A programme aired this week by the BBC reveals that Pope John Paul II, now a saint of the Catholic Church, had an intense relationship spanning three decades with a married Polish-American woman. The details are contained in secret letters and pictures kept in a library in Poland, the pope’s country of birth. The Vatican has dismissed the programme. But the affair raises many puzzling questions.

Two years ago, crimes against humanity suspects Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto took power in Kenya. The duo who cut their political teeth under the tutelage of brutal despot Daniel arap Moi, the self-styled “professor of politics”, have spared no effort to push the country back to the dark days of autocracy.

Thuli Ndlovu knew that she could be murdered. But she continued with her movement work regardless. The mother and militant of the shack dwellers movement was assassinated this week in an attack that left her teenage daughter with serious gunshot wounds. When will this brutality against the poor end in ‘free’ South Africa?

It is unacceptable for national leaders to resort to populist manoeuvres, even taking advantage of the suffering of poor citizens, to gain political capital. Tokenism replaces comprehensive policy responses to critical national challenges

A small elite owns the bulk of the land and wealth of Kenya while the majority suffocates under an oppressive system that condemns them to poverty and hardship. Only the people’s revolution can turn the tide to ensure everyone gets a share of the pie

African governments are under intense pressure from within but also from big agribusiness and Western governments to embrace GMOs. Governments must resist all forms of arm-twisting and food colonialism and make their biotechnology choices based on the facts

Rwanda has made remarkable progress to rebuild after the genocide. But the country is in the grip of a ruthless Tutsi oligarchy that has silenced everyone who doesn’t agree with President Kagame. His critics are either dead, in jail or exile. The struggle for a just and free nation should be intensified

What problems is an anti-gay law supposed to cure? How would people in a country benefit from the mass imprisonment for life, or even execution, of homosexuals? The punitive laws targeting persons merely for their sexual orientation are grossly unjust and should be resisted

The media landscape in Africa is quite diverse. And although spirited campaigns for media freedom and freedom of expression have resulted in the repeal of repressive laws in some countries, old and new challenges persist. Now there are interesting debates about the place of the media in the continent’s development