· May, 2008

Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from May, 2008

Malawi: Several arrested over allegations to remove president

  13 May 2008

It has been reported that several senior security and opposition political officials have been arrested in Malawi on allegations of coup plot. Malawian journalist and blogger Kondwani Munthali says that the politics in Malawi is undergoing interesting developments and political temperatures have reached a boiling point. Writing from Lilongwe where...

Zimbabwe: Government newspaper website hacked?

  13 May 2008

Did someone hack the website of Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper?: “The Herald newspaper's website has been down since it was hacked over the weekend. Currently the website will re-direct you to the Sunday Mail website another arm of the government's propaganda machine. The state run Herald's website had all it's links...

Africa: African Fashion News

  13 May 2008

Ladybrille African Fashion News: “A weekly collection of fashion news relating to or about Africa. Some quick highlights from this week's news: a) Ghana prepares for its first ever fashion week with Coca-Cola Accra Fashion Week; b) South Africa forges fashion relationships with Asia, South Africa based Nigerian Designer Fred...

Zimbabwe: Destruction of property and food

  13 May 2008

Post-election violence continues in Zimbabwe: “It is well known now that the homes and possessions of many people in the rural areas have been destroyed. These images were uploaded to our flickr account yesterday and show some of the destruction (for more, visit this set here).”

Ethiopia: Ethiopians for Obama

  13 May 2008

Teddy writes about Ethiopians supporting Barack Obama: “What started off with Maeza Siraj over a year ago when she created Ethiopians for Obama on barackobama.com has blossomed into thousands of Ethiopian-Americans working in multiple states to be a part of a historical moment.”

Kenya: AfriGadget Innovator Series

  13 May 2008

Ntwiga interviews Simon Mwacharo, a Kenyan entrepreneur: “Simon owns and runs CraftSkills, a small business based in Nairobi, Kenya that focuses on designing and building self-sustaining renewable energy projects in places not accessible to the electric grid. Craftskills had to date undertaken challenging projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon and...

Uganda: Gagging the press

  13 May 2008

Moses Sserwanga writes discusses the link between media freedom and democracy in Uganda: “At Daily Monitor, no less than 10 journalists including senior editors are at various stages of prosecution for alleged publication of false news, criminal libel and sedition. This is irrespective of the fact that all the highlighted...

Ghana: Sleepless and wireless in Accra

  12 May 2008

Bensah writes about Internet connectivity and UNCTAD conference in Accra, Ghana: “Glitches notwithstanding, throughout the UNCTAD conference proper, that is exactly *how* connected we were. This is not some kind of digital exuberance; this is the reality of the twenty-first century, where ubiquitous internet connectivity is instrumental in our homes,...

PangeaDay: an event lived worldwide

  12 May 2008

Pangea Day took place Saturday, and people from different parts of the world got together to watch movies and be a part of the worldwide event where movies, speakers and music showed us a bit of life on the other side of the globe, uniting people from all walks of life to believe that we aren't as different as we would believe. It also included a mobile video contest, with an international lineup of winners.

PangeaDay: Impressions from Brazil

Pangea day took place this Saturday, May 10 2008, and the world watched together a selection of films broadcast via the internet and TV simultaneously to every corner of the planet and with live broadcast in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro. See here a comprehensive wrap up: PangeaDay as seen by a Brazilian blogger.

D.R. of Congo: Campaign against sexual violence

  11 May 2008

“Two important events from the DRC – The one month campaign against sexual violence in the DRC took place between March 17-April 17th and coincided with a new law to ending the crimininalisation of children by accusing them of witchcraft,” writes Black Looks.

Uganda: Amakula Kampala Film Festival

  11 May 2008

Uganda Imsoniac attended the Amakula Kampala Film Festival in Uganda: “Every personality documentary film should make you feel comfortable and engage you. The director should make you love or loathe the character – it doesn’t really matter what – and you should just feel justified to do so and comfortable...

Uganda: Watching African movies in Africa

  11 May 2008

Scarlett Lion discusses African films: “But it seems that films about Africa rarely screen in Africa. And I've missed my chance to see this film, captured in Uganda, in Uganda. The film festival continues, and I'll have the chance to see some other mediocre hits like The Science of Sleep,...

Zimbabwe: Conditions for a run-off

  11 May 2008

Morgan Tsvangirai to participate in the run-off in Zimbabwe: “This morning’s press conference saw Morgan Tsvangirai confirm that he would face Robert Mugabe in a run-off, but he has conditions which he says need to be met. We heard the news via sms.”

Burkina Faso: Shea butter and other secrets

  10 May 2008

If you know your beauty products, you most likely have heard of shea butter – the natural fat extracted from the fruit of the karite nut. Shea is a natural moisturizer and its high levels of vegetable fats allow it to treat a host of skin conditions, from burns to...

Angola: Decolonization in motion

  9 May 2008

Carlos Pereira [pt] has found a very interesting video showing the mass emigration of Portuguese-descended settlers and white Angolans from Luena, with scenes classified by the blogger as “great drama moments for the victims of a disastrous decolonization process”.

Cape Verde: On the possibility of adopting the Euro

  8 May 2008

Virgílio Brandão [pt] ponders on the pros and cons of the adoption of the Euro as a currency in Cape Verde. “The country must have a clear picture of its response to problems that would arise from this, and must gain more benefits than difficulties. The population will appreciate it”.

Angola: A tour from Luanda to Bula Atumba

  7 May 2008

“For those who have forgotten or those who want to visit Bula Atumba for the first time, I will try to give detailed information and will be available for further clarification”. Mário Almeida [pt] writes a detailed guide for a drive tour in Angola, with maps and pictures, passing through...

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.