The African Union 'has remained curiously silent on the Middle East', writes Joseph Kaifala, but the continent ‘can no longer afford to remain oblivious to one of the saddest human crises of our time’. What’s missing, says Kaifala, are ‘active African voices in ongoing peace processes and political actions’ – ‘if nothing else, African leaders must at least start to teach their peoples about the Middle East and speak their opinions openly on the conflicts.’

Reflecting on Jos, Joseph Kaifala writes: ‘Africa has always received recognition for the compassion and love of its people, in spite of all other negative issues. To fight for tangible things within human control is a different matter altogether, but to murder in the name of God is a vein assumption of demi-godly role that no one should be allowed to proclaim.’

Following the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian captured with an explosive device on a Northwest flight, Joseph Kaifala stresses that each and every individual accused of criminal activity must be treated according to the rule of law.

The international community’s hasty decision to investigate Guinea’s Captain Camara for crimes against humanity has led to serious setbacks in solving the country’s political crisis, Joseph Kaifala argues in Pambazuka News. Since the only way for Camara to avoid trial at the International Criminal Court is to remain in power, it’s unlikely he’ll be willing to relinquish his military dictatorship any time soon, says Kaifala.

Tradition is not an adequate justification for maintaining the practice of female circumcision in Sierra Leone – or anywhere in Africa, Joseph Kaifala writes in Pambazuka News. Both ‘obsolete’ and ‘unnecessary’, the practice runs counter to progress and the upholding of human rights, says Kaifala.