Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. 
obituaries
Remembering Adrienne Rich
Benjamin Doherty
2012-04-05, Issue 580
She is one of the most influential poets of the late 20th century.
Mama’s song
Akwasi Aidoo
2012-04-05, Issue 580
March 29 was a sad day... We lost Adrienne Rich, one of the most inspiring poets we were blessed with. She gave our dreams a soul called social justice.
Kenyan journalist and community leader murdered
John Bwakali
2012-03-01, Issue 572
A leading member of Kenya Indymedia - whose motto was that 'we are servants of the community' - has been gunned down.
Homage to a humble man
Karim F. Hirji
2012-02-15, Issue 570
A little-known Tanzanian academic who played a big role at the University of Dar es Salaam in the 1970s died on 29 January 2011.
Blyden-Cowart: George Padmore’s daughter dies, February 3, 2012
Edwin S Wilson
2012-02-09, Issue 569
A tribute
A tribute to the Hon Dudley J. Thompson, ambassador of Jamaica
P. J. Patterson
2012-01-26, Issue 567
Until his death on 20 January 2012, Dudley J. Thompson remained a revered leader of the Afro-American diaspora.
Unsung hero: Michael Kofi Ameko
Explo N. Nani-Kofi
2012-01-11, Issue 565
Michael Kofi Ameko, a close aide to Kwame Nkrumah, died just before Christmas at the age of 85. His life was one of public service to the cause of Ghana and Africa.
Remembering Martina
Marlene Martin
2011-12-15, Issue 563
Marlene Martin of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty honours Martina Correia, a determined fighter for her brother Troy Davis and for all the victims of America's death machine.
Communications scholar Alfred Opubor dies
ADEA Working Group
2011-12-08, Issue 562
Prof Opubor was one of the first generation of specialists in the field of communication as a behavioural science. His expertise was in communication theories and message systems and their applications in development.
Remembering Nigerian secessionist leader Ojukwu
Funmi Feyide-John
2011-12-08, Issue 562
Following the death of separatist leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Funmi Feyedi-John reflects both on his life and on the impact of Biafra's secession.
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu: ‘Focused, selfless, stellar’
1933-2011
Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe
2011-11-30, Issue 560
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, leader of the Biafran resistance to the Nigeria state’s genocide against the Igbo people, has passed away.
Dani Wadada Nabudere: A great son of Africa
1932-2011
Yash Tandon
2011-11-10, Issue 557
Dani Nabudere has passed on, and with him has passed a piece of Uganda, a piece of the continent, a part of humanity, writes Yash Tandon.
Dani Wadada Nabudere: ‘Keeper of Traditions’
1932-2011
Baba Buntu
2011-11-10, Issue 557
Dani Nabudere’s ‘undying commitment to practical Pan-Afrikanism on grassroot level leaves us all with an enormous challenge in continuing his legacy and insist that all his sacrifices and achievements must never be in vain,’ writes Baba Buntu.
The trees will clap for her
Wangari Muta Maathai, 1940-2011
Nnimmo Bassey
2011-09-28, Issue 550
cc N G SNigerian environmental activist Nnimmo Bassey remembers the life of Wangari Maathai, the internationally recognised founder of the Green Belt Movement, who died on 25 September.
Committed to justice for people and planet
Wangari Muta Maathai, 1940-2011
Margaretta wa Gacheru
2011-09-28, Issue 550
cc E PWangari Maathai ‘achieved more in one short lifetime than most people can even contemplate,’ writes Margaretta wa Gacheru, founding ‘one of the most important environmental movements in the world’ and highlighting ‘the capacity of African rural women to problem-solve for the planet’.
Deterred by nothing, discouraged by nothing
Wangari Muta Maathai, 1940-2011
Cyril Ritchie
2011-09-28, Issue 550
cc R OCyril Ritchie pays tribute to Wangari Maathai, her ‘contagious enthusiasm’ and ‘calming stoicism’, after 36 years of friendship with ‘an outstanding woman’.
‘Africa has lost a Great Daughter’
Wangari Muta Maathai, 1940-2011
Thandika Mkandawire
2011-09-28, Issue 550
cc InternewsWangari Maathai was ‘an amazing person’, writes Thandika Mkandawire, relating a story about how Maathai defied the Kenyan government’s attempt to prevent her from attending a ‘subversive conference’ in Uganda.
Remembering Wangari
Bayo Akomolafe
2011-09-27, Issue 550
cc M R‘Just before the stars sing, just before the childish wave wanes/You will plant another seed in the distance, another tree, another universe gained.’ Bayo Akomolafe remembers Wangari Maathai.
Wangari Muta Mathaai: Share your condolences
2011-09-28, Issue 550
cc R OIf you would like to write a tribute or read and share tributes to Wangari Maathai, this site was setup by the Greenbelt Movement in her honour.
Cynthia Salvadori, a tribute
Neera Kapur-Dromson
2011-07-07, Issue 538
Neera Kapur-Dromson pays tribute to Cynthia Salvadori, who wrote extensively about the peoples and culture of Kenya. 'Cynthia never got the full recognition that she deserved, yet she left us an invaluable legacy with treasures of well researched and documented works. We in Kenya remain indebted to her generosity,' she writes.
Two South African enemies die, alongside our right to water 


Patrick Bond
2011-07-06, Issue 538
cc CDE GlobalTwo deaths recently marked the South African political landscape - one of a well-known former government minister, the other of a community organiser. When it came to water, the two were on opposite sides of the political battle lines: Kader Asmal implemented a commericalised water policy while Thulisile Christina Manqele fought against that policy. Both leave a legacy, writes Patrick Bond.
Inquirer's 'heavy weight' Patrick K. Wrokpoh is dead
1973-2011
C. Winnie Saywah
2011-06-30, Issue 537
Patrick K. Wrokpoh, Liberian journalist and contributor to Pambazuka News, died last Friday following a brief illness. C. Winnie Saywah looks back on his career.
Death of a Panther
Remembering G
Seth Markle & Mejah Mbuya
2011-06-09, Issue 534
Former Black Panther Geronimo Ji-Jaga died in Arusha, Tanzania last Friday. ‘His death marks yet another loss of a committed social justice activist of an era that is gradually fading from our collective memory,’ write Seth Markle and Mejah Mbuya.
Saying good-bye to Gil Scott-Heron
1949–2011
Bill Fletcher, Jr
2011-06-09, Issue 534
Poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘albums became part of my life and his songs and messages were part of the support system on which I and many other Black radicals came to depend,’ writes Bill Fletcher, Jr.
The Revolution STILL will not be televised
Keeping it Real
Larry Pinkney
2011-06-09, Issue 534
Politically conscious musician and poet Gil Scott Heron’s ‘physical body is gone from us now but his message is more relevant than ever. We everyday Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people know only too well that the revolution still will not be televised-- "it will be live",’ writes Larry Pinkney.
In memory of Nontsikelelo 'Mama' Albertina Sisulu
Shaka Sisulu
2011-06-09, Issue 534
The death of Albertina Sisulu has been met with national mourning in South Africa. At age 92, Sisulu, an anti-apartheid struggle icon, had survived the darkest days of apartheid rule. She was banned for a continuous 18-year stretch by the apartheid regime and was separated from her husband, Walter Sisulu, for 25 years while he was in jail. In this article, Shaka Sisulu pays tribute to his 'Gogo'.
Abdias do Nascimento: In memoriam
1914-2011
Molefi Kete Asante
2011-06-02, Issue 532
‘Abdias do Nascimento defended the oppressed, advanced creativity, sought human community and made our lives better by his art, reason, emotion, and laughter,’ writes Molefi Kete Asante, in a homage to ‘this brother genius who has cherished our history and culture and who has made the life and struggle of the African Brazilian people his personal mission.’
Glenn Cowley: An appreciation of a South African publisher
Robert Molteno
2011-05-25, Issue 531
South African publisher Glenn Cowley, who ran the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press in the period 1998-2009, has passed away. Robert Molteno pays tribute.
Zim Ngqawana: ‘I sing with a sword in my hand’
(25 December 1959 – 10 May 2011)
Aryan Kaganof
2011-05-12, Issue 529
‘Music was not an end result for Bra’ Zim, it was the means to provide healing.’ Aryan Kaganof reflects on the life of South African musician and mentor, Zim Ngqawana, ‘one individual whose life was not going to fit into an obituary.’
Dipping our banners for May Brutus
8 May 1929 – 12 March 2011
Tony Brutus
2011-03-17, Issue 521
May Brutus, wife of South African poet-activist Dennis, died suddenly on 12 March in London. ‘Those who knew May will remember a feisty, outspoken and awe-inspiring figure, speaking her mind on racism and injustice wherever she found it,’ writes her son, Tony Brutus.
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