· January, 2012

Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from January, 2012

Nigeria 2011: A Year of Small Victories and Great Challenges

  11 January 2012

2011 will go down in Nigeria's history as the year of the nation's third presidential election since independence. For the first half of the year, the blogosphere was abuzz with discussion of the election: protests, campaigns, debates, the role of technology, preparations for the polls, election day itself.

Global Voices in Dutch Looks Back on 2011

  11 January 2012

While the year 2012 is already well on its way, the translators of Global Voices in Dutch look back on 2011. Which posts stood out and what makes Global Voices so special?

South Africa: On #ANC100 Debate

  10 January 2012

Mohammed Keita shows how #ANC100 debate lays bare divisions over South Africa media: “The lively social media debate illustrated both the discomfort many Africans feel toward criticism of their leaders, and the role as scapegoat that the media is currently playing as the ANC struggles to hold onto a decisively...

D.R. of Congo: Writings From DRC

  9 January 2012

Throwing Down the Water: Writings from the DRC is a blog by Emily Cavan Lynch: “I am currently working in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where internet and roads are both quite limited; please excuse any temporary disruptions in posting, or in responding to your comments,...

Africa: ICTs for Refugees and Displaced Persons

  8 January 2012

In Africa and elsewhere, ICTs have become an important tool at times of crisis with technologies such as SMS, VOIP, and mobile phones becoming especially invaluable for refugees and displaced persons.

Mauritania: Terror Grips Town

  8 January 2012

Terror grips city of Kiffa in Mauritania: “Poet and filmmaker Mohamed Ould Idoumou, a Kiffa native, told Magharebia that that the city has never seen cases of terrorism before because of its isolated location in the desert.”

Zimbabwe: The “E” Word and Future of Democracy

  8 January 2012

Beven Takunda talks about the “E” word and the future of democracy in Zimbabwe: “Election continue to haunt Zimbabweans to the point that when any politicians mention the “E” word, people start to quiver and shake. There is no sense of celebration that should come with exercising our democratic rights....

Nigeria: Meet the Organiser of Occupy Nigeria in London

  8 January 2012

MyWeku interviews the UK organizer of Occupy Nigeria movement: The removal led to petrol prices doubling overnight and triggered a spate of protests that seem to be gathering momentum. The demonstrations are being led and organised by Occupy Nigeria under the globally recognised “Occupy Movement”.

Malawi: Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story

  7 January 2012

Moving Windmills is a documentary that tells the true story of William Kamkwamba, a young innovator from Malawi, Africa who taught himself to generate electricity by building a windmill from found materials and scrap parts.

Burkina Faso: Samuel Kiendrebeogo: 1949-2012

  7 January 2012

R.I.P. Samuel Kiendrebeogo: “The African media community lost a central voice this week with the passing of Samuel Kiendrebeogo, the veteran host of weekly media magazine Médias d'Afrique et D'Ailleurs on Voice of America's French service. Sam, as he was known, died while vacationing in his native Burkina Faso. He...

Africa: Facebook in full expansion in 2011

  7 January 2012

Joan Tilouine of Africa Tech, on the blog.slateafrique.com blog.slateafrique.com comments [fr] upon the researches made by african internet users during 2011: ‘the most researched term on Google was ”Facebook”. The Social Network, is expanding on the continent, which counts already 32 million users, that is 27% of african internet users....

Global Voices Most Read Posts in 2011

  6 January 2012

Global Voices is no longer as lonely a media voice when it comes to reporting tweets and blog posts. Still, where mainstream media interest wanes, we're the ones who continue documenting local citizen media. Discover our top 20 list of most read posts for 2011.

Zambia 2011: Two Events That Shook the Country

  6 January 2012

Two events in Zambia will go down as having shaken the country to its core in 2011. The first was the death of Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba and the second was the defeat of the ruling MMD after clocking 20 years in power.

Rwanda: How Free Eggs Affected Farmers

  5 January 2012

A View From the Cave explains how free eggs for communities in Kigali, Rwanda from a church in Atlanta affected farmers: “However, the influx of eggs meant that prices suddenly dropped due to large supply of freely distributed eggs. Farmers who sold eggs in the market could no longer compete…”

Africa: Recapping Mighty African's 2011

  5 January 2012

Mighty Africa blogs about his highlights and lowlights in 2011: “After 10 years in the USA, I returned home to Ghana. I abandoned my dream of going home with the US’ money, the lure of creating impact in Ghana was too large. And I could make money doing it. The...

About our Sub-Saharan Africa coverage

Zita Zage
Zita Zage is the Anglophone Africa Editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Jean Sovon
Jean Sovon is the Francophone Africa. Editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Dércio Tsandzana
Dércio Tsandzana is the Lusophone (Portuguese) editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.