After years of stalling and much criticism from the HIV/AIDS sector, the Policy Committee of the National Health Council on Friday finally adopted new guidelines for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). At the heart of the new policy is the addition of second antiretroviral drug, AZT, for pregnant women with HIV and their babies to the current treatment with nevirapine only.

HIV is becoming most prevalent among sub-Saharan Africans at the lowest educational levels, according to a systematic review of published studies. Most data from before1996 indicated that HIV prevalence was either unrelated to education, or higher among more the highly educated. Since 1996, prevalence has been falling among the most educated while rising in the least educated. The review was published in January 30th edition of AIDS.

Algeria's Rural Renewal Programme has officially begun, with the training of the first group of regional experts tasked with implementing and overseeing the projects in the field. The multi-billion dinar programme aims to stimulate economic activity in the rural areas that are home to 40% of Algerians.

A young Somali refugee has been honoured with a prestigious United States government award for her courageous work in fighting for the rights of women and girls in a Kenyan refugee camp. Farhiyo Ibrahim Farah is one of 10 recipients of this year's International Women of Courage Award. The 25-year-old is recognized for her work in Dadaab refugee camp, where she promotes an end to forced marriages and female genital mutilation, better treatment for rape victims and more education for Somali girls in her highly conservative and patriarchal society.

They left the country in search of jobs to better their lives, but village elders in rural Tsholotsho, say young men who left home to fend for their families are losing their lives at alarming rates to HIV/AIDS related ailments. Tsholotsho, about 150 kilometres south-east of Bulawayo, is one of many rural outposts in Matebeleland that have seen thousands of young men making the trek to neighbouring South Africa and Botswana in search of jobs.

The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide.

This article in Human Resources for Health journal presents data on the extent of African health workers’ working in developed countries. It uses destination-country census data to estimate the number of African-born doctors and professional nurses working abroad in the year 2000, and compares this to the stocks of these workers in each country of origin. The paper finds that approximately 35,000 African-born physicians and 70,000 African-born professional nurses were working overseas in a developed country in the year 2000.

A liberal African bishop, who has wrought havoc in his own diocese and the Province of Central Africa over his liberal views on homosexuality, told delegates to the 192nd annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in Greensboro, recently, that the majority of African Anglicans, about 37 million, are not bothered by the debate about sexuality.

South Africa's police chief has maintained his innocence from corruption charges during a brief court appearance. Jackie Selebi who appeared in court in Johannesburg on Friday is accused of having a "generally corrupt relationship" with Glen Agliotti, a convicted drug smuggler, and trying to shield him from criminal investigations.

Medecins Sans Frontieres, a French aid group, has pulled its international workers out of Somalia after what appeared to be the targeted killings of a number of its staff. The suspension came on Friday, four days after a roadside bomb in Kismayu, south-west of the capital, Mogadishu, killed three employees and two other people.

In December 2007, the Moroccan court of justice sentenced six men to jail terms of between two and ten months for the crime of homosexuality. The men had been filmed participating in a mock wedding of two men in the northern town of Ksar el-Kebir. Moroccans saw the video on the internet: someone, and than many people, loaded what appeared to be low-quality mobile-phone videos of the ceremony onto You Tube.

Consumers of Internet services will have to wait much longer for faster and cheaper access that was to come through the National Fibre Optic Backbone. Industry insiders said construction of the terrestrial fibre optic cable that was commissioned last year is running behind schedule as a result of political skirmishes that followed the December 27 presidential election raising the prospect of delayed launch.

Executive Council of the African Union has approved that no African region should be allowed to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union "as long as the draft agreement is not submitted and discussed at the continental level." The council believed that the signing of any interim or complete EPAs will affect other regions in Africa, recommended "the need for a political intervention at the highest level to protect the interest of African countries."

The government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have resumed talks aimed at ending the 22-year conflict in northern Uganda and agreed to extend by a month the cessation of hostilities deal signed in August 2007. The talks, in the Southern Sudanese town of Juba, are being attended by observers from the US, the UN, European Union and several African states.

The death toll from a cyclone that hit Madagascar on Sunday has risen to 12 people from two and 5 000 others are in need of aid, a senior relief official said on Friday. "The latest official count is 12 dead, with more than 5 000 victims," Jean Rakotomalala, executive secretary of the Malagasy government's National Office of Disasters, told journalists.

A few days ago the members of RAINS came face to face with a Norwegian company called BioFuel Africa. In the words of Mr Finn Byberg, Director of Land Acquisition for BioFuel Africa a subsidiary of Bio Fuel Norway (http://www.biofuel.no) at a public engagement session in Kusawgu, a village in the Mid-Volta River Basin in the Northern Region of Ghana, “developing the largest jatropha plantation in the world, in Ghana”.

The Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Okechukwu Ibeanu, made the following statement at the end of his mission to the United Republic of Tanzania from 21-30 January 2008

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) was conceived and built primarily to supplement the water supply of the industrial hub of South Africa. The additional water has however, provided an important benefit beyond the original aims of the project -- it is reducing the salinity of the Vaal Dam reservoir. The reservoir near Vereeniging -- about sixty kilometres south of Johannesburg - is the principal water reservoir for Gauteng Province, the largest industrial and mining centre on the African continent.

Commonwealth environment ministers will discuss the benefits of ‘carbon financing’ when they meet in February 2008. The ministers will meet next month in Monaco to look at how carbon financing can best be used to protect forests. They will also discuss the political and capacity constraints countries face when developing carbon finance initiatives.

A World Bank report has applauded Uganda for embracing new technologies in her development process. The report 'Global Economic Prospects 2008: Technology Diffusion in the Developing World' examines the state of technology in developing countries and the pace with which it has advanced since the early 1990s. "The report reveals both encouraging and cautionary trends," the bank said in a statement issued recently.

Somalia's interior minister Muse Nor Amin said on Wednesday that the allied Somali-Ethiopian forces have left some of their key bases inside the capital, Mogadishu by a government order facilitate the displaced people to return to their homes in the city. Speaking in a press conference in Baidao, the country's southwest city, Mr. Nor has described the withdrawal by the troops as a road map of bringing people's freedom back and ending the military presence in civilian areas.

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to give its judgment on the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist at the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, who has been "disappeared" since July 2006.

The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) is a body of Editors and senior editorial executives from all over Africa. Our members have fresh and fond memories of Nairobi and the hospitality of Kenyan Editors and other journalists who hosted us during our biannual conference held in Nairobi at the beginning of November 2007.

We witnessed from close by as the preparations for the elections and the campaign were underway while we were there. We left Kenya buoyed by the mood of expectation and the enthusiasm palpable in the streets as motorcade after motorcade of campaigners blaring their messages made their way through the streets.

We knew that a new Africa was afoot, one based on regular mandate-seeking from the electorate but, even more importantly, one based on a citizenry staying engaged with the politics that determine who presides over government.

Since December 27, we have witnessed as the dream turned into an unending nightmare. Journalists, our primary concern, have become victims of the violence that has engulfed Kenya as people bicker about who the winner is.

But how could journalists escape the ferocious slide to anarchy that has now gripped Kenya? People killed in churches, a child thrown into a burning church, 19 people barricaded into a house burnt to death, an opposition party MP killed. The list is endless.

As Editors our responsibility is to reflect the reality on the ground, and our Kenyan brothers and sisters have been doing an excellent job in telling the unfolding story. But it is a story we should not tell, because it should not be happening. The barbarism that has emerged in Naivasha and Nakuru and the slums of Nairobi, and the militias that are now the new law, are an indictment to both President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

As an organisation representing Editors in Kenya and elsewhere, the behaviour of the marauding squads of killers tarnish our name as Africans and we stand to say, for all to hear: NOT IN OUR NAME!

We believe both Kibaki and Odinga should exercise leadership and bring the mayhem to an end. And if they cannot, they should step aside and allow a new interim structure to emerge that would calm the situation and bring Kenya back from the abyss it is in.

We call on both of them to recommit to respecting the rights of their own people to do what they are professionally trained to do, in all fields, whether medicine, law, human rights, media etc, without being accused of belonging one political group or another. In particular, we call for the immediate lifting of the restriction on live broadcasting, which was imposed on December 30.

Lastly, as the African Union Heads of State and Government summit takes place in Addis Ababa, and fully understanding the need for diplomatic niceties to be observed, we call on the leadership gathered in Ethiopia to realize that murders most foul are being committed not far from where they meet.

Africa expects to see leadership displayed there that would enhance the efforts by the Kofi Annan mission and we call on the summit to make its voice heard about wanton abuses of human rights by Kenyan authorities.

Above all, we call on the AU to reiterate its long-standing position of freedom of the media and in particular the rights of journalists to do their work in situations of conflict without hindrance.

TAEF and its members remain committed to tell the African story in its glory and its goriness as evidenced by the unfolding situation in Kenya. No amount of intimidation and abuse is going to stop us from reporting the truth as we see it, as that would amount to censorship.

TAEF salutes the Kenya media fraternity for their steadfast stance to report without fear or favour and exhorts them to remain committed to the highest forms of journalism.

Mathatha Tsedu, Chairperson, TAE

With Africa getting so little out of the commonwealth and the legacies of colonialism, Ronald Elly Wanda suggests Africans should rethink their commitment to this institution.

Since the statute of Westminster that stipulated the formation of the Commonwealth in 1931, the purposes; benefits, representations and agency as well as the so called ‘rewards’ of the union have remained issues of contestations. This year’s Commonwealth’s Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Kampala, East Africa, rekindles this interest. In this edition, Wanda revisits the old debates and concludes that Africa needs to rethink its membership.

Every two years, fifty three heads of states belonging to a voluntary union known as the Commonwealth, (that lacks an official charter or a written constitution) gather at lavish hotels- that money can buy, in former and current British colonies, with the aim of discussing “common interests,” which often do not feature or entertain the needs of the most important person of all – the ‘common man’. As a Commonwealth citizen, the common man, (petty bourgeoisies’ and political elites asides), accounts for almost 30 percent of the total global population. Of the 1.8 billion Commonwealth residents, almost half continue to live below the poverty line, which the UN defines as living on less than a dollar a day. While at the same time, two thirds of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases and maternal deaths take place in countries subscribed to the Commonwealth, where it is also noted that more than half of the world’s 115 million children without education are to be found.

Last year, Uganda, according to the country’s foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, was “blessed to be hosting the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and in particular, welcoming her majesty Queen Elizabeth of England”, who is also head of the union.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni’s ruling party, the National Resistance Organisation (NRMO) since coming to power in 1986 has devised a strategy to distance itself explicitly from pro-mwanainchi (citizen) policies that promote social and economically redistributive justice, each and every time it has been made aware of capital mobility. The government’s handling of CHOGM preparations is a case in illustration. NRMO leaders have reoriented party policies towards the interests of any ‘real’ or imagined mobile fraction of capital, yet again at the expense of the hardworking Ugandan mwanainchi. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa said that 65 billion Uganda shillings were allocated for CHOGM activities for this financial year in addition to Ush37b for completion of State House. The meeting, according the government, is expected to attract around 3,000 to 5,000 visitors to Uganda and is expected to cost the poor Ugandan tax payer around Ush102b.

It is abundantly clear, especially for those who live in Uganda that times are increasingly hard for wanainchi (the common man) in today’s Uganda which exist on the periphery of an international economy that is staggering under the afflictions of a prolonged recession- recently demonstrated by the ongoing collapse of the American mortgage industry.

Is it not surely time for us to start questioning the viability of the Commonwealth? Given the negative historical facts that it represents? The union is an amalgamation of former as well as present British colonies, and as such is representative of the British Empire. As Africans are or ought to be too aware, we suffered and continue to suffer a great deal of pain caused by the plights of; slavery, then imperialism, colonialism, globalization and now commonwealthisation. All of these planks were dedicated to the sole objective of the brutal extraction of Africa’s wealth to Britain and at the same time the erosion of the African human dignity.

So, as today’s local imperial agents -President Museveni and his regiment entertain her majesty and “friends of Uganda” to the best of what the pearl of Africa has to offer, isn’t it high time we questioned the essence and representation of this imperialist institution? We need to look with suspicion at imperialist agents such as Museveni- the so called “darling of the west” for their real motivation in promoting anti-wanainchi and neo-liberal agenda at the expense of the common man in Uganda under the auspices of privatization, structural adjustment, market liberalization and foreign direct investment. All of which have harmed and continue to subject the common man in Uganda in abject poverty, whilst the Ugandan government posits its fictitious and impact-less 6.4 percent economic growth.

Uganda is capable of attracting foreign direct investment that has no colonial strings attached to it, China et al is one such example. That said, the rapid integration and enlargement of the East African Community ought to be a lauded affair not only for the countries concerned but for the whole of Africa, because it is the hard but necessary beginning for the unification of a sustainable Africa. From this connection, it is thus foreseeable that cultural imperialism perpetuated by Britain and culminated by its agents through its pet project the Commonwealth will be a thing of the past. For, the commonwealth has served only one primary purpose, that of presenting Britain as structurally superior and continuing the exploitation and extraction of the common man’s wealth to Britain. It is high time we valued the real common man by doing away with this demeaning institution.

*The writer is a political scientist based in London

*Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

A leading human rights advocacy group in Nigeria has declared that the reoccurring violence in Rivers State, South South of Nigeria is a culmination of years of unlawful patronage of cult groups by past governments and politicians in the state and called on President Umaru Yar’Adua to take urgent measures to arrest the situation by arresting and prosecuting the sponsors of the violence.

In a 36 -page report on the violence titled: NIGER DELTA: DECIMATED BY VIOLENCE: REPORT ON PORT HARCOUT VIOLENCE released on January, 29th in Lagos, The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) asserted that the violence in Port Harcourt in August 2007 which claimed over a hundred lives was primarily occasioned by a bitter power struggle between two cult groups, the Outlaws led by Soboma George and the Icelanders led by Tom Ateke (both armed by past governments) over territorial control, government patronage and several lucrative extortion rackets in Port Harcourt city. Underlying the violence were several key issues including government patronage of Soboma George, a one time second in command to Ateke Tom, the struggle for power among Rivers State politicians and the widespread availability of weapons and small arms in the entire Niger Delta.

The report concludes that “So long as the federal government neglects to take drastic measures to curb the unhindered flow of arms in the Niger Delta to ensure that politicians no longer use armed groups to rig election, as security guards, and to ensure accountability for past violence in the region, the chance of renewed violence will continue to be high”.

Established in 1987, the CLO is one of Nigeria’s leading human rights organizations with over 4,000 members and zonal structures and offices in the six geo political zones.

The violence in Port Harcourt has become intractable with thousands of people killed, maimed or displaced since 2004. There are over 100 armed cult groups operating in Rivers State with some of the groups sponsored and funded by politicians including government functionaries. In the run up to the 2003 and 2007 general elections, politicians in Rivers state armed several cult groups to help rig the elections. Large sums of money were also distributed to these groups while their leaders were given government contracts. The aim was to win the elections at all cost.

According to the report, despite the enactment of a law in Rivers State by the State House of Assembly in 2003 banning cultism, the cult groups have continued to multiply and at the same time become more violent and daring due to the support of politicians. No prominent leader of the cult groups including their sponsors has been prosecuted. The Report singled out the former governor of Rivers State Chief Peter Odili as being responsible for arming cult groups in the state which he effectively used to rig elections and intimidate political opponents during his eight years reign.

CLO also reports that “an unprecedented wave of human rights violations was unleashed on the city of Port Harcourt and its environs by members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police who were brought in to manage the violence”. Scores of people including women and girls have been arrested, tortured and killed extra judicially by the members of the security force in the guise of fighting armed groups. A young man who challenged police men extorting money from motorists in Agip Road, Port Harcourt city was told in clear terms to count himself lucky.” If you mess up, I will shoot you and tag you a militant and that will be the end of it’.

Elsewhere around the city, members of the JTF set up ubiquitous road blocks where citizens are regularly harassed and brutalized.

Titus Mann, CLO’s President said: “Violence in Rivers State and indeed in the whole of Niger Delta has reached an unacceptable level. This is the time to address the root cause of the problem.”

On assumption of office last year, President Yar’Adua pledged to accord priority to the Niger Delta problems. The government subsequently sent the Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, a former governor of Bayelsa State, one of the component states of the region on a fence mending mission. However the dialogue initiated by the government has since broken down due to perceived government insincerity.

The report includes recommendation to the Federal and Rivers State governments. To end violence and human rights violations in Rivers state, CLO urge Governor Amechi of Rivers state to:

1. Stop further dealings with militant and cult groups in the state, except for the purpose of facilitating the ongoing dialogue or for disarmament purposes. The use of cult groups for such purposes as rigging election or to provide security duties should be discouraged at all times.
2. Investigate all human rights abuse committed by law enforcement agencies during peace keeping in the state and prosecute any officer indicted or found to have committed any abuse.
3. Take step to implement the various poverty reduction strategies outlined in the State development plan.
4. Publicly condemn the excessive use of force, torture and extra judicial killings by the security forces during the crises.
5. Create employment opportunities in Rivers State as a first step to tackle unemployment, youth restiveness and gangsterism in the state.
6. Ensure that all victims of the violence including those who lost their houses, means of livelihood or families are adequately compensated.

The report also called on the Federal Government to bring all those responsible for the violence including highly placed Nigerians who have armed and encouraged the cult groups to perpetrate violence.

Damian Ugwu, CLO head of Advocacy Unit said; “So long as the federal government neglects to take drastic measures to curb the unhindered flow of arms in the Niger Delta to ensure that politicians no longer use armed groups to rig election, as security guards, and to ensure accountability for past violence in the region, the chance of renewed violence will continue to be high”.

*Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

*For the full report, please contact the Pambazuka News Editors at

One of the most important vehicles by which CODESRIA has sought to mobilise national-level research capacities and to channel these into organised reflections has been the National Working Groups (NWGs) which it has encouraged African researchers to organise autonomously on priority themes of their choice. The Council invites proposals for the constitution of NWGs under the 2008 competition for the research grants that are available.

HURINET-Uganda is concerned that blatant acts of impunity and violations of human rights by the state have persisted at the on set of 2008. Ugandans continue to be denied their inalienable right to enjoy basic civil and political rights. Further HURINET-U is concerned about the plunder and bloodletting in neighboring Kenya following the disputed presidential elections that were held in December 2007.

Rebels in Chad are advancing from the east of the country towards the capital, N'Djamena, after seizing a strategic central town, officials say. Armed forces have gone to intercept a column of 300 rebel vehicles, advancing along the main road to the capital.

Karambu Ringera, one of the few women to run for electoral office in the Kenya elections, gives a powerful vivid eye-witness account of the violence and the displacement.

Issues

When I left Nairobi for Nakuru to visit the internally displaced people's (IDP) camp, my aim was to be there for 2 days only. I arrived there on Wednesday January 23, little knowing that the events of that night would lock me in Nakuru for five days! On the night of January 23, all hell broke loose in Nakuru town. It was sad, scary and out of this world. I hardly recognized my country anymore. For three days, Kikuyus living in the Rift Valley were being evicted from their homes. The Nakuru violence was a spill over from Eldoret where many Kikuyus amng other ethnic groups had been evicted from their homes and their homes and property burnt. The week before, there had been similar clashes in Kisumu, once again targeting people from the Mount Kenya Region. The violence spread to Kericho, Burnt Forest, Elburgon, and areas surrounding Nakuru town. It was believed that Kalejins were in the forefront of these latter (Rift Valley) evictions and so, when loadfuls of Kikuyus landed into the Nakuru Show Ground (NSG) where these IDP were settled and attended to by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), Kikuyus in Nakuru felt they needed to do something about it. To see lorry after lorry of people being dropped at the NSG left many angry.

What was more devastating were the stories of anarchy – burnt homes, slaughtered loved family members, raped mothers and daughters, as destroyed property. The Kikuyus organized themselves and on the night of 23rd they struck at Ponda Mali a few blocks from where I spent that first night. In the morning, a few dead bodies were found but more fundamentally, houses were burnt – this time mainly Luo and Kalejin houses. By Thursday, these attacks were spread to more residential areas around Nakuru town such as Ronda, Mwariki, Kaptembwa, Githima, Freearea, Lakeview, Lanet, Karatina, Kiti, pangani, Flamingo, and Mawanga) – a second IDP's camp was opened at the Nakuru Stadium for Luos and Kalejins. A 7pm to 7am curfew was also set up – the speed with which this curfew was set up saved Nakuru from more blood shed than had already been spilt. On Friday, a friend and I walked to the areas surrounded Langalanga residential area to see what had transpired the night before because we heard was a lot of gunshot sounds. We hardly slept that night because we did not want to be attacked or for the block to be set a fire while we were asleep. The newspapers said that 5 people had been killed but that day we found at least 12 bodies lying uncollected – some had been eaten by dogs overnight. Most bodies had deep cuts – some on the head, some with throats slashed, others with cut off limbs – it was ghastly!! Later in the day, a police Landrover was loaded full of bodies of dead people.

It came for a second round – we estimated over 40 people killed in just…… On Saturday, Nakuru town was a no go zone both day and night. Police and army personnel were all over the town. A helicopter was being use to comb the area and spot trouble points and dispatch soldiers there speedily. The roads were blocked and some people were attacking certain groups of people as early as 5pm. We all were advised to stay indoors. Sunday was more calm were I was although we kept hearing gunshots in the surrounding estates. I had to do what I had initially set out to do in Nakuru – visit the IDP's camp at the Nakuru Show Ground. I went there on Wednesday to arrange to go and hold peace talks with the people at the camp. I intended to work with the counseling groups as my entry point. When the coordinator of the counseling program asked me to explain my approach, I explained that I used a participatory approach where people speak from their experiences. I planned on using the circle model and three statements guide the dialogue. The three statements are: Peace for me is; Peace for me would be; and In the name of peace I commit to… (participants state a concrete action they will undertake) .

The women were asked to use these statements to guide their sharing. We used a talking piece (a piece of stick). Initially I had asked for about 20-25 people. I got 30 women. However about 15 of them had come the day before and had not been debriefed – so they had to leave the circle. Women who had not been debriefed were required to do so before doing any other form of talking to people about their experiences. We held the circle with the 15 or so women left. The main concerns for the women were their children's education; lack of enough food; and where they would go since they did not want to go back to their old places.

The camp

While waiting for the women to gather, I heard a child crying outside. He was crying with a lot of emotion – a child of about 6 years old. I walked over to him and started coaxing him to stop crying while at the same time asking him why he was crying. He was standing alone and I thought he had lost his mother or whoever was with him. After some time, he stopped crying – almost – and then I was approached by a pregnant woman who had stood at a distance watching us. She told me that she had pinched the child for running away from school. The school was across the main road outside the camp. The mother was angry with the boy for crossing the dangerous road (cars were driving by all the time) alone. She also wanted him to stay in school because other kids were there. I told the mother to be patient with the child for after all he had seen, he may have been afraid that when he comes from school he might fond the mother gone. The kid never told us why he ran away for school, even though I tried to ask him. All he did was cry. We tried to get his older brother to take him to school and stay with him there the rest of the day. I do not know whether the mother was able to enforce this because soon after, a KRCS personnel came and took away the mother and the child to talk to them.

The women we visited with started telling us what life was like at the camp. They said that they had a mug of porridge in the morning, no lunch, and very little dinner. The food at dinner was so little – "it is meant to keep the soul alive" – one old lady told me. The food is so little that even children do not get satisfied – so mothers normally shared out their own food to the children. Girls were known to exchange food for sex too. There was lots of sexual activity as evidenced by the number of used condoms found lying around the camp every morning – the KRCS medical team dishes out condoms at the camps. The disturbing part was the rapes that were happening at the camps. The women told us that at night men would scream to make people start running away in panic. Then they would time women and girls, catch them and rape them. So, women were being told to watch over their girls. Women were also being advised not to go to the toilets at night.

On Friday we were sitting in circle sharing when we heard gunshots. The women panicked and one of them worriedly asked "have they come for us here?" This made me realize how scared these people really were. Their fear was deep. I was sad that I could not be of any help in trying to alleviate it. We ourselves from the outside were sitting on edge not knowing whether we would be safe or not going back home. All I could do was encourage them, hope with them that things would change, and assure them that they were safe in the camp because it was guarded. This sense of security was short lived. On Saturday afternoon there was a panic stampede that took place because a run-away prisoner jumped in to the camp in white underwear, the dress code of the attackers of the people in their farms. The IDP thought the attackers had come for them right in the camp. The person who was the man screamed that the attackers had followed them into the camp and there was a stampede that caused the breaking of the NSG periphery fence – fracturing the delicate sense of security they may have felt in this place.

A lot of food and clothes had been donated to the KRCS for these IDP in the camps around Kenya. We saw many lorries loaded with stuff come to the camp. The KRCS also had an office in Nakuru town where they stored these things. The surprising thing was that the people told us they never received any good clothes. They got third rate stuff – the KRCS staff in the store selected clothes for themselves before letting the IDP get into the store to select – the women informed us.

The people also said that the store people let about 30 people to get into the small store and they gave the people only few minutes to select clothes. This meant that one had no time to select good stuff – so they ended up with old t-shirts and skirts. One woman who had brought in a selection of very good clothes found someone selling one of her dresses in the local market! In view of this, when the women told me that they need underwear and pads, I decided not to hand these to the KRCS office as I had done on Wednesday when I first went to the camp. Counseling is being done in the camps by many people. However when I asked whether there were any people talking about peacebuilding I was told "no one had thought of that."

I found my niche. So, I set up to come on Thursday January 24 to start the peace dialogue. Lack of information on where women can get help for educational needs of their children or for material needs is alarmingly much in the camp. At Nakuru many women came to ask me for assistance – where to take their kids for schooling; how they can leave the camp and reach their relatives; how they could earn a living – several girls were looking for househelp jobs (to be employed in people's homes) – and so on. One man approached me with a letter which had a female handwriting seeking assistance for relocation. Since I am from far (Meru – Nakuru is about 9 hours by car from Meru) and did not have the capacity to help, I told the women that they have to speak with the KRCS personnel in their camp so they can ask the questions they were putting to me. I know that the organization is meant to assist people the camps in various ways. So, I insisted that they talk to these people.

The Peace Circle Dialogue

We sat in a circle and I introduced myself, asked someone to open with prayers, after which I asked everyone to introduce themselves and say where they were from. We started off with 30 women, 15 eventually went for debriefing (they had arrived at the camp the night before), two of 15 were called to go to the hospital to check on one of them who had given birth to a baby (they said to me smiling: "we have been blessed with a new life even here"), and two others left for other business. In the end, we had about 10 women who stayed throughout the 2 and a half hour session. I introduced the peace dialogue idea and why we were doing it. I gave the three statements that were going to guide our dialogue, looked for a talking piece and then I began the process.

What emerged was very interesting. Each woman gave her story – most spoke about their history. Some gave incidents before the clashes (current displacement) as what gave them no peace, incidents that were exacerbated by the violence. Most were painful family issues – including wives being told to go where they came from because they were from a different ethnic group – being forced to leave with ones children because the children had the blood of the unwanted ethnic group. On the second day, the women were less personal and our discussions were more on what others had suffered. I was told of an elderly lady who was gang raped and then ripped open because the gangsters wanted to "see where they had been." The woman died. One woman came to me for assistance for her son who is beginning high school. She said to me, "one of the children has been taken to an orphanage. Now I need a place for my son who is attending a day school, but see where he is coming back every end of day. Please take him with you and help him get into a boarding school." At that moment I wished the community home we are building for AIDS orphans and other children in crisis was complete.

I would have taken this boy to stay there while we looked for a boarding school for him. I took the lady's contact so that when I got a school for the boy, I would call them. I have already asked the IPI Program Director to check out a school for this child whose name is Isaac Geita. His mom's name is Margaret Wambui. The women who followed the three statements guiding our peace dialogue had this to say about their view of peaceful being or otherwise and what they committed to do for peace. (i) I have peace when: Peaceful moments cited by these women included when they pray, read the Bible, and when they are able to provide food, shelter and health to their families, including being able to educate their children. (ii) Peace for me is: Some of the answers I got include: End of conflict and violence; all the children in this camp going back to school. Help for those infected by HIV/AIDS, widows, single mothers, and orphans. The women said that education is the only hope for their children considering all their property was gone and the parents were in no position to support them now that they had lost everything. (iii) In the name of peace I commit to: The women committed to praying for peace; supporting those who were in need like orphans; encourages each other to keep hope in God. The women felt that if they kept their hope in God, He would deliver them and prosper them wherever they are.

Conclusion

Before people massacre others, they dehumanize and demonize the enemy. While walking around Ponda Mali, area in Nakuru to see the results of the violence, we came across many bodies of dead people that lay all over the place. Two young people were walking past one body and they said "it is fat!!" They did not see this as a person – he had become an object, hence "IT.". Down the path we found another body and this time, a woman sold her tomatoes unbothered by the presence of a dead body near where she was selling. I wondered at this lack of … fear, respect… what did I expect them to feel for these departed ones – perceived as 'the enemy' by them?

It was sad to witness the disgrace we have come to as a nation – we have become so removed from our humanity – we have failed to see we were the 'other' we were butchering. To fail to 'see' that our humanity is inescapably intertwined with that of those whose lives we have cut short, is to fail to 'recognize' how inhuman we have become. I desire to participate in healing the broken cord that joins me to my sister and brother, no matter their ethnic origin; reconcile the severed human spirit broken by our fractured humanity.

Way Forward

Part of my reason for being in Kenya is to work for peace in Africa. Little did I know I would be doing this for my beloved country. I have already put in place a peace training program under Institute for Nonviolence and Peace (INPEACE) (INPEACE was launched in 2005 at the Women's Congress held in Nairobi that year). I intend to continue the peace dialogues in the IDP's camps that I started in Nakuru. I also intend to do a training for leaders, who will hopefully share what they learn with their constituents. Then I will start systematic trainings for civil society, with a focus to women and youth. I am already meeting with people and organizations willing to partner with IPI's INPEACE to run the trainings. The plan is to begin with trainings for women and youth in the camps and leaders and follow up with longer term programs for civil society and learning institutions. I also hope to continue helping with material and informational assistance to women and young girls in camps.

For those interested in supporting women and girls materially, IPI has been collecting clothes and food stuffs and taking to various collection points in Meru. However, from the experience of what the women in Nakuru told me, IPI will be distributing the stuff directly to women in their tents within the camps like we did the last time we donated underwear and pads to women and girls at Nakuru.

*Dr. Karambu Ringera was one of the few women who ran for elected office. She was the North Imenti Parliamentary Aspirant.

*Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

As part of a new UNRISD Fellowship Programme for Researchers from Developing Countries, UNRISD invites applications from African social science scholars, based at an African research institution. The visiting fellows would spend 9 to 12 months working at UNRISD in Geneva. Successful applicants should be engaged in innovative research in the field of Social Policy in Africa. At UNRISD they will continue research in this area, prepare a paper for publication under the UNRISD Programme Paper series and develop ideas for future research.

This is an invitation to NGOs to register for a short on-line survey (10 minutes) which the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) will launch in the next two weeks. The registration process will only take about a minute of your time. The survey is being conducted by IEG to get the feedback from NGOs on the Bank's work on land reform, policy and administration in client countries.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dramatically expanding its efforts to help the world's poorest farmers, with goals every bit as ambitious as its better-known global-health work fighting diseases such as AIDS and malaria. But the foundation's nascent agricultural program is encountering more resistance than much of its other work, with critics concerned that its market-oriented, technology-centric approach will open the door to big agribusiness interests and genetically engineered food.

In a question and answer letter, Ali Mazrui and David Ohito grapple with the question of whether Kenya is heading toward a civil war.

Dear Prof Mazrui,

The latest wave of violence is threatening the country. In Nakuru the problem of ethic violence has emerged. Kikuyus are being attacked over land issues as historical injustices become the new phase of protest.

Kibaki insists he was duly elected and sworn in and any election dispute should go to court as spelled out in the Constitution.

Raila Odinga insists he is not going to a court full of Kibaki's appointees. The formula to a peaceful resolution remains elusive. what is your take on this?

I agree with your predictions that many African Heads of States may have saved their countries from civil war.

In Your opinion how far do you think will the International community wait before serious intervention other than mere statements? Is it good to impose sanctions economic, travel bans to Kenya?

Are there any options the West, US, EU, UK, and even Asia can take to help save Kenya from being a failed state?

Kofi Annan watched and acted too little too late as Rwanda degenerated into genocide. There was little international intervention. He himself later said he acted too slow too late while he was UN Secretary General. Is history repeating itself here? Can Kofi Annan recommend faster options to salvage Kenya?

Would you consider giving your proposals to Kofi Annan for a way forward and what would those options for a solution be?

Give any remarks that would help hold Kenya together without degenerating into genocide or civil strife.

Thank you.

David Ohito

Dear Ndugu Ohito:

In answer to your questions, I have lived long enough to know how civil wars begin in developing countries. I never expected there would be a civil war in Northern Uganda which would last twenty years, and unleash untold suffering and brutality. It has still not fully ended.

When the Sudanese civil war was ending in the South, who would have predicted another civil war in Darfur? Ethiopia has had a variety of civil conflicts, the latest involving ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden. The brutalities of the Sierra Leonean civil war took everybody by surprise.

Can such a bloody breakdown happen in Kenya? I am beginning to be truly fearful. What was once unthinkable is no longer inconceivable. While north of the Sahara the triggers of conflict are often religious, south of the Sahara they tend to combine ethnicity, power rivalry and economic deprivation.

As soon as casualties of a conflict reach a thousand dead, several thousand injured and at least a hundred thousand displaced, speedy action is needed to contain the explosion. A mini-civil war could be in the making. Kenyans and the international community cannot afford to be complacent.

Representatives of the African Union, the European Union, the United States, religious bodies, former African Heads of State, and Kofi Annan have approached the two sides of the Kenya conflict in terms of persuasion and the quest for a compromise. We now need more pressure and threats from the international community.

Initially the threats should be targeted at the elite, rather than the general population. Withholding economic aid would hurt the wider population, but suspending Kenya's membership of the African Union and the Commonwealth would deprive us of credentials to sit at the summit meetings, or meetings of foreign ministers, of such international organizations. Specific members of both the government and the opposition could be deprived of Visas to the western world if they are identified as extremists against the search for solutions.

Many members of the Kenyan elite also have Bank accounts abroad. The international community could threaten to freeze such bank accounts if there is no effort to solve the Kenya crisis.

Normally, the international community does not try to intervene in Africa until the problem is truly catastrophic. That has been the situation in Congo-Kinshasa, in Rwanda, Darfur and in Somalia. Kenya is a situation of trying to prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe. There is still time - but not a lot of time to avert an explosion.

Kofi Annan is trying his best, but he needs help in the form of massive political pressure on both sides. If mediation is not working, it may be time to threaten specific international sanctions, beginning with elite-focused threats of consequences.

What is at stake is not just the political stability of Kenya. It is also the economic viability of Eastern Africa as a whole. Kenya's economy has vibrations of region-wide consequences. How can we avert a region-wide catastrophe?

We are still far from a civil war. But our leaders should start discussing how to secure our borders against gun-running and importation of weapons. The border with Somalia especially needs to be secured, but without keeping out Somali refugees. Our leaders may also have to consider whether or not it is time to seek international help for peacekeeping in the Rift Valley. The situation is grave. Have we declared a state of emergency in the Rift Valley?

Yours sincerely,
Ali A. Mazrui

* Ali Mazrui is Director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, Binghamton University, State University of New York at Binghamton, New York, USA and Chancellor, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Thika and Nairobi Kenya.

* David Ohito? is a Senior Reporter?THE STANDARD?Nairobi, Kenya

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

Reflections arising from the report on the AACC solidarity visit led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Introduction

Following the post election violence that rocked the Republic of Kenya after President Kibaki was declared the winner of the December 2007 elections, the All Africa Conference of Churches, with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, sought to contribute to the calming of the situation and the resolution of the problem by inviting a team of eminent African Church leaders led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to come and offer solidarity to the people of Kenya and help profile the cause of peace to the nation. The Archbishop was accompanied by the President of the All Africa Conference of Churches the Rt. Rev. Nyansako ni Nku, the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa and former General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches Dr. Brigalia H. Bam and the General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Rev. Dr. H. Mvume Dandala.

The information gathered during this visit indicated something of the complexity of the problem, as well as the fact that finding a solution, both on a short term and on a long term basis will need to take into consideration a number of factors such as:
- The Historical background
- The tension defined
- The expressions of the violence
- The Role of the Church
- The Role of the media
- Possible Ways forward

It is with these in mind that the AACC offers the reflections contained herein.

Background

Whilst the visit was short, the AACC heard clearly the voices of many to the effect that only Kenyans could intervene in this situation. Any form of ‘international mediation or intervention’ was looked at askance. Whilst the National Council of Churches of Kenya opened its welcoming arms to the visit, the delegation sensed that not all the churches were fully convinced of the merits of the solidarity visit of the Archbishop even though these were expressed in respectful ways. On the other hand messages of appreciation from ordinary Kenyans were frequently received by the AACC, often couched with expressions of hope that the visit would help bring peace. The sense of the AACC
is that these doubts about the efficacy of the visit were driven either by
- the sense of patriotic pride that hurts from anything that may be perceived as suggesting that the Kenyans are not able to resolve this problem on their own;
- the uncertainty of what an even handed approach might lead to, or
- the firm belief that there are indeed Kenyans who can be able to facilitate an adequate response to the crisis.

Most disturbing is the often mutely expressed statement by some Kenyans that “this is not the first time that Kenyans have experienced this kind of crisis, and just as they have resolved the past similar crises, so will they resolve this one as well”. This attitude feels indifferent to the loss of life of even one Kenyan. It is not worthy of any nation that values the lives of all its citizens.

On the other hand it is possible that the conviction that it will take a Kenyan mediator to intervene effectively may be born of recognition that the communities at conflict have historical, long standing voiced and unvoiced and often nuanced concerns that an outsider may not easily be sensitive to. Participation in an ecumenical prayer service for church leaders at All Saints Anglican Cathedral on Sunday January 6th, 2007 gave one a glimpse of such concerns. The issues at stake may range from perceived unfair resource sharing, ethnic distrust and many other such issues that may have compounded themselves into modern Kenyan politics. What is obvious is that these stretch from beyond colonial times to modern Kenyan governance with all the complications that were subsequent to colonial domination. The regularity with which these issues are referred to by the Kenyan community should make it possible for the Kenyan society to overcome them. But the question is whether these are confronted with such honesty in the corridors of power where they should be dealt with.

The AACC is of the mind that there is therefore need for such historical facts to be understood as part of the process to the resolution of the impasse, both on a short and on a long term basis. Whether this is done by an international or local mediation body is a moot point. The critical factor is the independence of the mediation body, together with the rigour and sense of fairness that such a body would bring. Such a body must assist the country to find speedily a workable resolution to the immediate impasse, thus creating space for a longer term solution that will lay the foundations for the healing of the country and the strengthening of the overall sense of common nationhood among all the peoples of Kenya.

But for now the question is what is it that the AACC team heard as to the nature of the reigning crisis?

The tension defined

While the conflict erupted as a consequence of disputed presidential electoral results, the communities at conflict have a historical and long standing and often unvoiced concerns, dating back to independence days when many Kenyans felt that their expectations were not met. The independent government inherited colonial structures and failed to address the injustices and inequalities that had characterised the nation because people had different persuasions. And therefore, over the years, it has appeared that the president of the day brings his community closer to power to benefit from national resources more than other communities.

Violence

The various parties have differing views as to the nature of the violence that has been evident. Some see it as a political tool, pre-meditated and deliberately unleashed with an element of ethnic cleansing in its make up. Claims were made that some of the perpetrators of the violence were paid to do so.

Others see it as a spontaneous and unorganised natural reaction to what they see as vicious day light robbery at the polls which the voters could not stomach.

The delegation wondered if there was adequate political will to stop the violence and find a solution that is acceptable to all. The PNU and the ODM both appear unshaken in their conviction that the other party is responsible and has the capacity to stop the violence. If preventing the deaths and the destruction of property was paramount in the thinking of all the parties, it must be obvious that the leaders of all the parties should have come out together at least to denounce the violence in full view of the nation and offer assurance that an equitable solution was being sought. Such a joint condemnation of violence should have been made regardless of the cause, whether pre-meditated, spontaneous, ethnic or otherwise. This agenda item is still outstanding.

The Role of the Church

Reports from the church leaders spoken to indicate that the church is appalled by the violence, and had in fact, at the time of the arrival of the delegation, already started to take steps to respond to the crisis. But the church leaders did not try to hide the fact that there was a lot of division even amongst themselves. Some church leaders, if not most, were perceived to have aligned themselves with specific party positions, thus robbing the church of an authoritative, collective and independent moral voice that could champion the cause of peace and unity for the nation in spite of the different political views. The churches, according to the NCCK, are clear in that the healing of the nation must go hand in hand with the healing of the church.
The initiatives of the church had not yet gained a high media profile at the time of the solidarity visit. But a common front for an effective ministry to the nation through the National Alliance of Churches had been forged. The Alliance has four major task forces, viz:

1. The political
2. The humanitarian
3. Communication, and
4. The Spiritual.

Through these the church is poised for a significant ministry impact to the nation. The church leaders have a responsibility to:
- Encourage and enable the political leaders to come together to call for the end to violence and speak for the preservation of life.
- Encourage the leaders to ensure that there is space for alternative voices to be heard without this descending into a conflagration of violence.
- Impress strongly on the political leaders to embrace alternative ways of resolving conflict to violence.

While the question of the source of violence cannot be ignored for an effective response to be developed, it is essential that this should not be allowed to create a stalemate as it is likely to. The churches themselves are not of one view on this matter. As the visit report indicates the gulf is big between the parties as to the causes of the violence. The church can and should assist for common positions to counter and forestall violence to be developed and embraced by all.

The delegation noted that there is suspicion of the usage of church language among the various parties. The ODM alleged that some of their leaders have been referred to as “devil worshippers” and that in spite of the fact that those leaders are Christians their churches did not assist them to clear their names before the nation. On the other hand it may be inferred that in expressing concern that ‘the churches must support a constitutionally elected government’ the government (PNU) was calling for the public support of the church in this crisis. It simply is essential that the church does not try to hedge its bets but instead clarify its message. Such a message has to be based on that which will heal the nation and purify the institutions of national governance so that the faith of the people in these is restored. This in itself will go a long way in redeeming the church thus restoring its moral authority which this situation has sought to compromise.

The role of the Media

At the time of the solidarity visit some measures were in place to limit the work of the media. This is regrettable. The churches cannot afford to overlook it. The role of the media in this crisis may need reflection with the view that the confidence of the populace on the media should be nurtured as an essential element in the work of healing the nation. Questions were raised with the delegation as to whether the media may have fuelled (wittingly or unwittingly) the crisis during the period preceding the elections.

The role of the media in the formation of national attitudes can never be overemphasised. The media’s role is more than merely reporting what is happening. It has to stimulate creative thinking in the nation about the values that the nation cherishes and raise questions where any section of society seeks to undermine or demonstrates disregard of the common good and the institutions that seek to serve the common good.

- The media must be used to bring people together instead of inflaming them.
- It should use history to heal and build people instead of dividing them.
- It must demystify myths about ethnic practices instead of perpetuating them

It is in this light that the role of the media in this crisis should be examined. Reasons behind the limitations that were imposed on the media in the course of this crisis could either be that the media used its freedom irresponsibly, or that those with authority did not like what they saw of themselves in the mirror that is the media. Since the media is a prime catalyst for exchanging ideas in a free society it is essential that its freedom is guaranteed with instruments of protest against it in place where its objectivity is suspect. The alternative is a perception that totalitarian seeds are being sown. The Republic of Kenya, a bastion of peace and developing democracy in Africa, cannot afford to lower its guard on this score.

Possible Resolution Scenarios for consideration by the Church

The AACC believes that there is an important role for the churches of Kenya to play in helping towards the resolution of this impasse. Primarily the church should assist the key leaders of the various parties to accept joint responsibility for diffusing the crisis.

1. Top in the process should be agreed strategies to stop the violence. The political leaders must mobilise all their people to desist from violent activities and in fact declare violence the enemy of the nation.
2. The leaders must reinforce the right to freedom of expression. Police and rally marshals should be deployed under the command of the police to protect demonstrators, passers by and property. They must seek to ensure that no one abuses the right to freedom of speech as a licence to kill, injure or loot property.
3. The Kenyan Law and Order Enforcement agencies, especially the police, should be encouraged to desist from using excessive force during such demonstrations.
4. Church leaders must help engender a spirit of cooperation among the opposing political parties that will allow a structure that is accommodative to lead the administration of the country.
5. Church leaders must accompany such a structure with processes that will limit the chances of reneging on positions agreed to. They must help create and nurture space for mistrust to be reduced.
6. On a longer term basis Church leaders should help both the political leaders and the general population to identify those institutional structural deficiencies that made this crisis possible, such as the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) in order to pave the way for the strengthening of such structures, thus laying the foundations for a more secure and dependable electoral system.
7. On a long term basis Church leaders have to assist put in place processes that will contribute towards the enhancement of a common sense of Nationhood that transcends ethnicity so that the sharing of resources and access to justice is not only equitable, but seen to be so by the nation at large.
8. Church leaders must prioritise the healing of the church as they themselves have acknowledged this need.

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

we hear a woman’s raped every
30 minutes this fact needs to be
adjusted as 56 & more
many more were assaulted
inside the first 2 days of
premeditated brutality
of the elephants’ skirmish

their bodies are the frontline
where foes are belittled
& age-old grudges viciously settled
meanwhile rallies sermonise
peacemakers negotiate &
dealmakers mediate
they play the blame game who instigated
what who killed whom excuse me while
i spit & yet do not speak
of the trauma & the terror
& shun the soundless screams of
untold others who in mute silence suffer
they talk about democracy
about ethnocracy autocracy
& just about any cracy you can think of
malevolence shrouded in words
while powerless women little girls
boys & men are abused what
do they know about sacrilege how much
do they care about the shame & humiliation?
how many little girls did you rape today baba?
we know bodies may be healed but
spirit bruises soul lacerations are
indelible quotidian &
never ever leave your side

their bodies are a battlefield
whose destruction’s a conscious
act of ethnic cleansing

in some place we hear
the price for one rape is a goat how
many goats for gang rapes or
for sodomised little boys
we know this isn’t about gratification
nor passion & we are aware of the imperative
revenge domination control
opportunism thuggery it
really doesn’t really matter as the
sacrifice’s been made
the earth’s tasted their blood
their tears soak the ground
mission accomplished
they ask what they should do
as they pray for divine reckoning &
vengeance of cosmic magnitude
they live in constant sorrow & in dread of the hatred spewing
men with rungus for fists & serrated panga eyes
do they not feel pain when you
hurt them do they not bleed when you defile them?

their bodies are a battle ground
their violation
a weapon of war their
bodies are a combat zone
their degradation a
weapon of mass destruction

*Mshairi (poet in Kiswahili) administers the Kenyan Blogs Webring - KenyaUnlimited and the African Women’s Blog. You can find more work from the poet at

*Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Attending secondary school might help reduce the risk of HIV among youth in rural South Africa, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the South African Press Association reports. James Hargreaves of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit and colleagues from the Wits School of Public Health examined the behavior and HIV prevalence among 916 young men and 1,003 young women ages 14 to 25 in rural South Africa.

A broad coalition of civil society organisations has convened what they are calling the People’s Convention, which will take place on Friday and Saturday in Harare. The aim is to assess the critical situation the people of Zimbabwe are facing, and map the way forward in resolving the political crisis that has crippled the country. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the umbrella National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) are among the groups involved.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has said he supports ending immunity from prosecution for top political office holders in one of the world's most corrupt countries, although he has given no timetable to do so. Nigeria's 1999 constitution, written under military rule just before a transition to democracy, grants immunity to the president and vice president of Africa's biggest oil exporter, as well as the 36 state governors, while they are in office.

The Pan African ILGA, a body representing 41 movements of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and intersexual people in Africa has written to the Commonwealth complaining about the behaviour of the Ugandan police towards LGBTI activists in Kampala during the Comonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala last November.

In a rare interview with local media, Progressive Democratic Party Secretary-General Maya Jribi announced her intentions to participate in Tunisia's 2009 presidential and legislative elections. The interview, published Monday (January 21st) in Le Temps, surprised many readers with its boldness. It circulated quickly over the Internet, as it is rare that local newspapers give the PDP the opportunity to express its positions on domestic affairs.

After widespread demonstrations on Saturday (January 19th), Algerian high school students called for a strike on January 27th over education reforms they claim are unreasonable. Prompted by a teachers' strike that paralysed schools on January 15th, the students are protesting the implementation of a new curriculum for students preparing for their baccalaureate examinations. Students in their final year claim the new syllabus is overloaded and that they may be unable to finish their coursework before taking the baccalaureate exams.

The UN refugee agency has welcomed a peace agreement signed this week by rival warring groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but warned that the accord would not solve all the problems immediately. UNHCR attended the conference and witnessed the signing Wednesday in Goma, capital of the troubled North Kivu province. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres had earlier said in a message to the conference that the gathering "represents a big step in the search for a lasting peace."

On Jan. 7, military forces from the Sudanese government opened fire on a convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Although the government denies that the attack was intentional, it has thrown into question the capability of UNAMID, the joint U.N.-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the region, to keep the peace. "Right now, the mission is extremely vulnerable," says Sam Ibok, chief AU negotiator for Darfur told IPS.

This novel is about coming of age and coming to terms in Mimboland. It is also about the fragility of life and the strength of the human spirit. The filth and screaming splendor of the city and the perplexed tranquility of the village are juxtaposed, as the tension and conviviality between tradition and modernity are lived and explored. Roads and drivers, dreams and public transport link different geographies. Faltering along or speeding away, these spaces of risk, frustration and solidarity are filled with popular songs as vehicles for understanding events and relationships.

The authors of the newest Brief, Robert Pollin, Gerald Epstein and James Heintz of the Political Economy Research Institute, seek to provide viable alternatives to neoliberalism in three major areas: 1) inflation and monetary policy, 2) capital flows, speculation and the exchange rate, and 3) banking systems and access to credit. Their heterodox recommendations include pursuing direct measures against supply-shock inflation, targeting the short-term interest rate instead of the money supply, using capital-management policies to help stabilize the exchange rate, instituting loan-guarantee programmes for small-scale enterprises, and scaling up public development banks.

This document published by the Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of the Witwatersrand, examines South Africa’s response to people fleeing from political crises and economic deprivation in one of its immediate neighbours. It also tests prominent claims made about the nature and scope of migration. The authors conclude that the South African government, media, and civil society should dedicate the material and intellectual resources necessary to develop a human and effective response to the continued arrival of Zimbabweans in South Africa.