and indeed ironic that BP should pass on in a suspicious death most cruel, and not those excesses his essays and commentaries were meant to bury. And it is equally unfortunate that he should leave the scene just when he was ready to share with the world in person the richness of his experience of a country and a university community where a reluctant government and those whose intellects it has numbed would spare nothing to derail the train of hope and human dignity.

BP epitomized those who refuse to stand by and watch the train of hope and human dignity derailed. He stood for those who would rather fight than run away (wasn’t it Bob Marley who said it all – he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day?). BP the flesh and blood may have died, BP the idea has never been more alive. This can be seen in the determination and resilience by students of the University of Mimbo to keep aglow their ambitions of academic freedom and the quest for betterment in equality, dignity and opportunity for all and sundry.

This, as BP and others who have sacrificed their lives have always claimed, requires a particular calibre of leadership. As BP has stressed ad infinitum, any leader, no matter how good, needs others to compensate for their weaknesses. A good leader is one who encourages others to lead without overly dramatizing the fact of being in charge. He or she is one who surrounds themselves with people of contradictory opinions in order to be forced to think, compare and contrast before reaching a decision.

The way forward for the University of Mimbo and for Mimboland, BP stressed in what none could have imagined was his last commentary in the pages of The Talking Drum, is by recognising that leadership is not about the leader. It is about the enabling environment the leader creates for experts in various walks of life and for all and sundry under him or her to offer leadership. A good leader is one who is able to purge him or herself of the delusion that bosses are necessarily better than the people under them. Modesty is the master key to success in leadership, for a good leader immediately recognises that he or she needs support to lead, and that a leader never leads alone. ‘Leadership is more of a privilege than a right, just as a leader is more of a servant than a master’, BP emphasised, adding that only at the University of Mimbo and in Mimboland did the contrary obtain. ‘With leaders who have neither modesty nor generosity of spirit, who thrive on the argument of force and not the force of argument, institutions dry out and wither, not for lack of talent but for lack of purpose.’ Woe betides the leader who takes decisions without consultation, and who excludes from leadership people who have a lot of talent because he or she is too afraid to be contradicted or to discover that no single individual however gifted has a monopoly of good ideas.

‘It is difficult to advise a leader who is always right,’ argued BP, ‘hence the need to create circumstances where other leaders can be fostered. This starts with inclusion, fairness and opportunity for all and sundry.’ BP ended his commentary with the words: ‘We often get the leaders we deserve by giving myopic individuals the power to silence the creativity and difference that should normally edify and strengthen an institution, a community or a country. The University of Mimbo and the people of Mimboland deserve a better fate than the disgrace lumped on them by the predicament of a mediocrity called leadership.’

* Francis B. Nyamnjoh is associate professor and head of publications and dissemination with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). Nyamnjoh’s Married But Available (Langaa Publishers, 2008) is available at the both African Books Collective and Michigan State University Press.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Africa Blogging Roundup, 22nd October 2008

Sokari Ekine

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/51394

Afrigator

Afrigator the “social media aggregator”, launched in April 2007 is one of the most successful African start-ups along with Muti,http://muti.com the social bookmarking site. The launch was timely as it coincided with a rapid growth in the number of blogs by Africans as well as expats living on the continent. On Monday, Afrigator chose to answer the now infamous question “where are all the African women bloggers?” [http://tinyurl.com/66tqrn] by announcing the top 45 female African bloggers.

Unfortunately the term “African women bloggers” is somewhat misleading as many of the blogs, particularly the non-South African ones are actually written by non-Africans. "This is a real shame as there are so many excellent blogs written by African women from across the continent and in the Diaspora but apart from the South African bloggers, only 4 are listed in the top 45. A more efficient way of finding out who is writing a blog is simply to include a box for gender and country of origin.

“While this list is not the be all and end all it does provide some interesting insight into which female blogs you could/should be watching. It’s clear that South African female bloggers dominate the list but I am very pleased to see Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda and Ethiopia make it on the list.”

It’s difficult to select 6 blogs out of 45 irrespective of their ranking especially when the list is dominated by South African blogs. So I have chosen one blog from each of the countries represented on the list though most of these are not actually written by African women which is a shame.

Mama Ethiopia

Mama Ethiopia written in Spanish and her profile states the blog is a glimpse of Ethiopia – sights, experiences, histories, people and places. Her latest blog posts comments on the recent reports of famine in the country and the decision by the British government to review aid to Ethiopia on an annual basis.

Wondering the World

Wondering the World is written by an expatriate women living in Cairo “in search of sanity”. I wouldn’t have thought Cairo was the place to seek sanity with the huge noise and traffic pollution but it is a place to seek vibrancy and colour. It is also the site of a growing activist blogging community which unfortunately is not reflected here. I will be writing a special roundup on Egyptian blogs next month.

What An African Woman Wants

What An African Woman Wants is written by a Kenyan woman who has been blogging since 2005. Her latest post reviews the book “The Faith of Barack Obama” by Stephen Mansfield. The post is written in response to a comment that Obama is a “closet Muslim” to which I would now respond quoting General Colin Powell (not someone I imagined I would quote positively) on Obama being a Christian and not a Muslim “

“Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is?”

Also from Kenya are Afromusing [www.afromusing.com] and Kenyan Pundit [www.kenyanpundit.com]

Ore’s Notes

Ore’s Notes is written by Nigerian, Ore Somolu, who is also the executive director of Women’s Technology Empowerment Center. Ore has also been blogging since 2005 mainly on technology and African / Nigerian literature. Her latest post introduces the idea of “social entrepreneurship” through a podcast on the subject.

Black Looks
My blog, BBlack Looks is also listed under Nigerian blogs.

The two blogs from Uganda are both written by expats, Uganda Scarlett Lion and
Jack Fruity Jack Fruity, who writes on conflict, development and aid.

Finally a blog by South African politician, Helen Zille. Helen Zille is the leader of the Democratic Alliance and Mayor of Cape Town. One of her latest posts calls on the SABC to give equal air time to opposition party members as given to ANC President, Jacob Zuma.

“Giving the President of the ANC a special platform without affording the opposition the same opportunity is biased, partial and unbalanced. This is particularly true in this case because Zuma used this platform to say that the DA has no policies. This point was not challenged by the interviewer, despite the DA’s recent well-publicised series of policy proposals”


* Sokari Ekine blogs at www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival - Shalini Gidoomal

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6729e7

Shalini Gidoomal is a freelance journalist, writer, businesswoman and inveterate traveller, born, and currently living in Nairobi. She has worked extesively on various UK and international magazines and newspapers.

MDC has lost faith in Mbeki’s mediation role

2008-10-24

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news231008/mdcfaith231008.htm

The head of the MDC’s women’s assembly, Theresa Makone, on Thursday said her party had lost ‘total faith’ in Thabo Mbeki’s mediation efforts to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. ‘Although we hold him in high esteem, we have felt as a party that he has not treated us fairly to what he does to Robert Mugabe and his party,’ Makone said. The women’s assembly chairperson said what bothers the MDC is that when ever they raise an issue of concern with Mbeki, he never responds.

War vets threaten Tsvangirai over power deal

2008-10-24

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=4877

Zimbabwe's militant war veterans threatened on Wednesday to take action against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and urged President Robert Mugabe to form a government without him. Jabulani Sibanda, who chairs the militant grouping of the veterans of Zimbabwe's war of independence, said the Movement for Democratic Change leader was stalling a power-sharing deal, which has hit deadlock over cabinet posts.

World condemns Mugabe

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/64m6w7

International pressure is rising fast as the rest of Africa,and the international community loses patience with Robert Mugabe’s open flouting of both the terms and the spirit of the power sharing accord. The Mugabe regime and the state-controlled media continue to parrot the tired refrain that personal travel restrictions against the Zanu (PF) hierarchy and an arms embargo, which they call
sanctions, are responsible for the country’s economic collapse.

WOZA activists' detention extended

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6p6332

The detention of two activists from the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has been extended until Friday. A bail hearing in the case was held on Tuesday without them being present, after the state alleged that there was no transport available to take them to the court. Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were arrested on 16 October and are being held at Bulawayo Remand Prison.

Africa: Gender and desertification: Expanding roles for women to restore drylands

2008-10-24

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/274686/38

This 32-page report looks at the impact of desertification on women around the world and their role in dealing with the problem. It examines the way in which women in particular are affected by desertification and highlights the role they play in the management of natural resources and drylands, as well as the constraints they face.

Malawi: Fistula turns women into outcasts

2008-10-24

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=44374

Women suffering from obstetric fistula in Malawi received free medical care to reverse their condition during the country’s Fistula Week. Between Oct. 12 and 18, the Malawian government, with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), treated more than 130 destitute women who have no or little access to health care services.

Sierra Leone: Every pregnancy is a 'chance of dying'

2008-10-20

http://tinyurl.com/4ywd3g

Saio Marah, nine months pregnant and two days into labor, lay on a hospital bed and groaned loudly with each contraction. She had arrived at the rural hospital earlier on the back of a motorcycle, about the only public transport available in this muddy little town in the distant back-country bush of one of Africa's poorest nations. Now, in a dark and hot labor ward with rain blowing in the open windows and puddling on the floor, Marah grimaced as James Konteh slapped on rubber gloves and examined her.

Africa: Waki report: Rape horrors by police

2008-10-24

http://www.gendergovernancekenya.org/usawa/index.htm

There is no greater breach of trust than knowingly taking advantage of those you have taken an oath to protect and to serve. What has been long regarded as baseless reports against members of the Kenya Police has finally been brought to the glaring spotlight of the public eye by the heart wrenching revelations made during the Waki Commission hearings. This concern is the focus of this issue of USAWA.

DRC: ICC confirms decision to halt trial of Congolese rebel

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28656

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed its earlier decision to suspend the trial of a Congolese rebel leader accused of recruiting child soldiers to serve in his militia, but ordered that he remain in detention pending another hearing. In a ruling issued in The Hague, the ICC’s five-member appeals chamber unanimously dismissed an appeal by prosecutors against the trial chamber’s decision in June to stay the proceedings against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

Global: Protect the human rights of migrants - New report

2008-10-24

http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1213

States, while exercising their sovereign right to determine who enters and remains in their territory, have an obligation to protect the human rights of migrants, according to a new report produced by the Global Migration Group, of which UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is a member. The report was produced to mark this year’s 60th anniversary of the affirmation of universal human rights.

Guinea Ecuatorial: Human rights drowning in oil

2008-10-24

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43594

The oil interests of Angola, Brazil and Portugal could pave the way for former Spanish colony Equatorial Guinea to become the ninth member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) two years from now, despite the country’s poor human rights record.

Kenya: Human rights bodies convene

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28665

More than 150 delegates from 71 countries are convening today at a United Nations conference in Nairobi to explore the roles of national bodies set up to protect or promote human rights in relation to the judiciary, law enforcement and monitoring of detention centres. During the three-day meeting, national human rights institutions will also report on activities undertaken as part of the Dignity and Justice for Detainees Initiative.

Sierra Leone: Reparations stretched thin

2008-10-24

http://www.ipsterraviva.net/europe/article.aspx?id=6664

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up in 2002 to investigate the causes of Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war, a brutal conflict during which all factions were accused of committing gross human rights violations. The TRC specifically recognised the effects of violence on women and the family structure.

Sudan: Khartoum war crimes investigations are mere ‘window dressing’

2008-10-24

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/10/20/sudan20015.htm

Sudan’s recent legal actions against a militia commander and others accused of war crimes in Darfur hold little promise of bringing justice to victims of serious abuses, Human Rights Watch has said. Human Rights Watch accused the Sudanese government of trying to undermine investigations by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Tanzania: Another albino murdered

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/5cdrn5

Attackers murdered an albino girl in Tanzania, where albinos have been targeted by witchdoctors who use their body parts for lucky charms, an official said on Tuesday. Local councillor Joseph Manyara of the western Tanzanian village where the young girl -- a grade three primary school pupil -- was murdered at the weekend said police were hunting the attackers.

West Africa: Poverty and the death penalty in Nigeria

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/5u8nud

Hundreds of people on death row in Nigeria did not have a fair trial and may therefore be innocent, according to a new Amnesty International report. Nigeria: Waiting for the Hangman, says that those sentenced to death are poor and that more than half of the convictions are based on a confession – in many cases, extracted under torture.

Burundi: Returning refugees win scholarships

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28649

A group of 40 Burundian students started university classes this week in the capital, Bujumbura, after becoming the first returnees to be granted scholarships by the United Nations refugee agency. The new students at Université Lumière in Bujumbura were selected to receive scholarships by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which helps to administer the German-funded DAFI scholarship programme.

DRC: Refugees flee heavy fighting

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/3ovxz9

Heavy fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has driven at least 1 700 people from a refugee camp, the United Nations said on Tuesday, and an aid group said a team of its medical workers has been trapped in a nearby hospital. The fighting resumed late on Monday night in the eastern villages of Tongo and Nyanzale, said Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, a spokesperson for the UN mission in the DRC.

Kenya: Flods uproot nealry 14,000

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28645

Almost 14,000 people in northern Kenya have been displaced by flash floods that occurred last week, and are in need of urgent supplies such as food, shelter and clean water, the United Nations humanitarian wing has reported. Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters in Geneva that at least three people were killed and 6,000 uprooted from their homes in the district of Mandera in north-east Kenya, when the River Daua burst its banks on 14 October.

Kenya: Guiding principles violated in IDP resettlement - activists

2008-10-20

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80948

Kenyan officials "violated with impunity" the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement during an operation to resettle people displaced by post-election violence early this year, human rights activists have said. "Kenya has no specific policy on internal displacement; it has no domestic law on protection and resettlement of IDPs [internally displaced persons]," Ndungu Wainaina, executive director for the International Centre for Conflict and Policy, a Kenyan non-governmental think-tank “committed to transitional justice”, told IRIN.

Sudan: Thousands 'displaced'

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/69bh73

A surge in violence in north Darfur last month has displaced thousands of people, many of whom could be short of food and water, a UN official says. Gregory Alex, head of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in northern Darfur, said on Saturday around 24,000 people had fled their homes after clashes between government and rebel forces near the areas of Birmaza and Disa.

Ethiopia: EPRP denounce new repressive law

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/socialmovements/51400

The law has been twice revised since May 2008 but it has become more repressive each time. It is before the rubber stamp parliament and it will for sure be adopted as the Meles Zenawi regime has ordered it should be. The Charities and Societies proclamation that will set up the all powerful and arbitrary Charities and Societies Agency is aimed at banning NGOs working on human rights issues in Ethiopia (women's, children's, disabled person's rights, etc...)
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)

October 15 2008
EPRP DENOUNCES NEW REPRESSIVE LAW TO BE PROCLAIMED BY THE REGIME

The law has been twice revised since May 2008 but it has become more repressive each time. It is before the rubber stamp parliament and it will for sure be adopted as the Meles Zenawi regime has ordered it should be. The Charities and Societies proclamation that will set up the all powerful and arbitrary Charities and Societies Agency is aimed at banning NGOs working on human rights issues in Ethiopia (women's, children's, disabled person's rights, etc...)

The totalitarian regime of Meles Zenawi is, through this law, actually banning NGOs that receive 10% foreign funding and those being financed by Diaspora Ethiopians from being active in the human rights field. The Agency is empowered to deny registration and act with impunity to regulate and sanction. Other countries have laws that define the functioning of NGOs but none have such repressive laws as those envisaged by the Meles regime. The aim and objective of the repressive regime is evident. As far as NGOs involved in development work it wants its Tigrean TDA and the bodies controlled by the spouse of Meles to be the sole active bodies to receive foreign funding. On the other hand, the regime that is accused of gross human rights violations and of committing atrocities and genocide wants to close its doors to bodies that may expose its criminal activities and violations. Independent civil organizations (Teachers, women, etc) have been banned and then cloned as State controlled associations. The Free Press has been hounded and mostly muzzled while the field has been left free for pro-regime newspapers masquerading as "free". In the Ogaden and other insurgency-affected areas, the regime continues to commit gross human rights violations. There are close to 35,000 political prisoners, torture is widely practiced, summary executions and disappearances common. The human rights record of the regime is dismal and through the Charities and Societies law it is out to cover its tracks and pursue its anti people and illegal actions.

The EPRP condemns the so called Civil Society Organizations (CSO) law and calls on those governments giving aid to his repressive regime to raise their voice against the proclamation and to desist from aiding it.

Global: Show your support for Nigerian villagers shot by Chevron

2008-10-24

http://justiceinnigeria.wordpress.com/

On October 27th, the 1st day of a landmark jury trial against Chevron in San Francisco, tell the company that you will not tolerate their human rights abuses in Nigeria or anywhere. Join us at the Chevron gas station at the corner of 9th and Howard in San Francisco in solidarity with Nigerian plaintiffs who are in Federal court nearby from 12pm-1pm. Bring your friends and co-workers.

Global: Statement on the proposed “Global Summit”

2008-10-24

http://www.choike.org/bw2/

The past few months have seen one of the most significant financial crises in North American and European history. The response was just as historic. To stave off regional and global recessions and restore stability and confidence in the market, northern governments are pursuing a massive and unprecedented program of government intervention, nationalizing banks, injecting massive subsidies into ailing institutions and re-regulating their financial sectors.

South Africa: Memorandaum to Cape Town mayor

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape

2008-10-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/socialmovements/51423

We (the shack dwellers of Khayelitsha) would like to bring our concerns into your attention and we note with great concerns that people who are living at informal settlements within the City of Cape Town are ignored and undermined by the City and we therefore call on the City of Cape Town:
Dear Madam Mayor Date: 22 October 2008


We (the shack dwellers of Khayelitsha) would like to bring our concerns into your attention and we note with great concerns that people who are living at informal settlements within the City of Cape Town are ignored and undermined by the City and we therefore call on the City of Cape Town:


1. To scrap its comprehensive plan for informal settlements (i.e. City's Master Plan) as we believe that this is a top down approach and it undermines people's right to participate meaning fully towards their development, and we oppose to one size fits all approach as carried by the plan.
2. To recognize all people that are living at informal settlements as legal occupants not as illegal occupants, as this does not give people a security of tenure and it allows Government to forcibly remove people to the dumping sites.
3. To upgrade all the informal settlements where they are, and we oppose DA housing policy/approach of one plot one house, this strategy is apartheid based and it forces lot of people outside well located land instead of keeping more people within the City

And we further demand that:


- All the bucket system must be phased out and Power flash toilets must be upgraded to pure flash system before 2009 elections.
- All the informal settlements must be electrified
- All the informal settlements must be serviced with water, toilets and with access roads
- City must directly talk to us not about us

Last but not least we call on City of Cape Town to release a detailed report of walk about informal settlements of Khayelitsha (which were: CH site C, DT opposite fire station at Site C, TR section Site B, VT Site B, VV Site B, WA Site B, WB Site B, TT Site B, UT Site B, XA Site B) which were conducted on the 16th of August 2008 with Dan Plato who is a Housing mayco member and his officials.

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the western Cape declares that:
No House! No Land! No Vote!

Botswana: Mogae wins Mo Ibrahim Prize

2008-10-24

http://www.thefrontiertelegraph.com/?p=141#more-141

Mr Mogae, who stepped down in April after two terms in office, said he was honoured and humbled by the award. Botswana is one of Africa’s most stable countries - it has never had a coup and has had regular multi-party elections since independence in 1966. Announcing the prize, ex-UN head Kofi Annan also commended Mr Mogae for his action to tackle the Aids pandemic.

Côte d’Ivoire: Election board suspends voter registration

2008-10-24

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81093

Côte d’Ivoire’s electoral commission on 23 October suspended for two days the long-delayed voter registration operation, throwing into deeper uncertainty the timing of a presidential poll seen as indispensable to restoring stability. The electoral commission said registration was being suspended for technical reasons, but the operation has been fraught with problems.

Ghana: First Ladies enter campaign trail

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/62k9mz

As in US, the wives of Ghanaian presidential candidates are front-and-centre in the on-going electoral campaigns for the December 7 general elections.They are giving interviews, speeches and appearing on newspaper covers, television and websites. This is in contrast to Canada where wives of political leaders in the just ended general elections rarely appeared at the campaign trails.

Ghana: Muslim pilgrims get vote

2008-10-24

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7684975.stm

Ghana's electoral commission has announced special arrangements so Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca for the Hajj can vote in polls on 7 December. The annual religious journey in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to take place between 30 November and 20 December.

Kenya: Special tribunal to try poll violence masterminds

2008-10-23

http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1143997103

A Special Tribunal for Kenya… or a date with the International Court of Justice in The Hague for post-election violence suspects — that is one of the far-reaching recommendations of the Waki Commission. And among those that could find themselves before either tribunal as early as June, next year, are people — including some Cabinet ministers — named as nised or participated in the violence.

Nigeria: Court defers ruling on presidential vote

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6bmhps

Nigeria's Supreme Court on Thursday deferred ruling on a challenge to President Umaru Yar'Adua's April 2007 election victory, but did not set a date for handing down its final judgement. Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Yar'Adua's main challengers in last year's polls, have appealed to the Supreme Court to annul his victory in an election deemed flawed by foreign and local observers.

North Africa: French hand seen in Western Sahara

2008-10-24

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=44401

The United States justifies Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia. The Russians fiercely oppose it. Washington considers Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgian territory. Moscow recognises it as a sovereign nation. Both major powers have no dispute, however, on the question of Western Sahara's independence from Moroccan control.

West Africa: New government for Benin

2008-10-24

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21207

President Yayi Boni has formed a new government. It is composed of 30 ministries: 6 ministries more than the previous. It is a national government since all departments of the country are represented. In this new team, there are 19 new ministry and 14 departures. The new government has 4 women instead of 6 in the previous one.

Zambia: President calls for peace ahead of elections

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6o4m6f

Zambia's acting President Rupiah Banda on Friday called for peace and unity ahead of next week's presidential elections, in which he is one of the frontrunners. Banda urged his compatriots to come out in large numbers and cast their votes next Thursday to elect a replacement for president Levy Mwanawasa, who died on August 19 after suffering a stroke.

Zambia: SADC launches observer mission to election

2008-10-24

http://www.afrol.com/articles/31394

The first group of election observers from southern Africa has arrived in Zambia to observe the presidential elections scheduled for 30 October. At least 25 election observers from Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observer Mission (SEOM) had arrived in Lusaka as of 14 October and were dispatched to different provinces with assistance of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

South Africa: Corruption case dogs Zuma

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6cn7uv

South Africa's ruling ANC party has had its hopes dashed that a corruption case against Jacob Zuma, its presidential hopeful, would be closed. A judge who dismissed charges against the African National Congress leader last month granted prosecutors leave to appeal the ruling on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe: Corruption fears as UN funds to be channeled through the RBZ

2008-10-24

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news231008/rbzfears231008.htm

There are understandable concerns that internal corruption at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will see desperately needed foreign monetary aid being diverted into different channels – this as a cash boost of millions of US dollars by the United Nations could soon be filtered through the central bank.

Africa: "Barroso billion" for Africa faces snag

2008-10-24

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE49N0OE.html

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso's plan to grant 1.0 billion euros in aid for African farmers has run into trouble over financing, EU officials said on Friday. Barroso proposed in July to use unspent EU farm funds on a programme to buy seed and fertiliser for Africa in 2008 and 2009, helping to address what was then perceived as a global food crisis.

Africa: Africa's potential tosate world's oil demand dims

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/5gx3to

The petroleum potential of Africa, a key contributor of oil barrels to thirsty markets, is beginning to look dimmer because of the credit crunch and a host of endemic challenges. Certainly, Big Oil's continental land grab will continue. Countries such as Angola and those around the Gulf of Guinea continue to lease tantalizing exploration blocks in the deep waters off the Atlantic coast.

Africa: African countries form single market

2008-10-24

http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/08/08102311151001

Leaders of the Tripartite Summit from 26 African countries belonging to the three regional economic blocs in the East and southern Africa on Wednesday resolved to merge the blocs into a single regional market. The summit, bringing together leaders of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), have agreed to establish a free trade bloc and a single customs union, stretching from South Africa to Egypt and from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya.

Africa: Key statistics on Africa - New World Bank report

2008-10-23

http://go.worldbank.org/U2HT7VHIB0

A new World Bank report Global Development Finance says developing countries as a whole have so far shown resilience in the face of US-based financial turmoil and soaring energy and food prices, partly because of improved policies, higher investments and technological progress in recent years, says the report. In 2008, growth in China, the rest of East Asia and the Pacific, and other developing regions together will fall from 7.8% to a still-strong 6.5% while their high-income trading partners like the United States slow to between 1 and 2% and import less.

Nigeria: Oil groups fear reforms

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/5ea7fq

Nigeria’s government is to pass new laws to overhaul the country’s oil and gas sector before the end of the year, ramping up the pace of reform in spite of fears among Western majors that the changes could cost billions in profits. Umaru Yar’Adua, the president, hopes the new law will form the foundation for a revival of an industry where attacks on pipelines and constraints on investment have fuelled a growing sense of crisis among energy companies.

Burundi: HIV programmes suffer as government, NGOs feel the pinch

2008-10-24

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81105

HIV programmes in Burundi have been struggling to support people affected by the pandemic since the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria rejected the country's request for funds a year ago. "It has been very hard; we have tried to use our internal resources and prioritise interventions to make sure that we cover the most important activities," Dr Jean Rirangira, the interim executive secretary of the national AIDS control council, CNLS, told IRIN/PlusNews.

Global: Vaccine 'slashes TB infection' in HIV patients

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/63zwuk

A new candidate vaccine can significantly reduce rates of tuberculosis (TB) infection in HIV-positive individuals, according to researchers. The results of the seven-year Phase III 'DarDar' trial in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, were presented at the 39th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France, this week (20 October). This is the first successful demonstration of any protective effect against TB in HIV/AIDS patients.

Global: Women 'need to be empowered in fight against HIV/AIDS'

2008-10-24

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55043

Women must be empowered and respected, particularly by men, in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Nafis Sadik, United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region, has said at a poverty alleviation conference in Beijing, Reuters reports. According to Sadik, lack of respect for women is a primary reason for the spread of the virus.

Guinea-Bissau: Cholera epidemic spreading quickly

2008-10-24

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE49N0J3.html

A cholera epidemic is spreading quickly in Guinea-Bissau, where campaigning for an upcoming election could put even more people at risk, United Nations agencies said on Friday. Some 12,225 people in the West African state have caught cholera so far this year and 201 have died, raising fears among aid workers that the water-borne disease could resurge on the devastating scale seen in 2005.

Kenya: Fear of testing keeps pregnant women at home

2008-10-24

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81054

On both occasions when Mary Atieno* gave birth in her home district of Suba, western Kenya, she knew that going to one of the health centres would be safer, but she was too afraid that the routine HIV test might reveal that she was HIV-positive. "I normally just deliver at home with the help of traditional birth attendants, because when you go to these modern government hospitals they put you through certain tests which reveal even your HIV status," Atieno told IRIN/PlusNews.

Southern Africa: Malawi struggles to fight HIV stigma

2008-10-24

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21214

Malawi is said to be struggling to fight the stigma against HIV/AIDS. The Malawi government has managed to effectively respond to HIV/AIDS beyond what activists call average levels, but the country has failed to address human rights issues surrounding the pandemic in that country.

Southern Africa: Namibians stand up to AIDS challenge

2008-10-24

http://www.afrol.com/articles/31389

More Namibians are living up to the challenge to stop spread of HIV by getting tested for virus, with young people waiting longer to start sexual activity and use of condoms increasing, according to new 2006-07 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) just released.

Uganda: Hepatitis E spreads, IDPs most vulnerable

2008-10-20

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80886

Hepatitis E is on the increase in Uganda's northern district of Pader, where it has claimed scores of lives and infected thousands in the past year, officials said. Since May, there have been 55 new infections and seven deaths in Pader, according to Angelo Luganya, a health official in Pader. "More cases are being received in health units in villages and there is need for urgent attention to check on the disease that is on the rise," he told IRIN.

Zimbabwe: Absent government puts burden of care on youth

2008-10-24

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81006

For almost six months now, John Mberi*, 14, from the high-density suburb of Mufakose in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, has been taking care of his sick mother, Fortunate, who returned home from neighbouring South Africa very ill. The community attributed Fortunate's condition to food poisoning while awaiting deportation in the infamous Lindela repatriation camp in South Africa, but close family members knew that Fortunate was HIV positive.

South Africa: New programme in social justice

2008-10-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/education/51371

The University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa is launching a landmark programme to breathe new life into efforts to empower the poor and marginalised. The Masters in Social Justice is the first of its kind to be launched by a South African university and combines law, social justice and development. Run by the Institute of Development and Labour Law at the UCT Faculty of Law, it involves prominent South African legal and development experts, including Judge Dennis Davis, and is designed for both law and non-law graduates.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa is launching a landmark programme to breathe new life into efforts to empower the poor and marginalised.

The Masters in Social Justice is the first of its kind to be launched by a South African university and combines law, social justice and development. Run by the Institute of Development and Labour Law at the UCT Faculty of Law, it involves prominent South African legal and development experts, including Judge Dennis Davis, and is designed for both law and non-law graduates.

The Masters in Social Justice is unique in its inter-disciplinary approach. For law graduates it offers the chance of a new career path or a specialisation, said Professor Hugh Corder, Dean of Law at UCT.

“A critical step is nurturing a new generation of lawyers – lawyers that are able to analyse not only from a legal perspective, but also from economic, political, gender and cultural perspectives,” he said.

For development practitioners with a non-legal background, the programme offers an understanding of the role that law can and should play in transforming society, while for graduates from other fields, it offers an ideal entry point into development. Those interested or already active in advocacy will benefit particularly.

According to Marlese von Broembsen, the architect and convenor of the new programme, the course was conceived because of the frequent disjuncture between theory and practice. Often policy ideas are good in theory, but reflect little understanding of the reality of life in poor communities.

“One of the required courses is a practical course that focuses on engaging with and developing solutions around the experiences and realities of those marginalised.

“It includes both rights-based activities and other development activities, such as building social capital and networks, or literacy projects. These interventions can have nothing to do with law in some cases, yet they are critical in that they enable marginalised people to exercise their human rights. The work of the Black Sash and Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa exemplifies this kind of approach,” said Von Broembsen.

There are numerous examples, she added, where a top-down only approach can have unintended consequences. “The way that the child grant has been conceptualised in South Africa is one example. Applicants are eligible if the household earns less than the stipulated amount. The anecdotal evidence is that the effect that this has had on household dynamics has apparently been considerable – for example, it discourages men from staying with their partners, as their combined income would disqualify the primary care-giver mother from receiving the grant.”

The new programme builds on similar programmes in other developing countries, and exposes students to community work as learners, not as experts. This hands-on learning is a key part of the curriculum and builds on the core courses and a range of electives that are being offered.

According to Judge Davis, speaking on how the programme can benefit South Africa in particular, the challenge of social justice is the biggest facing the country.

“People are being marginalised and there is definitely a feeling that many of the poorest citizens are getting a bad deal. Crime and a lack of delivery such as in education and health provision are just some of the factors fuelling these communities’ discontent and desperation.”

The recent xenophobic attacks were a clear wake up call to SA, he added.

“Empowering people to enrich the political discourse is imperative in South Africa, and it starts with tangible steps to promote justice for all, not just the elite,” said Davis.

For further information, email mardeo@icon.co.za

For more information or an interview, contact Michael Morgan or Melanie Blythe on +27 021 448 9465 or email info@rothko.co.za

Zimbabwe: Government forced to postpone exams

2008-10-24

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=4880

Public examinations, due to start countrywide next Monday, hang in the balance after the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) forwarded some salary demands which have not been met by their employer. The final Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examinations for Ordinary and Advanced level were originally supposed to start across the country on Monday this week. Grade 7 pupils write their examinations during the first week of October every year.

Africa: Africa Environment Outlook 2

2008-10-24

http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/aeo2_launch/

Published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this 544-page report highlights the opportunities presented by the world's natural resource base to support development and the objectives of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The report, which is the second in a series of Africa Environment Outlook reports, underscores the need for sustainable livelihoods, and the importance of environmental initiatives in supporting them.

Africa: Desert voices

2008-10-24

http://www.panos.org.uk/desertvoices

Launched by Panos London, an international development non-governmental organisation, Desert Voices is a collection of stories and testimonies of how climate change affects individual lives in Ethiopia and Sudan. Compiled and published online, the radio and print testimonies of individuals, produced by journalists, aim to show the long term impact of desertification for the African region.

Africa: Reclaiming rights and resources: Women, poverty, and environment

2008-10-24

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276714/38

This 34-page report, published by CARE, presents 7 case studies from across Africa that focus on three types of threatened environmental resources: land, forests, and water. In each case women share their stories of how the loss or degradation of such critical resources has adversely affected their lives and what they are doing to address these problems.

Côte d’Ivoire: Two jailed in toxic saga

2008-10-24

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21221

Two men have been sentenced to 25 years by a court in Abidjan following 500 tons of toxic waste which was dumped by a ship Probo Koala in 2006. It was chartered by a Holland oil trader Trafigura. The company said management and government reached a 150 million euro out of court settlement.

Global: Brussels avoids crackdown on illegal timber

2008-10-24

http://euobserver.com/9/26961/

After a series of delays, the European Commission unveiled on Friday (17 October) a legislative proposal to tackle the scourge of illegal logging. However, the EU executive has acceded to demands from some sectors of the timber trade that it police itself. Instead of requiring that traders halt timber imports to the EU from illegal sources, the commission's proposal only demands that they "seek sufficient guarantees" that no laws are being broken when the wood is harvested.

West Africa: Taking on Climte Change as a region

2008-10-24

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81092

Climate experts and ministers in West Africa have committed to coordinating national efforts to fight climate change, at the conclusion of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou, on 22 October. Benin’s UN Development Programme representative, Edith Gasana, told participants “no country will be able to handle the struggle alone.”

Botswana: Survival denounces 'good governance' award to Mogae

2008-10-24

http://www.survival-international.org/news/3837

Survival International has criticised the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for awarding its 'Achievement in African Leadership' prize to Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana who oversaw the eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen from their land. Festus Mogae's government evicted the Bushmen from their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002, and banned them from hunting and gathering.

South Africa: Land redistribution back on the front burner

2008-10-24

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81089

A combination of political flux, higher food prices and the failure of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) - after 14 years of power - to achieve any meaningful redress of apartheid's most emotive legacy is forcing the land issue to the top of the national agenda, a few months ahead of South Africa's fourth democratic elections.

Sudan: Addressing the land question

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/63douy

The Land Question (LQ) was one of the core issues behind the protracted war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army in the southern regions of the country. This paper looks at the LQ and some aspects of the policy and institutional challenges with reference to emerging land issues in South Sudan. The paper provides a brief overview of the background to the conflict with reference to its natural resource dimension before discussing the post- Comprehensive Peace Agreement situation regarding the LQ in South Sudan.

Africa: Congolese journalist wins UNDP award

2008-10-24

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21234

The Congolese journalist Emmanuel Pweto, working for Africanews.com and Radio RTGA Kinshasa, has won the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Award for journalism development in 2008. This award is given by the UNDP on the occasion of International Day for the Fight against Poverty. This day is celebrated each year on October 17

Egypt: Newspaper urged to respect editorial independence

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6fhwep

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned a recent decision by the Egyptian newspaper Al Gomhoria to remove journalist Hesham Basyoni from his position after he wrote an article critical of the government. "We are extremely concerned that this is a politically motivated decision by a newspaper that claims to be independent," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "Al Gomhoria says that the government does not interfere with its editorial policy but if that is the case, they must explain why they have taken Hesham off his beat."

Lesotho: Radio station back on the air after three-month suspension

2008-10-24

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28002

Reporters Without Borders notes that Lesotho’s only privately-owned radio station, Harvest FM, was allowed to resume broadcasting yesterday after being suspended for three months. The station was forced to close on 21 July as result of a complaint by a police commissioner and a communications ministry official, who accused it of trying “to damage their dignity as individuals.” The country’s telecommunications authority said it failed to comply with broadcasting regulations.

Somalia: IFJ calls for release of kidnapped journalists

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6rvkcd

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for the release of three journalists who have been held by kidnappers in Somalia for almost two months. Canadian Amanda Lindhout, Australian Nigel Brenan and Somali Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi were abducted on August 23 near the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The IFJ is extremely concerned about their safety after reports that their kidnappers threatened to kill Lindhout and Brennan if a $2.5 million (1.8 million Euros) ransom is not paid.

Côte d’Ivoire: UN warns of threat to stability, security

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28637

Côte d’Ivoire’s fragile political stability and security situation are at risk as the country struggles to make progress in reaching benchmarks agreed to in the peace pact signed last year, according to a group of United Nations experts in a report just made public. In its final report, the Côte d’Ivoire Group of Experts warns the Security Council that security threats persist in the West African country because programmes to disarm combatants and dismantle militia remain largely incomplete.

DRC: Ugandan rebels kill six civilians

2008-10-24

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28677

Ugandan rebel forces operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) killed six civilians in a deadly attack in the north-eastern village of Bangadi, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the DRC has reported. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – a notorious militia believed responsible for killing over 200 people, including 159 children, in the DRC since mid-September – looted homes and communal facilities in Bangadi before setting them ablaze on Sunday morning, according to the mission (known as MONUC).

Horn of Africa: Djibouti says Eritrea risking war

2008-10-24

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7687503.stm

Djibouti's president has said his country will have to go to war with Eritrea unless the UN acts to resolve growing tension over a border dispute. Djibouti has accused Eritrea of invading its territory and its ambassador to the UN told the BBC that Eritrea had been avoiding mediation.

Sudan: Southern Kordofan problem: The Next Darfur?

2008-10-23

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5738&l=1

The latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the deteriorating situation in this strategic region between North and South, where both members of the Government of National Unity, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP), have been dangerously engaged in ethnic polarisation in advance of national elections scheduled for 2009. The kidnapping of nine Chinese oil workers in Southern Kordofan last week illustrates the volatility of the state.

Sudan: The challenge of DDR and post-conflict security

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6556j4

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process in southern Sudan has been complex and challenging. It has been the cornerstone of the post-conflict rebuilding process – as a part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which formulated the end of the southern ‘rebellion’ in 2005. However, as this paper is keen to point out DDR is as political as any aspect of a peace process; it is not an apparatus that will simply function once all of the mechanics of programming are put in place.

West Africa: Investing in post conflict youth development

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/5rjt6n

Young people are susceptible to being used as perpetrators of conflicts and civil disorders, yet they remain the most vulnerable and the most affected in post conflict communities. However, young people are also the greatest resource to achieving reconciliation and reconstruction. This is because of their innovation, energy, enthusiasm and exuberance.

Africa: World Bank Africa chief economist launches new blog

2008-10-24

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html#useful

The World Bank Africa region has announced the launch of a new blog from its chief economist, Shanta Devarajan. The blog, AfricaCan.org, will serve as an online forum for the sharing of ideas about the continent's development. The objective of the AfricaCan blog is to create a platform for (1) conversation around the issues of sustainable growth and development in Africa, and (2) outreach to help promote analysis and evidence about what is working and what isn't on the continent.

East Africa: Uganda to benefit from EU’s $100million ICT fund

2008-10-24

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1536

Uganda is to benefit from $100m from the European Commission (EC) to support developing countries in the growth of information communication technology (ICT). Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, the Dean of the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology at Makerere University, on Monday said the funds would enable ICT students to carry out research in partnership with their counterparts in developed countries.

Global: Developing countries to participate in ICT standards process

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/6qbyje

Leading stakeholders in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry are to work together to minimise the standardisation gap between developed and developing countries through the Bridging the Standardisation Gap Fund. This was announced at the Global Standard Symposium at Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg.

Kenya: ICT sector gets $144 million credit facility

2008-10-24

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1502

Kenya has received $144.4 million in credit from the International Development Association for the Transparency and Communications Infrastructure Project (TCIP). Kenya ICT Board chief executive officer, Paul Kukubo, told the media on Friday that part of the funds $7 million (Sh525 million) will subsidise bandwidth costs for local Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) entrepreneurs.

Africa: The Wanjiru Kihoro Fellowship

2008-10-23

http://www.fasngo.org/wanjiru-kihoro-fellowship-programme.html

The Wanjiru Kihoro Fellowship's broad goal is to contribute to the development of a new generation of African women leaders who are dedicated to utilising their voices and experience to futher women's central role in peace building and development work in their country, region and continent. The Fellowship aims to attract applicants who have substantial experience in local community work and who wish to gain international experience to enrich and enhance their skills.

Globqal: New E-magazine - C-Change Picks

2008-10-24

http://c-changeprogram.org/publications.htm

C-Change Picks is an e-magazine that is supported by C-Change and implemented by The Communication Initiative and focuses on recent case studies, reports, analyses, and resources on communication for behaviour and social change to address health, environment, and civil society. While the first 3 issues of C-Change Picks have focused primarily on family planning, HIV/AIDS, and malaria, future editions will include information related to the environment and civil society. If you would like to subscribe, please contact cchange@comminit.com

Africa: Kelele Bloggers conference, 2009

2008-10-24

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/23/kelele-09-african-bloggers-conference/

Kelele is an annual African bloggers' conference which will be held for the first time in August 13th - 16th 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya. According to event organisers, Kelele is a gathering of African bloggers in the tradition of historical African societies where everyone has a voice.

Africa: Voices of African women

The Women International League for Peace and Freedom, 5th, 7th& 8th November 2008

2008-10-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/51370

The Women International League for Peace and Freedom invites you to a three day seminar on the subject of African women’s struggle to bring and maintain peace to their countries and region. This is a rare opportunity to hear a debate between African grass-roots women and British activists and policy-makers working on Africa.
Voices of African Women

The Women International League for Peace and Freedom invites you to a three day seminar on the subject of African women’s struggle to bring and maintain peace to their countries and region. This is a rare opportunity to hear a debate between African grass-roots women and British activists and policy-makers working on Africa.

Africa is not just a huge war zone where development has failed to take place and which is now being mined by new economic interests. It is a diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic region. The women of Africa are coming to London to tell their stories: stories of struggle, justice and injustice and above all, of survival. We will be examining the affects of national politics, international politics and NGO driven policies on Africa’s present, and on its future. In doing so, we will be looking at what alliances exist and what alliances need to be put in place to safeguard Africa’s independence, its growth and its desire for abiding peace.



This seminar will be of special interest to activists, women’s groups, researchers and policy makers.

5th, 7th& 8th November 2008



1.Wednesday 5thNovember2008, 2 – 6pm, Parliament, London, SW1A 2LW

African women activists will be speaking about their experiences of conflict, and their work for human rights, peace building, aid effectiveness and development in their own countries. This meeting will be hosted by Baroness Joyce Gould and Jeremy Corbyn, MP.

2. Friday 7thNovember,1-3pm, Chatham House, Round Table meeting.

3. Saturday 8thNovember,10am – 4.30pm, Amnesty Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London, EC2A 3EA

African women will speak and join in discussion groups with UK Diaspora organisations and NGO activists, considering how to further African women’s participation in peacebuilding, development and governance.



Key speakers include:



· MiriamMachaya from Zimbabwe (Family Support Trust, and Christian Aid)

· Mildred Sharra and Prosperine Kamanga from Malawi ( Action Coalition of Women Farmers - ActionAid )

· Alice Ukoko from Nigeria (Women of Africa /WILPF UK)

· Pauline Dempers from Namibia (NGO Forum and IANSA Women’s Network)

· Annie Matundu & Jeanine Ngungu from the D.R.Congo (WILPF & CAUSE COMMUNE RDC)

· Mrs Khadiga Hussein from Sudan (Sudanese Mothers for Peace)

· Marie-Louise Pambu & Marie-Claire Faray (Common Cause UK/WILPF UK)

· Amanda Khozi Mukwashi (Akina Mama Wa Africa)

· Video from Women For Women International

Other Speakers to be confirmed

Although both events are free, it is essential to book!

To reserve your place at either event please email: office@ukwilpf.org.uk or telephone: 020 7250 1968.

Alternatively please write to: UK WILPF, 52/54 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT

Global: Multi-track diplomacy and conflict transformation

Training Program, January 2009

2008-10-20

http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/courses/course.asp?id=18

An intensive evening and weekend program of experiential learning and new perspectives on ways to bring about conflict transformation and peacebuilding. The goal is to develop the knowledge and skills needed to facilitate the transformation of interpersonal, organizational, community or complex societal conflicts, including ethnic, religious or cultural tensions, using techniques of multi-track and citizens’ diplomacy.

Senegal: 7th Globelics International Conference

‘Inclusive Growth, Innovation and Technological Change

2008-10-24

http://globelics2009dakar.merit.unu.edu/

For the seventh conference to be held in Dakar (Senegal), papers that contribute to the understanding of the role of technology and innovation in achieving sustainable growth and development in the broadest sense of the term are invited. The conference organizing committee invites submission of full papers to be presented on the conference topics by March 31th, 2009. The event will be held on October 6-8, 2009.

South Africa: Web design training using Joomla!

2008-10-24

http://tinyurl.com/4qhw8l

Joomla! is a Content Management System and is for a start not complicated; Joomla makes it easy for non-technical people to create professional and dynamic websites. Why? Because it has been developed with the masses in mind. You do not need any programming knowledge such as HTML or PHP to use Joomla for web creation. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable. Using Joomla! is like using a word-processing program.

Africa: Manager - Governance Institutions and Processes Department, EISA

2008-10-24

http://www.eisa.org.za/EISA/jobsgm.htm

Reporting to the Director of Programmes, the Manager for the Governance Institutions and Processes Department will assist in running EISA's Governance Department. Closing date for submission of applications is Friday, 31 October 2008. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. EISA reserves the right not to appoint.

Africa: Programme Officer - Elections and Political Processes, EISA

2008-10-24

http://www.eisa.org.za/EISA/jobsepo.htm

The Programme Officer , reporting to the Election and Political Processes Manager, will, among other tasks, assist the EPP Manager in the implementation and management of the department's programmes, conceptualise, coordinate and evaluate projects in the area of elections and political processes, liaise on behalf of EPP with project partner organisations, and liaise with EPP project donors as delegated by the Manager.

Egypt: Project Development Assistant - IOM

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/51399

Under the supervision of the Programme Development Officer and overall guidance of the Regional Representative, the incumbent will provide support to the Project Development Office (PDO), with a special emphasis on project development and project tracking. Deadline for application: 28th of October 2008.
Project Development Assistant
Terms of Reference
Duty Station: Cairo, Egypt
Position Title: Project Development Assistant
Classification: G5
Type of Appointment: Six (6) months, with possibility of extension

Under the supervision of the Programme Development Officer and overall guidance of the Regional Representative, the incumbent will provide support to the Project Development Office (PDO), with a special emphasis on project development and project tracking. In particular, he/she will:

Assist the Project Development Office in identifying new programme and project possibilities in Egypt and in the region, in relation to expressed governmental needs, donors’ priorities and in line with IOM\’s mandate and strategy;
Assist in the formulation/development of proposals and collection of requested documentation for submission to donors, according to IOM project development guidelines and procedures;
Prepare and collate general and specific information on IOM\’s activities as requested by donors/external parties, IOM Missions, HQ and other internal counterparts;
Manage and maintain PDO\’s tracking system for all MRF projects and project-related documents to ensure that project documentation is appropriately kept, filed and made available upon request;
Initiate PDO\’s Monthly Update and Project Compendium List and produce other reports, as requested;
Assist in collecting and analyzing information on migration in the Arab region; prepare situational and statistical reports, as requested; update the Regional Representative and Project Development Office on new trends and policies in the field of migration in the Middle East region;
Assist in the implementation of IOM\’s activities in Egypt and the region, including the preparation of trainings, workshops and conferences, upon request;
Represent IOM in seminars and other meetings aimed at developing new projects and programmes and promoting IOM\’s image and activities.
Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Desirable qualifications:
University degree in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Social Science or Business Administration. Minimum two years of professional experience. A previous experience in project design would be an advantage. Excellent good writing and analytical skills as well as excellent organizational skills. Has a good attitude towards work, which includes flexibility and rapidity of execution.

Good level of computer literacy.
Fluent in Arabic. Very good written and spoken English.

Method of Application: Interested applicants should forward detailed curriculum vitae to e-mail address: mrfcairo@iom.int

Deadline for application: 28th of October 2008

Kenya: Legal Officer - CREAW

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/51388

CREAW is a non-governmental, non-partisan, membership organization whose goal is to transform society by empowering women and expanding frontiers for women’s rights and freedoms. CREAW aims at setting standards in upholding human rights and empowering society through civic education, legal advocacy and women’s rights awareness.CREAW is recruiting for the position of Legal Officer. Deadline for application: 31ST October 2008.
Vacancy announcement


CENTRE FOR RIGHTS EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

Deadline for application: 31ST October 2008

CREAW is inviting applications from individuals for the following position:

Job Title: Legal Officer




Duty Station: Nairobi with frequent visits to the field.

Duration: Starting November 2008, one (1) year contract with possibility of extension.


CREAW is a non-governmental, non-partisan, membership organization whose goal is to transform society by empowering women and expanding frontiers for women’s rights and freedoms. CREAW aims at setting standards in upholding human rights and empowering society through civic education, legal advocacy and women’s rights awareness.

DESCRIPTION:

The ideal person should be responsible for the following:-

* Attending to clients both new and existing for purposes of offering legal advice and referrals to other partner organizations
* Drawing and amending of all pleadings, applications and submissions
* Conducting pre-trial briefings and preparing files for trial
* Attending Court for purposes of conducting hearings (including applications and appeals), facilitating the recording of consents, picking up rulings and or judgments.
* Corresponding with clients to update them on the current position of their cases
* Conducting legal research and drafting of legal opinions
* Reconciliation of parties by using alternative dispute resolution techniques such as mediation and conciliation
* Facilitation and coordination of open days and legal aid clinics for purposes of offering legal advice
* Representing the organizations in seminars, training’s and conferences relating to CREAW’s interests as women’s human rights organizations.
* Participating in any analysis and critiquing of bills and legislation affecting women’s human rights
* Proposal writing and report writing under the Direct Services Department
* Ensuring that the client database is regularly updated.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

* Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with at least 3 years post admission experience in Litigation in both the Higher and Lower Courts.
* Thorough knowledge of Court procedures in both the Higher and Lower courts, which the candidate shall be required to demonstrate
* Thorough knowledge of the Law particularly Family, Succession, the sexual offences Act, Criminal and Civil Law with knowledge and understanding of International Human Rights Instruments and Protocols.
* Proven success in conducting Family, Succession, Criminal and Civil cases
* Ability to analyse issues technically and come up with sound recommendations
* Proactively and ability to anticipate and respond to issues in a timely manner
* Gender sensitive with an ability to articulate and respond to issues relating to gender based violence with a view to taking up Public Interest litigation on the same.
* Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
* Proven ability to lead and work effectively under pressure and without supervision to produce quality and timeous results.
* Highly effective and proven skills in organizing, prioritising, scheduling, planning and coordinating legal work internally and externally
* Exceptional degree of integrity and judgement in handling of all matters falling under the candidate’s docket.
* Proficiency in computer software packages such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint with and ability to organize data and information retrieval systems.

Languages

Excellent writing skills in English, with fluency in speaking Kiswahili.

APPLY NO LATER THAN 31st OCTOBER, 2008

If you know you have the right qualifications and experience, please send your application together with C.V. and relevant testimonial noting to provide details of three work related references.

Apply to:

SELECTION COMMITTEE

CENTRE FOR RIGHTS EDUCATION

AND AWARENESS – CREAW

Convent Drive, Lavington Off Isaac Gathanju Road,

(200metres from Lavington Green)

P.O. BOX 11964 –00100 GPO

NAIROBI – KENYA

email: info@creaw.org

CREAW is an equal opportunity employer.

Kenya: Prject Officer - CREAW

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/51387

CREAW is inviting applications from individuals for the position of Project Officer. The ideal candidate will have at least three to five years of directly related experience in sexual and gender based violence and how to handle the survivors. The candidate must be a dynamic, creative, self-motivated, strategic and original thinker with commitment to women’s human rights she/he will also engage her/his time in projects work, which include project implementation and coordination, monitoring, evaluation report writing and resource mobilization. Deadline for application: 31st October 2008.
Vacancy announcement


CENTRE FOR RIGHTS EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

Deadline for application: 31ST October 2008

CREAW is inviting applications from individuals for the following position:

Job Title: Project officer

Duty Station: Nairobi with frequent visits to the field.

Duration: Starting November 2008 , one (1) year contract with possibility of extension.


CREAW is a non-governmental, non-partisan, membership organization whose goal is to transform society by empowering women and expanding frontiers for women’s rights and freedoms. CREAW aims at setting standards in upholding human rights and empowering society through civic education, legal advocacy and women’s rights awareness.

DESCRIPTION:

The ideal candidate will have at least three to five years of directly related experience in sexual and gender based violence and how to handle the survivors. The candidate must be a dynamic, creative, self-motivated, strategic and original thinker with commitment to women’s human rights she/he will also engage her/his time in projects work, which include project implementation and coordination , monitoring, evaluation report writing and resource mobilization . The officer will be required to visit grassroots communities, schools , educating and training on sexual and gender based violence vis-à-vis human rights. Must be willing to work towards influencing government policy on women’s human rights.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

* University degree in social sciences in law, political science, human rights or any other related field, masters degree will be an added advantage.
* Minimum three years experience in legal and policy advocacy in the women human rights.
* Experience from work to enhance women’s rights and opportunities with focus on ending sexual and gender based.
* Broad knowledge about gender and development work, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
* Good knowledge about the situation concerning sexual and gender based violence in Kenya and in the region.
* Minimum two years experience in women human rights research, implementation, program management, resource mobilization monitoring, documentation and reporting.
* Leadership experience, Good Analytical skills, Facilitation/Training skills



Skills required for the position

* Self-motivated, extremely organized, and collegial and have the ability to function well under pressure while handling numerous tasks simultaneously. She/he must be willing to take initiative, prioritize with minimal supervision and work independently as well as function as a member of a team.
* The candidate must have demonstrated organizational skills and excellent computer skills including proficiency Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, and Word).
* Impeccable field and internet –based research abilities.
* Ability to work in a diverse team and offer leadership.
* Strong interest in the area of women’s rights and a commitment to the empowerment of women.
* It is also important with good interpersonal skill, co-operative attitude, cultural sensitivity, and positive attitude to working.


Languages

Excellent writing skills in English, with fluency in speaking Kiswahili.

APPLY NO LATER THAN 31st October, 2008

If you know you have the right qualifications and experience, please send your application together with C.V. and relevant testimonial noting to provide details of three work related references.

Apply to:

SELECTION COMMITTEE

CENTRE FOR RIGHTS EDUCATION

AND AWARENESS – CREAW

P.O. BOX 11964 –00100 GPO

NAIROBI – KENYA

Email: info@creaw.org

CREAW is an equal opportunity employer.

Kenya: Regional Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa - Internews

2008-10-23

http://www.internews.org/about/employment/overseas/job_0182o.shtm

The Regional Manager manages and oversees Internews Network media development programs and projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a geographic sub component of the Africa, Middle East, Health and Humanitarian Media Program Management Unit (PMU). Responsibilities for this position include direct line management of the Country Directors, Resident Journalism Advisors and Africa Program Associate (Nairobi-based), direct donor correspondence, as well as donor identification and communication with the Program Vice President and other key staff on development opportunities.

Uganda: Consultant position (II)- Wellspring

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/51392

Wellspring Advisors seeks a consultant to undertake a mapping and analysis of Ugandan nongovernmental organizations focused on children’s rights and development. The consultant shall undertake a scoping study that will provide (1) an overview of the field of children’s rights in Uganda, with a focus on the role of nongovernmental organizations; (2) profiles of key Ugandan children’s rights organizations; and (3) grantmaking recommendations, including identification of potential funding strategies as well as specific organizations.
About Wellspring Advisors, LLC

Wellspring Advisors is a private philanthropic consulting firm with offices in New York and Washington, DC. We coordinate strategic giving programs that are tailored to our clients’ philanthropic passions and their desire to do their grantmaking anonymously. Our services include donor education and helping to shape a strategic vision; identification and presentation of appropriate funding opportunities; grants administration; and reporting.

How to apply

Send an email to HResourcesDC@wellspringadvisors.com specifying to which consultancy you are applying in the subject line. Please attach the following three documents:

1. Cover letter highlighting relevant qualifications and salary history;

2. Current resume with three professional references; and

3. Writing sample (5-page maximum).

Applications must be received by November 30, 2008.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE


Consultancy: Mapping and Analysis of Children’s Rights Organizations in Uganda

Wellspring Advisors seeks a consultant to undertake a mapping and analysis of Ugandan nongovernmental organizations focused on children’s rights and development. The consultant shall undertake a scoping study that will provide (1) an overview of the field of children’s rights in Uganda, with a focus on the role of nongovernmental organizations;
(2) profiles of key Ugandan children’s rights organizations; and
(3) grantmaking recommendations, including identification of potential funding strategies as well as specific organizations.

The Consultant will produce a written report of no less than 10,000 words, with specific recommendations for Wellspring Advisors and its clients.

Qualifications

* Extensive professional experience working with children’s rights or child‐focused organizations and demonstrated knowledge of relevant policies and nongovernmental actors in Uganda;
* Prior experience with grantmaking, organizational development, and capacity‐building a plus
* Graduate degree preferred;
* Excellent English oral and written communications skills and analytic abilities;
* Ability to work and travel in Uganda; and
* Ability to handle confidential client information with complete discretion.

Uganda: Consultant position - Wellspring

2008-10-23

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/51391

Wellspring Advisors seeks a Uganda-Based Consultant to provide critical support and oversight to its Uganda grants programs, which focus on pro-poor economic development, children’s rights and development, women’s rights, reproductive health and rights, and human rights. These wide-ranging portfolios cover such issues as land and property rights, violence against women, corporate social responsibility, disability rights, education, child protection, microfinance, smallholder agriculture, and small and medium enterprise development.
Wellspring Advisors is a private philanthropic consulting firm with offices in New York and Washington, DC. We coordinate strategic giving programs that are tailored to our clients’ philanthropic passions and their desire to do their grantmaking anonymously. Our services include donor education and helping to shape a strategic vision; identification and presentation of appropriate funding opportunities; grants administration; and reporting.

How to apply

Send an email to HResourcesDC@wellspringadvisors.com specifying to which consultancy you are applying in the subject line. Please attach the following three documents:

1. Cover letter highlighting relevant qualifications and salary history;

2. Current resume with three professional references; and

3. Writing sample (5-page maximum).

Applications must be received by November 30, 2008.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

Uganda-Based Consultant

Wellspring Advisors seeks a Uganda-Based Consultant to provide critical support and oversight to its Uganda grants programs, which focus on pro-poor economic development, children’s rights and development, women’s rights, reproductive health and rights, and human rights. These wide-ranging portfolios cover such issues as land and property rights, violence against women, corporate social responsibility, disability rights, education, child protection, microfinance, smallholder agriculture, and small and medium enterprise development. The portfolios encompass policy advocacy, service delivery, and grantmaking to local organizations and international NGOs.

The consultant will report to Wellspring’s international program team. The initial time commitment associated with this consultancy will be part-time, approximately 60-80 hours per month, for an initial period of three months. Wellspring Advisors will not sponsor any candidates to relocate to Uganda and/or obtain any necessary legal documentation in Uganda, such as visas or work permits. Similarly, Wellspring will not sponsor candidates to move to or work in the United States.

Responsibilities

As requested by the international program team, the consultant will:

* Conduct due diligence and site visits for current and prospective organizations; monitor current grantee organizations and use of grant funds; evaluate grantee performance;
* Identify and suggest prospective organizations that might align with Wellspring’s clients’ programmatic priorities;
* Report findings and recommendations to Wellspring’s international program staff through bi-weekly updates and regular conference call meetings;
* Provide Wellspring with updates on unfolding current events that may have an impact on its partners or program focus;
* Support grantees and applicants to ensure completion and submission of applications and reports;
* Engage and network with donors and NGOs working in relevant fields in Uganda; attend relevant forums, meetings, and conferences;
* Provide support in the planning and coordination of grant-related activities, including technical assistance provision, trainings, and convenings;
* Support Wellspring staff in planning and executing site visits to local partners; and
* Perform related duties as requested and as needs evolve.



Qualifications

* 3-5 years professional experience working in the fields of international development and/or human rights in Uganda;
* University degree required; graduate degree preferred;
* Excellent English oral and written communications skills and analytic abilities required, knowledge of local languages a plus;
* Ability to work across a range of programmatic issue areas; specific experience in the areas of human rights, economic development, women’s rights, reproductive health, and/or children’s rights a plus;
* Prior experience with grantmaking or grants management a plus;
* Strategic planning and other organizational development skills a plus;
* Initiative, resourcefulness, and flexibility—ability to work independently with minimal supervision;
* Demonstrated commitment to Wellspring’s grantmaking priorities;
* Ability to travel within Uganda and to the U.S.; and
* Ability to handle confidential client information with complete discretion.

Fahamu