Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from November, 2006
DRC: “Bemba was to be defeated”
In a long post about Kinshasa's fervor for Bemba despite his defeat, Le Blog du Congolais writes (Fr):”It was written and we knew it: Bemba was to be defeated, for a reason or another. The court however did not this time around have to find the reason. Bemba's lawyers did...
Africa: the African ICT Achievers Awards 2006
Here is a list of winners of the African ICT Achievers Awards 2006, “The Winner of the Top ICT Youth Innovator Award, Nomfundo Nguse(19), was also a finalist in the Top ICT Young Entrepreneur category.”
D.R. of Congo: Bemba's election challenge update
“Before declaring the definitive outcome, the Supreme Court rejected Bemba’s challenge for lack of proof (the burden of proof being on the claimant). The CEI was found to have acted legally and transparently. One claim – that Kabila had spent government funds on his investiture ceremony – was regarded as...
Africa: Africa's economies
Eliesmith writes about the 2006 African Development Indicator, “According to the report, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa have retained their dominant positions on the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. Both countries account for 55% of the GDP of the region.”
Ethiopia's bloggers disappear again
The bulk of Ethiopia's bloggers disappeared from Ethiopian computer screens for the second time in seven months this week. All sites hosted by the popular Blogspot platform stalled when internet users tried to log on to them through their Ethiopian Telecom Corp dial-up connections. The small stable of anti-government blogs...
Cote d'Ivoire: France and UN Resolution 1721
Generation Consciente writes (Fr): “Despite its best efforts, Paris did not succeed in getting the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that might oust President Gbagbo. After intense negotiations at the UN headquarters, Resolution 1721 regarding Cote d'Ivoire, a French intitiative, was adopted by the Security Council. It maintains...
Tanzanian bloggers’ virtual conference
Tanzanian bloggers held their first virtual conference on November 18th, 2006. The aim of the conference was to discuss various steps to be taken to make the community more effective and expand its reach. Most bloggers feel that there is an opportunity for blogs to be a tool for critical...
French minorities: Questioning the Republican Model
Togolese-origined French politician Kofi Yamgnane posts a December 13 conference announcement that questions the limitations of French republicanist integration (Fr): “Integration in the French tradition … is resolutely hostile to any differentiation or separation founded on individual origins … Contrary to the Anglo-Saxon model, the Republican model rejects communities and...
Ethiopia: pro-democracy websites and blogs blocked
“All pro-democracy websites are now blocked in Ethiopia. Blogs which were unblocked for the last three months are blocked again including this blog,” reports Ethiopian Life, Culture, Politics, and Arts.
Ethiopia: Great Ethiopia Run
Meskel Square writes about the Great Ethiopia Run organized by Haile Gebrselassie and British marathon star, Richard Nerurkar, “Best of all was the British BBC presenter who took part in the race, interviewing people as he went. He finished pretty quickly but looked absolutely exhausted, almost pained as he crossed...
Kenya: visual roundup
A visual roundup from Kenya by Kikuyumoja's Realm, “A collection of scenes I’ve caught during the week. Because life is about seeing and sharing.”
Reunion: Sarkozy and Nassimah Dindar
Pierrot Dupuy writes (Fr): “I am learning from different sources, some of which are close Parisian relations of [French Interior Minister] Nicolas Sarkozy, that if he is elected President, he will offer a minister job to Nassimah Dindar … Is the best way to avoid Nassimah the minister for Sarkozy...
Kenya: mistreatment of Kenyan novelist
Black Looks has an update on the mistreatment of Kenyan academic and novelist, Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
Nigeria: challenges for Nollywood
Zaynab A. Omaki writes about Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, in the sub-Saharana Africa roundtable, “For all is flaws, however, Nollywood has been able to create a sense of nationhood. Nigerians identify their film industry as being wholly their own, even if they don’t identify with its productions. That’s why...
Sudan: Southern Sudanese are trapped
Africa Blogs explain why Southern Sudanese feel trapped, “Inside the mud-and-wattle structures, eating places by day and pubs by night, littering the Juba streets, people hurdle to discuss the future of Southern Sudan. But they are discovering that it’s becoming harder to discuss the future without discussing the wave of...
Africa: paradigm shift
The Benin Epilogue asks whether there is a paradigm shift in African business.
D.R. of Congo: Bemba's lawyers walk out
11 lawyers representing Jean-Pierre Bemba, the Congolese Presidential-runner up, walk out of the Supreme Court.
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean film-maker wins first prize
A Zimbabwean filmmaker, Tawanda Gunda Mupengo, wins first prize at the Dakar Film Festival for his short film, Spell My Name, “The film is about a young albino girl sexually abused by the headmaster of her school and a young teacher who stands up to protect her.”
Africa: what China wants from Africa
Dr. George Ayittey‘s analysis of China's interest in Africa, “China’s increasing involvement in Africa should be viewed against this backdrop. Despite the euphonious verbiage about “cooperation”, “equal terms,” and “altruism,” the real intentions of China are threefold. The first is to gain access to Africa’s resources by signing with a...
Ghana: Al-Jazeera in English in Ghana
Ghanians are watching Al-Jazeera in English, “Here in Ghana, Metro TV has been showing live programming of Al-Jazeera for many hours, everyday. At least, we now have news and views from another perspective, as opposed to the western propaganda we were hitherto being bombarded with, by BBC World, CNN and...
East Africa: films in East Africa
First there was Hollywood, then Bollywood followed by Nollywood. Here comes Bongowood, a blog about films made in East Africa and about East Africa. Bongo is a colloquial name for Tanzania.
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